Michael Cray was born to U.S. Navy Admiral Phillip James Cray and Elizabeth Cray. He has a brother named Alexander. Michael Cray's daughter is Rachel Goldman, a.k.a. Sublime, a member of DV8. After his parents were slain by terrorists, he joins the U.S. military to avenge their deaths. He became a Navy SEAL prior to being transferred to International Operation's newly formed Team 7. Like all members of that group, he was a highly experienced Special Forces operative. The team had been sent on a mission (or so they believed), when in reality they were sent to be exposed to the Gen Factor by Miles Craven (head of I.O.). Unlike the other surviving members of Team 7 (not everyone survived the exposure to the gen factor treatment), Michael's powers did not manifest until many years later. Despite the lack of power, he would fight for his teammates, such as taking a Naval officer hostage when the other powered members of Team 7 were literally being nuked as a test (they got through, though). When the majority of Team 7 went underground (with their families), Cray continues to serve I.O. (as did Lynch, Dane and Backlash). Miles Craven assigns Cray to the Special Operations Group. He did many wetwork and blackbag assignments for them.
Michael Cray left I.O. when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He wanted to atone himself for all the innocent men and women he had killed during his missions. He got his chance when he became involved with the Order of the Cross. Their adversary, the Black Angel, awoke a demonic entity bent on killing a young boy with miraculous abilities. It turned out that Cray's cancer was, in fact, a result of the Gen-Factor, giving him regenerative abilities. It would also give him the ability to manifest psionic shields to protect himself, but he could not control it and was not even aware it existed. Cray defeated the Black Angel with the help of Sister Mary, a former police officer turned nun, Gabrielle D'Angelo, his ex-wife who had become a vessel for the archangel Gabriel, and several of his Team 7 colleagues. After the death of the Black Angel, the young child restored the damage he had done by rewriting reality, but in the new reality, Gabrielle had died during their honeymoon.
Michael spends time working for Rayna Masters, who ran a bodyguard agency called 'Executive Protection Services'. Cray then is involved in the Brothers in Arms incident, as Craven goes after all the surviving members of Team 7. Cray also deals with alien forces (the Daemonites), who are pursuing keys to an ancient warship. On a Team 7 mission long ago, Cray had actually found one of the keys sticking up out of the mud and took it as a 'souvenir'.
Deathblow dies during the Fire From Heaven event, sacrificing himself in order to kill Damocles, the villain from that crossover.[1]
After the events of Captain Atom: Armageddon and the Worldstorm, Deathblow was revived and began starring in his own series, Deathblow (vol. 2), written by Brian Azzarello with art by Carlos D'Anda.
During World's End, Deathblow is part of Stormwatch: Post Human Division leading missions on a post-apocalyptic Earth.[2] It is also revealed that, despite being known as "powerless" in the Worldstorm continuity, his healing factor has evolved to a staggering level: because of his healing factor, he cannot die because his body keeps regenerating him, even after receiving wounds deep enough to shut down his biological functions. Jackson King suggested he could even regenerate "from a scrap of DNA."
Genevieve Cray
In the three-issue miniseries, Deathblow: Byblows (1999–2000), written by Alan Moore with art by Jim Baikie, it is revealed that I.O. created several variant clones of each Team 7 member, using the DNA collected from them without their knowledge. In the event of a Team 7 member's death, his clones are released in a simulated environment with the intention that only one survives to act as the member's replacement. However, the series is concerned with Deathblow's clones only. The clones were:
Genevieve Cray — a bald female and the series' protagonist
All were killed by Judgment except for Genevieve, who killed Judgment and escaped from the laboratory where they were created, and Klaus Cray, who was captured by Genevieve and later killed by John-Joe and Joe-John Cray. Gemma, Cynthia, and Michael Cray, Jr., are never shown alive due to being killed by Judgment Cray before the protagonists discovered them. Genevieve later joined up with Sublime, Michael Cray's daughter, and a few of her DV8 teammates.
DC's The New 52
Deathblow appears for the first time in the DC reboot in Grifter's new series, making a team with Cheshire,[3] but later was betrayed by her revealing she was an undercover agent for Helspont. Captured in Helspont's spaceship, he managed to escape and team up with Grifter to stop his plans.[4]
Deathblow also appears in Teen Titans (vol. 4) #23.2: Deathstroke. He is first seen competing for an assassination with Deathstroke. The two men engage in combat, but Cray is overpowered and knocked down while Deathstroke finishes the job. He is later seen in Deathstroke's flashback, where Cray has Wilson's back in a battlefield while Wilson sets off a bomb. However, the detonation site turns out to be a children's hospital, which led to Wilson's resignation from the army.[5]
The Wild Storm
Michael Cray is an IO operative for Miles Craven, sent to assassinate Jacob Marlowe, the head of Halolife Industries. The attempt thwarted by several unforeseen factors, such as Marlowe being an alien, the unexpected intervention of Angelica Spica, and Michael having superpowers he had not previously known about. While being questioned by Craven, Michael suddenly collapses.[6] Having himself medically examined, Michael learns he has an inoperable brain tumor.[7] Craven offers Michael continued medical support, provided Michael goes after Spica, but Michael begins to have qualms about his employer's motives on seeing a recording of Spica. Craven immediately withdraws any support and sends an assassination squad after Michael. With assistance from Christine Trelane, Michael is able to kill them, with Trelane offering him a new job.[8]
Michael then moves to San Francisco, assisting Trelane's agenda while fighting malevolent versions of Oliver Queen, Barry Allen and Arthur Curry. While doing do, he discovers his powers and the tumor are the result of being implanted with Daemon biology many years ago, with the Daemon gaining increasing control over him. Michael becomes drawn into a plot involving a man named John Constantine and Diana Prince, who is convinced she is the daughter of the Greek gods and wishes to summon them to Earth. Finally acquiescing to the Daemon's control, Michael defeats Prince and leaves Trelane's employment.[9]
Michael then returns to New York City during a mass outbreak of metahumans experimented on by IO and Skywatch. He intervenes in Marc Slayton's attempt on Craven's life, killing the man with his death touch. He tells Craven to leave him alone, but Craven, in the middle of a paranoid breakdown, shoots Michael through the head, instantly killing him.[10]
Publications
A new Deathblow (vol. 2) series began on October 25, 2006,[11] with the second issue out a month later. Issue #9 (February 2008) was the last issue of this series, ending with the 'death' of the character.[12]
A 12-issue series titled Michael Cray was published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint in 2017–2018.
