(Darker Image (Image) #1) - When black-op Deathblow was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer he decided to settle some old scores, and traveled to Costa Mesa to kill General Manuel Ortega, who’d killed Deathblow’s partner when they tried to infiltrate his drug cartel in 1990. Ortega had a working relationship with the U.S. government, so John Lynch couldn’t officially condone Deathblow’s actions, even though Washington wanted Ortega dead because he’d become a liability. Lynch and Security Czar Craven told Lieutenant J.L. Conrad that Deathblow, who he’d served with in Panema in the ‘80s, had gone rogue, and sent him and a strike force to Costa Mesa to stop him. Deathblow reached Ortega’s compound where a firefight erupted between him, the strike force and Ortega’s security. Deathblow and Conrad were the only ones left standing, and when Deathblow found Ortega, he’d summoned a demon, saying he had power now that he served the Black Angel. Conrad and Deathblow destroyed Ortega’s charm necklace he’d used to kill the demon, causing it to vanish. Deathblow put a gun to Ortega’s head, and told Conrad he’d been played for a fool. Conrad couldn’t accept that Lynch had lied to him, and he’d lost his men for no reason, so he wouldn’t back down, and Deathblow shot him. Deathblow executed Ortega, and returned to Washington. Deathblow slugged Lynch, damning him for getting good men killed because he was playing games, and said he was through with Lynch.

(Deathblow (Image) #1-4) - Deathblow went to a church confessional and admitted it had been a long time since his last confession, and since then he’d killed men, women and even children in the name of his country. Every timer he killed he tried to restrain himself, but he felt compelled by unquenchable bloodlust, and prayed for the strength to commit suicide but he found himself wanting. He continued to beg for forgiveness until a priest approached the empty confessional and asked if he needed to repent, and Deathblow left the church, knowing he’d have to kill again. Deathblow brooded about being raised a patriot and growing up a killer. He completed a training exercise in Arlington, VA simulating the killing of terrorists to save a hostage, and his best friend Travis, I.O. control officer of Deathblow’s Special Activities Division was watching. He told Deathblow he knew he’d visited a church recently, and asked if he’d turned to God because after his last physical he learned he had a brain tumor. Travis wondered if Deathblow had a deathwish because of his guilty conscious, and reminded him of what he did in Costa Mesa, but Deathblow said it was them or him. John Lynch briefed the S.O.G., telling them they were to be dropped into an Iraqui intelligence center, where they would inflict maximum casualties, collect whatever information they could, and then be airlifted out. Deathblow, Travis and their strike force were being flown into Iraq when Deathblow sensed that the Black Angel had awoken. 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 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. Lynch briefed Craven about Deathblow’s mission status. A pair of F-111’s were bombing Iraq’s energy grid as Deathblow and his strike force were being dropped into the intelligence center, giving them enough time to complete their mission and remain unnoticed. Lynch said that if the black-ops were captured or anything else went wrong a battleship armed with cruise missiles was stationed on the Persian Gulf to destroy any evidence of U.S. involvement. 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. Order member Brother Peter 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 Peter 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.

(Deathblow (Image) #5) - Deathblow went for a checkup at Memorial Hospital, NYC and getting a MRI. While he waited for the results he watched a news story in the waiting room about a young boy who raised a child from the dead in Central Park after the child drowned during a field trip. Deathblow found himself wishing for a miracle. The doctors noted that Deathblow’s cancer had spread throughout his body, and by all rights he should have been dead. Dr. Anderson correctly theorized that a bio-agent was triggering a change in Deathblow’s body, altering his cells and changing his physiology. Chief of staff Dr. Markus shut him down, saying his theory was impossible. Anderosn told Deathblow that instead of a year to live, he had two months at the outside. Deathblow was furious, and when Anderson asked if he had family or loved ones that should be contacted Deathblow replied that he had nobody. Dr. Markus reported to Lynch and Craven, reporting that Deathblow's cancer was triggering the secondary stages of the gen-active process. It had been a long time since Deathblow had been exposed to the gen-factor during Project Genesis, and Lynch and Carver admitted they were pleased they’d finally see results. Deathblow drowned his sorrows at the Dropzone, a stripclub catering to the military. After downing a bottle of whiskey Deathblow paid a dancer named Caandy to spend the night with him. Dropzone’s owner Bill asked if Deathblow was still married, and he replied that he’d split with his ex a while ago. Deathblow was ambushed by members of Delta Force that were friends of the men he’d killed in Costa Mesa, but Deathblow fought them off, and Bill kindly asked him to leave.

