GUNFIRE #5 - September 1994

The Day of the Exomorphic Man

Credits: Len Wein (writer), Steve Erwin (layouts), Brian Garvey (finishes), Bob Lappan (letterer), Martin Thomas (colorist)

Summary: Gunfire is released from prison on the condition that he continues adventuring when the police need his help. Meanwhile, Gunfire’s aunt Lacey retrieves the remains of Slater. Using Van Horn Industries technology, she reanimates him as the Exomorphic Man. Lacey sends the disoriented Exomorphic Man to stop Andrew before he can publicly announce that V.H.I. will no longer produce weapons, unaware that the press conference has already been cancelled. As Gunfire, Andrew shows Exomorphic Man his face in the mirror after their fight, which leads to him deliriously falling several stories out of an open window.

Irrelevant Continuity:

· Gunfire mentions odd events that are happening around the globe, such as “the fall of Metropolis” and numerous dinosaur sightings. He also hears his deceased father’s voice later on in the issue, an event he dismisses as a part of the global oddities. Presumably, these are Zero Hero tie-ins, since this comic is filled with ads for the event.

· Gunfire can now fly, thanks to the new armor upgrades created by Benjamin and Yvette.

· Yvette is mysteriously broke, and Lacey Van Horn is somehow using this to her advantage by allowing Yvette to live in her mansion.

I Love the ‘90s: We see a couple of giant car phones this issue, as Lacey tries to contact her assistant Meagan and cancel Exomorphic Man’s attack after she discovers the press conference has been cancelled.

Review: Since this is the last issue before the Zero Hero-related #0, why doesn’t the story end with whiteness consuming the world, followed by several all-white pages? Or did that only happen in the issue of Robin I have from this cover month? Anyway…

Gunfire’s journey as a reluctant hero continues, as he’s forced to prolong his role as Gunfire in order to avoid jail. That’s a respectable angle for Wein to play out, and he adds another wrinkle by revealing that Gunfire’s associates, Benjamin and Yvette, don’t really want to continue doing this, especially if they’re being pressured by the police into helping. Wein also introduces another supporting character subplot, as the audience learns that Yvette has somehow gone broke and must turn to Gunfire’s shady aunt for help. Lacey Van Horn so far comes across as a typical soap opera villainess, but she is humanized a bit by her edict that Exomorphic Man merely scare her nephew and not kill him. And speaking of Exomorphic Man…hey, at least he’s not another ‘90s Guy in Armor. Erwin and Garvey do a great job on his visual, and I’m glad they’re getting something else to draw. Steve Erwin is the kind of underappreciated Buescma-style artist that unfortunately began to disappear during the mid-‘90s, so I’m glad DC hasn’t replaced him yet. Oh, wait. It’s his last issue? Never mind.

GUNFIRE #4 - August 1994

Squeeze Play

Credits: Len Wein (writer), Steve Erwin (penciler), Brian Garvey (inker), Bob Lappan (letterer), Martin Thomas (colorist)

Summary: Gunfire leaps from the train, protected by his armored suit. The train derails and destroys what remains of his father’s weapons technology. Later, Andrew is visited in his new apartment by Detective Rivera, who’s still investigating Gunfire. Suddenly, the armored Marauder breaks in, targeting Rivera. Andrew exposes himself as Gunfire and chases away Marauder. Rivera promises to keep Andrew’s identity a secret, but is incensed the next day when Gunfire illegally trespasses on the property of the company he suspects employs Marauder. Rivera stumbles into Gunfire and Marauder’s fight and stops Marauder by destroying the computer network connected to his armor. Gunfire is then placed under arrest.

I Love the ‘90s: Ben, who’s watching the Marauder fight on a series of monitors, compares the picture quality to a laser-disc.

