Gideon Smith

Gideon Smith was a minor character featured in the original Tomb of Dracula comic book series. He has made only one appearance to date and was the featured character in issue 57. Nicknamed the "Forever Man", Gideon Smith possessed the power of reincarnation.

Biography
Gideon Smith was a man born sometime around the 12th century. In the year 1792, he traveled to India where he met a fakir who told him that he has been reincarnated many times in the past - and will be reincarnated many times again until the day comes that he will meet the "Dead Man". The fakir showed him an image of the "Dead Man" and warned that he would be the omen which would end his eternal existence once and for all. Gideon took little stock in the notion of reincarnation and scoffed at the old man's cryptic words.

Three days later, Gideon was sailing aboard a galleon playing cards with several other men. One of them accused him of cheating and shot him in the chest, killing him. As the Indian fakir predicted, Gideon was reborn. With each reincarnation however, he was born bearing a crescent-shaped birthmark upon his right cheek.

His next incarnation was in a small cottage in Ireland where he was named after his father, Patrick J. O'Reilly. Patrick grew up to serve as a soldier, but was felled by a bullet to the back of the brain in 1820. He was then reborn as Franklin X. Pomeranze on September 8th, 1820. Franklin grew up to become a thief and also met an untimely death in 1860 when he was shot in the back by a sheriff while fleeing from a train robbery.

Franklin was reborn as Roger Perry-Van Dumann who traveled to Paris, France in the late 1800s where he courted a woman named Angelique de Bussi. A rival for Angelique's affection challenged Roger to a duel and he was shot and killed.

Roger Perry-Van Dumann gave way to Clark Jackson who was born in San Diego, California. Jackson grew up to become a Hollywood screen actor of moderate success. When the world found itself plunged into its second world war, Jackson enlisted in the armed services and was shot and killed on May 8th, 1945.

On the East side of New York, the "Forever Man" was reincarnated once again. He was once again provided with the name Gideon Smith - the same name he used back in the 1700s. He grew up in the Bronx and eventually became an insurance salesman.

When he was in his early thirties, Gideon began seeing visions of the foretold "Dead Man". He had no idea that the man of his visions was in fact that lord of vampires known as Dracula. To get his mind off of it, Gideon's girlfriend, Glory, convinced him to accompany her to her sister's place in Boston. Following the visit, Gideon was taking their bags out to the car when a drunken motorist sped down the snow-covered street and hit him. He was taken to Boston General Hospital where he was treated for several mild injuries.

While recuperating in the hospital room, Gideon took note of another patient - a man whose face had been completely bandaged. When the hospital staff members removed the bandages, he was horrified to discover that the patient lying next to him was Dracula. Seeing him triggered a memory from his previous life and he grew hysterical. He began shouting about how Dracula was going to kill him. The clamor brought more orderlies into the room and when Dracula revived, he slaughtered them all before Gideon's eyes. He would have killed Gideon as well but for the timely appearance of Frank Drake, Rachel Van Helsing and Quincy Harker, who succeeded in driving Dracula away.

Gideon was so terrified by the spectacle that his hair turned instantly white and he slipped into a catatonic state. When one of the doctors observed his condition he said, "He has the look -- of a man who has seen his own death -- and he knows that it is waiting for him..."

Powers

 * Reincarnation: Ever since the 12th century, the man who would come to be known as the "Forever Man" has been reincarnated from one life to the next. With each new incarnation, one invariable trait would remain persistent: He was always born with a crescent-shaped birthmark upon his right cheek. With each life, Gideon was unaware of his previous incarnations, but occasionally experienced visions or sensations relating to a past life.

Skills

 * Acting: As Clark Jackson, Gideon was a trained actor who appeared in several films during the late 1930s and early 1940s. His proficiency at this skill is unknown.


 * Equestrianism: As Patrick J. O'Reilly, Gideon was a soldier and trained in horseback riding. His proficiency at this skill is unknown.


 * Military protocol: In at least two different lives, Gideon Smith served as a member of a military unit. As Patrick J. O'Reilly, he served as a cavalry soldier and was likely trained in at least the basic tenants of military protocol. As Clark Jackson, he served as a member of the United States Army during World War II and would have been similarly trained. His proficiency at this skill is unknown.


 * Military combat training: As both Patrick J. O'Reilly and Clark Jackson, Gideon would have received training in whatever basic combat techniques were employed by the branch that he was serving with. His proficiency at this skill is unknown.


 * Thievery: It is known that Gideon was a thief during his time as Franklin X. Pomeranze. However, it is unknown how proficient he was at the skill. Apparently, he was not so adept that he could evade a bullet when a sheriff brought him down after robbing a locomotive in 1860.

Notes & Trivia

 * The character of was created by writer Marv Wolfman, artist Gene Colan and inker Tom Palmer.


 * Not to be confused with musician Gideon Smith of Gideon Smith & The Dixie Damned.


 * Gideon's earliest known incarnation was in the year 1164. This was revealed in the narrative which established that 813 years worth of time passed between the present and when Gideon first began to be reincarnated.


 * It is unknown whether Gideon Smith has ever been reincarnated as a female. All of the examples shown in Tomb of Dracula #57 present him as male in each life.