hellscout-tennyson-upper-gunsHELLSCOUT

Real Name: Kenneth Tennyson

Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Negative Zone) human (source of abilities unrevealed; see comments)

Occupation: Warrior, sentry, guardian of a Negative Zone portal

Group Membership: Puritans of Pilgrims Rock, Negative Zone

Affiliations: Alpha Primitives, Brother Tyndale, Fantastic Four (Invisible Woman/Sue Richards, Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards, Thing/Ben Grimm), Gornkai and his people, Maximus; Counter-Earth's Franklin Richards archetype/program

Enemies: Annihilus, Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom), indirectly Gideon Trust (Colonel, Janus, other), N-Explorers (Trapster (Peter Petruski), Travers, Travis, Vasquez)

Known Relatives: Jacob (father), Martha (mother, deceased)

Aliases: "Boyscout," "Ya fruitcake," "Scout" (all from the Thing)

Base of Operations: Pilgrims Rock (see comments), Negative Zone

First Appearance: Fantastic Four III#41 (May, 2001)

hellscout-tennyson-upper-full-tinyPowers/Abilities: Hellscout possesses superhumanly acute senses and tracking ability, enabling him to track anyone, man or beast, across interplanetary distances, at least.

    His acute vision enhances his marksmanship skills, making him virtually perfect, able to fire a shot into the center of a 6" cylinder perhaps 50-100 meters away, without any sights and using an unfamiliar weapon.

    Hellscout uses a pair of energy-pistols of unspecified power, although a pair of such blasts were strong enough to drive the Thing (Ben Grimm) to his knees. 

    He also carries both a sword and a dagger, with which he can wield simultaneously, typically with the sword in his right hand and the dagger in his left.

    He can pilot a starship (although his one ship was stolen by Dr. Doom and subsequently destroyed), and he has a spacesuit he wears as needed.

    Raised with Puritan values, Hellscout tends to consider many unfamiliar and monstrous things to be demons, but he is nonetheless experienced and comfortable with various forms of advanced technology as well with alien races, etc.

Height: 6'
Weight: 196 lbs.
Eyes: Blue (the one time we could see them clearly)
Hair: Blond, including goatee (see comments)

hellscout-tennyson-fullHistory:

(Fantastic Four III#41 (fb) - BTS) - In the 17th century, the Pandora, carrying a crew of Puritans, set forth from Amsterdam in search of the New World, following the likes of Columbus and the Virginia settlers. A massive storm culminated in a whirlpool that swallowed the Pandora, transporting it and its crew to the Negative Zone. Though fearing their sins had brought them to some Hellish realm, guided by their strong faith and their desire to protect their young, the Puritans defended the land around the Pandora, fighting off the aliens that threatened them. Accepting that the Lord worked in mysterious ways, these Puritans settled there, and they found their lot to be as gatekeepers and discoverers, exploring and learning from the machines and tools left behind by beings unidentified. They encountered Annihilus and considered him to be "the Devil himself," and they prevented him from leaving the Negative Zone via any portal near them. 

    The tale was handed down from generation to generation.

(Doom: The Emperor Returns#3 (fb) - BTS) - A series of one of their number, known as the Hellscout, guarded the portal into the Negative Zone, which they considered Hell, for centuries (see comments).

(Fantastic Four III#41 (fb) - BTS) - In recent years, Kenneth Tennyson, the most recent Hellscout, tracked what he believed was every beast from one end to the other of the dark place in which they dwelled.

(Fantastic Four III#42 (fb) - BTS) - Hellscout encountered Annihilus, whom he considered "the Dark One."

(Fantastic Four III#42 (fb) - BTS) - Hellscout traveled to a small planetoid, where he met and befriended Gornkai and his people, whom he considered to be peaceful and friendly.

(Fantastic Four III#42 (fb) - BTS) - At least on one occasion, Hellscout battled Annihilus, who eventually gained the advantage and had Hellscout at death's door; however, Annihilus abruptly departed as if there was a greater threat to which he had to attend.

(Fantastic Four III#40 - BTS) - Seeking to investigate the N-Explorers, three of the Fantastic Four (Invisible Woman/Sue Richards, Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards, Thing/Ben Grimm) were transported into the Negative Zone near the Pilgrims Rock, where they were surprised to find the Pandora, an old and terrestrial ship.

(Fantastic Four III#41 (fb) - BTS) - The Fantastic Four encountered the Puritans of Pilgrims Rock and eventually made peace with them.

