Saturday Showcase: Bushman

 

Another Saturday, Another Showcase. 

Today we will Showcase the Evil that is Bushman.

Raoul Bushman, aka the Bushman, worked as a mercenary in the Sudan with Spector as his former right-hand man. Bushman and his men came upon Dr. Peter Alruane and his daughter Marlene Alraune and attempted to kill both in order to steal the Egyptian gold they had discovered. When Spector, disgusted by Bushman's senseless murder, tries to save them, Bushman kills Peter Alruane, then beats Spector to the brink of death. 

It is while lying near death that Spector encounters the spirit of Khonshu and adopts the identity of Moon Knight. As Moon Knight, he rescues the Alruanes and their discovered Egyptian gold as well as defeating the Bushman.  Eventually Moon Knight confronts Bushman and carves off his face before killing him.

That wouldn't be the last time Marc would see his old pal Raoul.  Bushman is supernaturally resurrected by the criminal overlord, The Hood, by using Dormammu's powers. Bushman then with the Scarecrow, break into Ravencroft. They lobotomize the patients to create an army of "zombies".  Moon Knight is able to stop the army and tracks down Bushman. Khonshu demands that Moon Knight sacrifice Bushman for him, but Moon Knight refuses to kill him again. Bushman is last seen in a straight jacket in a mental asylum.

Well, not killing the Bushman turns out to be a mistake.  Raoul Bushman resurfaces, with an ally known as the Sun King. They come up with a plot to kill Moon Knight.[8] To accomplish the plans to kill Moon Knight, Bushman and Sun King went to Marlene Alruane's house.  He kidnaps Marlene, and forces Moon Knight to board a ship to an island showdown with Sun King. During the boat ride Raoul gets two fingers cut off and eventually abandons Sun King when he is defeated by Moon Knight.

I doubt this is the last time we see or hear from the Bushman.

Powers and Abilities

Bushman has no superhuman powers, but he is an expert in guerrilla warfare and highly proficient in the use of most conventional firearms. He has peak human physical strength and is highly athletic and agile. He sometimes uses metal teeth so that in hand-to-hand combat he can draw his enemy in close to him to tear the enemy apart with his teeth.

Publication Information

Publisher: Marvel Comics

First Appearance:  Moon Knight #1 (Nov. 1980)

Created by Doug Moench & Bill Sienkiewicz

Aliases: Raoul Bushman, Roald Bushman

Until next time, get your READ on!

Saturday Showcase: Stained Glass Scarlet

 

For today's Saturday Showcase, I chose a villain who is as deadly as she is beautiful.  For my fellow Moon Knight fans, you will know here from the cover of issue #24 in the Moon Knight series but she actually made her first appearance 10 issues prior.  So, sit down and relax while I spin you a tale of the one known as Stained Glass Scarlet.

Abused by her father, Scarlet had an unhappy childhood. One evening when she had had enough of it, she killed her father, by lighting his bed with a cigarette. His death was considered an accident and she was sent to live with her uncle and aunt, where her living conditions were improved.

Later in life, she met and married Vince Fasinera, a small-time criminal, believing that she could save him from himself. She was wrong, and he simply mistreated her, much like her father had. They had a child together named Joseph.  Vince really wasn't there for  his son and eventually Vince was gunned down on the steps of a church, and died.  Years later their son turned to a life of crime, following the footsteps of his father.  He was later called Joseph "Mad Dog" Fasinera.

When he escaped prison, Scarlet took it upon herself to save her son from his life of crime, but in the end she was forced to kill him. Scarlet turned into a vigilante and started hunting down all the criminals who had ever had a hand to play in her son's turning to crime. Moon Knight tried to stop her, but ended up letting her escape.

* Interesting Fact: Stained Glass Scarlet is an ex-nun who became a vigilante *

Scarlet would cross paths with Moon Knight over and over and to be honest, had some of the best battles in Moon Knight's comic book history.  In fact, Scarlet returns and haunts the streets of Brooklyn armed with her crossbow. She finds Bertrand Crawley and, recognizing him as a friend of Marc Spector (or Jake Lockley), fires a crossbow bolt into his shoulder. Crawley runs off and falls through the glass front door of Gena's Diner. Scarlet follows after him, firing several more shots into the diner. She pitches Gena Landers through a window then fires a shot into the oven's gas lines, causing the entire building to explode. Scarlet returns to the church where she lives, confident that her "sweet angel" will come for her.

Moon Knight, as Marc, visits Gena and Crawley in the hospital and promises Gena that he will rebuild the diner. When he leaves the hospital and goes to the Bronx Memorial Cemetery, a group of nuns, all answering to Scarlet, emerge from the shadows and attack him. Scarlet appears and fires a crossbow bolt that tears a hole through Moon Knight's mask. As quickly as she came, she disappears again.

