Real Name: Howard Mitchell
Identity/Class: Human technology user
Occupation: Criminal (hijacker, thief, killer);
former owner of Mitchell Armored Truck Company
Group Membership: The Hood (Parker Robbins)'s army of resurrected Scourge victims aka. Deadly Dozen (Basilisk/Basil Elks, Bird-Man/Achille DiBacco, Black Abbott, Blue Streak/Don Thomas, Cheetah/Esteban Carracus, Cyclone/André Gerard, Death Adder/Roland Burroughs, Firebrand/Gary Gilbert, Human Fly/Richard Deacon, Lascivious/Davida DeVito (formerly Titania), Letha/Helen Feliciano, Megatak/Gregory Nettles, Mind-Wave/Erik Gelden, Miracle Man/Joshua Ayers, Mirage/Desmond Charne, Turner D. Century/Clifford F. Michaels, Wraith/Brian DeWolff), Scourge victims
Affiliations: Firebrand (Gary Gilbert), the Hood
Enemies: Ant-Man (Henry Pym), Black Goliath (Bill Foster), Iron Man (Tony Stark), Punisher (Frank Castle), Scourge, Thing (Ben Grimm), Venom (Eugene "Flash" Thompson)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: New York City, USA;
formerly the Bar with No Name, Medina County, Ohio;
formerly mobile
First Appearance: Tales to Astonish I#40/1 (February, 1963)
Powers/Abilities: Although a poor physical combatant, the Hijacker had a good working knowledge of advanced weaponry, and he could easily turn available equipment into an attack. He wore a padded costume (possibly bulletproof and/or flame-resistant), and a gas mask; originally armed with amnesia-inducing knock-out gas grenades, he also used a van equipped with a giant magnet to rob armored trucks.
He was later equipped with a vario-blaster, and he used immense battle tanks (see comments) for his crimes. First, second and third
Following his resurrection by the Hood, the Hijacker was equipped with a new gas mask, and a backpack containing a variety of gases (knock-out gas, tear gas, etc.).
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 200 lbs.
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: White (balding)
History:
(Tales to Astonish I#40/1 (fb) - BTS) - Howard Mitchell owned an armored
truck company, which transported money from banks.
One year prior, Mitchell took a trip to Peru and acquired some Incan statues (...which he would later use to decorate his office); he spent some time with the indigenous population of the jungle and learned to make an amnesia-inducing knock-out gas--he would eventually use this gas as the Hijacker.
After getting back home, Mitchell was dissatisfied with his company's profits, so he embarked on the idea to hijack his own trucks and steal the money within them. Creating the costumed identity of the Hijacker, and armed with his knowledge of the shipping routes and schedules of his armored trucks, Mitchell accomplished four successful thefts of large payrolls. His use of the amnesia-inducing knock-out gas on the security guards inside the trucks ensured that there was no evidence to link him to the thefts.
(Tales to Astonish I#40/1) - Mitchell pretended to be infuriated by the police's inability to capture the Hijacker and requested the assistance of Ant-Man (Pym), believing that the small hero would be no threat to him. After arriving at Mitchell's office, Ant-Man figured that the Hijacker would not attack the trucks if he knew they were guarded by a superhero, so he feigned appendicitis, and then he hid out in one of the trucks.
That particular armored truck was carrying a large amount of cash from a bank, and when it was beyond the city limits, the Hijacker struck. Drawing the armored truck into his van with a giant magnet, the Hijacker used a gas grenade to render the three guards unconscious, then he broke into the truck with a standard acetylene blow-torch.
But wearing a gas-mask of his own invention to allow him to resist the gas attack, Ant-Man confronted the Hijacker. Ant-Man then fled from the criminal (I'm not sure why), leading the Hijacker into the cab of the armored truck, where the tiny hero ripped open the Hijacker's mask, exposing him to his own gas--the Hijacker was soon unconscious and unmasked as Howard Mitchell. Ant-Man--ever the super-sleuth--had already identified Mitchell as the Hijacker after seeing the Peruvian statues in his office, and the hero knew that "the indians in Peru have an ancient vapor, the inhaling of which causes a lapse of memory!"...(what the frick...?); after he revived, Michell was subsequently taken into police custody.
(Marvel Two-in-One I#24 (fb) - BTS)- After either being released or escaping some time later, Mitchell resumed his criminal activities. At some point, he stole the blue-prints for the Stark West industrial plant in Los Angeles, California; learning that there were priceless S.H.I.E.L.D. hardware and space exploration prototypes stored in the security vault, Mitchell planned to steal the advanced technology and sell it on the black market to the highest bidder.
