Death-Stalker
Encyclopedia
The Death-Stalker is a fictional character
, a super-villain
of the professional-criminal type, in the Marvel Comics
universe
. His real name was Philip Wallace Sterling. An enemy of Daredevil
, he first appeared as the Exterminator in Daredevil Vol. 1, #39 (April 1968).
, New York. He was a wealthy man prior to embarking on a career as a professional criminal. When he first appeared as the Exterminator, he recruited the Unholy Three
. He constructed a "time displacer ray" ("t-ray") which could teleport its target into another dimension (possibly the Limbo
from which Immortus
hails). The Exterminator led the Unholy Three in a series of criminal activities and battled Daredevil
. When Daredevil defeated the Exterminator and his agents, he also destroyed the t-ray, accidentally bombarding the Exterminator with its strange energy, and seemingly killing him.
Sterling actually found himself trapped between two dimensions, able to return to Earth at will but only for a few hours at a time; furthermore, the mutation caused his skin to become chalk-white. He stole a pair of gloves from AIM
that gave him a "death-grip," and began calling himself "The Death-Stalker." He tried several times to kill Daredevil and build a new t-ray machine, but was each time beaten by Daredevil.
He was allied with Gladiator against Daredevil. The Death-Stalker traveled to the Florida Everglades in search of papers relating to Ted Sallis's experiments, and encountered the Man-Thing
. He stole a set of ancient Lemurian
crystal lenses from the Museum of Modern Art, and fought Daredevil. He masqueraded as Death's-Head
(Karen Page
's father), and fought Daredevil and the Ghost Rider
. Death-Stalker next assembled a large gathering of criminals to take part in an undisclosed plan, and faced off against Daredevil yet again. He stole a scientific apparatus from Stark International.
Finally, the Death-Stalker plotted his ultimate destruction of Daredevil. He attempted to kill Daredevil while the crime-fighter was hospitalized, and he also fought the Avengers
. He created a new Unholy Three as a new group of Ani-Men
and had them kidnap Matt Murdock, whose secret identity as Daredevil he had learned by observation from between dimensions. Daredevil was taken to St. Stephens Cemetery, and there, the Death-Stalker killed the Ani-Men and attacked Daredevil. As the battle went on and Daredevil kept getting the best of him, the Death-Stalker leaped at Daredevil in irrational rage. He had to materialize from his other dimension in full to use his cybernetic death-grip on Daredevil, but in his fury, he materialized too soon in the course of that leap and solidified while he was passing in part through a gravestone; the trauma killed him instantly.
His "cybernetic death-grip" device, stolen from AIM, was worn in his gloves, which emitted a dose of microwave radiation when activated by mental command, killing any living creature in contact with it. The Death-Stalker had to materialize in full on Earth for the device to be effective. This energy has been described as microwaves, but seems to have properties of both lightning and truly intense cold.
Philip Wallace Sterling was a brilliant criminal mastermind, in addition to being an accomplished inventor and scientist with extensive knowledge of advance scientific apparatus.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a super-villain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
of the professional-criminal type, in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. His real name was Philip Wallace Sterling. An enemy of Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
, he first appeared as the Exterminator in Daredevil Vol. 1, #39 (April 1968).
Fictional character biography
Philip Wallace Sterling was born in Riverdale, BronxRiverdale, Bronx
Riverdale is an affluent residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx in New York City. Riverdale contains the northernmost point in New York City.-History:...
, New York. He was a wealthy man prior to embarking on a career as a professional criminal. When he first appeared as the Exterminator, he recruited the Unholy Three
Ani-Men
The Ani-Men is the name of several fictional teams within the Marvel Universe. Four of them are villain groups, while one of them was introduced as a team of agents serving the High Evolutionary.-Original Ani-Men:...
. He constructed a "time displacer ray" ("t-ray") which could teleport its target into another dimension (possibly the Limbo
Limbo (Marvel Comics)
Limbo, may refer to several fictional locations in titles published by Marvel Comics. The concept debuted in The Avengers #2, , and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.-History:...
from which Immortus
Immortus
Immortus is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe. He is the future self of Kang the Conqueror, and first appeared in Avengers #10, and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
hails). The Exterminator led the Unholy Three in a series of criminal activities and battled Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
. When Daredevil defeated the Exterminator and his agents, he also destroyed the t-ray, accidentally bombarding the Exterminator with its strange energy, and seemingly killing him.
