(Daredevil I#240) - Maggie knocked on the door to check on Harry, who was bathing in water that he didn't know was poisoned by Rotgut.
--Daredevil I#240
ROTGUT
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Unrevealed
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Jack
Enemies: Daredevil (Matt Murdock), Fat Boys (Butch,Max, others), Harry, Mr. Hersh, Hilda, Kelly, Maggie, Marsha, Tod
Known Relatives: Unidentified mother, unidentified grandmother
Aliases: Slasher
Base of Operations: An unidentified mental hospital;
formerly an old apartment building in New York City, New York
First Appearance: Daredevil I#239 (February, 1987)
Powers/Abilities: Agile and strong, Rotgut wields a knife with precision. Mentally ill, he is obsessed with cleanliness and precision, and he frequently sees distorted versions of the world around him. He was also an expert at reworking plumbing and furnaces, using basic tools.
Height: 5'9" (by approximation)
Weight: 130 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown (sometimes pink in hue)
Hair: Blonde
History:
(Daredevil I#239 (fb) ) - As a child, the man who would become Rotgut watched television (featuring Harry and Sara) while eating a cheeseburger. His mother stormed in, lecturing him on disease, corruption, and rot, from television, food, open windows, microwaves, sugary foods, soda pop, and the garbage.
(Daredevil I#240 (fb) ) - Rotgut's mother lectured him about sunlight, candy, and lying, then took him in to see his grandmother, warning him not to touch her or he'd be infected with gangrene. Rotgut's grandmother grabbed him in a panic, and he screamed, running from the room, believing he was diseased now.
(Daredevil I#239) - While doing a precision plumbing job in his own apartment building, Rotgut called and harassed a pregnant woman who was smoking, lecturing her on disease and pathogens. Out on the street, he hallucinated that the civilians around him were monstrous and full of disease. He briefly followed an Asian woman, thinking foreign agents were full of poison, and he avoided the subway, which was too disease-ridden, then he mentally cheered on Jack and other thugs who robbed a bag lady. Overwhelmed by the negative headlines in the news, Rotgut obsessed over a birthmark he saw on a new bride, then he went to a local diner and ordered a burger from waitress, Hilda, who was smoking. Rotgut freaked out, accusing her of trying to poison him before he asked her to come home with him. The dishwasher Matt Murdock asked him to leave, and Rotgut did so after knocking Hilda's cigarette to the floor. He walked across the street and hired prostitute Marsha from pimp Tod. He got Marsha alone and carved out her guts, then returned to the streets, pleased he was doing good work.
(Daredevil I#240) - Rotgut continued hallucinating the world around him as monsters. After he murdered a vagrant woman with a broken leg, one who had just said goodbye to her lover, Rotgut returned home, where his elderly mother lived in the tenement owned by Mr. Hersh. Hersh was demanding rent when Daredevil entered and intimidated Hersh into fixing the apartment up while Rotgut stayed hidden. Rotgut returned to the basement, where he continued working on the plumbing. Remembering how his grandmother had infected him, Rotgut poisoned the water supply of the building, determined to kill everyone inside, including Harry, Maggie, and Kelly. Hilda, having followed him, revealed herself in the shadows, and he swiftly attacked. Hilda used a whistle to summon Daredevil, then Rotgut knocked her out with a pipe. As the Fat Boys gang warned the building dwellers not to drink the water (ultimately one would, and would die), Daredevil was buried under Rotgut's machines. Daredevil freed himself and avoided Rotgut's knife. When Rotgut's mother entered, claiming she'd been poisoned, Rotgut apologized, but she disowned him, saying he'd always been poison. Daredevil stopped Rotgut from killing himself, then turned him over to the professionals for help.
Comments: Created by Ann Nocenti and Louis Williams.
I thought Rotgut was interesting even though
he was a bit confusing but I do thing it would be cool if he were
brought back.
--Sammy7D
To quote Hilda "What is he? A plumber who talks like a Surgeon!"
Original profile by Sammy7D. Expanded (actually completely rewritten) by Chadman.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Rotgut has no known connections to:
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(Daredevil I#240) - Maggie knocked on the door to check on Harry, who was bathing in water that he didn't know was poisoned by Rotgut. --Daredevil I#240 |
(Daredevil I#239 (fb) - BTS) - When Rotgut was a child, he watched a television show that featured characters Harry and Sara (with Harry saying he was leaving and taking the kids), but Rotgut's mother turned the television off in anger.
