With these reposts you get the same full bio, art and our storyline concept, but also some behind the scenes thoughts on how and why Fabian (co-writer) and I went about doing what we did (go to the bottom).
We skipped around a bit, but we had another character from last October's theme of “Fearsome Characters”. And what could be more fearsome than a character who is the living embodiment of Death itself? THE BLACK RACER!!
This character was a tough one to reinterpret…mainly
due to those damn skis. Ahhhh…the 70’s.But here we go, the Nu-Perspective version of Black Racer
Real Name: Willow Walker
Current Alias: Black Racer
Identity: Secret
Occupation: Nurse, Psychopomp
of the Gods, Herald of the Source
Place of Birth: The Source
/ Metropolis
Base of Operations: Mobile
Affiliations: New Gods
First Appearance: New Gods
#3 (1971)
Original Creators: Jack
Kirby (Black Racer William Walker)
Stories: Willow Walker is
the daughter of William “Willie” Walker, a former U.S Army Sergeant who was
paralyzed until he merged with the spirit of The Black Racer, the physical
manifestation of an aspect of Death. The Black Racer harvests New Gods at the
time of their death, and often hunts those associated with the Speed Force.
However, Willie could not escape his own fate, and he passed after one of his
collections as the Black Racer was completed. Shortly after her father’s death,
Willow began having otherworldly nightmares; vivid terrors of wars between
fantastical gods in planes of existence nigh-incomprehensible by mortals. Willow
was then approached by the spirit of the Black Racer and was shown secrets to her
father’s true past. As the reincarnation of the Forth World god of death,
William had brought an end to the New Gods, but the essence of those beings
found their way to Earth, reborn in mortal vessels with little to no
recollection of their former lives. As her father before her, Willlow bonded to
the Black Racer, and must tap into the powers he once had, to stop the
resurrected Darkseid from transforming Earth into the Fifth World hell-scape of
Apokolips. To accomplish this, Walker must desperately find the former New
Genesis gods whether they know it or not. But Willow finds herself a pariah, shunned
by these new New Gods and hunted by forces more powerful than Death itself. For
the first time, Death is on the run, and she’s running out of time.
Powers/Abilities:
As a reincarnated “New God” Willow has access to incalculable strength, speed,
stamina and durability. In her Black Racer true form she does not require food,
water, rest or oxygen to live and she is effectively immortal. Nothing short of
powerful Forth World technology can harm her or slow her down. The Black Racer also possesses an array of
super-senses including a level of cosmic awareness and clairvoyance,
particularly in regards to death and dying. As the Forth World incarnation of
inevitable, remorseless and impartial oblivion, Willow can also render herself
intangible and unperceivable by mortals and technology; as well as absorb the
thoughts and memories of the recently deceased. The Black
Racer’s most striking power is her irreversible and
uncontrollable “death touch” that erodes the life force of any living being
that makes physical contact with her. The Black Racer’s only known weakness besides radion (New Gods’ version
of lethal kryptonite) is that she needs a living physical body to exercise
existence in our reality. This transition appears to be random and requires
much effort on Willow’s part to transform into her “old” New God form and
single-minded mentality. When the Black Racer
senses it is no longer required, she reverts to her vulnerable human form. As the
daughter of a war veteran, Willow had some military training in hand-to-hand
and armed combat and army procedurals.
Weapons/Paraphernalia: The Source “skis” affixed to
her feet grant the Black Racer
transluminous speeds bordering on teleportation and self-propelled flight. Her
cosmic sickles are used as combat weapons capable of slicing through virtually
any material with the exception of a few Forth World metals and can be joined
to form a two-headed scythe. The particular armor of the Black
Racer protects others from unintentional exposure to her
“death touch”, meaning she has to deliberately expel this power on those she
chooses. It is postulated that the Black Racer’s
armor may have been forged from inverted Source Wall materials, believed to be
the only substance to negate her death touch.
NP
What IS Nu-Perspective you ask? Well, it's a bi-weekly column I started with my writing collaborator Fabian Wood with the purpose of revamping and updating different underdeveloped, underutilized and all-but-forgotten Nubian (black) comic book and pop culture characters.
Fine Print: Nu-Perspective is a column focused on revamps and updates of various
underdeveloped, underutilized and all-but-forgotten Nubian (black)
characters specifically. We aim to showcase these chosen characters in
fresh, contemporary and exciting ways both visually and story-wise to
show just how awesome they can truly be. All characters are copyrights
and trademarks of the respective publishers and creators. This column is
used solely for artistic enjoyment.
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