First Appearance: Young Allies#12/1 (spring, 1944)

Powers/Abilities: The Head was just a disembodied head kept alive by an artificial lung and heart. He had small rockets attached to his frame for mobility. He had a hook that he used to carry things and also appeared to have guns attached to the front underside, but this can not be confirmed. He also possessed a great scientific brain and was a master strategist.

History:

(Young Allies#12/1 (fb) - BTS) - The Head was a brilliant World War II Japanese scientist whose body was crushed in an accident in which he nearly died. Japanese doctors removed his head and transplanted it onto a cyborg body consisting of an artificial lung and heart to keep him alive. With his keen scientific brain, he modified the new body with a small rocket for mobility.

(Young Allies#12/1 - BTS) - The Head was sent on a mission to kill and collect the heads of enemy Allied leaders and scientists to bring back to Tokyo to be attached to machines like the one his head was on so that Allied secrets could be taken.

(Young Allies #12/1) - The Head, along with two henchmen with swords dubbed the Headhunters, secretly entered the U.S.A. They successfully killed and decapitated shipbuilder Henry J. Cyrus. Upon being discovered by the Young Allies, the Head and his Headhunters fled but accidentally left behind a hit list of future targets. The Head next broke into the laboratory of Dr. Paul Atwell but was unable to remove his head due to the arrival of the Young Allies. However, he successfully decapitated his assistant instead and escaped.

The Head fled from the U.S.A. and flew to his next destination, Australia, to decapitate General Thornton but was again confronted by the Young Allies, so he settled for the head of Colonel Hanley. The Head was also able to kidnap Tubby, Jeff and Whitewash before making his escape. He then flew to the Philippine islands to retrieve the head of guerrilla leader Torrin Querron. Again, he succeeded in acquiring his next target's head even though the rest of the Young Allies and the combined forces of guerrilla fighters stormed his fort in Manilla.

Successful in his mission, he returned to Tokyo with his collection of heads and the three Young Allies prisoners. Knowing that he had been followed by the other Young Allies, he called off the Japanese Airforce from shooting them out of the skies and instead let them land their plane. He captured them after they landed and took them prisoner. The Head was about to cut off Bucky's head when Toro burned through his shackles and attacked the Headhunters. Now free, Bucky and Toro managed to defeat the two henchmen, knocking them both out of action. Trying to escape, the Head was battered by Toro into the waiting boot of Bucky, who kicked him into a nearby wall where his cyborg body dropped to the floor. Smashed beyond repair, he quickly died from his injuries.

Comments: Created by Otto Binder (writer), Mike Sekowsky, Dan Barry and Dick Briefer (pencils) & Al Gabriele and Al Bellman (inks).

The people on his hit list were Henry J. Cyrus, Dr. Paul Atwell, General MacArthur and Torin Quezzon. He later went after General Thornton in Australia although MacArthur was supposed to be his victim and Torin Quezzon's name had mysteriously changed to Torin Querron instead. The name Quezzon is probably a homage to the largest city in the Philippines, Quezon City.

The Head was quite successful in carrying out his mission. I wonder what would have happened if he was able to kill General MacAthur. This would make an interesting What If? story. Maybe the whole outcome of WWII could have changed favoring Japan as the winner...maybe Japan could have taken over the world...maybe he could have stolen the heads of scientists working on the Manhattan Project...?

The Head's origin and situation somewhat resembles that of the Chinese character Doctor Sun from Tomb of Dracula. Perhaps China rebels who fought the Japan during World War II managed to capture some information from the Japanese Head project and used it to create Doctor Sun?
--Per Degaton

One of the HEAD's henchmen is called Saki----the Japanese word for HEAD. Maybe the other Headhunter's name is one of the other Japanese words for HEAD (ATAMA (n. Head (part of body,brain)), KASHIRA (n. the Head,the Chief,Headman) and CHO (n. Head (Chief ))
--Gammatotem

Other disemboed heads in the Marvel Universe: the Brain, Chondu the Mystic, Cameron Hodge, Frost and Doctor Mynde
--Gammatotem

Profile by AvatarWarlord72.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Head has no known connections to:

• The Brain (Otto Von Schmittsder), another disembodied head @ Adventures into Terror#4
• Head, pilot of the Quintronic Man, Hulk foe @ Incredible Hulk#213
• or any other "Head" characters

The Headhunters have no known connections to:

• Headhunter, assassin/enforcer for Executive Services Inc. @ Web of Spider-Man#27
• Headhunter, red-haired woman who mesmerized others and kept heads displayed on wall, used them as pawns @ Namor#2
• Headhunter, jungle warrior, participated in Bloodsport, killed Oddball, killed by Mr. X @ Wolverine II#167
• Head Hunters, former football players turned criminal @ NFL Superpro#5
• Headmen, criminals who would cut off people's heads and place them on other lifeforms or machines @ Defenders I#21
• or any other ""Headhunter" characters

Dr. Paul Atwell has no known connections to:

• or any other "Paul" or "Atwell" characters

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Headhunters

The Headhunters were large muscular Japanese bodyguards of the Head and wielded sharp swords that were used to sever the heads of the victims on their hit list. They both looked the same and could have been twins. Just one was named in the story and was referred to as Saki, but only his hand was shown so he could not be properly identified.

 

 

 

--Young Allies#12/1

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Dr. Paul Atwell

Dr. Paul Atwell was an American scientist who created a chemical called Vitamin X that was supposedly able to make soldiers better. He was attacked by the Head but due to the appearance of the Young Allies, only his assistant was killed. He loaned the Young Allies a plane to fly to Australia to prevent the Head from carrying out his next mission.

It is possible he was working on a formula to recreate the Super Soldier Serum that created Captain America, or an entirely different one altogether.

 

--Young Allies#12/1

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Young Allies#12/1, p3, panel 2 (the zooming Head)