Rev (comics)
Encyclopedia
The Rev is a fictional character
, a comic book
supervillain
in the . Created by Mike Baron
and Klaus Janson
, the character first appears in The Punisher vol. 2, #4 (November 1987).
The Rev is a mutant
with extensive healing powers, which allows him to perform such feats as regrowing lost limbs and reviving the recently deceased. The Rev is a Satanist
and recurring foe of the vigilante the Punisher
. The character is based upon cult
leader Jim Jones
.
. Sometime later, in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
, the Rev establishes the Church of the Saved, whose members consist almost entirely of ethnic minorities from the area. When his cult grows large enough, the Rev, decrying the United States as racist
and fascist
, makes plans to move the church to Dutch Guiana
.
" in Dutch Guiana, where he has the Punisher train his followers in warfare, telling his disciples that they must learn to defend themselves and fight off the United States army, who he claims will attack. Poorly training the Church of the Saved on purpose, the Punisher eventually turns on the group when he discovers the Rev and his sister's plans to assassinate a United States senator who will be visiting and kill all their followers with cyanide
laced punch
. Battling the Rev and his sister, the Punisher shoots the former in the stomach and leaves him to die, using the speaker system in Smithtown to tell the Church of the Saved to return to America, claiming that was their leader's dying words.
sorcerer Belasco
, who he believes to be the Biblical Lucifer
. Breaking Punisher foe Jigsaw
out of prison, the Rev convinces the hitman work to for him after making the promise of healing his mutilated face. Told by Belasco that he must wipe out all of humanity
, the Rev travels to Venezuela
and convinces the natives there to worship him, also having them harvest a plant that can cause sterilization. The Punisher destroys the Rev's entire supply of the plant that was bound for New York. The Rev, enraged at this news, breaks into a suburb
an home and murders the entire family living in it in the name of Lucifer
before going back to Venezuela with Jigsaw.
In Venezuela, the Rev and Jigsaw begin to harvest more sterilizing plants when Jigsaw, after witnessing the Rev regrow his own limbs and heal the face of a native women, forces the preacher to heal his own face at gun point. Moments after the Rev heals Jigsaw, the Punisher, who had followed the two and been ambushed, scarred and left for dead by Jigsaw, arrives and shoots the gangster dead. With Jigsaw dead and the Punisher preparing to kill him, the Rev summons Belasco. Easily dispatching the Punisher, who he sends into the jungle with the Rev's female captive, Belasco has the Rev revive Jigsaw and send him out after the Punisher, stating that if Jigsaw fails to kill the Punisher he will remove the Rev's powers.
Character (arts)
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 comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
supervillain
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...
in the . Created by Mike Baron
Mike Baron
Mike Baron is the creator of comic books Badger and Nexus. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.-Biography:Mike Baron broke into comics with an illustrated text piece in the 1974 debut issue of Marvel Comics's Comix Book...
and Klaus Janson
Klaus Janson
Klaus Janson is a German-born American comic book artist, working regularly for Marvel Comics and DC Comics and sporadically for independent companies...
, the character first appears in The Punisher vol. 2, #4 (November 1987).
The Rev is a mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
with extensive healing powers, which allows him to perform such feats as regrowing lost limbs and reviving the recently deceased. The Rev is a Satanist
Theistic Satanism
Theistic Satanism, sometimes referred to as Traditional Satanism, Spiritual Satanism or Devil Worship, is a form of Satanism with the primary belief that Satan is an actual deity or force to revere or worship. Other characteristics of Theistic Satanism may include a belief in magic, which is...
and recurring foe of the vigilante the Punisher
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
. The character is based upon cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
leader Jim Jones
Jim Jones
James Warren "Jim" Jones was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 mass suicide of 909 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the killings of five other people at a nearby airstrip.Jones was born in Indiana and started the Temple in...
.
Fictional character biography
Little of the Rev's history is revealed. What is known is that, due to his ability to heal, he manages to amass a cult following in Terre Haute, IndianaTerre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
. Sometime later, in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Bedford-Stuyvesant is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Formed in 1930, the neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 3, Brooklyn Community Board 8 and Brooklyn Community Board 16. The neighborhood is patrolled by the NYPD's 79th and 81st...
, the Rev establishes the Church of the Saved, whose members consist almost entirely of ethnic minorities from the area. When his cult grows large enough, the Rev, decrying the United States as racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
, makes plans to move the church to Dutch Guiana
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
.
Documentary
Before he can leave the country, the Rev has a trio of church members, one of them actually the Punisher working undercover, track down a man about to create a documentary on the Church of the Saved and who is in possession of a tape depicting the Rev killing one of his own followers. Though the tape is recovered, the Punisher is mortally wounded in the process of getting it and is brought to the Rev, who heals him. After the tape is recovered, the Rev has his entire church brought to "SmithtownJonestown
Jonestown was the informal name for the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, an intentional community in northwestern Guyana formed by the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones. It became internationally notorious when, on November 18, 1978, 918 people died in the settlement as well as in a nearby...
" in Dutch Guiana, where he has the Punisher train his followers in warfare, telling his disciples that they must learn to defend themselves and fight off the United States army, who he claims will attack. Poorly training the Church of the Saved on purpose, the Punisher eventually turns on the group when he discovers the Rev and his sister's plans to assassinate a United States senator who will be visiting and kill all their followers with cyanide
Cyanide
A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
laced punch
Punch (drink)
Punch is the term for a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice. The drink was introduced from India to England in the early seventeenth century; from there its use spread to other countries...
. Battling the Rev and his sister, the Punisher shoots the former in the stomach and leaves him to die, using the speaker system in Smithtown to tell the Church of the Saved to return to America, claiming that was their leader's dying words.
Sterilize the world
It is later revealed the Rev survived, and comes to worship the demonDemon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
sorcerer Belasco
Belasco
Belasco is a fictional supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe. The character's first appearance was in Ka-Zar the Savage #11; he was created by Bruce Jones and Brent Anderson.-Fictional character biography:...
, who he believes to be the Biblical Lucifer
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
. Breaking Punisher foe Jigsaw
Jigsaw (Marvel Comics)
Jigsaw is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . Throughout his many appearances, he has served as one of the Punisher's few recurring villains...
out of prison, the Rev convinces the hitman work to for him after making the promise of healing his mutilated face. Told by Belasco that he must wipe out all of humanity
World population
The world population is the total number of living humans on the planet Earth. As of today, it is estimated to be billion by the United States Census Bureau...
, the Rev travels to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and convinces the natives there to worship him, also having them harvest a plant that can cause sterilization. The Punisher destroys the Rev's entire supply of the plant that was bound for New York. The Rev, enraged at this news, breaks into a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an home and murders the entire family living in it in the name of Lucifer
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
before going back to Venezuela with Jigsaw.
In Venezuela, the Rev and Jigsaw begin to harvest more sterilizing plants when Jigsaw, after witnessing the Rev regrow his own limbs and heal the face of a native women, forces the preacher to heal his own face at gun point. Moments after the Rev heals Jigsaw, the Punisher, who had followed the two and been ambushed, scarred and left for dead by Jigsaw, arrives and shoots the gangster dead. With Jigsaw dead and the Punisher preparing to kill him, the Rev summons Belasco. Easily dispatching the Punisher, who he sends into the jungle with the Rev's female captive, Belasco has the Rev revive Jigsaw and send him out after the Punisher, stating that if Jigsaw fails to kill the Punisher he will remove the Rev's powers.