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"The Hood" redirects here. For the Thunderbirds villain, see The Hood (Thunderbirds).
The Hood (Parker Robbins) is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Universe. Created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artists Kyle Hotz and Eric Powell, the character first appeared in The Hood #1 (July 2002).
[edit] Publication historyThe Hood first appeared in his own self-titled MAX limited series in 2002 which featured his origin, as a character who had a cloak and boots stolen from a Nisanti demon, which granted him invisibility and flight respectively. The Hood next appeared in the 2006 miniseries Beyond!, a miniseries set in outer space, which had the character shift towards a slightly more anti-heroic side as opposed to a villainous one. Brian Michael Bendis stated in a 2007 Newsarama interview that within the pages of New Avengers, Parker Robbins would be getting similar treatment to Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II. Bendis says that "...like the Sentry and Echo – the Hood is one of these excellent brand new creations that no one else was touching, and that’s how they fall by the wayside."[1] Confirming the statement and having Parker return to his villainous roots, a 2007 New Avengers storyline had Parker rise to becoming "the 'Godfather' of all supervillains", mostly due to the fact that Marvel's Civil War event prevented any heroes from stopping him. Although the New Avengers defeated the Hood's new gang of supercriminals, he broke them out, only to be defeated once more. Following 2008's Secret Invasion, The Hood has a more prominent role, as part of the Cabal,[2] and features in his own tie-in limited series, Dark Reign: The Hood, written by Jeff Parker.[3][4] Since Bendis gained control of the character, he has not appeared with his boots, and the Nisanti demon, a tie-in to Vaughn's Runaways series, was revealed to be a disguise for the Doctor Strange nemesis, Dormammu. [edit] Fictional character biography[edit] OriginRobbins' father worked closely with the Kingpin and was around while Parker was growing up. As a child, he witnessed a battle between Daredevil and Electro, which had a profound effect on Robbins' young adulthood. Parker's father died, and his mother eventually entered a near-vegetative state and was hospitalized. Parker visits his mother, telling her stories of jobs he's acquired and how he's making himself into a better person, while actually carrying out the life of a criminal. Parker's well-meaning nature is juxtaposed with his philandering and thieving ways, such as taking care of his pregnant girlfriend Sara, while visiting a prostitute on the side. Parker's cousin and best friend, John King, is a recovering drug addict and thief who approaches Robbins over a job in a warehouse said to be housing valuable goods. Robbins takes the job in order to move his mother to a better care center. Inside the abandoned warehouse, the two encounter an abandoned mystic ritual which results in an encounter with a creature, the Nisanti. Robbins shoots and apparently kills the demon, and steals its hood and boots rather than leave empty handed. Disposing of the gun in a dumpster, Robbins encounters a gang who wanted the boots he had stolen off a HYDRA agent before going to the warehouse. Throwing the boots at the gang, he flees and puts on the demon's boots, learning of their levitation powers. Escaping, he shares his discovery with King and tries on the cloak, which grants him the ability to become invisible while holding his breath. He uses his new powers to commit petty robberies, and then John asks him for help in stealing a shipment of blood diamonds. The diamonds were the responsibility of Dennis Golembuski, the Golem, who hired Constrictor, Jack O'Lantern, Shocker, and Madame Rapier to ensure the delivery. However, Robbins confronts the group and steals half the shipment. Meeting up with King, the two are confronted by two police officers. Robbins shoots one officer and King knocks the other out with a blow to the back of the head. The officer shot by Robbins ends up in a coma, and dies later. King stayed behind to take the blame while Robbins flees. As a result of this incident, Robbins is dubbed "The Hood" by the authorities and a bounty is placed upon his head for his arrest. Pursued by the Golem, the cops, and two FBI agents, the Hood hatches a plan to get King out of prison. He tries to pawn the diamonds for King's lawyer fee, but runs into the Shocker. After defeating him, he finds out about Golem and Rapier, and says he will give the diamonds back in addition to a returner's fee. Golem agrees and sends Rapier with the Hood under instructions to kill Parker after the deal is made. Knowing it is a setup, the Hood purchases a similar cloak, and goes to the rendezvous point. Robbins sets up events so Rapier confronts the FBI, wearing the fake cloak, and she is killed. He tells the living enforcers to tell Golem to leave