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| Carl Burbank Bushwacker | |
|---|---|
.webp) Bushwacker battling the Punisher. Textless cover toPunisher vol. 14 #2. (December 2023). Art by Rod Reis. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Daredevil #248 (November1987) |
| Created by | Ann Nocenti (writer) Rick Leonardi (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Carl Burbank |
| Species | Humanmutant /cyborg hybrid |
| Team affiliations | Assassins Guild |
| Notable aliases | Bushwacker |
| Abilities |
|
Carl Burbank is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created by writerAnn Nocenti and artistRick Leonardi, the characterfirst appeared inDaredevil #248 (November 1987).[1] Burbank is known under the codenameBushwacker.[2] He is a recurringantagonist of thesuperheroDaredevil and has also encounteredPunisher,Wolverine, andCarnage.[3][4][5]
Once a priest, he renounced his vows after a series of deaths in his parish and became an assassin for theCIA. Equipped with cybernetic, weaponized arms, he later took on contracts from major crime figures such as Kingpin and The Hood.[6] Burbank is also amutant, a subspecies of humans born with superhuman abilities.[7]
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Carl Burbank debuted inDaredevil #248 (November 1987), created byAnn Nocenti andRick Leonardi.[8] He appeared in the 2005Daredevil vs. Punisher series,[9] and the 2018The Immortal Hulk series.[10][11]
Carl Burbank was apriest who abandoned his vows following the drug-related deaths of young parishioners. He joined theC.I.A., which outfitted him with a cybernetic arm and made him an assassin under the codename "Bushwacker", but ultimately he became a freelancer.
At some point, an event took place that compelled Bushwacker to begin a war against allmutants. Bushwacker began hunting and assassinating mutants, most often those mutants whose abilities Bushwacker perceived as making them especially talented in "the arts". Bushwacker also claimed that he was paid large sums of money to kill mutants, but this has yet to be verified.Wolverine learned of Bushwacker's activities and began to hunt the killer. At the same time, Bushwacker's wife Marilyn believed her husband was insane and needed to be placed in a hospital. She sought aid from lawyer Matt Murdock (secretly the hero Daredevil). Bushwacker was tracked down and defeated by the two heroes, which left the right side of his face horribly scarred, and he was placed in police custody.[12]
Later, Bushwacker joined withTyphoid Mary and other enemies of Daredevil in a plan to kill their common foe. After the completion of the plan, Bushwacker was left to his own activities.[13]
Entering theKingpin's employ, Burbank attacked the Punisher, but was left for dead. It was during this time that his wife finally left him.[14] He reappeared in the employ of drug lord Nick Lambert, who hired Bushwacker to kill reporterBen Urich, who was about to run a story of his illegal activities. Instead, when Bushwacker learned the truth, he allowed Urich to live and to complete the exposé. However, the drug lord managed to bribe himself out of jail. Bushwacker then killed him.[15] Bushwacker was later freed byDeathlok from captivity by Mechadoom, a rogueDoombot variant.[16]
Subsequent activities brought him into conflict with Daredevil,Nomad, Punisher,Boomerang, andElektra. His clash with Nomad was over the life of a baby that Nomad had taken under his care whom Bushwacker believed to be the daughter of Troy Donohue, Burbank's ex-brother-in-law (she was in the fact the daughter of Nomad's foe, the drug lord Umberto Saffilios and a teenaged prostitute). Bushwacker hoped that his wife would approve of his "rescue" and welcome him back into her life.[17]
Imprisoned in the super-villain holding facility the Raft, Burbank escaped during the mass breakout engineered byElectro. Burbank was subsequently employed by theJackal to kill the Punisher, but was defeated once again by Daredevil.[18] Following this, Bushwacker created a disturbance in downtown Manhattan and took a woman hostage to lure thePunisher out of hiding and kill him. The Punisher showed up as expected. As it turns out, G.W. Bridge arranged the incident in Times Square with Bushwacker to ambush and capture The Punisher. Although complications arose by an on-site NYPD officer the incident fell through, the Punisher escaped, and Bushwacker was defeated byS.H.I.E.L.D. operativeG. W. Bridge and put back in jail.[19]
The Hood has hired him as part of his criminal organization to take advantage of the split in the superhero community caused by the Superhuman Registration Act. He helped them fight the New Avengers but was taken down by Doctor Strange.[20]
As part of the Hood's gang during the "Secret Invasion" storyline, he later joins the fight against the Skrull invading force in New York City.[21]
During "The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt" storyline, Bushwacker was with the Hood when he presented theScorpion costume to whichever crook impressed him until the party was crashed byScorpion, who stole the costume.[22]
Bushwacker was seen during theSiege ofAsgard as part of the Hood crime syndicate.[23]
InX-Force: Sex and Violence #2, Bushwacker was seriously injured by Wolverine after an assassination attempt on him and Domino at the time when he was working for theAssassins Guild. He was stabbed with a middle claw to the throat.[24]
During the "Civil War II" storyline, Kingpin encounters Bushwacker in San Francisco.[25]
During a 2019 storyline inThe Immortal Hulk, Bushwacker appeared to be killed whenHulk explodes after being bathed in too much gamma radiation.[26] Bushwacker is later revealed to have survived, but is killed byEddie Brock.[27][28]
Carl Burbank was bionically modified by the CIA, transforming him into acyborg. Although he appears fully human, his body is coated with a flesh-like substance that can liquefy to seal wounds,[29][30] making him resistant to gunfire and able to conceal scars. He can morph his arms into various weapons, including a rifle, handgun, assault rifle, buzzsaw, and flamethrower, and has even fired cyanide capsules.[31] Bushwacker sometimes consumes ammunition to fuel his weapon, occasionally seen ingesting gasoline or bullets, though at other times, he appears to have an unlimited supply. He was once severely burned, leaving scars that periodically reappear on his face—though he can alter his appearance to either reveal or conceal them at will.[32] Bushwacker is able to use highly concussive energy weaponry (similar to that of Iron Man).[33]
It has been implied that Bushwacker's abilities are a result of mutation, making him one of the mutants he despises.[34] Furthermore, he has been trained inCIA hand-to-hand combat techniques, and is trained in infiltration and assassination. He also has familiarity with the workings of international intelligence agencies and their methods.
An alternate version of Carl Burbank appears in theHouse of M reality spin-offHouse of M: Masters of Evil.[35]
[Bushwacker's] a nightmarish figure worthy to rival the protagonists, but Carnage proves the greater evil and dispatches him with gruesome ease. And while Bushwacker's victims have been avenged, nothing about this outcome feels like a victory; yet the comic's purveying unease remains ever captivating.
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