Wikipedia

Bushwacker (comics)

For other uses, see Bushwhackers (disambiguation).

Carl Burbank is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Ann Nocenti and artist Rick Leonardi, the character first appeared in Daredevil #248 (November 1987).[1] Burbank is known under the codename Bushwacker.[2] He is a recurring antagonist of the superhero Daredevil and has also encountered Punisher and Wolverine.[3][4]

Carl Burbank
Bushwacker
Bushwacker battling the Punisher.
Textless cover to Punisher vol. 14 #2.
(December 2023).
Art by Rod Reis.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceDaredevil #248
(November 1987)
Created byAnn Nocenti (writer)
Rick Leonardi (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoCarl Burbank
SpeciesHuman mutant / cyborg hybrid
Team affiliationsAssassins Guild
Notable aliasesBushwacker
Abilities
  • Ability to reshape cybernetic arms into various ballistic/melee weapons and a flamethrower
  • Familiarity with the workings of international intelligence agencies and their methods
  • Trained assassin, hand to hand combatant, and infiltrator
  • Regenerative healing factor
  • Resurrection.

Once a priest, he renounced his vows after a series of deaths in his parish and became an assassin for the CIA. Equipped with cybernetic, weaponized arms, he later took on contracts from major crime figures such as Kingpin and The Hood.[5] Burbank is also a mutant, a subspecies of humans born with superhuman abilities.[6] Daredevil cover - number 335.jpg

Publication history

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Carl Burbank debuted in Daredevil #248 (November 1987), created by Ann Nocenti and Rick Leonardi.[7] He appeared in the 2005 Daredevil vs. Punisher series,[8] and the 2018 The Immortal Hulk series.[9][10]

Fictional character biography

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Carl Burbank was a priest who abandoned his vows following the drug-related deaths of young parishioners. He joined the C.I.A., which outfitted him with a cybernetic arm and made him an assassin under the codename "Bushwacker", but ultimately he became a freelancer.

At some point, an event took place that compelled Bushwacker to begin a war against all mutants. Bushwacker began hunting and assassinating mutants, most often those mutants whose abilities Bushwacker perceived as making them especially talented in "the arts". Bushwacker also claimed that he was paid large sums of money to kill mutants, but this has yet to be verified. Wolverine learned of Bushwacker's activities and began to hunt the killer. At the same time, Bushwacker's wife Marilyn believed her husband was insane and needed to be placed in a hospital. She sought aid from lawyer Matt Murdock (secretly the hero Daredevil). Bushwacker was tracked down and defeated by the two heroes, which left the right side of his face horribly scarred, and he was placed in police custody.[11]

Later, Bushwacker joined with Typhoid Mary and other enemies of Daredevil in a plan to kill their common foe. After the completion of the plan, Bushwacker was left to his own activities.[12]

Entering the Kingpin's employ, Burbank attacked the Punisher, but was left for dead. It was during this time that his wife finally left him.[13] He reappeared in the employ of drug lord Nick Lambert, who hired Bushwacker to kill reporter Ben Urich, who was about to run a story of his illegal activities. Instead, when Bushwacker learned the truth, he allowed Urich to live and to complete the exposé. However, the drug lord managed to bribe himself out of jail. Bushwacker then killed him.[14] Bushwacker was later freed by Deathlok from captivity by Mechadoom, a rogue Doombot variant.[15]

Subsequent activities brought him into conflict with Daredevil, Nomad, Punisher, Boomerang, and Elektra. His clash with Nomad was over the life of a baby that Nomad had taken under his care whom Bushwacker believed to be the daughter of Troy Donohue, Burbank's ex-brother-in-law (she was in the fact the daughter of Nomad's foe, the drug lord Umberto Saffilios and a teenaged prostitute). Bushwacker hoped that his wife would approve of his "rescue" and welcome him back into her life.[16]

Imprisoned in the super-villain holding facility the Raft, Burbank escaped during the mass breakout engineered by Electro. Burbank was subsequently employed by the Jackal to kill the Punisher, but was defeated once again by Daredevil.[17] Following this, Bushwacker created a disturbance in downtown Manhattan and took a woman hostage to lure the Punisher out of hiding and kill him. The Punisher showed up as expected. As it turns out, G.W. Bridge arranged the incident in Times Square with Bushwacker to ambush and capture The Punisher. Although complications arose by an on-site NYPD officer the incident fell through, the Punisher escaped, and Bushwacker was defeated by S.H.I.E.L.D. operative G. W. Bridge and put back in jail.[18]

The Hood has hired him as part of his criminal organization to take advantage of the split in the superhero community caused by the Superhuman Registration Act. He helped them fight the New Avengers but was taken down by Doctor Strange.[19]

As part of the Hood's gang during the "Secret Invasion" storyline, he later joins the fight against the Skrull invading force in New York City.[20]

During "The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt" storyline, Bushwacker was with the Hood when he presented the Scorpion costume to whichever crook impressed him until the party was crashed by Scorpion, who stole the costume.[21]

Bushwacker was seen during the Siege of Asgard as part of the Hood crime syndicate.[22]

In X-Force: Sex and Violence #2, Bushwacker was seriously injured by Wolverine after an assassination attempt on him and Domino at the time when he was working for the Assassins Guild. He was stabbed with a middle claw to the throat.[23]

During the "Civil War II" storyline, Kingpin encounters Bushwacker in San Francisco.[24]

During a 2019 storyline in The Immortal Hulk, Bushwacker appeared to be killed when Hulk exploded after being bathed in too much gamma radiation.[25]

