SALAMANDER

Real Name: Bachalo (first name unrevealed; see comments)

Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-1220) human, presumably mutant or mutate (see comments)

Occupation: Casino owner, supervillain

Group Membership: The Network (see comments)

Affiliations: Formerly the Bastard (Christopher Matts)

Enemies: The Bastard, Johnny Bolt's crew (Johnny Bolt, Forecast, the Ghost/Josh, Gladiator, the Heat/Carmine, Kasey, TK McCabe, Roddy Diesel, Sammy Diesel), Walt Flanagan

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Osiris Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada

First Appearance: Super Crooks#1 (May 2012)

Powers/Abilities: Salamander had unrevealed superpowers that might have involved generating heat or fire (see comments). He was strong enough to lift aloft an admittedly relatively small and frail elderly man by the throat without apparent effort.

Height: 5'11"
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

History:
(Super Crooks#4 (fb) - BTS) - Salamander was a supervillain who inherited the criminal empire of the Bastard, the greatest (and potentially the most brutal) supervillain the world had ever known, when the Bastard decided to retire and enjoy the vast fortune he had accumulated. In his civilian identity as Mr. Bachalo he owned the Osiris Casino in Las Vegas, with his old supervillain henchmen working there under him.  

(Super Crooks#1) - Bachalo was alerted by his security team that one of the roulette players was having a prolonged winning streak, with no sign of slowing down. One of his staff checked the super criminal database and confirmed the player was an old-school robber named the Heat, but his only known ability was a ray-gun. Hearing this Bachalo told his men observing the camera feeds to keep checking the floor, concluding that the Heat must have a pre-cog feeding him the winning numbers. Hearing over the monitors as the Heat boasted his latest win had now netted him $12 million Bacholo ordered two of his former crew to comb the parking lots.

(Super Crooks#1 - BTS) - They soon discovered goth man, Walt Flanagan, sitting outside in his vehicle telepathically sending the Heat the winning numbers. Bachalo had both Walt and the Heat brought to his office.

(Super Crooks#1) - Once both men were present Bachalo spoke calmly to Walt, confirming that the criminal database's record of him being a pre-cog able to see thirty seconds into the future was correct. Bachalo's teleporter held out the casino owner's cigar case to Bachalo, and as he lit a cigar he toyed with Walt, telling him that his power was a pretty cool trick, then asked the terrified psychic if he could see his own future, and more specifically what the teleporter was going to do with the cigar case. Crying, Walt said yes, and Bachalo callously told him he only had himself to blame. Then the teleporter made the box appear half embedded inside Walt's head, killing him. The Heat watched this in surprise and horror, but then Bachalo turned his attention to the elderly villain. Lifting him up by his throat, Bachalo said he respected him for daring to try and rob his casino, but he needed to set an example for anyone else who might think they could walk in and try to take them for a ride. So in recompense for trying to steal $12 million, the Heat would have exactly one month to pay them $100 million, adding that he shouldn't attempt anything stupid because he should know how far their reach was. When the Heat asked how he was supposed to raise that kind of cash so quickly, Bachalo responded that he was known for being a bank robber. Then he contemptuously handed the Heat his confiscated ray gun back and told him to get out, and return in four weeks with everything he owed them.

(Super Crooks#4 - BTS) - The Heat paid the full amount by the deadline.

(Super Crooks#4) - However, soon after this the Bastard showed up unannounced at the casino in a very bad mood. Bachalo was confused why he had come, but the Bastard told him that playing dumb was only making it worse, and demanded to know why running the Bastard's old business wasn't enough for Salamander, and why he'd felt the need to come and humiliate him in his own home.

   (Unaware to the Salamander, the Heat's friend Johnny Bolt had assembled a crew of supercriminals (and one blackmailed superhero) who had robbed the Bastard, stealing his entire $800 million fortune while disguised as Salamander and his crew, and taunted the retired villain about it for good measure, aware that the Bastard had an extremely vindictive nature and reputation for murdering the loved ones of anyone who crossed him.)

   Still confused by the Bastard's accusations, Salamander tried to protest, but then he and his men began suffering agonizing headaches as the Bastard initiated a psychic attack that ultimately caused all their heads to explode.

Comments: Created by Mark Millar, Leinil Yu and Gerry Alanguilan.

   Super Crooks was a four issue miniseries by Mark Millar, later confirmed to share the same world as other Millarworld titles such as Jupiter's Legacy. In 2021 it got adapted as a 13 episode anime that aired on Netflix, and which expanded the comic story by showing extra backstory leading up to the heist featured in the comic. In the anime Salamander was voiced by Hiseo Egawa in the Japanese dub, and Matthew David Rudd in the English version.

   The comic is thin on details for the Salamander and his gang, so where the anime fills in the gaps I'm going to ASSume they match, at least unless and until counter-evidence becomes available. The group isn't named in the comic, but the anime calls it the Network. Similarly, we never get told nor shown Salamander's powers - in fact, the only powers demonstrated is that one of the team can teleport. However, since Johnny Bolt's team successfully impersonated them so that the Bastard, someone who'd worked with them and presumably knew them quite well, was fooled, I've got to assume that the resemblance went further than just matching costumes - I'm not saying the powers had to match, but they had to look similar enough on surveillance footage and leave behind similar enough evidence to look reasonable. The codename Salamander suggests either lizard-like powers or heat, and since the Heat on Johnny's crew melted his way into the Bastard's vault, my guess would be that Salamander could generate heat or fire.

   Design sketches for the anime revealed his height to be 180 cm, or just under 5'11".

   There's a possibility that Salamander, whether in or out of costume, cameoed in other Millarworld series such as Jupiter's Circle/Legacy. If he did and it's not in the history above, please lmk and I'll add it.

   We don't get told the names of any of his crew, nor their powers beyond one being a teleporter, able to move things he is touching.

   This profile was completed on 09/07/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary's celebratory event to represent Super Crooks.

Profile by Loki.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Salamander has no known connections to:

images: (without ads)
Super Crooks#1, p14, pan1 (main image)
Super Crooks#4, p32, pan2 (headshot)
Super Crooks#4, p33, pan2 (in costume)
Anime design sketch (Salamander in the anime)
Super Crooks#4, p33, pan2 (with entire crew in costume)

Appearances:
Super Crooks#1 (May 2012) - Mark Millar (writer), Leinil Yu (art), Nacho Vigalondo (co-plotter), Nicole Boose (editor)
Super Crooks#4 (August 2012) - Mark Millar (writer), Leinil Yu (art), Nacho Vigalondo (co-plotter), Nicole Boose (editor)

First Posted: 09/19/2026
Last updated: 09/07/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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