History ComicBook / Foolkiller

* RayGun: Foolkiller's purification gun.

** Gregory Salinger, disillusioned with the modern world and having heard the story of the original Foolkiller and where to find his gear from his friend, decided to assume the mantle. [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers That's it]].

* AFoolAndHisNewMoneyAreSoonParted: ([[JustForPun heh heh]]) Nate [=McBride=] keeps stealing money from his employers, and then wasting it all on gambling. Careful, Nate. With a trope name like that, you could get in trouble.

** The White Angels - a white supremacist gang in the MAX universe. It's entirely possible they picked the name in earnest, but the reader and the public know better. If they really think they're angels, [[JustForPun more fool them]].

* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Mike Trace's blade is basically a lightsaber in a katana suit, able to behead multiple mooks with a one-handed swing.

* Ambiguous Disorder: One of the White Angels, Fury, appears to have... ''something'' going on. [[TheMentallyDisturbed Maybe lots of somethings]]. We know that he can read and understand how to follow map routes, so he's not dumb, but he can't talk and is violently psychotic.

** Mike Trace likes to leave a simple "The Fool" tarot card on his victims.

* ContinuitySnarl: In the Raft breakout in ''ComicBook/NewAvengers'' and his appearances in ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'', Gerhardt is wearing his original face. The last issue of the '90-'91 miniseries makes that highly improbable. [[spoiler: As part of his plan to vanish, he uses the sulfuric acid to destroy his original face as a pretext for needing extensive reconstructive surgery]].

* KarmicDeath: The ringleader of the white angels dies when Mike Trace lassoes him by the neck while driving a pickup truck. It's not pretty, but this being the leader of a TheKlan-esque white supremacist gang, one can't deny it's deserved.

** Born with leg paralysis and orphaned of both his parents, a young Ross G. Everbest was captivated by the words of a reverend who miraculously managed to make him walk. Initially wanting to become a costumed activist, Everbest went to tell the reverent of his decision, only to find him mired in sinful behavior. Angered by this sight, Everbest murdered the reverent, and began his crusade to rid the world of fools as the first Foolkiller.

** Gambling. Nate [=McBride=] was working for a gambling den, leading to his current troubles, and Trace's backstory is tied to him winning big at a slot machine and investing it well.

Created by the late Creator/SteveGerber for Creator/MarvelComics, the Foolkiller is clearly an offbeat character in the same vein as Comicbook/HowardTheDuck. The only difference is, he's played totally straight. The name is inspired partially by the Creator/OHenry story of the same name and the novel by Helen Eustis, the latter of which was made into a movie starring, appropriately enough, Anthony Perkins. There is also a minor character of this name in L. Frank Baum's "The Enchanted Island of Yew".

* HeelRealization: During his battle with Franchise/SpiderMan, Greg Salinger, the second Foolkiller, runs into a bum that tells him that only a ''fool'' would want to fight Spider-Man, as Spidey is a genuinely good person who puts himself into danger to protect innocents. As soon as he realizes this, Salinger tries to turn his purification gun on himself, but Spidey stops him.

--->'''Mike Trace:''' (to the [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain White Angels]]) Vernon Donaldson. The White Angel I killed two nights back. [[DoingTheResearch I looked into his background]]. Ellis Island Immigration reports show his family entered the United States in 1923. The ancestors of Darius White, the man you lynched, have been in this country since the early 1700s. \\

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/foolkiller_vol_1_1.jpg]]

-->-- Gregory Sallinger, ''Foolkiller (1990)'' Issue #10

* AltumVidetur: The Foolkiller's calling cards all start with "e pluribus unum", which means "out of many, one". It's hard to see how that relates to their mission ([[EpilepticTrees aside, perhaps, from showing how they're not foolish because they know a latin phrase]]).

* CallingTheOldManOut: Non-relative example: Kurt calls Salinger out for abandoning his ideals several times in the Marvel Now! series.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Mike acts abrasive, but he's willing to help Nate save his daughter.