Review: The issue doesn’t get off to a great start, as it opens with a predictable cop-out resolution to the previous chapter’s cliffhanger. The basic premise to the new storyline, Gunfire versus his third Armored ‘90s Guy in a row, isn’t very promising either. However, Wein has worked around some of the standard superhero clichés by changing the dynamic of Gunfire and Rivera’s relationship. Rivera discovers Gunfire’s secret ID when Gunfire protects him from a mob hitman (conveniently hired by the same mob family we know has ties to Van Horn Industries), and is actually pretty reasonable about the ordeal. He thanks him for saving his life, but still expects him to make a statement, which will be kept confidential. So, Gunfire’s secret ID is known to the police, but not the general public. He can live with that. Gunfire isn’t a “duly deputized officer of the law” though, so when Rivera catches Gunfire breaking and entering the very next day, he isn’t going to let him get away with it. The nuanced relationship between Rivera and Gunfire has a lot of potential, and I’m glad Wein isn’t taking the more obvious route of making Gunfire and the police automatic allies or enemies.

Is there anything else of note this issue? Oh, yes. The first hints that Monika can’t be trusted are dropped. How else do you explain her lusty desire for Gunfire’s half-mullet/half-ponytail?

GUNFIRE #3 - July 1994

Enter: Purge!

Credits: Len Wein (writer), Steve Erwin (penciler), Brian Garvey (inker), Bob Lappan (letterer), Steve Mattson (colorist)

Summary: The police spy on Van Horn Industries, suspicious of Gunfire’s connection to the company. Andrew is caught using his powers to destroy his father’s weapons technology. Solomon Perggia, a.k.a. Purge, arrives to steal the weapons, killing all of the police except for Detective Connover, whose life is saved by Gunfire. Soon, Gunfire ambushes Purge and his men on a train that’s carrying more weapons components. When Purge attempts to use his powers on Gunfire, he agitates the molecules of Purge’s armor and sends him exploding into the sky. Gunfire, however, is left on a runaway train.

Irrelevant Continuity: Purge reveals that he’s an Italian mobster who discovered his metagene after getting shot twice in the chest. He has the power to absorb life energy, but unlike a southern X-lady with bad taste in men, Purge’s power devolves his victims into goo. He turned to Gunfire’s father for help, only to discover Gunther Van Horn was mechanically replicating Purge’s power and using it as a weapon. He now wants all of the Van Horn technology based on his biology. So…does the post-post-post-Crisis DC Universe still have “metagenes”?

Review: The Solomon Perggia/Purge storyline continues, as we discover that the elderly mobster from the previous issues not only has super powers, but his own indestructible suit of armor that rivals the one worn by Iron Man…or F.A.C.A.D.E. at least. This is obviously ridiculous, but Wein plays it so straight I’m compelled just to go along with it. Purge is given a fairly convincing death scene this issue, which doesn’t stop the creators from ending the story with yet another cliffhanger, as Gunfire is trapped on a runaway train that’s about to go off the tracks. This is very traditional, old school superheroics. I personally enjoy it, but it still seems an odd fit for a character once described as having “the most ‘90s powers ever.”

The subplots offer the first real glimpse of Gunfire’s love life, and we discover that he is absolutely not Peter Parker. Gunfire’s having casual sex with his chauffeur Monika, which bothers his friend Ben (who’s perhaps better versed in sexual harassment law than Andrew). Yvette’s still in the background, literally, as she hides out in their base and watches the events from a distance, helping out whenever the plot needs her to. Another addition to the supporting cast is made when Detective Connover debuts as an investigator on the Van Horn case. He discovers Gunfire’s secret ID and is rescued from sure death by him within a few pages, quickly setting Connover up as Gunfire’s ally on the police department. Those always come in handy in superhero comics. Again, this is all very traditional stuff (although Gunfire’s relationship with Monika is a little racy for a Code-approved comic of the time). That doesn’t mean it’s bad, but the series does feel somewhat tame for the era.

