RUTLAND, VERMONT

Type: City, United States of America, Earth-616 (and other dimensions)

Dominant life form: Human

Significant Inhabitants: Tom Fagan, Jeremy Stevens, Melvin J. Weals, Dr. Weisman;
formerly Gamesmaster

First Appearance: Avengers I#83 (December, 1970)

History:
(Marvel Feature I#2 (fb)) - Bald Mountain, located just outside Rutland, was avoided by the Iroquois tribe in the days before the white men came as a "place of uneasy spirits." During the Revolutionary War, a soldier was rumored to have deserted his regiment and died on Bald Mountain; his ghost purportedly still haunts it. Around 1890, two farming families on Bald Mountain disappeared overnight, uneaten dinners still on the table. An unexplained red glow was seen on the mountain for several nights in 1937, and again in 1959.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition#27 - BTS) - Martin Preston (later Master Pandemonium) was born in Rutland, Vermont.

(Avengers I#83) - The Avengers (Black Panther, Goliath/Barton, Quicksilver, Vision) were invited by Tom Fagan to be guests of honor at the 11th Annual Rutland, VT Halloween parade. They arrived at his house (where they met Fagan, in a Nighthawk costume, and fellow guests Roy and Jeanie Thomas), and then joined the parade. The Masters of Evil (Klaw, Melter, Radioactive Man, Whirlwind) were also present, seeking to kidnap scientist T.W. Erwin, who was in the parade; they boarded Fagan's float and a battle between them and the Avengers soon broke out. The Enchantress, masquerading as the Valkyrie and also seeking Erwin, brought her new "Lady Liberators" (Black Widow, Medusa, Scarlet Witch, Wasp) to Rutland, and they joined the fight, taking down both the Masters and the Avengers. After the Enchantress revealed herself, the other Lady Liberators turned on her and she was defeated.

(Batman I#237) - When Dr. Gruener, a concentration camp survivor, accidentally learned that former Nazi Kurt Schloss would be attending a Rutland, Vermont masquerade on Halloween, he got a Reaper costume and came to Rutland to kill Schloss. Several of Schloss' old underlings also came to Vermont; to distract them, Gruener told them Batman and Robin were there as well. Dick Grayson attended the annual Rutland Halloween Parade, bringing three friends along: the apparently stoned Alan, Alan's roommate, and a third [Alan Weiss, Bernie Wrightson, Gerry Conway]. Traveling from the parade route and floats towards Tom Fagan's house, they encountered three thugs attacking someone dressed as Robin. Grayson drove them off, then left and changed to Robin and tracked the thugs; he found someone in a Batman costume, murdered. Robin was attacked by the Reaper and fell off a small cliff into a creek. Batman recovered him and brought him to Fagan's sprawling old mansion where Gruener cared for him; Batman met Tom Fagan there [also pictured as present were Denny O'Neill, Len Wein, Mark Hanerfeld]. Alan (and Batman soon thereafter) found another murdered victim, and Batman soon cornered the thugs in a belfry at Fagan's house, but not before the bomb they'd set in Schloss' car killed him. Batman realized Gruener was the Reaper and pursued him, but Gruener realized he'd overstepped his own morals and committed suicide by falling from a dam. The death was witnessed by Alan and three others.

(Marvel Feature I#2) - On October 30th on Bald Mountain, located just outside Rutland, a witches sabbath summoned Dormammu, who stated his intent to return on the following night if the coven sacrificed to him; the red glow of this event was witnessed from town. Meanwhile, the coven kidnapped Dr. Strange from his sanctum and brought him to Rutland. Roy and Jeanie Thomas came to Rutland and helped Tom Fagan prepare floats for the 12th annual Halloween Parade while he regaled them with Bald Mountain's history. In New York, Clea determined Strange's location and she, the Hulk, Sub-Mariner, and Wong went after him. On Halloween night, the quartet disrupted the ceremony and drove back Dormammu, while the town witnessed a red glow so violent that some thought the mountain was erupting.

(Thor I#206) - In Rutland, two boys (Jack & Hank) were fishing and witnessed a shooting star crash near them, which then assumed human form and sent a blast into the night sky; the boys fled (the "star" was Loki, and the blast was to awaken the Absorbing Man, far away in the American southwest). Appearing to be nothing more than a lost traveler, Loki proceeded to a local house, where its resident, Tom Fagan, kindly took him in, calling off his two dogs, Satan and Diablo. Loki assumed control of Tom's mind, and summoned the Absorbing Man to Rutland.

