THE NIGHT SHIFT:
First Appearance: Captain America #330 (June 1987)

-The Night Shift are a very peculiar band of villains- minor characters all, they were a Mark Gruenwald concept. Naturally, this meant they were all incredibly obscure, forgotten characters, taken piecemeal from stuff like the cancelled Spider-Woman series and Marvel’s Horror comics of the 1950s. They were initially founded by the Shroud- a gang of serial killers & super-villains combined to do good… somehow. The Shroud (a semi-good guy who acted as an anti-hero) and his ally Jack “Werewolf” Russel would send them against villains, and share the spoils among the group (almost like a pre-Thunderbolts Thunderbolts- Kurt Busiek was often a latter-day Mark Gruenwald anyways, but a better writer overall). In this debut appearance, it was Shroud, Werewolf by Night, Dansen Macabre, the Brothers Grimm, Digger, Gypsy Moth, Needle, Tatterdemalion & Tick-Tock- a big group, all in all. In a two-issue arc, they teamed up with Captain America to fight the Power Broker.

A couple years later, they appeared in West Coast Avengers– Mockingbird had observed the Digger burying some dead criminals, and captured him- the Night Shift appear at the WCA compound to spring him. They are defeated (they were doing okay until Wonder Man showed up), but the Shroud appears to teleport them away. After that, the team booted out Shroud and went into business as a generic villain outfit- now led by the Hangman, they were empowered by Satannish, turning them into PL 10-11 bad-asses who could beat the Avengers in a fair fight, but when the Avengers convinced them that Satannish would take their souls, they refused the boost and Satannish was beaten. They later reappeared after a few years in Captain America again, but were down to only four members- Gypsy Moth, Dansen Macabre, Needle & Tatterdemalion.

The group then sat on the shelf for more than a decade, reappearing during Marvel Zombies under the command of the Hood. They are turned into zombies, but transform back at story’s end. Snapdragon later hires the team (Macabre, Digger, Needle, Tatterdemalion, Tick-Tock & Misfit) to kill Moon Knight on behalf of Count Nefaria, but they fail- they are bailed out of jail, but Nefaria turns them to ashes. During the Spider-Geddon story arc, Macabre & Digger turn up alive, teaming with the Brothers Grimm & Gypsy Moth (plus new hire Waxman) just acting like standard robbers. The Superior Octopus (Otto Octavius in a cloned body of Peter Parker’s) arrives with gear specifically designed to be immune to their powers and handily defeats them. They later help him out on some cases.

As a group, they’re not super bad-ass (Avengers teams mop the floor with them), though Shroud & Dansen Macabre are PL 9 characters and can thus hold their own. Most of the others are like Scourge-Victim-Level, and kind of suck.

The Roster:
The Shroud– A would-be Batman who was thought of as a criminal and had some dark leanings, but was sort of a good guy.
The Brothers Grimm- A duo of Gimmick-Using losers.
Dansen Macabre- One of Marvel’s THREE strippers-turned-supervillains, using a dance that could either hypnotize or kill.
Digger- A Cryptkeeper knock-off from a Tales From The Crypt knock-off, who would tell tales while burying his victims alive.
The Hangman- From the same series Digger came from, he’s a wannabe actor who sold his soul to Satannish (the Elder God) and became a superpowered Demon Minion. He was with the team for only one story.
Needle- A one-shot Spider-Woman foe who sewed people’s mouths shut and had a Hypnotizing Stare.
Gypsy Moth (aka Skein)– A forgettable Spider-Woman villain later used a couple of times by Gruenwald, then turned into a TOTAL skank.
Tatterdemalion- A bizarre “Marvel Team-Up”-class villain who’s a hobo who destroys money. He’s been kind of a Journeyman Jobber.
Tick-Tock- A Spider-Woman background villain who can see the future.
Werewolf By Night– A 1970s Horror character that went nowhere, but gets trotted out every decade or so. He aided the Shroud in the early formation of the group, but doesn’t appear on any later team.
Misfit- A forgotten freak character deformed by the Power Broker’s process- he was mostly forgotten once Gruenwald died.
Waxman– New hire as of 2018 comics.

(originally written in 2021)

THE DIGGER (Roderick Krupp)
Created By: Unknown
First Appearance: Tower of Shadows #1 (Sept. 1969)
Role: Crypt-Keeper Knock-Off, Serial Killer
Group Affiliations: The Night Shift
PL 7 (97)
STRENGTH 5 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+7)
Expertise (Serial Killer) 10 (+12)
Expertise (Storyteller) 6 (+8)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 8 (+10)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 2 (+4)
Stealth 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 3 (Shovel, The Tower of Shadows), Daze (Intimidation), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Shovel), Improved Smash, Startle

Powers:
“Feels No Pain” Immunity 2 (Pain Effects) [2]
Regeneration 2 [2]

Equipment:
“Shovel” Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Reach) (2) — (4)

• AE: “Digging” Features 1: Digs Stuff

“The Tower of Shadows” Headquarters: Large Size, Toughness 8, Death Traps, Garage, Holding Cells, Library, Secret (9)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Shovel +8 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +5, Fortitude +6, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Killing)- A serial killer, The Digger likes to bury people alive.
Prejudice (Obvious Superhuman)- The Digger often appears green or blue.

Total: Abilities: 58 / Skills: 36–18 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 4 / Defenses: 9 (97)

-The Digger was the “Host” of a pair of EC Comics knock-offs called Tower of Shadows and Chamber of Darkness, in which he would tell various horror tales to his victim whilst he was in the process of burying them alive. Basically he was a gigantic rip-off of the Cryptkeeper. Lasting only a handful of issues (there wasn’t a lot of horror stuff in the late ’60s), he was brought back twelve years later by Ann Nocenti for a one-off in Spider-Woman, where he has become delusional, imagining everyone as already dead. Compelled to then bury them, he kills a few people this way before the husband of one of his victims hires Jessica Drew to stop him- she effortlessly KOs Digger with a single punch and has him arrested.

-Five years later, he’s brought back among other Spider-Woman & Horror characters by Master of the Obscure Mark Gruenwald, who would bring him into the Shroud’s team. Why ANY super-hero would work with an actual SERIAL KILLER is beyond me, but maybe he’d been lightened up by that point, I dunno. He was apprehended by Mockingbird in the group’s second appearance, as she caught him burying some of his victims. When they fight the Midnight Sons during Marvel Zombies, Morbius takes Digger’s shovel and buries it in his head. Digger returned in a Marvel MAX limited series called Dead of Night (as a narrator to The Man-Thing’s tales), and was later killed with much of his team by Count Nefaria… and naturally reappeared only a couple years later fighting the Superior Octopus.

-The Digger has some minor skills and abilities, but is generally a small fry in the grand scheme of things- in one of his first canonical appearances in the mainstream Marvel Universe, he got beaten handily by 1980s MOCKINGBIRD, who was never portrayed as a major player.

EEEEEEEUUUUUUUURRRRRRRGGGGHHHHH that damn weapon greebles me out. Something about it just seems so unpleasant, even compared to like… practical swords and stuff.

NEEDLE (Josef Saint)
Created By: Mark Gruenwald, Carmine Infantino & Al Gordon
First Appearance: Spider-Woman #9 (Dec. 1978)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Night Shift
PL 7 (68)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Deception 2 (+1)
Expertise (Tailor) 6 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment (Sewing Needle +2, Thread), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Sewing Needle)

Powers:
“Paralyzing Gaze” Affliction 7 (Will; Dazed/Stunned/Paralyzed) (Extras: Area- Visual Perception) [14]

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Sewing Needle +7 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Paralyzing Gaze +7 Area (+7 Affliction, DC 17)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +3

Complications:
Disabled (Mute)- Josef Saint was left mute and blind in one eye as a result of a mugging.
Motivation (Hurting Young Men)- After being victimized by a mugger, Saint now hunts young men on the streets, hypnotising them and sewing their mouths shut (!!!).

Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 12–6 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 14 / Defenses: 9 (68)

-The Needle has the particularly-ghastly tendency to SEW PEOPLE’S MOUTHS SHUT, something he started doing when some hoodlums robbed him of his voice and one of his eyes. His rage metastasized until he was able to hypnotize young men (guilty or not), then sews their mouths shut. As an elderly man, he was no match for Spider-Woman- she resisted his hypnosis and zapped him at close range, and he was arrested. His only other appearance in Spider-Woman was as another villain kidnapped by the mysterious “Locksmith”- he didn’t even get a speaking role. And wouldn’t ya know Gru would re-use an ANCIENT Jobber Villain for his “Night Shift” team, as Needle was one of his own creations. He doesn’t get up to much, though- just appearing in the background with his team in all the stories.

-Needle is seen in a handful of these stories, and once goes down solo to Armory in the backstory of an Initiative issue. He was later part of a team that failed to capture Moon Knight- Count Nefaria incinerated them for the failure. A few other Night Shifters have since turned up alive, but the Needle has not. Pretty much his entire existence aside from his origin issue has been as “Filler”.

-Despite being an old man, the Needle was pretty strong. He wasn’t much good against any heroes at all, but was good enough to tag Daimon Hellstrom one time with his yardstick-length Sewing Needle (UGH, such a nasty-looking weapon. Could you IMAGINE being jabbed with that thing? Way creepier than a sword).

NO NOT THE PIES!