GUNFIRE #2 - June 1994

On the Rebound

Credits: Len Wein (writer), Steve Erwin (penciler), Brian Garvey (inker), Bob Lappan (letterer), Martin Thomas (colorist)

Summary: Gunfire rescues Yvette from Ricochet, who’s ordered to abort the mission. The next day, Andrew van Horn is visited by a detective investigating the dead bodies found at the battle site. He directs Detective Rivera to his attorney, and soon leaves to investigate a break-in at a Van Horn warehouse. Once again, he defeats Ricochet and more of Slater’s men. However, he unwittingly keeps one of the men’s helmets, unaware it’s broadcasting to Slater. Slater uses the bug to learn of the location of the top-secret CDI weapon and sends Ricochet to JFK Airport to retrieve it. Gunfire arrives for a final battle that sends Ricochet into the Long Island Sound. Slater’s employer, Mr. Perggia, decides to oversee matters personally as the armored Purge.

Review: And I thought this book was trying to avoid clichés. The structure of this comic -- resolve cliffhanger, let villain escape, set up a second confrontation with villain, let villain escape, wrap up with final battle that uses established plot device to defeat villain -- is about as tried and true a superhero formula you can find. Maybe it’s considered a novelty to attach this kind of a story to a ‘90s gun guy, but that’s a stretch. Even the revelation of the mystery plot device Slater is hunting (which was treated with a decent amount of humor last issue, since Gunfire had no idea what he was talking about) just whimpers out -- we discover it’s a “Cellular De-Integrator” (CDI) weapon, which means it melts people. Since this is a Code-approved book, most of the human melting occurs off-panel, and even if it didn’t, that would still be pretty tame during the days of Spawn.

So, what isn’t predictable about this issue? We discover that Yvette is actually Gunfire’s ex-girlfriend and not his current love interest. That does give her a slightly different role as the main female supporting cast member, I suppose. The audience also discovers what happens when Gunfire tries to use an actual “rifle” (drawn as a Liefeld gun) -- his powers cause the gunpowder to explode. So, he decides he’s better off using long, pointy objects to project his powers (why exactly is this book called Gunfire, again?). There’s also an attempt to deal with how exactly casualties work in a masked vigilante’s world. Gunfire is a “had no choice” killer, by nature of his powers. While most vigilantes can just leave their victims behind at the crime scene and never think of them again, Wein’s introduced the question of what happens when those bodies are discovered on the hero’s property. Van Horn tries to dismiss the problem by passing the detective off on his lawyer, but he can’t deny that he actually did kill these men and has some legal responsibility to face. I don’t know if this will produce a meaningful storyline, but it seems like the only promising concept in the issue.

GUNFIRE #1 - May 1994

Deadly Homecoming

Credits: Len Wein (writer), Steve Erwin (penciler), Brian Garvey (inker), Bob Lappan (letterer), Martin Thomas (colorist)

Summary: Following his father’s funeral, Andrew van Horn is harassed by Slater, a representative of one of his father’s business associates. Slater wants Andrew to turn over his father’s mystery project, and after Andrew’s initial rejection, he returns with armed thugs. With the help of Andrew’s friends Benjamin and Yvette, Slater is chased away. However, Yvette is soon kidnapped, forcing Andrew to rescue her as Gunfire. After finally reaching Yvette at a Van Horn Industries construction site, Gunfire is confronted by the armored Ricochet.

Irrelevant Continuity: Gunfire debuted during DC’s 1993 “Bloodlines” annual crossover event. (Deathstroke the Terminator annual #2, to be precise.) The gimmick is that each issue introduced a “New Blood” character, making every installment a surefire collector’s item. This worked about as well as Marvel’s 1993 new character annual stunt, although DC did get Hitman out of the deal.

I Love the ‘90s: Gunfire’s hairstyle looks like it could be anything from a mullet to a ponytail to (horror!) a rattail, depending on the angle it's drawn.

