The third version of the Zodiac made up of humans first appears in the second volume ofAlpha Flight and was created bySteven T. Seagle (writer),Scott Clark (penciler), and Chris Carlson (inker).
The fourth version of the Zodiac first appears inNew Warriors vol. 4 #4-5 (Nov.-Dec. 2007) and was created byKevin Grevioux and Joe Caramagna.
The fifth version of the Zodiac first appears inAvengers Assemble vol. 2 #1 and was created byBrian Michael Bendis andMark Bagley.
The original Zodiac group debuts in the titleAvengers[3] and is established as acriminal organization founded and funded by member Cornelius van Lunt (who adopts the identity ofTaurus). The group's identity is based on theWestern zodiac fromastrology, with each member adopting the persona of a sign of the zodiac, being twelve in all. The group members share leadership of the organization, with the position rotating just as the astrological zodiac changes. When not united as a group, the members of Zodiac are all based in different cities throughout theUnited States. Dedicated toeconomic andpolitical domination of the world, the group uses any means to accomplish this, includingsubversion;extortion andmass murder.
Lone memberScorpio is the first member to debut in the Marvel Universe, first appearing in the titleNick Fury, Agent ofS.H.I.E.L.D.[4] The character acquires asentientextradimensional (from theAnkh dimension)artifact called theZodiac Key, and attempts to assassinate S.H.I.E.L.D. directorNick Fury. The encounter ends with Scorpio apparently dying from agunshot wound. The character reappears in the same title, and attempts to kill Fury once again, before being driven off by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.[5] It is eventually revealed that this was still the original villain, butresurrected in aLife Model Decoy body by the Zodiac Key.
Scorpio appears in the titleAvengers and, after capturing the Avengers, reveals to the heroes the entire Zodiac. At this timeAries is team leader, and takes control of the Zodiac Key and acknowledges that Scorpio has redeemed himself for failing to kill Nick Fury. The Avengers are freed by fellow membersYellowjacket and theWasp, and Scorpio is revealed to be Nick Fury in disguise. The villains flee, and Fury reveals that after learning that the original Scorpio was his brother, Jake Fury, he adopted the identity to draw out the other Zodiac members.[3]
The Zodiac reappear inAvengers, with member Taurus attempting to extort local farmers for their land. Several Avengers, aided by the heroRed Wolf, prevent this and defeat Taurus.[6] The titleDaredevil features a plan by Zodiac (who are not revealed as the instigators until reappearing inAvengers) to causecivil unrest by inciting astreet gang to violence in theborough ofManhattan inNew York City. The plan is stopped by Daredevil and Avenger theBlack Panther,[7] with the two characters then featuring in titleAvengers with the rest of the team to prevent a full-scale attack by Zodiac onManhattan. Aries is killed when the Thunder GodThor destroys the character's escape craft.[8]
Zodiac, now splintered, operate independently.Aquarius, Capricorn, andSagittarius attempt to destroyStark Industries by contracting assassin theSpymaster to kill Tony Stark, thealter ego ofIron Man.[9] The attempt fails, and the Spymaster is contracted to capture Daredevil in revenge for his past interference. The Spymaster succeeds, and also capturesmercenaryMadame Masque.[10] The Zodiac members then use the Zodiac Key to capture Nick Fury and Iron Man, and take all four captives to the Ankh dimension, where they hope to recharge the artifact. This plan fails, and the heroes defeat and capture the Zodiac members, although the Spymaster escapes.[11] MemberGemini features in theSavage in the City storyline in the titleAstonishing Tales[12] and allies with villain thePlunderer in an attempt to steal the Super Soldier Formula (the same serum that empowers the characterCaptain America), but is defeated by the jungle heroKa-Zar.