(Amazing Adventures I#16) - Just outside Rutland, four parade-goers (Glynis [Wein], Len [Wein], Steve [Englehart], and Gerry [Conway]) had their decrepit car (it had lost a muffler while they were driving north) stopped by the Beast bounding across the road; while they were stopped, the Beast changed to Hank McCoy and he and his friend Vera Cantor came up and asked for a ride. The foursome headed to Tom Fagan's party, leaving Hank and Vera downtown to try to find transportation northwards.

(Thor I#207) - The four parade-goers (Glynis [Wein], Len [Wein], Steve [Englehart], and Gerry [Conway]) went to Tom Fagan's home (Tom was dressed as Nighthawk); they found a slightly dazed Tom, who was secretly being controlled by Loki.

(Justice League of America I#103) - The four parade-goers (Glynis [Wein], Len [Wein], Steve [Englehart], and Gerry [Conway]) traveled to Rutland and eventually made it to Tom Fagan's home (Tom was dressed as Batman). The Phantom Stranger had gathered the Justice League of America (Batman, Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Superman) and they went to Rutland to investigate rumors that Felix Faust was taking advantage of loose dimensional walls on Halloween to attempt to summon ghosts to Earth in Rutland; they arrived at Tom's just after the foursome. The stunned Tom asked the heroes to join the Rutland parade.

(Thor I#207) - Not far away, Thor, Sif, and Hildegarde tracked down the Absorbing Man, and Thor battled him. In Rutland, the human foursome was at a restaurant, and Glynis vanished after going to use the restroom. Thor defeated the Absorbing Man, only to face Loki and two enchanted hounds (Fagan's Satan and Diablo). Loki, using human pawns, nearly had Thor defeated, but Sif and Hildegarde struck a deal with Karnilla to aid Thor, and Loki was blinded.

(Amazing Adventures I#16) - The Juggernaut appeared from a portal in downtown Rutland amidst the parade, but soon vanished after destroying a float; Hank changed to the Beast and rushed to investigate. Juggernaut appeared again; the Beast lured him to a dam and then to a cliff, where he left him dangling.

(Justice League of America I#103) - Honoring Fagan's request, the Justice League rode a float at the 13th annual Halloween parade. In mid-parade, the other floats vanished but the audience never noticed, and the startled Justice League soon found themselves attacked by numerous costumed (and now powered) parade-goers, including Glynis (as Supergirl). However, the Phantom Stranger intervened to save the League.

(Amazing Adventures I#16) - As Hank, the Beast went to Fagan's party (attended by Roy and Jeanie Thomas, among others), but the Juggernaut followed. However, the Juggernaut was losing his powers and aging rapidly; he fled, trying to steal Steve's car (Len, Steve, and Gerry witnessed this, just as they were heading upstairs to see if Glynis was there). The Beast stopped him, and the Juggernaut raced into the woods before retreating to the dimension he'd teleported from.

(Justice League of America I#103) - Seeking Glynis, Len, Steve, and Gerry went upstairs into a turret at Fagan's. They found Felix Faust, who--realizing he'd failed to defeat the Justice League--jumped from a window, stole Steve's car, and drove away. The missing Glynis turned up with her memories jumbled , but swearing she'd seen a battle of some sort.

(Thor I#207 / Amazing Adventures I#16) - The missing Glynis turned up, lacking memories of where she'd been, but thinking she'd had a good time. Her memories did start to return shortly thereafter.

(Thor I#207) - The blind Loki pursued the sounds of a car (Steve's just-stolen vehicle), and fell off a cliff in doing so. The four horrified mortals witnessed his fall.

(Defenders I#7 (fb)/Avengers I#115/2) - In mid-fall, Loki was teleported to the Dark Dimension by Dormammu.

(Justice League of America I#103) - The Justice League defeated the spirits Faust had raised, and in the aftermath, offered the Phantom Stranger membership in the League. Felix Faust was pulled over by police before he could get out of Rutland, due to his missing muffler.

