Lyde1848 Customs

Tombstone is a hard man – in every sense of the word. A lifetime of criminal activity had already hardened Lonnie Lincoln’s soul, before a freak scientific accident rendered his skin as cold, hard, and durable as… you guessed it, a tombstone. Tombstone first appeared in a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #36 (March 1988), by writer Gerry Conway and artist Alex Saviuk. Conway teased a connection to the Daily Bugle's editor-in-chief, Robbie Robertson, which he went on to reveal in the pages of Spectacular Spider-Man #139 (June 1988), drawn by Sal Buscema.  Growing up together in Harlem, Robbie discovered Lonnie's criminal activities and planned to expose them in the school newspaper, but the thuggish Lonnie intimidated him into silence, even after he witnessed Lonnie commit a murder. Thus, years later when Lonnie re-emerged as an underworld hitman, Robbie’s guilt over his past inaction led him to confront his old acquaintance—only to receive a broken back for his trouble. Insp...

Like the poisonous plant she’s named for, Nightshade is beautiful and easy to underestimate, but extremely deadly. Although a relatively minor villain, Nightshade’s scientific and criminal genius have made her a thorn in the side of many Marvel heroes – including Captain America, whom she once turned into a werewolf!       Nightshade premiered in 1973, during the “Blaxploitation” phase that sparked a surge of black heroes, villains, and storylines. This trend was a great leap forward in terms of representation and diversity (giving us Falcon and Luke Cage, for example), but it also often relied on negative stereotypes of black culture as lower-class, urban, and criminal (both Falcon and Cage emerge from this kind of environment).  The story of Nightshade parallels these trends as well. Created by writer Steve Engelhart and artist Alan Weiss, she was Marvel’s first major black female villain, and from her very first appearance in Captain America #174...

One of Marvel’s more bizarre villains, Mandrill has tormented a wide variety of heroes and heroines. Born with ape-like features, Jerome Beecham was cast out by his parents to die. But instead he survived -- and also learned he emits natural pheromones that enslave women to his will.  Mandrill was first introduced in 1973 as a villain for the jungle-based Shanna the She-Devil. While credit must be spread between plotter Caroline Seuling, writer Steve Gerber, and artist Ross Andru, personally I believe Gerber’s affection for truly weird characters had a lot to do with his creation. In his first few appearances Mandrill was presented a serious geo-political terrorist with vast political ambitions. He first staged a coup in several (fictitious) African countries, with the goal of creating a safe haven for outcasts like himself. Then, alongside his fellow mutant and childhood friend Nekra, he brought his war to America, and even actually succeeded in taking over the White House! Tho...

Shooting Star is the quintessential blonde-haired, blue-eyed, rough-and-tumble, bronco-bustin’ Texas rodeo gal. Combining the flawless aim of Hawkeye with the dauntless courage of Captain America, she is the heart and soul of the Western superhero team called the Rangers. In her first appearance in Incredible Hulk #265, Shooting Star was presented as a brash but highly competent sharpshooter, whose pistols had been tricked out by her father to fire special paralyzing bullets. She and her partner Texas Twister leave the rodeo circuit to answer a distress call from Rick Jones. Together with other western-themed heroes, they faced down a mind-controlled Hulk and establish the Rangers.  Besides her modified pistols, Shooting Star’s creators clearly intended her to have the power of flight. Artist Sal Buscema shows her flying in multiple panels, and writer Bill Mantlo expressly mentions her “stellar powers.” (It’s also right there in her name, which was originally a pun—she is...