INQUISITORS

Membership: None identified

Purpose: Unknown (they draw their power from hate, but their goals if they even had any are a complete mystery)

Affiliations: People of Leonia, New Jersey (at least as a power source)

Enemies: Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff), unidentified extradimensional demon, Vision

Base of Operations: A pit of power in Leonia, New Jersey

First Appearance: (BTS) Marvel Fanfare I#58/2 (August, 1991); (seen) Marvel Super-Heroes III#10/1 (July, 1992)

Powers/Abilities: They were engimatic mystic manifestations powered by hate capable of resurrecting the dead. It is possible that the fog that transformed the whole town and its citizens into a distorted state was also created by them.

History:
(Marvel Fanfare I#58/2 - BTS) - A pit of power opened in the church of Leonia, New Jersey where it replaced the altar. A demon from another dimension sensed the mystic powers emitted from the pit and arrived on Earth in a spaceship. During the night a mystic fog transformed the town and its citizens, who shuffled to the church in their zombie-like forms to pray to the light in the pit. The extradimensional demon, who craved the power from the pit, watched from nearby until Scarlet Witch and Vision arrived. After a lengthy battle against the transformed citizens, whom they tried not to hurt, and the demon, the demon was set on fire and crawled backwards right into the pit, which devoured the demon. Everything changed back to normal and the pit vanished.









(Marvel Super-Heroes III#10/1 - BTS) - At Leonia's graveyard the dead rose from their graves and attacked Vision. He fled to Leonia High School where his wife tried to defend herself and her husband at a town meeting. The zombies followed Vision, which only caused the people of Leonia to distrust the powered couple even more. Scarlet witch quickly destroyed the zombies.

   Followed by the crowd Vison and Scarlet Witch found a pillar of power at the graveyard, similar to the one they had seen at the church (actually not, but whatever...the light was the same). Scarlet Witch felt how it was seemingly drawn to her. The people of Leonia began to throw rocks at Scarlet Witch, whom Vision prtotected against the hostile crowd. Scarlet Witch told everyone to end this madness and tried to defend herself and her husband once again while the crowd asked them to leave Leonia.

(Marvel Super-Heroes III#10/1) - Behind the Scarlet Witch the Inquisitors rose from the pillar of power. They didn't know why the people of Leonia were afraid of them because the hatred of those same people had summoned the Inquisitors forth. Vision assumed that Scarlet Witch's powers had somehow given the hatred of Leonia's people a mystical manifestation that was powered by the people of Leonia's intolerance, prejudice and hatred (which means if he was correct it was somehow her fault after all). Vision and Scarlet Witch fought the Inquisitors while the people of Leonia either fled or hid from the creatures. Ultimately Scarlet Witch sent the creatures back into the pit and with Vision's help closed the pit to end the threat.

Comments: Created by Bill Mantlo, Mike Mignola & Armando Gil.

I wonder where these two (actually three...the second story had two parts) stories were originally meant to be published. Marvel Fanfare was an anthology title that often published unpublished stories from inventory, but the series was cancelled with #60. Marvel Super-Heroes was another anthology title, so it is not much of a surprise that the other part(s) of this story ended up in the series.

According to a note in Marvel Super-Heroes III#10 these stories took place before Vision & Scarlet Witch II#1 (October, 1985). They had their house in Leonia, but were apparently not Avengers at the time of these stories, so it had to be not long after the first Vison & Scarlet Witch series. The Marvel Chronology Project placed Marvel Fanfare I#58/2 between Scarlet Witch's appearances in Avengers I#231 (May, 1983) and Marvel Team-Up I#129 (May, 1983). IMHO Marvel Super-Heroes III#10 should be placed right after Marvel Fanfare I#58.

If the Inquisitors are powered by hate then there could be a connection to the embodiment of hatred, Master Hate.
--Gammatotem

Profile by Markus Raymond.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Inquisitors should not be confused with:

unidentified extradimensional demon and spaceship

An extradimensional demon sensed the great magic in Leonia, New Jersey and travelled there from his own mystical dimension. After arriving in a spaceship the town was engulfed in a strange fog that transformed Leonia's citizens into zombie-like beings and the town itself into a world of madness. The demon took up residence in the transformed churchw, which also housed the pit of power that had drawn the demon to Earth. The transformed people of Leonia were drawn to the church to pray at the pit. When Scarlet Witch and Vision arrived the former citizens of Leonia attacked them as well as the demon whose spells even hurt Vision. The Scarlet Witch turned her attention to the demon after it downed Vision and the demon caused the church's candelabras to flare forth, but the Scarlet Witch's hex-spheres caused them to set the demon on fire instead. The burning demon moved backwards into the pit and was devoured by it. After the demon was gone the town and its citizens transformed back to normal and the pit vanished.

--Marvel Fanfare I#58/2

images: (without ads)
Marvel Super-Heroes III#10, p19 (main)
Marvel Fanfare I#58/2, p11, pan6 (mystical pit)
Marvel Super-Heroes III#10, p12 (mystical pillar)
Marvel Fanfare I#58/2, p8, pan5 (unidentified demon)
Marvel Fanfare I#58/2, p3, pan2 (demon's spaceship)

Appearances:
Marvel Fanfare I#58/2 (August, 1991) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sandy Plunkett (pencils), Armando Gil (inks), Bob Budiansky & Al Milgrom (editors)
Marvel Super-Heroes III#10/1 (July, 1992) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Mike Mignola (pencils), Armando Gil (inks), Rob Tokar (editor)

First Posted: 01/11/2021
Last updated: 01/12/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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