KING
ARTHUR KING
ARTHUR
Real Name: Arthur (last name unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Wrestling trainer, criminal;
former champion wrestler
Group Membership: Leader of his own gang
Affiliations: U.S. Olympic Committee;
formerly Jumpin'
Jack Flash, Marty
Enemies: Captain America (Steve Rogers), Jumpin' Jack Flash, Kid Kong (past wrestling opponent), Mr. X
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Impersonated Mr. X
Base of Operations: New York City
First Appearance:
Captain America I#271 (July, 1982)
Powers: Arthur claimed to be "virtually
super-human" thanks to the steroids he took, but that was probably the
drugs talking. Regardless, his strength and stamina levels were easily
peak human. He was a skilled fighter, using blows and holds that
targeted joints and vulnerable points, and sufficiently acrobatic as to
be able to copy Mister X's leaping fighting style.
Height: 6'4" (by comparison)
Weight: 285 lbs. (by estimation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Red
History:
(Captain America I#271 (fb)
- BTS) - A champion costumed wrestler, King Arthur fought
opponents such as Kid Kong, but eventually lost the use of his legs in
an accident in the ring (see comments). He then became a
successful trainer for other wrestlers such as Jumpin' Jack Flash, but
at some point he risked taking experimental anabolic steroids in a bid
to recover. These worked, not only restoring full mobility but also
boosting his physique to almost superhuman levels. Keeping his restored
mobility secret, Arthur began feeding the same drugs to his wrestlers
without their knowledge. The increasing success of the wrestlers he
trained brought him to the attention of the U.S. Olympic Committee, who
asked him to train the U.S. Olympic wrestling team. However, eventually
Jumpin' Jack Flash discovered what Arthur was doing and threatened to
reveal the steroid scandal, so Arthur decided he needed to be
eliminated.
(Captain America I#271) - On the evening of Jumpin' Jack
Flash's bout with the masked wrestler Mr. X, Arthur drugged Mr. X, and
went out in his place, wearing his costume. Arthur killed Jack Flash in
the ring, pinning Mr. X for the crime. Captain America took an interest
in the murder, and when the now-fugitive Mr. X offered to come out of
hiding so long as he could try to prove his innocence in the ring, Cap
agreed to be his opponent on the condition that he surrender to the
authorities if he lost. Unsurprisingly Mr. X lost and was taken into
custody. At first King Arthur seemed to be in the clear, but Captain
America examined videotapes of the two Mr. Xs, and realized from their
fighting styles that they were not the same man. Expecting King Arthur
to have the best chance of recognizing the imposter's true identity from
his fighting technique, Cap went to see the trainer and overheard the
villain talking to his drug distributors. King Arthur attempted to
murder Captain America, ranting he was "the forger of a new ideal that
for the strong, all action is acceptable! Might makes right!" and even
murdered one of his own men when that minion tried to capture Arthur in
exchange for his freedom. Ultimately, Arthur could not match the
fighting prowess of Captain America, lost, and was arrested for murder.
Comments: Created by David Kraft, Alan Kupperberg and John Beatty "& co."
King Arthur states that the
accident cost "robbed him of the use of his legs," but he's standing
when he says this and is seen to walk in public, albeit with a cane,
even before revealing he's actually fully healed. Perhaps when he was
initially injured he was totally unable to walk, and explained he had
recovered some use via physiotherapy, but not enough to be able to
return to the wrestling ring. Regardless of the explanation, even those
unaware of his drug-related full recovery can see he's clearly being
somewhat melodramatic; he officially might have badly weakened legs, but
he's not hiding the fact that he can stand and walk.
Profile by Prime Eternal
Clarifications:
King Arthur should not be confused with:
Kid Kong should not be confused with
Jumpin' Jack Flash was one of King Arthur's most successful wrestlers, fighting with a distinctive hopping style, but when he learned that he and his fellow wrestlers had been dosed with steroid without their knowledge he threatened to blow the whistle. In order to prevent this King Arthur impersonated Flash's next opponent in the ring, Mr. X, and during the match Arthur did a flying kick that landed with bone-cracking intensity in the small of Jack's back, sending him falling neck first onto the ropes and breaking the unfortunate man's neck, killing him.
Having fled the ring and executed a quick
change, King Arthur returned to the ringside and gently removed his
victim's body from the ring, feigning distress for the audience
watching and vowing to ensure Mr. X was brought to justice.
--Captain America I#271
Marty was the ringside announcer for the All-Star
Wrestling. He interviewed King Arthur just before Mr. X's match
against Jumpin' Jack Flash, and later reported with shock that Jack
had been killed during the match. When again handled the
announcements when Captain America fought Mr. X, and when Mr. X was
unmasked Marty recognized him as Ray Deacon, a man once wrongly
accused of being a serial killer, jumping to the conclusion (which
he publicly announced on live television) that Deacon had now become
the homicidal maniac people had once thought him to be.
When Captain America, in his secret
identity as Steve Rogers, visited King Arthur's offices hoping to
review All-Star Wrestling's video library of past bouts, King Arthur
falsely denied there was such a record, but on his way out Steve ran
into Marty, who showed him where it was. Later Marty witnessed King
Arthur admit to Captain America that he had impersonated and framed
Mr. X for Jack's murder; unaware Marty was observing, when Arthur
lost the fight he defiantly declared he would never admit his crime,
preferring to let Deacon rot in prison, at which point Marty
revealed he had heard everything. Thanks to Marty corroborating that
King Arthur had confessed to the crime, Cap was able to get Deacon
freed.
--Captain America I#271
Kid Kong was a wrestler who fought King Arthur back
prior to the accident that ended Arthur' career. It had presumably
been one of Arthur's more important matches, as he kept a poster for
the match in a frame in his office.
-- (mentioned) Captain America I#271
images: (without ads)
Captain America I#271,
p2, pan4 (main image)
Captain America I#271,
p2, pan6 (headshot)
Captain America I#271, p20, pan4 (eliminating a
traitorous minion)
Captain America I#271, p5, pan6 (disguised as Mr. X,
striking the fatal blow)
Captain America
I#271, p9, pan2 (height
comparison, King Arthur
vs Captain America)
Captain
America I#271, p3, pan5 (Jumpin' Jack Flash
jumping)
Captain America I#271, p5,
pan7 (Jumpin' Jack Flash dies)
Captain
America I#271, p2, pan5
(Marty)
Captain
America I#271,
p16, pan1 (Kid Kong poster)
Appearances:
Captain America I#271 (July,
1982) - David Kraft (writer), Alan Kupperberg (pencils),
John Beatty and co. (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
First Posted: 06/02/2022
Last updated: 10/03/2022
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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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
Jumpin'
Jack Flash
Marty
Kid Kong