Abin Sur

Before Hal Jordan became Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814, Abin Sur held that position. Originally a history professor on the planet Ungara, Sur took the position of Green Lantern in the mid 1860's. He fought on Earth during the American West and during WWII, helping Starman and Alan Scott combat Mister Mind. After a mission to the planet Ysmault, where he encounters the Five Inversions, he is told of a  prophecy, the Prophecy of the Emotional Spectrum and that he will die, filled with fear unable to stop the prophecy. That death comes to fruition when, as he lays dying, the victim of fear, something a Green Lantern cannot have, his ring summons Hal Jordan to succeed him. Abin Sur will be played by Temuera Morrison in the upcoming Green Lantern movie.

Hector Hammond

One of Hal Jordan's frequent enemies, Hector Hammond first appeared in Green Lantern (vol. 2 #5, 1961) was given massive psionic abilities when he was exposed to the same meteor that gave Gorilla Grodd his abilities. But that came later on, first he exposed four scientists to the meteor, causing their intellects to increase rapidly while sapping their free will. Hammond forced the scientists to build amazing inventions that he sold as his own, building enormous wealth for himself, until he was stopped by Hal Jordan. Upon escaping from prison, he deliberately exposed himself to the meteor. This is when he gained his psionic powers and immortality as well, but at the cost of immobilization and loss of speech, being able to communicate only telepathically. He was responsible for the creation of the second Royal Flush Gang in Justice League of America #203 (1982). When he appears in the series Blackest Night crossover, he escapes from prison, swallowing the orange lantern of Larfleeze and becomes the new host for Ophidian, the embodiment of greed, who attempts to make Larfleeze his slave after being forced to live in the lantern for years. After Hector's desires start to override his own, he leaves Hector's body in search of Carol Ferris. Hector will appear in the upcoming Green Lantern movie, portrayed by Peter Sarsgaard gaining his powers after absorbing a small piece of Parallax that was housed in Abin Sur's body.

Parallax

Alright, with all the buzz about the upcoming Green Lantern movie in June, I decided it was time to do a post about the big in the shadows villain that will be showcased in said movie. And that villain is Parallax, the fear entity and the source of power for Sinestro and the Sinestro Corps rings (but that's something else entirely). Ok bottom line, when the world was first created, and there was new life, the first being to actually feel fear evolved into a higher state, and that little spec of life became Parallax. The Guardians had been secretly battling him over the years, and his greatest triumph came when he infected Hal Jordan with fear, and turned Jordan into his host, causing the destruction of the Corps for a time. In addition, there is the creation of the Sinestro Corps, which is dedicated to spreading fear throughout the galaxy. I am keeping this post short due to that it would get ridiculously long with all the history of the character, but be on the lookout for this fearsome foe come June 17 fans! Mark those calendars and buy those tickets!

Howard Stark

The father of Tony Stark aka. Iron Man, Howard was a brilliant inventor his whole life. He and his father worked together on various projects, together founding Stark Industries. During WWII, Howard worked on the Manhattan Project and the 'Arsenal' robots, which were programmed to be awakened only if the nation was overrun during the Cold War. Howard married Marie Carbonell and they had a son, Anthony 'Tony' Stark. Throughout his life, Howard pushed Tony to be the best, telling him that someone must have "iron in their backbone" to be successful. But he also suffered from severe alcoholism and this would later afflict Tony as well. Howard and Marie were both killed in a plane crash on the Ides of March, a crash which was thought to have been engineered by the V-Battalion, a group Howard was a part of during WWII. After his death Tony took over Stark Industries, started a charity in his mothers name and of course would later on become Iron Man. Howard will be portrayed in the upcoming Captain America movie by Dominic Cooper.

The Howling Commandos

Before Nick Fury became director of S.H.I.E.L.D, he was a no nonsense Sgt. of an elite squadron of soldiers during WWII. The Howling Commandos were often assigned dangerous, and seemingly impossible missions. The group consisted of Sgt. Nick Fury, Corporal Dum Dum Dugan, Private Gabriel Jones, Private Rob "Rebel" Ralston, Private Dino Manelli, Private Isadore "Izzy" Cohen, Private Johnathan "Junior" Juniper who died in issue #8, Private Percival "Pinky" Pinkerton a British soldier who took Junior's place after his death and Private Eric Koening, a defector from Germany. These men fought against both real and fictional war foes, including Erwin Rommel, the Red Skull, Baron Zemo, Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker who would later on become head of the terrorist organization HYDRA as well as other Axis villains, and they also dealt with inter-squad bigotry. Even after the book ended, several of the characters made the transition to being members of S.H.I.E.L.D alongside Fury. The group will be featured in the upcoming Captain America film, so be excited true believers, cause the Marvel move Universe is getting a lot bigger!

James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes

First appearing in Captain America # 1 (1941), Buck was a scrappy kid born in Shelbyville Indiana in 1925, and became an orphan after his father was killed in training before America's entry into WWII at Camp Lehigh, Virginia. There he became the unofficial mascot of the camp and made friends with Private Steve Rogers, who Bucky believed to be a dull-witted guy, unaware that Steve was secretly Captain America. Upon discovery of Steve's secret, Bucky became Cap's partner. Together they fought many enemies of the Allied Powers during WWII, including the infamous Red Skull. On their last mission together, against Baron Heinrich Zemo, they hopped aboard a drone plane that was laden with explosives. Steve was knocked off the plane, and Bucky was blasted clear of it, losing an arm in the process. A passing Soviet submarine picked him up, and due to the explosion he was stricken with amnesia. He was taken to Moscow and scientists attached a bionic robotic arm, upgrading the arm every time the technology improved. He was put through a rigorous training course and becomes the Winter Soldier, their top covert assassin. It was not until the 21st century, when Bucky was sent by the former Soviet General Aleksander Lukin to kill the Red Skull that he and Cap meet. Afterwards he goes on to kill hundreds of people in Philadelphia, kidnap Sharon Carter and charges the Cosmic Cube, which Lukin sent him to collect. When he and Steve struggle for the Cosmic Cube, Steve gains control and tells the Soldier to "remember who you are". Upon being hit with the flood of memories and the overwhelming guilt for what he did over the years, Bucky flees. Over time, he regained the trust of his friends, and upon Steve's supposed death, he became the new Captain America, at the request of Steve. Upon Steve's return, he is willing to give back the mantle to his former mentor, but Steve declines, telling Bucky to continue on. Bucky joins the reformed Avengers after the events of 'Siege' and is soon put on trial for his crimes as the Winter Soldier. Bucky will be played in the upcoming Captain America movie by Sebastian Stan. 

Arnim Zola

 

Today's post is about another Captain America foe who has been a constant thorn in his side, Arnim Zola. First appearing in Captain America # 208 (1971), Zola was a brilliant biochemist during WWII in the employ of the Nazi Party and was one of the first human genetic engineers. His greatest contribution was in developing a brain pattern imprint device, this allowed a persons mental essence to be projected into a cloned brain. This was gifted to Adolf Hitler and allowed his brain to be transferred into a new body, the body that would become the supervillain known as the Hate Monger. Zola used his technology on himself, thus allowing him to survive past the war into the modern era. The Red Skull has through the years also financed several of Zola's experiments for the creation of monsters such as Doughboy, Primus and Man-Fish. His experiments have made him a dangerous foe over the decades. He was instrumental in pulling Steve Rogers from the timestream, so that the Skull could project his brain into Rogers body. His whereabouts after those events are unknown. He will be portrayed in the upcoming Captain America film by Toby Jones.