SUPERCREEP

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Extradimensional (presumably Earth-Crossover); otherwise unrevealed

Occupation: Criminal

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None

Enemies: The Asgardians, Batman and Robin, Blue Bulk, Captain America, Joe Hero, Iron Man, Superman, Thor;
   implicitly, all of humanity

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "The ultimate villain"

Base of Operations: New York City (presumably)

First Appearance: "Easy Way Out," by Marion Pitman, from "Superheroes," edited by Michel Parry, 1978, pp. 168-170

Powers/Abilities: Supercreep possessed almost unimaginable superhuman strength and invulnerability, enabling him to fight to a standstill not only such powerhouses as Thor and Superman, but literally dozens of Asgardian gods; he claimed to be "armoured individually against the superpowers of each and every superhero in New York City," although since he was not described as literally wearing armor, this comment was presumably metaphorical. Although human-sized, his body contained such remarkable mass that a simple fall from a standing position was sufficient to shake the entirety of New York City. His staggering physical density, and the musculature and bone structure required to support it, no doubt contributed greatly to his physical abilities. His mere laughter was sufficient to make buildings tremble, presumably due to either superhumanly forceful breath, a superhumanly magnified voice, vibrations from his superhuman throat muscles, or a combination of these factors.

    However his invulnerability apparently did not extend to exposed soft tissue such as his eyes, which were vulnerable to conventional injury.

Height: Unrevealed, but shorter than average
Weight: Unrevealed, but presumably immense
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Unrevealed (if any)

History: Nothing is known about Supercreep's origins. Supercreep was described as a "short, thick man, in a curious costume of orange and purple." He had "small, close-set eyes" and an overly muscled body which, combined with his poor posture, made him resemble one of "the greater apes."

("Easy Way Out" (fb) - BTS) - For unrevealed reasons, if not simply to entertain himself, Supercreep embarked on a rampage throughout New York City. He was opposed by several super-heroes (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Blue Bulk, several unidentified Asgardians, Superman, and Batman and Robin) but fought them all to a standstill. In the course of his activities, he killed at least thirty-two people and presumably caused extensive property damage. Supercreep then demanded that the mayor of New York give him one hundred million dollars to prevent him from destroying New York City in its entirety, and the threat was evidently treated quite seriously.

(“Easy Way Out”) - Meanwhile businessman Joe Hero headed home from work and grew annoyed that the clash between Supercreep and the assembled heroes had gathered a crowd and stopped traffic. Hero then managed to penetrate the gathered crowd and attempted to walk past the encounter, but Supercreep, annoyed by the “interruption,” demanded to know his identity, then laughed at Hero's surname. After a brief exchange, Supercreep grew incensed by Hero's refusal to be intimidated and threatened to kill him. Hero then shot Supercreep through the left eye, killing him, and resumed his journey home without another word, leaving the assembled heroes and bystanders stunned.

Comments: Created by Marion Pitman.

   "Easy Way Out" appeared in the prose anthology "Superheroes," edited by Michel Parry and published in Great Britain by Sphere Books Ltd in 1978. Although some of the stories were reprints from various sources, others were written specifically for the anthology, with "Easy Way Out" being one of the latter and the only one that featured Marvel characters.

   Per the Internet Speculative Fiction Database's entry for this story, Superheroes remains the only place "Easy Way Out" has been published as of this profile going online, though apparently there was a cut-down reprint of the anthology that dropped six of the thirteen tales, but still included "Easy Way Out." - Loki

   As one might expect, no explanation for the co-existence of two separate sets of privately-owned characters on a single Earth was offered in the three-page story. There is no indication that Ms. Pitman had the permission of either Marvel or DC to use their characters, though the author, editors and publishers may well have felt that their usage would be covered under the laws of parody given the context of their cameos in this story; either that or they simply felt that the respective copyright owners would be unlikely to hear of their usage here (a not unreasonable assumption in the 1970s, well prior to the internet becoming a global repository and disseminator of information about such obscurities) or would let such minor mentions slide even if they did hear about them.

