Ace [Stand by me, 1986]

Stand by me (The Body) plot

In 1985, writer Gordie Lachance recalls a 1959 adventure with friends Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp, and Vern Tessio after learning Chris was killed. At 12, Gordie, overlooked by grieving parents, joins the boys’ quest to find Ray Brower’s body near Castle Rock. Vern overhears his brother Billy hiding the discovery to avoid linking it to a car theft. Chris steals his father’s pistol; they clash with thugs Ace Merrill and Eyeball Chambers. Trekking through a junkyard, Teddy’s rage erupts over insults to his veteran father. Chris urges Gordie to pursue writing despite his father’s neglect. A perilous train bridge escape and leech-infested swamp test the group. Finding Ray’s corpse, Gordie confronts grief over his brother Denny. Chris comforts him, insisting his father doesn’t understand him. Ace’s gang arrives, but Gordie brandishes the pistol, forcing them to retreat. The boys anonymously report the body. Years later, Gordie reflects: Vern became a forklift operator, Teddy drifted into crime, and Chris, despite struggles, became a lawyer before his death. Gordie laments losing their bond: “I never had friends like the ones I had at twelve. Jesus, does anyone?”

John Ace Merrill is the main pain in the ass for the main characters of the movie Stand By Me. Like everyone else, he has a dysfunctional family, so he makes up for his gaps by behaving like a bastard. His gang is involved in property damage, sometimes beating someone up, and maybe stealing. Whether they are capable of more serious crimes is unclear, but due to Ace's aggressive nature and the support of his cronies, it is quite possible.

Ace is aggressive, ill-mannered, and generally a bad guy. He usually seems restrained, but at the same time commits completely repulsed acts for the sake of absolutely stupid ideas, such as racing on the highway in front of a truck. Also, if you make him lose his temper, he won't hesitate to threaten even a child with a knife.

John "Ace" Merrill is a major antagonist of the Stephen King multiverse. Serving as the main antagonist of the novella The Body, and it's film adaptation Stand By Me, the secondary antagonist of the novel Needful Things, a minor antagonist of the short story Nona, and a supporting character of the Castle Rock TV series. He is also falsely mentioned in the novel Tommyknockers. Ace is the nephew of Reginald 'Pop' Merrill. He leads a teenage gang of bullies who torment and terrorize Gordie LaChance, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp and Vern Tessio. His closest friends among his gang are Norman "Fuzzy' Bracowicz and Richard "Eyeball" Chambers, Chris's older brother. He once had a girlfriend named Betsy Malenfant. After being caught by Sheriff Alan Pangborn for trying to crack the safe in The Mellow Tiger, Ace was sent to Shawshank Penitentiary for 4 years. After being released in 1989, Ace moved to nearby Mechanic Falls. He got a job at Oxford Plains Speedway as a part-time pit mechanic. In 1991 he was shot and killed by Deputy Norris Ridgewick. He is 21 years old

Physical appearance

Ace was described by Gordie to have "sharp, handsome features" during his teenage years. As an adult, Gordie says his attractive looks were "buried in an avalanche of flesh" in his 30s. In a few pages in the confrontation between his gang and the boys during the storm, he had an "Elvis D.A" and a "Nylon school jacket", giving him a greaser type appearance. Ironically, many bullies in Stephen King's works tend to be greasers if set in the 1950s, '60s, or '70s. Since in the novel, Billy, Charlie, and Norman were described as having motorcycle boots at some points in the novel, it is most likely that he wore them as well. In Needful Things, it is said that during his teenage years, he wore a motorcycle jacket and engineer boots. He is played by Kiefer Sutherland in the film, who resembles Ace in the books accurately. He also has Blonde hair. His hair is in some sort of crew cut with the sides slicked back and the top being somewhat spikey. He wears a black or white t-shirt with black chinos and penny loafers. He sometimes wears unbottoned colorful shirts over the t-shirt.

Common phrases

"We're gonna get you for this." "You're dead." "What are you gonna do, shoot us all?" "This is big time, baby." "C'mon kid, give me the gun before you shoot your foot off, you ain't got the sack to shoot a woodchuck."

Family information

Relatives Junior Merrill (father) Reginald 'Pop' Merrill (uncle) Chris Merrill (brother) Unnamed Mother

Affiliation

Occupation: • Bully gang leader • Drug dealer • Shop assistant • High school student Home: Castle Rock, Maine Loyalty: • His gang • Leland Gaunt (Leland Gaunt is a major antagonist of the Stephen King multiverse. Serving as the main antagonist of the novel Needful Things, a unseen antagonist of the novella The Body and The Dark Tower series, and a mentioned antagonist of Castle Rock TV Series. When he first appears in Castle Rock, Maine, Gaunt opens a shop called Needful Things. He seems like a charming man in his 50's or 60's. His eyes change color, depending on who is looking into them. His hands have no lines, and his index fingers are as long as his middle fingers. Gaunt seems to have an unnatural awareness of the various relationships and rivalries throughout Caslte Rock, and his knowledge extends into knowing the most intimate material (and, in some cases, immaterial) desires of his customers. Throughout the course of the novel, Leland Gaunt is revealed to be a long-lived demon, bent on acquiring the souls of his unwitting customers. After being driven out of Castle Rock, he opens another shop, called Answered Prayers, in Junction City, Iowa. Alan Pangborn remembers a shop in the hometown of his youth called Just The Ticket; whether Gaunt ran this shop or not is left unknown.)