Haunter (Anti-Registration Underground)

Group Membership: Anti-Registration Undergound (All-Out/Unarmed Training Automaton Attacker/Richard Taine, Awe-Striker/Cecily Johnson, Basic Black/Norman Gentry, Battlestar/Lemar Hoskins, Brain Spasm/Dennis Hoxie, Canasta/Henry Cavanaugh, Captain Kinship/Edward Randlebuck, Dahntu/Charles Luc Phan, Freeware/Kurt Duryea, Gladiatrix/Robin Braxton, Green Guardswoman/Natalie Bell, Harbormaster/Sean Beckett, Human Haze/Steve Cochrane, Iguanid/Tom Boldstep, Johnny Justice/Jonadab Megyscol, Kruzado/Dorothy Cardoza, Lawman/Leon Frankfurt, Leather Angel/Andrew Mussawyr, Masked Rose/Josie Tyler, Natural/Beru Addison, Network/Valerie Martin, Orange Crusher/Andy Gardner, Panthrax/Alex Mitchell, Peace-Lover/Barry Kanczeski, Qiblah/Jared Nelson, Saint Hildegard/Sonya van Jagt, Scorecard/Bill Merrick, Skybolt/Zack Zimmerman, Solo/James Bourne, Spaceheat/Charles Yaméogo, Staten Island Star/Russell Feldman, Stone-Tough/Ted Pendleton, Tosser/Ferris Hartke, Typeface/Gordon Thomas, U.S. Annie/Harriet Best, Warbug/Bernard Van Buren, Winter Woman/Angela Stover, Xantippe/Mandy Atkinson, Zapster/Langley Saint-Margaret, others); see comments

Enemies: (At least formerly) S.H.I.E.L.D. and its "Cape-Killers," Iron Man, Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), Wonder Man (Simon Williams) and at least ten unidentified flying heroes;
see comments

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
previously an unidentified Anti-Registration Underground safehouse in Manhattan, New York
see comments

First Appearance: (Unidentified) Civil War: Front Line#4 (2006);
(identified) Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#14: Anti-Registration Army profile (2010)

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'9"; (Haunter, 6'11") ; see comments)
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 180 lbs.; (Haunter, indeterminate) ; see comments)
Eyes: Unrevealed (see comments)
Hair: Unrevealed (see comments)

(Civil War: Front Line#4 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#14: Anti-Registration Underground (fb) - BTS) - Following the Stamford disaster -- where hundreds had perished during a battle between New Warriors and four Raft escapees -- Iron Man (Tony Stark), Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards) and others worked with US officials to develop the Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA), outlawing any crimefighting activities by unregistered super heroes.

Vigilante Typeface, although his identity was already known, resolved to fight a perceived assault on freedom, and he organized an Anti-Registration Underground, beginning with ex-government operative Battlestar and anti-terrorist Solo, to support super heroes who continued fighting crime without SHRA approval. Their ranks were soon supplemented by mystic-armored Freeware; bodysuit-enhanced Green Guardswoman; Masked Rose, leader of super-team TJAW (Truth, Justice, and the American Way), empowered by accidental mutant blood exposure; exoskeleton-empowered Network; and cyborg Skybolt. Via a covert interview with Alternative reporter Sally Floyd, ARU members publicized their perspective, and several other anti-registration heroes joined, including the occult-empowered Haunter.

(Civil War: Front Line#4) - When Network noted that they needed to find Captain America's people, the Haunter asked her if she had found any trace of them on the web, anything at all.

As the ARU members debated whether to seek and join Captain America (Steve Rogers)'s Secret Avengers, a better organized and equipped anti-SHRA unit, or to remain independent. Armored S.H.I.E.L.D. Cape-Killers, accompanied by Iron Man, Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), Wonder Man (Simon Williams) and at least ten unidentified flying heroes, raided the base. Caught by surprise, few ARU members managed to effectively fight back against their more powerful and organized opponents. Although S.H.I.E.L.D. captured over 40 members, the Harbormaster, the Awe-Striker, Canasta, Dahntu, the Green Guardswoman, and the Tosser evaded capture, as did the Masked Rose, who had been absent seeking new recruits.

