REMNANT
Real Name: Frank Edwards
Identity/Class: Extradimensional/alternate reality (Earth-712/"Earth-S") human mutate (see comments)
Occupation: Professional criminal
Group Membership: Redeemers (Black Archer/Wyatt McDonald, Foxfire/Olivia Underwood, Haywire/Harold Danforth, Inertia/Edith Freiberg, Lamprey/Donald McGuiggin, Mink/Julie Steel, Moonglow/Melissa Hanover, Nighthawk/Kyle Richmond, Pinball/Chester Freeman, Michael Redstone, Shape/Raleigh Lund, Thermite/Sam Yurimoto)
Affiliations: Captain America of Earth-616 (Steve Rogers), Cerebrax, Master Menace (Emil Burbank), Professor Imam
Enemies: Squadron Supreme (Arcanna Jones, Blue Eagle/James Dore Jr.,
Hyperion/Mark Milton, Power Princess/Zarda Shelton, Dr.
Spectrum/Joseph Ledger, Whizzer/Stanley Stewart);
formerly Nighthawk
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Rem," "Remmy" (nicknames used by Mink, Pinball, Nighthawk and others)
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly Richmond Manor, New Troy;
formerly mobile throughout the United
States of America
First Appearance: Squadron Supreme I#6 (February 1986)
Powers/Abilities: Through unrevealed means (see comments), Remnant can control the fabric of his supposedly "magic" carpet, ordering it to levitate and even float through the air at speeds up to 25 miles per hour. Remnant can also set small objects such as playing cards or pieces of fabric on fire before throwing them with great accuracy. Remnant seems obsessed with carpets, carpetry and rugs. Despite his obsession, he is a reasonable man who still believes in honoring certain rules of conduct, even though he's what society would consider a villain. Jovial and fun loving by nature, Remnant often relies on his flying carpet to keep him out of trouble. As such, he had a relatively poor physical condition, though that improved somewhat during the months he trained with Nighthawk as part of the Redeemers. Remnant is a gifted tailor.
Height: 6'1" (by approximation)
Weight: 130 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed (wears glasses)
Hair: Pink (presumably dyed)
History:
(Squadron Supreme I#6 (fb) - BTS) - Obsessed with carpets
and using them as his motif when he turned to villainy, Frank Andrews became Remnant. In
his new identity, he often tangled with Nighthawk (Kyle Richmond).
During his early days, Remnant met several other super-villains, such as
the Institute of Evil, Master Menace (Emil Burbank), Mink and Pinball.
He grew particularly close to the latter two.
(Squadron Supreme I#6 - BTS) - After the Squadron Supreme launched the Utopia Program and started using a B-Mod device to brainwash criminals into walking the straight and narrow, Remnant got nervous. That anxiety turned to full blown panic when he and his fellow criminals Mink and Pinball discovered the Institute of Evil had been defeated and brainwashed by the Squadron as well.
(Squadron Supreme I#6) - Figuring Master Menace would be able to help them escape the Squadron, Remnant, Mink, and Pinball visited his citadel. Welcomed by Menace's robotic servant Cerebrax, they were forced to wait around until Burbank was ready for them. Once he granted them an audience, Remnant and the others pleaded with Menace to help them get off world, claiming it just wasn't safe anymore for code-abiding criminals such as themselves. Menace agreed to aid them and used his advanced technology to transport the trio the alternate reality of Earth-616.
(Captain America I#314 - BTS) - After arriving on Earth-616, in the New York City borough known as Queens, the three villains initially laid low. Some time after that, unbeknownst to Mink and the others, their nemesis Nighthawk was transported to Earth-616 by Professor Imam, in hopes of recruiting that Earth's superheroes in his fight against the Squadron. While he was trying to convince Captain America to help him free his planet, Nighthawk overheard a police report coming in via Cap's hotline about a flying carpet causing mayhem at a Queens movie theatre. Figuring this reminded him of his old enemy Remnant, Nighthawk accompanied Cap to check out the case. When they reached the site, Nighthawk spotted some stray hairs from Mink's costume, his enhanced senses immediately recognizing the scent of her signature perfume. He went off to chase the trail.
