Ghost Rider

Real Name
Johnathon "Johnny" Blaze

Occupation
Unemployed; former stunt cyclist, accountant and various other odd jobs

Citizenship
U.S.A.

Place of Birth
Waukegan, Illinois

Known Relatives
Roxanne Simpson Blaze (wife), Craig Blaze (son, presumed dead), Emma Blaze (daughter, presumed dead), Barton Blaze (father, deceased), Naomi Kale (mother, deceased), Craig "Crash" Simpson (adopted father, deceased), Mona Simpson (adopted mother, deceased), Barbara Ketch (sister, deceased), Dan Ketch (half brother), Andrew Kale (cousin, deceased), Jennifer Kale (cousin), Joshua Kale (grandfather, deceased), Illyana Kale, Noble and Pastor Kale, Magdalena (ancestors)

Group Affiliation
None; Formerly the Midnight Sons, Nine, Champions, Legion of Monsters

Education
High-school graduate

Height
5'10" (Blaze), 6'2" (Ghost Rider)

Weight
180 lbs. (Blaze), 220 lbs. (Ghost Rider)

Eyes
Blue (Blaze), flaming red (Ghost Rider)

Hair
Reddish-blond (Blaze), none (Ghost Rider)

Powers
Ghost Rider has superhuman strength and durability, as well as the ability to project and control Hellfire, which can sear the soul as well as burn the flesh. He can shape his Hellfire into a mystical motorcycle capable of traveling over water and up vertical surfaces. He is also immune to any mystical attacks that are specific to beings with living souls.

Abilities
Blaze is a world-class cyclist capable of seemingly impossible stunts. He is also an excellent shot with pistols and shotguns and has limited knowledge of the occult.

Other Info
Long ago, the demon Zarathos began building a tremendous power base for himself which led him into conflicts with Mephisto. Mephisto saw Zarathos as a rival. Mephisto ultimately tricked and enslaved Zarathos. Then at one point, a powerful mystical artifact known as the Medallion of Power was broken into shards and embedded itself in the spiritual bloodlines of two families, one of which was the Kales. One of the shards transformed Noble Kale into the Ghost Rider in the 18th century. Mephisto failed to corrupt Noble at this time, but he kept track of the Kale clan from then on, watching as Noble was manifested in the firstborn of every generation. (To learn about the people and object that have affected Johnny Blaze's life, click on their names above.)

John "Johnny" Blaze was born to Barton Blaze and Naomi Kale. Johnny spent his early years in the Quentin Carnival, where his parents starred in a stunt show with Craig "Crash" Simpson. One day his mother, Naomi, abandoned Johnny and his father by taking his younger siblings (Barbara and Daniel) with her. Naomi's decision to leave was difficult, but she felt it was necessary because of the family curse. She feared that her own firstborn would suffer in the same way that she had, so she left him behind and placed her other children in the care of a woman named Francis Ketch. (To learn about Johnny's family and others, including the Carnival, click on their names above.)

The pain of losing his mother caused Johnny to repress many of his memories of Naomi and his siblings. Soon after, his dad, Barton, died during a stunt and Johnny was adopted by Crash and Mona Simpson, who helped fabricate a past for Johnny, one that they hoped would be less painful than the truth. Believing that his real mother, "Clara Blaze," had passed away, Johnny became an enthusiastic member of the Simpson clan, growing close to their daughter, Roxanne. Johnny and Roxanne became good friends and, as they grew older, eventually fell in love. (Click on Johnny's loved ones to learn more about them.)

Johnny followed the Simpsons into their own traveling stunt show: the Crash Simpson Stunt Cycle Extravaganza. Crash had become a true father figure to Johnny by this time, teaching him how to ride in the hopes that the younger man might eventually succeed him as the star of the show. This dream ended when Johnny was fifteen years old. While practicing a dangerous stunt, Johnny was nearly killed and Mona Simpson was mortally wounded. When Mona asked John on her deathbed to quit riding, he swore to her that he would. Then over the next five years, Johnny's relationship with Crash began to fall apart as Johnny refused to take part in the show. Not understanding Johnny's motivations, Crash grew increasingly frustrated. However, John continued to practice at night until his skills surpassed those of Crash's. When Crash revealed he was dying of cancer, Johnny studying random books. He eventually found a spell that supposedly could summon Satan himself. Johnny didn't realize it, but the entity he summoned was actually Mephisto. Mephisto cured Crash of his cancer in return for Johnny's promise of servitude. But, Crash died almost immediately afterwards, however, in a failed attempt to set a world's record by jumping over 22 cars. Johnny later attempted the same jump in honor of Crash's memory and made it. Johnny was now serving Mephisto's and would have lost his soul outright if it were not for Roxanne; she proclaimed her love for Johnny and drove the demon away with the purity of her emotion. (Talk about the power of love!) (This is pretty close to what happened in the Ghost Rider movie, except it was his dad that got cancer in the movie. To learn about Satan, click on his name above. Also, the third picture posted is of Johnny not in Ghost Rider form.)

One night after Crash's death, Johnny found himself transformed into the Ghost Rider. He soon realized that he had bonded with some separate entity (which he later found out was Zarathos). Johnny Blaze began transforming into the Ghost Rider every night. Blaze and Roxanne traveled much of the West after this. In the West, Blaze was battling enemies, trying to avoid Mephisto, and trying to protect Roxanne. However, after some time, Johnny began to fear his growing lack of control over the Ghost Rider, and he left Roxanne and spent years wandering on his own.

During this time, he teamed with the Black Widow, Angel, Iceman and Hercules. The five heroes founded the Champions. But, the Champions had some internal tensions and never truly became a "team." After a few months, Ghost Rider realized that he was too much of a loner to remain with the group, and the Champions were disbanded. (To learn about the characters and their team, click on their names above. Note: Black Widow's outfits are usually form-fitting so watch out.)

Blaze found it increasingly difficult to continue his stunt rider career. He eventually lost the title of World Champion Stunt Rider to Flagg Fargo. Later, Blaze joined the Quentin Carnival again (except he didn't remember it from his childhood, but the Carnival strangley felt like home to him). Blaze forged a friendly rivalry with fellow rider Red Fowler and started liking a journalist named Cynthia Randolph, who was assigned to the write about the Carnival. (Click on the people above to learn more about them.)

Shortly thereafter, the demonic Nightmare captured Johnny and revealed that Zarathos was the demon within Blaze. Blaze and Zarathos continued to struggle with each other for dominance until Roxanne Simpson returned, seeking aid for a town overrun by Centurious and his agent, the Sin-Eater (Ethan Domblue). Ghost Rider clashed with Centurious, learning that he and Zarathos had a feud going back centuries. In the end, Zarathos and Centurious were bound within the Crystal of Souls and Johnny Blaze was free at last. With a gracious donation from his old friend the Angel, Johnny was able to purchase the Quentin Carnival and marry Roxanne, with whom he had two children, Craig and Emma. (To learn more about the characters and object above, including Johnny's children, click on their names above.)

Years later, Johnny heard about a new Ghost Rider in New York. Fearing that Zarathos was free, Blaze went and captured the Ghost Rider who ended up being Dan Ketch. However, Blaze soon realized the entity within Ketch was not Zarathos. During their clash, a burst of Ghost Rider's Hellfire was conducted through Blaze's shotgun into Johnny himself, who discovered he could now discharge Hellfire from the weapon. Armed with this shotgun and a mystical motorcycle, Blaze kind of became a mentor to the new Ghost Rider, trying to guard Dan against evil forces. (Along with his shotgun that discharges Hellfire, the "Johnny Blaze" Ghost Rider has complete control over a Hellfire Enchanted Chain which is pretty much indestructible. He has also used a variety of modified motorcycles in his career.) (If you would like to learn about the "Dan Ketch" Ghost Rider, click on the highlighted "Ghost Rider" above.)

Against his wife's wishes, Blaze was immersed in the supernatural again. He later allied himself with the Midnight Sons. Blaze and the Midnight Sons thwarted an alliance between Centurious and Lilith. Unfortunately, their schemes led to the return of Zarathos. When one of Centurious's agents tried to remove a Medallion of Power shard from Blaze by slashing him, Blaze's wounds burnt with Hellfire, and he was encased in a cybernetic shell to save his life. Shortly thereafter, the Caretaker (a guardian of the family line connected to the Medallion of Power) revealed that Johnny and Dan were brothers, strengthening their bond further. Together, Blaze and Ketch helped destroy Zarathos' physical form. (Click on the characters and group above to learn more about them.)

While one side of Johnny's family grew closer, the other began falling apart. When Blaze's children, Emma and Craig, were kidnapped by Regent, Blaze rescued them, but was shocked to learn that Roxanne had bargained the children away years earlier in hopes that Regent could remove the Kale curse. Johnny and Roxanne were just moving past this painful revelation when she was killed by Anton Hellgate and their children were kidnapped again. Blaze swore on Roxanne's grave that he would find their children. After shedding his cybernetic shell, Blaze went out to find his kids. While helping Dan Ketch learn the full origins of his Ghost Rider spirit, Johnny discovered that the sorceress Jennifer Kale was their cousin. She helped Blaze seek his missing children, however, they were ultimately forced to admit defeat, calling off the search. (To learn about the characters above, just click on their names. Note: Jennifer Kale's bio page has her in a revealing outfit.)

