(WildC.A.T.S. Trilogy (Image) #2) - As they fought Zealot tried to convince Artemis that there was more to the Coda than precepts, that the blood bond was as important. She’d formed a blood bond with Artemis the first day they started training together, and their bond was the reason Zealot had not given her an “honorable” death after the Trojan War. Zealot defeated Artemis, but found that she could still not bring herself to kill her former friend. Hightower wanted to order his Hybridroids to kill Zealot, but Artemis reminded them they were not to interfere. Hightower said the Cabal would be best served if Artemis died alongside Zealot and Grifter, and ordered the Hybridroids to attack. The WildC.A.T.S. teleported to the scene and ran through the Hybridroids. Artemis fled, and Zealot thanked her teammates for their help, starting to truly see them as friends, but said she had to pursue Artemis by herself. Grifter wanted to come with her, but Emp convinced him that Zealot had to handle her business by herself. Hightower possessed Voodoo, forcing her to attack her teammates. She punched through Spartan’s chest, disabling his android body. The Hybridroids joined the onslaught, defeating the WildC.A.T.S. Zealot caught up with Artemis, who demanded she battle her for the life of her friends. Coda oracle Delphae used her scrying pool to locate Zealot, and during Zealot’s battle with Artemis a gateway opened, discharging Coda majestrix Andromache and several of her Coda sisters.

(WildC.A.T.S. Trilogy (Image) #3) - Hightower hooked Emp up to an energy siphon, bragging that he’d absorb his powers and his life essence, which would ensure his rule of the cabal. While he was gloating Spartan recovered enough to ask Grifter for help in healing him. Grifter grabbed cel-packs from Spartan’s thigh pouch and rubbed them on his chest, healing his wound. Emp pleaded with Voodoo to fight Hightower’s control, and she confronted him on the psionic plane, managing to cast him out of her body. Hightower was shocked by Voodoo’s immense mental will and power. Grifter shot Hightower numerous times, annoying him, and Spartan took the opportunity to hit him with a plasma charge. The wounded Hightower fled, taking his Hybridroids with him. While his teammates tended to their injuries Grifter ran off to help Zealot. 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 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. Grifter went to Lonely’s funeral, and the only other person in attendance was Schmidt, a former director of the Stasi. He told Grifter that Lonely was a double agent, and if it weren’t for him the Stasi and KGB would have eliminated grifter long ago. Lonely felt a bond with Grifter and defected, betraying the Stasi. Grifter was conflicted, and even though his friend had just betrayed him he chose to remember the good he’d once done for him.

(WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #5, 6) - Grifter got intel from Cyberjack that the Daemonite Dr. Heinrich Richtoffen was working with warlord Kaizen Gamorra. Gamorra produced Hunter-Killers, biosynthetic entities, or bisey, and Richtoffen was helping him improve on his technology to create the perfect host bodies for his fellow Daemonites. Grifter and Zealot made an assault on Richtoffen’s lab on Gamorra Island with the rest of the WildC.A.T.S hanging back in the MIRV. Grifter and Zealot fought their way past a number of Hunter-Killers and droids, and Grifter accessed the lab’s databanks, realizing they were using Spartan’s O.S. for their latest wave of bisey. Grifter was ambushed by Richtoffen and his assistant Misery. Misery defeated Grifter in combat and the droids were about to overwhelm Zealot when the rest of the WildC.A.T.S warped in. Voodoo exorcised Richtoffen, and Spartan finished off the Daemonite with a bio-blast. Warblade was shocked to see his ex-lover Misery still alive, and they engaged in bloody combat. Misery was convinced he still loved her, but Warblade insisted he wanted her dead. Spartan tried to delete the lab’s databanks, angered at the thought that the Daemonites could benefit from his own technology, but he accidentally set of an auto-destruct sequence. Maul dragged Warblade away from his fight and void prepared to warp the team back to the MIRV. Misery taunted Warblade, who deserted his teammates just as they warped away. The WildC.A.T.S saw the lab explode, and were convinced that Warblade couldn’t have survived the conflagration. Voodoo wanted to check the smoldering lab on the slim chance that Warblade was still alive. The Gamorran airforce came after the WildC.A.T.S, with Gamorran Vipers firing on the MIIRV, blowing it to pieces. Void was stunned, and couldn’t warp them to safety. Spartan landed Voodoo safely, while Grifter and Zealot landed on one of the Vipers, taking out the crew and making an emergency landing. Maul grabbed Void, and grew larger than he ever had before to survive his own crash landing. Voodoo had a concussion, but used her sight to turn back on Maul’s brain, which switched off when he grew too big. She again insisted they look for Warblade. Void warped Voodoo to the Halo Building to get her medical treatment, with her teammates promising to find Warblade. The WildC.A.T.S found Misery and Warblade still alive, but Misery teleported away with their teammate. Spartan used his thermal imaging vision to reconstruct what had happened. The lab explosion blew Warblade and Misery into a subbasement, where Misery unlocked a control panel. Within the WildC.A.T.S discovered a stasis pod, but when Grifter tried to open it he received an electrical shock. Marlowe contacted his team, warning them that the Gamorrans were raising complaints with the U.N. security council, and they needed to leave the island as soon as possible. The WildC.A.T.s told him about Misery, and Marlowe said he was always worried about Cyberdata coming after Warblade, since he rescued him from them. Warblade awoke on the Isle of the Dead off the coast of Gamorra. Misery reminded him the last time they were there he tried to kill her. Warblade attacked her, but was stopped by Cyberforce’s Ripclaw, who had a dream vision of Warblade and Misery still being alive.

(Cyberforce II (Image) #2, 3, WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #7) - Misery manipulated Ripclaw into trying to kill Warblade, and Warblade’s pleas that she was the villain fell on deaf ears. The rest of Cyberforce arrived to back up Ripclaw, and Heatwave hit Warblade with a blast of solar energy that knocked him off a cliff, mirroring Warblade’s last encounter with Ripclaw. The WildC.A.T.S arrived on the scene and Misery convinced Cyberforce they were working with Cyberdata. Jacob Marlowe brooded, wishing he could be with his team, but he had business meetings to attend to, and maintaining his financial empire was necessary to fund the WildC.A.T.S. Voodoo was recovering, and confided in Void that she was deeply shaken by her brush with death, realizing how dangerous their job was. Void admitted that their missions always had an element of danger, but the WildC.A.T.S always looked out for each other. The WildC.A.T.S and Cyberforce clashed, but Misery was able to sneak away from the battle with Ripclaw to Richtoffen’s sub-basement to locate the stasis pod. She disabled its’ security system and downloaded its’ data, saying it held the key to a brave new future with no death and decay. Warblade, although severely injured, survived his fall and confronted them, saying he’d never let Misery sell bisey tech to the Daemonites. The battle between the WildC.A.T.S and Cyberforce raged, and the WildC.A.T.S realized their opponents were under the mental control of Misery and refused to use lethal force, putting them at a disadvantage. Misery spurred on Warblade and Ripclaw to kill each other and for Cyberforce to execute their opponents. Warblade overpowered Ripclaw, and Misery realized Ripclaw loved her even without her mental manipulation, and she didn’t want to see him die. Ashamed at her emotions she unleashed a psionic blast against Warblade and Ripclaw. She was determined to use her power to destroy them both, loosing her control over Cyberforce, who stopped fighting the WildC.A.T.S. Warblade asked her what happened to her pregnancy when she conceived a child with Ripclaw, and the distraction allowed him to stab he. Misery knew Richtoffen’s programming made her do awful things, and she admitted to Ripclaw that she was once pregnant with his child. She begged him to end her life, tired of being Richtoffen’s pawn, and he reluctantly complied. Warblade opened the stasis pod, revealing Spartan’s severed arm he’d lost during the WildC.A.T.S first mission. The WildC.A.T.S reclaimed Spartan’s arm and called a truce with Cyberforce, hoping their next meeting would be more amiable.

(WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #8) - The WildC.A.T.S had some down time and Zealot wanted to spend her time off in the combat simulator, but Grifter dragged her off to his favorite dive bar. After a round of pool and a bar brawl Grifter got a text message from Cyberjack and told Zealot he had personal business to attend to. Zealot reminded him that they were a team but he insisted that what he had to take care of he had to do alone.

(Deathblow (Image) #10-12) - John Lynch contacted CyberJack, pleading to get backup for Deathblow, who was in battle with the Black Angel. Lynch knew that there were numerous government grudges against Deathblow, but the stakes were too high to take that into consideration, because the Antichrist Black Angel was prepared to open up the gates of Hell and bring about judgment day. CyberJack contacted Backlash, Grifter and Dane, who agreed to aid Deathblow. 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 ran 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, and Dane, Deathblow and Backlash were restored to life.

(WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #11-13) - Immortal sorceress Tapestry hired Triad and Providence to attack the WildC.A.T.S. Jacob Marlowe was meeting with his old friend Alabaster Wu, who’d piloted a starship across thousands of worlds trying to escape the Raksha. A Raksha had possessed Voodoo, who convinced the WildC.A.T.S that Wu was the enemy and was trying to kill Marlowe. Void warped the WildC.A.T.S to Marlowe’s side, only to be ambushed by the Triad. The WildC.A.T.S realized Voodoo had betrayed them and engaged in battle with the Triad, who’d learned from their previous encounters, making them much more formidable opponents. Providence and Void fought, with Providence reminding her they were both incarnations of the Orbs of Power, the only difference between them being who they chose to serve. The Triad were victorious, and Tapestry and her lover Soma paid them off, saying their business was concluded. Attica said they couldn’t call their victory complete until Zealot and Grifter, who were missing from the battle, were defeated, so Tapestry agreed to give them a new assignment. Zealot, Huntsman and Miranda Tai rushed to the scene, with Zealot suffering from septic shock due to her injuries she’d suffered during the fight with the Raksha. At the sight of Tapestry Zealot decided they should make a tactical retreat. She contacted Savant, calling in a favor, and in turn Savant got in contact with Soldier and Majestic. Tapestry and Soma kept the WildC.A.T.S in captivity, but Providence refused to leave Void’s side, saying they both served a higher power. Tapestry told her she didn’t understand her own power or what she was a fragment of. She melded Void and Providence together, intending to fuse them into an Orb of Power for her own use. Tapestry probed Jacob Marlowe’s memories and the formation of his WildC.A.T.S. She then changed the past, so that Zealot killed Grifter and Tapestry killed Lord Emp to protect him. She promised him that if he gave himself to her body and soul they would be unstoppable together. The Triad pursued Zealot, Miranda and Huntsman, with H.A.R.M. launching missiles that scorched whole city blocks in Brooklyn. Attica was concerned about the attention they were attracting and suggested moving in for the kill in close quarters. Tapestry continued to reweave the histories and souls of the WildC.A.T.S making them into her loyal servants. Voodoo’s Raksha demanded to be fed, so Lord Emp called his assistants Jules and Stansfield to meet them and act as a sacrifice. Voodoo rebelled against hurting her friends, fighting the Raksha on the psychic plane. Huntsman was prepared to make a final stand against the Triad, asking Zealot to guard Miranda. Zealot’s wounds she’d suffered from the Raksha grew infected and she felt herself becoming possessed., but fought off the demonic control. Huntsman fought bravely, but was seemingly incinerated by Slag, who was always pleased to inflict pain. Miranda had a violent reaction to Huntsman’s seeming passing and Zealot went into battle against the Triad, but was surprised to find Huntsman unharmed. Zealot tapped into her magical abilities, casting a spell that turned slag back into a human being. Huntsman was impressed, but Zealot told him she’d just damned her soul. Savant, Majestic and Soldier arrived in time to take out the rest of the Triad, but Savant was distraught that they’d arrived after Zealot had been forced to cast a spell. Grifter arrived on the scene to offer his support as they prepared to confront Tapestry. Tapestry was watching them through a scrying spell and gloated that Zealot’s soul would forever belong to her. Jules and Stansfield, trusting Voodoo implicitly, lent their lifeforce to her to help her exorcise the Raksha. Zealot and company battled against the WildC.A.T.S and Alabaster Wu, who were now all loyal creations of Tapestry. Zealot and Tapestry engaged in a sorceress’ duel, but were quickly stalemated. Miranda Tai took a shard of an Orb of Power from Savants bag, swinging the battle in Zealot’s favor. The battle left Tapestry injured, and Soma fled with her, telling Zealot he’d kill her for harming his mistress. Savant told everyone that the magic Zealot used was learned from Tapestry herself, who’d always wanted to craft Zealot in her old image. She claimed the power was bound to corrupt Zealot, and she had to die. Majestic said that as a Kherubim lord hee agreed and had the authority to pass sentence on Zealot. Zealot agreed that she would eventually be unable to control her magical powers, and wished she could purge herself of them. Voodoo came to her aid, helping her purge Tapestry’s magic, and in the process returning the WildC.A.T.S to normal. Emp agreed to give Alabaster Wu the Brooklyn dockyards so that he could resettle his people and save lives.

(WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #15, 16) - The new U.S. administration, wanting to undue the ecological disasters perpetrated by the Daemonite possessed Dan Quayle called for an energy commission summit in Aspen, CO and invited the country’s biggest corporate heads. Jacob Marlowe was on the committee , and told the WildC.A.T.s they could have some time off, which he believed was well deserved. An attack helicopter assaulted his winter lodge, and Grifter shot it out of the air, but not before Voodoo was shot and badly injured. The Daemonites were behind the attack; they’d been targeting members of the energy commission and had already picked off a number of corporate heads. The Black Razors were tasked with protecting the remaining members of the energy commission and learned that the Daemonites had an assassin planted as a mole in the WildC.A.T.s, disguised as one of their own. Higher-ups ordered the Razors new leader Ben Santini to stay out of action because he was too valuable to lose and direct his team. He told the Razors he knew some of them lacked confidence in him, but assured them he wanted them all to come back alive. The Black Razors attacked the WildC.A.T.s at the energy conference, hoping to find the mole. The Daemonites provided backup in the form of aircraft, cutting Santini off from his team. Santini identified Maul as the imposter Mr. White, and joined the battle, gunning the imposer down. The Black Razors took Mr. White back to their labs for dissection. Voodoo was the primary target when the Daemonites first attacked the WildC.A.T.s because they knew her second sight would have eventually identified Mr. Whie. With the conflict over Santini made it clear to Jacob Marlowe that he held a grudge against him for shooting him in the kneecap and crippling him during the Razors’ first encounter with the WildC.A.T.s, and when Marlowe asked where the real Maul was Santini said that wasn’t his problem.

(WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #17) - The only clue Marlowe had as to who had taken Maul was that the Cabal was involved, so he split the WildC.A.T.s into teams to assault Cabal strongholds in Morocco, NYC and the Florida Keys. Spartan and Zealot attacked the Moroccan base commanded by Johnny Feh, and after Zealot threatened him with a sword Feh was ready to talk. Warblade broke into a NYC restaurant that the Cabal used as a money-laundering front and fought with Pike while Grifter went solo against the Cabal’s Florida Keys compound. An information broker informed Void that a government computer system had information on where Maul was being held, so she tested the limit of her abilities and entered the computer system, learning that Maul was being held by Stormwatch on Skywatch. Void teleported the WildC.A.T.s away from their missions and teleported into Skywatch, teleporting Maul out.

