Crucible:Gunslinger
Gunslinger
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| |
| Real Name | Matthew Davis |
|---|---|
| Identity | Secret |
| Affiliation | Former member of the Outcasts |
| Base of Operations | Los Angeles (formerly New York City) |
| Status | Active |
| First Appearance | GUNSLINGER #1 |
| Creator | Ed Messina |
“I used to get paid to kill. Now I make sure it costs something.”
— Gunslinger
Gunslinger is the vigilante identity of Matthew (Matt) Davis, a former assassin for the covert Scientific Intelligence Agency, bestselling espionage novelist, and founding member of the Outcasts. Equally at home dismantling a street gang in New York or unraveling an international intelligence conspiracy overseas, Gunslinger is renowned for meticulous planning, flawless marksmanship, and an almost superhuman ability to stay several moves ahead of his enemies.
Origin
[edit]Matt Davis was recruited into the Scientific Intelligence Agency while still a young man, not only for his extraordinary marksmanship but for his remarkable analytical mind. A nationally ranked chess master, Davis possessed an instinctive ability to anticipate opponents' actions several moves in advance—a talent that translated naturally into intelligence work.
As an SIA field operative, Davis became one of the agency's most effective assassins, carrying out covert missions across the globe. His faith in the organization ended after completing a politically motivated operation that, while legal and authorized, violated every moral principle he believed he had been serving.
Davis resigned from the agency and disappeared from public view, determined never again to allow others to decide who deserved to live or die.
The Writer
[edit]Reinventing himself as a successful mystery and espionage novelist, Davis attempted to leave violence behind. His novels quickly became bestsellers, praised for their authenticity, intricate plotting, and convincing portrayal of the hidden world of espionage. He became best known for the Gabriel Cross series of novels, about an international insurance investigator who investigates stolen nuclear material, missing diplomats, vanished billionaires, and impossible thefts. Critics admired his imagination. Former intelligence officers quietly wondered how much of it was fiction.
Becoming Gunslinger
[edit]Watching organized crime terrorize New York neighborhoods while honest citizens were left unprotected, Davis once again took up arms—but on his own terms.
As Gunslinger, he became one of the city's most feared vigilantes. Unlike his days in intelligence, he refused to kill except under the most extreme circumstances, relying instead on careful planning, advanced technology, and specialized non-lethal weaponry, including his signature stun laser.
Although many of his adventures begin as battles against street crime, they frequently uncover larger conspiracies involving espionage, international terrorism, stolen technology, rogue intelligence agencies, and unfinished business from his years in the SIA.
The Outcasts
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Gunslinger became one of the founding members of the Outcasts, bringing professional discipline and decades of operational experience to a team of unconventional heroes.
Within the group, he served as strategist, planner, and logistics expert. He maintained safehouses, alternate identities, emergency escape routes, equipment caches, and contingency plans for nearly every conceivable situation.
While Shadow was often regarded as the soul of the team, Gunslinger quietly ensured everyone survived long enough to complete the mission.
Relationships
[edit]Gunslinger's closest friendship is with Shadow. Although their backgrounds differ greatly, both men understand the burden of living behind masks and carrying lives they cannot fully share with anyone else.
Shadow is one of the few people who fully appreciates Matt's tactical brilliance—and routinely warns teammates never to challenge him to a game of chess, having learned that lesson firsthand.
Gunslinger has also been romantically linked with the vigilante Maverick, whose willingness to operate within moral gray areas often mirrors his own.
His greatest enemy remains Deadeye, a former SIA partner who continued down the path Matt abandoned. Their encounters are as much philosophical confrontations as physical ones, each representing the life the other chose not to live.
Move To Los Angeles
[edit]Following the success of the Gabriel Cross novels, Davis relocated to Los Angeles after his books attracted Hollywood interest.
The move expanded both his literary career and his vigilante activities, exposing him to organized crime, political corruption, and international intrigue on the West Coast.
Wherever Matt Davis settles, Gunslinger is never far behind.
Skills
[edit]Although he possesses no superhuman abilities, Gunslinger is among the most capable non-powered heroes of his generation.
- World-class marksman
- National-level chess master and tactical strategist
- Elite intelligence operative
- Master of disguise and false identities ("legends")
- Expert investigator
- Advanced surveillance and counter-surveillance
- Hand-to-hand combat expert
- Stealth and infiltration specialist
- Accomplished mystery and espionage novelist
Equipment
[edit]Gunslinger favors carefully engineered equipment over overwhelming firepower.
- Signature stun laser and specialized tactical weapons
- Advanced surveillance, communications, and infiltration equipment
- Extensive library of forged identities, documentation, disguises, and operational "legends"
- Longshot, his heavily modified Jaguar XJ-S, equipped with concealed defensive systems, surveillance technology, composite armor, rapid license-plate changers, and numerous covert features. Longshot has become nearly as famous among criminals as Gunslinger himself.
Personality
[edit]Matt Davis is calm, disciplined, and relentlessly methodical. He approaches every confrontation like a chess match, preferring preparation over improvisation and patience over brute force. His extraordinary ability to think several moves ahead often allows him to end a conflict before his opponents realize they are losing.
Friends sometimes mistake his quiet demeanor for emotional distance, but beneath it lies a deep sense of responsibility toward ordinary people caught in the crossfire.
Having once served unquestioningly, Davis now believes that conscience must always outrank orders. He is neither driven by vengeance nor searching for forgiveness.
He simply intends to spend the rest of his life making sure his talents serve justice rather than power.
Reputation
[edit]Among criminals, Gunslinger is feared as a relentless hunter who never misses and somehow always seems to know their next move.
Among heroes, he is respected as one of the finest tacticians in the field and one of the few people capable of matching Shadow's instincts.
Within intelligence circles, Gunslinger has become something of a legend. Rumors persist that many of his bestselling novels are carefully disguised accounts of actual covert operations. Former operatives read them with uneasy recognition.
Everyone else simply enjoys the stories.
Cover Gallery
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Gunslinger #1 (1983) -
Gunslinger:Zugzwang
Graphic Novel (2011) -
Gunslinger/Shadow:The Achilles-Omega Gambit
Graphic Novel (2026)
Legacy
[edit]Gunslinger represents the idea that a person cannot erase the past—but can choose what to do with the future.
Matt Davis never lost the skills that once made him a government assassin.
He simply decided that, from then on, he would choose his own missions.
By day, he writes intricate tales of espionage.
By night, he makes sure they remain fiction.