The Straw Man, originally called the Scarecrow, is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

Publication history

The Scarecrow was created by writer Scott Edelman and artist Rico Rival and first appeared in ''Dead of Night'' #11 (August 1975). Gil Kane and

Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017), sometimes credited as Bernie Wrightson, was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his o ...

provided the cover art. Artist Bill Draut was to have drawn the first appearance of the Scarecrow, but did not complete the assignment. The Scarecrow was originally scheduled to appear as a feature in '' Monsters Unleashed'' and '' Giant-Size Werewolf'', but both of those series were cancelled before the Scarecrow feature could appear. It was then rescheduled for ''Dead of Night'' and after that series was cancelled as well, the character was to have a self-titled ''Scarecrow'' series, but it was not published. Edelman and artist Ruben Yandoc produced a follow-up story which appeared in '' Marvel Spotlight'' #26 (February 1976), and the story was eventually concluded by Bill Mantlo and Ron Wilson in '' Marvel Two-in-One'' #18 (August 1976). Many years later, he was brought back in the pages of ''

Dr. Strange, Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorc ...

'' #31 (July 1991) in which he took on the name "the Straw Man" to differentiate himself from the costumed killer named the

Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesle ...

. He subsequently appeared in issues #38 and 40, meeting

Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superhero ...

in the latter issue. The Scarecrow did not speak in his early appearances, but in his later appearances he did and he pretended to be a newscaster named "Skirra Corvus", Latin for "Scarecrow".

Fictional character biography

The Scarecrow is an extra–dimensional magical entity, possibly a demon, which takes vengeance on its enemies. He lives inside a palimpsest painting of a laughing scarecrow purchased by Jess Duncan and opposes the centuries-old Cult of Kalumai. The Scarecrow battled demons at a police station to recover the Horn of Kalumai, which would have allowed Kalumai to travel to Earth. Kalumai later spread his influence through the painting into a man who was mutated into a fiery creature and then fought the Thing and the Scarecrow. The Straw Man was invited by the Dweller-in-Darkness to join the Fear Lords, but he betrayed them to

Doctor Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

. During the '' Fear Itself'' storyline, the Straw Man fought against

Nightmare A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of ...

's attempt to use the fear brought by the

Serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

to become the King of Fear.

Powers and abilities

The Straw Man possesses superhuman strength, plant and weather manipulation, the ability to command crows, the ability to create portals and the ability to induce fear in others. He is invulnerable to everything, except for fire.

Reception

The Straw Man was ranked #30 on a listing of Marvel Comics' monster characters.

References

External links

* * {{Marvel Mystic, state=collapsed Comics characters introduced in 1975 Fictional scarecrows Horror comics Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics demons