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Yankee is the leader of the main goon squad of The Firm. Together with the goons Shocker (David Burnell IV) and Crow (Jack Bandeira), he is sent after the assassin Sam (Karen Gillan) by the big boss Nathan (Paul Giamatti) to secure a suitcase full of banknotes.
The money has been stolen from The Firm by a worried father in order to get his kidnapped little daughter back. Sam has been sent out to get the money back but when she learns about the kidnapping, she decides to use the money to save the girl.
Much to the disadvantage of Yankee and his goons, Nathan wants them to make sure that Sam does not get hurt in the process of taking the money back.
Yankee fights with a baseball bat and is badly wounded in the first fight with Sam in the Gutterball Bowling Center, just like the other goons. Hence, he is delighted when Nathan finally has to give them permission to do whatever is necessary, even if it means they have to kill her.
As the leader of the goons, Yankee does almost all the talking, decides what approach to take and when to attack, and is in charge of the finances when the goons have to pay the doctor. He also reports to the boss and takes the new orders.
In the second fight, he cannot even walk anymore but faces Sam in a wheelchair. This time, he fights with a huge rifle and pretty much everything else.
It is impressive how much he can take without stopping as he gets hit by bullets, bitten and cut in the side of the neck with a knife. Even after falling down to the ground backwards with his wheelchair and one of the goons as extra weight, he is still able to move and is the last man “standing” of the trio.
Yankee is also the character with the most graphic and memorable exit in the whole film. You will never forget this moment, although it is really tough to watch for any serious Ivan Kaye fan despite the comical effect.
From an interview with David Burnell IV we already know that the goons were asked to write their own background stories for their characters and from a yet to be published section in our extensive recent Vikings video interview with Ivan we know that he sees all his characters as fully rounded and fills in background information wherever possible.
Therefore, we are looking forward to the first interview on Gunpowder Milkshake with Ivan that goes in-depth on his character as his appearance points to some background information:
He has a scar from a knife cut on his right cheek that suggests that his adversary was left-handed and had an advantage over Yankee due to a surprise effect. On his neck, we can see a tattoo with the name Carmen. Hence we assume that Yankee has a girlfriend or a wife or a daughter he cares about.
It is also conspicuous that Yankee does not wear a tie like the other two goons and his style is less elegant. We suspect that Ivan has had a say in this, so this might be one of the personal marks he has left on the character.
It is also not only logical but rather obvious that Yankee and his goons have a history with Sam and it would be interesting to hear more about their previous encounters in The Firm.
Ivan Kaye Source 