EXORCIST GUN

Classification: Terrestrial weapon

Creators: Frank Drake & "Silicon" Valle, indirectly also Tony Stark

User/Possessors: Big Game Posse, Bloodstorm, Sam Buchanan, D.O.A., Frank Drake, Stonecold

Aliases: Exorcist, Linda

First Appearance: (In Prophecy) Ghost Rider III#28 (August, 1992),
(real appearance) Nightstalkers#1 (November, 1992)

Powers/Abilities/Functions: The Exorcist gun was an electrically charged delivery system for nanobots that were designed to attack occult beings on a molecular level. It could not only be used to attack such beings, but also to locate them or different kinds of mystical energies. After several changes to the gun, the electrical plasma charge used to transport the nanobots became so powerful that it could kill normal humans as well. If overloaded the gun could release an uncontrollable energy charge or cause a massive explosion (the side effects of an overload were seemingly worsened by the gun's increasing power level as well). By reversing the gun's polarity it could also be used to boost the powers of a supernatural being. The nanotechnology carried by the gun's plasma charge was composed of microscopic engines capable of altering the atomic structure of supernatural beings or items. The effects of this technology were different any time it was used and most times it needed more than one shot to destroy, stun or even affect an enemy. On a few occasions it even proved useless against occult threats although it was especially designed for this purpose.
    The supernatural nanotechnology was referred to as necrotech somewhere.
--Snood

History:

(Nightstalkers#1 (fb) - BTS) - For some time Drake worked on nanotechnology loaned from Tony Stark and attuned the little machines to react on occult energies. He made designs for a gun as delivery system for the nanotechnology and gave them to M.I.T. media lab computer technician "Silicon" Valle, who put the gun together for him.

(Nightstalkers#1) - Drake went with King to M.I.T. media lab to fetch the finished Exorcist gun "Linda" from "Silicon" Valle. With the gun in his hands Drake joined the Nightstalkers in an attack on Johnny Blaze and Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch/Noble Kale) and used it first against Ghost Rider and then against Blaze, who were both incapacitated by the nanotechnology. When Blade smelled another occult influence he pointed Drake towards it and Drake used the Exorcist gun again and shot Lilith's child Meatmarket, who watched the fight.

(Ghost Rider III#31) - Not even the charged Exorcist gun could prevent the destruction of Borderline's office. Later Drake used the Exorcist gun against Lilith's children in a fight between the Nine, who were teleported to the Arctic Circle by Dr. Strange, and Lilith and her brood. He lost the gun when Lilin's newest child, a monstrous version of Ghost Rider's other self Dan Ketch, attacked him. Drake regained the gun when Lilith was defeated.

(Nightstalkers#2) - Drake used the gun against the car of Madame Jasmine and her allies and later to destroy Jasmine's crystal balls. When she attacked Drake with the balls' glass shards he hit her with the gun to knock her out. Back home the Exorcist gun underwent standard diagnostics.

(Nightstalkers#3) - Drake took the gun to Keith Roberts, who had information for the Nightstalkers. He later used it to find in Major Patton's hotel room something that had come in contact with the supernatural because everything that did should fuse with the gun's plasma charge. The Nightstalkers thus found some papers with an address that led them to Patton, but it was a trap by the D.O.A. and the Exorcist gun was used in action against Lt. Belial, Malpractice and Innards.

(Nightstalkers#4) - The gun was used by Drake to block Innards' stomach acid and got damaged. It was still functional and Drake used it on the hunt on D.O.A. twice against Pyre. She lost control of her powers after the second shot and couldn't stop burning. At home Drake repaired the Exorcist gun.

(Nightstalkers#5) - Drake used the Exorcist gun against Shiv and his cult, but the gun didn't stop Shiv.

(Nightstalkers#6) - In their next confrontation against Shiv, Drake came up with something special and the shot from the Exorcist gun reactivated the nerve endings that were shut off by sorcery. When the insane Adam Casim, whose family was killed by Shiv, attacked Shiv, Drake used the gun to destroy them both.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#1/3) - Drake shot a seemingly animated Gargoyle (a demon?) and he was eaten from the inside by the nanotechnology.

(Nightstalkers#7) - When Ghost Rider attacked Drake and King, Drake tried to use the gun against Ghost Rider, but he called his bike and Drake had to use it against the bike instead and was nearly knocked out by the resulting explosion. The situation was cleared up, but in the following fight against Stonecold, Drake didn't get the chance to use the gun against their enemy.

(Nightstalkers#8) - Drake shot Morbius with the gun and it caused him agonizing pain.

(Nightstalkers#9) - Frank used the Exorcist gun to blow King and Morbius apart. Stonecold attacked and King tried to shoot him, but the vampire Slaughter tripped him and Drake missed. At Stonecold's lab, Drake dropped the Exorcist gun after Stonecold used his time manipulating powers on him. The gun fell into Stonecold's hands, but he only used it accidentally against his ally Slaughter when Morbius grabbed him from inside Stonecold's perpetual rotating wheel. Drake took back the gun and destroyed the wheel's mount to send it rolling into the sea.

(Morbius#11) - Drake tried to find Slaughter with the Exorcist gun, but he found them first and attacked. When Slaughter was shot by the Exorcist gun he wasn't impressed at first, but after taking several shots of nanotechnology he became an easy kill for Morbius and his allies (but Slaughter didn't die). Drake then shot Morbius, who demanded it because he thought the Exorcist gun could cure him, but it didn't work.

(Terror Inc#13) - Linda could tell Drake that Terror was unnatural, but not supernatural when he met him.

(Nightstalkers#10) - Drake had the gun with him when he and King searched for Blade, who went AWOL. When they found him, Drake tried to destroy a Darkhold page, which got into Blade's possession, with the Exorcist gun, but it was already too late. Blade became Switchblade and attacked his former allies Drake, King and Blaze. The Exorcist gun proved useless against him and was severely damaged in the fight. Drake repaired and improved the gun.

(Ghost Rider III#40) - Drake caused Switchblade some serious pain with the Exorcist gun when he and Ghost Rider caught him. When Drake found Switchblade later fighting Ghost Rider on a roof, he saved Ghost Rider from Switchblade with the help of the Exorcist gun, but with each shot the gun did less damage against Switchblade.

(Darkhold#11) - Drake used the Exorcist gun against Modred the Mystic for slaying innocents in his attempt to destroy Switchblade.

(Morbius#12) - Drake opposed Switchblade with the Exorcist gun in his hands.

(Spirits of Vengeance#13) - Drake still carried around the Exorcist gun on the Midnight Sons' mission to stop Switchblade, but because it was useless against Switchblade, he didn't use it.

(Nightstalkers#12) - Stonecold's skin, which scared people at the Boston Harbor, was destroyed by Drake with the Exorcist gun.

Later at a prison in Nebraska Drake was attacked by crazy prisoners. He used the gun, but it was useless because it only worked against the supernatural. When the Nightstalkers found Short Circuit, the source of all the lunacy in the prison, Drake used the gun against him, but the gun's electricity just fed Short Circuit, who got stronger and shorted out the Exorcist gun.

(Nightstalkers#13) - Drake was knocked out and lost the gun. The prison's warden took it and followed Blade, who carried the unconscious Drake. When Drake regained consciousness he modified the Exorcist gun. He destroyed the prison's generator with it to weaken Short Circuit. Drake then stepped into Short Circuit's energy field and shot him. The shot enabled Blade and King to return from an alternate Earth (see here) and Short Circuit dissolved.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#3/2, 3/4) - During the Nightstalkers' first encounter with Spider-X, the monster stopped Drake's attempt to shoot him with the Exorcist gun by tossing Blade against Drake. When he finally hit Spider-X with a few shots it wasn't enough to take him down for good. The Nightstalkers joined forces with Spider-Man, Ghost Rider and Johnny Blaze to destroy Spider-X, but when Zzzax attacked they needed Spider-X to stop the electrical monster. Drake even helped Spider-X with a shot from the Exorcist gun before Zzzax and Spider-X were seemingly destroyed in an explosion.

