SKINNER
Real Name: Unrevealed; possibly Skinner or John
Identity/Class: Demon (Class II, Lilin)
Occupation: Predator, warrior, follower of Lilith
Group Membership: Lilin (Bad Timing, Blackout, Bloodthirst, Creed, Dark Legion, Doc, Fang, Girth, Infinks, Meatmarket, Nakota, Outcast, Parasite, Pilgrim, Pixil, Scatter, Short Circuit, Sister Nil, Skitter, Spitfire, others)
Affiliations: Lilith
Enemies: Black Hole (Dr. Keene, Mr. Wright, Spook), Bone, Darkhold Redeemers, Anton Hellgate, Midnight Sons (Blade/Eric Brooks, John Blaze, Frank Drake, Doctor Strange/Stephen Strange, Ghost Rider/Dan Ketch/Noble Kale, Hannibal King, Morbius, Vengeance/Michael Badilino), R'ack, Rock
Known Relatives: Lilith (mother), Lilin (brethren), Louise (wife, deceased) and unidentified son (deceased)
Aliases: John
Base of Operations: Currently unknown;
formerly the Vault;
formerly the Black Hole;
formerly his family home in Chatham, New York;
First Appearance: Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#3 (October, 1992)
Powers/Abilities: Skinner is an extremely savage warrior. He possesses great superhuman strength (Class 25) and durability. He is immune to the effects of aging and conventional disease. It is possible that even if he were destroyed, he could be resurrected by Lilin or another powerful sorcerer.
His true form is that of skeletal creature, with razor-sharp projections protruding from virtually every surface. He uses his own body as a weapon, slashing through flesh, concrete, and even solid steel. He uses the flesh of his victims to cover himself, allowing him to take on a human appearance.
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 230 lbs.
Eyes: Gray
Hair: Gray
History:
(Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#3 - BTS) - Skinner
is the child of the demonqueen Lilith, in millennia past, he was
one of her greatest and fiercest warriors. He enjoyed the thrill
of the hunt, and was more than willing to slay human, mutant, or
even other Lilin. After Lilith's defeat unknown ages ago, Skinner
began to gradually mellow. He eventually took a human form, and
in the modern era, he had a wife and family. He was happy in this
role.
(Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#3) - Lilith, alongside the Lilin
Pilgrim and the half-breed Blackout, located Skinner and
commanded him to join her anew. Skinner reluctantly agreed to do
as he had been commanded, but also realized that his family could
become pawns in this struggle as well (his son would grow up to
be a half-breed Lilin). To prevent this, Skinner killed his own
family, adding their flesh to his own as a memento.
Skinner was quick to transfer the blame to Lilith's enemies,
reasoning that if they had not fought Lilith, he would not have
needed to be taken from his previous life (he did have plans
of gaining revenge on Lilith once he had fulfilled his
obligations to her). Skinner confronted John Blaze, and then
used hostages to force him to flee so that he could then hunt
him. When Skinner caught up to him, Blaze blasted him with
hellfire gun, which served only to strip him of his fleshy
covering (including the flesh of his family). The Ghost Rider
then arrived, and the two blasted Skinner repeatedly until he was
"nothing but ashes." However, after they left, Skinner
crawled from the smoldering ruins of their battle.
(Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#14) - Skinner slew a man and re-covered his body with his skin. He pursued Blaze, hoping to take his skin as well. He ran down Blaze and Ghost Rider in a truck, but after a short battle he left alongside Centurious and the Lilin.
(Nightstalker#14, Ghost Rider III#44,
Marvel Comics Presents I#143, Darkhold#15, Morbius#16,
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#60 - all BTS), Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#17,
(Nightstalkers#15, Ghost Rider III#45,
Marvel Comics Presents I#145/4, Darkhold#16, Marvel Comics Presents
I#146/3, Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#61, Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#18, Midnight Sons
Unlimited#4 - all
BTS) - During the events known as "The Siege of
Darkness", Skinner, alongside an army of Lilin,
participated in the onslaught on the heroes known as the Midnight
Sons.
