(Civil War I#7 / Amazing Spider-Man I#538 / Civil War: Front Line I#10-11 - BTS) - The Secret Avengers penetrated Prison 42, freeing many prisoners. When the combined anti-registration forces were confronted by Iron Man's pro-registration forces, Secret Avenger Cloak (Tyrone Johnson) teleported both groups to Manhattan. Freed ARU prisoners took part in the battle between the pro and anti-registration heroes, spanning from the Negative Zone prison to the streets of New York. In the ensuing battle, which caused severe damage, the Thunderbolts' Venom (Mac Gargan) apparently killed Typeface. Other fatalities may also have occurred. Following Captain America's surrender to forestall further civilian risk, Battlestar and possibly others avoided recapture.

   The government offered amnesty in return for registration. Although Gladiatrix rejected the offer, Network registered under the 50 States Initiative, while Solo also registered but pursued independent interests. Presumably additional ARU members followed Gladiatrix's example, others followed Network's or Solo's, and still more remained at large.

Comments: Created by Paul Jenkins, Ramon F. Bachs and John Lucas; identified by Ronald Byrd.

    During the production of the Civil War: Battle Damage Report (2007), writer Paul Jenkins provided Ronald Byrd with authorization to provide identities and real names for the various background Anti-Registration Underground characters and to flesh them out as much as he wanted. Ronald provided identities and real names for the Anti-Registration Underground entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#14. There wasn't enough room to provide much more than the characters' names in that entry. However, Ronald had backgrounds and histories in mind for these characters when he provided their names.

    In honor of Ronald, we present his character biography for Johnny Justice, keeping in mind these details are unofficial until it sees print:

    REAL NAME: Jonadab Brand "Jonny" Megyscol
    ALIASES: None
    IDENTITY: Known to US authorities and to many in Lower Manhattan
    OCCUPATION: Bookstore employee
    CITIZENSHIP: USA
    PLACE OF BIRTH: Hunts Point, South Bronx, New York City, New York
    KNOWN RELATIVES: Dewey Megyscol (father), Isabel Megyscol (nee Boyd, mother), Elhanan Megyscol (brother); Abigail Megyscol, Hannah Megyscol, Sheba Megyscol (sisters)
    GROUP AFFILIATION: Synagogue B'nai El of Lower Manhattan; formerly Anti-Registration Underground
    EDUCATION: High school graduate, college (unfinished)
    SHRA CLASSIFICATION: Mutant (Depowered); Hyperathlete
    FIRST APPEARANCE: Civil War: Front Line #4 (2006)

    HISTORY: Of mixed Cornish/Jewish heritage, Jonny Megyscol grew up attending Synagogue B'nai El of Lower Manhattan, whose congregation included most of New York City's small but devout golem community. When his mutant powers manifested in his early teens, Megyscol's family and community accepted his new status as a superhuman. After the passage of the Mutant Registration Act, Megyscol's parents took him to a Mutant Registration Center supervised by John Walker, the Captain America of the time. Megyscol registered without incident, but prior to his departure, he observed the arrival of an irreverent Brooklyn-based superhuman adventurer who called himself "Captain Chr_stf_ck_r" -- a name intended both to imply the extent of his power and to offend the general public -- and who, although not a mutant, had come to the registration center because he incorrectly believed donuts would be provided to the general public. Upon learning the adventurer's codename, Walker demonstrated just how offensive he considered said codename by angrily beating the man to within an inch of his life, shoving a bar of soap into his mouth, and leaving his battered, near-unconscious body in a garbage dumpster. As the man slowly recovered, Megyscol helped him out of the dumpster, suggesting that he instead use a less objectionable codename, perhaps a literary reference such as "Captain Camelot" or "Captain Odyssey," and the man eventually followed Megyscol's advice, dubbing himself "Captain Avalon." Troubled by the examples set by the man and by Walker, Megyscol decided to become a costumed adventurer himself, using the codename "Johnny Justice," to hopefully set a better example for others, both as a hero and as a mutant.

    Early in his career, Johnny Justice received a minor mystic artifact, the Mercurial Mask of Mehroth, as a gift from an as yet unidentified individual for whom he cared a great deal, and wore it during his crimefighting activities, more out of sentiment than for any practical purpose. Years later, Johnny Justice was one of the millions of mutants who lost their superhuman powers on M-Day. Undaunted, Johnny Justice embarked on multiple intense physical training programs, forging himself into an accomplished athlete and hand-to-hand combatant with above average strength and speed.

