Gunner Henderson

Gunner Henderson was a United States Marine and a member of the Cerberus Squad who served in Afghanistan alongside Frank Castle and Billy Russo. Upon leaving the Marine Corps, Henderson became fearful of being assassinated so he hid out within the woods until Castle found him. Henderson and Castle were ambushed by a team of Anvil agents led by William Rawlins and Henderson was eventually killed.
==Biography==
===United States Marine Corps===
Born in Kentucky, Gunner Henderson grew up with strong faith in God and usually quoted the . Later, Henderson joined United States Marine Corps and served with Jack Kimber who appreciated his skills
===Operation Cerberus===
====Recruitment====
Henderson was recruited by Ray Schoonover and Agent Orange to become a part of covert military squad. Henderson, with the rest of the squad, was stationed in compound in Kandahar. Following the briefing, Henderson was assigned as a member of the team under Frank Castle's commands.
Henderson then found Castle in the compound when he played guitar. He asked can he play something from the repertoire of . Castle answered that Rogers is not his kind of music. Henderson introduced himself to Castle and said that he heard good things about Castle and his service. Castle responded in kind, saying that he was a friend of Jack Kimber who praised Henderson's skills. Referencing to his religious nature, Henderson decided to tease Castle and quoted Proverbs 13:6, noting that their purpose as soldiers to serve to God. Seeing Castle's embarrassment, Henderson laughed and calmed Castle, saying that he was just kidding.
====True Purpose====
At one mission, Henderson accidentally lost his knife, so one of the young soldiers let Henderson borrow his knife. However, during another mission the soldier was killed, and Henderson went down to the mortuary to pay his respects and return the knife. However, he saw several soldiers who put bags of heroin into the soldier's corpse in order to smuggle it into the United States of America. Henderson then saw Orange and Morty Bennett. He realized they were behind the whole operation and that they were funded by heroin sales, and a result did not know who he could trust.
====Assassination of Ahmad Zubair====
During Operation Cerberus, Agent Orange ordered the capture of a member of the Afghan National Police, Ahmad Zubair who investigated criminal activity in Kandahar. Cerberus Squad captured Zubair and brought him to the unknown location where Henderson, like his teammates, guarded him. Secretly wearing a camera, Henderson witnessed the brutal torture of Zubair executed by Orange. Henderson asked what Zubair saying but Orange informed that he said nothing useful. He doubted the necessity of torture and over whether or not Zubair actually had any intelligence they would use, which Rawlins simply dismissed.
Zubair then insisted in English that he is not a terrorist and has a family. However, Orange simply ordered Frank Castle to execute Zubair what he did, by a single shot in the head. Ray Schoonover ordered Castle and Henderson to take Zubair's corpse outside and bury it within the desert. They dug up an unmarked grave but before they buried Zubair, Castle removed a bullet from his skill. Henderson noted that it seemed like they were being ordered to bury evidence before they buried Zubair and left.
====Ambush in Kandahar====
When William Rawlins and Ray Schoonover informed that high-ranking terrorist leader was located at the secured compound in Kandahar, Frank Castle and Billy Russo entered their briefing and was asked of their opinion on the mission. Despite Frank Castle's suspicion, Henderson and the rest of the squad were sent to eliminate the target. However, they were ambushed by Afghan Insurgents and sustained casualties. Castle then managed to clean the evacuation point and save remaining members of the squad, including Henderson.
||Henderson holding Frank Castle back
Henderson made it back to base with the surviving member of Cerberus Squad once Castle had successfully cleared out the enemy and allowed air support to get them to safety. While Henderson sat alone looking at his fellow soldier's traumatic experiences, Rawlins, looking at all of the wounded and severely damaged soldiers, calmly asked if they had successfully killed the target as he wanted. Once an enraged Castle assaulted their leader before punching him in the eye, Henderson and Russo dragged him away until the soldiers managed to pull him in a different room.
