BLACKWELL THE MAGICIAN
(of Earth-6799)

Real Name: Unrevealed (see comments)

Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Earth-6799) human magic user

Occupation: Stage magician

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: James Boothe, Betty Brant, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Emily Thorndike

Enemies: Green Goblin, Joe

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: His own rather large estate

First Appearance: (unidentified): Spider-Man cartoon, "The Witching Hour" (October 14, 1967);
(identified): Spider-Man cartoon, "Farewell Performance" (December 2, 1967)

Powers/Abilities: Blackwell had seemingly real magic abilities, allowing him to perform minor magic tricks such as psychometry, or the ability to perceive the history of an object by touching it. Using his magic wand, Blackwell could also summon animals such as rabbits or birds (as well as objects such as a table or top hats) from seemingly thin air and could teleport himself or others in large puffs of smoke.

He also had extensive knowledge of magic and the supernatural. Blackwell's mansion home contained a library filled with books and artifacts about mysticism, magic and the occult, including a book on witchcraft and a mummy housing the mystic Sceptre of Osiris.

Height: 5'11" (by approximation)
Weight: 165 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

History: (Spider-Man cartoon - "The Witching Hour") - Blackwell and his assistant gave a magic performance that was attended by the Daily Bugle's Peter Parker and Betty Brant. Given Betty Brant's keyring, the blindfolded Blackwell used his magic to sense that the ring belonged to a young woman in the audience, whom he pictured sitting in a newspaper office. Blackwell's act of magic was interrupted when he picked up a vision of someone in the library of his home, stealing his book on witchcraft. Removing the blindfold, Blackwell announced his vision to the crowd, prompting Peter Parker to discreet leave the act to investigate Blackwell's home as Spider-Man, where the Green Goblin made off with Blackwell's witchcraft book. When J.Jonah Jameson later went into a mystic trance while speaking with Betty Brant and Peter Parker, Parker visited Blackwell's home as Spider-Man and showed Blackwell a note that Jameson had read aloud before going into the trance. Recognizing the words on the note, Blackwell deduced that the Green Goblin was using the entranced J.Jonah Jameson to locate a specific supernatural medium and that Jameson might be the one person in a million who would be entranced by the magic words. When the Green Goblin later returned to Blackwell's home to retrieve the Scepter of Osiris, hoping to use its power to command demons and spirits, Spider-Man intervened and was knocked into a mummy's sarcophagus. Arriving into the room just as Spider-Man escaped the sarcophagus, Blackwell asked what had happened to the Scepter of Osiris and suggested that the only way to stop the Green Goblin was to learn the witching hour.






(Spider-Man cartoon, "Farewell Performance") - When the old Castle Theater was about to be demolished, Blackwell the Magician as well as two of its former stars, actors James Boothe and Emily Thorndike, sabotaged the demolishing using Blackwell's magic to first cast the illusion that one of its posters featuring James Boothe playing Dr. Jekyll had sprung to life like a ghost. Boothe and Thorndike played along and eventually, Spider-Man arrived at the Castle Theater to investigate just as the demolition team was fleeing after their instruments of destruction were transformed into harmless items such as an umbrella, a feather duster and a candy cane. Deducing that the magician Blackwell could be behind the so-called haunting of the Castle Theater, Spider-Man ventured inside the Theater, unaware he was being watched by Boothe and Thorndike. Blackwell quickly appeared and arrogantly suggested that no one but his genius could have performed such an illusion. When Spider-Man asked what Blackwell would do for an encore, Blackwell announced that he would send Spider-Man the doves of peace and unleashed a dove after the wall crawler. As the dove flew towards Spider-Man, Blackwell magically transformed it into a large hawk which swooped at Spider-Man until the hero captured it in a web. Blackwell used his magic wand to free the hawk by transforming it into a grey pigeon, which easily escaped and flew away before Blackwell himself disappeared in a puff of smoke. From above the Castle Theater's stage, Blackwell cut loose one of the Theater's weighted sandbags above Spider-Man, who quickly ventured up into the rafters to stop Blackwell. Blackwell laughed as Spider-Man walked towards him, only to fall when the walkway collapsed. Back down on the stage, Blackwell announced his next trick before creating cannonballs from thin air and launching them at Spider-Man, who webbed up the magician. Announcing a trick he claimed to have taught Houdini, Blackwell disappeared from inside the webbing, only to claim to be inside a large box that fell from the rafters. When Spider-Man investigated the box, he found himself trapped within as Blackwell held the doors shut before releasing the sides of the box to reveal Spider-Man strapped to the back wall of the box as Blackwell prepared to hurl axes at the captured hero. Spider-Man then escaped, only to find Blackwell in the theater seats taunting him. Blackwell laughingly conjured smoke and when it cleared, the two had switched places, with Spider-Man now strapped to the seat, knife and gun pointed at him by former Castle Theater actors James Boothe and Emily Thorndike. As Spider-Man was forced to watch, Blackwell summoned a table onto the stage with several top hats atop it. Out of one hat, Blackwell produced flowers, the second, several rabbits, and out of the third, a series of birds. Blackwell then summoned and assembled a rocket, which blasted into the air. Tired of the tricks, Spider-Man broke free and grabbed the weapons from Boothe and Thorndike, only to find them to be stage props instead of the real thing. Blackwell then revealed that the entire attack was merely a performance for Spider-Man's benefit in an effort to save the Castle Theater from demolition, hoping that if Spider-Man would champion the saving of the Castle Theater, the Theater might be saved. Spider-Man agreed to help save the Theater on the condition that Blackwell, Boothe and Thorndike do as he suggested and contact a rival newspaper to create a false story involving Spider-Man's insistence that the Theater be torn down. When Boothe and Thorndike visited J.Jonah Jameson to report Spider-Man's claims, Jameson dedicated the Daily Bugle to preserving the Theater in order to continue his tirade against Spider-Man.

