Marc Slayton (Earth-50)
From DC Database
Contents |
History
Marc Slayton is born in Atlantis about three thousand years ago, the son of a human mother and Lord S'ylton, an enhanced Kherubim lord of the alien colony Atlantis. When his father sacrifices his life to imprison one-time allies the D'rahn, a race of hostile aliens whose attack leads to the sinking of Atlantis, young Marc is spirited away by Ferrian, his father's former adviser. Ferrian raises the child to adulthood, tutoring him in fighting skills for his protection. Once Marc is old enough to look after himself, Ferrian drops out of sight and leaves him to fend for himself.
Marc spends the next three thousand years traveling around the world, living a life of adventure. He has only fragmented memories of his long life. At one point he is a ninja, at another he is a medieval knight. In World War II, he is recruited for a mission as an intelligence specialist for Team Zero. No rank is seen until the 1960s when he is an Air Force Colonel, working as part of the extra-terrestrial threats squad Team One. Later he joins Team 7, a special ops unit which is deliberately exposed to a mutagenic chemical called the Gen-Factor. All of the members develop superhuman powers—in Marc's case some of these are the result of his alien heritage being fully activated. Team 7 finish their final mission and then go AWOL, but Marc makes a deal with their boss, brokering his (and John Lynch's and Michael Cray's) services in return for the rest of the squad and their families being left alone.
Stormwatch
Backlash is then assigned to join and spy on Stormwatch, the U.N.'s Crisis Intervention superteam. He works as the group's field leader and instructor until he loses several members of the first team (later dubbed Stormwatch Prime) during a mission in Kuwait. After this tragedy he switches to being the full time instructor. When a Daemonite called S'ryn puts Marc's girlfriend, Major Diane LaSalle into a coma, he deserts StormWatch to track her down, breaking a Cabal agent, Taboo, out of prison to help him on his quest. While he eventually catches his prey and revives Diane, he and Taboo become lovers, and both become fugitives.
Subsequent to this, Marc discovers he had fathered twin children—a girl named Jodi Morinaka and a boy known only as Aries—by an old girlfriend from Japan. He learns this when Jodi tracks him down after her mother's death. Like her father, Jodi's alien genes give her superhuman powers, and she takes the identity of Jet so she can adventure with him. Backlash and Taboo arrange a pardon for their crimes in return for working for the United States' Department PSI (PSI). Marc makes friends with the animal-faced adventurer Dingo, who helps him out on more then one case. It is around this point Marc finally learns of his Kherubim ancestry—for reasons best known to himself, Ferrian had never told Marc. Marc is placed in charge of forming a team of superpowered operatives codenamed Wildcore for Department PSI.
Around this time Marc battles several of Dingo's associates, a race of animal-people that call themselves The Kindred.
More Tragedy
He works with this new team until most of them are killed trying to stop a breakout at the Purgatory Max facility. Marc survives thanks to the assistance of former DV8 member Evo who had been imprisoned for the murder of an NYPD officer. Marc loses a leg, has it replaced with an artificial one and returns to duty.
WildCorps
Marc along with long time Team 7 survivor Cyberjack was contacted to deal with the Kindred on South American base on Caballito island Eden's Gate. The info he gained led him to Purgatory Max prison where he freed Amanda Reed aka Taboo. A former prostitute and survivor of Daemonite experiments. Together they freed Diane, participated in the major events Wildstorm Rising where Backlash fought Hellspont one on one and Fires From Heaven where he met his son Aries and joined Dept PSI.
Once they Joined Dept PSI Marc and Amanda worked to fight the Drahn, Tapestry and built the team WildCorps. He fought the Kindred a second time and combated Dinosaurs while on vacation. WildCorps was slaughtered leaving only Marc missing a leg and Taboo alive. Since then he has been made Director of I.O.
According to his daughter, Marc gives up the name "Backlash"; seeking, as she put it, to keep it in the family, Jodi uses it herself. Marc Slayton appears in Sleeper as a plainclothes agent of Department PSI with the rank of Commander. He has not been seen using any of his old powers for some time now.
Worlds End
At the onset of Armageddon Slayton was trapped in an Internal Operations research and containment facility with the rejected mutations created by I.O. He is currently trying to fight his way out of the facility.Powers and Abilities
Powers
Kherubim Ancestry: Kherubim resemble humans in appearance, but are physically far stronger and more durable and extremely long-lived, nearly immortal. However an evolutionary drawback to their near-immortality is that Kherans are almost infertile, only very rarely will a Kheran produce offspring. This effect is seen in real world natural environments, as longer living organisms will have fewer offspring than organisms with short lifespans. This is a natural check against overpopulation.
- Immortality: As a half-human/half-Kheran, Backlash possesses virtual immortality. His fathers race is extremely long lived and he has been on Earth for literally the whole of human civilization and is showing no sign of growing old anytime soon. He is for all intents and purposes..virtually unaging.
- Enhanced Healing: due to his alien ancestry he tends to heal more rapidly.
- Enhanced Durability: As a Kheribum he is very very tough and durable. A regular bullet and gun will not adequately harm him and his skin could be considered superhard and dense to a normal human. He can be harmed by armor piercing bullets, but for comparison's sake.
- Superhuman Agility: Backlash has a level of agility that is quite literally astonishing. His agility, and quickness are far beyond norm, as he's capable of feats such as vaulting off of walls, going from flips into a verticle stomp, adjusting his rate and direction when in terminal velocity fall and is essentially, well over Olympic level as far as his ability to flip, dodge, dive, spin and move about. This, coupled with his strength and endurance makes him a formidable fighter alone, not to mention if you throw in skills.
Exposure to the Gen-Factor released several latent powers, including:
Psychic Energy Whips: the ability to generate psychic energy whips out the backs of his hands. He can use these whips for various purposes; in combat he uses them to constrict his opponents, shocking them with the energy running through the whips or to cut through objects. He can use the energy whips as grappling hooks. The whips are very durable, but beings of great strength can break them, causing painful psionic feedback. when the Gen-Factor was flushed from his system, However, his energy whips had doubled in power as a result.
Intangibility: He can also transform his body and clothes into mist - as well as being useful for infiltration and defense. While he could at first use this ability at will, when the Gen-Factor was flushed from his system, his ability to use this power was restricted to only once or twice a day.
- Intangible Healing: this also allows him to swiftly heal most injuries, which tend to vanish after transforming to mist and back.
Psionics (formerly): When first exposed to the Gen-Factor, Marc had extensive psionic powers including telepathy and telekinesis, but these powers waned over the years and even completely disappeared together with the Gen-Factor removed from his system. He was capable of:
Master Tactician & Strategist: Marc is virtually immortal and has accrued three thousand years of combat experience.
Master Martial Artist: He is an expert martial artist
Weapons Expert: trained in the use of most weapons.
Historian: has a lifetime of knowledge of over 3000 years
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Cybernetic left-leg
Weapons
Sword, Guns
Notes
- At best Marc is estranged from his children Aries and Jodi, by all accounts by having an extreme lack of personal priorities due to his "patriotism" and immortal life-span.
See Also
- Discuss Marc Slayton (Earth-50) on the forums
- Appearances of Marc Slayton (Earth-50)
- Character Gallery: Marc Slayton (Earth-50)
- Images featuring Marc Slayton (Earth-50)
Links and References
- None.
Footnotes
  This character exists under the Wildstorm Imprint, and their continuity takes place within the Wildstorm Titles. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Wildstorm Characters." |
