| Blazing Skull | |
|---|---|
 As part of the New Invaders (bottom left). Promotional art forThe New Invaders #1 (Aug. 2004) byScott Kolins | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Mystic Comics #5 (March 1941) |
| Created by | Bob Davis (writer / artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Mark Anthony Todd |
| Species | Human Mutate |
| Team affiliations | Defenders Invaders |
| Notable aliases | Steve Valiant, Richard Stetson, the Skull, Koos, the Smoking Head |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength Immunity to fire Regenerative healing factor Flame generation and projection Ability to make his tissues invisible while leaving his bones visible |
TheBlazing Skull (Mark Anthony Todd) is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The character was created during theGolden Age of Comic Books by Marvel's predecessor,Timely Comics, andfirst appeared inMystic Comics #5 (March 1941).[1] The character's writer and artist creators are unknown. The Blazing Skull fell into obscurity after the 1940s, and was revived in the 1990s.
The Blazing Skull should not be confused with Marvel's unrelated supernatural motorcyclist theGhost Rider, who is depicted with a flaming skull. Also, the unrelated Marvel characterSkull the Slayer (James Scully) briefly used the alias "Blazing Skull".
The Blazing Skull debuted in "The Story of Mark Todd", a nine-page tale in the 1941 comic that also introduced cover character theBlack Marvel and fellow superhero theTerror. He continued to appear inMystic Comics through issue #9 (May 1941), with at least one story ("The Thing", in #8) confirmed to have been penciled by Golden Age greatSyd Shores.
Asimulacrum of the Blazing Skull briefly appeared, along with simulacra of thePatriot, theFin, and the Golden AgeAngel and theVision I, to aid the superhero team theAvengers inThe Avengers #97 (March 1972).
The actual Blazing Skull starred in a solo period adventure, set duringWorld War II, inMidnight Sons Unlimited #9 (May 1995). Nearly 10 years later, he was reintroduced into modern-day continuity in the four-part story arc "Once an Invader" inThe Avengers vol. 3 #82-84 (July-Sept. 2004) and inNewInvaders #0 (Aug. 2004). The Blazing Skull appeared through the final issue,The New Invaders #9 (June 2005).
A separate character, Jim Scully, also known asSkull the Slayer, was depicted as an unrelated and differently designed Blazing Skull inQuasar #46 (May 1993), as part of the group, the Shock Troop.[2]
Foreign correspondent Mark Todd, assigned by his newspaper to cover theSecond Sino-Japanese War, is forced to take refuge in a cave during an artillery bombardment by the Japanese. There he meets the Skull Men, a strange race with burning skulls for heads. They inform him he has been chosen by the forces of destiny to be the champion of freedom, and they begin his training, which grants him abilities such as invulnerability to fire.[3] Once his training is completed, he returns home and, motivated by the horrors ofNazism, dons a uniform with a flaming mask (in honor of the Skull Men), taking the name "the Blazing Skull".[4] As time passes and he continues to master the Skull Men's teachings, he gains the ability to turn his flesh invisible, mimicking his teachers' appearance, and stops using the mask.
Soon afterwards, Todd comes into contact with theWWII superhero team, theInvaders, and aids them against a team ofAxis superhumans, saving the life ofNamor the Sub-Mariner. He also fights alongside the team during a massed Allied superhuman airdrop into a Nazi stronghold.
As the war inEurope comes to a close, the Blazing Skull teams up withUnion Jack and theDestroyer to break up an enemy spy-ring inEngland.
In the early Golden Age stories, Mark Todd's given occupation is a District Attorney.[5][6] He is also referred to in one story as an "amateur criminologist".[7] It was not until the 1990s, starting with theretroactiveInvaders series that he was established as a newspaper reporter,[8] perhaps negating the descriptions of him as a D.A. and/or criminologist.
The Blazing Skull later appears in modern times as a captive of Middle Eastern terrorists, having not aged in the decades since the war due to his healing factor.[9] He is freed by theU.S. Agent, who recruits him into a new, present-day version of the Invaders.[10] He has related that between the war and the present he has fought as a superhero in numerous places and under multiple aliases, such as theSmoking Head during the 1960s.[volume & issue needed]
The Blazing Skull is recruited by theFifty State Initiative to become a part ofNew Jersey's superhero team theDefenders, alongside theShe-Hulk,Nighthawk, and briefly,Colossus.[11]
Due to being trained by the Skull Men, the Blazing Skull is immune to fire. He also possesses superhuman strength, a regenerative healing factor, and the ability to turn his flesh invisible, giving him the appearance of a walking skeleton. He later gains the ability to generate and project flames.