THE BROTHERS GRIMM II (Percy & Barton Grimes)
Created By: Marv Wolfman & Carmine Infantino
First Appearance: Iron Man #188 (Nov. 1984)
Role: Jobber Villains
Group Affiliations: The Brothers Grimm, The Night Shift, The Masters of Evil (Shadow Council)
PL 8 (139)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8)
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 6 (+8)
Expertise (Stage Magic) 5 (+7)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Perception 4 (+6)
Sleight of Hand 7 (+12)
Stealth 8 (+12)

Advantages:
Chokehold, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 2, Evasion, Fast Grab, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Initiative, Ranged Attack 5, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
“Grimm Costumes” (Flaws: Removable) [35]
“Whoopie Cushion” Affliction 8 (Fort; Dazed, Hindered & Impaired Scent/Stunned, Prone & Disabled Scent/Unaware Scent) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Ranged, Extra Condition +2) (Flaws: Instant Recovery) (Diminished Range -1) (31) — (43 points)

• AE: “Explosive Pies” Blast 6 (Diminished Range -1) (11)
• AE: “Four & Twenty Blackbirds, Baked in a Pie” Summon 1 (Extras: Horde, 24 Minions +7) (9)
• AE: “Acid Eggs” Blast 5 (Diminished Range -1) Linked to Weaken Toughness 4 (Extras: Affects Objects, Ranged) (Diminished Range -1) (20)
• AE: “Noxious Eggs” Affliction 6 (Fort; Impaired/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Cloud, Cumulative, Ranged) (Diminished Range -1) (23)
• AE: “Anesthetic Eggs” Affliction 6 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Asleep) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Cloud, Cumulative, Ranged) (Diminished Range -1) (23)
• AE: “Beanstalks” Create Object 4 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Continuous) (Flaws: Limited to Giant Vines) (9)
• AE: “Golden Straw” Snare 8 (Diminished Range -1, Inaccurate -1) (22)
• AE: “Stardust” Affliction 6 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Paralyzed) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Cloud, Cumulative, Ranged) (Diminished Range -1) (23)
• AE: “Jumping Beans” Leaping 3 (60 feet) (3)
• AE: “Assorted Weapons- Staffs, Yo-Yos, etc.” Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Variable Descriptor, Reach) (4)
• AE: “Magnesium Flares” Dazzle Visuals 6 (Diminished Range -1) (11)
• AE: “Exploding Jacks” Blast 6 (Extras: Multiattack) (Diminished Range -1) (17)

Equipment:
“Floating Clouds or Stars” Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Platform) (4)
“Stage Magic Gear” (6)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Whoopie Cushion +8 Area (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Explosive Pies +6 Area (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Acid Eggs +10 (+5 Ranged Damage & +4 Ranged Weaken, DC 20 & 14)
Assorted Afflictions +6 Area (+6 Ranged Affliction, DC 16)
Golden Straw +8 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Jacks +10 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +2 (+4 D.Roll), Fortitude +5, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Responsibility (Personalities)- Percy is unsure of himself, doubtful and hesitant, while Barton is bolt, cocksure (hee hee- COCKSURE) and adventurous. Their costumes apparently increase these aspects even more.

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 42–21 / Advantages: 14 / Powers: 35 / Defenses: 13 (139)

-The Brothers Grimm are classic forgettable jobbers- they were actually a pair of dummies possessed by failed Silver Age villain “Mister Doll”, and opposed Spider-Woman, like most of the Night Shift. However, as Nathan Dolly’s soul had been dispersed at the end of that story, it was a pair of unrelated Brothers used for the “Night Shift” story! These two were a pair of twin realtors who found the original Brothers Grimm mannequins. Putting on their uniforms on a whim, they found themselves magically giftred with the similar powers, and of course used them to terrorize a business rival’s restaurant. This brought them into conflict with James “Iron Man” Rhodes- they befuddled him with their Stage Magic/Random Magic Powers schtick, but Tony Stark was able to deduce their identities, and the two were arrested.

ventually they just got merged into the Jobber Villain crowd. Shortly thereafter, they are recruited onto the “Night Shift”, despite not being the originals. After that story, they sort of just get folded into the legions of “Generic Background Villains” Marvel used a lot- , and were forgettable throwaway dudes who wrestled with Captain America (if Gruenwald is writing you, you MUST fight hordes of Forgotten Jobbers at least ONC), and they were part of a giant group trying to be rewarded by Crossfire for maiming Hawkeye in Solo Avengers, for example.

-The “Backgrounders” push continues as they job to the Cosmic Spider-Man in Acts of Vengeance, then rejoin the Night Shift, boosting their powers via Satannish before turning on the Demon Lord. They miss out on most of the ’90s along with most guys of their tier, and reappear on the Raft in New Avengers, escaping with hordes of other bad guys. After this, they’re largely “Those Background Guys” again, showing up in the Initiative, the Hood’s Army, the Shadow Council’s Masters of Evil, etc. They return to the Night Shift, becoming hired goons of the Superior Octopus.

-The Brothers Grimm are Gadget-Users, having an absolute swack of abilities to use. This would make for an entertaining fight if they weren’t so jobbery, as they have all sorts of movement powers, Blasts, Dazzles, and more. I mean, they have the ability to summon “Four & Twenty Blackbirds”! Acid Eggs! A Whoopie Cushion that wipes out someone’s scent! Floating Clouds & Stars to fly around on! It’s crazy!

