Spider-Tracer: The Jack O’Lantern Legacy

With Halloween fast approaching, I saw the perfect opportunity to clarify one of the more confusing villain legacies in Spider-Man comics: Jack O’Lantern. That’s right, we’ll be taking a look at ol’ pumpkin puss and the seeming revolving door of villains to take up the mantle over the years.

 

Ironically, Jack O’Lantern’s origins go back to legendary Spider-Man creator Steve Ditko (years after he quit working on Spidey, mind you) and frequent Spidey scribe, Tom DeFalco. First appearing in the final issue of Machine Man’s original ongoing series (issue #19), Ditko and DeFalco created Jack O’Lantern as the leader of a band of mercenaries, with all of them defeated by the end of the issue.

 

 

The original Jack O’Lantern’s real name is Jason Macendale, and it wouldn’t be long until Macendale was soon adopted into Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery (a fact I covered in one of my earliest Spider-Tracer articles). In fact, his next appearance in “Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man” #56 took place only moments after his defeat and capture by law enforcement in the aforementioned “Machine Man” #19. Jack O’Lantern and the few remaining mercenary goons not taken into custody take the hospital and all of its inhabitants hostage, including Aunt May’s then-love interest, Nathan Lubenski. Spidey thankfully makes short work of Jack and his goons, thus saving the hostages.

 

 

 

It would be a few years, but Spidey, now in his black duds, encounters Macendale again when the original Hobgoblin hired him to procure his battle van from the police after it had been recovered from the Hudson River (all of which occurred in “The Amazing Spider-Man” #254). This battle would be significant for a few reasons. Written by DeFalco, this marked Jack O’Lantern’s return to the Spidey books, thus solidifying him permanently as a Spidey villain moving forward. Also of significance, it would mark the beginnings of Macendale’s ties to the Hobgoblin legacy, an identity Macendale would take up a few years later (as shown in “The Amazing Spider-Man” #289). Believing Ned Leeds to be the criminal mastermind, Macendale had a brainwashed Leeds killed and soon took up the Hobgoblin mantle for several years until the “Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives” mini-series.

 

 

 

However, this article, as you’ll recall, is about the Jack O’Lantern legacy. With Macendale having abandoned his original pumpkin-headed identity, it would be a few years before it was adopted again. Funny enough, the next man to take up the identity, Steven Levins, mostly operated as a member of the Red Skull’s Skeleton Crew; he first appeared in “Captain America” #396. Years later, when he finally did confront Spider-Man, it wouldn’t be Peter Parker under the mask, it was Ben Reilly in “Spider-Man Unlimited” #12. When Levins finally did confront Peter as Spider-Man for the first time, it would be his last; in “Civil War” #5, while teamed up with the Jester and beating up on ol’ Web-Head, Jack O’Lantern was shot and killed thanks to a timely assist from the Punisher. Levins would return two more times (who’s gonna let a silly little thing like dying stand in their way?); once, as a supernatural foe for Ghost Rider, and the second time as a clone in “The Clone Conspiracy” storyline.

 

 

During a time while Steven Levins was lying low (his head hadn’t exploded quite yet), the Jack O’Lantern mantle would be shared by two criminal associates: Daniel Berkhart, the second Mysterio (whom I covered in a previous Spider-Tracer article detailing the criminals who have taken up the Mysterio identity after Quentin Beck) and Maguire Beck, Quentin’s cousin. While it was typically Berkhart in the Jack O’Lantern costume, Maguire Beck would occasionally substitute for him, even if she did prefer working behind the scenes. Together, using the talents they learned from Quentin, the two set out to harass and destroy J. Jonah Jameson and Spider-Man. Berkhart wanted revenge on Jameson for letting him go to jail during his original attempt to destroy Spider-Man as the second Mysterio (Jameson had hired him). Maguire Beck wanted revenge on Spider-Man for all of the previous defeats he’d handed to her cousin before his apparent suicide in “Daredevil” Vol. 2, #7. It was this dastardly duo that first came up with the Mad Jack take on the Jack O’Lantern name. When Berkhart moved on to take up Mysterio’s legacy again (he was still dead at the time; it would be years before he came back), Maguire stuck with the Mad Jack identity. Maguire and Berkhart’s Jack O’Lantern/Mad Jack identity first appeared in “Spectacular Spider-Man” #241, but the truth about Berkhart and Maguire Beck wasn’t revealed until the “Spider-Man: Mysterio Manifesto” miniseries.

