(Deathblow (Image) #3, 4) - The weakened and entombed Black Angel still managed to send his corrupting influence out into the world, gaining new servants and gaining strength each time they offered their souls to him or sacrificed others for him. Colonel Mahmud had found the Angels tomb in the deserts of Iraq and executed his own men to serve as a sacrifice, and their blood woke the creature. Deathblow, Travis Trickle and an I.O. strike force were being flown to Iraq to be dropped into an Iraqi intelligence center, where they would inflict maximum casualties, collect whatever information they could, and then be airlifted out. Deathblow sensed that the Black Angel had awoken, flipped out and demanded Trickle turn around, saying they were being manipulated by things beyond their control. Travis pointed a gun at him, and reminded him that as black-ops they were always being manipulated by someone else. He advised Deathblow to go crazy on his own time, and said he’d kill his commander if he didn’t settle down. Deathblow accepted he’d deal with whatever was waiting for them in Iraq, and said he was in. The Order of the Cross learned that the Black Angel had broken free of the tomb where they’d held him prisoner for centuries, and Imam Farouk informed Hassan Kussein, asking him to make the Iraq desert a DMZ until the Order could take care of the demon. Deathstroke, Trickle and the strike force burst into the intelligence center, mowing down everyone in sight. Farouk fought back, but Deathblow, thinking he was part of a second black-op team sent by Lynch, shot him, only to discover to his horror that he really was a man of God. With his dying breath Farouk begged Deathblow to stop the Black Angel. “Kussein” turned out to be a body double, and Deathblow and his team were airlifted out as an arc light dropped bombs on the intelligence center. The Black Angel was strong enough to leave his tomb, and after gathering his servants they swarmed the cities of Iraq. The Black Angel vowed to destroy the Order of the Cross, make Deathblow’s life Hell, and turn the entire world into his slaughterhouse.

(Deathblow (Image) #6, 7, 9) - Travis Trickle fell under the sway of the Black Angel, becoming his loyal servant. As the serial killer Herod Trickle killed a number of firstborn children, marking each murder with the signs of the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse drawn in blood. He offered Deathblow a chance to meet his new master, but Deathblow no longer wanted anything to do with Travis. The Black Angel planned to steal the sigils of the Four Horsemen from the Vatican to summon them and kill Christopher, a blessed boy born with the power to heal the sick and raise the dead. The Black Angel hoped that Christopher’s death would unlock the gates of Hell. The Black Angel and his servants stormed the Vatican, killing Father Thomas, and extracting from his mind Christopher’s location near Mountcairn Abbey and the location of the vault where the sigils were held. Black Angel ripped open the vault, reclaimed the sigils and bragged about bringing ruin to the world. The Black Angel arrived in Philadelphia, and killed two airport security officers when they tried to question him, turning one of them to dust. He asked his servants how his plan was going, and they told him Herod had located bodies that would serve as suitable vessels for the Four Horsemen, and Herod and a team of mercenaries were staking out the Freemont Hotel, where Sister Mary and Christopher were waiting to be extricated from by the Order. Thee Black Angel said to remind them the boy was to be unharmed, because the Angel planned on feeding on his lifeblood himself. Herod’s men ambushed and killed Brother Thomas when he came to get Mary and Christopher, but the newly arrived Deathblow killed them in turn. The dying Thomas begged Deathblow to keep Christopher safe. Sister Mary had fended off the rest of the Black Angel’s servants by herself, and when Deathblow offered to help her and Christopher get to safety she was highly skeptical of him, but Christopher sensed he could be trusted. Deathblow said he wanted to meet the Order because drinking from the Holy Grail was the only chance he had to keep his cancer from killing him. Sister Mary still didn’t like the idea of being helped by a cold-blooded killer, and was not quiet about her feelings. Herod ambushed them, blowing up Deathblow’s car. He told his old friend there was still time to join him in servitude of the Black Angel, who could offer him power beyond reckoning. Deathblow cursed him, and fled into the subway with his companions. Deathblow engaged in a firefight with Herod, saying he was working for the wrong side, but Herod replied that there was no good and evil, only power. The Black Angel and his servants appeared, and the angel entered Deathblow’s mind, trying to tempt him to kill in his name, but Deathblow said he’d rather die. Deathblow was shot a number of times, but to his surprise he couldn’t feel a thing. Deathblow, Mary and Christopher made it into a subway car, but found a boy had been killed in the crossfire. Christopher brought him back to life, and Mary told Deathblow he was the anointed one, chosen to usher in a great new age of man. Deathblow brought Mary and Christopher to safety at Montcairn Abbey, and the grateful Abbot O’Conner allowed him to drink from the Holy Grail. Deathstroke hoped that his cancer would be cured and he’d get a new lease on life. As Deathblow left the Abbey one of the Black Angel’s servants shot him point-blank in the chest. Deathblow rapidly healed, and wondered if it was the power of the Holy Grail that saved him. Deathblow, O’Conner and Mary fought desparately, but couldn’t keep the servants from storming the Abbey. They took Christopher from his room, and made a run for it. The Black Angel arrived, but Deathblow said he didn’t fear him because he was protected y God after drinking from the grail. The Angel laughed, saying the Order had tricked him because they’d happily see him dead, and showed Deathblow the “grail” he drank from was a souvenier replica from Hong Kong. John Lynch and a squad of Black Razors were monitoring the scene from a surveillance van, and when he got the opportunity Lynch donned Razor armor and impaled the Black Angel. The Black Angel burst into flames, leaving behind only a charred skeleton. Black Angel’s servants continued their fight against the Razors, but they unexpectedly started disintegrating as the Black Angel absorbed their lifeforce to heal himself. He grabbed Christopher and flew away, telling Deathblow he’d kidnapped his ex-wife and to meet him in Babylon because there was still a place for him in the Angel’s army. The Order let Deathblow confess his sins, and said that he now had a chance against the darkness that raged in him. O’Conner was the one who stabbed the Black Angel with the Sword of Heaven 2,000 years ago, and he believed Deathblow was chosen to take the broken sword and end the Angel. O’Conner offered the full force of the Order to be at Deathblow and sister Mary’s disposal in their final confrontation with the Black Angel.

