The holidays have power. Real power.
The more a holiday is observed and revered, the more power it possesses. Though cultures around the world often worship the seasons differently, the most powerful of their representatives were the Ostara, Freyr, Autumnus, and Marzanna.
The fall of the Roman Empire ended the reign of Autumnus as the embodiment of the fall. Without worshipers and festivals to empower him, he was defenseless against the might of the embodiment of the Celtic holiday Samhain. Drawing forth the power of the season, the spirit took physical form, becoming known as Lord Pumpkin or simply Samhain.
For many centuries Lord Pumpkin was the harbinger of All Hallows Eve. When the night came on that fateful day, his minions would embark on a grandiose scheme to conquer the world. Each night someone from the living world would be there to stop him, whether it be a Spirit of Vengence, a gathering of occult superheroes, or a young chosen one. Defeated he should slink back to the shadows awaiting the next night.
Then in 1986 something unexpected happened. Instead of a group of wizards or magically-empowered defenders, Samhain was opposed by a group of capitalistic paranormal investigators, who brought their technological gadgets to bear on the Lord of Halloween. Caught in the beams of their unlicensed nuclear accelerators, he was contained in their spectral prison within a disused firehouse in Tribeca, New York City.
With the loss of a host, the Spirit of Autumn went on the hunt for a new host. The usual suitors - a collection of powerful ghosts, entities, and fallen gods - attempted to gain possession of the Spirit, but it rejected them all. In the end, it was a Reaper that would gain the right to become the new Lord of Halloween.
Who Jack was before his exaltation is not known. He was a psychopomp who was in charge of ferrying the souls to the various Kingdoms of the Dead. After the end of the Third World, it was up to the various remaining death spirits to ensure that the right domains after the past and Jack was one of the most powerful.
Able to temporarily shrug off the bonds of fate the forced him into this role, Jack traveled the world and marveled at how the living feared death almost every day of the year, only to nearly worship it on Halloween. It was this fascination that drew the Spirit of Autumn to him and granted him the title of the Pumpkin King.
Originally revealing himself as the Grim Reaper, Jack has elevated the holiday to new heights. Although he commands with an iron, boney fist, he has lacked the stubbornness that his predecessor Samhain was known for. Willing to update with the times, he allowed his subjects to adopt whatever cultural icons they wished, as long as the result instilled fear.
Jack himself has shed his Reaper persona of late, adopting an internet meme as his visual appearance. He now appears as a tall, skeletal-thin man in a dark suit with a nearly featureless face. Even when one glimpses his visage, they see that his eyes and mouth are stitched shut in a bemused grin.
Last Halloween, Jack nearly met final death at the hands of the lion Scar. Having been inadvertently rescued by the Mythic Avengers has made him more cautious. However, can anyone be cautious enough to deal with the reality of being displaced by the new Lord of Time, Kang the Conqueror?
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