Adrian Chase

Wolfman stated the genesis of the character began when writing Daredevil in the 1970s.

"In issue #127, I staged a typical comic book battle between Daredevil and another quasi herp named the Torpedo. As the fight progressed, it moved off the street and into a house, only to come to an abrupt stop when the owner of the house a mother who was protecting her kids screamed that DD and the Torpedo were destroying her home, the two heroes looked at the damaged around them and realized that their thoughtless aggression had real world consequences. Years passed; I moved back to DC and was writing The New Teen Titans, and for some reason, I kept thinking about that story and as a result I decided that I wanted to explore the theme of real world consequences for super heroic action as the basis of an entire series rather than just a few panels at the end of a single story. I wanted to deconstruct the clichés of superhero comics and their fight scenes in a long form narrative... To that end, I put together the idea of a law abiding district attorney named Adrian Chase, who was really good at his job, but kept having his court victories overturned on minor technicalities due to a corrupt legal system."{{cite book |last1=Wolfman |first1=Marv |last2=Pollard |first2=Keith |last3=Pérez |first3=George |last4=Patton |first4=Chuck |last5=Andru |first5=Ross |last6=Ziuko |first6=Tom |last7=Tollin |first7=Anthony |last8=Roy |first8=Adrienne |last9=Wood |first9=Tatjana |last10=Costanza |first10=John |last11=Klein |first11=Todd |last12=Saladino |first12=Gaspar |last13=Hannigan |first13=Edward |title=Vigilante by Marv Wolfman |date=2017 |publisher=DC Comics |location=Burbank, CA |isbn=978-1401268725 |page=Introduction}}

Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, Adrian Chase first appeared in his civilian identity in The New Teen Titans #23 (September 1982), before debuting as Vigilante in The New Teen Titans Annual #2 (August 1983). Chase later appeared in his own Vigilante series, initially written by Wolfman. Paul Kupperberg took over as the series writer with issue #21 (Sept. 1985), scripting it until the series' conclusion with issue #50.

Adrian Chase is a New York City district attorney working in partnership with the resident superhero team, the Teen Titans. His wife Doris Chase and their two children are killed by a bomb meant for Adrian, planted at the direction of mob boss Anthony Scarapelli.{{cite comic|title=The New Teen Titans |issue=29 |story=First Blood! | writer = Marv Wolfman and George Pérez (co-plotter) |penciller=George Pérez |inker=Romeo Tanghal|date=March 1983 |publisher=DC Comics}}{{cite web|title=Peacemaker Makes Dark Joke About Vigilante's Tragic Backstory from the Comics

|first=CAMERON |last=BONOMOLO |date= January 16, 2022 |work=CBR|url=https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/peacemaker-vigilante-backstory-origins-dc-comics-dark-joke-episode-3-better-goff-dead/}}

Shortly afterward, Chase is approached at his wife's grave by a hooded woman named Lynn. In an origin story that he related to his associates Jonathan "J.J." Davis and Theresa "Terry" Gomez, Chase claimed that Lynn drove him West in a van and forced him to walk for four days through the desert. In a cavern underneath the desert sands, he was greeted by three spirits — "victims of evil who were not content to gracefully die" — named Bloody Knee, Chaka, and Chastity. Chase spent six months with them, enduring incredible physical and spiritual trials. He emerged with new powers and a new sense of purpose — to seek justice his own way as the anti-hero Vigilante:{{cite comic|title=The New Teen Titans Annual |issue=2 |date=August 1983 |publisher=DC Comics|story=The Murder Machine|writer=Marv Wolfman and George Pérez (co-plotter) |penciller=George Pérez (layouts) |inker=Pablo Marcos (finished art)}} "I go after those proven guilty of crimes who are then released because of some stupid technicality."{{cite comic|story=A Fable for Our Times!|title=The Vigilante|issue=1|date=Nov 1983|publisher=DC Comics|writer=Marv Wolfman |penciller=Keith Pollard|inker=Dick Giordano}}

Chase was initially shown as taking pains to make sure he did not kill his enemies (unlike Marvel's the Punisher) and would regularly use non-lethal weapons to disable his opponents.

Throughout the Vigilante series, Chase is tormented over the justice of his actions and the pain brought to others. Chase flirted with abandoning his Vigilante identity after he savagely beat an ex-convict who turned out to be innocent. Eventually, Chase abandons his Vigilante identity, believing that he could be both more effective and happier as a judge. But during his absence, the Vigilante identity was assumed by two of his friends (fellow judge Alan Welles and then bailiff Dave Winston respectively) without his knowledge.

