full bodyThe 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 (Delazny)" 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: Delazny (given name unrevealed)

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Professional criminal, former student

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: "Big Jim" Galton, Ignatz Goldman, Gladiator (Potter), Water Wizard, Werewolf (Jack Russell)

Enemies: Eel (Stryke), Ghost Rider (Blaze)

Known Relatives: Charles L. Delazny (father), Dorian Delazny (probable relative)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Los Angeles, California
    (specifically) an underground base within the Hollywood Hills

First Appearance: (BTS) Ghost Rider II#21 (December, 1976)
    (seen) Ghost Rider II#22 (February, 1977)

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 poor shot with his disintegrator ring and not much of hand-to-hand combatant.

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 vest was reinforced.
    The Enforcer wore an extraordinarily powerful disintegration ray projector in his ring. The manner in which this device worked is unknown but it was capable of disintegrating an entire destroyer with a single blast.

head shotHistory:

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluze Edition #17)- Charles L. Delazny's son was born in San Jose, California, the only son of the head of Delazny Studios, an independently-owned back lot and soundstage where movies were once filmed but which has more recently been used primarily for television production. One of Charles L. Delaznys longtime associates was “Coot” Collier, a former actor who once directed movie Westerns and later directed television programs at Delazny Studios. Collier had a son named Carson who was the same age as Delazny’s son, and the two were schoolmates at Hollywood High School.
   Hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps, Delazny's son enrolled in the University of Southern California film school, only to become heavily involved in dealing narcotics. Developing criminal contacts, Delazny dropped out of school to pursue a career in crime.

(Ghost Rider II#24 (fb) - BTS)- During the worst of the recession, Charles L. Delazny borrowed heavily from racketeers to keep his studio in business.

(Ghost Rider II#22 (fb)-BTS/OHotMUDE #17)- The young Delazny contacted agents of a foreign power who hired him to wreak destruction at the San Diego Navy yards. Using the money he was advanced, the young Delazny hired an elderly scientist named Ignatz Goldman to create a bullet-proof costume. Wearing this outfit, the young Delazny became known as the Enforcer.

(Ghost Rider II#21 (fb)-BTS)- The Enforcer wanted to obtain a disintegrator ray generator for his own purposes but it had already been stolen by Leopold Stryke, the original Eel. The Enforcer then hired the costumed criminal known as the Gladiator to steal the device from Leopold Stryke and told him that Stryke had left the device on a certain soundstage at Delazny Studios.

(Ghost Rider II#21- BTS/Ghost Rider II#22 (fb)- BTS)- The Enforcer encountered the Eel in the alley [where the Eel had just knocked out Ghost Rider] and "appropriated" the device from him. Leaving the Eel in that alley [where he was soon found and killed by the Gladiator], the Enforcer brought the device to his secret underground base and turned it over to Professor Goldman to be miniaturized.

(Ghost Rider II#22)- Later, the Enforcer returned to his underground base and Goldman gave him a medallion that was a miniaturization of the disintegration device and which could be used as a weapon. Several hours later, the Enforcer arrived at the Belaire mansion which was the home of "the boss" of a local criminal organization which had gained control of Delazny Studios. After declaring that he was there to take over the operation, the Enforcer was threatened by "the boss" but used the medallion to disintegrate him. The gangsters quickly accepted the Enforcer as their new "boss."

(Ghost Rider II#24 (fb)- BTS)- As the new "boss" of that local criminal organization, the Enforcer met with (or contacted) Delazny and they agreed that the Enforcer would stay away from Delazny once Delazny "paid his price."

(Ghost Rider II#22 (fb)- BTS)- The Enforcer received the third version of the disintegration device from Goldman who had further miniaturized it until it was small enough to be set in a ring.

(Ghost Rider II#22)- The next day, the Enforcer and four members of his newly-acquired gang left the Delazny mansion and drove south to the San Diego Naval Yards, unaware that they were being followed by Ghost Rider. After arriving at the Navy Yards, the Enforcer paused to brag about his disintegrator ring and the foreign power who had financed his operation. When the shore patrol showed up and opened fire, the Enforcer left his men to deal with them while he proceeded with his mission. He disintegrated a destroyer before Ghost Rider (who had already taken care of the goons) knocked him off his feet. After a brief running battle that ended with them both falling into the harbor, the Enforcer escaped from Ghost Rider but lost his ring in the water while doing so.

(Ghost Rider II#23)- The Enforcer showed up at the warehouse where the Water Wizard was celebrating the success of his first bank robbery and offered him one million dollars to kill Ghost Rider. The Water Wizard accepted the contract and the next day he tried to kill Johnny Blaze while the motorcyclist was performing a stunt at Delazny Studios but Blaze survived by briefly changing into Ghost Rider.

