Tombstone (Marvel)
Tombstone is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Lonnie Thompson Lincoln
As a young albino child, Lonnie was frequently beat up at school who grew accustomed to being hungry and never being heard, so he stopped speaking. After a time, he filed his teeth to points, then began whispering to get people close enough to hear him, so that he could bite them. He bit the ear off a bully, then began taking from others as he aged. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #3)
He came to study at Harlem High School where he had a noted reputation for being a troublemaker. One spring, he came to learn that Joseph Robertson who was the editor of the school newspaper intended to write an article on Lonnie's activities. This led to Lincoln ambushing Robertson when he was closing the office on a Friday where he beat him up badly to get him to pull back on the article. The next day, Joseph withdrew the story in fear of Lonnie who stated that he came to like Robertson and used this time to intimidate him. A result of their exchanges led to Robertson being afraid of Lonnie with this being something that affected him for much of his life. (Spectacular Spider-Man v1 #139)
Many years later, he came to operate as a mob enforcer and worked in Philadelphia. During this time, a crime boss named Ozzy Montana was murdered with someone witnessing the act and they attempted to inform the newspaper. Tombstone was then dispatched to kill the informant where he successfully murdered the man before he could reveal anything to a reporter that happened to be Joseph Robertson. This led to Tombstone encountering Robertson after many years where he continued to intimidate the man and even made a number of calls to his residence in an attempt to scare him. Robbie never reported the murder to the police which meant that Lonnie was never convicted of the crime. Over the years, he remained an enforcer for the mobs where he was charged for various crimes but never convicted. (Spectacular Spider-Man v1 #139)
Lincoln fathered a daughter, Janice, with a Dominican woman, but he spent part of Janice's childhood in jail. (The Superior Foes of Spider-Man v1 #7) Growing up, Janice watched her father fight in never-ending gang wars, and she noticed he never came across a female mob leader. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #26) This included putting enough money in her academic institution along with other arrangements to ensure that she emerged as a Valedictorian. During the celebration though, Janice said she wanted to become a supervillain and a crime boss but he instead wanted her to focus on a career as a financial lawyer. This led to a argument between the pair where Tombstone told his daughter that if she wanted to be a costumed criminal then she would have to do it on her own as he was not funding that life for her. (The Superior Foes of Spider-Man v1 #7)
Tombstone hung out with other criminals in the city, including Black Mariah, Dontrell Hamilton, Mortimer Norris, Cornell Stokes, and Raymond Jones, and they discussed forming a gang. Tombstone recommended they all file their teeth and call themselves the Fang Gang, but they argued when Tombstone called Mariah fat, and the group broke apart. (Power Man and Iron Fist v3 #10) In time, Tombstone developed a reputation as the most feared hitman in the midwest. (Spectacular Spider-Man v1 #138) He was noted to had murdered Harold Ullman, a man investigating the mobs. (Spectacular Spider-Man v1 #141)
The Tombstone Testament
Tombstone later came to be the newest employee of the Kingpin's organisation who was used as an enforcer. He was assigned to serve the Arranger who was responsible for dealing out assignments to assassins. At the time, the Hobgoblin was angered at being blacklisted with him thrown out of the window by Tombstone. (Web of Spider-Man v1 #38) On one occasion, he accompanied his employer the Kingpin on his holiday on safari in Mozambique. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #56)
Tombstone would come to hire a hitman to kill Robertson but the hired gun was defeated by Spider-Man. As Arranger tried convincing Rayburn to work for him, Tombstone kept hitting the man, dislocating his arm when Rayburn tried using his powers. Robertson called Tombstone there, asking for a meeting in Battery Park, and Tombstone sent in the nurse Shiella to tend to Rayburn as he left. In Battery Park, Robertson drew a gun on Tombstone, determined to arrest him, then he fired when Tombstone advanced on him, but Tombstone was wearing Kevlar. Tombstone then squeezed Robbie's back and left him lying there in the park. (Spectacular Spider-Man v1 #139) Tombstone showed up at the hospital to taunt Robertson, who assumed he had a broken back. Hearing that Spider-Man was after him, Tombstone checked in with the Arranger, who was keeping Rayburn sedated there. (Spectacular Spider-Man v1 #140) Getting word that the Punisher was in town, Arranger sent Tombstone and his men, including Willis, to lure Punisher in near Rayburn, who was now operating as