In the titleAvengers, van Lunt reunites the Zodiac (including recruiting a new Aries), and together they plan to attackNew York City with a weapon called theStar Blazer. The group encounter the Avengers once again and after a near defeat, Aries attempts to stage acoup and take power from Taurus. Aided by Zodiac memberLibra, the Avengers successfully capture the other 11 members of the Zodiac. The character Libra reveals he only aided the heroes because AvengerMantis is his daughter.[13] The Avengers use, with van Lunt's cooperation, the Star Blazer against an alien threat.[14]
Zodiac member Aquarius appears in the third volume of the titleGhost Rider,[15] and after learning he hascancer attempts to make a bargain with ademon to save himself. Aquarius then attempts to take revenge on van Lunt, but the character'ssoul is claimed before he can do so. The second Aries makes a brief appearance in the titleCaptain America, and is used and killed by the alien invaderLucifer.[16] Scorpio reappears in the titleDefenders, and retrieves the Zodiac Key. After creating anandroid version of the Zodiac, Scorpiokidnaps the heroNighthawk, hoping toransom the character as his alter ego is Kyle Richmond, a wealthyentrepreneur. Nighthawk's teammates, theDefenders track Scorpio and encounter the android Zodiac. Discovering that three of his created Zodiac did not survive the process, a distraught Scorpio commitssuicide.[17] Taurus reappears in the titleIron Man, and orders the second Aquarius and third Aries to killIron Man (James Rhodes), but both are defeated and incarcerated. S.H.I.E.L.D are advised and begin to track van Lunt.[18]
An android version of the Zodiac first appeared inThe Defenders #49 (July 1977). This android Zodiac features in the firstThe West Coast Avengers Annual, and are employed by former AvengerQuicksilver (under the control of the villainMaximus) to battle the Avengers; four of them battle the East Coast Avengers inAvengers Mansion, four of them battle the Avengers in a circus where Quicksilver had his first mission with the team, and four of them battle a makeshift team of Thor, Black Widow, Black Panther, Falcon, and James Rhodes in the Australian base where Quicksilver was once missing and presumed dead.[19] The origin of this version of the Zodiac is revealed in the second volume of the titleWest Coast Avengers. Scorpio is resurrected in android form by the Zodiac Key once again and summons the remainder of the human Zodiac to a meeting, at which they are slaughtered by another android version of the entire group. Taurus escapes and seeks the protection of theWest Coast Avengers, who have a series of skirmishes with the androids until the false Zodiac are transported to the Ankh dimension, where they are deactivated. Taurus, who had vowed to surrender to the authorities once the threat was over, attempted to escape and was killed in a plane crash during a struggle with AvengerMoon Knight.[20] The limited seriesAvengers Forever reveals that Libra also escaped the massacre.[21]
A third, human version of the Zodiac briefly feature in the second volume of the titleAlpha Flight. Their leader also calls himself Scorpio, and wields a weapon reminiscent of the original Zodiac Key. Hired byDepartment H, a division of the Canadian military, to test Alpha Flight in battle, the group is murdered by mutant task forceWeapon X.[22]
Several members of a mysterious fourth version of the Zodiac are mentioned in the titleYoung Avengers[23] and appear in the fourth volume of the titleNew Warriors, and skirmish with heroes from theInitiative andNew Warriors. Zodiac member Cancer murders New WarriorLongstrike.[24] The villain Zodiac claims to have murdered all the members of this group and made their heads into hunting trophies.[25]
Thanos returns from the dead and forms his own incarnation of the Zodiac. In a plot to rule Earth, he had special suits made for the ambitious people that want to rule the world with one of them beingHood's cousinJohn King who became Cancer.[26] When Thanos abandoned his Zodiac on the self-destructingHelicarrier, John King was the only one who survived and was interrogated about Thanos' plot. According to Captain America about the identity of some of the Zodiac members when he interrogated King and mentioned that this Zodiac consisted of lackeys, he mentioned one of the Zodiac members was a former bodyguard ofKingpin, another Zodiac member formerly worked forMandarin, and another was aHydra agent. Though it wasn't stated which member operated as the different Zodiac members.[27]
In "All-New, All-Different Marvel", a new incarnation of the Zodiac appears. This version has their Sects named after their Zodiac symbol. Each of their sects overseen by Scorpio ended up fightingSpider-Man andMockingbird. Following one of the fights, Spider-Man finds the Zodiac Key is held in the apartment of a man named Mr. Jacobs alongside his Scorpio gear.[28]
When the planets that are shown in the Zodiac Grand Orrery come into alignment, Scorpio travels back to his base in France and transforms several people into members of Zodiac. Spider-Man and his allies arrive to stop Scorpio. When Scorpio steps into the door, he sees the events of the next year: the emergence of the Skyspear,Norman Osborn's latest activity,Regent's plot, the"New U" device,Doctor Octopus' return, anothersuperhuman civil war, and therise of the monsters. Catching Scorpio off guard, Spider-Man punches Scorpio into the doorway and locks it up. Spider-Man suspects that Scorpio has been teleported one year into the future, giving S.H.I.E.L.D. time to prepare for his return.[29]
A solo character calledZodiac stars in a self-titled limited series as part of theDark Reign storyline. The character is obsessed with dominating the criminal underworld. He ends up gaining allies in theClown, Death Reaper, Manslaughter Marsdale, andTrapster. After they commit mass murder on 100H.A.M.M.E.R. Agents, Zodiac eventually retrieves the Zodiac Key fromS.H.I.E.L.D.[30]
Zodiac later makes plans for a series of impressive-sounding schemes to put into motion in the near future.[31]
It is later revealed that Zodiac was the mysterious benefactor of theYoung Masters. WhenEgghead is the only one that has not left the group, Zodiac recruits him into his villain army.[32]
A short-lived Zodiac team known as The Great Wheel was revealed to have existed back in 1961. The team was formed by a time travelingLeonardo da Vinci who takes on the Aries mantle. He recruits members that fill out different nations and organizations with the intent to perform certain missions in exchange for special acquirements that could be used for their personal battles. The rest of the Zodiac members consisted ofCornelius Van Lunt (Taurus), Nick Fury (Gemini), Jake Fury (Scorpio),Dum Dum Dugan (Libra),John Garrett (Aquarius),Daniel Whitehall (Leo),Wolfgang von Strucker (Sagittarius), Thomas Davidson (Virgo), Shoji Soma (Pisces), Vasili Dassaiev (Capricorn), and Viktor Uvarov (Cancer). After completing their missions and collecting the items needed, Dassaiev and Uvarov betrayed the members and stole them to enhance themselves. These events would lead into the creation of bothHydra andLeviathan and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s creation of theLife Model Decoys.[33]
Taurus (leader) - Cornelius Van Lunt is abusinessman andcrime lord who is the founder of Zodiac and wears a bull costume. He later died in an airplane crash during his fight with Moon Knight.