(Ghost Rider II#24 (fb) - BTS/Ghost Rider II#23 - BTS)- At the Enforcer's request, the Water Wizard used his power over water to create a thousand liquid creatures who combed the bottom of San Diego harbor to find and recover the lost disintegrator ring. Guessing that Blaze might have learned of Delazny's involvement with him, the Enforcer arranged for the Water Wizard to ambush Ghost Rider at Delazny's estate that night. The ambush ended with Ghost Rider being knocked out and transformed back into Blaze.

(Ghost Rider II#24)- As Charles L. Delazny stood above Johnny Blaze's unconscious body, the Enforcer appeared and revealed that he had arranged the ambush. When Delazny angrily questioned him, the Enforcer threatened Delazny's family (including his son) and cowed Delazny by demonstrating his disintegrator ring's power. After taking Delazny's son's motorcycle and ordering Delazny to report it as stolen, the Enforcer tried to kill Blaze by having him tied to the motorcycle which was then sent off a cliff. Although he saw Blaze transform into Ghost Rider on the way down, the Enforcer was sure that no man could have lived through the crash.
   Returning to his underground base with the Water Wizard, the Enforcer revealed that he planned to use Delazny's business to launder the money he was going to make from the crime-empire that he was building. The Enforcer then stated that he had decided to eliminate the person he saw as the only remaining threat, the man who created his ring, and was about to disintegrate Goldman when Ghost Rider showed up. After a brief battle, both the Water Wizard and the Enforcer were knocked out by Ghost Rider who then removed the Enforcer's mask but didn't recognize him. Johnny Blaze later called the police and told them where to find the criminals.

(Ghost Rider II#26 (fb)- BTS)- When the police arrived, the Enforcer was taken into custody and imprisoned for his crimes. The elder Delazny was informed that his son was the Enforcer and this knowledge upset him considerably.

(Ghost Rider II#26 (BTS))- While seeking information about the Ghost Rider, Doctor Anthony Druid confronted Charles L. Delazny and used his powers to probe Delazny's mind. While doing so, Druid learned that Delazny was upset because "(his) son was secretly a criminal known as the Enforcer, who was captured and imprisoned recently!"

(Pure Speculation)- While in prison, the Enforcer may have been contacted by the Committee, a group of corrupt Los Angeles businessmen, who may have offered to arrange for him to be quickly released.(see comments)

(Spider-Woman I#19 (fb) - BTS)- A Los Angeles newspaper reported that the Enforcer was “recently sprung from the joint."(see comments)

(Pure Speculation)- Delazny disappeared after being "sprung from the joint." When the Enforcer was seen committing crimes, some people believed that Delazny had resumed his criminal career. However, once the Enforcer was captured and unmasked, authorities learned that he was actually Carson Collier, Delazny's former schoolmate, who had assumed the identity of the Enforcer and had been allowing witnesses to believe that he was the original in order to keep his identity secret. What happened to Delazny has never been revealed.

Comments: Created by Gerry Conway, Don Heck and Keith Pollard.

The Enforcer's name was first mentioned in Ghost Rider II#21 and it was later revealed that he was the person who had robbed the Eel in that issue but he wasn't actually seen until Ghost Rider II#22.

This is what I believe the profile of the original 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.

If the Committee did arrange for the Enforcer's early release (or escape), I can think of three different scenarios. The first scenario is that the Committee contacted Delazny in prison and offered to arrange his release/escape if he agreed to work for them as the Enforcer. Delazny may have agreed to this deal but, once out of prison, he reneged and either went into hiding (to avoid the Committee and the authorities) or was killed by the Committee as punishment for his treachery.

The second scenario is that the Committee contacted Delazny in prison and offered to arrange his release/escape if he agreed to give them his disintegrator ring (or plans for its construction). Delazny may have agreed to this deal but, once out of prison, he was unwilling or unable to fulfill his part and so he either went into hiding (to avoid the Committee and the authorities) or was killed by the Committee as punishment for his treachery.

The third scenario is that the Committee wanted the Enforcer identity for use by one of their employees (Carson Collier) and they arranged Delazny's release/escape so that the authorities, when they heard that the Enforcer had been seen committing crimes, would assume that Delazny had resumed his criminal career and would not suspect Collier. If this was the Committee's motivation for springing Delazny from the joint, then they presumably couldn't afford to allow Delazny to be seen in public or to be questioned by the police so they would probably have just killed him and hidden the body...unless Delazny somehow escaped/survived their attempt to murder him and went into hiding.

