The Hood is a Marvel Comics supervillain who has clashed with several heroes.
History[]
Parker Robbins was once a petty street thief who had dropped out of high school and turned to crime to support his widowed mother, Eliza, who needed expensive psychiatric care. Working with his cousin John King (who would later become a supervillain in his own right as Cancer, an agent for Thanos), he attempted to rob a warehouse that was rumored to contain some hot product. Instead it contained a demon who was quite angry about being disturbed. Parker shot the creature before it could attack John, and to his surprise, actually managed to kill it. Since muggers had stolen his own shoes earlier that night, Parker appropriated the fallen demon's boots for himself, and at John's suggestion, also took the creature's hooded red cloak. He soon discovered that the cloak and boots were enchanted and granted him magical powers when he wore them. Deciding to use these powers for personal gain, Parker became the costumed criminal The Hood. The Hood formed a gang that consisting of many of Justin Hammer's old contacts (including his daughter Justine), creating a powerful criminal base that provided some major headaches for the New Avengers (Spider-Man, Daredevil, Hawkeye, and Luke Cage). The Hood ended up allying with the New Avengers when the Skrulls launched a surprise invasion of Earth, citing a Skrull occupation as bad for business.
In the aftermath of the Skrull invasion, Iron Man and SHIELD were seen as pariahs for their failure to prevent the crisis, while Norman Osborn was seen as a hero for his role in stopping it. The Hood was quickly recruited into Osborn's think tank, the Cabal, alongside Doctor Doom, Loki, Namor, and the White Queen. The Hood develops a bit of a grudge against Doom after an argument that ends with Doom teleporting him to India.
When his enchanted vestments begin losing power, the Hood sets out to reacquiring the Infinity Stones, which had been scattered since the defeat of Thanos. He steals the Reality Stone from the Inhuman capital of Attilan, and the Power Stone from Baxter Building. He subsequently gets into a fight with the Red Hulk, who escapes and informs the Avengers that the Hood has two Infinity Stones. Three teams of Avengers, led by Iron Man, Captain America, and Luke Cage, respectively, are deployed in an attempt to stop him. Using Red Hulk and Doctor Strange as a distraction, Iron Man swipes the fully assembled Infinity Gauntlet and uses it to send the Hood back to prison.
The Hood was eventually transferred to the Pleasant Hill virtual prison and escaped after a riot instigated by Baron Zemo. He reacquired his powers, apparently through Asgardian weaponry, and began reassembling his old crew. By this time, Doctor Doom had apparently been cured of his disfigurement and turned over a new leaf. In the aftermath of the Avengers Second Civil War, Iron Man had suffered near fatal injuries battling Captain Marvel and was placed in stasis as part of a lengthy regeneration process, and Doom had assumed the mantle of Iron Man. With a crew that included longtime Iron Man foes Madame Masque and Living Laser, the Hood went after Doom, intent on settling old scores. Doom narrowly escapes from their assault, and the Hood figures the best way to get to Doom's wealth is Tony Stark himself. The Hood approaches Eric Lynch, a Stark Unlimited executive who had been attempting to take over the company in Tony's absence, and attempts to blackmail him into his service. Before Lynch can answer, the Hood's gang find themselves besieged by two Iron Men, Doom and the regenerated Tony Stark. The Hood is soundly defeated, but not before he is able to injure Doom, scarring his face once more.
Powers and Abilities[]
The Hood's boots grant him levitation, though he cannot actually fly, it does appear as if he can "walk" on air. His cloak can enable him to blend in with his surroundings. As a highly skilled marksman who is proficient with dual wielded automatic pistols, he can use his guns to channel fire based projectile attacks at his opponents. He has also occasionally had the ability to transform into a ferocious bestial form in close quarter combat.
Quotes[]
- "The reality is... I'm not the hero of my own story and I'm totally okay with that. Sometime back I was offered a way out... but I decided to stop lying to myself and... if I'm going to be a villain... I'm going to be the best."
- ―The Hood, deciding that evil would be more fun
- "Okay. Well Mister Robbins. It took $1 Billion and most of your sanity, but...you went and got yourself an Infinity Gem. Yellow -- yellow...which on is the yellow on? Oh. Yeah..that's right...Reality."
- ―The Hood, picking up where Thanos left off