Scarlet later returned, having somehow formed a psychic link to Moon Knight. She was fighting inner demons, and began fire-bombing New York. Moon Knight caught up with her atop a bridge, but she jumped, and he was unable to find her in the waters below. At the time it was unknown whether she survived or not. 

Powers and Abilities

While Scarlet does not have any apparent powers, she possesses a mysterious psychic bond with Moon Knight. This psychic bond is not systematic. It appears when Stained Glass Scarlet concentrates on Moon Knight, and can manifest in the form of dreams during which their thoughts intermingle and allow them to briefly communicate. Some speculate that this bond between Stained Glass Scarlet and Moon Knight could be due to the Egyptian god of the moon, Khonshu. 

Scarlet is an expert in martial arts. She is able to wield bayonets, guns, and crossbows with precision.

* Interesting Fact #2:  She learned how to fight while working as a guard in a women's prison. *

Publication Information

Publisher:  Marvel Comics

First Appearance:  Moon Knight #14 (December 1981)

Created by Doug Moench, Bill Sienkiewicz, & Jim Shooter

Full Name:  Scarlet Fasinera

Place of Origin:  New York City

Until next time, get your READ on!

Moon Knight (Super Bowl LVI TV Trailer)

 

Saturday Showcase: Midnight

 As promised last week,  this week's Saturday Showcase will focus on Moon Knight's sidekick turned homicidal maniac, Midnight.  Just so you know, my showcases will follow characters from the world of Moon Knight in preparation of the hit series debuting on Disney+ at the end of March.  With that said, let's learn more about Jeffrey Wilde aka Midnight.

Jeff Wilde is the son of Anton Mogart, the Midnight Man and an old foe of Moon Knight. Jeff wanted to follow his father's path but found his destiny in teaming with Moon Knight.  I think deep down he teamed with Moon Knight to get a better sense at what makes him tick and to learn his fighting styles.

Anyway, while working with Moon Knight, Jeff wore a duplicate of Spector's costume. His impulsive nature got Jeff in over his head dealing with the Secret Empire, leading Moon Knight, Spider-Man, and Punisher into the conflict to bail him out. During the struggle, Number Seven of the Secret Empire shot Midnight, seemingly killing him in front of Moon Knight. Spector believed his sidekick was dead, but in fact, the Secret Empire took Midnight away to be rebuilt as a cyborg.

Jeff was controlled by the Secret Empire using a pain-inducing device in his head. *(I think they stole the idea from Suicide Squad, what do you think Jay?)* The control mechanism, combined with his own bitterness towards Moon Knight for "leaving him to die", led Midnight to begin willingly working with the Empire. While under the Empire's control, he aided them in breaking Thunderball out of prison and capturing the New Warrior Nova. 

Midnight assumed control of the Empire from the Council of Ten and teamed up with his nurse Lynn Church, who revealed herself to be a cyborg and the secret project of the deceased Number One. Moon Knight hearing about Jeff's survival and his involvement with the Secret Empire led him to build a team of heroes to put an end to the terror.    The team consisted of Moon Knight, Spider-Man, Darkhawk, Punisher, Nova, and Night Thrasher. After the final battle between the heroes and the Secret Empire, Church and Jeff were believed to be destroyed in a battle. 

A few years later, a man began to kill innocent people and use their blood to form a clock pointing to midnight. Though Moon Knight at first believed it to somehow be Mogart, the villain turned out to be Jeff, stronger than before and out for revenge on Marc. Jeff attacked Marc at home and boasted about how he wanted to take the whole Moon Knight experience and tarnish everything that Moon Knight stood for.  The two fought a lengthy battle but it ended with Moon Knight giving the death blow to his former sidekick turned nemesis.  

Powers:

• Cyborg Body
• Rocket Powered Feet 
• Super-Extendable Arms
• Super-Strength
• Laser Beams

Name: Jeffrey Wilde

Current Alias: Midnight

Impersonations: Midnight Man & Moon Knight

Created by Chuck Dixon & Russ Heath

First Appearance: Marc Spector: Moon Knight #4 (May, 1989)

Last Appearance: Moon Knight (Vol. 5) #12 (September, 2007)

Until next time, get your READ on!

Comic Spotlight: Elektra: Black, White, & Blood

 

    I just finished reading the first issue of Elektra: Black, White, & Blood and I am blown away!  I knew the basics of these Marvel stories would be a black and white comic with red to emphasize the blood and violence, but I never thought the stories would be so good.  