(Civil War: Front Line#5/2 - BTS) - ARU prisoners, such as Typeface, were seen being sent to the Prison 42.

(Civil War#6 - BTS) - The "Secret Avengers" and the Superhuman Registration Act resistance arrived at Prison 42 to free the prisoners.

(Civil War#7/Amazing Spider-Man I#538/Civil War: Front Line#10-#11 - BTS) - The Secret Avengers penetrated Prison 42, freeing many prisoners. When the combined anti-registration forces were confronted by Iron Man's pro-registration forces, Secret Avenger Cloak (Tyrone Johnson) teleported both groups to Manhattan. Freed ARU prisoners took part in the battle between the pro and anti-registration heroes, spanning from the Negative Zone prison to the streets of New York. In the ensuing battle, which caused severe damage, the Thunderbolts' Venom (Mac Gargan) apparently killed Typeface. Other fatalities may also have occurred. Following Captain America's surrender to forestall further civilian risk, Battlestar and possibly others avoided recapture.

The government offered amnesty in return for registration. Although Gladiatrix rejected the offer, Network registered under the 50 States Initiative, while Solo also registered but pursued independent interests. Presumably additional ARU members followed Gladiatrix's example, others followed Network's or Solo's, and still more remained at large.

Comments: Created by Paul Jenkins, Sean Chen, Rick Magyar;
Codename, real name, and nature provided by Ronald Byrd

During the production of the Civil War: Battle Damage Report (2007) writer Paul Jenkins provided CW: BDR co-writer Ronald Byrd with authorization to provide identities, real names for the various background Anti-Registration Underground characters, and to flesh them out as much as he wanted. Ronald provided identities and real names for the Anti-Registration Underground entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#14 (2010). There wasn't room to provide much more than that in that entry. However, Ronald had backgrounds and histories in mind for these characters when he provided their names.
While the information is unofficial until it sees print, here is the full story behind the the Haunter:

REAL NAME: Marcos Samuel "Mark" Runnemyer
ALIASES: Brother Marcos, Brother Mark, Brother Runnemyer, others
IDENTITY: Known to US authorities
OCCUPATION: Litigation coding telecommuter, adventurer; former arts and crafts director, worship center librarian, bookstore employee, day care worker, soup kitchen worker, others (several were unpaid positions)
CITIZENSHIP: USA
PLACE OF BIRTH: Idle Hands, Pennsylvania
KNOWN RELATIVES: Vertos Runnemyer (father), Stepha Runnemyer (nee Burr, mother); Janos Runnemyer (brother); Luka Runnemyer, Martha Runnemyer (sisters); Jessie Compton Runnemyer (sister-in-law)
GROUP AFFILIATION: Formerly Anti-Registration Underground, Arica Institute, Belonging, Beyond Reason Spiritual Fellowship, Brotherhood of Baal, Camarilla of the N'Garai (aka the Church of Dis), Celestial Mind Control Movement, Children of the Dust (at least formerly associated with Mister Ashe), Church of Satan (aka Church of the Damned, aka Cult of Satan, aka Dark Church) of Anton Lupeski, Church of the Dark Father, Church of the Saved, Church of Thor, Church of Yinsen, Circle of Decay, Cosmic Oneness, Cult of Entropy, Cult of Kali, Cult of Kalumai, Cult of New Orgonon (associated with the Weed), Cult of the Dark Lord, Cult of the Living Pharaoh, Cult of the New Order, Cult of the Strictly Metaphorical Harvester of Eyes, Cult of the Undying Ones, Cult of the White Gorilla God of the Upper East Side, Cult of the Word, Cult of Zhered-Na, Darkholders, Dawning Light, Death Cult (led by Mark Krane), Demon-Fire, Disciples of Light, Encoders, First Church of the Magnetic Anomaly, Glorification Church, Gnosticology: The Science of Brain Locksmithing, Hounds of the Moondog, Imperceptible It Movement, Infinity Crusade, Innocents of God, Left Hand Path (Morningstar/Schuyler Belial's), Legion of Light, Legion of Nihilists, Mahagreasy Migraine Yogi's Meditation School, Jackson Kubbard's Mysticology cult, One World Church, Sons of Satannish (Quasi-Orthodox), S.O.O.F.I., Starry Wisdom House of Legitimate Non-Denominational Worship, Students of Love, Triune Understanding, Twenty-Third Sect, Unity School of Christianity, Water-Children, Wishes of Fire, Yucchies, others
EDUCATION: College degree, religious studies with multiple cults/churches
SHRA CLASSIFICATION: Indeterminate (Curse Bearer? Magic-Based Mutate? Supernatural Entity? Possessee?)
FIRST APPEARANCE: Civil War: Front Line#4 (2006)

