Gunn was born in the Badlands, a section of inner-city Los Angeles where the police would not go, and looked after his sister, Alonna, from a very young age. Although he had a few brushes with the law, he acted as a kind of urban Robin Hood to keep the streets in his neighborhood safe. In his teens, Gunn rose through the ranks to become the leader of a gang of street-fighters who protect their turf from vampires using guerrilla tactics. Possessing the mind of a military strategist and the strength of a back-alley brawler, life in the ghetto hardened Gunn to the extent that his life became less important than the cause, resulting in him trading his soul for a truck in a deal with a demon named Jenoff when he was only seventeen, because he believed he had no future (cf. Double or Nothing ).[edit] Angel - first season Gunn is first introduced in the Season One episode War Zone , when he observes the vampire Angel roughing up a blackmailer and tries unsuccessfully to dust him. Eventually, Angel wins Gunn's trust, but unfortunately not in time to save Alonna from being turned into a vampire. Gunn has no choice but to stake his own sister, a decision which continues to haunt him through the series. It is this loss that forces Gunn to question his own motives and become more receptive to Angel's help, realizing he cannot do everything alone.[edit] Angel - second to fourth season Angel recognizes Gunn's strength and often calls on him if he needs back up in battle or if he needs protection for the people he cares about when he cannot protect them himself. 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. Gunn feels responsible for his friend's death, believing that it would not have happened if he had still been around to help in the fight. Yet even in his grief, he realizes that 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.A short time after their return from Pylea, demons across the city are being massacred and Gunn comes to the conclusion that his old gang is responsible for the deaths (cf. That Old Gang of Mine ). He realizes that his ties with his old life are gone and that his loyalty now lies with the vampire with a soul. In a showdown with one of his lifelong friends, Gunn finally chooses the mission of the Angel Investigations team. Without realizing it, Gunn finds the future he thought he would never have. He has friends, loyalty, respect, and a mission to pursue. He even finds love in the arms of the new girl Fred Burkle, but his past still comes back to haunt him in the episode Double or Nothing, when the demon Jenoff decides it is time to cash in on the deal Gunn had made years earlier by claiming Gunn's soul. Luckily, Angel and the others at Angel Investigations are able to aid Gunn and defeat Jenoff, allowing Gunn the luxury of living his life to the fullest.Fred becomes the most important person in Gunn's world, but Gunn's devotion suffers the ultimate test in the episode Supersymmetry when he kills Professor Seidel, the person responsible for deliberately sending Fred to Pylea, in order to save Fred from having to carry the burden of doing it herself. The guilt of what he had done for her plagues Fred and instead of bringing them closer together, it begins the rut that leads to the end of their relationship. Although no longer romantically linked, Gunn and Fred continue to fight side-by-side, and Gunn has a fling with the electric Gwen Raiden in the episode Players. When Wolfram & Hart want to cut a deal to have Angel take over the LA branch, Gunn is led into the mysterious White Room where he is exposed to the mysterious conduit to the Senior Partners, who impresses Gunn with his immense power. Soon, he undergoes a remarkable transformation at Wolfram & Hart.[edit] Angel - fifth season Feeling undervalued by his friends, Gunn submits to a procedure at the hands of Wolfram & Hart's Medical Department that enhances his mind with a comprehensive understanding of the law (and Gilbert & Sullivan, to help improve his voice and diction), making him the only member of Angel's team who can work inside the system seamlessly (cf. Conviction ). 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. When this curio results in the death of Fred and the resurrection of Illyria (cf. 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 get information on how to stop the Senior Partners (cf. Underneath ). While the team have no clue how to free him, Illyria saves Gunn with ease. He then returns to the fold, changed and seeking redemption for his sins. In the show's finale Not Fade Away , he slays Senator Helen Brucker, one of the members of the Circle of the Black Thorn, but is seriously injured in the process. While prepearing for one last fight against the army of the Senior Partners, Illyria states that he has only minutes to live with Gunn quoting 'Then lets make them memorable'. Joss Whedon later discussed the final battle in SFX Magazine: Gunn is dead. Illyria keeps fighting. Angel loses an arm. Spike gets Shanshu. And Xander loses another eye, which is funny, because he isn't even there. [edit] Possible future Although Illyria said that Gunn had only minutes to live at the series' end, in the Angel comics, Gunn somehow has survived the battle against the demonic legion sent by the Senior Partners, though he has lost an eye. These comics are not necessarily considered canonical.In an article posted on IGN.com, Amy Acker, who played Fred and Illyria, states that, had the rumored TV films about the Buffy/Angelverse been made, Gunn would have become a vampire and would have become a central villain [1].