Christian Walker

Origin

Deep into prehistoric times, the Cro-Magnon man who would become known as Christian Walker fought his rival over a woman in what became the first superpowered battle between the first two superpowered beings. They fought to a stalemate, as they would again and again over the millennia. As time moved on, he evolved into the appearance of a human but was clearly not human. He did not age, nor could anything seem to harm or kill him. However, his mind was not as unlimited as his lifespan. No matter how many years he had lived, he could only remember the previous hundred years clearly. Everything earlier than that was jumbled and incomplete, if he could remember it at all.

He walked the lands of early human civilization as the mighty warrior called Gora. He formed the first superhero team as the Great Walker in China. He fought the mob in 1930s Chicago and fought in World War II as the Blue Streak. Finally, he was the costumed superhero known as Diamond.

In a final clash with his ancient enemy, now called Wolfe, Walker used a prototype power dampener to sap both of their abilities. Without their power, Walker was the stronger man, and he brutally defeated Wolfe, throwing the man into the dampener and causing an explosion. The explosion rendered them both permanently powerless, something Walker had previously wished he could be. Now as normal as the next guy, he went to the police captain who owed him a favor and joined the police force.

Creation

Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, Christian Walker was introduced as the main character of their hit creator-owned series Powers from Image Comics. He was not immediately revealed to have previously been a superhero, which was something shown during the course of the first story arc. The full story of background was not even told until the very last arc of the first volume of Powers.

Character Evolution

Christian Walker began Powers simply as an ex-superhero who had become a police detective, which carried through most of the first volume of the series. In the last story arc of the volume, it was revealed that Walker's history as a superhero was far more notable than previously implied. He was actually as old as mankind and quite possibly the first superhero, though it was also shown that he did not remember most of this. By the end of the second volume of Powers, the character had moved back toward the world of superheroes by secretly becoming a member of the Millennium Guard.

Major Story Arcs

Who Killed Retro Girl?

Now a successful homicide detective specializing in cases involving superpowers, Christian Walker was partnered with new detective Deena Pilgrim, and their first case together was a major one. Retro Girl, one of the top heroes of the time and a former friend of Walker's, was found murdered on the street. Complicating the situation even further, Walker was stuck looking after a girl named Calista Secor from a separate case of his until child services could take her.

The Retro Girl case left Walker and Pilgrim with little to work with, leaving them to blindly question superheroes and supervillains alike. They even visited Walker's old enemy Wolfe in prison, but like all of their other inquiries, it was a dead end. However, they soon caught a break and discovered Retro Girl had been murdered by a pathetic, obsessed fan who cobbled together a homemade power dampener. Walker was ready to send the man to prison for it, but Triphammer, another old friend of Walker's and Retro Girl's, had another idea. He killed the man right in front of Walker and left.

Super Group

Quietly, Walker had maintained a relationship with Zora, who he had known long before even his days as Diamond. The two of them secretly decided to get engaged shortly before Walker's latest major case came in. One of the members of FG-3, a government sponsored but also highly marketed group of superheroes, had been found dead in their headquarters. The case, which was already tense due to the high profile nature of the group, got even worse when another member, Boogie Girl, went ballistic during questioning and went on the run.

When Walker and Pilgrim caught up to Boogie Girl, the crazed woman lost it again and they were not equipped to handle her. Zora swooped in to rescue them and fought Boogie Girl, trying to restrain the other hero. Tragically, Zora was severely wounded and died in Walker's arms.

Walker was then made aware by FG-3's final member that the group's public image was all a lie. Rather than childhood friends who grew up to become superheroes, they were three people recruited by the government and given powers illegally. The same process that gave them powers also gave their handlers the means to kill them remotely, which was how the other members died. Walker tried to pursue this only to be shut down by the FBI, but rather than let it go, he went on television and spoke about the cover up in an interview. This move prompted a lawsuit from the FBI that cost Walker his job as a detective.

Anarchy

With some secret financial help from Triphammer, Walker had launched a counter-suit and spent most of a year as a civilian. He bought a house and a dog and tried to settle into his new life to write a book. It did not suit him.

Meanwhile, an anti-powers group launched a murder spree of superheroes inspired by the killing of Retro Girl. When Pilgrim and her new partner caught the woman leading the group, she refused to talk unless it was directly to Walker. However, this was all a ploy to get Pilgrim to lead her people to Walker for an attempt on his life. Walker and Pilgrim survived, but his dog and her partner did not. Walker helped track down the rest of the anti-powers group, and thanks to the success, the door opened for him to be reinstated as a detective. He took the offer and became partners with Pilgrim again.

