Steven Hudak was a research chemist who was wrongfully accused of embezzlement by his employer. Swearing revenge, he created an armored suit containing flame-throwing equipment and taking the name "The Scorcher" he attacked his former place of employment. He ran afoul of Spider-Man on one of his first outings, and being defeated by the hero, he was sent to prison. Later, it was revealed that The Scorcher was not working alone but was an agent of Norman Osborn. Hudak eventually escaped prison to pursue an arson career but was defeated by Spider-Man a second time. He once attacked Christmas shoppers, only to be stopped by Ben Reilly who was acting as Spider-Man at the time. Later, the second Crimson Cowl recruited Scorcher to join her incarnation of the Masters of Evil. When Matt Murdock's identity as Daredevil was revealed, he and Diamondback II moved to confront Murdock, but were driven off by Daredevil and Spider-Man. The Scorcher encountered Daredevil again in the Secret War series when he was forced by Lucia von Bardas to band together with other supervillains and attack S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters which was defended by a dozen of New York's superheroes including Daredevil. Daredevil was instrumental in the criminal's personal defeat. Soon afterwards, Hudak promised his ex-wife he would give up his criminal life soon. The Savage Land Mutates tried hiring the Scorcher to break Sauron out of jail, but he refused. They weren't aware that Scorcher, trying to stay on the straight and narrow path after the Secret War, notified Wolverine about this contact. However, after some time Scorcher returned to the criminal life, but he was defeated by the She-Hulk. During the Secret Invasion storyline, Scorcher appears as member of Hood's crime syndicate and attacked a Skrull force. During the Dark Reign storyline, Scorcher, Living Laser, Griffin, and Razor Fist are sent by the Hood to retrieve Tigra and Gauntlet after they flee from Norman Osborn. They attack the heroes, who are ultimately saved by Counter Force. Scorcher was with the Hood during his gang war with Mister Negative. Scorcher is seen to be among the new recruits for Camp H.A.M.M.E.R.. He was sent to take back the Negative Zone based prison and apprehend rogue team the Heavy Hitters. Later, he and several of his villainous teammates are deemed failures by Norman Osborn and the group's Drill InstructorTaskmaster. During the Spider-Island storyline, Scorcher is seen guarding an abandoned lab at Empire State University when Peter Parker and Carlie Cooper arrive. He ends up knocked down by Peter Parker using the moves he learned from Shang-Chi. Boomerang and Owl hire Scorcher onto the Sinister Sixteen, assembled to distract the Chameleon's forces while Boomerang steals from him. During the storyline, Scorcher was an inmate of Pleasant Hill, a gated community established by S.H.I.E.L.D. He had transformed him into firefighter with the help of. During the Secret Empire storyline, Scorcher appears as a member of Baron Helmut Zemo's Army of Evil. He participated in the Army of Evil's attack on Manhattan to draw out as many superheroes as part of Hydra's plan to take out the opposition and take over the United States.
Powers and abilities
The Scorcher's powers derive from his flame-throwing equipment, which provides him the ability to produce large quantities of fire under his control. His costume provides him with protection against heat and flame as well as conventional forms of injury. Later, he added a jet pack to his armor, giving him the ability to fly and to hover in place.
In other media
Video games
Scorcher appears as a mini-boss in , voiced by Keith Ferguson. He and Wizard fight the heroes at the castle gates of Lucia von Bardas's castle. In the PSP, PS2, and Wii versions, Scorcher attacks the heroes at the portal leading out of the Negative Zone Prison alongside Electro, Grey Gargoyle, and Lizard. In the Wii and PSP versions, he is first fought as the first boss in Latveria as well as being the boss of Cyclops' bonus mission on the PSP version.
