The Torso is the ghost of Jimmy "The Gambler" Gambino, and the second ghost to be featured in The Black Zodiac.
Biography[]
Jimmy Gambino was obsessed with gambling, and would spend his days at the track instead of at school, and his nights gambling in seedy bars. Jimmy eventually opened his own booking business, though he was barely able to make his payoffs because of his compulsive gambling and he quickly developed a reputation due to his refusal to turn down a bet.
Jimmy's reputation of being unable to turn down a bet eventually caught the attention of local mobster and "made man" Larry "Finger" Vatelo, who approached Jimmy to place a bet on a long shot in a boxing match. Jimmy knew the risks of placing bets for the mob but needed to uphold his reputation, so he agreed to place the bet and shook hands with Larry, sealing his fate. When Jimmy's fighter was defeated, he fainted to the floor.
When Jimmy awakened, Larry and his gang arrived to collect Larry's winnings from Jimmy. But because Jimmy was cleaned out, Larry decided to make an example out of him. He had Jimmy chopped up into little pieces, wrapped the pieces in cellophane and dumped them into the ocean.
The symbol of the Torso.
After Death[]
Following his death, Jimmy's spirit remained bound to earth, and was captured by Cyrus Kriticos to become The Torso. The Torso was then moved to the basement of Basileus's Machine with the other eleven ghosts.
The Torso is the fourth ghost to be released. He appears before Bobby Kriticos in the basement, scaring him off.
Later, a Latin chant causes The Torso, along with the other eleven ghosts, to go to the center of the machine and power it up. When The Torso and the other ghosts are freed from Cyrus's trance, they throw Cyrus into a rotating crest of rings; however, The Torso wasn't seen. The house then explodes, destroying its walls and freeing all the ghosts.
Trivia[]
- "The Finger" Vatello, his gang and his fighter right after he came to from fainting when he lost the bet. However, most other, less direct sources state that he was killed when he tried to renege his bet with Larry and slip out of town.
- The sounds that signal the Torso's presence are muffled screams.
- His screaming head is shown wrapped in cellophane when he appears.
- In the film, The Torso was portrayed by Daniel Wesley, a double amputee.
- The Latin inscription beneath The Torso's symbol in The Arcanum, "Truncus," translates to "Trunk", which is another name for the human torso.
- The Torso appears to be one of the weaker ghosts encountered, as he can't harm anyone, and is never seen harming anyone.
- It's arguable if this ghost really is dangerous or simply neutral; while Bobby is scared of him, all he is seen doing is walking towards his head nearby Bobby and is one of two ghosts to not throw Cyrus.
- He is the second male ghost to appear in the zodiac.
- His ghost file is represented by poker cards.
- Being the second ghost, the Torso would be related to the zodiac sign Taurus. Taurus, like Jimmy, highly value possessions and are very stubborn. They're also often considered the lazy sign, which could relate to how The Torso never harms anyone.
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