him alone after he returns the diamonds. King tells the FBI that the Hood was a female and is released. Robbins then visited his mother and told her that he would begin helping people and making her proud. Meanwhile, the Golem weeps over a photograph of his family, including his mutant daughter, knowing the price of failure and vowing that he wasn't done with the Hood. Having died in a coma, the wife of the cop shot by King vows to avenge him as White Fang, as she doesn't believe the Hood is dead. The Nisanti is also shown to have revived with Parker's name on its lips, thanks to King shouting out his name during the robbery attempt. [edit] Beyond!Alongside Spider-Man, Venom III, Gravity, Medusa, Hank Pym, the Wasp, Kraven the Hunter II, and Firebird, the Hood finds himself transported to the reconstructed Battleworld. While in transit, they are told that one victor will have a wish granted by the Beyonder, should the other combatants die. The Hood attempts to capitalize on this by using his invisibility to launch a sneak attack on the gathered heroes and villains, but is battered by Kraven utilizing his enhanced sense of smell. During the confusion of the Hood's attack, Venom manages to impale Spider-Man through the chest. Crashlanding on Battleworld and losing Spider-Man's body, the group encounters Deathlok, who assists them in battle against Dragon Man. After the battle, the Hood follows Kraven as the latter encountered Spider-Man, who has a gaping chest wound but is still alive. After Kraven left, the Hood then reveals himself and shoots Spider-Man in the knees. The Hood takes Spidey to the camp and forces him to reveal himself as the original Space Phantom. After battling the Space Phantom, the Hood accompanies the group into Limbo to wait for the Space Phantom to appear when he chooses his next target for impersonation. In Limbo, Venom destroys the portal on Battleworld, claiming victory and the Hood and Gravity bond. Using the Space Phantom to return to Battleworld, the group confronts Venom and realize that Uatu the Watcher is there. Pym shoots the group, seemingly killing them all, in order to draw out the "Beyonder". In truth, this was the Stranger, who was fooled by Pym shrinking the entire group down. The Hood then attacks the Stranger alongside the other combatants, before the Stranger leaves. With Battleworld crumbling since the Stranger's will was no longer holding it together, the Hood and the others escape, but not before Gravity sacrifices his life to save the group. While on Earth, he attends Gravity's funeral with Sara. Some time after this, Sara gives birth to his child. Gravity would be returned to life a short time later. [edit] Hood's Criminal Empire The Hood begins his quest to become the Kingpin of All Supervillains in New York by inviting a large contingent of villains to a meeting where he gives each of them $25,000 of seed money, partly to gain their confidence, partly to buy their loyalty. He promises them much more where that came from if they join him in creating a new criminal empire with Robbins at the head and John King as his lieutenant. Parker utilizes the cloak, but his boots are not used in the arc. The Hood's gang includes Jigsaw, who had been attacked and beaten by Tigra in an earlier robbery. To prove himself to the gathered supervillains, the Hood seeks out and viciously beats Tigra, threatening her mother's life as a warning, while Jigsaw films the attack. At the after party, Chemistro informs The Hood of a plot by the Owl to sell Deathlok, which he stole from S.H.I.E.L.D., to the highest bidder. As the Owl hasn't gained permission from his new crime syndicate, The Hood decides to gatecrash the auction. He effortlessly ambushes and dispatches the Owl by sending Madame Masque, the Crimson Cowl, the Wizard, and Dr. Jonas Harrow as proxies. John King and the Hood reconvene in the back room of a rundown bar where they are confronted by a curious Wolverine who overhears their plans to run Deathlok through the lobby of Avengers Tower. Covering King's retreat, the Hood manages to shoot Wolverine in the crotch before assuming the form of the Nisanti demon who originally owned his gear, enabling him to overpower the mutant and escape. Chemistro suggests that they change their plan and instead use Deathlok to rob a federal reserve bank in New Jersey, seeing it as a more profitable venture than a suicidal attack on Avengers Tower. The robbery is successful, netting them over $15 million (US), although Deathlok is destroyed in the process. As the group celebrates their victory, Luke Cage smashes through the wall of their base closely followed by nearly the entire population of the New York superhero community including the New Avengers, the Mighty Avengers, the Fantastic Four (including Storm and the Black Panther), Howard the Duck, Punisher, the Defenders, the Silver Surfer, and Thor. These superheroes turn out to be illusions, however, as only the New Avengers are actually present. In the ensuing battle, Doctor Strange appears to banish Robbins using an anti-demon spell, while the rest of the syndicate is taken down. The Hood appears alongside Turk; he surveys a fight between Daredevil and a gang of street thugs, after Turk double crosses Mister Fear to show his allegiance to The Hood's new crime empire.