Foolkiller

Created by the late Steve Gerber for Marvel Comics, the Foolkiller is clearly an offbeat character in the same vein as Howard the Duck. The only difference is, he's played totally straight. The name is inspired partially by the O. Henry story of the same name and the novel by Helen Eustis, the latter of which was made into a movie starring, appropriately enough, Anthony Perkins. There is also a minor character of this name in L. Frank Baum's "The Enchanted Island of Yew".

The original Foolkiller was introduced in the third issue of 1974's Man Thing and killed in the the following issue. Several individuals have adopted the mantle of the Foolkiller, such as Ross G. Everbest, Greg Salinger, Kurt Gerhardt, and Mike Trace. Trace's incarnation appears in the Marvel Max universe. Each incarnation modified the definition of "fool" to fit his mission. Everbest, being a devout Christian, sought out those whom he considered sinners. Salinger, on the other hand, hunted those whom he deemed lacked a poetic soul. Gerhardt's razor sharp definition of fool caused him to target those whom he judged to be guilty pursuing "momentary gratification" at the expense of others.

Tropes used in Foolkiller include:

• Beard of Sorrow: Greg Salinger in the 1990-91 Foolkiller limited series. Now he really does look like a poet.
• Calling Card: All the Foolkillers have their own calling card which they either send to intended victims or leave at the scene of the killing.
• Catch Phrase: Salinger: "Live a poem or die a fool.": Gerhardt: "I kill fools"
• Chekhov's Gun: The flask of sulfuric acid seen in Merle's apartment. It was part of some backstory between her and Salinger. She would use it to help Gerhardt later.
• Did Not Do the Research: In New Avengers, Gerhardt calls Spider-Man out along with the other escaped Raft inmates who have a bone to pick with Spidey. The problem is, Gerhardt's Foolkiller never met Spider-Man. In New Avengers Most Wanted Files, Spider-Man acknowledges this inconsistency by explaining that all they had was a "near miss encounter". This probably refers to the events of the 1990-91 miniseries issue 8 where Spider-Man is prominently shown on the cover and does appear in the issue. But he does not encounter Gerhardt at any time in the story. However, this doesn't keep New Avengers from making its own error. It claims that Gerhardt killed drug kingpin Backhand. Backhand actually escaped but was crippled by the attack.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: He kills fools.
• Harsher in Hindsight: the 1990-91 Foolkiller limited series was wrapping up around the same time that Jeffrey Dahmer and his crimes were revealed. Comics have to be written and illustrated months ahead of their publishing date so this had to be just coincidental. However, the ninth issue was released in July, the same month that Dahmer was apprehended. Although readers knew all along, it was in this issue that police discovered the identity of the Foolkiller.
• Name Drop: Gerber mentions Reagan, Bush, and Willie Horton, all on the same page in issue 2. But he had a good reason.
• "On the Next...": So what exactly was "Greg's Secret Sorrow"? That's what was promised for issue 10 of Omega the Unknown (Salinger's first appearance). But we were left hanging due to the unexpected cancellation of the series with issue 10. That issue, instead was dedicated to trying to tie up all the loose ends with the title character Omega. Actually, they didn't manage to do even that.
• Odd Name Out: In the Foolkiller limited series, whenever Steve Gerber inserted a character based on a real life figure, the character's real life analog is somewhat derivable from the fictional name. For example, Mal Flapton (an analog of Al Sharpton). However, the source of the name Runyan Moody is hard to trace back to its inspiration of Morton Downey Jr.
• Master of Disguise: Gerhardt's incarnation more than any of the others.
• Memetic Outfit: Foolkiller's Zorro-esque classic outfit.
• Present Day: Clearly dates the story as it gives the year of the mugging/killing of Gerhart's dad (1989 as seen on the tombstone) and takes place during Operation Desert Storm.
• Ray Gun: Foolkiller's purification gun.
• Rule of Cool: The Foolkiller's mission could easily be carried out with any old gun. But then again, he'd just be a clone of The Punisher.
• Unlikely Spare: Foolkiller was defeated by the Defenders and Spider-Man. In both cases, it would be logical to assume that his purification gun was confiscated at the time. None of the Foolkillers appeared to have the technical know how to build their own purification guns, so it is reasonable to assume that it is the same gun that is passed on to each successor. The apparent uniqueness of the gun (as well as the deliberate lack of explanation of the exact origin and nature of the gun) seems to support this. Therefore Everbest (the original Foolkiler) must have had a lot of spare guns to begin with.
• Suspension of Disbelief: The exact nature of the purification gun is never explained. As mentioned above, this appears to be deliberate on the part of Steve Gerber. It also never seems to run out of power, hence the noticable absence of power cells or energy packs. The Marvel Max series dispenses with the Zorro-like costume and the purification gun. Instead, his favorite weapon is a sword cane (which you could purchase in the real world). However, whether or not real sword canes can cleanly decapitate arms or legs is rather subject to its own criticism. We are also meant to accept that 90 pound weakling assassin Sickle Moon can also do the same with his impractical looking glaive.