Crossbones (comics)

Crossbones (Brock Rumlow) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually depicted as an adversary of the superhero Captain America. Created by writer Mark Gruenwald and artist Kieron Dwyer, the character first appeared in Captain America #359 (October 1989). Crossbones usually appears as an ally of the Red Skull. He carried out the assassination of Captain America, although a hypnotized Sharon Carter is believed to have fired the fatal shots.

Over the years, Crossbones has appeared in various forms of media, including animated television series and video games. Most notably, actor Frank Grillo has portrayed the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Publication history

Crossbones first appeared during the "Bloodstone Hunt" storyline in the issues of Captain America. Technically, he made a cameo appearance in issue #359, in one panel, as a figure watching from the shadows. In the next issue, he was shown in costume, making this issue his first full appearance. He later revealed his name to Diamondback before knocking her unconscious in issue #362.^[1]

He appeared as a regular character in Thunderbolts beginning with issue #144, but was dismissed from the team in issue #150.

Fictional character biography

Young Brock Rumlow led the Savage Crims gang on New York City's Lower East Side. After he assaulted fifteen-year-old Rachel Leighton, two of her brothers assaulted Brock, and the elder brother was killed. Rumlow fled, entering Taskmaster's school for criminals. Within three years, he became an instructor there under the name Bingo Brock.

As a mercenary, Rumlow enlisted with Albert Malik, the communist Red Skull, in Algeria, serving him under the name Frag until he was sent to invade Arnim Zola's Switzerland chateau. Ultimately the only team member to survive the assault, Rumlow there met and impressed the original Nazi Red Skull, Johann Schmidt; this Skull accepted Brock's services, code-naming him Crossbones.

Red Skull sent Crossbones to observe Baron Zemo's progress acquiring the Bloodstone fragments and to obtain them.^[2] He stowed aboard Captain America's flagship, and entered Zemo's ship to steal the Bloodstone fragments. He overpowered Diamondback, and shot a crossbow bolt that coupled with Captain America's shield. Crossbones was forced to shatter the Bloodstone fragments when the alien entity known as the Hellfire Helix used it to take control of the body of Heinrich Zemo; the destruction of the Bloodstone discorporated the Hellfire Helix.^[3] Knowing that his master would be infuriated by the loss of the Bloodstone, Crossbones kidnapped Diamondback, taking her to Madripoor as bait for Captain America. He challenged Captain America to retrieve her, but the Captain defeated him, although Diamondback escaped, and the Red Skull ordered Crossbones to desist and return to headquarters.^[4] The Red Skull then ordered him to retrieve the Controller after the Controller's breakout from the Vault.^[5] With the Machinesmith, Crossbones investigated the disappearance of the Red Skull.^[6]

Crossbones assembled the Skeleton Crew from the Skull's henchmen and became their leader, searching for the missing Red Skull with them. They battled the Black Queen and her Hellfire Club mercenaries.^[7] Crossbones enlisted the aid of psychic Tristam Micawber to locate the Skull. Upon finding him, Crossbones took the Skull to Skullhouse for convalescence.^[8] Crossbones always remained loyal to the Red Skull, even tracking him down when he is imprisoned and is left to die by Magneto.

He next attended AIM's weapons exposition.^[9] He battled Daredevil during a failed assassination attempt against the Kingpin.^[10] He battled Bullseye during Bullseye's failed assassination attempt against the Red Skull.^[11] He battled Captain America again and was defeated.^[12] He later recounts how he met the Red Skull.^[13] The Red Skull assigned him to discover who killed the Skull's spare clone bodies.^[14] Alongside the Skeleton Crew, he battled the Schutzheilligruppe in an attempt to rescue the Red Skull but was captured.^[15] He was rescued from the Schutzheilligruppe's custody by Arnim Zola's fake Avengers.^[16] Crossbones was eventually fired for questioning the Red Skull's decision to ally himself with the Viper.^[17]

Desperate to regain his position as leader of the Skeleton Crew, Crossbones kidnapped Diamondback, imprisoning her in an abandoned subway station and forced her into a brutal regime of combat training. Crossbones believed that he had brainwashed her into betraying Captain America, but Diamondback was actually laying a trap for Crossbones. She stole samples of Captain America's blood from the Avengers' mansion, then accompanied Crossbones to the Red Skull's mountain fortress. The two were captured and imprisoned, and the Red Skull rehired Crossbones on a temporary basis. He was later attacked by Cutthroat, new leader of the Skeleton Crew, who feared that Crossbones will try to take back his position as the Red Skull's right-hand man. Crossbones killed him, never realizing that Cutthroat was actually Diamondback's older brother, Danny. Crossbones later stabbed Diamondback during her escape attempt, only to later save her with a blood transfusion in order to use her as bait. He was critically wounded by flying shrapnel during an assault on the fortress by Captain America and Falcon, and imprisoned.

