History ComicBook / Foolkiller

-->''"So many fools -- So little time!"''

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* 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, and he's been incarcerated in a mental institution ever since.

* 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.

The original Foolkiller was introduced in ''ComicBook/ManThing'' #3 (March, 1974) and killed in the 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.

A version of Sallinger 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.

A version of Sallinger 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 neighbor of Jessica's who wants her dead.

-->'''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.

* 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 grace.
--> '''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!"
--> '''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?

* 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.]] -

* OnTheNext: So what exactly was "Greg's Secret Sorrow"? That's what was promised for issue 10 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.

* HeelRealization: During his battle with {{Spider-Man}}, 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, and he's been incarcerated in a mental institution ever since.

* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: Greg and Kurt have both appeared to have given up the purification raygun and adopted conventional firearms and weapons.

--> '''Reverend Mal Flapton''': "Who are you calling a racist? Racism is the tool by which the dominant society oppresses minorities. See my skin? By my definition, I can't be racist!"

* 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.

[[caption-width-right:350:"So many fools. So little time!]]

** 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 UltimateMarvel.

* ConfessedToALesserCrime: 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.