The Grim Reaper vs the Avengers,
art by George Pérez
Grim Reaper (Eric Williams) is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared in The Avengers #52 May (1968), by Roy Thomas and John Buscema.
Fictional character biography[]
Eric Williams, the brother of Simon Williams (also known as Wonder Man), was born in Paterson, New Jersey. Eric was always the black sheep of his family. His mother would tell him that he was 'born bad', while heaping affection on Simon. Eric's father was charged with disciplining him, but was abusive and uncaring. He even preferred to watch TV lazily, while Eric was torturing the family cat. At the same time, their mother Martha was loving and attentive to Simon, making Eric bitter and jealous.
One day Eric was playing with chemicals in the garage, and caused a fire which burned down their house. Simon felt guilty for not stopping Eric, and resolved to be responsible for Eric from there on. As they grew older, Simon grew studious while Eric was an athlete. Eric also became more rebellious, and tried to get Simon to join him in his petty thefts. Eventually Eric became a gambler and joined the Maggia and moved to Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Simon took over the family business, Williams Innovations.
Partly due to competition with Stark Industries, Williams Innovations began to fail. Desperate, Simon turned to Eric and his mob ties for help. Simon embezzled money from the company to invest with Eric, but Simon was caught and jailed. Simon was freed from jail by Baron Zemo, induced by an offer of revenge on Tony Stark by defeating Iron Man and the Avengers. Simon was transformed into Wonder Man, in order to infiltrate the Avengers. Zemo's empowering process also poisoned Simon, ensuring his loyalty in exchange for the antidote. Simon's better nature won out though, and he 'died' saving the Avengers from Zemo's trap (though he had really only entered a coma due to his body adjusting to superpowers).
Learning of Simon's death, Eric was inflamed with guilt and anger. Through his Maggia contacts, he contacted the Tinkerer who provided him with his scythe weapon, which was further enhanced by Ultron with coma-inducing abilities. Taking the name "Grim Reaper," he became a professional criminal and defeated the Avengers Hawkeye, Goliath, and the Wasp, but was beaten by the surprise appearance of the Black Panther.[1]
In his next appearance, the Grim Reaper confronted the Avengers with his original Lethal Legion comprised of the Living Laser, Power Man, the Man-Ape, and the Swordsman. The Legion was defeated when the Grim Reaper found himself unable to strike down the Vision, having discovered that he possessed Simon's brainwave patterns.[2]
The Grim Reaper later allied with the Space Phantom and HYDRA. He planned to transfer the Vision's mind to Captain America's body, thus "resurrecting" his brother. He battled the Avengers again and was defeated.[3]
Behind the scenes, the Grim Reaper later had Wonder Man resurrected as a zombie by the Black Talon to attack the Avengers. Wonder Man was restored to true life as a result.[4] The Grim Reaper then captured the Avengers, and staged a trial to determine whether the Vision or Wonder Man was his true brother. He was defeated by Wonder Man.[5]
Later, the Grim Reaper attempted to kill both the Vision and Wonder Man, but was defeated by the Vision.[6]
Later still, the Grim Reaper with Ultron, Nekra, and other allies, captured the Avengers. The Grim Reaper attempted a recreation of "Simon Williams" as a zombie. He was pursued by the Vision and Wonder Man in a cave, and died in a fall from the cave ledge.[7] The Grim Reaper was then resurrected by Nekra as a zombie, but he believed himself to be alive. The zombie battled Wonder Man and Magneto, but when he realized he was actually dead, he "died" again as a result.[8]
Much later, the Grim Reaper was resurrected by Immortus as a member of his Legion of the Unliving. The Grim Reaper battled Wonder Man, and "died" again of a broken neck.[9] He was then resurrected by Nekra as a zombie again, this time under the condition that he absorb a human life-force every 24 hours. He killed Nekra as his first victim, and then battled Wonder Man before escaping.[10] He battled Wonder Man and the Mandrill, and escaped again.[11] The scythe was fused to his arm by Ultron, and he formed an alliance with Ultron.[12]
The Grim Reaper was later restored to life by the Scarlet Witch's magic.[13]
Grim Reaper reappeared during the aftermath of the Secret War that had been organized by Nick Fury against Latveria.[volume & issue needed] He was among the supervillains who had been supplied with enhanced technology by Latverian dictator Lucia von Bardos and sent to attack the heroes who had been involved in Fury's Secret War.[volume & issue needed]
Civil War / Dark Reign[]
The Grim Reaper was apparently one of the many villains that escaped from the Raft prison during New Avengers #1-3.[14] Being at large for several months, the Grim Reaper was eventually tracked down by Captain America and Cable, who brought the Reaper down with the aid of their other friends. He was once again put into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D.[volume & issue needed]
Grim Reaper is next seen at the end of Heroes For Hire #6, teamed with Man-Ape & Saboteur;[15] how he escaped S.H.I.E.L.D. is uncertain. The Grim Reaper later formed a new lineup of the Lethal Legion as part of a plan against Norman Osborn, after Osborn's rise to power. The team is ultimately defeated by the Dark Avengers and HAMMER agents and imprisoned in The Raft. While there, the Grim Reaper is stabbed in the heart by an inmate loyal to Osborn, and has to undergo an operation. It is also revealed that his brother Simon is a member of the Legion, also imprisoned in the Raft.[16]
Powers and abilities[]
Originally, the Grim Reaper was a purely technological-based villain with no innate superhuman abilities. The techno-scythe he used as his trademark weapon was designed by the Tinkerer. The scythe was worn on his right hand and had the ability to make the blade spin at rapid speed, making the weapon usable as a high-speed propeller blade buzzsaw, missile shield, and an improvised helicopter. It could also fire electromagnetic power blasts and anesthetic gas pellets, and dispense electric stun shocks on touch. The scythe was also equipped with a cerebral-frequency generator able to induce deep comas and revive victims from them as well.
The Grim Reaper later gained some magic-related abilities: he could reanimate the souls and bodies of the dead, either through voodoo training received from Black Talon or powers bestowed upon him by Lloigoroth. The Grim Reaper has also performed various magically-based feats including but not limited to: teleporting himself and others, summoning demons, creating illusions, and clairvoyant viewing.
The Reaper's physical strength is supernaturally heightened slightly beyond the natural limitations of the human body. In addition, his right hand has been amputated and replaced with an apparently magical scythe. The scythe is magically sharp and is capable of energy blasts (much like the original), but has also been used to drain energy.
At one point, the Grim Reaper had died, and was restored to life by Nekra as a zombie. He suffered hair loss, and had sallow skin in various stages of decomposition. In this zombie state, he had the ability to absorb human life-forces to sustain his own, and was able to absorb human life-force through his scythe. He needed to absorb a human life-force once every 24 hours to remain "alive" as a zombie.
Other versions[]
Earth X[]
- An alternate version of Eric Williams appeared in Earth X. He was in the Realm of the Dead and only appeared in Universe X Special: 4
JLA/Avengers[]
The Grim Reaper was shown in a backstory of the Justice League and Avengers' team-ups. In one story, he and the Key stole the Serpent Crown and kidnapped Zatanna and Mantis to use them as a key to celestial power.[17]
MC2[]
The Grim Reaper has not appeared in the MC2 Universe, but his scythe weapon was used by Kevin Masterson in Avengers Next #5.
The Last Avengers Story[]
In the The Last Avengers Story, William Maximoff, the son of the Vision and Scarlet Witch, grew up to be known as the Grim Reaper. He allied with Kang and Ultron against the Avengers. He used magic and had a scythe. He appeared in Last Avengers Story #1-2.
Other media[]
Television[]
- The Grim Reaper appeared in The Avengers: United They Stand episode "The Sorceress' Apprentice." This version wore full body armor and a helmet featuring a skull-like paint job. His ties to Wonder Man remained intact.
Video games[]
- In Captain America and the Avengers, released as an arcade console and for the Sega Genesis and SNES, the Grim Reaper is a boss character at the end of stage 2.
- Grim Reaper has been confirmed to appear in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2. He has not been confirmed as playble or not.[citation needed] Grim Reaper was also seen running with multiple villains.[citation needed]
Bibliography[]
- Avengers vol. 1 #52, 78-79, 102, 106-108, 151-152, 160
- Avengers vol. 3 #0, 10-11, 19-22 31-33 *'
- Avengers West Coast #65 (resurrection #2), 66-68, 105, 352-354
- Avengers: Ultron Imperative
- Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Avengers 2005
- Secret War #3-5
- Vision & Scarlet Witch vol. 1 #3
- Vision & Scarlet Witch vol. 2 #1-2
- West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #1-2 (death), 12 (resurrected/death #2)
- Wonder Man vol. 1 #1
References[]
- ↑ Avengers #52
- ↑ Avengers #78-79
- ↑ Avengers #102, 106-108
- ↑ Avengers #151-152
- ↑ Avengers #160
- ↑ Vision & Scarlet Witch Vol. 1 #3
- ↑ Vision & Scarlet Witch Vol. 2 #1-2; West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #1-2
- ↑ Vision & Scarlet Witch Vol. 2 #12
- ↑ Avengers West Coast #61
- ↑ Avengers West Coast #65
- ↑ Avengers West Coast #66
- ↑ Avengers West Coast #67
- ↑ Avengers v3 #10-11
- ↑ New Avengers #1-3
- ↑ Heroes For Hire #6
- ↑ Dark Reign: Lethal Legion #1
- ↑ JLA/Avengers #3
External links[]
- Grim Reaper at Marvel.com
- Leader's Lair article on Grim Reaper (contains synopses on all appearances through Avengers vol. 3 #33)
- Grand Comics Database Project article on the Avengers #52 (1968)