Imprisoned in the Raft when Electro breaks the inmates out, Crossbones was seen fighting Captain America and Spider-Man. The latter kicked Crossbones in the face, knocking him out.^[18]

After he escaped from prison, Crossbones became a mercenary and assassin for a number of organizations, until he was rehired by the Red Skull, who was later apparently assassinated by the Winter Soldier. Crossbones and his new lover, Synthia Schmidt (the Red Skull's daughter), began hunting the Soldier's commander, Aleksander Lukin. They plotted to crash a stolen World War II era plane into the new Kronas Headquarters in London, only to have their plane destroyed by Red Skull's Sleeper robot. While they escape the destruction of the plane, they found Agent 13, and are about to kill her, only to be stopped by the appearance of the Red Skull. They begin working with Red Skull/Lukin, whose minds both share Lukin's body.

Following the Civil War storyline, Captain America and his Anti-Registration heroes surrendered to Iron Man and his Pro-Registration heroes. While being led from Federal Courthouse, Captain America was shot in the shoulder by Crossbones, who was taking orders from Red Skull. Crossbones tries to escape in a helicopter but was tracked by Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Winter Soldier then beat Crossbones into unconsciousness, while Crossbones simply laughed in his face. Falcon then turned Crossbones over to SHIELD custody.

In Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America, Wolverine along with Daredevil and the help of Doctor Strange, broke into S.H.I.E.L.D. to interrogate Crossbones and threatened to kill him. Crossbones revealed no knowledge of his hiring by the Red Skull. Wolverine left him a bloody mess on the floor after being convinced by Daredevil to spare his life.^[19]

S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Tony Stark arranged for Professor X to scan Crossbones' mind for information, but Professor X found that someone (implied to be Doctor Faustus) had erased several parts of his memory in order to prevent such a scan. Sin and a new incarnation of the Serpent Squad have broken Crossbones free of S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. They then capture Winter Soldier when he confronts Lukin to find out his relationship with the Red Skull.

When Sin and the Serpent Squad attacked the Senate Building, Bucky Barnes (formerly Winter Soldier), arrived as the new Captain America. After battling and injuring many of the Squad, Crossbones attacked Barnes. After a brutal fight in which Crossbones launched Barnes out of the building. Bucky was saved by the intervention of Natalia Romanova, and he shot Crossbones several times in the chest. The gravely wounded Crossbones was then taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody once again.

At the start of the Heroic Age event, Crossbones has become a member of the new Thunderbolts team formed in the aftermath of Siege.^[20] Government agents, working with Luke Cage, add Crossbones to the team knowing that he cannot be reformed, hoping that his extreme methods will alienate the other Thunderbolt members and push them towards rehabilitation.^[21] During the team's first mission, Crossbones was exposed to corrupted Terrigen Mists;^[22] during the events of Shadowland, Crossbones manifested the ability to fire a powerful, piercing beam of energy from his face, theorizing that this ability originates from his exposure to the Terrigen mists. He uses this ability to murder a police officer.^[23] Fearing that the Thunderbolts are close to being disbanded following Cage's decision to leave, Crossbones attempted to escape alongside Ghost and Juggernaut. During the attempt, Crossbones used his new ability to fight an unsuspecting Steve Rogers. Crossbones was defeated and discharged from the Thunderbolts, after Ghost revealed his murder of the police officer.^[24] Crossbones is shown incarcerated in a padded cell wearing a straitjacket, apparently no longer able to use his energy beam.^[25]

During the Fear Itself storyline, Crossbones was constantly harassed while he was behind bars, because he was both a former Thunderbolt member and a neo-nazi. Shortly after when he was being beaten up by more thugs, the Juggernaut unintentionally causes a break out in the prison facility called the Raft. Man Mountain Mario (the cousin of Man Mountain Marko) helps defend Crossbones from the thugs. While the two of them were trying to escape, Mario told Crossbones about his grandma who helps criminals leave the border. Crossbones manages to escape and returns the favor by killing Mario to help with his escape.^[26] In Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt #2 he confronts some of the former Avengers Initiative members in New Jersey after he escapes the Raft. He fights Gravity, Frog-Man, Geiger, Scarlet Spiders, and Firestar. When he's surrounded he tosses a grenade at Gravity but Geiger catches it and is seriously injured, creating an easy distraction for him to escape.^[27]