(Spider-Man cartoon episode, "Magic Malice") - Blackwell the Magician performed at the reopened Castle Theater to a large crowd, unaware that the Green Goblin was watching his performance from the rafters and thinking about what sort of criminal career he could have with Blackwell's magic at his disposal. Deciding to help himself to Blackwell's secrets by visiting Blackwell's home once more, Green Goblin departed the Castle Theater, defeating Spider-Man on his way to Blackwell's home. At Blackwell's home, Green Goblin used Blackwell's books on magic to learn some of Blackwell's magic tricks and soon began using the tricks in his crimes. When reports of the crimes came in, the Daily Bugle received a report that Blackwell's home had been broken into, where a magic wand and cape had been stolen. Suspecting a connection, Peter Parker asked J.Jonah Jameson for a layout of Blackwell's home but Jameson, still assuming Spider-Man to be the culprit in the Green Goblin's crime spree, announced that Blackwell was likely just looking for free publicity that he would not get from the Daily Bugle. Investigating on his own, Parker visited Blackwell's home as Spider-Man and watched as Blackwell left for a performance at the theater. As soon as Blackwell departed, Spider-Man witnessed the Green Goblin returning to Blackwell's home and during their subsequent battle, Green Goblin magically chained Spider-Man and left him to drown. After the Goblin departed to rob a bank, Spider-Man freed himself and began reading one of Blackwell's books to find an unchaining spell. Green Goblin soon returned and battled the surviving Spider-Man within Blackwell's home, with the Goblin using various magical tricks against Spider-Man until Blackwell returned home and used his own magic to keep the Green Goblin's tricks from working. Blackwell's distraction allowed Spider-Man to trap the Green Goblin in a web and leave him tied up for the police. Following the Goblin's defeat, Blackwell sent J.Jonah Jameson (who had continually insisted that the Green Goblin's crime spree was a publicity stunt by Blackwell) two free VIP tickets to his newest performance. Thrilled at the free tickets, J.Jonah Jameson told Betty Brant to call the rewriting department, thinking perhaps it was time to do an article on magic.

Comments: Created by Bill Danch, Al Bertino, Dick Robbins, Dick Cassarino, Phil Babet and Grantray-Lawrence Animation (see Appearances list for a complete list of the artists involved).

Blackwell's appearance seemed to be based on that of famed horror movie star Vincent Price in his first appearance, in which he remained unidentified. By his second and third appearances, Blackwell had lost his mustache and appeared to be in a bigger build. Then again, his second appearance was him attempting to appear as he did in his prime in order to save the Castle Theater and his third appearance had him performing at the reopened Castle Theater, so maybe he shaved the mustache and wore stage outfits more fitting to him in his younger days in order to appeal to a newer and younger audience. When Green Goblin visits Blackwell's home in the "Magic Malice" episode, it is identical to Blackwell's home as we see it in "The Witching Hour" so the unidentified magician in "The Witching Hour" must be Blackwell and not a different character.