(Captain America I#314) - Mink's scent eventually led Nighthawk to the chic nightclub called the Magic Carpet. Nighthawk figured it was a logical choice, seeing as Mink enjoyed high end places and Remnant had always been drawn to places with "carpet" in the title. As soon as Remnant and the others spotted Nighthawk entering the club, they made a run for it. Pinball puffed himself up and charged Nighthawk, buying Remnant enough time to get his flying carpet off the ground. However, Nighthawk ended up using Pinball as a trampoline, jumping high enough to sink his collapsing grappling hook into the magic carpet that was carrying Mink and Remnant into the air. Remnant tried to hit the hero with blazing pieces of fabric, while Mink attempted to cut the grappling hook. They were so busy fighting off their old nemesis, they didn't notice the carpet had veered off course until it rammed into the Industrial Display Company. There, amidst prop pieces like oversized typewriters, Mink and Remnant continued their assault on Nighthawk. However, the arrival of Captain America put an end to the struggle, after he casually beat them all into submission. Remnant and the others begged the Avenger for asylum, preferring jail or even a mental hospital over being forced to go back and be brainwashed. Though sympathetic to their plight, Cap reminded them they'd essentially be non-persons on this Earth and might be better off joining forces with Nighthawk and bringing down the Squadron. Remnant and the others agreed to band together and help their old enemy, only to be transported back home moments later by Professor Imam's spell.
(Squadron Supreme I#7 - BTS) - Materializing in Imam's Temple of Contemplation, Remnant and his new allies met Imam, who was too frail to actively join in their fight against the Squadron. However, he did supply them with a magic crystal called a "power pyramid" that would lead them to other super powered beings sympathetic to their cause.
(Squadron Supreme I#7) - Setting out on Remnant's flying carpet, the foursome first returned to Master Menace's citadel to see if Burbank wanted to join up. Mink, Pinball and Remnant waited outside while Nighthawk made his pitch to Menace, who scoffed at the idea of working with underlings not of his own choosing and summarily dismissed Richmond and his offer, preferring to take on the Squadron alone and even warning Nighthawk and company not to get in his way. After hearing the news that Menace had declined to work with them, Remnant got worried they might be on a fool's errand. They nevertheless decided to use Imam's crystal to look for the help they needed.
(Squadron Supreme I#9 - BTS) - After procuring a helicopter, piloted by Pinball, Remnant and the others joined Nighthawk as he followed the power pyramid's directions.
(Squadron Supreme I#9) - The power pyramid led them to a location on the Apache mountain range. Nighthawk asked Remnant to accompany him, riding his carpet down where they met and recruit Michael Redstone. Bringing him on board, Remnant used his thread and needle skills to create a costume for Redstone, even as the power pyramid was already picking up their next recruit.
(Squadron Supreme I#10 - BTS) - In the weeks that followed, Remnant and the others helped to recruit Haywire, Inertia, Moonglow and Thermite to Nighthawk's resistance force, which was now called the Redeemers. Even the former Squadron member Golden Archer, who quit the team in disgrace, joined up as Black Archer. Nighthawk had his teammates keep close tabs on the Squadron's movements.
(Squadron Supreme I#10) - During one of their regular meetings, the individual Redeemers all shared what they'd learned about the Squadron, with Remnant mentioning that there had been no official explanation for the destruction of President's Mountain (which was destroyed when Hyperion fought and beat the Earth-616 native Hyperion construct that had replaced him). Nighthawk then turned the subject to how the ten of them were going to overthrow the Squadron.
(Squadron Supreme I#10 - BTS) - During the meeting, it was decided that Moonglow and Redstone would infiltrate the Squadron, by applying for a job as members of the Squadron Supreme. After some doing, they were allowed to join the team as provisional members, pending a background check.
(Squadron Supreme I#11 -BTS) - Over the next few weeks, Haywire, Inertia and Thermite managed to gain provisional Squadron membership as well, living and training with the team in their undetectable base. After an unspecified amount of time had passed, the Squadron decided to officially induct them, marking the occasion with a televised ceremony.
(Squadron Supreme I#11) - Remnant, Nighthawk and the
others watched the swearing in ceremony and realized phase one of the
plan was complete. Black Archer was growing stir crazy from waiting
around, but Remnant commented how sitting around in a millionaire's
mansion until it was certain they were going to win suited him just
fine.
(Squadron Supreme I#11 - BTS) - Moonglow managed to procure the design
schematics for the B-Mod device. She transmitted the plans
via modem to Master Menace who started work on a way to undo the effects
of the machine.
(Squadron Supreme I#11) - Several days later, while Nighthawk had his team training in Richmond Manor, with Remnant desperately trying to climb up his own carpet based "rope ladder" and lamenting he never trained this hard, Master Menace called in to inform them he'd created a device that could reverse the effects on any mind affected by the B-Mod technology. A day or two later, Remnant joined the others and Master Menace in setting up the device while Haywire conned the B-Mod controlled Lamprey into accompanying him to that location. Remnant watched as Lamprey was forced to undergo the deprogramming procedure, emerging as his old self again. Lamprey agreed to join up.
(Squadron Supreme I#11 - BTS) - The group decided that
Shape would be the next former Institute of Evil member to unbrainwash.
Redstone and Thermite managed to kidnap the simpleminded former villain,
but were caught in the act by Blue Eagle who followed them to the
Redeemers hideout. Even as Shape was being restored to normal, the Eagle
was spotted and overcome by Remnant and Black Archer who brought the
hero inside, restrained by a piece of Remnant's fabric.
(Squadron Supreme I#11) - After a brief discussion, it was agreed to
subject the Blue Eagle to the mind control device, though Nighthawk
demanded they'd only use it to erase his memory of what he had seen
here. Remnant and the Black Archer held the struggling Eagle in place
while the behavior modification began. Still, even this minor violation
of his former teammate's mind left the conscientious Nighthawk feeling
he'd just sold his soul.
(Squadron Supreme I#12) - Remnant was present when Lamprey brought in Foxfire to be deprogrammed. After Olivia Underwood was in her right mind again, though rather confused by the situation, Nighthawk introduced her to Remnant and the others, introducing him as "Remnant and a piece of his magic fabric." Later, Remnant joined in on the discussion whether or not they should keep the B-Mod technology around to use it on the Squadron Supreme. Edwards sided with Master Menace, feeling they should actively use it, only to be outvoted by Nighthawk and the Black Archer. He then joined the others to plan an ambush for their enemies in Squadron City (whose location and access codes had been supplied by Moonglow and the other double agents). As the Squadron returned from a press conference celebrating the Utopia Program's first year's successes, they discovered Mink and the others waiting for them. Surprised when the Redeemers among their numbers showed their true colors, Dr. Spectrum still managed to trap Remnant and the rest of their enemies with his power prism. However, everyone was able to break free when Inertia took control of Power Princess' movements and used her to bowl over Spectrum. After briefly tangling with Blue Eagle, Remnant took to the air and spotted the Eagle (whose energy had just been drained by Lamprey) flailing towards the stunned Pinball (after getting accidentally hit by Thermite). Remnant tried to warn his friend to get out of the way and even attempted to swoop in and save him, but was unable to prevent Blue Eagle from crashing into Pinball, inadvertently breaking Pinball's back and collapsing a lung. Remnant called out to Lamprey, asking him to get an ambulance but the bloodthirsty energy vampire was more concerned with finding more heads to bash.