(Marvel Two-in-One I#24) -The Hijacker broke into Stark West, intending to take Stark's inventions; but he ran into trouble from Bill Foster--aka Black Goliath--and the Thing, who were involved in a test procedure there at the time. Realizing he was overpowered, Mitchell escaped and returned with his battle tank (see comments). After some struggle, the two heroes neutralized the tank, then easily apprehended the Hijacker and unmasked him--the Thing knocked Mitchell out with a flick of his finger.
(Marvel Two-In-One I#96)- The Hijacker returned for vengeance on the Thing, after learning the hero was hospitalized following injuries he had sustained at the hands of Gladiator (@ Fantastic Four I#249) and the Champion (@ Marvel Two-in-One Annual#7)--a number of other villains had similarly targeted the Thing, but a group of superheroes had gathered in preparation for this. The Hijacker used a tank similar in appearance to his last one, but it was not as durable, and Iron Man made quick work of it.
(Captain America I#319)- Some time later, the organization of criminal assassins known as Scourge cast fear into the hearts of evil-doers everywhere. Firebrand gathered a group of villains, including the Hijacker, at the legendary Bar with No Name in order to plan some sort of defense. Unfortunately for the criminals, Scourge was present at the Bar as well, disguised as the bartender, and he executed everyone present using a pair of machine guns--the Hijacker was no exception.
(Punisher VII#5) - Aided by Dormammu's dark magic, the Hood resurrected Hijacker along with several other of Scourge's victims to fight the Punisher.
(Punisher VII#6) - The Hood addressed the assembled villains (including Hijacker) who had been resurrected to kill the Punisher, warning them that failure to do so would leave them dead again after 30 days, but lying to them that it was the Punisher disguised as Scourge who had killed them. Each one resurrected had been augmented, armed and costumed by the Hood--Hijacker himself was equipped with a new gas mask and gas backpack.
(Punisher VII#7) - Hijacker worked on a new tank and watched silently as Mirage, Letha and Lascivious tussled over leadership of the group.
(Punisher VII#8) - In his new tank, Hijacker formed part of the reinforcements attacking the Punisher.
(Punisher VII#9) - Hijacker rolled his tank toward the Punisher, his "horror gas" causing the vigilante to see the mocking form of the Hood. The Punisher fell under the tank, but used stolen Pym Particles to escape and get into the tank itself, and took control of the massive armored vehicle.
(Venom II#9 - BTS) - Hijacker survived the Punisher's attack and invested all his funds in a new tank very similar to the previous one, this time incorporating extendable claws, and a rocket blaster that could briefly shoot the tank over several city blocks.
(Venom II#9) - Hijacker resumed his criminal heists in the ensuing chaos and disorientation in the wake of Spider Island. He used his tank in many smash-and-grab attacks on Manhattan banks, all within minutes of each other, but killed several people in the process. Venom (Flash Thompson) was unable to stop the deaths, and the angered black symbiote took over. Surviving a hull-mounted electrical discharge, Venom pursued Hijacker back to his hideout and brutally killed him.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby.
I know that the Ringer has returned, and I'm sure that more will as well. There's no good reason to bring back characters with clean-cut deaths [or two in this case, possibly three if the Punisher was supposed to have killed him--Grendel Prime]. But that's a whole 'nother topic...
And then most of Scourge's victims came back to life in
one fell swoop.
--Markus Raymond
My guess is that Mitchell got his giant magnet,
vario-blaster, and battle tanks from the Tinkerer (Phineas Mason), who
was known to supply equipment to other criminals (e.g. Big
Wheel, Binary
Bug, Bruno
Caper, Hypno-Hustler,
Ringer,
Stinger).
--Ron Fredricks
Profile by Snood. Expansion by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Hijacker (Howard Mitchell) should not be
confused with:
Hijacker's battle tanks ("Murder Machines") should not be confused with:
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Resembling a common moving van, the Hijacker used it to rob armored trucks. After blocking the road with the van, the Hijacker utilized a powerful magnet (see comments) to pull the armored trucks into his vehicle [...despite their use of brakes, reverse gear, etc.] Once trapped inside the van's cargo box, the drivers and guards were gassed by the Hijacker and rendered unconscious; the dazed guards were dragged out and left on the side of the road, with no memory of the crime because of the amnesia-inducing effects of the gas. --Tales to Astonish I#40/1 |
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A multi-function handgun used by the Hijacker (see comments), it was connected by a cable to his utility belt. It could be adjusted to fire a nuclear flame heat ray, or an ionic force blast. The Hijacker first used the nuclear flame to melt through the security vault at Stark West, which gave him access to the valuable prototype technology stored within. When he was confronted by the Thing and Black Goliath, the Hijacker used the vario-blaster to activate some of the vault's prototype weaponry against the heroes. He next fired a heat blast at the vault's ceiling, creating a downpour of molten steel to distract the Thing. After the heroes incapacitated the Hijacker's battle tank, the Thing tore off the villain's utility belt, along with the vario-blaster, before the Hijacker had a chance to use it. --Marvel Two-in-One I#24 |
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Controlled from a transparent plasti-steel domed cockpit located at the top, the Hijacker used his first battle tank when he attempted to rob the Stark West industrial plant in Los Angeles, California. Propelled by spiked treads, the immense armored vehicle was able to stand up to the full force of the Thing (although its underside was more vulnerable). It also had powerful electromagnets, and could use them to attract heavy metal objects at great speed to use as weapons against an attacker. The Hijacker used the tank against Black Goliath and the Thing; the heroes found it to be a challenge at first, but the Thing incapacitated the tank by punching a hole in its underside and ripped out some of its wiring, then Black Goliath tore off the dome and pulled the Hijacker out. |
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Some time later, the Hijacker wanted to get his revenge on the hospitalized Thing, so he rolled through the street in his second smaller tank, scattering pedestrians and crushing cars along the way; but he was intercepted by Iron Man, who easily destroyed the giant armored vehicle. |
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After he was resurrected by the Hood, the Hijacker worked on his tank (presumably the one destroyed by Iron Man, rebuilt), which he eventually used against the Punisher; but the vigilante used stolen Pym Particles to get into the tank itself, taking control of the massive armored vehicle from the Hijacker. The Hijacker had a third tank with a similar appearance to his previous two, but it was smaller and not as durable. This tank had a pair of extendible claws, and a rocket blaster which could propel it through the air; it could also release an electrical discharge through its hull. (Comment: A caption on the cover of Marvel Two-in-One I#24 referred to it as a "Murder Machine" [although the Hijacker called it his "Crime-Tank" in the actual story]; in his word-balloon in #96, he called it his "Murder Machine".) --Marvel Two-in-One I#24 (Marvel Two-in-One I#24, 96, Punisher VII#7-9, Venom II#9 |
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images:
Marvel Two-in-One I#24, p4, pan1 (main image - Hijacker)
Tales to Astonish I#40/1, p2, pan5 (headshot - Howard Mitchell)
Tales to Astonish I#40/1, p7, pan4 (headshot - Hijacker, holding gas
grenade)
Punisher VII#6, p28 (Hood-resurrected Hijacker with new costume, mask,
and gas backpack)
Venom II#9, p14, pan3 (headshot - Hood-resurrected Hijacker, injured by
Venom)
Tales to Astonish I#40/1, p6, pan7 (armored truck approaches Hijacker's
van)
Tales to Astonish I#40/1, p7, pan2 (armored truck pulled into Hijacker's
van by giant magnet)
Marvel Two-in-One I#24, p8, pan1 (Hijacker fires vario-blaster at vault
door)
Marvel Two-in-One I#24, p8, pan2 (Hijacker standing by melted vault
door)
Marvel Two-in-One I#24, cover (Hijacker in tank; Thing, Black Goliath
[foreground])
Marvel Two-in-One I#24, p13, pan1 (Hijacker in tank; Thing, Black
Goliath [foreground])
Marvel Two-in-One I#96, p18, pan4 (Hijacker in second tank, driving down
street)
Marvel Two-in-One I#96, p18, pan6 (Hijacker's second tank gets FWANGed
by Iron Man)
Venom II#9, p4, pan2 (Hijacker's third tank, robbing bank vault)
Venom II#9, p12, pan1 (Hijacker's third tank, flying back to his
hideout)
Appearances:
Tales to Astonish I#40/1 (February, 1963) - Stan Lee (plot/editor),
Larry Lieber (script), Jack Kirby (pencils), Sol Brodsky (inks), Art
Simek (letters)
Marvel Two-In-One I#24 (February, 1977) - Bill Mantlo & Jim Shooter
(writers), Sal Buscema (pencils), Pablo Marcos (inks), George Roussos
(colors), Irv Watanabe (letters), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Marvel Two-In-One I#96 (February, 1983) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron
Wilson (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), George Roussos (colors), Joe
Rosen (letters), Linda Grant & Lance Tooks (editors)
Captain America I#319 (July, 1986) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Neary
(pencils), Dennis Janke (inks), Michael Carlin (editor)
Punisher VII#5 (July, 2009) - Rick Remender (writer), Jerome Opena
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
Punisher VII#6-9 (August-November, 2009) - Rick Remender (writer), Tan
Eng Huat (art), Axel Alonso (editor)
Venom II#9 (January, 2012) - Rick Remender (writer), Stefano Caselli
(art), Steven Wacker (editor)
First posted: 09/06/2001 (?)
Last updated: 11/11/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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