Mack Bolan

Mack Bolan, alias The Executioner, is a fictional character who has been serialized in 631 novels with sales of more than 200 million books. Created by Don Pendleton, Bolan made his first appearance on the printed page in The Executioner #1: War Against the Mafia (1969). Pendleton wrote 37 other novels featuring Bolan, often referred to as the "Mafia Wars". In 1980, Pendleton sold his rights to the character to Gold Eagle, which hired a number of ghostwriters to continue publishing Bolan monthly, to satisfy reader demand worldwide. Don Pendleton remained credited as the sole author and supervised these new adventures, which took the Bolan character all over the world fighting terrorism. This new series of books featured Bolan as a principled warrior fighting larger-than-life adversaries in the spirit of a tougher, American version of James Bond. The demand for the books continued, and Gold Eagle began releasing as many as 15 titles annually. In 2014, more than a dozen Mack Bolan novels were being published every year worldwide by Gold Eagle Books, a division of Harlequin Books. Additionally, Bolan was "spun off" into several new adventure book series which also carried the Mack Bolan/Don Pendleton names.
==Biography==
Mack Bolan, born in 1939 (It varies as later novels go with the times they were written) and raised in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is of Welsh-Polish heritage and is the eldest of the three children of steelworker Samuel Bolan and his wife, Elsa. Bolan enlisted in the Army at age 18 and served two tours of duty in Vietnam as a Green Beret. (This also varies as later novels will modernize what wars he served in) Bolan became an expert sniper with over 90 kills to his record, earning him the nickname "The Executioner". For all his lethal capability, Bolan was deeply compassionate and became known as "Sgt. Mercy", because of the aid he often gave to Vietnamese civilians and others who needed help. During his service in the Vietnam War, Bolan became highly adept at penetration and intelligence gathering, guerrilla warfare and became a skilled armorer.
During Bolan's second tour, his father suffered a heart attack that forced him to leave his job at the steel mill. Unable to work, with bills piling up, Bolan's father was forced to borrow money from Triangle Industrial Finance ("TIF"), a savings-and-loan outfit known around town as a loansharking operation controlled by the family of Don Sergio Frenchi, the godfather of the Mafia in western Massachusetts. The people at TIF caused the elder Bolan countless problems with their payment demands. On one occasion, their enforcers dislocated his arm as punishment for missing one loan payment, warning him that the same arm would be broken if he missed another.
Mack Bolan's younger sister, Cindy Bolan, was worried about their father's safety and had secretly paid the officers at TIF a visit, in an attempt to persuade them to leave her father alone and allow her to repay the loan. In her first attempt, she turned in $35 a week, money she made from an after school job. When it became insufficient, TIF "suggested" she become a prostitute.
Johnny Bolan, Mack's younger brother, learned about it from a schoolmate who taunted him about it, resulting in a fight that Johnny lost. When Johnny found Cindy servicing a client in a motel room, he blew the whistle to his father ... an act that resulted in the elder Bolan's striking him. When Cindy's father confronted her, she admitted to her work, expressing her fear for his health and welfare.
For Sam Bolan, it was too much. He snapped and turned a Smith & Wesson .45 on his family and then himself. Johnny Bolan was the only survivor of the murder-suicide.
A few days later, Bolan was notified of the tragedy by an Army chaplain and took emergency leave to visit his brother. After Johnny told him the whole story, Bolan broke into a sportsman's shop and took a high-powered Marlin .444, a deluxe scope, some targets, and several boxes of ammunition, leaving an envelope of money to cover the "purchase". He would use the rifle to kill the TIF loansharks, marking the beginning of his war against the Mafia.
==Skills and Abilities==
*Military training
*Master Marksman: Has over 90 confirmed kills in the Army via sniper, hence how he got the nickname "The Executioner"
*Firearms expert: Is skilled with various firearms.
==Equipment==
*.460 Weatherby Magnum
*Beretta M1951
*.44 AutoMag
*Beretta 93R
*Desert Eagle
==Trivia ==
*Predates Marvel comics' Punisher/Frank Castle and Paul Kersey (Paul Benjamin in the Novel) from Death Wish as the first Executioner novel was published in 1969
**The Death Wish Novel was Published in 1972 and the movie that Starred Charles Bronson came out in 1974
**Punisher debuted in Amazing Spider-Man #129 (October, 1973) and wouldn't get his own solo series until 1986
***Prior to contrary belief it was The Executioner/ Mack Bolan that was the inspiration for the Punisher not the Death Wish Movies or book. Both were barley published within a year of each other while there were at least 16 Executioner books between 1969 and 1973 and the series was a best seller with 8 million copies having been sold.
***By the time Punisher got his own solo series in 1986, its possible Death Wish could have been an influence as there were 3 movies at the time.
***Punisher Co-Creator, Gerry Conway has also cited the Executioner as the inspiration for Punisher.
**Like Punisher and Paul Kersey, Mack Bolan is ex-military and becomes a vigilante when family members are killed.
***Mack Bolan's father kills his wife, daughter and wounds his youngest son. At first glance it appears to be a murder-suicide but Mack later learns that his father had a debt with the mob.
***Frank Castle is in the Park with his family when they stumble upon a Mafia and are silenced, with Castle being the sole survivor and vowing to kill any criminal he sees to avenge the murders of his family
***Paul Kersey's wife is beaten to death in an home invasion and his daughter is beaten into a vegetation state( In Death Wish 2 she is kidnapped by a group of things and dies while trying to escape)
Category:Anti-Heroes
Category:Book Heroes
Category:Vigilantes
Category:Action Heroes
Category:Military
Category:Assassins
Category:Lethal
Category:One-Man Army
Category:Thriller Heroes
Category:The Hero
Category:Counter-Terrorists
Category:Tragic
Category:Vengeful
Category:Male
Category:Titular
Category:Comic Book Heroes
Category:Victims
Category:Martial Artists
Category:Strong-Willed
Category:Siblings
Category:Criminals