Wildstorm Productions is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1998. Until it was shut down in 2010, the Wildstorm imprint remained editorially separate from DC Comics, with its main studio located in California. The imprint took its name from a portmanteau of the titles of the Jim Lee comic series WildC.A.T.S. and Stormwatch.
Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi.
Stormwatch is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by WildStorm, which later became an imprint of DC Comics. Created by Jim Lee, the team first appeared in Stormwatch #1. After the WildStorm imprint was retired and its universe was merged with the main DC Universe, the group was depicted as a secretive team of superheroes who tackle dangerous missions while remaining unknown to the larger superhero community.
The Authority is a superhero comic book series published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint. It was created in 1999 by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, and follows the adventures of the Authority, a superhero team mainly composed of Ellis-created characters from Stormwatch.
Grifter is a superhero appearing in books published by Wildstorm Productions and DC Comics. Created by artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi, he first appeared in WildC.A.T.s #1, as a member of that titular superhero team, during the period when Wildstorm and its properties were owned by Jim Lee. In that incarnation, Grifter is a former government operative and member of the military unit Team 7 and the espionage agency International Operations.
DV8 is a comic book published by Wildstorm. The series revolves around the lives of a group of Gen-Active people, initially living in New York City under the supervision of Ivana Baiul, who sends them on life-threatening black ops assignments.
Apollo is a superhero who first appeared in the Stormwatch series, but is best known for his role in The Authority. While visually distinct, Apollo is cast in the mould of the Superman archetype.
Cheshire is a DC Comics fictional character. She is a long-standing rival of the superhero team, the Teen Titans, and occasional love interest of Roy Harper.
Wetworks is an American comic book series created by comic book artist Whilce Portacio and writer Brandon Choi. It ran for four years before ending in 1998. A second series written by Mike Carey, with Portacio returning on art duties, was started in 2006 and ended in 2008.
Team 7 is a comic book superhero team that appeared in titles published by Wildstorm Productions. The team has appeared in 3 self-titled miniseries: Team 7, Team 7: Objective Hell and Team 7: Dead Reckoning. The first 5-issue Gen¹³ limited series also involved members of Team 7. The team's members have played a major role throughout the Wildstorm Universe. In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity, bringing in Wildstorm characters, including Team 7.
Swift is a superhero in the Wildstorm universe published by DC Comics. Swift first appeared in Stormwatch #28 and was created by Jeff Mariotte and Ron Lim. She is currently a member of The Authority.
Team One is a comic book team from DC Comics/Wildstorm.
Helspont is a character in Wildstorm's comics who was transplanted to the DC Universe. In addition to the WildC.A.T.s, he has also fought Team One, Gen¹³, Backlash, and when folded into the DC Universe, Superman.
Gen12 is a comic book series from Wildstorm by Brandon Choi with art by Michael Ryan. It was a 5-issue mini-series published in 1998. It featured characters from the series Team 7. It is also the codename for the subjects of a scientific experiment within the Wildstorm Universe.
"Fire From Heaven" was a company-wide comics crossover event story arc published by American company WildStorm in 1996. The story ran across at least one issue of most WildStorm titles at the time and several independent one-shots. The story tied into many events happening in the WildStorm universe and, unlike many major crossovers of the time, Fire From Heaven had a lasting impact on many of the characters involved.
The Kindred is a group of humanoid animals featured in American comic books published by Image Comics and DC Comics. They were introduced in a four-issue comic book mini-series published by Image Comics in 1994. Its writers were Jim Lee, Brandon Choi, Sean Ruffner and Brett Booth, who was also the artist. A second mini-series was published in 2002 under the Wildstorm imprint. Brett Booth was the sole writer and artist this time. Both series featured Grifter and Backlash fighting the Kindred.
WildC.A.T.S/Aliens was a one-shot comic book and intercompany crossover event, published by Wildstorm and Dark Horse Comics in 1998. The comic was written by Warren Ellis, pencilled by Chris Sprouse, with Kevin Nowlan inking and Laura Depuy as the colorist.
"Wildstorm Rising" was a crossover event published by Image Comics/WildStorm that involved the entire line of titles published by WildStorm in 1995.
Stormwatch: Post Human Division is an American comic book published by Wildstorm comics. It is the fourth volume to bear the name Stormwatch. It was first published in November 2006 and was written by Christos Gage with art by Doug Mahnke.
Zealot is a comic book superhero who has appeared in books published by Wildstorm Productions and DC Comics. Created by artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi, she first appeared in WildC.A.T.s #1, as a member of that titular superhero team, during the period when Wildstorm and its properties were owned by Jim Lee.
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