SCOURGE OF THE UNDERWORLD

 

SCOURGE OF THE UNDERWORLD I

Real Name: Unknown, possible Delazny

First Appearance: Iron Man (Vol. 1) #194, May 1985

Powers: No known superhuman powers. He wore an all-white coat and hat with a skull-like mask. His standard weaponry was a .50 cal Thompson machine gun with a sawed-off barrel and stock using a special-purpose 5-round magazine. Each .50 cal round was equipped with an acceleration activated, delay-triggered explosive shell.

The first Scourge of the Underworld was an unidentified vigilante hunting down super-villains around the country and executing them. His typical modus operandi was to employ some form of elaborate disguise, approach the villain unsuspectingly, and shoot them with an exploding bullet from his gun. During the so-called "Year of the Scourge", this vigilante killed over 30 super-villains, including 18 in a single massacre at "The Bar With No Name", which ultimately led to his capture by Captain America, and execution by another Scourge. Although the Scourge of the Underworld has been active since then (and later revelations indicated he actually represented an entire organization of Scourges), the Scourge was never again as successful as he was that fateful year, nor were any of his successors.