(Nightstalkers#14) - Drake used the gun against some Lilin including Bad Timing, who was able to avoid the shot due to his powers.

(Darkhold#15) - Drake used the Exorcist gun against the hordes of Lilin. With Louise Hastings' help he was able to take down Bad Timing with the Exorcist gun. When Zarathos, Lilith and her children attacked the abandoned lab used as a HQ by Morbius, Drake and the Darkhold Redeemers, Drake planned to use the Exorcist gun against Lilith and Zarathos, but Morbius attacked him and Drake missed his target.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#144/2) - Drake had the Exorcist gun with him when Morbius turned against the Midnight Sons.

(Morbius#16) - Drake shot Morbius, who had recently betrayed them, although he tried to help them at this point. The Lilin Parasite, who possessed Morbius former fiancée Martine Bancroft, helped Morbius by blocking another shot of the Exorcist gun and seemingly redirected the shot back to Drake.

(Dr. Strange III#60) - Drake held onto the Exorcist gun when Scatter, Sister Nil and other Lilin attacked Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum and witnessed the destruction of Strange's home by the Sorcerer Supreme's own hands.

(Spirits of Vengeance#17) - Drake took a few good shots at Lilin with the Exorcist gun.

(Nightstalkers#15) - Drake used the gun against more Lilin shortly before they were pulled back to the Shadowside. When Caretaker was captured by Zarathos and the Fallen, the Nightstalkers went into Caretaker's underground base to save him. Drake used the Exorcist gun against the present Fallen and Zarathos, but missed. Drake switched Exorcist gun on overload when the Fallen followed them and the plasma blast released from the gun caused a cave-in.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#145/4-146/4) - The Exorcist gun was shorted out again, but most of the memory chips were still fine. Drake's leg was broken, so he used the gun as a crutch when he had to run away from the People of the Dust.

(Dr. Strange III#61) - The Exorcist gun was in Drake's hands when he watched Dr. Strange and then the being Strange fighting the Fallen Salomé.

(Spirits of Vengeance#18) - Drake brought the gun to the Cypress Hills Cemetery, but had no use for it when nobody except Ghost Rider, Vengeance, Johnny Blaze and surprisingly Stacy Dolan could enter Zarathos' HQ.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#4) - During the Midnight Sons' fight in London against Zarathos and the Fallen, Drake used the Exorcist gun unsuccessfully against members of the Fallen. When the being known as Strange reanimated skeleton warriors, the Fallen were able to escape and Drake had to use the Exorcist gun to destroy Strange's skeleton army (and they weren't happy to be killed by their own allies).

Later in front of a South American temple, Drake turned the Fallen Atrocity seemingly to dust with one shot, but it was just a trick by the Fallen member. A short time later the Exorcist gun was a big help to finish the weakened Patriarch. Before the final battle of the Midnight Sons against Zarathos, the Exorcist gun detected that Zarathos had no supernatural neg-energy left, which was a good thing.

(Nightstalkers#16) - A Dreadnought sent by HYDRA's D.O.A. attacked the HQ of Borderline Investigative Services and stole the Exorcist gun from Frank Drake after a fight against the Nightstalkers. The Dreadnought brought the gun to D.O.A. and fired a shot when Bloodstorm destroyed the robot.

(Nightstalkers#17) - Bloodstorm took the Exorcist gun and killed several HYDRA agents with the guns' electrical plasma blast. Afterwards he took the gun with him.

