redeemerhulk1REDEEMER

 Real Name: Craig Saunders Jr.

Identity/Class: Human technology user

Occupation: Henchman of the Leader (Samuel Sterns);
    former demolitions expert in the US Army Corps of Engineers

Group Membership: Rock and Redeemer;
    formerly the Hulkbusters (Samuel LaRoquette, Armand Martel, Carolyn Parmenter, Hideko Takata) 

Affiliations: Parter of Rock (Sam LaRoquette);
    The Leader (Samuel Sterns), Agent Trump;
    formerly S.H.I.E.L.D.

Enemies: Doc Samson (Leonard Samson), the Hulk (Bruce Banner), Nevermind, Nick Fury, Rick Jones, Clay Quartermain,  X-Factor (Cyclops/Scott Summers, Beast/Hank McCoy, Jean Grey, Iceman/Bobby Drake);
    inadvertently Carolyn Parmenter, Rock (Sam LaRoquette)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: The Freehold, New England, beneath the Columbia Ice Fields of Alberta, Canada;
    formerly Gamma Base, New Mexican desert

First Appearance: Incredible Hulk II#317 (March, 1986)without armor

Powers/Abilities: As Redeemer, Craig Saunders Jr. wore a highly advanced suit of weaponized armor, containing various rockets, machine guns, lasers, and other blasters. The armor also gave Redeemer unspecified superhuman strength (lifting somewhere between 800 lbs. and 25 tons; suspected to be able to lift somewhere below 10 tons).

    Prior to becoming Redeemer, Saunders was a seasoned and skilled demolitions expert. Saunders was also a US Army veteran, experienced in the use of firearms and other weapons.

Height: 5'7"; 6'3 (with Redeemer armor)
Weight: 155 lbs.; 450 lbs (with Redeemer Armor)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: White

History:
(Incredible Hulk II#343 (fb)) - Even as a child, Craig Saunders Jr. loved blowing things up.

    In high school, he tried creating a new explosive, and inadvertently blew up the school's lab.

    As a young man, Saunders joined the US Army Corps of Engineers, which he saw as a natural career path given his interest in explosives.

    One day, Saunders was at an airport when a terrorist attempted to smuggle a bomb onto a plane. Saunders acted without hesitation, shooting the terrorist dead on the spot. Saunders realized, however, that there was no time for him to defuse the bomb, which was set to go off in a matter of seconds. Saunders threw the bomb down the hall, where it tragically killed a mother and child. Saunders took all the blame for the incident, and was discharged from the army. Saunders found himself disgraced and without any career prospects.

(Incredible Hulk II#315-316 - BTS) -  Doc Samson and his associates at Gamma Base succeeded in separating Bruce Banner from the Hulk, splitting them into two separate entities. However, in the aftermath of the separation, the Hulk was left a mindless, rampaging monster.

(Incredible Hulk II#317) - Bruce Banner decided to assemble a task force of specialists with skills to capture and neutralize the Hulk. Among those he called to be part of his task force was Craig Saunders Jr. Saunders answered Banner's summons, traveling to Gamma Base, New Mexico to meet with him. Once there, Saunders met the others whom Banner had also called: Samuel J. LaRoquette, marine researcher Carolyn Parmenter, xenobiologist Armand Martel, and geophysicist Hideko Takata. Once assembled at Gamma Base, Bruce Banner asked them to to act as his primary assault team, the Hulkbusters. The group was very reluctant, but Banner reminded them that, due to setbacks they had all suffered in their respective careers, there was little market for their talents, and they had few options other than working on his project. 

    Eventually, the group decided to accept Banner's offer, embracing the opportunity to pursue their respective disciplines in Gamma Base's state of the art facilities. Saunders, however, was the most reluctant of them all, and the last to agree.

