Leo Zelinsky
Encyclopedia
Leo Zelinsky is a fictional tailor
in the Marvel Universe
, who owns Leos Tailoring on 23rd near 8th in New York. His first (named) appearance is in Marvel Comics
' The Amazing Spider-Man
#502. His police officer son was killed. He has a young grandson named Mikey.
s. His first customer was The Thing
, whose clothes were burned off by a fire-wielding villain. After that, it snowball
ed.
Word got around, and eventually members of the Avengers
began commissioning costumes. Then the X-Men
. Costumes became his specialty. He described working for Captain America
as an honor - Cap had taken a slash across the waist, but went to Zelinsky before seeing a doctor, stating that "The important things come first."
Then things got complicated - Doctor Doom shows up demanding repairs to his cloak, and soon a veritable rogues gallery
formed in his shop. He got around this by serving heroes and villains on alternating days - heroes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and villains on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
He even alternates his magazine rack - newspapers, Newsweek
and Time for the heroes, Penthouse and Guns and Ammo for the villains.
This is how Leo overhears one of his customers, Killshot, planning a murder, possibly the local District Attorney. He does not wish to go to the police because his business might be ruined and also Killshot might hurt his grandson, Mikey in revenge.
Mikey pleads with his grandfather to do something, for he knows somebody is going to be killed. Leo takes a late night walk and encounters Spider-Man. He tells him everything. The next day, Killshot is prevented from killing the D.A. but escapes Spider-Man. He rushes back to Leo, intending to take revenge. Leo takes a bullet in his arm. Spider-Man rescues them both.
The District Attorney realizes that Leo and Spider-Man are responsible for saving his life and discreetly decides to leave the pair alone; he tells the uniformed officers that there is no need to deal with Leo anymore.
An unnamed character strongly resembling Leo appears in Civil War Frontline #10, where he provides Robbie Baldwin AKA Penance (formerly Speedball) with a new armored costume, expressing dismay when Baldwin asks for his help putting on the suit, as its interior is covered in sharp spikes. Penance's entry in Civil War: Battle Damage Report confirms that this man and Leo are one and the same.
all over his body. Unbeknownst to Leo himself, this is a design that Spider-Man had seen in a mystically-charged 'flash-forward'. His future self was wearing the costume at what seems to be his death.
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
in the Marvel 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...
, who owns Leos Tailoring on 23rd near 8th in New York. His first (named) appearance is in 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...
' The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#502. His police officer son was killed. He has a young grandson named Mikey.
Fictional character biography
He repairs ordinary clothes and as a sideline, patches costumes of both superheros and villainVillain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
s. His first customer was The Thing
Thing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
, whose clothes were burned off by a fire-wielding villain. After that, it snowball
Snowball effect
Snowball effect is a figurative term for a process that starts from an initial state of small significance and builds upon itself, becoming larger , and perhaps potentially dangerous or disastrous , though it might be beneficial instead...
ed.
Word got around, and eventually members of 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...
began commissioning costumes. Then the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
. Costumes became his specialty. He described working for Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
as an honor - Cap had taken a slash across the waist, but went to Zelinsky before seeing a doctor, stating that "The important things come first."
Then things got complicated - Doctor Doom shows up demanding repairs to his cloak, and soon a veritable rogues gallery
Rogues gallery
A rogues gallery is a police collection of pictures or photographs of criminals and suspects kept for identification purposes...
formed in his shop. He got around this by serving heroes and villains on alternating days - heroes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and villains on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
He even alternates his magazine rack - newspapers, Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
and Time for the heroes, Penthouse and Guns and Ammo for the villains.
This is how Leo overhears one of his customers, Killshot, planning a murder, possibly the local District Attorney. He does not wish to go to the police because his business might be ruined and also Killshot might hurt his grandson, Mikey in revenge.
Mikey pleads with his grandfather to do something, for he knows somebody is going to be killed. Leo takes a late night walk and encounters Spider-Man. He tells him everything. The next day, Killshot is prevented from killing the D.A. but escapes Spider-Man. He rushes back to Leo, intending to take revenge. Leo takes a bullet in his arm. Spider-Man rescues them both.
The District Attorney realizes that Leo and Spider-Man are responsible for saving his life and discreetly decides to leave the pair alone; he tells the uniformed officers that there is no need to deal with Leo anymore.
An unnamed character strongly resembling Leo appears in Civil War Frontline #10, where he provides Robbie Baldwin AKA Penance (formerly Speedball) with a new armored costume, expressing dismay when Baldwin asks for his help putting on the suit, as its interior is covered in sharp spikes. Penance's entry in Civil War: Battle Damage Report confirms that this man and Leo are one and the same.
Future influence
After this is all over, Leo offers Spider-Man a new costume he's designed at a discount - a reversible jacket. This was in response to his criticism that the hero's usual tight costume is unsanitary for his skin, threatening to cause athlete's footAthlete's foot
Athlete's foot is a fungal infection of the skin that causes scaling, flaking, and itch of affected areas. It is caused by fungi in the genus Trichophyton and is typically transmitted in moist areas where people walk barefoot, such as showers or bathhouses...
all over his body. Unbeknownst to Leo himself, this is a design that Spider-Man had seen in a mystically-charged 'flash-forward'. His future self was wearing the costume at what seems to be his death.
Customer list
- The ThingThing (comics)The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
- Captain Marvel (prefers Mar-vell)
- Captain AmericaCaptain AmericaCaptain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
- some of the AvengersAvengers (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...
- X-MenX-MenThe X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
- DaredevilDaredevil (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...
- ThorThor (Marvel Comics)Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
- Spider-ManSpider-ManSpider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
- Doctor DoomDoctor DoomVictor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...
- BlobBlob (comics)The Blob is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an adversary of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #3 ....
- Robbie Baldwin