HELLRAZOR

Real Name: Denton Phelps

Identity/Class: Human mutate, technology user

Occupation: Mercenary

Group Membership: Agent of Roxxon Oil and Agar Ores

Affiliations: J. T. Gamelin, Thomas Agar

Enemies: Spider-Man, Black Panther (T'Challa), Scourge I

Known Relatives: none

Aliases: Black Panther imposter

Base of Operations: New York City

First Appearance: Marvel Team Up I#87 (November, 1979)

Powers: Hellrazor described himself as "kineto-synthetic," and could allegedly replenish his strength and stamina by drawing on any energy souce. He also had low-level superhuman strength derived from this ability. Nonetheless, his ability appeared to work mainly on kinetic energy, and likely needed his conscious direction, as he was knocked out by a surprise punch.
Hellrazor also wore bladed wristbands, which could also fire sharp blades from a small housing on the undersides of the wristbands. The blades were sharp and strong enough to cut through a thin layer of Spider-Man's webbing. While disguised as the Black Panther, he used a gun that essentially fired small blades in the same manner as his wristbands. It is also possible that the wristbands themselves granted Hellrazor his powers, as he was defeated after they were removed.

History: Almost nothing is known of Hellrazor prior to his first recorded activity.

(Marvel Team-Up I #87) - As part of a plot by Roxxon Oil to discredit Wakanda and make inroads towards gaining its Vibranium resources, businessman Thomas Agar swindled Wakanda by selling them millions of dollars worth of bad tungsten. As Agar left a courtroom where he was defending himself of fraud charges, Hellrazor, disguised as Wakanda's king, the Black Panther, assaulted and kidnapped Agar. Peter Parker was present, and quickly switched to his guise as Spider-Man to pursue the Panther. Spider-Man managed to snag the helicopter with his webbing, but the fake Panther used a gun that fired razorblades to sever the webline and thus force an end to the pursuit.

Spider-Man, naturally, went to the Wakandan embassy and promptly got into a brief fight with the Panther. Hellrazor, now in his true identity, showed up outside the embassy with troops disguised as U.S. goverment forces. Hellrazor, chiding a State Department representative who asserted the Wakandan sovereignty of the embassy grounds, marched up to the embassy and demanded the Panther's surrender for the kidnapping. The Panther instead attacked Hellrazor, and the fight moved into the embassy, where Spider-Man also joined in. As the fight progressed, Spider-Man recognized Hellrazor's voice and blades as those of the "Panther" who had kidnapped Agar. Using his webbing as padding, Spider-Man allowed Hellrazor to strike him down with his razors. Hellrazor then inexplicably told the Panther about the kidnapping set-up, while Spider-Man slipped behind him and removed his wristbands, and the Panther floored the mercenary with one punch. Agar was exposed by the pair of heroes, but Roxxon Oil's executives considered the operation a success, as it had discredited Wakanda and kept the tungsten from them.

(Captain America I#319) - Many months later, Hellrazor was one of many costumed criminals invited by Gary Gilbert to attend a planning session against the supervillain-killer Scourge at the so-called "Bar With No Name." Hellrazor discovered to his chagrin that none of the other criminals present knew who he was, but that proved moot when the bartender revealed himself as Scourge and fatally shot Hellrazor along with nearly all the other criminals present.

Comments: Created by Steven Grant and Gene Colan

Hellrazor's equipment and powers were almost certainly given to him by Roxxon's superhuman operatives division, the Brand Corporation.

If ever a villain deserved to be offed by Scourge, it was probably Hellrazor. Dull and cliche story, inconsistent powers, and a truly awful late-70s perm all combine to make this guy a real cheese.

Thanks to Brandon Nash for pointing out Hellrazor's real name from his profile in Avengers: Roll Call (2012).

Profile by Omar Karindu

Clarifications: Hellrazor is not to be confused with:

Scourge refers to the original group of criminal assassins, and this guy was the first one seen, ie. Scourge I-1


images: (without ads)
Marvel Team-Up I#87, p10, pan3 (main image)
  Cover (as Black Panther)
OHotMU Deluxe Edition#19, p43, pan15 (head shot)


Appearances:
Marvel Team-Up I#87 (November, 1979) - Steven Grant (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Frank Springer (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Captain America I#319 (July, 1986) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Neary (pencils), Dennis Janke (inks), Michael Carlin (editor)


Last updated: 09/03/16

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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