Zodiac (comics)

Zodiac is the name of several groups of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Zodiac
Eleven members of the original human Zodiac (excluding Scorpio) appear in a panel from Avengers #72 (Jan. 1970). Art by Sal Buscema.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Avengers #72 (Jan. 1970)
Created by	Roy Thomas (writer) Sal Buscema (artist)
In-story information
Member(s)	Taurus (founder and leader) Aquarius Aries Cancer Capricorn Gemini Leo Libra Pisces Sagittarius Scorpio Virgo

Publication history

The first version of the Zodiac made up of humans appears in The Avengers #72 (Jan. 1970) and was created by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema.^[1]

The second version of the Zodiac made up of androids first appears in The Defenders #49 (July 1977) and was created by David Anthony Kraft and Keith Giffen.^[2]

The third version of the Zodiac made up of humans first appears in the second volume of Alpha Flight and was created by Steven T. Seagle (writer), Scott Clark (penciler), and Chris Carlson (inker).

The fourth version of the Zodiac first appears in New Warriors vol. 4 #4-5 (Nov.-Dec. 2007) and was created by Kevin Grevioux and Joe Caramagna.

The fifth version of the Zodiac first appears in Avengers Assemble vol. 2 #1 and was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley.

Fictional team history

First Zodiac (human)

The original Zodiac group debuts in the title Avengers^[3] and is established as a criminal organization founded and funded by member Cornelius van Lunt (who adopts the identity of Taurus). The group's identity is based on the Western zodiac from astrology, with each member adopting the persona of a sign of the zodiac, being twelve in all. The group members share leadership of the organization, with the position rotating just as the astrological zodiac changes. When not united as a group, the members of Zodiac are all based in different cities throughout the United States. Dedicated to economic and political domination of the world, the group uses any means to accomplish this, including subversion; extortion and mass murder.

Lone member Scorpio is the first member to debut in the Marvel Universe, first appearing in the title Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.^[4] The character acquires a sentient extradimensional (from the Ankh dimension) artifact called the Zodiac Key, and attempts to assassinate S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury. The encounter ends with Scorpio apparently dying from a gunshot wound. The character reappears in the same title, and attempts to kill Fury once again, before being driven off by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.^[5] It is eventually revealed that this was still the original villain, but resurrected in a Life Model Decoy body by the Zodiac Key.

Scorpio appears in the title Avengers and, after capturing the Avengers, reveals to the heroes the entire Zodiac. At this time Aries is team leader, and takes control of the Zodiac Key and acknowledges that Scorpio has redeemed himself for failing to kill Nick Fury. The Avengers are freed by fellow members Yellowjacket and the Wasp, and Scorpio is revealed to be Nick Fury in disguise. The villains flee, and Fury reveals that after learning that the original Scorpio was his brother, Jake Fury, he adopted the identity to draw out the other Zodiac members.^[3]

The Zodiac reappear in Avengers, with member Taurus attempting to extort local farmers for their land. Several Avengers, aided by the hero Red Wolf, prevent this and defeat Taurus.^[6] The title Daredevil features a plan by Zodiac (who are not revealed as the instigators until reappearing in Avengers) to cause civil unrest by inciting a street gang to violence in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The plan is stopped by Daredevil and Avenger the Black Panther,^[7] with the two characters then featuring in title Avengers with the rest of the team to prevent a full-scale attack by Zodiac on Manhattan. Aries is killed when the Thunder God Thor destroys the character's escape craft.^[8]

Zodiac, now splintered, operate independently. Aquarius, Capricorn, and Sagittarius attempt to destroy Stark Industries by contracting assassin the Spymaster to kill Tony Stark, the alter ego of Iron Man.^[9] The attempt fails, and the Spymaster is contracted to capture Daredevil in revenge for his past interference. The Spymaster succeeds, and also captures mercenary Madame Masque.^[10] The Zodiac members then use the Zodiac Key to capture Nick Fury and Iron Man, and take all four captives to the Ankh dimension, where they hope to recharge the artifact. This plan fails, and the heroes defeat and capture the Zodiac members, although the Spymaster escapes.^[11] Member Gemini features in the Savage in the City storyline in the title Astonishing Tales^[12] and allies with villain the Plunderer in an attempt to steal the Super Soldier Formula (the same serum that empowers the character Captain America), but is defeated by the jungle hero Ka-Zar.

