DAMAGEDAMAGE
Real Name: Jaime Ortiz
Identity/Class: Human cyborg; former street punk
Occupation: Assassin; former gang leader
Affiliations: Former leader of the Bunsen Burners (Egghead, Ronny), agent of Kingpin; ally of Sniper, Arranger, Donald Pierce (cyborg design)
Enemies: Punisher (Frank Castle), Wolverine
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Punisher
Base of Operations: Manhattan, New York
First Appearance: Punisher War Journal I#8 (September, 1989)
Powers/Abilities: Initially Damage used automatic
weapons, and controlled a gang using similar street weapons.
After being rebuilt as a cyborg, he possessed superhuman strength (Class 5,
enabling him to lift/press five tons)
and durability, as well as several built-in weapons. These
included machine guns, flame-throwers, etc., in addition to
infrared vision and other advanced detection systems. His cyborg parts had
self-repair capabilities, the full extent of them being unrevealed.
In addition to his physical abilities, he is extremely
determined, and is afraid of nothing (although that doesn't
always work out in his favor).
Height: 5'11'' (6'1'' as cyborg) Weight: 185 lbs. (400 lbs. as cyborg)
History: (Punisher War Journal I#8) - Damage led a street gang known as the Bunsen Burners. Their reign of terror throughout Manhattan drew the attention of the Punisher. Damage learned that the Punisher was after him, and attempted to ambush him. Damage led his gang to try to capture or destroy the Punisher's war van. However, the automated defenses of the van proved too much for his gang--they were all killed. Damage himself actually succeeded in breaking into the van, but he was disabled by a set of mechanical tentacles within the van. He fought so hard to get free that he broke virtually every bone in his body...and still remained trapped. The Punisher found him, still struggling and cursing, and decided to send him to the hospital rather than the morgue, to let him live a life of agony, completely crippled.
(Punisher War Journal I#18-BTS, 19, 20) - The Kingpin, having heard of the reputation of Damage, sent one of his men to rebuild Damage to be part of an elite team of assassins. Damage's badly injured body almost died after surgery, but his desire for revenge on the Punisher allowed him to pull through.
(Wolverine/Punisher: Damaging Evidence#1-3) - The Kingpin made a deal with Donald Pierce of the Reavers. Pierce granted the Kingpin access to a set of designs to rebuild Damage into a much more powerful version. These designs were granted at no charge in return for the promise to kill the Punisher within ten days, or a penalty of ten million dollars would be required.
Wishing to disgrace Castle before killing him,
the Kingpin also had his agents rebuild Damage to appear as a
double of the Punisher. Damage then traced the Punisher's steps,
executing innocent victims at the sites of his battles. While
Castle attempted to determine who was committing these killing, the
deaths also drew the attention of Wolverine. Wolverine followed
the trail back to Damage and attacked him. While Castle was
occupied with his old foe, yet another agent of the Kingpin, the Sniper, Wolverine and Damage ripped each other to shreds.
The
two had incapacitated each other by the time Castle arrived. Castle pulled the impaled Wolverine off of Damage's arm-remnant,
but Damage, like any good grade B horror villain,
suddenly arose once again and dove at Castle. The Punisher threw
a lit lighter at Damage, who had been covered in toxic chemicals
during his previous struggle--he instantly burst into flames and
then exploded.
The Kingpin recovered Damage's remains, preserved them in
cryogenic suspension, and sent them to Pierce, along with an
additional 40 million dollars as commission to rebuild Damage.
Comments: Damage was created by Carl Potts (writer) and Jim Lee (artist).
Damaging Evidence was a sort-of flashback story, which occurred shortly before the Kingpin's fall in Daredevil I#296-300, and the apparent deaths of Pierce and the Reavers in Uncanny X-Men#281. However, since both have recovered (although the Kingpin has been recently blinded and nearly stabbed to death...he'll be back, don't you worry, young grasshopper!), there's no reason Damage couldn't return. I'd love to see Garth Ennis' take on Damage. If you haven't seen Ennis and Dillon's character, the Russian, you are missing it, my friend!
Yes, it all makes perfect sense. You read the headlines and see that a street punk gets his gang and nearly himself killed breaking into a van. That's the sort of guy you'd want to win points with for the Kingpin, by spending millions of his dollars to rebuild him as a super-powered assassin.
Damage's real name, height, and weight were revealed in the Marvel Knights Encyclopedia (2004). His real name was created by Kyle Sims, with the last name being the same as one of his ex-girlfriends, LaVey Ortiz.
Profile updated/edited by Kyle Sims.
CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connections to:
Damage Control, the
organization that rebuilds structures damaged in superhero
battles, @ Marvel Comics Presents#19/4
Egghead, of the Bunsen Burners, has no known
connection to:
Egghead, Elias Starr, the enemy of Hank
Pym/Ant-Man/Yellowjacket/etc, @ Tales to Astonish I#38
The Bunsen Burners was the name of the gang led by Damage. They committed numerous brutal assaults and shootings before being wiped out in the process of attempting to destroy or capture the Punisher's war van.
Egghead was the brains of the Bunsen Burners (meaning he most likely finished a good portion of high school). Egghead's ideas are what enabled Damage to eventually succeed at breaking into the Punisher's van. However, after Damage was captured by the van, Egghead decided it was best to take his leave.
Ronny was tracked down by the
Punisher, who would have killed him, but let him go after
learning he had an elderly grandmother and a very sick sister who
needed his care. Ronny wisely followed the Punisher's threat to
stay away from Damage and the rest of the gang, although Damage
did intimidate him into revealing the Punisher's planned attack
on the Bunsen Burners.
After the break-up of the Bunsen Burners, Ronny went back to
making a living the only way he knew how: by selling drugs. The
Punisher again tracked him down, but allowed the police to arrest
him. Ronny went through Penal Boot Camp. After being released,
Ronny went to work at a farm to earn money for his sister.
--Punisher War Journal I#8 (Punisher War Journal I#8, 11
Appearances:
Punisher War Journal I#8 (September, 1989) - Carl Potts (writer), Jim Lee (artist), Don Daley (editor)
Punisher War Journal I#11 (November, 1989) - Carl Potts (writer), Jim Lee (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Don Daley (editor)
Punisher War Journal I#18-19 (May-June, 1990) - Carl Potts (writer), Jim Lee (pencils), Al Milgrom & Don Hudson (inks)
Punisher War Journal I#20 (July, 1990) - Carl Potts (writer), Tod Smith (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks)
Wolverine/Punisher: Damaging Evidence#1-3 (October-December, 1993) - Carl Potts (writer), Gary Erskine (artist), Gregory Wright & Rob Tokar (editors)
Last updated: 04/14/04
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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