Nick Carter-Killmaster - Weapons and Paraphernalia

Weapons and Paraphernalia

Nick Carter uses three main weapons during the course of the series, all of which are named, and have histories. The gun, Wilhelmina, is a stripped down German Luger. In the earliest stories, Carter got the gun off a German officer during a harrowing mission during World War II. Later stories state that he has had a series of Lugers, all named Wilhelmina. The knife, Hugo, is a pearl-handled 400-year-old stiletto crafted by Benvenuto Cellini. The blade retracts into the handle, and the whole thing is worn on a special sheath on the wrist, designed to release the knife into the user's hand with a simple muscle contraction. The third member of the triad is Pierre, a poison gas bomb, which is a small egg-shaped device, usually carried in a pocket but sometimes as a "third testicle" at his scrotum. Activated with a simple twist, it would, within seconds, kill anybody, or anything, that breathed its odorless and colorless gas.

Carter often takes with him other weapons as the mission demands. These have included:

• Cousin of Pierre - a smaller version of Pierre the poison gas bomb that can be concealed even more easily - described in The China Doll;
• Fang - a poison-tipped needle worn on a concealed index finger cap described in Saigon;
• Pepito - a non-lethal stun grenade used in Checkmate in Rio.
• Tiny Tim - a nuclear grenade "containing half a grain of sand of fissionable matter" used in Istanbul
• 10,000-watt laser pistol used in Hanoi
• Cigarette lighter that fires drugged darts used in Hanoi
• Exploding cigars used in Hanoi

Carter has used a variety of equipment in the novels most of which have nicknames. These have included:

• Antonio Moreno - a lifelike facemask made of a latex substance called Lastotex (apparently named after Antonio Moreno the 1920s silent movie star);
• Gladstone - a rhino hide suitcase with multiple concealed compartments;
• Oscar Johnson - a small radio transmitter (it is unclear if it is named after Oscar Johnson, a baseball player active in the 1920s and 1930s, or Oscar G. Johnson the World War II Medal of Honor recipient;
• Quantity K - a powerful acid strong enough to destroy evidence/documents;
• Singing Sam – a radio receiver concealed in electric razor/electric toothbrush used in Istanbul
• Wristwatch with UHF transmitter used in Hanoi
• Triple X tablet – a universal poison antidote and pep pill used in Hanoi
• Talkalot - a scopolamine-like truth drug used in Danger Key