Powers and abilities

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Carl Burbank was bionically modified by the CIA, transforming him into a cyborg. Although he appears fully human, his body is coated with a flesh-like substance that can liquefy to seal wounds,[26][27] making him resistant to gunfire and able to conceal scars. He can morph his arms into various weapons, including a rifle, handgun, assault rifle, buzzsaw, and flamethrower, and has even fired cyanide capsules.[28] In some encounters, he has also transformed his arms into firearms. Bushwacker sometimes consumes ammunition to fuel his weapon, occasionally seen ingesting gasoline or bullets, though at other times, he appears to have an unlimited supply. He was once severely burned, leaving scars that periodically reappear on his face—though he can alter his appearance to either reveal or conceal them at will.[29] Bushwacker is able to use highly concussive energy weaponry (similar to that of Iron Man).[30]

It has been implied that Bushwacker's abilities are a result of mutation, making him one of the mutants he despises.[31] Furthermore, he has been trained in CIA hand-to-hand combat techniques, and is trained in infiltration and assassination. He also has familiarity with the workings of international intelligence agencies and their methods.

Other versions

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House of M

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An alternate version of Carl Burbank appears in the House of M reality spin-off House of M: Masters of Evil.[32]

In other media

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Video games

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Miscellaneous

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  • In 2022, Wesley Burt, a costume illustrator for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, revealed concept art for Carl Burbank.[35] Bushwacker was one of several Marvel characters considered but ultimately not included in the final production.[36]
  • In 2024, Hasbro released a Carl Burbank / Bushwacker action figure as part of the Marvel Legends action figure line.[37][38] The set is based on the Punisher War Journal series, which debuted at Marvel Comics in 1988.[39]

References

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  1. ^ Bonomolo, Cameron (2022-10-21). "Marvel's She-Hulk Scrapped a Daredevil Villain". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  2. ^ Fink, Richard (2024-04-28). "10 Villains That Conor McGregor Could Play in the MCU". MovieWeb. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  3. ^ Moreno, Miguel (2022-10-21). "She-Hulk Concept Art Reveals A Daredevil Villain Design". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  4. ^ Fallon, Sean (2024-09-05). "Marvel Legends Inhumans Crystal and Lockjaw 2-Pack Pre-Orders Are Available Now". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  5. ^ Radesi, Hunter (2022-11-02). "'She-Hulk' Concept Art Reveals Unused Daredevil Villain". Murphy's Multiverse. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  6. ^ Cronin, Brian (2017-01-02). "Marvel Comics: 15 Superheroes and Villains You Never Knew Were Mutants". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  7. ^ Brooks, Nicholas (2023-03-14). "Jon Bernthal's MCU Debut Could Finally Justify Introducing His Strangest Villain". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  8. ^ "Jimmy Sweets (Daredevil/Punisher foe)". Marvunapp.com. April 12, 2008. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  9. ^ Hill, Jaina (2018-12-07). ""Immortal Hulk" #10". Multiversity Comics. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  10. ^ Lederer, Donnie (2019-06-11). "The 10 Most Shocking Things to Happen in The Immortal Hulk (So Far)". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  11. ^ Daredevil #249 (Dec. 1987). Marvel Comics.
  12. ^ Daredevil #259-260 (Oct.–Nov. 1988). Marvel Comics.
  13. ^ The Punisher War Journal #12-13 (Dec. 1989–Jan. 1990). Marvel Comics.
  14. ^ Daredevil Annual #5 (1989). Marvel Comics.
  15. ^ Deathlok vol. 2 #5 (Nov. 1991). Marvel Comics.
  16. ^ Nomad #4-5 (Aug.–Sept. 1992). Marvel Comics.
  17. ^ Daredevil vs. Punisher #3 (Oct. 2005). Marvel Comics.
  18. ^ Punisher War Journal vol. 2 #5 (May 2007). Marvel Comics.
  19. ^ The New Avengers Annual #2 (2008). Marvel Comics.
  20. ^ Secret Invasion #6 (November 2008). Marvel Comics.
  21. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #626 (May 2010). Marvel Comics.
  22. ^ The New Avengers #63 (May 2010). Marvel Comics.
  23. ^ X-Force: Sex and Violence #2 (Oct. 2010). Marvel Comics.
  24. ^ Civil War II: Kingpin #1. Marvel Comics.
  25. ^ The Immortal Hulk #17. Marvel Comics.
  26. ^ Nomad vol. 2 #5. Marvel Comics.
  27. ^ X-Force: Sex and Violence #. Marvel Comics.
  28. ^ The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2. Marvel Comics.
  29. ^ "Bushwacker (Carl Burbank, assassin-for-hire)". Marvunapp.com. August 6, 2019. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  30. ^ Punisher War Journal vol. 2 #5. Marvel Comics.
  31. ^ Daredevil vs. Punisher #3. Marvel Comics.
  32. ^ House of M: Masters of Evil #1-4 (Oct. 2009–Jan. 2010). Marvel Comics.
  33. ^ Sims, Chris SimsChris (2012-08-28). "Coin-Op Classics: Capcom's Awesome 1993 'Punisher' Game". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  34. ^ Miller, Greg (2008-09-23). "The Punisher: No Mercy Announced". IGN. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  35. ^ Sanders, Savannah (2022-10-22). "First Look at Deleted Daredevil Villain In She-Hulk Season 1 (Photos)". The Direct. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  36. ^ Bentz, Adam (2022-11-03). "She-Hulk Costume Illustrator Reveals A Cut Marvel Villain". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  37. ^ Fallon, Sean (2024-08-22). "Marvel Legends Series Punisher and Bushwacker 2-Pack Is On Sale Now". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  38. ^ Roberts, Tyler (2024-08-22). "Hasbro Unveils New Marvel Legends Punisher: War Journal 2-Pack". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  39. ^ Roberts, Tyler (2024-12-29). "Top 10 Marvel Legends 2024 Showcase #3: The Punisher (War Journal)". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
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