MR. SCRATCH
Earth-998
Real Name: Unrevealed, possibly Mr. Scratch
Identity/Class: Alternate Earth (Earth-998), human mutant
Occupation: Loyal follower of Brimstone Love, former Queens protector, leader of the Black Knights
Group Membership: Theatre of Pain (Brimstone Love, Carver, Dirt Nap, Stringfellow);
former leader of the Red Queen's Black Knights
Affiliations: Brimstone Love of Earth-616;
formerly Red Queen (Jean Grey of Earth-9575)
Enemies: Asian Empire of Earth-998, Fang (Akihiro) of Earth-616, Forge of Earth-998, Lockheed of Earth-616, Stringfellow of Earth-616, X-Man (Nate Grey, of Earth-616), X-Man (Nate Grey, of Earth-998);
possibly Wolverine of Earth-998 (see comments)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Lord Protector (called by Red Queen)
Base of Operations: Mobile throughout the United States of America, Earth-616;
formerly New York, Briton Empire, Earth-998
First Appearance: X-Man I#63 (April, 2000)
Powers/Abilities: Mr. Scratch was a mutant whose power made him immune to the powers of other mutants. Besides his mutation, he was a highly skilled hand-to-hand fighter and a ruthless killer. After suffering severe brain damage during an assassination attempt on the Red Queen, Scratch was left in a constant state of murderous rage. His insanity gave him an extremely high tolerance for pain, incredible ferocity and the strength of a madman. Despite his unstable mind, he remained a loyal and capable commander of the Black Knights. Scratch was a bald man with a large scar running from the left side of his forehead, across his eye and cheek, to the corner of his mouth, the result of wounds inflicted by the Canadian. He also had a small tattoo of the number "3" below his right ear.
Height: Unrevealed (6'2" by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed (220 lbs. by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Bald
History:
(X-Man I#68 (fb) - BTS) - Following the mysterious resurrection of Madelyne Pryor, Mr. Scratch became one of her most devoted followers. Like the rest of the world, Scratch was unaware that the woman known as the Red Queen was not the true Madelyne Pryor, but in fact Jean Grey of Earth-9575. As the Red Queen, she ruled half the world of Earth-998, opposed only by the Asian Empire.
(X-Man I#69 (fb) - BTS) - Mr. Scratch eventually rose to become the commander of the Black Knights, the Red Queen's elite warriors. From this position he led her armies against the Asian Empire and any who dared oppose her rule.
(X-Man I#68 (fb) - BTS) - Believing Nate Grey to possess a latent genetic timebomb, the Red Queen sought to turn him into her ultimate weapon against the Asian Empire. Her first attempt involved the Nate Grey of Earth-998, but after failing to properly control him she believed him dead, unaware that he had survived and escaped.
(X-Man I#70 (fb) - BTS) - As opposition to the Red Queen continued to grow, the escaped Nate Grey of Earth-998 aided a Canadian rebel in an assassination attempt against her. To conceal the assassin's movements, Nate used his telepathic powers to shield him from detection.
(X-Man I#63 (fb) - BTS) - Mr. Scratch intercepted the Canadian assassin before he could reach the Red Queen. During their brutal struggle, the Canadian drove knives into Scratch's brain (see comments). Although Scratch survived, the injury left him with severe brain damage that trapped him in a constant state of murderous rage. Thereafter, he possessed the strength of a homicidal maniac and no longer understood pity or compassion.
(X-Man I#68 (fb) - BTS) - Following the failed attempt to use the Nate Grey of Earth-998, the Red Queen spent eight years traveling the multiverse in search of a suitable replacement. Most Nate Greys she encountered proved unstable or died at a young age. Eventually she discovered the Nate Grey of Earth-616, whom she believed to be the one she had been searching for. Over the course of several months she repeatedly visited Earth-616, subtly manipulating his mind and preparing him to become her weapon.
(X-Man I#63 (fb) - BTS) - After Forge completed the Interscope, the device that allowed the Red Queen to travel between realities, she ordered Mr. Scratch to kill him before he could reveal its secrets. The decision mirrored the ancient practice of murdering the architects of great monuments to ensure their knowledge died with them.
(X-Man I#63) - Accepting Mr. Scratch's invitation to the Red Queen's palace in New York, Forge arrived aboard a magnificent bird-like aircraft. Welcomed by Scratch, he was escorted into a vast technological complex hidden beneath the city. As Forge reflected on his life and achievements, Scratch listened in silence while leading him to the Interscope. After discussing mortality and the desire to be remembered after death, Scratch suddenly attacked Forge from behind, beat him to death and tore the inventor's heart from his chest.
(X-Man I#68 - BTS) - Following Forge's murder, Mr. Scratch took possession of his bird-like aircraft.
