Prominent members

   During the creation of Blackest Night, Johns (not being interested in or frightened by zombies) wanted to bring back the deceased characters in a way that seemed horrifying and emotionally disturbing to the living characters they encountered. To accomplish that effect, the Black Lanterns have personalities and actively seek out those who will be affected by their appearance. A prime example of Johns' use of personality distortion with the Black Lanterns is Elongated Man (typically depicted as being a "light" character that uses his detective skill to "smell" when something isn't right) looking upon his victims and remarking to his undead wife: "I smell a mystery." Johns identifies the power of the Black Lanterns as not necessarily being evil, but not being good either. During his initial creation of the new Corps, Johns drew from information he had collected on light while taking physics classes. With the Corps of the emotional spectrum personifying life, he knew that this Corps would need to represent death. Black being an absence of light, he chose Black Hand as the leader of the Corps both for the character's name and also because of how much he enjoyed revamping villains while writing for Flash. Like the other members of the Black Lantern Corps, Johns wanted to take a different approach in his portrayal of Hand. Whereas other villains may have a particular motivation, Hand is meant to be depicted as a character who is clearly insane and whose presence makes others uncomfortable. In Blackest Night #2, multiple black power rings attempt to reanimate the body of Don Hall, only to be prevented from disturbing his grave by an invisible barrier. As they collide with the barrier, the rings' typical command ("rise") is interrupted; the rings instead respond: "Don Hall of Earth at peace." This is the first depiction of the black power rings failing to recruit a member for the Black Lantern Corps. In an interview with IGN, Johns provides an explanation behind Dove's immunity to the black power rings: "You'll learn more about this as we go forward. But really it speaks to the nature of Don Hall. He can't be desecrated by the likes of these things. He's untouchable in death and at total peace more than any other being in the universe." Reflecting on the limitations of the rings, Johns goes on to state that, even though magic is a "joke" to the black power rings (though the undead Giovanni Zatara is capable of wielding black magic), Don is quite the opposite. Similarly, Blackest Night: Titans #1 shows Black Lantern Hank Hall unable to read Dawn Granger's emotions; her aura depicted as being white rather than a color from the emotional spectrum. In Blackest Night: Batman #1, the spirit of Deadman is unable to prevent a black power ring from revivinghis remains. Deadman attempts to possess his own corpse, but is unable to control it. During the Blackest Night panel at San Diego Comic Con 2009, Geoff Johns was asked whether the revived corpses of the Black Lanterns were speaking for themselves or if they were being controlled by an outside force. Johns declined to answer, implying that the question would be answered during the Blackest Night storyline. Similarly, while being overcome by a black power ring, the Spectre declares that he "will not be used." Prior to The Spectre's conversion, Black Hand makes note of Shadowpact members Zatanna and Blue Devil being surrounded by an aura of life. Upon scanning Phantom Stranger, BlackHand remarks that Stranger is "neither living nor dead", and notes him as a person of interest to his Corps.

Identity

The character's back-story has been presented as vague and subject to change, and within the narrative he is unable to remember his personal history due to his mental condition. Whether or not his name was even Wade Wilson is subject to speculation since one of his nemeses, T-Ray, claims in Deadpool #33 that he is the real Wade Wilson and that Deadpool is a vicious murderer who stole his identity. There have been other dubious stories about his history - at one point the super villain Loki claimed to be his father. Frequently, revelations are later retconned or ignored altogether, and in one issue, Deadpool himself joked that whether he is actually Wade Wilson depends on which writer the reader prefers best.