After Wells kills a police officer and Winston dies at the hands of Peacemaker,{{cite comic|title=The Vigilante|issue=36|story= Mask of Death!|writer=Paul Kupperberg |penciller=Denys Cowan|inker=

Kyle Baker|date=Dec 1986|publisher=DC Comics}} Chase once again assumes the Vigilante role, believing it is the only way to protect his loved ones. However, his experiences with Welles and Winston have damaged his fragile psyche beyond repair, causing him to adopt more vicious tactics in his war on crime. Seeking revenge on Peacemaker, the out-of-shape Adrian gets beaten in a fight and unmasked on live TV, thereby ending Chase's secret identity and forcing him even further into the Vigilante role.

Eventually, Chase becomes ever more conflicted over the violence he engaged in and the harm he has caused to those around him. He also becomes increasingly mentally unstable — alternating between bouts of enraged violence, paranoia and terrible remorse for his actions, even resorting to murdering innocent police officers who get in his way.{{cite comic|title=The Vigilante|issue=37|story= Pawns|writer=Paul Kupperberg |penciller=Tod Smith|inker=

Rick Magyar|date=Dec 1986|publisher=DC Comics}} His mounting guilt culminates in Chase contemplating the course of his life and then committing suicide.{{Cite comic| writer = Paul Kupperberg| penciller = Steve Erwin| inker = Jack Torrance| colorist =Liz Berube| letterer = John Costanza| editor = Mike Gold| story = A Life!| title = The Vigilante| volume = 1| issue = #50| date = February 1988| publisher = DC Comics| location = | page = | panel = | id =| language = en}}{{cite web|title=Why Peacemaker's Vigilante Had Such a Tragic Ending|first=BRIAN |last=CRONIN|date=Feb 5, 2022|work=CBR|url=https://www.cbr.com/peacemaker-vigilante-tragic-ending/}}

Before his death, he frequently battled Cannon and Saber and Electrocutioner.

Chase appeared in the Day of Judgment limited series, as one of the dead heroes in Purgatory. He and the others run interference, battling the guardians of the realm, so other living heroes can escape with the soul of Hal Jordan. When the crisis concluded with Jordan assuming the Spectre mantle, Jim Corrigan appeared briefly on Earth, stating that the efforts of Chase and other heroes in Purgatory had earned an appeal in the shining city.{{cite comic|title=Day of Judgement |issue=5 |publisher=DC Comics|date=Nov 1999|story=Soul Search|writer=Geoff Johns|penciller=Christopher Jones and Matthew Dow Smith|inker=Steve Mitchell }}

It was revealed that Adrian is the brother of Dorian Chase.{{cite comic|title=Nightwing |volume= 2 |issue=133|date=Aug 2007|story=321 Days, Part One|writer=Marv Wolfman|penciller=

Jamal Igle|inker=Keith Champagne}}

As the Vigilante, Adrian Chase is a superb hand-to-hand combatant & a brilliant marksman. He also possesses the ability to heal quickly and regenerate his body from injuries as serious as stabbings or gunshot wounds, although he is capable of dying if the injuries are severe enough.{{Cite comic

| writer = Marv Wolfman

| penciller = Chuck Patton

| inker = Mike DeCarlo

| colorist = Tom Ziuko

| letterer = John Costanza

| editor = Marv Wolfman

| story = Origin!

| title = Vigilante

| volume = 1

| issue = #7

| date = June 1984

| publisher = DC Comics

| location =

| page =

| panel =

| id =

| language = en

}}

As described by comics critic Donald D. Markstein, upon his introduction Vigilante represented a familiar trope in American comics:

{{blockquote|By the 1980s, the guy working in law enforcement, who becomes a superhero because he doesn't want to deal with the silly legal impediments that hamper the pursuit of justice was old hat. Not only had readers seen endless iterations of the theme (such as the Black Hood, the Blue Beetle and the Woman in Red) — it had also become recognized, even within that simplistic, action-oriented genre, that greater injustice results when such restraints are removed.{{cite web|first=Donald D. |last=Markstein|url=http://toonopedia.com/vig-2.htm |title=Vigilante (1983) |work=Don Markstein's Toonopedia}}}}

Markstein continued:

{{blockquote|Writer... Wolfman... and artist... Pérez... were fully aware of the ramifications when they introduced the character.... That's why Vigilante was the first such character in which the true consequences of such behavior were explored.... Vigilante meted out a great deal of justice — but also, through his ruthless disregard for the legal safeguards that protect us all, innocent and guilty, from simply being railroaded into prison whenever authorities suspect we may have committed a crime — a great deal of the opposite. But Adrian was, at his core, an honest man. When he realized he'd become what he most hated, he dealt with himself the same way he'd dealt with others. In the 50th issue (Feb 1988), he brought his series to a close by shooting himself dead.}}