(Grifter & Midnighter #1-3) - Grifter was on a mission in Manila, and he used his psi powers to control a suicide bomber, making him walk back to his base and detonate, killing his terrorist allies. Grifter told his handlers he hated using his psi ability, and demonstrated his power on them, showing them that when he was in someone else's mind they were in his. His handlers wanted him off duty for the display, and told him to hand over his gun, but he stated that simply wasn't an option. His next mission was in Paris, where he was sent to kill Prince Ydar Ibn Mahoud, who was being guarded by Midnighter. They clashed, and Midnighter made it clear he didn't take guys who relied heavily on guns seriously. He said he thought he'd killed Grifter with Apollo, but would be happy to do it again. The prince walked away from the fight for a nightclub excursion. Terrorists tried to gun him down, and he shapeshfted into a demonic form and slaughtered them. The shapeshifter said her name was Zee, and the real prince was on lockdown at his father's house, so she was living the high life in his stead. The trio's discussion was halted when aliens attacked Paris. Midnighter had recently been kidnapped and put in an unending VR scenario where he had to fight the very same creatures. Zee claimed Midnighter had been kidnapped so the group that was after them both could test his limits. The aliens were faster than Midnighter's neural programming and managed to gain the upper hand in the fight, stabbing him. Zee said she was suitably impressed with Grifter and Midnighter's abilities, and took point in the battle, ripping open several creatures, all of which had smaller creatures in their heads that teleported away. Grifter had a good laugh at something getting the better of Midnighter, and he was unamused as he healed his wound. Zee told the boys to stop posturing and get ready to save the world

(Grifter & Midnighter #4-6) - Zee told them the brain slugs that emerged from the beasts after defeat were a sentient species that had controlled the beasts for millennia. The beasts were aging and dying, and the planet they came from had long since been destroyed. Hunks of the planet landed on Earth millions of years ago, and the controlling race were hoping to find a fertile female. Grifter said he didn't sign up for world-saving, but Zee insisted he and Midnighter were the right men for the job. Several shapeshifters attacked the trio, members of Zee's race who called her a traitor. Zee opened a portal so they could escape, and hopefully find any living female beasts before the controllers. They found a dead male at the site of an asteroid impact in the Las Vegas desert, but were pursued by the shapeshifters. The heroes killed them, but in his dying breathe one revealed that Zee had been the one who kidnapped Midnighter. She told Midnighter what she did was necessary to save Earth, but he made it clear he'd kill her when he could. She opened up another portal, and they arrived on Mars. Grifter quickly went into shock, and Midnighter decided he'd try to save him even though he didn't like him. He found an underground cave with trapped oxygen, and revived Grifter. They located the fertile female, and the controllers were right behind them, with a male to mate with her. Grifter ended their union and the threat of the beasts with a special bomb powered by plutonium and Kherubim magic. Zee thanked them for ending the threat her species created, and opened a portal, leaving for her own destination. Midnighter felt he'd proved himself by saving the world without Authority, and told Grifter he'd better stop seeing his psi powers as a curse because he was becoming a bit of a headcase. They entered the portal, with Midnighter returning home and Grifter finding himself at a farmhouse surrounded gby terrorists. He felt the situation was just what he needed to blow off some steam.

Comments: Created by Jim Lee & Brandon Choi.

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

Grifter'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. His appearance in WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #1-13, Cyberforce II (Image) #2, 3 was reprinted in Absolute WildC.A.T.S., WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #0-12 and WildC.A.T.S Special (Image) #1 was republished by DC Comics in a digital format.  WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #15-17 was reprinted in James Robinson’s Complete WildC.A.T.S. Deathblow (Image) #10-12 was reprinted in Essential Deathblow, WildC.A.T.S. Trilogy (Image) #1-3 was reprinted in the WildC.A.T.S. Trilogy TPB.