** The Marvel MAX series has a prison called the Gerhardt Detention Facility, a bookstore named Salinger's, and a company called Kingpin Industries (before the MAX universe ever had a Kingpin).

* PunnyName[=/=]IronicName: Mike Trace's dog, Jester. He works for the Fool''killer'' - [[DontExplainTheJoke get it?]] Believe it or not, it wasn't Trace who named him - people just seem to be weirdly fixated with jester iconography in whatever town the story is set in.

** Mike Trace isn't much of a talker either, having very [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Punisher]]-esque dialogue most of the time.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: When face to face with a fool, the Foolkillers enjoy telling them why and how they consider them to be foolish.
-->'''Gerhardt:''' You're like a cancer, a malignancy growing on the civilization you inhabit. But a cancer devours its host. Eats itself alive. By choosing that course, you've shown yourself to be a fool.\\
'''Backhand:''' I repeat: so what?\\
'''Gerhardt:''' I kill fools.

* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: After he was released from the mental institute, Greg game to regret helping Kurt become the third Foolkiller due to his more extreme (and deranged) brand of crimefighting.

A version of Salinger appears as the primary antagonist of the third and final season of Creator/{{Netflix}}'s ''Series/{{Jessica Jones|2015}}'', portrayed there by Jeremy Bobb. In the series, Sallinger is a disgruntled, psychotic serial killer who wants Jessica (and all other super-powered people) dead.

* AffablyEvil: The Hood speaks very casually for a crime word, with {{Shout Out}}s, {{Lampshade Hanging}}s and "Whoa, dawg"s aplenty.

* TheCameo: [[CoverdAlwaysLie Despite taking up quite a bit of real estate on the cover]], ComicBook/SpiderMan's appearance in the eighth issue of the original run qualifies. He and Foolkiller just barely miss one another.

* BigBad: In the MAX series, the main bad guy the Foolkiller is gunning ([[ContrastingSequelMainCharacter or in this case, slicing]]) is a crime boss nicknamed "The Cheese".

* OutGambit: Richard Rory agreed to take his friend Salinger to meet the Defenders (friends of Rory). Salinger expressed interest in joining them. Rory anticipated that the Defenders would realize that Salinger was a danger and find a way to non-violently put him out of action. Salinger, however, actually secretly planned to kill the Defenders as he deemed them fools for letting supervillain Lunatik escape.

* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: After he was released from the mental institute, Greg game to regret helping Kurt become the third Foolkiller due to his more extreme (and deranged) brand of crimefighting.

* AccidentalHero: In the '90s mini-series, Kurt is seen as a hero by the public when he starts killing off criminals and other unsavory individuals in New York. [[spoiler:Things however change when he goes after [[VillainWithGoodPublicity corrupt authority figures that hold an image of being benevolent]], and the public begins to hate him and demand his capture.]]

* BrokenPedestal: Kurt Gerhardt was disappointed to find that Salinger was trying to get out of the fool-killing life in the 2016 series.

* CallingTheOldManOut: Non-relative example: Kurt calls Salinger out for abandoning his ideals in the 2016 series several times in the Marvel Now! series.

* ComicBookTime: Curiously averted, partially. In the 1990-91 limited series, The Runyan Moody Show dates the activities of the First Foolkiller as far back as the early [[TheSeventies seventies]]. Salinger, in explaining his inspiration for taking on the mantle, refers to elements of the same decade that he found annoying. He refers to the shallow banality of the music ("Disco back then") and the testimonies at the Watergate hearings. The 1990-91 limited series is clearly set during the year of publication. The aversion, however, is not without faults. Spider-Man is not 10-15 years older like Salinger obviously is. In the 2016 series, Greg acknowledges that he missed most of TheNineties, not because he was too young to remember, but because he was locked up for the decade. This evidently places his original Foolkiller years at least twenty years ago in his time.
* ConfessToALesserCrime: In the 2016 series, Greg goes after his patients who instead of addressing their very serious malefic actions (such as, but not limited to, rape, assault, and murder), opt to talk about their more banal compulsions such as OCD, Chronic Bedwetting, and being a Furry.
* ContinuitySnarl: In the Raft Breakout in ''ComicBook/NewAvengers'' and his appearances in ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'', Gerhardt is wearing his original face. The last issue of the '90-'91 miniseries makes that highly improbable. [[spoiler: As part of his plan to vanish, he uses the sulfuric acid to destroy his original face as a pretext for needing extensive reconstructive surgery]].

--->'''Reverend Mal Flapton''': Who are you calling a racist? Racism is the tool by which the dominant powerful in society oppress minorities. See my skin? I'm powerless. By my definition, I can't be a racist!
---> '''Kurt Gerhardt:''' By my definition, you're a fool.

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: He kills fools.

* HeroicBSOD: An aging barfly who befriends a depressed Gerhardt unknowingly shows him something that blows his mind and helps solidify his definition of fools. Mavis points him to a sign that she says renews her faith in her own intelligence. Gerhardt stares at it for a very long time oblivious to everything around him. [[spoiler: The sign in question is a mechanic's advertisement where they mispell the word alignment (as in auto alignment) as alinement. Mavis' point being that "A fool is someone who would trust his car to someone who can't spell what he does for a living'']]
* HollywoodHacking: How else is Salinger able to get the modem on a computer in a mental institution connected to a computer bulletin board (the 1990 version of the internet) so that he may secretly communicate with Gerhardt? Salinger was given access to the computer with the assumpton that he was writing a book. The 1991 ''Marvel Year in Review'' lampshades this somewhat when Salinger states "My shrink still lives in the Freudian age of paper and pencil. He didn't even think to check it out.". Although this is years before internet tracking, it is before cable modem, it should have at least shown up on the institution's phone bill if anywere, especially as they log and monitor all phone activity in and out of the facility.

* InsanityDefense: This is why Salinger is in a mental hospital in Indiana and not a prison or death row. Also, the only fool that he is publicly known to have successfully killed was an annoying second string supervillian named Blockbuster. His other publicly known actions were all failures to kill his intended targets.

* ItsWhatIDo
-->''Witness: So I asked him why he had to kill they guy and he says "Because that's what I do. I'm the Foolkiller, not the Fool Reprimander"''

* NonHumanSidekick: Mike Trace's dog, a Rottweiler mutt named Jester. He's well-behaved but attacks on command.
* OnTheNext: So what exactly was "Greg's Secret Sorrow"? That's what was promised in the blurb at the end of issue 9 of Omega the Unknown (Salinger's first appearance). But we were left hanging due to the unexpected cancellation of the series with issue 10. That issue, instead was dedicated to trying to tie up all the loose ends with the title character Omega. Actually, they didn't manage to do even that.

* TheManBehindTheMan: If not for Greg Sallinger deciding to give Kurt his Foolkiller equipment and guide him along his new path, none of the carnage of the 1990 series would have happened.

* MotiveDecay: Kurt and Greg both came to suffer from this, going from vigilantes to hired guns in their own ways although after leaving the Mercs for Money, Greg's appetite for slaughtering fools is coming back.

** The Marvel Max series has a prison called the Gerhardt Detention Facility and a bookstore named Salinger's.
** In the first issue of the MAX series, some hospital orderlies gossip about the Foolkiller over a card game, with the things they've heard (being institutionalized, working at [[BurgerFool Burger Clown]], etc.) being true of various past incarnations.

* RecycledINSPACE!: A member of the Order of the Foolkillers appears in an issue of ''X-Men 2099''.

