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Jack O'Lantern is an alias used by several
supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...
s appearing in
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
s published by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
.


Publication history

Jason Macendale Jason Philip Macendale, Jr. () is a fictional character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The character first appears in ''Machine Man'' #19 (Feb. 1981), created by writer Tom DeFal ...
first appeared as Jack O'Lantern in ''
Machine Man Machine Man (also known as Aaron Stack, Mister Machine and serial number Z2P45-9-X-51 or X-51 for short) is an android superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Jack Kirby for '' 2001: A ...
'' #19 (February 1981). The Steve Levins incarnation of Jack O'Lantern first appeared in ''
Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
'' #396 (January 1992). The Daniel Berkhart incarnation of Jack O'Lantern (a.k.a. Mad Jack) first appeared in ''
The Spectacular Spider-Man ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics. Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could support ...
'' #241 (December 1996). The Maguire Beck incarnation of Jack O'Lantern (a.k.a. Mad Jack) first appeared in ''Spider-Man and Mysterio'' #1 (January 2001). The Secret War incarnation of Jack O'Lantern first appeared in ''Secret War'' #1 (April 2004). The Levins brother incarnation of Jack O'Lantern first appeared in ''Dark Reign: Made Men'' #1 (November 2009). The Crime-Master's protégé incarnation of Jack O'Lantern first appeared in ''
Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
'' #1 (May 2011). The Jack O'Lantern imposter who encountered Venom first appeared in ''Venom'' #37 (September 2013). The Owen Ward incarnation of Jack O'Lantern first appeared in ''Venom'' #1 (#166) (July 2018). The Daniel Drumm incarnation of Jack O'Lantern, set on Earth-98091, first appeared in ''Supernaturals'' #1 (December 1998).


Fictional character biography


Jason Macendale

Jason Macendale was a
mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...
who was recruited out of college and trained by the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
and various para-military organizations. Considered a liability due to his violent nature and amoral personality, this rejection turned Macendale to a career mercenary and ultimately a costumed terrorist. He adopted the Jack O'Lantern alter ego, engaging in combat with
Machine Man Machine Man (also known as Aaron Stack, Mister Machine and serial number Z2P45-9-X-51 or X-51 for short) is an android superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Jack Kirby for '' 2001: A ...
as his first opponent followed by
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
for the first time.


