Styx and Stone
| Styx and Stone | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Amazing Spider-Man #309 (November, 1988) |
| Created by |
David Michelinie Todd McFarlane |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jacob Eishorn (Styx) and Gerald Stone |
| Abilities |
(Styx): Lethal touch Claw-like hands that disintegrate all organic material within seconds (Stone): Wears two large weapons on his shoulders |
Styx and Stone (Jacob Eishorn and Gerald Stone) are two fictional comic book characters in the Marvel Comics universe. They are a criminal duo that have crossed Spider-Man's path on a number of occasions. They were created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #309. They reappeared in issues #332-333 and #376-377 of the same series.
Fictional character biography
Gerald Stone was an idealistic scientist who wanted to find a cure for cancer. He conducted an illegal experiment on a homeless person named Jacob Eishorn. The experiment failed and Eishorn became a living cancer, who needed to kill to survive. Now calling himself "Styx", Eishorn enjoyed the killing of innocents. Feeling responsible for Styx, Stone built high-tech weaponry for himself and turned the two of them into a mercenary duo. Stone hoped that as mercenaries, Styx wouldn't kill innocents, but by now Stone was willing to kill anybody to protect Styx. He planned on using the money they earned as mercenaries to find a cure for Styx.
On their first outing, the duo was hired by Jonathan Caesar, a millionaire obsessed with Mary Jane Watson to kidnap her. This brought them into conflict with Spider-Man, Mary Jane's husband, who defeated the duo. Styx and Stone returned to Caesar, who told them to try again. This time, the duo faced Spider-Man who was at the time in conflict with Venom. During the fight, Styx's touch nearly killed Venom and they were returned to prison.
A third meeting with Spider-Man involved the vigilante Cardiac. Cardiac's alter-ego, Dr. Elias Wirtham, had been a good friend of Stone and offered to cure Styx. Cardiac was convinced that Styx couldn't be cured or redeemed and tried to kill Styx. Spider-Man stopped Cardiac and the two fought, while Styx and Stone attempted, in vain, to escape.
After turning down a job offer from the Life Foundation, Styx and Stone try to rob the New York Stock Exchange, but are single-handedly subdued by Spider-Man.[1]
A heavily mutated Styx and Stone later appear as the leaders of a group violent nihilists called "the Cult of Entropy". The duo and their followers attack a drug lab in Bolivia, but are forced into a retreat by Spider-Man, Deadpool, and the Mercs for Money.[2]
Powers and abilities
Styx's touch can kill anything organic and can disintegrate organic matter within seconds. His fingers can grow longer to increase his range. His touch has no effect on synthetic or inorganic material and Spider-Man's synthetic costume was enough to protect his body from Styx's touch.
Stone wears two large weapons on his shoulders. These weapons can fire energy blasts, a blinding flash, a sticky resin to immobilize opponents and knockout gas. The duo often uses a flying platform of Stone's design.
While a member of the Cult of Entropy, Stone was somehow transformed into a golem-like creature than can turn inorganic material, such as Deadpool's Kevlar armor, into a fragile, rock-like substance by coming into physical contact with it.[2]
Other versions
A teenage version of Styx and Stone appears in the Ultimate Marvel universe as a street punk and a member of the Serpent Skulls gang.[3]
References
- ↑ Mike Lackey (w), Andrew Wildman (p), Stephen Baskerville (i), Chia-Chi Wang (col), Jade Moede (let), Eric Fein (ed). "The Arachnis Project, Part One: Ties That Bind!" Spider-Man: The Arachnis Project #1 (August 1994), United States: Marvel Comics
- 1 2 Joe Kelly (w), Ed McGuinness (p), Mark Morales (i), Jason Keith (col), VC's Joe Sabino (let), Nick Lowe and Jordan D. White (ed). "Isn't it Bromantic? Part Three" Spider-Man/Deadpool #3 (9 March 2016), United States: Marvel Comics
- ↑ Wheeler, Andrew (January 13, 2014). "Look Beyond Cataclysm for Ultimate Marvel NOW!". Marvel.com.