(Squadron Supreme I#12 - BTS) - Foxfire, torn between her supposedly true identity and the love she had for the Squadron Supreme and Dr. Spectrum in particular, decided the best way to end the conflict was by taking out Nighthawk. She used her powers of decay to give him a fatal heart attack. When Mink mortally injured her as payback, Hyperion -- having been swayed by Nighthawk's arguments -- was ready to accept his team's defeat. Joined by Power Princess, he announced they were going to disband the Squadron Supreme.
(Squadron Supreme I#12) - Remnant and most of the Squadron and Redeemer members later visited their dead friends in the morgue, with Remnant comforting the sobbing Mink as they saw their associate Pinball's dead body.
Comments: Created by Mark Gruenwald, Paul Ryan, Sam de la Rosa & Keith Williams
The origin of Remnant's powers has not been revealed.
Despite his allusions to having a magic carpet, it seems more likely he
was a powerful telekinetic who used his abilities to make the rug fly.
He might also have had additional pyrokinetic abilities, which would
account for him being able to throw blazing pieces of fabric. Or
maybe he used some flammable material and a lighter--Snood.
Or maybe
he really did have a flying carpet. Why not, it worked for the Arabian
Knight.
The Squadron Supreme and their villains are all loosely
based on the members of DC's Justice League and their respective rogues
galleries. While the Nighthawk/Batman allegory is obvious, it's hard to
determine what Batman baddie Remnant was supposed to be a send up of.
Perhaps he was simple intended as a general allusion to the fact the
bulk of Batman's enemies were themed after a singular obsession... In
Remnants' case anything involving carpets and rugs.
Just before
the Squadron 12-issue series premiered, Amazing Heroes (my favorite
comic-news fanzine at the time) did an issue with an extensive
preview article about it, including an interview with Mark Gruenwald. Now
understand, there was a bit of a "Cold War" going on between Marvel and DC
at the time, and some considered that Marvel was ripping off DC with
publication of the Squadron in their own comic. Anyway, in the article,
Gruenwald mentioned some of the characters who'd be showing up in the story,
and he said we would see Nighthawk's foe, Wild Card (obviously patterned
after Batman's Joker); but since Marvel was getting such a negative reaction
over "stealing" DC's characters, we never saw this "Wild Card", so I'll
guess that Remnant was originally intended to be him--maybe that flying
carpet was originally a giant flying playing card.
--Ron Fredricks
It's not been revealed what happened to Remnant between the final issue of the Squadron Supreme limited series and the 1989 graphic novel Death Of A Universe. Seeing as he wasn't responsible for any of the many, many deaths during the Redeemers' showdown with the Squadron, it's hard to believe he went to prison (though it might be possible he still had some jail time left to serve for other crimes).
Unless otherwise specified, all locations and beings related in this profile refer to Earth/Reality-712 versions.
Profile by Norvo.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Remnant should not be confused with
images: (without ads)
Squadron Supreme I#12, p34, pan5 (main image)
Squadron Supreme I#9, p10, pans 5&6 (with Nighthawk out on recruitment)
Squadron Supreme I#9, p20, pan1 (hands Redstone his costume)
Squadron Supreme I#12, p34, pan6 (tries to save Pinball)
Appearances:
Squadron Supreme I#6 (February 1984) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul
Ryan (pencils), Sam de la Rosa & Keith Williams (inks), Ralph
Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#314
(February 1986) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Neary (pencils), Dennis
Janke (inks), Michael Carlin (editor)
Squadron Supreme I#7 (March 1986) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), John
Buscema (pencils), Jackson Guice (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Squadron Supreme I#9 (May 1986) - Mark Gruenwald
(writer), Paul Ryan (pencils), Sam de la Rossa (inks), Ralph
Macchio (editor)
Squadron
Supreme I#10 (June 1986) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan
(pencils), Sam de la Rossa (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Squadron
Supreme I#11 (July 1986) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul
Ryan (pencils), Sam de la Rossa (inks), Ralph Macchio
(editor)
Squadron Supreme I#12 (August
1986) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan (pencils), Sam de la
Rossa (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
First Posted: 07/10/2014
Last updated: 01/30/2015
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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