(Fantastic Four III#41) - Returning to Pilgrims Rock, Hellscout saw the monstrous Thing with a number of children, and he shot the Thing, warning him to step away from the children or his next shot would lay him in the grave. As the Thing struggled to rise, Hellscout shot him repeatedly, but when he got too close while asking what manner of creature he was, the Thing swatted him away. As the Thing grabbed Hellscout by the neck, arguing that he was a man and that he wasn't doing anything to the kids but that his blaster had caused the problem, Hellscout placed his weapon to the Thing's chin. When Reed and Sue arrived alongside his father, who proclaimed the Thing a friend, Hellscout noted that if he was a friend of his father's, he would be his friend as well; the Thing accepted, noting, "No hard feelings. This time."

    Later, as the N-Explorers began to access an energy source they found in the Negative Zone in the process of slaughtering those who utilized it, a powerful energy wave racked Pilgrim's Rock, and Jacob uncomfortably sensed a disturbance, as if some great evil had been unleashed. After Reed noted his concerns that others from Earth were weakening the infrastructure of the wall/barrier between Earth and the Negative Zone, jeopardizing both universes, Hellscout noted that the Four must join him, for there was not man nor beast -- save the Devil himself -- that he could not track down.

(Fantastic Four III#42) - Aboard a ship alongside Reed, Sue, and Ben, Hellscout listened as Reed explained that they were seeking to trace the positive energy of beings from Earth's universe seeking to breach the wall into the Negative Zone. While not understanding all of Reed's words, Hellscout nonetheless sensed this positive energy and noted that it emanated from Reed and his associates as well. He assured them that he would lead them to the Devil himself if it were for the good of the many.

    They landed on Gornkai's planetoid, from which Hellscout could sense the positive energy trail. Surprised to see the peaceful people fighting with each other, Hellscout argued that neither he nor his associates were the enemy. After Gornkai greeted Hellscout, the hostilities ceased, and Gornkai explained to Hellscout how alien pirates (the N-Explorers, although their identities were not known to Gornkai's people) had turned their entire planet to ash and sand, and that they had mistaken Hellscout's associates for their returning attackers.

    Hellscout introduced Reed Richards and his associates, noting that they were hunting the men who had harmed their home, and Reed convinced Gornkai's people to show him where the attackers had first appeared on their world.hellscout-tennyson-aim

(Fantastic Four III#42 (fb) - BTS) - Gornkai led Hellscout, Reed and the others to the spot when the "pirates" had both arrived and exited.

(Fantastic Four III#42) - After Reed had Gornkai sketch what the pirates had used to depart, Reed recognized it as a cross-dimensional transponder using a wormhole. Hellscout remained silent as Reed announced that -- as a positive ion trail was being left each time they made a trans-dimensional jump -- he would be able to track them to where the pirates had headed and get there before them.

    Later, as Sue watched Gornkai or another of his people with his child and considered her own son, Franklin, Hellscout surprised her (causing her to turn invisible) by asking if he could be of some assistance. As she spoke to him, Hellscout was intrigued by her power, and after she became visible again, he reached out and touched her arm, noting her costume to be cool to the touch; she explained that it prevented others from tracking her via infra-red, although she imagined that he wouldn't understand the terminology. Ben interrupted, telling Hellscout that if he was done groping Mrs. Richards, her husband had announced that it was time to go...
    Hellscout was somewhat embarrassed by the situation.

    After arriving on a world and finding it already devastated, Reed reasoned that the pirates must be accessing time portals as well as spatial ones. Hellscout remained silent as Gornkai noted that one of the dead had only been so for a few minutes, after which the Fantastic Four members recognized at least one of the dead as one of the Alpha Primitives (associated with Earth's Inhumans) shortly before they were confronted by a truce-seeking Maximus.

(Fantastic Four III#43) - Hellscout accompanied Reed, Sue, Ben, and Gorkai as Maximus brought them to Reed's former laboratory in Four Freedom's Plaza, the top portion of which had been transported into the Negative Zone); Reed then noted that someone (the Gideon Trust) was using his equipment to try to break down the barrier between the positive universe and the Negative Zone, which would destroy both realms. As Reed worked on a solution, Ben took Hellscout and Gornkai back up the surface to "see if they could find someone to clobber."

(Fantastic Four III#43 (fb) - BTS) - Sue joined Hellscout and the others outside 4FP.

(Fantastic Four III#43) - As Janus sent an army of N-Explorers into the Negative Zone (on the same planet) capture Annihilus, Hellscout's tracking ability allowed him to sense something "almost as if the air itself hath changed." Gornkai noted that if the world was going to end, his wish to die in battle and not to go quietly in the night; ." As they approached a group of N-Explorers, Hellscout told Gornkai he may get his wish.

   Hellscout joined Ben, Sue, and Gornkai in engaging the N-Explorers, taking out one who tried to ambush the Thing from behind. Reed and Sue then pressured one of the Explorers to give them information on their mission, and the man led them to the site where the Explorers had captured Annihilus.hellscout-tennyson-annihilus

(Fantastic Four III#44 - BTS) - Hellscout and the others watched as the Trapster claimed Annihilus' Cosmic Control Rod (aka Nega-Rod) as the property of the Gideon Trust.

