Scourge of the Underworld

The Scourge of the Underworld is the name of a series of fictional characters who have appeared in various series set in the Marvel Comics universe. The Scourge would appear, usually in disguise, execute a minor supervillain (especially ones fans considered ill concieved), shout his catchphrase, "Justice is served!", and disappear.

Contents

1 Character history 2 List of appearances 3 Villains killed by the Scourge 4 Villains killed by the Scourge in the Bar With No Name incident 5 Villains who escaped The Scourge

Character history

The Scourge first appeared in Iron Man #194 (1986) and made single-issue appearances in most of Marvel's series published at the time, although the bulk of his story was told in Captain America #318-320. The Scourge of the Underworld first surfaced as a taxicab driver who unexpectedly executed a villain leaving the scene of a crime, and most of the Scourge's other assassinations were committed under similar disguises. His most infamous appearance was in Captain America #319, in which he killed over a dozen minor supervillains at "the Bar With No Name" (See below).

According to the Scourge in Captain America #320, he was the brother of the Enforcer, a minor villain who had been one of his first victims. The Scourge making this confession was then executed by another Scourge, and that Scourge was later killed by yet another Scourge. This last Scourge also killed the Soviet agent who had used the identity of the Red Skull in the 1950s. It was revealed in Captain America #350 that the Scourge had been financed by the original Red Skull, who had been believed dead at the time but had actually survived in a body that was cloned from Captain America's DNA.

Years later, in the USAgent miniseries, it was revealed that the Scourge was an identity used by several people, all of whom were financed by the original Angel, a hero from the Golden Age of Comic Books who had been driven to vigilantism in recent years. USAgent and the Vagabond fought the Scourges, including one who had claimed to be the USAgent's brother. In the end, the Angel died (although he was survived by a brother who had also used the identity of the Angel) and the remaining Scourges were defeated and arrested.

In the pages of Thunderbolts, a new Scourge appeared; this one assassinated the Thunderbolts members Jolt, Baron Zemo and Techno, as well as several civilians. It was revealed that this Scourge was actually Jack Monroe, alias Bucky and Nomad, who was being mentally controlled by the superhuman-hating government agent Henry Peter Gyrich; Gyrich himself was being manipulated by Baron Strucker. Munroe was being defeated and freed from Gyrich's control by the Thunderbolts and their allies, the Redeemers, and apparently abandoned the Scourge equipment and identity after the battle.

List of appearances

• Avengers #263
• Iron Man #194 (1986)
• Thing #24
• Secret Wars II #2
• Thor #359
• Thing #33
• Fantastic Four #289
• Amazing Spider-Man #276, #277
• Captain America #311, 318-320
• West Coast Avengers #3
• USAgent #?
• Thunderbolts # ?

Villains killed by the Scourge

• The Enforcer
  • first appeared in Ghost Rider #22
  • killed in Iron Man #194
  • The Scourge disguised as a homeless woman
• Miracle Man
  • first appeared in Fantastic Four #3
  • killed in Thing #24
• Hate Monger III
  • first appeared in Fantastic Four #280
  • killed in Secret Wars II #2
  • The Scourge's person is not seen
• Megatak
  • first appeared in Thor #328
  • killed in Thor #359
  • The Scourge disguised as a homeless man
• The Melter
  • first appeared in Tales of Suspense #47
  • killed in Avengers #263
  • The Scourge disguised as The Melter's assistant
• Titania
  • first appeared in Marvel Two-in-One #54
  • killed in Thing #33
  • The Scourge disguised as female wrestler "Golddigger"
• Basilisk
  • first appeared in Marvel Two-in-One #17
  • killed in Fantastic Four #289
  • The Scourge disguised as a construction worker
• The Human Fly
  • first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #10
  • killed in Amazing Spider-Man #276
  • The Scourge disguised as a sanitation worker
• Death Adder
  • first appeared in Marvel Two-In-One #65
  • killed in Captain America #318
  • The Scourge disguised as a cab driver
• Blue Streak
  • first appeared in Captain America #217
  • killed in Captain America #318
  • The Scourge disguised as a truck driver
• The Wraith
  • first appeared in Marvel Team-Up #48
  • killed in Amazing Spider Man #278
  • The Scourge disguised as a policeman

Villains killed by the Scourge in the Bar With No Name incident

In Captain America #319, The Scourge was disguised as the bartender of "the Bar With No Name," a super-villain hang-out. A number of villains had gathered there that evening to organize a concerted effort to stop The Scourge, all at the urgings of villain "manager" Gary Gilbert, formerly a villain called Firebrand. Security equipment that Gilbert borrowed from the gadget-villain called the Tinkerer was ineffective in detecting the Scourge, and eighteen villains were killed, including Gilbert himself, in the second panel from the end of the issue.

• Jaguar
  • first appeared in Daredevil #120
• Mirage
  • first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #156
• Hellrazor
  • first appeared in Marvel Team-Up #87
• Shellshock
  • first appeared in Fantastic Four Annual #5
• Bird Man II
  • first appeared in Daredevil #157
• Cyclone
  • first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #143
• The Ringer
  • first appeared in Defenders #51
• Turner D. Century
  • first appeared in Spider-Woman #33
• The Grappler
  • first appeared in She-Hulk #18
• The Cheetah
  • first appeared in Captain Marvel #48
• The Vamp
  • first appeared in Captain America #217
• Commander Kraken
  • first appeared in Iron Man #93
• Letha
  • first appeared in Marvel Two-in-One #56
• Steeplejack II
  • first appeared in Ms. Marvel #14
• Mind-Wave
  • first appeared in Daredevil #133
• Rapier
  • first appeared in Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #2
• Firebrand (Gary Gilbert)
  • first appeared in Iron Man #27
• The Hijacker
  • first appeared in Tales to Astonish #40

Villains who escaped The Scourge

• Constrictor - The Scourge attempted to kill him but failed
• Kraven the Hunter - The Scourge failed to kill him in West Coast Avengers #3
• Solarr - died in government project before The Scourge could get to him
• Diamondback - The Scourge shot at the vehicle she was in, but missed the fuel tank
• Cobra - The Scourge shot at the vehicle he was in, but missed the fuel tank
• Hobgoblin - On The Scourge's list when The Scourge was himself assassinated
• Puppet Master - On The Scourge's list when The Scourge was himself assassinated