Origin[]
Frank Mercer is a fictional character in the comic City of Ghouls.
He was a United States Marine during World War 2. During the summer of 1942 in France, he and a team of fellow Marines were to reconnoiter and return to base. Intel had suggested the area was free and clear of hostiles, and all they had to do was confirm and report. However, the intel was wrong, and a nearby sniper killed off Mercer's entire team, but he was merely grazed by a bullet and survived. He was taken prisoner and sent to Stalag IX-B, a labor camp at Berga. There, he discovered that the camp was run by Ghouls (or at least, a type of Ghoul).
There he remained a prisoner for three years, clinging to the hope that someday he would return home to find the world he and his men fought and died for a better place; instead, he found more Ghouls. This time, however, he had a way to fight back: his U.S.M.C. lighter, imbued with a magical flame capable of sucking out the soul of whoever he wanted.
Mercer was captured by a group of Ghouls and kept prisoner in the Blue Skies Sanitarium for the Deviant and his lighter was confiscated. He managed to escape, but the lighter was left behind.
The Ghouls tried many times to destroy the lighter, but they were unable. After Claudia Donovan convinced the Ghouls she was not a threat, she persuaded them to give her the lighter to neutralize so that it would no longer do harm. Soon after, Mercer reclaimed his lighter and attempted to use it to kill more Ghouls and Pete Lattimer , before it was once again taken by Claudia.
Once Claudia, Pete, and Artie were about to escape the comic back into the real world, Mercer attempted to get his ligher back once again, threatening the agents. Pete threw the bagged lighter to him before immediately incapacitating him with the Tesla and taking the lighter back one last time.
Effects[]
When opened and lit, the lighter's flame is able to slowly and painfully drain the wielder's target of their soul. It can be used on multiple targets at once, and over great distances. If the draining process is in some way interrupted before it is complete, the victim's soul will immediately return to their body.
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