Membership:
Dan (the Apparition), Holly
(Supernatural), Keith (Trancer), Mary
Lou (Purple Veil), Victor (Phantom Bullet),
Walt (Psi-Lord) ESPEOPLE
Membership:
Dan (the Apparition), Holly
(Supernatural), Keith (Trancer), Mary
Lou (Purple Veil), Victor (Phantom Bullet),
Walt (Psi-Lord)
Purpose: To live in peace away from potential persecution or exploitation by others
Aliases: None
Affiliations: Dave Landers
Enemies: Clinic's Freelance Hunters (Bernard, Fraley, Lezar, Maiscott, Jerry Perricone, Price, West), Nightmask (Keith Remsen), Receptor (Tracey Speck)
Base of Operations: An isolated mansion in the woods in Northern Wisconsin
First Appearance: D.P.7#11 (September 1987)
History:
(D.P.7#11 (fb) - BTS) - In the wake of the White Event that empowered
people worldwide six such individuals gained a range of psychic powers.
They soon learned that these new abilities made them outcasts unable to
fit into normal society anymore, but one of them, the clairvoyant Keith,
used his powers to locate the others. Though initially strangers, their
shared experience bonded them together, and they dubbed themselves the
ESPeople. Deciding that the best defense against persecution by anyone
who might either fear them or seek to exploit their powers was to stay
off the radar the group moved to an isolated mansion in a remote part of
the northern Wisconsin wilderness, a short distance from the Canadian
border; Keith used his powers to monitor for trespassers and Dan, who
could alter people's perceptions, cloaked the house so that it was
effectively invisible to any such intruders.
After the group had lived in their new home
for some time Keith sensed another telepath, Tracey Speck, tapping into
the mind of nearby man (Dave Landers) while Dave was hitching a ride on
the back of a logging truck so that she could see what he was seeing.
Sensing that Dave possessed superhuman powers like them (in his case
immense strength), was a good guy, and was being hunted because of his
powers, Keith informed the others, and they decided to intervene to help
Dave out and bring him to their sanctuary.
(D.P.7#11 (fb)) - The group dropped whatever each of
them had been doing and headed out in their van to as close as they
could get by vehicle to Dave, who was now fleeing through the woods
with his pursuers close behind. While Keith pinpointed Dave's
location, Dan used his powers to hide the six ESPeople from the
hunters' senses. As the ESPeople approached the hunters finally
managed to bring Dave down with anesthetic dart guns, but Mary Lou,
who could send messages telepathically, reassured the drowsy man that
help was fast approaching. As one hunter, Bernard, fired additional
shots at their target, Victor, a psychokinetic, deflected the darts
away, and Victor used his ability to jam energies to disrupt the
electrical signals in the brain of another, Price, stunning the man.
Dan blocked Dave from the remaining hunters' senses and instead made
one, Lezar, see another, Fraley, as their target, resulting in Lezar
immediately darting Fraley. Holly then used her control over nature to
whip up the wind and blow snow in the faces of Lezar and Maiscott,
causing them to stumble back onto a frozen pond, at which juncture
Holly cracked the ice beneath them. However in so doing she stepped
outside of Dan's sphere of influence and became visible to the
remaining hunter, West, who opened fire on her; fortunately Victor
spotted this and his psychokinetic pulse jammed the projectile in the
barrel, causing the rifle to explode. With the six hunters momentarily
out of action, the ESPeople grabbed the unconscious Landers and with
extreme effort due to his massive bulk dragged his limp body to their
van; to provide cover until they got away Dan made the hunters believe
the woods were on fire.
Once the ESPeople got their
guest back to the house they left him on the living room Davenport
sofa to sleep off the tranquilizers. From his mind they learned that
Dave, and by implication themselves, were called paranormals by those
who knew of their existence. Figuring that if Dave woke after being
pursued to find six strangers looming over him he would panic and
someone would likely get hurt as he tried to escape, the group headed
upstairs and hid when they sensed him finally waking up.
