Gunn

Charles Gunn
Portrayed By	J. August Richards
Gender	Male
Species	Human
Date of Birth	November 27, 1978
Age	23
Zodiac Sign	Sagittarius
Aliases	Charles, Denzel
Place of Birth	The Badlands, Los Angeles, CA
Current Location	The Badlands, Los Angeles, CA
Occupation	Leader of Team Gunn, Muscle of Angel Investigations, Token Black Guy
Known Relatives	Alonna Gunn (sister; deceased), Team Gunn
Significant Other	Senseless Violence
Special Powers	The Race Card
First Appearance	War Zone
Theme Song	Jesus Walks - Kanye West

The Token Black Robin Hood of the Badlands, Charles Gunn is a renegade with a horrible past, crazy ass present and a dark future. Raised on the streets of Los Angeles, he's built himself into being the protector of those that nobody else wants to protect. As sort of a side gig, that pays money, Gunn is also a member of Angel Investigations. Between that and Team Gunn, he's got his hands full.

Background Check

Ya'll call 'em the Badlands, but I call it home. I don't remember nothin' before I could walk and don't give a damn 'bout it neither. Ain't never had no family except for my little sister, Alonna. Livin' on the streets never was my choice, but when you got somebody else to look after, you don't gotta' choose nothin'. You just do what you gotta' do. The police damn sure wasn't gonna' do nothin'.

Ain't nobody in this so-called City of Angels ever gave a damn about us down here, so we had to do things for ourselves. Life was bad enough with no food, no place to live, that whole deal. So we banded together. Me and a bunch of other kids that had nowhere to go. Nothin' to do but try and survive. We had a bit of a loose family together, but there was no leader. Nobody to look after us. So I stepped up. Well, technically, I had to kick some ass to get to the top, but whatever works, right?

Gettin' to the top ain't all it's cracked up to be. See, about the same time I'm gettin' the respect from the rest of the crew, we start gettin' hunted down by them blood suckin' vamps. They jus' gone come up in our turf, tryin' to take over. I wasn't havin' that. And if we was gonna' survive we needed to step our game up. We needed wheels. So I traded my soul to some dude name Jenoff for a truck. Don't tell nobody, though. That's a secret.

So with me in the lead, my crew and I step our game up, but the vampires do the same. The better we get, the more of them there are. We get us a rank little place to live, they try to move in 'round the corner. Tit for tat, ain't that what they say? Anyway, I wasn't 'bout to let them take over the closest thing I got to a home. So we did what any good street gang would do? We dusted they asses. But that just pissed 'em off and they came back, hittin' us hard. So hard that we ain't even see 'em comin'. They know they couldn't get to me, so they went after the next best thing: Alonna.

I got careless. I got reckless. We pushed their hand and they came with the fire. Grabbed my sister and that was the last time I ever saw her alive. After that, revenge was the only thing on my mind. So me and the squad got ready for war. We bust up in they nest, ready to kick some ass. But the only thing that happened is that I dusted my own sister. I'll never forgive myself for what happened to her. I let my guard down and she paid the price. That ain't happenin' again.

Durin' all that craziness, I met this dude named Angel. Turns out he's a vampire… but he ain't a bad one. Who knew, right? We had a couple run ins, but he ultimately helped us out and got those vamps off our asses. Lucky for them, anyway. Of course, with me bein' the valiant hero of the night that I am, Angel came to me for some help a couple times and I had to oblige. Hell, I got to throw a vampire in with some bitch ass lawyers. It don't get more fun than that, y'know.

So anyway, it's cuz of this Angel dude that I even realized I was like on a one way path to bein' Charles Bronson. Y'know, makin' it with the Death Wish. We kinda' started playin' the back and forth help thing. Turns out he had a little crew of his own. Some uptight ass British dude and the only blonde I ever saw that was a brunette. Still, though, they grew on me. A little too much, cuz I started gettin' pulled in two directions. Between my crew and Angel's crew. I ain't gonna' lie, it was hard tryin' to play both sides of the fence. But when Stick Figure Barbie got snatched up to some crazy ass dimension, I had to go. Just made those friends, can't be losin' 'em so too quick. Besides, she saved my life once.

So here we are. Back in L.A. Which, I have to say, is better than that crazy ass place was in before. Pylon, Py-somethin'. I don't even remember. I'm 'bout to see if I can get a better handle on this balancin' act. I got two crews to look after and I'll be damned if I'ma' lose anybody else.

Who Dat?