It was unrevealed whether Blackwell was Blackwell's actual name or if it was merely a stage name.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-6799's Blackwell the Magician has no KNOWN connections to:

Earth-6799's James Boothe has no KNOWN connections to:
 Earth-6799's Castle Theater has no KNOWN connections to:
 Earth-6799's Joe has no KNOWN connections to:
 Earth-6799's Sceptre of Osiris has no KNOWN connections to:
 Earth-6799's Emily Thorndike has no KNOWN connections to:
James Boothe

James Boothe was a stage actor friend of Blackwell who was known to have performed at the Castle Theater in its heyday as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When the Castle Theater was in danger of being demolished, James Boothe (along with actress Emily Thorndike) teamed with Blackwell to trap Spider-Man in the Castle Theater and prove to him how entertaining the Castle Theater could still be. Watching from the curtains as Blackwell played magic trick after magic trick on Spider-Man, James Boothe eventually revealed himself to Spider-Man by pointing a gun at the wall crawler when Blackwell trapped him in an audience seat. Spider-Man soon escaped, only to find Boothe was using a stage prop instead of a real gun. Boothe, Thorndike and Blackwell then revealed their ruse and their hopes that performing for Spider-Man would convince him to support the Castle Theater's preservation. Spider-Man agreed to help them on the condition that they play along by submitting a false story about Spider-Man's desire to have the Theater demolished to a rival paper, which forced the Spider-Man-hating Daily Bugle publisher J.Jonah Jameson to publish a story supporting the Theater's preservation in an effort to remain against Spider-Man.


-Spider-Man cartoon, "Farewell Performance"
Castle Theater

The Castle Theater was a very popular theater in its heyday, hosting such famous stage actresses as Sarah Bernhardt and Lillian Russell as well as local actors/actresses such as James Boothe, Blackwell the Magician and Emily Thorndike. Having become somewhat run down in recent years, the Castle Theater was in danger of being demolished due to series of articles in the Daily Bugle about beautifying and renovating the local area. In an effort to save the Theater, James Boothe and Emily Thorndike teamed with Blackwell the Magician to save the theater by luring Spider-Man into the theater, where Blackwell would perform several tricks to prove the worth of the Theater. As part of the trick, Boothe and Thorndike visited the Theater when Blackwell used his magic to make one of the play posters seemingly come to life. Peter Parker was also there for the Daily Bugle and witnessed the event. As the days passed, Blackwell continued using his magic to make the Theater seem haunted, eventually drawing Spider-Man to investigate. As Boothe and Thorndike watched, Blackwell trapped Spider-Man in the Theater and performed several tricks, making Spider-Man assume Blackwell was attacking him. Eventually, Boothe and Thorndike revealed themselves and Blackwell admitted that the entire scenario was a trick to make Spider-Man see the value of the Theater. Sufficiently convinced, Spider-Man had the three stage actors submit a false story on Spider-Man's support of demolishing the Theater to a rival newspaper, which forced the Spider-Man-hating Daily Bugle published J.Jonah Jameson to change the Bugle's angle in favor of preserving the Theater in an effort to remain against Spider-Man. The articles worked and the Castle Theater was soon reopened, with Blackwell returning to perform there.


-Spider-Man cartoon, "Farewell Performance" ("Magic Malice,"
Joe

Joe was a member of the construction crew sent to demolish the Castle Theater. When some of the construction machines did not work properly after being transformed by Blackwell's magic, Joe's supervisor ordered him to use his sledgehammer to begin to demolishing but Blackwell's transformed Joe's sledgehammer into a feather duster, terrifying Joe, who believed the Theater haunted. When similar events occurred with the other construction workers, they all fled the Theater, Joe included.





-Spider-Man cartoon, "Farewell Performance"
Sceptre of Osiris

The Sceptre of Osiris was a mystic artifact kept within a mummy's sarcophagus in the home of Blackwell the Magician. After the Green Goblin first broke into Blackwell's home to steal Blackwell's book on witchcraft, he later returned to steal the Sceptre of Osiris in an effort to command demons and spirits in his crime.