    The first issue is divided into three separate stories but they all follow our hero, Elektra in different realms.  In the first story, "Red Dawn" Elektra is fighting vampires and must make a sacrifice to  protect those whom she loves.  The second story, "Not the Devil" deals with Elektra finding and killing al the members of the mob.  I assume the title is derived from the fact she is killing the scum rather than sending them to jail like the Daredevil would.  The third and last story, "The Crimson Path" is written like a Greek Tragedy.  She is fighting off evil to save a little girl, which in turn saves her soul.  I would have to say the third story is my favorite in this issue.

    Reading this amazing first issue makes me realize that I made a mistake in not getting the past issues starring Wolverine, Carnage, and Deadpool.  That is a mistake I can render  by visiting my local comic shop and getting back issues.  Don't make the same mistake I did.  Pick up your issue(s) today.

    If the first issue was this good, the rest have to be just as amazing!  I would tell you more, but I don't want to ruin the stories for you.  This is an adventure you must walk alone.  I give this title a strong 10 out of 10 rating and I know you will to.

Until next time, get your READ on!

Derf's Picks of the Week (February 9, 2022)

 

2022 has been a great year for comics so far.  

Let's see what the second week of February has in store.

BOOM

Buffy: The Last Vampire Slayer #3

Magic: The Gathering #11

Mighty Morphin #16

DC COMICS

Detective Comics #1052

I Am Batman #6

Justice League 2022 Annual #1

Strange Love Adventures #1

Suicide Squad: Blaze #1

DYNAMITE

Draculina #1

Evil Ernie #3

Vampirella Valentine's Day Special 2022

IDW

Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons: The Meeseeks Adventure #1

Star Wars Adventures #14

TMNT: Best of - Jennika #1

IMAGE

King of Spies #3

The Scorched #2

MARVEL

The Amazing Spider-Man #88

The Avengers #53

Devil's Reign #4

Moon Knight #8

Maestro: World War M #1

The Secret X-Men #1

Star Wars: Darth Vader #20

Star Wars: The High Republic - Trail of Shadows #5

X Deaths of Wolverine #2

Like I said earlier, a great year for thus far.

Did you see anything you liked?

Until next time, get your READ on!

Saturday Showcase: Midnight Man

 

I was having a hard time thinking of a subject worthy of a Saturday Showcase post when I heard about the tragic death of Gaspard Ulliel, who played the Midnight Man for the upcoming Moon Knight series.  When that happened, I thought to myself, "I need to feature Moon Knight characters due to the series coming out in March but also to be able to show some respect toward Gaspard".  That is why I chose to start my Moon Knight themed showcases with the Midnight Man.  RIP Gaspard Ulliel.

Midnight Man, is known for stealing art, treasures, and valuable original manuscripts. He got the name Midnight Man because he "always struck at midnight." His real name was Anton Mogart.  He was also known as an enemy of the Moon Knight.

Mogart is presumed dead after his first encounter with Moon Knight after being shot by Marlene and falling off of his roof, but he appears in issue #9 working with Raoul Bushman.  The Bushman betrays Midnight Man however, and leaves him and Moon Knight to drown in the flooding sewer system. Moon Knight manages to barely rescue himself and Midnight Man.(*issue #10 Jay)

Anton was also the father of Jeff Wilde.  Jeff would, for a time, serve as a sidekick for the Moon Knight. Later after a battle with the Secret Empire, Jeff Wilde was transformed into a cyborg by the Secret Empire's scientists.  After his transformation, he would go by the name Midnight.  He went out on a killing spree to get Moon Knight's attention. Moon Knight would eventually defeat Midnight in a brutal fight.(More details will arise when the he gets his own Showcase)

Publication Information

Publisher:  Marvel Comics

First Appearance:  Moon Knight #3 (Jan 1981)

Created by Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz

Until next time, get your READ on!

*Next Week: Midnight*

Derf's Picks of the Week (February 2, 2022)

FIRST BOOKS OF FEBRUARY

DC COMICS

Arkham City: The Order of the World #5

Batman #120

Dark Knights of Steel #4

Detective Comics #1051

Justice League Incarnate #4

Suicide Squad #12

IDW

Transformers: King Grimlock #5

IMAGE

Geiger 80-Page Giant #1

Spawn #326

MARVEL

Alien #9

The Amazing Spider-Man #88

Fantastic Four: Reckoning War Alpha #1

Sabretooth #1

Savage Spider-Man #1

Shang-Chi #8

Star Wars: Crimson Reign #2

The Thing #4

X Lives of Wolverine #2

X-Men: Legends #11

Tune-in next week to see what other goodies I recommend.

Until next time, get your READ on!