Keeper of Infinite Earths - The Attackers
Created by Matt Parmenter
"Ghost" Created by Barry Mulvihil
The Revenant
Alter Ego: William James
Occupation: Member of the Attackers
Known Relatives: Patty James ex-wife-deceased
Group Affiliation: Attackers
Base of Operations: Attackers Headquarters, Devils Island, Bermuda Triangle
Background/History:
An academic and athletic all-American, the only blemish on his young life was an
incident involving a bully who had attacked him, which proved to be a grave
mistake. William went well beyond defending himself, completely losing control,
and leaving the bully beaten and disfigured. He mastered in biochemistry in
college and met Patty, his lover and soul mate, there as well. They were the
perfect couple and both went on to great success in their scientific endeavors.
His whole life changed when in his early 30’s, the most bizarre thing
happened. He was working late in the lab and reached for a vial, but he couldn’t
pick it up. At first he thought he had missed it because he was tired. but he
soon realized his hand had phased through the glass. With intense concentration
he was able to re-solidify his hand and began to experiment with these strange
and completely unexplained abilities. He could become immaterial and he became
much stronger with practice as though his density had increased. He became
concerned with his well being, what if he simply got stuck in his desolidified
state for example, so he sought the aid of the Union of Peace since they would
know how to handle superpowers. Although he had no interest in being a hero, the
Union helped him learn control and his situation struck a chord with Crypeace.
There were other people with powers who had may not be suitable for heroics, but
could use specialized help and training. So, Crypeace approached William with
the idea of running an academy sponsored by the Union for that purpose. During
the construction of the Academy, James and Patty were inspecting the facilities
when a battle between the Matriarch and Afterlife spilled into the courtyard. A
huge chunk of the building was blasted off and came crashing down on the fleeing
couple. James’ powers kicked on instinctively and he passed through the
debris. Patty was crushed to death before his horrified eyes. He frantically
tore at the debris to free his wife, but it was far too late. He was enraged and
attacked Afterlife with reckless abandon. Afterlife used his empathetic
abilities to push his rage completely beyond reason into insanity. That was a
bit of a mistake on Afterlife’s part, he could not stop the berserk James and
the Matriarch both and was beaten. However, that was not enough for James, as
she went to take Afterlife into custody, James made it clear that he wanted
Afterlife dead. The rest of the Union arrived and restrained him from taking his
revenge. Up to the funeral, James seemed numb and subdued, but fine. Following
it, however, he disappeared. Wracked with grief, enraged by his inability to
save her, and driven to madness by the manipulations of Afterlife, he turned
bitter and angry. This made him very susceptible to a visitation from Controller
and the Attackers. A slight push in the right direction and he blamed the Union
for all of his troubles. Taking the codename ‘The Revenant’, he joined the
Attackers.
Personality/Motivations:
Twisted by grief and rage, he is motivated by a misguided need for vengeance
against the Union of Peace and a burning hatred for anyone whose life turned out
the way they planned.
Quote: "I might look like a ghost but your the one who’s going to DIE!"