(Nightstalkers#18) - Bloodstorm took the gun to Boston and then to Varnae. When Varnae's influenced over him was weakened he tried to use the gun against the attacking Nightstalkers, but he missed King and dropped the gun. Drake took it, shot Varnae and switched the gun on overload. The following explosion seemingly killed Drake, King, Bloodstorm and Varnae.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#153/3 (fb) - BTS) - At some point after Drake's seeming death, Buchanan obtained the Exorcist technology.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#153/3) - Buchanan gave an Exorcist gun to the Big Game Posse to combine it with the technology of Annex, who was captured by the Posse for interfering with their hunt.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#154/3) - The Hunt Leader forced Annex to duplicate the Exorcist's design with his armor and it was transferred to the weapons of the active Big Game Posse members. They shot Vengeance and he could barely move anymore.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#155/3) - They shot Vengeance several times, but they couldn't kill him despite the Exorcist technology in their weapons. Vengeance defeated them with the indirect help of Annex. Afterwards Buchanan killed the Posse's leader because he was a cop-killer and couldn't even destroy Vengeance when he had given him the Exorcist technology.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#164/3) - Buchanan ran a virtual reality simulation of a fight between him with an Exorcist gun against Ghost Rider and Vengeance. After the simulation he took the real Exorcist gun and due to the simulation he knew that it wasn't enough to beat both "demons".

(Marvel Comics Presents I#165/3) - Buchanan shot Vengeance with the Exorcist gun while Vengeance fought Psiphon, who was released by Buchanan to lure Vengeance into this trap. Rebecca Taylor protected Vengeance when Buchanan was going to kill him with the gun. Buchanan realized his mistake and now they all had a common enemy in Psiphon.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#166/3) - Buchanan blinded Psiphon with a shot from the Exorcist gun and then reversed the gun's polarity to boost Vengeance's powers. It worked and Vengeance became strong enough to defeat Psiphon.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#167/3) - As part of the Paranormal Law Enforcement team, Buchanan used the Exorcist gun against the Revengers. They weren't of mystical origin, but he was still able to nearly knock out a member with a shot from the Exorcist gun. A second later the Revenger hulked up with the help of drugs and knocked out Buchanan, who dropped the gun.

(Punisher VII#12) - Several versions of the Exorcist gun were displayed in Monster Metropolis, the former Morlock tunnels beneath NYC.

Comments: Created by D.G. Chichester (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks).

The Exorcist gun's nickname "Linda" was a play on the actress "Linda Blair" (mentioned several times in the Nightstalkers series), who played the Pazuzu possessed girl Regan MacNeil in the Exorcist (1973).

The Exorcist gun's appearance changed a lot because of the many different artists, but it is okay because Drake had to repair it many times and he just liked to tinker. This tinkering included not only the gun's look as the gun became seemingly more powerful with each new design. For example: Up to Nightstalkers#14 the gun was useless against normal humans, but at the end of the Nightstalkers title it could easily kill a human with one shot. Maybe Drake also created a new gun from time to time which would explain how Buchanan got one.

Valle appeared just on one page and the picture below is the best I could find. I know that the coloring is really weird.

Profile by Markus Raymond.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Exorcist gun aka. Linda has no known connections to

"Silicon" Valle has no known connection to:

"Silicon" Valle

Valle was a computer technician working at the M.I.T. media lab. She got the nickname "Silicon" because of her last name (Silicon Valley, got it?). Frank Drake created the designs for the Exorcist gun "Linda" and she put it together for him. When she was finished Frank and Hannibal King came to her to get the gun.