(Fantastic Four III#44) - After Reed and Maximus joined them, Hellscout continued to silently observe the N-Explorers with a pair of binoculars. As Maximus and his Alpha Primitives engaged the N-Explorers, Reed noted that their portal needed to be sealed by disrupting the flow from Annihilus' Nega-Rod, and that they would have one shot. He asked Hellscout if his aim was as good as he claimed, and after Hellscout told him it was better, Reed gave him the device he had modified from an signal flare gun. His aim true, Hellscout struck the Nega-Rod and disrupted the flow. As Hellscout and the others engaged the N-Explorers, Trapster spitefully sliced the Nega-Rod in half, further destabilizing things.

    As Annihilus broke free and attempted to reclaim his Nega-Rod, Hellscout blocked his path armed only with a sword and dagger, ultimately impaling and killing him.

(Fantastic Four III#44 (fb) - BTS) - Hellscout (presumably) decapitated Annihilus to ensure his death.

(Fantastic Four III#44) - Hellscout watched silently as Reed and Ben contained the Nega-Rod and halted the energy flow, restoring stability. Reed then gave Hellscout the Nega-Rod, telling him to take it back to his people as proof that he had restored stability. Hellscout noted that they should thank the lord and break bread, but Reed declined as they needed to use the portal to return to Earth before it collapsed, which they did.

    Gornkai then noted Hellscout's life's mission was over with Annihilus dead and asked if he would hunt Trapster and the others. Hellscout noted, "Mayhap," but having hunted one thing or another his entire life, he considered taking time to explore the worlds. hellscout-tennyson-spacesuit

(Fantastic Four III#44 - BTS) - One of the Alpha Primitives found a gestating Annihilus within a cocoon-like structure.

(Doom: The Emperor Returns#2) - Seeking to return to Earth from Franklin Richards' Counter-Earth with power usurped from that latter world's Franklin Richards' manifestation, Doom traveled though a portal to the Negative Zone. Doom's arrival was apparently detected by Hellscout and Gornkai.

(Doom: The Emperor Returns#3) - Hellscout and Gornkai watched as an immense creature (see comments) attempted to consume Doom's ship, and Hellscout noted that "whatever his motives for entering this cursed plane, they be as dust. He be food for the worm and no more." After Gornkai noted that Doom had jettisoned a pod containing a lifeform (the Counter-Earth replicated form of Cynthia von Doom), Hellscout considered that the stranger's machinations may not end with his death, and he and Gornkai pursued the pod to be certain the intruder could not threaten the colony.

(Doom: The Emperor Returns#3 (fb) - BTS) - Considering the being in the pod to be a soul in need, Hellscout and Gornkai brought it back to Pilgrims Rock.

(Doom: The Emperor Returns#3) - Examining the pod, Brother Tyndale (a non-human resident of Pilgrims Rock apparently) asked if Hellscout would bring evil to their very doorstep, and he continued that a spell or incantation held the woman in her unliving state. Hellscout's father subsequently appeared, and while he agreed with Hellscout's sensing no evil in the woman, he further noted that there was no good, either, as she had no soul. hellscout-tennyson-profile

    Further discussion was interrupted by the arrival of Doom, who easily overpowered local assaults. When he landed, Hellscout instructed him to stand and be recognized; when he answered "I am Doom," Hellscout asked if that was his name or his nature. When Doom warned that to him, he may be both, Hellscout told him to taste steel. Shattering Hellscout's sword, Doom then blasted both him and Gornkai away; however, after Doom approached the pod and noted that his mother was still safe, Hellscout instructed Gornkai to stand down until they knew what was going on.

    When Doom told them that his mother's current state was his fault and that he was just trying to return to his home with her until the space-going beast attacked, Hellscout compassionately asked Doom how they might help him find his way. After Doom stated that he had been exiled against his will and that he was trying to reunite his mother's body and spirit, Hellscout instructed Gornkai to prepare the ship for Doom. Unheard by Hellscout, when Hellscout's father accused Doom of lying and having Satan in his soul, Doom grabbed Jacob's wrist (injecting him with a short-acting toxin), causing him to collapse, and then Doom told Hellscout that his father had collapsed after wishing him well. Eyeing Doom, Hellscout had his father taken to their house to rest.

