Hijacker (comics)

Hijacker is a fictional American comic book character owned by Marvel Comics who exists in that company's Marvel Universe.

Hijacker was a gimmick-laden villain who specialized in stealing technology for later resale in criminal auctions.

Publication history

Hijacker first appeared in Tales to Astonish #40 (February 1963), and was created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby.

The character subsequently appears in Marvel Two-In-One #24 (February 1977), #96 (February 1983), and Captain America #319 (July 1986), in which he was killed by the Scourge of the Underworld.

Fictional character biography

Hijacker was first defeated by Ant-Man,^[1] and later by Black Goliath and the Thing.^[2] He was good at last-moment “rabbit out of the hat” tricks that no one expected. He returned for vengeance on the Thing after the hero was hospitalized. He used a tank similar in appearance to his last one, but it was not as durable and Iron Man made quick work of it.^[3]

Hijacker attended the “Bar With No Name” massacre. Without his gimmicks and protection, he proved easy prey for the Scourge of the Underworld.^[4]

Hijacker was later among the eighteen criminals, all murdered by the Scourge, to be resurrected by Hood using the power of Dormammu as part of a squad assembled to eliminate the Punisher.^[5] He carries over a dozen different kinds of gases in his backpack, and has his giant impenetrable tank.^[6] Hijacker chases the Punisher in his tank, but the Punisher escapes by using Pym particles to shrink down and get into the tank; after taking control of the tank, Punisher crashes it into the building where Basilisk was holding G. W. Bridge and uses the gases on Basilisk.^[7]

In the cleanup following Spider-Island, he attempted an opportunistic bank heist, but was noticed and pursued by Venom. During the chase, he accidentally ran over a mother and her child, causing Flash to lose his temper and bite Hijacker's head off.^[8]

Equipment

Hijacker gained his abilities from his heavy body-suit, which provided the power for his weapons. His heavy, brown, reinforced fabric suit provided protection against physical, energy, heat, fire, and cold attacks. When sealed with his odd-looking helmet, Hijacker had his own 4-hour oxygen supply and was immune to gases.

Hijacker’s main weapon was a multifunction gun called a “Vario-Blaster,” attached to the belt of his outfit by a cable. With his weapon, Hijacker could fire: “nuclear flame,” knock-out nerve gas, damaging projectiles, “ionic blasts,”, and an “activator beam” which activated any nearby machinery.

Hijacker’s “Crime-Tank” was a heavily armored fort on spiked treads. This mobile base was an off-road vehicle, and had electromagnets as weapons. This tank was destroyed by the Thing and Black Goliath.

References

External links

• Hijacker at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
• http://en.marveldatabase.com/Howard_Mitchell_%28Earth-616%29