Originally the protégé of the KGBeast, there were actually 3 different dudes to wear the guise of the NKVDemon, all of whom died unceremoniously.
Taken from the name of the secret Soviet police force the NKVD, the 'Demon was on the same Super steroid that made his mentor so fearsome, but was also given artificially hardened skin, making him a virtual killing machine. He tussled with Batman...but got killed by the Police while trying to kill Mikhail Gorbachev. Not very bad ass.
He looked so cool, he was wasted potential, and every subsequent effort to give us a new NKVDemon failed to deliver as well.
(Now that the soviets are back in the news, maybe someone might try to make a 4th attempt...)
# 74: SOLO
Created in 1986, before comics became full blown Gun Toting Vigilante Crazy, Solo was armed to the teeth and doing the whole "brooding anti-hero" thing before it became super fashionable.
He also had the ability to teleport, which is actually the perfect power to give a gun crazy mercenary.
I remember him mostly in the Spider-Man comics, usually in the employ of Silver Sable.
Sadly, Marvel tried to give him his own series at the height of "Punisher Mania", but nobody gave a shit.
#73: VERMIN
Another tragic villain, everything about Vermin is a bummer.
The victim of extreme child abuse, the grown up Edward Whelan became a geneticist working for Baron Zemo. Through their experiments he becomes a vicious, savage rat-like humanoid. So vicious, in fact, that he ends up murdering and eating his victims in his sewer home.
In the sad tradition of characters like The Lizard, Whelan was a sympathetic character fighting a dual nature, never fully able to regain his humanity.
#72: THE TURTLE (TURTLE MAN)
This Flash villain has the superhuman ability to steal the speed and momentum of others, making him the perfect foil for super speedsters.
This was the original Turtle...there was a second Turtle, who fought Barry Allen and idolized the original, and eventually the two would team up. The original was far more ruthless and manipulative then his younger partner, who ended up in prison, happily taking all the blame so that he could feel like a big shot.
That's pretty damn Palooka.
#71: THE DEMOLITION TEAM
Rosie, Hardhat, Steamroller, Jackhammer and Scoopshovel...together they are the mighty Demolition Team!
Man, I love these guys. Pure stupid fun.
They were created 10 years after the Wrecking Crew, but by Len Wein and Dave Gibbon, of all people! They were mercs who decided "Hey, instead of assault rifles and tactical gear, let's use suped up versions of demolition equipment! COMICS!"
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