(Avengers I#119) - At Avengers Mansion, Mantis sensed danger emanating from Rutland, and the Avengers (Captain America, Black Panther, Iron Man, Mantis, Scarlet Witch, Swordsman, Thor, Vision) all Quinjetted there. Tom Fagan (dressed as Nighthawk) invited the Avengers to be guests of honor at the 14th annual Halloween Parade (and join him at a party afterwards) -- Thor, Black Panther, Captain America, and Iron Man agreed, hoping to draw out the threat, but the others begged off. After the uneventful parade, the quartet and Fagan headed through the woods towards his home, but "Fagan" revealed himself to actually be the Collector, and captured the foursome. The Swordsman and Mantis uncovered the real Tom Fagan, who had moved in the past year; the four free Avengers gathered the revelers at Fagan's new home and sent them to the old, and while the Collector was distracted by the celebrants, they freed the four captives. The Collector sent a swarm of angry bats into town and escaped while the Avengers were stopping the bats. The next morning, Thor brought his (apparently) then-mindless brother Loki to Rutland, to be left in the care of Tom Fagan there.

(Thor I#232 - BTS) - Loki enchanted a young Halloween party-goer named Bunker to appear to be Loki, and to act mindless.

(Thor I#232) - Months later, Bunker awoke in Loki's costume, with no memories since Halloween. The police briefly held Tom Fagan on kidnapping charges, and Fagan contacted the Avengers' Iron Man and reported this.

(The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor I#18) - Adam Spektor, his girlfriend Lakota Rainflower, and Adam's cousin Anne Sara were invited to Rutland by Thomas Sikes (see comments) to attend their annual "Masque Macabre" parade. They flew there and encountered parade-goers dressed as a number of Spektor's old foes before meeting Sikes, who took Sara to be costumed. He and his Brotherhood of Neffram used the Janus Stone to trick Anne into allowing herself to be possessed by the disembodied Princess Neffram. Neffram transformed the parade-goers into their costumed identities and set them after Spektor, Lakota, and each-other, but Spektor stole the Janus Stone and briefly coaxed Anne back into control of her own body. Pursued by the transformed parade-goers, the trio fled to the top of a nearby hill where Spektor exorcised Neffram from Anne; Sikes and his brotherhood repented their actions.

(Freedom Fighters I#6) - The Freedom Fighters (Uncle Sam, Doll Man, Phantom Lady, Ray, Black Condor, Human Bomb) needed to get out of town to avoid a police task force, and headed to Rutland at GBS News reporter Martha Roberts' suggestion (her father had once built a cabin near Rutland which she now owned) to view their Halloween parade. In Rutland, the sorcerer Enstra led a coven of Warrior Wizards in an attempt to summon the demon Homilus, and they kidnapped Martha as a sacrifice. The Freedom Fighters rescued her in the woods outside town, but Enstra was killed in the battle and Homilus accepted him as a sacrifice and arose; the Freedom Fighters soon stopped him via a massive explosion caused by the Human Bomb. The explosion was noticed in town but never explained, and Roberts interviewed parade organizer Tom Fagan about that mystery and the parade not long thereafter.

(Comic Crusader Storybook / Charlton Bullseye I#6) - Vacationing with his uncle and aunt (Al and Sue Caswell), young Bobby Caswell witnessed a falling star and tracked it to Bald Mountain, only to find an alien ship. Sneaking into the open but empty ship, Bobby's hand accidentally touched a hand imprint on a box, and received both the powers of Thunderbunny and knowledge of the powers' origins; afterwards the ship vanished. Flying into downtown Rutland, Thunderbunny stopped an armed bank robbery at the Vermont National.

(Justice League of America I#145) - Count Crystal contacted the demon Azgore and gained power from him in exchange for an offer to sacrifice the Justice League; he quickly killed Superman. The Phantom Stranger brought the Justice League (Batman, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Wonder Woman) to Rutland (though not on Halloween), where they encountered Tom Fagan out on a morning constitutional. Leaving Fagan behind, the team encountered the mystical Carnival of Souls. They defeated Crystal there and reclaimed Superman to life; Azgore claimed Count Crystal and the Carnival vanished with them. Leaving the Rutland area, the team encountered the Red Tornado.

(DC Super-Stars#18) - Two demonic gargoyles dwelt on a mountain near Rutland and kidnapped its children (including Teresa Robertson) to sacrifice to the demon Qabal and feed their soon-to-hatch eggs. Possessing a tramp, Deadman came to Rutland at Rama Kushna's behest and witnessed the annual Halloween parade. Deadman, rendered mystically material, battled hatching gargoyles, as did townsfolk seeking the missing children. He swapped Qabal's intended sacrifice for an already dead townsman, thus foiling Qabal's attempted return, and caused a gas explosion which destroyed the cave and trapped or killed the gargoyles. Later that night, Dr. Terry "the Ghostbreaker" Thirteen and his wife Marie Thirteen arrived in Rutland and met the Phantom Stranger there; the two mortals met Tom Fagan at a post-parade party at the Yankee Hotel (also present were Gerry Conway and Carla [Conway], Marty [Pasko], Paul [Levitz], and Romeo [Tanghal]; Steve [Englehart] was noted as having left earlier and Len [Wein], Denny [O'Neill] and Roy [Thomas] were noted as having never showed.) Meanwhile, at Fagan's house, the Phantom Stranger was attacked by Tala, who had been manipulating the gargoyles and Qabal; Dr. Thirteen, Tom, and one of the locals who'd fought the gargoyles investigated the lightning striking the house only to meet a mysterious Quentin Abel, who invited them to dinner. Dr. Thirteen quickly realized that Abel was Qabal and broke the mirror he was manifesting through, revealing that Fagan's house had been destroyed. The Phantom Stranger and Deadman then teamed to defeat Tala.

(Freedom Fighters I#13) - The demon Homilus possessed Black Condor and he forcibly brought Phantom Lady and Martha Roberts to Rutland; they were pursued by the other Freedom Fighters (Doll Man, Firebrand, the Human Bomb, the Ray, Uncle Sam). Excepting Firebrand, the other men were also soon possessed, but Firebrand and the women eventually broke the possessions after a battle in Rutland's outskirts. As they were leaving town, they encountered a flashlight-bearing Tom Fagan, who'd come to investigate the ruckus.

(Ghosts#95/7) - More than a decade ago, actor Gregory Tilson was murdered in Rutland's Community Playhouse. In recent days, when actress Diana Kirby was offered a Broadway role and wanted out of her contract, she murdered her husband Nelson (who tied her to Rutland) and blamed it on Tilson's ghost. She faked another appearance of the ghost to cause a car accident that nearly injured theater owner Ronald Forrest; when Dr. Terrence Thirteen came to investigate (prompted by a man claiming to be Sweryn Kowalski, Tilson's birth name), she used flash powder to mimic ghostly footprints. Thirteen quickly deduced the truth, and Diana was arrested.

(Defenders I#100) - Satan transported three Defenders (Dr. Strange, Hulk, Sub-Mariner) to Bald Mountain (just outside Rutland), where they battled Satannish. Satannish created duplicates of the disciples of Dormmammu (which the three had fought on that spot several years previously), as well as duplicates of Xemnu the Titan and the Omegatron (refered to as Yandroth, its creator). The battle ended in a fiery explosion on the mountain top, after which all participants were teleported away.

(Thunderbunny I#5) - Tom Fagan invited his old friend Al Caswell back to Rutland for Halloween; Al brought along his nephew Bobby Caswell (Thunderbunny) and his friend Gary Kato. Bobby aided author Matt Masterson in parade float painting, but the armed "Max Pack" quartet intervened, seeking a treasure Masteron was writing about. Bobby drove them off as Thunderbunny, though several floats were destroyed, but refused Fagan's request that he stay and be in the parade. Dr. Garfield Sebastian and his daughter Anne (newly empowered as Moon Miss) were also in Rutland seeking the treasure. Fagan began the parade (in his Batman costume), and Bobby joined a Thunderbunny float dressed as Thunerbunny's old ally, the Golden Kid. When Moon Miss stole Rutland's Green Mountain Boy statue (thinking the treasure was in it), Bobby changed to Thunderbunny again and fought her and the Max Pack -- the Max Pack was arrested, and Moon Miss was apparently killed in an explosion (though she secretly survived).

(Animal Man#50) - A gaseous star-shaped entity known as the Antagon floated across Vermont, draining the life-forces of those near it while the military fruitlessly pursued and tried to destroy it. It eventually reached Rutland, where Metaman confronted it and killed its host (B'wana Beast), but the Antagon then possessed Metaman. The combined efforts of Animal Man, Vixen, and Tristess transported it out of their reality, though Rutland had suffered devastating losses.

(X-Force I#46 (fb) - BTS) - The Weisman Institute for the Criminally Insane was located in the mountains near Rutland, Vermont. It had a reputation for keeping dangerous individuals.

(X-Force I#61 (fb) - BTS) - Benjamin Russell spent years at the Weisman Institute after falling into a coma when his mutant powers manifested.

