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The Religious Affiliation of
Gunner
 

Religion: manifestly non-religious CBR Scale: S

Name: Gunner

Classification: villain villain  

Publisher(s): Marvel

First Appearance: Captain America (vol. 1) #149 (May 1972): "All the Colors -- of Evil!"

Creators: Gerry Conway, Sal Buscema, Jim Mooney

Number of Appearances: 1

Enemy of: Falcon

Ally: Boss
Employer: Boss

Occupation: criminal

Worked for: Batroc the Leaper, Jakar

Location: New York City, New York, USA

Race: white

Gender: male

Note: kidnapped children for Jakar

The man known only as "Gunner" (which is probably a nickname or street name) was a relatively small-time criminal in New York City.

In Captain America (vol. 1) #149, Gunner (a white man) was working with two black men, one of whom Gunner called "Boss." The three of them were kidnapping children from all over New York City. They delivered the children to "some guy on 46th Street," a man whose identity they seemed to be unaware of, but who turned out to be Batroc the Leaper.

Batroc was really just a middle man in this operation. Batroc was turning the children over to a mysterious individual whose identity he didn't really know, but who turned out to be an alien named Jakar (who temporarily masqueraded as the cosmic-powered alien known as the Stranger).

Jakar wanted to use the children as an energy source to try to restore the health of his wife and other members of his race who were dying from a strange plague.

Gunner's name is mentioned in panel 5 on page 2 of this issue. In this scene, Gunner, Boss, and the third criminal in their little group have just kidnapped Rico Santiago using a van that turned into a Volkswagen. Gunner complains: "Cripes, can't this buggy check out any faster?"

Another criminal within the car (presumably the one Gunner later called "Boss") replies: "Bug off, Gunner! We're lucky it jives at all."

Gunner's name is used again later in this issue. On page 17, the Falcon has tracked the kidnapping to the hideout Gunner and his cohorts are using on Ninety-Fourth Street. In panel 1, Gunner says: "--don't like it, Boss. Why hasn't he called us?"

Gunner's boss replies: "Give the man time, Gunner. Maybe he's caught up in something, y'know?"

In the next panel (panel 2 on page 17), Gunner asks: "Yeh, well -- what if we're caught with this kid, Boss? I mean, kidnapping's a life offense, y'know?"

The man Gunner calls "Boss" replies: "Don't sweat it, Gunner. If it comes to that--we won't get caught with the kid -- I promise you!"

In panel 3 on page 17, we see the Falcon crashing through the skylight and attacking Gunner and the two black men he works with. It is at this point that these men are actually seen for the first time. (In the issue's first scene, in which they kidnap Rico Santiago, the men are never seen through the windows of the van/Volkswagen they are using.)

The story never explicitly identifies which of the three men is Gunner, but it can be deduced from their different speech patterns that Gunner is the white man.

Technically, Gunner is working for the man he calls "Boss," who in turn is working for Batroc the Leaper, who in turn is working for Jakar. Neither Gunner, Buss, nor Batroc actually knew what Jakar wanted to do with the kids, but they were all guilty of kidnapping nonetheless. But based on their dialogue, it is clear that Gunner and Boss were willing to kill the kids they kidnapped rather than leave evidence that could lead to them being apprehended or prosecuted.

Fortunately for the kidnapped children, the Falcon defeated Gunner, Boss and their third cohort and then forced Gunner to give him information about where they took the kids. The address Gunner provided (in response to Falcon's threat to drop him out the window) allowed the Falcon to find the actual address where the children were being kept.


This character is in the following story which has been indexed by this website:
Captain America (vol. 1) #149 (May 1972): "All the Colors -- of Evil!"