Jason Macendale Jason Macendale is a
mercenary who was recruited out of college and trained by the
CIA and various para-military organizations. Considered a liability due to his violent nature and amoral personality, this rejection turned Macendale to a career mercenary and ultimately a costumed terrorist. He adopts the Jack O'Lantern alter ego, initially battling
Machine Man before becoming an enemy of
Spider-Man.
Steven Mark Levins The second version of Jack O'Lantern was introduced as an enemy of
Captain America and
Spider-Man. Several years after his introduction, Jack O'Lantern was renamed "Mad Jack" and was heavily featured in the pages of
The Spectacular Spider-Man during the late 1990s. Mad Jack was ultimately revealed to be the duo of Daniel Berkhart (formerly known as
Mysterio) and Maguire Beck (Mysterio's cousin). It was not until the one-shot
New Avengers Most Wanted (a character compendium) that the second iteration was confirmed as a separate entity:
Steven Mark Levins. Levins and his associate
Blackwing become provisional members of the
Skeleton Crew, who work for the
Red Skull. Levins is recruited to serve as part of the
Thunderbolts hero-hunting squad during the "
Civil War" storyline. While pursuing Spider-Man through the Manhattan sewers alongside the
Jester, Levins is killed by the
Punisher. However, Levins is later reanimated and possessed by a fragment of
Lucifer's soul. He now exhibits the ability to detach, levitate, and detonate his head, among other powers. However, the Ghost Rider exorcises Levins by ripping his heart from his chest, setting it aflame, and putting it back in his chest, causing it to explode inside. During the "
Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" storyline, Levins is among the deceased individuals who are resurrected in clone bodies by the
Jackal. Levins later becomes the leader of a gang called the Jack O'Lanterns. When four of the Jack O'Lanterns turn out to be sleeper agents working for
Chameleon, Levins helps to contain their rampage by fighting the Jack O'Lanterns.
Daniel Berkhart Former Mysterio,
Daniel Berkhart, is approached by
Norman Osborn, who provides him a version of the Jack O'Lantern costume, under the "Mad Jack" alias. Under Osborn's orders, Berkhart kidnaps
John Jameson and gives him mind-altering chemicals to turn him into the Man-Wolf again. Jameson is sent to attack his father
J. Jonah Jameson to manipulate him into accepting Osborn's scheme to buy the
Daily Bugle.
Maguire Beck After Berkhart's working relationship with Osborn ends when the Green Goblin participates in a magical ritual that renders him completely insane, Berkhart was then approached by
Maguire Beck, the cousin of Quentin Beck (the original
Mysterio). Maguire convinces Berkhart to re-assume the Mysterio identity following her cousin's suicide and the "Mad Jack" costumed identity is retired. When Berkhart and Beck seek to eliminate Spider-Man,
Daredevil, J. Jonah Jameson and several other mutual enemies, the two revive the "Mad Jack" persona, utilizing robotic duplicates to serve as proxies. In the end, Maguire is caught and exposed though due to her usage of Berkhart androids, but Daredevil and Spider-Man were left unsure as to whether or not Berkhart was truly involved.
Brother of Steven Levins Another version of Jack O'Lantern is introduced during the "
Dark Reign" storyline. He is an unnamed man who claimed to be Steve Levins' brother. Jack O'Lantern is later caught by the police after killing the 15-year-old daughter of his neighbor and drinking his victim's blood as part of his plot to avenge Steve. This man was shown to be able to transform into a Jack O'Lantern-headed villain using the powers of a mystical demon.
Crime-Master's Jack O'Lantern A new version of Jack O'Lantern appears working for the third
Crime-Master. As a child, Jack O'Lantern disobeyed his parents and mistreated animals. While trick-or-treating, he came across the Crime-Master, who took him under his wing and trained him to be an assassin. It was with this training that the boy killed his parents. One of his jobs brings him into conflict with the government operative
Venom. During this conflict, Venom throws a live grenade into Jack O'Lantern's mouthpiece, dislocating his jaw and forcing him to retreat. Later, Crime-Master is able to use contacts to discover Venom's true identity
Flash Thompson, and has Jack O'Lantern kidnap
Betty Brant (Flash's girlfriend) in exchange for Venom letting Crime-Master get a shipment of Antarctic
vibranium. When Venom leaves to rescue Betty, he is distracted by Spider-Man's appearance, which drives the Venom symbiote into an uncontrollable rage. Eventually Betty is rescued at the last second by Spider-Man, with Venom then trying to recapture Crime-Master. However, Venom is attacked by Jack O'Lantern who proclaims Flash as his first real nemesis, and desiring revenge for the disfiguring grenade explosion. Jack O'Lantern is a member of the Crime-Master's
Savage Six. During the "
AXIS" storyline, Jack O'Lantern appears as a member of
Magneto's group during the fight against
Red Onslaught. His moral compass is inverted with all of those in
Genosha when a spell meant to affect only the
Red Skull affects everyone on the island. Jack O'Lantern joins the now-inverted villains to prevent the inverted
X-Men from detonating a gene bomb which would have killed everyone on Earth who was not a
mutant. When a reinversion spell is cast, Jack O'Lantern is evil once again. Jack O'Lantern is hospitalized following a battle with
Deadpool and undergoes extensive therapy and plastic surgery to restore his face. Jack O'Lantern is released to civilian life, but becomes bored almost immediately and returns to supervillainy. After following Deadpool to
Wakanda, Jack O'Lantern battles both Deadpool and
Black Panther until Deadpool kills him.
Owen Ward A petty criminal named Owen Ward stumbles upon the Jack O'Lantern equipment and becomes a supervillain and an arms dealer. He supplies weapons to criminals from Norman Osborn's armory, which attracts the attention of Venom and the police. The Venom symbiote goes berserk and rips out his left eye. During the "
War of the Realms" storyline, Jack O'Lantern finds one of
Malekith the Accursed's War Witches, having teleported into his apartment following a fight with a Dreamstone-enhanced Eddie Brock.
Imposters • An unnamed man posed as Jason Macendale, using both his civilian name and his Jack O'Lantern alias during
Secret War. ==Powers and abilities==