 

--Nightstalkers#1

 

 

 

 

 

 

images: (without ads)
Nightstalkers#2, p20, pan2 (main image)

#4, p7, pan2 (nanotech)
#10, p22, pan5 (cross design)
#14, p5, pan1 (light version)
Marvel Comics Presents I#165, barcode side, p5, pan3 (Buchanan with Exorcist)
Nightstalkers#1, p22, pan4 ("Silicon" Valle)

Other Appearances:
Ghost Rider III#28 (August, 1992) - Howard Mackie (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Joe Kubert (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Ghost Rider III#31 (November, 1992) - Howard Mackie (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Joe Kubert (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Nightstalkers#2-4 (December, 1992 - February, 1993) - D.G. Chichester (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Nightstalkers#5-6 (March-April, 1993) - D.G. Chichester (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#1 (April, 1993) - D.G. Chichester (writer), Cynthia Martin (pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Nightstalkers#7-8 (May-June, 1993) - D.G. Chichester (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Nightstalkers#9 (July, 1993) - D.G. Chichester (writer), Mark Pacella (pencils), Don Heck (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Morbius#11 (July, 1993) - Gregory Wright (writer), Ron Wagner (pencils), Mike Witherby (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Terror Inc#13 (July, 1993) - D.G. Chichester (writer), Richard Pace (pencils), Temujin (inks), Marcus McLaurin (editor)
Nightstalkers#10 (August, 1993) - D.G. Chichester (writer), Kirk Van Wormer (pencils), Mark Badger (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Ghost Rider III#40 (August, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Darkhold#11 (August, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bob Downs (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Morbius#12 (August, 1993) - Gregory Wright (writer), Ron Wagner (pencils), Mike Witherby (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance#13 (August, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Adam Kubert (pencils), Joe Kubert, Dan Green, Klaus Janson & Frank Spinks (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#3 (October, 1993) - Mort Todd (writer), John Czop (Story 2), Vince Giarrano & Dougie Braithwaite (both Story 4) (pencils), Mark Pennington (Story 2), Cam Smith & Vince Giarrano (both Story 4) (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Nightstalkers#12 (October, 1993) - Steven Grant (writer), Vince Giaranno (artist), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Nightstalkers#13 (November, 1993) - Steven Grant (writer), Kirk Van Wormer (pencils), Bill Anderson (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Nightstalkers#14 (December, 1993) - Steven Grant (writer), Andrew Wildman (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Darkhold#15 (December, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bob Downs (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Morbius#16 (December, 1993) - Gregory Wright (writer), Isaac Cordova (pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#144 (late December, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Reggie Jones (pencils), Fred Harper (inks), Richard Ashford (editor)
Dr. Strange III#60 (December, 1993) - David Quinn (writer), Melvin Rubi (pencils), Fred Harper (inks), Evan Skolnick (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance#17 (December, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Henry Martinez (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Nightstalkers#15 (January, 1994) - Steven Grant (writer), Andrew Wildman (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#145-146 (January, 1994) - Steven Grant (writer), Lawrence Brown (artist), Richard Ashford (editor)
Dr. Strange III#61 (January, 1994) - David Quinn (writer), Melvin Rubi (pencils), Fred Harper (inks), Evan Skolnick (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance#18 (January, 1994) - Howard Mackie (writer), Henry Martinez (pencils), Bud LaRosa (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#4 (January, 1994) - D.G. Chichester (writer), John Hixson & John Bridges (pencils), Bill Anderson, Rich Rankin & Scott Koblish (inks), Evan Skolnick (editor)
Nightstalkers#16 (February, 1994) - Frank Lovece (writer), Bill Wylie (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Nightstalkers#17 (March, 1994) - Frank Lovece (writer), Ed Murr (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Nightstalkers#18 (April, 1994) - Frank Lovece (writer), Doug Wheatley (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#153-155 (May, 1994) - Chris Cooper (writer), Reggie Jones (pencils), Fred Harper (inks), Richard Ashford (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#164-166 (October, 1994) - Chris Cooper (writer), Reggie Jones (pencils), Fred Harper (inks), Richard Ashford (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#167 (early November, 1994) - Chris Cooper (writer), Reggie Jones (pencils), Fred Harper (inks), Richard Ashford (editor)
Punisher VII#12 (February, 2010) - Rick Remender (writer), Tony Moore (artist), Axel Alonso (editor)

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

First Posted: 01/10/2007
Last Updated: 12/29/2012

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