DAN DOWN

Real Name: Dan Down

Identity/Class: Human magic user

Occupation: Unrevealed; possibly landlord, gambler

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Brother Voodoo, Gambit, cards;
    he was also familiar with New Orleans' supernatural elite;
    former pawn of Antoinelle Arceneaux

Enemies: "Fast" Jack Jessup

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: New Orleans, Louisiana

First Appearance: Gambit IV#1 (November, 2004)


Powers/Abilities: Dan Down had some limited magical ability that allowed him to speak to and gain information from cards. As a sacrifice to acquire the cards' information, Dan regularly would fold on a winning hand; the bigger the sacrifice, the better the information gained. Dan noted that the cards were fickle and would turn on you, so you had to keep them happy with bribes, gifts, and favors. He described these as a gift to the poker gods, the masters of fate and chance, though they did not require poker specifically. Dan made it a practice to never speak to the cards by himself, considering it bad luck and stating that there were rules for these sort of things and that the cards didn't like them being broken.
    Sometimes the cards showed him images on their faces, sometimes an illusion appeared in mid-air, and sometimes he seemed to hear voices from the cards.
    It was kind of like a degree of clairvoyance, and one might speculate that perhaps some Vodū god or Loa was granting him information through the cards.

Eyes: Brown
Hair: Grey (formerly black, presumably)

 

History:
(Gambit IV#1 (fb) - BTS) - An old friend (and apparent landlord) of Gambit, Dan Down accepted a six month advance on his rent when he went out of town.

(Gambit IV#1 (fb) - BTS) - Cards whispered things to Dan over the course of a week, warning him that something bad was going to happen.

(Gambit IV#1) - Folding in a poker hand with four aces because it didn't feel right to him, Dan was happy to see Gambit, though he tried to trick him by mentioning only 3 months of advance rent he had been given. Dan also warned Gambit that there was an ill wind blowing and something bad was going to happen. Gambit mocked the cards and Dan's decision to fold in the last game, but Dan scolded him and reminded him of the power in cards. He told Gambit that he should take the time to stop and listen to what the cards he so frequently used had to say.

(Gambit IV#2) - Gambit met with Dan and told him of his plan to steal a deck of cards from Morgan Penrose. Dan told Gambit he thought that this theft was what the cards had been warning him about, and convinced Gambit to let him show him the cards' power. The two went to Pharaoh's Casino, where Dan proceeded to lose a lot of money. Recognizing Dan as the guy who claimed he could speak to cards, Mr. Bookins -- one of the other players -- started teasing him, saying he hoped the cards were telling him something juicy with all the money he'd been throwing away. Dan told Bookins that the inside straight he'd thrown away told him that Bookins had been unfaithful to his wife on his last three business trips; the two pair king-high told him a story about a drunken hit-and-run visit to Atlanta; and the last hand had told him that Bookins had a thing for women's underwear, beyond liking the way it looked on ladies. Gambit and Dan both then bet all of their chips on the next hand and promptly folded before the casino officials told them they had to leave because they were disturbing the other customers. As they folded, a giant image of a demon (Orleans Cooper's master) appeared before them. As they left, Dan explained the vision, revealing that the cards Gambit was to steal were a powerful deck of tarot cards and that if the wrong people got hold of the cards there would be Hell to pay.

(Gambit IV#3) - Dan followed Gambit to Chez Penrose, acting as his lookout while Gambit broke into the place. Dan revealed that those present at Penrose's were a who's who of New Orleans' supernatural elite. Dan also warned Gambit as Orleans Cooper approached, though Dan wasn't sure what a mutant gangster would be doing with this group. Dan was then ambushed and knocked out by Gambit's thieving rival "Fast" Jack Jessup, who also ambushed Gambit upon his exodus from the mansion and took the cards (the Inficio Aquilus) from him.

(Gambit IV#4 (fb) - BTS) - Dan and Gambit's outdoor game of "Go Fish" was interrupted by an attack by at least seven members of New Orleans' Thieves Guild (sent to take out Gambit by Alphonse, an agent of Cooper). Gambit took the attackers out in short order.

(Gambit IV#4) - As Gambit returned to the game, Dan noted that the cards sounded like they were jabbering in haiku through a busted lip. Gambit suggested they split up, suggesting Dan play Solitaire to get more info, but Dan reminded him that nothing good could come from talking to the cards without back-up. Dan convinced Gambit to play just one more hand, and the cards revealed that it was Jessup who had ambushed them both.
    After Gambit retrieved the Inficio Aquilus from Jessup, both Dan and Gambit were confronted by Alphonse and his ally, Stone, both mutants. Alphonse's whip knocked the tarot cards from Gambit's hands and out of the box, and Dan, knowing the risk of viewing the cards, covered Gambit's eyes to protect him. Dan shared that the cards were indestructible, after which Gambit was badly beaten by the two mutants; as he fell before then, Gambit instructed Dan to flee and get help, as there was nothing he could do there.
    Heading to Gambit's apartment, Dan, desperate to get help but unsure how to do so, consulted the cards by himself. Dealing out ten cards from the deck, Dan realized it was a phone number and dialed it. Just then, Jessup broke into the apartment, searching for the cards, and strangled Dan with the telephone cord. Nonetheless, the call went through, and was answered at the Xavier Institute by Wolverine.

(Gambit IV#5 - BTS) - Wolverine came to New Orleans and rescued Gambit, after which he told Gambit that Dan had died.

 

(Gambit IV#7) - Gambit expressed his sorrow over Dan's coffin, which was then placed into a mausoleum. Shortly thereafter, however, Antoinelle Arcenaux raised New Orleans' corpses (including Dan) as zombies.

(Gambit IV#8) - Antoinelle Arceneaux sent the zombies on a rampage through the city. Seeing Dan in such a fashion dazed Gambit, causing him to stop fighting.

(Gambit IV#9) - Aided by Brother Voodoo, Gambit convinced Antoinelle Arceneaux to stop the zombie rampage, and Gambit took Dan to be reinterred.

 

 

 

Comments: Created by John Layman, Georges Jeanty, and Don Hillsman II.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No KNOWN connections to:

images: (without ads)
Gambit IV#1, p8, panel 6 (main image)
    #4, p7, panel 3 (cards showing images)
            panel 4 (face close-up)
    #8, p16, panel 3 (zombie)

Appearances:
Gambit IV#1-2 (November, 2004) - by John Layman (writer), Georges Jeanty (penciler), Don Hillsman II (inker), Stephanie Moore & Sean Ryan (assistant editors), Mike Marts (editor).
Gambit IV#3 (December, 2004) - by John Layman (writer), Georges Jeanty (penciler), Don Hillsman II (inker), Stephanie Moore & Sean Ryan (assistant editors), Mike Marts (editor).
Gambit IV#4 (January, 2005) - by John Layman (writer), Georges Jeanty (penciler), Don Hillsman II (inker), Stephanie Moore & Sean Ryan (assistant editors), Mike Marts (editor).
Gambit IV#5 (February, 2005) - by John Layman (writer), Georges Jeanty (penciler), Don Hillsman II w/ Dexter Vines (inker), Stephanie Moore & Sean Ryan (assistant editors), Mike Marts (editor).
Gambit IV#6 (March, 2005) - by John Layman (writer), Roger Robinson (penciler), James Pascoe w/ Don Hillsman II (inker), Stephanie Moore & Sean Ryan (assistant editors), Mike Marts (editor).
Gambit IV#8-9 (May-June, 2005) - by John Layman (writer), Roger Robinson (penciler), James Pascoe w/ Don Hillsman II (inker), Sean Ryan (assistant editor), Nick Lowe (associate editor), Mike Marts (editor).

Last updated: 07/21/07

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