Gimli | |
Biographical Information | |
Real Name | Tom Miller |
Aliases | Gimli |
Gender | Male |
Class | Joker |
Wild Card Traits | Dwarfism, enhanced strength |
Social Information | |
Citizenship | Citizen of the United States |
Occupation | Activist |
Event Participant | 1976 Jokertown Riot |
Affiliations | Jokers for a Just Society (JJS), Red Army Fraction |
Allies | George Steele, Kahina, Succubus |
Origin | |
First Appearance | Wild Cards |
Creator | Stephen Leigh |
Gimli is a fictional character from the Wild Cards series of books. He is a militant dwarf with radical activist and terrorism links.
History[]
Gimli (as Miller prefers to be called) was one of the founders and guiding spirits of the Jokers for a Just Society (JJS). He embraced radical politics (and later, terrorism) as a means of bringing about social justice for jokers. Needless to say, he was not popular with nat politicians, and was forced to leave the country after the debacle of the 1976 Jokertown Riot. He toured Europe and Russia, cementing his contacts with many radical leftist groups, including the Red Army Fraction with which he participated in the 1987 kidnapping of Senator Gregg Hartmann.
Gimli was one of the few kidnappers who escaped the botched Hartmann snatch. He returned to the United States, convinced that Hartmann was a powerful and malignant secret ace, and formed a strange alliance with ex-KGB agent George Steele (aka Polyakov), Kahina (the sister of Nur al-Allah), and the revived JJS in an attempt to bring Hartmann down.
Before Gimli could bring the plans of his fragile alliance to fruition, he ran into "Typhoid" Croyd Crenson (aka the Sleeper). He was reinfected with the mutated form of the wild card virus and... something happened. Nothing was left but his skin, and he is presumed dead. The stuffed skin is on display in the Bowery Wild Card Dime Museum. Gregg Hartmann was so affected by Gimli's fearful presence during his kidnapping that he is haunted by the image of Gimli seeking revenge.
Wild Card Traits[]
Gimli acquired a double-edge fate from the wild card gaining both dwarfism and enhanced strength, effectively becoming half the size of a normal man, yet twice as strong.
Appearance[]
Gimli was a dwarf joker, short and barrel-chested with powerful arms and legs. His chest is covered by thick, reddish brown hair.
Personality[]
Gimli was a violent, bitter person who thought nothing of committing heinous crimes to achieve his personal vision of a just society. He was typically foul-mouthed and gained enjoyment from violent confrontations. His intolerance and anger was largely directed at nats however, and he also held a sense of duty to jokers.
Trivia[]
- The name "Gimli" is taken from the dwarf protagonist in the 1954 novel, The Lord of the Rings.
Selected Reading[]
- Wild Cards Volume I: Wild Cards "Strings"
- Wild Cards Volume IV: Aces Abroad "Puppets"