In the title Avengers, van Lunt reunites the Zodiac (including recruiting a new Aries), and together they plan to attack New York City with a weapon called the Star Blazer. The group encounter the Avengers once again and after a near defeat, Aries attempts to stage a coup and take power from Taurus. Aided by Zodiac member Libra, the Avengers successfully capture the other 11 members of the Zodiac. The character Libra reveals he only aided the heroes because Avenger Mantis is his daughter.^[13] The Avengers use, with van Lunt's cooperation, the Star Blazer against an alien threat.^[14]

Zodiac member Aquarius appears in the third volume of the title Ghost Rider,^[15] and after learning he has cancer attempts to make a bargain with a demon to save himself. Aquarius then attempts to take revenge on van Lunt, but the character's soul is claimed before he can do so. The second Aries makes a brief appearance in the title Captain America, and is used and killed by the alien invader Lucifer.^[16] Scorpio reappears in the title Defenders, and retrieves the Zodiac Key. After creating an android version of the Zodiac, Scorpio kidnaps the hero Nighthawk, hoping to ransom the character as his alter ego is Kyle Richmond, a wealthy entrepreneur. Nighthawk's teammates, the Defenders track Scorpio and encounter the android Zodiac. Discovering that three of his created Zodiac did not survive the process, a distraught Scorpio commits suicide.^[17] Taurus reappears in the title Iron Man, and orders the second Aquarius and third Aries to kill Iron Man (James Rhodes), but both are defeated and incarcerated. S.H.I.E.L.D are advised and begin to track van Lunt.^[18]

Second Zodiac (android)

An android version of the Zodiac first appeared in The Defenders #49 (July 1977). This android Zodiac features in the first The West Coast Avengers Annual, and are employed by former Avenger Quicksilver (under the control of the villain Maximus) to battle the Avengers; four of them battle the East Coast Avengers in Avengers Mansion, four of them battle the Avengers in a circus where Quicksilver had his first mission with the team, and four of them battle a makeshift team of Thor, Black Widow, Black Panther, Falcon, and James Rhodes in the Australian base where Quicksilver was once missing and presumed dead.^[19] The origin of this version of the Zodiac is revealed in the second volume of the title West Coast Avengers. Scorpio is resurrected in android form by the Zodiac Key once again and summons the remainder of the human Zodiac to a meeting, at which they are slaughtered by another android version of the entire group. Taurus escapes and seeks the protection of the West Coast Avengers, who have a series of skirmishes with the androids until the false Zodiac are transported to the Ankh dimension, where they are deactivated. Taurus, who had vowed to surrender to the authorities once the threat was over, attempted to escape and was killed in a plane crash during a struggle with Avenger Moon Knight.^[20] The limited series Avengers Forever reveals that Libra also escaped the massacre.^[21]

Third Zodiac (human)

A third, human version of the Zodiac briefly feature in the second volume of the title Alpha Flight. Their leader also calls himself Scorpio, and wields a weapon reminiscent of the original Zodiac Key. Hired by Department H, a division of the Canadian military, to test Alpha Flight in battle, the group is murdered by mutant task force Weapon X.^[22]

Fourth Zodiac

Several members of a mysterious fourth version of the Zodiac are mentioned in the title Young Avengers^[23] and appear in the fourth volume of the title New Warriors, and skirmish with heroes from the Initiative and New Warriors. Zodiac member Cancer murders New Warrior Longstrike.^[24] The villain Zodiac claims to have murdered all the members of this group and made their heads into hunting trophies.^[25]

Thanos' Zodiac

Thanos returns from the dead and forms his own incarnation of the Zodiac. In a plot to rule Earth, he had special suits made for the ambitious people that want to rule the world with one of them being Hood's cousin John King who became Cancer.^[26] When Thanos abandoned his Zodiac on the self-destructing Helicarrier, John King was the only one who survived and was interrogated about Thanos' plot. According to Captain America about the identity of some of the Zodiac members when he interrogated King and mentioned that this Zodiac consisted of lackeys, he mentioned one of the Zodiac members was a former bodyguard of Kingpin, another Zodiac member formerly worked for Mandarin, and another was a Hydra agent. Though it wasn't stated which member operated as the different Zodiac members.^[27]

Zodiac Sects

In "All-New, All-Different Marvel", a new incarnation of the Zodiac appears. This version has their Sects named after their Zodiac symbol. Each of their sects overseen by Scorpio ended up fighting Spider-Man and Mockingbird. Following one of the fights, Spider-Man finds the Zodiac Key is held in the apartment of a man named Mr. Jacobs alongside his Scorpio gear.^[28]

When the planets that are shown in the Zodiac Grand Orrery come into alignment, Scorpio travels back to his base in France and transforms several people into members of Zodiac. Spider-Man and his allies arrive to stop Scorpio. When Scorpio steps into the door, he sees the events of the next year: the emergence of the Skyspear, Norman Osborn's latest activity, Regent's plot, the "New U" device, Doctor Octopus' return, another superhuman civil war, and the rise of the monsters. Catching Scorpio off guard, Spider-Man punches Scorpio into the doorway and locks it up. Spider-Man suspects that Scorpio has been teleported one year into the future, giving S.H.I.E.L.D. time to prepare for his return.^[29]

Solo Zodiac

A solo character called Zodiac stars in a self-titled limited series as part of the Dark Reign storyline. The character is obsessed with dominating the criminal underworld. He ends up gaining allies in the Clown, Death Reaper, Manslaughter Marsdale, and Trapster. After they commit mass murder on 100 H.A.M.M.E.R. Agents, Zodiac eventually retrieves the Zodiac Key from S.H.I.E.L.D.^[30]

Zodiac later makes plans for a series of impressive-sounding schemes to put into motion in the near future.^[31]

It is later revealed that Zodiac was the mysterious benefactor of the Young Masters. When Egghead is the only one that has not left the group, Zodiac recruits him into his villain army.^[32]

Great Wheel of Zodiac

A short-lived Zodiac team known as The Great Wheel was revealed to have existed back in 1961. The team was formed by a time traveling Leonardo da Vinci who takes on the Aries mantle. He recruits members that fill out different nations and organizations with the intent to perform certain missions in exchange for special acquirements that could be used for their personal battles. The rest of the Zodiac members consisted of Cornelius Van Lunt (Taurus), Nick Fury (Gemini), Jake Fury (Scorpio), Dum Dum Dugan (Libra), John Garrett (Aquarius), Daniel Whitehall (Leo), Wolfgang von Strucker (Sagittarius), Thomas Davidson (Virgo), Shoji Soma (Pisces), Vasili Dassaiev (Capricorn), and Viktor Uvarov (Cancer). After completing their missions and collecting the items needed, Dassaiev and Uvarov betrayed the members and stole them to enhance themselves. These events would lead into the creation of both Hydra and Leviathan and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s creation of the Life Model Decoys.^[33]

Membership

First Zodiac members

• Taurus (leader) - Cornelius Van Lunt is a businessman and crime lord who is the founder of Zodiac and wears a bull costume. He later died in an airplane crash during his fight with Moon Knight.
• Aquarius - Darren Bentley is a crime lord and member of the Zodiac who had expert fighting skills. He later operated as the One-Man Zodiac.
• Aquarius - Zachary Drebb has genius-level intellect who makes use of different gimmicks.
• Aries - Marcus Lassiter is a criminal mastermind who wears ram horns on top of his helmet enabling him to ram into anyone. He was killed by Thor.
• Aries - Grover Raymond is a criminal mastermind who possesses the same helmet. He and the Rafe Michael later died being unable to contain Lucifer's powers.
• Aries - Oscar Gordon possesses the same helmet. He was killed by the Zodiac LMDs.
• Cancer - Jack Klevano is a criminal mastermind who wears a crab costume that have pincers that can grab anyone. He was killed by the Zodiac LMDs.
• Capricorn - Willard Weer is a crime lord who is an expert at martial arts and the horns on his head can extend to grab his opponents. He was killed by the Zodiac LMDs.
• Gemini - Joshua Link is a crime lord who can link his mind with his twin brother Sgt. Damian Link. He was killed by the Zodiac LMDs.
• Leo - Daniel Radford is a criminal mastermind that wears a lion costume that has claws on the gloves. He was killed by the Zodiac LMDs.
• Libra - Gustav Brandt is a blind crime lord, mercenary, and the father of Mantis who is an expert at martial arts and has a psychic sense that helps him see. He evaded death at the hands of the Zodiac LMDs.
• Pisces - Noah Perricone is a criminal mastermind who wears a special outfit designed for underwater combat. He was slain by the Zodiac LMDs.
• Sagittarius - Harlan Vargus is a crime lord who is skilled at hand-to-hand combat. He was slain by the Zodiac LMDs.
• Scorpio - Jake Fury is the brother of Nick Fury. He later created the second Zodiac which slaughtered most of the original Zodiac.
• Scorpio II - Jacques LaPoint is a criminal mastermind who was brought in to replace Jake Fury as Scorpio. He was slain by the Zodiac LMDs.
• Virgo - Elaine McLaughlin is a criminal mastermind who is skilled at hand-to-hand combat. She was slain by the Zodiac LDMs.