   The cover of Superheroes (see left) by artist Melvyn Grant also featured a nod to Marvel's characters, featuring a composite hero wearing Spider-Man's mask, Thor's helmet, Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell)'s tunic and wrist bands, and Captain America's boots and shield; the logo on his chest is that of the Sphere book company. I'm including it here as it is a nice illustration in what would otherwise be a text-only profile, but just to be clear, it isn't an image of Supercreep, who exists only in prose with no available images. - Loki

   As a denizen of Earth-Crossover, Supercreep could conceivably be an alternate version of an individual from either Earth-616 or Earth-One, or at least a variation of such a character. Thus, although he was evidently slain on Earth-Crossover, he might remain alive on another Earth.

   The story does not specify if Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor are acting together as the Avengers on this occasion.

Profile by Ronald Byrd.

CLARIFICATIONS:  Supercreep should not be confused with:

• Creep, an agent of Norman Osborn -- Peter Parker: Spider-Man I#96
• Creep (Marisol Guerra), mutant able to influence plant growth -- Storm III#1
  
• the Super-Adaptoid, a power-duplicating android created by AIM -- Tales of Suspense I #84
• the Super-Apes (Igor, Miklho, Peotr), mutated animals in the service of the Red Ghost -- Fantastic Four I #13
• Super-Axis , a wartime team of superhuman Axis agents -- Invaders I #38
• Super-Bigot, a.k.a. Glowworm -- Power Man and Iron Fist #123
• Supercharger, electric-powered anti-superhuman fanatic -- Amazing Fantasy #17
• the Super-Cobalt Robot, created for Tyrannus by Ralph Roberts -- X-Men I #34
• Superconductor, a servant of the Time Guardian -- Dark Guard #2
• the Super-Ego, a cosmic cancerous growth -- Thor #450/2
• Super-Ego of Earth-9511, a telekinetic Avenger -- Avengers: The Last Avengers Story #1
• Super-Destroyer, a member of the Imperial Guard -- X-Men II #124
• the Super-Heroes of Europe (S.H.E.), an international super-team decimated by the Void -- Sentry I #4
• the Super Humanoid, one of the Leader's androids -- Incredible Hulk I #116
• the Super-Intendant (Victor), power-draining operative of the Corporation -- Marvel Comics Presents #82
• Super-Mummy, former member of the Fight Brigade -- Fight-Man #1
• Supernatural of Earth-148611 (Holly), a nature-controlling member of the ESPeople -- D.P. 7 #11
• Super-Nova (Garthan Saal), a mutated extraterrestrial member of the Nova Corps --Avengers I #301
• Super-Patriot, costumed militia-leader -- Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD I #13
• Super-Patriot, former identity of USAgent -- Captain America I #323
• Super-Patriot (Mike Farrell), former Watchdog, partner of Dead Ringer -- Captain America I #425
• Superpro (Phil Grayfield), heroic football player -- NFL Superpro #1
• Super-Sabre (Martin Fletcher), mutant hero of World War II and postwar era, later joined Freedom Force -- Uncanny X-Men #215
• the Super-Sentinels, proposed name for a team of Weapon Plus operatives -- X-Men II #145
• the Super-Sentry, a Kree weapon -- Captain Marvel I #16
• the Super-Skrull (Kl'rt), a mutated Skrull and longtime enemy of the Fantastic Four -- Fantastic Four I #18
• Super Slave, heroic genie active during World War II -- Mystic Comics I #5
• Super Soldier of Earth-9602 (Clark Kent), Amalgam version of Captain America and Superman -- DC Vs. Marvel #3
• the Super-Soldiers, superhuman British operatives -- Super Soldiers #1
• the Super Squad, enhanced criminals employed by the Crime-Master -- Untold Tales of Spider-Man #23
• Super-Storm of Earth-982 (Torus Storm), mutant son of the Human Torch and Mrs. Fantastic -- Fantastic Five #2
• any other Creep or Super character from Marvel or any other publishing company, and it doesn't matter HOW many of them it may have!

