PUZZLE MAN

Real Name: Krys Crossman

Identity/Class: Human magic user, citizen of the United States (see comments)

Occupation: Daily Bugle puzzle editor

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Daily Bugle staff (Robbie Robertson, others)

Enemies: Spider-Boy (Bailey Briggs)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: New York City, New York

First Appearance: Spider-Boy II#8 (August, 2024)

Powers/Abilities: Puzzle Man possesses no known superhuman abilities. He possesses a magical object shaped like a giant wooden pencil of unknown origin that allows him to alter reality in his immediate vicinity. The environments he creates are often shaped like puzzles, word games and quizzes. The reality warps instantly vanish when he loses focus or when the source of his power is destroyed. The giant pencil comes equipped with a functional "magic eraser" that can potentially wipe out anything. Puzzle Man is aware he exists in a comic and frequently addresses the reader directly.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'8")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 175 lbs.)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

History:

(Spider-Boy II#8 (fb) - BTS) - As the puzzle editor at the Daily Bugle, the self-important Krys Crossman was responsible for the paper's puzzles page which he considered the real reason people bought the paper.

(Spider-Boy II#8 (fb) - BTS) - Through unrevealed means, Crossman came into possession of a device that allowed him to alter reality. He fashioned the device as a giant pencil with a magic eraser on top and adopted the puzzle-centric identity of Puzzle Man.

(Spider-Boy II#8 (fb) - BTS) - Crossman hid the Puzzle Man costume and pencil behind a fake panel in a Bugle storage room. An electronic signal from his watch would release the panel.

(Spider-Boy II#8 (fb) - BTS) - As Puzzle Man, he enjoyed playing tricks on New York's superhero population, holding them in low regard.

(Spider-Boy II#8 (fb) - BTS) - In the three years that young Bailey Briggs served as Spider-Man's sidekick, he fought Puzzle Man on several occasions.

(Spider-Boy II#8 (fb) - BTS) - As a result of being cut and erased from the web of destiny and life, Puzzle Man along with everyone else in existence forgot about Spider-Boy.

(Spider-Boy II#8 (fb) - BTS) - Crossman developed a new word game app for the Daily Bugle website that he considered his life's work. It contained a complete archive of every puzzle he ever made for the paper.

(Spider-Boy II#8) - When Spider-Boy made his presence known to the world again, it caused Puzzle Man to grow increasingly frustrated because he could not seem to remember anything about the young hero.

(Spider-Boy II#8) - The ever-temperamental Crossman lost it when Robbie Robertson informed him his word game app had to be removed from the Bugle's website because it contained too many glitches. Crossman figured the bugs were caused by one of Puzzle Man's many enemies. He then turned directly to the readers, asking for their help in discovering the culprit by completing a paint-by-numbers sketch of Spider-Boy. Eager to pay the hero back for this perceived slight, Crossman assumed his Puzzle Man identity.

(Spider-Boy II#8 - BTS) - Puzzle Man tracked Spider-Boy down to the FEAST shelter, where he had been staying as Bailey Briggs.

(Spider-Boy II#8) - Puzzle Man confronted Spider-Boy, tripping up the hero and taking the only picture Bailey had of himself with his mother. Puzzle Man threatened to erase the photo with his magic eraser if Spider-Boy didn't tell him who he was and why nobody seemed able to remember him. He then proceeded to put the young hero through his paces, using the magic pencil to create several elaborate life-size puzzles. He started with a giant maze that Spider-Boy simply jumped over, then he had him complete a crossword puzzle the size of a skyscraper about his top ten villains. Frustrated, Spider-Boy decided to tell him about the mystic dagger that cut him from the web of destiny, which Puzzle Man had a hard time believing even though he was the one with a magic pencil.

(Spider-Boy II#8 - BTS) - Puzzle Man subjected Spider-Boy to two more puzzles: a spot-the-difference puzzle comparing two photos of Spider-Boy's allies which appeared on nearby billboards and a word search that covered a nearby rooftop.

(Spider-Boy II#8) - Spider-Boy caught up with Puzzle Man, but lost his patience when his mother's face was accidentally erased from the photo. He angrily shifted to his monster form and attacked. Fearing for his life, Puzzle Man tried to flee, transforming an entire street into a seek-and-find puzzle. But Spider-Boy had no trouble locating his opponent. He took the magic pencil from him and briefly toyed with the idea of stabbing Puzzle Man with his own weapon. Instead, he simply snapped the pencil in half, leaving his opponent heartbroken over the loss of his superpowers.

(Spider-Boy II#8 - BTS) - His encounter with Puzzle Man convinced Bailey it was high time to make sure the world remembered who he was again, so he went to Silk, Madame Webb and Araña for help.

Comments: Created by Dan Slott, Jason Loo.

A (criss)cross between Deadpool, Madcap and a certain riddle-loving Batman villain... Puzzle Man is more nuisance than menace, which is a blessing in disguise given his powers. We never find out how he got his hands on a reality warping pencil, which looks to be a genuine magical item made of wood. And why not, a pencil looks more than a little like a magic wand. Puzzle Man alludes to having pestered other superheroes besides Spider-Boy; there are plenty to choose from in the New York area.

Profile by Norvo

CLARIFICATIONS:
Puzzle Man should not be confused with

• PUZZLE MAN, Fun and Games contest winner--Captain America I#260
• PUZZLE SAMURAI, agents of Herod--X-Men 2099 I#29
• CROSS-WORDO, puzzle menace--Fun and Games I#9
• or any other "Puzzle" or "Man" characters

Images: (without ads)
Spider-Boy II#8, p13, pan4 (main)
Spider-Boy II#8, p12, pan2 (close-up)
Spider-Boy II#8, p13, pan4 (hidden panel)
Spider-Boy II#8, p21, pan4 (broken pencil)

Appearances:
Spider-Boy II#8 (August, 2024) - Dan Slott (writer), Jason Loo (pencils & inks), Ellie Pyle (editor)

First Posted: 10/06/2026
Last Updated: 10/06/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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