Charles Gunn

Charles Gunn, or Gunn to his friends is a fictional character in the TV series Angel, played by J. August Richards.

Gunn is a die-hard member of Angel's group at Angel Investigations.

Originally from downtown Los Angeles, Gunn was devastated when his sister was turned into a vampire by the local vampire population. To this end, he took up fighting vampires with his friends, with a care-free attitude to life, only caring to defend those around him from the vampires. No mention is made of any family besides his sister, but his friends (made up of fellow street kids) respect his as both a leader and friend. At some point prior to his entry in the series, Gunn had met and befriended Anne.

Gunn met Angel in the episode "War Zone" near the end of season one. Initially he was suspicious of the ensouled vampire, but after Angel lent assistance to Gunn's group, their dynamic changed. In the final episode of season one, Angel asked Gunn to help guard Cordelia and Wesley while Angel confronted Wolfram & Hart. In season two, Gunn became a full-fledged member of Angel Investigations, choosing to remain with Cordelia and Wesley when Angel detached himself. Gunn continued to demonstrate his combat skill and worthiness as a fighter, earning himself the role of "the muscle." However, his increasing involvement with Angel Investigations meant he had less time to spend with his former colleagues, and Gunn was forced to choose between his old group and the new one. After Cordelia disappeared to Pylea, Gunn chose to continue his role with Angel, and assisted in both the revolution on Pylea and the rescue of Cordelia and Fred from that demon dimension.

Early in season three, Gunn was once again forced to choose between his new friends and his old ones. His former colleagues had broadened their activities from just hunting vampires to hunting all demons, even those which were peaceful or fought for good. During a confrontation at Caritas, Lorne's bar, Gunn once and for all chose to remain loyal to Angel and the group. Shortly thereafter, Gunn began a romantic relationship with Fred, much to the chagrin of Wesley, who was also interested in her. After Wesley's betrayal (regarding Connor), Gunn and Fred became even more close. At the end of season three, the couple were the only members of Angel Investigations to still remain in Los Angeles. They also looked after a now-teenager Connor, who covertly thwarted their attempts to find Angel.

At the beginning of season four, things were looking up for Gunn and Fred. Angel was rescued from his aquatic exile, they rescued Lorne from his forced gig in Las Vegas, Angel and Wesley were on the verge of a reprochement, and Cordelia had returned. However, tensions with Wesley were running high due to Fred being the object of their mutual desire. Shortly thereafter, Fred learned that an old professor of hers had been the one who originally sent her to Pylea and decided to kill him. Gunn was afraid that he would lose Fred if she killed a human, and instead chose to kill the man himself. After snapping the professor's neck, he threw the body into an interdimensional portal, so there was no body, and thus no criminal investigation. However, their relationship was never the same and they quietly ended their relationship. In the midst of Jasmine's near-apocalypse, Gunn continued to prove his worth as an excellent fighter. However, he also began to display significant involvement in strategic planning, and his intellectual capabilities were lauded by the electro-girl, Gwen Raiden.

After Jasmine had been defeated, Gunn went to work for Wolfram & Hart along with the rest of the team. The Senior Partners chose to endow Gunn with a great wealth of legal knowledge and enhanced his diplomatic and strategic capabilities. In season five, Gunn was a full-fledged lawyer who began to enjoy his new role of "the brain." Gunn finally gave his blessing for Wesley to pursue a relationship with Fred, and he did so.

Near mid-season, Gunn's new knowledge base and abilities began to fade. Gunn struck a deal with a Wolfram & Hart doctor to make his alterations permanent, in return for clearing a package stuck in customs. At the time, this just seemed like harmless paperwork to Gunn, but later it is revealed that this package was the sarcophagus of Illyria, which in turn killed Fred. Gunn was devastated by his role in these events, but Wesley was so emotionally wrecked that he blamed Gunn, and stabbed him. Gunn renounced his lawyer persona, but retained his knowledge and abilities. He took the place of Lindsey in a suburban hell dimension, so that Angel could retrieve Lindsey for interrogation. In this dimension, Gunn had his heart cut out every day by a demon, but was rescued after a couple weeks by Illyria. Back at Wolfram & Hart, Gunn returning to championing the cause of the helpless, even when they were not his clients.

In the final battle of the series, Gunn was assigned to kill (fictional) Senator Brucker, a demon who did business with Wolfram & Hart. During what he assumed would be his last day alive, he chose to spend his time helping out Anne at her shelter. Since the Senator's entourage was composed of many vampires, Gunn returned to his roots, and managed to kill them all. However, he was badly wounded and bleeding when he joined Angel, Spike, and Illyria at their meeting place. When Gunn stood up to fight the approaching demon army (the Senior Partners' retaliation), Illyria commented that he was fading away and that he would "last ten minutes, at best", Gunn then replies "then let's make them memorable".