Real Name: Kao-Goto Suru
Identity/Class: Shinma demon (Class Three) (active centuries before the 15th century all the way to the present day)
Occupation: To assume the forms of the wealthy and powerful, and use their power and influence to spread ruin and despair
Group Membership: The Shinma demons
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Creighton McCall, Iron Man (Anthony Edward Stark), the Masters of Silence (Inazuma, Kaminari, Kaze), Meredith McCall Stevenson, Richard Stevenson, Tezuka
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: The Stealer of Faces
Base of Operations: Presumably mobile, formerly 16th century Japan
First Appearance: Iron Man Annual#14 (1993)
Powers/Abilities: The Face Thief was able to take the form of whomever he killed by removing the victim's skin off of their face and placing the skin over his own face. He could also transform his shape without the aid of someone's face, an example being transforming his face into a tentacled form. He could also teleport in a burst of mystic flames by removing his own head. The act of removing his own head did not cause him any injury.
Height: Varies Weight: Varies
History: (Iron Man I Annual#14
(fb) - BTS/Iron Man Annual#14/3 (fb)) - Many centuries ago, the Shinma
demon called Kao-Goto Suru crossed the dimensional barrier between the world
of the Shinma and Earth, arriving in Nippon, Japan. Kao-Goto Suru came to
be called the Face Thief, or the Stealer of Faces, by the Japanese warriors
who had thwarted the Face Thief's plans many times, but had never actually
confronted the demon himself.
(Iron Man Annual#14/3 (fb)) - The Face Thief killed a high-ranking Japanese warlord named Tezuka and placed the skin from the warlord's face over his own, transforming into Tezuka himself. Using Tezuka's power and influence, the Face Thief ordered Tezuka's followers in a rebellion against the Japanese emperor, which only three of the followers survived. The Japanese samurai of the time soon discovered the true nature of "Tezuka" and swore vengeance against him. The samurai called to their gods for help and they responded by bestowing the samurai with the powers of lightning, wind, and thunder respectively, as well as the power to become one with the silence of the night.
(Iron Man Annual#14 (fb) - BTS) - Centuries passed until mere decades ago, a great battle was fought between the Japanese descendants of the samurai and the Face Thief, resulting in the Face Thief's imprisonment within an ancient mask.
(Iron Man Annual#14) - In the present day, Creighton McCall purchased the 16th century mask that housed the Face Thief for his antique collection. While admiring the mask, he cut his hand, dropping it. The mask shattered on the floor releasing the Face Thief, who fed on McCall's body. Hearing McCall's screams, Creighton's son-in-law, Richard Stevenson, ran into the room to find the Face Thief. The Face Thief quickly turned his attention toward Stevenson, feeding on him as well. After feeding on Richard, the Face Thief went back to Creighton's body and, sensing the wealth and power that Creighton had, removed the skin off of Creighton's face. Placing the skin over his own face, the Face Thief transformed into the form of Creighton.
Soon after the Face Thief's release from the mask, the Masters of Silence were summoned to combat the evil that had awakened. The Masters of Silence quickly met with Tony Stark, whom they thought might be able to help them locate the Face Thief, knowing that the Face Thief had taken the form of an American businessman. Stark agreed to help and hours passed before they discovered that Creighton McCall's son-in-law had recently been killed. Thinking the death suspiscious, Stark suggested that they check it out. At the funeral of Richard Stevenson, the Face Thief, in the form of Creighton McCall, smoked a cigar and callously suggested that he and his daughter, Meredith, go get something to eat. Meredith slapped her "father" and as she walked away, she was confronted by an LMD (Life Model Decoy) of Tony Stark that the real Stark was controlling from a distance due a recent nerve system disorder. Meredith informed "Stark" that her father had recently seemed like a different person, while the real Stark and the Masters of Silence used the LMD to scan "Creighton" for signs of the Face Thief. As the Face Thief, in Creighton's form, ordered his daughter to his limousine, the Stark LMD's sensors detected via thermo-graphics that the Creighton present was not human.
Later that night, Tony Stark had the LMD of himself visit the McCall residence, but he was not allowed inside. Stark switched the frequency over to controlling Iron Man, who burst through Stark's porsche and walked through the McCalls' gate. While Iron Man battled McCall's guards, the Masters of Silence crept into the McCall mansion. Inside, Meredith McCall was arguing with her "father," asking what had happened to her father's antiques. The Face Thief, in Creighton McCall's form, grabbed Meredith and commented on her pretty face and how it would be a shame if something were to happen to it. A terrified Meredith demanded that "Creighton" release her and soon deduced that it was "Creighton" who killed her husband Richard. She then turned and raked her fingernails across "Creighton"'s face, revealing the Face Thief underneath. The Face Thief quickly revealed his true form, attacking Meredith for damaging the face that gave him the form of McCall. Kaze of the Masters of Silence jumped into the battle to protect Meredith, prompting the Face Thief to grab one of McCall's antique swords. The two began to battle as Kaze ordered Meredith to run. She ran straight into Iron Man, who had made his way inside the mansion, as well as the other two Masters of Silence, Inazuma and Kaminari. After a quick explanation, Iron Man and the Masters of Silence rushed to the aid of Kaze, who was quickly losing the one-on-one battle with the Face Thief. The battle continued fiercely with Iron Man and the Masters of Silence becoming entangled in the Face Thief's tentacled form that he had shifted into. Meredith eventually disguised herself as one of McCall's guards and returned to the battle with a gun, giving the heroes a distraction that allowed them to escape. Using the time gained by Meredith's distraction, Iron Man grabbed the Face Thief and expanded his integrity field to encompass the demon. He then fired everything in his arsenal: his repulsors, uni-beams, x-rays, and electric dischargers into the demon, disrupting the Face Thief's form. The Face Thief then informed Iron Man that he had cost him dearly, warned them that they would pay, and then proceeded to rip his own head off and disappear in burst of mystical flame. With the Face Thief gone, Iron Man and the Masters of Silence concentrated their attention towards Kaze, who had been fatally wounded in the battle. Inazuma informed the heroes that Kaze could not die without passing on the mystical force that had been passed to him through many generations on to someone else. Meredith volunteered and became the newest member of the Masters of Silence, gaining the power of that the Japanese gods had originally given the samurai centuries ago.
Comments: Created by Len Kaminski, Tom Morgan, and Fred Fredericks.
Clarifications:
Face Thief has no known connections to
images:
Iron Man Annual#14, p4, pan5 (Face Thief
headshot)
Iron Man Annual#14, p28, pan3 (Face Thief fullbody)
Last updated: 09/16/05
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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