Sterling actually found himself trapped between two dimensions, able to return to Earth at will but only for a few hours at a time; furthermore, the mutation caused his skin to become chalk-white. He stole a pair of gloves from AIM
Advanced Idea Mechanics
A.I.M. is a fictional terrorist organization in the . The organization first appeared in Strange Tales #146 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.-Publication history:...
that gave him a "death-grip," and began calling himself "The Death-Stalker." He tried several times to kill Daredevil and build a new t-ray machine, but was each time beaten by Daredevil.
He was allied with Gladiator against Daredevil. The Death-Stalker traveled to the Florida Everglades in search of papers relating to Ted Sallis's experiments, and encountered the Man-Thing
Man-Thing
The Man-Thing is a fictional character, a monster in publications from Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in Savage Tales #1 , and went on to be featured in various titles and in his own series, including...
. He stole a set of ancient Lemurian
Lemuria (comics)
Lemuria is the name of two fictional locations in the Marvel Universe.Lemuria had been a small continent and group of islands in the Pacific Ocean 21,000 years ago, which was ruled by the Deviants. Lemuria became the center of the Deviant empire, and the only remaining free land was Atlantis, the...
crystal lenses from the Museum of Modern Art, and fought Daredevil. He masqueraded as Death's-Head
Death's-Head (comics)
Death's-Head is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:Death's-Head appeared in Daredevil #56-57 , and was created by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan.-Fictional character biography:...
(Karen Page
Karen Page
Karen Page is a fictional character in Marvel Comics' Daredevil series created by writer Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett. She first appeared in Daredevil #1 .-Character overview:...
's father), and fought Daredevil and the Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)
Ghost Rider is a fictional character, an antihero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is the second Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and preceding Daniel Ketch.Johnny Blaze was portrayed both in the 2007 film Ghost Rider and...
. Death-Stalker next assembled a large gathering of criminals to take part in an undisclosed plan, and faced off against Daredevil yet again. He stole a scientific apparatus from Stark International.
Finally, the Death-Stalker plotted his ultimate destruction of Daredevil. He attempted to kill Daredevil while the crime-fighter was hospitalized, and he also fought the Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
. He created a new Unholy Three as a new group of Ani-Men
Ani-Men
The Ani-Men is the name of several fictional teams within the Marvel Universe. Four of them are villain groups, while one of them was introduced as a team of agents serving the High Evolutionary.-Original Ani-Men:...
and had them kidnap Matt Murdock, whose secret identity as Daredevil he had learned by observation from between dimensions. Daredevil was taken to St. Stephens Cemetery, and there, the Death-Stalker killed the Ani-Men and attacked Daredevil. As the battle went on and Daredevil kept getting the best of him, the Death-Stalker leaped at Daredevil in irrational rage. He had to materialize from his other dimension in full to use his cybernetic death-grip on Daredevil, but in his fury, he materialized too soon in the course of that leap and solidified while he was passing in part through a gravestone; the trauma killed him instantly.
Powers and abilities
Accidental exposure to "T-radiation" altered Sterling's physiology, making it so that he normally existed in a dimension congruent to Earth. While in this realm, he could watch and listen to events on Earth without being observed from Earth by any means. By willing himself to do so, he could shift into the Earth dimension to varying degrees. He could become visible, but intangible, or visible and tangible as he desired. He could shift from one state to the other instantaneously. Also, while completely in his interdimensional state, he could cover distances more rapidly, enabling him to disappear from one Earth location and reappear at another far sooner than if he had traversed that same distance on Earth. The Death-Stalker could not continuously manifest in the dimension of Earth for more than several hours at a time.His "cybernetic death-grip" device, stolen from AIM, was worn in his gloves, which emitted a dose of microwave radiation when activated by mental command, killing any living creature in contact with it. The Death-Stalker had to materialize in full on Earth for the device to be effective. This energy has been described as microwaves, but seems to have properties of both lightning and truly intense cold.
Philip Wallace Sterling was a brilliant criminal mastermind, in addition to being an accomplished inventor and scientist with extensive knowledge of advance scientific apparatus.