TO THE LEO'S LAIR.
JOSEPH GILBERT THOMPSON;WRITER ARTIST,CREATIVE GENIOUS BEHIND MAVERIC COMICS
WELCOME ALL TO THE LEO'S LAIR. JOSEPH GILBERT THOMPSON;WRITER ARTIST,CREATIVE GENIOUS BEHIND MAVERIC COMICS
Posted by Michael at 10:00 am Friday, July 25, 2014 in Comics, Review
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Comic-book creator Howard Chaykin has been involved with several pulp and pulp-inspired comics during his career.
Most pulp fans are familiar with his take on The Shadow that appeared at DC Comics (and recently reprinted by Dynamite).
Among the original, pulp-inspired characters are a pair of early characters he created: The Scorpion and Dominic Fortune.
Chaykin created The Scorpion for Atlas Comics in 1975. As some pulp fans may not be aware of Atlas Comics, some background on them. Martin Goodman, who had established several pulp companies in the ’30s such as Red Circle and Manvis, was also involved in comics, establishing Timely Comics, which later became Atlas Comics, then Marvel Comics.
He had sold off Marvel Comics in 1968, but stayed on as publisher until 1972. Later he decided to get back into the business, establishing Seaboard Publications and briefly published comics under the Atlas Comics line. Most fans refer to this as Atlas/Seaboard to differentiate it from the original Atlas Comics of the 1950s.
Atlas/Seaboard published about 20 or so color comics and a handful of black & white magazines. Despite getting a lot of top creators, most comics were fairly derivative (though there are a few gems here and there). None of the titles lasted more than four issues, and most suffered from what fans call the “third issue switch” in which the titles changed direction either with the third issue or just after it, often including a new creative team. Chaykin’s work on The Scorpion lasted only two issues, with a new team and direction with the third.
In the first issue, we learn that Moro Frost is either long lived or immortal, as he had been around since at least the Civil War. Now, in the 1930s, he operates as a urban mercenary known as The Scorpion. In action, he wears a distinctive outfit of blue military-like pants, black shirt, and tan vest (which has chain mail in it), along with a gunbelt. He is shown to be somewhat amoral, looking only for money.
Probably the Atlas title with the most breakout potential was the Scorpion, written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin. At least the first two issues.
The Scorpion was a man presently called "Moro Frost", but who had many different identities over many different generations. Using themes he would continue to explore over the next 15 years, Chaykin created a pulp-type adventure hero set in the days just before World War II.
The only problem is, it seems, that Chaykin wasn't fast enough for the schedule assigned to him by editor-in-chief Jeff Rovin. One has only to compare the covers of the first two issues to see the results.
The schedule problems are further evidenced by the veritable Who's Who of artists who helped Chaykin finish the second issue: Berni Wrightson, Michael Kaluta, and Walter Simonson among them.
The third issue has just about nothing to do with the first two. Chaykin quit over issues of control regarding his character when a Gabe Levy/Jim Craig story set 30 years later with the main character now a Daredevil-like costumed crime fighter. Only the logo remained.
Chaykin wasn't done with the character. He became Dominic Fortune at Marvel, where he pretty much promptly got lost in the shuffle. Chaykin, himself, though went to play a pivotal role in the independent comics boom of the early 80's with American Flagg and now works in Hollywood.
Empire State Airways Cargo Flight 521, bound for Chicago, has crashed into a New York City tenement building. It is the 4th plane that Empire has lost this month. It's owner, Roger Boyle, hires Moro Frost, a.k.a. the Scorpion, to investigate.
The man behind the attacks is Garro Kalaydjian, a shipping czar who deals in transatlantic cargo. Using a device that focuses sound, he is able to kill pilots. A higher dose destroys the engine causing the plane to crash. The destruction is not yet over.
Several days later, Empire State Airways Flight 81 for Toronto is to be piloted by the Scorpion. Minutes after takeoff, over a nighttime Manhattan, a plane approaches. The Scorpion is under attack. Not expecting the cargo ship to attack, they prove no match for the Scorpion and are blown out of the sky. The two pilots manage to survive by ejecting from the plane.
The Scorpion's assistant, Ruby, has been trying to dig up information on who is responsible for the attacks. Her eavesdropping lands her in trouble. It takes three men to overtake her. At that moment, the Scorpion arrives, making quick work of two of the thugs. After interrogating the remaining thug, he learns that Kalaydjian is behind the attacks on Empire Air.