(D.P.7#11) - Upon waking a confused Dave wondered where he was and how he got there and began searching the house, eventually finding the six housemates hiding in a closet upstairs. Calm and apologetic, thinking he must have stumbled into the home while in a daze, Dave assured them he meant no harm and informed them that there were men pursuing him. With it clear that Dave wasn't about to panic or fight, Walt introduced the group to their visitor, and when Dave said he would leave, as he hadn't intended to involve others in his problems Walt startled him by saying that paranormals were always welcome there. Mary Lou confirmed to Dave that they too were paranormals, informing him that they called themselves the ESPeople because they all had psychic powers, and Keith explained how he had sensed Dave and the psychic intruder (Tracey) who kept helping the hunters locate him. Despite learning how they had rescued him from his pursuers Dave remained suspicious, tempted to believe their story but then wondering if Mary Lou might be making him feel inclined to trust them, so he demanded to know their motives for risking helping a stranger like him. Walt explained that they had all once been strangers and outcasts until they banded together to create their safe haven, and as such they were willing to let him join their collective. Keith added that he was a great judge of character and knew Dave was a good man, and Mary Lou assured him that if he stayed he would never have to fear being persecuted again. Though tempted Dave admitted he had other friends he believed had already been captured by the hunters, and he couldn't abandon them, so instead he asked if the ESPeople could help him rescue them. Walt declined, noting that if the ESPeople strayed to far from their home they risked discovery by the outside world followed by persecution by the same forces that were after Dave. Understanding this, Dave announced he would leave and try to rescue his friends, but before he went Walt asked him one indulgence: he would put a padlock on Dave's memories of the ESPeople's existence. This would protect the group from exposure, but it would also protect Dave, as the padlock would also prevent anyone else psychically tampering with Dave's mind, keeping out Speck and other telepathic intruders. It took only a moment for Walt to put this in place, and then Dave departed; as soon as he walked down the steps outside the mansion the building vanished from his view (see comments) and Dave forgot the ESPeople. Mere seconds later the hunters, who had been scouring the area, captured Dave.
(D.P.7#12 - BTS) - The hunters took Dave to the Clinic for Paranormal Research where his friends were also being held. There two paranormal telepaths who had brainwashed Dave's friends into thinking they were staying at the Clinic voluntarily tried to do the same to Dave, but Walt's block worked; both telepaths were knocked out by the feedback and Dave woke up with his mind intact and a vague recollection that someone had told him his mind had become tamper proof, though he could not recall who. Thanks to this he was soon able to save his captured friends.
(D.P.7#25/2 (fb) - BTS) - To help pass the time the
ESPeople took up a new hobby, a mixture of wargaming combined with using
their psychic powers in mock battle with one another. As part of the
game they adopted colorful codenames and designed costumes for their
gaming characters - Walt was Psi-Lord, Mary Lou was Purple Veil, Dan was
the Apparition, Keith was Trancer, Victor was Phantom Bullet and Holly
was Supernatural.
(D.P.7#24
- BTS) - Over the next year the state of the world became fraught after
a paranormal accidentally destroyed Pittsburgh. Believing the
devastation might be an enemy attack on America, the United States went
on a war footing and began drafting paranormals, including Dave Landers.
Dave found himself sent out to assist capturing potential draft dodgers,
but upon realizing one of them was a woman he had loved from the Clinic
he helped her escape instead. Dave's sergeant, Haldeman, a paranormal
who could project emotions into others, tried to punish Dave by
projecting despair into Landers, only to be rendered comatose for three
weeks by Walt's barrier. Upon finally waking Haldeman requested help
from another paranormal psychic recruit, Lieutenant Keith Remsen, a.k.a.
Nightmask. Remsen could send out his astral form to enter the dreams of
others, and via this method first checked Haldeman's mind, seeing
Haldeman's failed psychic attack as a bunch of grim reapers smashing
themselves against a blank white wall. Sending his astral form next into
Dave's dreams, Remsen saw Walt's padlock visualized as a large white
cube - literally a mental block - but when he touched the cube it
violently sucked his astral form in. Feeling this happening Remsen
forced himself to wake up in an attempt to yank back his astral form to
his body, but when he did so his physical form vanished from the army
office he was in.
