Mr. Lantern
History
Jack Carson was born on Halloween night, 1985 in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. For most of his childhood Jack had a rather odd fascination with fire, a trait shared by his older brother Henry. As time went on both kids grew up, however Jack often faced superstition due to the date of his birth, and his interest in pyrotechnics. When both brothers turned 18 they decided to move away from Salem to attend college in Hudson City, New Jersey. Both Jack and Henry excelled in physics and chemistry and lived generally normal lives. At age 20, Henry got mixed into the Hudson City crime underground for unknown reasons and became an expert arsonist quickly, taking on the name Fire Wasp. Jack quickly followed his brother due to the money they could make together, although Jack did not take a name as of then. For years the duo burned and bombed locations for their employers. After the Qularr Invasion of 2009 the brothers took on a big score, a Harmon Industries warehouse on the Hudson City docks. It was a break in this time, the duo got in easily and eventually Henry bumped into a suit of armor, originally built for fire hazards. Fire Wasp stole the technology and the suit before fleeing with Jack in tow.
Jack, being the engineer of the two, managed to add in pyrotechnic weapons and a bug-like jetpack. Allowing Henry to take on bigger scores, and even a hero or two. Jack decided to let his brother have all the fun as he continued to design more and more weapons for Fire Wasp to use. In the fall of 2013 Henry was hired by the super villain Ebony Tarantula to steal a technological pod from a Harmon Labs in Millennium City, offering a great reward. Henry took the job and left Jack in New Jersey to his own devices. For a month Jack sold weapons of his own design to local criminals. In October of 2013 Henry was involved in a large scale battle in Germany between The Arachni and UNTIL, and was killed in the battle after his armor's power core overheated, resulting in an explosion.
Jack was naturally devastated, and slipped into depression. His mind snapped due to the stress and Jack decided to continue his brother's work in his place. Jack used technology left over from Fire Wasp's arsenal and developed a high tech suit of similar design. However Jack played heavily on theatrics and used Halloween as an inspiration for his new identity. On October 31st of 2013, Mr. Lantern took to the skies and unleashed a fiery terror on the citizens of Hudson City. He now takes work as a mercenary for hire, gleefully bombing buildings and intervening heroes alike.
Skills
Demolition Expert: Lantern has a high intelligence when it comes to bombs and explosives. Being able to craft all kinds of Grenades and Demolition Charges with different effects. From poison to full explosives, Jack uses them all.
Tech Savvy: While not on par with the major geniuses out there, Lantern is skilled with a large array of technology, especially bombs. He has also shown prowess in engineering, as his glider suggests.
Flaws
Pyromania: Much like his brother before him, Lantern suffers from a case of Pyromania, or the need to burn objects. This condition takes a center focus in his schemes, as his rampages are to both provide personal gain and a fix. This means he is not suited for stealth or even low profile crime.
Halloween Obsession: Ever since he was a kid, Jack had a very close obsession with Halloween. Now a man, Jack's plans and raids are all coordinated to this theme alone, which can make his options for attacking very small and directed around October, and easy to track when they occur.
Humanity: Being human, Jack is powerless, but still dangerous outside of his suit. He has no particular training or boost to help him along. All he has is the suit, bombs and brains.
Equipment
Pumpkin Grenades: These little devices pack a mean punch. The size of a normal grenade, these bombs are hand crafted by Lantern and come in various forms. Either thrown like hand grenades, planted like C4 or fired on the head of a missile, these devices have an explosive equal to that of a C4 pack.
These bombs also come in a few more types such as:
- Incendiary
- Acid
- Cryo (For when Lantern needs a target alive)
- Plasma Blast (Much more potent, but harder to make than the original)
- Gas (Usually Hallucinogenic, but Datura Powder and other lethal gasses have been used)
Jack O' Lantern Helmet: Lantern's distinctive helmet. This device is in all accounts designed to look like an actual Pumpkin Head. But looks are deceiving, while also providing complete head protection the helmet also has a built in radio and com-link. The helmet also packs a visual scanner and a HUD.
The head also sports a weapon of its own,
Flamethrower: Located in the head's "mouth" are two prongs disguised as Jack O Lantern teeth, one prong emits a flammable gas while the other produces a small flame. The result is a gout of fire that spews from the head's mouth. While this might seem dangerous, Jack has pulled out all the stops to ensure he stays safe, and his target stays crispy.
Launcher Gauntlets: Lantern uses twin Launcher Gauntlets from his brother's old arsenal during his crimes, these devices hold a vast array of ammunition. Along with this, the gauntlets also have built in hologram projectors for a vast array of uses. Launcher ammo includes:
- Will O' Wisps: The gauntlets hold several ammo clips that contain missiles the size of a small bug. As impossible as it sounds, these devices can be stored up to the hundreds and fired in small swarms. These missiles are perhaps the most advanced portion of Lantern's arsenal. Built from microbots, these projectiles can pack a mean explosive punch when detonated. Five wisps can blow through a concrete wall, one can only imagine how much damage Lantern could do if he fired all of them at once.
- Gas Grenades
- Plasma Repulsors
- Buzz Blades: Similar to shuriken but slightly larger and causes more damage upon impact.
- Flamethrower: Along with the flame thrower in his helmet, Lantern has wounded many heroes who got too close with these things.
Pumpkin King Armor
This armor has received massive upgrades since Lantern's first recorded appearance. Built from a sturdy titanium alloy, this armor can withstand blows from a vast array of superpowers and weapons. The "Pumpkin King Armor" is also completely fireproof and can survive Lantern's own bombs and weapons. The armor has a missile launcher built into its shoulder and extra bombs attached to its armbands. The armor also sports a hologram projector and smoke generators built in for various purposes.
Transportation
Weaponised Hover Disc. "Lantern Glider": Mr. Lantern's personal travel disc. Capable of great maneuverability and speeds of up to 90 miles per hour. It can support about 400 lbs (Including Jack's weight) and far more for brief periods of time. It runs on energy cores supplied by Waylon Talos and has a number of weapon systems on it. The Disc is commanded by Lantern's PDA mounted on his bracer and while airborne can be controlled by the movements and attitude of the rider. Lantern's boots can magnetically attach to the disc's central pad, allowing him to fight without being dismounted. Along with this, the disc has a built in autopilot that can maneuver the glider around while Lantern is busy with something else.
Lantern Glider Weapons Systems
- Plasma Beam (Fires from the power core under the disc. Can be remotely commanded to strike downwards and be drawn along the ground)
- Missile Launcher (Holds about 50 micro munitions that can be fired at mid range)
- Side Blades (In close quarters these blades expand outwards to be used to either decapitate or impale a target)
- Bomb Holder (Located at the front of the disc, sensor activated can deploy a single bomb to be caught and thrown by the rider)
Trivia
- Mr. Lantern is obviously inspired by Mad Jack AKA Jack O Lantern from Marvel comics. Other inspirations come from The Hobgoblin and The Green Goblin (Marvel). Both of which were some of my favorite villains growing up. Lantern is in no way a clone of these characters, while possessing similar gadgets the personalities are different. Lantern also has similarities to Firefly from DC Comics.
- His alias "John Kingsley" is a nod to Robert Kingsley, the first Hobgoblin in Marvel comics.