HISTORY: Raised in Reverend Moon June Yuc's "Yucchie" faith, Mark Runnemyer left his hometown of Idle Hands, Pennsylvania, to attend college in neighboring Delta City, but the destructive activities of superhuman adventurer Fight-Man and his many enemies eventually motivated him to transfer to another college in New York. Exposure to the many faiths to be found in Manhattan prompted caused Runnemyer to question his Yucchie beliefs, and his new search for enlightenment first motivated him to join nearby Rhode Island's Starry Wisdom Church of Non-Denominational Worship, whose congregants revered Nyarlathotep, one of the demonic Outer Gods. Although many members joined in hope of gaining power or wealth, Runnemyer was motivated by a genuine search for faith. Impressed by such sincerity, Nyarlathotep himself took special interest in Runnemyer, keeping watch over him even after even after Runnemyer, ultimately dissatisfied with the Starry Wisdom faith, sought solace in the Upper East Side's Cult of the White Gorilla God, the Quasi-Orthodox Sect of the Sons of Satannish, and others.

After graduation, Runnemyer found work as a telecommuter, allowing him to work while traveling from state to state in pursuit of further religious enlightenment. Soon after graduation, he met and romanced amateur filmmaker Angela Stover, with whom he spent the summer in her home town of Cobbler's Roost, Vermont, where he briefly joined the Cult of the Undying Ones. When Stover traveled to Florida for a film assignment, Runnemyer accompanied her and remained following her departure, after which he spent months alternating between the Cults of Zhered-Na, of Entropy, and of others but remained restless. Intrigued by reports of widespread faith expansion on the West Coast, he relocated to California and joined the Wishes of Fire, led by the flame-powered Raga (Friedrich), but the group dispersed soon after Raga was revealed to be a pawn of the extradimensional Black Lama (King Gerald of Earth-7511). In succession, he joined the Camarilla of the N'Garai, where he tried to popularize macrame' masks based on the group's leaders, "the Four," to the public; the Arcturan Daemond's Cult of the New Order, where he made but failed to carry out plans for religious action figures based on cult founder Daemond's alien Arcturan heritage; and the Satanism-derived Demon-Fire, among others. Nyarlathotep's influence followed his former acolyte, protecting him from mystic corruption by demon-worshipping cults and faintly feeding on the faith of the organizations' followers, with plans to perhaps seize their power and worshippers for himself.

Demon-Fire congregants, including Runnemyer, visited a sister church in Malevolence, Maine, where the impressionable Runnemyer migrated to Anton Lupeski's Church of Satan in nearby Massachusetts, but when a faction of Hounds of the Moondog, worshippers of the minor loa Moondog, visited the East Coast, Runnemyer similarly followed the group to Louisiana, where he in turn defected to the Cult of the Dark Lord, led by the Black Talon (Desmond Drew). In Missouri, he joined Father Darklyte's Legion of Nihilists, with whom he remained for months. However, while Runnemyer was absent from the group's cavern headquarters on a grocery run, the Son of Satan (Daimon Hellstrom) attacked the base and incinerated all present except for young female acolyte Gerbera Rossall, who fled the scene to plan future vengeance on the Son of Satan. Deeply shaken by the loss of his fellow congregants and his brush with death, Runnemyer returned to the East Coast.