Trying to pin down the man that's Gunn is something that's not as easy as it looks. He's had a very rough past and it shows all over his face and his demeanor. On the surface, he's no-nonsense, rough and tough and quite the bit of a jerk, though he does seem to keep a generally pleasant disposition when he's around friends. It's when things get down to "business" that he becomes more serious than even he knows how to deal with. Whether he knows it or not, he comes with the standard "death wish" package, that has him on the fast track towards self-destruction. It's something that he'll continue to struggle with for the rest of his days, no matter how short they may be.

Guilt plays a very major role in the life of Gunn. When anything happens to anyone that he cares about, the blame falls onto his shoulders and his alone. He finds himself trying to make up for what happened to his sister, Alonna, through everyone else that he encounters in his life. He believes that the city, not just the Badlands, need saving and if anybody's going to do it, it's going to be him. Or he'll die trying.

Gunn is a young man of many talents. Living on the streets as brought him up to be a calculating strategist and a badass fighter. He's something of a lost cause, in terms of his soul and things of that nature, but his heart is forever in the right place. He's bound to a sense of honor and justice that very few are capable of actually sticking to in any true form. Focused and determined beyond his years, Gunn has a strong future ahead of him if he can manage to stay alive.

Beneath all the brooding and the badassery, Gunn still seems to have a bit of playfulness to him. The walking pop culture reference tends to spout of at the mouth with sarcastic wit as good as the rest of them. It has a certain charm, coming from an inner-city dude like Gunn. There's way more than meets the eye with him, that's for sure. He's not just the Token Black Guy. And he makes it a point to prove that every single day.

Mad Skillz

Strength: Being a human kind of stops the body from being super strong, though Gunn has managed to hone his body into a demon battling machine, so to speak. Which is why he's capable of dealing more damage to those of the supernatural nature, than most people his size and age. Hailing from a lifetime of fighting creatures of the night, Gunn is stronger than he looks and has been known to KO Punch people without breaking a sweat. Team Muscle, indeed.

Martial Arts: Self-trained in a vast array of different martial arts styles, Gunn is a master of none of them. He has, though, managed to compile them all into an improvisational and reckless form of fighting that tends to keep him alive and his opponents guessing what's coming next. He has a huge selection of punches and kicks in his hand-to-hand arsenal and will not hesitate to use them for all their worth.

Strategist: Gunn has never been to school, so he doesn't have the classic education that many people have, though he does possess a mind that makes him a veritable leader. He's very good at the military style actions and thought processes, which helps him to be "general" of Team Gunn. His discipline methods and lifestyle are likely what keeps the Team alive, as well as the training sessions that are on a regular basis.

Driving: Not that he's a master stunt driver or anything, but Gunn has taught himself out to drive and drive under pressure. His truck is one of his most prized possessions and he takes good care of it. Even going so far as to use it wisely in the hunting and destruction of vampires. If he's ever allowed to drive the Angelmobile, Gunn will very likely be one of the few Non-Angels capable of keeping it from getting scratched.

Jury Rig: Not to be mistaken with creating things of a Blade-ish nature, Gunn has had to use less than glamorous methods to keep his crew alive. Thus, things like Stake Turrets and Personal Flame Throwers have been created and designed by the leader of Team Gunn. In addition to using junk and useless parts to create functioning weapons of the evil fighting variety, he's also has a very keen mind in the realm of booby traps and things of that nature. With the right tools and time, Gunn could probably whip together things that would make MacGuyver give him a high five.

Streetwise: Gunn knows the streets better than anybody, if you ask him. Having been raised on them, he's come up with some of the roughest criminals and then some. He knows where to go to find stolen goods or he can get you from one part of the city to another in the shortest time humanly possible. He's like a GPS with an attitude problem. This, of course, tends to lead him into thinking that he's got some kind of clout in the city… which remains to actually be seen.

Pop Culture Guru: From television to comic books and then some, Gunn possesses a high pop culture reference ability and tends to use this to his advantage during the witty banter part of battles. His expertise seems to be the realm of comic books.

Mad Killz

"So, what kind of scaly Pus-monster you all want me to slay this time?"

