champion of freedom, and they begin his training, which grants him abilities such as invulnerability to fire. Once his training is completed, he returns home and, motivated by the horrors of Nazism, dons a uniform with a flaming mask (in honor of the Skull Men), taking the name "the Blazing Skull". As time passes and he continues to master the Skull Men's teachings, he gains the ability to turn his flesh invisible, mimicking his teachers' appearance, and stops using the mask. Soon afterwards, Todd comes into contact with the WWII superhero team, the Invaders, and aids them against a team of Axis superhumans, saving the life of Namor the Sub-Mariner. He also fights alongside the team during a massed Allied superhuman airdrop into a Nazi stronghold. As the war in Europe comes to a close, the Blazing Skull teams up with Union Jack and the Destroyer to break up an enemy spy-ring in England. In the early Golden Age stories, Mark Todd's given occupation is a District Attorney. He is also referred to in one story as an "amateur criminologist". It was not until the 1990s, starting with the retroactive Invaders series that he was established as a newspaper reporter, perhaps negating the descriptions of him as a D.A. and/or criminologist. In modern day The Blazing Skull later appears in modern times as a captive of Middle Eastern terrorists, having not aged in the decades since the war due to his healing factor. He is freed by the U.S. Agent, who recruits him into a new, present-day version of the Invaders. He has related that between the war and the present he has fought as a superhero in numerous places and under multiple aliases, such as the Smoking Head during the 1960s. The Blazing Skull is recruited by the Fifty State Initiative to become a part of New Jersey's superhero team the Defenders, alongside the She-Hulk, Nighthawk, and briefly, Colossus. Powers and abilities Due to being trained by the Skull Men, the Blazing Skull is immune to fire. He also possesses superhuman strength, a regenerative healing factor, and the ability to turn his flesh invisible, giving him the appearance of a walking skeleton. He later gains the ability to generate and project flames. Footnotes References Marvel.com's Marvel Universe: Blazing Skull (Mark Todd) Blazing Skull at Nevins, Jess, A Guide to Golden Age Marvel Characters. WebCitation archive of latter. International Heroes: