Deathblow is a comic-book series from WildStorm, created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi.
After both of his parents were killed by (supposed) terrorists, Micheal Cray joined the military to avenge their deaths. Several years after serving in the US Navy as a SEAL operative, he was recruited by Miles Craven to join the newly formed Team 7. It was around this time in which he took the handle, Deathblow.
During a mission set up by Craven, the team was exposed to a substance called the Gen-Factor which gave each of them superhuman and psionic powers. At first, everyone believed that Cray was the only member in the group that didn't receive any special abilities however, his powers would actually manifest many years later. Decades later, Cray became immortal thanks to his advanced Healing Factor, even more higher than Cash, discovered when he died and he came back quickly. With Grifter and Backlash, he gained his own solo series.
This series contains examples of:
- Atrocious Alias: Darker Image #1 gives us... Deathblow! A name so utterly trapped in its time of origin that even '90s Kid couldn't get past its stupidity. Which is funny, given it's an actual word (meaning "Finishing Move", more or less).
- In a crossover, even Superman made fun of his name.
- What makes it funnier is that the name itself was almost never used in the Deathblow series, or any other WildStorm comics - he usually went by Michael Cray, so even the creators didn't want to use the name.
- The Big Guy: Cray/Deathblow is big, savage and volatile.
- Defence Mechanism Superpower: Deathblow, the only member who didn't develop any powers after being exposed to the Gen Factor, or that's what all we thought. When he died during the Fire from Heaven event decades later, he revived, being later revealed that his advanced Healing Factor makes him almost immortal, which was his special power in the end.
- Facial Markings: Every member of Team 7 has a mark in one or both eyes as part of their nicknames to be recognizable in battle. Crays are red lines going down his face through both of his eyes. Cray ends up mantaining the markings after the war as part of his attire.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Gen-Active revealed A. Sublime of DV8 isn't adopted, and B. her biological father is Michael Cray, alias Deathblow, one of the most prominent figures in the Wildstorm universe. Notably, it's revealed to the reader, but not necessarily the characters — Sublime's mother doesn't seem to remember his name.
- Race Lift: Cray reappears in The Wild Storm reboot and even has his own spin-off series, but now he's a black man instead a caucasic one.
- Really 700 Years Old: As a side-effect of the Gen Factor, Cray got his lifespan enhanced thanks to his Healing Factor.
- Still Wearing the Old Colors: After Team 7 disbanded, the only member that continued wearing military clothing is Cray/Deathblow, even twenty years after.
- Walking Armory: Cray was one of the heavy weaponers of Team 7, usually having a lot of munitions to use and misuse.
