HISTORY

Few people have lived such a varied life as Buddy Baker. The super-hero. The family man. The animal rights activist. The scourge of human society. The religious symbol. The cosmic philosoper. All parts of what he is first and foremost: the Animal Man.

Even the origin of his powers is uncertain after all these years. Was it an alien spaceship that exploded in his face, imbuing him with radioactivity? Or a spell of an ancient animal master shaman, connecting him with the Lifeweb? Or was it an even greater force behind all this? Buddy's memories have been obscured by various events in his life, periods of amnesia, periods in coma, transformations, deaths and rebirths, encounters so strange he has not been able to grasp the proportions of them...

What is known is that, in his late teens, Buddy was a happy hellraising punk rocker. One fall afternoon he went hunting in the Adirondack Mountains...and when he returned home, he had changed. Whatever it was, something in the woods had connected him to what is variously referred to as the Red, the Lifeweb, or the Morphogenetic Field - the force that binds together every living animal on Earth. Encountering some escaped animals from a nearby zoo, Buddy discovered that in the presence of an animal, he was able to absorb its special abilities. He was now the Man With Animal Powers.

At the suggestion of his best friend, Roger Denning, Buddy donned an orange-and-blue costume (and on occasion, a black one) starting a minor career as the super-hero Animal Man. Partly for kicks, partly as a way to promote their rock band, Buddy actually managed to do several heroic deeds, ranging from foiling a few robberies at the local pet store, to battling actual space aliens and odd crooks such as the Mod Gorilla Boss.

After a few years of adventuring, Buddy retired his Animal Man identity, married his high-school girlfriend, Ellen Frazier, and moved to San Diego. Living on the salary from Ellen's work as an illustrator and Buddy's newly-started career as a movie stuntman, the couple mortgaged a house in the surburbs and raised two children, Cliff and Maxine.

Buddy thought his super-hero days over, but that was to change. After stumbling on an ancient golden pyramid, he was contacted by the mysterious Immortal Man. Joining up with other has-been adventurers - including Cave Carson, Dane Dorrance, and Dolphin - who had encountered similar pyramids around the world, Animal Man became part of the organization called the Forgotten Heroes. Under Immortal Man's direction, the group were able to destroy the pyramids, saving the world in the process. For a time, the group stayed together, opposing threats such as Vandal Savage and the Forgotten Villains. During the world-shattering event known as the Crisis, Immortal Man (seemingly) sacrificed his life, and soon after, the Forgotten Heroes disbanded.

Buddy returned to his family life, although the thought of superheroics was still nagging in his head. He wanted to make a difference, but had to support his family as well. Convinced that there was still a place for Animal Man in this world, Buddy resumed his full-time superhero career, battling villains such as the new Mirror Master and a delirious B'wana Beast. He also assisted in foiling the Invasion of Earth by the Dominators. Still not satisfied, Buddy made the decision to become a protector of animal life on Earth. He sabotaged foxhunting in England, dolphin slaughter on the Faroe Islands, and animal experiments all over the USA. He worked with Vixen to overthrow the government of M'Changa, and with the Freedom Beast to oppose the apartheid powers of South Africa. About this time, he learned from a scientist named James Highwater that his powers were greater than he initially had believed, due to his previously unknown contact with the Morphogenetic Field.

Becoming a member in good standing of the European branch of Justice League International (which he could access via a teleporter in his basement), he was also able to draw a monthly salary. As part of the JLE, he battled the Queen Bee, the Time Commander, and the wrath of Dr. Irwin Teasdale. The media wrote lots about him and his popularity increased. Everything was going his way...

....And then it wasn't anymore. After a fireman had accidentally been killed in a fire started by his animal activist group, a shocked Buddy began to reconsider the path he had chosen. Though still a convinced vegetarian, environmentalist and animal rights activist, he asked himself if superheroics and illegal sabotage activities were the right ways to go. Refusing to become a role model, he quit the Justice League and the activist group, attempting to hang away his super-hero costume for good.