Legends

After all powers, whether belonging to heroes or villians, were outlawed by the federal government, Walker's job became more difficult. He and Pilgrim found themselves in a standoff against a powered thug, who had them utterly outgunned. They were rescued by a young girl dressed as Retro Girl, and Walker quickly realized who it really was. He confronted Calista, who was with him when the former Retro Girl had died and was not a teenager. She freely admitted that the new Retro Girl was her. She had been having visions of Retro Girl since that day and now had developed the powers to match. It appeared that the power behind Retro Girl was passed from girl to girl over the years, which was something Calista claimed Walker knew about but just did not remember.

She was now Retro Girl, and she wanted him to train her. Reluctantly, he agreed to the task.

Cosmic

An accidental powers-related death led to the discovery of a hero Walker had not previously heard of. Walker was soon informed that the deceased was the latest Millennium, a member of an intergalactic security force charged assigned specifically to protect Earth. Walker also met Heather Anderson, a neighbor and witness to the accidental death. They bonded quickly and soon became romantically involved.

Meanwhile, Walker was secretly contacted by the Millennium Guard and recruited to serve as Earth's new protector. He accepted this offer and was given a suit that empowered him with different but familiar powers compared to what he previously had. The catch was that he could only use these powers on assignments for the Millennium Guard. He also needed to keep the people who knew about his new status to a minimum, something he had trouble doing when Calista found out about it almost immediately.

Secret Identity

When a supposed demonic possession led to the murders of a team of superheroes known simply as the Heroes, Walker found himself confronted by a being claiming to be the Devil. The alleged Devil merely wanted Walker to back off the case, because it involved his children possessing one of the Heroes. Though Walker had no memory of it, the entity claimed they had met more than once in the past and that Walker's forgotten past was filled with so many terrible deeds that they were bound to spend a lot more time together in the future. It also claimed that Walker had children out there he no longer remembered.

Walker survived the experienced and resorted to using his powers as a Millennium Guard to close the case, receiving a warning from his cosmic superiors not to do so again.

The 25 Coolest Dead Superheroes of All Time

Detective Walker's life was turned upside down by the deadly outbreak of a powers virus in the city. The virus gave the infected electrical abilities but also forced them to use them to feed off others and infect others like crack addicts in order to survive. His partner, Deena Pilgrim, was infected and disappeared, going rogue to hunt down the people responsible outside of the law. Unfortunately, these actions made her seem like a murder suspect when the body count began skyrocketing.

Months passed with Pilgrim gone, and Walker was assigned a new partner, Enki Sunrise. Secretly, Sunrise was assigned to be Walker's partner by internal affairs to find evidence that he was aiding Pilgrim and that he still had powers himself.

More stress was piled onto Walker when Retro Girl insisted that she help the police by going undercover. Many of the deceased victims turning up were young girls like her. Walker didn't like it, but there were no better alternatives. Though it was messy, the plan worked with the help of Retro Girl, Pilgrim and Triphammer. Those responsible for spreading and profiting off the powers virus were killed, and a cure was developed.

Though it turned out well, things could not go back to the way they were. Pilgrim's action meant she could no longer be a cop and Walker's partner. She received a large check from the department, and she and Walker said goodbye to each other.

Z

The murder of an old superhero teammate from World War II dredged up old, bittersweet memories for Walker. His time as the superhero Blue Streak with the Daring Eagles during that era was not one he was particularly proud of. Z had been a sleaze and dragged them all down into a decadent, rat pack lifestyle. It was no surprise to him that Z ended up murdered.

Walker's relationship with Heather had continued to grow strong, and he asked her to marry him, which she accepted. However, he soon found that she had left, leaving him with only a note to explain that she could not go through with it. She did not tell him the true reasons she left, which involved visions of his past and future he had been unintentionally giving her. She also did not tell him that she was pregnant.

Powers and Abilities

Christian Walker was originally an immensely powerful being, capable of great strength and flight and seemingly incapable of being harmed. He also possessed the ability to generate energy, which only manifested on the rare occasions he battled his rival Wolfe. Along with all these abilities, Walked seemed to be immortal, living for thousands and thousands of years.

As a member of the Millennium Guard, Walker has access to a suit that grants him strength, flight, protection and energy abilities comparable to the powers he originally possessed. He appears to be able to activate the suit and its powers at any time, causing the suit to appear on him replacing whatever he was previously wearing.

Strangely, it has been noticed that Walker has seemingly not aged a day since being stripped of his powers years ago, implying that he still possesses his longevity.

Weaknesses

Due to his extraordinarily long life, Christian Walker has problems with his memories and can only clearly remember back less than a century.

Other Media

Powers

A television series adapted from the comic series is being developed for FX and will star Jason Patric in the role of Christian Walker.