the costumed villain Persuader. Tombstone, reminding his men not to call him 'Mr. Tombstone' or he would break their legs, saw Spider-Man visit Punisher and he electronically eavesdropped, learning that Robertson had made a cassette tape about him. Seeking to get the tape, Tombstone broke into Peter Parker's apartment, where he attacked Mary Jane Watson, demanding to know where Peter Parker was. (Spectacular Spider-Man v1 #141) Tombstone hurt Mary Jane's wrist, telling her to give Peter a warning. Tombstone read Peter Parker's book and determined he was friends with Spider-Man. Tombstone called the hospital and spoke to Peter, telling him to bring the tape to Atlanta the next day. In Atlanta, Tombstone lured Spider-Man into a construction building and the two battled, with Tombstone initially getting the upper hand. Spider-Man used his enhanced strength and agility to defeat Tombstone, who admitted that he hadn't killed Robertson because he considered Robertson his friend. Spidey knocked Tombstone into a truck of wet concrete. Meanwhile, Robertson discovered his spine was merely bruised and not broken, and he found the courage to expose Tombstone's crimes to the newspapers. Tombstone was soon arrested. (Spectacular Spider-Man v1 #142)
Later on, Robertson came to be pardoned and released from prison with Tombstone remaining an escaped convict. This could not stand in Hammerhead's eyes who planned to have Robertson murdered with the crime lord hiring the Jason Macendale for the task. Tombstone though objected at first as he wanted to be the one to kill his old friend but was forced to agree with his boss's plan. However, in secret, Lincoln looked to sabotage the assassination attempt where he helped fire a rifle shot that blinded the Hobgoblin during a fight with Spider-Man and Puma. Whilst in the shadows, he departed the scene where he said that only he would be the one to kill his old friend Robertson. (Spectacular Spider-Man v1 #161)
Mob Enforcer
After the downfall of the Kingpin, his criminal empire was to be divided among the factions in the underworld. Tombstone was in attendance in the meeting where he represented the interests of the Maggia. (Nomad v2 #4)
He travelled to Little Italy in order to confront Vinnie Barbossa of the Geraci crime family's Four Horsemen to inform them that their organization was dismantled but offered him a chance to join his side. However, Vinnie refused and pulled a gun on Tombstone though its bullets could do nothing against the supervillain who proceeded to snap Barbossa's neck. (Punisher v3 #9)
Tombstone later became a bookie and got involved as a bookie working with a client Conrad O'Shea, but over time he racked up a considerable gambling debt. Conrad hired the 'Merc with the Mouth' Deadpool to kill Lincoln. But when Deadpool went to the given address and a bomb exploded. Surviving due to his healing factor, he discovered he had been framed using a doctored video by Lincoln as it was featured on the nightly news. (Deadpool: Suicide Kings v1 #1) Many heroes went after Deadpool because of this including Punisher, Daredevil and Spider-Man. (Deadpool: Suicide Kings v1 #3) Working with the Punisher they interrogated Lincoln goons, they find Lincoln's address but he was able to escape on a motorcycle. Spider-Man arrived returned to help and battled Lincoln under a bridge, with the Wrecking Crew, whom Lincoln had hired from The Hood. (Deadpool: Suicide Kings v1 #4) They took down the Wrecking Crew with ease, Lincoln and Conrad escaped, but Conrad was thrown to Lincoln's hungry pigs. However, Deadpool saved him so he could learn the truth. Conrad had made a bet with Lincoln on the outcome of a basketball game. Shantee Williams the star player had an altercation with Deadpool and decided to pull a gun, sending him to the emergency room, and he needed surgery to reattach his fingers; this caused Conrad to lose the bet. Lincoln agreed to a double-or-nothing bet. He framed Deadpool for the bombing to see if he could survive the next 24 hours. Conrad had bet that Lincoln could not kill Deadpool. As Lincoln was about to leave in his helicopter, Deadpool confronted him. Deadpool gained the upper hand, threatening to stab Lincoln in the eye and impale his brain, Lincoln's one vulnerable spot. He came to confess his involvement in the crime and came to be arrested as a result. (Deadpool: Suicide Kings v1 #5)
Upon acquiring the Mind Gem, low-level criminal Turk Barrett came to grow to the point of being a powerful crime lord who was able to amass a fortune and gain the employ of another of criminals. Among them included Tombstone who was alongside his employer as they me with the Infinity Watch who were looking to recover all the Infinity Gems. (Infinity Wars v1 #1)
