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Religion: Latter-day Saint 
Name: Martin Harris
Classification:
supporting character
based on a real person
Publisher(s): 
First Appearance: Captain America (vol. 1) #246 (June 1980): "The Sins of the Fathers!"
Creators: Peter Gillis, Jerry Bingham, Al Gordon
Number of Appearances: 1
Employer: Board of Education in New York
Occupation: board member
Location: New York City, New York, USA
Gender: male
In Captain America #246, Martin Harris was a board member on the Board of Education in New York. Harris was hunted and killed by a fictional comic book character named "Joe Smith," who was angry with the Board of Education for what happened to his son. Given the fact that "Martin Harris" appears in a story featuring characters named "Joe Smith Sr." and "Joe Smith Jr." (named for the historic Latter-day Saint prophet Joseph Smith Jr. and his father Joseph Smith Sr.), it can safely be assumed that Harris was named after the influential wealthy early Latter-day Saint of the same name. The historic Martin Harris (1783-1875) was an important early supporter of Church founder Joseph Smith. Harris ended up having strong personal disagreements with Smith for a time, but eventually reconciled with the Church.
Beyond Martin Harris's name and the name of the characters "Joe Smith Jr." and "Joe Smith Sr.", who appear in the same story, there may not be anything to suggest that Martin Harris is actually a Latter-day Saint character. Aside from tension between Harris and Smith, nothing else in the story seems particularly Mormon. Possibly writer Peter B. Gillis was simply drawing on his knowledge of Latter-day Saint history and having some fun in his choice of names for this story. Gillis has created overtly comic heroes in the past and has created Mormon characters as well, including Scanner and Burn of Strikeforce: Morituri.
Captain America (vol. 1) #246 (June 1980): "The Sins of the Fathers!"
Suggested links for further research about this character and the character's religious affiliation:
- http://www.comicboards.com/marvelguide/h.html
- http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/people/martin_harris.html
- http://marvel.wikia.com/Captain_America_Vol_1_246