Centurious is a fictional character appearing in American comic books 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 19 ...

. Centurious was a servant of

Mephisto Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition. Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to: Film and television * '' Méphisto'', a 1931 French film * ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a German-Hungarian film based ...

and an enemy of Zarathos. In combating Zarathos, he became a regular foe of the first

Ghost Rider Ghost Rider is the name of multiple antiheroes and superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider. The first s ...

Fictional character biography

In prehistoric times, the man who would come to be known as Centurious was the prince of an

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

tribe. He bargained his soul to

in order to combat the demon Zarathos and save the woman he loved, becoming a soulless immortal in the process. He lived many lifetimes and learned many things over the following centuries. In Ancient Egypt, he studied the mystic arts, and acquired the Crystal of Souls. He had many occupations, aliases, and wives in the years to come, including that of the owner of a Louisiana plantation. In modern times, he first encountered and battled Johnny Blaze, the

. He used Reverend Dombue to control the town of Holly. Centurious battled the Ghost Rider again, trapping Johnny Blaze in the soul crystal. The soul crystal was shattered by the Ghost Rider, which freed John Blaze's soul from the soul crystal. Centurious and Zarathos were then trapped within the soul crystal, battling each other. Years later, Centurious was revealed to have granted supernatural powers to Reverend Styge, the third Sin-Eater. Centurious disciplined Styge after his defeat by the second

, Daniel Ketch. Centurious set Steel Wind and

Steel Vengeance Steel Vengeance, formerly known as Mean Streak, is a steel roller coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. The roller coaster, originally constructed by Dinn Corporation as a wooden roller coaster, was rebuilt by Rocky Mountain Construction ...

against the new Ghost Rider and John Blaze. Hag, Troll, and Deathwatch were turned over to Centurious by Steel Wind and Steel Vengeance. He then set the

Firm A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

against Ghost Rider and

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other re ...

. Centurious killed his minion Mr. Stern for disobeying orders, and captured

Heart Attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

. His identity as the head of the Firm was revealed, as was his face finally revealed. He again battled Ghost Rider, and formed an alliance with the

Lilin Lilin () were hostile night spirits that attacked men in ancient Mesopotamian religion and Jewish folklore. Judaism In Jewish mythology, ''Lilin'' is a term for night spirits. Biblical apocrypha In the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, ''lilin'' ...

. In a later battle, Blaze appears to kill Centurious. During the ''

Siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

'' storyline, Centurious appeared as a member of the Hood's crime syndicate.''New Avengers'' #64

Powers and abilities

Centurious was conferred with immortality upon selling his soul to

. Over his long life, he has become an adept practitioner of the mystic arts. He has the ability to manipulate the forces of magic to magically enhance his strength, durability, and stamina, to control the natural elements of earth, air, fire, and water, for the abilities of

telekinesis Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

levitation Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact. Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...

, illusion-casting, and mental control of some lower animals and of humans under certain circumstances. Centurious once used the Crystal of Souls, a power source for his abilities that imprisoned the souls of his victims. Centurious is proficient in various hand-to-hand combat techniques learned over many ages, but prefers not to engage in physical combat.

References

External links

* {{Ghost Rider Characters created by Bob Budiansky Characters created by J. M. DeMatteis Comics characters introduced in 1982 Fictional characters with immortality Fictional indigenous people of the Americas Marvel Comics characters who use magic Marvel Comics male supervillains Marvel Comics supervillains