Scratch

Gallery

Real Name

Nicholas Scratch

Current Alias

Scratch

Relatives

Parents (deceased)

Status

Alignment

Bad

Identity

Public Identity

Citizenship

American

Marital Status

Single

Occupation

Musician, chat show host, cult leader, former astronomer

Characteristics

Gender

Male

Height

5' 11"

Weight

200 lbs (91 kg)

Eyes

Green

Hair

Black

Unusual Features

Tatoos over his face. Skin is a bit pale at times.

Origin

Universe

New Earth

Created by

Dennis O'Neil, Roger Robinson

First appearance

Last appearance

Azrael: Agent of the Bat #47
(December, 1998)

Azrael: Agent of the Bat #100
(May, 2003)

HistoryEdit

Nick Scratch's parents died in a car crash when he was four.^[1] In his youth, Nick Scratch was an overweight, clumsy, and cowardly loser. In college, he majored in astronomy because the study of stars allowed him to be isolated for long hours. He claims that this all changed when he was peering through a telescope and a light particle from a distant star struck his eye. Over the next few months Scratch changed physically and mentally, becoming handsome, hyperintelligent and almost superhumanly charismatic.

Within a year, he was the most popular rock star in the country. Within two, the confidant of some of the world's most powerful men. His greatest gift was his persuasive powers and ability to seem trustworthy – people immediately believed anything he told them.

Not satisfied with being an advisor, Scratch craved power for himself. He assembled a cadre of assistants, which he surgically altered to resemble devils.

When Gotham was decimated by an earthquake, Scratch decided that this would be his first base of operations, and persuaded government officials to quarantine the area. However, his plan to assume control over the city was thwarted by Azrael, who defeated and humiliated Scratch in public combat, after Scratch tried to frame him for murder.^[2] This resulted in Azrael temporarily changing his costume to a predominately white one.^[3]

After this scuffle with Azrael, Scratch became his joint arch-enemy with Biis. He tried to frame Azrael for murder again when he became the first patient at the new clinic opened by Jean-Paul Valley, Brian Bryan, and Dr. Leslie Thompkins. Once again, he failed.^[4]

After several other encounters with Azrael, Scratch teamed with Biis in a plot to kill him (a plot which involved him dressing up in a duplicate of Azrael's costume), which resulted in Azrael and Biis falling out of a building into the GothamRiver. Biis survived, and Azrael's costume was recovered, but not his body. Scratch was arrested, and hasn't been seen since.^[5]

Powers and AbilitiesEdit

Powers

Scratch has not been observed as to have any overtly superhuman abilities.

Abilities

Scratch does have a strong aura of charisma. He is a modern day renaissance man and is very intelligent, always thinking two steps ahead.

Weaknesses

It has been been suggested that Scratch's abilities are magic in nature and that he may be demonically possessed, possibly even by Satan himself (Scratch himself claims to be helped by "star beings"). If this is true, then he may be vulnerable to exorcism.

Related

• 12 Appearances of Nicholas Scratch (New Earth)
• 12 Images featuring Nicholas Scratch (New Earth)
• 1 Quotations by or about Nicholas Scratch (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Nicholas Scratch (New Earth)

LinksEdit

• Scratch at Agent of the Bat

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Footnotes

Batman Villain(s) This character, team or organization, is or was primarily an enemy of the Batman, or the Batman Family as a whole. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Batman Villains."