(D.P.7#25/2) - The ESPeople were playing their wargame
when Walt grabbed his head in pain and passed out. Smoke poured from his
ears, and a stunned Remsen materialized on their gaming table, wearing
the Nightmask costume that normally only manifested on his astral form
in dreams.
(D.P.7#25/2 - BTS) - Having
been somehow used by Nightmask as a portal Walt / Psi-Lord used the
opportunity to mentally travel back to the entrance point, Dave
Landers' brain, and learned of Landers' plight and how his mental
block was partially responsible for it.
(D.P.7#25/2) - Understandably
startled by this sudden manifestation, the ESPeople tried to figure out
what had just happened, and Keith hastily told Dan to cloak them before
the intruder recovered enough to be able to take in his surroundings.
Immediately Dan's illusions turned them into their gaming characters and
their mansion into the last fictional battlefield they had been playing
on. Coming round to see the outlandish costumes Nightmask assumed that
he was in someone's dreams. Purple Veil declared that he had invaded the
sanctum of the ESPeople and demanded he state his name and business
immediately, and then Trancer stepped forward trying to grab him,
claiming he would know the truth about Nightmask as soon as he touched
the intruder. Reacting swiftly as he was used to fighting dream
characters, Nightmask leapt over Trancer, but was startled when the
Apparition suddenly appeared in giant form in front of him. Phantom
Bullet opened fire with spectral projectiles, but Nightmask dodged them
only to be captured in a whirlwind generated by Supernatural. Stunned,
Nightmask dropped to the ground and Trancer was able to place a hand on
his forehead and read him, learning his identity and of Landers'
predicament. Just as he finished reporting his findings to the others
Psi-Lord woke and confirmed what he had learned. Since Nightmask would
know they were Draft evaders Walt suggested they wipe Remsen's memories
of their existence. He also asked the others if they should stop hiding
out while the world was going to pot outside and perhaps become more
involved, using their gifts to do what they could. The others gave his
proposal a resounding "Nah." Some time later and a good distance away
from the house Nightmask came to, finding himself walking down a road
with no recollection of how he had got there and still unsure if he was
dreaming or awake.
Comments: Created by Mark Gruenwald, Paul Ryan and Al Williamson.
It's unclear how the group survive in terms
of food and fuel. While in theory they could heat their home with
firewood, even if off the grid they'd need fuel for a generator as they
appeared to have electrical lighting, and there was no evidence of any
farming going on. The most likely explanation is that they aren't
totally cut off from the outside world, either venturing out every so
often to get supplies or having them delivered. They do confirm that
they have a van, and they were able to get to reach where Dave Landers
was within a few minutes of Landers leaving the highway, so while their
home stands alone in the wilderness they are clearly within at least
relatively short driving distance of other people. Making anyone they
interact with forget them immediately afterwards wouldn't be difficult
for them, though it might be better to instead make themselves seem more
unremarkable and uninteresting - "nothing to see here, move along" -
than completely forgotten, as they'd have to interact with the same
shopkeepers or delivery people repeatedly and someone might eventually
notice regular gaps in their memories. Both options carry risks -
venturing out potentially means encountering multiple people and maybe
even eventually someone immune to their psychic camouflage, but
deliveries means at least one outsider knows of the existence and
location of the house - and the ESPeople seemed fairly risk averse, but
they'd still need to procure supplies some way or other. And then
there's paying for them; the group are not apparently in any form of
paid employment, but while their powers would make stealing supplies
easy, such thefts would draw attention sooner or later. Perhaps one or
more of the group was wealthy?
An amusing touch I missed until I was writing this profile. The ESPeople
literally live in the Psycho house, as in the Bates Mansion from the
movie Psycho. It's in the wrong state, but the frontage and what we see
of the interiors matches. While this might have simply been a little
joke on artist Paul Ryan's part, it's possible that this choice was made
by Mark Gruenwald. The cover of the issue seems intended to make the
ESPeople seem menacing and potentially dangerous, presented in shadow
and with their house looming behind them, and the "Pyscho House" is
ingrained in the public consciousness as a place of danger and murder,
so even subconscious recognition of it helps add to the sense of danger.