News of the Scorpion's involvement spreads quickly. Kalaydjian wants no part of him. The two pilots who ejected over Brooklyn feel differently. They kill Kalaydjian for backing out and plot to kill the Scorpion.
The two proceed to force Roger Boyle to call the Scorpion's assistant, Ruby, and lure her to the airport. The ruse works as Ruby is held hostage by the gunmen. When learning of Ruby's whereabouts, the Scorpion heads for the airport, suspecting foul play.
Upon entering an empty airport hangar, the Scorpion is attacked. After taking out one of his assailants, he pursues the other, who has started a plane with the intent of bombing the airfield. The plane roars down the runway with the Scorpion in hot pursuit. Gunfire from his pistol finds it's mark as the craft explodes ending the threat to Empire Airways.
Note - art assist by Bernie Wrightson, Michael Kaluta, Walt Simonson and Ed Davis>
Editor - Jeff Rovin
Jules Reinhardt, Chicago financier, has disappeared. Five days after a mysterious phone call, terrified and muttering something about black magic and voodoo, Mr. Reinhardt left his home and has yet to return. Mrs. Reinhardt wants her husband found. The Scorpion agrees to do so.
After meeting with Mrs. Reinhardt, the Scorpion learns that Max Cervantes is somehow involved in Mr. Reinhardt's disappearance. Max Cervantes, however, died 8 years ago in a plane wreck.
The Scorpion's investigation leads him to one unmistakable conclusion, that Max Cervantes is still alive. He heads to the Skylight Room, a former speakeasy once owned by Max.
It is there that the Scorpion finds the lifeless body of Jules Reinhardt, only to be told that Jules Reinhardt is, indeed, Max Cervantes. Cervantes faked his death 8 years ago and changed his face, taking the identity of Jules Reinhardt.
After changing identities, Max skipped out on his partner, Buddy Lyle. There had been rumblings that Lyle had suspicions about Reinhardt, causing Reinhardt to grab his bank books and hide out. He was murdered using a voodoo doll and his bank books are missing.
Buddy Lyle now has the bank books, but they are of no value to him. Mrs. Reinhardt must sign off, in person, in order to withdraw any funds. He plots to kidnap Mrs. Reinhardt in order to empty the off-shore accounts. In addition, he tells his associate to dispose of the voodoo lady, Ol Rose. It was her voodoo magic that helped to kill Jules Reinhardt. He does as he is told, but not before the old woman casts two hexes on Buddy Lyle, insuring his death.
The Scorpion confronts Lyle and his henchmen at the Manhattan Sky Port. Lyle has taken the Scorpion's assistant, Ruby, hostage, mistaking her for Mrs. Reinhardt.
As the Scorpion battles Lyle and his henchman, the first hex begins to unfold. Lyle's pet cat, Caesar, is transformed into a man-eating lion. It strikes at Lyle and kills him instantly. The threat is ended when the Scorpion kills the beast in a hail of machine gun fire.
Thinking the threat has ended, ruby informs the Scorpion that Jules Reinhardt's body has vanished from the funeral parlor. The second hex has taken form. The Scorpion heads to the Reinhardt home to find the zombie like body of Jules Reinhardt, attempting to kill his wife. Striking the creature again and again has no effect, so the Scorpion must resort to drastic measures. He unleashes a grenade and grabbing Mrs. Reinhardt, jumps from the balcony as the grenade obliterates Jules Reinhardt.
2015 Overstreet Price Guide Data for Planet of Vampires #3
I couldn’t find a site with the first issue online, but Diversions of the Groovy Kind has scans of the second issue.
Moving to Marvel Comics, Chaykin revamped the concept and created a new character: Dominic Fortune. Because their outfits are similar, most see Dominic as just a continuation of The Scorpion, but a lot of things are different. The Scorpion’s vest was turned into a sort of “onesie” for Fortune, which also had a heart on the left breast. Fortune is not immortal and he operates in Hollywood, not New York. While he is a bit amoral, he doesn’t seem to be as hard-edged as The Scorpion. And he is a gambler, always in debt to his landlady, who operates the gambling ship he lives on. So he mainly is a “brigand for hire” to raise money for rent.
