BROTHER GUSTAV

Real Name: Presumably Gustav

Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-88194/"Shadowline") Shadow (see comments);

Occupation: Monk or priest or some other religious devotee

Group Membership: Order of St. George (Father Abbot, Anarchis, Angus, Barnabbas, Lei-Kung, Sacha, Ripley Weaver, unidentified)

Affiliations: Anarchis, Sacha;
    possibly Lenore Castle, Victor Guillermos, Ripley Weaver;
    Knights of the Order of St. George (George of Cappadocia, Knight of 1908, Jeong Lee, Kara Janisery, Michael Devlin);
    briefly/possibly assisted (likely without his willing support) by Doctor Zero

Enemies: At least formerly Father Abbot, Angus, Barnabbas, Lenore Castle, Doctor Zero, Victor Guillermos, Adam Neushuk, John Nighthunter (aka Skinwalker), Ripley Weaver

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: The Monastery/Abbey of the Order of St. George, Meteora, Greece; Earth-88194

First Appearance: Critical Mass#6 (June, 1990)

Powers/Abilities: As part of the Order of St. George, Gustav was presumably a shadow, possessing some degree of superhuman abilties, although he did not demonstrate any superhuman abilities.

    Like many shadows, he was likely long-lived, apparently not aging past adulthood until he had children, and he apparently remained celebate. 

    He considered himself to be intelligent, but his arrogance, his desire to usurp Father Abbot's role, and his lack of concern for humanity irritated many people, including some of his Order.

Height: Unrevealed (he looked to be a lot taller than Lenore and Victor, so perhaps 6'4")
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps 260 lbs.)
Eyes: Apparently light blue (some images make them appear green or gray)
Hair: Brown (bald or shaved on top) with chin beard

History:

(Critical Mass#6 (fb) - BTS) - After Father Abbot had been gravely injured in combat with their ancient enemy, "the dragon" (Doctor Zero), Gustav -- who presumably sought to usurp Abbot's ruling position -- apparently worked with a number of like-minded brothers and convinced others to support him in a decision that Abbot's fate was to be decided by the creator/supreme being and that none should aid him to interfere with that fate.

(Critical Mass#6 - BTS) - The Abbey/Monastery of the Order of St. George was visited by Ripley Weaver, Lenore Castle, and Victor Guillermos, who wished to convince the Order to contact Zero to gain his aid against the mad scientist Henry Clerk, who plotted to destroy the world via overloading every nuclear reactor in the United States. 

(Critical Mass#6) - As Barnabbas explained Abbot's fate, Gustav showed up with Anarchis and Sacha, asking what had become of their closed order, noting these recent visitors and that Barnabbas had previously allowed the Navajo shadow John Nighthunter as well as the human Adam Neushuk into their base.

    When Barnabbas asked if Gustav was questioning his loyalty, Gustav countered that he was questioning his intelligence and that intelligence was why the Order had him. Feigning concern for Brother Angus' well-being, as he had been putting in long hours watching over Abbot, he had Sacha and Anarchis "see to" (restrain) Angus. Gustav then noted that it had been decided that since Abbot had chosen to battle the dragon (Zero), it must now be the creator who chose Abbot's fate: Neither Angus nor anyone else was to see that Abbot had a better chacne the supreme being was willing to give him. As Barnabbas and Ripley objected, Angus reiterated that as the matter had been decided, even Ripley, despite his having left the Order, was still bound by the same laws as Barnabbas and could not do anything about it without breaking his vows.

    However, as they had taken no such vows, Lenore knocked down Gustav, and Victor knocked down Anarchis and Sacha. Gustav wanred them that he was not one with which to be trifled, but when Lenore warned him that neither were they, he stammered "This will not be forgotten" as he and his allies slinked away. As Angus returned to caring for Abbot, Barnabbas warned Lenore and Victor that they had made a powerful enemies.  

(Critical Mass#6 (fb) - BTS) - Barnabbas convened council in preparation of Abbot's recovery.

(Critical Mass#6) - Gustav protested the presence of outsiders Neushuk and Nighthunter at the council, and when Nighthunter told him the red eyes(?) didn't scare him and assured he was ready to fight whenever he was, Gustav countered that insolence was the defense of the ignorant. Demanding they all stop the pettiness, Barnabbas informed Gustav that Nighthunter and Neushuk's helping the Knight (Michael Devlin) in Venezuela had granted them the right to stay. Grudgingly accepting this, Gustav asked what Ripley wanted of the Order, and Ripley directly stated that he wanted them to enlist the aid of Zero. 

    With a "Hrmmph!," Gustav asked Ripley to confirm that he suggested that they seek an alliance with the very foe that had opposed for centuries. Gustav continued that as "the dragon" had recently been attacked by their own Abbot and that his human lover had been reportedly killed, that not only was this not the best time to ask favors but that they may count themselves lucky that the dragon had not already come to vent his fury and call this council to a...

    Ripley interrupted Gustav, noting that regardless of all other issues, they needed his help to stop Clerk, and he outlined the nature of Clerk's threat. When Gustav mocked this threat as impossible, Neushuk countered that the brilliantly dangerous Clerk could do it. Gustav then asked the council if they were to trust the evaluations of humans, and he continued that even if it were true, the threat was a world away and mostly threatened humans, which simply did not concern them. 

    Angus then noted that it did concern them as they were all men of the creator (Gaia to him, at least), and that they must protect the creations; he punctuated his point by grabbing Gustav by the throat, choking him, and telling him that not all of them had become so self centered and that Gustav had lost sight. As Angus released him and Gustav collapsed to the ground, clutching his throat and coughing, Barnabbas resisted the urge to laugh, while Ripley pushed the issue of enlisting Zero. As the cooperation of the Order's current Knight, Michael Devlin, was uncertain, Gustav suggested that they use Victor and Lenore to try to humble Zero to force his cooperation, and he questioned Ripley's resolve, trying to goad him into risking the young warriors against Zero. 

(Critical Mass#6 - BTS) - At Angus' advice, Victor and Lenore, along with Angus, convinced Devlin to return to the Abbey. During Angus' absence, Sacha (see comments) attempted to slay Abbot, but the returning Victor and Lenore burned Sacha's tail, forcing his flight. 

(Critical Mass#6) - When Zero arrived and began slaughters the members of the Order, Angus urged Ripley to unleash the children, but Ripley instead advised them to transport the monks atop the mesa to safety. When Gustav demanded they take him, Ripley grabbed him by the neck and assured him that he would go last. 

(Critical Mass#6/2 - BTS) - With a revived Abbot having exhausted his energies restoring Devlin's armor, Devlin subdued Zero, getting his attention long enough to convince him to join forces to stop Clerk. The Order subsequently attended the funeral for Abbot.

Comments: Created by D.G. Chichester, Margaret Clark, and Grey Morrow.

    In case you're not familiar with the Shadowline, here's your primer.

    It's not clear which one is Anarchis vs. Sacha; as Gustav calls to them, naming Sacha first and the yellow guy with the tail is on the near/left-side of the panel, I think he is Sacha.

    Gustav was presumably behind-the-scenes in the second story (Chapter 12) of Critical Mass#6, but I don't THINK he was seen. It's also possible that he perished during Zero's assault on the Abbey and/or Zero's battle with Devlin.

    This profile was completed 7/20/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20^th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Gustav should be distinguished from:

• GUSTAV, EARL - Former CEO of Gustav Petroleum, crashed into a school bus while driving drunk, killed eight kids and was left quadriplegic, made deal with the demon Kazann to free him in exchange for regaining mobility, sacrificed entire board to Kazann, had drill built to cut into Hell, forced to recant his spell by his secretary Jemima Catmint, who was then spooked into pushing Gustav to his death--Ghost Rider V#2
• GUSTAV PETROLEUM (Earl Gustav, Jemima Catmint, board, security force) --Ghost Rider V#2

Appearances:
Critical Mass#6 (June, 1990) - D.G. Chichester & Margaret Clark (plot & script), Grey Morrow (artist), Marc McLaurin (editor)

First posted: 09/15/2021
Last updated: 09/14/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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