Real Name: (first name unrevealed) Gnucci

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Crime lord

Group Membership: Gnucci crime family

Affiliations: Gnucci crime family (Bobby, Carlo, Cousin Stevie, Dino, Eddie),  Joe Malizia, New York Police Department
    employees: Benny, Billy, Joey, Eddie Lau, Matt Murdock, the Russian, "Tall Joe" Small, Harry "Heck" Thornton, numerous others

Enemies: Punisher

Known Relatives:  Bobby (son, deceased), Carlo (son, deceased), Dino (brother, deceased), Eddie (son, deceased), Peter (relation uncertain, deceased), Stevie (cousin, deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations:  New York City, New York

First Appearance: (mentioned): Punisher V#1 (April, 2000)
    (actually shown): Punisher V#4 (July, 2000)

Powers/Abilities: Ma Gnucci had no superhuman powers, but was EXTREMELY determined to kill the Punisher in revenge for his killing of her crime family. She had many contacts in the city of New York and was not afraid to use blackmail to reach her goals. She was initially supported by a large criminal empire, which dwindled in size over time. Even as a quadruple amputee, she was unwilling to give up the fight, biting him on the ankle.

Height: 3' 2"; (pre-amputations) 5'11"
Weight: 62 lbs.; (pre-amputations) 126 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black (later bald)

History:  (Punisher V#1 - BTS) - The Punisher thought to himself about how Carlo Gnucci was Ma Gnucci's number one son.

(Punisher V#2 - BTS) - After her three sons were killed by the Punisher, Ma Gnucci sent her consigliore, Joe Malizia, to inform other low-life criminals of her desire to see the Punisher dead. Her employee explained that she had enlisted the N. Y. P. D. to help locate the Punisher and that once he was driven out, then one of the criminals would kill him. Joe then told the criminals that if they liked the job and the money to meet him at 9:30 at the address mentioned in an envelope he gave to each of the criminals. Later that night, the Punisher visited Joe Malizia and forced him at gunpoint to call Ma Gnucci. Joe did as he was told and called Ma Gnucci to inform her that the Punisher was with him. Using the speakerphone, the Punisher told Ma Gnucci that he was coming for her and that she might as well plan her funeral in advance. The Punisher then forced Joe to get out of the moving car that they were in, which led to Joe getting run over by a semi truck.

(Punisher V#3 - BTS) - Before the Punisher went after Ma Gnucci, he visited a bar in Brooklyn that Ma Gnucci's men frequented. After the Punisher killed her henchmen, he set his sights on Ma Gnucci's brother, Dino. Since Dino was about to stand trial for a life sentence, Ma Gnucci managed to get Dino the best lawyers in town, Matt Murdock.

(Punisher V#4) - After killing Dino, the Punisher scoped out Ma Gnucci as she arrived to shop at Fifth Avenue. Ma quickly spotted the Punisher and ordered her security to go after him, causing the Punisher to lose his gun. She ordered them to kill the Punisher and bring his head to her for the deaths of her sons and brother. Punisher made short work of her goons after leading them into the Central Park Zoo, which prompted Ma to go inside the Zoo to figure out what happened to her goons. Ma and her remaining goon soon spotted the Punisher entering the polar bear exhibit. She ordered the goon to fire his gun at Punisher and they chased him into the exhibit. Once inside the exhibit, Ma Gnucci caught sight of the Punisher running toward her. She screamed as the Punisher jumped over her goon and out of the exhibit. Turning to see what Punisher was running away from, Ma came face-to-face with three angry polar bears. The Punisher then watched as a polar bear decapitated Gnucci's goon and the others cornered Ma Gnucci herself. After Punisher escaped the Zoo, the police arrived and the ambulances wheeled Ma away, revealing that she had survived the polar bear attack.

(Punisher V#5 (fb) - BTS) - Ma lost all four limbs to the polar bear attack, and she was nearly scalped as well.

(Punisher V#5) - Ten days later, while recovering from the polar bear attack with her now lost limbs, Ma was visited by a group of her goons and her cousin Stevie. When Stevie asked how she was doing, she ordered one of her goons to kill him. The goon, Joey, refused and said that she really didn't want him to kill Stevie. Angered at his reaction, Ma ordered another goon to kill the both of them. He also declined, so Ma ordered a third goon to kill all three of them. Eventually, after much arguments and refusals, one of her goons killed them instead, earning the position as top goon as a result. Ma then warned her goons to let the deaths be a lesson to anyone who doubted her. Ma Gnucci followed the warning with the announcement of a ten million dollar bounty on the Punisher's head. After the bounty was placed, Al Grummet came to visit Ma Gnucci at her house, where he revealed to Ma Gnucci the whereabouts of the Punisher.

(Punisher V#6) - Al Grummet continued to speak with Ma Gnucci and informed her that he had seen the Punisher coming home one night in a bloody mess. After their discussion, Ma told Al that if his information was correct, it was worth ten thousand dollars. Ma Gnucci then ordered her goons to ambush the Punisher at his apartment and, when the goons finally found the Punisher, Ma ordered them to kill him. The Punisher furiously battled her goons, taking gunshots during the process. He eventually killed the goons, but passed out afterwards.

(Punisher V#7) - Billy and Benny managed to make it out of the slaughter and return to Ma Gnucci, where they informed her of the deaths of the goons. Ma angrily ordered them to return to the apartment and follow the Punisher wherever he went. Ma also explained that if they could survive long enough, she would contact the other crime families and arrange for reinforcements. The Punisher was recovering in the meantime, with the help of neighbors Spacker Dave and Joan the Mouse. When Dave called the police for help, Ma Gnucci's goons arrived instead.