Fortune appeared in several of Marvel’s black & white magazines at the time, which allowed for the stories to be a little more hard-hitting for the period. First in “Marvel Preview” #2 (1975), “Marvel Super-Action” #1 (1976), then a series in the back of “Hulk Magazine” #21-25 (1980-81). The story intended for the unpublished “Marvel Super-Action” #2 was turned into a color comic and ran in “Marvel Premiere” #56 (1980). These were the only stories with involvement by Chaykin.
Later, Fortune was used by others in modern times, now as a geriatric. The less said, the better.
Finally, in 2009, Chaykin returned to Dominic Fortune, in a four-issue mini-series set in the 1930s, and apparently before his prior stories. Unlike those stories, the ethnic background of Fortune (we learn he is Jewish) is a big part of the story, as Fortune works to stop a fascist takeover of the United States.
More recently, Chaykin has used Fortune, along with other Marvel characters set in the 1950s, as part of the “Avengers 1959” group, a covert action team lead by Nick Fury before SHIELD was established. They first appeared in a backup series in “New Avengers” #10-13, and then their own mini-series “Avengers 1959.” The ending did leave an opening for another story, which might be interesting.
Marvel has put out a trade paperback that collects the Dominic Fortune mini, a webcomic of him (not by Chaykin), and his stories from “Marvel Preview” and “Marvel Premiere.” I wish they’d reprint the stories from “Hulk” magazine and “Marvel Super-Action,” which would be the rest of the Chaykin-created Dominic Fortune.
Overall, both characters are interesting, and anyone looking for original pulp style comics should check them out.Chaykin once told me at a Creation convention Dominic Fortune was a stupid character.
Dominic Fortune was created for Marvel's Code-free black-and-white magazine line. His first two appearances occurred in 1975's Marvel Preview #2 (no more specific date given) and Marvel Super Action (one-shot magazine) #1 (January 1976). These stories were later reprinted in Marvel Preview #20 (Winter 1980).
A later run in the back pages of The Hulk (a full-color magazine, formerly the b/w Rampaging Hulk) #21 (June 1980)--24 (December 1980), written by Denny O'Neil with fully-painted artwork by Chaykin, included a promise from the editor that a special finale to that series would appear in issue #25. This story was left unpublished due to the dropping of color from the magazine and has yet to be seen anywhere. During this time, a further appearance occurred in Marvel Premiere #56 (October 1980), in a story plotted by Len Wein and laid out by Chaykin for the never-published Super-Action #2, and finished years later by David Michelinie and Terry Austin.
Subsequently, a senior citizen version of the character interacted with modern Marvel heroes in Marvel Team-Up #120 (August 1982), Web of Spider-Man #s 10 (January 1986) & 71 (December 1990)--72 (January 1991), and Iron Man (first volume) #212 (November 1986)--213 (December 1986), with no involvement by Chaykin, except for drawing the cover for Web of Spider-Man #10.
Sable and Fortune, a 2006 limited series saw the return of the name Dominic Fortune to published work. In that series a new version of Dominic Fortune joins forces with Silver Sable to stop the plans of traitors from within Silver Sable's own Wild Pack.
In the back of issue #1, editor John Barber states:Template:CquoteSable and Fortune was originally solicited as a six issue series, but was shortened to four after the first issue was released. The story that would have revealed this relationship was never printed.
Born in New York City, Duvid Jerome Fortunov grew up on that city's Lower East Side during the Great Depression. After ratting out Olga Cimaglia, a powerful gangster, Fortunov relocated to California where he changed his name to Dominic Fortune. Living aboard the Mississippi Queen, a floating casino moored just outside of US territorial waters, Fortune set up shop as an acrobatic costumed adventurer. He also enjoyed a romantic relationship with the Mississippi Queen's owner Sabbath Raven with whom he shared many of his adventures.