* UnlikelySpare: Foolkiller was defeated by the Defenders and Spider-Man. In both cases, it would be logical to assume that his purification gun was confiscated at the time. None of the Foolkillers appeared to have the technical know how to build their own purification guns, so it is reasonable to assume that it is the same gun that is passed on to each successor. The apparent uniqueness of the gun (as well as the deliberate lack of explanation of the exact origin and nature of the gun) seems to support this. Therefore Everbest (the original Foolkiler) must have had a lot of spare guns to begin with.
** In The Marvel Universe, there's plenty of sources for items like this gun; some villains even ''make'' weapons to order for others.
** The Foolkiller was a suspect of the Scourge of Crime supervillain killings (in the ComicBook/CaptainAmerica series.) But he wasn't involved. The Scourge turned out to be a ''whole group'' of self-righteous vigilantes, organized by an old WWII hero, The Angel. Maybe there's a similar setup for the Foolkillers.

* ShoutOut: In the Marvel NOW series, while musing on the history of his alter ego, Greg mentions the O. Henry short story, the Helen Eustis novel, and the Anthony Perkins film all as inspiration for his predecessor, Everbest's adoption of the Foolkiller identity.

* SuspensionOfDisbelief: The exact nature of the purification gun is never explained. As mentioned above, this appears to be deliberate on the part of Steve Gerber. It also never seems to run out of power, hence the noticable absence of power cells or energy packs. The Marvel Max series dispenses with the Zorro-like costume and the purification gun. Instead, his favorite weapon is a sword cane (which you could purchase in the real world). However, whether or not real sword canes can cleanly decapitate arms or legs is rather subject to its own criticism. We are also meant to accept that 90 pound weakling assassin Sickle Moon can also do the same with his impractical looking glaive.
** It should be noted that the continuity of the MAX series with the mainstream Marvel universe isn't 100% official. Some of its stories seem to be apocryphal, similar to ComicBook/UltimateMarvel.
* SwordCane: As discussed, this is just about the only weapon Mike Trace uses.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Sometimes true, but notably averted in the ending of the 2016 series. [[spoiler: Salinger shoots Kurt in the face while the latter is in the middle of an attempted HannibalLecture to the former]].

* BurgerFool: The aforementioned Burger Clown. Ironically despite the trope name, Kurt eventually saw his time working there with rose-tinted glasses after gaining a new, better job.

* SerialKiller

* TheDragon: Drug lord Backhand to Emilio Mendoza who in turn is this to Darren Waite. Interestingly, [[spoiler: Backhand survives the story, Waite and Mendoza don't]].
* TheFundamentalist: Everbest believed that all criminals, sinners, and dissidents were fools that needed to be eliminated by an acting agent of God and that he had been chosen by God to be that agent.

* BlandNameProduct: Burger Clown! A seeming pastiche of two real life major fast food chains.

* {{Catchphrase}}: Salinger: "Live a poem or die a fool.": Gerhardt: "I kill fools"

* KnightTemplar

Created by the late Steve Gerber for Creator/MarvelComics, the Foolkiller is clearly an offbeat character in the same vein as Comicbook/HowardTheDuck. The only difference is, he's played totally straight. The name is inspired partially by the Creator/OHenry story of the same name and the novel by Helen Eustis, the latter of which was made into a movie starring, appropriately enough, Anthony Perkins. There is also a minor character of this name in L. Frank Baum's "The Enchanted Island of Yew".

[[redirect:Characters/MarvelComicsFoolkiller]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/foolkiller_vol_1_1.jpg]]

Created by the late Steve Gerber for Creator/MarvelComics, the Foolkiller is clearly an offbeat character in the same vein as Comicbook/HowardTheDuck. The only difference is, he's played totally straight. The name is inspired partially by the Creator/OHenry story of the same name and the novel by Helen Eustis, the latter of which was made into a movie starring, appropriately enough, Anthony Perkins. There is also a minor character of this name in L. Frank Baum's "The Enchanted Island of Yew".

