Paladin (Marvel)

Revision as of 09:06, 10 April 2024

Paladin in Heroes for Hire v3 #3.

Paladin is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.

Biography

Paladin

It was noted that Paladin had once served in the army. When Paladin was starting out his mercenary career, one of his mentors was his old army buddy, a man who called himself the General when he was a mercenary. The General was killed by Elektra and Paladin held a grudge against her for years. (Dark Reign: Elektra v1 #1) Paladin helped liberate a prominent Russian nuclear physicist and was warned to never return to Russia thereafter. (Marvel Comics Presents v1 #21) Paladin developed a reputation as a private investigator and gun-for-hire available only for the very rich. Mort Chisolm hired Paladin to hunt down Purple Man, who had used Mort against his will. Paladin demanded $500,000 in payment. (Daredevil v1 #150)

When Mort arrived with only $450,000, Paladin accepted, intrigued by the case. Having heard about Daredevil's recent interactions with Purple Man, Paladin tracked Daredevil, carrying his blaster gun, and the two ended up sparring across the rooftops. When they crashed into the YWCA, Paladin saw two beautiful girls and he stopped the fight, removed his mask and introduced himself to Sandy and Connie. As they headed outside, Daredevil, surprised by Paladin's flirtatiousness with the women, managed to get the upper hand in their fight. Paladin revealed he was after the Purple Man and let the hero go about his business. (Daredevil v1 #150) Paladin continued tracking leads on the Purple Man. In Central Park, Daredevil bounded past civilians Steve and Barbie to confront Paladin, who was there tracking one of the Purple Man's henchmen. As the villain fled, Paladin angrily threw a bench at Daredevil then stunned the hero with his gun, rushing off to complete his mission, one he was already losing money on. (Daredevil v1 #152)

Paladin was hired by Marsha Connors, who needed protection, but she refused to tell Paladin the nature of the threat posed to her. The super-powered Phantasm and his armed men attacked Marsha and sparred with Paladin before fleeing. During the fight, Paladin was nearly thrown off the roof and had his hands burned then he opened fire on Phantasm. Demanding answers from Marsha, Paladin deduced that Phantasm was her ex-boyfriend Dennis Sutton, who had been abusive toward her. After a city-wide blackout triggered by Phantasm, Paladin found Marsha seemingly dead and he furiously went after Phantasm, who used his mob of people and his powers to fight back. After learning that Marsha had only been poisoned, Paladin rushed back to Marsha's apartment, where he told her how much she meant to him. (Marvel Premiere v1 #43)

Paladin tracked down Purple Man to his base and he found Purple Man holding Heather Glenn hostage while forcing Gladiator, Cobra, Mr. Hyde and Jester to battle Daredevil. After blasting Mr. Hyde, Paladin expressed shock that Daredevil had found the villain first. Purple Man tried controlling Paladin but Paladin shot him first then sealed off his own armor to avoid Purple Man's pheromones. Paladin then jumped into the arena and helped defeat the four villains. Daredevil, using Paladin's gun, narrowly saved Heather Glenn from shooting herself at Purple Man's command then Daredevil chased Purple Man out of the building and the villain fell a great distance into the ocean. Paladin chided Daredevil, saying the loss of Purple Man had cost him a half million dollars. (Daredevil v1 #154)

Paladin next battled the Phantasm. After aiding the Wasp against Baron Brimstone, the two heroes began a romance and Paladin acquired a modified uniform. He assisted the Avengers in battle against the fourth incarnation of the Masters of Evil. (Avengers v1 #271)

He was later employed by Silver Sable to investigate a conspiracy which threatened her native country of Symkaria, during which he once more allied with Spider-Man. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #321)

Paladin was then hired by Diamondback to raid Serpent Society headquarters. He was captured during his assignment, but freed by Captain America. Paladin accompanied Captain America in his search for Diamondback, the Asp, and Black Mamba. With his new allies, Paladin battled Superia's horde of female superhumans. (Captain America v1 #392)

An unabashed womanizer, Paladin would often flirt with any woman who caught his eye. He briefly dated the Wasp at a time when she was separated from Hank Pym, much to the Black Knight's jealousy, who was also attracted to her. For a time, he enlisted Generation X into helping him retrieve a sword for Adrienne Frost, the sister of Emma Frost. During this period, the mutant known as Jubilee was strongly attracted to Paladin, but that affection disappeared when Generation X and Paladin later went their separate ways. He has also been a long-time ally to Silver Sable and her Wild Pack organization, working for pay, of course. He once helped them protect a scientist from a kidnapping attempt by the Heroes for Hire, a group he would later join. His main opponent was Misty Knight, who seemed to be an equal match. (Heroes for Hire v1 #11)

During the Civil War, Paladin came to be recruited by Misty Knight to join the new Heroes for Hire that was to be a team of bounty hunters that responded to superhuman criminal activity. (Heroes for Hire v2 #1) The team was dispatched by Iron Man to hunt down Captain America with Knight managing to find Steve Rogers base. However, she had no intention of taking him into custody but Paladin then betrayed his team mates in order to claim the bounty. He managed to take down everyone at the site after which he called in S.H.I.E.L.D. to help recover the captive fugitives. (Heroes for Hire v2 #2) However, during his betrayal, Paladin used a gas attack in order to incapacitate the Heroes for Hire but Shang-Chi was able to using breathing techniques to remain conscious. He then knocked out Paladin and revived Captain America with Steve Rogers switching costumes with the mercenary. As a result, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team that arrived at the scene had unwittingly taken Paladin back to base. (Heroes for Hire v2 #3)

Overview

Personality and attributes

Paladin has a certain amount of honor. 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. (Amazing Fantasy v2 #16)

Powers and abilities

Paladin speaks several languages, including Somali. (Silver Sable and the Wild Pack v1 #16)

Notes

• Paladin was created by Jim Shooter and Carmine Infantino where he made his first appearance in Daredevil v1 #150 (January, 1978).

Alternate Versions

In other media

Television

• In Spider-Man, Paladin appeared in the 2017 animated television series where he was voiced by actor Trevor Devall.

Video games

Other

Appearances

• Daredevil v1: (1978)
• Amazing Spider-Man v1:
• Heroes for Hire v1:
• Heroes for Hire v2:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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