SKULL-JACKETSKULL-JACKET
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human, Russian, technology user (unconventional)
Occupation: Killer
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Valeri Kasatanov and the Russia Mob in New York, Jason Havershaw
Enemies: Mrs. Andrea Havershaw, Spider-Man (Ben Reilly), the Black Cat, Detective Marcella Cellanos, Sean Murphy
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Black Cat, Ken Ellis, Jason Havershaw, Sean Murphy, Paul Proust, and probably a lot more.
Base of Operations: New York, NY, USA
First Appearance: Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1 (February, 1996)
Powers/Abilities: Skull-Jacket uses a technology derived from and improved from the one used by the Chameleon. If he acquires the RNA of a subject, he can acquire its memories. Its holographic projectors can also perfectly duplicate the face, the physique, the voice, and the dress of the subject, generating an illusion around him. Skull-Jacket uses special darts shot at the base of the neck to extract a little blood and stun his victims. The blood in the darts is used to transmit the RNA cells to a terminal in order to re-process them. His costume also have three razor blades on the right wrist, and a ?missile launcher? on the left wrist.
History:
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1 (fb) - BTS) - Skull-Jacket worked as killer for
Valeri Kasatanov, a gangster. Skull-Jacket took the place of Jason Havershaw under
Kasatanov's instructions and stole money for Kasatanov.
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1 (fb) - BTS) - Presumably Skull-Jacket noticed he was being followed by the Black Cat. He told this to his boss Kasatanov, who then ordered Skull-Jacket to kill Mrs. Havershaw, in order to have Jason Havershaw inherit 24 million dollars.
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1 (fb) - BTS) - One Saturday morning in December, Skull-Jacket shot the Black Cat with one of his darts and acquired her RNA. That evening at 20:18 PM Skull-Jacket, disguised as the Black Cat, killed Andrea Havershaw, leaving on her body some wounds caused from metallic talons, like the talons used by the Black Cat.
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1) - Black Cat was the first suspect for the murder of Andrea Havershaw.
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1 (fb) - BTS) - The following evening Skull-Jacket shot Paul Proust with a dart, acquiring his RNA and leaving him unconscious until the following afternoon.
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1) - The day after, Skull-Jacket stunned Ken Ellis of the Daily Bugle with one of his darts, acquired his RNA, duplicated him, and met the Detective Marcella Cellanos in a local at Little Italy. There, Cellanos gave him some photos taken by the security system of the Havershaw's house, showing the Black Cat; these photos were to be used for an advertising campaign against the Black Cat, in order to cause her to make an error and to be incriminated for the murder.
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1) - That afternoon, Skull-Jacket disguised as Paul Proust, was tracked by Cellanos and Sean Murphy until Manhattan. The killer entered a bar frequented by the Russian mob and then left. The two detectives linked Proust and Black Cat's names to the Russian mob. Later, Skull-Jacket was present at Andrea Havershaw's funeral disguised as Jason Havershaw. He was approached by Ben Reilly, who knew the Havershaws. Despite the perfect disguise, Ben's Spider-Sense signaled something was wrong around Jason.
That evening, Skull-Jacket, still disguised as Jason Havershaw,
received the visit of Ben Reilly. They talked for a while, then Skull-Jacket went
to Downtown to meet Valeri Kasatanov. The killer took some drug and brought it
to the real Jason Havershaw.
The day after Cellanos, Murphy, and Ellis went to find Jason Havershaw, suspecting him be the murderer. "Jason" transformed into Skull-Jacket, wounded Ellis and Cellanos, and stunned Murphy, then transforming into Murphy. Spider-Man intervened, uncovered Skull-Jacket's disguise, and knocked him out with a single KRAKOW!
Skull-Jacket was arrested.
Comments: Created by Fabian Niecieza, Dave Hoover and Joe Rubinstein.
The Skull-Jacket costume, or its technology, was probably stolen by Kasatanov, who worked for the KGB. Skull-Jacket's fight against Spider-Man lasted less than 15 seconds, however he was good enough to surprise the Black Cat and stole her RNA.
Clarifications:
Skull-Jacket has no known connections to
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1 (fb) - BTS) - Valeri Kasatanov is Russian, and he once worked for the KGB. He and his family left Russia and established themselves in the USA in New York. There his "family" started to set up several criminal activities, and he was involved in some dirty affairs in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Eastern Germany.
The Kasatanov' mob also sold drugs to Jason Havershaw and lent him a lot of money for bets.
When the Havershaw's debt reached 135,000 dollars, Kasatanov came to an agreement with Jason for killing Mrs. Havershaw and paying them with the inheritance. Kasatanov thought to claim the whole inheritance.
Kasatanov ordered
Skull-Jacket to take the place of Jason, in order to keep a good appearance, and
Skull-Jacket also had to drive the suspicion onto
someone else, or he wouldn't receive the 24 million dollars of
inheritance.
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1) - When Skull-Jacket visited the Kasatanov bar at Brighton Beach in Brooklin, the ex-KGB man and his mobsters initially didn't recognize him, because the killer was disguised as Paul Proust.
That night, in Downtown, Kasatanov received a Skull-Jacket visit and talked again about the inheritance.
--Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1 (fb) - BTS) - Jason Havershaw was the only son of Mrs. Andrea Havershaw. He lost his father in an air accident when he was a child.
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1 (fb)) - Jason studied at the University of Vermont in the same period of time when Ben Reilly was Seward Trainer's assistant. Jason almost had a breakdown, but Ben Reilly gave him private lessons and helped him. Reilly knew Mrs. Andrea and became a friend of both.
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1 (fb) - BTS) - Jason started to take drugs and gamble. He contracted a loan of 135,000 dollars with Valeri Kasatanov. Jason tried to pay Kasatanov by robbing the money to his mother, but her mother suspected something. So he came to an agreement with Kasatanov, and Kasatanov had Andrea Havershaw killed by Skull-Jacket.
Because Jason would not have inherited the money if he were suspected of the murder, he was to have been hidden in his house and Skull-Jacket would have taken his place.
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1) - Jason was in a very petty status. He was weak and dirty, and Skull-Jacket brought him the drug he needed (probably heroin).
When the detective Cellanos faked a ?warrant? of the house, she found Jason and exposed the Skull-Jacket play. Shortly after, Jason was arrested.
--Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1 (fb)) - Mrs. Andrea Havershaw was really thankful to Ben Reilly to have helped his son with the studies. They became friends.
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1 (fb) - BTS) - Years later, Andrea Havershaw noticed that his son was wasting too much money and hired Cat's Eye investigations to keep him under control. The Black Cat started to follow him.
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1 (fb) - BTS) - Jason, or more probably Skull-Jacket disguised as Jason, noticed this and--together with Kasatanov--projected the murder and the rest of the plan.
(Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1 (fb) - BTS) - About three weeks later, Andrea Havershaw was killed by Skull-Jacket in her house.
--Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1
Images:
Spider-Man Unlimited#11/1, page 32, panel 3
(Skull-Jacket)
page 32, panel 1 (Skull-Jacket as Jason
Havershaw, head shot)
page 40, panels 4/5/6 (Skull-Jacket's disguise)
page 29, panel 4 (Valeri Kasatanov)
page 29, panel 2 (Kasatanov and his mob)
page 32, panel 3 (Jason Havershaw)
Last updated: 04/16/05
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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