Saturday Showcase: Sin-Eater

Sin-Eater

    I was reading up on the latest solicitations* from Marvel Comics and I was in total shock.  I mean, my jaw literally hit the floor.  The Sin-Eater is being resurrected in the Amazing Spider-Man #37.  I am still in shock to be honest.  You see, the Sin-Eater is a villain that stars in a story-line so shocking, that it was burned in my memory. Hell, when I was a kid I used to make the Punisher or some random G.I. Joe figure kick his ass.  No, there was no actual figure for Sin-Eater so I made one. If I remember correctly, it was a K-mart G.I. Joe knock off.  Anyway, that isn't important, what is important is that a villain that scared Peter Parker's life is back.  So, I decided to catch you up on exactly who the Sin-Eater is and how this could effect the world of Spider-Man, Daredevil, and the Punisher.

The Death of Captain Jean DeWolff 

   The Sin-Eater that I am most familiar with and for whom this article is about is known as Stanley Carter.  Stanley Carter was born in Fort Meade, Maryland. He was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. working in research and development. He was injected with experimental drugs to increase strength and endurance, but when the program was designated too dangerous it was discontinued. Carter became violent and resigned from S.H.I.E.L.D. He eventually became a detective with the New York City Police Department. After his partner was killed by several young criminals, he became obsessed with killing anyone who "sinned" by abusing authority.

    As the Sin-Eater, his first victim was Captain Jean DeWolff (an associate of both Spider-Man and Daredevil). As a detective, he is assigned to find the killer, and works closely with Spider-Man. His next victim is Judge Horace Rosenthal, a friend of Matthew Murdock aka the Daredevil. During his escape after killing Rosenthal, he is attacked by Spider-Man and kills a bystander during the battle.This murder lead to a partnership between the devil and the spider.  When Spider-Man and Daredevil discover that the Sin-Eater's next victim is going to be Betty Brant, Peter Parker's first love, they rush to save her. Spider-Man goes into a fierce rage and beats the Sin-Eater nearly to death. As he is being transferred to Riker's, a vengeful mob including De Wolff's father tries to kill him, but Daredevil and Spider-Man intervene.

    Carter is put in psychological and medical care, but is crippled by the beating Spider-Man inflicted. S.H.I.E.L.D. purge all the drugs from his system during this time, but he still has visions of his Sin-Eater persona. After Carter is released, he returns the favor Spider-Man did him by rescuing him from an angry mob, and begins writing a memoir of his career as the Sin-Eater. However, he has trouble readjusting to society. Finally he snaps, taking an empty shotgun and goading police officers into opening fire on him.

    Here's where it get's interesting and leads to the birth of the greatest Spider-Man villains ever known.  The public revelation of the identity of the Sin-Eater as Stanley Carter by Peter Parker was responsible for the ruin of Eddie Brock's journalistic career, as Brock had published a series of articles on the Sin-Eater in The Daily Globe, based on his interviews with another man who claimed to be the Sin-Eater, Mr. Emil Gregg ("a compulsive confessor"). This led to Brock's hatred of Peter and eventually to his joining with the alien symbiote Venom.

**Sin-Eater was created by Peter David (writer) and Rich Buckler (artist)**

Too late...or is it?

  There are also two other versions of the Sin-Eater.  The 2nd Sin-Eater was Michael G. Engelschwert who tried to best Venom in the Sinner Takes All story-line.  Just like the original, he decided to go out on his own terms.
The 3rd Sin-Eater was one of the supernatural variety.  His story would take too long for this post so we will save that one for another day.

1st appearance: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #107 (October 1985)

Powers and Abilities:

The first Sin-Eater had an artificially heightened physicality, similar to that of Captain America. Though his strength, agility, stamina and reflexes was greater than that of any Olympic athlete, it did not exceed the hypothetical natural limitations of the human body and would not be considered truly superhuman. The same clandestine experiments that heightened his physique probably also drove him insane. He had also undergone military training, though it was rendered less effective by his insanity. 

He is also an expert hand-to-hand combatant and skilled marksman, with his signature weapon being a double-barreled shotgun.

The second Sin-Eater wielded a heavy assortment of guns, bombs, knives, and rocket launchers, and wore a bulletproof costume.

The third Sin-Eater introduced claims of being able to detect the evil within others, and of absorbing a green energy which he claims is all of their sins after killing them. He is also unaffected by being repeatedly shot with a handgun, and regrows his own head (which is merely a skull) after it is destroyed by Carnage.

Well, That's it for this Saturday Showcase.  
I hope you learned something new.

Until next time, get your READ on!