BTS - Skinner was captured and imprisoned in the superhuman detention and research facility known as the Black Hole, deep within the Appalachian Mountain Range.
(Ghost Rider III#62-64) - Despite
repeated escape attempts, Skinner remained a captive at the Black
Hole. The Spook, one of the heads of the facility, enjoyed
taunting him while he remained bound and helpless.
The Ghost Rider was imprisoned in the Black Hole, but his
vigorous struggles resulted in regions of power disruption within
the facility, allowing Skinner to escape. Skinner attacked the
Ghost Rider, who attempted to subdue him with his "Penance
Stare." While Skinner was incapacitated by its effects, the
Stare somehow reflected back on the Ghost Rider as well. Ghost
Rider left Skinner in the facility, which blew up a few minutes
later.
(Over the Edge#9) - A government clean-up team poured through the wreckage of the Black Hole, and Skinner burst forth, slew them, and took their flesh. Lilith had been seemingly slain during the Siege of Darkness, and Skinner decided that the only thing left for him to do would be to fulfill his original mission--kill Blaze and the Ghost Rider. He cut a bloody path across the country as he tracked them. After a short struggle, Ghost Rider managed to bind Skinner with his chain, and drug him behind his cycle for two hours until he surrendered. Skinner was then sent to the Vault.
SECRET WARS III HAPPENED
(Ghost Rider: Return of Vengeance#1 (fb) - BTS) - Skinner turned on his kind and became a demon killer. He eventually ended up in Hell.
(Ghost Rider: Return of Vengeance#1) - In Hell the demon torturer R'ack forced Skinner to fight Michael Badilino and promised him to take a day off of his torture if he made Badilino bleed. During the fight Skinner made a deal with Badilino that would help them both get out of Hell. Skinner used a shard of Ghost Rider's Hellfire-infused bone to help Badilino transform back into Vengeance. Vengeance then broke Skinner's shackles and they took out the demons together. After that they broke out Anton Hellgate, but got attacked by the demons Rock and Bone, who tried to stop their breakout. Skinner and Vengeance fought their way through them and countless other demons while dragging Hellgate behind Vengeance's bike to a weak point between Hell and other dimension. Vengeance used bone shards to stick Hellgate to a wall and Skinner cut him open and turned him into a portal out of Hell using a ritual. Vengeance took Skinner back to Earth, but on their way back saw Skinner's memories and how he killed his family. Back on Earth tried to defend his past actions as an act of mercy, but Vengeance had none of it and burned him with Hellfire, sending Skinner back to Hell.
Comments: Created by Howard Mackie and Adam Kubert.
Profile by Snood. Update by Markus Raymond (Return of Vengeance).
CLARIFICATIONS:
Not to be confused with:
images:
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#3, p6, pan1 (main)
Ghost Rider: Return of Vengeance#1, p14, pan5 (head shot)
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#3, p17, pan3 (attacking)
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#3, p20-21, pan3 (bones form)
Appearances:
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#3 (October, 1992) - Howard Mackie (writer), Adam Kubert (pencils), Chris Warner (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#14 (September, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Mike Manley (pencils), Tom Palmer, Jeff Albrecht, Ralph Cabrera & Tim Tuohy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#17 (December, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Henry Martinez (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Ghost Rider III#62-64 (June-August, 1995) - Howard Mackie (writer), Salvador Larroca (pencils), Sergio Melia (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Over the Edge#9 (July, 1996) - Bruce Sakow (writer), Robert Brown (pencils), Mike Witherby (inks), James Felder (editor)
Ghost Rider: Return of Vengeance#1 (February, 2021) - Howard Mackie (writer), Javier Saltares (pencils/inks), Marc Deering (inks), Mark Basso (editor)
First Posted: 04/13/2002
Last updated: 10/12/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
All characters mentioned or pictured are
™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights
Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real
thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!