The original Foolkiller was introduced in ''ComicBook/ManThing'' #3 (March, 1974) and killed in the following issue. Several individuals have adopted the mantle of the Foolkiller, such as Ross G. Everbest, Greg Salinger, Kurt Gerhardt, and Mike Trace. Trace's incarnation appears in the Creator/MarvelMAX universe. Each incarnation modified the definition of "fool" to fit his mission. Everbest, being a devout Christian, sought out those whom he considered sinners. Salinger, on the other hand, hunted those who he deemed lacked a poetic soul. Gerhardt's razor-sharp definition of fool caused him to target those whom he judged to be guilty of pursuing "momentary gratification" at the expense of others.

The second Foolkiller, Greg Salinger, unexpectedly reappeared in 2016's Marvel NOW! relaunch as a member of Deadpool's "Mercs for Money": a sort of satellite organization of mercenaries and freelancers who ostensibly worked under Deadpool's command. Due to the unexpected popularity of the ''Mercs for Money'' spinoff book, Salinger received a solo book in late 2016, by Max Bemis and Dalabor Talajic. It follows Salinger as he attempts to retire his costumed persona in favor of a life as a successful psychologist, but naturally, it doesn't quite take.

A version of Salinger appears as the primary antagonist of the third and final season of Creator/{{Netflix}}'s ''Series/{{Jessica Jones|2015}}'', portrayed there by Jeremy Bobb. In the series, Sallinger is a disgruntled, psychotic serial killer who wants Jessica (and all other super-powered people) dead.

----
!! Foolkiller provides examples of:

* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: After he was released from the mental institute, Greg game to regret helping Kurt become the third Foolkiller due to his more extreme (and deranged) brand of crimefighting.
* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Mike Trace's blade is basically a lightsaber in a katana suit, able to behead multiple mooks with a one-handed swing.
* AccidentalHero: In the '90s mini-series, Kurt is seen as a hero by the public when he starts killing off criminals and other unsavory individuals in New York. [[spoiler:Things however change when he goes after [[VillainWithGoodPublicity corrupt authority figures that hold an image of being benevolent]], and the public begins to hate him and demand his capture.]]
* BeardOfSorrow: Greg Salinger in the 1990-91 Foolkiller limited series. Now he really does look like a poet.
* BerserkButton: FOOLS!
* BlandNameProduct: Burger Clown! A seeming pastiche of two real life major fast food chains.
* CallingCard: All the Foolkillers have their own calling card which they either send to intended victims or leave at the scene of the killing.
* {{Catchphrase}}: Salinger: "Live a poem or die a fool.": Gerhardt: "I kill fools"
* ChekhovsGun: The flask of sulfuric acid seen in Merle's apartment. It was part of some backstory between her and Salinger. She would use it to help Gerhardt later.
* ComicBookTime: Curiously averted, partially. In the 1990-91 limited series, The Runyan Moody Show dates the activities of the First Foolkiller as far back as the early [[TheSeventies seventies]]. Salinger, in explaining his inspiration for taking on the mantle, refers to elements of the same decade that he found annoying. He refers to the shallow banality of the music ("Disco back then") and the testimonies at the Watergate hearings. The 1990-91 limited series is clearly set during the year of publication. The aversion, however, is not without faults. Spider-Man is not 10-15 years older like Salinger obviously is. In the 2016 series, Greg acknowledges that he missed most of TheNineties, not because he was too young to remember, but because he was locked up for the decade. This evidently places his original Foolkiller years at least twenty years ago in his time.
* ConfessToALesserCrime: In the 2016 series, Greg goes after his patients who instead of addressing their very serious malefic actions (such as, but not limited to, rape, assault, and murder), opt to talk about their more banal compulsions such as OCD, Chronic Bedwetting, and being a Furry.
* ContinuitySnarl: In the Raft Breakout in ''ComicBook/NewAvengers'' and his appearances in ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'', Gerhardt is wearing his original face. The last issue of the '90-'91 miniseries makes that highly improbable. [[spoiler: As part of his plan to vanish, he uses the sulfuric acid to destroy his original face as a pretext for needing extensive reconstructive surgery]].
* DoubleStandard:
** A certain way to get a death sentence in this series:
--->'''Reverend Mal Flapton:''' Of course the police pledge to hunt him down. He shoots white fools too.
** And one issue later:
--->'''Reverend Mal Flapton:''' What right does he have mass murdering minority children... Why haven't the police caught him yet?
** And five issues later, the coup de grâce:
--->'''Reverend Mal Flapton''': Who are you calling a racist? Racism is the tool by which the dominant powerful in society oppress minorities. See my skin? I'm powerless. By my definition, I can't be a racist!
---> '''Kurt Gerhardt:''' By my definition, you're a fool.
** Regarding a sexism issue at Empire State University:
--->'''Female Student:''' So does this mean I can have someone expelled for calling me a nymph?
--->'''Dean at ESU:''' We certainly wish to safeguard the rights of women. However, students who pursue alternative lifestyles are most apt to suffer damage to their self esteem as a result of insensitive language.
--->'''Kurt Gerhardt:''' Would your self esteem suffer, Dean -- if I called you a fool?
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Salinger's first appearance in ''Omega The Unknown #9''. His costume consisted of a cowboy style hat with no red sash, a simple domino mask, and a cape. This variation of the costume never appeared again.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: He kills fools.
* GogglesDoNothing: Greg's second Foolkiller costume is equipped with an ever-present and seldom-used pair of goggles. The glasses he wears as a psychologist are also phony though they're meant to prop up his image as a respectable mental health care specialist.
* HeelRealization: During his battle with Franchise/SpiderMan, Greg Salinger, the second Foolkiller, runs into a bum that tells him that only a ''fool'' would want to fight Spider-Man, as Spidey is a genuinely good person who puts himself into danger to protect innocents. As soon as he realizes this, Salinger tries to turn his purification gun on himself, but Spidey stops him.
* HellBentForLeather: Gerhart trades the Zorro-style costume of his predecessors for this. In the 1991 ''Marvel Year in Review'', Salinger, during an interview, explains "He kept the gun but made himself a more fearsome costume. I guess he's not as flamboyant as my predecessor or me." There is a certain irony to his statement since Gerhardt's costume would not be out of place in a BDSM scenario.
