ONE-MAN ZODIAC
ONE-MAN ZODIAC
Real Name: Darren Bentley
Identity/Class: Human crimelord;
later
magic-user
Occupation: Crimelord
Group Membership: Zodiac cartel
Affiliations: Thunderbolts gang;
former pawn
of Slifer and Satan/Mephisto;
presumably Oshtur;
see also the Catalogue of Correspondences for Oshtur from Ian McNee's reading of the First Tarot
Enemies: Avengers (Black Panther/T'Challa, Captain America/Steve Rogers, Goliath/Clint Barton, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Mantis, Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff, Thor Odinson, Vision ("Victor Shade"), Wasp/Janet Pym, Yellowjacket/Hank Pym), Dave Barnett, Daredevil (Matt Murdock), Nick Fury, Ghost Rider/John Blaze/Zarathos, Rick Jones, Madame Masque (Giuletta Nefaria/Whitney Frost), Kevin O'Brien, Stuntmaster (George Smith), Satan/Mephisto, Taurus (Cornelius Van Lunt)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Aquarius, Zodiac, Zodiak (in the "next issue" blurb), Second Zodiac (see comments); Aries, Cancer, Capricorn, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Pisces, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Taurus, Virgo
Base of Operations: Presumably
Mephisto's Hell;
formerly Manhattan, New York;
formerly San Francisco,
California
First Appearance: (as Aquarius) Avengers
I#72 (January, 1970);
(One-Man Zodiac (unidentified); seen as Leo,
Sagittarius, Libra, Gemini, and Taurus, but not revealed to be a single
being) Ghost Rider II#6 (June,
1974);
(One-Man Zodiac (identified); seen newly as Aries, Cancer, Capricorn, Pisces, Scorpio, and Virgo) Ghost Rider II#7 (August,
1974)
Powers/Abilities: As Aquarius, Bentley had no superhuman powers. He controlled the branch of the Zodiac crime cartel that operated out of San Francisco, California. He had above average fighting skills, but used no weapons.
In his final adventure, Bentley was further weakened by his illness and was less of a threat.
As the One-Man Zodiac, he could transform into a representation
of any of the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and would possess that
sign's respective powers. For example, as Leo, he had razor sharp
metal claws that could rend solid steel. As Scorpio, he possessed
the Zodiac Key, which can fire powerful energy blasts. As Taurus
he rode a motorcycle outfitted with various weapons, including
grappling claws; the motorcycle was also useful as a battering
ram.
Some of these forms were virtually identical to that of the original Zodiac cartel members.
Height: 5'10"; varied with different forms taken as One-Man Zodiac
Weight: 170 lbs.; varied with different forms taken as One-Man Zodiac
Eyes: Blue; varied with different forms taken as One-Man Zodiac
Hair: Red; varied with different forms taken as One-Man Zodiac
History: (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#20: Zodiac (fb) - BTS) - Darren Bentley was a crimelord who became involved in the Zodiac crime cartel, and was hand-picked by Cornelius van Lunt (the group's founder and financer) for the position of Aquarius (his own sign). He was based out of San Francisco, California. As was the policy of the group, Aquarius ruled the entire organization when his sign dominated the calendar.
(Avengers I#72) - Aquarius was with the Zodiac cartel
when they were infiltrated by Nick Fury (who impersonated his own
brother, as Scorpio). "Scorpio" captured the Avengers
and called in the other members of Zodiac to witness their
defeat. Fury freed the Avengers, hoping to capture the members of
Zodiac, but they escaped.
(Avengers I#80 (fb) - BTS) - Under the direction of Aries (Marcus Lassiter), Zodiac regrouped and began plotting their takeover of Manhattan.
(Ghost Rider II#6 (fb)) - Zodiac captured New York-based FBI agent Dave Barnett. They tortured him until he broke, revealing all he knew about Manhattan's defenses.
(Avengers I#80 (fb) - BTS) - Cornelius van Lunt led Zodiac's efforts to build to steal the land from Red Wolf's father, leading Red Wolf to pursue van Lunt's agent, Jason Birch, back to Manhattan.
(Avengers I#80 - BTS) - Having learned something of Zodiac's activities, the Avengers prepared to oppose them, though they split into three groups, each pursuing a different agenda (unaware that all three were Zodiac related).
(Avengers I#81 - BTS) - Van Lunt's men shot down the Avengers' quinjet containing Goliath (Clint Barton), the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, and Red Wolf, and van Lunt appeared to drown when the artificial dam was destroyed in the ensuing conflict.
(Daredevil I#69 - BTS) - Zodiac backed the Thunderbolts gang, directing them to dupe other African-Americans into joining a seeming revolution against oppression, when they were really just common criminals; the Thunderbolts were defeated by the Black Panther, Daredevil, and William Carver.
(Avengers I#82 - BTS) - Aries led the forces of Zodiac to ambush the Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Quicksilver, and Thor), using gas to incapacitate then within Avengers Mansion, after which they were placed within stasis.
(Avengers I#82 - BTS) - Aries led the forces of Zodiac to take over Manhattan, entrapping it within a force field, and threatening to slay the entire population if they did not receive one billion dollars within 24 hours time.
(Ghost Rider II#6 (fb) - BTS) - Their objective was accomplished via information obtained from Barnett.
(Avengers I#82 - BTS) - The Black Panther and Daredevil freed the imprisoned Avengers, and Aries was apparently slain in the ensuing conflict. The army captured Zodiac's mercenary soldiers, and the force field was deactivated. The rest of the Zodiac Cartel escaped capture.
(Iron Man I#33 - BTS, #34 - BTS) - The Zodiac Cartel, led by Capricorn, employed Spymaster and his Espionage Elite to destroy Stark Industries and to capture or kill Tony Stark.
(Daredevil I#73) - The Zodiac Key instructed Capricorn to bring others to the Ankh dimension to restore the Key's power through conflict.
(Iron Man I#35) - When Spymaster and his group failed, Capricorn reassigned him to capture Daredevil, which they did, obtaining Madame Masque in the process. Capricorn led Libra (see comments), Aquarius, and Sagittarius in traveling to Stark Industries, where they battled and overcame Iron Man, Nick Fury, and Kevin O'Brian with the aid of the Zodiac Key. The heroes were imprisoned alongside Daredevil and Madame Masque, and the Key instructed Capricorn to release Fury and give him the Key, which took control of his mind.
(Daredevil I#73) - Fury was mesmerized by the Key into using it to transport the heroes, the three Zodiac Cartel members, and Spymaster to the Ankh dimension, where they appeared before the Brotherhood of Ankh. The Law-Holder manipulated the heroes and villains into conflict, and Aquarius squared off against Nick Fury, but disagreement within the Brotherhood regarding Daredevil's reluctance to fight under duress led the Brotherhood to send them all back to Earth.
(Iron Man I#36 - BTS) - Daredevil, Nick Fury, Iron Man, and Madame Masque defeated Aquarius, Capricorn, and Sagittarius, who were taken away by the police, while Spymaster escaped; Aquarius managed to overpower Madame Masque, but was then knocked out by the combined efforts of Fury and Daredevil.
(Avengers I#120) - Aquarius participated in the Taurus-led
Zodiac plot to prove their power by using the Star-Blazer to snuff out everyone
in Manhattan born under the sign of Gemini (with Zodiac's Gemini protected by
special means). When Gemini's twin, Damian Link, was captured by the Avengers,
the other eleven broke into Avengers Mansion, used a hand-held Star-Blazer to
overpower the Avengers (Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Vision) and Mantis, and
to escape with Gemini's twin.
When the Zodiac Cartel publicly made their threat, the
Avengers located them and damaged the Star-Blazer, Taurus used its remaining
energy to blast Mantis.
(Avengers I#121) - The Avengers attacked the Zodiac Cartel,
but Aries (Grover Raymond) cast Mantis over the edge, and the Zodiacs fled in
the ensuing chaos as they rescued her. Aries, frustrated with their near defeat,
gathered Aquarius, Cancer, Leo, Libra, Pisces, Sagittarius, and Scorpio to form
a coup to overthrow Taurus. Libra elected to sit the conflict out, telling them
that he wished to remain the balance; the others threatened to attack him if he
failed to maintain his neutrality. When Aries contacted Zodiac's funder
Cornelius van Lunt to design a weapon to oppose Taurus, he learned too late that
van Lunt actually was Taurus; shortly after Thor led the other Avengers (Black
Panther, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Vision) to the rebel Zodiacs in van Lunt's
designated meeting place, they were all trapped within the room as it was sealed
with a force field and launched into space.
(Avengers I#122) - Despite their shared danger, Aries led Aquarius, Cancer, Leo, Pisces, Sagittarius, and Scorpio to attack the Avengers within the orbiting death trap.
Back on Earth, after Taurus revealed his actions to the remaining Zodiacs, Libra stole the Star-Blaster ship, used it to fly up to the orbiting trap, neutralize the force field, and free its inhabitants.
Back on Earth, Taurus convinced the renegades to join with him against the Avengers who would surely imprison them, but they were defeated nonetheless.
(Avengers I#123 - BTS) - The Zodiac Cartel, with the exception of Libra, were then turned over to the police.
(Ghost Rider II#7 (fb)) - Bentley suffered from a rare lung condition, which had been exacerbated by of Taurus's space trap (during their last struggle). His doctors gave him one year to live.
Bentley screamed out to the Heavens that he would revenge himself on Van Lunt and all who had contributed to his coming death. Yes, he screamed to the Heavens--but his shouts were heard elsewhere!
Under direction from Mephisto, the demon Slifer approached Bentley and offered him the combined power of the Zodiac for one year. However, at the end of the year, his soul would be forfeit.
Figuring his past crimes had already damned him and considering that a year would be ample time to gain his vengeance, Bentley gladly accepted.
(Ghost Rider II#6) - In San Francisco, as Leo, Bentley ambushed an armored truck carrying $100,000 for Van Lunt's defense fund. Tearing a hole through the roof, Leo then overpowered the drivers, Brent and Tommy, when they pulled over to check out the sounds they had heard. In human form and piloting a helicopter, Slifer picked up Leo so he could continue his mission of vengeance.
(Ghost Rider II#6 (fb)) - Within the next 24 hours, Libra and Gemini, presumably in that order, stole important papers from Van Lunt's lawyers; and Sagittarius tried (and apparently failed) to kill one of Van Lunt's attorneys.
(Ghost Rider II#6 - BTS) - Seeking Johnny Blaze (and Ghost Rider)'s aid in resolving the mystery, Attorney General Barnett explained that despite this series attacks, seemingly by members of the Zodiac cartel, the actual Zodiac cartel members were still in prison. Blaze refused to act as Barnett's agent.
However, after Blaze learned of the Attorney General's son Dave's history with the Zodiac when Dave took hostage Roxanne Simpson and tried to coerce Ghost Rider's cooperation, Blaze agreed to stop Zodiac.
(Ghost
Rider II#7) - Another 24 hours later, as Taurus, Bentley rode a
powerful motorcycle through the doors of the Golden Gate Trust (see comments),
after which he instructed the bankers to open Van Lunt's safety deposit
box. When a confused banker asked if he wasn't Van Lunt, and wasn't he
in jail, the impatient Taurus pulled out a pair of guns and ordered
their cooperation. When it was explained that the vault was on a
time-lock and would not open until the next morning, Taurus had his
motorcycle fire "pure energy, tapped from the stars themselves" to
slice a rectangular pattern through the vault door. Taurus then rammed
the cut portion inwards with his cycle, and then programmed its
servo-arms to claim a series of vital documents that he felt the
authorities would find most interesting (as they contained enough
incriminating evidence to put Van Lunt away for life), and to placed
them within storage receptacles on the cycle. As he departed, however,
he was confronted by Ghost Rider.
(Ghost Rider II#7) - As Taurus charged Ghost Rider on his cycle, Ghost Rider melted the street under his tires, but Taurus escaped nonetheless by using the crowd to block Ghost Rider's pursuit. As he departed, Bentley considered that the documents he had most recently stolen would assure Van Lunt would spend life in prison, and so he planned to turn his attention to the other "treacherous" members of the Zodiac Cartel and the Avengers, all of whom he blamed for their involvement in Van Lunt's orbital trap.
Taurus' pursuit by Ghost Rider was observed by Stuntmaster, amidst a signing he hated, and he took to help Ghost Rider. Stuntmaster's leap at Taurus caused him to wreck his motorcycle, but when they confronted him, intending to learn his secrets, Bentley transformed into Scorpio, who subdued the duo with a blast from a mystic duplicate of the Zodiac Key.
(Ghost Rider II#7 - BTS) - Bentley brought Stuntmaster and Ghost Rider to and chained them up within a dingy waterfront warehouse. At some point, he reverted back to his Aquarius form and was joined by Slifer in his demon form.
(Ghost Rider II#7) - After the heroes revived, Aquarius revealed the circumstances of his transformation into the One-Man Zodiac. Ghost Rider then used a burst of flames to melt a link in Stuntmaster's chain, and Stuntmaster rushed forward and punched out Aquarius. Acknowledging the weakness of his disease-ravaged form, Bently transformed into Cancer, punching Stuntmaster back and then crushing him with his claws. As Ghost Rider broke his own chains and punched out Slifer, Bentley transformed into Capricorn, who used his animated horns to hurl Stuntmaster into Ghost Rider, giving him the chance to flee.
Ghost Rider pursued, but Bentley, having turned into the feminine
Virgo, who feigned ignorance of Capricorn's whereabouts and brushed off
Ghost Rider; but soon after preparing to head out in pursuit, Ghost
Rider recalled that one of the Zodiac was a woman, and he turned around
and went after her. Noting his amusement at the previous ruse, Bentley
transformed into Aries and rammed Ghost Rider into a lamppost before
fleeing again. Catching up, Ghost Rider tackled Aries, inadvertently
knocking the pair into off a pier into the water, where Bentley
transformed into Pisces. However, when Ghost Rider heated the water,
Pisces climbed back out onto the pier and reverted again to
Aquarius. 
Preparing to transform as needed to defeat his foe, Aquarius was shocked when Slifer revealed his time was up, as he had transformed into each of the Zodiac members, esentially going through a zodiacal year. Angered at the treachery, Aquarius refused to comply, but Slifer mocked that he had no choice, and he departed with Aquarius to Mephisto's fiery Hell-realm.
Comments: Aquarius created by Roy Thomas
and Sal Buscema.
One-Man Zodiac by Gary Friedrich, Tony Isabella,
and Jim Mooney.
As an Aquarius, Darren Bentley was born between the dates January 20th and February 18th.
On the cover of Ghost Rider II#6, it refers to
the menace of the second Zodiac. I don't use those numeric-type
clarifications anymore (whenever possible), because they're are
too arbitrary, and everyone has a different system. However, at
the time (and still, as of 3/18/2002), the Zodiac cartel would be
the original Zodiac (I). The One-Man Zodiac would be II, and the
android/LMD Zodiac would be III. This differs from almost every
reference/description I've ever seen, which refers to the
android/LMD Zodiac as II. See why I don't do this anymore?
--And please do NOT e-mail to tell me what your numbering system
is, and why it should be that way.
Who'd have thought that the devil would try to trick/cheat a mortal out of his soul?
CLARIFICATIONS:
Aquarius, the One-Man Zodiac, and the forms
he took should not be confused with:
In the form of Aries (Grover Raymond), Bentley wore a mask with hard horns, and he tended to charge and ram opponents with his head.
In the form of Virgo (Elaine McLaughlin), Bentley wore her domino mask...presumably Bentley didn't make this choice, and it was the default.
(Ghost Rider II#7) - After having stunned tthe heroes as Capricorn, Bentley fled long enough to transform into Virgo.
When Ghost Rider rushed out in search of Capricorn, he saw Virgo (wearing a trenchcoat, as well as her domino mask, although Ghost Rider only saw her from behind) and asked if she had seen Capricorn.
Virgo feigned ignorance of Capricorn's whereabouts and brushed off Ghost Rider; but soon after preparing to head out in pursuit, Ghost Rider recalled that one of the Zodiac was a woman, and he turned around and went after her.
When Ghost Rider returned to confront Virgo, Bensen transformed into Aries.
Aries then rammed Ghost Rider into a lamp post before fleeing again.
Ghost Rider subsequently caught up to Aries and tackled him, and when they went off the pier and hit the water, Bentley transformed into Pisces.
--Ghost Rider II#7
In the form of Cancer (Jack Klevano), Bentley wore hard claws that had enhanced crushing power and also served as blunt objects to enhance the damage of a punch.
After Stuntmaster punched him down in his Aquarius form, Bentley -- acknowledging the weakness of his disease-ravaged form -- transformed into Cancer.
Cancer punched Stuntmaster back and then crushing him with his claws. As Ghost Rider broke his own chains and punched out Slifer, Bentley transformed into Capricorn.
--Ghost Rider II#7
In the form of Capricorn (Willard Weir), Bentley could extend his horns and use them as weapons to wrap around and restrain or hurl opponents.
He may or may not have had karate skills comparable to Weir.
(Ghost Rider II#7) - While crushing Stuntmaster as Cancer, Bentley observed Ghost Rider breaking free and approaching him.
He then transformed into Capricorn, and used his animated horns to hurl Stuntmaster into Ghost Rider, giving him the chance to flee.
Capricorn then rushed outside and took Virgo's form.
--Ghost Rider II#7
In the form of Leo, for whatever reason, his form was markedly different than that of the Zodiac cartel's Leo (Daniel Radford).
Regardless, as Leo, Bently wore a costume (apparently) with metal gauntlets with razor-sharp metal claws on his four fingers.
His gauntlet seemed to have a thumb and three fingers, as opposed to four toes with no thumb as one might expect from a cat.
The metal gauntlets and shar claws were sufficient to rip through an armored car's lining in seconds.
Leo also seemed to be fast and strong.
(Ghost Rider II#6) - In San Francisco, as Leo, Bentley ambushed an armored truck carrying $100,000 for Van Lunt's defense fund.
Tearing a hole through the roof, Leo then overpowered the drivers, Brent and Tommy, when they pulled over to check out the sounds they had heard.
In human form and piloting a helicopter, Slifer picked up Leo so he could continue his mission of vengeance.
--Ghost Rider II#6
Note: Leo's full body form can be seen in the main profile
In the form of Pisces (Noah Perricone), he (presumably) wore an outfit designed for underwater combat, at which he had some skill.
It is unrevealed whether he had actual superhuman powers.
(Ghost Rider II#7) - After Ghost Rider tackled Aries off the side of a pier, Bentley transformed into Pisces to better fight him off.
Ghost Rider responded by super-heating the water beyond Pisces' ability to tolerate it.
Pisces the climbed out of the water and back onto the pier.
Once there he reverted back to his Aquarius form.
--Ghost Rider II#7
In the form of Scorpio (Jake Fury or an LMD, or Jacques LaPoint, or whatever), he wielded a duplicate of the Zodiac Key.
The key could fire energy blasts sufficient to knock out Ghost Rider for at least several minutes, if not closer to an hour, with a single strike.
(Ghost Rider II#7) - After Stuntmaster caused Taurus to wreck his bike, Stuntmaster and Ghost Rider confronted Taurus, intending to learn his secret, but Bentley then transformed into Scorpio.
With a single blast of his Zodiac Key, Scorpio knocked out Stuntmaster and Ghost Rider.
Presumably with Slifer's aid, Bentley brought Stuntmaster and Ghost Rider to a warehouse and chained them each up.
At some point, Bentley reverted back to his Aquarius form.
--Ghost Rider II#7
Note: Scorpio's full body form can be seen in the main profile.
In the form of Taurus (Cornelius Van Lunt), he was muscular and had a pair of horns that he could presumably use to ram others as Van Lunt did. However, he never demonstrated his physical abilties, so it's just presumably.
He rode a high-tech motorcycle complete with a weapon (alegedly tapping pure energy from the stars) in the headlights able to swiftly cut a door into a bank vault. The motorcycle could be used to ram into other objects with great force, but it did shatter when crashed in a wipeout. The cycle also had servo-arms that could grasp objects and place them into storage containers.