Steven Mark Levins

The second version of Jack O'Lantern was introduced as an enemy of
Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
and
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
. This version of the character was subjected to much controversy, due to the fact that several years after his introduction he was rebranded "Mad Jack" and was heavily featured in the pages of ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' during the late 1990s. Mad Jack was ultimately revealed to be the duo of Daniel Berkhart (ex-Mysterio) and Maguire Beck (Mysterio's cousin). It was not until the one-shot ''New Avengers Most Wanted'' (a character compendium) that the second iteration was confirmed as a separate entity: Steven Mark Levins. However, the character's name would not be used in-story until ''Ghost Rider'' vol. 5 #10 (2007). This incarnation was a professional criminal, and a partner of Blackwing. Alongside Blackwing, he searched Skullhouse and first battled Captain America. With Blackwing, he was then admitted as a provisional member of the loosely knit band of the
Red Skull The Red Skull is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by France Herron, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the character first appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 (March 1941), in ...
's operatives called the
Skeleton Crew A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item. Skeleton Crew may refer to: Music *Skeleton Crew (band), an American experimental rock and jazz group *Skeleton Crew, an American record label co-founded b ...
. Soon after that, Jack O'Lantern fought Crossbones and Diamondback, and captured Diamondback. Diamondback tried to escape, and Jack O'Lantern fought Diamondback in mid-air. He was ultimately defeated in combat by the
Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...
, and taken to the Vault. He also worked as an enforcer of the
Golem A golem ( ; ) is an animated Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...
and in this capacity, fought
the Hood The Hood (Parker Robbins) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Brian K. Vaughan, and artists Kyle Hotz and Eric Powell (comics), Eric Powell, the character was introduced in his own sel ...
when he interfered in Golem's machinations. Jack O'Lantern later fought
Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...
alongside
Shockwave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...
and
Jackhammer A jackhammer (pneumatic drill or demolition hammer in British English) is a pneumatic or electro-mechanical tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel. It was invented by William McReavy, who then sold the patent to Charles Brady Ki ...
to attack the Thames Tunnel. Following his defeat, Levins was recruited to serve as part of the Thunderbolts hero-hunting squad during the "Civil War" storyline. While pursuing Spider-Man through the Manhattan sewers alongside the
Jester A jester, also known as joker, court jester, or fool, was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch kept to entertain guests at the royal court. Jesters were also travelling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town ma ...
, Levins was killed by the
Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher ma ...
. However, Levins is later reanimated and possessed by a fragment of Lucifer's soul. He now exhibits the ability to detach, levitate and explode his head, among other powers. However, the Ghost Rider was able to exorcise him by ripping his heart from his chest, setting it aflame, and putting it back in his chest, causing it to explode inside. During the " Dark Reign" storyline, Levins was among the dead characters seen in Erebus by
Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...
. He was later seen on
Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...
's jury (alongside Abomination,
Armless Tiger Man A-Bomb Abomination Absorbing Man Abraxas Abyss Abyss is the name of two characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Nils Styger Abyss is a mutant and the half-brother of Nightcrawler. He was cr ...
, Artume,
Heinrich Zemo Heinrich Zemo is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first made a cameo appearance in ''The Avengers (comic book), The Avengers'' #4 (March 1964), ...
, Commander Kraken,
Iron Monger Iron Monger is an alias used by multiple fictional characters, supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The most well-known version, Obadiah Stane, first appeared in ''Iron Man'' #163 (Oct. 1982), and the Iron ...
, Kyknos, Nessus, Orka,
Scourge of the Underworld The Scourge of the Underworld is the name of a series of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Writer/editor Mark Gruenwald originally created the Scourge in 1985 as a plot device intended to thin the ...
, and
Veranke Veranke is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The queen of the Skrull Empire, first introduced under the guise of Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), she is the main antagonist of ''Secret Invasion'' in which she ...
) for
Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...
' trial. During the " Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" storyline, Levins's Jack O'Lantern form was among the characters who were cloned by the
Jackal Jackals are Canidae, canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe Canina (subtribe), canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-b ...
. He got involved in a fight with the other cloned villains, causing the Prowler's clone to break it up. Jack O'Lantern later battled
Deadpool Deadpool is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (December 1990). In his comic book appearances, Deadpool is ...
after stealing 20 million dollars from the ''Queen Kathleen'' gambling ship owned by
Tombstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...
. Jack O'Lantern later led a similar gang called the Jack O'Lanterns. When four of the Jack O'Lanterns turned out to be sleeper agents working for Finisher and
Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...
, Levins helped to contain the rampage by fighting the Jack O'Lanterns. During the " Sinister War" storyline, Jack O'Lantern was with Foreigner, Taskmaster, Black Ant,
Chance Chance may refer to: Mathematics * In mathematics, likelihood of something (by way of the likelihood function or probability density function) * ''Chance'' (statistics magazine) Places * Chance, Kentucky, US * Chance, Maryland, US * Chanc ...
, and Slyde when they are sent by Kindred to attack Spider-Man after Kindred had disrupted their armored car robbery.


Daniel Berkhart

Former Mysterio, Daniel Berkhart, was approached by
Norman Osborn Norman Virgil Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the first and best-known incarnation of th ...
providing a version of the Jack O'Lantern costume, under the "Mad Jack" alias. Under Osborn's orders, Berkhart kidnapped John Jameson and exposed to mind-altering chemicals to be turned into a mind controlled pawn: the super-powered wolf alter-ego persona Man-Wolf. Jameson was then sent to attack
J. Jonah Jameson John Jonah Jameson Jr., known as J. Jonah Jameson, is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist St ...
, to terrorize and cow into being subservient towards Osborn's scheme to buy the ''
Daily Bugle The ''Daily Bugle'' (at one time ''The DB!'') is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The ''Daily Bugle'' is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most ...
''. During this time, he also stalked Jameson's wife, Marla, implying that the two had a past relationship that Berkhart sought to rekindle. In the miniseries '' Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do'', Francis Klum purchased Mysterio's weapons and gimmick to become yet another new Mysterio. The seller, Kingpin, said he had acquired the arsenal "from Jack-O-Lantern".


