   charles gunn is a fictional character created by joss whedon for the television series, angel and introduced by writer gary campbell in the episode "war zone". the character is portrayed by j. august richards, and was named by whedon after filmmaker james gunn and actor sean gunn, both of whom had worked with whedon. gunn is introduced as the leader of a street gang which protects its neighborhood from vampires. ==biography== ===character history=== gunn was born in the badlands, a section of inner-city los angeles where the police would not go, and looked after his sister, alonna, from a very young age. although he had a few brushes with the law, he acted as a kind of urban robin hood to keep the streets in his neighborhood safe. in his teens (although now gunn is in his early 20's), gunn rose through the ranks to become the leader of a gang of street-fighters who protect their turf from vampires using guerrilla tactics. possessing the mind of a military strategist and the strength of a back-alley brawler, life in the ghetto hardened gunn to the extent that his life became less important than the cause, resulting in him trading his soul for a truck in a deal with a demon named jenoff when he was only seventeen, because he believed he had no future (cf. "double or nothing"). ===angel investigations=== gunn is introduced in the season one episode "war zone", when he observes the vampire angel roughing up a blackmailer and tries, unsuccessfully, to dust him. later on, a gang of vampires, who are at war with gunn's gang, attack their hideout, kidnapping several gang members in the process, including gunn's sister alonna. eventually, angel wins gunn's trust, but unfortunately not in time to save alonna from being turned into a vampire. gunn has no choice but to stake his own sister, a decision which continues to haunt him through the series. it is this loss that forces gunn to question his own motives and become more receptive to angel's help, realizing he cannot do everything alone. angel recognizes gunn's strength and often calls on him if he needs back up in bat
Angel_(TV_series)_characters Buffyverse_vampires Fictional_African-American_people Fictional_characters_from_Los_Angeles,_California Fictional_characters_introduced_in_2000 Fictional_characters_who_have_made_pacts_with_devils Fictional_demon_hunters Fictional_lawyers Fictional_private_investigators Fictional_vampire_hunters