| Nightmask | |
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Cover to Untold Tales of the New Universe: Nightmask(2005) |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Nightmask #1 (November 1986) |
| Created by | Archie Goodwin, Tony Salmons |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Keith Remsen |
| Abilities | Able to enter and manipulate the dreams of others, able to project illusions directly into another person's mind. He can also fire concussive energy blasts. |
Nightmask is a title given to several fictional characters who appear in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original Nightmask, Keith Remsen, was created by Archie Goodwin and Tony Salmons and first appeared in Nightmask #1 (Nov 1986), a series which was published under Marvel's New Universe imprint. Remsen is a paranormal, one of the people affected by the "White Event", and has the ability to manifest himself in other people's dreams.
In 2006, Warren Ellis and Salvador Larroca introduced a different version of the Nightmask character when they revived the New Universe concepts in a new series, newuniversal. Izanami Randall, who first appears in newuniversal #1 (Feb 2007), is a young Japanese-American woman living in San Francisco. After the White Event, Izanami discovers that she has been appointed as the Nightmask and has gained the power to manipulate the "superflow", a "transuniversal space" through which dreams, ideas and telepathy interact with the physical world.
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The Nightmask series was cancelled after twelve issues, although Remsen continued to feature as a significant New Universe character, with a supporting role (and occasional back-up stories) in other titles.
Oddly, the 'Gnome' storyline was abruptly abandoned (and subsequently ignored) midway through the Nightmask comic's run - this plot was only resolved when Untold Tales of the New Universe: Nightmask was published in 2006.
Keith Remsen was an eighteen-year-old whose parents sent him to study with Doctor Horst Kleinmann, an expert on dreams. Kleinmann had perfected a way of entering dreams cybernetically, and was worried that Remsen's parents were trying to steal his research. Kleinmann planted a bomb which killed Remsen's parents, paralyzed his little sister Theodora ("Teddy"), and left Keith himself in a coma, where he remained until he was awakened by the White Event.
When he awoke, he gradually discovered that he had the power to enter people's dreams telepathically, which he used to assist in psychotherapy. His sister Teddy was able to communicate with him while he was in the dream state and served as his anchor to reality. He also fought Kleinmann in the dreamscape, although the conclusion to that fight was never published owing to editorial difficulties and the cancellation of the series.
After the Black Event, in which the city of Pittsburgh was destroyed, Remsen was one of the first paranormally gifted people drafted into the military. His training and abilities earned him a commission and he was assigned to use his abilities to scan paranormal draftees for signs of mental aberration. Unfortunately, without his sister to act as his anchor, his dream self became more and more unhinged until he felt he could no longer tell the sane from the insane. This led him to approve a candidate with a dangerously unstable personality and an equally unstable power-- the ability to teleport, leaving behind an explosion whose power is directly proportional to the distance travelled. When this recruit finally reached his breaking point, he attempted to assassinate the President of the United States (thwarted only because the unnamed President had developed paranormal regenerative abilities himself).
Remsen stalked the recruit in his dreams until the recruit sought him out personally, intending to kill Remsen and anyone around him. However, Remsen was carrying a sidearm and he fatally shot the recruit.
In 2006, a single issue story of Nightmask was published, providing the conclusion to the Kleinmann storyline.
An alternate version of Keith Remsen attempts to defeat the mutant Proteus within his dreams. The attempt fails and Proteus strikes back - Remsen appears to suffer a heart attack, it is unclear whether or not he survived.
The re-imagined New Universe called newuniversal presents two different versions of Nightmask:
The New Universe Nightmask series has not yet been reprinted.