SHOULDERS McGILL

Real Name: Donald McGill

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Assassin, tramp

Affiliations: The McCloud Brothers (Glaswegian gangsters), Silver Death (son, partner and weapon)

Enemies: Captain Britain, Meggan, Dai Thomas

Known Relatives: Silver Death (son and weapon)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Glasgow

First Appearance:  Captain Britain II#14 (February 1986)

Powers/Abilities: None, but uses his Warpie son as a living weapon

History:

[Captain Britain II#14, bts] - 27 Glaswegian gangsters and "known villains" are murdered in the run up to 24th December by Shoulders McGill and his Warpie son "Silver Death", at the behest of the McCloud Brothers. Dai Thomas brings Captain Britain and Meggan in on the case on Christmas Eve at 11.30p.m.]

(Captain Britain II#14) - The McCloud Brothers arrange for Shoulders to kill Captain Britain and Meggan, who are posing as mobsters moving into the Glasgow gang scene, and have been busting up the premises of every local outfit hoping to attract the attention of the killer. At 11.55p.m. on New Year's Eve McGill confronts Dai Thomas in the warehouse the heroes are waiting in. He releases Silver Death from the briefcase he carries him in, and Dai is only saved by the swift intervention of Captain Britain. Meggan and the Captain soon end the threat of the bizarre warpie, and Shoulders McGill is arrested, having given a full confession.

Comments: Created by Alan Davis.

McGill was quite insane, possibly driven so by the birth of his extremely bizarre warpie child. He viewed his killings as a sacred purge of the underworld, and was convinced that he was doing the Lord's work. He was also convinced that it was God who had given him a living weapon as a son, in order to carry out that mission. His nickname of Shoulders came from his comments that the Lord had given him broad shoulders to carry this sacred burden.

The Glaswegian gangster McShane, whose establishment is seen being demolished by Captain Britain, is John McShane, then owner of the A.K.A. comic shop in Glasgow. Bobbie, the bouncer, was one of his shop's staff (I used to shop there). Around the same time Gary Erskine, who went on to draw Captain Britain and Dai Thomas in the Knights of Pendragon mini-series, worked in the rival comic shop along the road. None of which is truely relevant to this character, but I find it interesting trivia anyway, so I thought I'd mention it.

McGill's first name was revealed in Marvel Atlas#1.

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