F.A.
SCHIST
Real Name: Franklin Armstrong Schist
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Head of F. A. Schist Construction Company
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Professor Slaughter; Construction workers (employees)
Enemies: Foolkiller (Ross. G. Everbest), Man-Thing, Ogres of La Hacienda
Known Relatives: Vivian (wife), Caroline (daughter)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Citrusville, Florida
First Appearance: Adventure into Fear#16 (September, 1973)
Powers/Abilities: Schist was a
businessman willing to sacrifice anyone and anything in the name
of money.
He was briefly immortal, until he was killed. He was immune to
the effects of aging, but not the effects of burning.
History: -
F.A. Schist was the head of a construction company. He secretly
believed that the legendary Fountain of Eternal Youth did indeed
exist, in the swamplands of the Florida Everglades. To this end,
he negotiated to obtain a contract to build an airport in that
area, hoping that by draining the swamp, he could turn up
evidence of the Fountain.
(Adventures into Fear#16) - He decided to build the airport
in Citrusville, Florida, in the swamplands which served as home
to both the Man-Thing and Earth's Nexus of Realities. In
addition, the swamplands also were the home of a tribe of Native
Americans. Some of the younger braves, led by Black Eagle,
sabotaged Schist's bulldozer in an effort to prevent the
destruction of their home. As he fled, Black Eagle was shot and
wounded by Jake Simpson, one of Schist's employees. This resulted
in a demonstration against the destruction of the swamplands, and
against Schist in general, which turned violent. Schist responded
to this by ordering another bulldozer, obtaining a court order to
prevent further demonstrations against his work, and criticizing
Simpson for giving his opponents a martyr.
Schist personally supervised the start of operations and went
ahead as planned, despite threats by some of the older braves of
the tribe. The work in the swamp drew the attention of the
Man-Thing, who wandered into the site. Jake Simpson ran over the
Man-Thing with a bulldozer, and when the creature reformed, he
went after it with a pick axe. Not so surprisingly, Simpson came
out on the losing end of the struggle and ended up with his face
badly burnt by the Man-Thing. As he crouched on the ground in
pain, he was run over and killed by his own bulldozer, which he
had forgotten to turn off.
(Adventures into Fear#17-BTS) - The Dakkamite man-child Wundarr, after crash-landing on Earth, blundered into the F.A. Schist construction site, inadvertently smashing their crane. The workers mistook Wundarr for "another blasted long-haired injun," and attacked him, but he easily escaped.
(Adventures into Fear#18-BTS) - Schist's construction workers observed as the Man-Thing led Mary Brown and Kevin Kennerman to safety after a series of disastrous adventures into swamp. The workers helped Mary, presumably taking her to a hospital.
(Adventures into Fear#19, Man-Thing I#1-both BTS) - Schist's workers observed as creatures from the Congress of Realities poured through the Nexus of Realities and attacked the Man-Thing, Korrek the Barbarian, Dakimh the Enchanter, and Howard the Duck. Several of them took up arms to oppose the demonic legions of Thog, but all were left in a state of confusion when both the forces of the Congress and those of Dakimh vanished into thin air.
(Man-Thing I#2) - F.A. Schist hired Professor Slaughter to kill the Man-Thing. Schist's workers rebuilt the Slaughter Room, but the Man-Thing survived the attack.
(Man-Thing I#3) - Schist chided Slaughter for his failure, but the Man-Thing grabbed both men and tossed them into the swamp, and then destroyed the Slaughter Room. As Schist pulled himself back onto dry land, he was confronted by the Foolkiller, who gave him 24 hours to live, before he would terminate his existence for being a fool.
(Man-Thing I#4) - Wickham and Schist attempted to flee the swamp to escape the Foolkiller, but the Man-Thing intercepted their jeep. Schist directed the driver to run down the Man-Thing, but the impact stunned the passengers more than the intended victim. The bog beast then forced them to take a woman (whose husband had just been killed by the Foolkiller) to safety outside of the swamp. The delay slowed them enough that the Foolkiller saw their escape attempt and ran them down in his truck. Everyone inside the jeep survived, but as they attempted to hitch a ride to the nearest town, they again caught the attention of the Foolkiller. This time, the Foolkiller took Schist with him, preparing to carry out his execution personally. However, the Man-Thing arrived in time to distract the Foolkiller, who was killed in the ensuing struggle.
(Man-Thing I#7, 8) - Due to an energy crisis,
Schist was forced to terminate his plans to build an airport.
Instead, he returned to his lifelong dream--finding the Fountain
of Eternal Youth. Wickham joined him on the mission, which led
them to the hidden village of la Hacienda. Just outside the
village, Schist and Wickham again encountered the Man-Thing, and
Schist tried to run him down with his hydrofoil. The Man-Thing
(turned partially human as a result of the exposure to the waters
of the Fountain) leapt out of their way, and Schist and Wickham
dove to safety before their hydrofoil collided with a tree and
exploded.
The two followed the marsh monster into the village, and secretly
observed as the shadowed "Fathers" of la Hacienda
directed the efforts to return the Man-Thing to human form.
Schist revealed himself and attempted to make a business deal
with the Fathers. Disgusted by his materialism and greed, the
Fathers gave Schist a vial of the legendary waters as "a
gesture of good faith," knowing that he would drink it. As a
result of drinking the water, rather than bathing in it, Schist
was horribly mutated into a "purple ogre," like the
Fathers. Furious, Schist attacked Lorena, one of the villagers,
planning to go after the Fathers next. The Man-Thing tried to
stop Schist, but his partially human form was now vulnerable and
Schist nearly overpowered him. Nearly. Until Schist unwittingly
shattered a vat of the fluid drained from the Man-Thing,
drenching the swamp creature in it and restoring its full power.
Terrified, Schist was unable to escape the clutches of the bog
beast, and--say it with me now, kids--"Whatever knows Fear,
Burns at the Touch of the Man-Thing." Schist's purple ogre
form was even more susceptible to this power, and he was
incinerated, leaving only a pile of ashes.
Wickham, who was crippled in the above struggle, went into
hiding, and was considered by some a suspect in the unresolved
disappearance of Schist.
Comments: Created by Steve Gerber (who else) and Val Mayerik.
I'm not sure what Native American tribe would
have struggled against Schist, but it was probably one of these: natamer.html
Thanks to Kyle
Smith for pointing out that site.
Schist Construction made a surprising return in Roger Stern's Giant-Size Incredible Hulk#1 (July, 2008) causing some problems with a housing project in the San Mingo Mountains, which was heavily protested by environmental activists and attacked by the Hulk. It seems like Franklin's daughter and/or wife kept the corporation running.
--Markus Raymond
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Foolkiller, Ross. G. Everbest was the original person to use the title. He was succeeded by and should be distinguished from:
Appearances:
Adventure into Fear#16-19 (September-December, 1973) - Steve Gerber (writer), Val Mayerik (pencils), Sal Trapani (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Man-Thing I#1-2 (January-February, 1974) - Steve Gerber (writer), Val Mayerik (pencils), Sal Trapani (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Man-Thing I#3-4 (March-April, 1974) - Steve Gerber (writer), Val Mayerik (pencils), Jack Abel (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Man-Thing I#7-8 (July-August, 1974) - Steve Gerber (writer), Mike Ploog (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
First Posted: 08/25/2002
Last updated: 11/17/2016
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!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!