(Vigilante I #7) - Judge Welles went for a jog and ran into former DA Adrian Chase. Chase hadn't worked since his family was killed, and unbeknownst to Welles he was operating as Vigilante, the scourge of crime. Welles said judge Wilson Turner was retiring, and he thought Adrian would be a good replacement.

(Vigilante I #8, 9, 11) - Judge Welles got in Adrian's ear again about becoming a judge, and said NY needed more men of vision and justice like him because criminals were being released because of an overcrowded jail system. Welles revealed a keen interest in the Vigilante to Adrian, making him nervous, and he hoped Welles had not figured out his secret identity. Welles said he needed an answer from Adrian by the end of the week, and assistant DA Marcia King also encouraged him to take the job. After much deliberation Adrian finally accepted.

(Vigilante I #14) - Marcia and Allan were at Adrian's side during a press conference, and the press asked him what he thought of as the Vigilante, but he replied that he'd never given him much thought.

(Vigilante I #15) - Hank Weston was a clown who'd attempted to rob a bank to raise money for his dying wife. He was found not guilty by a sympathetic jury, and Adrian and Marcia agreed with the decision, and Welles said they were going soft on him.

(Vigilante I #16) - Adrian and Allan were at a social club discussing a string of subway robberies orchestrated by a well-organized gang when Adrian got a phone call that Marcia was in Roosevelt Hospital. He went to see her and learned that she'd been assaulted during the latest subway robbery, and went to break up the gang as Vigilante.

(Vigilante I #19) - Adrian's judgeship was approved, and he answered questions from reporters with Marcia and Welles. The reporters asked about Marcia and Adrian's relationship, and Marcia would recues herself of cases Adrian would try to avoid a conflict of interest.

(Vigilante I #27 (fb)) - Alan went to see Adrian when he learned that he was the Vigilante. Adrian was having a breakdown, and discarded his costume and equipment in a garbage can. Alan saw it as providence, and blaming himself and the justice system for failing society he thought he could stop crime by taking up Adrian's path in life.

(Vigilante I #20, 21) - Welles took up the identity of Vigilante after Adrian retired from the role, and made his debut by brutally murdering a group of muggers, terrifying the people he was saving. Adrian was having nightmares about his days as the Vigilante, and when he saw a news report about the murders wondered if he'd finally snapped and was going out at night in his old identity. His next night out Vigilante turned paranoid when confronted by the police even though they assured him they were on his side, and he gunned one of them down. Hiding in an alley he fatally shot a suspicious looking man, and was confronted by Nightwing, who wanted to know what happened to his old ally. They battled, and Vigilante knocked him off a bridge. Nightwing confronted Adrian at home, convinced he'd finally snapped, but they both realized there was a new Vigilante when they saw a news report about him shooting cop-killer William Sanchez.

(Vigilante I #22) -Vigilante gunned down criminals across Manhattan when the skies turned red during the Crisis. He shot two thieves while sermonizing that they made the world the awful place it was, and when the third man tried to surrender Vigilante shot him too. Adrian went to work as judge, and Alan Welles presented him the Santiago case, a massive cocaine bust, and told him not to blow it. That Night Welles donned his Vigilante attire, reflecting on how much the city needed him and his brand of justice because the judicial system he'd worked so hard for didn't protect the innocent. The Heights Warlords gang took over a supermarket, and Vigilante gunned them down, telling the last man alive he was sorry and wished there was another way.

(Vigilante I #23) - Adrian and Welles ran into Charles McDade, Santiago's lawyer. He tried to bait Adrian, and his fists curled as Welles held him back. The new bailiff Dave Winston introduced himself, saying he thought highly of Adrian and would serve him to the best of his ability. McDade showed that the police warrant for Santiago's airfield did not extend to the hangar where the cocaine was found, and his client was read his rights in English, and he only spoke Spanish. Chase had no choice but to dismiss the case against Santiago, even though it made him sick inside. McDade celebrated that night, having a young woman join him in his limo. Welles was there in disguise as the limo driver, and after driving them to the docks he revealed himself as Vigilante. He said McDade was responsible for letting criminals run free, and executed him and the woman.

(Vigilante I #24) - Vigilante hit the streets looking for Santiago, who'd gone into hiding after his attorney was killed. After turning up no leads and killing a few criminals Vigilante threatened a criminal, but spared his life on the condition that he find Santiago for him, and soon.

(Vigilante I #25) -Vigilante was caught in an alley after murdering a criminal by the police task force led by Lt. Stein dedicated to bringing him down. He claimed he didn't want to kill any cops, but fired at them indiscriminately to effect his escape. Officers Jose Ramez and Daniel Hallahan were accused of torturing suspect Daryl Perkins into making a confession, and Vigilante initially applauded them as heroes. When more youths came forward about being tortured Vigilante decided the officers must be the ones at fault, and made them his next target. He followed them to a strip club, and after a game of cat-and-mouse and taking two bullets himself he killed them.

(Vigilante I #26-28) - Vigilante's informant revealed that Santiago was holed up in the Catskills, so he made his way upstate. He was spotted by small-town police, and soon the NYPD sent their task force to the Catskills to arrest him. Adrian Chase had predicted he'd go after Santiago, and used computer research to find Santiago's cabin. Vigilante and Adrian met in the woods, and Adrian was determined to shoot his violent successor, even though Vigilante didn't want to hurt him. The murderous Electrocutioner was also after Santiago, and during Adrian and Vigilante's scuffle he killed him. He fled into the woods where he came upon the two men fighting. Electrocutioner decided that Vigilante had to die, and Vigilante was concerned with keeping Adrian away from his electrical attacks. Adrian attacked Electrocutioner, saying vigilante was his, confusing the villain. They separated and the police staking the area kept them on the run. Santiago's men shot Electrocutioner, and he fled to an empty barn. Adrian followed him, and soon after so did the vigilante. Adrian gunned down the Electrocutioner, seeing him as a twisted version of what he used to stand for. Vigilante approved, but Adrian trained a gun on him and refused to let him leave. He fatally shot Vigilante and unmasked him as Alan Welles. Welles told him about how he discovered Adrian was the Vigilante the night he quit, and how he wanted to continue his mission because he admired him. Adrian was upset at having murdered his friend, and after retrieving his Vigilante costume he wrapped him up in a blanket and took the body, not wanting the memory of Judge Welles sullied. Adrian planted the Vigilante costume on Electrocutioner and drove Welles' body back to NYC. He brought him to the hospital, claiming muggers had shot him.

Vigilante had cameos in Vigilante I #29, 31, 50.

All characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © DC Comics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please visit The Official DC Comics Site at: http://www.batman.com