Henry Peter Gyrich
First Appearance: Avengers 166
What's His Problem?: A long standing member of the National Security Council, Gyrich has an equally-long-standing interest in "monitoring" the activities of various super-heroes, especially the Avengers and the X-Men. Whether or not Gyrich is jealous about the power super-humans possess, or simply wants to make sure the heroes don't subjugate those they protect and is too heavy-handed to be tactful about it, remains to be seen.
Abilities: Gyrich probably has every official "law" regarding super-humans down by heart. He also knows a lot about bureaucracy and red tape. He isn't a very good shot with a power nullifier, though.
Favorite Quote: "Hey! I thought this tin woman was just a trophy or something! If she's intelligent, she has to have security clearance!" (Avengers 181, where Gyrich discovers that the Avengers' ward Jocasta isn't just your normal female robot.)
Heroes He Keeps Bumping Off...er, Into: Gyrich first introduced the Avengers to the concept of a government chaperone. He also served on the committee that got Steve Rogers fired as Captain America and grilled the New Warriors when their interference in a civil war further destabilized the area (and demonstrated why it is super-heroes tend to stay out of wars -- hard to tell who the "good" guys are, sometimes). He also once served as a bodyguard for Professor Xavier, and was rescued by X-Force when the Mutant Liberation Front captured him.
People Who Don't Think He's So Bad: Gyrich has ties in many corners of Washington DC. Most of the Avengers and X-Men don't consider him a bad guy, just misdirected and rather annoying. Okay, really annoying.
Most Despicable Act: While mainly limited to using red tape to trip up the Avengers, Gyrich's worst act was shooting Storm with Forge's power nullification gun. In Gyrich's defense, he was aiming at Rogue at the time, and Storm was more upset with Forge for inventing the gun than with Gyrich for shooting it.
Recommended Reading: For a less charitable view of Henry Peter Gyrich, check out X-Men: Mutant Empire Book 1: Siege. For a look at what Gyrich might be so worried about, check out Mark Gruenwald's classic Squadron Supreme series.
by Bobby Coakley
