Grim Reaper (comics)
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| Grim Reaper | |
 The Grim Reaper vs the Avengers, art by George Pérez |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Avengers #52 (May 1968) |
| Created by | Roy Thomas (writer) John Buscema (artist) |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Eric Williams |
| Team affiliations | Legion of the Unliving Maggia HYDRA Lethal Legion Sinister Six |
| Partnerships | Steelskulls (his lackeys) Saboteur former partner of the Space Phantom ally of Ultron, Nekra, Black Talon, Goliath, and Man-Ape |
| Abilities | Necromancy Teleportation Ability to summon demons Illusions casting Clairvoyance |
Grim Reaper (Eric Williams) is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared in The Avengers #52 May (1968), by Roy Thomas and John Buscema.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
Eric Williams, the brother of Simon Williams (also known as Wonder Man), was born in Paterson, New Jersey. Eric was always the black sheep of his family. His mother would tell him that he was 'born bad', while heaping affection on Simon. Eric's father was charged with disciplining him, but was abusive and uncaring. He even preferred to watch TV lazily, while Eric was torturing the family cat. At the same time, their mother Martha was loving and attentive to Simon, making Eric bitter and jealous.
One day Eric was playing with chemicals in the garage, and caused a fire which burned down their house. Simon felt guilty for not stopping Eric, and resolved to be responsible for Eric from there on. As they grew older, Simon grew studious while Eric was an athlete. Eric also became more rebellious, and tried to get Simon to join him in his petty thefts. Eventually Eric became a gambler and joined the Maggia and moved to Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Simon took over the family business, Williams Innovations.
Partly due to competition with Stark Industries, Williams Innovations began to fail. Desperate, Simon turned to Eric and his mob ties for help. Simon embezzled money from the company to invest with Eric, but Simon was caught and jailed. Simon was freed from jail by Baron Zemo, induced by an offer of revenge on Tony Stark by defeating Iron Man and the Avengers. Simon was transformed into Wonder Man, in order to infiltrate the Avengers. Zemo's empowering process also poisoned Simon, ensuring his loyalty in exchange for the antidote. Simon's better nature won out though, and he 'died' saving the Avengers from Zemo's trap (though he had really only entered a coma due to his body adjusting to superpowers).
Learning of Simon's death, Eric was inflamed with guilt and anger. Through his Maggia contacts, he contacted the Tinkerer who provided him with his scythe weapon, which was further enhanced by Ultron with coma-inducing abilities. Taking the name "Grim Reaper," he became a professional criminal and defeated the Avengers Hawkeye, Goliath, and the Wasp, but was beaten by the surprise appearance of the Black Panther.[1]
In his next appearance, the Grim Reaper confronted the Avengers with his original Lethal Legion comprised of the Living Laser, Power Man, the Man-Ape, and the Swordsman. The Legion was defeated when the Grim Reaper found himself unable to strike down the Vision, having discovered that he possessed Simon's brainwave patterns.[2]
The Grim Reaper later allied with the Space Phantom and HYDRA. He planned to transfer the Vision's mind to Captain America's body, thus "resurrecting" his brother. He battled the Avengers again and was defeated.[3]
Behind the scenes, the Grim Reaper later had Wonder Man resurrected as a zombie by the Black Talon to attack the Avengers. Wonder Man was restored to true life as a result.[4] The Grim Reaper then captured the Avengers, and staged a trial to determine whether the Vision or Wonder Man was his true brother. He was defeated by Wonder Man.[5]
Later, the Grim Reaper attempted to kill both the Vision and Wonder Man, but was defeated by the Vision.[6]
Later still, the Grim Reaper with Ultron, Nekra, and other allies, captured the Avengers. The Grim Reaper attempted a recreation of "Simon Williams" as a zombie. He was pursued by the Vision and Wonder Man in a cave, and died in a fall from the cave ledge.[7] The Grim Reaper was then resurrected by Nekra as a zombie, but he believed himself to be alive. The zombie battled Wonder Man and Magneto, but when he realized he was actually dead, he "died" again as a result.[8]
Much later, the Grim Reaper was resurrected by Immortus as a member of his Legion of the Unliving. The Grim Reaper battled Wonder Man, and "died" again of a broken neck.[9] He was then resurrected by Nekra as a zombie again, this time under the condition that he absorb a human life-force every 24 hours. He killed Nekra as his first victim, and then battled Wonder Man before escaping.[10] He battled Wonder Man and the Mandrill, and escaped again.[11] The scythe was fused to his arm by Ultron, and he formed an alliance with Ultron.[12]
[edit] Civil War
The Grim Reaper was apparently one of the many villains that escaped from the Raft prison during New Avengers #1-3. Being at large for several months, the Grim Reaper was eventually tracked down by Captain America and Cable, who brought the Reaper down with the aid of their other friends. He was once again put into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D.