    As Doom's mother was loaded into the ship, the Counter-Earth Franklin Richards archetype confronted Doom, who blasted it. Having seen this, Hellscout questioned his killing a child, but Doom assured him this was a shape-shifting demon. "Franklin" then warned Hellscout that Doom would kill him, too, and that he just wanted to steal their ship. Noting that his people needed their ship, Hellscout instructed Gornkai to fly it away, at which point Doom blasted Gornkai in the back. Hellscout fired futilely on Doom until "Franklin" shut off Doom's force field, allowing Hellscout's next blast to knock him back. Doom's subsequently fired mini-projectiles stunned Hellscout sufficiently for Doom to board the ship and take off.

    Hellscout and Gornkai were frustrated as they arrived too late to stop Doom, but "Franklin" pursued Doom aboard the ship.

(Doom: The Emperor Returns#3 - BTS) - Franklin forced Doom to accept that this was not his real mother but just a program, and he/it seemingly cast Doom into the void, but Doom eventually arrived through the Negative Zone portal into Four Freedoms Plaza (or wherever the Fantastic Four were based out of, as it wasn't shown).

Comments: Created by Carlos Pacheco, Jeph Loeb, Rafael Marin, and Jesus Marin.

    The source of Hellscout's superhuman tracking ability is unrevealed. I'm sure he considers it God-given, but he may be a mutant, or perhaps he was mutated under unspecified circumstance...or maybe he uses some unspecified technology or perhaps an energy- or magic-gem (although he'd likely consider that the work of the devil and avoid it).

    The creature attacking Doom wasn't identified in story (beyond Hellscout calling it "the worm," but I think Abnutivore is a good name, personally...

    When first referenced in Fantastic Four I#41, their base was called "the Pilgrims Rock." Later in the same issue, it was called "Pilgrim's Rock."
    Singular possessive doesn't make much sense. I think either Pilgrims Rock (plural, non-possessive) or Pilgrims' Rock (plural possessive) make the most sense.

    In Doom: The Emperor Returns#3, Hellscout notes that a Hellscout had protected Pilgrims Rock and watched the gateway for six-hundred years. If the Puritans arrived there in the 17th century, that's the 1600s, meaning it won't be 600 years until the 2200s...but, perhaps time passes differently in the Negative Zone...OR, if their world circled a sun-like structure, each planetary revolution was significantly shorter, so that a year was a shorter time period. Or he meant 400, but just misspoke.

    Hellscout had a mini-profile in Marvel Encyclopedia Vol. 6: Fantastic Four (2004).

    Hellscout had short, black (or dark) hair in Fantastic Four III#42, which was art error/license/whatever.

    This profile was completed 5/23/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Hellscout should be distinguished from:

images: (without ads)

Fantastic Four III#41, pg. 17, panel 6 (upper; guns a-blazin');
    #43, pg. 13, panel 2 (mostly full, scaling rocky terrain);
    #44, pg. 9, panel 4 (taking aim);
        pg. 15, panel 6 (impaling Annihilus);
Doom: The Emperor Returns#2, last page (space armor);
    #3, pg. 9, panel 3 (profile)

Appearances:
Fantastic Four III#41 (May, 2001) - Carlos Pacheco (artist, co-plotter), Jeph Loeb (script), Rafael Marin (co-plotter), Jesus Marin (inker), Andrew Lis (assistant editor), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Fantastic Four III#42 (June, 2001) - Carlos Pacheco (co-plotter), Jeph Loeb (script), Rafael Marin (co-plotter), Stuart Immonen (penciler), Jesus Merino (inker), Andrew Lis (assistant editor), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Fantastic Four III#43 (July, 2001) - Carlos Pacheco (co-plotter), Jeph Loeb (script), Rafael Marin (co-plotter), Joe Bennett (penciler), Sandu Florea (inker), Andrew Lis (assistant editor), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Fantastic Four III#44 (August, 2001) - Carlos Pacheco (penciler; co-plotter), Jeph Loeb (script), Rafael Marin (co-plotter), Jesus Merino (inker), Andrew Lis (assistant editor), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Doom: The Emperor Returns#2 (February, 2002) - Chuck Dixon (writer), Leonardo Manco (artist), Andrew Lis, Jeff Youngquist, & Mark Sumerak (assistant editors), Bobbie Chase & Tom Brevoort (editors)
Doom: The Emperor Returns#3 (March, 2002) - Chuck Dixon (writer), Leonardo Manco (artist), Klaus Janson & John Stanisci (inkers), Andrew Lis, Jeff Youngquist, & Mark Sumerak (assistant editors), Bobbie Chase & Tom Brevoort (editors)
Marvel Encyclopedia Vol. 6: Fantastic Four (2004) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer), Ronald Byrd, Michael Hoskin, & Mark O'English (writers/researchers), Mark D. Beazley (assistant managing editor), Jennifer Grunwald (assistant editor), Jeff Youngquist (editor)

First posted: 09/29/2021
Last updated: 09/27/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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