Then, when a corporate organization (worried about the popularity of the left-wing Animal Man) threatened to kill his family if he did not stop doing his deed, Buddy teamed up with the Mirror Master to oppose them. Suddenly, he found himself in the role of a hero once again, getting tangled up in saving the world from a second Crisis at the hands of the Psycho-Pirate, and ultimately, believe it or not, learning the fact that he was a comic book character. He even got to meet his writer, Grant Morrison, in person.

Naturally, Buddy was not allowed to remember such revelations for long. Some time after these events, he woke up from a coma with amnesia. This would have been his return to normal life, had it not been for the fact that the world he woke up in was that of an alternate Buddy Baker. In this world, Ellen had divorced him, America was controlled by a right-extremist corrupt government, and Buddy himself had no control over his powers. After a series of weird adventures, Buddy could finally return to "his" world.

Once again a movie stuntman, Buddy continued as a part-time superhero, but his life was to get weirder still. His powers continued to malfunction; birds died when he was flying, he absorbed animal behaviour and appearance unexpectedly, and animals around him acted strange. After his powers accidentally had killed every animal on the San Diego Zoo, Buddy and his family moved to Ellen's mother's farm in Pownal, Vermont. Later, it was revealed that the reason for this "animal weirdness" was the coming of a hostile Animal Avatar, a.k.a. the Shining Man. During this course of events, Buddy encountered a Native American shaman named "Stone That Cracked Open the Earth Like an Egg", who revealed that Buddy was one of a group of chosen called the Animal Masters, destined to be the guardians of nature. Together with fellow Animal Masters Vixen and Tristess, Animal Man was able to defeat the Shining Man, who had already corrupted, possessed, and killed B'wana Beast, still another Animal Master. He also learned that his daughter Maxine was an Animal Master as well, developing powers similar to his own.

Settling down at the farm in Vermont, Buddy's next mission was to fetch back his son Cliff, who had been kidnapped by Ellen's insane uncle Dudley. While looking for his son, Buddy was run over by Dudley's car and actually died. His life-force survived, however, and after many months living in the bodies of various animals, he was reborn as a hybrid animal and saved Cliff. Later, he was able to re-create his original body.

Still, Buddy was now legally deceased, which he did not really mind. He had tired of city life and superheroics, being content to live in peace on the farm with his reunited family. Fearing that nature would inevitably get rid of the vermins called humans, he started thinking of ways to make them understand what they were doing to their planet. Ellen's mother's farm became something of an "ark", a refuge for outcasts who did not fit in anywhere. Among them were a woman named Annie Cassidy, who also stood in contact with the Red, and her daughter Lucy, who started a relationship with Cliff.

More and more, Buddy felt the animal instincts in him taking over. Overwhelmed by the power of the Red, Buddy and Annie made love to each other. The strengthened connection to the Red made Buddy step over the line, and once again adopt the appearance of a hybrid animal. Flying in rage to Washington D.C., he plagued the city with all kinds of animals, threatening humanity to change their ways or go under. At the end, the authorities captured him, but he was released soon after, partly due to a lot of compassion from many Americans, who believed this "Animal Man" had a point.

Then, Annie came up with an idea; Buddy wanted to change the ways of humanity, they all wanted to make a difference, and they already had many followers. Why not start a cult, or a religion, with Buddy as an "enraged prophet" and Maxine as the saviour - the Life Power Church of Maxine? Though they met a lot of resistance from the authoritites, the Church immediately grew in popularity, especially among young people. Ellen could not cope with all this, especially not after Buddy revealed that he had had kind of an "affair" with Annie. Alienated by their community, and the forces she did not understand, she finally broke up with Buddy - at least temporarily. Buddy, Maxine, Cliff, Annie, Lucy, and their followers traveled across the state, picking up countless new "disciples" and rebelling animals in a wild caravan on Route 66. Dubbed "the Red Plague" by the media, they finally settled down as a Church in Montana.

