TONY M

Real Name: Tony M (full last name unrevealed)

Class: Parallel-Earth (Earth-DMZ) human

Occupation: Paramilitary, former NYPD officer

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: Maribeth (wife, deceased), Steff (daughter, deceased), unnamed child (deceased), unnamed sister-in-law

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: DMZ, Manhattan, NY, Earth-DMZ

First Appearance: DMZ #42 (August, 2009)

Powers: Tony was a skilled soldier armed with high-powered guns

History: (DMZ #42-44) - Tony was a NYPD officer who was present during the Free State Army uprising against the US that turned Manhattan into a warzone. After fierce but inconclusive battles, the US declared Manhattan a DMZ and an evacuation was attempted. Tony was in the city for crowd control, but the evacuation couldn't accommodate everyone who wanted to leave, and the scene deteriorated into a riot. Tony spotted his wife and children in the crowd, and tried to send them over to the military for evacuation, but the rioting crowd stood in his way, and his family were killed. He joined a paramilitary group in the DMZ made up of former FDNY, NYPD and other first-responders. They bonded over therapy sessions about what and who they'd lost in the war, and their leader honed their pain into anger. They owned their neighborhood, raiding supplies and shooting locals and other military groups that challenged them, becoming local bogeymen. Tony felt like he was in a cult, but it gave him something to do with his pain, and he responded to the military like chain-of-command. Liberty News sent a Blackhawk into the DMZ to place their embedded reporter Viktor Ferguson, and Tony and his crew shot it down, kidnapping Viktor, and on their boss' orders handed him over to the FSA. Their boss showed Tony a recording of evacuation day, and pointed out Mike Costa, one of the agitators surging toward his family. He gave Tony Mike's address, and told him to decide what to do. Tony armed himself, and found Mike huddled in his apartment with his wife and children. They pleaded for mercy, but Tony gunned them down, emptying every bullet he had into them. He felt numb, and wandered back to base. His boss rewarded him with a penthouse apartment, saying he'd conquered his pain and showed himself to be a real asset. Tony stared into the mirror and realized he couldn't stand to look at himself. His boss asked him what he really wanted, and he said he wanted peace. His boss gave him marching orders, and said it was a pleasure serving with him. Tony was strapped with explosives, and drove into the heart of the DMZ to be a suicide bomber. He relived his family's death, and realized he didn't want to hurt anybody else, but did want to die. He showed the bomb to the locals, and demanded they leave the area. He was ready to see if he'd meet his family in the afterlife, and the bomb exploded.

Comments: Created by Brian Wood & Ryan Kelly.