(X-Man I#67) - Convinced that the Nate Grey of Earth-616 was finally ready, the Red Queen brought him to Earth-998. Upon their arrival, Mr. Scratch was present to welcome his Queen home.
(X-Man I#68) - Mr. Scratch welcomed the Red Queen home and inquired whether her mission had been successful, after which she introduced Nate Grey. After briefing her on the state of the empire, Scratch escorted them aboard Forge's aircraft and accompanied them to the Queen's palace. There he oversaw Nate's presentation before the royal court, repeatedly insisting that he show proper respect to the Queen. Standing faithfully at Madelyne's side, Scratch carried out her orders and maintained order within the court. When an Asian spy refused to bow before the throne, Scratch asked whether she should be executed, prompting the Queen to command Nate Grey to kill her. Although Nate obeyed, the act horrified him and enabled him to break free of the Queen's conditioning, after which he fled the palace.
(X-Man I#69) - Following Nate Grey's escape, Mr. Scratch ordered a full alert throughout the palace, causing the Black Knights to prepare for action. While inspecting his troops, he overheard a young knight questioning why they fought for a queen powerful enough to wage war herself. Displeased by the remark, Scratch struck the knight and seemingly snapped his neck. Donning his helmet and leading the assembled Black Knights, Scratch then appeared before the Red Queen and listened as she explained that an unknown force was shielding Nate from her telepathic senses. Ordered to recover Nate at any cost, Scratch and the Black Knights remained ready to return him to the Queen for the glory and security of Briton.
(X-Man I#69 - BTS) - Mr. Scratch eventually tracked Nate Grey to a remote village where the Nate Greys of Earth-616 and Earth-998 were using their powers to partially reanimate Forge's corpse in hopes of uncovering the Red Queen's secrets. Through their investigation, Scratch learned that the Red Queen was not the true Madelyne Pryor but the Jean Grey from another reality.
(X-Man I#69) - Determined to prevent the two Nate Greys from learning any further secrets, Mr. Scratch caused Forge's partially reanimated body to explode before revealing himself. Wearing a dark smile, Scratch warned that while the Queen might have shown mercy, they should expect none from him.
(X-Man I#70) - Scratch fearlessly opposed the two powerful Nate Grey's when they unleashed a joined blast that would've split a mountain, yet leaving Scratch unharmed. Shocked their powers didn't affect Scratch who'se mutant power was to be immune to other mutant powers. Meanwhile the Black Knights slaughtered the tribespeople causing the two Nate Grey's to counter the knights leaving them open to attack. Using this opportunity, Scratch attacked the Nate Grey from Earth-616 from the back, shattering his spine after which he grabbed the other Nate by the neck, choking him, only stopped at the last moment by the other Nate. Having the gained the upper hand, Scratch seemingly bludgeoned the Nate native to his world to death and brought the 616 Nate to the queens palace, fulfilling his orders.
After recovering the Nate Grey he believed to be the Earth-616 Nate, Mr. Scratch returned him to the Red Queen. Unbeknownst to Scratch, the Nate Greys of Earth-616 and Earth-998 had secretly combined their powers, healing one another, altering their appearances and freeing Nate-295 from the Red Queen's mental conditioning. Believing he had recovered his Queen's weapon, Scratch stood by as the Red Queen ordered Nate to destroy Asia. When his attack produced nothing more than harmless energy, she realized she had been deceived. After Nate-2098 revealed the truth, the enraged Red Queen destroyed him and ordered Scratch to prepare the Interscope so Nate-295 could be recovered. Later, when Nate-295 returned to Earth-998 and reached the engines, the Red Queen ordered Scratch to take his own life for failing her. Refusing, Scratch revealed that he knew she was not the true Madelyne Pryor but Jean Grey of another reality. Threatening to expose her secret and spark rebellion throughout the empire, Scratch demanded that she make him her husband and king in exchange for his silence. Before the Queen could respond, Nate-295 arrived and triggered an explosion within the engines that seemingly killed Mr. Scratch.
(X-Man I#70 / Marauders II#6 - BTS) - Caught in the explosion of the Interscope, Mr Scratch was flung to another reality and found himself alive and well on Earth-616.
(Marauders II#6 - BTS) - Scratch fell under the influence of Brimstone Love, a primal geomancer who manipulated and fed upon the emotions of his followers within the Theatre of Pain. Believing he had finally found purpose for his murderous impulses, Scratch embraced Brimstone's teachings and traveled across the United States gathering new converts. To keep his followers enraged and united, Brimstone directed their hatred toward Krakoa, claiming Charles Xavier had betrayed his dream of peaceful coexistence by joining forces with Magneto to establish the sovereign mutant nation.
