Sniper (Rich von Burian) is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

, a

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are oft ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. Created by Carl Potts and

Jim Lee Jim Lee (Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey ...

, the character made his first appearance in ''

The Punisher War Journal ''The Punisher War Journal'' or ''Punisher War Journal'' is the title of two Marvel Comics comic book series featuring the character Frank Castle, also known as the Punisher. The first volume, published from 1988 to 1995, was spun off of a self-ti ...

'' #4 (March 1989) as an enemy of the Punisher.

Publication history

Sniper debuted in a two-part storyline consisting of ''

'' #4-5, and reappeared in ''The Punisher War Journal'' #10 and #21; the latter set-up the character's final appearance in the miniseries ''Wolverine and The Punisher: Damaging Evidence'' #1-3. Sniper received a profile in '' Marvel Encyclopedia'' #5. Another villainous assassin called Sniper previously appeared in

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

's segment of ''

Tales of Suspense ''Tales of Suspense'' is the name of an American comic book anthology series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such arti ...

'' #96.

Fictional character biography

While touring in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, Rich von Burian served in the same unit as

Frank Castle The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher ma ...

. After one firefight, Rich discovered that their commanding officer Ray Schoonover was smuggling cocaine out of the country in body bags. Rich kept this a secret, and he became an enforcer for Schoonover after the war. When Schoonover entered the running for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, Schooner sent Rich (now having taken on the codename Sniper) after their unit's surviving members in the off-chance that any member were aware of these war crimes. The member's deaths drew the Punisher's attention who Sniper would have killed had the Punisher not driven him off with the Battle Van. The Punisher subsequently forced Schoonover to confess these crimes and commit suicide, and in a later battle overpowered Sniper who escaped by taking a hostage. Sniper resurfaced in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, where he stole a valuable

attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...

from a

military exercise A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the com ...

. The Punisher and

Microchip An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny M ...

defeated Sniper who (while fleeing) crashed near the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

. Sniper survived the crash but was disfigured. Later, Sniper was hired onto the

Kingpin Kingpin or king pin may refer to: Vehicular part * Kingpin (automotive part), the pivot in the steering mechanism ** The central bolt of a skateboard, axle assembly ("truck"), around which the rest of the mechanism can flex, allowing the rider ...

's roster of assassins by the Arranger. When the Punisher attacked one of the Kingpin's drug operations, Sniper ambushed but the Punisher escaped. Afterward, the Kingpin ordered Sniper to act as backup for Damage who had been instructed to eliminate the Punisher after framing the vigilante for a series of murders. Agitated over the prospect of Damage robbing him of the honor of killing the Punisher, Sniper abandoned Damage when he was attacked by

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...

, and tracked the Punisher down to a cemetery. After opening fire on a funeral, Sniper took a woman and a child hostage, and tried to force the Punisher to choose which one of them the Punisher should shoot. The Punisher instead got close enough to stab Sniper who bled to death in an open grave.

Skills and abilities

A former member of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

, Sniper was an expert marksman, excelled at armed and unarmed combat, and was a skilled pilot and computer hacker. His main weapons were a rifle, and a

push dagger A push dagger (alternately known as: punch dagger, punch knife, or push knife) is a short-bladed dagger with a "T" handle designed to be grasped and held in closed-fist hand, so that the blade protrudes from the front of the fist, either between ...

Other versions

Earth X

Sniper is a denizen of the Realm of the Dead, appearing alongside the Punisher's other deceased foes such as

Jigsaw Jigsaw may refer to: * Jigsaw (tool), a tool used for cutting arbitrary curves * Jigsaw puzzle, a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of interlocking pieces Arts and media Comics * Jigsaw (Marvel Comics), a supervillain and arch-enemy of ...

Bushwacker Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare common during the American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, American Civil War and other conflicts in which there were large areas of contested land and few governmental resources to control these tra ...

, the Kingpin, and the Jackal.

References

External links

Sniper
at Comicvine *
Rich von Burian
at Marvel Wikia * {{Jim Lee Fictional assassins in comics Fictional marksmen and snipers Punisher characters Fictional mercenaries in comics Fictional mass murderers Fictional American military snipers Characters created by Jim Lee Marvel Comics martial artists Marvel Comics military personnel Fictional Vietnam War veterans Fictional United States Marine Corps personnel Comics characters introduced in 1989