(Deathblow (Image) #6) - Deathblow waited in a hotel room for Sugar, and wondered if he was going to die in a month because he’d killed a priest. Sugar arrived, and Deathblow couldn’t help but think she looked like his ex-wife. They made love, and afterwards soldiers from the Order of the Cross burst into the hotel room and attacked. They shot Sugar and shot and stabbed Deathblow, but he managed to take them all out. Deathblow was surprised that the wounds he’d suffered hadn’t slowed him down, let alone killed him. Deathblow  visited his old friend Henri Rothschild who ran a bibliotheque staffed with numerous language experts. He gave Henri the book he’d gotten off the Order in Iraq. It was written in Latin, and detailed the Order’s history and their mission to preserve the Holy Grail and prevent the ascendancy of the Black Angel. 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. The Black Angel planned to steal the sigils of the Four Horsemen from the Vatican to summon them and kill Christopher, hoping the boy’s death would unlock the gates of Hell. Travis told Deathblow he knew someone who could save his life if he did a job for him, but Deathblow was through associating with Travis. Deathblow’s ex Gabrielle visited him after getting a call from his doctor, and he assured her their was no treatment for his cancer, and that he deserved to die for all the blood he’d spilled anyway. That night Deathblow sensed the Black Angel regaining the sigils of the Four Horsemen. He wished he could find the Order, hoping that drinking from the Holy Grail could save his life, but he had nowhere to start looking for them. He threw the Order’s book, and by good fortune found a key hidden in the binding.

(Deathblow (Image) #7) - Deathblow brought the key to Rayna Masters, an ex-secret service agent who ran an executive protection agency. She owed him for saving her from a stalker a few years back, and after running the manufacturer code on the key she learned it was made at the Freemont Hotel, which was owned by Montcairn Abbey, which had ties to the Order of the Cross. The Black Angel 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. Sister Mary was contacted by videophone by the Order, and warned that they suspected Deathblow was Herod. When Brother Thomas came to get them Herod’s men ambushed and killed him before 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 (Image) #8, 9) - Deathblow’s ex-wife Gabriele D’Angelo was investigating the Herod case for the F.B.I. while trying to dig up information on Project Genesis. Dr. Anderson, her contact in Memorial Hospital, found Dr. Markus’ notes on Team 7 and Project Genesis, but Herod surprised him and cut him to pieces. When Gabrielle found his body Herod attacked her and she blasted him with holy light, revealing that she was the vessel for an avenging angel. The Black Angel’s servants took her down before she could kill Herod, who was pleased that she’d serve as nice bait for Deathblow. Deathblow and company traveled to Bryn Athyn by train, but had to walk the last ten miles to Montcairn Abbey. Abbot O’Conner wanted to kill Deathblow to avenge Brother Peter, but when he realized that Deathblow had saved the chosen child, he forgave him. He told Deathblow he could drink from the grail if he confessed his sins. Deathblow went to the confessional, bemoaning the deaths of Sugar, Peter and other people unfortunate enough to be around him at the wrong time. He drank from the grail, and O’Conner asked him if he’d join their fight against the Black Angel, but Deathblow said he’d had enough of killing for one lifetime, and only wanted to find peace. O’Conner wished him luck in finding his place in the world, and they were both oblivious to the Black Angel and his servants swarming outside. 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 desperately, 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 souvenir 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. Deathblow asked Lynch to help him prevent judgment day, but Lynch replied that Craven would frown on him aiding Deathblow because he still wanted to see Deathblow and the Order of the Cross dead. Lynch had to investigate a biker SPB in Nevada, but said he’d make a few calls and see if he could get Deathblow some help. Deathblow wanted to know why O’Conner had tricked him, and he said there was still darkness in Deathblow because he hadn’t laid his soul bare during confessional. He heard another confession from Deathblow, who told him about the tragic London op that resulted in the death of an innocent child. 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) - Sister Mary drove Deathblow back to NYC, and he got in touch with his contact Rayna to learn about I.O. safehouses where Herod could be hiding. Deathblow tried to reassure Mary that he was a good guy once people got to know him, but she was not having a bit of it. They found Herod torturing Deathblow’s ex Gabrielle, and after Herod took away the Sword of Heaven from Mary he revealed that Gabrielle was an archangel, and he’d use the sword to drain her life essence. Deathblow couldn’t stand the idea of Gabrielle being lost to him again and went berserk, attacking Herod and the Black Angel’s possessed. Herod got the advantage, and after shooting Deathblow in the chest, said he’d show him that even the Gen-Factor had its’ limits, and he could end Deathblow’s life. Gabrielle, deathly wounded, managed to free herself, and killed Herod with a shotgun blast to the back. She collapsed and died in Deathblow’s arms, and Deathblow no longer had the will to go on. Sister Mary brought him to his senses, telling him they had to defeat the Black Angel and save the world so Gabrielle’s sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain. Deathblow and Mary fled back to Deathblow’s apartment in Tribeca, and after watching a news report learned that 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, knowing the conflict he’d sow within Deathblow. Lynch had reached out to his contacts, and secured Backlash, Dane and Grifter as backups to help Deathblow take down the Angel.

(Deathblow (Image) #11, 12) - 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 Deathblow 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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