THE HANGMAN I (Jason Roland)
Created By: Roy Thomas & Barry Windsor Smith
First Appearance: Tower of Shadows #5 (May 1970)
Role: Fame-Hound
Group Affiliations: The Night Shift, Satannish’s Minions
PL 10 (127)
STRENGTH 12 STAMINA 12 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Acting) 2 (+5)
Expertise (Occult) 4 (+6)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Rope) 3 (+8)
Stealth 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Chokehold, Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Ranged Attack 4, Startle

Powers:
“Magical Rope” (Flaws: Easily Removable) [11]
“Choking Rope” Affliction 8 (Strength; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Ranged, Progressive +2) (Flaws: Limited to One Target at a Time -2) (16) — (17 points)

• AE: “Climb a Rope Attached to Nothing” Flight 1 (4 mph) (2)

Move Object 2 (Flaws: Limited to Rope) [2]
Senses 1 (Communication Link- Satannish) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Choking Rope +10 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +12, Fortitude +12, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Fame)- Jason Roland sold his soul to Satannish so that he could become famous.

Total: Abilities: 90 / Skills: 16–8 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 14 / Defenses: 7 (127)

-The Hangman, like Digger, hailed from the Tower of Shadows horror anthology, and was a guy who sold his soul to Satannish for fame. He wanted to gain fame & fortune as a monster actor thanks to a make-up artist who did him up in the great design… but soon he found that he couldn’t remove the make-up! He later showed up in West Coast Avengers, using The Night Shift (he’d contracted them and replaced The Shroud as their leader) to attempt to take over a remake of his old movie so that Satannish could steal the souls of everyone who watched it. Satannish had empowered Hangman and all of the Night Shift, but when they realized their souls would be taken, the team turned on Satannish, driving him back. In revenge for the Hangman’s failure, Satannish left him a mindless, soulless husk.

-Satannish later revived him to help on a mission to form a new “Lethal Legion” from the souls within Mephisto’s realm. The Avengers were to be killed by these beings, but fought back, actually aided by Mephisto himself! Mephisto faced off against Satannish for the thievery of those souls, but in the battle, all the souls were lost! Mephisto thus sought those of the Avengers to make up for it, killing Mockingbird in the finale of the Avengers West Coast series. Hangman’s fate was not learned.

-Then, a full twenty goddamn years later, Hangman is brought out of the mothballs by Peter David in X-Factor Investigations! Hangman had escaped from Hell, but was immediately confronted by “freelance demon” Bloodbath, who forced Hangman to reap some souls for him, killing Jason’s ex-wife and kidnapping his son Terry as insurance! Hangman was shocked his ex was killed, and confessed everything to X-Factor. Bloodbath had forbidden Hangman from entering his base, but X-Factor were under no such rules, and broke in and rescued Terry. Hangman was ready to bail as soon as he had Terry, but the boy told Hangman that his mother had always explained that Hangman was a hero- inspired to set a good example, Hangman used his own noose to capture Bloodbath, who was then decapitated by Shatterstar. Actually kind of a fun use of a discarded character.

-Hangman II was powerful enough to brawl with Wonder Man, and had a Magic Rope that he could move around telekinetically.

TATTERDEMALION (Arnold Paffenroth)
Created By: Tom Sutton
First Appearance: Werewolf by Night #9 (Sept. 1973)
Role: Money-Hater, Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Night Shift
PL 8 (96)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Acting & Tap-Dancing) 3 (+6)
Intimidation 6 (+6)
Perception 3 (+3)
Stealth 4 (+8)

Advantages:
Chokehold, Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Ranged Attack 4, Startle

Powers:
“Tatterdemalion Costume” (Flaws: Removable) [20]
“Greasy Coating” Immunity 5 (Grab Effects) (5)
“Kevlar” Protection 2 & Immunity 5 (Ballistics) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) (5)

“Cloak With Chloroform” Affliction 6 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Asleep) (Extras: Cumulative) (12) — (14)

• AE: “Money-Ruining Gloves” Weaken Toughness 4 (Extras: Affects Objects Only +0) (Flaws: Limited to Papers & Fabrics) (2) Linked to Damage 2 (Flaws: Limited to Papers & Fabrics) (1)
• AE: “Weighted Scarf” Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Reach 2) (3)

— (24 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Destroy Money +10 (+4 Weaken & +2 Damage, DC 14 & 17)
Weighted Scarf +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Chloroform +10 (+6 Affliction, DC 16)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +3 (+5 Kevlar), Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Destroying Money)- Losing all of his funding drove Paffenroth insane- he now seeks to destroy all money.
Responsibility (Insane)- Paffenroth’s mind is a mess, and his actions often seem random.
Prejudice (Homeless Person)- The Tatterdemalion does not bathe frequently, and looks like a hobo. As such, most people don’t want to talk to him.