(Incredible Hulk II#318) - Over the next two weeks, Saunders and the other Hulkbusters familiarized themselves with the new technology and weapons at their disposal. Included in the Hulkbusters' armament was a large armored vehicle, armed with advanced weaponry, including hypersonics and lasers, and capable of splitting into separate modules each piloted by a different group member. Saunders, LaRoquette, Parmenter, and Martel took the vehicle on a training exercise to locate and battle a Hulk robot. However, the group found that Doc Samson had mistaken the robot for the real Hulk and already destroyed it. Reasoning that Samson was nearly as strong as the Hulk, the group attacked Samson for training instead, much to his consternation. During the battle, the group split their vehicle into its separate modules and continued their attack. During the melee, Saunders let out a laser blast that inadvertently struck Parmenter's module, which went down in flames. Parmenter was killed in the ensuing explosion. Saunders and LaRoquette exited their vehicle and attempted to go to her aid, but Samson prevented LaRoquette from rushing into the fiery crash. 

(Incredible Hulk II#319) - Saunders donned a mechanized suit of armor while LaRoquette piloted a ship, and the two of them went hunting for the Hulk again. Before long, the pair located the Hulk and attacked. Doc Samson arrived on the scene soon afterward to aid the pair in capturing the Hulk. LaRoquette, however, still resented Samson for the role he played in Parmenter's death, and turned his ship's weapons against Samson instead of the Hulk. 

    The Hulk, meanwhile, took advantage of LaRoquette's divided attention. First he damaged Saunders' mechanized suit and then leapt onto LaRoquette's ship, tearing it apart in midair. Samson watched LaRoquette's predicament with satisfaction, but after pleading from Saunders, reluctantly went to LaRoquette's aid, permitting LaRoquette to land safely. The Hulk then swatted Samson aside and escaped. 

(Incredible Hulk II#320) - LaRoquette, Saunders, and the other Hulkbusters searched the desert for the Hulk in an armored buggy. Before long, the Hulkbusters spotted a trail of fire and destruction, and followed it to the town of Jericho, New Mexico, where they found the Hulk and Samson fighting, with a media crew capturing the battle on film. The Hulkbusters came to Samson's aid and launched an attack on the Hulk. The Hulk, however, ripped the Hulkbusters' buggy to shreds, and then knocked Samson unconscious for good measure. 

(Incredible Hulk II#321) - LaRoquette, Saunders, and the other Hulkbusters regrouped following the destruction of their buggy, and found themselves injured and disarmed as the Hulk continued to rampage through Jericho, New Mexico. Saunders witnessed the Hulk continue to assault Doc Samson. Saunders was amazed as Takata bravely marched out to meet the Hulk alone, and even used an akido technique to use the Hulk's momentum against him, tripping him and sending him to the ground. The Hulk, enraged, prepared to charge again. However, the group was saved as the Avengers arrived on the scene in the nick of time, intent on saving the town and capturing the Hulk. Saunders urged the Avengers to kill the Hulk if they could.

(Incredible Hulk II#322) - Saunders watched as both the Avengers and the West Coast Avengers battled the Hulk across the town of Jericho. The Hulk became progressively weakened by his separation from Bruce Banner, and began to lose his strength. Saunders and the other Hulkbusters cheered and watched as the Avengers gained the upper hand, urging them to finish the Hulk off for good.

(Incredible Hulk II#325) - Saunders and the other Hulkbusters attended Carolyn Parmenter's funeral. After the preacher's sermon, LaRoquette lashed out at Bruce Banner and Doc Samson, telling them they were to blame for Parmenter's death. LaRoquette became enraged when Samson cast the blame back in his direction, and Saunders had to hold LaRoquette back as the Hulkbusters calmed him down.

(Incredible Hulk II#330) - LaRoquette approached Saunders, Hideko, and Martel, informing them of Clay Quartermain's offer for the Hulkbusters to remain together under SHIELD management. Saunders gladly accepted, embracing the challenge of defeating and killing the Hulk. A short time later, Saunders and the other Hulkbusters observed as Nevermind took control of Doc Samson. Saunders and LaRoquette were among those who attacked Samson in an effort to dislodge and neutralize Nevermind, but Nevermind used Samson's strength to cast them off with ease. At the battle's conclusion, the Hulkbusters witnessed General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross apparently give his life in defeating the Nevermind, and mourned his loss. 

(Incredible Hulk II#331) - In the aftermath of the destruction caused by Nevermind, LaRoquette was eager to set off after the new Hulk (Rick Jones had recently become gamma irradiated and thus transformed into a version of the Hulk). Martel questioned the wisdom of doing so, remarking on whether the destruction they'd just witnessed might serve as a lesson. Saunders, however, strongly backed LaRoquette's position, urging that the Hulk was a menace which must be met with force.

    The Hulkbusters piloted ships out into the desert, searching for the Rick Jones Hulk. The Rick Jones Hulk attacked the Hulkbusters' ships, latching onto Takata's plane until she succeeded in shaking him loose. Jones then leapt towards LaRoquette's plane, puncturing its hull and injuring LaRoquette's leg. Jones then disabled Saunders' plane, and Saunders was injured while ejecting from the plane at a low altitude. With several of the Hulkbusters injured and their vehicles damaged, the Hulkbusters broke off pursuit. However, during the scuffle, LaRoquette had heard Bruce Banner refer to the new Hulk as Rick Jones, and thus learned the new Hulk's true identity. LaRoquette resolved to hunt down Rick Jones in his human form, when he would be more vulnerable to attack.

(Incredible Hulk II#334) - Doc Samson stopped by Gamma Base's infirmary to check in on Saunders and LaRoquette. LaRoquette bemoaned that the Hulkbusters had been a failure at every turn, and stated that once they were recovered, both he and Saunders would both be quitting the team and leaving Gamma Base. 

(Incredible Hulk II#337) -  In the town of Sparta, Illinois, the team X-Factor captured the Hulk after Iceman encased the Hulk in ice. Saunders and LaRoquette, now acting as civilian advisors to SHIELD, accompanied Clay Quartermain and several SHIELD airships as they moved toward Sparta to collect the captive Hulk. LaRoquette anxiously awaited the group's arrival, impatient to end the Hulk once and for all. LaRoquette and Saunders, along with X-Factor and agents of SHIELD, transported the Hulk back to Gamma Base. redeemerhulk-blasting

    While being held captive, the Hulk informed Takata and Martel, as well as Doc Samson, Rick Jones, and X-Factor, that the government had been testing gamma bombs and had only captured him to kill him, not to help or cure him. The group demanded to speak with a SHIELD agent in charge to learn the truth of the Hulk's claims. Agent Trump led Saunders, LaRoquette, and several armed SHIELD agents confronted Takata, Martel, Samson, and X-Factor, threatening them to stand down. Realizing SHIELD was not on their side, X-Factor freed the Hulk from his captivity, and a battle soon broke out between the two sides. During the melee, the Hulk threw a shard of ice at Saunders, injuring him in the shoulder. 

    Meanwhile, SHIELD Agent Clay Quartermain decided he could not be party to the government's actions, and planted explosives throughout Gamma Base. Saunders, LaRoquette, and their SHIELD allies evacuated Gamma Base, moments before Quartermain triggered the explosives he had planted, leveling Gamma Base to the ground.

(Incredible Hulk II#338) - Saunders and LaRoquette accompanied Agent Trump to a SHIELD installation, where they attempted to track the fugitives Clay Quartermain, Rick Jones, and Bruce Banner. Before long, they locked on to a signal from the tracking device planted on the SHIELD van Quartermain had commandeered, and set off in pursuit. However, when they followed the tracking signal to its source, they found Quartermain had planted the tracking device on a random truck, and realized they had lost the fugitives' trail.

(Incredible Hulk II#341) - Saunders and LaRoquette accompanied agent Trump to a press conference, where he was scheduled to address the destruction of Gamma Base and SHIELD's role in recent events. The Leader passed through the crowd and made physical contact with both Saunders and LaRoquette, placing them under his control.

(Incredible Hulk II#342) - Following the press conference, Nick Fury confronted Agent Trump, Saunders, and LaRoquette, asking for an explanation as to recent events. LaRoquette urged Nick Fury to stay out of the matter, prompting Fury to order that LaRoquette and Saunders be dismissed immediately from their roles as civilian advisors to SHIELD.

(Incredible Hulk II#343 - BTS) - Shortly thereafter, the Leader abducted both LaRoquette and Saunders, placing their bodies in suspended animation tubes.

(Incredible Hulk II#343) - The Leader used his powers and technology to brainwash Saunders, making him relive his past disgraces and failures. At the end of the brainwashing process, the Leader outfitted Saunders with a suit of armor that contained a variety of weapons and explosives, giving him the name Redeemer. The Leader paired him with LaRoquette, whom the Leader had also empowered and brainwashed as Rock.

(Incredible Hulk II#344) - Rock and Redeemer stormed a military base where the United States government had manufactured and stored gamma bombs. They inflicted heavy casualties on the base's personnel and stole a gamma bomb for the Leader.

(Incredible Hulk II#345) - The Leader planted a gamma bomb in Middeltown, Arizona, and assigned Rock and Redeemer to guard it. Minutes before the bomb was set to detonate, the Hulk arrived to locate and dispose of the bomb. Rock and Redeemer attacked the Hulk, but he drove them off. The Hulk seized Redeemer and demanded that he reveal the gamma bomb's location. When Redeemer refused, the Hulk shattered his wrist. While the Hulk was dealing with Redeemer, Rock shifted his exo-skeleton to protrude sharp spikes and attempted to impale the Hulk from behind. The Hulk, however, anticipated Rock's movement, and threw Redeemer into the spikes of Rock's exoskeleton, killing Redeemer in the process. 

Comments: Craig Saunders Jr. created by John Byrne and Keith Williams;
    Redeemer created by Peter David and Todd McFarlane.

    A profile of Rock and Redeemer appeared in the World War Hulk: Gamma Files (2007) and the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Hardcover #9 (2009).

Profile by Stunner. 

CLARIFICATIONS:
Redeemer has no known connections to:

images: (without ads)

Incredible Hulk II#343, page 22, panel 1 (main)
Incredible Hulk II#317, page 2, panel 1 (without armor)
Incredible Hulk II#344, page 8, panel 2 (firing guns)

Appearances:
Incredible Hulk II#317 (March, 1986) - John Byrne (writer and penciler), Keith Williams (inker), Dennis O'Neil (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#318 (April, 1986) - John Byrne (writer and penciler), Keith Williams (inker), Denny O'Neil (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#319 (May, 1986) - John Byrne (writer and penciler), Keith Williams (inker), Denny O'Neil (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#320 (June, 1986) - Al Milgrom (writer and penciler), Dell Barras (inker), and Bob Harras (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#321 (July, 1986) - Al Milgrom (writer and penciler), Dell Barras (inker), and Bob Harras (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#321 (August, 1986) - Al Milgrom (writer and penciler), Dell Barras (inker), and Bob Harras (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#325 (November, 1986) - Al Milgrom (writer), Steve Geiger (penciler), Bob McLeod (inker), Bob Harras (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#330 (April, 1987) - Al Milgrom (writer and inker), Todd McFarlane (penciler), Bob Harras (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#331 (May, 1987) - Peter David (writer), Todd McFarlane (penciler), Kim Demulder (inker), Bob Harras, (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#334 (August, 1987) - Peter David (writer), Todd McFarlane (penciler), Jim Sanders III (inker), Bob Harras (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#337 (November, 1987) - Peter David (writer), Todd McFarlane (penciler), Jim Sanders III (inker), Bob Harras (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#338 (December, 1987) - Peter David (writer), Todd McFarlane (penciler), Jim Sanders III (inker), Bob Harras (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#341 (March, 1988) - Peter David (writer), Todd McFarlane (penciler and inker), Bob Harras (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#342 (April, 1988) - Peter David (writer), Todd McFarlane (penciler and inker), Bob Harras (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#343 (May, 1988) - Peter David (writer), Todd McFarlane (penciler and inker), Bob Harras (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#344 (June, 1988) - Peter David (writer), Todd McFarlane (penciler), Bob Wiacek (inker), Bob Harras (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#345 (July, 1988) - Peter David (writer), Todd McFarlane (penciler), Jim Sanders III (inker), Bob Harras (editor)
World War Hulk

First Posted: 12/16/2020
Last updated: 12/16/2020

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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