ACE RENARD

Real Name: Renard (first name unrevealed)

Identity/Class: Human (World War II Era)

Occupation: Bookmaker, gangster, owner of Renard Enterprizes

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Al, Barney, Chips, Curly, Ponzi, Tony, Turk, Jimmy Zacca

Enemies: Case, Frankie Fullum

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: New York City, New York, USA;
    formerly Los Angeles, California, USA

First Appearance: All True Crime I#44 (May, 1951)

Powers/Abilities: Ace Renard had clever mind for criminal schemes. He was an experienced gambler and carried a pistol.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 6'0")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 185 lbs.)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black

History:
(All True Crime I#44/6) - In early 1942, Ace Renard had been operating a bookmaking operation under the front of "Renard Enterprizes" in Los Angeles when one of his subordinates, Barney, came to inform him that he was leaving his employ because he had just been drafted into the U.S. Army. Barney advised Ace not to avoid service in the Army and return to his home state of New York so he would be present for a summons to his draft board. However, Ace called Barney a "sucker" and believed he could dodge service in the Army by raising enough money to bribe Army officials.

Determined to raise money quickly, Ace decided he would bet his money only on "sure things" so he had his subordinate Curly brief him on an upcoming race at Santa Anna. Checking in with his staff, Ace learned the horse Sun Maid was the favorite to win so he had Sun Maid's jockey Jimmy Zacca brought to him. Ace offered $10,000 to Zacca if he threw the race in a manner that wouldn't be suspicious. Zacca admitted that he needed the money and grudgingly agreed but Ace gave him a slap in the face, admonishing him to be sure of himself. In the Santa Anna race, Zacca took a deliberate swerve to throw the race and was thrown from his horse, dashing his head against a rail; Zacca was killed by the impact but Ace was merely pleased that this meant he didn't have to share his promised cut with Zacca.

Ace moved back to New York City for the opening of the Delmonico track. When his subordinate Ponzi was caught taking some of his money, Ace executed Ponzi personally by shooting him through the heart with his gun. After Ponzi's death, Ace received his notice from his draft board. He asked his lawyer Al to help him avoid service. Al told him there was no hope of bribing the government but Ace insisted that Al find the right person to bribe so that he could beat the draft.

To win another race, Ace decided to blackmail Frankie Fullum, the jockey whose horse was favored to win in the next race. Ace had his men plant hypodermic needles and tickets in Frankie's room to ruin his reputation then offered to have one of his men take responsibility for planting the items if Frankie agreed to throw the race. Frankie refused so Ace punched him, threatening to harm his wife and child if he didn't agree. Frankie agreed to throw the race.

Ace was summoned to his Army physical on May 20, 1942 but was certain with the fortune he was amassing he would be able to bribe his way out of the service. The following day was the race in which Frankie's horse ran; Frankie lost the race, seemingly as he had agreed to with Ace. Unknown to Ace, Frankie had lost the race legitimately.

When Frankie arrived to collect his payout for the race, he was accompanied by an agent of the FBI, who had been actively investigating Ace. Ace drew a gun on the agent but the agent's pistol was already in his hand and he easily shot Ace to death. Curly arrived after Ace's death with the results of his Army physical in an envelope; unknown to Ace, the Army had classified him 4-F and he had never been in danger of being forced to serve in the Army.

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer, John Romita and Les Zakarin.

    This profile was written to honor John Romita, who passed away on June 12, 2023. Although we do not know for certain what John Romita's first published work for Marvel was, we do know the story of Ace Renard was the first story he signed his name to.

Profile by Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Ace Renard should not be confused with:

Al

Al was Ace Renard's lawyer, a well-known "mouthpiece" who served other criminals. When Ace was trying to avoid the military draft, he asked Al to find a way to help him bribe his way out of service. Al tried to caution Ace that the government couldn't be bought off but Ace angrily insisted that Al find someone he could bribe.

--All True Crime I#44/6

Barney

Barney was a gangster who worked for Ace Renard. After being drafted into the U.S. Army, Barney informed Ace he was leaving his employ and advised Ace not to try and avoid the military draft. Ace derided Barney for being a "sucker."

--All True Crime I#44/6

Case

Case was a steward at the Delmonico track in New York City. When Ace was determined to blackmail jockey Frankie Fullum into aiding him, he planted hypodermic needles and tickets in Fullum's room. Case found the planted items and reported on Fullum, placing his career in jeopardy.

--All True Crime I#44/6

Chips

Chips was a gangster who worked for Ace Renard in Los Angeles. Chips examined the horse Sun Maid and monitored its speed while practicing on the track then shared his intelligence with Ace.

--All True Crime I#44/6

Curly

Curly was a bald-headed gangster who worked for Ace Renard as his right-hand man. Curly helped Ace engineer the results of races they were betting on by threatening and bribing jockeys. After Ace was killed in a shootout with the FBI, Curly was arrested and had in his possession a letter that proved to be the U.S. Army's 4-F classification for Ace.





--All True Crime I#44/6

 

Frankie Fullum

Frankie Fullum was a horse jockey. He was a married man and had a child. Ace planted hypodermic needles and tickets in Frankie's room in order to blackmail him into throwing an upcoming race in exchange for clearing Frankie's name. Frankie went along with Ace and although he lost the race, it wasn't due to Ace's influence but simply poor luck on the track. Frankie went to the FBI, who were already on Ace's trail. When Frankie showed up to collect his payout for having seemed to cooperate with Ace's scheme, Frankie brought the FBI with him and Ace died in a gunfight with the FBI agent.





--All True Crime I#44/6

Ponzi

Ponzi was a gangster who served in Ace Renard's New York mob. When Ponzi was caught taking money from one of Ace's bets, Ace's men apprehended him and brought him to Ace; Ace personally executed Ponzi by shooting him through the heart with his gun then ordered his men to dispose of Ponzi's body by throwing it into the river.

--All True Crime I#44/6

Jimmy Zacca

Jimmy Zacca was a horse jockey who rode the horse Sun Maid at Santa Anna. Curly brought Zacca to Ace Renard and Ace convinced Zacca to throw the race for $10,000. Zacca grudgingly agreed and caused Sun Maid to swerve during the race. Unfortunately for Zacca, when the horse swerved his head, Zacca smashed against a rail and was killed. Ace was simply glad he didn't have to pay Zacca the money he promised him.

--All True Crime I#44/6

images: (without ads)
All True Crime I#44/6, page 6, panel 5 (main)
All True Crime I#44/6, page 4, panel 7 (face)
All True Crime I#44/6, page 5, panel 3 (Al)
All True Crime I#44/6, page 1, panel 3 (Barney)
All True Crime I#44/6, page 5, panel 5 (Case)
All True Crime I#44/6, page 3, panel 2 (Chips)
All True Crime I#44/6, page 1, panel 2 (Curly)
All True Crime I#44/6, page 5, panel 6 (Fullum)
All True Crime I#44/6, page 4, panel 5 (Ponzi)
All True Crime I#44/6, page 3, panel 5 (Zacca)

Appearances:
All True Crime I#44/6 (May, 1951) - unidentified writer, John Romita (penciler), Les Zakarin (inker), Stan Lee (editor)

First posted: 06/18/2023
Last updated: 06/18/2023

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 http://www.g-mart.com/ for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters