Jack O'Lantern

Several people have been Jack O'Lantern. Most recently the second one (Steven Mark Levins) has been active again, but was killed by the Punisher during the Civil War. Not much later he returned in the pages of Ghost Rider, apparently revived by Lucifer. He now seems to possess several new abilities for example reanimating the dead.

Jack's Beginnings

Born Jason Phillip Macendale in Boston; Massachusetts, Jack O' Lantern was not always a malicious psychopath bent on criminal deviancy. After collage Macendale studied at MIT for a short while before enlisting in the Marines. It wasn't long before the CIA recognised his talents and gave him training in the arts of assassination and espionage.

Though Macendale was a skilled field operative and an expert marksman the CIA held the opinion that his methods were unorthodox, violent and most of all dangerous. It was because of this that the CIA dismissed his services. Bitter and angry at the world Macendale turned to a life of crime and became Jack O Lantern.

Life of Crime

As skilled as Macendale was, his first attempts at villainy were all but successful. His first criminal activities led him to battle with the Hero Machine Man, a struggle of which he soon lost. Though defeated, Macendale wasn't about to surrender himself to prison on his first criminal endeavour. In a quick act of deception, Jack O' Lantern simulated a state of comatose in the hope that he would be taken to a hospital rather then a prison cell.

To avoid captivity, Macendale planed to take the medical centre hostage so that he could barter his freedom, that and make a name for himself as in the criminal world. While taking control of the hospital Jack had his first run-in with Spider-Man. Again, although Macendale was well equipped and an expert marksman he was no match for the web-slinger. Realising this, Macendale made his escape, though he would meet and battle Spider-Man many times in the future.

Eventually, Macendale developed a partnership with Ned Leed's, a man who was currently impersonating Hobgoblin. it was during this partnership that Macendale was also hired by the Kingpin as and assassin during the Gang wars. Eventually Macendale's alliances with Hobgoblin were severed as Macendale refused to help Hobgoblin chase down Spider-Man. Seeing as Macendale had lost all respect for the current Hobgoblin and seeing as he had done so much work to aid him, Macendale decided that he would make a much better Hobgoblin then Leed's and hired a foreign assassin to kill him. Macendale took on the role as the new Hobgoblin and stopped wearing the flaming Jack O' Lantern suit.

A New Lantern

Steven Mark Levins was born in the historically haunted town of Sleepy Hollow, Illinois. After learning of the Annulment of the current Jack O'Lantern, Levins made the journey to New York where he joined forces with the criminal Blackwing and became the new Jack O' Lantern. The evil duo spent their time looking for Silvermane mansion which had since become Skull House. when eventually they did locate the establishment the two evil doers met Captain America. Jack and Blackwing battled the lonesome hero and thanks to Jack's hallucinogenic gas nearly defeated him.

The Skull, who had been watching from his hideout in the mountains, decided to recruit the two villains into his Skeleton Crew. It was during Jack's time as a Skeleton Crew member that he fought many heroes including Spider-Man, Captain America, Alpha Flight and The Falcon just to name a few.

Psycho for Rent

Jack O' Lantern was hired by many organisations and individuals, either as a body guard, a smuggler or an assassin. Levins was even hired by the Federal Government to capture or kill Spider-Man as part of the Super-Human registration movement. Levins cornered the wall-crawler in the sewers of New York only to be killed by the Punisher.

The Undeath of Jack O' Lantern

After dying, Levins was taken back to his home town of Sleepy Hollow to be buried. After Levins was committed to the earth one of the 666 shards of Lucifer's soul possessed the deceased Villain and revived him to wreak havoc among the citizens of Sleepy Hollow. The Undead-Levins did battle with Ghost Rider on more then one occasion.

Mad Jack

There was more then one Jack O' Lantern in town since Macendale hung up his suit. Daniel Berkhart, along with his tech support Maguire Beck, were trained in the arts of deception by the original Mysterio, Quentin Beck, to carry out his past deeds. When J. Jonah Jameson betrayed Berkart after his arrest, he swore vengeance against the cowardly Jameson. Berkart became the third Jack O Lantern, Mad Jack.

This new Mad Jack persona was far more intelligent and enigmatic then any of the previous Jack O' Lanterns. His Motives were more defined and intellectual, not only because there were two brain's behind the pumpkin, but also because these minds were ones after Mysterio's own heart. Eventually, after Quinten Beck's death, Berkart became the new Mysterio and Maguire Beck took on the role as both tech support and full-time Mad Jack.