Grim Reaper is next seen at the end of Heroes For Hire #6, teamed with Man-Ape & Saboteur; how he escaped S.H.I.E.L.D. is uncertain.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Originally, the Grim Reaper was a purely technological-based villain with no innate superhuman abilities. The Tinkerer designed a scythe for the Grim Reaper's right hand fitted with an electromagnetic power blaster. The techno-scythe he used as his trademark weapon had the ability to make the blade spin at rapid speed, making the weapon usable as a high-speed propeller blade buzzsaw, missile shield, and an improvised helicopter. It could also fire energy blasts and anesthetic gas pellets, and dispense electric stun shocks on touch. The scythe was also equipped with a cerebral-frequency generator able to induce deep comas and revive victims from them as well.
The Grim Reaper later gained some magic-related abilities: he can reanimate the souls and bodies of the dead, either through voodoo training received from Black Talon or powers bestowed upon him by Lloigoroth. The Grim Reaper has also performed various magically-based feats including but not limited to: teleporting himself and others, summoning demons, creating illusions, and clairvoyant viewing.
The Reaper's physical strength is supernaturally heightened slightly beyond the natural limitations of the human body. In addition, his right hand has been amputated and replaced with an apparently magical scythe. The scythe is magically sharp and is capable of energy blasts (much like the original), but has also been used to drain energy.
At one point, the Grim Reaper had died, and was restored to life by Nekra as a zombie. He suffered hair loss, and had sallow skin in various stages of decomposition. In this zombie state, he had the ability to absorb human life-forces to sustain his own, and was able to absorb human life-force through his scythe. He needed to absorb a human life-force once every 24 hours to remain "alive" as a zombie.
[edit] Other versions
[edit] Earth X
- An alternate version of Eric Williams appeared in Earth X. He was in the Realm of the Dead and only appeared in Universe X Special: 4
[edit] MC2
The Grim Reaper has not appeared in the MC2 Universe, but his scythe weapon was used by Kevin Masterson in Avengers Next #5.
[edit] In other media
[edit] Television
- A version of the Grim Reaper also appeared on the animated series The Avengers: United They Stand. His ties to Wonder Man, who also appeared on the show, remained intact, however his physical appearance was changed greatly. He wore full body armor and a helmet featuring a skull-like paint job.
[edit] Video Games
In Captain America and the Avengers, released as an arcade console and a Sega Genesis cartridge, the Grim Reaper is a boss character at the end of stage 2.
[edit] Other Grim Reapers in Marvel Comics
- In the Last Avengers Story, William Maximoff, the son of the Vision and Scarlet Witch, grew up to be known as the Grim Reaper. He allied with Kang and Ultron against the Avengers. He used magicks and had a scythe. He appeared in Last Avengers Story #1-2.
[edit] Bibliography
- Avengers vol. 1 #52, 78-79, 102, 106-108, 151-152, 160
- Avengers vol. 3 #0, 10-11, 19-22 31-33 *'
- Avengers West Coast #65 (resurrection #2), 66-68, 105, 352-354
- Avengers: Ultron Imperative
- Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Avengers 2005
- Secret War #3-5
- Vision & Scarlet Witch vol. 1 #3
- Vision & Scarlet Witch vol. 2 #1-2
- West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #1-2 (death), 12 (resurrected/death #2)
- Wonder Man vol. 1 #1
[edit] References
- ^ Avengers #52
- ^ Avengers #78-79
- ^ Avengers #102, 106-108
- ^ Avengers #151-152
- ^ Avengers #160
- ^ Vision & Scarlet Witch Vol. 1 #3
- ^ Vision & Scarlet Witch Vol. 2 #1-2; West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #1-2
- ^ Vision & Scarlet Witch Vol. 2 #12
- ^ Avengers West Coast #61
- ^ Avengers West Coast #65
- ^ Avengers West Coast #66
- ^ Avengers West Coast #67
[edit] External links
- Marvel.com's Marvel Universe profile for the Grim Reaper
- Leader's Lair article on Grim Reaper (contains synopses on all appearances through Avengers vol. 3 #33)
- Grand Comics Database Project article on the Avengers #52 (1968)
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