During the Ends of the Earth storyline, Crossbones was seen in one of Doctor Octopus' facilities. Sabra fights her way past some Octobots until Crossbones shoots her.^[28]

Crossbones later appears as a member of HYDRA, who are planning to spread poisonous blood extracted from an Inhuman boy named Lucas. He fights Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, on Bagalia. Just as he was about to kill him, he is defeated by Misty Knight who was undercover at that moment.^[29] He is later defeated by Sam Wilson when he attacks a HYDRA base located on Florida.^[30]

During the Avengers: Standoff! storyline, Crossbones was an inmate of Pleasant Hill, a gated community established by S.H.I.E.L.D. When Steve Rogers was at the Pleasant Hill Bowling Alley trying to reason with Kobik, Crossbones attacks Rogers. Before Crossbones can kill Rogers, Kobik uses her powers to de-age Rogers back to his physical prime, which allows him to defeat Crossbones.^[31] In the aftermath of the events at Pleasant Hill, Crossbones founds a new version of HYDRA with the Red Skull and Sin.^[32]

Powers and abilities

An expert combatant trained in warfare, Crossbones is an accomplished military tactician, and is thus able to formulate strategies on the battlefield. He also has extensive training in martial arts, street-fighting, marksmanship, and various forms of hand-to-hand combat. He once served as a student at the Taskmaster's school for criminals, before becoming an instructor there himself. Physically, Crossbones is tall and well built, but moves with an athletic grace uncommon for a man of his bulk. In addition, he is proficient in the use of various weapons, such as guns, bows, and throwing knives. One of Crossbones' primary weapons are spring-loaded stiletto blades housed in his gauntlets. He also has experience with torture and brainwashing, having effectively "reprogrammed" Sin, and nearly so with Diamondback.

As a member of the Thunderbolts, Crossbones was exposed to corrupted Terrigen Mists during a mission,^[22] and shortly after manifested the ability to generate a circle of energy in front of his face which could fire energy beams capable of piercing and burning his targets.^[23] The ability developed to the point where flames engulfed the entirety of his head while still allowing him to fire focused energy beams,^[24] though these flames could seemingly be doused in water. While his power is active, Crossbones does not appear to be entirely impervious to the flames he generates. After the flames died following his first usage, his mask appeared to have been burnt away and his face was heavily scarred.^[24]

Other versions

Cover of Captain America Vol. 2 (January 1997) Art by Rob Liefeld

Crossbones appears in the Heroes Reborn universe as a partner/enforcer for the Red Skull and Master Man's World Party.^[33] This version also gets mutated by gamma radiation to combat Falcon and Captain America.^[34] He is killed by Rebel O'Reilly.^[35]

In the alternate reality depicted in the 2005 "House of M" storyline, Crossbones appeared as a member of Hood's extensive Masters of Evil.^[36] Before the Red Guard attacked Santo Rico, Crossbones left the team alongside, Cobra, Mister Hyde, and Thunderball.^[37]

In the pages of Old Man Logan, Crossbones was among the villains that worked to take out the superheroes all at once. During the fight in Connecticut, Crossbones killed Wonder Man before being stepped on by Giant-Man.^[38]

A teenage version of Crossbones appears in the Ultimate Marvel universe as a street punk and a member of the Serpent Skulls gang.^[39]

In other media

Television

• Crossbones appears in the Toei anime series Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers.
• Crossbones appears in several Marvel-related cartoons on Disney XD, voiced by Fred Tatasciore.^[40][41]
  • Crossbones appears in Avengers Assemble. In the episode "In Deep", the Avengers capture Crossbones and Grim Reaper, in order for Captain America and Iron Man to impersonate the two villains to infiltrate the Cabal with Captain America posing as Crossbones. In the episode "Nighthawk", Iron Man looks at Crossbones's mugshot before the Avengers eventually find the episode's title villain. Crossbones also appears in Avengers: Ultron Revolution. In the episode "Panther's Rage", Crossbones has been hired by Ulysses Klaue to target T'Challa at the assembly that the latter is speaking at only to end up fighting Captain America. With unlikely help from Black Panther, Captain America defeats Crossbones.
  • Crossbones appears in Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister Six. In the episode "Agent Web", Spider-Man and Triton encounter Crossbones and his HYDRA Agents at the abandoned Inhumans city of Atarog. Crossbones has captured Nick Fury to use as a bargaining chip in order to obtain Madame Web for HYDRA, but Spider-Man and Triton are able to save Fury and defeat Crossbones's forces after receiving assistance from Madame Web's precognitions. Crossbones reappears in the multi-episode "Symbiote Saga". Now HYDRA's main leader after Arnim Zola's demise, he orders Michael Morbius to capture Doctor Octopus and experiment with a weaponized armor for HYDRA. Crossbones later meets up with the vampire-like HYDRA cohort beneath Midtown High, where they have the Carnage Queen load symbiote-laced missiles to launch everywhere around the world. Unlike Morbius, Crossbones escapes when Spider-Man breaks the Carnage Queen's mind-control device.