Victim	Species	Method	Rating
Mr. Leather	Vampire	Decapitation; while Mr. Leather's giving a long winded racist speech.	3 out of 5 Stakes
Tremors	Giant Worm Beast	Ghetto Flamethrower; Team Gunn and Angel Investigations with the assist.	4 out of 5 Stakes
Tad	Vampire	Dusted by Stake. Left Hand.	2 out of 5 Stakes
Victoria's Succubus	Succubus	Decapitation; Ava with the Telekinetic Assist	3 out of 5 Stakes

See What Had Happened Was…

• Brunch: Gunn takes a little trip over to the Hyperion Hotel, bearing delicious baked goods for Cordelia and Fred.
• Slaying After Supper: Gunn, Ava and Nicolae took a little family outing to strike some fear into the hearts of vampires. And a couple of stakes too.
• Check Out: Gunn stumbles across Fred in the Hyperion and ends up checking her out. On accident.
• Moving and Shaking: Let our powers combine! Team Gunn and Angel Investigations team up to slay a giant worm beast of doom.
• The Nitty Gritty: Gunn and Wesley's Angels fill in the bossman on the giant worm that almost made a meal out of them.
• Priorities: Ava comes bearing news that Gunn could lose the people he cares most about, if he doesn't change his ways. The change starts with trusting the gypsy.
• Wrong Turn: Working "undercover" to clean up his city, Gunn and his Team hide out on an exceptionally ghetto block. They end up saving this loud white girl instead.
• Passion: Gunn does a little catching up with Lilith. His passion for hunting and her passion for him cross paths once again.
• Punch And Pie: Team Gunn gets together for some delicious pre-holiday feasting. Gunn, of course, works instead.
• Call And Raise: Gunn is headed to Rick's in search of a chameleonic demon named Waldo. Instead he finds an opportunist warlock dude, some hot chick that likes his sexual chocolate and… Where In The World Is Winifred Burkle? Yeah. Crazy.
• The Fred Before Christmas: Gunn and Fred take a little excursion to the Hyperion's Basement. Gunn is intent on finding out why the caged bird sings.
• Just The Groo Of Us: Gunn and Groosalugg start the beginning of an unlikely heroic duo.
• Textual Healing: Gunn is trying to make with the neutralizing of Angel's Angels. Target: Cordelia.
• Lip Service: Gunn's truck is on the fritz and Reggie fixes both it and Gunn. If you know what I mean.
• Basement Hijinx: Gunn has to stop Groosalugg from letting the crazed Fred loose on the town. Hijinx ensue.
• The Secret Is Out: Gunn heads to Victoria's Secret to put a stop to this succubus madness.
• Fixed: Gunn brings home broken weapons and chats with Reggie about things.

Peeps

Angel Investigations

Angel

Angel, the namesake of Angel Investigations, happens to be the first of his kind that Gunn hasn't tried to kill. Which is a feat in and of itself. The two of them had a strained relationship at first, but it grew into a mutual understanding that both men were cut from the same cloth, more or less. To this end, Gunn will always be there to back up Angel, no matter what. He'll also be there to dust his ass if he pulls an Angelus stunt.

Cordelia

Originally known as Stick Figure Barbie to Gunn, Cordelia has managed to earn the respect of the broody wiseass. She's been there for him in times he didn't even know he needed help and with her connection to the Powers That Be, he's definitely trying to stay on her good side. Good natured ribbing comes with the territory when Cordy's involved, but he's a fierce protector of her. He gets that way with friends.

Wesley

Wesley is, well, the closest thing that Gunn has to a Best Friend. How two people from completely different worlds manage to get along on a level beyond that of cultural barriers is beyond Gunn, but there's nothing that Gunn wouldn't do for Wesley in the realm of platonic duties. They are, suffice to say, Brothers In Arms. And that's real.

Fred

The girl that Angel Investigations rescued from Pylea has a few tricks up her sleeve that Gunn has paid close attention to. Mostly, though, it's the way she seems attached to chowing down on anything edible thrown her way. She's a little rough around the edges, but Gunn likes her okay enough. Even if she's still on the weird end of the scale.

Friends

Anne

Gunn and Anne know each other from way back and since then Gunn has grown attached to her as a friend. That tends to happen when the woman in question supplies you with a few meals and a roof. This gives Gunn a never-ending attachment to Anne and the East Hills Teen Center, both of which he'll put his life on the line for. No Questions Asked.

Lorne

Not that they are the best of friends or anything, but the Caritas owner is something of a friend… an associate… to Gunn. A mostly objective confidant that can foretell the future is always good to have on retainer, right?

Foes

Merl

Not exactly an enemy so much as a snitch that never really seems to give all the information, no matter how much he's paid. The resident Stool Pigeon, as it were, Gunn usually goes with Angel to provide back up when trying to get some info out of this weasely demon. However, there could come a time when his fists may need to ask some questions themselves.

Team Gunn

Ava

A new addition to Team Gunn, Ava provides the crew with both some eye candy and some amazing magical powers without the wonder twin part. She has a habit of trying to tell Gunn's future, which is a good thing, because if anybody needs some direction, it's the proud black man that doesn't know where he's headed. Ava provides a light for Gunn to see through the darkness that is his life.

