HUNTER JOE

Real Name: Joe (presumably, surname unrevealed)

Identity/Class: Human (presumably - see comments) (Pre-modern era to modern era, possibly earlier - see comments) (presumably Scottish)

Occupation: Hunter of rare game, especially creatures considered "mythical"

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: An unidentified scientific research group

Enemies: Doop, the Green Unicorn, the Iraqi Shibboleth, the Loch Ness Monster, the Mexican Wolf-Woman, the Minotaur of New York, the Pink Lady, the Pink Psychos, Wolverine (Logan/James Howlett), an unidentified creature resembling Bigfoot, an unidentified Siberian albino tiger, an unidentified white unicorn, numerous other targets/victims

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: An unidentified castle, presumably in Scotland

First Appearance: Wolverine/Doop#2 (July, 2003)

Powers/Abilities: Hunter Joe had no superhuman powers but was excellent at hunting and skinning mythical and speculative quarry. He did possess greenish-gray skin, sharp teeth and a long green tongue but this freakish appearance did not seem to grant him any added abilities or powers.

    He was skilled at sabotage and would not hesitate to resort to running his victims over with at meat truck as long as he killed them.

    While battling Wolverine and Doop, he employed the use of electrified hooks that appeared to either have sentience or were being moved, perhaps through telekinesis or some mechanical control. In the past, he has used a submarine equipped with torpedoes, a radar scanning device and depth charges. He also carried often carried items such as monkey's paws on his missions.

    It's possible Hunter Joe's aging had been somewhat slowed, given that he was actively hunting in the early 1960s (see comments).

    Hunter Joe was known to smell particularly bad and he was often accompanied by a swarm of flies.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'3")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 140 lbs.)
Eyes: Red with black sclera
Hair: Bald (with gray beard)

History:
(Wolverine/Doop#2 (fb) - BTS) - Hunter Joe was a hunter that specialized in "mythical" and speculative quarry, living for the kill and the look of fear in his quarry's eyes. Obsessed with the feeling of joy he got from his quarry's fear, Hunter Joe attempted to fill the gap between hunts with hard liquor and soft women.

(Wolverine/Doop#2 (fb)) - During the early 1960s, after having searched for three months, Hunter Joe successfully traveled underwater in a submarine and killed the Loch Ness Monster (see comments), severing its giant head for display. At some point, Joe hunted and killed a white unicorn, whose head he displayed, and he also throttled a Siberian albino tiger in San Diego, killing it and turning its pelt into a pair of underpants. Rumors also surfaced that Hunter Joe had killed the Green Unicorn, the Minotaur of New York and a creature resembling Bigfoot, as well as trapped the Iraqi Shibboleth. He also hunted the Mexican Wolf-Woman using large, animated hooks and at one point, picked up the idea of using electrified weapons from a trip to Club Med.

(Wolverine/Doop#2) - After Wolverine, who had been hired by a scientific research facility to retrieve the Pink Mink artifact, and his ally Doop failed to return to the facility with the Pink Mink, one of the facility scientists met with Hunter Joe to hire him to retrieve the Pink Mink instead. As Hunter Joe bragged about how he had killed the Loch Ness Monster and a white unicorn, he further admitted that he had been itching to get his manacles and traps onto the Pink Lady who wore the Pink Mink for some time. When the scientist appeared surprised that Hunter Joe believed in the Pink Lady's existence, he proclaimed that he believed in every creature that had ever been dreamed up or feared, as he had killed and skinned most of them himself. Somewhat repulsed, the scientist promised Hunter Joe he could do whatever he wanted with the Pink Lady as long as the Pink Mink was turned over to the facility and she also warned that Joe might have trouble with Wolverine and Doop during his mission. He proclaimed that she should leave them to him, as he had plans for all of them.

    Before Wolverine and Doop departed to seek out Pink Mink expert Professor Van Hosen, whom both thought was a fictional character, in an effort to prove the other was suffering from Code-X dementia, Hunter Joe secretly sabotaged their motorcycle, causing it to lose a wheel and crash when the heroic duo tried to drive it to the equally speculative Blush nightclub to meet Van Hosen. Once they had crashed, Hunter Joe tried to run them over with a meat truck, exclaiming how he hadn't had so much fun since throttling a Siberian albino tiger. He then continued on his way to the Blush nightclub, where he captured the Pink Lady and her Pink Mink. A short time after, Wolverine and Doop arrived at the club and Professor Van Hosen informed them of the Pink Lady's capture. The heroes then rampaged their way through the scientific research facility until the scientist that had hired both Wolverine and Hunter Joe told them where Joe was hiding out. Not realizing that Hunter Joe was utilizing the Pink Lady as bait to lure Wolverine and Doop into traps of their own, Wolverine and Doop then made their way towards Hunter Joe's castle. While waiting on the heroes to arrive, Hunter Joe gloated about his usage of the Pink Lady as bait and threateningly promised to literally eat the Pink Lady with a spoon, promising to save her head for his wall. Wolverine and Doop soon busted into Hunter Joe's castle and demanded he release the Pink Lady. Joe responded by utilizing animated, electrified hooks to capture the pair and just as he was about to behead the captured Wolverine, the Pink Psychos, dormant mutants influenced by the Pink Mink, burst through the wall and slaughtered Hunter Joe. Wolverine, Doop and the Pink Lady took advantage of the situation to escape and once Doop returned to his den at X-Statix HQ, Hunter Joe's head was seen mounted on Doop's wall.

Comments: Created by Peter Milligan, Darwyn Cooke and J. Bone.

    The Loch Ness Monster slain by Hunter Joe was pregnant with "another generation of 'Little Nessies."  It seems reasonably likely that that Monster itself was also one of a litter, and though one was slain, others continued to exist. That would explain why the Loch Ness Monster has been seen after he had apparently killed it.

    Hunter Joe had no powers and for all intents and purposes, appeared to be a normal human who was extremely skilled at hunting rare creatures. However, his skin was gray, almost like a decaying zombie, and he had red eyes, not to mention that he commented that he had been actively hunting at least since the early 1960s. Now with Marvel's sliding time scale, it's still currently possible for Hunter Joe to have been alive in the modern era despite having been active in the early 1960s but he would likely have been in his eighties when he fought Wolverine and Doop, which, honestly, might explain his mental instability. Perhaps in his later years, he began suffering from dementia or his mental faculties became compromised some other way. Then again, it's also possible that he received some sort of experimental treatment to slow his aging since IF he WAS in his eighties when he fought Wolverine and Doop, he was certainly spry for a man that age....and IF he did receive some sort of treatment to extend his lifespan, perhaps that is what caused his skin to turn gray...It's also possible that his gray skin and red eyes are the result of some sort of mutant or mutated nature and Hunter Joe possessed powers that he never displayed. This is all just speculation, of course. We have no actual confirmation of any such treatment, age or superhuman powers in his one and only appearance. It's also equally possible that his mention of being active in the early 1960s was either a product of his deranged mind or simply a topical reference. For what it's worth, he had gray skin as early as the 1960s, according to the flashback we see at the beginning of Wolverine/Doop#2.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Hunter Joe should be distinguished from:

• any other "Hunter" or "Joe" characters

The Minotaur of New York allegedly slain by Hunter Joe may or may not be:

• The Minotaur - mythological character--Eternals II#2
• The Minotaur - an agent of the Mole Man--Avengers I#17
• Minotaur (Miklos Vryolak) - Iron Man foe, mutated by his father--Iron Man I#24
• Minotaur - of the Menagerie of Myth--Marvel Team-Up II#2
• Minotaurus - one of the Changelings--Incredible Hulk II#252
• or any other "Minotaur" or "New York" characters
  

Appearances:
Wolverine/Doop#2 (July, 2003) - Peter Milligan (writer), Darwyn Cooke (pencils), J. Bone (inks), Axel Alonso (editor)

First posted: 10/22/2004
Last updated: 11/09/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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