Walt put a block in Dave's mind to prevent
psychic intrusions, but Dan was apparently still able to trick Dave's
senses. This apparent contradiction might be because Dan strictly
speaking doesn't himself enter the minds of others, but simply projects
images into them, or perhaps Walt was smart enough and skilled enough to
be able to include a "back door" that he and his fellow ESPeople could
use to still access Dave's mind.
Profile by Loki.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The ESPeople have no known connections to:
Apparition has no known connections to:
Phantom Bullet has no known connections to:
Psi-Lord has no known connections to:
Purple Veil has no known connections to:
Supernatural has no known connections to:
Trancer has no known connections to:
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Dan could alter others senses, allowing him to
render people and even entire buildings invisible and presumably
inaudible, unsmellable, etc., and to generate illusions, such as
making costumes seem to appear or one person to appear as
another, and presumably sound/smell/feel like them too. He
routinely cloaked the ESPeople's house whenever Keith sensed
others nearby, so that they would not discover the residence;
presumably his illusions covertly steered people around the
property so that they didn't discover it by accidentally walking
into an exterior wall. --D.P.7#11
(D.P.7#25/2
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Holly could control nature to some degree, stirring up winds and causing ice to crack. Based on the way her powers were described, it is also probable should could effect other changes, perhaps causing rain, perhaps even thunder and lightning. At least within the confines of the ESPeople's games she seemed able to generate ice thick rapidly enough and thick enough to block projectiles. --D.P.7#11 (D.P.7#25/2 
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Keith was clairvoyant, able to read events and energies. Though he stated he couldn't read minds, when he touched Nightmask he was able to see images of the man's recent history and learned his name; it is possible his power had grown to enable him to read minds albeit only with physical contact of his subject. He could sense the presence of others in his vicinity, allowing him to act as the group's early warning system so that Dan could then cloak the existence of their home from potential intruders. He could also sense other telepaths at a somewhat greater distance, which enabled him to learn of Tracey Speck invading Dave Landers' mind. --D.P.7#11 (D.P.7#25/2 
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Mary Lou was a telepath, though apparently only able to send messages into others' minds but not read their thoughts. --D.P.7#11 (D.P.7#25/2 
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Victor was a psychokinetic, able to generate a stream of mental particles that could strike others, including deflecting projectiles from guns or breaking equipment if he struck it precisely enough. If he could also move objects around as some other telekinetics can, he did not demonstrate it. --D.P.7#11 (D.P.7#25/2 
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Walt could jam energies in others' minds, stunning them (and potentially causing permanent injury or death if he did so long enough); it was unclear whether he could only do this to minds or also to other items that energies flowed through. He could also place mental blocks in peoples' minds, locking away memories or blocking those minds from further mental intrusion. --D.P.7#11 (D.P.7#25/2 
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images: (without ads)
D.P.7#11, p22 pan4 (main
image, Dan, Holly, Mary Lou headshots)
D.P.7#11,
cover (menacing shadowy image)
D.P.7#25, p24, pan1
(costumed identities and individual costume shots)
D.P.7#11, p18, pan6 (mansion)
D.P.7#11, p20,
pan5 (Dan powers)
D.P.7#11,
p21, pan1 (Holly powers)
D.P.7#11, p19, pan4 (Keith headshot
and power explanation)
D.P.7#25,
p28, pan2-3 (Keith powers)
D.P.7#11,
p20, pan2 (Mary Lou powers)
D.P.7#11,
p20, pan1 (Victor headshot)
D.P.7#11, p20, pan3 (Victor powers)
D.P.7#11, p15,
pan8 (Walt headshot)
D.P.7#11,
p20, pan4 (Walt powers)
Appearances:
D.P.7#11 (September 1987) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan
(pencils), Al Williamson (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
D.P.7#25/2 (publication date) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Javier Salteres
(art), Howard Mackie (editor)
First Posted: 06/18/2025
Last updated: 06/18/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright
info
All other 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.!
Dan / the Apparition
Holly / Supernatural
Keith / Trancer
Mary Lou / Purple Veil
Victor / Phantom Bullet
Walt / Psi-Lord