* HeroicBSOD: An aging barfly who befriends a depressed Gerhardt unknowingly shows him something that blows his mind and helps solidify his definition of fools. Mavis points him to a sign that she says renews her faith in her own intelligence. Gerhardt stares at it for a very long time oblivious to everything around him. [[spoiler: The sign in question is a mechanic's advertisement where they mispell the word alignment (as in auto alignment) as alinement. Mavis' point being that "A fool is someone who would trust his car to someone who can't spell what he does for a living'']]
* HollywoodHacking: How else is Salinger able to get the modem on a computer in a mental institution connected to a computer bulletin board (the 1990 version of the internet) so that he may secretly communicate with Gerhardt? Salinger was given access to the computer with the assumpton that he was writing a book. The 1991 ''Marvel Year in Review'' lampshades this somewhat when Salinger states "My shrink still lives in the Freudian age of paper and pencil. He didn't even think to check it out.". Although this is years before internet tracking, it is before cable modem, it should have at least shown up on the institution's phone bill if anywere, especially as they log and monitor all phone activity in and out of the facility.
* IconicOutfit: Foolkiller's Zorro-esque classic outfit.
* InsanityDefense: This is why Salinger is in a mental hospital in Indiana and not a prison or death row. Also, the only fool that he is publicly known to have successfully killed was an annoying second string supervillian named Blockbuster. His other publicly known actions were all failures to kill his intended targets.
* ItsNotYouItsMe: This is exactly how Kurt breaks off his relationship with Linda.
* ItsWhatIDo
-->''Witness: So I asked him why he had to kill they guy and he says "Because that's what I do. I'm the Foolkiller, not the Fool Reprimander"''
* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: Greg and Kurt have both appeared to have given up the purification raygun and adopted conventional firearms and weapons, probably because the purification gun(s) were confiscated or destroyed and they don't know how to build their own or where to get more.
* KnightTemplar
* LogicalFallacies: You don't want to resort to these when trying to debate the Foolkiller, especially not in the 1990s limited series. As demonstrated by the following:
-->'''Gerhardt:''' Excuse me. But do you always demonstrate for peace by grabbing other people's property and kicking them in the face?
-->'''War Protester:''' Get off my case, geek. There's nothing wrong with using force to resist repression. That's what King George (Bush) is doing, right?
-->'''Gerhardt:''' I see. He can't achieve peace through violence, but you can? You're a fool. I kill fools.
** This, by the way, is an example of a "tu-quoque" fallacy, a variant on the ad-hominem.
* NameDrop: Gerber mentions Reagan, Bush, and Willie Horton, all on the same page in issue 2. But he had a good reason.
--> "I voted for Reagan in '80 and '84 and Bush in '88. I was even swayed by the Willie Horton ad: the one about the killer-rapist on furlough from prison. But now my wardrobe looks more like Willie Horton's than George Bush's, and so does my bank account."
* NonHumanSidekick: Mike Trace's dog, a Rottweiler mutt named Jester. He's well-behaved but attacks on command.
* OnTheNext: So what exactly was "Greg's Secret Sorrow"? That's what was promised in the blurb at the end of issue 9 of Omega the Unknown (Salinger's first appearance). But we were left hanging due to the unexpected cancellation of the series with issue 10. That issue, instead was dedicated to trying to tie up all the loose ends with the title character Omega. Actually, they didn't manage to do even that.
* MadArtist: Mike Trace is one of the only ''heroic'' examples you'll find, elaborately staging the bodies of his victims to make a grand artistic statement relevant to their misdeeds. Since the subjects range from child molesters to white supremacists, it's hard to say he's going too far.
* MasterOfDisguise: Gerhardt's incarnation more than any of the others.
* MotiveDecay: Kurt and Greg both came to suffer from this, going from vigilantes to hired guns in their own ways although after leaving the Mercs for Money, Greg's appetite for slaughtering fools is coming back.
* MutuallyFictional: The MAX and mainstream Marvel characters seem to be. Mike Trace shoplifted some comics featuring the Everbest Foolkiller, and the 2016 series starring Greg Salinger made mention of the MAX series as a comic book.
* MythologyGag:
