Threshold (comics)
Encyclopedia
Threshold, Matthew Callahan, is a fiction
al supervillain
from the Gen¹³
and DV8
comic books, published by Wildstorm
.
had exposed the team to the Gen-Factor, a substance that endowed the team with superhuman powers. The survivors from this experiment were codenamed Gen12. I.O. hoped to use them as weapons, but Team 7 turned out to have a will of their own. A couple of years later, I.O. decided that Team 7's children could have inherited their fathers' powers and if they could raise them from childhood, they could ensure their obedience. Most Team 7 members went into hiding with their children. Stephen and his family tried to escape as well, but I.O.'s troops caught up with them in Ohio
and shot and killed Rachel; Stephen's wife. They then shot Stephen and took Matthew and his sister Nicole
with them. Years later Stephen turned up alive, claiming that he had been wounded and taken prisoner by I.O. Matthew and Nicole were raised by I.O. and became obedient soldiers (Matthew more so than Nicole), but seeing their parents die had damaged their minds. Matthew had become a psychopath and Nicole was obsessed with controlling people. During his training, Matthew was injected with drugs to boost his powers. A side-effect was his left eye exploding during a test. He wore a red plastic or metal patch over of his eye, refusing to have a bionic replacement.
A couple of years later, I.O.'s leader Miles Craven was so impressed by Matthew and Nicole (now calling themselves Threshold and Bliss) that he ordered Ivana Baiul
to restart Project Genesis. The project would screen children and teenagers for genetic anomalies (usually indicating that they were the children of Gen12 members) and bring them back to the project to be gen-activated. Baiul would use Threshold and Bliss as superpowered guardians in case the gen-activated children became troublesome. Baiul controlled Threshold with a mixture of sex and addictive drugs. Former Team 7-member and high-ranking I.O. operative John Lynch
took an interest in the project, both out of concern for the children (many Gen-activated humans went mad or died) and in an attempt to locate his own missing son. Lynch suspected that Threshold might in fact be his own son, taken by other Team 7 members for his own safety. Threshold didn't believe this, because he could still remember his real father's death.
John Lynch would later discover that Robert Lane was really his son.
Project Genesis' most promising subjects, the future Gen¹³
, would escape the project once they found out what its true intentions were. In reality, this was a test orchestrated by Baiul and Threshold. Threshold himself went along with Gen¹³, disguised as a guard named Tom Hallinan. He hoped that the stress would activate the powers of Gen¹³ members that were still inactive and hone their fighting abilities. Threshold managed to convince most members to follow him to avenge themselves on I.O., but Caitlin Fairchild
disagreed and stayed behind. Back at I.O.'s base, Threshold revealed his true nature and captured the others, but Fairchild came to their rescue, aware of Threshold's betrayal due to a mental link she had with Gen¹³-member Roxy Spaulding
. At the same time John Lynch used his influence to get several loyal soldiers to assist him in freeing the Gen¹³-members. Lynch and Gen¹³ joined forces and defeated Threshold, Bliss and Baiul. Baiul, Threshold and Bliss escaped and took several gen-active children with them, frozen in cryogenic tubes. Both Lynch and Baiul left I.O.'s service at this point, though Baiul masked her desertion as pursuing Lynch and his team.
A few months later, Threshold had been training the best of the gen-active children they had taken along as DV8
, also known as the Deviants. They fought Gen¹³, but were defeated. Over the next few months, Threshold and DV8 fulfilled various missions for Baiul that allowed her to return to I.O. and become its new leader. During one of those missions, DV8's New York hideout was destroyed, including the drugs Ivana used to keep Threshold under control. Over the next few months, Threshold slowly built up his strength, during one mission he turned on his team and left them for death to attack Ivana. He seriously injured Ivana, but DV8 managed to stop him, injuring Threshold. Threshold left for Las Vegas
, where he started to gather an army of gen-active soldiers.
Apart from his powerful superhuman abilities, Threshold is also an expert in martial arts, though his tendency to use his powers to kill anybody who humiliated him during training limited his growth as a martial artist.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
from the Gen¹³
Gen¹³
Gen¹³ is a fictional superhero team and comic book series originally written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell. It was originally published by Image Comics under the banner Wildstorm, which went on to become an imprint for DC Comics, who continued publishing the Gen¹³...
and DV8
DV8
DV8 is a comic book published by Wildstorm. The series revolves around the lives of a group of Gen-Active people , initially living in New York under the supervision of Ivana Baiul, who sends them on life-threatening black ops assignments.-Publication history:The series lasted 32 issues, and was a...
comic books, published by Wildstorm
Wildstorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
.
Fictional character biography
Matthew Callahan is the son of Stephen Callahan, a former member of Team 7. Team 7's superiors, the intelligence agency International OperationsInternational Operations
International Operations is a fictional American Intelligence Agency in Wildstorm comics. I.O. first appeared in WildC.A.T.S. volume 1 #1 and was created by Brandon Choi and Jim Lee.-International Operations:...
had exposed the team to the Gen-Factor, a substance that endowed the team with superhuman powers. The survivors from this experiment were codenamed Gen12. I.O. hoped to use them as weapons, but Team 7 turned out to have a will of their own. A couple of years later, I.O. decided that Team 7's children could have inherited their fathers' powers and if they could raise them from childhood, they could ensure their obedience. Most Team 7 members went into hiding with their children. Stephen and his family tried to escape as well, but I.O.'s troops caught up with them in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and shot and killed Rachel; Stephen's wife. They then shot Stephen and took Matthew and his sister Nicole
Bliss (Wildstorm)
Bliss, also known as Nicole Callahan, is a supervillainess in the Wildstorm Universe of American comic books. She was created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and drawn by J. Scott Campbell in her first regular appearance...
with them. Years later Stephen turned up alive, claiming that he had been wounded and taken prisoner by I.O. Matthew and Nicole were raised by I.O. and became obedient soldiers (Matthew more so than Nicole), but seeing their parents die had damaged their minds. Matthew had become a psychopath and Nicole was obsessed with controlling people. During his training, Matthew was injected with drugs to boost his powers. A side-effect was his left eye exploding during a test. He wore a red plastic or metal patch over of his eye, refusing to have a bionic replacement.
A couple of years later, I.O.'s leader Miles Craven was so impressed by Matthew and Nicole (now calling themselves Threshold and Bliss) that he ordered Ivana Baiul
Ivana Baiul
Ivana Baiul is a comic book character from DC Comics/Wildstorm. She has starred in Gen¹³ and DV8.-History:Ivana Baiul was the head of Sci-Tech, the scientific division of I.O. There she worked on creating a group of genetically enhanced soldiers for the government, a task previously done 12 times...
to restart Project Genesis. The project would screen children and teenagers for genetic anomalies (usually indicating that they were the children of Gen12 members) and bring them back to the project to be gen-activated. Baiul would use Threshold and Bliss as superpowered guardians in case the gen-activated children became troublesome. Baiul controlled Threshold with a mixture of sex and addictive drugs. Former Team 7-member and high-ranking I.O. operative John Lynch
John Lynch (comics)
John Lynch is a fictional comic book character, published by Wildstorm. He is the head of Internal Operations. He has starred in Gen¹³, Team 7, Sleeper, and Wildcats.John Lynch is an homage to Nick Fury, the one-eyed head of Marvel Comics' S.H.I.E.L.D....
took an interest in the project, both out of concern for the children (many Gen-activated humans went mad or died) and in an attempt to locate his own missing son. Lynch suspected that Threshold might in fact be his own son, taken by other Team 7 members for his own safety. Threshold didn't believe this, because he could still remember his real father's death.
John Lynch would later discover that Robert Lane was really his son.
Project Genesis' most promising subjects, the future Gen¹³
Gen¹³
Gen¹³ is a fictional superhero team and comic book series originally written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell. It was originally published by Image Comics under the banner Wildstorm, which went on to become an imprint for DC Comics, who continued publishing the Gen¹³...
, would escape the project once they found out what its true intentions were. In reality, this was a test orchestrated by Baiul and Threshold. Threshold himself went along with Gen¹³, disguised as a guard named Tom Hallinan. He hoped that the stress would activate the powers of Gen¹³ members that were still inactive and hone their fighting abilities. Threshold managed to convince most members to follow him to avenge themselves on I.O., but Caitlin Fairchild
Caitlin Fairchild
Caitlin Fairchild is a fictional comic book superhero, who appears in the Wildstorm series Gen¹³. She was created by writers Jim Lee and Brandon Choi, and artist J. Scott Campbell.-Early life:Fairchild is the daughter of Alex Fairchild of Team 7...
disagreed and stayed behind. Back at I.O.'s base, Threshold revealed his true nature and captured the others, but Fairchild came to their rescue, aware of Threshold's betrayal due to a mental link she had with Gen¹³-member Roxy Spaulding
Freefall (comics)
Freefall is the code name of a fictional comic book character Roxanne "Roxy" Spaulding from Wildstorm Comics. She is a member of the superhero team Gen¹³.-Early life:...
. At the same time John Lynch used his influence to get several loyal soldiers to assist him in freeing the Gen¹³-members. Lynch and Gen¹³ joined forces and defeated Threshold, Bliss and Baiul. Baiul, Threshold and Bliss escaped and took several gen-active children with them, frozen in cryogenic tubes. Both Lynch and Baiul left I.O.'s service at this point, though Baiul masked her desertion as pursuing Lynch and his team.
A few months later, Threshold had been training the best of the gen-active children they had taken along as DV8
DV8
DV8 is a comic book published by Wildstorm. The series revolves around the lives of a group of Gen-Active people , initially living in New York under the supervision of Ivana Baiul, who sends them on life-threatening black ops assignments.-Publication history:The series lasted 32 issues, and was a...
, also known as the Deviants. They fought Gen¹³, but were defeated. Over the next few months, Threshold and DV8 fulfilled various missions for Baiul that allowed her to return to I.O. and become its new leader. During one of those missions, DV8's New York hideout was destroyed, including the drugs Ivana used to keep Threshold under control. Over the next few months, Threshold slowly built up his strength, during one mission he turned on his team and left them for death to attack Ivana. He seriously injured Ivana, but DV8 managed to stop him, injuring Threshold. Threshold left for Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, where he started to gather an army of gen-active soldiers.
Powers and abilities
An extremely powerful psychokinetic, Threshold is very fond of using his powers to make people's heads explode, and in other destructive ways. He also has displayed the ability to fly and read the minds of others.Apart from his powerful superhuman abilities, Threshold is also an expert in martial arts, though his tendency to use his powers to kill anybody who humiliated him during training limited his growth as a martial artist.
In other media
- In the Gen¹³Gen¹³ (film)Gen¹³ is a 1999 animated feature film based on the WildStorm comic book Gen¹³. The film was directed by Kevin Altieri and was distributed by Buena Vista Pictures, and produced by WildStorm Productions...
animated movie, Threshold's voice was provided by Mark HamillMark HamillMark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...
.