Trust (100 Bullets)
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The Trust is a fictional organization in the 100 Bullets comic book by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso, published by DC Comics imprint Vertigo.
[edit] Origins and history
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100 Bullets #50, p.14. Art by Eduardo Risso
The origins of the Trust lie back in the early 16th century. Following the discovery of the New World and its resources, particularly gold, the kings and queens of Europe all wanted a piece of the action. Thirteen ancient and powerful families, who up to that point had spent all their efforts scoring points off each other, realised that if they worked together in a newfound spirit of trust, they could acquire not just a piece, but the whole pie. The families had enough power to make or break kingdoms, and were thorns in the sides of the monarchs of Europe. They proposed that if the families worked together, they could relocate their power to the Americas and shape that land to their own needs. With their new base of power, they would remove themselves and their influence from the shores of Europe forever, allowing the monarchy to do what it would. Unsurprisingly, the monarchs said no. Most outspoken of these was Queen Elizabeth I, who not only said no, but intended to take the country for herself, and to this end had set up a colony on Roanoke Island. The families took this refusal badly and decided to send a message of intent.
Seven men were picked as enforcers for the Trust. These men would stop any threat either from within or without. They would be the new law, they were the Minutemen. The Minutemen were dispatched with their orders, and arrived at the Roanoke colony in the dead of night to commit 'The Crime'. During the course of the night, one hundred and nineteen men, women and children were slaughtered in their homes. Once every living thing was no more, the seven Minutemen carved seven letters into a sign for the kings and queens. The word was 'Croatoa', unknown in any language, but to the monarchs the meaning was clear...'this belongs to us'.
[edit] Houses of the Trust
The Trust was made up of thirteen Houses (families). Several Houses are destroyed during the course of the story because of conflict.
- The House of Medici: a Miami based family; headed by Augustus Medici, current leader of the Trust.
- The House of Vasco: headed by Javier Vasco, Medici's most vocal opponent in the Trust.
- The House of Nagel: headed by Axel Nagel until his demise. The short-lived reign of his twin children lead to the end of his house.
- The House of Simone: headed by the Dallas-based Mia Simone, considered by Graves to be the weakest of the families; Eliminated by Remi
- The House of Kotias: headed by Helena Kotias and closely tied to the House of Vasco. Eliminated by Victor.
- The House of D'Arcy: apparently allied to the House of Medici, this house is headed by Joan D'Arcy.
- The House of Vermeer: possibly linked to the House of Vasco.
- The House of Peres: absorbed by the other families after the assassination of Daniel Peres.
- The House of Carlito: destroyed by Lono, who killed Fulvio Carlito and his entire family in retribution for the miscarried attempt on Medici's life.
- The House of Madrid: a New Orleans based family, until recently headed by Anwar Madrid; status indeterminate after his assassination at the hands of Wylie Times. Anwar's heir had been previously eliminated as retribution for an anti-Medici plot.
- The House of Rhone: a Lake Tahoe, Nevada based family headed by Sigmar Rhone, who kept informants within the House of Dietrich. He and his entire family are murdered by Remi and Victor
- The House of Dietrich: headed by the LA-based Megan Dietrich, who succeeded her late father, Roland. The current relationship between Megan and Augustus has led to an informal alliance of sorts between the two Houses.
There is 1 additional House about which nothing is known, though the head of said house was assassinated along with Helena Kotias by Victor.
[edit] The Minutemen
The original Minutemen were seven vicious killers, who eradicated the Roanoke colony and left behind the message "Croatoa" as a warning. Since that time, the Minutemen were charged with protecting the 13 families who make up the Trust, from outside threats as well as from each other.
The Minutemen are always seven, recruited by the Trust's Warlord and trained in surveillance and assassination techniques. Primarily, they work as enforcers, employing lethal force as well as their fearsome reputation to ensure the Trust's well-being. The identities of the most recent group of Minutemen are: Cole Burns ("Wolf"), Lono ("Dog"), Wylie Times ("Point Man"), Milo Garret ("Bastard"), Victor Ray ("Rain"), Jack Daw ("Monster") and Remi Rome ("Saint"). They were led by Philip Graves, whose occupation is identified only as "Agent", and trained by Joseph Shepherd, the Trust's Warlord until recently. The Minutemen were forcibly disbanded after a significant incident in Atlantic City that happened an undisclosed number of years in the past, when the heads of the Trust felt that the Minutemen were no longer useful. All members of the Minutemen survived, and all members but Lono (who was not present) were brainwashed for their protection. They all were leading regular lives (under their real names) until recently activated.
It is suggested that the Trust has infiltrated the correctional system, using it as a pool of replacements and training ground for Minutemen. Most of those identified as belonging to the latest group -as well as the two new recruits- have been recruited and trained either before, during, or after incarceration. However, the suggested periods of incarceration coincide with start of each Minuteman's new "life" following their concealment after the events in Atlantic City. It is possible they were never actually in prison, this instead acting as a buffer for their memories of their real lives. In "The Counterfifth Detective" Milo tells Graves he spent the night in jail for assaulting a policeman, to which Graves replies "Do you actually remember anything before the fight?"
[edit] The Trust's Warlord
Although not nominally the leader of the Minutemen, the Trust's Warlord is probably promoted from their ranks in order to serve as intelligence officer for the Trust and right hand man to its leader. He acts as liaison between the Trust and the Minutemen and is also responsible for recruiting and training new Minutemen, having apparently free access to correctional facilities from which many potential new recruits have been literally sprung.
The current Warlord of the Trust is Lono, selected by his predecessor, Joseph Shepherd, who was slain (in issue #58).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- 100Bullets.co.uk fan site, on material from which parts of this article were based