Luke Cage and Iron Fist visited Tombstone on a mission to recover a necklace for Jennie Royce who had told them it was her grandmother's. He refused to say that he had won the necklace in a card game with The Hood, not from any debt collection. Feeling disrespected by the accusations of being a thief, as well as the very presence of Iron Fist, things rapidly took a turn for the worse, forcing Luke and Danny to fight their way past numerous gangsters as they took the necklace and flee. As the left, Tombstone tried to warn them that the necklace was magical. When he recovered he swore revenge, believing the Heroes for Hire were back together. (Power Man and Iron Fist v3 #1) Surviving the attack on his life, he was then approached by Mr. Fish who warned him of the Black Cat's gang targeting Lincoln and his criminal empire as part of the upcoming gang war in Harlem. (Power Man and Iron Fist v3 #10)
Gang War
He was among the crime lords brought together by Mayor Fisk who wanted to capture Boomerang as he had an item that the Kingpin wanted in his possession. To entice the others, Fisk offered complete immunity from police prosecution with Tombstone being among those who took up the assignment. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #61) Part of this involved targeting people who were close to Myers who was attempting to be a hero to the people. However, Lincoln was told that Peter Parker was off-limits but this did not stop Tombstone from targeting Boomerang's other roommates that included Randy Robertson who was the son of his old foe Robbie Robertson. He then decided to sneak into Randy Robertson's apartment in order to take him hostage but was shocked to find that the boy was romantically involved with his daughter Janice Lincoln. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #62) Tombstone then confronted his daughter about her relationship and said that he would not tolerate her dating a Robertson but in an act of defiance she left her apartment to spend time with Randy Robertson. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #63) Afterwards, he came to learn that both Janice and Randy had been abducted after reaching Robertson's apartment. He was then confronted by Robbie Robertson who mistakenly believed Tombstone had kidnapped his son. The pair then learnt that the true culprits were Madame Masque and the Crime Master with this forcing Lonnie Lincoln and Robbie Robertson to work together to find their kidnapped children. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #64)
Following the Devil's Reign, Mayor Fisk came to be deposed and seemingly killed during his plot to take over New York City. In this time, Tombstone came to establish himself as the new Kingpin of Crime despite the Rose being Fisk's son. Lincoln though claimed that the Rose was not fit to be the new Kingpin as he could not maintain control over his own territory. Following the meeting, he had a dinner with Randy Robertson who wanted to ask Lonnie's permission to marry his daughter Janice. Afterwards, an arrangement was later made to sell Fisk a Goblin Glider under the promise that the Rose's interests would be protected but the exchange was interrupted by Spider-Man. This drew fury from the Rose who had a bomb smuggled into Tombstone's house in an attempt to kill him. Lincoln survived but then gathered his forces to fight a gang war against the Rose where he asked Peter Parker to deliver this warning to Spider-Man. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #1)
Whilst dining at the Edge restaurant, he came to learn that Spider-Man had interrupted another of his shipments. There was growing fear that the other crime gangs were going to believe that Tombstone and Spider-Man were working in partnership with one another. To restore the gangs trust in him, Lonnie decided to publicly fight Spider-Man and choke the life out of the hero. In order to achieve that goal, he decided to approach Peter Parker and invited him into his limousine. He then revealed that his intention was to murder Parker to draw out Spider-Man. Tombstone then attacked Parker in the car where the photographer came to dodge and survive for a bit of time. This was because he had already alerted Mayor Luke Cage and She-Hulk about the encounter where they intercepted the car. This saw Tombstone facing the two heroes and a recently arrived Spider-Man with Lincoln being taken into custody. At criminal court, his lawyer attempted to have the charges against him removed only for the prosecution to bring their surprise witness which turned out to be Janice testifying against him. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #56)
