Paladin (comics)
Paladin | |
---|---|
Thunderbolts Wild Pack | |
Notable aliases | Paul Dennis, Paul Denning |
Abilities | Highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant Skilled marksman, actor, espionage agent, bodyguard and detective Slightly superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and durability Use of stun gun Wears bulletproof body suit Helmet with belt activated faceplate Infrared vision via helmet's lenses |
Paladin (often going by Paul Denning) is a fictional character, a mercenary appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Though not a supervillain, his mercenary activities often bring him into conflict with superheroes.[1]
Publication history
The character was inspired by the 1950s Western television series Have Gun – Will Travel, in which the title character, Paladin, an investigator/gunfighter, travels around the Old West working as a mercenary for people who hire him to solve their problems.[2]
Paladin first appeared in Daredevil #150 (January 1978), with follow-up appearances in #152 (May 1978) and #154 (September 1978) as part of the same story arc.[3] The character had a one-shot story published in Marvel Premiere #43 (August 1978),[4] and was a billed guest star in the Spider-Man team-up title Marvel Team-Up #108 (August 1981).[5]
From there on, Paladin has mostly appeared as a guest star across the Marvel Universe,
Fictional character biography
Paladin is a mercenary and private investigator, whose past is largely unrevealed. When first seen, he sought
Paladin next battled the
Paladin was later employed by
An unabashed womanizer, Paladin often flirted with whoever woman caught his eye. He briefly dated the Wasp at a time when she was separated from
Paladin had exhibited a certain amount of honor in some cases. For example, he was once hired by a corrupt government to assist rebels as part of a sting operation. He aided the rebels in a bomb-laying operation at a government facility. When the rebels were caught, his government handler remarked how lucky they were that the bomb had not gone off. Paladin replied, "I'm sorry, that would have been extra," and activated the bomb by remote control while driving away.[20]
In the 1990 one-shot The Punisher: No Escape, he was offered 10 million dollars by mobster Vincent Mangano to kill the
Paladin once took down Daredevil with a sniper rifle from a helicopter at a great distance. He did so for the FBI, in exchange for getting his record expunged. The hit, while serious, was not fatal; Paladin's sniper attack led to Daredevil's arrest.[22]
Paladin was a main character in the 2006 Heroes for Hire series, although as Misty Knight said he was just there for the money. As it turns out, he was a traitor to the group, only using the Heroes as a means to hunt down Captain America for S.H.I.E.L.D. as part of the Civil War.[volume & issue needed]
He single-handedly defeated Captain America and the entire Heroes for Hire team, with the exceptions of
In the
During the Siege of Asgard, Paladin and the other Thunderbolts were sent to Asgard with the mission of stealing the Spear of Odin for Osborn. After fighting through a contingent of Asgardians, they managed to find the Spear of Odin.[volume & issue needed] Paladin, finally having had enough of serving a madman like Osborn, turned on his teammates and tried to take back the object. After being attacked by fellow Thunderbolt Grizzly, Paladin was saved by Ant-Man. Grizzly then lost the Spear of Odin to Mr. X who in turn was easily defeated by Quicksilver. Ant-Man recovered the Spear of Odin and gave it to Paladin who decided to take the object in order to keep Osborn from using its power for his own ends. Paladin then departed from Asgard after saying goodbye to Ant-Man.[27]
During the
Powers and abilities
Paladin's physical strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and durability are all slightly superhuman. [citation needed] He is also a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant, with knowledge of Boxing,[30] Judo,[30] Savate,[31] and Taekwondo.[30] In addition, Paladin is a skilled marksman, actor, espionage agent, bodyguard and detective.
While he has been known to use lethal force, his preferred weapon is his stun gun, firing a beam which scrambles the signals within the target's nervous system sufficiently to render most people unconscious. The range and effectiveness are unknown. The gun is equipped so that only Paladin may operate it.
Paladin wears a bodysuit of synthetic stretch fabric, and his boots, gloves, helmet, torso, and knee and elbow guards are made of bulletproof composite materials. Paladin's helmet is equipped with a belt-activated faceplate which slides down to make the helmet airtight; the sealed helmet has a one-hour air supply. The lenses in Paladin's helmet can be adjusted for infrared vision.
Other versions
Ultimate Marvel
The Ultimate Marvel version of Marc Spector used the Paladin name for a period of time while working for the Roxxon Corporation.[32]
In other media
- Paladin appears in the Spider-Man episode "Take Two", voiced by Trevor Devall.[33] This version is a member of the Wild Pack.
- Paladin appears in Marvel: Avengers Alliance 2.[34]
- Paladin appears in the Spider-Woman motion comic, voiced by David J. Murphy.[citation needed]
References
- ISBN 978-0756692360.
- ^ Eury, MIcheal (2022). "Back Issue!" (139): 66.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
- ^ "GCD :: Issue :: Marvel Premiere #43". Comics.org. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
- ^ "GCD :: Issue :: Marvel Team-Up #108". Comics.org. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
- ^ "GCD :: Story Search Results". Archived from the original on 2012-10-12.
- ^ Daredevil #152, 154
- ^ Marvel Premiere #43
- ^ The Avengers #251
- ^ The Avengers #271
- ^ Marvel Team-Up #108
- ^ Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #105-106
- ^ Heroes for Hire #6
- ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #320-321
- ^ Captain America #381-382
- ^ Captain America #386-392
- ^ The Avengers #273
- ^ Generation X #52-54
- ^ Heroes for Hire #10-11
- ^ Amazing Fantasy vol. 2 #16
- ^ "Vincent Mangano (Punisher foe)". Marvunapp.com. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
- ^ Daredevil vol. 2 #79 by Brian Michael Bendis on November 23, 2005
- ^ Heroes for Hire vol. 2 #2
- ^ Heroes for Hire vol. 2 #3
- ^ "The Osborn Supremacy: Thunderbolts". Comicbookresources.com. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
- ^ Dark Reign: Elektra #1
- ^ Thunderbolts #143
- ^ Shadowland: Blood on the Streets #1
- ^ Heroes for Hire vol. 3 #1-5
- ^ a b c The All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update #3 (September 2007)
- ^ Heroes for Hire vol. 3 #6 (July 2011)
- ^ Ultimate Spider-Man #80
- ^ "Take Two". Spider-Man. Season 2. Episode 27. June 18, 2018. Disney XD.
- ^ "Paladin | Marvel: Avengers Alliance 2". Archived from the original on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
External links
- Paladin at Marvel.com