(Marauders II#6) - While recruiting followers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Scratch taught the lessons of Brimstone Love while dissecting an insectoid mutant. Holding the dead mutant's heart in his hand, Scratch explained that true equality could only exist when distinctions such as mutant and human no longer mattered in deciding who lived and who died. Unaware that Fang's dragon companion Lockheed was secretly observing him from the rafters, Scratch continued spreading the teachings of the Theatre of Pain.
(Marauders II#7) - Scratch later met with fellow Theatre of Pain member Stringfellow at an abandoned hospital in Waterbury, Connecticut. Frustrated by Brimstone Love's prolonged absence, Stringfellow demanded to know the cult leader's whereabouts. Remaining calm, Scratch explained that the Theatre of Pain was rebuilding and that Brimstone would reveal himself when the time was right. Unwilling to accept the answer, Stringfellow attacked Scratch with his mutant powers, only to discover that Scratch was immune to them. Grabbing Stringfellow by the head, Scratch apparently killed the mutant while Lockheed secretly witnessed the encounter.
(Marauders II#11 (fb) - BTS) - Continuing his efforts to rebuild the Theatre of Pain, Scratch traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, where he murdered both a human and a mutant, removing their hearts for use in a sermon intended to inspire a new generation of followers.
(Marauders II#11) - Gathering prospective converts inside an abandoned church, Scratch displayed the hearts he had taken from a human and a mutant and preached Brimstone Love's philosophy that true equality could only be achieved through primal brutality, where all people faced the same dangers and none were judged by race, species or status. As his ecstatic audience celebrated his words, Fang and Lockheed interrupted the gathering, with Fang striking Scratch in the face with a baseball. Seeking information on Brimstone Love's whereabouts, Fang engaged Scratch in a brutal fight. During the battle, Scratch sliced off several of Fang's fingers before Fang disarmed him and repeatedly struck him with the baseball bat. Delighting in the violence, Scratch revealed that he was merely Brimstone's messenger, tasked with rebuilding the Theatre of Pain until his master's return, though he did know where to report to. The information ultimately enabled Fang to track Brimstone Love to Hightown in Madripoor.
Comments: Created by Warren Ellis, Steven Grant, and Ariel Olivetti.
Although never identified by name, the Canadian who plunged knives into Mr. Scratch's brain was most likely intended to be Wolverine. Members of the Black Knights also spoke of rumors that the Asian Empire was aided by a "giant made of steel" and a "ghost devil who stinks of sulfur," almost certainly references to Colossus and Nightcrawler, respectively. Likewise, the young woman whom Nate Grey killed on the Red Queen's orders closely resembled Danielle Moonstar, although her identity was never confirmed.
The entire Shockwave storyline from X-Man takes place six months before the current time.
Although never directly stated, Dirt Nap appeared alongside Scratch in both Pennsylvania and Connecticut, suggesting he may have been accompanying Scratch as he recruited followers for the Theatre of Pain. Whether Dirt Nap served as an additional observer, a bodyguard, or had been assigned by Brimstone Love to monitor Scratch's progress remains unrevealed.
Profile by MarvellousLuke.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Scratch has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
X-Man I#70, p1, pan1 (main image)
X-Man I#63, p2, pan3 (introducing himself to Forge)
X-Man I#69, p3, pan1&2 (leading the Black Knight army)
X-Man I#70, p16, pan2,3&4 (exposing Jean Grey)
Marauders II#6, p1, pan1 (Theatre of Pain)
Appearances:
X-Man I#63 (April, 2000) - Warren Ellis, Steven Grant (writers), Ariel Olivetti (pencils, inks), Jason Liebig (editor)
X-Man I#67 (July, 2000) - Warren Ellis, Steven Grant (writers), Ariel Olivetti (pencils, inks), Jason Liebig (editor)
X-Man I#68 (August, 2000) - Warren Ellis, Steven Grant (writers), Ariel Olivetti (pencils, inks), Jason Liebig (editor)
X-Man I#69 (September, 2000) - Warren Ellis, Steven Grant (writers), Ariel Olivetti (pencils, inks), Jason Liebig (editor)
X-Man I#70 (October, 2000) - Warren Ellis, Steven Grant (writers), Ariel Olivetti (pencils, inks), Jason Liebig (editor)
Marauders II#6 (September, 2022) - Steve Orlando (writer), Andrea Broccardo (pencils, inks), Lauren Amaro, Jordan D. White (editors)
Marauders II#7 (October, 2022) - Steve Orlando (writer), Eleonora Carlini (pencils, inks), Lauren Amaro, Jordan D. White (editors)
Marauders II#11 (Ferbuary, 2023) - Steve Orlando (writer), Eleonora Carlini (pencils, inks), Jordan D. White (editor)
First Posted: 07/23/2026
Last updated: 07/23/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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