The entity which would later be known as the Zaniac was a swarm of demonic, parasitic creatures that originated in the Dark Dimension. The entity would possess a host and cause them to develop an overwhelming bloodlust and desire to kill women.
History
The entity was sent by Dormammu to Earth in the late 19th century to possess an unwitting victim to act as his agent. The creature possessed a misanthropic hunchback named Tom Malverne, who was resentful at the world for the way it had treated him. Malverne then went on a murder spree known as the Whitechapel Murders where he killed five women and became known as Jack the Ripper. After Malverne's death, the entity continued to possess people throughout the ages, each one adopting the persona of Jack the Ripper.[1]
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 an 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 knives at Thor, who used his hammer to deflect them back at Wolfe, knocking him off a rooftop and ultimately subduing him.[2]
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 would burst from its host and infect 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 and destroying the Zaniac once and for all.[3]Attributes
Powers
- Possession: While manifesting as a swarm of vermin, the Zaniac can possess and infect people simply by biting them. Once a creature bites a victim, the rest will dissolve and disappear.[3]
Abilities
- Advanced Longevity: The Zaniac has an extremely long lifespan, having existed since at least the 19th century. However, it is not wholly immortal as it was eventually destroyed by Thor and Justice Peace.[4]
See Also
- 4 appearance(s) of Zaniac (Earth-616)
- 1 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Zaniac (Earth-616)
- 2 image(s) of Zaniac (Earth-616)