DEKE
WAINSCROFTDEKE
WAINSCROFT
Real Name: Derrick "Deke" Wainscroft
Identity/Class: Human mutate
Occupation: Former predator;
former revolutionary/terrorist
Affiliations: Barry "Zonkers" Powell (former partner);
unwittingly created the "Baby Monster" Nelson;
indirect affiliation (inspiration) for Chester Goudal
Enemies: Charles Baker, Lance
Jefferson, Kingpin and his men (especially the Chief), Carol
Nelson, Punisher (Frank Castle), SHIELD, Daemian Wainscroft;
numerous other victims of his assaults and
bombings
Known Relatives: Daemian Wainscroft (father)
Aliases: Vampire, Vampire Killer
Base of Operations: Manhattan, New York
First Appearance: Punisher: P.O.V.#1 (1991)
Powers/Abilities: Before his transformation, Deke Wainscroft was an expert in explosives and domestic terrorism.
Once mutated, Deke achieved
superhuman strength (enhanced human to Class 10) and durability. He could also recover from virtually
any form of conventional
injury, including being blown to bits. In addition, he no longer
needed food, air, water or anything else to survive, though he
did develop a psychological craving for human blood, possibly due
to his long history of using psychoactive drugs. Deke continued
to believe that his friend Zonkers was still alive, carrying
around his head and having conversations with it. His body
eventually even grew around the head, making it part of Deke's
body.
His primary weakness was his brain, which remained
somewhat vulnerable to injury.
Height: 7' Weight:
350 lbs.
History: (Punisher: P.O.V.#1 [fb] - BTS) - Deke grew up the son of a wealthy capitalist and rebelled by becoming a violent social anarchist. He along with his partner and best friend Zonkers worked together using explosives and extortion to achieve great wealth, buy (and use) a lot of mind-altering drugs, and enjoy the women that came with the last two things. In their attempts to "bomb the populace into political awareness," they took out 16 innocents, after which they were sent to prison.
(Punisher: P.O.V. #1) - Fifteen years later,
Deke and Zonkers were released on parole and went back to their
old ways. In their first adventure they bombed Gotham Federal
Bank and extorted $100, 000 from the banks' president, Charles
Baker. However, as they planned their next caper, one of Zonkers'
bombs blew up in his hands, killing Zonkers and badly burning
Deke. Fleeing into an old hiding spot in the sewers beneath his
father's laboratory, Deke was then inundated with the SS-8, the
super-soldier serum project his father's lab was working on,
which flared out of control and had to be dumped. The chemicals
were primarily a synthetic DNA bonding agent, which caused his
body to take on the properties of his surroundings: the sewer.
Deke was found unconscious by his father's
clean-up team and brought into his facility, but soon broke out,
slaughtering all he encountered in the process. On the outside,
he attacked Carol Nelson (who was eight months pregnant), draining
and drinking some of her blood. He continued to attack several
others, including a planned assault on the wealthy stock broker
Lance Jefferson, and then an attack on a prostitute. The Punisher
located and tried to stop Deke, but Deke easily overpowered him
and proceeded to choke the life out of him.
(Punisher: P.O.V. #2) - The Punisher's life was saved by agents of the Kingpin, who had been hired by Daemian Wainscroft to bring in his son. However, even the might of nearly a dozen armed agents could stop him, and Deke escaped to drain blood from more victims. The Punisher and the Kingpin's agents then tracked Deke to a skyscraper being built by his father's company, but though they stabbed him, impaled him with a pipe, pumped him full of bullets, and managed to knock him dozens of stories to the ground, Deke just got up and escaped again. This time he hopped aboard a UPS truck, killed the driver, and headed out of town to his father's vacation house in Saugerties.
(Punisher: P.O.V. #3) - The Punisher and the Kingpin's men tracked down Deke once again, and failed with flame, net, and various ballistic weapons, but finally Castle discovered Deke's weak point and battered his head mercilessly until he collapsed. This time he stayed down. However, while the Punisher wanted to kill him, SHIELD agents took him away for further research.
(Punisher: P.O.V. #4) - Still comatose, Deke was taken to a deserted island where his father was allowed to use his body in an attempt to discover a more useful version of the SS-8 formula.
Comments: Deke Wainscroft was created by Jim Starlin (writer) and Bernie Wrightson (artist).
Given that the SS-8 caused Deke to take on the properties of his surroundings, I'd guess it was closer in line to Sallis' formula than to the one used by Captain America.
The P.O.V. stories gave the date of Deke and Zonkers' crusade as 1975, with their parole on August 15, 1990. However, the years are topical, so their crusade took place 15 years prior to the story in question.
Deke Wainscroft's height and weight were revealed in the Marvel Knights Encyclopedia (2004).
Profile updated/edited by Kyle Sims
CLARIFICATIONS: Deke Wainscroft should not be confused with:
Barry "Zonkers" Powell
The best friend and partner of Deke, he participated in the parties and the bombings, as well as the prison sentence. They were both paroled together, but after their first successful crusade in 15 years, he accidentally blew himself up while trying to construct more explosives. The explosion badly injured Deke as well, but that didn't stop him from carrying around Zonkers' head, having conversations with it, and eventually absorbing it into his own body.
--Punisher: P.O.V.#1 (1(dies), 2 +3 (head)
"Baby Monster" Nelson
The daughter of Carol Nelson, it was rapidly mutated in utero when Carol was bitten by Deke. Although Carol recovered well initially, she went into an agonizing and fatal labor, and the baby tore itself free from her abdomen during an emergency C-Section and slew the hospital staff before fleeing into the sewers. It continued to kill anyone who attacked it, but the Punisher correctly figured that it was just a frightened, confused, and hungry infant, and he managed to establish a rapport with it--until Chester Goudal got hold of it, that is. Despite the Punisher's efforts, Goudal slew the Baby Monster.
The Baby Monster had numerous tentacles and superhuman strength, enabling it to rend and consume flesh and bone.
--Punisher: P.O.V.#1 (pregnant mother), (born) #3, (seen) #4
Daemian Wainscroft
A millionaire and CEO
of Wainscroft Chemicals, he was indirectly employed by the US
government via SHIELD to recreate the legendary Super Soldier
Serum which had created Captain America (and numerous others in
attempts to duplicate it). His most recent effort, SS-8,
became unstable and threatened to explode and injury those within
his factory--including himself, so he ordered it to be dumped
into the sewers. Not wanting to lose everything, he sent his men
to inspect the sewers for any living beings the serum had
affected. He recognized the horribly mutated form they returned
with as his own son, but as he had long despised his son for his
rebellious and embarrassing behavior, he had Deke locked into a
cell for observation. When Deke broke free, he realized that his
own men would not be able to stop him, and so he contacted the
Kingpin and paid him to send some men to recover Deke.
Still, Deke continued his rampage, and soon
Nick Fury was contacting him to learn what had happened. By
bugging Daemian's house, both the Punisher and the Kingpin's men
learned the truth as well, and they eventually managed to track
down and neutralize Deke after several attempts. SHIELD then took
custody of Deke and brought both he and Daemian to a deserted
island, where he would stay until he could unlock the secret of a
more useful SS-8 serum. This was in lieu of being killed by
the Punisher or imprisonment, where he would likely also be
killed by the Punisher.
--Punisher: P.O.V.#1 (2-4
close-up: #1 (4th from last page)
full body: #3
Last updated: 03/30/04
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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