Marvel Database
Register
Advertisement

History

Origins[]

Benjamin Beckley was born the son of obscure hero Comet Man. Benjamin would end up being a key part of the Celestial plan for propagation on the planet Earth. According to Uatu the Watcher, one of the many genetic manipulations would be for one individual to have the ability to control all members of it's race. This was a fail safe put into place by the Celestials so that the manipulated race would be easier to control.[3]

Benny by accident or design would become that fail safe, for when Black Bolt released the Terrigen Mists into Earth's atmosphere Benny was granted the ability to control anybody he could visibly see. When Benny's powers awoke, the psychic backlash caused the death of virtually every telepath on Earth.[4]

Benny would grow up to be an angry and troubled teenager, balking at authority figures and would eventually be put in therapy. Benny first used his powers to kill his parents, his aunt and his psychiatrist Doc Samson. At some point Benny began amassing an army of people under his thrall. Calling himself the Skull and adopting an emblem that was a variation of the Punisher's symbol (instead of a white skull however, this one was colored red.) He would begin taking over all of California.[5]

Earth X[]

During his conquest of California he took over superhumans such as Sunspot, Domino, Sandman, Woodgod and others, took the newly mutated Iron Maiden as a consort/bodyguard and was carried around in the body frame of MODOK (presumably killed with the other telepaths during the Skull's psychic birth.) After terrorizing Daredevil's circus, the Skull and his Army were attacked by Namor the Cursed who was getting revenge on the army for harvesting fish from the oceans, the Skull would then put Namor under his control.[6]

Confronted by Captain America who demanded that the Skull let his slaves go, the Skull instead took control of Cap's partner Redwing, and ordered his slaves to attack (all the while begging Cap for help.) The Skull would then refuse to take control of Cap, considering him a washed up old loser, unworthy for his greater vision. This would come back at the Skull at a later date.[7]

As the Skull traveled across America, taking over all who he met, Cap recruited an army to fight against the Skull's forces once they had reached New York. Once the Skull reached the city, he destroyed the Iron Avengers, the alien Hydra, and assassinated President Norman Osborn. He also took control of Osborn's Enforcers and Venom (May Parker).[8]

Cap would launch his attack against the Skull with an army of heroes from all over the world, however their initial strike was a failure, most of the heroes involved taken under the Skulls thrall, Cap himself being rescued by Spider-Man. Cap would then mount a counterattack using Alicia Masters-Grimm's clay Marvels as foot soldiers. Realizing that the Skull couldn't take control of inanimate objects, and playing on the possibility that the Skull wouldn't try if he believed his attackers were inanimate, Cap disguised himself as a clay Marvel version of himself. The ploy worked, and Cap managed to sneak up on the Skull and break the boys neck, ending his menace and freeing all under his control. Cap would then personally bury the boy, not knowing his real name he dubbed him "John Smith" and spoke of his struggle with the original Red Skull as he buried him.[9]

Paradise X[]

Benny's essence would end up in the Realm of the Dead, in a pre-adolescent form living with his father Comet Man. With both believing that they were really alive and those not present in the realm to be dead, Comet Man lived a life of retirement from super-herocs and hoped heroes would not come to influence his son.[10]

However this ideal afterlife would not last, and Captain America (now a member of Mar-Vell's Avenging Host in the realm of Paradise) would come seeking Benny's power. Believing that Benny could make those in the Realm of the Dead believe that they are dead (and thus cross over into Paradise), Cap and Thanos would travel to the Beckley home and awaken Benny's latent memories and powers. Benny would lash out at Cap for killing him in the land of the living, however his father (even though decapitated) would convince his son to stop and forgive Cap.[11]

Instead of using Benny for his intended purpose, 4-D Man would arrive and take Cap, Thanos, Comet Man and Benny to Paradise to free those living in their idyllic paradise realms, which in retrospect appeared less than perfect. This was just on time to stop an invasion initiated by the Kree army. After the heroes of Paradise defeated the Kree, and Reed Richards took over the role of Eternity, Benny and his father would remain in Paradise. Their present activities are unknown.[12]

Attributes

Powers

Mind Control: The Skull possessed incredibly powerful psionic abilities, allowing him to effortlessly control the minds of any organic humanoid near him. His powers were so great that their mere manifestation triggered a psychic shockwave that killed virtually every telepath on Earth. Once the Skull had seized control of an individual, he could maintain that control even if they were separated from him.

There does not appear to have been an upper limit to the number of people he could dominate, as he was able to effortlessly control an army of superhumans at once.

His control of his victims is so total that he also needs to force them to eat, drink and perform other basic functions, lest they die.

Weaknesses

The Skull cannot control mechanical or synthetic lifeforms, and has also been shown to be incapable of controlling individuals who have gone insane or lost their minds.

Paraphernalia

Transportation

Benny would travel around in the empty hover-chair once piloted by MODOK. To cross the United States, the Skull and his army traveled by steam engine locomotives.

See Also

Links and References

References

Advertisement