Maguire Beck

After Berkhart's working relationship with Osborn ended when the Green Goblin participated in a magical ritual that rendered him completely insane, Berkhart was then approached by Maguire Beck, the female cousin of Quentin Beck (the original Mysterio). Maguire convinced Berkhart to re-assume the Mysterio identity following her cousin's suicide and the "Mad Jack" costumed identity was retired. But when the two sought to eliminate Spider-Man, Daredevil, J. Jonah Jameson and several other mutual enemies, the two revived the "Mad Jack" persona, with Maguire using holograms and lifelike robotic versions of Mad Jack and Berkhart himself to serve as proxies for herself while she laid in secret. In the end, Maguire was caught and exposed though due to her usage of Berkhart androids but Daredevil and Spider-Man were left unsure as to whether or not Berkhart was truly involved. However Berkhart did ultimately escape with a Mysterio costume, in the confusion at the end.


Brother of Steven Levins

Another version of Jack O'Lantern is introduced during the "Dark Reign" storyline, is an unnamed man who claimed to be Steve Levins' brother. He has since been caught by the police after killing the 15-year-old daughter of his neighbor and drinking his victim's blood as part of his plot to avenge Steve. This man was shown to be able to transform into a Jack O'Lantern-headed villain using the powers of a mystical demon. He was later released by a lawyer sent by Norman Osborn who claimed that Jack O'Lantern is a material witness to a national security case. The lawyer drives away with Jack O'Lantern as Norman plans to gain his services. During the " Heroic Age", Steve Rogers knew about Jack O'Lantern, noting that Osborn didn't use Jack O'Lantern and suspects that Jack O'Lantern will continue his crusade to avenge his brother.


