The Enforcer
disclaimer: this profile contradicts
established Marvel information, providing an alternate explanation to messy
continuity.
It disregards all Official Handbook information...for reasons I can't agree
with.
Nonetheless, here is his "Enforcer (Collier)" version for you to review and make
your own decision.
The "official" Appendix profile, which does not contradict established
continuity is here:
http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix2/enforcerdelaznysolo.htm
Real Name: Carson Collier
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Professional criminal, former student
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Madam Masque (former) The Committee, Rupert Dockery
Enemies: Ghost Rider (Blaze), Locksmith, Scourge, Spider-Woman (Drew), Tick Tock
Known Relatives: "Coot" Collier (father)
(allegedly) younger brother (given name unrevealed, a.k.a. The Scourge
of the Underworld, deceased)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Los Angeles, California
First Appearance: (as Carson) Ghost Rider II#22 (February, 1977)
(as the Enforcer) Spider-Woman I#19 (October, 1979)
Powers/Abilities: The Enforcer possessed the normal human strength of a man of his age, height and build who engaged in moderate regular exercise. He was a fine marksman with handguns and a fair hand-to-hand combatant. He also had some skill at stunt work and could pilot a small jet airplane.
Weapons: The Enforcer wore a steel-mesh bodysuit that covered him
from head to toe. His steel face mask had infrared image amplifiers that enabled him to
see in the dark. His reinforced vest was covered with silver nitrate to protect him from
attack by supernatural creatures who are repelled by silver (such as werewolves).
The Enforcer carried two .45 caliber automatic machine pistols, which
had special ammunition clips containing a number of toxic substances. Among his regularly
used projectiles were tranquilizer pellets (capable of paralyzing an average-sized person
in 4 seconds for up to 2 hours), incendiary “pyrogranulate” capsules which ignited upon
impact, silver bullets (for use against werewolves), blackout darts (which caused its
victims to to become blind for several hours) and a special substance called “the tingler”
which created a metabolic reaction in its victims that caused them to burst into flame
when it was activated. The Enforcer generally used “the tingler” in conjunction with
sodium pentothal (will-debilitating “truth serum”), making the victim highly susceptible
to his posthypnotic commands. Thus the victim could be made to trigger his own
immolation by hypnotic command.
The Enforcer once flew a small jet aircraft which had been modified so
that it could attach itself to the top of a 747 jumbo jet.
The Enforcer once drove a specially-modified sports car which had
been equipped with a side-mounted concealed machinegun and a missile launcher in its
rear "bomb bay."
History: (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe#4)- Carson Collier was born in
San Jose, California, the oldest son of former cowboy film star/director "Coot" Collier
who more recently directed television programs at Delazny Studios. (Spider-Woman I#29 (fb)- BTS)- As a young boy, Carson watched his father perform
stunts in his "shoot-'em-ups." Later, when he was older, Carson began to "shake down
school kids for their lunch money." (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe#4) - Hoping to follow in his
father’s footsteps, Carson enrolled in the University of Southern California film school,
only to become heavily involved in dealing narcotics. Developing criminal contacts,
Carson dropped out of school to pursue a career in crime. (Pure Speculation)- Carson may have become an employee of The Committee, a group of
corrupt Los Angeles businessmen.
(Spider-Woman I#30 (fb) - BTS)- While working for The Committee, Carson may have
bought some psycho-chemical metabolic incendiary darts from their inventor, Dr. Karl
Malus. (Pure Speculation)- Carson may have been the person who shot Buck Cowan's former
employer with "the tingler" to keep him from revealing information about the Committee. (Ghost Rider II#22)- Carson went to his father's Benedict Canyon home and let himself
in. When Coot returned and saw the lights on, he grabbed his carbine and confronted the
intruder but was surprised and delighted when he realized that it was Carson. When Coot
asked where he'd been, Carson replied that he'd been keeping real busy and thought to
himself that while he couldn't reveal exactly what he'd been into lately, soon everybody
would find out. Coot didn't notice Carson's peculiar smile or the sudden glint in his
eyes. (Pure Speculation)- Following the arrest and imprisonment of the criminal known as the
Enforcer, the Committee acquired the Enforcer's steel-mesh bodysuit and had it modified
to their needs. They then presented the costume to Collier so that he could become the
new Enforcer. (Spider-Woman I#19 (fb) - BTS)- A Los Angeles newspaper reported that the Enforcer
was “recently sprung from the joint."(see comments) (Captain America I#320 (fb))- Carson's brother walked in on him as Carson was
donning/removing his costume's mask/hood. Carson's brother realized that his older
brother was "a gunman on the wrong side of the law (who) called himself the Enforcer"
but apparently he didn't tell anyone. (Spider-Woman I#27 (fb) - BTS)- The Enforcer bought some new clips (blackout darts)
for his guns but didn't immediately have a chance to use them. (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#17)- One of the Enforcer's
first assignments for the Committee was to silence writer Buck Cowan, who was about to
expose Committee activity to the police. (Spider-Woman I#19 (fb) - BTS)- The Enforcer's bosses gave him a briefing about what
he might expect to encounter when dealing with Cowan, including the fact that Cowan's
close friend Jack Russell was a werewolf. (Marvel Team-Up I#93 (fb)/Spider-Woman I#19 (fb) - BTS)- As soon as Cowan entered
Russell's apartment, the Enforcer broke through the door and pulled a gun, prompting
Russell to change into his Werewolf form. Prepared for this, the Enforcer blew him out
the window with silver nitrate pellets and then shot Cowan with "the tingler" to keep
Cowan from telling anyone what he had learned. (Spider-Woman I#19)- Finished with Cowan, the Enforcer leaned out the window to deal
with the Werewolf but was pulled out the window by the original Spider-Woman. After a
brief battle, he managed to shoot both her and the Werewolf with tranquilizer darts and
then shot them with "the tingler" as well, commanding them to burst into flame if they
ever opposed him or mentioned his existence. Spider-Woman proved to be immune to the
tingler's effects and she recovered almost immediately, taking the Enforcer by surprise
and knocking him unconscious with her venom blast. The police then arrived and took the
Enforcer into custody. (Captain America I#320 (fb)- BTS)- When Carson's criminal activities as the Enforcer
were revealed, his father was heartbroken. Carson's brother hated Carson for that and
for the shame that he had brought upon their family. Carson's brother decided that he
had to do something about it and he began putting on disguises and going out to look
for Carson to make him stop disgracing himself. (Spider-Woman I#27)- While Carson was serving time in California State Prison he
received a private visit from newspaper tycoon Rupert M. Dockery. When the meeting
ended badly, Carson found the cane that Dockery had “forgotten” to take with him.
Discovering the cane’s hidden blade, Carson and four other inmates used it to
overpower a guard and escape. After coercing his fellow escapees into being his gang,
the Enforcer decided to seek revenge on Spider-Woman and make some money by stealing
the only known bronze representation of Anasi the Spider from the Los Angeles Museum
of Anthropology and Folk Art. As the Enforcer had hoped, Spider-Woman showed up to
stop them but was defeated when she was blinded by one of the Enforcer’s new blackout
darts. The Enforcer brought Spider-Woman back to his hideout and put her in a cage but
she soon regained her eyesight, freed herself and was about to take them by surprise
when her partner, criminologist Scotty McDowell, showed up to rescue her but was
promptly shot by the Enforcer. (Spider-Woman#28)- The Enforcer and his gang were quickly overcome by the enraged
Spider-Woman but the Enforcer forced her to stop by revealing that he had shot McDowell
with one of his psycho-chemical incendiary darts and that McDowell would have to be kept
isolated in a cold environment or he would burst into flames. The Enforcer then offered
to give Spider-Woman the antidote for the dart but only if she helped him steal 10
million dollars. Forced to agree, Spider-Woman helped the Enforcer when he stole a
jewel-encrusted statue of a Hindu god from the Hollywood Bowl. The following evening,
the Enforcer robbed tycoon J.R. Van De Kalb of his priceless stamp collection at
Christie’s Auction House but was trapped by the police in a steel-mesh net and needed
Spider-Woman's help to escape. (Spider-Woman#29)- The Enforcer and his gang forced Spider-Woman to participate in
their mid-air robbery of a 747 flying from New York to Los Angeles. The Enforcer blinded
a gem courier with one of his darts and stole a briefcase full of gems but was taken
by surprise when Spider-Man appeared and decked him. Spider-Woman delayed Spidey long
enough for the Enforcer and she to reach their aircraft and escape. When Spider-Man
found the hideout and knocked out the gang, the Enforcer was about to shoot him with
some nitro-darts but Spider-Woman blasted him with a venom-blast first. When the police
arrived and arrested him and his gang, the Enforcer revealed that he had never had any
antidotes to his darts. (Spider-Woman#30)- Spider-Woman dressed up in the Enforcer's costume in order to
confront Rupert Dockery about his recent activities. The terrified Dockery quickly
admitted that he had let the Enforcer steal his walking stick with the tiny radio
transmitter hidden inside it so that he could listen in on the Enforcer’s crime plans
and that he knew that Spider-Woman wasn’t really the Enforcer’s accomplice. LAPD
Captain Walsh then showed himself and used Dockery’s tape-recorded admissions to force
him to appear in court to clear Spider-Woman of all outstanding charges for the crimes
she was forced to help the Enforcer commit. (Ghost Rider II#58)- The Enforcer was hired by some gamblers who wanted him to fix
the rematch between Johnny Blaze and Flagg Fargo. The Enforcer met Fargo and threatened
to kill him if he didn’t take a dive and let Blaze win but Fargo refused. The Enforcer
later used his modified car to fire some (warning) shots at Fargo but Blaze was there
and gave chase on his motorcycle. The Enforcer let Blaze see him, then shot him with
tranquilizer darts. Later, at the stunt-championship contest, the Enforcer shot Fargo
as he was performing the auto jump, causing Fargo to crash onto the cars. With everyone
distracted by the crash in the arena, the Enforcer went to the stadium box office and
robbed it of the $300,000 in ticket receipts. The Enforcer shot two guards with
tranquilizers and escaped in his souped-up car but was pursued by the Ghost Rider. The
Enforcer fired a missile from his car’s bomb bay to destroy a bridge to cut off pursuit
but Ghost Rider took the longer way around. Finding himself racing head-on at the Ghost
Rider on a narrow road high above a lake, the desperate Enforcer drove his car off the
precipice and into the lake. By the time that he pulled himself from the lake the Ghost
Rider had left. (Spider-Woman I#50 (fb)- BTS)- The Enforcer was one of a number of “deviants” from
the Los Angles area who were kidnapped and imprisoned in Locksmith’s private prison. The
Enforcer’s guns were taken away from him and he was fitted with a body lock that allowed
only the barest mobility. (Spider-Woman I#50)- The Enforcer was still in his personal cell when Locksmith
brought Spider-Woman to his prison. The Enforcer had come to see the shadows as so thick
that they were almost alive and staring at him. After Spider-Woman freed herself and
defeated Locksmith and Ticktock, she summoned the police who (presumably) arrested the
Enforcer and the other criminals among Locksmith’s captives. Later that night, the
Enforcer was among those affected by a spell cast by the sorcerer Magnus which caused
everybody to forget that Spider-Woman had ever existed. (Iron Man I#194)- The Enforcer was contacted by Madame Masque (acting on behalf of
Obadiah Stane) and offered fifty grand to eliminate one of Stane’s agents, the Termite,
who was in police custody. The Enforcer accepted the contract and decided to take care
of this “ten minutes work” right away. Outside his hotel room, the Enforcer encountered
a bag lady who asked him for spare change. When the Enforcer told her to buzz off
because he didn’t have anything for her, the bag lady replied, “But I have something for
you!” and shot him through the chest with a shotgun she had concealed under her coat.
After the mortally-wounded Enforcer fell to the ground, the bag lady proclaimed, “Justice
is served!” and left. Thus the Enforcer became the first victim of the Scourge of the
Underworld, a vigilante who targeted people with criminal records. (Iron Man I#195)- Madam Masque reported to Obadiah Stane that the man she had
contracted to terminate the Termite had been gunned down before he could complete his
assignment. (Captain America I#320)- After being captured by Captain America, Scourge claimed to
be the younger brother of the Enforcer and that he had killed him in retaliation for
the shame that the Enforcer had brought upon their family, and for the heartbreak their
father had felt on learning the Enforcer’s true identity. Scourge also claimed that it
was how good he felt after dealing with his brother that had inspired him to devote his
life to serving the cause of justice (by killing costumed criminals). Scourge was then
killed by an unseen gunman (who was later revealed to be a second Scourge).
