Captain Scumm

CAPTAIN SCUMM

Real Name: Billy Scumm

Class: Demon, former human magic-user

Occupation: Pirate

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: unnamed parents (deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Hell, formerly Southend Town, England, 1600s

First Appearance: Demon III #50 (August, 1994)

Powers: When he was a mortal Scumm was a skilled seaman, and a ruthless combatant, armed with a cutlass, and a spiraling hook in the place of his left arm. He led the pirate ship the Butcher's Hook and could not be injured by mortal means. As a demon Scumm was virtually immortal and possessed powerful magical abilities.

History: (Demon III #50 (fb)) - <1656> Billy Scumm was an evil and psychotic child who killed his parent and fed them to a bear. His madness and ruthlessness grew over the years, and as an adult he became the notorious pirate Captain Scumm, making a deal with the devil to ensure he could murder and pillage without fear of harm to himself. At Lucifer's behest Jason Blood approached Captain Scumm, scourge of the seven seas, and his crew. They threatened him with violence, but agreed to listen when he told them he needed a mad bloodthirsty crew to attain unimaginable riches. He wove a tale about a tower in the South Sea built millennia ago by magician, and claimed it contained the riche of every shipwreck that ever was. They set sail, and the crew feared something demonic about Jason, but Scumm dismissed him as a fop and said they'd kill him once they had the riches he promised since he failed to show Scumm the respect and fear he demanded. After months at ea the pirates spotted the freighter Santa Alec from Rome, and prepared to attack. Jason told them not to be distracted from their mission, but Scumm was having none of it. They fired their cannons, only to be met by superior firepower. Jason appeared on the Santa Alec in hi demonic form of Etrigan, and slaughtered every crewman aboard with relish before disappearing. Scumm and his shaken and confused men boarded the hip, to discover it filled not with treasure but with counterfeit relics. Jason chided them for not listening to him, refused to acknowledge that they'd seen a demon, and demanded they push on. In a month's time they were in the Antarctic, and Jason performed a spell, ostensibly to make the tower appear, but actually revealing a gate to Hell. Scumm's crew fought the demons of Lucifer' tower, climbing ever upward until only Scumm and Jason remained alive. Scumm found only an empty room at top, and knew he'd been betrayed. Lucifer appeared, reminding Scumm of their bargain, his soul in exchange for invincibility, and told him his contract had expired a decade before. Scumm's soul was bound to Hell, and Etrigan, Jason and Lucifer cut him open and drank hi blood from goblets in celebration of a job well done.

(Demon III #56, 57) - Captain Scumm rose the ranks of Hell, eventually becoming a Hell lord. Karrien Excalibris, archangel of war, declared himself the new ruler of Hell, but Etrigan and his loyal army of demons fought back against the angel. Karrien captured Etrigan, and told him he was going to die, but would not sully himself by doing it himself. He'd recruited Etrigan's old foes General von Raddel and Captain Scumm, who he'd promised freedom from Hell when he ruled, to have their way with him. Raddel raved that once he returned to Earth he'd continue to spread Nazism and continue his Fourth Reich. Scumm felt comfortable that there'd be a place for sociopathic pirates in the new world order. Raddel ran over Etrigan, who was chained to a rock, with his Hellpanzer numerous times until Etrigan's left side was virtually destroyed, but Etrigan's allies Baytor and Bloodklott came looking for Etrigan and freed him. He knocked Scumm's head off with one punch while Baytor and Bloodklott dragged Raddel from his tank. He pleaded that all he ever wanted was peace, and that it was the political climate of Germany that turned him into a nazi, but his plea fell deaf ear and Etrigan ran him over with his own tank.

Comments: Created by Garth Ennis & John McCrea.