Crime-Master's Jack O'Lantern

A new version of Jack O'Lantern appears working for the third Crime-Master. As a child, the kid that would become Jack O'Lantern had disobeyed his parents and mistreated animals. While going as Jack O'Lantern for Halloween, he came across a house that Crime-Master was in. The boy was taken under Crime-Master's wing and trained him to be an assassin. It was with this training that the boy had killed his parents. One of his jobs brings him into conflict with the government operative
Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
. During this conflict, Venom threw a live grenade into his mouthpiece and it dislocated his jaw. Even after the explosion, he was still able to run and retreat. Later, Crime-Master is able to use contacts to discover Venom's true identity
Flash Thompson Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962). Flash ...
, and has Jack O'Lantern kidnap
Betty Brant Elizabeth "Betty" Brant-Leeds is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually in stories featuring the superhero Spider-Man. She is the personal secretary of J. Jonah Jameson at the ''Daily Bugle'', ...
(Flash's girlfriend) in exchange for Venom letting Crime-Master get a shipment of Antarctic Vibranium. When Venom leaves to rescue Betty, he is distracted by Spider-Man's appearance, which drives the Venom symbiote into an uncontrollable rage. Eventually Betty is rescued at the last second by Spider-Man, with Venom then trying to recapture Crime-Master. However, Venom is attacked by Jack O'Lantern who proclaims Flash as his first real nemesis, and desiring revenge for the disfiguring grenade explosion, also mockingly calling out Venom's first name. While it hasn't been confirmed, this depiction claims to have killed every other person to go by the Jack O'Lantern name in an effort to "clean up the brand". Jack O'Lantern is a member of the Crime-Master's
Savage Six The Savage Six is the name of two different supervillain groups appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The Earth-982 version of the Savage Six first appeared in ''Spider-Girl (comic book), Spider-Girl'' # ...
. Jack O'Lantern in his human guise goes first and targets Betty only to end up fighting Venom. During the fight, Megatak assists Jack O'Lantern and punches Venom's phone before he can make a call to the Avengers for help. Jack O'Lantern targets Jessie Thompson and ends up fighting Venom. Venom grabs Jack O'Lantern's gun and fires on him before Jack O'Lantern spews acid on him, causing Venom to cool down in the fountain. Jack O'Lantern later goes on a killing spree which escalated on Father's Day. Venom tracked him to a sewer thanks to the hidden trail Jack O'Lantern had left behind for him. There, he discovered that Jack had dug up the corpse of Flash's father and blew up the room. In the fight that ensued, it looked like Jack O'Lantern was going to win until Venom took his father's gun from the holster and shot him. Venom chose not to kill Jack O'Lantern. Jack O'Lantern was incarcerated at the Raft. He managed to continue his operations using an employee of a storage facility as a replacement who Jack O'Lantern's robots brainwashed.''Venom'' vol. 2 #37. Marvel Comics. Jack O'Lantern was among the villains contracted by the
Assassins Guild The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several fictional teams and organizations and this page lists them. 0–9 198 A A-Force A-Next A.I. Army The A.I. Army is a fictional organization appearing i ...
to target Elektra's allies. During the "
AXIS An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...
" storyline, Jack O'Lantern appears as a member of Magneto's unnamed supervillain group during the fight against the Red Skull's Red Onslaught form. His moral compass was inverted with all of those in Genosha when a spell meant to affect only the Red Skull affected everyone on the island. He later rejoined the (now-inverted) villains to prevent the inverted X-Men from detonating a gene bomb which would've killed everyone on Earth who was not a mutant. When a reinversion spell was cast, Jack O'Lantern was evil once again. During the " Avengers: Standoff!" storyline, Jack O'Lantern was an inmate of Pleasant Hill, a gated community established by S.H.I.E.L.D. During the " Secret Empire" storyline, Jack O'Lantern appears as a member of the Army of Evil, who attack Manhattan in retaliation for what happened at Pleasant Hill. Jack O'Lantern is eventually hunted down for his many crimes by
Eddie Brock Edward Charles Allan "Eddie" Brock is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane, making a cameo appearance in ''Web of Spider-Man'' #18 (September 1 ...
, and is beaten within an inch of his life. Brock lets him live, although it is implied Brock breaks Jack's spine and leaves him in a critical condition before being teleported away to a parallel universe. Jack O'Lantern was among the villains contracted by Bella Donna of the Assassins Guild to target
Deadpool Deadpool is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (December 1990). In his comic book appearances, Deadpool is ...
. Jack O'Lantern and his fellow villains were defeated by Deadpool. Jack O'Lantern was hospitalized following this, and underwent plastic surgery to restore his face and intensive therapy. Jack O'Lantern was released to civilian life, but grew bored almost immediately and returned to supervillainy. Following Deadpool to
Wakanda Wakanda (), officially the Kingdom of Wakanda, is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the country first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...
, Jack O'Lantern battles both Deadpool and
Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...
until Deadpool kills him.


Owen Ward

A petty criminal named Owen Ward stumbled upon the Jack O'Lantern equipment and became a supervillain and an arms dealer. He was supplying weapons to criminals from Norman Osborn's armory which attracted the attention of Venom and the police. The Venom symbiote went berserk and ripped out his left eye. After escaping from Venom, Jack O'Lantern was seen at the Bar With No Name where he told his tale to the patrons. The Bar With No Name was later attacked by Venom causing the patrons to flee. During the "
War of the Realms War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
" storyline, Jack O'Lantern found one of
Malekith the Accursed Malekith the Accursed () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the ruler of the Elves (Marvel Comics), Dark Elves of Svartálfar, Svartalfheim, and has come into conflict with Thor (Marvel Co ...
's War Witches having teleported into his apartment following a fight with a Dreamstone-enhanced Eddie Brock. Seeing as they have a mutual enemy in Venom, the War Witch conjures another Dreamstone and gives it to Jack O'Lantern. Jack O'Lantern accepts the offer from the War Witch as he reaches out to touch the Dreamstone.


Imposters

* An unnamed man posed as Jason Macendale, using both his civilian name and his Jack O'Lantern alias during Secret War. * As mentioned above, Crime-Master's Jack O'Lantern brainwashed a factory worker into posing as him. He was among the villains gathered by Lord Ogre to attack Venom. Jack O'Lantern later attacked Flash's neighbor Andrea Benton which ended in her father's death as Flash protected Andrea. When Andrea attacked Jack O'Lantern for what happened to her father, the mask came off and Venom saw that this wasn't Crime-Master's Jack O'Lantern. The factory worker explained that he worked at a storage facility and was hypnotized into being Jack O'Lantern by one of Jack O'Lantern's robots. After Venom prevented Andrea from killing him, the imposter Jack O'Lantern was taken into police custody and slipped into a coma moments later.


Powers and abilities

Jason Macendale originally possessed no superhuman powers, but used similar paraphernalia to the Hobgoblin and the Green Goblin; both his Jack O'Lantern and Hobgoblin personas used a rocket-powered glider, pumpkin bombs, and gauntlet blasters. During the time in which a demon was grafted to him, he had superhuman strength, speed, and agility, as well as hellfire powers enabling him to create weapons and gliders at will. It is implied that his demonic abilities allowed him to create organic fibers strong enough to bind a normal person. After acquiring Kraven the Hunter's formula, Macendale had enhanced his strength, speed, stamina, durability, reflexes, and agility to superhuman levels, thanks to anomalies in his blood left over when he and Demogoblin were one, but this formula's effects seemed to have later wore off. His later cybernetically enhanced body thanks to Mendel Stromm further increased his strength, speed, reflexes, durability, and stamina. Macendale had extensive military training in hand-to-hand combat, martial arts, espionage, and knowledge of conventional weaponry. He often used conventional military weapons. When he adopted the Hobgoblin persona, he was able to make improvements to the Goblin glider's maneuverability by utilizing skills he gained from his master's degrees in both
mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
and
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
. Macendale was also a
sociopath Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity to st ...
and a sadist, which led to his dishonorable discharge from the military. Steven Levins modeled his Jack O'Lantern costume and equipment after those created by his predecessor. Levins wore a complete
body armor Body armour, personal armour (also spelled ''armor''), armoured suit (''armored'') or coat of armour, among others, is armour for human body, a person's body: protective clothing or close-fitting hands-free shields designed to absorb or deflect ...
made of metal-mesh covered in multi-segmented Kevlar panels, incorporating a rigid, articulated shell which can resist a 7-pound bazooka anti-tank warhead. He wore a bulletproof helmet with an internal three hour, compressed air supply. The helmet is equipped with a telescopic infrared image-intensifier for seeing in the dark and 360 degree scanning device for seeing all around himself. The base of the helmet is equipped with a fine network of pinholes which maintain a low temperature, low density flame ("stage-fire") that rings the helmet at all times. The air supply cools the helmet's interior. The helmet is padded to protect his head from injury. Levins is armed with wrist-blasters which can deliver an electrical shock within a range of . He also used various types of grenades, including anesthetic, lachrymatory (tear gas), hallucinogenic, and regurgitant gas grenades, smoke grenades, and concussion grenades. The grenades are shaped like spheres or pumpkins. He can fire small grenades from wrist devices. He can also release "ghost-grabbers" which are thick, semi-transparent films which adhere to a victim. Levins rides atop a one-man hovercraft with an electric motor powered by a high density lithium rechargeable battery. Daniel Berkhart used the same weapons as the previous incarnations of Jack O'Lantern, along with chemical weapons that cause psychedelic and mind-bending
hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the compelling sense of reality. They are distinguishable from several related phenomena, such as dreaming ( REM sleep), which does not involve wakefulness; pse ...
s. His accomplice Maguire Beck was an expert designer of
special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the fictional events in a story or virtual world. ...
devices and stage illusions, a master hypnotist, and skilled in chemistry and robotics, including a lifelike robotic black cat. Beck has used her advanced knowledge of computer imaging and virtual reality to improve upon Mysterio's techniques, allowing for Beck to pretend to be Mad Jack via proxies while safely hidden in her secret lair. The brother of Levins can transform into a demon with the head of a jack-o'-lantern using the powers of an unknown mystical demon. The fifth incarnation, along with the same general weapons the previous ones used, has a fleet of tiny flying cartoon-styled devil robots. Instead of a hovercraft, he rides a jet-powered "broomstick".


