Rafferty (comics)
Encyclopedia
Rafferty was a fictional assassin
from the Malibu Comics
' Ultraverse
imprint. He was a foe of Firearm
(Alec Swan), first appearing in Firearm #12 (1994), written by James Robinson.
This freedom was relatively short lived, as Rafferty's youthful indiscretions brought him to the attention of a New York Crime family. His affair with the daughter of this family led to his killing her brother, for which the family put a price on his head. To escape, Rafferty joined the army.
To see if he could, he decided he would be the perfect soldier. Rafferty hated every moment of the army, except the combat. His exceptional ability at killing caught the attention of his superiors, who transferred him to Special Forces, and eventually Unit T; Tango. Tango's record was distinguished; no mission was too dirty, too dire. During his time with Tango, Rafferty developed a disdain for guns, feeling that they were too crude for his "killing art".
Tango's final mission was in the middle east. They were to do a sweep and clean; a simple kill directive. Things did not go as planned as the team was attacked by a team of Arabic Ultras (superhuman
s), who killed all of Tango, except for Rafferty, who managed to kill one of the Ultras in turn.
Making his way out of the desert, Rafferty made it back and spent the next six months in the hospital recovering. During that time, his priorities shifted; he was going to kill all Ultras.
Rafferty left the army and found himself some quick untraceable money by killing some high-level drug dealers. He then waited for the right moment, which was just a few years later...when Ultras began making headlines.
His first deliberate murder was Sigma, a rookie Ultra-hero. It felt good to him, but he needed more, though he intended the killing to look random, he needed a means to detect Ultras, not just the ones that were public and wore pretty costumes.
This means came to him through Edwin Mosley
. Mosley was a member of the Sportsmen
, a group of wealthy men with Ultra abilities, who hunted men for sport. They were highly successful... until they encountered Alec Swan a.k.a. Firearm
. Afterwards, only three Sportmen, including Mosley were left, with the wealth of all the others distributed between them... and soon only Mosely was left.
Mosley had been affected by the energy produced by Amber Hunt
(who was under the influence of the Entity
during the Break-Thru event) and had become unhinged, seeing the increase of Ultrahumanity as lessening his specialness. He also sometimes saw himself as an angel of the lord.
Mosley hired Rafferty to assassinate Ultras, and supplied him with devices which were able to detect Ultra energy. Rafferty used the devices and Mosely's money to hire agents to sweep the country. His agents located over three-hundred Ultras, all of which Rafferty marked for death.
Rafferty started on the lesser ones first, to hone his technique. He generally stayed away from the more public Ultras as he didn't want to alert them to his goals, and possibly confront a large number of them. When Alec Swan was hired by Samuel Garrett to find his son's killer, Rafferty couldn't resist challenging Swan to stop him.
Rafferty led Swan on a cross country chase, calling him via a cell phone he left for Swan. He gave Swan just enough information to make it fun for himself, but Rafferty always stacked the odds in his favor. After he tricked Swan into triggering the explosive that killed Vinaigrette, Swan swore to kill him. In San Francisco, after letting him know that he planned on killing the Night Man
and a member of the Freex
, Rafferty atatcked Swan in Golden Gate Park, savagely beating him, and sabotaging Swan's special gun.
Using the Cathedral workers as Hostages, Rafferty issued an ultimatum that only Alec Swan was able to enter the building. To stop any ultras from entering, he lined the cathedral with explosives linked to Ultra-detectors. Rafferty hoped to use Swan as a distraction to cover his escape. This did not prove the case, as Swan defeated Rafferty's men and rescued Penny Slatter. As Rafferty's explosives went off, he and Swan faced off in the main chapel, mortally wounding each other. Swan was able to make it outside with Penny Slater before collapsing; Rafferty died inside the burning building. Slater, herself unhurt, heals Swan.
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...
from the Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. The company's headquarters was in Calabasas, California. Malibu imprints included Aircel Comics and Eternity Comics...
' Ultraverse
Ultraverse
The Ultraverse was the name given to a comic book imprint published by the American company Malibu Comics. The Ultraverse was a shared universe in which a variety of characters — known within the comics as "Ultras" — acquired super-human abilities.-History:...
imprint. He was a foe of Firearm
Firearm (comics)
Firearm was a comic book series created by writer James Dale Robinson and artists Howard Chaykin and Cully Hamner for Malibu Comics' Ultraverse imprint, which lasted 18 issues, with an additional 0 issue. The 0 issue included a 35-minute Firearm movie, on VHS...
(Alec Swan), first appearing in Firearm #12 (1994), written by James Robinson.
Fictional biography
Born to a poor family in Georgia, Rafferty murdered his parents while in his late teens and framed a neighbor from the next street, Jasper Washington, for the murders. He took the small amount of money he inherited from his parents savings and from the sale of his parents farm to travel America and find the one thing he truly craved... freedom.This freedom was relatively short lived, as Rafferty's youthful indiscretions brought him to the attention of a New York Crime family. His affair with the daughter of this family led to his killing her brother, for which the family put a price on his head. To escape, Rafferty joined the army.
