Dwight McCarthy
Dwight McCarthy | |
---|---|
Sin City character | |
First appearance | A Dame to Kill For |
Created by | Frank Miller |
Portrayed by | |
Publisher | Dark Horse Comics |
In-universe information | |
Full name | Dwight McCarthy |
Gender | Male |
Affiliation(s) | The Girls of Old Town Marv |
Residence | Basin City |
Dwight McCarthy is one of the principal characters in
Appearance
In Dwight's first appearance in A Dame to Kill For, his head is shaved and he is nearing middle age. During the events of A Dame to Kill For, the Old Town girls perform
In terms of clothing, in the first half of A Dame to Kill For he wears just a shirt and pants. Afterwards, he takes to wearing a black shirt and a trench coat. He wears red Converse sneakers both before and after his transformation; shown in color on the cover of The Big Fat Kill #1 and in the movie adaptation.
Character history
Three years before A Dame to Kill For, Dwight rescues Miho from two Tong gangsters.
In the time span of That Yellow Bastard, Ava Lord leaves Dwight and marries another man. In That Yellow Bastard, it is on the night John Hartigan enters Kadie's that a drunk Dwight, after whining about Ava leaving him a month ago, goes home with Shellie and sleeps with her.
Prior to his first chronological appearance in A Dame to Kill For, Dwight worked for a time as a talented photographer for a Basin City newspaper. However, he was prone to reckless and violent behavior, further aggravated by alcoholism, which cost him his job. After getting sober and curbing his aggressive tendencies, he found work as a seedy private investigator, often taking pictures of adulterous men.
A Dame to Kill For
As the story begins, Dwight is struggling with maintaining a clean and safe lifestyle, as he is constantly enticed to revert to his previous, reckless ways. Ava Lord contacts Dwight and asks to meet at a seedy bar. Though it has been about four years since they last saw each other, Dwight is still embittered by her leaving him.
Dwight kills Damien in a struggle, and learns that Ava tricked him into doing so; she shoots him in the face and he falls out yet another window. Marv hears the gunshots, picks up Dwight's body and leaves the estate. In their getaway car, Dwight, barely alive, tells Marv to take him to Old Town. When an old flame, Gail, hears Dwight's voice and sees what has happened to his face, she begins to rehabilitate Dwight. After he has healed, Gail, Dwight, Miho and Shellie develop a plan to get revenge on Ava Lord. Gail and the others tell Shellie that Dwight is still alive, and brief her on what she should tell the cops. Ava, having inherited her late husband's fortune, joins forces with mob boss Wallenquist. Dwight, Miho, and Gail get into Ava Lord's estate. They encounter Manute, who, despite being shot six times by Dwight and crucified by Miho, manages to stay alive. Dwight, after listening to Ava's last, desperate lie, finally kills her.
The Big Fat Kill
Dwight, sporting an improved face, is at Shellie's place when
Family Values
Dwight is on a mission from Gail to dig up information about a recent mob hit at a small diner. He goes into a bar near where the hit happened and tries to charm one of the local drinkers there named Peggy. Dwight also spots Fat Man and Little Boy, which makes his job easier later on. As Dwight keeps charming Peggy, she realizes he's not interested in any company that night and only looking for information behind the recent hit. It's revealed that Bruno, the target, was killed by Vito, one of Don Magliozzi's nephews and also one of his hitmen. This was done in retaliation on Don Magliozzi's part as Bruno had killed his beloved niece years ago. Going against his family's treaty with Mob Boss Wallenquist, Magliozzi orders Vito to kill Bruno, who is on Wallenquist's payroll, immediately. Afterwards, everyone's nervous about what Wallenquist will do and if there will be a mob war. With that information, Dwight leaves the bar and is confronted by Vito and some other hitmen who came when Fat Man and Little Boy alerted them someone was digging around for information.
Dwight is kidnapped by them and driven toward the Projects, but Dwight is more interested in their car, which he claims he will take possession of once they're all dead; none of them believe him. Unknown to the hitmen is that Miho has been following Dwight for protection. On the way, Vito tells his side of the story as to how he killed every living thing he saw, including a stray dog. Dwight is satisfied with this and orders Miho to make her appearance. She kills Spinelli, one of the goons, and they park in a hilltop rest area, overlooking the Projects. There, Miho toys with one of the hitmen as Dwight tells Vito to kill the other hitman, Vito's own brother Luca.
After Miho and Dwight are through, they head straight to Sacred Oaks to confront Don Magliozzi, driven by Vito. Miho cuts through the guards and Dwight makes his appearance. He tells the Don he is going to die along with Vito for the accidental death of Carmen, one of the Old Town girls. Dwight tells them Vito shouldn't have shot at the stray dog, since the angles were in a straight line to where Carmen was calling for a ride when Vito shot her. Carmen's lesbian lover, Daisy, arrives as Dwight walks away from the Don and his associates. Daisy guns them down as Dwight remarks there's going to be a mob war because of this, but that neither he nor the girls of Old Town will have cause to worry about it. Finally, he takes possession of Vito's car and drives off into the night.
Hell and Back
On page 165 of
Personality
Dwight is first introduced as a man who lives in total abstinence in order to keep out of trouble. Having a history of bad tempers, wild drinking, and wild love affairs (as well as a mysterious, but seemingly significant, incident involving his father, briefly mentioned in A Dame to Kill For) he lives completely denying himself even a taste of what he refers to as "the fire". During this time he appears to be a tortured soul who is afraid even to rev the engine of his Mustang or grow his hair, all the while trying to not 'let the monster out.'
After being duped and betrayed by Ava Lord in A Dame to Kill For, he develops a new, nihilistic outlook on life. After killing Damien Lord, he constantly refers to himself as a dead man, hinting that he no longer lives the life he had prior to Ava's reappearance. The new Dwight, possibly the 'monster' he had tried to restrain, is far more confident in his self-worth and more at ease with allowing himself to indulge in pleasures and whims. There are times when this new Dwight is shown as being insane or at least not all there, most likely a result of Ava's influence and betrayal, it is most notable during the conversation between himself and the recently deceased Jackie Boy. Dwight also appears completely aware of his problems.
At all times Dwight is a model of chivalry, treating all women, especially
References
- ^ "'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For' is driven by the dame - Movies". The Boston Globe. 2014-08-16. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
- ^ "Josh Brolin Replaces Clive Owen for "Sin City" Sequel". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
- ^ mtv (2006-03-29). "'Sin City' Characters — Even Dead Ones — Returning For Sequel". MTV. Retrieved 2015-03-04.