    Following the passage of the Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA), Johnny Justice declined to register because he erroneously believed his previous registration as a mutant under the MRA fufilled the requirements of the SHRA. Eventually he was recruited into Typeface's Anti-Registration Underground and was present when SHIELD raided the ARU's safehouse and arrested most of its members, including himself. Unwilling to openly oppose the U.S. government, he dutifully registered and was released without incident.

    HEIGHT: 5'6"    WEIGHT: 175 lbs.
    EYES: Blue    HAIR: Blond

    ABILITIES/ACCESSORIES: Prior to losing his mutant abilities, Johnny Justice could psionically control any inorganic matter within a ten-yard radius of himself, enabling him to change the matter's shape into anything he could imagine. He could not levitate objects or negate any object's pre-existing motion, but he could accomplish similar effects by altering objects' shapes. While he could not, for example, cause a garbage can to rise into the air and lower itself to entrap an opponent, he could cause the can, while still resting on the ground, to stretch and engulf his opponent; similarly, he could not literally halt bullets in flight but could divert them by slightly altering their forms and thus changing their trajectories. After losing his mutant abilities, Johnny Justice embarked on an intense physical training program, becoming an accomplished athlete and hand-to-hand combatant, with reasonable if not exceptional skills in various martial arts. He possesses above average strength and speed for a healthy male of his age, height, and build, allowing him to, with extreme effort, lift up to 300 lbs and run at speeds up to 21 mph. He has taken multiple courses in improving memory, problem-solving skills, and other cognitive abilities, in which he performed equally well. He wears the Mask of Mehroth, which alters its form in accordance with its wearer's emotional state and/or its position on the wearer's body.

    Note that if Johnny Justice is a mutant, he might've regained his original powers during the era of the Krakoan mutant community.

Profile by Ronald Byrd and Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Johnny Justice should not be confused with:

• JOHNNY CLOCKWORK of Reality-24119 - head of Club Space--Tekworld I#6
• JOHNNY COOL - Desert Stars, cold powers--Avengers: The Initiative I#16
• JOHNNY DOOIT - Oz, construct ships and other objects at great speed--Road to Oz; (Marvel) Road to Oz I#4
• JOHNNY GUITAR (Johnny Logan) - partner of Dr. Sax, outfitted by Techmaster, used by electric guitar that produced destructive vibrations--Dazzler I#20
• JOHNNY NIGHTMARE (Jake "J." Niman) - former Special Forces, served in Afghanistan, subjected to mutagenic serum, left service after became obsessed with hatred and killing--Punisher: Nightmare I#1
• JOHNNY PUNK ( ) - adjusted his sound equipment to raise the decibels to "mega-pitch" high frequency, and thereby use the sound waves to "lock" the brains of his audience and enslave them for his own brand of "crowd control," foiled by Daredevil--Hostess Fruit Pies ad "Daredevil vs. Johnny Punk!"
• JOHNNY RANDOM of Earth-Amalgam - Random and Johnny Thunder, Generation Hex, create thunderclaps out of thin air--Generation Hex I#1
• JOHNNY SOCKETS (Maggie Farrell) - daughter of the blind man Matt Murdock had saved from the truck carrying the radioactive canisters, wife of Sean, began cutting out people's eyes and then killing them--Daredevil: Father#1
• or any other 'Johnny' or 'Justice'

images: (without ads)
Civil War: Front Line I#4, page 5, panel 4 (main)
Civil War: Front Line I#4, page 5, panel 3 (secondary)
Civil War: Front Line I#4, page 5, panel 2 (supplemental)

Appearances:
Civil War: Front Line I#4 (September, 2006) - Paul Jenkins (writer), Ramon F. Bachs (penciler), John Lucas (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War: Front Line I#5/2 (October, 2006) - Paul Jenkins (writer), Steve Lieber (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War: Front Line I#10-11 (December, 2006-April, 2007) - Paul Jenkins (writer), Ramon F. Bachs (penciler), John Lucas (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War I#7 (January, 2007) - Mark Millar (writer), Steve McNiven (penciler), John Dell (inker), Tim Townsend (inker), Dexter Vines (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man I#538 (March, 2007) - J. Michael Straczynski (writer), Ron Garney (penciler), Bill Reinhold (inker), Axel Alonso (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#14 (June, 2010) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer, coordinator), Mike Fichera (head writer, coordinator), Ronald Byrd (writer), Jeff Youngquist (editor), Jennifer Grunwald (editor)

First posted: 10/28/2026
Last updated: 10/28/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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