[5] The Hood is then mentioned by name when the Enforcers, who are working for Mister Fear, are ambushed by Wrecker and Razor Fist who are working for The Hood.[6] Later, after some of Robbins' syndicates are captured by S.H.I.E.L.D., Robbins reappears and frees them. He leads Wrecker and others on a rampage through The Raft, swearing to take revenge on the New Avengers. After interrogating Tigra to learn their location, the Hood leads his syndicate against the New Avengers, using the magical powers of his hood and cloak to see through the illusions defending the Sanctum Sanctorum. In the ensuing battle, the Hood fatally injures Doctor Strange before being pushed aside by Wong, and nearly blows Iron Fist's head off before being intercepted by a vengeful Tigra. The Hood, alongside both the New Avengers and his syndicate, is taken down by Doctor Strange's paralyzing spell, but manages to escape from the arriving S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. In the aftermath, Robbins is seen talking to an unseen figure, exclaiming, "Now I know how to beat 'em."[7] [edit] Secret InvasionDuring several flashbacks, it is revealed that Skrulls had been trying to infiltrate the Hood's organization. Skrulls disguised as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents try and replace Madame Masque, but the Hood rescues her. During the interrogation of the surviving Skrull, Doctor Demonicus convinces the Hood to use his power to scan the surrounding villains. It is discovered the Slug is a Skrull in disguise. The Hood shoots and kills him with the other villains wondering how long that Skrull was impersonating Slug. Later by himself, the Hood discovers his power comes from the mystical entity Dormammu.[8] The Hood is seen watching live coverage of the Skrull Invasion on television in Brooklyn with Wizard, Madame Masque, the Blood Brothers, John King, and Bulldozer. He decides to gather everyone to fight the Skrulls, despite Chemistro's objections that they should, "let the heroes and aliens kill each other". Despite protests, Hood reasons that if the Skrulls were to destroy the world as they know it, that it would be bad for business. He then instructs Wizard, Madame Masque, the Blood Brothers, John King, and Bulldozer to gather everyone for the attack.[9] The Hood's group joins with a loose collection of super-powered heroes in the middle of Central Park with the assistance of Electro, Lightmaster, Masked Marauder, and Scorcher. As one, they attack a Skrull force.[10] When the battle is over, the villains all return to hiding. The Hood is later seen meeting with Namor, Doctor Doom, Emma Frost, Loki, and Norman Osborn.[11] [edit] Dark ReignFollowing the events of Secret Invasion, the group's first meeting is shown. Norman Osborn talks to Namor, Emma Frost, Doctor Doom, Loki, and the Hood about his plans for the new world order. When the Hood enters, Emma reads his mind only to make him angry. He threatens her with a gun telling her to stay out of his head, and that she doesn't know who she is messing with. In response, Emma telepathically forces him put his own gun in his mouth, much to the amusement of Namor. Osborn offers the cabal solidarity and the resources to accomplish their own agendas. In return Osborn asks for their public support/registration, as well as cooperation fulfilling any request he may have of them.[12] To prevent the New Avengers from ambushing the Dark Avengers, Norman Osborn gives orders to the Hood to have his crime syndicate keep the New Avengers away. While Scarecrow was shown taking a hit from the second Captain America's shield, Ms. Marvel channeled Spider-Woman's powers to stun the villains allowing the New Avengers to escape.[13] After Punisher tries to assassinate Osborn (failing due to the intervention of Sentry), Osborn asks the Hood to hunt him down.[14] Hood sent Grizzly to take down Punisher. After Grizzly was defeated, Hood forces a somehow-revived Microchip to help kill Punisher.[15] Hood uses the powers of Dormammu to resurrect the villains that were killed by Scourge of the Underworld (Basilisk I, Bird-Man II, Black Abbot, Blue Streak I, Cheetah, Cyclone I, Death Adder, Firebrand I, Hijacker, Human Fly, Letha, Megatak, Mind-Wave, Miracle Man, Mirage, Titania I, Turner D. Century, and Wraith I) to form a squad that will help him take down the Punisher.[16] Hood then explains to the resurrected villains on how much had happened since their deaths at the hands of Scourge of the Underworld. He tells them that the Punisher acted as the Scourge and that they must take the opportunity to kill the Punisher before the spell that revived them wears off. Hood then has Death Adder and Basilisk capture G.W. Bridge's family and hold them hostage so that G.W. can tell them where Punisher is.