Originally only a simple criminal from New England named Kenneth Lee until he was transformed into The Black Death. One night, a couple hundred years ago, the fugitive Kenneth Lee was fleeing his captors, either soldiers or law men, and he happen to come across a smoldering crater that changed whoever came near it. What was in the crater is a mystery to this day and those few that do know pretend they do not. Since Kenneth Lees first encounter with what ever was in that crater he has been changing and getting more powerful all the time. His power and influence were finally put to the test in the 30's and 40's by his two greatest "enemies," Doctor Zeppelin and Lazarus. Doctor Zeppelin and Lazarus were actually descendants of some of the other people that came across the crater the night Kenneth Lee was pursued and found the crater himself.  Black Death overtime created a powerful organization of super powered criminals and other unsavory characters. His power over his pawns was impressive (when his lawyer first entered the room that he was in the lawyer said "hail The Black Death") and the fear he instills grips the members of his organization and anyone else that knows  of his existence.