Total: Abilities: 46 / Skills: 16–8 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 20 / Defenses: 14 (96)

-Tatterdemalion is such a weird jobber, and I KNEW he existed, so I wonder why I never got around to building him until very late in my run of original Marvel builds. Okay, so I’ve only seen him as a background face in the 2000s-era Thunderbolts, but it’s something. He’s basically a rich guy who lost all his money, went nuts and faced Jack “Werewolf” Russel, and set off on a quest to destroy all money everywhere- his modus operandi is to mug people, but disintegrate their money instead of stealing it. Spider-Man and the Werewolf faced him together in Marvel Team-Up, but he escaped when Spidey was distracted by a debuting Dansen Macabre (the star of the next issue). He promptly faced Ghost Rider and the Werewolf in Ghost Rider, then attacked a club Dazzler was performing at when he discovered an old costar of his was reduced to a meagre position at the club.

-So after showing up in a bunch of these early ’80s comics, Tatterdemalion is then recruited into the Night Shift alongside his old enemy Russell, and joins them on various shenanigans against Captain America, the Power Broker and the West Coast Avengers. He’s one of the team empowered by Satannish, then turns on him. The next year after his WCA appearance, he shows up in Daredevil, interfering in a mass-superfight over a half-million dollars in stolen restaurant grease (… okay…), and getting KO’d when DD is facing the Taskmaster. He is released from prison thanks to an overzealous civil rights lawyer who considers this persecution of the homeless (since Tatterdemalion is stinky and covered in rags), then immediately fights DD again until the hero cleverly tossed him at the stolen barrels of grease, disintegrating them and covering all the villains in the stuff. Tattderdemalion is arrested again. His subsequent appearances are mostly with the rest of the Night Shift, appearing in Marvel Zombies and Moon Knight, where he’s one of the team incinerated by Count Nefaria for their failure. He has not reappeared.

-With Satannish’s boost, Tatterdemalion had Peak Human Stats, and his acid coating was strong enough to hurt WONDER MAN (who really got the short shrift as far as power feats go, y’know? Thor never had to worry about jobbing to Tatterdemalion, no matter WHO was empowering him, yet Simon was CONSTANTLY jobbing to guys). He grapples fairly well for a skinny dude, and he’s nigh-impossible to grapple himself, and he has a few nasty tricks (like that Chloroformed Cloak that he tosses over people’s heads), but he’s not much of a threat for a major super-hero.

It’s super-weird how they leave in the toes to imply she’s nude but like… covered in body paint?

DANSEN MACABRE (Real Name Unknown)
Created By: Steven Grant, Tom Sutton & Carmine Infantino
First Appearance: Marvel Team-Up #93 (May 1980)
Role: D-League Villain, Mind Controller
Group Affiliations: The Night Shift
PL 9 (113)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+6)
Acrobatics 4 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+7)
Deception 3 (+5, +7 Attractive)
Expertise (Exotic Dancer) 5 (+8)
Expertise (Criminal) 3 (+3)
Insight 2 (+3)
Intimidation 1 (+4)
Perception 4 (+5)
Persuasion 2 (+5, +7 Attractive)
Stealth 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Attractive, Daze (Deception), Defensive Roll, Ranged Attack, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
“Dance of Hypnotism” Affliction 9 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Area- Visual Perception, Cumulative) (27) — [28]

• AE: “Dance of Death” Weaken Stamina 9 (Extras: Area- Visual Perception, Alternate Save- Will +0) (18)

“Immune to Human Senses” Concealment (All Senses) 10 (Flaws: Resistible by Will) [10]

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Dance of Hypnotism +9 Area (+9 Afflitction, DC 19)
Dance of Death +9 Area (+9 Weaken, DC 19)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +2 (+3 D.Roll), Fortitude +5, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Power Loss (Dancing)- Dansen must use her seductive movements to ensorcerell other people to her will, or make them die. Should she be unable to move, she cannot use her powers.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 34–17 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 38 / Defenses: 14 (113)

-Named for the musical piece “Danse Macabre”, which only slightly explains her asinine name (what is “Dansen” doing as a woman’s first name?), this villainess is one of the very first of many “Strippers Turned Supervillains”, which is a more crowded field than you’d think. Wearing what is either nothing at all and sporting a swirling shadow tendril around her, or the world’s tightest bodysuit, she debuted in Marvel Team-Up, opposing Spider-Man and the Shroud- as a worshipper of Shiva, she was infuriated to discover that the Shroud- who also worshipped the Indian God- was committing crimes (as part of his cover, but she didn’t know that). She used her powers to hypnotize Spider-Man into fighting the Shroud for her, but the Shroud broke the conditioning and the heroes teamed up (this being… Marvel Team-Up). She tried a “Dance of Death” on the heroes, but the Shroud was blind and used his shadow-powers to block Spidey’s eyesight as well. This spared both of them, and Shroud ultimately managed to KO her once Spidey prevented her from knocking a statue of Shiva on them. The two proceeded to argue about what to do with her- Shroud reasoning that jail was pointless since she would just escape, but he ultimately left Spidey to his own devices.

-Dansen later appeared as one of the Locksmith’s captives in Spider-Woman, trapped in a cell with marbles all over the floor- this prevented her from doing any of her dances. “Somehow able to overlook that she once attempted to slaughter him, The Shroud recruited Dansen Macabre into his newly formed Night Shift”- I love it when the Unofficial Appendix just shits all over the hows and whys of a story, lol. But yeah, the Shroud includes her among various Spider-Woman characters into his new team. He ordered her to hypnotize Captain America so they could fight the Power Broker, but secretly guarded Cap’s guys from her dance, so he came with them willingly and did his business.