[17] When on a scouting mission on behalf of the Hood, Wraith was shot with an arrow launched by the Punisher. Upon encountering illusions of his dead family, Punisher encounters Hood who says that he will revive his family in exchange for his surrender. Punisher declines and escapes from Hood.[18] During Punisher's fight with Human Fly, Avengers from out of place and out of time appear and prevent Punisher from killing Human Fly whom is retrieved by Bird-Man. After evading the Avengers, Punisher fights them again and discovers that "Captain America" is actually Mirage in disguise while Mind-Wave was revealed to have been impersonating Iron Man. Cheetah (when posing as Beast) is killed in the fight. Mind-Wave dies when a grenade near them explodes. Norman Osborn later scolds Hood for having the revived villains pose as the Avengers in their fight against Punisher. Hood tells Norman not to call him up screaming again. Upon learning that Cyclone and Miracle Man bailed, Letha has Microchip warn them that if they don't return, their living loved ones will be killed by her. While Lascivious and Letha accompany Human Fly to attack the Punisher, Microchip sends Megatak to attack Punisher's hacker ally Henry.[19] While Hood has the caskets of Punisher's family dug up, Hijacker chases the Punisher in his tank. Punisher then uses Pym particles to shrink down and get into the tank. After taking control of the tank, Punisher crashes it into the building where Basilisk was holding G. W. Bridge and uses the gases on Basilisk.[20] Hood manages to orchestrate Punisher's capture and brings him to where he is reviving his family. To begin the ritual, Hood has Microchip shoot G.W. Bridge in the head. The Punisher refuses to accept this, and forces Firebrand to burn them alive, and then shoots Firebrand in the back of the head.[21] The Hood also learns from Black Talon of the zombie virus, and tries to gain it for himself. Dormammu appears, through their link, to acknowledge this. Dormammu, though knowing of its lethal nature consuming entire universes and the near-certainty that it would be "bad for business", insists Parker use it to ravage the planet for him to ascend there, apparently less than concerned about the infection for himself (possibly due to his form being composed of pure Faltinian energy and his considerable magical prowess). Despite his advisor's complaints that the virus is far too dangerous, The Hood and his underlings the Night Shift, meet with Black Talon on the Caribbean island Taino to obtain the zombie Deadpool's head, only to see the situation quickly spiral out of control as the zombie virus becomes airborne and infects the entire island. Seemingly abandoned by Dormammu and now fearful of the zombies, Hood is captured by and soon allies himself with the Midnight Sons (who have been sent by A.R.M.O.R. to contain the virus) to escape the island. After watching Man-Thing seemingly die by zombie Deadpool and the Midnight Sons member Werewolf by Night's zombification, the Hood, Morbius, and Daimon Hellstrom are confronted by a zombified and hungry Night Shift. As Morbius is about to call in a nuclear strike, Jennifer Kale reappears, empowered by Dormammu, though his power is soon excorcised from her. Kale and Black Talon then confine the zombie virus inside The Zombie. His powers returned, Hood teleports away with the cured, but still undead-esque Night Shift.[22] Norman Osborn later hires Hood to help Taskmaster in running Camp H.A.M.M.E.R. so that Norman Osborn can train the Dark Avengers of tomorrow.[23] Hood later killed Vampiro II who failed to be subtle in a double murder upon some prostitutes he picked up at a truck stop.[24] Hood assisted Norman Osborn in capturing Night Thrasher and make him a deal which involves resurrecting his brother Dwayne Taylor[25] At the time when his girlfriend is pregnant, Hood is attacked by White Fang (who wants revenge after he killed her husband Eric).[26] While Hood was meeting with Satana to learn more about Dormammu and the Nisanti, John King, Griffin, Piledriver, and Scorcher are caught at the bar by Force and the NYPD. Hood uses his connections with Norman Osborn to get the villains "transferred" from prison. Controller gives White Fang a new suit to use in her next fight with Hood.[27] When his Crime Syndicate prepare to rob a ship, Squid and Man-Fish head into the water to secure it for them.[28] Hood later starts a gang war with Mister Negative after he corrupted White Dragon (who was sent to gather information about Mister Negative's group) causing Hood to kill White Dragon. A flashback had led to Mister Negative corrupting White Dragon and leading the attack upon Hood's headquarters.[29] Hood's Crime Syndicate ends up fighting Spider-Man (who has been corrupted by Mister Negative) and Mister Negative's henchmen. After Spider-Man's attack on his headquarters, Hood confronts Mister Negative in his Chinatown headquarters.