After this, Buddy entered what we can refer to as his "cosmic phase". Once again, he died and was reborn, this time with a white-and-black-striped hair. While his friends worked with the Church's activities on Earth, Buddy became less aggressive, making an odyssey through various realms in search for universal truth. He had many revelations from agents of higher power, among them a spiritual bulldog named Mister Cow (!) Ultimately battling an evil called the Spider Queen, Buddy finally realized that the truth was inside him. Just as diamonds and coal are the same substance, so is the divine and the human. Buddy, as well as anybody else, was the Body of God and the Soul of the World. With this knowledge, he easily defeated the Spider Queen. Shortly after, Annie gave birth to his second daughter, supposedly a human incarnation of the World Soul.

The next time Buddy appeared, a competitive supervillain called the Gamesman had kidnapped Maxine, just for playing a hunting game with Buddy. With the help of Aquaman, Buddy was able to defeat the Gamesman and save Maxine. In the process, he guided the temporarily blind Aquaman, making him realize he had elemental connections.

Maybe this adventure was the spark that Buddy needed to return to his super-hero life, because a few months later, Animal Man appeared in public again, dressed in his old colorful garb, and once again with blond hair. He has assisted the JLA on several occasions, including their battle against Mageddon the Anti-Sun. He has also rejoined the Forgotten Heroes, joining the Immortal Man and Resurrection Man in battle against Vandal Savage and the Millennium Creature. Buddy remains a semi-active member of the Forgotten Heroes, joining up with other members when the need arises.

It seems as if Buddy Baker is trying to turn his back on weirdness, attempting to resume a "normal" super-hero life. But if history is any evidence, weirdness will inevitably find its way back into Buddy's existence. The current whereabouts of his family and his friends, as well as the status of the Life Power Church, are unkown.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Buddy (as well as Maxine), stands in direct contact with the Red/Lifeweb/Morphogenetic Field of Earth. Hence, he can mimic any abilities of any animal, either by focusing on a specific animal near him, or, as he learnt later, by drawing power directly from the Red. Since the Red is part of every animal who has ever walked the Earth, flown the air, or swum the sea, Animal Man can even mimic the abilities of extinct species.

Among the "animal powers" Buddy has been known to use are: the strength of a T-Rex, the flight of a bird, the swimming ability of a fish, the speed of an ant, the wall-crawling of a spider, the jumps of a flea, the sonic blast of a pistol shrimp, the sense of smell of a moth, the stench of a skunk, the color changing of a chameleon, the agility of a snake, the electricity of an electric eel, the worm's ability to replace lost bodyparts, and even the reproduction abilities of bacteria. He does not have to use wings to fly as a bird, or gills to breath as a fish underwater, but occasionally he has been known to mimic the actual appearances of animals - for example adopting the claws of a wolverine temporarily.

In addition to his mimic abilities, Animal Man can make contact with animals, emphasize with, "talk" to, and, to a lesser degree, control them. He can also transfer his mind to living animals of any kind, using their bodies as long as he wants to. This ability to transfer his life essence has allowed him to survive even when his body has been killed.

A drawback of Animal Man's powers is that he is not always able to control the inputs from the Red. Sometimes, he has absorbed unwanted animal behaviour, such as instinctive rage or rut. The longer he stays in contact with the Red, the less man and more animal he seems to become. He has frequently felt alienated to the human race, something which once made him declare war against our destructive civilization.

Since man is as much an animal as anything else, Buddy could possibly use his powers on human beings as well, but for unknown reasons, he has avoided doing that to this day. Nor is it known what would happen if Buddy would try to use his abilities on an alien animal, or if he would get access to the Morphogenetic Field of another planet.

Potentially, Animal Man disposes of one of the universe's primal forces. On rare occasions, he has been able to tap into the raw power of the Red, draw pure energy from it and emit it as blasts of force. His abilities once even allowed him to create an entire universe, in cooperation with fellow animal masters Vixen and Tristess. If he were to use the full extent of his powers, Animal Man could very well be one of the mightiest beings on Earth. As it is now, the "man" in him puts a limit to his power.