** The Marvel Max series has a prison called the Gerhardt Detention Facility and a bookstore named Salinger's.
** In the first issue of the MAX series, some hospital orderlies gossip about the Foolkiller over a card game, with the things they've heard (being institutionalized, working at [[BurgerFool Burger Clown]], etc.) being true of various past incarnations.
** The alias that Gerhardt goes by as seen at the very end of the series is Gregory Ross Curtis, a pastiche of all the three Foolkiller's first names. The picture seen on his driver's license looks like the face of Richard Rory.
** In the 2016 Marvel NOW series, Salinger recalls that there was a comic book roughly based on the Foolkiller. The panel with this narration shows a picture of the Marvel MAX incarnation of the character. This isn't uncommon as it has been established that [[ShowWithinAShow Marvel Comics actually exist in the Marvel Universe]] and that they do publish fictionalized adventures of characters who exist in their version of real life.
* MyNaymeIs: Unlike other noted uses of the name (Eustis, O. Henry, Baum), Foolkiller is one word instead of two.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Mal Flapton is Reverend Al Sharpton. Darren Waite is a thinly disguised Donald Trump. Runyan Moody is Morton Downey Jr, right down to a thinly disgused version of the Loudmouth logo. This creates a dilemma as the Marvel Universe is supposedly a mirror of the real one. Therefore, Sharpton, Trump, and Downey allegedly do exist in the Marvel Universe as some of them have been referred in dialogue or briefly visually depicted, which is protected under satirical rights.
* OutGambit: Richard Rory agreed to take his friend Salinger to meet the Defenders (friends of Rory). Salinger expressed interest in joining them. Rory anticipated that the Defenders would realize that Salinger was a danger and find a way to non-violently put him out of action. Salinger, however, actually secretly planned to kill the Defenders as he deemed them fools for letting supervillain Lunatik escape.
* PresentDay: Clearly dates the story as it gives the year of the mugging/killing of Gerhart's dad (1989 as seen on the tombstone) and takes place during Operation Desert Storm.
* PsychoPsychologist: Greg is an interesting offshoot of one of these. If you're willing to change your ways and become a better person, you get an understanding and sincere psychologist. If you decide to stay a bad guy, well, you get the psycho.
* RayGun: Foolkiller's purification gun.
* RecycledINSPACE!: A member of the Order of the Foolkillers appears in an issue of ''X-Men 2099''.
* RuleOfCool: The Foolkiller's mission could easily be carried out with any old gun. But then again, he'd just be a clone of The Punisher.
* UnlikelySpare: Foolkiller was defeated by the Defenders and Spider-Man. In both cases, it would be logical to assume that his purification gun was confiscated at the time. None of the Foolkillers appeared to have the technical know how to build their own purification guns, so it is reasonable to assume that it is the same gun that is passed on to each successor. The apparent uniqueness of the gun (as well as the deliberate lack of explanation of the exact origin and nature of the gun) seems to support this. Therefore Everbest (the original Foolkiler) must have had a lot of spare guns to begin with.
** In The Marvel Universe, there's plenty of sources for items like this gun; some villains even ''make'' weapons to order for others.
** The Foolkiller was a suspect of the Scourge of Crime supervillain killings (in the ComicBook/CaptainAmerica series.) But he wasn't involved. The Scourge turned out to be a ''whole group'' of self-righteous vigilantes, organized by an old WWII hero, The Angel. Maybe there's a similar setup for the Foolkillers.
* SerialKiller
* ShoutOut: In the Marvel NOW series, while musing on the history of his alter ego, Greg mentions the O. Henry short story, the Helen Eustis novel, and the Anthony Perkins film all as inspiration for his predecessor, Everbest's adoption of the Foolkiller identity.
* StrawmanPolitical: Kurt Gerhardt's victims included exemplars on both sides of the political spectrum.
* SuspensionOfDisbelief: The exact nature of the purification gun is never explained. As mentioned above, this appears to be deliberate on the part of Steve Gerber. It also never seems to run out of power, hence the noticable absence of power cells or energy packs. The Marvel Max series dispenses with the Zorro-like costume and the purification gun. Instead, his favorite weapon is a sword cane (which you could purchase in the real world). However, whether or not real sword canes can cleanly decapitate arms or legs is rather subject to its own criticism. We are also meant to accept that 90 pound weakling assassin Sickle Moon can also do the same with his impractical looking glaive.
** It should be noted that the continuity of the MAX series with the mainstream Marvel universe isn't 100% official. Some of its stories seem to be apocryphal, similar to ComicBook/UltimateMarvel.
* SwordCane: As discussed, this is just about the only weapon Mike Trace uses.
* TheDragon: Drug lord Backhand to Emilio Mendoza who in turn is this to Darren Waite. Interestingly, [[spoiler: Backhand survives the story, Waite and Mendoza don't]].
* TheFundamentalist: Everbest believed that all criminals, sinners, and dissidents were fools that needed to be eliminated by an acting agent of God and that he had been chosen by God to be that agent.
* VillainProtagonist: In the '90s mini-series.


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!!Tropes:

* HeroicBSOD: An aging barfly who befriends a depressed Gerhardt unkowingly shows him something that blows his mind and helps solidify his definition of fools. Mavis points him to a sign that she says renews her faith in her own intelligence. Gerhardt stares at it for a very long time oblivious to everything around him. [[spoiler: The sign in question is a mechanic's advertisement where they mispell the word alignment (as in auto alignment) as alinement. Mavis' point being that "A fool is someone who would trust his car to someone who can't spell what he does for a living'']]