Marvel fans were just introduced to the latest version of Crossbones (AKA Brock Rumlow) in Spider-Man 2099: Exodus (by Steve Orlando, Dave Wachter and Ryan Stegman) and the infamous villain has undergone some interesting changes. For the most part, the character has been seen as a regular man with skills in combat, which he gained during his time in the military. In this future, however, he seems more like Frankenstein’s monster than anything else.
Rumlow started his criminal career quite young, being the leader of the Savage Crims, a New York gang. During this time he assaulted a teenage girl and fought her two brothers, killing one of them. After he fled New York, he found his way into Taskmaster’s school for criminals and even became an instructor later on. Following his time there he became a mercenary, and he was sent on a mission to invade the château of Nazi scientist, Armin Zola. While the rest of his team died, he was the only one to survive, and this impressed Johann Schmidt (AKA The Red Skull), who hired him as his right-hand man. It was then that he received the codename Crossbones.
Shortly after his new appointment under Captain America’s arch-nemesis, Crossbones assembled a team known as the Skeleton Crew. The team consisted of Crossbones’ deadliest henchmen, and he created the team to rescue Red Skull when he had been buried alive. Perhaps his most noteworthy criminal activity takes place following the events of the infamous Civil War. Under the instruction of his employer, Crossbones shot and killed Captain America after he’d surrendered to the pro-registration forces. He was attacked and beaten by the Captain’s best friend, the Winter Soldier (AKA Bucky Barnes) but he simply laughed it off, showing how much of a powerhouse he is.
Although he doesn’t possess any powers for most of his comic book career, Crossbones does have a love of prowess in physical combat and is able to take on even the strongest heroes. He has been expertly trained in warfare and is an accomplished military tactician. He has also received top-tier training in martial arts and marksmanship, as well as many types of hand-to-hand combat. He is essentially a walking human weapon. Crossbones has been seen with superpowers following a mission, where he was exposed to some corrupted mist. This gave him the ability to fire focused energy beams from his head, which could burn and pierce his targets.
Crossbones is so strong and tall that he doesn’t need to rely on special powers or abilities, which is why he is such a force to be reckoned with. He uses his size and strength alongside his combat training to defeat his enemies. The fact that he has been seen to beat Captain America is enough to prove how incredible he is. His strength seems to have grown in 2099, too. He appears in the comic with a sniper trained by the new Winter Soldier and his look has changed significantly. He went from a buff, tall guy to a mangled cyborg, and it’s a bit disturbing. What little skin we see on his mostly mechanical body is stretched over the machinery and his eyes are glowing red. His iconic look included two crossed bones on his chest, but it’s now bolted there, rather than being a print on a shirt. His left arm is that of Bucky Barnes from when he was the Winter Soldier, who Crossbones claims to have killed.
When they enter a fist fight, Crossbones uses Bucky’s arm to effortlessly rip off the current Winter Soldier’s arm. When he rips off the logo from his chest, it turns into a crucifix, which he uses as a weapon. He shows how easily he can adapt to his fights, even more so now that he’s essentially a scarier version of the Terminator. In spite of his physical prowess and combat abilities, the Winter Soldier does defeat him and takes his arm. But her victory didn’t come easily.
Crossbones is perhaps one of the most overlooked and underrated villains in the Marvel Universe due to being a secondary character. But he is an incredible fighter and has achieved things that supervillains can only dream of. Since he is now shown as a cyborg, it is possible that we will see him again in the future, and it would be a shame if we didn’t as he can easily challenge most superheroes. It will be exciting to see what else the grotesque villain will do next if anything.