To see if he could, he decided he would be the perfect soldier. Rafferty hated every moment of the army, except the combat. His exceptional ability at killing caught the attention of his superiors, who transferred him to Special Forces, and eventually Unit T; Tango. Tango's record was distinguished; no mission was too dirty, too dire. During his time with Tango, Rafferty developed a disdain for guns, feeling that they were too crude for his "killing art".
Tango's final mission was in the middle east. They were to do a sweep and clean; a simple kill directive. Things did not go as planned as the team was attacked by a team of Arabic Ultras (superhuman
Superhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
s), who killed all of Tango, except for Rafferty, who managed to kill one of the Ultras in turn.
Making his way out of the desert, Rafferty made it back and spent the next six months in the hospital recovering. During that time, his priorities shifted; he was going to kill all Ultras.
Rafferty left the army and found himself some quick untraceable money by killing some high-level drug dealers. He then waited for the right moment, which was just a few years later...when Ultras began making headlines.
His first deliberate murder was Sigma, a rookie Ultra-hero. It felt good to him, but he needed more, though he intended the killing to look random, he needed a means to detect Ultras, not just the ones that were public and wore pretty costumes.
This means came to him through Edwin Mosley
Edwin Mosley (comics)
Edwin Mosley is a comic book villain created by writer James Dale Robinson and artist Cully Hamner that appeared in the Malibu Comic's Ultraverse book Firearm.-Sportsmen:...
. Mosley was a member of the Sportsmen
The Sportsmen (comic)
The Sportsmen were foes of Alec Swan, also known as Firearm. They first appeared in Firearm #1, from Malibu Comics.-Origin and Motivations:...
, a group of wealthy men with Ultra abilities, who hunted men for sport. They were highly successful... until they encountered Alec Swan a.k.a. Firearm
Firearm (comics)
Firearm was a comic book series created by writer James Dale Robinson and artists Howard Chaykin and Cully Hamner for Malibu Comics' Ultraverse imprint, which lasted 18 issues, with an additional 0 issue. The 0 issue included a 35-minute Firearm movie, on VHS...
. Afterwards, only three Sportmen, including Mosley were left, with the wealth of all the others distributed between them... and soon only Mosely was left.
Mosley had been affected by the energy produced by Amber Hunt
Amber Hunt
Amber Hunt is a fictional character from Malibu Comics' Exiles comic book series, created by Steve Gerber. She is a pyrokinetic super hero in the Ultraverse and was once host to the Phoenix Force.-Fictional character biography:...
(who was under the influence of the Entity
The Entity (comics)
The Entity was a fictional device from Malibu Comics' Ultraverse. It first appeared in The Strangers #1; its origins were detailed in Ultraverse Future Shock, Phoenix: Resurrection, Ultraverse: Year Zero, and Break-Thru.Four billion years ago, an alien spacecraft exploded in our solar system...
during the Break-Thru event) and had become unhinged, seeing the increase of Ultrahumanity as lessening his specialness. He also sometimes saw himself as an angel of the lord.
Mosley hired Rafferty to assassinate Ultras, and supplied him with devices which were able to detect Ultra energy. Rafferty used the devices and Mosely's money to hire agents to sweep the country. His agents located over three-hundred Ultras, all of which Rafferty marked for death.
Rafferty started on the lesser ones first, to hone his technique. He generally stayed away from the more public Ultras as he didn't want to alert them to his goals, and possibly confront a large number of them. When Alec Swan was hired by Samuel Garrett to find his son's killer, Rafferty couldn't resist challenging Swan to stop him.
Rafferty led Swan on a cross country chase, calling him via a cell phone he left for Swan. He gave Swan just enough information to make it fun for himself, but Rafferty always stacked the odds in his favor. After he tricked Swan into triggering the explosive that killed Vinaigrette, Swan swore to kill him. In San Francisco, after letting him know that he planned on killing the Night Man
Night Man
Night Man is an American action/adventure/sci-fi series that aired in syndication from September 15, 1997 to May 17, 1999. The series is loosely based on a comic book published by Malibu Comics and was created by Steve Englehart and developed for television by Glen A...
and a member of the Freex
Freex
Freex was a short-lived comic book series from Malibu Comics. Created By Gerard Jones and Ben Herrera, it concerned a team of teenage superheroes in the Ultraverse.Its roster over the series consisted of Anything ,...
, Rafferty atatcked Swan in Golden Gate Park, savagely beating him, and sabotaging Swan's special gun.
Alec Swan and Penny Slater
Rafferty finally made his first mistake. Planning to take a break after his killing spree, He was ordered by Mosley to kill the ultra-baby Penny Slater, whose healing abilities were being promoted by Reverend August as proof of the divine. Rafferty and his men attacked the Cathedral Penny was being held in, but before they could kill the baby and make their escape, an alarm was sounded, and the police surrounded the building.Using the Cathedral workers as Hostages, Rafferty issued an ultimatum that only Alec Swan was able to enter the building. To stop any ultras from entering, he lined the cathedral with explosives linked to Ultra-detectors. Rafferty hoped to use Swan as a distraction to cover his escape. This did not prove the case, as Swan defeated Rafferty's men and rescued Penny Slatter. As Rafferty's explosives went off, he and Swan faced off in the main chapel, mortally wounding each other. Swan was able to make it outside with Penny Slater before collapsing; Rafferty died inside the burning building. Slater, herself unhurt, heals Swan.