Nicolae

Ava's significant other bodyguard type personage of demon slaying greatness, Nic provides Team Gunn with some strong and silent destruction of creatures of the night. Gunn looks to Nic as a capable fighter and a fine addition to the front lines of his organization of demonic decimation. Plus, Ava wouldn't join without him. Go figure.

Al

More commonly referred to as Fat Albert because of both his stature and his general lovableness, Al is something of the comic relief of Team Gunn. He's a pacifist that would rather play games or eat than head out and about throwing vampires and things around. However, he'll get into the fray if he has to. Gunn can count on him to look after all those smaller than him… which is almost everyone. He always claims to be on a diet. (NPC)

Lilith

After having been saved by Gunn during a bad turn into the Badlands, Lili signed up to assist the Homeless Ranger on his quest to bring justice and peace to the bad neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Whether there are truly sparks between the two or if Lili's just a shameless flirt has yet to be determined, but one thing is for sure: Gunn thinks she's hot as hell. Take that as literal as possible.

Reggie

When Gunn's beloved truck stalled at an inopportune moment, the combined forces of himself and Reggie managed to get the vampire slaying machine back in working order, just in time to deal with a few hungry guests. Since then, Gunn and Reggie have developed a professional relationship that consists of Gunn playing hero while Reggie shows just how handy of a woman she is. MacGuyver? Eat your heart out.

Ya' Heard

• "Whoo Whoo! My God! They told me it was true, but I didn't believe em. Damn, here it is. Evil white folks really do have a mecca. Now, now, now girls, don't get all riled up. AHHHHHHH! Did you just step on my foot? Was that my foot you just stepped on? Are you assulting me up in this haven of justice?! Somebody get me a lawyer, because my civil rights have seriously been violated. Oh, I get it, y'all can cater to the demon… cater to the dead man… but what about the black man!?"

• "And you don't need bigger gazongas. Those are reserved for Cordy and porn stars."

Beats

* Jesus Walks - Kanye West
* God's Gonna' Cut You Down - Johnny Cash
* Believe - The Bravery
* Bother - Corey Taylor
* Soul Survivor - Young Jeezy (featuring Akon)
* Fall To Pieces - Velvet Revolver
* Numb - Linkin Park
* Never Enough - Five Finger Death Punch
* Oh No - Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch and Nate Dogg
* I'mma Shine - Youngbloodz
* All That I'm Living For - Evanescence
* Hero - Pop Evil
* Nothing Left To Lose - Puddle of Mudd
* Move - Thousand Foot Krutch
* Stronger - Kanye West
* Go Hard - DJ Khaled (featuring Kanye West)
* Ya' Heard Me - B.G. (featuring Trey Songs, Juvenile & Lil Wayne)

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* The Realest - Notorious BIG (featuring 50 Cent & Eminem)
* Saints of Los Angeles - Motley Crue
* Hot Damn - Clipse (featuring Ab-Liva, Pharrell & Rosco P. Coldchain)
* Fight Music - D12
* Uh Oh - Ja Rule (featuring Young Murder & Lil Wayne)
* Hell - Disturbed
* Step Up - Drowning Pool
* Trouble - Skindred
* Look Into My Eyes - Bone, Thugs & Harmony
* Can't Be Touched - Roy Jones, Jr.
* This Is Hip Hop - Joell Ortiz (featuring Jadakiss & Saigon)
* Taking You Down - Egypt Central
* Let's Get It - G-Dep (featuring Diddy and Black Rob)
* Wait - Earshot
* Wither Away - 40 Below Summer
* We Made It - Busta Rhymes & Linkin Park
* Fight The Power - KoRn (featuring Xzibit)

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* Hero - Nas (featuring Keri Hilson)
* The City Is Mine - Jay Z
* Ya' Understand - Juvenile
* Some How, Some Way - Jay Z (featuring Beanie Sigel & Scarface)
* Beat It - Michael Jackson
* Hip Hop Saved My Life - Lupe Fiasco
* Phenomenon - Thousand Foot Krutch
* Cold - Crossfade
* Thriller - Michael Jackson
* Get By (Remix) - Talib Kweli (featuring Jay Z, Mos Def & Kanye West)
* Sick And Tired - Nappy Roots (featuring Anthony Hamilton)
* Moment Of Silence - Nas (featuring Quan)
* Had Enough - Breaking Benjamin
* Same Direction - Hoobastank
* I Tried - Bone, Thugs & Harmony (featuring Akon)
* Till I Collapse - Eminem (featuring Nate Dogg)
* I Stand Alone - Godsmack