Deadpool's Powers and Abilities

Deadpool's primary power is an accelerated healing factor, depicted by various artists and writers with varying levels of efficiency. Artificially endowed by the Weapon X program, this enables him to regenerate any destroyed tissues or organs at a super-human rate as well as making him immune to known diseases and infections. An unanticipated side effect was a rapid acceleration of the cancerous tumors he was suffering from at the time, causing them to quickly spread across his entire body as soon as his powers fully activated. Because of this, his healing factor super charged his cancer, resulting in massive scar tissue causing his appearance to be severely disfigured. Deadpool's brain cells are similarly affected, with dying brain cells being rejuvenated at a super accelerated rate. This allows Deadpool to recover from any and all head wounds, and it renders him nearly invulnerable to psychic and telepathic powers, as the altered or damaged brain cells quickly regenerate to their original state. It is also the cause of his psychosis and mental instability. Deadpool's healing factor is strong enough that he has previously survived complete incineration and decapitation more than once, though in each of these occurrences, his head had to be reunited with his body to heal the wound instead of his body growing a new head (or vice-versa). Unlike Wolverine’s natural healing factor, Deadpool’s is mentally driven to a partial extent. Similar to Wolverine, his healing factor also affects a number of his physical attributes by increasing them to superhuman levels heightening at least his endurance and stamina. Though it had been said in earlier years that he also had super-human strength that detail has apparently been glossed over, if not forgotten, as of late. Deadpool's body is highly resistant to most drugs and toxins. For example, it is extremely difficult, though not impossible, for him to become intoxicated. He can, however, be affected by certain drugs such as tranquilizers, if he is exposed to a massive enough dosage. Deadpool's healing factor also provides him with an extended lifespan by slowing the effects of the aging process to an unknown degree which cannot be measured as of yet, since he is not old enough to see any effect. However, his life span is extended to such a degree that he is still alive as Deadpool 800 years from the present as shown when the new X-Force encountered him in the future. Aside from his physical advantages, Deadpool is a superb assassin and mercenary, an expert in multiple forms of martial arts, an expert swordsman and marksman. It has also been discussed that, while his psychosis and dissociative identity disorder is a handicap, it is also one of his greatest attributes as it makes him an extremely unpredictable opponent. Taskmaster (who has photo-reflexive memory which allows him to copy anyone's fighting skills by observation, thus making him their equal in battle) was unable to defeat Deadpool due to his chaotic and improvised fighting style. It has also given him some protection from the effects of the Penance Stare, as all it did was show him what lead to him becoming what he was (or as he put it, a "highlight" reel) and Ghost Rider turning back into Johnny Blaze. Over the years, Deadpool has owned a number of personal teleportation devices. Also, during Deadpool's first ongoing comic, he possessed a device which projected holographic disguises, allowing him to go undercover or conceal his appearance. In addition, Deadpool is multilingual and has demonstrated the ability to speak German, Spanish, and Japanese. Occasionally, Deadpool has also been shown as having a magic satchel, often pulling weapons out of nowhere.

Deadpool 1990s

  Created by artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, Deadpool made his first appearance in the pages of New Mutants #98 published in February 1991. Rob Liefeld, a fan of the Teen Titans comics, showed his new character to then writer Fabian Nicieza. Upon seeing the costume and noting his characteristics (killer with super agility), Nicieza contacted Liefeld, saying "this is Deathstroke from Teen Titans." Nicieza gave Deadpool the real name of "Wade Wilson" as an in-joke to being "related" to "Slade Wilson", Deathstroke. In his first appearance, Deadpool was hired by Tolliver to attack Cable and the New Mutants. After subsequently appearing in X-Force as a recurring character, Deadpool began making guest appearances in a number of different Marvel Comics titles such as the Avengers, Daredevil, and Heroes for Hire. In 1993 the character received his own miniseries, titled The Circle Chase, written by Fabian Nicieza and penciled by Joe Madureira. It was a relative success, and Deadpool starred in a second, self-titled miniseries written in 1994 by Mark Waid, penciled by Ian Churchill, and inked by Jason Temujin Minor and Bud LaRosa.