Back in New York, the aimless Runnemyer sought solace from various groups -- including Nebulon's Celestial Mind Control Movement; the Cults of Decay, of Kali, of Kalumai, and of the Living Pharaoh; the Innocents of God, formerly led by the mutant Jeremiah; the Left-Hand Path of Morningstar; and Brother Power's Legion of Light. He ultimately achieved what he perceived as a state of enlightenment with the Cosmic Oneness sect, led by the cosmic entity varyingly known as the Beyonder, Frank, and other names. However, the Oneness dissolved after the Beyonder's seeming death, and Runnemyer, more disillusioned before, relocated to New Jersey to seek solace with the Encoders Cult, the Reformed Church of the Saved, and the Students of Love, all to no avail. He returned to New York and joined Reverend Yune Kim Park's Glorification Church, whose teachings were reminiscent of the Yucchie faith of his youth, but he abandoned the church after learning of its criminal activities from the Korean mutant Chance, a member of the Vanisher's Fallen Angels.

When demons from the limbo dimension identified as Otherplace invaded Manhattan during the "Inferno" crisis, a pair of demons accosted Runnemyer, tore open his chest, and consumed his heart while he watched, the ichor from their jaws keeping him alive but in agony. After the pair's departure, a third demon, whether motivated by mercy or by mere whim, placed a mystically-empowered, shapeshifting stone into Runnemyer's thoracic cavity, apparently reconstructing his entire body on the molecular level and shifting it into a supernatural form with various powers, which he used to protect humans from additional demons until the crisis ended. Reverting to normal human form, Runnemyer subsequently consulted Dr. Stephen Strange, the Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, who was unable to determine if the stone had mutated Runnemyer to allow him to transform his existing human body into a supernatural form; manifested a second body, possibly controlled by a distinct manifestation of Runnemyer's psyche, whose absorption and release of Runnemyer's physical form was near-identical to transformation; bound him to a separate entity elsewhere in the Multiverse, meaning that his "transformation" in fact involved the teleportation and possession of the second entity's body while Runnemyer's vanished to parts unknown; transformed him into a living manifestation of an obscure curse attached to the stone; or altered him in ways beyond even Strange's knowledge.

Nevertheless feeling a sense of completeness for the first time in years, Runnemyer decided to use his demonic powers as a force for good and, dubbing his superhuman identity "the Haunter," became a Manhattan adventurer alongside the likes of Angela Stover, who had become both a successful filmmaker and the costumed heroine Winter Woman; ex-criminals Stiletto (Tom Stuart) and Discus (Tim Stuart); insectoid mutant Roach (Hubie Edge); Nimrod (Nicholas Hunter), the extratemporal robot who was soon seemingly destroyed; armored adventurer Network (Martin), a southeast-based heroine who periodically visited Manhattan to sabotage Maggia activities; card-themed weapon user Canasta; and the All-Seeing Eye, who, unknown to the Haunter, was an avatar of Nyarlathotep, having, in a reversal of the typical worshipper/god relationship, had taken a form imitative of his former acolyte to better comprehend the latter's motivations.

The Haunter's heroic activities failed to distract him from his spiritual longings, however, and upon learning of the Water-Children, a spiritual movement founded by a fellow costumed adventurer, the charismatic Aquarian, he again returned to California and spent several weeks with the Children, alternating worship with various adventures alongside such local heroes as the catlike Cougar, the ultra-athletic Decathlon, and the mysterious Puzzle Man. However, when he learned of the Robot Gang War that had broken out in Delta City following Fight-Man's imprisonment for wrongful death and other charges, the Haunter returned to his home state of Pennsylvania for the first time in years and, alongside fellow Pennsylvanian-born hero Hairball, Mindcontroller and Turnip-Man (Arthur Winslow) from neighboring Ohio, and others, spent months undermining the various criminal factions' activities. After the Gang War fell into a prolonged lull, the Haunter relocated to Ohio to in turn help Mindcontroller and Turnip-Man against such enemies as Doctor Dino and the Snake King. Upon learning that, in his absence from California, the Aquarian had informally dispersed the Water-Children, claiming they no longer needed his guidance, the Haunter felt no need to rejoin the Children without Aquarian's leadership and sought comfort in local faiths, only to have a disastrous encounter with Cleveland's cult of S.O.O.F.I. (Save Our Offspring from Indecency), while his membership in Werner Blowhard's Imperceptible It Movement abruptly ended with the movement itself when a poorly cast spell resulted in the appearance of several gigantic beings, each dubbed "It" (It, the Thing That Couldn't Die (Roger Kirk); It, the Silent One from beneath the Atlantic Ocean; the artificial Thing Called It; and the Skrull-created I.T.T.s (Inorganic Techno Troids)) rampaged through the city until dispersed by the insane sorceress called the Kidney Lady (Selma Blotte), whose efforts to convert the Haunter to her worship of the being known as "the Human Kidney" motivated him to return to New York yet again.