Aquarius - Darren Bentley is a crime lord and member of the Zodiac who had expert fighting skills. He later operated as the One-Man Zodiac.
Aquarius - Zachary Drebb has genius-level intellect who makes use of different gimmicks.
Aries - Marcus Lassiter is a criminal mastermind who wears ram horns on top of his helmet enabling him to ram into anyone. He was killed by Thor.
Aries - Grover Raymond is a criminal mastermind who possesses the same helmet. He and the Rafe Michael later died being unable to contain Lucifer's powers.
Aries - Oscar Gordon possesses the same helmet. He was killed by the Zodiac LMDs.
Cancer - Jack Klevano is a criminal mastermind who wears a crab costume that have pincers that can grab anyone. He was killed by the Zodiac LMDs.
Capricorn - Willard Weer is a crime lord who is an expert at martial arts and the horns on his head can extend to grab his opponents. He was killed by the Zodiac LMDs.
Gemini - Joshua Link is a crime lord who can link his mind with his twin brother Sgt. Damian Link. He was killed by the Zodiac LMDs.
Leo - Daniel Radford is a criminal mastermind that wears a lion costume that has claws on the gloves. He was killed by the Zodiac LMDs.
Libra - Gustav Brandt is a blind crime lord, mercenary, and the father ofMantis who is an expert at martial arts and has a psychic sense that helps him see. He evaded death at the hands of the Zodiac LMDs.
Pisces - Noah Perricone is a criminal mastermind who wears a special outfit designed for underwater combat. He was slain by the Zodiac LMDs.
Sagittarius - Harlan Vargus is a crime lord who is skilled at hand-to-hand combat. He was slain by the Zodiac LMDs.
Scorpio - Jake Fury is the brother of Nick Fury. He later created the second Zodiac which slaughtered most of the original Zodiac.
Scorpio II - Jacques LaPoint is a criminal mastermind who was brought in to replace Jake Fury as Scorpio. He was slain by the Zodiac LMDs.
Virgo - Elaine McLaughlin is a criminal mastermind who is skilled at hand-to-hand combat. She was slain by the Zodiac LDMs.
Aquarius - An android who carries a gun that shoots electricity and water. Aquarius shut down when in the Ankh Dimension.
Aries - An android that possesses ram horns on its head enabling him to ram anyone. Its second form had armor and fired lasers from its horns. Aires shut down when in the Ankh Dimension.
Cancer - An android that possesses an armored shell. Its second form can release powerful jets of water from its hands. Its third form has pincers in place of hands. Cancer shut down when in the Ankh Dimension.
Capricorn - An android with goat-like horns. Its second form is an expert climber and possessed glider wings for flight. Its third form is more female-like with fur on it and gained goat-like hooves for feet. Capricorn shut down while in the Ankh Dimension.
Gemini - An android that possesses multiple personalities, can release two duplicates of itself where the white duplicate fires energy blasts and the black duplicate has an electrical touch, expand its form, and possess super-strength. Its second form can fly and release blasts of energy. Gemini shut down while in the Ankh Dimension.
Leo - An android that possessed claws and super-strength. Its second body was designed to resemble Tigra complete with her abilities. Leo shut down while in the Ankh Dimension.
Libra - An android that can fly and become intangible. In its second form, it can only fly. Libra shut down while in the Ankh Dimension.
