Michael Cray

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Alias: Deathblow


Date of birth: 1956


Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
Race: Human


Legal status: U.S. citizen
Identity: Secret
Group affiliation: I.O.
Story: Deathblow is a cover name for a list of black-ops operatives for I.O. of which the first was in 1948. Michael Cray was the 39th in the line [Batman/Deathblow #2].

The details have not been revealed, but Cray joined Team 7 (code name Deathblow), funded by I.O and led by Miles Craven. In the seventies, he and the rest of the team were sent in on undercover operations all over the World. It was during this time, Team 7 was sent to an African country. According to the mission briefing by Miles Craven, the country had developed some sort of super narcotic that made the victims mad and I.O wanted the project shut down. The team went in, but it turned out the missions specs were wrong, and Team 7 ended up getting exposed to the gas instead [Team 7 (vol. 1) #1]. The gas it turned out was an experiment with gen-factors led by Miles Craven (not revealed until much later), and Team 7 survived as the only ones, though team member Richard McNamara, Boloround, killed himself shortly after because he couldn't control his explosive powers [Team 7 (vol. 1) #2].

After waking up, some of the members of Team 7 started manifesting powers [Team 7 (vol. 1) #2]. Cray as the only one never manifested powers. It was believed that he didn't have any powers, but it later turned out to be a type of regenerating powers (in 1996 to be exact). The team was immediately sent out on new missions; however, it only lasted shortly. Craven tried to kill the team, but the team survived by combining their abilities. Cray ended up in jail and the team was scattered [Team 7 (vol. 1) #4]. He was let out and pardoned when he took on a new mission [Team 7: Objective: Hell #1].

Cray continued as an operative for I.O. under Lynch, until he was diagnosed with cancer. He was sent on a mission in South America and a kill-team was sent after him to make it look like he had gone rogue. Cray did succeed on his mission, but in the process he had to kill his own men. Being fed up with the I.O. Cray left the company after the mission [Deathblow (vol. 1) #0].

When the extradimensional being known as Damocles tried to invade Earth [Fire from Heaven story line], Michael Cray was the one who went one-on-one with Damocles to give him the final push out of their dimension while the rest of the old Team 7 fed him energy by combining their powers. He did succeed in getting rid of Damocles, but died in the process [Deathblow (vol. 1) #28].

After Captain Atom rewrote continuity [Captain Atom: Armageddon #8], Cray resurfaced in a prison camp near the northern border of Hindu Kush (Afghanistan), from where he was rescued and brought home [Deathblow (vol. 2) #1].


Skills & abilities: Cray is a master of combat, both hand-to-hand and with weapons. He has some degree of regenerative powers.


Continuity: WildStorm
Publisher(s): Image
First app.: Darker Image #1 (1993)
Creator(s): Jim Lee
Country of origin: USA


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