Film

Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow / Crossbones in Captain America: Civil War.

• Frank Grillo portrays Brock Rumlow/Crossbones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.^[42]
  • The character first appears in the 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier. He is depicted as a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative who is the commander of Captain America's S.T.R.I.K.E. team.^[43] In the beginning of the film, Rumlow assists Steve Rogers on a mission to eliminate Georges Batroc's pirates who have taken over a S.H.I.E.L.D. vessel with hostages on board. When Rogers later refuses to disclose S.H.I.E.L.D. information to Secretary Alexander Pierce, Rumlow and his team are ordered to subdue the hero in an elevator, only for them to be defeated. With Captain America branded a fugitive from S.H.I.E.L.D., Rumlow's team is tasked with capturing Rogers and Black Widow. Once Captain America discloses that Rumlow's S.T.R.I.K.E. unit and Pierce are members of a terrorist organization, Rumlow comes into conflict with Sharon Carter and Sam Wilson. During the climax, a downed helicarrier crashes onto the Triskelion, and Rumlow is severely burned but survives.
  • The character returns in the 2016 sequel Captain America: Civil War, now operating as the supervillain Crossbones.^[44] It is revealed that Captain America and the Avengers have been tracking Crossbones down for six months prior to the film's events, before finally getting a lead on the villain's whereabouts. At the beginning of the film, Crossbones's mercenary unit storms an institute for infectious diseases in Lagos, Nigeria, to steal a bioweapon. As the terrorists attempt to escape, they are pursued by Captain America, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch and Falcon. The mercenaries then confront the Avengers after abandoning their vehicle at an African marketplace, and Crossbones faces off with Captain America, hoping to get revenge for his defeat in the previous film. After an intense battle, Captain America gains the upper hand and destroys Crossbones's strength-enhancing gauntlets, before knocking him to the ground. Crossbones then takes his helmet off to reveal his scarred face. Defeated, Crossbones detonates an explosive vest, hoping to take the captain with him. However, Scarlet Witch briefly contains the explosion with her powers, and attempts to levitate Crossbones above the ground, but the bomb detonates next to a building, causing it to collapse and kill several civilians.

Video games

• Crossbones appears as a boss in Captain America and the Avengers.
• Crossbones appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel's Avengers. Brock Rumlow is also playable in his STRIKE disguise (seen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier) as well as his Crossbones costume (from Captain America: Civil War) via DLC.^[45]
• Since April 28, 2016, Crossbones appears in Marvel Avengers Academy for the Captain America: Civil War event.^[46]
• Crossbones appears in Marvel Heroes.

Merchandise

• Crossbones was added to the board game Heroclix in 2013, after winning a fan poll in 2012.^[47]
• Two Super Hero Squad Crossbones figures have been released, a regular version, and a variant with his eyes visible.
• A Crossbones figure was released as a Marvel Legends Walmart exclusive.
• A Crossbones figure was released in the Captain America: The First Avenger comic series line, which featured three attachable weapons.
• A Marvel Minimates figure of Brock Rumlow was released by Diamond Select Toys in their Captain America: The Winter Soldier line.
• A large Avengers figure of Crossbones was released, featuring only five points of articulation.
• Crossbones has been prominently featured in merchandise for Captain America Civil War.
  • A Miniverse figure of Crossbones was released, and packaged with Captain America.
  • A Lego minifig of Crossbones was included in the set "Crossbones' Hazard Heist".
  • Three Funko POP vinyl figures of Crossbones have been released: A regular version, a battle damaged Target variant, and an unmasked Barnes and Noble exclusive.
  • Funko has also released a Mystery Minis figure, a Pocket POP Keychain, a POP Pin, and a Mopeez plush toy of Crossbones. Walgreens has released a battle damaged exclusive of the Mystery Minis figure.
  • Three Dorbz vinyl collectibles of Crossbones have been released: A regular version, a battle damaged limited edition, and an unmasked Entertainment Earth exclusive.
  • Diamond Select Toys has released a Marvel Minimates figure of Crossbones.
  • A Cosbaby figure of Crossbones was released.
  • Hot Toys has released a 12" collectible of Crossbones.

References

External links

• Crossbones at Marvel.com