Gunfire

GUNFIRE

Real Name: Andrew Van Horn

Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Superhero, munitions expert, Van Horn Industries heir

Group Affiliation: Blood Pack

Known Relatives: Gunther Van Horn (Ragnarok, father, deceased), Lacey Van Horn (aunt)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: New York City, NY

First Appearance: Deathstroke Annual #2 (Summer, 1993)

Powers: Gunfire could psychokinetically transform inanimate objects into energy projectiles, and could agitate the molecules of virtually any object to the point where it would explode.

History: Andrew Van Horn was the heir of Van Horn Industries. He and his father were attacked by Space Parasite Venev, and while Andrew's father perished he found the attack activated his metagene and gave him superhuman powers. As the superhero Gunfire he helped the JLA defeat the Space Parasites.

(Gunfire #1, 2) - Andrew, Yvette Dubois and Ben Nakashima attended the funeral of Gunther Van Horn. Carlton Slater, one of Gunther's former business associates, offered him a ride away from the funeral to avoid the paparazzi, and he accepted. Slater told him he worked for a client waiting on product from Gunther, and he expected it delivered soon or else. Andrew was furious at being threatened during his time of grief, and told Colin off. Back at his mansion his aunt Lacey told him she was sure he could live up to his father's legacy. Ben wasn't quiet about having little love for Gunther, and Lacey admitted he was a difficult man to work with. Yvette drove Andrew and Ben to the Van Horn Industries construction site, hoping to give him some hope for their future. In the main office Ben showed him the new and improved Gunfire armor, and said he'd made a comm system so Andrew could communicate with him in his mobile tracking station. Andrew admitted he'd only suited up as Gunfire to protect something he cared about and was hesitant about the idea of a superhero career. Calton and his goons, armed with laser guns broke in and threatened Andrew again, but he used his superpowers to drive them away. Colin had his men return and kidnap Yvette, so Andrew changed into Gunfire and went full bore against the criminals. He was forced to kill some of them, which he regretted. Colin's henchman Ricochet arrived with Yvette in tow, demanding Colin's CDI, and Gunfire admitted he had no idea what he was being asked for. Gunfire freed Yvette, they battled, and when the police arrived on the scene Carlton called Ricochet and his men off. Ricochet mumbled that he would have won the fight, but obeyed orders. The next day Andrew was approached by Lt. Rivera about the dead men at Van Horn Industries, he claimed he had no idea what happened, and refused to talk further without his attorney. Yvette was angered that he didn't tell Rivera about her kidnapping, and he said he suspected his father was involved in some shady business, but didn't want to reveal the peril Carlton posed until he was sure it was true. Ricochet and more of Carlton's goons broke into a Van Horn warehouse looking for the CDI, but Gunfire, with backup from his friends chased them off. Ben cracked Gunther's experimental weapons manifest, and found that the CDI was a cellular de-integrator, arriving at JFK the next night. One of Carlton's goons had a comm link that picked up the conversation, and Ricochet and his men were there to confront Gunfire at JFK. Gunfire shot one of his energy blasts at the CDI, and the resulting explosion knocked Ricochet into Long Island Sound, and he sank to the bottom. Slater reported to his boss, crimelord Solomon Perggia, who decided to take matters into his own hands as the supervillain Purge.

(Gunfire #3) - Andrew slept with his limousine driver Monika to blow off some steam, and later destroyed the remaining weapons shipped from JFK. The scientist in Ben hated to see such advanced tech go to waste, but Andrew knew he couldn't let his father's products hurt anyone. Lt. Rivera suspected that Gunfire was an agent of Van Horn Industries, and sent his fellow officer Jerry Conover to shadow Gunfire. He witnessed Andrew using his powers, and realized he was Gunfire. Purge arrived, too late to reclaim his weapons, and attacked Conover, but Andrew fought him off. Jerry told Andrew he knew his secret, but supported his dedication to law and order. The final shipment of weapons arrived by freight train, and Purge tried to hijack it. Andrew, as Gunfire, battled him, and when Purge tried to absorb his lifeforce he activated Gunfire's power. The resulting feedback blew up the crimeboss.

