MERCY

Real Name: Norman Zachos

Identity/Class: Human, magic user

Occupation: Criminal

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Pawn of Chthon, the Dwarf

Enemies: Darkhold Redeemers; shadow demons of Oblivion

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: An unnamed prison; the Dark Place;
Realm of Oblivion/Outer Void?

First Appearance: Midnight Sons Unlimited#1 (April, 1993)

Powers/Abilities: Zachos was a psychotic, and had no compunctions in maiming an unidentified number of people. He suffered from claustrophobia.
The magic of the Darkhold allowed Mercy to see a shadow world which overlaps with Earth. It also enabled his mind to survive the death of his body, although he remained trapped within his inanimate corpse (or at least within its shadow). When all light was gone, he was consigned to a realm of oblivion and would be the victim of the shadow demons within.

History:
(Midnight Sons Unlimited#1/2 (fb)-BTS) - Zachos earned the nickname Mercy because instead of killing his victims, he cut off their hands and tongues so they couldn't identify him--and he thought this made him merciful. He was eventually captured and imprisoned.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#1/2) - While imprisoned, Mercy began to have paranoid visions of demons attacking him. He was visited by the Dwarf, who offered him a page of the Darkhold, which would allow him to see things in a whole new light. Upon reading the page, the Other appeared to Mercy and brought him out of the prison, and into a world of darkness. There he was confronted by some of his past victims and fled into a pitch black room, where he was plagued by shadow demons.
However, prison guards' lights pierced the darkness, dispelling the demons, and allowing them to recapture Mercy. Knowing that the shadow demons would be back at lights out, Mercy jammed a pencil into his own brain, killing him...mostly. Mercy remained aware of everything going on around him. His claustrophobia flared as he was placed inside a pine box, while the Darkhold Redeemers showed up to investigate the use of a Darkhold page. As the coffin was nailed shut, all light was cut-off, and he returned to the darkness...and the demons...

Comments: Created by Chris Cooper and Joe Quesada.

To be honest, I've read this story a few times and still don't really get it. There was the obvious "ironic" twist where the user of the page is actually punished rather than rewarded, but I can't tell you much more than that.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:

• Mercy, an extra-terrestrial who kills those she believes is suffering, @ Incredible Hulk II#338
• Mercy, Dr. Hannah Trumball, of the Shadow Cabinet, @ Moon Knight III#43
• Mercy Corporation, a mercenary unit which incorporated the Super Soldiers, @ Super Soldiers#8
• Mercy 8162, Mercy Connaught, of Dragon's Claws, @ Dragons Claws#1
• Mercy Killers, hypnotic background singers of Hypno-Hustler @ Spectacular Spider-Man II#24
• Mercy Sisters, serial killers @ Deadpool III49

The Other, the agent of Chthon, should not be confused with:

• Other, an extra-dimensional sorcerer and enemy of Spellbinder and Zxaxz, @ Spellbound#1
• Other, an alias used by the Titanium Man while using the Unicorn as a pawn, @ Iron Man I#114
• Other, another extra-dimensional creature which encountered the Silver Surfer and Scrier, @ Silver Surfer III minus 1

The nature of the Dark Place (and its shadow demons) remains unknown, as do its potential connections to:

• Oblivion and/or his realm, the Outer Void, @ Iceman I#3
• Dark Dimension, the realm of Dormammu, @ Strange Tales I#126
• Darkforce Dimension, which houses the Darkforce accessed by such beings as Cloak, Darkstar, etc., @ Iron Man I#109 (indirectly)
• other "Dark" beings, groups, or dimensions
• The Shadow Realm, home of Warlord Kaa, Mister E, the Soul Masters, and the Screamers, @ Yellow Claw#4, Marvel Spotlight II#4
• Shadow City, of the Negative Zone, home of Lockdown and Rosetta Stone, @ Fantastic Four III#17
• Shadow Realm, the dark half of Biphasia, @ Giant-Size Werewolf#5
• Shadowside Dimension, ruled by vampires, @ Nightstalkers#14
• House of Shadows, also from a Shadow World, @ Strange Tales I#120/2
• The Shadow Men of Kaa-U, who brought the Ancient One from his temple to Kaa-U to die, @ Marvel Premiere#5
• Shadowoman, Jillian Woods, aka Sepulchre, of Shock Troop, @ Quasar#45..But that would be a great conection
• the Shadow Man from Tales of Suspense#7
• the shadow-people from Journey Into Mystery I#17
• other "Shadow" beings, groups, or dimensions

The Dark Place

"...a dark place that only exists where there is light...and whenever all light is gone the victim is consigned to oblivion. and the things that dwell therein."
It would appear that the Dark Place overlaps with the Earth dimension, but it cannot be seen or accessed by most. It can be accessed by magic, such as a spell from the Darkhold. Within the Dark Place exists images from the victim's nightmares. When light from the real world is shone onto the Dark Place, it fades, returning the victim to reality. However, the victim then returns when the light is again cut-off. In addition, within absolute darkness, demons appear to plague the victim.

--Midnight Sons Unlimited#1/2

images: (without ads)

Appearances:
Midnight Sons Unlimited#1 (April, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Klaus Janson (artist), Hildy Mesnik

First Posted: 09/17/2002
Last updated: 03/23/2014

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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