Buddy Baker, the Man With Animal Powers, was created by Dave Wood and Carmine Infantino, and first appeared in Strange Adventures (Vol. 1) #180 (September, 1965)

Profile written by Ola Hellsten (with thanks to Tiberius)

Special Thanks to Ola Hellsten who supplied me with this exceptional revision of Animal Man's
Who's Who entry. Ola takes a truly original look at Buddy's life Strange Adventures to
Vertigo and beyond. This Who's Who entry also appears at
Kim Jensen's The Unofficial Guide To The DC Universe.

Ballistic

HISTORY

Kelvin Mao was a normal Gotham City Tactical Squad member, fighting to keep the upper hand against other hot-shot officers, until the parasite, Angon, snapped his spine during a case in the Warehouse District of Gotham where his entire team was decimated. Kelvin was wheeled into the hospital with asnapped spine and they put a full body-cast on him to stabilize him. Hours later the body-cast had dissolved leaving a chalky residue on Kelvin's transformed skin. When the power when out at the hospital briefly, Kelvin escaped and found his way back to his apartment to get some down time and find a new place to hide and train until made his debut to help Batman against the alien killers as Ballistic.

Kelvin spent his time playing computer games and watching Star Trek, along with various other cult television shows. While on the force he had nineteen commendations, he was inter-force boxing and martial arts champion, and he was wounded seven times in the line of duty.

In Kelvin's first mission as Ballistic, he teamed up with Batman (Jean Paul Valley) so that they could have the upper hand in stopping the parasite that created Ballistic. The duo fought Angon to a standstill in which the team escaped before a bomb detonated. However, they did wound Angon, but they did not kill her.

Soon after Ballistic joined forces with the other 'bloods' and super-heroes to put down the prime parasite.

Then a small number of the 'bloods' signed contracts with Jermy Baxter to become the paid super-team, Blood Pack, who have their adventures taped and made into a ongoing television documentary.

Ballistic is currently a member of the Forgotten Heroes.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Ballistic's red tented skin is made up of armor plates that are a part of him that are impervious to harm. Ballistic has increased agility and he is stronger than a normal human being. Ballistic's eyes are coated by a green membrane that is triggered automatically by light conditions which allows him to perfectly see in the dark . Fang like protrusions appear out Ballistic's jaw.

Ballistic also believes in being properly equipped for any situation and often carries advanced semi-automatic weapons, hand grenades, flares, a sword, and various other weapons.

Text by Adam Arnold

Cave Carson

HISTORY

Possessed of a lifelong fascination with tunnels and caves - but maybe not always of high moral values - young Calvin "Cave" Carson started his career as a lab-tech for the company "E. Borsten & Sons". There, he got involved in the so-called "Mighty Mole Project", developing a remarkable digging machine to help in mining-access. However, due to the government's priority of space shuttle and satellite projects, the funding of the Mighty Mole Project got cut.

Cave then saw his chance to fulfill his lifelong dream, and simply stole the Mighty Mole machine from the project. He assembled a crew of highly skilled adventurers to help him in his explorations. This team included ex-convict, strongman, and tunnel expert Bulldozer Smith, renowned geologist Christie Madison; and the "devil-may-care" adventurer and fellow spelunker Johnny Blake. Accompanied by Bulldozer's pet lemur, Lena, these four devoted their lives to uncovering the hidden secrets of the world.

The team experienced many bizarre adventures under the surface of the Earth. They uncovered the remains of ancient cities, located lost civilizations now living underground, and battled evolutionary throwbacks and even various alien life-forms, all dwelling inside Earth. It is not too much to say that, during this time, Cave became the world's foremost expert on the world within the world.

During one particular adventure, the crew encountered a group of neo-nazis performing some time travel experiments to bring back no less than Adolf Hitler himself. After defeating the Nazis and thwarting their plans, Cave received a grant to stay in the cave business. As the government found out about the nazi experiment in time travel, the Borsten group got the time travel technology, and Cave got to keep the Mighty Mole.

Since this was still a few years before the likes of Superman, Batman, and the Justice League appeared to kick off the new heroic age, the team soon became world-famous adventurers and were regarded as national heroes, financing their activities with funds and lost treasures Cave had acquired as a result of his underground discoveries.

As the super-heroes started to reappear, however, "plain heroes" like themselves (and others like the Sea Devils and the Challengers of the Unknown) did no longer hold the spotlight as they used to. Their team adventures became more infrequent, although Cave himself repeatedly conducted new scientific research with the Mighty Mole.

Then one day, Cave accidentally discovered an ancient golden pyramid that the government had classified top secret, and thereby was banned from further exploring. Recruited by the Immortal Man, Cave joined forces with a number of other once-famous adventurers who had encountered similar objects and whose careers were in decline: the enigmatic mermaid Dolphin, Dane Dorrance, leader of the Sea Devils, the minor super-hero Animal Man, the legendary safari hunter Congo-Bill, and military man Rick Flagg Jr., the latter who in fact infiltrated the group as an agent for the government. This team called themselves "the Forgotten Heroes" and uncovered the secret of the mysterious pyramids as part of a plan by Immortal Man's ages-old foe, Vandal Savage, to conquer the world. Under Immortal Man's direction, and with Superman's eventual aid, the group managed to destroy the pyramids and save the world.

At Immortal Man's suggestion, the group decided to band together formally to protect the world against menaces only their unique skills could hope to defeat. Among their main foes was the criminal organization known as the Forgotten Villains, who were attempting to form a supernatural coalition that would dominate the Earth. During the event known as the Crisis, the Immortal Man - at least seemingly - died, and the Forgotten Heroes disbanded soon afterwards.

Cave Carson's adventurer's career had diminished, which he did not seem to mind since he soon began a new career as a geology teacher and professor. It was then he met a young woman named Bonnie Baxter. The two of them soon became lovers.

When Bonnie was recruited by renowned time scientist - and former Borsten employee – Rip Hunter, as the first member of his team known as the Time Masters, Cave came along as an associate. After Rip's mountain lab was destroyed by Vandal Savage's organization, the Illuminati, the Time Masters relocated to Cave Carson's underground headquarters. For a time Cave remained the principal financial backer of the team, as well as its spiritual mentor, due to his lingering emotional involvement with Bonnie.

Some time later, Cave was recruited by Amanda Waller into the loose-knit team called the Shadow Fighters to help fight Eclipso, the self-proclaimed God of Vengeance, in South-America. Although a good help for the team, Carson soon resigned from further missions. That was probably a good thing, since a whole bunch of heroes who encountered Eclipso were killed in action soon thereafter. Still later, Carson teamed up with Bulldozer and Christie once again to investigate the effects of a worldwide earthquake. This brought them to Antarctica where they discovered an ages-old civilization deep underground.

After this event, Cave somehow lost an eye and replaced it with a cybernetic one, how that happened has not yet been revealed. Recently, he re-formed the Forgotten Heroes to search for the missing Immortal Man. The team now included Animal Man, Ballistic, the Ray, the Vigilante, and Fetish, the daughter of Cave and an unnamed woman that he had encountered in an underground civilization years ago. The team’s quest led them not only to the Immortal Man, but also to his kindred spirit Mitch Shelley, the Resurrection Man, with whom they joined up in combat against Vandal Savage and the Millennium Creature. The Forgotten Heroes remain semi-active under the leadership of Carson, banding together when the need arises.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Cave Carson does not possess any super-powers, but is nonetheless a fair athlete and competent hand-to-hand combatant, with natural leadership ability. His most important skill however, is his knowledge about spelunking and geology. He is also a very good technician.