It was the Enforcer's entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #4 which claimed that it was the Committee who had arranged the Enforcer's early release from prison. However, that entry was written by someone who believed that "Collier" was the one-and-only Enforcer so it could be mistaken about the Committee's involvement as well.

It was the Enforcer's entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #17 which identified him as "Charles L. Delazny, Jr." and tried to explain why he once claimed to be "Carson Collier, Jr." when he clearly wasn't. I found that explanation to be rather implausible and wrote this profile as an alternative. Also, I feel that the Handbook was wrong to "make up" a given name for the character and the idea of calling him "Charles L. Delazny, Jr." just because his father had been named "Charles L. Delazny" strikes me as being rather unimaginative.
--For the most part I leave this profile alone, but this is B.S., pure and simple. Certainly no one ever named their child something Sr. or Jr.? Is that what you are proposing? That is a VERY poor argument and I think it detracts from an otherwise reasonable theory. Secondly see below:

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.

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 "Charles L. Delazny, 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.

Profile by Donald Campbell

Clarifications:

The Enforcer has no known connections to

  • ENFORCER CAPONE - Captain Britain Corps--Excalibur I#44
  • ENFORCERS of the 19th Century (Montana Joe, Ox, Weasel) -- Rawhide Kid I#130
  • ENFORCERS (Fancy Dan, Montana, Ox (Raymond), Ox (Ronald), Hammer Harrison, Snake Marston)- criminals for hire, former agents of Norman Osborn and the Big Man --Amazing Spider-Man I#10
  • New Enforcers (Blitz, Controller, Dragon Man, Dreadnought, Eel [Edward Lavell], Fixer, Madame Menace, Mentallo, Mr. Fear [Alan Fagan], Plant-Man, Super-Adaptoid, Tangle, Thermite, Vanisher) - criminal organization which attempted to assume control of the Kingpin's former underworld empire @ Web of Spider-Man #98
  • Any other "Enforcer" characters or groups

Ignatz Goldman (if that's really "the Professor's" name) has no known connections to

  • Goldman - an agent of SHIELD II--Captain America/Fury: Blood Truce
  • Goldman, ?William Wlater? - an obsessed fan of Mary Jane Parker who posed as a police officer and killed several people who crossed/threatened her--Amazing Spider-Man I#331

sub-entry imageEnforcer's Disintegrator Ring

The Enforcer's main weapon is a ring with a disintegration ray generator set in it. Originally the generator was an "electronic gizmo" (see left) which the Eel (Leopold Stryke) had stolen from a never-specified location. The Enforcer hired the Gladiator (Potter) to steal it from Stryke and told him that Stryke had left it on a certain soundstage at Delazny Studios but Stryke actually had it in the room he rented in a flop-house. The Eel took the gizmo with him to an appointment and knocked out Ghost Rider (who had been following him) but then the Enforcer "appropriated" the device from him and Stryke was soon killed by the Gladiator (who was still looking for the gadget). The Enforcer took the device to Professor Goldman who miniaturized it into a medallion (not shown) which the Enforcer used to kill the "boss" of a local gang of racketeers. Later, Goldman reduced the device to the size of a jewel and set it into a ring (see right). The Enforcer used the ring to disintegrate an entire destroyer before losing it in San Diego harbor. After the Water Wizard recovered the ring, the Enforcer tried to use it to kill Ghost Rider but he just couldn't manage to hit him. What happened to the ring after the Enforcer was defeated is unknown (but if Goldman and/or Ghost Rider had any sense at all they would have destroyed it before calling the police). Presumably the LAPD confiscated the ring when they arrested the Enforcer.

  - (electonic gizmo) Ghost Rider II#21

  - (medallion) Ghost Rider II#22

  - (ring) Ghost Rider II#22 (24)


sub-entry imageCharles L. Delazny, Sr.

Charles L. Delazny is the owner of Delazny Studios, an independently-owned back lot and soundstage where movies were once filmed but which has more recently been used primarily for television production. One of his longtime associates is “Coot” Collier, a former actor who once directed movie Westerns and later directed television programs at Delazny Studios. Delazny had a family which included (at least) one son who was secretly the criminal known as the Enforcer. During the worst of the recession, Delazny borrowed heavily from racketeers to keep his studio in business. This loan enabled a local criminal organization to gain control of Delazny Studios and use Delazny as their "front man."

