Paladin (comics)


Paladin is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Jim Shooter and artist Carmine Infantino, the character first appeared in Daredevil #150. His real name is unknown, though he often uses the alias of Paul Denning. Although not a supervillain, his mercenary activities often bring him into conflict with superheroes, facing characters like Daredevil and the Punisher. He has notably worked for the Wild Pack, the Thunderbolts, and the Serpent Society.
The character is set to make his live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries VisionQuest, portrayed by Todd Stashwick.

Development

Concept and creation

The character was inspired by the 1950s Western television series Have Gun – Will Travel, whose main character, Paladin, an investigator/gunfighter, travels around the Old West working as a mercenary for people who hire him to solve their problems.

Publication history

Paladin debuted in Daredevil #150, with follow-up appearances in #152 and #154 as part of the same story arc. The character had a one-shot story published in Marvel Premiere #43, and was a billed guest star in the Spider-Man team-up title Marvel Team-Up #108. From there on, Paladin has mostly appeared as a guest star across the Marvel Universe, with occasional forays as a superteam member, in Silver Sable and the Wild Pack, Heroes for Hire, and Thunderbolts, and occasional feature appearances in the Marvel Comics Presents anthology.

Fictional character biography

Paladin is a mercenary and private investigator, whose past is largely unrevealed. When first seen, he sought Daredevil while engaged in an assignment to track down the Purple Man, and battled Daredevil. He clashed with Daredevil a second time after the crime fighter inadvertently interfered with Paladin's search for the Purple Man. Paladin allied with Daredevil in battle against Cobra, Jester, and Mister Hyde, who were under control of the Purple Man.
Paladin allied with Spider-Man and Wasp against mobsters; despite respecting Spider-Man's abilities, Paladin is incredulous that Spider-Man offers his heroic services without charge, while Spider-Man in turn is disgusted by Paladin's mercenary ways.
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 Hank Pym, much to the Black Knight's jealousy, who was also attracted to her. For a time, he also enlisted Generation X into helping him retrieve a sword for Adrienne Frost. During this period Jubilee was attracted to Paladin, but that affection disappeared when Generation X and Paladin later went their separate ways. He has also been a longtime 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.
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.
Paladin was a main character in Heroes for Hire, 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 Civil War.
He single-handedly defeated Captain America and the entire Heroes for Hire team, with the exceptions of Tarantula and Orka, who were not present when the fight took place, with a special gas weapon that affected the nervous system. He then radioed S.H.I.E.L.D. and told them he had Captain America in custody. However, he did not account for Shang-Chi's ability to hold his breath over an extended period and was overpowered by him. Shang-Chi then aided Captain America, who afterwards switched his costume with Paladin, causing S.H.I.E.L.D. to take Paladin instead into custody.
In Dark Reign, Paladin joins the Thunderbolts, Norman Osborn's personal black ops team. Hired to assassinate Elektra for 82 million dollars, Paladin broke into H.A.M.M.E.R. headquarters. However, Elektra overpowered him by choking him with one of her teeth that was loosened when Paladin punched her. Begging for his life, Paladin gave Elektra the key to escape her prison.
During the "Shadowland" storyline, Paladin is paired with Silver Sable, Misty Knight, and Shroud when Daredevil's Hand ninjas end up targeting members of the mafia. Following this, Misty Knight reopens Heroes for Hire under the influence of Puppet Master; Paladin joins the team and soon realizes this and frees Misty from Puppet Master's control with the help from Iron Fist. After the defeat of Puppet Master, Paladin convinces Misty to keep the operation open, but under their terms.
In "Venom War", Paladin, Solo, and their fellow mercenaries battle Eddie Brock, Bedlam, Tyro, and Wilde when they crash a wrestling match in Grand Garden Arena. They are defeated and deposited outside for EMTs to deal with. It is revealed that the mercenaries were hired by Alchemax due to a lack of in-house talent.

Powers and abilities

Paladin possesses superhuman strength, stamina, speed, and reaction time. He is also a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant, with knowledge of Boxing, Judo, Savate, and Taekwondo. 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.

Reception

Matthew Aguilar of ComicBook.com stated Paladin became a fan favorite since his time with the Thunderbolts and Heroes for Hire.

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.

In other media