(Gunfire #4) - Yvette sparred with Andrew, telling him he'd have to learn to fiught and defend himself as a superhero. He reiterated that he was wary of being a superhero full-time, but she reminded him Van Horn Industries had many powerful enemies, and he still had to protect it. Billy kept poring over Gunther's R&D database for inventions that could be put to constructive ends instead of destructive ones, and showed Andrew designs for a longer-lasting electric battery and compression tech that could make new environmentally friendly cars that could park anywhere. Limousine driver Monika, who Yvette was a bit jealous of, set up Andrew's new apartment, and she told Billy she didn't trust Monika, but all Billy paid attention to was her looks. Lt. Rivera confronted Andrew at his apartment, demanding to know his connection to Gunfire. The armored hitman Marauder burst into the apartment, shooting at Rivera for his continued investigations into the Perggia crime family, but Andrew saved his life and drove off Marauder using his powers. Marauder flew off, and Andrew realized his suit used Van Horn compression tech. Rivera took Andrew to the station house, and after he explained what he was doing as Gunfire Rivera agreed to let him continue to operate as long as he kept Rivera in the loop. Billy scanned Van Horn's databases and found that Gunther did business with Metatech, creators of the Marauder armor, who were located in LI. Gunfire went to the Metatech branch to investigate, and was confronted by Marauder, who was happy he'd showed up, saying he was planning on killing him anyway because of his interference on the hit. Rivera followed Gunfire, and after shooting Marauder's tech man Halpern in self-defense he shot the command center that operated the Marauder suit, activating its compression tech and crushing Kagan to death inside his suit.

(Gunfire #5) - Lt. Rivera had Andrew arrested for the Metatech break-in, but after making a deal with the DA agreed to release him and keep a gag order on his superhero activities. In return he had to work for the DA on a case-by-case basis, and Andrew, not seeing much of a choice, agreed. Ben and Yvette were less than thrilled that he hadn't consulted them first, but Ben still gave him a demonstration of a rocket-booster belt for the Gunfire suit. Back at his office Andrew was sure he heard his father communicating over the intercom, but Ben dismissed it, saying he was under too much stress. Lacey Van Horn wanted to wrest control of the company from her nephew, particularly objecting to VHI discontinuing research into advanced weaponry. Yvette was having financial difficulties, and Lacey invited her to move into her mansion until she solved her cashflow problem. Lacey saved Carlton Slater's life, and transformed him into the Exomorphic Man with VHI tech. She ordered him to disrupt her nephew's conference, but warned him not to hurt Andrew. The press conference had been canceled because of the tumult caused by Zero Hour, but Carlton attacked anyway, brutalizing the Van Horn security guards, and forgetting what ghe was explicitly told not to do, thought he had to find and kill Andrew Van Horn. Gunfire responded to the attack, and during the battle Carlton saw himself in a mirror. Horrified by what he'd become he stepped out a window to his death.

(JSA #33) - The Ultra-Humanite used Johnny Thunder’s Thunderbolt to conquer the world, and imprisoned Gunfire and virtually every other superhuman on Earth in stasis tubes. Gunfire and the other heroes were freed when the JSA defeated Ultra-Humanite.

(Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special #1) - The Society massed in Metropolis, and Gunfire and an army of virtually every hero on Earth confronted the villains and engaged in an epic battle with them.

(Faces of Evil: Prometheus #1) - Prometheus fatally shot Hook during a robbery, and the Blood Pack pursued him in the name of justice. They caught up to him, but he was also being pursued by his mentor, the original, and much more dangerous Prometheus. The real Prometheus told the Blood Pack not to interfere in his business with his protege, but Gunfire heedlessly attacked him. Prometheus responded by cutting off his hands, rendering him powerless. Prometheus opened a portal to his extradimensional Ghost Zone, and an infuriated Anima leapt through to pursue him, but it closed as she was halfway through, cutting her in half. The Pack's leader Argus was in a state of shock, but told Gunfire to hang on while he got him emergency help.

Comments: Created by Len Wein & Steve Erwin.

Gunfire had a cameo in Hitman #1,000,000.