(Deathblow (Image) #10-12) - The Black Angel took Christopher to the top of the World Trade Center, telling the boy it reminded him of a time long ago when he’d shown Jesus Christ the breadth of the dominion he’d give him control over if only he’d pledge his loyalty to Satan. He told Christopher that in another ten years the boy could have been a threat to him, but as it stood he was a sacrificial lamb. Christopher wasn’t scared and said his friends Deathblow and Sister Mary would protect him. Deathblow and Mary managed to kill Herod, but were soon put on the defensive when the Black Angel raised the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The Black Angel chose Deathblow’s fellow black-ops that he’d had to kill in Costa Mesa because of political machinations by John Lynch as vessels for the Four Horsemen. Dane, Grifter and Backlash agreed to go after the Four Horsemen while Deathblow and Mary drove to the WTC to confront the Black Angel. The Horsemen continued their slaughter across the city, and each person they killed became possessed by one of the Black Angel’s demons, adding to the destruction and chaos. War was on the 4 Line causing people to become bloodthirsty and kill each other. Grifter attacked him, but soon had a whole subway car of people against him. Backlash was on the burning Brooklyn Bridge when he confronted Famine. Dane found Central Park full of diseased corpses when he rran into Pestilence. Mary and Deathblow fought their way through the WTC only to be met by Death, who Deathblow recognized was using Joseph Conrad as a host. Death drained Sister Mary’s life energy, but Detahblow stabbed him with the Sword of Heaven, and finished the Horseman off by shattering his sigil with the sword. Conrad thanked Deathblow as his soul was set free. Lt. O’Brien and Special Agent Fox tried to arrest Deathblow, still suspecting him of being Herod, but Lynch called them to rescind all warrants against Deathblow, telling them that I.O. Travis Trickle, now dead, was the real Herod. O’Brien and Fox offered to join Deathblow in his battle against the Black Angel, and he accepted. Deathblow said it was time for their final stand, and they’d either save the world or die in a blaze of glory. Deathblow radioed Dane, Grifter and Backlash, telling them of the Horsemen’s weakness, and they defeated their opponents by breaking their sigils. Deathblow and company, joined by Imam Faisal of the Order, stormed the top of the WTC. Black Angel was draining Christopher’s life, and the gates of Hell began to open in the sky. Black Angel’s demons tore apart Fox and O’Brien, but when he saw Deathblow wielded the broken Sword of Heaven he was distracted long enough for Faisal to grab Christopher away from him. Black Angel killed Faisal, but Deathblow managed to wound him with the sword. The Angel conjured an image of Gaby, and she told Deathblow that if he put down the sword, she’d come back to life. Deathblow was ready to give in to the Black Angel when Grifter, Dane and Backlash joined the battle, each of them being incinerated by the Angel’s touch. Dane told Deathblow to die like a man before he passed on, and as Deathblow saw Mary cradling Christopher, he knew the power of love, his love for Gaby and his friends, could restore the sword. With his heart pure he stabbed the Angel with the unbroken Sword of Heaven, destroying the angel and causing the gates of Hell to close. Christopher used the sword’s Heavenly power to turn back time and undo most of the damage the Black Angel and Four Horsemen had caused. Christopher wasn’t able to save Gaby because she’d died two years ago in London, and with the work of the avenging angel inside her accomplished, she was still dead. Angels brought Christopher to Heaven, including the angel that had been bound to Gaby, and Deathblow felt like he was losing her all over again. The Angels said Christopher's time on Earth was through, but since Deathblow had discovered the goods within himself, they would guide him on Earth if he let them. Deathblow attended Gaby’s funeral, and had to be lead away by Sister Mary, who said she would always live on in his heart.

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