Re: Uh, can I get a footnote here?
Nexus is the man in the mask with the red visor. His real name is Horatio Hellpop, although later in the series, others would serve as the Nexus. The name refers to the fact that he is the nexus, or connecting point, between humanity and the Merk, a precursor alien race possessed of tremendous psychic powers. When the rest of the Merk left our galaxy for parts unknown, one of them, Drizripool, the blue giant seen in these scans, remained behind to pass on the Merk dream of perfect justice to another race deemed worthy. All the powers of the other Merk, and their blood, were bequeathed to Drizripool, and he slept for eons until he found humanity, whom he deemed worthy of his gift. He selected Horatio Hellpop, and gave him nightmares of mass murderers who had escaped justice; he would also send him debilitating headaches that would force Horatio to bathe in a special tank of unknown liquid. This would give Horatio tremendous powers, which he would then use to hunt down and kill these murderers.
Over time, the Merk tightened his control over Horatio, sending more frequent and more severe headaches. Eventually Sundra, Horatio's erstwhile lover, traveled into the catacombs of Ylum to find and confront the Merk. This scene is the outcome.
This all took place in the series Nexus, written by Mike Baron and published first by Capital Comics, then First Comics, then Dark Horse Comics, and now Rude Dude Studios; the issues from which the above scans were taken were published by First and then reprinted by Dark Horse. Does that explain this a little better?