(WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #0-2) - Gnome was a freebooter who sought the Orb of Power and sold information about Kherubim gifted ones to Jacob Marlowe, who was assembling the WildC.A.T.S., a strikeforce to combat the Daemonite invasion of Earth. He employed a Coda warrior and the Triad as his hired muscle. Daemonite Helspont and the Cabal were seeking out both gifted ones and the Orb of Power. Cabal member Alberto Cassini sold out his group, revealing the location of gifted one Priscilla Kitaen to Gnome in exchange for money. Grifter and Zealot were seeking the gifted one who had “the sight,” the ability to see and exorcise Daemonites, and were on Gnome’s trail. Gnome ordered the Triad to attack them, and Zealot insisted Grifter find Kitaen while she dealt with them. Priscilla was an exotic dancer working under the stage name of Voodoo, and Grifter found her at the Hot Spot. Helspont sent two Daemonites and a Coda warrior to kill Voodoo, but were opposed by the WildC.A.T.S. The battle ended when the fatally wounded Coda warrior detonated an explosive on her person, blowing up the Hot Spot. Void warped them away from the explosion and they regrouped at Grifter’s safehouse at Quantico. Grifter and Zealot informed Marlowe that the Cabal was using their mole B’lial and the U.S. government’s resources to construct a dimensional gateway to the Daemonite homeworld in a project called Reunification. Marlowe said he’d need Voodoo to exorcise Dan Quayle of the Daemonite possessing him, and Voodoo said she had no idea what she’d landed herself in. Zealot explained that the Kherubim and Daemonites had been at war for eons, and the WildC.A.T.S. and Cabal were from groups stranded on Earth long ago. Thirty years ago the Daemonites scored a major victory, and without Voodoo’s help they’d win the war for Earth. The WildC.A.T.S. went to S.D.I. Astronomics, where Dan Quayle and the Cabal, including another Coda warrior, were set to receive the Orb of Power needed for Project Reunification from NASA. The WildC.A.T.S. dealt with the Cabal members, but Dan Quayle introduced his bodyguards, the government sponsored superteam Youngblood.

(WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #3, 4) - The WildC.A.T.S. and Youngblood clashed, with Spartan trying to explain that Dan Quayle was possessed, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Pike noticed that some of the WildC.A.T.S. were absent from the fight and took coda warrior Devin to the Astronomics control center, where Helspont and M’koi were opening the gateway to the Daemonite homeworld with the Orb. The rest of the WildC.A.T.S. appeared and attacked them. Gnome, who’d been playing the WildC.A.T.S. and Cabal against each other, broke into the Orb’s containment facility with the help of the Triad. Youngblood beat their opponents, but knew something was wrong when Dan Quayle pulled a handgun and prepared to execute Voodoo. Shaft tried to stop him, but Quayle shot him, with the bullet grazing Shaft’s head. Voodoo exorcised B’lial from Dan Quayle. The Cabal fended off the WildC.A.T.S. long enough to open a stargate with the Orb, and an armada of Daemonite warships poured forth. Youngblood and the recovered WildC.A.T.S. fought Helspont. Voodoo tried to exorcise him, but found her powers ineffective because he was using an Arcturan host, not a human one. Spartan, willing to fight to the end, removed the relay switch, causing an explosion that blew him up but shut down the main control system, shutting the stargate. Helspont was furious that 30 years of work and planning on his part came to nothing, but vowed to snatch victory from defeat by claiming possession of the Orb. He opened the reactor core to find the Orb missing. Gnome and the Triad revealed themselves, with Gnome showing that he had control of the Orb claiming to rightfully belonged to him, and him alone. He blasted Helspont, critically injuring him. Void warned him that the Orb’s powers had become unstable, but he simply blasted her with it. Jacob Marlowe ordered him to drop the Orb, and Gnome reminded him he owed him a favor, which was to stay out of his way. Marlowe was fine with breaking his promis, shooting off the arm Gnome was holding the Orb with. The arm and Orb fell into a reactor and Gnome dove in to try to save his precious Orb. The Orb caused the reactor to go critical, and Youngblood, the Cabal and Triad all fled the facility. Marlowe lent his power to the weakened Void, allowing her to teleport the WildC.A.T.S. to safety. They celebrated with champagne, but Voodoo said she wasn’t in the mood for a victory lap because Spartan had to sacrifice himself to save the day. Marlowe showed her one of Spartan’s cyber-synthetic bodies, and said his mind and memories were currently being downloaded into it.