After this, Blaze decided to start his life over by becoming an accountant. However, Johnny was still linked to Zarathos, and the demon began to reconstitute within him and turning into the Ghost Rider again. Johnny quit his job and hit the road.

Evntually, Ghost Rider was cast into Hell where Lucifer plotted to allow Blaze to escape and unknowingly pull the devil out into the mortal world with him. Once there, Lucifer's body was separated into 666 pieces, and those slivers of his essence would reanimate random corpses of the recently deceased. Each time Ghost Rider destroyed one avatar, its power would be divided to the rest. It was Lucifer's hope that Blaze would destroy every piece of him until only one remained with enough power to bring Hell to Earth. During this hunt, Blaze forced the Ghost Rider entity to go to New York and help other heroes when he heard about the Hulk and the Hulk's war on Manhattan (aka World War Hulk). With Blaze in control, the Hulk had no trouble defending himself, but once Zarathos took over, the Ghost Rider had supreme powers. However, Ghost Rider only avenges the innocent, and he did not deem the members of the Illuminati (those that Hulk was angry with) blameless for what they did to the Hulk. Ghost Rider left Manhattan immediately, without battling the Hulk, and resumed his search for the last remaining avatars of Lucifer. Blaze eventually did drive the devil back to Hell, but the effort cost him the life of a friend and lover, Dixie. (To learn about the above characters, places, groups, etc. click on their highlighted names above. Note: Watch out for Namor in his tiny speedo-like outfit on the Illuminati bio page.)

Just because Lucifer was conquered, didn't mean life would get any easier for the Ghost Rider. With the devil's defeat, came the revelation of who was really behind Blaze’s suffering. The devil had help in the form of an angel – a rogue angel by the name of Zadkiel. Zadkiel and his minions waged war in Heaven because Zadkiel thought he could prevail where Lucifer had lost. However, Zadkiel bonded Heaven’s greatest weapon to the soul of Johnny Blaze which also became Johnny’s curse. Now, Blaze began a mission to hunt Zadkiel, and pay him back for ruining his life. But, he didn’t know about the one person from his past that would come back into his life as a possible enemy: his brother, Daniel Ketch (the other Ghost Rider and now a servant of Zadkiel).
(To learn about Zadkiel and Heaven, click on their names above.)

Ketch was now hunting other Spirits of Vengeance (Ghost Riders) throughout the world. He was hunting and killing them, so Zadkiel could have their power as his own. Blaze caught up with Ketch in Tibet, but not before Ketch could take the life of another Ghost Rider. Johnny confronted Daniel, and the resulting fight left Blaze begging Ketch to end his burden and take away the curse of the Ghost Rider. Much to Daniel's frustration, the Caretaker would not let this happen. Later, two more Spirits of Vengeance, Molek and Bai Gu Jing, came to Blaze and forced him to take a trip with them. The first stop was Tokyo, Japan where another Ghost Rider, Yoshio Kannabe, was stationed. The group arrived too late to help their mystical brother-in-arms, however, for they found Yoshio terrified and defeated, the Ghost Rider entity no longer within his body. Blaze then accompanied his associates to the Congo where Baron Skullfire and Marinette Bwa Chech were waiting. These were the last two remaining Ghost Riders, and they were eager to bring Zadkiel to his knees. Unfortunately, Ketch and the Black Host proved to be too strong for even their combined might. Ketch stole all the Ghost Rider powers from everyone, including Blaze, and delivered them to his master. However, Zadkiel revealed that he tricdked Ketch and cast him out of Heaven. In response, Daniel took back as much power as he could: keeping some for himself and giving some back to Johnny. Blaze, with his returned power, decided to renew his war with Zadkiel and retake Heaven. (To learn about many of the different Ghost Riders and the Black Host, just click on their names above.)

To learn more concerning Johnny Blaze, and him as the Ghost Rider, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Ghost_Rider.

Iron Monger

Real Name
Obadiah Stane

Occupation
(Stane) President and CEO Stane International, munitions dealer; former chess champion

Citizenship
U.S.A.

