Basilisk (comics)

Basilisk
File:Mtu47basilisk.jpg Basilisk Art by Ron Wilson
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Marvel Team-Up #16
In-story information
Alter ego	Basil Elks
Abilities	enhanced physical strength, self propelled flight, ability to project destructive beams from his eyes

Basilisk is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe who first appeared in Marvel Team-Up #16. Basilisk was considered one of the silliest supervillains by comicbook readers, and most writers and editors. He was killed off by writers in a very undignified way.

Character biography

Basilisk had the rather unlikely real name of Basil Elks. He was a common criminal from Norristown, PA who was trying to steal a mystical gem from a museum when he was shot at by a security guard. Instead of striking Elks, the bullet hit and shattered the gem. The shards of the gem struck Elks, transforming him into the Basilisk: his skin became green and scaly and his eyes large and red. As the Basilisk he possessed superhuman physical attributes and could generate and manipulate energy via beams projected from his eyes; this energy could generate heat and ice and allowed him to fly.

The gem that empowered him was actually a Kree artifact called an Alpha Stone which had crash-landed on the Earth millennia ago along with another gem, the Omega stone. The Basilisk sought the second gem to increase his powers. While in the primitive Savage Land he obtained it only to fall into a pit of magma. The Omega Stone acually solidified the magma, encasing the Basilisk in a protective shell. He was later freed by an underground race of subterraneans. Now powered by both stones, he fought Spider-Man and the Thing in New York City. He created a volcano in the Hudson River, only to once again fall into magma and be petrified. Upon resurfacing, he decided to attack Four Freedoms Plaza, the headquarters of the Fantastic Four, the group to which the Thing belonged. However as soon as he appeared he was shot and killed by the vigilante called the Scourge of the Underworld.

Powers and abilities

The Basilisk possessed enhanced physical strength, reflexes, and stamina, and could levitate his body enabling himself to fly. He could project beams of intense destructive energy from his eyes. Elks's eyebeams can be discharged as heat (up to 3,000 degrees fahrenheit) or force (1,500 pounds per square inch). These powers were derived from the Alpha Stone that had become part of his body. Unfortunately, the gem did not increase his resistance to injury enough as he was killed by special "exploding bullets" developed by Scourge.

External links

• Profile at Spiderfan.org