Pisces - An android that can survive underwater where it possessed fins, gills, and scales. Its second form possesses enhanced strength and durability. Its third form enables it to produce a watery mist from its body. Pisces shut down while in the Ankh Dimension.
Sagittarius - An android equipped with wrist-mounted crossbows that fire different arrows. Its second form was constructed to resemble Hawkeye. It was destroyed by Mockingbird and Tigra.
Taurus - An android equipped with retractable horns on his wrists attached to cables can be fired at opponents and can detect heat and organics. Its second form possesses super-strength enhanced strength and immunity to heat. Scorpio later remodeled Taurus into a female form. Taurus shut down while in the Ankh Dimension.
Virgo - An android with energy-siphoning abilities. Virgo shut down while in the Ankh Dimension.
Aquarius - A man who wears a special super-suit provided by Thanos that enables him to assume a watery substance of unknown origin that can control water. Died in the Helicarrier explosion.
Aries - A man who wore a special super-suit provided by Thanos which gave him super-strength and enabled him to assume the form of a humanoid ram. Died in the Helicarrier explosion.
Cancer - The identity ofHood's cousinJohn King who wore a special super-suit provided by Thanos that gives him the appearance of a humanoid crab.
Capricorn - A man with a goatee.
Gemini - An Asian man who wore a special super-suit provided by Thanos that enables him to become two beings. Died in the Helicarrier explosion.
Leo - A bearded man with long blonde hair who wears a special suit provided by Thanos that enables him to assume the form of a humanoid lion. During his fight with Hulk, Leo died of aheart attack.
Libra - A red-haired woman who wore a special suit that gave her an energy-based appearance. Died in the Helicarrier explosion.
Pisces - A blonde-haired man who wears a special suit provided by Thanos that enables him to assume a fish-like appearance. Died in the Helicarrier explosion.
Sagittarius - A man with a moustache.
Scorpio - A man with a half-burned face.
Taurus - An African-American man who wears a special super-suit provided by Thanos which enables him to possess super-strength and transform into a Minotaur-like form. Died in the Helicarrier explosion.
Virgo - A brown-haired woman who wears a special suit provided by Thanos that transforms her into a winged female with a fiery head. Died in the Helicarrier explosion.
Zodiac appears inThe Avengers: United They Stand.[citation needed] They are led byTaurus and consisting of aliens based on their namesake astrological signs from another galaxy who seek to obtain the Zodiac Key. Taurus resembles a humanoid bull and once assumed the alias Cornelius Van Lunt, Scorpio is an alien with a long scorpion tail behind his head who once assumed the alias of Jacob Fury, Aquarius had fish-like fins on his outfit, Aries is an alien humanoid with a ram-horned mask that covered most of his head, Cancer is a crab-like alien, Capricorn is a green-furred alien with goat-like horns, Gemini is a four-armed alien with a male head and a female head, Leo is an alien with lion-like features, Libra is a purple-haired alien humanoid, Pisces is a female fish-like humanoid alien, Sagittarius is an armored centaur, and Virgo is a red-haired alien humanoid with green eyes.
Zodiac appears inMarvel Anime: Iron Man,[citation needed] consisting ofHo Yinsen, who was influenced by Zodiac after losing his family to hijacked Stark Industries helicopters following his rescue and wears stolenIron Man Dio armor; Dr.Chika Tanaka (voiced byTakako Honda in the original Japanese version and byLaura Bailey in the English dub), a scientist and close associate ofTony Stark who was brainwashed into becoming their sleeper agentGemini; and the organization's mysterious leaderKuroda (voiced byUnshō Ishizuka in the original Japanese version and byNeil Kaplan in the Funimation dub), Japan's Minister of Defense. This version of the group is a terrorist organization affiliated withA.I.M. that employs advanced technology and mechs based on the astrological symbols, such asScorpio, Cancer,Aquarius, andSagittarius-themed mechs, among others, as well as energy weapons, mind control technology, and cybernetics. Throughout the series, Zodiac seeks to take control of Tony Stark's new Arc Station, which was meant to supply free energy to the world and use its power to fuel acoup d'état within Japan's government so Kuroda can take over Japan and rebuild it as a militarized nation for Zodiac to dominate the world.
^"Taurus Zodiac Agent Voice -Ultimate Spider-Man (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. RetrievedOctober 20, 2025. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
^"Aries Voice -Ultimate Spider-Man (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. RetrievedOctober 20, 2025. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
^"Lion-Headed Zodiac 1 Voice -Ultimate Spider-Man (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. RetrievedOctober 20, 2025. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
^"Lion-Headed Zodiac 2 Voice -Ultimate Spider-Man (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. RetrievedOctober 20, 2025. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