Review: When Rob first told me about the New Blood kid Gunfire, my initial thought was, “Great. Another superhero with a very big gun, low-grade rage, and a girlfriend with breasts bigger than her head.” -- Opening statement in this issue letters page, presumably written by some member of the editorial staff.

So, we’re deep enough into the ‘90s for a comics company to be openly cynical about the lone, gun-toting vigilante archetype. DC didn’t seem to jump on to this fad as quickly as the other companies, so by the time they finally had to cave in they were apparently willing to avoid many of the clichés. This is still a book called Gunfire, though, starring a character with the ability to “agitate the molecules of solid objects…then fire them off in short bursts like bullets” essentially making his gimmick a Gambit meets the Punisher riff. Regardless of the creative team’s efforts to make him unique, time isn’t going to be kind to this concept.

Now, how is Gunfire different from Punisher, Solo, Grifter, Cable, Huntsman, Cyborg X, Trencher, Deathblow, Maverick, Chapel, etc? Allegedly, Andrew van Horn has a social conscious, putting him at odds with his predictably evil capitalistic father, Gunther. Having inherited his father’s company, Andrew must reconcile his family’s business practices with his personal beliefs. (I said “allegedly” earlier because the social conscious aspect of the character never comes up in the actual story, but it’s mentioned repeatedly in the letter column.) So, he’s starting off with a bit of an Iron First/Green Arrow/Iron Man riff. Obviously, at least some variation of this has been done, but I don’t know if it was ever attached to a gunman character before.

Another attempt to pull Gunfire away from the clichés is to emphasize his status as a rookie superhero. This could easily introduce a different series of clichés to the book, considering the number of titles dedicated to neophyte heroes still learning the ropes, but Wein has avoided a few of the more obvious ones in the first issue. Andrew’s best friend and girlfriend already know about his superpowers, and they’re even actively involved in creating his superhero persona. Yvette is far from a whiny shrew, although she’s predictably kidnapped and used as bait by the issue’s end. I’m not sure what other non-cliché qualities she might have, aside from the more modest proportions the editors seem so proud of, but the series is young. Her thick French accent can be tiresome, though, especially if you’re the kind of reader inclined to ridicule Chris Claremont’s accents. Looking at the cover, there’s apparently been some form of miscommunication regarding Yvette. At no point in the interior of the comic is Yvette depicted as Asian. Gunfire’s pal Benjamin is Asian, however, making me wonder if the characters’ ethnicities somehow got mixed up and improperly communicated to the cover artist.

The plot of the first issue cuts back and forth between Gunfire’s rescue mission and the events that led to him donning the superhero disguise. There’s very little to pick apart; Len Wein’s written and edited comics for a long time and he clearly knows what he’s doing. It would be easy to mock the fact that Slater’s men can’t recognize Gunfire as Andrew van Horn, even though his modest mask exposes his mouth and red hair, but it’s no more absurd a disguise than Green Lantern or Robin’s domino masks. I don’t know what exactly happened in the “Bloodlines” annuals, but I’m assuming there’s a good reason why Wein is skimping over the origin of Gunfire’s powers. Instead, we’re introduced to his supporting cast and offered some insight into how the Gunfire persona was created. (Gunfire’s armor is crafted by Benjamin out of ceramic, which honestly doesn’t sound very impressive to me).

Gunfire is still lacking in much of a specific personality by the issue’s end, but he’s thankfully not a one-liner spewing ‘90s tough guy. He’s just designed to look like one. And even if that design was passé within a week of the comic’s release, Steve Erwin’s pencil work has aged much better. There’s a bit of an Image influence in the inking, but the story is clearly told and the characters all look realistically human. The final product isn’t quite what you would expect, which possibly worked against the series. Traditional superhero fans probably didn’t want another gun guy, and gun-crazed vigilante fans probably didn’t want a Bronze Age-style superhero book. The countdown to the “Fat Lady Has Sung” letter column editorial has begun.