COCKROACH
HAMILTON
Real Name: Dontrell Hamilton
Identity/Class: Human, technology user
Occupation: Hitman
Group Membership: Flashmob
Affiliations: Owner and friend of "Josh"; employee of "Piranha" Jones, Chemistro (Calvin Carr), Cheshire Cat, Commanche, Deadly Nightshade, Mr. Fish (Bill Norris), Rat, Spear, Stiletto, , Cottonmouth, "Boss" Morgan; indirect agent of Erik Killmonger (and surely part of the "Cockroach Conspiracy")
Enemies: Black Cat, Black Goliath, Black Panther (T'Challa), Brother Voodoo, Quentin Chase, Falcon (Sam Wilson), Gargoyle (Christians), Iron Fist (Daniel Rand), Misty Knight, The Mob Princesses, Paladin, Power Man (Luke Cage), Power Man (Victor Alvarez), Punisher (Frank Castle), Silver Sable, Harry Wentworth; Terror, Inc.
Known Relatives: none
Aliases: Roach, "Sherman Helmsey" (Luke Cage called him that once); Water Bug (from the Mob Princesses)
Base
of Operations:
New York City, USA;
formerly Stamford, New York
First Appearance: Power Man#28 (December, 1975)
Powers: Cockroach Hamilton is a skilled marksman and hand-to-hand combatant. He built and owns "Josh," a six-barreled shotgun with sufficient firepower to harm even superhuman opponents. "Josh" can be used as a club, and can also be modified to fire gas. He briefly used a more advanced piece of artillery.
Height:
5' 6"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
History:
(OHotMU 2006#5) - Hamilton grew up in Harlem. As a child he was frightened by the night's noises, but gradually he became accustomed to the noise and the cockroaches that infested his home. He developed an affinity for cockroaches and "Cheez Snips". He drifted into crime and became an enforcer for "Piranha" Jones.
(Power
Man#28, 30-31) - Along with his enforcer
Cockroach Hamilton and Piranha Jones bought information from
Harry Wentworth concerning the Adonis Chemical Company's
shipments of a lethal bacteriological agent through New York
City. Luke Cage was hired to find out who Wentworth was selling
information to, but he arrived on the scene just as Hamilton was
in the process of killing Wentworth. After a short battle,
Hamilton, using "Josh," blasted Wentworth to his death
and shot Cage, dislocating the hero's shoulder. Hamilton then
went back to his apartment and took a phone call from Piranha
Jones. Jones met Hamilton at Jones' penthouse, and the two
finalized their plans for the hijacking. Meanwhile, Cage (having
gotten his arm popped back into place) was fired by the Adonis
Chemical Company, but he determined to prevent the theft after
learning how dangerous the shipment was.
In the course of his further investigations, Cage was attacked by Hamilton and some of Jones' men at the Harlem River docks. Cage beat off the other gangsters, but Hamilton gassed him with "Josh." Hamilton had Cage tied across the River's drawbridge, intending for the bridge to pull him apart. Naturally, Hamilton left Cage to his fate and so allowed the hero to break loose.
Jones and Hamilton sent their agents to hijack
the truck, but Cage and police Lieutenant Quentin Chase appeared
on the scene. Hamilton and Jones joined the fight when Cage
appeared. During the course of the fight, a canister of the
bacteriological agent cracked, and Cage was forced to pound it
until it exploded to save the city. However, Cage was left
unconscious by the blast and a beating with "Josh", and
Jones and Hamilton carried him to Jones' penthouse suite.
Hamilton was singularly unimpressed by the feast and
philosophical monologue Jones used to impress Cage, but then Cage
broke free and began fighting the two again. This time, Cage
wisely focused on Hamilton first, bashing him away and then
wrecking "Josh" before Hamilton's horrified eyes. When
Cage and Jones fell into the latter's pool of piranhas, Jones
took the opportunity to seal the two in and fled the scene.
(Terror Inc.#6 (fb) ) -Jones managed to escape conviction for all the charges against him, and relocated to the suburban community of Stamford with Hamilton in tow, hoping to leave his criminal life behind. He maintained his fearsome reputation for protection, but found that the community would not accept him. Three women, Vita Buchetta, Ann Repucci, and Annette Cortese came forth and shamed the community into accepting Jones. Unfortunately, the trio were simply using Jones to start their own criminal careers. When they became publicly known as criminals, Jones' community standing was again ruined.
(Terror
Inc. I#6-7) - Terror was
hired by an unknown party to kill Piranha Jones, and both he and
the Punisher interrupted Jones' attempts to buy a disk with information
about the the women's criminal acitivities from Rat, who Jones had hired
to steal it, when they tried to kill him. Rat had secretly hidden the disc in a video game
cartridge and wouldn't give it up until Jones paid him. Hamilton was unable to defend Jones because "Josh"
kept jamming. Back at his headquarters, Hamilton watched as Jones
ordered his men to find the cartridge, and promised he and
"Josh" would do better next time. Later, at the mall
where the cartridge was hidden, Hamilton and all other parties
were tricked by Terror, Inc. into a firefight to cover Terror,
Inc's search for the cartridge.
