Bandit
Real Name: Donyell is all we know, although even his love interest didn't call him that.
First Appearance: Night Thrasher (regular series) 3; it took until issue 7 to get some ID from him.
What's His Problem? Bandit is one seriously misguided and angry young man, the product of a one-night-stand between multi-millionaire Daryl Taylor and the Chicago woman Taylor would ultimately send a six-figure check to keep quiet. Upon learning the truth upon his mother death, Donyell made the rather strange decision of taking it out on his far more privileged half-brother, Dwayne Michael Taylor. As to why, well, ya got me, effendi! Bandit kept talking about fate, honor, position, yadda-yadda-yadda even though jealousy and greed were obviously getting the better of him.
Powers: Bandit can channel a bio-electric charge through his hands and any decent conductor that he's holding, but he actually finds it hard to endure if it winds up redirected back at him. He supposedly used this power to steal the superhuman prowess of the mutant Midnight's Fire, but we can't be entirely sure what happened there. He's a formidable marksman, acrobat and street-fighter but tends to specialize in break-ins, ambushes and running around in a big trench coat without tripping.
Weapons: Bandit is yet another tough guy who uses sharp objects such as spikes and throwing stars, yet his favorite is a wrist-mounted crossbow that fires small grappling-hooks that open inside the target's skin; this makes the attached cables quite secure while giving his power more shock value, so to speak.
Favorite Quote: "grmmrrr -- ouwaaouwaa" (New Warriors 50, and no, we wasn't chanting to some pagan god; he was just getting a second taste of his own bio-electric medicine, courtesy of the Sphinx. This actually serves to demonstrate (a) a more valiant side of the man as he pitches in to save at least one of the Warriors, and (b) anything resembling Bandit getting his come-comeuppance is worth writing about. Sure, I tolerate the guy, but he still gets on my nerves. So sue me...)
Heroes He Keeps Running Into: Having figured out that Dwayne Taylor was also the vigilante Night Thrasher, Donyell (almost forgot that name) tried outdoing Taylor by beating up on a few of his sparring partners, flirting with the guy's teammate and ex-girlfriend Silhouette and then soundly thrashing him (pun intended). Bandit lost their next fight as he lost his sense of perspective (meaning he freaked out), but has been more in control during their later encounters. He tends to keep rather quiet whenever Taylor's New Warriors buddies are around, as anyone one of them could kick the snot out of him. I'd love to see Speedball try...
People Who Think He's Not So Bad: Ironically enough, Silhouette. They had this (ugh) thing going on almost from their first meeting. She loves him enough to pretty much forget that he once had tied her up under high-wattage spot-lights, and he actually loves her more than enough to lead the likes of Dagger and Darkhawk against the all-to-powerful Sphinx in order to rescue her (and by default, her teammates). Don't get too comfortable around Bandit, as he will go to great lengths just to keep Sil for himself and apart from Thrash, whom he still hates. He also claims to hate Taylor's mentor Chord (ironically enough again, Sil's father) and whatever the Warriors stand for, but he sure didn't say it to their faces!
Most Despicable Act: This strange sibling rivalry first came to a boil when Bandit pummeled, speared and electrocuted an unarmored Dwayne before dropping him off a roof. Fortunately, Thrasher's similarities to the Distinguished Competition's Dark Knight included a quick recovery whilst ignoring doctor's orders, followed by keeping a cool head as he won the rematch to a fight that, frankly, didn't need to be fought at all. Couldn't Donyell just write a cheesy tell-all book or something?
by Ray Schaff
