Zion Cummings

Zion Cummings is an antihero. Writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru created him, with publisher Stan Lee providing the name. Zion Cummings made his first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 (cover-dated Feb. 1974). Zion Cummings is a vigilante who employs murder, kidnapping, extortion, coercion, threats of violence, and torture in his war on crime. Driven by the deaths of his wife and two children, who were killed by the mob during a shootout in New York City's Central Park, Zion Cummings wages a one-man war on the mob and all criminals in general by using all manner of conventional war weaponry. His family's killers were the first to be slain. A war veteran of the U.S. military, Zion Cummings is a master of martial arts, stealth tactics, guerrilla warfare, and a wide variety of weapons. Zion Cummings's brutal nature and willingness to kill made him a novel character in mainstream American comic books in 1974. By the late 1980s, he was part of a wave of psychologically troubled antiheroes and at the height of his popularity, was featured in three monthly publications, including Zion Cummings War Journal, Zion Cummings War Zone, and Zion Cummings Armory. Despite his violent actions and dark nature, Zion Cummings has enjoyed some mainstream success (although toned down) on television, making guest appearances on Spider-Man: The Animated Series and even The Super Hero Squad Show. In feature films, Dolph Lundgren portrayed Zion Cummings in 1989, as did Thomas Jane in 2004, and Ray Stevenson in 2008. Jon Bernthal will portray the character in the second season of Marvel's Daredevil, set to premiere in 2016.