(Ghost Rider II#22)- Delazny had stuntman Johnny Blaze summoned to his office. When Blaze arrived, Delazny revealed that it was Officer Flannigan of the LAPD who had asked for the meeting. Blaze fled the office when Flannigan tried to force him to go to police headquarters. Later, after learning that Leopold Stryke (the Eel) had been hired through Delazny's office, Blaze staked out the Delazny mansion until he saw the Enforcer and some goons leaving it.

(Ghost Rider II#24 (fb)- BTS)- After the Enforcer took over the local criminal organization that had gained control of Delazny Studios, Delazny agreed to pay the Enforcer "his price" if he'd stay away from Delazny.

(Ghost Rider II#23)- Suspecting that Delazny was tied to the Enforcer, Ghost Rider went to the Delazny estate planning to force Delazny to reveal whatever he knew about the Enforcer but was ambushed by the Water Wizard as soon as he arrived. Ghost Rider managed to defeat the Water Wizard but was knocked out by his foe's last attack and reverted to human form. Then Charles L. Delazny strode from the shadows and said, "You were a fool to come here, Blaze -- and it's going to cost you your life!"

(Ghost Rider II#24)- While standing over Blaze's helpless body, Delazny was joined by the Enforcer who revealed that he had arranged the ambush. When Delazny demanded answers, the Enforcer threatened his family (including his son who was in college) and cowed Delazny by disintegrating the door of the garage. When the Enforcer announced that he was going to take Delazny's son's motorcycle and ordered Delazny wait an hour before reporting it stolen, Delazny shakily agreed.

(Ghost Rider II#26 (fb)-BTS)- Following the capture and imprisonment of the Enforcer, Charles L. Delazny learned his son had secretly been the criminal. This knowledge upset him.

(Ghost Rider II#26)- When Delazny arrived at his office and learned that his secretary had let someone in without an appointment, he angrily confronted the intruder, Doctor Anthony Druid, but quickly succumbed to Druid's occult powers and apologized for being rude because he'd recently been upset about his son. Druid probed his mind and learned that Delazny was upset because his son had secretly been the Enforcer and that Delazny didn't believe that the Ghost Rider was a supernatural being.

Delazny was depicted as balding in his first appearance but later issues showed him with a full head of hair.

Charles L. Delazny is presumably related to the Dorian Delazny who was (apparently) the head of Delazny Studios in Astonishing Tales I#21-24 but I've never read those issues and I'm not aware of any story in which their exact relationship is defined.

 

 - Ghost Rider II#22 (23,24,26)


sub-entry image"Big Jim" Galton

Galton was one of the Enforcer's henchmen. When the Enforcer wanted to kill Blaze and make it look like an accident, it was Galton who tied Blaze to the motorcycle, locked the throttle open and pushed the starter button, thus sending the bike and Blaze over a cliff. Later, at the Enforcer's underground base, Galton stayed out of the way when Ghost Rider showed up to battle both the Water Wizard and the Enforcer. It wasn't until both of them were unconscious that Galton tried to sneak up behind Ghost Rider with a metal pipe but was instead knocked out by Professor Goldman (who had his own metal pipe).

 

 - Ghost Rider II#24


sub-entry image"Professor"

Ignatz Goldman (called only "Professor" in the stories) was "a rather nondescript scientific genius" employed by the Enforcer to miniaturize a disintegration ray generator into smaller, more practical forms which could be used as weapons. Goldman may have created the Enforcer's bullet-proof costume and may have helped design the Enforcer's secret underground base. At some point, Goldman realized that it wasn't prudent to anger his employer. Eventually, the Enforcer decided that Goldman was the only remaining threat to his plans (since, as the creator of the disintegator ring, he could likely find a way to nullify its power) and was about to eliminate him when Ghost Rider showed up. After the battle, Goldman repaid the favor by knocking out "Big Jim" Galton as he was about to strike Ghost Rider from behind. Despite this, Goldman was terrified of Ghost Rider and begged him to stay away. His fate since then is unknown.

 

 - Ghost Rider II#22 (24)


images:
Ghost Rider II#24, page 11, panel 5 (firing disintegrator beam)
Ghost Rider II#24, page 17, panel 2 (Enforcer unmasked)
[OR OHotMU II#17, page 20, panel 2 (Enforcer unmasked)]
Ghost Rider II#21, page 10, panel 5 (electronic gizmo)
Ghost Rider II#22, page 12, panel 6 (disintegrator ring)
Ghost Rider II#26, page 6, panel 2 (Charles L. Delazny)
Ghost Rider II#24, page 3, panel 4 ("Big Jim" Galton)
Ghost Rider II#22, page 5, panel 6 ("Professor")


other appearances:
Ghost Rider II#22-24 (February-June, 1977)


Last updated: 04/23/05

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/

Back to Characters