Place of Birth
Unrevealed

Known Relatives
Zebediah Stane(father, deceased), unidentified mother (deceased), Ezekiel Stane (son)

Group Affiliation
Stane International

Education
M.B.A.

Height
(as Stane) 6’ 5”; (as Iron Monger): Unrevealed

Weight
(as Stane) 230 lbs; (as Iron Monger): 4230 lbs.

Eyes
Blue

Hair
Bald

Powers
None

Abilities
Stane has a genius-level of intelligence and a fair hand-to-hand combatant with no known training.

Other Info
Obadiah Stane's father, Zebediah Stane, was a drunk who was a failure in making a career for himself. One night, when Obadiah was only a child, his father returned to the hotel room where they were staying, having just won a great deal of money gambling. Apparently overjoyed, the elder Stane told Obadiah that his luck had changed, and to prove it, Zebediah played Russian roulette with himself, and unfortunately for him and his son, he ended up killing himself with his first shot. Now, Obadiah was orphaned and was raised in a succession of foster homes.

Because of the shock of witnessing his own father's death, Obadiah was completely bald by his eighth birthday. As expected, he was ridiculed by his classmates because he was bald. Ironically, Obadiah became fascinated by games of chance, especially chess. Obadiah believed that life was itself a game at which his father had lost; Obadiah determined that he himself would never lose at anything.

One of Stane's fellow students at his school, Bernie Devlin, was a better chess player than he was. Before the championship game between the two, Stane secretly killed Devlin's beloved dog, Ruffer. After finding Ruffer's body on the day of the championship game, Devlin was so distraught that Stane easily won the tournament. This was the first major example of Stane's use of psychological warfare in order to get what he wished: Stane would discover his opponent's weakness and then exploit it. Stane became an international chess champion while in his teens. Another example of this psychological warfare was when Stane was in his early twenties. He was working for an industrialist whom he came to regard as an incompetent. Perceiving that the industrialist's primary weakness was his love for his young wife, Stane faked photographs showing the wife apparently engaged in an affair with the industrialist's best friend. The industrialist's morale was thereby destroyed, and Stane soon took control of the company himself. This was the beginning of Stane's accumulation of a massive fortune: he made his first million dollars by the time he was twenty-five years old.

Stane began selling munitions made by his company to whoever offered the best prices for them, often to repressive dictatorships. Eventually, Stane built his company into a multinational corporation producing munitions that was based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with offices in various locations in the United States and abroad. (I thought that it was interesting where his headquarters was based.)

Stane decided to create a team of special bodyguards for himself, the Chessmen, whose costumes and identities came from Stane's love of chess. (To learn about the Chessmen, click on their name above.)

This is about the time that Stane ran into Anthony "Tony" Stark (aka Iron Man). Let me give you a quick run down of what happened...Stane wanted an international company. Tony Stark didn't like Stane. Stane took this as another "game" for him. Stane knew Stark's principal weakness: Stark was a reformed alcoholic. Stane had hired multiple people to bring down Stark, but they failed. One was able to capture Stark's friend, James Rhodes. Iron Man (Tony in his body armor) defeated the various Chessmen and rescued Rhodes, but Rhodes had to be hospitalized because he was poisoned by venomous spiders. Tony learned that Stane was behind these various actions against him and his company, and confronted Stane, but with no success. Stane's company began to outbid Stark's company for foreign contracts. Tony became depressed (just like Obadiah wanted) and Tony began drinking alcohol heavily again. Because of this, Stark's company was bought out by Stane. Eventually, Tony came back around and started to rebuild his life, including building up a new company. (To learn about the above highlighted characters, just click on their names.)

By now, Stane had correctly guessed that Anthony Stark was Iron Man. As part of his new plot to destroy Stark, Stane kidnapped Stark's friends, including Virginia "Pepper" Potts and Harold "Happy" Hogan. Stane also tried to destroy Iron Man by bombing a building. It ended up killing some of those kidnapped, but not Iron Man himself. (To learn about these friends of Iron Man, click on their names above.)

Obadiah constructed an armored suit like Iron Man's which he called the "Iron Monger." Stane intended to mass produce the suits, perhaps to create an army and take over one or more nations. (The Iron Monger armor is made of omnium steel, containing various offensive weapons including a powered exoskeleton that amplified Stane’s strength, repulsor ray fired from the gauntlets, and an intense laser beam housed in the armor’s chest unit. The armor also possesses the ability to fly using magnetically powered turbine boot jets.) Stane put on the Iron Monger armor and went into battle against Iron Man. As Iron Monger, Stane failed to defeat Iron Man after a long battle. Defeated, Stane committed suicide by firing a repulsor ray blast from his armor to himself. Iron Man was the only person to witness Stane's death, and Stane's security personnel quickly removed the body from the scene. (To find the definition for omnium, click on the highlighted word above.)