• Variations of Adrian Chase appear in Arrow, portrayed by Josh Segarra.{{Cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2016/06/arrow-josh-segarra-cast-adrian-chase-vigilante-season-5-1201774049/ |title='Arrow': Josh Segarra Cast As Adrian Chase, Vigilante, For Season 5 |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=June 16, 2016 |website=Deadline Hollywood |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617134624/http://deadline.com/2016/06/arrow-josh-segarra-cast-adrian-chase-vigilante-season-5-1201774049/ |archive-date=June 17, 2016 |access-date=June 29, 2016}}
• The Earth-1 incarnation appears in the fifth season as an alias of Simon Morrison / Prometheus.{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/tv/2017/03/01/arrow-prometheus-identity-chase-spoilers/|title=Arrow unveils Prometheus' identity – what's next?|last=Abrams|first=Natalie|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=March 1, 2017|access-date=March 1, 2017}}
• An Earth-2 doppelgänger of Chase appears as the Hood in the eighth season episode "Starling City". Oliver Queen encounters him while preparing for an impending Crisis and joins forces with him despite initial difficulties.
• Adrian Chase / Vigilante appears in Peacemaker, portrayed by Freddie Stroma.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/05/peacemaker-freddie-stroma-replace-chris-conrad-in-hbo-max-suicide-squad-spinoff-1234766351/|title='Peacemaker': Freddie Stroma to Replace Chris Conrad in HBO Max's 'Suicide Squad' Spinoff|date=May 28, 2021}} This version is a busboy and self-proclaimed crimefighter who looks up to the eponymous Peacemaker and displays psychopathic and socially awkward tendencies.{{Cite web |last=Lammers |first=Tim |date=2022-02-10 |title=Freddie Stroma Discusses Vigilante In Peacemaker And Working With James Gunn And John Cena - Exclusive Interview |url=https://www.looper.com/763636/freddie-stroma-discusses-vigilante-in-peacemaker-and-working-with-james-gunn-and-john-cena-exclusive-interview/ |access-date=2022-02-26 |website=Looper.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=White |first=Peter |date=May 28, 2021 |title='Peacemaker': Freddie Stroma To Replace Chris Conrad In HBO Max's 'Suicide Squad' Spinoff |url=https://deadline.com/2021/05/peacemaker-freddie-stroma-replace-chris-conrad-in-hbo-max-suicide-squad-spinoff-1234766351/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528221830/https://deadline.com/2021/05/peacemaker-freddie-stroma-replace-chris-conrad-in-hbo-max-suicide-squad-spinoff-1234766351/ |archive-date=May 28, 2021|access-date=May 28, 2021|website=Deadline Hollywood}}{{Cite web |last=Millman |first=Zosha |date=January 14, 2022 |title=Peacemaker's Vigilante isn't anything like the comics by design |url=https://www.polygon.com/22878624/peacemaker-vigilante-comics-james-gunn |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114200458/https://www.polygon.com/22878624/peacemaker-vigilante-comics-james-gunn |archive-date=January 14, 2022|access-date=January 16, 2022|website=Polygon}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.dcuguide.com/who.php?name=vigilante2 Vigilante (Adrian Chase)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195159/http://www.dcuguide.com/who.php?name=vigilante2 |date=2016-03-03 }} at the DCU Guide
• {{comicbookdb|type=character|id=3537|title=Vigilante (Adrian Chase)}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070216061513/http://www.titanstower.com/source/whoswho/vigilante.html Titans Tower Profile: Vigilante II (Adrian Chase)]
• [https://archive.today/20130121083608/http://www.dcindexes.com/indexes/indexes.php?character=710 Earth-1 Vigilante (Adrian Chase) Index]
• [https://archive.today/20130121213342/http://www.dcindexes.com/indexes/indexes.php?character=713 Post-Crisis Vigilante (Adrian Chase) Index]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Adrian}}

Category:Fictional lawyers

Category:Comics characters introduced in 1983

Category:1983 comics debuts

Category:Fictional judges

Category:Fictional assassins in comics

Category:Characters created by Marv Wolfman

Category:Characters created by George Pérez

Category:DC Comics superheroes

Category:Fictional characters from New York (state)

Category:Fictional marksmen and snipers

Category:Vigilante characters in comics

Category:DC Comics characters with accelerated healing

Category:DC Comics martial artists

Category:Fictional suicides