Created by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema, the character made his first appearance in The Avengers #69 (October 1969) as a member of the Squadron Sinister known as the Whizzer.

[1] James Sanders first appears as the Whizzer in the final panel of The Avengers #69 (October 1969), the first chapter of a three-issue storyline by writer Roy Thomas and penciller Sal Buscema.

Writer Bill Mantlo and penciller Bob Hall revamped the character in the title The Amazing Spider-Man, with Sanders returning to crime with a new costume and the alias Speed Demon.

[15] After an appearance in the limited series Spider-Man: The Power of Terror,[16] Speed Demon is employed by Justin Hammer to battle the superhero team the Thunderbolts.

[19] After a confrontation and unexpected skirmish with Hyperion and a new Doctor Spectrum (Alice Nugent, former lab assistant of Hank Pym), Speed Demon defects to join the reformed Squadron Sinister.

He directs Speed Demon and the Squadron (now joined by Nighthawk, who wishes to stop New Thunderbolts leader Baron Zemo) to find the main source of the Wellspring.

Empowered in the final battle against the New Thunderbolts, Speed Demon takes advantage of the chaos caused when Zemo defeats the Grandmaster to viciously beat Joystick in retaliation for his injuries.

[26] Speed Demon was among the villains who were killed by Black Ant and a restored Hank Pym and revived to join the Lethal Legion.