Demise (Wild Cards)
Encyclopedia
Demise is a fictional character from the Wild Cards
book series. He was created by Walton Simons, and first appeared in the story "If Looks Could Kill" in Wild Cards II: Aces High
.
In 1985, Spector was struck by the Wild Card virus and brought to the Jokertown Clinic, where he was seen by Dr. Tachyon
. Tachyon had been working on improving his "Trump Card
" countervirus, which had a low success rate, and injected Spector with an experimental version of the Trump, as well as subjecting him to an experimental tissue-regeneration process. It was seemingly unsuccessful; Spector's body experienced the failure of numerous organs, and he was pronounced dead. However, shortly after, he awoke screaming... and continued to scream for several months. Eventually, he got back enough of his sanity to escape (although he constantly feels the agony of his death), killing a nurse with his new-found power in the process.
In 1986 he was found by the cult leader known as The Astronomer
, who offered to erase his unbearable memories of Death if Spector worked for him. Giving Spector the name Demise, the Astronomer used his death-powers in the ritual killings that charged the Astronomer's powers, and used him as an occasional assassin
as well. When Demise eventually realised the Astronomer was just stringing him along, he rebelled, and when the Astronomer was weakened after his battle with Fortunato
, Demise finished the old man off, leaving him embedded in a brick wall.
After this, Demise became a freelance assassin while looking for opportunities to kill Tachyon, until he was hired to do a job at the 1988 Democratic
National Convention. There, his head was cut off on live national television by the psychotic Ace Mack the Knife. Mackie used his vibrational powers to remove Demise's head - only for the decapitated head to open its eyes and kill Messer explosively. Later, Dr. Tachyon examined Demise's body in the morgue
and saw that he was actually starting to grow a new head. Tachyon immediately ordered his body cremated
, to ensure that he would not return from death a second time.
Demise can also telepathically project the "memory" of his death experience into other people, causing them to die as well, but he must look them in the eyes to do so (thus he can be foiled by things such as mirrorshades
or insectoid multiple eyes). He can kill in seconds, stretch it out slowly for a very painful death, or give someone just enough to stun or disorient them. His power also prevents someone from looking away once he has locked eyes with them.
Wild Cards
Wild Cards is a science fiction and superhero anthology series set in a shared universe. The series was created by a group of New Mexico science fiction authors, but it is mostly pulled together and edited by best-selling author George R. R. Martin with assistance by Melinda Snodgrass, also a...
book series. He was created by Walton Simons, and first appeared in the story "If Looks Could Kill" in Wild Cards II: Aces High
Aces High (book)
Aces High is the second volume in the Wild Cards shared universe fiction series edited by George R. R. Martin. It was published in 1987 and dealt with two main plots that linked the stories in the volume: the arrival of the alien Swarm and a Masonic conspiracy led by a bookish villain named the...
.
In 1985, Spector was struck by the Wild Card virus and brought to the Jokertown Clinic, where he was seen by Dr. Tachyon
Dr. Tachyon
Dr. Tachyon is a character from the Wild Cards series of books. He was created for the books by Melinda M. Snodgrass. Tachyon is a geneticist from the planet Takis, whose people naturally developed various telepathic powers...
. Tachyon had been working on improving his "Trump Card
Trump virus
The Trump Virus is a fictional virus from the Wild Cards anthology series.It is developed as a counter-agent for the mutagenic Wild Card virus by Dr. Tachyon, who helped develop the original Wild Card virus. The Trump has limited success as a cure; originally it only worked in approximately...
" countervirus, which had a low success rate, and injected Spector with an experimental version of the Trump, as well as subjecting him to an experimental tissue-regeneration process. It was seemingly unsuccessful; Spector's body experienced the failure of numerous organs, and he was pronounced dead. However, shortly after, he awoke screaming... and continued to scream for several months. Eventually, he got back enough of his sanity to escape (although he constantly feels the agony of his death), killing a nurse with his new-found power in the process.
In 1986 he was found by the cult leader known as The Astronomer
The Astronomer (Wild Cards)
The Astronomer is a character from the Wild Cards series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in Wild Cards II: Aces High, though his presence was earlier implied in "The Long, Dark Night of Fortunato" in the first volume of the series...
, who offered to erase his unbearable memories of Death if Spector worked for him. Giving Spector the name Demise, the Astronomer used his death-powers in the ritual killings that charged the Astronomer's powers, and used him as an occasional assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
as well. When Demise eventually realised the Astronomer was just stringing him along, he rebelled, and when the Astronomer was weakened after his battle with Fortunato
Fortunato (Wild Cards)
Fortunato is a character from the Wild Cards series of books. He is a pimp, but prefers to downplay, even to himself, the negative aspects of his "escort" business . Fortunato is also an ace. His wild card grants him immense telepathic and telekinetic powers...
, Demise finished the old man off, leaving him embedded in a brick wall.
After this, Demise became a freelance assassin while looking for opportunities to kill Tachyon, until he was hired to do a job at the 1988 Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
National Convention. There, his head was cut off on live national television by the psychotic Ace Mack the Knife. Mackie used his vibrational powers to remove Demise's head - only for the decapitated head to open its eyes and kill Messer explosively. Later, Dr. Tachyon examined Demise's body in the morgue
Morgue
A morgue or mortuary is used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification, or removal for autopsy or disposal by burial, cremation or otherwise...
and saw that he was actually starting to grow a new head. Tachyon immediately ordered his body cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
, to ensure that he would not return from death a second time.
Powers and abilities
Demise's body repairs itself so perfectly that he can even return from death. He has healed from bullet wounds and broken bones in seconds, and regrown lost limbs and other body parts. However, his body draws from its own current mass to reconstruct major damage, such as the loss of a limb, thus weakening his overall health until he has sufficient time to recover. He is also at risk of long-term damage from improper healing; the Astronomer once had Demise's forearm broken and then forcibly held out of proper alignment so that the bones knit improperly, rendering the limb nonfunctional below the elbow.Demise can also telepathically project the "memory" of his death experience into other people, causing them to die as well, but he must look them in the eyes to do so (thus he can be foiled by things such as mirrorshades
Mirrorshades
Mirrored sunglasses are sunglasses with a reflective optical coating on the outside of the lenses to make them appear like small mirrors. The lenses typically give the wearer's vision a brown or grey tint...
or insectoid multiple eyes). He can kill in seconds, stretch it out slowly for a very painful death, or give someone just enough to stun or disorient them. His power also prevents someone from looking away once he has locked eyes with them.