Paladin (Marvel)
Paladin is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
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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 saw a television ad put out by Dollar Bill about the Defenders seeking new members. Paladin went to the Richmond Riding Academy to join the Defenders but he found over a dozen other heroes there and they banded together as the Defenders for a Day, with Hercules as their de facto leader. The main Defenders catered to the other heroes and Paladin accepted coffee from the Hulk, though he was frustrated there was no cream and sugar. (Defenders v1 #62) Overwhelmed by the number of heroes there, Paladin chose to leave. (Defenders v1 #63)
Christine Michaels hired Paladin to track down her husband Walter Michaels, who she called the Street Stalker, as he'd been mutated into Thermo in a lab accident and was now leaving victims on the street. Paladin was seeking the 'Street Stalker' in Central Park when Spider-Man attacked, thinking he was a mugger. They briefly sparred but then teamed up after hearing a scream and found a frozen victim who was catatonic. Paladin rushed off for dinner with Christine Michaels and Dr. Bradshaw. When Spidey showed up demanding answers from Paladin, the couple invited the hero to join them for dinner at the Gold Star but the waiter required Spidey to wear a bowtie made of webbing while he gave Paladin a pass as Paladin knew the owner. Christine explained about the 'Stalker' and gave Paladin a nullifier to attach to his gun that would likely counter the 'Stalkers' powers. After making fun of Spidey for not charging for his services, Paladin retired for the night. The next day, he gave Spidey his tracer back then they tracked the 'Stalker' to a building and broke in to fight him. 'Stalker' announced his code name as Thermo and easily collapsed the floor beneath the heroes. Thermo then managed to kill Bradshaw before the heroes caught up. Spidey and Paladin faced off against Thermo in an alley and Paladin fired the nullifier at him but Thermo easily shook it off and defeated both heroes. (Marvel Team-Up v1 #108) Dazzler joined Spider-Man and a weakened Paladin in fighting Thermo and Paladin hit the villain with the nullifier again before Thermo escaped. Paladin flirted with Dazzler, helping her get a weak Spider-Man back to her apartment, then departed for the evening. The next night, at Christine's lab, Paladin found her missing and Spider-Man showed up with a modified nullifier, having increased its intensity. Paladin and Spidey used the nullifier to track Thermo then battled the villain as well as his new gang, including Mark Hamilton, and found they had kidnapped Dazzler and Christine. Thermo was soon defeated. Paladin, thoroughly impressed with Dazzler, left the heroes behind, collected his payment and went off on his own. (Marvel Team-Up v1 #109)
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
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