Vince Adams was the consigilere for the Metropolis-based crime cartel known as The 100 and the early arch-enemy to the vigilante called Thorn.
History
Vince Adams ran a funeral parlor business out of Riverview Chapel as a front for the 100's operations; his connections to organized crime were not widely known to the general public. After police detective Phil Forrest was assassinated by the 100's hitmen, Phil's daughter Rose suffered a nervous breakdown. After being released from a psychiatric institution once her mental condition was (incorrectly) determined to be stable, Rose began a rampage as the violent vigilante called the Thorn with the boast that she would hunt down and slay every last affiliate of the 100, though such behavior would only be in evidence during the nighttime hours. In the waking world, Rose Forrest had no knowledge of her alter ego and subconsciously repressed her vengeful side. Not realizing that Rose and the Thorn were in fact the same person, Adams bought the contract that his superiors initially put out on the girl's life and gave her a job as a secretary at his funeral home.
Although Adams repeatedly angled at striking up a romantic association with Rose, she always seemed occupied instead with the true object of her affections, her late father's old partner Danny Stone. As the go-to man to tie up the loose-ends from the 100's previous operations, Adams frequently conspired to have Danny and the Thorn murdered.[2] Most of the time, the 100's efforts were limited to sending mundane hitmen after Thorn, but on one occasion, Adams "acquired" a prototype of Mother Box technology designated K.A.R.L.-1 from the 100's rivals over at Intergang. Acting according to the machine's strategic calculations, Adams hired Poison Ivy to kill the Thorn, but not only was Ivy defeated, K.A.R.L. also malfunctioned and wound up at the bottom of the river.[3] Weeks later, Thorn remembered the incident and recruited intrepid Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane to help her lift whatever remained of K.A.R.L. from the riverbed so its memory could be salvaged to expose the remaining members of the 100. Breaking his cover as a legitimate businessman, Adams reacted by waylaying Lois and Thorn in Riverview Chapel and threatened their lives to demand the surrender of Superman himself, the ultimate bane of the entire Metropolis underworld. However, Adams's hostages proved tougher to handle than he had expected, and his plan fell to pieces. Adams was arrested and imprisoned, and Riverview Chapel closed down. As a result, Rose Forrest was left without a stable paying job, forcing her to adopt a more itinerant lifestyle, even as she brought the wrath of the Thorn with her from one locale to the next.[4]
Some time after his initial capture, Adams was released from prison and resumed his services for the 100, masterminding a scheme to frame Barbara Gordon for embezzling library funds and murdering the bookkeeper in order to blackmail Gotham City's Police Commissioner James Gordon into tolerating the 100's expansion into Gotham's rackets. The plan was dismantled through the independent endeavors of Batman and the Thorn and the cooperation of Superman and Batgirl, who unbeknownst to Adams was secretly the very woman he sought to frame.[5]
Years later, Adams's prison sentence was commuted for good behavior[6], and he opened a nightclub called the Funeral Parlor Club, steadily reclaiming his reputation as a legitimate businessman. However, the Thorn paid him a visit one night after a news story broke which led her to believe that the 100 was reorganizing. Adams's men inadvertently betrayed that Adams was involved in distribution of crystal meth, and Thorn cut off his attempt at an escape with an impromptu assist from Superman and some civilian helpers, including Lois and Lucy Lane.[7] Thorn did further investigating to hunt down Adams's supplier, determining him to be Mister Orchid, Adams's old crony in the 100. However, she learned after capturing Orchid that there were no plans to re-establish the 100 in Metropolis, and that Orchid and Adams had struck out to run an independent racket.[6][8]
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
Paraphernalia
Weapons
- Occasionally a pistol or laser-gun
Notes
- Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.
Related
- 7 Appearances of Vincent Adams (New Earth)
- 1 Images featuring Vincent Adams (New Earth)
- 1 Quotations by or about Vincent Adams (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Vincent Adams (New Earth)
Footnotes
  This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category." |