Nicholas Scratch

Nicholas Scratch
Art by Valentine Delandro From 4 #27
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Fantastic Four #185 (August 1977)
Created by	Len Wein (writer), George Pérez (artist)
In-story information
Partnerships	Dormammu Salem's Seven
Abilities	Vast magical powers

Nicholas Scratch is a fictional wizard in the Marvel Comics universe. He is predominantly a foe of the Fantastic Four, and a notable foe of the Defenders.

Nicholas Scratch first appeared in Fantastic Four #185 (August 1977) and was created by Len Wein (writer) and George Pérez (artist).

The name "Nicholas Scratch" is an amalgam of colloquial and euphemistic names for the Devil: "Old Nick" and "Old Scratch" or "Mr. Scratch" (as used in "The Devil and Daniel Webster").

Nicholas Scratch is the son of Agatha Harkness and was a resident of the hidden community of New Salem, Colorado, a secret community populated by magic users. Agatha left the reclusive community to live among normal people, and in time even became nanny to Franklin Richards, son of Reed and Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four. Scratch fathered seven children, who would come to be known as Salem's Seven. Scratch, now a warlock, became the leader of New Salem, and brought the community to believe that it had been betrayed by Harkness through her dealings with the outside world. The New Salem witches then abducted Agatha for her trial and execution. They also abducted Franklin Richards in the process, which then caused the Fantastic Four to follow them back to New Salem. Although initially defeated and captured, the Four escaped and confronted Scratch at Harkness's trial, where all of the New Salem community was present. They countered Scratch's claims against Harkness by explaining that they hadn't known of New Salem until Scratch's actions made them aware of it. Outraged, Scratch attacked, swaying the community against him. The New Salem community then exiled him and banished him to a dimension known as the Dark Realm.