(X-Force I#61) - Spiral teleported Cable, the dying Shatterstar, Siryn and Longshot to the Weisman Institute in the past. Dr. Weisman tried to stop them from entering because it was a private institution, but Cable used his telepathy to convince her to just let them in. They found the comatose Benjamin Russell and Longshot helped transfer Shatterstar's soul into him, ending the cycle that led to Shatterstar becoming Benjamin. Spiral then took them all back to the present in Mojoworld.

(X-Force I#47 (fb) - BTS) - Charles Xavier entrusted some patients into Weisman's care.

(X-Force I#46 (fb) - BTS) - Because Xavier had not heard from Doctor Weisman for some time, he sent Siryn undercover to the Weisman Institute to find out what was going on.

(X-Force I#44) - Siryn (Theresa Rourke) was delivered to the Weisman Institute for the Criminally Insane in the mountains near Rutland, Vermont and was taken to her room by orderlies on Dr. Weisman's order.

(X-Force I#46) - At the Weisman Institute Siryn broke into Dr. Weisman's private office and went through the patient files on her computer, including those of Jeremy Stevens and Benjamin Russell. She was discovered by Weisman, who ignored Siryn's explanation for being at the institute, and had the orderlies return her to her room after drugging the, according to Weisman, delusional Theresa.

   The next day Siryn was back on her feet and tried to clear her head from Weisman's drugs by pacing. She knew that Weisman would soon make her morning rounds and had not much time to send the failsafe signal to get her out to Cable again with the radio she had put together from spare and smuggled parts. She had already sent it 19 times and only got static. Because all her attempts to contact Cable had failed, she instead called Deadpool to break her out. She was unaware that she was watched through a crack in the wall by young patient Jeremy Stevens.

(X-Force I#47) - Deadpool soon arrived and helped Siryn escape her room as they were watched by Jeremy Stevens. They fought the orderlies and then confronted Dr. Weisman, who defended her cruel treatment of the patients by claiming that she regularly consulted with Xavier and Moira MacTaggert. Weisman finally regained her senses and tried to warn Siryn of Jeremy Stevens, but he had already overpowered Deadpool.

   Siryn's memories of the events at the Weisman Institute were erased by Gamesmaster, who then allowed her to return to the Xavier Institute to not draw further attention from Xavier. Deadpool was kept at the Institute to become another player in the Gamesmaster's game.

(X-Force I#56) - While sparring with Shatterstar, Siryn finally remembered what had happened at the Weisman Institute. Joined by Shatterstar she stole an ambulance to get to the Weisman Institute without making them suspicious. They arrived at dawn and broke in when nobody came out to welcome the ambulance. Due to psychic manipulation Shatterstar began to believe that he had been at the institute before and went his own way only to be found by Dr. Weisman, who welcomed him back as "Benjamin," Deadpool and Jeremy Stevens. Jeremy Stevens bombarded Shatterstar with memories of being Benjamin Russell, which troubled Shatterstar so much that he was not able to help Siryn anymore. Jeremy then lured Siryn into Deadpool's padded cell where the Gamesmaster, possessing Weisman, and Jeremy cornered her. Siryn threatened Weisman with Deadpool's sword, forcing Gamesmaster to leave Weisman and the institute because Siryn had won this round against him. As it turned out Stevens and Weisman had both been under Gamesmaster's control the whole time and were very sorry for their actions. Siryn and the troubled Shatterstar soon left the Weisman Institute.

(X-Force I#59) - Seeking information on Shatterstar's confusion over his identity led X-Force (Boomer, Cable, Caliban, Domino, Meltdown, Rictor, Shatterstar, Sunspot, Siryn, Warpath) back to the Weisman Institute, but they found it abandoned. Siryn noted that she had been there only three days earlier and that it was impossible that it was now a dusty, empty building. Cable quickly realized that it was only made to look that way by somebody. X-Force left without getting any answers.

(X-Force I#60) - From a television station outside Rutland, Vermont Mojo began broadcasting his newest TV show Cable and Shatterstar. An average family in Rutland, Vermont was glued to their TV watching Mojo's new show because a hidden signal within the broadcast had hypnotized them to do so.

(X-Force I#61) - The family in Rutland, Vermont stayed glued to their TV watching Cable and Shatterstar while Mojo continued broadcasting the show from a television station outside Rutland and send back the ambient energy siphoned off the viewers to Mojoworld. Eventually Caliban of X-Force broke the transmission signal between Earth and Mojoworld on Longshot's order, stranding Mojo somewhere between and destroying the television station outside Rutland.

(Generation X I#22) - Banshee and Husk took Franklin Richards, Artie Maddicks, and Leech to Rutland, where they enjoyed the Halloween Parade and an uneventful night of trick-or-treating before departing for home.

(Superboy & the Ravers#16) - On Halloween in Rutland, the Ravers (Half-Life, Hero, Kaliber, Kindred Marx, Leander, Sparx, Superboy) attended a Halloween concert headlined by a band called Scare Tactics. The Ravers' Half-Life won the costume contest, and the group soon departed for the extradimensional Event Horizon club.

(X-Men Unlimited I#21 (fb) - BTS) - Part-time video store clerk Melvin J. Weals sought revenge against the people of Rutland, Vermont that had disrespected him and to marry his secret love, Helen Back. He acquired the Hell Toupee, minor talismans and a grimoire of incantations to gain the power to command Hell.

(X-Men Unlimited I#21) - Outraged by Helen Back's marriage to Andy Smith, Weals set off to the wedding reception at the local Donnybrook Country Club, which also hosted a Halloween party. Weals began an arcane ceremony in the basement, opening a portal to Hell and warping the immediate surroundings.

   Elsewhere, Beast, Madrox, Wolfsbane and Strong Guy detected the dimensional anomaly and quickly flew to its location in Rutland, Vermont. They put on costumed before entering the country club to fit in with the crowd while searching for the anomaly.

   Meanwhile, Weals' rite brought Hell to country club in Rutland, Vermont, with the guests at the two parties at intended as the sacrificial feast for the summoned demon army. Weals donned the Hell Toupee and went to the wedding, claiming Helen Smith as his queen. Madrox evacuated the country club while Strong Guy confronted Weals, who panicked when he realized that the demon army's sacrifices were gone. Weals intended to send the demons back, but tripped and lost the Hell Toupee. Strong Guy took it and used the Hell Toupee to command the demons to return to Hell. Weals ran off to escape Strong Guy's wrath.

Comments: First portrayed by Roy Thomas, John Buscema & Tom Palmer.

Rutland, Vermont, is noted in comics circles for a series of annual Halloween parades held there. In the 1970s, organizer Tom Fagan began giving it a super-hero theme, and several comics creators would attend the parade and subsequent parties. This became something of a comics legend after it was written into comic books from a number of companies, notably Marvel and DC, but also Whitman, Charlton, and WaRP Graphics.

All known Rutland comics appearances, Marvel or otherwise, are included above. However, since this is a Marvel Appendix, all non-Marvel appearances are colored red (non-Marvel publishing companies are noted in brackets after the titles in the credits at this page's end). Given that in one case the DC and Marvel events overlap, separating them out just didn't work well. As we draw from many comic book companies here, most of this is not in Marvel continuity. It could be hypothesized that Rutland becomes some sort of dimensional nexus on Halloween and several of these stories happened there (notably JLA #103), or these could be stories of different Rutlands in different universes. I leave this to the reader's personal opinion. In any case, it's much more fun to include it all here, so they are included.

You'll occasionally hear Thor I#207, Amazing Adventures II#16, and Justice League I#103 (all listed above) being referred to as the first Marvel/DC crossover. However, they're not "officially" so -- there are a lot of similarities, but some things are different between the two universes (notably Tom Fagan and Glynis Wein's costumes). Still, an argument can be made here. The Avengers/JLA Compendium (2004) introduces a discussion of Marvel/DC crossovers with a two-page spread from Batman 237 and a one page brief discussion of these crossovers. Lending further credence is a question and answer "The Watcher Knows" segment (answers written by Mark Gruenwald) in the letters page of What If? I#22 (1980)  which asks "Does Rutland, Vermont annually become a nexus of realities similar to that existing in the swamp near Citrusville, Florida?" The Watcher's answer was "While the nexus in Citrusville is a natural aperture, the nexus near Rutland is an artificial one that fluctuates in size and accessibility. For reasons that I have not investigated, it has not been opened in recent years."

Bracketed notes above refer to characters pictured but not actually named in the book. Several identifications come primarily from Alter Ego: The Comic Book Collection (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2001), pages 74-77 and 78-81 (look for them via Google Book Search), but other sources have been utilized as well. If you want a solid comics background on Rutland, I highly recommend the aforementioned articles!

