Jeremiah

Context

This character appeared in but one Marvel storyline in 1975.

I’d consider him a tiny part of the “horrorsplosion” (I’m the only one who calls it that). That is, the return of horror and monsters themes to Marvel Comics in the early/mid 1970s.

Was he an interesting character ? That’s a negative, ma’am. But he’s easy to redesign and expand to fit your stories.

Background

Powers & Abilities

Jeremiah seems to be in good health and shape. His build is a thick one, but there doesn’t seem to be much dead weight. He’d likely be handy in a brawl.

Jeremiah is a mutant with a “protopathic” power. That means he can leech the mental energies of his followers.

In practice, he can :

Presumably, other applications would be feasible with practice.

A kind of magic

The “protopathic” energies Jeremiah wields also classify as mystical — perhaps even demonic — magic.

Being “dual-classed” as a mutant and a mystic does happen. Magik (Illyana Rasputin), Forge, Storm (Ororo Munroe), possibly Catseye (Sharon Smith), the Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff), etc. have a mystical component to their mutant abilities.

Religious belief seems to be what’s at work here. Maybe he can psychically magnify the sort of magical energy gods seemingly gain from mortal worshippers ?

It is unclear whereas Jeremiah could trade souls against power by contacting demons. Perhaps he had the skill to do that, à la Moondark or Baron Mordo.

Or perhaps he had no idea of what he was doing, and just assumed it would work out due to hubrisExcessive, prideful self-confidence..

Soundtrack

Something to evoke 1975… well, 1975 is so far in the past that people loved experimental prog rock, and everybody had that record. That’s how far back it was.

Here’s a mercifully abridged version of Shine On You Crazy Diamond by an aged Dave Gilmour, and band. I’ve picked the Live At Pompeii version, since it was a bloody amazing concert.

(I kid because I love. The Floyd’s classic tunes are among the landmarks of XX^th century Western music).

Circuit des yeux

The power of Jeremiah’s eyebeams is all over the place.

Early in the story it is sufficient to one-shot the Human Torch or even the Valkyrie (though the latter was shot in the back by surprise). And to fully incinerate two police officers.

Later on, the Torch can endure several blasts, and isn’t wounded once these bring him down.

Drain

This suggests that there’s a mechanic where Jeremiah accumulates energy from his followers. But :

There’s also a sense that :

But there ain’t enough material to truly hypothesise numbers.

History

By 1975, Jeremiah was leading about a dozen congregants – the Innocents of God. These mostly seemed to be youths without much of a place in society.

One gets the impression that they mostly lived in squats. But eventually they could afford a semi-distressed building. It had been the headquarters of the Looter aka Meteor Man (Norton Fester).

They also found a way to squat in an abandoned church.

The cult

Jeremiah would frequently deliver sermons.

Another recurrent activity was discotheque-style dancing. I assume it made it easier for Jeremiah to drain mental energy, as dancers entered a trance.

My *impression* is that he had been working like any other small-time cult leader, preying on vulnerable and isolated persons. But as he brainwashed more people, his cult became more credible – and his recruitment pace accelerated.

(This setup, the visibly hypnotised followers, and the “dancing in a desecrated church” scene seem to reference early 1970s horror movies. Which really ain’t my area of expertise, so you’re on your own there. Maybe some The Omen references ?)

Now you’ve done it bubba

Not long after the cult started spending nights at the church, a police patrol came in. Deep in his budget Kulan-Gath-but-as-an-Apostle impersonation, Jeremiah slew both officers.

He then decided to sacrifice super-heroes, whom he viewed as unholy. He ambushed the Valkyrie (Brunnhilde), and captured her.

When the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) came to investigate, Jeremiah also blasted him unconscious.

Johnny recovered, and attempted to prevent the sacrifice. However, he couldn’t make much headways. Since Jeremiah just had to look at him to blast him.

However, Jeremiah’s ceremony registered as a major mystical breach to Dr. Stephen Strange. The Valkyrie’s consciousness was being pushed into a demonic dimensionOther realms of existence that are not our universe.. Which meant that some demons would be able to cross over to Earth.

Don’t mess with the Sorcerer Supreme

The Innocents of God were in some disarray, as fighting the Torch had expanded too much of Jeremiah’s stolen energy. Therefore, the good doctor could just walk in.

Strange summarily banished Jeremiah to the underworld he had been trying to contact. This may have been in part to facilitate the recovery of the Valkyrie’s soul, which had been beset by the demons there.

The hell Jeremiah found himself in seemed dominated by a demon, or perhaps a type/polityGeneral term for an organised group (a tribe, a democracy, a theocracy…). of demons, called Oruthu. These seemed eager to seize Humans… and Jeremiah was no exception.

Dr. Strange let the Innocents of God leave. He considered it wasn’t their fault, and they already had suffered enough.

Personality

Jeremiah’s cult is a confusing mix of Satanism-as-seen-in-1970s-horror-schlock, and fire-and-brimstone Evangelical rhetoric.

One suspects that he has either no proper education in Christian theology, or enough to cobble a DIY heresy.

He’s consumed by his lust for power, not entirely sane, and deep into role-playing a sort of mixture of mighty wizard-priest and demon lord.

Of course, Jeremiah doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice his Innocents of God if necessary. They are an important resource, but in the end he only sees them as expensive batteries.

Quotes

“Innocent ones ! Spider-Man is a true symbol of modern-day evil. Who knows – he might even be the Antichrist ! In any case, he will prove a most suitable subject for our rite of purification.”

“How dare you interrupt our holy celebration, men of Caesar ? How dare you come here, to this sanctum sanctorum, this most sacred of sacred places ? Who are you, who act so rashly ? Give me your names — and I may spare your souls !”

DC Universe Adaptation

(This section proposes ways of using this character in DC Universe stories).

He’d probably have appeared in a Deadman back-up feature.

By Sébastien Andrivet.

Source of Character: Marvel Team-Up Vol. 1.

Writeup completed on the 4^th of June, 2021.