Nicholas Scratch
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Nicholas Scratch | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Fantastic Four #185 (August 1977) |
Created by | Len Wein (writer), George Pérez (artist) |
In-story information | |
Partnerships | Dormammu Salem's Seven |
Abilities | Vast magical powers |
Nicholas Scratch is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is predominantly a foe of the Fantastic Four and Patsy Walker.
Publication history
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2014) |
Nicholas Scratch first appeared in Fantastic Four #185 (August 1977) and was created by Len Wein (writer) and George Pérez (artist).[1]
The name "Nicholas Scratch" is an
Fictional character biography
Nicholas Scratch is the son of
From the Dark Realm, Scratch restored the Salem's Seven's powers and took mental control of the Fantastic Four. He attempted a world conquest, but was thwarted and confined to the Dark Realm by Agatha Harkness.[3] From the Dark Realm, he later took mental possession of Franklin Richards. He had Salem's Seven takeover New Salem, but was defeated by Agatha Harkness and Gabriel, Devil Hunter. Scratch's powers were removed by Harkness, leaving him as a normal human being.[4] Agatha Harkness eventually disowned Scratch as her son.[volume & issue needed]
Later, after the destruction of New Salem,[5] Scratch resurfaced in the town of Centerville as "Mayor Nicholas." The whole town of Centerville and all of its inhabitants had entered a contract as an amusement park version of "America's Heartland Next-Door." When Patsy Walker returned to visit her hometown, she discovered that the town's whole population was possessed by demons. A team composed of Avengers and Thunderbolts helped clear the town, which was apparently being victimized by a convoluted conspiracy composed of the amusement park developers, the Sons of the Serpent, and Salem's Seven. After defeating them, the Avengers/Thunderbolts team departed but Patsy elected to remain in Centerville.[6]
Soon Patsy discovered that Scratch was the mastermind behind the ongoing haunting of Centerville. She defeated him and accused him of serving
Scratch had not been seen until he was featured in The Resurrection of Nicholas Scratch three-part storyline in Marvel Knights 4 where Scratch manipulated Salem's Seven and the Fantastic Four into releasing Shuma-Gorath only for the Fantastic Four, Diablo, Doctor Strange, and his own children to defeat him and Shuma-Gorath. Scratch was banished to Hell, where he made an alliance with Mephisto.[volume & issue needed]
Powers and abilities
Scratch possesses vast indeterminate power through manipulation of the forces of magic. He has teleported, fired bolts of force and energy, traveled between dimensions, shown the ability to control and influence minds, and animated gargoyles to serve him. He could gain more power by tapping into extradimensional energy in entities or objects of power existing in dimensions tangential to Earth's. He had the mental powers of mesmerism, thought-casting, illusion-casting, and mental-probing. For a time, Nicholas Scratch was deprived of his supernatural powers by a spell cast by Agatha Harkness.
Scratch wields the Satan Staff, a mystical power object that served as a focus for Scratch's magical powers. With it, he could direct the combined magical powers of the entire community of New Salem when they allowed him to do so.
In other media
Television
- Nicholas Scratch appears in The Avengers: United They Stand episode "The Sorceress Apprentice" voiced by Stephen Ouimette.
References
External links
- Nicholas Scratch at Marvel.com
- Nicholas Scratch at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe