Jack the Ripper (Earth-616)

Origin[]

The being that history knows as Jack the Ripper is actually a number of parasitic creatures that hailed from the Dark Dimension. The entity was sent by Dormammu to the Earth dimension in the late 19th century to possess an unwitting victim to act as his agent. ^[7]

Whitechapel Murders[]

The creature arrived on Earth and settled in London, England where it took root in the body of a misanthropic 19th century Englishman hunchback named Tom Malverne.^[4] Malverne already demonstrated sociopathic tendencies and was resentful at the world for the way it had treated him, but the entity manipulated his scarred psyche, prompting him to commit acts of brutal murder. Active in the largely impoverished Whitechapel area in the latter half of 1888, Malverne murdered at least five prostitutes. His identity was unknown to Scotland Yard, but the Central News Agency took to calling him Jack the Ripper. On at least two occasions Malverne was pulled forward in time but was returned to his native era each time, only to be eventually killed by Vampires. After Malverne's death, the entity continued to possess people throughout the ages, each one adopting the persona of Jack the Ripper.^[8]

Phillip Durant[]

In 1932, the parasitic entity was imprinted upon another man who pantomimed the actions of Jack the Ripper. This man was named Phillip Durant and he was a lover of Fah Lo Suee, the immortal daughter of Chinese crime lord Fu Manchu. According to Fah Lo Suee, her father had intimate knowledge of the original Jack the Ripper and likely even knew his true nature and identity. Whether such knowledge was indeed factual is a matter of speculation, but what is known is that Phillip continued the Ripper's work in Whitechapel for several decades.^[5]

Some years later, the Phillip Ripper was rumored to be hunting young women in Whitechapel once again. MI-6 agent Leiko Wu baited the Ripper into a trap but almost lost her own life in the process. Her lover and colleague Shang-Chi came to her rescue and defeated the Ripper. Fah Lo Suee appeared on the scene and promised to look after Phillip and reignite the passion they once enjoyed. Consumed by his Ripper persona however, Phillip lashed out at Fah Lo Suee and she was forced to defend herself by firing a fatal shot into the Ripper's midsection.^[9]

Temporal Incursions[]

In 1945, criminal sorcerer Terdu pulled Jack the Ripper out of the past along with Captain Kidd, Blue Beard, and the James brothers to assist the criminal operations of "Terrible Tom" Garrett. They were opposed by Captain America and Bucky who banished Jack and his time-displaced allies back to their proper places.^[10]

In the late 20th century, the Deviant scientist Zakka used a device called a Time Projector to pull the Tom Malverne Ripper from the 19th century into modern New York. Despite the sudden change in his surroundings, Jack was still consumed with the same bloodlust that always governed his actions. He began stalking a young woman in a Manhattan apartment building, but the Eternals known as Thena and Ransak the Reject intervened and saved the would-be slasher victim. Ransak disarmed the Ripper and was prepared to finish him off using the villain's own cane-sword, but just as suddenly as he appeared, Jack the Ripper returned to his normal time era.^[11]

Another incarnation of the Ripper was also pulled forward in time to Earth-7592 where he killed the Vampire David.^[6]

Zaniac[]

In the modern era, the entity possessed actor Brad Wolfe while he filmed a slasher movie at the University of Chicago, the site of early experiments for the Manhattan Project. Wolfe was dressed as the film's villain, the Zaniac, when he was caught in a nuclear explosion caused by a pyrotechnics mishap that ignited residual radiation. The blast gave Wolfe superhuman strength and the ability to create knives out of pure energy. Driven insane by the entity, Wolfe began to act out the film's script and kidnapped Shawna Lynde, a friend of Thor's alter-ego Dr. Donald Blake. Thor managed to rescue Shawna from Wolfe but he escaped, intent on acting out the film's climax: the mass murder of a women's shelter. Thor arrived moments before Wolfe could kill the women. Enraged, Wolfe unleashed a barrage of knives at Thor, who used his hammer to deflect them back at Wolfe, knocking him off a rooftop and ultimately subduing him.^[1]

The Zaniac would continue to reside within Wolfe even after he was sent to prison until "Thug" Thatcher, a one-time foe of Thor, broke him out with the intent of using him to kill Jane Foster. Once freed, Wolfe murdered Thatcher's ex-girlfriend Ruby, and was himself shot dead in retaliation by Thatcher's henchman Kellen. Upon Wolfe's death, the Zaniac parasites burst from its host and infected Thatcher. Still obsessed with Jane, Thatcher went to her house and killed her. Thor teamed up with Justice Peace, a Time Variance Authority agent who came to the present from a future timeline to prevent the Zaniac from starting a world war, and travelled back in time and killed every Zaniac creature just before it could possess Thatcher, diverging the events of Jane's death into another timeline.^[12]

• Possession: While manifesting as a swarm of vermin, Jack the Ripper can possess and infect people simply by biting them. Once a creature bites a victim, the rest will dissolve and disappear.^[12]
• Knife Generation: Thanks to Azazel, the first Jack was capable of producing and firing multiple knives from his body.

• Advanced Longevity: The Zaniac has an extremely long lifespan.^[13]

• Jack the Ripper was known to wield a large knife, he also brandished a concealable cane-sword.

• The (unfortunately) real person of Jack the Ripper has been seen in various works of fiction, including those of Marvel Comics. With the exception of the Ripper's true identity, it may be assumed that the Ripper accounts from August to December of 1888 are the same as those perpetuated by the historical Ripper.