Cave uses an arsenal of various high-technological weapons, but his main equipment is the unique underground digging machine known as the Mighty Mole. The thermo-ray in the Mole's nose is capable of burning through solid rock like a hot knife through butter, while its interior contains adjustable lightning, a recycling oxygen system, a compact lab, and a small arsenal in case of emergencies.

It is not known whether Cave’s new techno-eye gives him any extraordinary vision abilities.

Cave Carson was created by Ed Herron and Bruno Premiani and first appeared in The Brave and the Bold (vol. 1) #31 (August-September, 1960).

Profile written by Ola Hellsten

Special Thanks to Ola Hellsten who supplied me with this exceptional revision of Cave Carson's
Who's Who entry. Ola takes the original entry that appeared in Who's Who #4 and totally updated it.
The original version of this Who's Who entry also appears at
Kim Jensen's The Unofficial Guide To The DC Universe.

Fetish

HISTORY

Brought to the light world by world-renowned spelunker, Cave Carson, whom she refers to as "Father-Kla". Thula seems to of become the daughter Cave never had.

Little is known of Thula's true origins. But she is currently and active member of the most recent incarnation of the Forgotten Heroes lead by Cave Carson.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Thula's mystical powers are derived the Earth from which she came. The full range of her powers is still unknown, but she does posses the power of cognition and she can shoot psychic blasts at will. Thula was also combat-trained by Cave Carson upon joining the Forgotten Heroes.

Text by Adam Arnold

Immortal Man

HISTORY

POWERS & WEAPONS

Text by Adam Arnold

The Ray II

HISTORY

Ray Terrill was told he was light-hyper-sensitive and exposure to sunlight would kill him. Privately tutored in his window-darkened home, Ray's most earnest wish was for normalcy. His only friend during his formative years was his neighbor, Jennifer Jurden. At eighteen, by his supposed father's deathbed, Ray learned his life was a lie. He was not allergic to light, nor did he have to live in darkness. Most disturbing of all, he discovered his true father was the ‘40s super-hero the Ray.

At his "father's" funeral, Ray met his cousin, Hank Terrill, who helped him first face sunlight and the resulting powers. Hank urged Ray to become a super-hero, but Ray refused. It was then that the first Ray reappeared, pressuring his son to take up the heroic role while revealing his origin:

Before World War II, the government established a secret group known as RONOL (Research on the Nature of Light). One RONOL member, Dr. Dayzl, theorized that the light that originated millennia ago where Earth now orbits would eventually circumnavigate the universe and return as a dangerous, conscious entity. The onyl way to stop the "Light Entity," Dayzl believe, was to talk to it.

Tricking a reported named "Happy" Terrill into joining them, Dayzl and his assistants staged an upper atmosphere ballooning "accident," making certain Terrill was exposed to a genetic "light bomb." Dayzl calculated that Terill's offspring would be unifications of human and light energy, potential liaisons to the Light Entity.

Unaware of the truth, Terrill used his resulting powers to become the super-heroic Ray. Simultaneously, RONOL lost government backing due to Dayzl's unorthodox beliefs. Dayzl's date remains unknown.

In 1950, after learning the truth, Terrill vowed to quite his Ray identity. After a brief association with the Freedom Fighters in the ‘70s, he married and settled down.

Everything seemed normal until "Happy" saw his newborn son glowing with crackling energy in the hospital nursery. "Happy" was convinced Dayzl's theories were correct. He now knew his son would one day have the power to confront the Light Entity.

Not wanting to put his wife through torment, "Happy" told her that the baby had died and then set up his son with a foster father ("Happy's" brother Thomas).

Learning of Thomas's death years later, "Happy" secretly reactivated his governmental status. Employing agents and people close to his son, the elder Terrill concocted an elaborate scheme forcing young Ray into facing responsibility and utilizing his new found powers.

Confronting the Light Entity in a realm only he could reach, young Ray successfully dissuaded its return, saving the Earth.