(WildC.A.T.S. Trilogy (Image) #1-3) - The Cabal tried to rebuild their power base, and Cabal member Hightower agreed to work with Coda sister Artemis to destroy their mutual enemy the WildC.A.T.S. WildC.A.T. Grifter’s informer Lonely said he had a hot tip for him, that there were armed guards at the waterfront unloading heavy machinery and the operation was being supervised by the Cabal and the Coda. Grifter went to investigate, and Lonely reported to Artemis and Hightower, who’d paid him to lure his friend into a deathtrap, and Artemis murdered him, saying a traitor deserved no better. Grifter fought his way past come security guards on the waterfront only to stumble upon a group of Hybridroids that opened fire on him. He survived, but was waylaid by Hightower, who caught him unaware by shapeshifting and appearing to Grifter as Lonely. Void sensed Grifter was in distress and informed Emp. Grifter woke to find himself bound, and Artemis began to torture him. She’d happily see him dead, but said she’d keep him alive because his blood bond with Zealot would draw her to him. Artemis knew that if Zealot came after him the WildC.A.T.S. would follow and she and Hightower planned on killing them all. Zealot arrived, and Artemis said she’d die for dishonoring her and getting her expelled from the Coda. Artemis and Zealot agreed to fight to the death, and Artemis warned Hightower not to interfere. Delphae served as the Coda’s oracle for centuries. Peering in the pool of her underground cave she found Zealot, who was viewed as a traitor to the Coda. Coda sister Artemis teamed with Daemonite Hightower to lure Zealot’s WildC.A.T.S. teammate Grifter into a trap, knowing she’d come to save him. She informed Andromache who ordered Delphae to open a gateway to take her and a phalanx of Coda sisters to seal Zealot’s fate. Hightower and his Hybridroids defeated the WildC.A.T.S. and Zealot and Artemis were engaged in a battle to the death for the life of Zealot’s teammates when the gateway opened and Andromache and her Coda appeared. Andromache wanted not just Zealot dead, but Artemis as well. She had been fomenting revolution, believing the Coda had been led astray from the path of noble warriors by becoming paid assassins. Artemis admitted she was torn between wanting to fight Zealot to the death and asking her to return to Themiscrya with her to overthrow Andromache. Zealot and Artemis tore through the coda, with Zealot saying her old friend should have reached out to her instead of trying to kill her and her friends, and Artemis conceded she had a point. With only Andromache standing Zealot promised she’d remain in exile with Artemis and never bother the coda again if they kept their distance. Andromache still demanded blood, and another cadre of coda poured in through the gateway. Andromache threw a spear at Zealot while her back was turned, but Artemis dove in the way, sacrificing her life for Zealot’s. Zealot cradled her Coda sister and her teammate Grifter arrived, getting the drop on Andromache with his gun. He threatened to kill her if the coda didn’t leave, and Grifter realized Andromache had grown soft, because any other majestrix would have sacrificed their life before surrendering in battle, but she hesitated. The rest of the WildC.A.T.S. arrived, and Emp threatened to burn down all of Themyscrya if Andromache didn’t forget her grudge. Andromache relented, and Zealot insisted she take Artemis back to Themyscrya to be given a warrior’s funeral and grave.

Comments: Created by Jim Lee & Brandon Choi.

The Coda were originally published by Wildstorm Comics, an imprint of Image Comics, which DC acquired the rights to in January, 1999.

The Coda's appearance in WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #1 was reprinted in Millennium Edition: WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams #1. Their appearance in WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #0-4, Zealot (Image) #1 was republished by DC Comics in a digital format.  Their appearance in WildC.A.T.S. Trilogy (Image) #1-3 was reprinted in the WildC.A.T.S. Trilogy TPB.

All characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © DC Comics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please visit The Official DC Comics Site at: http://www.batman.com