Paladin is a mercenary and private investigator, whose past is largely unrevealed. When first seen, he sought
Daredevil while engaged in an assignment to track down the
Purple Man, and battled Daredevil. He clashed with Daredevil a second time after the crime fighter inadvertently interfered with Paladin's search for the Purple Man. Paladin allied with Daredevil in battle against
Cobra,
Jester, and
Mister Hyde, who were under control of the Purple Man. Paladin allied with
Spider-Man and
Wasp against mobsters; despite respecting Spider-Man's abilities, Paladin is incredulous that Spider-Man offers his heroic services without charge (Paladin literally laughs in Spider-Man's face upon learning this), while Spider-Man in turn is disgusted by Paladin's mercenary ways. An unabashed womanizer, Paladin often flirted with whoever woman caught his eye. He briefly dated the Wasp at a time when she was separated from
Hank Pym, much to the
Black Knight's jealousy, who was also attracted to her. For a time, he also enlisted
Generation X into helping him retrieve a sword for
Adrienne Frost. During this period
Jubilee was attracted to Paladin, but that affection disappeared when Generation X and Paladin later went their separate ways. He has also been a longtime ally to Silver Sable and her Wild Pack organization, working for pay, of course. He once helped them protect a scientist from a kidnapping attempt by the
Heroes for Hire, a group he would later join. His main opponent was
Misty Knight, who seemed to be an equal match. Paladin had exhibited a certain amount of honor in some cases. For example, he was once hired by a corrupt government to assist rebels as part of a sting operation. He aided the rebels in a bomb-laying operation at a government facility. When the rebels were caught, his government handler remarked how lucky they were that the bomb had not gone off. Paladin replied, "I'm sorry, that would have been extra," and activated the bomb by remote control while driving away. Paladin was a main character in
Heroes for Hire, although as Misty Knight said he was just there for the money. As it turns out, he was a traitor to the group, only using the Heroes as a means to hunt down Captain America for
S.H.I.E.L.D. as part of
Civil War. He single-handedly defeated Captain America and the entire Heroes for Hire team, with the exceptions of
Tarantula and
Orka, who were not present when the fight took place, with a special gas weapon that affected the nervous system. He then radioed S.H.I.E.L.D. and told them he had Captain America in custody. However, he did not account for
Shang-Chi's ability to hold his breath over an extended period (thanks to his martial arts training) and was overpowered by him. Shang-Chi then aided Captain America, who afterwards switched his costume with Paladin, causing S.H.I.E.L.D. to take Paladin instead into custody. In
Dark Reign, Paladin joins the
Thunderbolts,
Norman Osborn's personal black ops team. Hired to assassinate
Elektra for 82 million dollars, Paladin broke into
H.A.M.M.E.R. headquarters. However, Elektra overpowered him by choking him with one of her teeth that was loosened when Paladin punched her. Begging for his life, Paladin gave Elektra the key to escape her prison. During the "
Shadowland" storyline, Paladin is paired with
Silver Sable,
Misty Knight, and
Shroud when Daredevil's
Hand ninjas end up targeting members of the mafia. Following this, Misty Knight reopens Heroes for Hire under the influence of Puppet Master; Paladin joins the team and soon realizes this and frees Misty from Puppet Master's control with the help from Iron Fist. After the defeat of Puppet Master, Paladin convinces Misty to keep the operation open, but under their terms. In "
Venom War", Paladin,
Solo, and their fellow mercenaries battle
Eddie Brock,
Bedlam, Tyro, and Wilde when they crash a wrestling match in Grand Garden Arena. They are defeated and deposited outside for EMTs to deal with. It is revealed that the mercenaries were hired by
Alchemax due to a lack of in-house talent. ==Powers and abilities==