ARKANNONE

Membership: None named

Base of Operations: Hell

First Appearance: Hitman #1 (April, 1996)

History: (Hitman #1-3) - The Arkannone were the demon Lords of the Gun, born into existence when mankind invented firearms. They crafted the Mawzir, originally five Nazi soldiers hung by the Russians for their atrocities, but resurrected by the Arkannone as a single demon. The Mawzir served them loyally in Hell for half a century. The Arkannone had their eyes on Hitman Tommy Monaghan, a metahuman hitman, believing he would fit in well with their ranks. The only problem was he had a moral code that forbade him from killing the innocent, but the Arkannone were convinced they could shift his morals a bit. They dispatched Mawzir to bring Hitman to them, saying he’d forever be honored by being at their side in their hallowed halls that reeked of gunpowder and cordite. They also suggested Mawzir would dearly regret it if he failed them. Mawzir observed Hitman at work, and was worried the Arkannone were considering him as Mawzir’s replacement, but his lords told him he worried too much. Hitman accepted a contract on joker, who was currently locked away in Arkham Asylum. Hitman made it past the GCPD and Batman to joker’s cell, shooting him between the eyes. “Joker” revealed himself to be Mawzir in disguise, and he gunned Hitman down. Mawzir revealed that he’d placed the hit on Joker to lure hitman in. The Arkannone appeared and told hitman they wanted him to kill in their name, promising him untold power. Hitman said no one was the boss of him and shot Mawzir in the face. Mawzir and Hitman fought throughout the asylum, with Batman joining the battle. Detective Tiegel ordered her men to follow Batman, but they were all too scared, so she went in by herself. Hitman found joker tied up in a side office and shot him in the chest. Batman begrudgingly gave joker emergency medical treatment, and Joker vowed to kill hitman painfully. Mawzir riddled Hitman full of bullets, and he was about to pass out, but Tiegel slapped him and demanded he tell her how she could defeat Mawzir. Hitman used his telepathy and realized Mawzir could be injured with his own weapons. Tiegel shot one of Mawzir’s guns from his hand and hitman used it to gravely injure him. The Arkannone demanded he fight to the death, but he yielded, disgusting his masters. The Arkannone told Hitman to reconsider, saying the superhuman community would turn against him, because he’d introduced bloodshed into their world of brightly colored suits and black and white morality. Hitman told them to buzz off and they returned to Hell. Hitman put his gun to Mawzir’s head and made him say the Arkannone suck, which pushed the Lords of the gun too far, and they dragged Mawzir to Hell, ripping him to pieces with chains and hooks. The Arkannone vowed to remake and rebuilt Mawzir better than before and set him loose to destroy hitman.

(Hitman #15, 18) - The Arkannone rebuilt Mawzir and sent him after Hitman. Mawzir ambushed Hitman and his friend Natt the Hat at a Gotham waterfront warehouse where they were stealing military armaments. Mawzir threatened to drag them to Hell, and Hitman blew up the warehouse before escaping in Natt’s car. Mawzir was unharmed, but the Arkannone were worried he was already attracting too much attention to himself, reminding him that it was forbidden for demons to directly assault mortals. They warned him to keep a lower profile lest the angels of Heaven take notice of what he was doing. Mawzir killed mobster Markie Mategna in the head and pressed his gang into his service, telling them to fan out throughout Gotham and call him if they spotted Hitman. Hitman and Natt laid low at the Hotel Remington, and Hitman wanted to get a hold of Catwoman since he’d seen her in Mawzir’s thoughts when he read his mind earlier. Mawzir duped Catwoman into stealing the Ace of Winchesters, a mystical gun that could kill demons, for him. Hitman enlisted Jason Blood to get the Ace back from Hell. Etrigan, with Baytor tagging along, confronted the Arkannone and demanded the Ace of Winchesters. The Arkannone responded by summoning a giant gun and shooting Etrigan, leaving him a smoldering pile of bones. Etrigan was healed by the Crown of Horns and forced the Arkannone into a confrontation. The Arkannone realized they were outmatched and contacted Mawzir, demanding he return to Hell and protect them. Mawzir told them no because all he cared about was vengeance on Hitman, and that he was tired of being their pawn anyway. Etrigan ripped the Arkannone to pieces, threw down the Crown of horns, and claimed the Ace. Jason Blood told Hitman and company he’d need a few more hours to transport the Ace from Hell. Hitman said they didn’t have that much time and told him to summon Etrigan. Blood refused, so Hitman restrained him, and used the spell needed to turn Blood into Etrigan that he’d found while reading Jason’s mind. Jason was furious, but events had gone beyond his control. Etrigan seemed pleased to see Hitman, who was already regretting his decision to summon him.