Weeks later, the Haunter joined the Triune Understanding, befriending the organization's superhuman protector Triathlon. Triathlon soon joined the Avengers, whose exposure of founder Jonathan Tremont's crimes, led the Haunter move to the Church of Yinsen, based on the teachings of Southeast Asian genius Ho Yinsen, but it suffered serious setbacks as a result of hostilities between its secret founder Ultron Mark XII and Iron Man (Tony Stark), who exposed Ultron's evil intentions. The Haunter next joined the Church of Thor, devoted to Thor Odinson, yet it too suffered negative publicity due to disagreement between Thor and his Avengers teammates. The Haunter, more spiritually discouraged than ever before, developed a grudge against the Avengers, but nevertheless resolved to remain in New York for the foreseeable future instead of resuming his wandering search for enlightenment.

Following the passage of the Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA), the Haunter, having no objection to registration itself but distrusting the SHRA's most prominent advocates, the Avengers led by Tony Stark, ultimately entrusted the decision to fate and declined to register because he interpreted his Daily Globe horoscope as advice against doing so. Pursued by authorities, he was eventually recruited into Typeface's Anti-Registration Underground alongside Network, who had recently relocated to Manhattan, and others of his acquaintance. He was present when SHIELD raided the ARU's safehouse and arrested most of its members, including himself.

While he awaited processing into Prison 42, the Haunter consulted fresh horoscopes from three other publications -- the Daily Bugle, the New York Star, and the East Village Oracle -- and interpreted all three to be advising him to register after all. He did so at the first opportunity, received amnesty, and was released without incident. He remained neutral during the so-called the "Civil War" between SHRA supporters and opponents, and following the SHRA's repeal, he resumed dividing his time between heroic activities and spiritual endeavors.

HEIGHT: 5'9"; (Haunter) 6'11"
WEIGHT: 180 lbs.; (Haunter) indeterminate
EYES: Purple; (Haunter) jet-black
HAIR: Dark blond; (Haunter) blue

ABILITIES/ACCESSORIES: The Haunter can shift from non-powered human form to a supernatural form, whose nature remains unclear, and back to human form at will. In supernatural form, he possesses superhuman strength (lifting at least 10 tons), the power of flight, and the ability to project occult energy from his face, allowing him to project tactile sensations of varying effects onto opponents, although suitably advanced body armor can withstand the energy. When in supernatural form, the Haunter's face, jet-black in color, consists of five eyes above a mass of ectoplasm which randomly shifts into tentacles, claws, feelers, and similar appendages; with mild concentration, he can replace this display with a blank slate without interfering with his ability to see, hear, taste, or speak.

Via some combination of telekinesis and telepathy, the Haunter immediately knows every detail of any room he enters; he cannot apply this ability to non-enclosed areas. The Haunter possesses an array of knowledge of the rituals and spells deployed by various spiritual movements but has little experience in their practical application, as well above-average expertise in the field of U.S. litigation. He is unknowingly kept under near-constant observation by the demonic Nyarlathotep, who occasionally intervenes to guide him into various courses of action.