-Later, in West Coast Avengers, Dansen acted as deputy leader in the Shroud’s stead, leading the team to fight the WCA when Mockingbird captured fellow member the Digger. After this, she appeared in the amazing Superia Stratagem story-arc of Captain America, using her powers to transfix the beaten Cap & Paladin. There’s a funny bit where she’s stunned that Cap has the willpower to resist her interrogation dance, and prepares to try it again until Dr. Nightshade is just like “Never mind- just do it on the other guy” and Paladin immediately spills the beans about their entire plan. Later, she shows up in WCA again, being empowered by Satannish and led by the Hangman. She also joins the team in fighting back against the Hell Lord, and is arrested. She vanishes for most of the ’90s, popping up fighting Jennifer Kale, who calls her a “naked skank” before knocking her out. She is part of the Night Shift team that fails to beat Moon Knight and is killed by Count Nefaria, but pops up inexplicably being threatened into joining the Superior Octopus.

-Dansen is a Mind-Control type, using Area Perception attacks- a Mind Control one, and a Death Effect one that wills people to die. Quite powerful, and it makes her a PL 9, but she’s not exactly a capable fighter, or very tough. Most Mind Control types DO have that as an Achilles Heel, though, which keeps them from being overwhelmingly powerful. I figure a stripper would be pretty athletic & acrobatic as well, so she’s quite Skilled. Unusually, she can also make herself invisible to human minds (not machines, though- hence the Resistible by Will thing).

TICK-TOCK (Real Name Unknown)
Created By: Ann Nocenti & Brian Postman
First Appearance: Spider-Woman #50 (June 1983)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Night Shift
PL 6 (74)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Criminal) 2 (+5)
Insight 2 (+5)
Persuasion 3 (+5)
Stealth 1 (+3)

Advantages:
Inspire 5, Ranged Attack 2, Seize Initiative, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
Senses 4 (Danger Sense, Precognition) (Flaws: Limited to 60 Seconds) [3]
Enhanced Dodge 4 [4]
Enhanced Parry 4 [4]

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- Tick-Tock generally works for money more than anything.

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 10–5 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 11 / Defenses: 6 (74)

-Tick-Tock is basically like Destiny in that he could see the future, but only sixty seconds ahead of time, making him sort of good at stopping jailbreaks and the like. How he fits into a Horror-Themed group I have NO idea, other than Gru was grasping for any forgotten Spider-Woman character he could find, and just threw the guy onto the team because they needed someone else. The funny thing was his debut story involved him working for the Locksmith in imprisoning a ton of super-villains, most of whom (Digger, Dansen Macabre, Tatterdemalion) ended up on the friggin’ Night Shift alongside him! Of the team, he appears in the fewest stories- he’s in the Captain America and Avengers West Coast issues, but takes a massive skip until the 2011 Moon Knight series, where he’s burned alive with the rest of the team for failing to capture Marc Specter. He has never reappeared.

-He’s okay in a team scenario (working like Destiny- some of his stuff is bordering “Enhance Others’ Fighting”), but isn’t that powerful until Satannish gave him powers like Tempo- the ability to Freeze & Speed Up other people.

MISFIT (Michael Godey)
Created By: Mark Gruenwald & Al Milgrom
First Appearance: West Coast Avengers #40 (Jan. 1989)
Role: Misfit Villain
Group Affiliations: The Night Shift
PL 7 (67)
STRENGTH 8 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Expertise (Acting) 2 (+1)
Intimidation 9 (+8)
Perception 1 (+1)

Advantages:
Chokehold, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Ranged Attack 4, Startle

Powers:
Power-Lifting 1 (12 tons) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +8, Fortitude +8, Will +2

Complications:
Prejudice (Obvious Superhuman)- Misfit has been deformed by The Power Broker’s process, gaining a humped back, and increasing the size of only his right arm and left leg.

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 12–6 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 1 / Defenses: 8 (67)

-Misfit was a short-lived character, because like a lot of Gruenwald Creations, only The Gru used and remembered him, and once he left this mortal coil, a lot of the giant bunch of Jobbers he’d created (perhaps in penance for slaying so many of their brethren via The Scourge of The Underworld) went with him. Misfit was one of the Power Broker’s experiments that didn’t quite work out (I’ve gone into it before, but the Broker was a great Gru idea for quickie-creation of superstrong Jobber Villains with an easy explanation rather than a tired amount of experiments & accidents- as well as combining the WWF fad and the Steroid Era of wrestling into comics).