 

 

The next man to adopt the Jack O’Lantern and Mad Jack legacy not only adopted those names, but the names of Jason Macendale, Daniel Berkhart, and Maguire Beck, as well. This mysterious, unnamed character first appeared in “Secret War” #1. This mysterious character was part of Lucia von Bardas’ supervillain army, and received his gear from old Spidey villain, the terrible Tinkerer. Outside of that, very little is known about this Jack O’Lantern.

 

 

Remember Steven Levins? Turns out his brother (whose first name is never revealed) became the next Jack O’Lantern and first appeared in “Dark Reign: Made Men” #1. This Jack O’Lantern gained supernatural powers from Satan though a human sacrifice. While eventually captured, he was freed by Norman Osborn, which would be the closest this Jack’s ties ever were to Spider-Man.

 

 

Bennett Brant, the third Crime-Master, molded the next Jack O’Lantern since childhood, creating, perhaps, the creepiest Jack O’Lantern on this list to date. Kidnapping the disturbed youth (a rebellious boy who also enjoyed hurting animals), Bennett eventually conditioned the lad to think of him as a father, a fact that was confirmed when the boy killed his birth parents willingly. A signature of this new Jack O’Lantern was the fact that he enjoyed cutting the tops of his victims’ heads off, scooping out the eyes and brains, and then placing a candle inside before replacing the tops of the heads, thus making them just like his namesake. Through further conditioning and training, the boy took up the Jack O’Lantern identity as an assassin for his “father”, the Crime-Master, even claiming to have killed anyone who had used the identity over the years, though this was never officially confirmed. This Jack O’Lantern was an arch-enemy for Flash Thompson, during his time as Agent Venom, and first appeared in “Venom” Vol.2, #1 (2011). This Jack O’Lantern was eventually, after a brutal confrontation with Eddie Brock as Venom, killed by Deadpool, shot in the head much like his predecessor, Steven Levins. His death occurred in “Black Panther vs Deadpool” #3.

 

 

While the previous Jack O’Lantern had been in in prison, a storage facility employee stumbled upon his belongings, including a robot which brainwashed him to assume the Jack O’Lantern identity while he was locked away. This imposter was vital in the creation of Mania, Flash Thompson’s symbiote-powered sidekick. In order to protect Andi Benton from this new Jack O’Lantern after he killed her father, Flash bonded her to a portion of his symbiote. This imposter Jack first appeared in “Venom” Vol.2, #37, and was last seen in a coma following a battle with Agent Venom and Mania.

 

 

The most recent criminal to have taken up the Jack O’Lantern identity was in “Venom” Vol.4, #1. This Jack O’Lantern found a cache of one of the previous Jack O’Lanterns, and assumed the outfit and gear to go with the name. This Jack set out to be an arms dealer, but the job ended quickly when Eddie Brock, as Venom, under the influence of Knull, tore out his eye. This Jack was then given a Dreamstone by a Dark Elf (those guys that follow Malekith and battle Thor) to try and exact revenge upon Venom, but again wound up defeated when Eddie used a different Dreamstone to take the new Jack down a second time.

 

 

And with that, we’re brought up to date with the Jack O’Lantern legacy. Which Jack was your favorite, and why? I’m having a hard time deciding, but I did enjoy the Jack who gave Agent Venom frequent trouble. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and have a safe and happy Halloween!