Second Zodiac members

• Scorpio (leader)
• Aquarius - An android who carries a gun that shoots electricity and water. Aquarius shut down when in the Ankh Dimension.
• Aries - An android that possesses ram horns on its head enabling him to ram anyone. Its second form had armor and fired lasers from its horns. Aires shut down when in the Ankh Dimension.
• Cancer - An android that possesses an armored shell. Its second form can release powerful jets of water from its hands. Its third form has pincers in place of hands. Cancer shut down when in the Ankh Dimension.
• Capricorn - An android with goat-like horns. Its second form is an expert climber and possessed glider wings for flight. Its third form is more female-like with fur on it and gained goat-like hooves for feet. Capricorn shut down while in the Ankh Dimension.
• Gemini - An android that possesses multiple personalities, can release two duplicates of itself where the white duplicate fires energy blasts and the black duplicate has an electrical touch, expand its form, and possess super-strength. Its second form can fly and release blasts of energy. Gemini shut down while in the Ankh Dimension.
• Leo - An android that possessed claws and super-strength. Its second body was designed to resemble Tigra complete with her abilities. Leo shut down while in the Ankh Dimension.
• Libra - An android that can fly and become intangible. In its second form, it can only fly. Libra shut down while in the Ankh Dimension.
• Pisces - An android that can survive underwater where it possessed fins, gills, and scales. Its second form possesses enhanced strength and durability. Its third form enables it to produce a watery mist from its body. Pisces shut down while in the Ankh Dimension.
• Sagittarius - An android equipped with wrist-mounted crossbows that fire different arrows. Its second form was constructed to resemble Hawkeye. It was destroyed by Mockingbird and Tigra.
• Taurus - An android equipped with retractable horns on his wrists attached to cables can be fired at opponents and can detect heat and organics. Its second form possesses super-strength enhanced strength and immunity to heat. Scorpio later remodeled Taurus into a female form. Taurus shut down while in the Ankh Dimension.
• Virgo - An android with energy-siphoning abilities. Virgo shut down while in the Ankh Dimension.

Third Zodiac members

• Scorpius (leader) - He had a barbed tail as part of his costume.
• Aquarius - He can fire beams of unidentified energy from his hands. Killed by Weapon X.
• Aries - He possessed ram horns on his helmet which can be used for ramming, possesses super-strength, and wielded a gun. Killed by Weapon X.
• Cancer - A crab-like member possessed super-strength, wore armor, and attacks with his pincers. Killed by Weapon X.
• Capricorn - He possesses super-strength, attacks with his horns, and wielded a gun. Killed by Weapon X.
• Gemini - Two men where one of them was a mind-controlled Madison Jeffries. It is unknown what powers the "twin" had.
• Leo - A lion-like member who possesses super-strength, attacks with his claws and fangs, and wielded a gun. Killed by Weapon X.
• Libra - He wielded a staff and an energy-charged sword. Killed by Weapon X.
• Pisces - She can generate, control, and turn into water. Killed by Weapon X.
• Sagittarius - A bow-wielding centaur and lover of Pisces whose arrows can pierce armored opponents and sometimes carries a gun. Killed by Weapon X.
• Taurus - A huge humanoid cattle who possessed super-strength. Killed by Weapon X.
• Virgo - The girlfriend of Scorpio who wields guns and bows. Killed by Weapon X.

Fourth Zodiac members

• Aquarius - A Japanese woman.
• Aries - A German man.
• Cancer - An Israeli woman.
• Leo - A Nigerian man.
• Libra - An American woman.
• Pisces - A Russian man.
• Sagittarius - A French woman.
• Taurus - A Mexican man.
• Virgo - An American woman.

Members of Thanos' Zodiac

• Thanos (leader)
• Aquarius - A man who wears a special super-suit provided by Thanos that enables him to assume a watery substance of unknown origin that can control water. Died in the Helicarrier explosion.
• Aries - A man who wore a special super-suit provided by Thanos which gave him super-strength and enabled him to assume the form of a humanoid ram. Died in the Helicarrier explosion.
• Cancer - The identity of Hood's cousin John King who wore a special super-suit provided by Thanos that gives him the appearance of a humanoid crab.
• Capricorn - A man with a goatee.
• Gemini - An Asian man who wore a special super-suit provided by Thanos that enables him to become two beings. Died in the Helicarrier explosion.
• Leo - A bearded man with long blonde hair who wears a special suit provided by Thanos that enables him to assume the form of a humanoid lion. During his fight with Hulk, Leo died of a heart attack.
• Libra - A red-haired woman who wore a special suit that gave her an energy-based appearance. Died in the Helicarrier explosion.
• Pisces - A blonde-haired man who wears a special suit provided by Thanos that enables him to assume a fish-like appearance. Died in the Helicarrier explosion.
• Sagittarius - A man with a moustache.
• Scorpio - A man with a half-burned face.
• Taurus - An African-American man who wears a special super-suit provided by Thanos which enables him to possess super-strength and transform into a Minotaur-like form. Died in the Helicarrier explosion.
• Virgo - A brown-haired woman who wears a special suit provided by Thanos that transforms her into a winged female with a fiery head. Died in the Helicarrier explosion.

Members of the Zodiac Sects

• Scorpio (leader) - The identity of Vernon Fury.
• Aquarius - A member of the Zodiac with hydrokinesis supposedly provided by her gauntlets.
• Aries - A ram-masked member of the Zodiac.
• Cancer - A crab-masked member of the Zodiac.
• Capricorn - A member of the Zodiac with goat-like horns on his mask.
• Gemini - Two female members of the Zodiac where one of them is looped from the future and having the knowledge of the future for 24 hours.
• Leo - A lion-masked member of the Zodiac.
• Libra - A female member of the Zodiac.
• Pisces - A fish-masked member of the Zodiac.
• Sagittarius - A member of the Zodiac who is an expert archer.
• Taurus - A bull-armored member of the Zodiac.
• Virgo - A member of the Zodiac.

Other versions

Ultimate Marvel

In the pages of Ultimate Spider-Man from the Ultimate Marvel imprint, the Zodiac Key has been sought after by both Wilson Fisk,^[34] and Mysterio.^[35]

There is also a street gang called the Zodiacs that were defeated by the Serpent Skulls.^[36]

In other media

• Zodiac appears in The Avengers: United They Stand.^{[citation needed]} They are led by Taurus and consisting of aliens based on their namesake astrological signs from another galaxy who seek to obtain the Zodiac Key. Taurus resembles a humanoid bull and once assumed the alias Cornelius Van Lunt, Scorpio is an alien with a long scorpion tail behind his head who once assumed the alias of Jacob Fury, Aquarius had fish-like fins on his outfit, Aries is an alien humanoid with a ram-horned mask that covered most of his head, Cancer is a crab-like alien, Capricorn is a green-furred alien with goat-like horns, Gemini is a four-armed alien with a male head and a female head, Leo is an alien with lion-like features, Libra is a purple-haired alien humanoid, Pisces is a female fish-like humanoid alien, Sagittarius is an armored centaur, and Virgo is a red-haired alien humanoid with green eyes.
• Zodiac appears in Marvel Anime: Iron Man,^{[citation needed]} consisting of Ho Yinsen, who was influenced by Zodiac after losing his family to hijacked Stark Industries helicopters following his rescue and wears stolen Iron Man Dio armor; Dr. Chika Tanaka (voiced by Takako Honda in the original Japanese version and by Laura Bailey in the English dub), a scientist and close associate of Tony Stark who was brainwashed into becoming their sleeper agent Gemini; and the organization's mysterious leader Kuroda (voiced by Unshō Ishizuka in the original Japanese version and by Neil Kaplan in the Funimation dub), Japan's Minister of Defense. This version of the group is a terrorist organization affiliated with A.I.M. that employs advanced technology and mechs based on the astrological symbols, such as Scorpio, Cancer, Aquarius, and Sagittarius-themed mechs, among others, as well as energy weapons, mind control technology, and cybernetics. Throughout the series, Zodiac seeks to take control of Tony Stark's new Arc Station, which was meant to supply free energy to the world and use its power to fuel a coup d'état within Japan's government so Kuroda can take over Japan and rebuild it as a militarized nation for Zodiac to dominate the world.
• Zodiac appears in Ultimate Spider-Man,^[37] led by Max Fury / Scorpio and consisting of foot soldiers inspired by Taurus (one soldier voiced by Chi McBride),^[38] Aries (one soldier voiced by Tom Kenny),^[39] and Leo (two of them voiced by Dave Boat and Phil Morris)^[40][41] who wear masks based on their respective astrological symbol.