-Spider-Man cartoon, "The Witching Hour"
Emily Thorndike

Emily Thorndike was an actress friend of Blackwell's who was once a regular at the Castle Theater in its heyday. To save the Theater from demolition, Emily teamed with fellow actors James Boothe and Blackwell the Magician to lure Spider-Man into the Theater, where Blackwell would perform various tricks to prove the Theater's worth to Spider-Man. After Spider-Man was trapped, Emily watched from the sidelines as Blackwell performed his tricks, eventually revealing herself when Blackwell strapped Spider-Man to an audience seat and Emily appeared to hold Spider-Man hostage alongside James Boothe using a knife. Spider-Man soon escaped, only to find that Emily was using a stage prop instead of a real knife and the entire scenario was revealed as a ruse to prove to Spider-Man the Theater's value. Convinced, Spider-Man had Emily, Boothe and Blackwell create a false newspaper story announcing Spider-Man's support of demolishing the Theater to a rival newspaper. Upon seeing the article, the Spider-Man-hating Daily Bugle publisher J.Jonah Jameson began supporting the preservation of the Theater to remain against Spider-Man.





-Spider-Man cartoon, "Farewell Performance"

images: (without ads)
Spider-Man cartoon, "Magic Malice" (Blackwell the Magician-main image & Castle Theater image)
Spider-Man cartoon, "Farewell Performance" (Blackwell the Magician-headshot, Blackwell-fullbody with stage lighting, James Boothe, Joe & Emily Thorndike images)
Spider-Man cartoon, "The Witching Hour" (Blackwell-worried headshot, Blackwell on stage with assistant, Blackwell in civilian clothing & Sceptre of Osiris images)

Appearances:
Spider-Man cartoon episode, "The Witching Hour" (October 14, 1967) - Bill Danch, Al Bertino, Dick Robbins, Dick Cassarino, Phil Babet (writers), Hal Ambro, Dan Bessie, Herman Cohen, Bill House, Chic Otterstrom, Ralph Somerville, Harvey Toombs, Bob Bentley, George Cannata, I. Howard Ellis, Tom McDonald, Don Schloat, Reuben Timmins, Kay Wright, John Dunn (animators), Curt Perkins, Dick Thomas, Bill Butler, Mike Kawaguchi (backgrounds), Ray Aragon, Joe Asturino, Herb Hazelton, Jim Mueller, C.L. Hartman, John Ewing, Joel Seibel, Nino Carbe (layouts), Hank Gotzenberg, Bryce Corso (editors), Grant Simmons, Clyde Geronimi, Sid Marcus (directors)
Spider-Man cartoon episode, "Farewell Performance" (December 2, 1967) - Bill Danch, Al Bertino, Dick Robbins, Dick Cassarino, Phil Babet (writers), Hal Ambro, Dan Bessie, Herman Cohen, Bill House, Chic Otterstrom, Ralph Somerville, Harvey Toombs, Bob Bentley, George Cannata, I. Howard Ellis, Tom McDonald, Don Schloat, Reuben Timmins, Kay Wright, John Dunn (animators), Curt Perkins, Dick Thomas, Bill Butler, Mike Kawaguchi (backgrounds), Ray Aragon, Joe Asturino, Herb Hazelton, Jim Mueller, C.L. Hartman, John Ewing, Joel Seibel, Nino Carbe (layouts), Hank Gotzenberg, Bryce Corso (editors), Grant Simmons, Clyde Geronimi, Sid Marcus (directors)
Spider-Man cartoon episode, "Magic Malice" (December 30, 1967) - Bill Danch, Al Bertino, Dick Robbins, Dick Cassarino, Phil Babet (writers), Hal Ambro, Dan Bessie, Herman Cohen, Bill House, Chic Otterstrom, Ralph Somerville, Harvey Toombs, Bob Bentley, George Cannata, I. Howard Ellis, Tom McDonald, Don Schloat, Reuben Timmins, Kay Wright, John Dunn (animators), Curt Perkins, Dick Thomas, Bill Butler, Mike Kawaguchi (backgrounds), Ray Aragon, Joe Asturino, Herb Hazelton, Jim Mueller, C.L. Hartman, John Ewing, Joel Seibel, Nino Carbe (layouts), Hank Gotzenberg, Bryce Corso (editors), Grant Simmons, Clyde Geronimi, Sid Marcus (directors)

Last updated: 06/12/17

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