KRIS KEATING
Real Name: Kris Keating
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Police officer
Group Membership: Special Weapons and Task Force
Affiliations: Captain America (Steve Rogers), Defenders (Hulk (Bruce Banner), Nighthawk, Power Man (Luke Cage)), "Defenders for a Day" (Black Goliath, Captain Ultra, Havok, Hellcat, Hercules, Iron Fist (Daniel Rand), White Tiger (Hector Ayala)), Einenstein, Fantastic Four, Gibbon, Smuggler (Erik Josten), Blake Tower
Enemies: Beetle (Abner Jenkins), Gregory Bestman, Cobra (Klaus Vorhees), "Defenders" (Batroc the Leaper, Beetle, Blob, Electro, Looter,
Porcupine, Sagittarius (android), Whirlwind), Foreigner, Guy Named Joe (Joe Smith), Jack O'Lantern (Jason Macendale), Omar Karindu, Maggia, Red Rajah, Rhino, Ringer,
Solarr, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Vulture (Adrian Toomes);
professional rivalry with Lou Snider
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: New York City, New York
First Appearance: Defenders I#44 (February, 1977)
Powers/Abilities: Kris Keating is a trained police officer.
History: (Defenders I#44) - Lt. Kris Keating and his Special Weapons and Task Force took defeated villains Rhino and Solarr into custody, using specially procured S.H.I.E.L.D. technology to do so. Keating aided heroes Power Man, Nighthawk, and Hulk in finding Omar Karindu, who claimed knowledge of who'd defeated the villains but had been unwilling to give Keating more information as Keating thought Karindu was a charlatan. Keating and others were soon mentally ensorcelled by Red Rajah, secretly Dr. Strange possessed by the Star of Capistan.
(Defenders I#45 - BTS) - Keating and the others spent time under Red Rajah's thrall until the Defenders brought Strange back.
(Defenders I#51) - Keating and his men set up a cordon around a Richmond Enterprises building the Ringer was looting.
(Defenders I#52 (fb) - BTS) - Keating questioned Nighthawk for two hours after the Ringer battle was over.
(Defenders I#65) - Keating responded to a violent battle in the New York subway between a team of "Defenders for a Day" (Black Goliath, Captain Ultra, Havok, Hellcat, Hercules, Iron Fist, and White Tiger) and a team of villainous "Defenders" (Batroc the Leaper, Beetle, Blob, Electro, Looter, Porcupine, Sagittarius, Whirlwind). Keating saw the villains arrested, and was furious at the destruction from the battle.
(Fantastic Four Annual I#13) - District Attorney Blake Tower came by with Detective Keating of Homicide in tow to ask the Fantastic Four to help with a mysterious disappearences case that has been plaguing the city.
(Captain America I#246) - Keating's Special Powers Task Force was called in to deal with a Guy Named Joe, who attacked the social security offices in a nearby federal building. Despite Captain America's help Joe escaped Keating's task force. Keating assumed that Joe was also the man that attacked board of education member Harris recently.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#46) - Keating led his special weapons task force to handle a battle between Spider-Man (Peter Parker) and the Cobra (Klaus Voorhees). He ordered his men to contain the situation and not worry about Spider-Man being in the way. Spider-Man was briefly caught in a net fired by Keating's men, but he broke free and captured Cobra. Spider-Man turned Cobra over to Keating, who chided the hero for his reckless actions. Keating was disgusted to hear that Cobra had escaped through a sewer grate. Before swinging off, Spider-Man laughed at Keating, who promised he wouldn't forget it.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#54 (fb) - BTS) - Keating convinced the villainous Smuggler (Erik Josten) to turn on the Maggia in exchange for a legal deal.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#54) - Keating and his men pursued the Maggia men who liberated the Smuggler under the guise of an on-duty ambulance. Spider-Man, assuming Keating's car was full of villains, stopped the car and infuriated Keating. Keating ordered his men to arrest Spider-Man, who webbed the men up and fled. Keating later returned back to the department and found Spider-Man talking to Lou Snider. He ordered Spider-Man be arrested, but Spider-Man fled. Snider chided Keating for scaring Spider-Man off. Spider-Man and the Smuggler later worked together to defeat their Maggia enemies.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#56) - When Jack O'Lantern (Jason Macendale) and his men took a hospital hostage, Keating and Einenstein, with the special powers task force, responded. Holed up on a roof across the street, they felt helpless to act, and Keating was furious when Spider-Man rushed in to take care of it. Spider-Man ended up defeating the villains and Keating's men arrested them.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#60) - Keating had his task force respond to a public battle between the Beetle (Abner Jenkins) and Spider-Man (Peter Parker), with the Gibbon being held as a hostage. Keating yelled at Spider-Man for making his battle so public, then he and his men fell through a trap door in the floor that the Beetle had set out. Later, Keating gave Gibbon credit for taking down the Beetle, proclaiming him a hero even when Gibbon said it was Spider-Man who did it.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#63) - Keating and his men arrested a known arsonist for setting a local hospital on fire, though the firebug claimed to be innocent.