(Punisher V#8) - Soon after, the goons phoned Ma Gnucci to tell her that they had found someone who knew the Punisher personally, revealing the captive Spacker Dave. After the phone call, Ma Gnucci asked one of her lackeys to look up the phone number of the hired muscle known as the Russian. Once getting a hold of the Russian, she asked the Russian to come to America and take out the Punisher.

(Punisher V#9) - Finally feeling a bit better, Ma Gnucci contacted the other crime families for reinforcements, who told her that she was basically on her own, since they were not going up against the Punisher. Immediately after her phone call to the crime families, the Russian arrived at her house. Ma then went outside and discussed the job with the Russian. The Russian agreed to kill the Punisher for her and Ma explained where the Punisher was located.

(Punisher V#10) - While the Russian was battling the Punisher, Ma Gnucci was approached by one of her cretins, who explained that she had a phone call from the mayor. Ma then reminded the mayor of the incriminating photos from Las Vegas that she had in her possession and how the police in New York were apparently doing nothing to apprehend the Punisher. Before she relieved her goon of his duties, she ordered the goon to lick her scabs.

(Punisher V#11) - As the Punisher continued to fight for his life against the Russian, Ma Gnucci tried desperately (and futilely) to regain her lost ability to walk. Her goons soon arrived and announced that there was no news on the outcome of the Punisher's bout with the Russian. Their discussion was soon cut short, however, when the goons spotted someone outside of her home. The goons then moved Ma Gnucci to the window, where she saw the Punisher carrying the Russian's severed head. Ma angrily refused to accept the outcome.

(Punisher V#12) - The Punisher proceeded to cover Ma Gnucci's house in gasoline while she sat helplessly by the window. She furiously demanded to know why he was killing her, and the Punisher replied that he wanted her gone from the face of the Earth. As he left the house, she angrily accused him of being a mass murderer and insane. Once outside, the Punisher tossed a grenade into the gasoline-covered home, which caused the house to explode in flames. As her home went up in flames, Ma Gnucci managed to wiggle her way to the window and bounce out onto the ground below. She then began to gnaw at the Punisher's pantleg until he, as a final insult to injury, punted her back into the burning house. He then left the scene, leaving her to die in the house.

Comments: Created by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, and Jimmy Palmiotti.

Profile by Spiderpool (with a little editing from Proto-Man)

Clarifications:

Ma Gnucci has no known connections to

• any of her family members with the same last name

BOBBY GNUCCI

    Bobby Gnucci was the son of Ma Gnucci and a known date rapist. When his brother Eddie was killed by the Punisher, he visited the morgue to identify the body. While there, he met the Punisher himself and was killed by him after a very short gun battle.

--Punisher V#1 (#1d

CARLO GNUCCI

    Carlo Gnucci was Ma Gnucci's number one son. Punisher tracked Carlo down to a local hotel, then grabbed him and threw him from the roof, killing him.

--Punisher V#1 (#1d

COUSIN STEVIE

    After Ma Gnucci lost all four limbs, cousin Stevie visited Ma at her home and asked how she was doing. Angered, Ma ordered her goon, Joey, to shoot him. Joey claimed that Ma really didn't want him to kill Stevie, so Ma then ordered another goon to shoot both Stevie and Joey. The goon seemed surprised, so Ma ordered a third goon to kill all three. Eventually, one of the other goons killed all of them.

--Punisher V#5 (#5d

DINO GNUCCI

    Dino Gnucci was Ma Gnucci's brother and a wanted criminal who was framed a multiple homicide that he actually didn't commit. When he stood trial for a life sentence in prison, Matt Murdock failed to defend him. The Punisher eventually killed Dino, despite Daredevil's attempts to quell the Punisher's killings.

--Punisher V#3 (#3d

"STICKY EDDIE" GNUCCI

    "Sticky Eddie" Gnucci was also Ma Gnucci's son and a drug dealer/user who overdosed his business rivals to watch them choke on their own blood. Punisher eventually tracked him down, gunned him down, and then blew his building up. His brother Bobby came to identify his body at the morgue and was also killed by the Punisher.

--Punisher V#1 (#1d

images: (not counting ads)
Punisher V#1,  p12, pan4 (Bobby Gnucci)

 p15, pan3 ("Sticky Eddie" Gnucci)

 p19, splash page (Carlo Gnucci)

Punisher V#3, p11, pan4 (Dino Gnucci)

Punisher V#4, p16, pan2 (Ma Gnucci, fullbody shot, with appendages intact)

Punisher V#5, p3, pan2 (Cousin Stevie)

Punisher V#12, p5, pan4 (Ma Gnucci, fullbody shot, without appendages, main pic)

 p6, pan2 (Ma Gnucci, headshot)

Other Appearances:
Punisher V#2-9 (April, 2000-December, 2000) - Garth Ennis (writer), Steve Dillon (pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Jimmy Palmiotti (#2-3), Joe Quesada (#4-7) & Nancy Dakesian (#8) (editors)
Punisher V#10-12 (January, 2001-March, 2001) - Garth Ennis (writer), Steve Dillon (pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Nancy Dakesian & Stuart Moore (#11-12) (editors)(editors)
Marvel Encyclopedia Vol. 5: Marvel Knights (2004)

Last updated: 07/23/05

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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