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Vigilante (character)

(Redirected fromVigilante (comics))

Vigilanteis the name used by severalfictionalcharacters appearing inAmerican comic bookspublished byDC Comics.Notable individuals to assume the alias includeGreg SaundersandAdrian Chase.

Vigilante
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceAction Comics#42 (November1941)
Created byMort Weisinger(writer)
Mort Meskin(art)
CharactersGreg Saunders
Adrian Chase
Alan Welles
Dave Winston
Patricia Trayce
Adeline Kane
Justin Powell
Dorian Chase
Donald Fairchild

An original incarnation of Vigilante namedVincent Sobelappears in the television seriesArrow,played byClayton ChittyandJohann Urband voiced byMick Wingert.Freddie Stromaplays the Adrian Chase incarnation of Vigilante in theDC Extended Universetelevision seriesPeacemaker.

Fictional character biographies

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Greg Saunders

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Main article:Greg Saunders

The original version of Vigilante was a western-themed hero namedGreg Sanders(later retconned in the 1990s to "Saunders" ) who debuted inAction Comics#42 (November 1941).[1]The Vigilante had a teen sidekick introduced in 1942, Stuff the Chinatown Kid.[2]

Adrian Chase

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Main article:Adrian Chase

Adrian Chasefirst appeared as the second version of Vigilante inThe New Teen TitansAnnual #2 (August 1983) by writerMarv Wolfmanand pencilerGeorge Pérez.[3]Chase was a District Attorney in New York City who went rogue after his wife and children were killed by a gang Boss.[4]

Alan Welles

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The third person to assume the Vigilante identity wasAlan Welles,a fellow judge and friend of Adrian Chase. His first appearance was inVigilante#7, and later inVigilante#20 as Vigilante. He secretly operated in a much more violent manner, even executing petty thieves. His mental instability eventually led him to gun down police officers and civilians. Chase though felt responsible for this threat and began a long investigation to take down Vigilante, until Chase found out he was Welles, forcing Chase to kill him.

Dave Winston

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The fourth person to assume the Vigilante identity wasDave Winston,Adrian Chase's bailiff. He refused to kill and traded on the fierce reputation of Vigilante to intimidate information out of thugs. He debuted inVigilante#23 and later as Vigilante inVigilante#28. He believed that the Vigilante's efforts were noble and worthwhile. When Alan Welles was killed after ruining the Vigilante's reputation, Winston took up the mantle believing that the city needed the Vigilante. When Chase found out about Winston's actions, he chose to wash his hands of the affair. When Chase and girlfriend Marcia King boarded a plane for Europe, it was hijacked; Winston andPeacemakerboth responded to the emergency, but Winston was killed by Peacemaker in front of Chase, making Chase believe he was unable to escape the Vigilante's legacy.

Patricia Trayce

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The next Vigilante wasPatricia Trayce,a rogueGotham Citypolice detective who teams up with Deathstroke the Terminator in theDeathstroke the Terminatorseries written byMarv WolfmanandGeorge Pérez.Trayce found Adrian Chase's gear and adapted the guise. She was also Deathstroke's lover. She first appeared inDeathstroke the Terminator#6. InDeathstroke the Terminator#11, Pat takes up the Vigilante uniform. She was trained by Deathstroke, and soon started to work alone.[citation needed]

Adeline Kane

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See also:Adeline Kane

Justin Powell

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Late in 2005, DC published a Vigilante limited series by writerBruce Jonesand artistBen Oliver.The identity of the title character is initially left mysterious, but apparently this is a new incarnation of the character.[citation needed]

His name wasJustin "Jay" Sutter.When he encountered a murderer as a child, he created a second personality in his mind, The Vigilante. At some point, he changed his name toJustin Scott Powelland would become the Vigilante subconsciously. While Powell was unaware of the Vigilante personality, the Vigilante knew about Powell. At the miniseries' end, Powell was able to reconcile the two personalities.[citation needed]

The Vigilante was last seen, alongsideWild Dogand the currentCrimson Avenger,on a rooftop in the greatbattle of Metropolis,raining bullets down on theTrigger Twins,theMadmen,the secondSpellbinder,and others inInfinite Crisis#7.[5]

Dorian Chase

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The most recent Vigilante appeared inNightwing#133–137. While he wears a costume similar to Adrian Chase's, it is a new depiction under the mask.

The Vigilante also appears inGotham Underground,set after his initial encounter withNightwing.[6]He is shown to be a formidable fighter, but is defeated easily byBatman.[7][8]

Following the events ofVigilante(vol. 3) #1 (February 2009), the Vigilante is seen out of costume for the first time and is referred to by his ally JJ as "Dorian". He initially operates under the identity of Joe Flynn, a small-time criminal with a rap sheet, but it is later revealed that the real Joe Flynn is dead. Dorian has the technology to graft another person's face to his own and his assistant changes the police records so his fingerprint andDNApoint back to his fake identity. At the end of the first story arc, Dorian abandons the Joe Flynn identity and begins to make preparations to assume a new identity of a dead and forgotten criminal. It is also revealed that Dorian is the brother of the late Adrian Chase inVigilante#9. Little is known about his past, but his wife is dead and he served time in prison for his work with the mob.[9]

The Vigilante plays an important role in the "Deathtrap" crossover with theTeen Titansand theTitans.He targets the unbalancedJerichofor assassination, bringing him into conflict with the various heroes. Vigilante succeeds in tracking down Jericho but, having promised Rose Wilson not to kill him, instead gouges out Jericho's eyes to stop him from using his powers.[10]

The Vigilante had been operating unseen inEuropefor several years before moving back to the U.S. and going after local mobs and criminals.[9]

Donald Fairchild

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In theDC RebirthminiseriesVigilante: Southland,a new Vigilante is introduced:Donald Fairchild,a former professional basketball player. Fairchild moonlights as a janitor and by night fights crime inLos Angeles.[11]

Powers and abilities

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The Vigilante is a superb hand-to-hand combatant, a brilliant marksman, and a master of thelariat.

