main image

GRIS-GRIS

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human, magic user, citizen of the United States

Occupation: First kill and besider of the New Orleans Assassins guild

Group Membership: Assassins guild (Bella Donna Boudreaux, Marius Boudreax, Candra, Fifolet, Questa, Stinger, Tithe Collector others);
                                    formerly Unified Guild

Affiliations: Tante Mattie, Cody Robbins

Enemies: Neo Warclan (Anteus, Barbican, Domina, Elysia, Jaeger, Jaunt, Junction, Kilmer, Rax, Static, Salvo, Tartarus, Tartarus), New Son, Rogue (Anna-Marie Raven);
                formerly Thieves Guild (Genard Alouette, Zoe Ishara, Emil Lapin, Jean Luc LeBeau, Mercy LeBeau, Remy LeBeau, Theoren Marceaux, Minister of Hoard, Minister of Tome, Claude Potier)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: New Orleans

First Appearance: Rogue I#1 (January, 1995)

Powers/Abilities: Gris-Gris possessed a number of supposedly magic based abilities, chief among them hallucinations and manipulation of other people's emotional states. Gris-Gris appears to be long lived, showing no signs of visible aging over the course of multiple decades. Gris-Gris was a trained assassin: loyal to the guild, but ruthless to its enemies. Gris-Gris had access to a variety of magical artifacts and weapons provided by the External Candra.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 6'2")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 190 lbs.)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

History:

(Gambit III#13 (fb) ) - Gris-Gris shared his leader Marius Boudreax concerns over thirteen year old Bella Donna's infatuation with Remy, the son of Thieves Guild leader Jean Luc LeBeau. However, Gris-Gris wondered if Marius was really concerned about the fact his daughter loved a boy thief or that he knew of the pivotal role Remy would one day have for the guilds of New Orleans.

(Rogue I#1) - Gris-Gris attended the funeral of Marius Boudreax (who had suddenly died after what appeared to be a heart attack). The service was briefly interrupted by Candra and the Tithe Collector who had come to pay their respects. Candra hinted that she might be persuaded to become the Guild's benefactor once more.

(Rogue I#1 - BTS) - In exchange for returning as guild benefactor, the External Candra had their leader Bella Donna prove her worth by concocting a revenge plan involving Gambit and Rogue.

(Rogue I#1) - While his colleagues Fifolet and Singer kidnapped the comatose Cody Robbins from a Mississippi hospital, Gris-Gris was tasked to post outside the Xavier institute to keep track of Gambit. When he spotted Remy leave the grounds on his bike, he contacted Bella Donna to confirm her plan was going as predicted.

(Rogue I#2) - Gris-Gris and a squadron of assassins followed Gambit as he made his way towards New Orleans. Gris-Gris had his men attack Gambit at a roadside gas station. The fight caused an explosion that was spotted by Rogue who was also approaching the city by air. The two X-Men teamed up to fight off the assassins. The confrontation ended when Gris-Gris briefly and ominously appeared in the smoke, pointing at his opponents before silently vanishing.

(Rogue I#2 - BTS) - Gris-Gris returned to Bella Donna's mansion.

(Rogue I#2) - Gris-Gris joined Bella Donna and Fifolet to confront Aunt Mattie. She'd been tasked to take care of the ailing Cody Robbins, but she'd been caught secretly contacting Rogue to guide her to their location. Bella Donna threatened the witch woman, claiming she was now ready for Rogue's imminent arrival.

(Rogue I#3) - After making short work of the assassins sent to oppose her, Rogue made her way to Bella Donna's mansion where Gris-Gris was waiting for her with a message: Cody's hospital I.D. bracelet and one of Gambit's gloves. Rogue furiously grabbed the voodoo priest, trying to press him for information. Instead, he threw a chemical in her face that immediately caused severe anxiety. Gris-Gris watched as Rogue was threatened by Fifolet, but she quickly overcame her fear and defeated her opponent. Next, Gris-Gris tried to attack the mutant with a magically enhanced truncheon he received from Candra, but he was swiftly punched out by Rogue who went on to confront Bella Donna and free both Gambit and the dying Cody Robbins.

(Gambit III#15) - Hoping to help put the assassins guild back on the map, Bella Donna accepted a mission to bring in her ex-husband Remy LeBeau. Gris-Gris dutifully made the necessary preparations, hoping it would be an assignment worthy of the guild's long tradition. He desired a consignment who would die in battle, not whimpering for mercy.

(Gambit Annual 2000 (fb) ) - After the mission to kill Gambit led to the unification of the New Orleans Thieves and Assassins guilds, Gris-Gris was seen celebrating the new status quo with Bella Donna and Gambit as the guilds' new leaders. The unification was long prophecied to be the first step in the resurrection of the fabled old kingdom.

(Gambit III#22 (fb) - BTS) - Acting on long standing orders from Jean Luc LeBeau, Gris-Gris teamed with Theoren Marceaux to destroy the Casket of All Tomorrows before it could be opened to use its contents to bring about the resurrection of the old kingdom. Feeling the LeBeaus had betrayed the future of both thieves and assassins, Gris-Gris felt that Remy could no longer lead the guild. He called for a vote of confidence.

(Gambit III#22) - Gris-Gris attended the meeting of the Unified Guild at Boudreaux Mansion to discuss the future of Gambit as their leader. As Bella Donna's first kill and her besider, Gris-Gris was asked to cast the first vote. He naturally voted against keeping Remy on, but the final tally was seven yea to six nay with Bella Donna casting the final vote in favor of keeping Gambit as head of the organization. They then rushed out to aid their leader in his fight against the Neo warrior Rax who had just been joined by Domina and other members of the War Clan. Upon meeting Gris-Gris and the others, Domina had the Neo stand down out of respect for their past history in the old kingdom.

Comments: Created by Howard Mackie, Mark Wieringo, Terry Austin

The exact nature of Gris-Gris abilities have never been established on panel. He may depend fully on magic, or maybe he uses a form of technology or natural born (mutant) powers.

''Gris-Gris" is the name of a Voodoo good luck charm, originating in Ghana. The gris-gris are kept on the body in little pouches (which explains the character's design). However, among Cajun communities in Louisiana, the gris-gris are associated with black magic. Despite its negative connotation, gris-gris doctors have performed rituals in Lousiana's Creole communities for centuries.

'Gris' is French for 'gray', which is why I named my gray tabby cat after the character. No dreadlocks, just a dreadful personality.

Profile by Norvo.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Gris-Gris has no known connections to


images: (without ads)
Rogue I#3, p12, pan1 (main image)
Rogue I#1 p22, pans4&5 (contacts Bella Donna)
Rogue I#3, p14, pan2 (with magic totem)
Gambit III#22, p18, pan5 (first kill besider)


Appearances:
Rogue I#1 (January, 1995) - Howard Mackie (writer), Mike Wieringo (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Lisa Patrick (editor)
Rogue I#2 (February, 1995) - Howard Mackie (writer), Mike Wieringo (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Lisa Patrick (editor)
Rogue I#3 (March, 1995) - Howard Mackie (writer), Mike Wieringo (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Lisa Patrick (editor)
Gambit III#13 (February, 2000) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Anthony Williams (pencils), Andy Lanning (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Gambit III#15 (April, 2000) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Yanick Paquette (pencils), Sean Parsons (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Gambit Annual 2000 (October, 2000) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Thomas Derenick (pencils), Eric Cannon (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Gambit III#22 (November, 2000) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Yanick Paquette (pencils), Sean Parsons (inks), Mike Marts (editor)


First Posted: 03/23/2022
Last updated: 03/23/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at:
http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters