Hoppered the Gauntlet is a member of the Gung-Ho-Guns. He is the sixth Gung-Ho-Gun in the manga and the third in the anime.
Appearance[]
Hoppered the Gauntlet is a man with deformed, vestigial legs, who is covered in bullet-like armor and uses his large arms to move. His armor is immensely tough, having been shown to withstand bullets and remain intact even after massive impacts.
Personality[]
Before the events of July, Hoppered was a compassionate individual that took care of a blind woman.
Biography[]
Prior to his joining the Gung-Ho-Guns, Hoppered was a cripple living in July, taking care of a mute and blind woman. The woman was killed in the destruction of July, leading Hoppered to seek revenge on Vash the Stampede, intending to go so far as to attempt to betray Knives' and Legato's orders that Vash the Stampede be tormented but not killed. He appears to have had a friendship with Midvalley the Hornfreak. Midvalley agreed to help Hoppered kill Vash, as Midvalley hoped to use the battle as a way to escape from the Guns himself. During his final battle, he sees Vash's memory of July and has a revelation that he has made the wrong choice. Though Vash protects Hoppered from Legato's onslaught, he is mortally wounded by Zazie the Beast in the final confrontation. As he dies, Hoppered tells Vash that he has decided that letting Vash live on and suffer on Gunsmoke is a more fitting punishment than killing him outright, before dying with a smile after seeing an image of the woman smiling.
The anime does not give much backstory to Gauntlet, instead, it has him just wish to make Vash suffer. He is sent along with Gray the Ninelives and Leonof the Puppetmaster in the attack on Vash's home. After Vash seemingly defeats him, he kills himself by jumping into one of the city's energy cores, destroying it and himself.
Ability[]
Hoppered is capable of launching himself with great speed, allowing him to transform into a living projectile and plow virtually anything in his path. He also has a spiked hammer which he uses to move which doubles as a pistol, with which he has demonstrated remarkable skill and accuracy.