In 1937, he uncovered a Nazi propaganda plot in the comic book industry. He also broke up a cult of zombies, thwarted Baron Strucker's attempted assassination of a U.S. senator, exposed the phony "child star" Tina Timmons, and rescued the British ambassador from the terrorist Dominic.[1] In 1940, he was rejected as a subject for Project: Rebirth, but helped protect the man who was chosen, Steve Rogers, from Nazi agents.[2]Later, his break up with Sabbath Raven, experiences during World War II, and later life were revealed.[3]
After eventually retiring, Fortune returned to being Duvid Fortunov and established himself as a Pontiacsalesman in Nassau County, New York where he married and had two children. Retirement didn't suit him very well and he reclaimed his identity as Dominic Fortune more than once. The first time he came out of retirement, he battled Turner D. Century alongside Spider-Man.[4] He began a search for Sabbath Raven, and alongside Spider-Man he battled the Shocker and Simon Steele.[5] He later aided Iron Man in his battle with the Iron Monger. Fortune's son Jerry witnessed the battle and swore vengeance when he was incorrectly told that his father had been killed. Donning his father's costume, Jerry Fortunov became the new Dominic Fortune, though he was killed by Simon Steele.[6]
Now seeking vengeance for his son's murder, Dominic Fortune tracked Steele to New York where he was hiding aboard the aging remains of the Mississippi Queen along with a new Sabbath Raven. Fortune captured Steele with help from Spider-Man along with Silver Sable and her Wild Pack, and he was reunited with the original Sabbath Raven.[5]
When Jerry Fortunov thought that his father had been killed, he swore vengeance on the Iron Monger. Donning his father's costume, Jerry Fortunov became the new Dominic Fortune.
Jerry Fortunov's career as Dominic Fortune was short. Discovering that his father was alive Jerry, with help from Iron Man, attacked the estate of Simon Steele -- the current Iron Monger. Jerry was fatally injured in the battle, shot by Simon Steele, and died in his father's arms.
In his prime, David Fortunov was an athletic man. He was also a superb hand-to-hand combatant and excellent boxer, and an expert marksman and swordsman. In modern times, despite being in excellent physical condition for a man of his age, Dominic Fortune is still quite elderly.
Jerry Fortunov was less physically skilled than his father. He has a law school degree and is a skilled tax lawyer, however.
Dominic Fortune uses a variety of handguns, especially German "broomhandle" Mauser using 9 mm parabellum ammunition.
Created by Howard Chaykin and based on the Scorpion, Chaykin's character for the failed Atlas/Seaboard Comicscompany,[2] Dominic Fortune was originally a 1930s costumed, fortune-seeking adventurer.
He was part of Marvel's Comics Code-free black-and-white magazine line. His first two appearances occurred in Marvel Preview #2 (1975, no month) and Marvel Super Action #1 (January 1976), a one-shot magazine. These stories were later reprinted in Marvel Preview #20 (Winter 1980).
He next appeared as "Dominic Fortune, Brigand For Hire" as a backup feature in Hulk (a full-color magazine, formerly the b/w Rampaging Hulk) #21 - #25 (June 1980 - February 1981), written by Denny O'Neil with fully painted artwork by Chaykin. Issue #24 (December 1980) contains a short editorial to the effect that although the magazine was reverting to b/w from the following issue, this would be "with the exception of the Dominic Fortune strip which will be in color through its offbeat conclusion in issue #26." Despite this assertion, and an advertisement in issue #25 for a Dominic Fortune story in issue #26, issue #25's story, "Slay Bells", was the last published. Contemporaneously, Fortune appeared in Marvel Premiere #56 (October 1980), in a story plotted by Len Wein and laid out by Chaykin for the never-published Marvel Super-Action #2, and finished by David Michelinie and Terry Austin.
Subsequently, an elderly version of the character interacted with modern Marvel heroes in Marvel Team-Up #120 (August 1982), Web of Spider-Man #10 (January 1986), Iron Man (vol. 1) #212 - #213 (November 1986 - December 1986), and Web of Spider-Man #71 - #72 (December 1990 - January 1991), with no involvement from Chaykin beyond the cover for Web of Spider-Man #10. A flashback tale revealing Fortune's involvement with Captain America's origin appeared in Marvel Super Heroes (vol. 2) #3 (September 1990)
The next appearance of Dominic Fortune was in Sable and Fortune, a 4-issue limited series published in 2006, written by Brendan Cahill and painted by John Burns (issues #1-3) and Laurence McCubbin (#4). Originally solicited as a six-issue series, Sable and Fortune was shortened to four issues after issue #1 was released in March 2006. According to the letters page of #3 (May 2006) the four-part tale was unaffected; the last two issues would have been a separate story. He also appeared as a supporting character in Marvel Comics Presents (vol. 2) #5 - 12 (February 2008 - October 2008).