-Deformed into a Quasimodo-looking dude as a result of the process (which often didn’t work- an in-universe justification why not EVERYONE just slapped the process onto themselves), the would-be actor was stuck hanging around with the Night Shift once they fought the Broker- he just pops up in the team in the West Coast Avengers book, having been recruited off-panel (he wasn’t in the original Cap story). Here, he uses his strength (boosted by Satannish) to “easily defeat” U.S. Agent on two separate occasions- He’s even part of the group that KOs Wonder Man! However, the character is then discarded- he didn’t even reappear for the next Night Shift appearance in the 2000s! It isn’t until 2011’s Moon Knight that he pops up with a smaller Night Shift crew, hired by Snapdragon to kill Moonie on behalf of Count Nefaria. When they fail, Nefaria incinerates the entire team- of them, a few members have inexplicably returned, but Misfit remains deceased.

-Misfit is super-strong (Class 10), but not a great fighter- he’s had too few appearances to really make something of himself, and most super-heroes have little trouble defeating him, even in his debut. He’s just a big ugly freak who can do some damage but has little else going for him.

GYPSY MOTH (Sybil Dvorak, aka Skein, Sybarite)
Created By: Mark Gruenwald & Carmine Infantino
First Appearance: Spider-Woman #10 (Jan. 1979)
Role: Jobber Villain, Odd Power Lady
Group Affiliations: The Masters of Evil, The Femizons, The Night Shift, The Woman Warriors
PL 8 (96)
STRENGTH 0 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+7)
Deception 5 (+9, +11 Attractive)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 4 (+5)
Perception 3 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Psychokinesis Attacks) 2 (+8)

Advantages:
Attractive, Defensive Roll, Daze (Deception), Fascinate (Deception), Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
“Low-Level Psychokinesis”
Snare 8 (Quirks: Requires Fabrics -2) (22) — [26]

• AE: “Disintegrate Materials” Blast 4 (Feats: Precise) (Extras: Penetrating 10) Linked to Weaken Toughness 4 (Extras: Ranged, Affects Objects Only +0) (17)
• AE: “Close Off Windpipes” Affliction 6 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Ranged, Cumulative) (18)
• AE: Move Object 2 (Feats: Precise) (5)
• AE: “Heart-Valve Destruction” Blast 5 (Extras: Penetrating, Fortitude Check) (20)

Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Limited to While Wearing Wings, Winged) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Snare +8 (+8 Ranged Afflicton, DC 18)
Windpipe Squeez +8 (+6 Ranged Affliction, DC 16)
Heart-Valve Attack +8 (+5 Ranged Fortitude Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +2 (+3 D.Roll), Fortitude +5, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Hedonism)- Gypsy Moth is in it for kicks, money, and more kicks. She’s formed hedonistic cults, hung out with celebrities, and murdered her husband for his money. She’s also bisexual, and joined The Thunderbolts just to seduce Songbird (tragically, it didn’t work).
Reputation (Sluuuuuuut)- Sybil hits on pretty much whomever, and wears one of the sluttier costumes going.

Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 20–10 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 28 / Defenses: 12 (96)

Gypsy Moth- Strange Side-Villain:
-Gypsy Moth is a VERY minor character, being a Spider-Woman villain who later came up against Captain America in the [i]Superia Stratagem[/i] storyline, and briefly joined The Crimson Cowl’s Masters of Evil. Her whole schtick was that she was a low-level telekinetic (able to carry a maximum of 120 pounds) who specialized in manipulating the molecules of fabric. This basically let her shred super-heroes’ costumes, leaving them either half-nude or otherwise tripping them up, but she had a few other unique tricks as well, like giving people heart attacks by manipulating the smaller materials inside their bodies. She’s actually reappeared a few times as “Skein” or “Sybarite” (“Gypsy” is often considered an ethnic slur by the Roma people, but at least a “Gypsy Moth” is an actual animal), but still gets written off as a minor character.

-So Gypsy Moth debuts in Spider-Woman, being a Romanian mutant raised by Gypsies/Roma, heading to America to hunt her husband, an actor she believes to be philandering. She uses her mutant powers to control fabrics to fashion a costume with wings that can actually fly, and starts attacking various gatherings. She nearly drows Jessica “Spider-Woman” Drew in a pool using her own costume as binding (shockingly, this was Mark Gruenwald, NOT Claremont), but a side character shoots out one of Gypsy Moth’s wings, defeating her. Jessica, sympathetic to her cause, lets her go, and she reappears three years later as the book was winding down, now a rave leader calling herself “Sybarite”. Both women were kidnapped by villains Tick-Tock & Locksmith, but teamed up to defeat them, Sybarite tying them up.

Post-Spider-Woman Gypsy Moth:
-The character doesn’t show up again for a few more years, popping up in various Gruenwald books, as he seems to want to showcase his character, if not exactly push her. She randomly joins the Night Shift (a band of supernatural-themed baddies) in West Coast Avengers, then shows up as one of Superia’s Femizons in The Superia Stratagem arc of Captain America (only barely being used- her powers tear apart Paladin’s costume and leave him even more helpless). This is really all she gets, and then Gru dies and she disappears until 2002, showing up as a member of the Crimson Cowl’s massive 20+ member Masters of Evil team. She briefly allied with Hawkeye’s Thunderbolts after quitting the Masters, mainly “for kicks” and to make an attempt at seducing Songbird (!!!). She’s on the book a little under a year in Fabian Nicieza’s run, saying she just wanted to have sex with a superhero, and leaves the team when her plans all fail. The only change here is that she now has an EXTRA-skanky costume and is now calling herself “Skein” (probably because around this time “Gypsy” was more widely seen as a slur). Interestingly, a bio posits that she once killed her husband using her powers to give him a heart attack (a power she’s never shown before or since).