(Amazing Spider-Man I#240) - Keating and his men were called to the High-Tech Expo at the New York Coliseum to deal with the Vulture, who had chain-locked all the exits. He got into an argument with Spider-Man, but didn't stop the hero from entering the building. Keating later saw the Vulture escape.
(Amazing Spider-Man I#241) - Keating and his men stormed the New York Coliseum and found Spider-Man defeated on the ground. He berated Spider-Man and was informed that the Vulture had kidnapped Gregory Bestman. Spider-Man stole Keating's walkie-talkie to follow the Spider Tracer he had stuck onto Vulture. Keating and his men found the Vulture, but in the end Spider-Man caught him for them. Keating, who had heard the Vulture's story on how Bestman had screwed him, and assured him that Bestman's current partner would learn how Bestman does business.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#129 (fb) - BTS) - Keating was killed by the Foreigner. Over the following years the Foreigner assigned two dozen agents to impersonate Keating as a training for his disguise corps.
Comments: Created by Gerry Conway, Roger Slifer, David Kraft, Keith Giffen, and Klaus Janson.
We know that Keating is dead, but unfortunately we never learned the exact point of his death. I think it is okay to assume that he was dead in any issue written by Peter David, but before that we can just guess if it was the real Keating or already an imposter. Keating's next appearance was in Amazing Spider-Man I#265 (June, 1985), an issue that also marked the first appearance of Silver Sable, who was later revealed as Foreigner's ex-wife. Coincidence?
--Markus Raymond
Amazing Spider-Man I#241 is listed as Keating's last appearance. It just seemed a natural break...the guy hadn't appeared for a while after that point.
--Snood
Profile by Chadman.
Kris Keating has no known connections to
images: (without ads)
Defenders I#65, p1, pan1
Appearances:
Defenders I#44-45 (February-March, 1977) - Gerry Conway, Roger Slifer, David Kraft (writers), Keith Giffen (penciler), Klaus Janson (penciler/inker), Gerry Conway (editor)
Defenders I#51 (September, 1977) - David Anthony Kraft (writer), Keith Giffen (penciler), Klaus Janson (inker), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Defenders I#52 (October, 1977) - David Kraft (writer), Keith Giffen (penciler), Chic Stone (inker), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Fantastic Four Annual I#13 (1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Captain America I#246 (June, 1980) - Peter Gillis (writer), Jerry Bingham (pencils), Alan Gordon (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#46 (September, 1980) - Roger Stern (writer), Mike Zeck (penciler), Bruce Patterson (inker), Denny O'Neil (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#54 (May, 1981) - Roger Stern (writer), Marie Severin (penciler), Jim Mooney (inker), Dennis O'Neil (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#56 (July, 1981) - Roger Stern (writer), Jim Shooter (penciler), Jim Mooney (inker), Dennis O'Neil (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#60 (November, 1981) - Roger
Stern (writer), Ed Hannigan (penciler), Jim Mooney
(inker), Tom DeFalco (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#63 (February, 1982) - Bill
Mantlo (writer), Greg Larocque (penciler), Jim Mooney
(inker), Tom DeFalco (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man I#240 (May, 1983) - Roger Stern (writer), John Romita Jr. (penciler), Bob Layton (inker), Tom DeFalco (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man I#241 (June, 1983) - Roger Stern (writer), John Romita Jr. (penciler), Frank Giacoia (inker), Tom DeFalco (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#129 (August, 1987) - Peter David (writer), Alan Kupperberg (artist), Jim Shooter (editor)
First Posted: 11/30/2007
Last updated: 02/14/2013
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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