Step Into My Cemetery...

Can YOU

Name This Marvel Villain??

At first glance, our villain here might pass as a variant of the Man With No Face--or even the Dark Rider, whose agenda in the 17th century ended up involving a number of present-day characters such as Spider-Man, the Vision, and Dr. Doom. But while our cloaked villain above has spent a good deal of his existence experimenting with time displacement, he confined his activities to the latter part of the 20th century (with one exception, which we'll get to shortly). He's also had one or two aliases, including a costumed identity known as the Exterminator:

But soon enough, Philip Sterling settled on Death-Stalker, who had several factors going for him in the villain department including intangibility, great strength, and a pair of cybernetic gloves which, on contact, gave his victims a feeling of chilling cold and fear or, more fatally, near-instant death. Combined with his knowledge as an inventor, as well as his ability to disappear from our dimension, he was a formidable threat.

Death-Stalker's primary foe has been Daredevil, though he made a notable appearance in Doctor Strange when Kyle Richmond (Nighthawk) sought out Strange's help in solving a mystery involving a "ghost" at one of his R&D labs--a thief, as it turned out, who was all too real and using fear to purloin devices for his own use.

Death-Stalker puts up quite a fight against Strange and Nighthawk, though in the end is unprepared to deal with the mystic forces which Strange could use against him.

In a confrontation with Daredevil, we learn a little of how Sterling came to his fate as Death-Stalker:

As you might have guessed, Mr. Sterling learned soon enough never to say never when it came to being thwarted.

Thanks to Nick Fury, Captain America and ourselves receive a more detailed explanation of Death-Stalker's powers:

As Fury alludes to, it appeared that Death-Stalker bought the farm in a battle with Daredevil which took place in, appropriately enough, a cemetery--suiting not only Death-Stalker's chilling nature, but as a fitting location where he would bring about his own death.

But in the one-shot Dead On Arrival book from 2008, Fury has evidence that suggests that the report of Death-Stalker's death may have been premature.

Ohh, Cap. If I had a nickel...

Though it turns out that DD, following his own trail, is just as incredulous.

The DOA book, produced by writer Tito Faraci and artist Claudio Villa, is well worth your time, its writing and artwork showcasing Death-Stalker nicely as he returns to St. Stephen's cemetery (the scene of the crime, as it were) to strike back at Daredevil--though not without taking a number of hostages to ensure the outcome he craves.