Other versions

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Multiverse

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Pre-Crisis,there were both anEarth-1 and an Earth-2Vigilante. Both were Greg Saunders from their respective Earths. Earth-1's Vigilante was shown for the first time in the pages (and cover) of the JLA issue where the superteam moved to their classic headquarters on an orbiting satellite.[12]

Detective Comics

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InDetective Comics#493 (August 1980) it was revealed that Greg Saunders had a nephew,Michael Carter,who became a costumed crimefighter too, the Swashbuckler. The Swashbuckler was created by the issue's writer,Cary Burkett,for a fanzine he published in middle school.[13]Burkett said he made the Swashbuckler the nephew of the Vigilante because he did not have enough space to present the entire backstory he had created for the character in the fanzine.[13]

Kingdom Come

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In the seriesKingdom Come,artist and writerAlex Rossportrays the cowboy version of the Vigilante fighting alongside the rogue metahumans as asteampunkcyborg with apinwheel/steam enginearm with agatling gunon the end.[14]

In other media

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See also:Greg Saunders § In other media,andAdrian Chase § In other media

Television

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Johann Urbas Vincent Sobel / Vigilante as seen onArrow.
  • The Greg Saunders incarnation of Vigilante appears inJustice League Unlimited,voiced by an uncreditedMichael Rosenbaumin the episode "Task Force X" andNathan Fillionin the episodes "Hunter's Moon" and "Patriot Act". This version is a member of theJustice League.
  • The Greg Saunders incarnation of Vigilante appears inBatman: The Brave and the Bold,voiced byJohn DiMaggio.
  • An original incarnation of Vigilante namedVincent Sobelappears inArrow,portrayed byClayton Chittyin thefifth seasonand byJohann Urbin thesixth seasonwhileMick Wingertprovides his disguised voice.[15]This version was a former member of the Central City Police Department who worked undercover alongsideDinah Drake,with whom he shared a secret relationship. After they were both captured by a group of criminals, Sobel and Drake were exposed to dark matter fromHarrison Wells' particle accelerator, which turned Sobel into ametahumanwith the ability to self-regenerate, though he was presumed dead. Resurfacing four years later as the "Vigilante", he targets and kills criminals before coming into conflict withOliver Queenand his allies. After targeting a councilwoman due to an anti-vigilante bill, he is thwarted by Drake, who discovers his identity. Sobel attempts to reconcile his relationship with her despite their differing stances on fighting crime, though without success. Due to his love for Drake, he became a double agent withinCayden James's criminal cabal to inform Drake and Queen of their activities. When his partners find out about his treachery however, Sobel is killed byBlack Siren.
  • The Greg Saunders incarnation of Vigilante appears in a picture depicted in theStargirlepisode "Brainwave" as a member of theSeven Soldiers of Victory.
  • The Adrian Chase incarnation of Vigilante appears inPeacemaker,portrayed byFreddie Stroma.[16][17]

Film

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Video games

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The Vincent Sobel incarnation of Vigilante appears as aunlockableplayable characterinLego DC Super-Villainsvia the "DC Super-Villains TV Series"DLCpack.

Miscellaneous

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An original incarnation of Vigilante namedJake Chillappears inBatman Beyond(vol. 2). He is the great-grandnephew ofJoe Chilland a former member ofDerek Powers' "Quiet Squad", a small team of Wayne-Powers security guards who served as Powers' personal hit and intimidation squad. Additionally, Jake murdered Warren McGinnis, father of the new Batman,Terry McGinnis.Seeking to atone for his misdeeds, he uses his Wayne-Powers security equipment to become the Vigilante and works alongside Batman until he is killed by theJokerz.

References

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  1. ^Markstein, Don."Vigilante".Don Markstein's Toonopedia.Retrieved2 April2020.
  2. ^Mitchell, Kurt; Thomas, Roy (2019).American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944.TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 148.ISBN978-1605490892.
  3. ^Vigilante (1983)at Don Markstein's Toonopedia.Archived2015-07-19 atWebCite
  4. ^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016).The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe.DK Publishing. p. 320.ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
  5. ^Infinite Crisis#7
  6. ^Gotham Underground#6 (May 2008)
  7. ^Gotham Underground#7 (June 2008)
  8. ^Gotham Underground#8 (July 2008)
  9. ^abVigilante(vol. 3) 2009-2010
  10. ^Vigilante(vol. 3) #6 (July 2009)
  11. ^Vigilante: Southland#1
  12. ^Justice League of America#78
  13. ^abFranklin, Chris (April 2014). "Swashbuckled and Hornswoggled: The All-Too-Brief Career of the Swashbuckler".Back Issue!(71): 60–61.
  14. ^Kingdom Come#3
  15. ^Bucksbaum, Sydney (November 10, 2017)."'Arrow' Unmasked Vigilante & The Consequences Are So Heartbreaking ".Bustle.RetrievedMarch 1,2018.
  16. ^Swann, Eric (November 11, 2020)."John Cena's Peacemaker Series Adds Another Suicide Squad Star And More".CinemaBlend.RetrievedNovember 11,2020.
  17. ^White, Peter (May 28, 2021)."'Peacemaker': Freddie Stroma To Replace Chris Conrad In HBO Max's 'Suicide Squad' Spinoff ".Deadline Hollywood.Archivedfrom the original on May 28, 2021.RetrievedMay 28,2021.
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