The recent release of Avengers: Infinity War has caused plenty of excitement amongst superhero fans, but none more-so than Canadian superfan, Rick Scolamiero. Having covered the majority of his body with 31 characters from the Marvel universe alone, the 36-year-old now holds the official Guinness World Record for most Marvel comic book characters tattooed on the body.
“I fell in love with the artist’s work and wanted to continue to see what else we could come up with regarding tattoos. I have been a Marvel comic lover since I was small and growing up we didn’t have much but I always had my Marvel comics and Marvel trading cards. They actually got me through some tough times so the idea of having them on my body forever just really appealed to me.”
For being almost completely covered from head-to-toe in tattoos, it's hard to believe that Scolamiero didn't get his first Marvel tattoo until 2011. Any guesses to what his first character was? Predictably, he told them it was Spider-Man. He started with the wall-crawler first, then would get a new addition once every month or so. Scolamiero initially wanted to limit the characters to just his arms, but once he had full sleeves on both, his love for everything Marvel caused him to cave in and get more. He even had the opportunity to meet Stan Lee because of the body art. Lee was generous enough to sign Scolamiero’s wrist -- which was promptly turned into a tattoo for the Guinness World Record-holder to cherish forever.
In case you're like me and were curious, Scolamiero's Marvel tattoos currently consist of:
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Mystique - neck
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Galactus - left shoulder, top
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Silver Surfer - left tricep
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Phoenix - left inner bicep
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Wolverine - left inner forearm
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Spider-Man - left outer forearm
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Black Widow - left abdomen (ScarJo)
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Spider-Man 2099 - left buttock
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Doc Octopus - left hip
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Mary Jane - left outer quadricep
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Black Cat - left inner quadricep
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Gwen Stacy - left upper hamstring
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Green Goblin - left lower hamstring
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Venom - left knee
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Groot - left inner calf
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Rocket - left inner calf
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Gamora - left back calf
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Star-Lord - left outer calf
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Drax - left outer calf
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Daredevil - left inside ankle
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Deadpool - right inside ankle
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Red Skull - right inside calf
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Captain America - right inside calf
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Loki - right outer calf
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Thor - right outer calf
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Iron Man - right outer quadricep
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Fin Fang Foom - right quadricep
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Hulk - right inner quadricep
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Thanos - right hamstring
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Ultron - right hip
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Vision - right buttock
"If I had to choose which one was the most painful I’d have to say the inside of my thigh where I have Hulk on my inner right thigh and Black Cat on my inner left thigh. It’s all pretty manageable though and I’ve been told I sit pretty well, I just try to look past the pain and think about what the finished product will be!"
Now that’s a true fan right there. Can you imagine the pain he had to endure to get himself inked with those characters, which, by the way, doesn't even count all his other non-Marvel artworks like a portrait of Tupac Shakur and Bruce Lee, among others. As he sits now, Scolamiero has around 350 hours of tattooing on his body which usually consisted of a once-a-month session for the past seven years.
What do you think? Is this the world's biggest Marvel fan?
Let us know in the comments below!
You stay classy, ComicBookMovie™
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