- "I--I never actually wanted to get in this life, you know, but we do certain things for family, am I right? Now the ports, these docks, it's all we got left, and last night, these people came over and threatened to take it from me. You know, some dweeb in glasses, a thug, a woman with superpowers. I mean, you know them?"
- —Jerry to Green Arrow[src]
Jerry Bertinelli (died 2018) was a crime boss and the leader of the Bertinelli crime family after the deaths of Pino Bertinelli and Tobias Church. As the owner of Star City docks, he was pressured by Cayden James' criminal cabal to relinquish his control over the port to them in exchange for the life of his daughter. Desperate to save his daughter and take revenge on Cayden James, Jerry agreed to a gambit proposed by Green Arrow, but was overwhelmed by the enemy cabal's superior numbers.
Biography
According to Jerry, he never wanted the life of a gangster, but was pressed to become the leader of the Bertinelli crime family after the rest of his relatives were killed or incarcerated. Primarily, he ran a business in the Star City Docks with a shady underside, in which sometimes ships would appear on his docking manifest but never actually arrive and sometimes, they would arrive but never end up on the docking manifest, all the while evading the IRS through christening ships if they checked in. These included a Panam-X Jerry named "The Huntress", after his cousin, Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress.
For these purposes, Jerry's docks were sought by Cayden James' criminal cabal. The group, specifically Black Siren, Ricardo Diaz and Cayden James himself, arrived at Jerry's hideout, incapacitating his guards with Black Siren's sonic "kiss". Jerry refused the cabal's demands and was similarly incapacitated, with Cayden James giving him 48 hours to make a decision while threatening the life of his daughter if he didn't cooperate.
Desperate to find a way out, Jerry baited Team Arrow by damaging the security signal uplink in the block between 74th and Jansen. When Green Arrow arrived, Jerry met him personally, commenting on how hard it is to find the vigilante. Explaining his situation, Jerry asked if Green Arrow knew Cayden James' group and proposed an alliance to defeat their common enemies. When Green Arrow didn't give a definite reply, Jerry decided to agree to Cayden's demands for the sake of his daughter's life. As they were about to leave the docks, Green Arrow intercepted Jerry's car and reminded him of the alliance proposal. The archer said that he'd help Jerry get his revenge on Cayden James if he followed his orders exactly.
Jerry's goons were supposed to bring in the Red Lions, a death squad from Chechnya, but something went wrong; either the group didn't arrive or it was an act of disinformation on the Berinellis' behalf. As a result, Jerry's much smaller group and the Green Arrow were overwhelmed by Ricardo Diaz's gang, along with Anatoly Knyazev's Bratva thugs and Vincent Sobel/Vigilante. After Green Arrow was brought down by Vigilante, Cayden James approached Jerry and offered him and his men a chance to live if they turned on the archer. Apologizing to the Green Arrow, Jerry aimed his pistol at him, but hesitated long enough to allow Green Arrow's escape. Afterwards, Jerry shrugged about the port and said that Cayden can take it if he wants. As he turned his back, he was shot and killed by Diaz, with Cayden commenting that he'd let Jerry's daughter live, but wouldn't suffer such betrayal otherwise.[1]
Personality
Jerry was an easy-going type with a phlegmatic disposition and a touch for sarcasm. According to him, he was almost pressured into the life of a crime boss with no other Bertinelli family member eligible to take over the crime syndicate. While valuing the life of his daughter more than his business, and thus being easy to pressure, Jerry generally has a confident attitude, even when dealing with overwhelming enemies. Although he valued his and his associates' lives more than Green Arrow's, he still apologized to the vigilante and hesitated to shoot his supposed ally.
Abilities
- Basic Marksmanship/Pistol: Jerry was trained in and able to use a pistol as his weapon of choice.[1]
- Great Business acumen/Economics: Jerry successfully ran both the legal activities as the owner of the port, and illegal ones as the head of the Bertinelli crime family.[1]
Appearances
Arrow
Season 6
- "Divided"
Behind the scenes
- Jerry Bertinelli is the first member of the Bertinelli crime family featured on Arrow who is an original creation of the show writers and so far does not have a counterpart in the main DC Comics continuity.