Strength 9d

Agility 6c

Intellect 4c

Willpower 6x

Hand Size: Edge:

4 (25) 2

Powers:

Invisibility: one of Mark's primary abilities is his power to render himself invisible at will, doing so at intensity 8. However, his is a special version of the standard invisibility power, as he can also make the light his flaming mask sheds invisible as well (which is a neat trick at parties).

Invulnerability to Fire and Heat Attack: Mark's other superhuman oddity is that he is completely immune to the affects of fire and heat, having this power at intensity 10 (a mere reference point, really). This is a good thing, especially since his skull mask has been permanently bonded to his body...

Equipment:

Fiery Skull Mask: though this was simply another mystical artifact of the mysterious Skull men, this magic mask has completely bonded to Mark's body, making his head appear to be a flaming skull. The mask is of unknown material strength. Luckily, Mark can make it invisible while he's not adventuring...

However, the fire it generates is of intensity 5 strength, inflicting like damage upon contact with it (if a body's dumb enough to do so). It is unknown if Mark can make the Skull emit flames past his body, or increase the intensity of the flames the mask normally emits to any degree.

Hindrances:

(none)

Skills:

Acrobatics: a veritable olympic gymnast (one would think, from the way he moves), Mark can swing from ropes and leap through windows with the best of 'em. Also, he can dodge attacks and reduce falling damage much more easily than normal, non-acrobatic folks can.

Boxing: while he thinks of himself as a lover, not a fighter, Mark can still knock a body silly, should the need arise. He can divide his total action score into two unarmed melee attacks per exchange, the last of which will occur as a contingent action.

Criminology: his time as a journalist has sort of granted Mark this skill via osimosis. Essentially, Mark knows things about the criminal mind, and he can easily pick up clues at a crime scene and analyze criminal behavior to predict where one will strike next.

Driving: though most Americans can drive a car, Mark is a virtual pro, and he can also ride a motorcycle. In fact, Mark can pull maneuvers on a bike that seem almost impossible - and make them look easy! Heck, he even has fun while doing it!

Journalism: having been a reporter for years, Mark can use this skill like a natural. He can draw forth information from a variety of sources, and if he passes a challenging journalism action, he can find out pretty much anything that's semi-public knowledge within a day.

Calling:

Idealist: though given his mission to battle evil by a group of weirdo mystics half a world away, Mark has embraced the fight against darkness wholeheartedly. He battles the forces of evil to stop them from spreading their influence, and to prevent normal folks from suffering at the hands of dark-minded souls.

Costume:

Blazing Skull wore a red body suit, with white bones criss-crossing the chest and a fiery skull mask. He had red gloves and boots, too.

Personality:

Mark Todd was serious about his job as a reporter and his mission as the Blazing Skull, but goes about doing both with a nasty streak of dark humor to him (his mission in his own words... "To stamp out the spread of tyranny, rekindle the flames of hope and fan the fires of freedom...").

Real Name: Mark Todd
Occupation: adventurer / journalist
Legal Status: American citizen with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: none (but has worked with the Invaders on occasion)

Height: 5' 11"
Hair: blond
Eyes: brown
Weight: 185 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: well, aside from the fiery skull mask that is forever bonded to his face, none.

Story:

OK... here is the secret of the Blazing Skull. Mark Todd went to China on his very first assignment, covering the second Sino-Japanese war, when he got caught right in the middle of the action (as opposed to his intended coverage away from danger). He was forced to take cover in an underground cave from both the elements and the shelling occurring where he was.

What he saw was incredible... he was taken in by subterranean Skull men with flaming heads. They proclaimed that the forces of destiny had brought him to them, and that he was to be their emissary in the world of Flesh, that he was to champion their cause (his mission) and was given his powers and a flaming mask which bonded with him.

Mark returned to New York and continued his work as a reporter, using it now to champion whatever causes the Blazing Skull got involved with, and fighting crime and Nazi tyranny wherever he found it. Mark even teamed up with the Invaders once after his return, and as they know his identity, one could presume that they worked together from time to time, or that the Skull even joined them later on.

His last known adventure was played out alongside Union Jack and the Destroyer, an adventure that brought him out of America and directly to Germany. He was there to stop a plot to destroy America via a missile attack, and he defeated the Iron Cross with the new tech the Nazis were using to guide the missiles, slamming one right into the armored fiend.

Using the Blazing Skull in other stories:

It's possible. Maybe the Skull mask made him age slow, or maybe it allowed him to keep his youth and vitality... Then again, maybe the Skull men could pick another emissary when Mark Todd Died... Although he looks like Ghost Rider (face wise with the mask on) he isn't, contrary to Marvel trying to make him the Ghost Rider of 1945...