SLASHER

Real Name: Elyse Nelson

Identity/Class: Human psycho

Occupation: Fashion model

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Co-worker of Mary Jane Watson-Parker; admired by Harvey Finklestein

Enemies: Leslie, Dakota North, Mary Jane Watson-Parker, Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile across the USA

First Appearance: Web of Spider-Man#37 (April, 1988)

Powers/Abilities: Elyse suffered from psychotic episodes, in which she would attack and kill other models, usually using a straight razor.

Height: 5' 8" Weight: 125 lbs.

History:
(Web of Spider-Man#37 (fb) - BTS) - Elyse--a successful model--suffered from serious self-esteem issues, feeling that she was ugly, which generated some major hostility towards other models. As her problems reached a breaking point, she began to kill her fellow models. The press carried the stories of the mysterious Slashers.

(Web of Spider-Man#37) - Elyse became the victim of a series of attacks, when her over-aggressive admirer, Harvey Finklestein, hired Leslie to pose as the Slasher, so that he could "save her," and become her hero. However, as the investigators of the murders--Spider-Man and Dakota North--went after Leslie, Elyse's psychoses surfaced again, and she pulled her razor on Mary Jane. Fortunately, Spidey and Dakota got back in time, and stopped Elyse.

Comments: Created by James Owsley (now Christopher Priest) and Steve Geiger.

Dakota knew it all the time! Who's she think she is? Rufus, from the Clue Club?

Read Priest's Black Panther!!!! It's a great series.

It is possible that the film Blood and Black Lace, called by some an early slasher film in which a perpetrator dressed up as the Blank from the Dick Tracy comic strip goes around slaying models, inspired this issue.
--Per Degaton 

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:

• SLASH, Sisters of Sin-SISTER AGONY*--Captain America I#356

• SLASH 8162 - Evil Dead. Expert with knives,slow-witted,orange skin --(UK) Dragon’s Claws#2

• SLASHER of the Hyborian era - dog, helped Conan fight the forces of Zogar Sag--“Beyond the Black River,” Savage Sword of Conan#27

• SLASHER - pawn of Mr. Kline —Iron Man I#41

• SLASHER`- see RAZORBLADE—Avengers I#130

• SLASHER (Jim Crawley) - son of Crawley, abandoned by him as a child, spent life looking to kill him--Moon Knight I#2

• SLASHER - see SABRETOOTH--Power Man/Iron Fist#78

• SLASHER (Gil Jeffers)-evil portion of multiple personality disorder—Incredible Hulk II#335

• SLASHER, murdered homeless--Marvel Fanfare I#32

• SLASHER 2019 - enemy of Killraven--Amazing Adventures II#19

• MIDNIGHT SLASHER - see LAZARUS--Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#8, Marvel Comics Presents#156

• SHADOW SLASHER - --Master of Kung Fu I#98

• other "Slasher characters

Harvey Finklestein

An unemployed actor, he was--somewhat pathologically--attracted to Elyse. In an effort to use the Stalker "rumor" to his advantage, he hired Leslie to pretend to attack Elyse, so that he could then save her. His plans appeared to backfire when Leslie seemed to actually be the Slasher, but even those this didn't turn out to be the case, Harvey was knocked out of action when Mary Jane whipped the door open

--Web of Spider-Man#37

Leslie

An imposing-looking fellow, he was hired by Harvey to pretend to be the Slasher, so Harvey could then appear to save her. Things seemed to fall apart when Leslie appeared to be the Slasher: he had clippings of all the murders on his wall, he was fairly intimidating, and he definitely got carried away with his false attacks. Elyse escaped him on his first attempt, and Mary Jane booted him in the jibs on his second attempt. Dakota North--knowing he wasn't the real Slasher--chased him, in hopes that he would lead her to the real Slasher. Spider-Man chased Leslie too, leaving Mary Jane defenseless against the real Slasher...

--Web of Spider-Man#37

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Web of Spider-Man#37, p23, pan3 (main image)