PAUL VANCE

Real Name: Paul Vance

Identity/Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Video-store owner

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Janie (last name unrevealed; girlfriend)

Enemies: Detective Blake, Detective Bill Schumer, unidentified Big Budget Video owner

Known Relatives: None (see comments)

Aliases: The Great Video (see comments)

Base of Operations: The Great Wall of Video; his suburban home, somewhere in the USA

First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy II#15/3 (January, 2006)

Powers/Abilities: Apparently as a result of chemicals from burning video tapes and DVDs getting into his eyes, Vance was somehow endowed with "X-ray vision" -- with his enhanced vision, he could see the skeletons of living persons. Additionally, he had a "death-stare" that released burning beams of energy from his eyes, which could boil human flesh and set things afire.

He later wore a military-style motorcycle helmet with a small VHS video camera attached to the top.

Distinguishing Features: Badly burned after committing arson, most of the upper portion of Vance's body was wrapped in bandages -- the extent of his injuries was unrevealed.

Height: Unrevealed (5'10"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed (165 lbs.; by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown

History:
(Amazing Fantasy II#15/3 (fb) - BTS) - The past of Paul Vance is largely unrevealed, but he owned and operated a video-store--The Great Wall of Video--and shared a small suburban home with his girlfriend Janie. However, Vance's business took a downturn when he couldn't compete with Big Budget Video, a larger rival store. Janie offhandedly mentioned that he should just burn his store down and collect the insurance, then they could move upstate and buy a better house; but Vance took her suggestion seriously.

(Amazing Fantasy II#15/3) - Late one night, Vance went into his store and set it afire; but he didn't make his way out of the burning building before he was set ablaze by the inferno.

(Amazing Fantasy II#15/3 - BTS) - Vance was taken to a hospital and his injuries were treated -- the upper portion of his body was badly burned and wrapped in bandages...and apparently exposure to the chemicals in the burning videos began to mutate him, specifically affecting his eyes.

   At some point, the police investigated and discovered the suspicious nature of the video-store's fire -- they determined Vance had committed arson for the purpose of insurance fraud.

   Meanwhile, with Paul still in the hospital, Janie decided that she didn't want to be involved with the legal mess he had created for himself, so she moved out of their house and took all the furnishings with her.

(Amazing Fantasy II#15/3) - Ten days later, the bandaged Vance was laying in his hospital bed when Detectives Schumer and Blake came to question him about the fire; but just as they began to advise him of his rights, Vance started to scream -- at that point, his mutation had activated, and he saw the two detectives as a pair of living skeletons! Seconds later, a prolonged stare from Vance caused beams to emerge from his eyes that boiled the flesh of the two detectives and set the room afire. In a panic, Vance grabbed a dropped gun from one of the detectives and jumped out the window to the sidewalk (obviously he had a ground floor room). Wearing nothing but the bandages and a hospital gown, Vance noticed a motorcyclist in the parking lot -- he pistol-whipped the cyclist, took his motorcycle and helmet, then Vance rode off to his house.

   Upon reaching his home, Vance found Janie gone and the house empty. Using the wall phone, he called Janie's cell phone and told her how he had to flee the hospital because the place was full of "talking skeletons," but he burned them up with beams that shot out of his eyeballs. Doubting Paul's mental stability, Janie told him that their relationship was over and that she was with someone else now; she also told Paul that he wasn't taking responsibility for his crimes and he'd be going to prison, and that she wouldn't be paying for his lawyer. Janie then sarcastically told Paul that she didn't take everything when she moved out -- she had left him with a video camera.

(Amazing Fantasy II#15/3 - BTS) - Determining that Big Budget Video was the cause of all his troubles, Vance attached the video camera to the motorcycle helmet and went to get his revenge.

(Amazing Fantasy II#15/3) - Three hours later, with the camera on the helmet activated, Vance went to Big Budget Video and confronted the owner -- he explained he was using the camera to make a movie for his girlfriend. Vance began raving that the owner was responsible for killing his dreams and making his life a nightmare -- but as he was distracted by an employee, the owner didn't seem to hear a word Paul said and only impatiently asked him if he could help him find something. After a pause, Paul requested an old movie from the early 1960s: The Man With X-Ray Eyes; then as Paul made a prolonged stare at him, the store-owner began to scream...

Comments: Created by Daniel Way and Nick Dragotta.








Because of this character's surname and powers, he could be related to the similarly empowered Heathrow Vance (see clarifications).

Paul Vance was never actually called "The Great Video" in this 8-page story, and was only referred to as such on the issue's contents page; however, the moniker was also alluded to on the sign of his video-store (see sub-profile).

Janie was never actually seen in this story, and her presence was only depicted by her word-balloons when Paul spoke with her on the telephone.

Vance's actual face was concealed by bandages throughout the story, but he did appear on this issue's cover, where the bandages seem to be removed. He may have removed the bandages before he went to Big Budget Video, and the best view of his face was on the last page, where he's staring at the Big Budget Video owner.

When she moved out, my guess is Janie also left Paul's clothes behind, so he could at least change from that conspicuous and all-too-revealing hospital gown.

And the movie Paul requested at Big Budget Video is a real-life film -- 1963's X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes -- wherein scientist Dr. James Xavier used chemicals to give himself x-ray vision.

This profile was completed 04/03/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Paul Vance / The Great Video has no known connections to:

Detective Bill Schumer has no known connections to:

Detective Blake has no known connections to:

Great Wall of Video

A store owned and operated by Paul Vance, it presumably offered customers a variety of movies in video tape and DVD format.

But the smaller store couldn't compete with business rival Big Budget Video, so Vance was inspired by an offhanded remark from his girlfriend Janie and decided to burn it down to collect the insurance money.

Late one night, Vance went to the store and committed arson, but he didn't get out of the burning building before he was also set afire.

--Amazing Fantasy II#15/3

Detective Bill Schumer and Detective Blake

Two plain-clothes police detectives, they went to Paul Vance's hospital room to question him about the suspicious nature of the fire at Vance's video-store -- they suspected that Vance had committed arson for the purpose of insurance fraud.

But just as they began to advise him of his rights, Vance began to scream -- unbeknownst to the detectives, Vance's visual mutation had activated, and he perceived them to be "living skeletons".

Then Schumer felt the effects of Vance's "x-ray vision" first, as his flesh began to blister and burn; Blake (first name unrevealed) drew his gun, but Vance inadvertently fired beams from his eyes at him, which also caused the room to be set ablaze.

Vance fled the hospital, but the eventual fate of the two detectives was unrevealed.

--Amazing Fantasy II#15/3

Big Budget Video owner

Big Budget Video was a large store that presumably offered customers a wide variety of movies in video tape and DVD format; it was the primary rival of Paul Vance's smaller store, The Great Wall of Video.

One afternoon, the owner was confronted by a strange customer wearing a helmet with an attached video camera (the mutated Paul Vance). The customer began raving about how the owner had killed his dream and left him with nothing but a nightmare; but the owner was distracted by an employee and probably didn't hear a word the customer was saying.

The owner turned his attention back to the customer and apologized, explaining that he was really busy, and impatiently asked the customer if there was something he could help him find.

After a long pause, the customer asked him for an old movie--The Man With X-Ray Eyes--then unleashed his death-stare upon the screaming owner...

--Amazing Fantasy II#15/3

images: (without ads)
Amazing Fantasy II#15/3, p4, pan4 (main image - Paul Vance, aiming gun at motorcyclist)
Amazing Fantasy II#15/3, p4, pan2 (headshot - Paul Vance)
Amazing Fantasy II#15/3, p3, pan3 (Paul Vance laying in hospital bed, firing eyebeams at police detectives)
Amazing Fantasy II#15/3, p6, pan5 (VHS video camera, Paul Vance speaking to Janie on telephone {background])
Amazing Fantasy II#15/3, p4, cover (Paul Vance [bandages off] wearing helmet with video camera)
Amazing Fantasy II#15/3, p8, pan1 (with video camera attached to helmet, Paul Vance, staring at screaming Big Budget Video owner [reflection in camera's lens])
Amazing Fantasy II#15/3, p1, pan1,2,6 (The Great Wall of Video store; flaming Paul Vance runs outside, screaming)
Amazing Fantasy II#15/3, p2, pan4 (Detective Bill Schumer, Detective Blake [background])
Amazing Fantasy II#15/3, p2, pan5 (Detectives Schumer and Blake, as seen by Paul Vance's x-ray vision)
Amazing Fantasy II#15/3, p3, pan2 (Detective Schumer begins to feel effects of Paul Vance's x-ray vision; Detective Blake [background])
Amazing Fantasy II#15/3, p7, pan1 (Big Budget Video owner, as seen through Vance's video camera)
Amazing Fantasy II#15/3, p7, pan8 (impatient Big Budget Video owner, as seen through Vance's video camera)

Appearances:
Amazing Fantasy #15/3 (January, 2006) - Daniel Way (writer), Nick Dragotta (pencils/inks), Lou Loughridge (colors), Dave Lanphear (letters), Mark Paniccia (editor)

First posted: 09/30/2026
Last updated: 04/03/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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