MR. GAMBLE

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human vampire

Occupation: Predator, kidnapper

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Mr. Friendly, Smiley

Enemies: Hannibal King, Henry Klein, Madelyn Klein, Summer Klein

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: New York City, New York

First Appearance: Journey into Mystery I#520 (May, 1998)

Powers/Abilities: He possessed the standard abilities and weaknesses of a vampire including enhanced human strength, speed and the ability to shapeshift. He needed to consume blood to survive and could be killed by incendiary bullets that ignited inside him. Sunlight, religious symbols, garlic and wooden stake through the heart were presumably also pretty bad for him.

Height: Unrevealed (6'5; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed (220 lbs.; by approximation)
Eyes: Solid red
Fur: Black

History:
(Journey into Mystery I#520 (fb) - BTS) - The vampire Mr. Gamble and his associates Mr. Friendly and Smiley kidnapped 19-year-old Summer Klein. They contacted the Klein family and demanded one million dollars in ransom money to be dropped off at the front door of Klein's meat rendering plant.

(Journey into Mystery I#520) - Hannibal King got hired to drop off the money, but upon realizing that Summer had been kidnapped by vampires, decided to destroy them. He kicked in the door and saw Mr. Gamble bite Summer. King took out Mr. Smiley and Smiley before Mr. Gamble tried to offer Summer as food to him. King declined and shot Gamble in the head, which flabbergasted Gamble. Lucky for him the special incendiary bullet didn't explode and he jumped King only to be blasted in the chest with another incendiary bullet, which killed him.

Comments: Created by Marv Wolfman, Karl Kerschl & Al Milgrom.

Mr. Friendly, Mr. Gamble and Smiley were obviously not their real names, but Smiley even used Mr. Gamble to refer to their leader. They presumably used these monikers while contacting Henry Klein and hence King knew them. Or maybe Friendly and Smiley were just nicknames King came up with and Mr. Gamble was actually Mr. Gamble.

Profile by Markus Raymond.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Mr. Gamble should not be confused with:

Mr. Friendly should not be confused with:

Smiley should not be confused with:

The Klein family has no known connection to:

Henry Klein

Henry was the father of Summer Klein and husband of Madelyn. He was the owner of a meat rendering plant in New York City. When his daughter got kidnapped, he hired Hannibal King to deliver the ransom to the kidnapper. King saved Summer instead by taking out the three kidnappers, who had turned out to be vampires. He then brought Summer back home to her parents and was paid with a check. He was not invited to stay for dinner.

--Journey into Mystery I#520

Madelyn Klein

She was the mother of Summer and wife of Henry. King saved her daughter, got paid and wasn't invited to stay for dinner.

--Journey into Mystery I#520

Summer Klein

Summer was the daughter of meat rendering plant owner Henry Klein. She was 19 years old when three vampires kidnapped her and demanded a one million dollars ransom for her release.

The three vampires kept her at her father's meat rendering plant and she got bitten by one her captor only known as Mr. Gamble. Hannibal King took out the other two vampires with incendiary bullets, but Gamble offered Summer to King as food. King didn't bite (literally) and instead destroyed Gamble with two more incendiary bullets. He then took Summer home to her parents and received a check from them for saving their daughter. He was not invited to stay for dinner.

--Journey into Mystery I#520

Mr. Friendly

Mr. Friendly was one of Mr. Gamble's associates and participated in the kidnapping of Summer Klein. When Hannibal King arrived to deliver the one million dollars ransom to Henry Klein's meat rendering plant, he was surprised when the door got kicked in by King, who had smelled the vampires. He recognized King and mocked the traitor for trying to threaten him with a gun, but to his surprise King used special incendiary bullets, which destroyed Mr. Friendly by blowing him up.

--Journey into Mystery I#520

Smiley

Smiley as one of Mr. Gamble's associates and participated in the kidnapped of Summer Klein. When King attacked the vampires and killed Mr. Friendly instead of just delivering the one million dollars ransom, Smiley asked Mr. Gamble for permission to cut King up. He didn't even get the chance to try because King staked him through the heart with a broken spindle from a chair he had crashed into after Mr. Friendly's explosion.

--Journey into Mystery I#520

images (without ads)
Journey into Mystery I#520, p3, pan3 (main)
Journey into Mystery I#520, p4, pan4 (head shot)
Journey into Mystery I#520, p2, pan2 (Mr. Friendly)
Journey into Mystery I#520, p3, pan1 (Smiley)
Journey into Mystery I#520, p1, pan3 (Summer Klein)

Appearances:
Journey into Mystery I#520 (May, 1998) - Marv Wolfman (writer), Karl Kerschl (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Glenn Greenberg (editor)

First Posted: 11/17/2024
Last updated: 11/17/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters