WildStorm: Michael Cray is a 2017 comic book published by DC Comics, as part of their Wild Storm imprint. A spinoff of their flagship title, it's written by Bryan Hill and drawn by N. Steven Harris.
Michael Cray is a man with problems. His employers, International Operations, have turned out to be using his skills at killing people for their own ends. And he's dying from a brain tumor. Only it's not a tumor, because tumors don't grant people super-powers.
So now, working for the enigmatic Christine Trelane and her company, Executive Protection Services, Michael is working for a new, and hopefully better cause, in exchange for a solution to his tumor problem. His first target is a crazed maniac by the name of Oliver Queen...
Michael Cray contains examples of:
- Adaptational Nationality: Arthur Curry is from New Zealand, rather than America.
- Adaptational Villainy: Hoo boy...
- Oliver Queen is a corrupt corporate type who supposedly floods neighbourhoods with crime and drugs, then sends in his own private police force to deal with them. And he's a madman who abducts war veterans and hunts them down, in a recreation of the island he was stranded on.
- Thea Queen, meanwhile, helps him in these endeavours.
- Barry Allen is a murderous, insane luddite sociopath, who uses his CSI knowledge to cover up his crimes.
- Arthur Curry is a cannibal with a god-complex.
- John Constantine, normally a morally compromised arsehole at best, is a psychopathic serial killer.
- Diana Prince is an unstable lunatic warrior-woman with a fondness for impaling people she doesn't like on very big swords.
- Ambiguous Situation: Did John Constantine sabotage Prince's machine, or would it just never have worked? He refuses to say.
- An Arm and a Leg: Michael disintegrates Oliver Queen's arm during their fight, but it doesn't keep him down for long. Getting shot in the head does him in, however.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: The Khera says that the idea of unleashing gods is ludicrous, but then points out it's in no position to point out what is and is not possible.
- Brutal Honesty: Trelane tells Michael that her intentions with Oliver Queen's empire are by no means noble, but he is definitely the sort of person who needs to be stopped, and permanently.
- Celebrity Paradox: Michael goes up against DC comics characters, in a universe where Wonder Woman is (apparently) just a fictional character.
- Chain Pain: Instead of a lasso, "Wonder Woman" uses a magical chain.
- Determinator: With some encouragement from Constantine, Michael manages to override the parasite's control via sheer willpower.
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: John Constantine insists the cigarettes he smokes are his way of flipping off Death.
- Doing in the Scientist: As the series goes on, it's shown that some kind of magic exists in the verse.
- Downer Ending: Michael stops Prince, at the cost of surrendering himself to the Khera, and having to leave and go on the run, with almost all his associates dead.
- Evil Wears Black: Just in case the murdering wasn't a hint, Barry Allen's outfit is black with red striping.
- Genre Shift:
- Issue 5 goes all Lovecraftian horror, with the isolated town of murderous people worshipping an ocean-dwelling horror.
- With the introduction of John Constantine and Diana Prince, the story suggests it's going from a sci-fi approach to science-fantasy.
- The Ghost: Issue 11 has Diana Prince mention there is a Bruce Wayne out there, somewhere.
- Hitman with a Heart: Michael, which is part of his falling out with IO (that, and them trying to murder him the minute he left). He doesn't kill people simply for being jerks, but to stop more people dying.
- How Do I Shot Web?: Michael has no idea how his disintegrating powers work, at first. In fairness, he didn't known he had any superpowers to begin with. By issue 3, he works out that strong emotional reactions trigger it.
- I Cannot Self-Terminate: Michael tries, but the entity makes him move the gun at the last minute, then disintegrates it for good measure.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice:
- Arthur Curry, by Michael using his own trident, underwater.
- Diana Prince runs an energy executive through with a sword. And the desk she was sitting under.
- Kick the Dog: Diana Prince holds Kent Nelson and his wife at gunpoint to make them give her information. Once Nelson gives it, she has them killed.
- Madness Mantra:
- Oliver Queen likes to quote "From Whom The Bell Tolls" as he hunts folk down.
- "I'm Michael Cray."
- Mauve Shirt: Michael's crew, after some character development, all get mercilessly slaughtered trying to take down Diana Prince.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The situation with Arthur Curry. Trelane thinks it's the result of genetic engineering, but Curry is pretty adamant he actually is an Atlantean (and sure as hell doesn't look human). He still has the ability to command sea-life, but Cray's not-a-tumor says he's not a god.
- Mythology Gag:
- Michael's father notes Oliver Queen's story is like "that kid out east whose parents got shot in an alley". (As an extra joke, Green Arrow started off as a knock-off of Batman).
- Oliver Queen's unseen driver is a man called Diggle. No word on his first name being John.
- When telling Cray he needs to kill Barry Allen, Trelane says it needs to happen fast.
- Even in another universe, John Constantine brings death and misery to anyone he talks to, driving away even his friends and allies.
- No Name Given: Oliver Queen's "sister" goes conspicuously directly unnamed at any point (but Oliver does mention a "Thea" in issue 1).
- Power Incontinence: Cray's power has a tendency to go off of it's own accord, first disintegrating a perfectly harmless mouse, then a gun Michael's trying to use when he really needs it.
- The Reveal:
- Michael's tumor is not just not a tumor - it's also alive.
- Issue 10 reveals just what the tumor is: It's a Khera.
- Rich Recluse's Realm: The Wild Storm universe's version of Oliver Queen is an ultra-rich lunatic who created his own island in order to hunt people for sport.
- Stuff Blowing Up: By issue 6, Michael has learned how to use his powers to this level, managing to destroy the Curry house, after having burnt much of it down already.
- Tarot Troubles: John Constantine has a man read out some tarot cards to see what's coming. The man keeps pulling out Death.