Reception

* In 2021, ''
Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...
'' included the Unknown Jack O'Lantern in their "10 Best Marvel Legacy Villains Who Lived Up To Their Predecessor" list.


Other versions


MC2

In the '' MC2'' timeline, Maguire Beck is that
Spider-Ham Spider-Ham (Peter Porker) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is an anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic pig and is a cartoon animal parody version of Spider-Man. He was created by Larry Hama, T ...
character to lure Spider-Man to the Heartland Entertainment building. Once there, Spider-Man met up with
Araña Aña "Anya" Sofia Corazón (surname alternatively shown without diacritic, Corazon, over the years) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, writer Fiona Avery, a ...
, and together they battled robots created by Jack O'Lantern. Years later, Maguire lured
Spider-Girl Spider-Girl is the code name of several fictional Character (arts), characters in American comic book, comic books published by Marvel Comics. The most prominent version and first to receive an ongoing series is Mayday Parker from the Marvel Co ...
to the same location. After fighting several Jack O'Lanterns, Spider-Girl finished them off and discovered that Maguire was really a robot.


Earth-Chaos

In the Earth-Chaos timeline, Daniel Drumm performed a dark ceremony with his brother Jericho (Brother Voodoo) watching. In the release of the strange energy, Daniel was apparently incinerated, only to reborn as the villainous Jack O'Lantern. On the day before Halloween 13 years after the ''Chaos!'' event, Jack O'Lantern launched a scheme to bring about a hell on Earth and take over the world with the proper alignment of cosmos. Raising dead persons and animating dinosaurs, he looked to gather the remaining heroes of the world for the purpose of eliminating them. However, Brother Voodoo and the Supernaturals were able to overcome his machinations, sending Jack into another dimension. With Jack gone, his minions disappeared and the world was saved. Jack O'Lantern may still be holding the heroes captured from the first ''Chaos!'' event in his wand and plotting another takeover of the Earth.


JLA/Avengers

An unidentified incarnation of Jack O'Lantern appears in ''
JLA/Avengers ''JLA/Avengers'' (issues #2 and 4 are titled ''Avengers/JLA'') is a comic book limited series and crossover published in prestige format by DC Comics and Marvel Comics from September 2003 to March 2004. The series was written by Kurt Busiek, wi ...
'' #4 as a brainwashed minion of Krona.


Spider-Geddon

In the ''
Spider-Geddon ''Spider-Geddon'' is a 2018 comic book Limited series (comics), limited series and Crossover (comics), crossover Story arc, storyline published by Marvel Comics featuring multiple alternative versions of Spider-Man that had appeared Spider-Man in ...
'' event on Earth-11580, a version of Jack O'Lantern is seen alongside the
Green Goblin The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn, ...
,
Hobgoblin A hobgoblin is a household spirit, appearing in English folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his '' A Midsummer Nigh ...
and
Demogoblin Demogoblin is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Demogoblin first appeared as Demogoblin in ''Web of Spider-Man'' #86 (March 1992), and had previously appeared as an unnamed d ...
during the Goblin Night. Under the orders of the Goblin Queen, they try to kill
Gwen Stacy Gwendolyne Maxine "Gwen" Stacy is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in those featuring Spider-Man (Peter Parker). A college student and the daughter of George Stacy, Georg ...
, but Spiders-Man arrives and defeats the Goblins.