I've been as vague as feasible with the time frames of many of the churches/cults (most of which have had run-ins with super-heroes at some point, which is usually the only time we, the readers, have gotten to see them) that Runnemyer/Haunter joins; I'm presuming that, in most cases, he joined early and departed prior to said run-ins or that he joined after said run-ins, while the churches/cults were fragmenting but had not yet vanished (demon-worshipping groups can be revived even more easily than demons themselves). A handful of exceptions are noted accordingly.

If a church/cult is mentioned under Group Affiliations but not in the History, that means the time and circumstances under which Runnemyer/Haunter joined is unclear as of yet. They'll usually be large nationwide/worldwide organizations with multiple locations that can theoretically be joined anywhere in the USA in Reality-616, the One World Church from "Cable and Deadpool" being a prime example. There are, of course, any number of churches/cults presently absent from that list....so far.

As implied earlier, Runnemyer/Haunter should never be presumed to have Behind The Scenes in any story featuring any church/cult discussed here. No matter what was happening on-panel, he was somewhere else doing something else. Lots of details in running a church/cult, y'know, some of them implied by the Haunter's past occupations. The Haunter's special "protector" steered him away from getting involved in any serious crimes.

Co-Civil War: Battle Damage Report-author Anthony Flamini provided new information on Network.

In my initial concept, his membership was specifically just prior to Ghost Rider #38 (1979); during his membership, he only saw them conduct symbolic human sacrifices, but when he learned from others that sometimes the sacrifices were real, he left. He reported them to the authorities -- which, since the authorities had been infiltrated by the cult, did little good -- but Ghost Rider (Blaze) rode into town and resolved the situation himself. However, I decided that elaborating on all that kind of weighed down the paragraph, so I omitted it, incidentally leaving the possibility that he instead joined and left before they started conducting non-symbolic human sacrifice to begin with, or possibly joined and left whatever remnant group remained after the murders were shut down.

The existence of individual White Gorilla sub-denominations can be reasonably inferred. I decided on the Upper East Side because that's where T'Challa worked as a teacher under the name "Luke Charles," and while that was long after the time frame of the Haunter's college years, the fact that T'Challa chose that particular neighborhood offers the inference that it had (or had once had) a noticeable Wakandan-American population.

Similar inference is made with the Sons of Satannish (Quasi-Orthodox).

Civil War: Front Line#4, page 25, panel 2 (posterior oblique, costumed, full body; talking to Network)

Appearances:
Civil War: Front Line#3/1 - BTS (September, 2006) - Paul Jenkins (writer), Ramon Bachs (penciler), John Lucas (inker), Cory Sedlmeier (editor)
Civil War: Front Line#4/1 (September, 2006) - Paul Jenkins (writer), Ramon Bachs (penciler), John Lucas (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War: Front Line#4/3 (September, 2006) - Paul Jenkins (writer), Sean Chen (penciler), Rick Magyar (inker), Molly Lazer, Aubrey Sitterson (assistant editors), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War: Front Line#5/2 - BTS (October, 2006) - Paul Jenkins (writer), Steve Lieber (artist), Molly Lazer, Aubrey Sitterson (assistant editors), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War#6 -BTS (December, 2006) - Mark Millar (writer), Steve McNiven (pencils), Dexter Vines (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War#7 -BTS (January, 2007) - Mark Millar (writer), Steve McNiven (pencils), Dexter Vines, John Dell & Tim Townsend (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#14 (June, 2010) - Jeff Christiansen & Mike Fichera (head writers/coordinators), Markus Raymond & Mike O'Sullivan (coordination assistants), Stuart Vandal, Sean McQuaid, Michael Hoskin, Ronald Byrd, Markus Raymond, Mike O'Sullivan, Madison Carter, Kevin Garcia, Gabriel Shechter, Jacob Rougemont, Rob London, Rich Green, Chris Biggs, David Wiltfong, Jeph York, Mark O'English, & Mike Gagnon (writers), John Denning (associate editor), Alex Starbuck (assistant editor), Theodore Kutt (copy editor), Mark D. Beazley (editor, special projects), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editor)

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com