He also carried a pair of presumably conventional handguns.
(Ghost Rider II#6) - Bentley rode a powerful motorcycle through the doors of the Golden Gate Trust (see comments), after which he instructed the bankers to open Van Lunt's safety deposit box. When a confused banker asked if he wasn't Van Lunt, and wasn't he in jail, the impatient Taurus pulled out a pair of guns and ordered their cooperation. When it was explained that the vault was on a time-lock and would not open until the next morning, Taurus had his motorcycle fire "pure energy, tapped from the stars themselves" to slice a rectangular pattern through the vault door. Taurus then rammed the cut portion inwards with his cycle, and then programmed its servo-arms to claim a series of vital documents that he felt the authorities would find most interesting (as they contained enough incriminating evidence to put Van Lunt away for life), and to placed them within storage receptacles on the cycle. As he departed, however, he was confronted by Ghost Rider.
(Ghost Rider II#7) - As Taurus charged Ghost Rider on his cycle, Ghost Rider melted the street under his tires, but Taurus escaped nonetheless by using the crowd to block Ghost Rider's pursuit. As he departed, Bentley considered that the documents he had most recently stolen would assure Van Lunt would spend life in prison, and so he planned to turn his attention to the other "treacherous" members of the Zodiac Cartel and the Avengers, all of whom he blamed for their involvement in Van Lunt's orbital trap.
Taurus' pursuit by Ghost Rider was observed by Stuntmaster, amidst a signing he hated, and he took to help Ghost Rider. Stuntmaster's leap at Taurus caused him to wreck his motorcycle, but when they confronted him, intending to learn his secrets, Bentley transformed into Scorpio
--Ghost Rider II#6 (7)
Note: Taurus and his cycle can be seen in the main profile.
Ghost Rider II#6, pg. 2, panel 2 (as Leo; full);
pg. 3, panel 5 (as Leo, face);
pg. 9, panel 3 (as Sagittarius, Libra, & Gemini);
last pg., panel 2-4 (Taurus' bike with grappling arms);
#7, pg. 1, panel 1 (as Taurus, on bike);
pg. 9, panel 1 (Taurus, off bike);
panel 5-6 (as Scorpio, close-up with key, and
blasting Ghost Rider and Stunt-Master);
pg. 12, panel 3 (Bentley, face);
pg. 13, panel 6 (as Cancer, face);
panel 7-8 (as Cancer, punching and crushing Stunt-Master);
pg. 14, panel 5-8 (as Capricorn, fighting Stunt-Master and Ghost Rider);
pg. 15, panel 4 (asVirgo);
pg. 16, panel 2 (as Aries; full and ramming Ghost Rider);
pg. 18, panel 2 (as Pisces);
panel 3 (Aquarius);
panel 6 (taken to Hell)
Appearances:
Avengers I#72 (January, 1970) - Roy Thomas (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Sam Grainger (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Avengers I#80-82 (September-November, 1970) - Roy Thomas (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Iron Man I#33-36 (January-April, 1971) - Allyn Brodsky & Gerry
Conway (#35-36) (writer), Don Heck (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks),
Stan Lee (editor)
Daredevil I#73 (February, 1971) - Allyn Brodsky & Gerry Conway
(writers), Gene Colan (pencils), Syd Shores (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Avengers I#120-123 (February-May, 1974) - Steve Englehart (writer), Bob
Brown (#120, 122-123) & John Buscema (#121) (pencils), Don Heck
(#120-121, 123) & Mike Esposito (#122) (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Avengers I#124 (June, 1974) - Steve Englehart (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Dave Cockrum (#124) (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Ghost Rider II#6 (June, 1974) - Gary Friedrich & Tony Isabella
(writers), Jim Mooney (pencils), Sal Trapani (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Ghost Rider II#7 (August, 1974) - Tony Isabella (writer), Jim Mooney (pencils), Jack Abel (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
First Posted: 03/18/2002
Last updated: 03/04/2017
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
All characters mentioned or pictured are
™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights
Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real
thing!
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