In June 2009, a six-part online-only digital comic Astonishing Tales: Dominic Fortune was published as part of Marvel Comics' digital initiative. Written by Dean Motter and drawn by Greg Scott, it featured Dominic Fortune in tales set during the 1930s. This was followed in October 2009 by a four-part miniseries published under Marvel's mature MAX imprint.[3]Written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin, this miniseries was also set in the 1930s.[4]
In November 2009, Marvel Comics announced the release of a Dominic FortuneTrade Paperback book. The title reprints the 2009 MAX series and the digital Astonishing Tales: Dominic Fortune, along with the stories in Marvel Preview #2 andMarvel Premiere #56.
In 2010, Dominic Fortune was featured as a supporting character in the series Hawkeye & Mockingbird, which lasted for six issues. He subsequently appeared in the mini-series Widowmaker, which continued a storyline from Hawkeye & Mockingbird.
In 2011, Fortune appeared as part of the 1959 Avengers group in New Avengers Vol. 2, #10-13, followed by the five issue miniseries Avengers 1959.
In 2015, Fortune appeared in S.H.I.E.L.D. #11 in a story drawn by Chaykin.
Born in New York, Duvid Jerome Fortunov spent the 1920s until just after the Wall Street Crash in 1929 on New York City'sLower East Side "lying, cheating and stealing my way through life".[5] During this time, he once saved a young Steve Rogers from a group of bullies.[6] He worked as an escapist on Coney Island, but not having much luck at that, took up wing-walking and barnstorming.[7] During this time, he pitched a few innings of Triple-A baseball in the Jewish leagues.[8]Sometime after ratting out New York gangster Olga Cimaglia,[9] Fortunov relocated to Los Angeles, California where he changed his name to Dominic Fortune and became a costumed adventurer for hire and a mercenary. By 1934 he was involved in the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay - fighting as a pilot for both sides before returning to Los Angeles, where he took a job guarding three "out of control and drunken" film stars.[5] Trying to unravel a plot to kill him, he travelled to Berlin for the 1936 Olympic Games, and eventually foiled a plot by American Fifth Columnists to kill President Roosevelt and his wife and gain important funding from the Germans and Italians to support Nazi sympathisers in the U.S.[10] Not long afterwards, he fell in with Sabbath Raven, the owner of the Mississippi Queen, a floating casino moored just outside US territorial waters, where he enjoyed a romantic relationship with her and they shared many of his adventures.
In 1937, in an adventure in Europe he encountered Dr. Doom's parents and later Captain America villains Baron Von Strucker and Baron Zemo and spent some time in Latveria and in Wakanda in Africa while foiling Nazi weapons intrigues involving the as-yet unnamed mineral Vibranium. Not long afterwards, having been evicted from his office, he began living aboard the Mississippi Queen at Sabbath's invitation.[7] In that same year, he uncovered a Nazi propaganda plot in the comic book industry.[11] He also broke up a cult of zombies,[12] thwarted Baron Strucker's attempted assassination of a U.S. senator,[13] exposed the phony "child star" Tina Timmons,[14] and rescued the British ambassador from a terrorist.[15]
In 1938, he prevented Jacob Einhorn, a property magnate, from selling U.S. secrets to the Japanese in exchange for land after their planned invasion.[16] He also prevented silent movie star Noble Flagg and gangster Olga Cimaglia from taking over the LA underworld.[17] In the spring, he met Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan and helped him save his circus from a group of thugs hired by the wealthy Spencer Keene.[18]
Early in 1940, he defeated a group of Nazi saboteurs who had taken over the Dean Brothers Circus in Chicago.[6] Later that same year, he foiled a Nazi plot to steal top secret plans from a munitions factory.[19] In May, he lost contact with Sabbath Raven after an argument in a bar in Rotterdam just before the Nazi invasion of the city.[20] After failing to find her, Fortune returned to the U.S.[20] He was rejected as a subject for Project: Rebirth, but helped protect the man who was chosen,Steve Rogers (who would become Captain America) from Nazi agents.[6] In 1942, he met the Sub-Mariner during theMurmansk Run.[21] He returned to the war as a G.I. in 1943.[20] In the final days of the war, Fortune was responsible for killing the leader of the Dark Ocean Society,[22] After the war, he continued his search for Sabbath, but again failed.[20]
In 1959, while in Paris, Fortune was recruited by Nick Fury to be a member of the "Avengers Initiative". This included working with Sabretooth, Ulysses Bloodstone and other still-extant Marvel characters.[23] After helping to defeat a Neo-Nazi version of the Red Skull in Sweden, Fortune's criminal record was wiped clean.[1]
