The Gentleman

The Gentleman © Juke Box Productions AstroFacts Status: Active Earliest Appearance: 1946 Affiliation: Honor Guard Base of Operations: Romeyn Falls/Astro City Personal Data InfoDump Appearances (in Publication Order): Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.2 #1, 9, 13, 20 Astro City: The Dark Age Book One #4 Astro City: The Dark Age Book Two #4 Astro City: Silver Agent #2 Astro City #26, 27 Event Timeline 1946     Flashback Professor Borzoi's Belief Ray Inadvertantly Brings Loony Leo to Life. 1996/09     Current Heroes of Astro City battle Thunderhead. 1996/09     Current During Thunderhead's Epic Tantrum, the Hanged Man guards Shadow Hill.. 2013/??/??     Current Honor Guard Stops Lord Volcanus' Plot to Conquer the Surface World. 2015/08     Current Someone Reanimated the Destructiods. The Gentleman A powerful, immaculate, apparently non-aging, and unfailingly-polite tuxedo-clad hero. He has a charming personality, displaying wholesome, old fashioned sensibilities, and extremely good manners. In short, a perfect Gentleman. History The Gentleman has been active in Astro City since the early 1940s. In the late 1940s, during a battle with his archnemesis, Professor Borzoi, an incident occurred in which the professor's belief ray brought to life a gorilla from the movies as well as Loony Leo. Leo gave him an assist during the battle and The Gentleman returned the favor, getting the people in attendance to believe in Leo as he was starting to fade from existence after Professor Borzoi's Belief Ray was destroyed. Loony Leo hung around as The Gentleman's sidekick for a few adventures before going off on his own. During the 1950s, he acquired a another sidekick, the Young Gentleman. That relationship ended at an unknown time, and for an unknown reason. Through the years, The Gentleman has taken part in defending Astro City many times against the forces of evil and destruction. Some of the more notable times, include during Madame Majestrix's Invasion in the Spring of 1973, after Black Velvet's darkness and madness started taking a hold of the city in early 1977, the Enelsian Invasion attempt in 1997 and during the Conquistador's Plot in late 1998. In recent years, he has become a member of Honor Guard. It's unknown for sure if like Winged Victory, he has declined invitations in the past, but surprising it has taken so long with the Gentleman's powers and abilities. Powers He possesses the powers of flight and super-strength. He exhibited both quite dramatically, while stabilizing an out-of-control helicopter during a battle with the cosmic entity Thunderhead in September of 1996. The Gentleman's aging process is quite slow, possibly nonexistent. His appearance, stamina, and metabolism seem to be on par and at the same levels he displayed at his first public appearance in the 1940s. Observations He serves as a spokesman for the Stay-In-School Foundation, the March of Dimes, and UNICEF. His friendly yet rugged good looks show some creative visual influences derived from the actor Fred MacMurray. Speculations, Theories There is some speculation that his powers might have some kind of mystical or magic basis. He, along with the Confessor and The Hanged Man, who both have mystic powers, were not apprehended by authorities during the Enelsian Invasion. An incident of interest occurred in The story "In the Spotlight." The Gentleman exhibited a considerable amount of emotional concern, and an almost elevated level of fear towards Professor Borzoi's Belief Ray. A curious and powerful device which brought the animated cartoon character, Loony Leo, to life. A hint perhaps to some back-story history about the Gentleman's powers, weaknesses, or maybe even his origin.