Dread was an individual that died and was brought back to life by Anton Hellgate to serve as one of his assassins. Hellgate gave Dread augmented powers, limited psychic abilities and an energy sword. Dread was killing certain cops for snooping into Hellgate’s business and one of his targets was Michael Badilino aka Vengeance. Dread came into conflict with Vengeance after he killed Detective John Logan but he retreated when more cops arrived during their first fight. Badilino and his task force received a report that Stacy Dolan may be the next target so they set up a defense perimeter around her police station. Dread took out the electricity and successfully killed several more cops before he was taken down by Vengeance. Dread was held in custody and Badilino tried to beat some answers out of him during their interrogation. Dread refused to give any answers and placed into a cell. Badilino had to give a statement regarding the capture of the cop killer and Peter Parker of the Daily Bugle was present. While in his cell, Dread psychically contacted Rak to break him free. Rak was a minion of Hellgate and friend to Dread. Peter Parker’s spider-sense went off when Rak jumped off a nearby rooftop to free Dread. Spider-Man joined forces with Vengeance to fight Dread and Rak. Dread stabbed Vengeance with his energy sword and it exploded, allowing him and Dread to escape. Vengeance and Spider-Man found Dread and Rak inside a warehouse connected to Hellgate’s machines to recover from their injuries. A fight ensued when Hellgate appeared expressing his interest in Ghost Rider and his power emanations. Hellgate killed his operatives for their failures and disappeared.
Creation
Dread was created by Howard Mackie and Ron Garney in 1994 and first appeared in Ghost Rider # 47.
Powers & Abilities
Dread was given augmented powers and abilities by Anton Hellgate. Dread is mildly psychic which gives him the ability to anticipate and counter his enemies’ attack. Dread has great agility and is a skilled fighter and swordsman. Dread is equipped with an energy sword which is his primary weapon. Dread also has an enhanced hyper-metabolism that allows him to heal at an accelerated rate.