Black Talon

The Black Talon is the name of a number of fictional characters, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe.

Black Talon (Pascal Horta)
The first Black Talon was Pascal Horta, a painter who lost his hand in an auto-accident. Undergoing experimental surgery, he was given the hand of an African-American serial killer, "Strangler Burns", who was put to death. The serial killer blood in his new hand overcame Horta's peaceful nature and drove him to commit murders. Pascal Horta first appeared in Captain America #9, in 1941. He was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.[1]

Black Talon (Desmond Drew)
Desmond Drew first appeared in Strange Tales (vol. 1) #173 (April 1974) and was created by Gene Colan and Len Wein.

Fictional character biography
Black Talon is a voodoo priest who can create and control zombies. He wears a costume which resembles a chicken, and has an upside-down cross painted on his chest. He was a millionaire and voodoo witch doctor, and posed as a "living loa" to carry out the plans of his mother, Mama Limbo. He battled and became an enemy of Brother Voodoo.[2] He was later exposed as an impostor, and was beaten to death by his own cultists.[3]

Black Talon (Samuel Barone)
The successor to Drew, Samuel David Barone, wore the same costume as the original and was an ally of the Grim Reaper, operating in the New Orleans area. He first appeared in Avengers #152 (Oct 1976), created by Gerry Conway and John Buscema.

Due to Comics Code restrictions, his zombies were initially known as "zuvembies", as the word "zombie" was banned due to its association with EC Comics horror stories.[citation needed]

Fictional character biography
The second Black Talon was a professional criminal and cult leader, like the original. He resurrected Wonder Man as a zombie at the behest of the Grim Reaper and sent him to attack the Avengers. The Black Talon battled the Avengers himself, and was defeated by the Scarlet Witch.[4] He then joined the second Lethal Legion. With the Grim Reaper and Nekra, he battled the Vision and Scarlet Witch.[5] Under the Grim Reaper's orders, he attempted a recreation of "Simon Williams" as a zombie.[6] With the Man-Ape, Black Talon deserted the Lethal Legion during a battle with the West Coast Avengers.[7]

Nekra learned the Black Talon's voodoo rites, and she later used them on two occasions to resurrect the Grim Reaper as a zombie. [8]

When battling She-Hulk Black Talon formed X-Humed from four dead mutants Changeling, Scaleface, Living Diamond and Harry Leland but was unable to control all of them at once and Changeling was able to break his hold long enough for She-Hulk to triumph.[9]

The Black Talon has also fought Deadpool, who viciously mocked him for his chicken costume.[10]

Black Talon returned in Marvel Zombies 4, having technically retired from supervillainy, instead becoming a secretive cocaine producer, selling to the Hood. Talon comes across the Zombie (Simon Garth) carrying the zombie head of Deadpool, and offers to sell the head to Hood.[11]

Black Talon later appears in full supervillain gear when he uses zombies to attack Times Square as part of a revenge scheme against the Avengers. Unfortunately for him, he finds the Punisher instead. After shooting several zombies, the Punisher shoots Black Talon twice in the chest, killing him.[12]

Powers and abilities
Both Black Talons were voodoo cult leaders who gain their powers from the manipulation of the forces of voodoo magic. Each had the ability to create zombies and control zombies of his creation, either vocally or telepathically. However, the Black Talon cannot communicate with his zombies telepathically when they are not in his immediate vicinity.

Each Black Talon wore a costume with the trappings of various voodoo rituals, with razor-sharp taloned gloves and boots, and a ceremonial dagger.

Role in Ultima
In Ultima, the Samuel Barone version of Black Talon appears, in his MZ4 outfit but in Avengers EMH style, as a member of the Organization and as a rival to Dr. Facilier in the Sorcerers Society.