Quincy Harker's vampire-hunters

Blade eventually located Dracula in Paris, where he first encountered the vampire hunter Quincy Harker (son of Jonathan Harker), whom he knew by reputation, and Harker's vampire hunters: Rachel van Helsing (great-granddaughter of Abraham Van Helsing), Taj Nital, and Frank Drake. Because of his mercurial temperament, Blade had a strained but steady relationship with the group, allying himself with them on several occasions. Later, after an unsuccessful battle with Dracula, Blade realized he was immune to turning from a vampire's bite. Armed with this knowledge, he parted company with Harkerand went after Deacon Frost alone. Blade later battled Dracula in London, as well as Morbius, and the Legion of the Dead, who framed him for murder. Blade also destroyed a band of vampire children. Blade's hunt for his mother's killer led him to Boston, Massachusetts, where he again encountered Harker's crew now temporarily allied with Dracula against a larger threat, Doctor Sun. Following this battle, Dracula withdrew, and Blade again set out on his own. He eventually encountered Hannibal King, a private detective whom Deacon Frost had turned into a vampire. While initially distrusting King, Blade teamed up with him to hunt Frost. Blade and King fought together against Blade's evil doppelgänger, who absorbed the real Blade. King enlisted the help of Daimon Hellstrom, the so-called Son of Satan, who exorcised Blade from the doppelgänger and killed it with King's help. Blade and King eventually caught up with Frost, who had created an army of vampiric doppelgängers, one for each of his victims. Together, they shut down Frost for good, destroying Frost, and forging a lasting friendship. Blade, Rachel van Helsing, and Harold H. Harold later confronted Dracula. Blade also saved Musenda's wife from becoming a vampire.

Early life and career

Blade was born in a whorehouse in the Soho neighborhood of London, England in 1929. Blade's mother, Tara Brooks, was a prostitute at Madame Vanity's Brothel. When his mother experienced severe labor complications, a doctor was summoned who was in actuality Deacon Frost, a vampire who feasted on her during Blade's birth and killed her. However, this inadvertently passed along certain enzymes in his own blood to the infant. This resulted in Blade's quasi-vampiric abilities, including a greatly prolonged lifespan and the ability to sense supernatural creatures, as well as immunity to complete vampirism. Brooks' fellow prostitutes drove off Frost before he could kill the infant as well. Blade grew up living at Madame Vanity's, and at age nine, returning home from school one December, he saw an old man being attacked by three vampires. Blade helped the old man, who used a silver cane to kill the vampires and fight off the attackers. The man was Jamal Afari, a jazz trumpeter and vampire-hunter who then moved into Madame Vanity's and trained the young Blade in both music and combat. Blade was soon able to defeat many of the weak, younger vampires that he and Afari found in abundance. Blade became an Olympic-level athlete and a formidable hand-to-hand combatant, with an expertise in edged weapons such as knives and daggers. However, Blade's victories made him cocky. He joined a street gang, the Blood shadows, headed by a much older and more powerful vampire than any Blade had met before, and named Lamia. Blade barely defeated Lamia, and, in doing so, lost his girlfriend Glory. However, the tragedy of the experience left Blade more determined than ever to dedicate his life to the complete extermination of vampires. Afari himself later fell prey to Dracula, the first occurrence in an ongoing battle between Dracula and Blade. Blade slew the vampire Afari and tracked Dracula back to Europe, Asia Minor, and Asia, staking him many times, but never completely destroying him. In China, Blade joined Ogun Strong's vampire hunters, which included Azu, Orji, and Musenda. Together, they staked Dracula again. Dracula survived, and killed all the hunters except Blade and Musenda (who eventually retired from vampire hunting). Orji had created a lasting impression on Blade with his use of wooden daggers to combat vampires, leading to Blade adopting that weapon as his preferred arms. Consumed by grief for his fallen comrades, Blade resumed his quest alone.