According to those Alter Ego articles, Tom Fagan wrote numerous articles and letters for the Batman titles in the 1960s promoting the parade, and many of these were printed. One such text piece was in Detective Comics#327. --Per Degaton

For the continuity-centric, you may want to consider the parade numbers to be topical (or maybe they were really semi-annual?). It may not be possible for that many Halloween parades to have happened in that spread of issues. John McDonagh points out that George Olshevsky theorizes that the Marvel Feature and Thor/Amazing Adventures stories all had to take place in the same year in his Official Marvel Index to the X-Men#4 (November, 1987).

There's apparently an article on Fagan's 1973 party in an issue of Penthouse, though I haven't seen that.

So, no Tom Fagan in Dr. Spektor? Not so fast -- apparently they feared some sort of legal troubles if they used Tom as they planned. Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist includes characters Fagan and Bill Sykes, and in this comic we have a Thomas Sikes instead of Tom Fagan. Sneaky...

It should be clearly stated that Earth-616's Tom Fagan is based upon a real Tom Fagan who organized these parades in the 1970s. The real Fagan traditionally dressed as Batman, but on Earth-616 he dressed as Nighthawk. Mr. Fagan passed away on October 21st, 2008; a very nice retrospective/obituary was published in the Rutland Herald.

The October page of the 1978 DC Calendar of Super-Spectacular Disasters apparently featured an Al Milgrom pin-up at the Rutland parade. Apparently it featured Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Atom there battling Felix Faust, Gentleman Ghost, and Matter Master. This is, unfortunately, hearsay as I've never seen the page (though the Avengers/JLA Compendium notes the calendar, although not the contents); if anyone cares to share a scan I'd love to see it...

The Weisman Institute in X-Force I#100 (March, 2000) was apparently an alternate reality version. It was accessed by Cannonball and Meltdown through the Queen of the Star Swords' Cathedral and had several X-Force members as patients.

New and additional images by Ron Fredricks.

Missed appearances added by Markus Raymond (X-Force & X-Men Unlimited). Thanks to Grendel Prime for the info on X-Men Unlimited.

Profile by Mark O'English. Update by Markus Raymond & Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Rutland, Vermont has no known connections to:

Tom Fagan has no known connections to:

Tom Fagan's dogs--Satan and Diablo--have no known connections to:

Tom Fagan

Tom Fagan was a coordinator for the Rutland, VT annual Halloween parade. He lived in an old mansion [The Clement House, a former governor's mansion] for several years, and hosted an annual Halloween party there. When he moved out, his party moved with him. His party guests (in Marvel books) included a number of comics creators, including Roy and Jeanie Thomas, Len and Glynis Wein, Steve Englehart, and Gerry Conway. At one point, Tom owned two dogs, Satan and Diablo.

Tom invited the Avengers to the 11th Annual Rutland Parade and they, the Lady Liberators, and the Masters of Evil fought there. He would invite them again in subsequent years; during one year Loki took control of Tom and the Juggernaut crashed his post-parade party and almost stole a car while fleeing. In a later year, the Collector impersonated Tom briefly before being stopped by the Avengers, and afterwards an apparently brain-damaged Loki was placed in Fagan's care, though this was later revealed to not truly be Loki (a revelation which led to Fagan's briefly being held on kidnapping charges, though the Avengers soon cleared him).

--Avengers I#83 (Avengers I#83, Marvel Feature I#2, Amazing Adventures I#16, Thor I#206-207, Avengers I#119, Thor I#232

(Comment: This sub-profile only covers the Earth-616 Tom Fagan, but he also made some non-Marvel appearances--see main profile for details.)

Satan and Diablo

A pair of ordinary canines (perhaps German Shepherds), they were owned by Tom Fagan, a resident of Rutland, VT.

When a stranger approached Fagan's isolated home one night, the dogs growled at him--Fagan emerged from his house and yelled at them for trying to drive the visitor away, wondering why he even bothered to keep the "crazy animals".

But the stranger turned out to be Loki, the Norse god of mischief, who later bewitched the two dogs and sent them to attack Thor. Using his hammer, Thor created a whirlwind--the ferocious magically-empowered creatures were caught in the vortex and vanished, their final fate unrevealed.

