My name is Cole Cash. Some people used to know me as Grifter. Hopefully nobody in here. I used to be like one of them. Nobody woulda called me a hero. But unless I got paid to come after you, you wouldn't call me a villain neither. But I was never big enough or dumb enough to get my face on the Magistrate's most wanted list. I was a guy who put on a mask and got #$!& done... before putting on a mask made you public enemy numbers one... through fifty-two. 
- — Grifter src
Cole Cash is the Grifter, a mercenary operating out of Gotham City. He worked to get people out of the city, for the right price, until one of his jobs was interrupted by The Next Joker, ending in his death.
History
In the early days of the Magistrate's hold over Gotham City, Cole Cash abandoned his Grifter mask. He layed low, avoiding law enforcement, until his a poker game he was attending was interrupted by the Gotham City Police Department. While they initially wanted to speak to him, the officers accidentally revealed his identity to the bar, causing the entire room to attack him at once. He was arrested after trying to escape the thugs and the cops, where he met Luke Fox, formerly the hero Batwing. Luke was arrested for being a former vigilante, and hired Cole to get him out of the city. While he was initially hesitant, the promise of $50,000 enticed Cash to put on his mask one more time, and get Fox out of the city.[1]
Their escape led them into crossfire of both the Magistrate's Peacekeepers, and the criminal Black Mask Syndicate. Grifter tracked down one of the only other masked criminals left in Gotham, the Huntress. Huntress had a submarine that would allow Luke to cross the river out of Gotham undetected, but before he could, the Magistrate's forces arrived at her hideout. Luke revealed that he had sold them out, that this had all been a con to allow the Magistrate to get to the Huntress. He tried to let Grifter leave in her submarine, as a thanks for helping their operation, but Cole refused, instead attacking the Peacekeepers and getting a wounded Huntress into the submarine with his payment for the con. He was unable to hold them off for long, and ended up being arrested and sent to Blackgate Penitentiary.[2]
Grifter was not in jail for long, however, as soon enough Blackgate was destroyed, by a supervillain named Warmonger.[3] Grifter slipped back into his old ways, being paid to get someone out of Gotham once again, this time a woman named the Operator. The Operator had betrayed the city's new Terrible Trio, so all of the forces under their command--corrupt GCPD officers, Talon assassins, and mob enforcerers--were sent after both her and her escort. While Grifter managed to outmanuever all three, both he and his attackers were soon assaulted by the mysterious, monstrous new Joker. Grifter and the Operator were cornered in the Gotham Narrows crater, where the Next Joker killed Cole, and apparently ate his face.[4] His soul ended up going to Hell, where he helped Damian Wayne return to Gotham.[5]
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
Trivia
- Interestingly, this version of the Grifter has yet to display any of the telekinetic powers his present-day counterpart possesses.
Related
- 6 Appearances of Cole Cash (Future State)
- 1 Images featuring Cole Cash (Future State)
- 2 Quotations by or about Cole Cash (Future State)
- Character Gallery: Cole Cash (Future State)
Footnotes