--Daredevil I#239 (239 (fb) - BTS
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(Daredevil I#240) - Mr. Hersh, slum lord over dirty apartments, demanded rent from one of his tenants (the mother of Rotgut), even as he refused to fix the gas leaks or address the rats. Daredevil came in the window and threatened Hersh with violence and civil action until Hersh agreed to make changes to the apartment. --Daredevil I#240 |
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(Daredevil I#239) - Rotgut saw Jack and others accost a bag lady, seeking to rob her, and he celebrated their efforts. --Daredevil I#239 |
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(Daredevil I#240) - A mother gave her baby Kelly a bath, not knowing the water had been poisoned by Rotgut. --Daredevil I#240 |
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(Daredevil I#239) - Hanging with her pimp Tod, prostitute Marsha was picked up by Rotgut. Daredevil warned her that the man was dangerous, but she chose to go ahead, though she offered to service Daredevil for free some time. When Rotgut tied her up and drew a knife, then carved through her stomach, Marsha cried. Her friends found her and she mentioned Rotgut and Daredevil as she collapsed. --Daredevil I#239 |
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(Daredevil I#240 (fb)) - The grandmother of the man who would become Rotgut lay dying in a tenement apartment. Her daughter (Rotgut's mother) came in to give her medication, and the grandmother grabbed Rotgut's arm, causing him to panic. Rotgut fled from the room, believing he was diseased now. --Daredevil I#240 (240 (fb) |
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(Daredevil I#240 (fb) - BTS) - When she became pregnant with her son, Rotgut's mother felt like he was a poisonous growth and considered cutting him out. (Daredevil I#239 (fb)) - The woman taught her son Rotgut taught him all about germs, diseases, corruption, and rot, from a myriad of sources, including open air, sugary foods, meat, soda pop, television, and microwaves. She constantly yelled at him to keep his plumbing clean. (Daredevil I#240 (fb)) - After lecturing her son on sunlight, lying, and candy, the mother took her boy in to see his grandmother, who lay dying. She warned the boy not to touch her or he'd get gangrene, and when she touched him, he screamed and ran from the room. (Daredevil I#240 (fb) - BTS) - Living in a tenement, Rotgut's mother frequently complained to Mr. Hersh about the rats and leaking gas. (Daredevil I#240) - Mr. Hersh came to demand rent, and she complained again about the state of the place. Daredevil hopped in through the window and intimidated Hersh into making changes. Rotgut's mother gave Daredevil some sweetbread in payment, then Rotgut exited his room to return to the basement, as she yelled that he'd be poisoned. When she realized the water in her building had been poisoned, she went down to the basement where Rotgut was battling Daredevil. She realized Rotgut was behind it and disowned her son, who was soon arrested. --Daredevil I#239 (239 (fb), 240 (fb) - BTS, 240 |
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(Daredevil I#239) - Pimp Tod saw prostitute Marsha hired by Rotgut for the hour. Tod ignored Daredevil's concerns that Rotgut was dangerous. Tod said he saw Daredevil as the same as police, and said he was too connected for Daredevil to shake down. When Marsha turned up dead, Tod led his men in savagely attacking Daredevil, but the hero fought them off. --Daredevil I#239 |
images: (without ads)
Daredevil I#239, cover (main)
Daredevil I#239, p17, pan2 (face)
Daredevil I#239, p11, pan1 (as a child)
Daredevil I#239, p9 pan1 (hallucination)
Daredevil I#240, p15, pan1 (Harry and Maggie)
Daredevil I#240, p5, pan4 (Mr. Hersh)
Daredevil I#239, p10, pan1 (Jack)
Daredevil I#240, p15, pan3 (Kelly)
Daredevil I#239, p18, pan6 (Marsha)
Daredevil I#240, p8, pan3 (grandmother)
Daredevil I#239, p12, pan4 (Rotgut's mother, young)
Daredevil I#240, p4, pan4 (Rotgut's mother, elderly)
Daredevil I#239, p18, pan2 (Tod)
Appearances:
Daredevil I#239 (February-March, 1987) - Ann Nocenti (writer), Louis Williams (penciler), Al Williamson (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
First Posted: 08/20/2002
Last updated: 03/16/2019
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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