[30] Mister Negative tries to corrupt Hood to his side but fails. Though he gains the upperhand, Negative escapes and Hood is forced to fall back when Osborn drops H.A.M.M.E.R.'s seal of Chinatown and threatens to send in his Avengers. Hood is currently unaware that Spot is a mole in his syndicate for Mister Negative.[31] Dormammu empowers the Hood with enough magics to find and kill Doctor Strange, so that Parker can become the new Sorcerer Supreme. The Hood approaches Strange, while he is talking to Wiccan of the Young Avengers. As they fight, Strange tells the Hood that Dormammu's promises are empty, as are all other demons but Parker ignores him and attacks them both. After Wiccan intervenes, Strange and Billy get away and Parker goes home. While there, he has a breakdown and tries to rip off his cloak but finds he can't. Madame Masque appears wanting to know what is going on. Madame Masque promises to help him and removes her mask and they kiss. Unknown to them, Dormammu watches from a mirror. Later on, Parker goes and attacks Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan. He later fights Doctor Strange and the New Avengers until Brother Voodoo (who has become the new Sorcerer Supreme) arrives. Dormammu then manifested through Parker, but was exorcised. Parker was left badly burned and stripped of his hood.[32] In a hospital, Loki approaches him offering him a second chance which he accepts.[33] Loki then takes him and Madame Masque to Cuba and presents the Norn Stones to him, which brings back his powers.[34] [edit] Powers and abilitiesThe mystical boots and cloak Parker wears allow him to perform superhuman abilities. When wearing the boots, the Hood can walk on air. While wearing the cloak, and while holding his breath, the Hood becomes invisible. Robbins also found he could use the hood to see past the illusion protecting Dr. Strange's headquarters. During the Skrull Invasion, it was revealed that Parker can detect Skrulls using an enhanced disguise that fooled even the likes of Dr. Strange and Professor X. Robbins also has the ability to transform demonically when under duress, gaining physical strength and speed to match Wolverine in one-on-one combat. In this demon form, his voice changes and he can sprout spikes from his hands. At least once, this allowed Robbins to fire electrical energy from his hands. According to Dr. Strange, Robbins' powers will eventually kill him as the Nisanti consumes his mind, body, and soul. Though it was revealed that Hood's mystical powers come from Dormammu which even enabled him to resurrect the dead. A recent exorcism appears to have removed the Hood from Robbins along with its mystical abilities. However, he has been given the Norn Stones by Loki as a supplement. [edit] Members of The Hood's crime syndicateAmong the members of Hood's crime syndicate are:[35] Notably, some of the members of this syndicate later became members of MODOK's 11, including Mentallo and Living Laser, who were both thought to be killed in action while on that team. Within that series, a small amount of the Hood's influence was displayed in the Purple Man using the money he had been given, along with his powers, to take over a large casino, where he attempted to subdue Mentallo, possibly on the Hood's behalf. Since the end of the series, Living Laser developed himself into a more complex being of energy, and Armadillo departed from supervillainy to aid Deadly Nightshade in clearing the name of their friend, the Puma. [edit] Other versions[edit] House of M: Masters of EvilIn this reality, Hood assembles a group of sapien bad guys to form the Masters of Evil in defiance to Magneto. It consists of Absorbing Man, Batroc the Leaper, Blizzard II, Chemistro III, Cobra, Constrictor, Crossbones, Madame Masque, Mister Hyde, Nitro, Sandman, Titania, Wizard, and the Wrecking Crew (Bulldozer, Piledriver, Thunderball, and Wrecker).[36] Hood and his Masters of Evil later fight the Red Guard.[37] Hood tells the rest of the Masters of Evil that they will be going to the Central American country of Santo Rico to "liberate it." After putting El Toro (the former dictator) out of his misery, Hood manages to kill the current dictators Madison Jeffries and Lionel Jeffries (who managed to kill Bulldozer and Piledriver) before taking over Santo Rico.[38] The Hood's (and the teams') villainous past were revealed by Magneto and Sebastian Shaw, causing half of the team (consisting of Cobra, Crossbones, Mister Hyde, and Thunderball) to leave Santo Rico while the remaining members joined the Hood to stand against the House of M's action. The Red Guard were sent there and massacred Hood and the remaining villains in his group (except Titania who was thrown to safety by Creel). On a related note, the demon that Hood's powers derived from had no resemblance to Dormammu.[39] [edit] Bibliography
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[edit] External links
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