In other media


Television

* An unidentified, original incarnation of Jack O'Lantern appears in the ''
Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate Ma ...
'' episode "Halloween Night at the Museum". This version is the result of
Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (; Welsh language, Welsh and Cornish language, Cornish: Morgen; with ''le Fay'' being garbled French language, French ''la Fée'', thus meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morgant Mor ...
transforming an unnamed security guard (voiced by
Drake Bell Jared Drake Bell (born June 27, 1986) is an American actor and musician. Born in Newport Beach, California, he began his career as a child actor in the 1990s, appearing on ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'' (1994) and in severa ...
A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.) to bring about the end of the world. Jack O'Lantern attacks Spider-Man, but is returned to normal after le Fay is defeated. * An unidentified incarnation of Jack O'Lantern appears in the ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
'' (2017) episode "Bring On the Bad Guys" Pt. 3, voiced by
Booboo Stewart Nils Allen "Booboo" Stewart Jr. (born January 21, 1994) is an American actor, musician, and visual artist. He is known for playing Seth Clearwater in '' The Twilight Saga'', Warpath in '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'', Jay in the Disney televi ...
. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version is obsessed with Halloween, to the point of claiming that every day is Halloween.


Video games

* The Jason Macendale incarnation of Jack O'Lantern appears as a mini-boss in ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
'' (1995). * The Steven Levins incarnation of Jack O'Lantern makes a cameo appearance in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2''. * The fourth incarnation of Jack O'Lantern appears as a boss in '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance''. * The Jason Macendale incarnation of Jack O'Lantern appears as a boss in ''
Spider-Man Unlimited ''Spider-Man Unlimited'' is an animated television series produced by Saban Entertainment which features the Marvel comic book superhero Spider-Man and serves as a follow-up to '' Spider-Man: The Animated Series''. ''Unlimited'' premiered in 1 ...
'', voiced by
Travis Willingham Travis Willingham is an American voice actor known for his character portrayals in video games and English anime Dubbing, dubs. His notable roles include Roy Mustang in the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' franchise, Cleo in ''Glass Fleet'', Ginko in ''L ...
. * The fourth incarnation of Jack O'Lantern appears in ''
Marvel Avengers Academy ''Marvel Avengers Academy'' was a freemium mobile game for iOS and Android, based on the characters featured in Marvel Comics. It was released on February 4, 2016. The game was shut down three years later. Despite the name, the game was not re ...
'', voiced by Matthew Curtis. * The Jason Macendale incarnation of Jack O'Lantern appears as a costume for the
Green Goblin The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn, ...
in '' Marvel Heroes''.


Merchandise

The demonic version of Jason Macendale appears in the
Spider-Man Classics Spider-Man Classics is a term used by collectors most commonly to refer to several action figure lines produced by Toy Biz. The lines focus on Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Creat ...
line, which was later reworked for
Marvel Legends Marvel Legends is an action figure line based on the characters of Marvel Comics, initially produced by Toy Biz, then by Hasbro. This line is in the scale, with spin-off lines in the , , and scale. The line initially began in 2002 as a spi ...
' "
Sinister Six The Sinister Six are a group of supervillains in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, mainly those featuring Spider-Man. The members are drawn from the character's list of enemies, with the original members forming the team in ''T ...
" set and repainted as a
Demogoblin Demogoblin is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Demogoblin first appeared as Demogoblin in ''Web of Spider-Man'' #86 (March 1992), and had previously appeared as an unnamed d ...
figure.


References


External links


Jason Macendale Jr. (Earth-616)
at Marvel Wiki * *
Hobgoblin (Jason Macendale)
at Marvel.com
Jack O'Lantern (Steven Levins)
at Marvel.com
Jack O'Lantern (Maguire Beck)
at Marvel.com
Grand Comics Database




at SpiderFan.org





* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jack O'lantern (Marvel Comics) Groups of fictional characters Characters created by Gerry Conway Characters created by Mark Gruenwald Characters created by Rick Remender Characters created by Rik Levins Characters created by Ross Andru Characters created by Steve Ditko Characters created by Tom DeFalco Comics characters introduced in 1981 Comics characters introduced in 1992 Comics characters introduced in 1996 Comics characters introduced in 2009 Comics characters introduced in 2011 Fictional assassins in comics Fictional Central Intelligence Agency personnel Fictional chemists Fictional mechanical engineers Fictional mercenaries in comics Fictional physicists Fictional roboticists Fictional terrorists Hobgoblin (comics) Marvel Comics cyborgs Marvel Comics female supervillains Marvel Comics male supervillains Marvel Comics mutates Spider-Man characters code names Spider-Man characters