===Secluded in Fear===
====Leaking the Footage====
As Operation Cerberus was ended in a failure, Henderson returned to the United States of America and sought to expose the truth about Agent Orange. Henderson managed to contact the NSA and reached out to David Lieberman, sending him a footage of the execution of Ahmad Zubair by Cerberus Squad, that he recorded. However, Orange and Ray Schoonover found out about the footage, which resulted in the attack on Lieberman and Frank Castle's family, as they assumed that Castle was the one who leaked the footage.
====Reunion with Frank Castle====
When it became apparent that he was being targeted, Henderson hid in the mountains of Kentucky. Though Frank Castle began searching for him and called out to him as a friend, Henderson fired an arrow from his bow and slowly approached. Convinced that Castle was not out to kill him, the two partnered up and, with the sounds of a coming helicopter and soldiers through the woods, fled to hide and kill off each one.
As the Anvil agents sent in by William Rawlins pursued Castle and Henderson, the pair was able to fend them off. With Micro's assistance, Castle and Henderson managed to take down the whole team, however, Henderson was shot in the abdomen during the encounter. After the shootout, Henderson felt fatigued and was carried by Castle, who was also shot in the stomach. Henderson knew that he would die in those woods, requested Castle to bury him, but he left to search for help, leaving him alone while he died from blood loss. Castle later left an anonymous tip for the police to find Gunner's body and ensure that his friend got a proper burial.
==Personality==
Gunner Henderson was a kind, honest man with a strong sense of duty and religious nature. As a man with faith, Henderson believed that his duty as a soldier within the United States Marine Corps to serve to the greater good and God's will. Also, Henderson had a sense of humor, jokingly teasing Frank Castle with his Christian beliefs. When Henderson discovered the covert side of their operation, linked with heroin sales, Henderson cannot leave them behind and leak information to the NSA.
==Abilities==
*Master Marksman: During his military service, Henderson was trained to utilize various types of firearms. His skills getting improved, and Jack Kimber described him as the best breacher he ever saw. Henderson has shown to be superb in using a hunting bow, able to project an arrow into Frank Castle from afar.
*Expert Combatant: Despite his wound, Henderson was able to subdue one of the Anvil agents in close combat and kill him.
==Equipment==
===Weapons===
*Rifle: To be added
*Hunting Bow: Armed himself with a bow, Henderson project an arrow into Frank Castle before he realized that Castle was not an enemy. Later, Henderson managed to use his bow to eliminate several Anvil agents.
*Knife: Henderson used his knife to kill one of the operatives in close combat.
===Other Equipment===
*Bulletproof Vest: To be added
==Facilities==
*Cerberus Squad Compound: To be added
==Relationships==
===Family===
*Father
*Mother
===Allies===
*United States Marine Corps
**Jack Kimber
*Cerberus Squad - Former Teammates
**Frank Castle/Punisher - Friend
*David Lieberman/Micro - Contact
===Enemies===
*Afghan Insurgents
*Ahmad Zubair †
*William Rawlins † - Former Superior
*Ray Schoonover/Blacksmith † - Former Superior
*Morty Bennett †
*Anvil - Killers
**Billy Russo † - Former Teammate
**Echo † - Victim
**Hotel † - Indirect Victim
**Golf †
**Delta I †
**Bravo † - Victim
**Foxtrot †
**Charlie †
**Delta II †
**Alpha † - Victim
==Appearances==
In chronological order:
* (flashbacks)
*
* (photo)
* (photo)
* (mentioned)
* (mentioned)
==Behind the Scenes==
*Dean Neistat was a stunt double for Jeb Kreager in the role of Gunner Henderson.
==References==
Category:Characters
Category:The Punisher Characters
Category:Humans
Category:Males
Category:Brown Hair
Category:Brown Eyes
Category:United States Marine Corps Soldiers
Category:Cerberus Squad Members
Category:Deceased Characters