Lincoln came to be sent to Ryker's Island prison where one day he was visited by Spider-Man. The Wall-Crawler believed that the crime boss had been locked away only to be shocked that his lawyer Michele Le came to get bail for him. Thus, Tombstone was freed where he organised his gang as he looked to kill his daughter Janice for her betrayal. White Rabbit and the Sinister Syndicate along with Digger were sent to attack an armoured police car that was said to be transporting Janice to a safe site. It was revealed that this was a decoy with She-Hulk inside to intercept the gang. However, this was a trap by Tombstone as he was aware the transport was a fake and knew his daughters real location. He had sent White Rabbit away to prevent her from interfering as Lincoln looked to kill Janice himself. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #57) He attempted to gun her down but Janice came to get her Beetle suit but Lonnie used an EMP grenade to short out its systems. Tombstone then went about trying to choke the life out of his daughter but this was interrupted by Spider-Man. The Wall-Crawler desperately went about trying to protect Janice who attempted to flee though Tombstone was in constant pursuit to murder her. His vision came to be partially obscured after Janice clawed at his eyes and after one attempt failed to kill his daughter he turned his attention to Spider-Man where he tackled the hero out of the window of a high building. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #58) With Spider-Man taking the fall, Tombstone then looked to kill him but was distracted when he saw Janice fleeing into the subway. He came to pursue her where he initially grabbed her before she jumped onto a train but he was stopped again by Spider-Man. Janice boarded the train with Lonnie attempted to jump on-board but he was thwarted by Spider-Man. This saw Tombstone devoting his whole attention on the Wall-Crawler where their fight went on the subway lines. Lonnie came to be beaten badly in the fight and was nearly killed by a train hitting him but Spider-Man saved up but the effort left him incredibly weakened. Tombstone then looked to murder the injured and tired hero where Spider-Man revealed that not only was he saving Janice's life but wanted to stop Lonnie from killing his own daughter. This caused Lincoln to relent and he simply collapsed to his knees as the fight ended. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #59) Brought before court again, the judge decided that the loss of a star witness meant he dismissed the case allowing Lonnie Lincoln to be freed once again. In reality, Tombstone had gotten to the judge to secure his release where he met with Peter Parker to ask him to pass a message to Spider-Man. Lonnie wanted to thank the Wall-Crawler for stopping him from killing Janice then departed. At his Harlem lair, White Rabbit came to leave his gang due to Tombstone attempting to murder her friend. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #60)
Overview
Personality and attributes
His fearsome reputation led to him being known as the Horror of Harlem. (Miles Morales: Spider-Man v1 #7) It was shown that he sometimes operated under the name of Mister Stone. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #28)
Whilst growing up, he learnt that no matter how much people asked for something that nothing was given to them. As such, they learnt to never ask but instead took what they wanted and if they were strong enough then they could keep it. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #1)
Lincoln said that he did not like it when he had to say things twice. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #1)
He came to develop a reputation for being the most feared hitman in the midwest. (Spectacular Spider-Man v1 #138)
Wilson Fisk knew that Lincoln was a hungry man and knew that Tombstone would not serve as a simple bodyguard for long as he had greater ambitions. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #56) It was said that men like Tombstone thought the city belonged to them and that the world they operated in and their rules applied to everyone. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #57)
He had a daughter by the name of Janice who he loved deeply with her treating her the best and funding her education. (The Superior Foes of Spider-Man v1 #6) She had a desire to become a supervillain like her father though Tombstone never wanted her to be a petty criminal. Instead, he wanted her to become a successful financial lawyer and engage in large scale schemes that would steal large sums of money without being arrested for the deed. However, she wanted to be a crime boss with Tombstone believing that there was no such thing as a female crime boss. (The Superior Foes of Spider-Man v1 #6)
From the Kingpin, he was introduced the idea of killing one's own child if it meant to retain their power. This came after a trip on a safari where Fisk showed that lion's killed the young cubs if they came to challenge their position in a pride. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #56) Lonnie had said that he never wanted his daughter to see this side of him. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #58)
He had said that only he was allowed to kill his old friend Robbie Robertson. (Spectacular Spider-Man v1 #161)
Powers and abilities
He had unarmed combat skills with years of street fighting experience. Before gaining superpowers, Tombstone was capable of killing someone easily with his bare hands. He now combines those skills with physical prowess to create a unique fighting style that relies on intense speed or force to overwhelm his opponents. He is also highly proficient with conventional firearms and well-connected in the world of organized crime.
He was once accidently exposed to an experimental preservative gas that made him stronger and made his skins tough to resist damage with bullets not affecting him. (Web of Spider-Man v1 #68) His skin was hard enough that a person could nearly break their bones by hitting him. (Daredevil v1 #293) Tombstone remarked that bullets could not penetrate his skin and simply irritated him. (Punisher v3 #9) In another case, he survived a building rigged with explosives that were detonated in an attempt to kill him. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #1)
It was shown that he could easily snap a person's neck with only one hand whilst holding them up in the air. (Punisher v3 #9)
Lincoln was shown to have had a large home located in the Harlem area. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #1)
Notes
- Tombstone was created by Gerry Conway and Alex Saviuk where he made his first appearance in Web of Spider-Man v1 #36 (March, 1988).
- Conway in Back Issue! v1 #44 (2010) commented on the characters creation where he said, "My general motivation was a need to work with the characters who weren't central to The Amazing Spider-Man title, since that was the main book. That meant I needed to focus my attention not on Aunt May or Mary Jane, or even J. Jonah Jameson, but on second- or even third-tier supporting characters. Joe Robertson was one of those. The second motive had to do with my desire to bring back the ruthless gangster Hammerhead had been, but not Hammerhead himself. It just came to me as a character type. One thing led to another, and as his backstory expanded, readers responded well to it."
Alternate Versions
- In Spectacular Spider-Girl v1 #3 (2009), an alternate version of Tombstone appeared in the Marvel Comics 2 reality that was designated as Earth-982 in the Multiverse.
- In Luke Cage Noir v1 #1 (2009), an alternate version of Tombstone appeared in the Marvel Noir reality that was designated as Earth-90214 in the Multiverse.
In other media
Television
- In Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Tombstone appeared as an antagonist in the 1990s animated television series where he was voiced by actor Dorian Harewood.
- In The Spectacular Spider-Man, Tombstone appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series where he was voiced initially by actor Keith David before being voiced by actor Kevin Michael Richardson. He was shown that around 12 years ago the villainous Silvermane who operated as the Big Man of Crime was exposed by Frederick Foswell leading to the FBI arresting him for his illegal operations. In the vacuum, L. Thompson Lincoln stepped in and took over Silvermane's operations thus becoming the new Big Man who was the chief crime lord in New York City.
Films
- In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Tombstone appeared as an antagonist in the animated film where he was voiced by actor Marvin "Krondon" Jones III.
Video games
- In Marvel Heroes, Tombstone appeared in the setting of the MMOPG video game where he was voiced by actor Nolan North.
- In Spider-Man, Tombstone appeared as a boss antagonist in the setting of the 2018 video game where he was voiced by actor Corey Jones.
Appearances
- Web of Spider-Man v1: (1988)
- Daredevil v1:
- Nomad v2:
- Spectacular Spider-Man v1:
- The Superior Foes of Spider-Man v1:
- Daredevil v5:
- Power Man and Iron Fist v3:
- Infinity Wars v1:
- Miles Morales: Spider-Man v1: (2019)
- Amazing Spider-Man v5:
- Amazing Spider-Man v6: (2022)
External Links
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