Stane's death was never reported in the news media. Only Stark, a few of Stark's associates, Stane's security personnel, and top-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. officials are aware of it. Following his death, Stane was replaced with a lifelike LMD (an android duplicate of a person). The LMD was later presumably destroyed. Stane International was later acquired by another of Stark's business rivals, Justin Hammer, but the property was eventually reacquired by Stark himself. (To learn about the above rival or Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D., click on their highlighted names.)

The Iron Monger armor somehow fell into the possession of industrialist Simon Steele, but the current whereabouts of the Iron Monger armor have not been revealed. (If you would like to learn more about Obadiah Stane, or him as the Iron Monger, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Iron_Monger.)

Punisher

Real Name
Frank Castle (born Castiglione)

Occupation
Vigilante; former Special Forces instructor, U.S. Marine

Citizenship
U.S.A. with a criminal record, listed in Marine records as a deserter

Place of Birth
Queens, New York

Known Relatives
Maria Elizabeth Castle (wife, deceased), Lisa Barbara Castle (daughter, deceased), Frank David Castle (a.k.a. Frank Jr., son, deceased), Mario Lorenzo Castiglione (father, deceased), Louisa Castiglione (mother, deceased), Fredo and Rocco Castiglione (paternal uncles, deceased)

Group Affiliation
None; Formerly Secret Avengers, Daredevil's Unnamed Super-Hero Team, Green Berets, U.S. Marine Corps

Education
Extensive military training, partial priesthood training

Height
6'1"

Weight
200 lbs.

Eyes
Blue

Hair
Black

Powers
None

Abilities
Punisher is the recipient of multi-disciplinary military training from the U.S. Marine Corps. While a Marine, he also received training from the U.S. Army and Navy. From this training, Punisher is proficient in not only basic infantry skills, but in special operations, which includes the use and maintenance of specialized firearms and explosive ordnance. He is highly trained in infiltration into heavily-guarded enemy territories and structures for the purpose of assassination, captures, and military intelligence. Also, he is trained in various forms of camouflage and stealth. From his airborne training, Punisher is able to pack and maintain his own parachute rigs, as well as professionally control his landings, in daylight and at night. From his Navy UDT training, Punisher is well-skilled in extended underwater operations, including demolitions. He is skilled with a great many types of explosives, ranging from simple dynamite to plastique to improvised explosives. His hand-to-hand combat skills are more then sufficient to allow him to incapacitate and kill men much stronger than he is, as well as to deal with groups of armed and unarmed enemies, killing them all without weapons if he deems it necessary. He is also extremely deadly in knife training, preferring the knife he learned to fight with in the USMC: the ka-bar. Additionally, he is a preternaturally-precise marksman. He is thoroughly trained and experienced in unconventional ("guerilla") warfare. He is an armorer, a gunsmith, and an expert in field medicine.

Other Info
Francis Castiglione was born in New York to parents of Italian ancestry (He goes by Frank Castle). Frank was studying to become a Catholic priest, but later changed his mind because he was unable to forgive those who did evil. He also married his wife Maria who was already pregnant with their first child. After he gave up becoming a priest, Frank decided to join the Marines. While in the United States Marine Corps (USMC), Castle graduated from Basic Training, then went on to Infantry School. Immediately following that, he went through the USMC's Reconnaissance, Force Reconnaissance, and Sniper Schools. Castle later permitted to go through U.S. Army Airborne School, and U.S. Navy Underwater Demolition Team training, becoming qualified as a Navy SeAL (Sea, Air and Land). Frank served in the Vietnam War in a special forces unit as a point man. For heroism in the line of duty, he received many medals, including the Purple Heart.

Castle, his wife, and their children were in New York's Central Park one afternoon having a picnic when they witnessed a Mafia gangland execution; an informant had been hanged from a tree. The Costa crime family wanted to eliminate all witnesses so they murdered the Castles. However, Frank survived. Frank was able to identify all of the shooters, but the police did not help Frank in his quest for justice (the police were tied in too deeply to the powerful Costa family). In reaction to this, Frank decided that the only punishment criminals might receive is that of physical destruction. Therefore, he decide to put the symbol of a death's head on his own body armor and went out for his own revenge. Since then, Frank Castle has waged a one-man war upon crime as the Punisher.

The Punisher has a Kevlar uniform that protects him from most gunfire, but he can still suffer concussive injury or penetration from sufficient or repeated impacts. He also uses a whole array of guns and other weapons.

The Punisher is the violent, sociopathic flipside of vigilantism. He is determined to eradicate crime by using any means necessary. He kills all who he considers guilty of crime. Because of his more anti-hero vigilantism, he has often crossed paths with several costumed crimefighters, most notably Spider-Man and Daredevil. These encounters have often resulted in his incarceration. Even when he was in prison, like in New York's Riker's Island Prison, Punisher was able to win in gang fights on his own. Adhering to his military philosophies, Punisher is constantly training whenever he is not out on actual maneuvers. He exercises fanatically to maintain his impressive physical conditioning and sticks to a balanced diet whenever possible. (To learn about the above characters and place, click on their highlighted names.)

To learn a little more concerning the life of the Punisher, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Punisher.

Kingpin

Real Name
Wilson Grant Fisk

Occupation
Criminal organizer and mastermind, president and owner of legitimate businesses

Citizenship
U.S.A.

Place of Birth
Unknown, probably in New York City area

Known Relatives
Vanessa (wife), Richard (Rose/Bloodrose, son, deceased), Anatoly Fyskov (ancestor, deceased)

Group Affiliation
Leader of a coalition of East Coast non-Maggia criminal organizations, former manager of Las Vegas HYDRA faction, "Acts of Vengeance" prime movers

Height
6' 7"

Weight
450 lbs

Eyes
Blue

Hair
None

Powers
Kingpin has no superhuman powers. However, he is as strong and durable as it is possible for a man of his height, weight, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise to be, and he is a very large man (over six and a half feet tall). His stamina is likewise honed to the virtual pinnacle of human ability. He has remarkable agility and dexterity for a man of his size.

Other Info
Wilson Fisk was a common thug in the Bronx. He was noticed by Don Rigoletto, an accomplished crime boss, who admired Fisk's sheer brutality and hired him as his primary enforcer. Fisk eventually murdered his benefactor and took control over his mob empire. For this, he became known as, the Kingpin.

Fisk's wife, Vanessa, knew of Wilson's criminal activities, but Fisk was careful to shield their only son, Richard, from the life he led. However, Richard did eventually learn about his father's mob connections. Because of this, Richard faked his own death and returned to New York as the Schemer. As the Schemer, Richard tried to destroy his father's empire, but was never able to do much damage to the Kingpin's organization. (To learn about the Kingpin's family, click on their highlighted names above.)

Fisk is publicly known to be the Kingpin, but his dual identity has never been officially proved. The Kingpin is a criminal mastermind who is involved in extensive illegal activities such as drug running, smuggling, murder, etc. However, he has no criminal record due to his many lawyers. Fisk has no superhuman powers, but the majority of his 400-plus pound bulk is solid muscle. He is a superb fighter and has held his own against Spider-Man. (Most people when they think about the Kingpin, they think about Daredevil, I know I do. However, the Kingpin's first appearance was in the Amazing Spider-Man #50 in 1967.) Recently, Daredevil occupies most of the Kingpin's attention. Though Spider-Man and Daredevil are the Kingpin's greatest enemies, he has also tangled with many others including Captain America, Moon Knight, Dr. Strange, the Punisher, the Avengers, and Ghost Rider. The Kingpin has employed many costumed criminals and assassins, most notably Elektra, Bullseye, Jack O'Lantern, and Typhoid Mary. (To learn about any of the highlighted characters above, just click on their names. Note: Beware of Elektra's bio page pictures that show her in either revealing or very tight-fitting outfits.)

At one time, the Kingpin was blinded and many of his followers saw this as a weakness in their leader and some tried to overthrow him. One of Fisk's mobsters that tried to kill him was named Silke. He formed a coup and with others including Fisk's son, Richard. Silke had seemingly assassinated the Kingpin, however, they we're all tricked. One of Fisk's men, Dini, found the Kingpin close to death and got him to safety. Fisk's wife, Vanessa, then took revenge on those that tied to kill her husband. She even killed her own son, Richard. Silke got away, but eventually ended up in prison. One day while in prison, Silke was told by a guard that his father came to visit him, but when Silke got there, it was Wilson Fisk who was waiting for him. The Kingpin then crushed Silke's head to a pulp, to finally exact his revenge. (To learn about the mobsters above, just click on their names.)

The Kingpin eventually regained his sight through surgery. And recently, after Peter Parker revealed himself as Spider-Man, the Kingpin hired a sniper to kill the Parkers. One of the sniper's bullets that was meant for Peter hit his Aunt May instead, who is currently in a coma. When Peter discovered this, he found the Kingpin and nearly beat him to death.

To learn more about he Kingpin, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Kingpin.

In the movie, Daredevil, Michael Clarke Duncan played the Kingpin. In the comics, the Kingpin is Caucasian, but because Duncan resembled the Kingpin's intimidating stature they decided to go with him even though Duncan is African American. I think it was a good choice; the man is huge! He is shown in the top photo of the second picture posted above. Now that Marvel Studios has regained the rights to Daredevil characters, the Kingpin appears in the Netflix TV series Marvel's Daredevil. (Shown as the bottom photo in the second picture posted above.)

Mister Fantastic

Real Name
Reed Richards

Occupation
Scientist, adventurer; former computer technician, university professor, student

Citizenship
United States of America

Place of Birth
Central City, California

Known Relatives
Susan Richards (Invisible Woman, wife), Franklin Richards (son), Valeria Richards (daughter), Johnny Storm (Human Torch, brother-in-law), Evelyn Richards (mother, deceased), Nathaniel Richards (father), Major John Richards (grandfather), Franklin Storm (father-in-law, deceased), Mary Storm (mother-in-law, deceased), Cassandra Richards (Warlord, stepmother, deceased), unnamed Richards child (half-brother), Tara Richards (Huntara, half-sister), Kristoff Vernard (alleged half-brother); Kang, his divergent counterparts, and offspring (common ancestry)

Group Affiliation
Fantastic Four, the Illuminati; formerly Knights of the Atomic Table, Avengers, Defenders associate

Education
Multiple scientific doctorates in fields such as engineering, math and physics from California State Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Harvard and State University, and others

Height
6'1" (variable)

Weight
180 lbs.

Eyes
Brown

Hair
Brown, graying at temples

Powers
Mister Fantastic can shift his body (or portions of same) into a super-malleable state, enabling him to stretch, compress, expand, deform, elongate, contract or otherwise reshape his physical form at will. He can stretch his limbs, neck and torso to incredible lengths, though extending himself beyond approximately 1500 feet is a serious physical strain. When assuming non-humanoid shapes, he tends to favor simple constructs such as barricades, canopies, cylinders, cubes, nets, parachutes and spheres, generally assuming a volume of no greater than 1.7 cubic feet (though he can expand far beyond that volume if the shape he forms is thin-shelled and hollow). He can render himself paper-thin, or become slim enough in diameter to thread the eye of a needle. His malleable form renders him relatively immune to most conventional impacts; for instance, bullets fired into his body tend to bounce back at the shooter, and he can bodily contain small explosions. It is almost impossible to lacerate or puncture his skin unless he consciously allows such penetrations. By reshaping his features, Reed can disguise himself at will.

Abilities
Reed Richards is perhaps the greatest living genius of his time, proficient in almost all fields of science and technology, a visionary theoretician and inspired machine smith who has made breakthroughs in such varied fields as space travel, time travel, extra-dimensional travel, biochemistry, robotics, computers, synthetic polymers, communications, mutations, transportation, holography, energy generation, spectral analysis and more. He is also a natural leader and a gifted tactician and strategist.

Other Info
Reed Richards was born to Evelyn and Nathaniel Richards. His father, Nathaniel, was a scientific genius whose inventions and discoveries made their family very wealthy. Reed's mother, Evelyn, died when Reed was only seven years old. His father raised him which led Reed to become the genius that he is today. Reed took college-level courses at age 14, attended four different universities, and earned various degrees before he was out of his teens. (To learn a more about Reed's father, click on his name above.)

While attending State, Reed met a fellow student named Victor Von Doom. Victor refused Reed's offer to room with him. So instead of rooming with Victor, Richards roomed with football scholarship recipient, Ben Grimm (aka the future Thing), who would become Reed's best friend. Amused by Reed's dream of someday creating a starship, Ben jokingly promised that he would fly the ship if Reed ever built it. While at State, Doom pursued a rivalry with Reed, trying to prove himself the superior intellect. One time Richards try to warn Doom about Doom's miscalculations when building a machine, but Victor didn't believe Reed and the machine ended up blowing up in Victor's face, leaving Doom badly scarred and expelled from the university. (To learn about the above highlighted characters, just click on their names.)

While attending Columbia, Reed met Sue Storm (aka the future Invisible Woman), his landlady's niece. Reed also befriended Sue's younger brother, Johnny (aka the future Human Torch). Later, Reed ended up traveling a bit when he was pursuing a mystical artifact. This is where he proposed to a colleague. She refused, but they have stayed friends. Richards returned to America. Reed was able to secure government funding for his starship project and persuaded his old friend, Ben Grimm (now a successful test pilot and astronaut), to fly the ship for their mission. Sue and Johnny Storm insisted on sharing the risk with Reed and Ben and they came along for the ride. The four successfully launched into space, but intense cosmic rays penetrated the ship's shielding and irradiated the crew, forcing them back to Earth. Back on Earth, the four discovered that the cosmic rays had mutated them into superhumans, with Reed gaining stretching powers. Now with their powers, the four became the Fantastic Four and Reed became the leader known as Mister Fantastic. Reed used his scientific genius, remaining family fortune and the income from his patents to fund and equip the new team, establishing their high-tech headquarters in the Baxter Building. (One of Reed's most lucrative, well-known and widely used inventions is the material known as "unstable molecules" which is generally used to fashion extraordinarily durable fabrics that adapt to the form and physical state of their wearers-giving Reed, for instance, an outfit that stretches along with him.) (To learn about the above characters, team, and place, just click on their names above.)

Mister Fantastic led the Fantastic Four against many foes, notably Namor the Sub-Mariner, a misguided Atlantean warrior who became Reed's rival for Sue's affections; the Wizard, an evil genius who founded his own criminal Frightful Four in envious imitation of Richards; and Reed's old college foe Victor Von Doom, who had become the armored super-villain named Doctor Doom and had seized the throne of his native Latveria. Determined to conquer the world and destroy Richards, Doom quickly became the Fantatsic Four's most frequent opponent. Namor, meanwhile, became a valued friend and ally to the Fantatsic Four, even though Sue ultimately married Reed.

After Reed and Sue were married, they had their first child, Franklin. Franklin proved to be a vastly powerful mutant whose fluctuating abilities have alternately saved or menaced both the Fantastic Four and the world, forcing Reed to take steps to contain Franklin's powers; on one such occasion, Franklin's mind was temporarily shut down. Follwing this, Sue became angry and left her husband and quit the team. She was replaced for a short time, but she returned and reclaimed her spot on the team after she and Reed finally worked things out. (There has been many occasions where the Fantastic Four have broken up, but eventually they come back together and reform their team.)

Reed and Sue's second child was stillborn despite Reed's frantic efforts to save their unborn baby. However, years later, a surprising resurrection resulted during the Fantastic Four's reality-warping conflict with the cosmic being Abraxas. Reed's son, Franklin, revealed to his parents that he had used his powers to rescue Sue's seemingly stillborn second child years earlier. As a side-effect of Abraxas' defeat, the child was restored to her original state, as an unborn child in Sue's womb. This time, Sue's pregnancy resulted in the birth of a healthy baby girl. (To learn about Abraxas, click on this name above.)

During a team breakup, both Reed and Sue were invited to join the Avengers which both reluctantly agreed to join. After a a couple short missions with the Avengers they decided to quit due to leadership differences between Mister Fantastic, who he used to being the leader, and Captain America. However, they two still remain friends and allies with the Avengers. (To learn about the Avengers or Captain America, click on their highlighted names above.)

At one point, Reed led the Fantastic Four to Latveria to try to dismantle Doom's regime, neurtalize his arsenal, erase Doom's legacy, and create a beter state while Doom was absent. Unfortunately, Mister Fantastic became increasingly tyrannical himself in the process and ignored threats of international criminal charges from the United Nations. Dr. Doom returned, and the Fanatastic Four returned to America where their standing with the authorities and their reputation with the general public had taken a terrible beating due to the Latverian controversy. Reed was even forced to sign over most of his patents to the government as part of a deal to escape prosecution.

Reed Richards joined Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) who took the lead in the Superhero Registration initiative which lead to the act that required all super-powered beings to register as living weapons of mass destruction and it required all costumed heroes to unmask themselves before the government and subject themselves to federally mandated standards. Mister Fantastic was eager to put his scientific abilities to use in the capture and imprisonment of unregistered heroes. This decision created a rift between Reed and Sue that expanded when Reed spent more time working on his blueprints than visiting his brother-in-law in the hospital (an angry mob had attacked Johnny outside of a nightclub). Sue soon left and joined the anti-Registration side, led by their mutual friend, Captain America. Even though Mister Fantastic was on the winning side, he was left to put back together the pieces of a family and a team who joined against him before surrendering to the law.

To learn more about Mister Fantastic and the different break ups with the Fantastic Four, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Mister_Fantastic.