On examining the information on the cartridge, Terror, Inc. realized that Jones had hired him. Terror, Inc. saved Jones from the mobsters and the arriving Punisher, but the unwitting Hamilton and the others chased Terror, Inc. and Jones in cars. However, Terror, Inc. outmaneuvered them all, leaving Hamilton to shout apologies on behalf of himself and "Josh" at the departing Jones. Terror, Inc. later killed Jones, who had been the unknown party who hired him in the first place.
(Black Panther III#16-17) - Hamilton was one of several villains gathered by the Deadly Nightshade to attack the Black Panther. The attack was a delaying tactic on the part of Nightshade's employer, Erik Killmonger, and so the Panther and the Falcon summoned a number of other heroes to the scene. Hamilton and his allies Stiletto, "Boss" Morgan, and Cottonmouth battled the Panther, the Falcon, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage in Harlem for a short while until the sudden arrivals of Brother Voodoo, Black Goliath, and Everett K. Ross (well, maybe not Ross) allowed the Panther to end the "stupid villain bop."
(Shadowland: Power Man#2) - Deadly Nightshade, leader of the Rivals gang, organized a group called the Flashmob, comprised of former opponents of Luke Cage, specifically Mr. Fish, Spear, Commanche, Chemistro, Cheshire Cat and Cockroach Hamilton, to tackle the new Power Man (Victor Alvarez), and they soon challenged him on a rooftop. Hamilton fired at Power Man, but had his gun quickly crushed by the newly arrived Luke Cage and was knocked out.
(Shadowland: Power Man#2 (fb) - BTS) - Hamilton was taken into custody on Riker's Island. Later, Deadly Nightshade's solicitor, Mr. Donovan, reported to her he had secured Hamilton's release.
(Spider-Island: Heroes for Hire#1) - Hamilton and the Flashmob tried to leave spider-infested Manhattan via a bridge, but were stopped in a furious battle with Misty Knight and her Heroes for Hire (Black Cat, Falcon, Gargoyle, Paladin, Silver Sable).
Comments: Created by Don McGregor, George Tuska, and Rich Buckler
Another great Don McGregor villain. If I ran Marvel, Hamilton would become the Kingpin's chief assassin just so he could appear monthly in Daredevil. I strongly recommend any of McGregor's Marvel work, which included the old Killraven series; Power Man#28, 30-35; and the great Black Panther serial in Jungle Action.
For that matter, I also recommend Priest's Black Panther series. If nothing else, get yourself issues#15-17 for a real treat.
Some further "inside" information, courtesy of Bob Almond, the inker for the Black Panther:
The Power Man story was interrupted because McGregor and/or Buckler couldn't make their deadlines, leading to the infamous "Mr. Fish" fill-in.
In the original Power Man issues, it's completely unclear what Jones plans to do with the bacteriological agent. Presumably it's an extortion scheme of some sort, but who knows?
In case you don't know, Sherman Helmsey (sp?) is the name of the actor who played George Jefferson on the show, the Jeffersons. I'm pretty sure this show got its start on All in the Family (Archie Bunker), believe it or not!
Profile by Omar Karindu.
Clarifications:
"Cockroach"
Hamilton has no confirmed
ties to:
Harry Wentworth was the "leak" at Adonis Chemical who sold Jones and Hamilton the information. Wentworth only wanted to escape his dreary life, but Hamilton killed him anyway to tie up loose ends despite Wentworth's pleading.
--Power Man#28
images:
Power Man#28, p1 (main image)
Power Man#28, p4, pan6 (head shot)
Power Man#30, p9, pan2 (front shot)
Power Man#31, p14, pan8 (without hat)
Black Panther III#16, p21, pan3 (with Morgan, Stiletto & Cottonmouth)
Power Man#28, p4, pan4 (Harry Wentworth)
Appearances:
Power Man#28 (December, 1975) - Don McGregor (writer), George Tuska
(pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Power Man#30 (April, 1976) - Don McGregor (writer), Rich Buckler
& Arvell Jones (pencils), Keith Pollard (inks), Marv Wolfman
(editor)
Power Man#31 (May, 1976) - Don McGregor (writer), Sal Buscema
(pencils), Crusty Bunkers (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Terror Inc. I#6-7 (December, 1992 - January, 1993) - D.G. Chichester
(writer), Jorge Zaffino & Mark Texeira (#6) (pencils), Jorge
Zaffino (inks), Marc McLaurin (editor)
Black Panther III#16-17 (March-April, 2000) - Christopher Priest
(writer), Sal Velluto (pencils), Bob Almond (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Shadowland: Power Man#2 (November, 2010) - Fred van Lente (writer),
Mahmud Asrar (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Spider-Island:
Heroes for Hire#1 (December, 2011) – Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning
(writers), Kyle Hotz (penciler), Bob Almond (inker), Bill Rosemann
(editor)
First Posted: 01/07/2002
Last updated: 06/30/2018
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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