Currently, Ray is discussion his future (in both his super and civilian identities) with his girlfriend, Jennifer Jurden.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Ray Terrill's power is that of solar-powered mind over matter. Once his body absorbs sunlight, he can direct the energy to rearrange molecules into any form, matter or energy. Storing sunlight, he can even function in darkness for a limited amount of time. The only limitations to this ability lie in his capacity for concentration and the duration of his energy expulsion. Flight, energy blasts, and the creation of his uniform and helmet require only minimum power and subliminal thought. Larger and more complicated manipulations of energy and matter require extended meditation and more power. The color black is most resistant to Ray's power, but it will eventually succumb. Ray is still growing accustomed to his power, so his control will undoubtedly increase as he grows more experienced.

text: Jack C. Harris, art: Joe Quesada and Art Nichols, colors: John Cebollero
Who's Who: Update ‘93 #2

Resurrection Man

HISTORY

A victim of clandestine experimentation by the unscrupulous outfit called The Lab, Mitch Shelley has found he cannot die. Microscopic robot devices in his bloodstream called tektites rebuild him whole after any fatale injury. With each new life comes a new "gift": a super power selected by the tektites as a response to the manner in which he has died.

As an amnesiac, Mitch wandered the United States using his powers to help those in need while trying to recover his lost identity.

Recently, he has discovered that the tektites are simply enhancing meta-human powers that he already possessed as a reincarnating champion and eternal adversary to the immortal Vandal Savage.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Mitch possesses the ability to resurrect himself with a new power that helps him prevent any the cause of his previous death. This is due to the tektites in his blood rebuilding his injured body and striving to make the body better than before.

Mitch also knows how to handle himself in hand-to-hand combat and can find a way out of any situation depending on which powers his body has supplied him with upon his resurrection.

DCU Heroes: Secret Files & Origins #1

Vigilante III

HISTORY

A career cop with the Gotham City Police Department, Patricia Trayce found herself continually hamstrung by the rules and regulations that seemed to prevent even the seamiest of street hoodlums from receiving just punishment for heir crimes. When her partner was killed by a highly place mob hitman named Barker, Trayce swore that this one wouldn't be one that got away. She was wrong. Soon after, Barker elected to turn state's evidence and, while help in protective custody, prepared himself to enter the U.S. Government's witness protection program. Unfortunately for Baker, his safety was jeopardized by a secret traitor within the justice department–and when Deathstoke, the Terminator, kidnaped him as part of an operation to smoke out that traitor, circumstances let suspicion to fall on Detective Trayce, who was suspended from the force pending a full investigation.

Trayce, determined not only to prove her innocence but to finally bring Barker to justice, had only one lead on Barker's whereabouts: she knew Deathstroke had him, a silver of knowledge that in time allowed her to unearth one of Deathstroke's assistants–a former criminal informant known only as Scoops. As it happened, before linking up with Deathstroke, Scoops had assisted the late crimefighter Adrian Chase, known to the authorities as the Vigilante. Scoops entrusted Trayce with Chase's costume and weaponry, at which point she joined forces with Deathstroke as the all-new Vigilante in order to flush out the turncoat who had cast suspicion on her.

Following the resolution of her first case as Vigilante, Trayce decided that she much preferred working outside the system and permanently resigned form the police force. Now, supported by whatever illicit funds she can steal form the criminal scum she pursues, Trayce lives the life of an urban commando wanted by the law for questioning, forever on the move. The only thing she misses from her "former life" is her adopted 12-year-old boy, Luis, Jr.–the sone of her former police partner.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Skilled both in the use of firearms and in the martial arts, the Vigilante was combat-trained by Deathstroke, the Terminator. As such, she is privy to numerous fighting techniques that allow her to more than hold her own in any battle.

The Vigilante is never without her automatic rifle, sidearm handgun, and night-vision goggles; moreover, the pockets of her flak-jacket contain a bevy of additional crimefighting accessories, including glasscutters, climbing rope, grenades, and a molybdenum-alloy fighting baton.

text: Mark Waid, art: Jerome Morre, colors: Tom McCraw
Who's Who: Update ‘93 #2