-She pops up as a member of the Initiative team “The Women Warriors” of Nebraska, but shows up as Gypsy Moth again during Spider-Island, using her powers to disguise a gagged Spider-Woman as herself (so that The Thing will attack her). Her next appearance is of course as Skein, as she joins The Menagerie (along with Hippo, White Rabbit & Panda-Mania), where her most important thing was unraveling Spider-Man’s costume, leaving his body nude (which ends up revealing his secret identity to Anna Maria, who used to sleep with him when Otto Octavius was in his body)… but then she shows up allied with Baron Zemo in Secret Empire, calling herself Gypsy Moth again. Oh, comics.

-This pretty much leads to modern times, where her name alternates constantly, costumes vary (she randomly shows up in her Spider Island armor once), and she becomes a “Journeyman Villain”, sometimes used at the Bar With No Name, one time temporarily dying in a Jessica Jones story, and things get so bad that she appears with the Night Shift and the Menagerie in the SAME YEAR, appearing first in 2019’s Superior Spider-Man series by Christos Gage, where she & the Night Shift are hired as Otto Octavius’s informants for a short while after being beaten by him, then later in the year is part of the Menagerie being defeated by the superhero party guests of the Unstoppable Wasp (Nadia Van Dyne). Many of these later stories indicate her inadequacies as a villainess, having her either be useless to the story at hand or a total weakling in battle.

Gypsy Moth’s Powers:
-Gypsy Moth has a very weird power-set that stats up rather oddly. She can unweave fabrics, or even the inner-workings of the human body (!), giving her a low-level form of Disintegration. She can also attack people’s Fortitude directly (able to Penetrate inside human bodies- such as her late husband, where it’s implied he met his end via an obstructed blood vessel). This matches with a low-level Move Object (only 120 lbs. maximum), the ability to close off windpipes like a Force-User would, or simply ensnare people in their own clothing (and unless she’s fighting Iron Man, that’s pretty much everybody).

-She’s not overly powerful with most of her attacks- her Snare is by far the most effective, and she’s not even particularly fast for a Flier, but she’s rather effective in a team situation- Snares & distracting stuff like that are positively LETHAL when you can set up heroes for other people to hammer on in combat. So she’s a VERY low-pointed PL 8, but PL 8 all the same. But it’ll only take one shot from any half-decent hero to put this dame down for the count.

WAXMAN
Created By: Mark Gruenwald, Carmine Infantino & Mike Esposito
First Appearance: Spider-Woman #17 (Aug. 1979)
Role: One-Shot Villain
Group Affiliations: None
PL 8 (167)
STRENGTH 5 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 2 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Flesh) 4 (+8)
Stealth 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Chokehold, Fast Grab, Startle

Powers:
“Copy Appearances” Morph 4 (Flaws: Limited to People He’s Copied) [16]
“Waxy Skin” Insubstantial 1 (Flaws: Leaves Skeleton Behind) [4]
Immunity 20 (Bludgeoning Damage) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [10]
Immunity 20 (Slashing & Piercing Damage) [20]
Movement 1 (Slithering) [2]
“Liquid Flesh” Affliction 7 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Progressive +2, Ranged) [28]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Liquid Flesh +8 (+7 Ranged Affliction, DC 17)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +5, Fortitude +8, Will +2

Complications:
Responsibility (Insane)- Waxman is largely-insane, and may be schizophrenic, gaining new personalities by taking faces.
Prejudice (Melting)- Waxman’s “flesh” frequently begins melting after being held in one form for too long.

Total: Abilities: 62 / Skills: 16–8 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 80 / Defenses: 14 (167)

-The Waxman was formerly a scientist out to cure all disease, but when he used something on himself to save his OWN life, he ended up with flesh turning to wax, and he went mad. He copied several people and soon began committing murders, suffocating people- one of his potential victims was Jessica Drew, who burned off some of his “Liquid Flesh” (ewwwwwwww…) and survived. When she figured out what was going on, she lured him to a summer home- he attempted to mimic Jessica to escape, but naturally Spider-Woman didn’t believe him- she burned off a ton of his fleshy substance, and he appeared to die. She was creeped out and left, with some flesh forming back together in an “Or IS It?” kind of ending. Nonetheless, he was never seen again.

-Waxman is a creepy Mimic-type villain, specializing in choking people from afar with suffocating “Liquid Flesh” (ewwwwwwwwww…) after scaring the crap out of them when his skin starts “melting”. He has a lot of the Insubstantial Character bits (Immunity & Slithering) as well, but can be beaten with enough of an effort, especially by a Blaster hero like Jessica Drew.