Michael Cray (The Wild Storm)

{{DC Database:Character Template
 * Image                  =
 * RealName               = Michael Cray
 * CurrentAlias           =
 * Aliases                =
 * Identity               =
 * Alignment              = Good
 * Affiliation            = Executive Protection Services, formerly I.O., U.S. Army
 * Relatives              = George Cray (father)
 * Universe               = The Wild Storm
 * BaseOfOperations       =


 * Gender                 = Male
 * Height                 =
 * Weight                 =
 * Eyes                   = Brown
 * Hair                   = Black
 * UnusualFeatures        = tattoo of two red stripes on his left forearm


 * Citizenship            = American
 * MaritalStatus          = Single
 * Occupation             = Assassin, former soldier


 * PlaceOfBirth           = Oakland, San Francisco
 * Creators               =
 * First                  = The Wild Storm Vol 1 1


 * Quotation              = I did the reading. You can't just move fast and break things because it's fun. Broken things stay broken.
 * Speaker                = Michael Cray
 * QuoteSource            = The Wild Storm Vol 1 2


 * HistoryText            = Michael Cray was a happy child. His father had high hopes for him. Growing up, he demonstrated incredible compassion, along with a knack for violence which he would use to defend people. However, he wanted to travel, and with no money, joined the Navy. Excelling as a SEAL, he was eventually seconded to I.O.

Here, he proved his skill as an assassin, able to find the vulnerable point's in his targets' security by studying them and empathizing with them, while acknowledging that they were bad or callous people who needed to be killed.

Everyone Is Looking Up
Michael was personally assigned the mission of assassinating Jacob Marlowe, the billionaire head of the Halo Corporation. Working out that Marlowe's plan of selling personal solar panels to rich people would ultimately lead to the poor being left to shoulder the upkeep of municipal power grids, he decided to kill Jacob Marlowe using proximity-released polonium to poison him. However, while laying the charges, Michael walked in on Marlowe. When Marlowe went to restrain him, an explosion he could not explain blew him out of the office, and he ran, regarding the mission as a failure.

While debriefing, Michael fainted, which necessitated a medical checkup, which revealed an inoperable brain tumor. Shocked by this news, Michael had a crisis of conscience.

Around this time, Michael began to notice that he now had the power to dissolve small objects with his right hand, but he told no-one about this.

While recovering, Michael was approached by his boss, Miles Craven, who asked him to do one last assassination before going on his medical leave - Angela Spica, an I.O. engineer who had taken secret technology from the organization and constructed a "transdermal drysuit" - a suit of power armor with incredible consequences.

Michael Cray did his research on Spica, and discovered that Craven had lied - Spica's profile revealed she could be talked around, and did not need to be assassinated. Accusing Craven of lying to him, he refused to do the job, and in retaliation Craven revoked his medical insurance.

At this point, Michael Cray was approached by Christine Trelane, who introduced herself as a headhunter for Executive Protection Services, a private outfit, which would match or better everything he was getting from I.O., for a similar job. When an I.O. wetworks duo tried to kill him, he accepted her offer.

Executive Protection Services
Moving to San Francisco, Michael was hesitant to staff the office he had agreed to head, but was also surprised that E.P.S. was working so hard to provide for him - providing him with a doctor, a new home address, and asking him to connect with his father, who lived there. Christine Trelane explained that these provided peace of mind, which would be instrumental in killing his first target: Oliver Queen.


 * Powers                 = * Michael Cray has the power to dissolve small things with his right hand. This is recent and may be connected to his brain tumor
 * Any energy source which is dissolved will violently release all energy within.
 * Abilities              = * Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced
 * Firearms
 * Espionage
 * Military Protocol
 * Strength               = * Michael Cray possesses the strength of a normal human man who engages in intense regular exercise
 * Weaknesses             = * Michael Cray has a tumor in his brain. It is inoperable and will probably kill him if left untreated. However it may be alien in origin, and also may be the source of newfound superhuman ability


 * Equipment              =
 * Transportation         =
 * Weapons                =

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 * Notes                  = * Deathblow was created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi, first appearing in Darker Image #1. However, in The Wild Storm continuity, his first appearance is in Warren Ellis' and Jon Davis-Hunt's The Wild Storm #1.
 * Trivia                 =
 * Recommended            =
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