Eventually, Fortune returned to America and resumed being David Fortunov. He established himself as a Pontiac salesman in Nassau County, New York (becoming 'Nassau County Champion Salesman' in 1965), where he married and had two children.[24] He eventually retired to Restwell Nursing Home, NY after the death of his wife,[25] but came out of retirement to battle Turner D. Century alongside Spider-Man,[25] after which he vowed to take back up his search for Sabbath Raven. Some time after this he left the rest home, then alongside Spider-Man battled the Shocker, who was working for Simon Steele, an old adversary of Fortune's who he had been investigating in the hope of finding clues to the fate of Sabbath.[26]
He later aided Iron Man in his battle with the Iron Monger,[27] once again an employee of Simon Steele. Fortune's son Jerry witnessed the battle and, believing his father killed, swore revenge. Donning his father's costume, Jerry Fortunov became the new Dominic Fortune,[28] though after finding his father still alive he was killed by Steele, taking a shot meant for his father.[29] Iron Man then informed Fortune that the Sabbath he had seen with Steele while in captivity was in fact Sabbath Raven's daughter Elena by Steele's brother (Sabbath's first husband) Heinrich von Lundt.[30]
Seeking vengeance for his son's murder, with the help of Spider-Man, Dominic Fortune tracked Steele and the younger Sabbath Raven to New York,[31] only to discover that Steele had married Fortune's Sabbath many years before. Eventually Fortune, Spider-Man and Silver Sable corner Steele hiding aboard the ageing remains of the Mississippi Queen and Fortune was reunited with the original Sabbath Raven.[30]
Later, Fortune found and replicated a flawed Super-Soldier serum that Mockingbird helped create. After ingesting it, he was de-aged and lost his memory for a short time.[32]
In 2006, the newly de-aged Dominic Fortune joined forces with Silver Sable to stop the plans of traitors from within Silver Sable's own Wild Pack.[33] At that time Fortune worked as a P.I., but was also shown to be working with a government black ops group called the Vanguard.[34]
After he regained his memory and aged overnight, he decided to join Mockingbird's organization, the World Counter-terrorism Agency to stay close to her, making sure the Super-Soldier serum's creator was there to help him if the side-effects got worse.[35]
In 2015, he was revealed to have again aged (although still younger than his actual 100+ years) and living back on board the Mississippi Queen, left to him by the deceased Sabbath Raven. He enlisted the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. field director Phil Coulson to help him reacquire the ship after losing it while gambling with Hydra agent Tug Freehand.[8]
When Jerry Fortunov thought that his father had been killed,[28] he swore vengeance on the Iron Monger. Donning his father's costume, Jerry Fortunov became the new Dominic Fortune. Jerry Fortunov's career as Dominic Fortune was short. Discovering that his father was alive Jerry, with help from Iron Man, attacked the estate of Simon Steele. He was fatally injured in the battle, shot by Simon Steele, and died in his father's arms.[29]
In his prime, David Fortunov was an athletic man. He was also a superb hand-to-hand combatant and excellent boxer, and an expert marksman and swordsman. In modern times, despite his advanced age, David is in excellent physical condition and still retains much of his physical skills; he does, however, tire easily.
While less physically skilled than his father, Jerry Fortunov was a skilled tax lawyer with some training in marksmanship.
Dominic Fortune uses a variety of handguns, particularly the Mauser C96, using 9 mm parabellum ammunition.[citation needed]
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Comic-book creator Howard Chaykin has been involved with several pulp and pulp-inspired comics during his career.
Moving to Marvel Comics, Chaykin revamped the concept and created a new character: Dominic Fortune. Because their outfits are similar, most see Dominic as just a continuation of The Scorpion, but a lot of things are different. The Scorpion’s vest was turned into a sort of “onesie” for Fortune, which also had a heart on the left breast. Fortune is not immortal and he operates in Hollywood, not New York. While he is a bit amoral, he doesn’t seem to be as hard-edged as The Scorpion. And he is a gambler, always in debt to his landlady, who operates the gambling ship he lives on. So he mainly is a “brigand for hire” to raise money for rent.
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