The next morning, Carson went to Delazny Studios to watch his father
direct an episode of the "Stuntmaster" television show. Standing with Stuntmaster and
Roxanne Simpson, Carson watched Johnny Blaze perform a motorcycle stunt with Karen Page.
Once the stunt was completed, Stuntmaster introduced him to Blaze who got a strange
feeling that "something about Carson (didn't) ring true."
Comments: Carson Collier
created by Gerry Conway, Don Glut, Don Heck and Keith Pollard.
(mistakenly identified as the Enforcer by Michael Fleisher)
This is what I believe the profile of the second Enforcer should be. It is not in any way authorized by The Powers That Be at Marvel Comics nor by those involved in the production of the current Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe series. However, I firmly believe that my theory that "the" Enforcer was actually two different men does a better job of explaining the inconsistencies between the character's various appearances than the explanation that was provided in the Enforcer's entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#17. What I'd really like to see is a Marvel story in which Delazny reappears as the Enforcer and explains how Carson Collier usurped his costumed identity (beginning in Spider-Woman#19). Or maybe a criminal calling himself the Enforcer could show up and reveal that he was actually the third man to use that identity and its distinctive costume. Of course, since the Enforcer is not just a minor character, he's a DEAD minor character, there's not much chance of that happening.
According to both the original and deluxe editions of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, "Coot" Collier's given name is Carson, thus making his son's full name "Carson Collier, Jr." However, since Carson's father was never called anything but "Coot" in ALL the stories in which he appeared and there was NO indication that he and his son had the same first name, I have chosen to ignore that "fact" in this profile.
For what it's worth, the Marvel Chronology Project, which once listed all of the Enforcer's appearances in a single listing, now lists two different Enforcers - ENFORCER/DELAZNY and ENFORCER II/CARSON COLLIER. I guess that they found my theory to be persuasive. As you can see, the MCP also doesn't accept the "Carson Collier, Jr." name as being canon. Finally, Enda80 pointed out that one of George Olshevsky's Indexes makes a reference to the fact that Spider-Man (I think) once fought the second Enforcer.
It was the Enforcer entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe#4 which stated that the Committee were responsible for Collier's early release after he was apprehended by Ghost Rider and sent to prison for the crimes he'd committed as the Enforcer. Unfortunately, that Enforcer was actually Charles Delazny's son. However, the Enforcer entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#17 stated that Carson had gone to prison because Delazny had somehow managed to mislead the LAPD into believing that Carson was the Enforcer. I found this explantion to be extremely implausible and unconvincing...so I've ignored it.
Snood's statement. There are a LOT of diehard fans who have a lot of
trouble with the fact that OHotMUs have always been 98% resource and 2%
source (meaning that they sometimes supply new information (like real names, or
names of relatives) or explanations to connect two otherwise contradictory
stories). These fans believe that if it doesn't come from a pre-existing story
it is not "canon." These people can continue these beliefs and arguments in
their own groups, but that is not and has never been Marvel's policy. Get over
it.
Seriously. Get over it. Marvel policy >> your own policy. The end.
IF the Committee was responsible for springing Delazny from the joint, they may have done so to mislead the authorities into believing that it was Delazny who was committing crimes as the Enforcer. After all, if the Enforcer were to be seen committing a crime while Delazny was still in prison, then it would have been obvious that someone else was wearing the Enforcer costume. However, if Delazny's whereabouts were unknown, then the police would probably assume that he had resumed his career as the Enforcer.
The fiery death of Buck Cowan's former employer which was depicted in Spider-Woman I#19 was actually a flashback to events which happened between Werewolf By Night I#42 + 43 (January + March, 1977). If it was the Committee who sent the Enforcer to silence Buck Cowan and if they did so because his investigation into that fiery death had led him to uncover Committee activities, then they may have ordered the death of Cowan's former employer. Since the Enforcer gave Spider-Woman and the Werewolf "the usual treatment" when he used "the tingler" on them, that MIGHT mean that he was the person who used it on Cowan's former employer. However, since Carson's first appearance in Ghost Rider II#22 (February, 1977) occurred when Delazny was active as the Enforcer, Carson couldn't have been using that costumed identity at that time.
One of the reasons that I prefer the idea that Carson Collier usurped the identity of the Enforcer from Delazny is because the origin story that Mark Gruenwald wrote for Scourge (Captain America#320) doesn't make sense if the Enforcer always was Delazny. However, if Carson assumed the identity of the Enforcer after Delazny abandoned it, then Gruenwald's story is restored to canonicity.
Chronology Note: Marvel Team-Up#93 (May, 1980) takes place two days after Spider-Woman#19 (October, 1979) and Spider-Woman#20 (November, 1979) takes place between those two stories (i.e. The events in SW#19, SW#20 and MTU#93 take place, in that order, over three consecutive days).
Clarifications:
The Enforcer has no known connections to
Enforcer's "souped-up" car
The Enforcer once drove a "souped-up" red two-door sports car which could attain greater speeds than most normal cars. The Enforcer's "fancy wheels" had been equipped with several weapons including a retractable machinegun (mounted on the driver's side below the side mirror) and a "bomb bay" in the rear from which at least one "tactical missile" (capable of blowing up a bridge) could be fired. Nothing was revealed about who designed and/or rebuilt the car and it was lost in a lake when Ghost Rider forced the Enforcer off the road while he was fleeing the scene of an attempted murder and robbery which he had committed.
- Ghost Rider II#58
Enforcer's Getaway Plane
The Enforcer once flew a small jet aircraft which had been modified so that it could attach itself to the top of a 747 jumbo jet. The Enforcer and his gang used this jet to perform a mid-air robbery of a gem courier who was travelling from New York to Los Angeles aboard Atlantic Airlines Flight 814.
- Spider-Woman I#29
"Coot" Collier
"Coot" Collier was the star of numerous 1940's cowboy films who later directed a number of movie Westerns and then went on to direct television programs (including "Stuntmaster") produced at Delazny Studios. Aside from his acting and directing skills, Coot did all his own trick-shooting in his films and retained this skill even after he gave up acting. Coot had (at least) two sons, Carson and a younger son whose given name has never been revealed. He was delighted when Carson paid him an unexpected visit but was later heartbroken when he found out that Carson was the criminal Enforcer. It was in response to his father's pain that Coot's younger son disguised himself as a bag lady and gunned down Carson while he was on his way to commit a murder-for-hire. Following his murder of his brother, Coot's younger son used the family's wealth to finance his ongoing self-appointed mission to "dispense justice" to costumed criminals.
Note: If Coot's younger son used his family's wealth to finance his operations, that could mean that Coot had died (of a broken heart?) before Carson was killed and that Scourge blamed Carson for their father's death.
- Ghost Rider II#13(14-15,18-19,21-23, Marvel Team-Up I#58, GR II#25-26)
Buck Cowan's former employer
A wild-eyed man who suddenly appeared in the kitchen of Cowan's house, causing Lissa Russell to faint and scaring a girl named Buttons who went for help. When Buck came to investigate he found the intruder and recognized him as an old employer. The man stated, "Your time has come, Cowan, to pay me back for helping you!" but before he could say another word he somehow burst into flame and died. Cowan began investigating the man's weird death and Jack Russell believed that that investigation had something to do with why the Enforcer attacked Cowan with (apparently) the same gizmo that caused Cowan's former employer to burn to death.
- Werewolf By Night#42 (Spider-Woman I#19 (fb))
Enforcer's gang
Four convicts who accompanied Carson when he escaped from prison. Pete was the guy who was shot with a blackout dart and temporarily blinded when he questioned whether they should follow the Enforcer, the black guy was named either Al or Joe, the third man was named either Joe or Al, and the fourth man's name was never mentioned.
images:
OHotMU II#17, page 19, panel 1 (full body image)
Ghost Rider II#22, page 8, panel 3 (Carson Collier)
pider-Woman I#19, page 18, panel 1 ("burning man")
OHotMU II#17, page 20, panel 3 (battling Spider-Woman and Werewolf)
Spider-Woman I#27, page 6, panel 5 (in prison)
Iron Man#194, page 17, panel 3 (Enforcer being shot)
Spider-Woman#27, page 9, panel 3 (Enforcer's gang)
other appearances:
Ghost Rider II#22 (February, 1977)
Spider-Woman I#19 (October, 1979)
Spider-Woman I#27-29 (June-August, 1980)
Ghost Rider II#58 (July, 1981)
Spider-Woman I#50 (June, 1983)
Iron Man I#194 (May, 1985)
Last updated: 04/24/05
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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