History
Peter Blankemann was a member of the Nazis who was active during World War II. Stationed in the United States, he obtained the position as a district traffic manager in Midtown that watched over the Peconic & Western lines. This portion of rail passed through a canyon where local legend spoke of a Phantom Engineer and his phantom train that rode the rails at night.
Deciding to use this for his own ends, Blankemann and a cell of Nazi spies used the legend as a means to cause train wrecks. Blankemann became the "Phantom Engineer", wearing an engineer's outfit and skull mask, while his fellow spies posed as ghosts by wearing luminescent robes. At night, they removed the rails from a portion of the track and then used a projector to make it look as though a phantom train was travelling down the line. When a train passed through in the night, a wreck would happen which would be blamed on local legend.
While the locals became more and more convinced of the local legend and less trains passed through the line Blankemann -- in his position of traffic manager -- insisted that the legends were false and continued to allow trains to pass down the line.
In the summer of 1943, Private Steve Rogers and James Barnes found themselves temporarily stranded in Midtown on their way back to camp from a furlough. They learned from the ticket agent of the local legend, and soon they were visited by the Phantom Engineer. The Engineer warned them that the Comet -- a train carrying American soldiers back to camp -- would be wrecked as it passed through the canyon, the Phantom then disappeared.
When the ticket agent called in the threat to Blankemann, he scoffed at the warnings and told people that the train would be allowed to pass, despite protests from the locals. Finding this suspicious, Steve and James investigated the canyon as Captain America and Bucky. They soon learned the truth and uncovered the Nazi scheme. With the Comet approaching, they sped off on a railcar to warn them. Along the way they were attacked by the Phantom Engineer, whom Cap felled with a single punch. Blanekmann was unmasked, and the Comet was stopped in time to allow crews to repair the track.[1]
Blankemann was likely turned over to the authorities, his fate is unrevealed.Paraphernalia
Equipment
See Also
- 1 appearance(s) of Peter Blankemann (Earth-616)
- 1 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Peter Blankemann (Earth-616)
- 2 image(s) of Peter Blankemann (Earth-616)