The Asgardians

Described only as a "phalanx of other Norse gods" accompanying Thor, these Asgardians fought Supercreep alongside Thor and the other heroes, to no avail; they patiently waited while Thor discussed the situation with his fellow heroes, and one of them, identified only as "a minor Norse god," explained the standoff when Joe Hero attempted to get through the crowd: "I sympathize with thee. But it is not our doing; thee must take it up with he that doth cause all the trouble, he that doth call himself Supercreep." Hero thanked him politely, privately wishing that "they'd teach English grammar in Asgard." Hero did not consider the gods' presence unduly noteworthy, perhaps implying that earthly activity by Asgardians was more common on Earth-Crossover. Presumably these Asgardians possessed the same basic attributes as the ones who interact with the denizens of Reality-616.

Batman and Robin
(presumably Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson)

Two of the gathered heroes, they were described only as "looking baffled" at the gathered heroes' inability to defeat Supercreep; why they were in New York instead of Gotham City was not mentioned. Presumably they possessed all of the attributes of their Earth-One counterparts circa 1978.

The Blue Bulk

One of the gathered heroes and described simply as "a large blue figure," the Blue Bulk appeared to be Earth-Crossover's version of the Incredible Hulk, in as much as he spoke much the same as the Hulk's "childlike" persona (i.e. "Bulk doesn't understand."). When the fight with Supercreep ended at a standstill, the Blue Bulk sat on the ground and attempted to figure out why Supercreep had not yet been defeated; when Supercreep laughed loudly at Joe Hero, the Bulk responded to the noise with a growl. After Supercreep was shot by Hero, the Bulk's understanding of the situation was in no way improved.

   It is unrevealed if the Blue Bulk is actually Bruce Banner or instead someone else, nor is it known why he should be blue instead of green (mutated by a cobalt-bomb instead of a gamma-bomb, maybe?). Nevertheless, he presumably possessed most of the attributes of his Earth-616 counterpart circa 1978.

Comments: The story's use of the Blue Bulk, rather than the Hulk, may have been due to the fact that "The Incredible Hulk" TV series was ongoing at the time, making the Hulk's unauthorized use potentially more problematic than that of the others.

Captain America
(presumably Steve Rogers)

One of the gathered heroes, he was described as engaged "in earnest consultation" with Iron Man and Thor after the heroes' combined efforts failed to defeat Supercreep. He presumably possessed all of the attributes of his Earth-616 counterpart circa 1978.

Joe Hero

Described only as a "man in a grey flannel suit" who noted to himself that he needed a haircut, Joe Hero was a businessman with a wife and children. Although his wife was at home waiting for him, her own job did not always allow her time to cook, so Hero had purchased a six-pack of beer and a frozen pizza, which he was carrying in a "plastic carrier bag" in which he also carried his loaded handgun. Annoyed that the clash between Supercreep and the gathered heroes had gathered a crowd and stopped traffic, Hero attempted to move past one of the Asgardians, who explained the situation. The nondescript Hero then managed to push through the gathered crowd and attempted to walk past the encounter, but drew Supercreep's attention, prompting the villain to demand to know the interloper's identity, then ridicule Hero's surname. After a brief exchange, Supercreep grew incensed by Hero's refusal to be intimidated and threatened to kill him. Hero then shot Supercreep through the left eye, killing him, and resumed his journey home.

Iron Man
(presumably Tony Stark)

One of the gathered heroes, he was described as engaged "in earnest consultation" with Captain America and Thor after the heroes' combined efforts failed to defeat Supercreep. He presumably possessed all of the attributes of his Earth-616 counterpart circa 1978.

Superman
(presumably Kal-El, a.k.a. Clark Kent)

One of the gathered heroes, he was described only as "looking baffled" at the gathered heroes' inability to defeat Supercreep; why he was in New York instead of Metropolis was not mentioned. He presumably possessed all of the attributes of his Earth-One counterpart circa 1978.

Thor
(presumably Thor Odinson)

One of the gathered heroes, he was described as engaged "in earnest consultation" with Captain America and Iron Man after the heroes' combined efforts failed to defeat Supercreep. Aside from the Blue Bulk and the unidentified Asgardian, he was the only hero whose words Joe Hero clearly heard; in fact, he spoke directly to Hero to confirm Supercreep's boasting, noting "'Tis true. Even the mystic powers of we Asgardians cannot prevail against him." He presumably possessed all of the attributes of his Earth-616 counterpart circa 1978.

images: (without ads) Cover of Superheroes