Recruitment

After Logan escapes the Weapon X facility, he is discovered passed out in the snow by members of the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight. They work for the Canadian government and eventually help Logan recover. He agrees to work for them as a super mutant code named Wolverine. Wolverine eventually became disillusioned with Alpha Flight and was later recruited by Professor Charles Xavier to join the X-Men, a team of mutant superheroes

Addtional Abilities

Over time, Marvel Comics developed Wolverine's origins by bits and pieces through comics and movies. In "The Marvel Comics Presents: Weapon X series," Wolverine is captured by government agents who intend to turn him into a super-soldier. The agents knew of Logan's mutant abilities, so they went to Canada and captured him using dozens of Thorazine shots. Logan was later brought to a hidden facility, where drastic experiments were performed on him to include false memory implants.  One of the most prominent experiments was the covering of Logan's bones with admantium, a special metal that is nearly indestructible. They also unlocked Logan's animalistic rage, which proved to work against them. Logan broke free from the Weapon X center by killing all the guards and main experimenters.

Evolution

  Logan and Rose, his companion, run away to a quarry camp after his wounds miraculously heal faster than a normal human's would. They find work in the quarry, where James now goes by the name Logan. He takes a job as the camp's hunter because he seems to have animal-like senses and an ability to capture deer and other animals quickly. Logan begins to spend more time in the woods with the animals, developing his abilities. The quarrymen nickname him "Wolverine" because of his ferocity

Birth

  Wolverine may be known by people as Logan, but his birth name was actually James Howlett. He was born in Canada to a wealthy plantation owner named John Howlett. His family had an estranged relationship with their former groundskeeper, Thomas Logan. Thomas and his son "Dog" return to the home to rob John Howlett but ends up killing him with a shotgun. When James witnesses his father's death, he first manifests his mutant powers. His arms pop out bone-like claws from each hand. He kills Thomas with them and injures Dog. While on the run with his adopted sister, he decides to adopt the name "Logan" as his cover.

Spawn's Weapons and Powers

The weapons that he uses are the weapons we use today. But with his powers he enhances his weapons to make them stronger. Spawn's body is quite dense, weighing over five hundred pounds (250 kg), and is composed completely of necroplasm. This gives him super strength and durability. While he still has internal organs, they are non-functional, and their damage/destruction does not hinder Spawn in the least. These organs re-appear when he magically regenerates his wounds. This may be due to Spawn's inability to let go of his human self, retaining his human organs even though he no longer requires them. He also uses his chains to do damage. Though he always tried not to expend a lot of magic, he has been shown using it for a variety of effects including resurrecting the dead, firing blasts of necroplasmic energy, teleportation, shapeshifting, and curing the sick.

Spawn's Enemy

The Violator is probably Spawn's most recognizable villain. He serves as Malebolgia's henchman and lackey. His purpose is to guide Hell spawn towards fulfilling Malebolgia's desire: to cultivate evil souls on Earth for Hell's army. He's been Hell's guide for multiple Hell spawn, his latest charge being the current Spawn, Al Simmons. Violator is the oldest of five hell-born demons known as the Plebian brothers. He views humanity as weak, and so asserts that demons should lead the armies of Hell, not humans. Accordingly, much of his terrestrial activities, sanctioned by Hell or not, are aimed at proving his superiority to his master. The Violator's current disguise is that of The Clown.

How Spawn Became Spawn

   Albert Simmons is Spawn's real name. He was killed in the line of duty, and made a deal with a devil and agreed to become a Hell spawn and serve Malebolgia if he is allowed to see his wife, Wanda, one last time.  Thanks to this unholy bargain, Simmons gains the power to return to the world of the living, where he can see his beloved wife again—and, as the hell born creature known as Spawn, now has an opportunity to wreak vengeance on the man who engineered his death. Spawn's hell-haggled supernatural powers include teleportation, superhuman strength and endurance, and the ability to transform his facial features—left in horrific ruins by the laser Chapel used to kill him—on a temporary basis. Added to his skills as a trained killer, these new gifts make Simmons all but unstoppable in combat.