X-Factor Annual # 8 1993 Charon pg 30 by Terry Shoemaker & Mark McKenna

X-Factor Annual # 8 March 23, 1993
Inks over pencil with overlay on 11 x 17 Marvel art board
"Charon" pg 30
Writer: Peter David
Pencils: Terry Shoemaker
Inks: Mark McKenna (Signed bottom right)
Letters: Louis Buhalis

New Marvel villain Charon (Charlie Ronalds) resurrects former X-Factor baddies mutant Dick Chalker Carnivore, Mutant hater Vic Chalker & his cousin Rick Chalker aka Number One Fan. This is the climax of the Chalker family subplot that ran through X-Factor with the members of the family preparing to attack X-Factor but all dying before they even made contact:

Vic Chalker died in X-Factor #77, Number One Fan in #83 and Carnivore in #89.

Years ago young, Charie Ronalds’ parents are killed before his eyes by a mutant (Random). Afterward, Charlie becomes withdrawn and obsessed. When some time later in the orphanage young Guido Carosella becomes horribly misshapen when his mutant powers manifest after a car accident, Charlie angrily attacks him and Guido inadvertently swats him aside, leaving Charlie with a limp. Charlies grows up to become a creepy young man, dabbling in black magic. When he recognizes Guido on TV as X-Factor member, he enters into a pact with the demon Cloot to get revenge on the mutants. Cloot turns him into Charon and gives him help (three souls who died cursing X-Factor, namely Vic Chalker, Number One Fan and Carnivore) but Charon has to break the mutant before he kills them, so their souls will belong to Cloot. Charon and his people attack X-Factor, who have never heard of their greatest enemies before. They easily take out the Chalkers but Guido is more interested in gaining Charon’s forgiveness than fighting him. When Charon shows he is only interested in killing him, Coot takes back his soul and throws it into the same pit as his parents. X-Factor still have no idea what actually was going on.

The killer of Charon’s parents is supposed to be Random. That doesn’t fit with Random’s later established origin as being only a teenager. This was written during the time of the “Batman Returns” movie by Tim Burton, hence the many Batman jokes.

Charon’s childhood story is a riff of Batman’s origin, the difference being that Bruce and his parents watched the movie “Zorro,” whereas Charlie and his family watched the 60ies Batman movie with Adam West and Burt Ward.