--Thor I#206 (Thor I#206-207

(Comment: Although Tom Fagan was based on an actual person, it is unknown if these two dogs had "real-world" counterparts.)

images: (without ads)
Avengers I#83, p8, pan1 (Avengers on parade float)
Thor I#207, p1, pan1 (civilians dressed as various superheroes on parade floats)
X-Force I#44, p23, pan1 (Weisman Institute for the Criminally Insane)
Avengers I#83, p7, pan2 (Tom Fagan, dressed as Nighthawk, greets Avengers)
Amazing Adventures II#16, p15, pan1 (Tom Fagan greets Hank McCoy)
Thor I#206, p11, pan3 (Satan and Diablo growl at approaching Loki)
Thor I#207, cover (magically-empowered Satan and Diablo attack Thor)

Appearances:
Avengers I#83 (December, 1970) - Roy Thomas (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Batman I#237 [DC] (December, 1971) - Denny O'Neil (writer), Neal Adams (pencils), Dick Giordano (inks), Julius Schwartz (editor)
Marvel Feature I#2 (March, 1972) - Roy Thomas (writer), Ross Andru (pencils), Sal Buscema (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Justice League of America I#103 [DC] (December, 1972) - Len Wein (writer), Dick Dillin (pencils), Dick Giordano (inks), Julius Schwartz (editor)
Thor I#206-207 (December, 1972 - January, 1973) - Gerry Conway (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Vinnie Colletta (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Amazing Adventures I#16 (January, 1973) - Steve Englehart (writer), Bob Brown (pencils), Frank McLaughlin (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Defenders I#7 (August, 1973) - Steve Englehart & Len Wein (writers), Sal Buscema (pencils), Frank Bolle (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Avengers I#115/2 (September, 1973) - Steve Englehart (writer), Bob Brown (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Avengers I#119 (January, 1974) - Steve Englehart (writer), Bob Brown (pencils), Don Heck (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Thor I#232 (February, 1975) - Gerry Conway (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Dick Giordano (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor I#18 [Whitman] (December, 1975) - Don Glut (story), Jesse Santos (art)
Freedom Fighters I#6 [DC] (January-February, 1977) - Bob Rozakis (writer), Ramona Fradon (pencils), Bob Smith (inks), Tony Isabella (editor)
Comic Crusader Storybook [Martin Greim] (1977) - Martin Greim (writer), Gene Day (pencils), Jerry Ordway (inks)
Justice League of America I#145 [DC] (August, 1977) - Steve Englehart (writer), Dick Dillin (pencils), Frank McLaughlin (inks), Julius Schwartz (editor)
DC Super-Stars#18 [DC] (January-February, 1978) - Gerry Conway (writer), Romeo Tanghal (pencils), Bob Layton (inks), Paul Levitz (editor)
Freedom Fighters I#13 [DC] (March-April, 1978) - Bob Rozakis (writer), Dick Ayers (pencils), Jack Abel (inks), Jack C. Harris (editor)
Ghosts#95/7 [DC] (December, 1980) - Paul Kupperberg (writer), Michael R. Adams (pencils), Tex Blaisdell (inks), Jack C. Harris (editor)
Defenders I#100 (October, 1981) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Don Perlin (pencils), Joer Sinnott (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Charlton Bullseye I#6 [Charlton] (March, 1982) - Martin L Greim (writer), Mike Machlan (pencils), Viktor Laszlo (inks)
Thunderbunny I#5 [WaRP Graphics] (February, 1986) - Martin L Greim (writer), Brian Buniak (art), Richard Pini & Joellyn Dorkin (editor)
Animal Man#50 [DC] (August, 1992) - Tom Veitch (writer), Steve Dillon (art), Tom Peyer (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition#27 (1993) - Tom Brevoort (editor)
X-Force I#44 (August, 1995) - Jeph Loeb (writer), Adam Pollina (pencils), Mark Farmer (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
X-Force I#46-47 (September-October, 1995) - Jeph Loeb (writer), Adam Pollina (pencils), Mark Pennington (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
X-Force I#56 (July, 1996) - Jeph Loeb (writer), Adam Pollina (pencils), Bud LaRosa & Mark Morales (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
X-Force I#59-60 (October-November, 1996) - Jeph Loeb (writer), Anthony Castrillo (pencils), Bud LaRosa (inks), Mark Powers (editor)
X-Force I#61 (December, 1996) - Jeph Loeb (writer), Kevin Lau (pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
Generation X I#22 (December, 1996) - Scott Lobdell (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Al Vey & Scott Hanna (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
Superboy & the Ravers#16 [DC] (December, 1997) - Steve Mattson & Karl Kesel (writer), Josh Hood (pencils), Dan Davis (inks), Mike McAvennie (editor)
X-Men Unlimited I#21 (December, 1998) - Todd DeZago (writer), Andy Smith (pencils), Andrew Hennessy (inks), Frank Pittarese (editor)

First posted: 09/02/2021
Last updated: 10/31/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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