Charles Gunn is a character in the television series Angel, created by Joss Whedon and first introduced by writer Gary Campbell in the episode "War Zone".

Gunn is introduced in the season 1 episode "War Zone", when he observes the vampire Angel roughing up a blackmailer and tries, unsuccessfully, to dust him.

Angel recognizes Gunn's strength and often calls on him in battle or if he needs help protecting the people he cares about.

Although he initially regards his time with Angel Investigations as a "paying side gig", Gunn eventually becomes a full-time member of the gang, gaining mutual respect for those he fights side-by-side with while finding his place in the world.

However, his work with his new 'family' often leads to conflicted loyalties; in the episode "Belonging", Cordelia is accidentally sucked into a portal to Pylea while a member of Gunn's old street crew, George, succumbs to the bite of a vampire.

Yet even in his grief, he realizes he could not commit the same crime twice and allow Cordelia to suffer the same fate, so he joins Angel, Wesley, and Lorne to rescue her.

Gunn comes to the conclusion his old gang is responsible for the deaths, led by a man named Gio who has a grudge against supernatural entities due to an unrevealed event in his past (cf.

In a showdown with one of his lifelong friends, Gunn chooses the mission of the Angel Investigations team and finds the future he thought he would never have.

He even finds love in the arms of the new girl, Fred Burkle, but his past still comes back to haunt him in "Double or Nothing" when the demon Jenoff decides it is time to cash in on a deal made years earlier by claiming Gunn's soul.

Gunn underwent a procedure that gave him a deep understanding of the law and other skills, which made him a valuable asset to Angel's team.

When his mental abilities begin to diminish, Gunn, fearful of losing his new talents and respect, makes a pact with Dr. Sparrow and gets a permanent upgrade in exchange for signing to release an ancient curio stuck in customs.

"A Hole in the World"), a guilt-ridden Gunn willingly offers himself to take Lindsey McDonald's place in a hell dimension in order to obtain information on how to stop the Senior Partners (cf.

While preparing for one last fight against the army of the Senior Partners, Illyria tells Gunn that he has only minutes to live; he replies, "Then let's make them memorable".

Gunn decides to let Angel lie there and die slowly, only to be confronted by Wesley's "ghost", who reveals to him that the visions he has been receiving are from the Senior Partners rather than the Powers That Be.

It is explained how he was cured so quickly from the attacks at the end of the series, and he and Illyria come to a mutual agreement and strike a friendship of sorts.

[citation needed] However, his attempts to start anew are briefly halted when he is attacked by Eddie Hope, an ice-manipulating devil who has been hunting down people for crimes they committed while Los Angeles was in Hell, while at a diner.

In the television series, Gunn is a normal human with no supernatural abilities, but he has strength and martial arts expertise due to his years as a vampire hunter, often described as "the muscle" of Angel Investigations.

In the canonical comic book Angel: After the Fall, Gunn is depicted as having become a vampire, acquiring superhuman strength, speed, reflex durability, virtual immortality, accelerated healing, vulnerability to holy items and sunlight, and the necessity to feed on blood to maintain vitality.

In the final episodes, Gunn comes full circle, returning to his roots, taking back his street clothes, and reawakening his purpose as a soldier in the fight against evil.