Marc Shaw (Pre-Crisis)

* Grifter
* Civilian

**Editorial Names**

**Given Titles**

**Friends**

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**Marc Shaw** is a notorious non-lethal mercenary famously known for his degenerate alter ego, **Grifter**. He enlisted in the military alongside his brother at eighteen and later became a spec ops black team member. Afterward, Marc and his brother were involuntarily recruited by Annalise Gibbs to join her newly formed Task Force X, and Marc was given the alias "Grifter."

He became Task Force X's field leader and reluctantly ran several missions for Annalise. However, during this period, he would amass a circle of allies such as Spartan, Zealot, Artemis, **Queen Asteria of The Amazons**, and more. His time with Task Force X also put him in the crosshairs of dangerous villains such as Medusa, Dr. Harrison Maxis, Cheshire, Annalise herself, and even his brother, who had become Nemesis.

Recently, Marc returned to his present after becoming a member of **Demetrius Jackson'**s team, **The Outsiders** and defeating **Mongul** in the 31st Century. Freed from Task Force X and legally dead, he was contacted by Spartan, who recruited him to join the governmental faction Requiem. By entering this faction, he learned that his brother, Nemesis, was alive and that he had joined Group 935, and it all had something to do with Task Force X's first mission, a mission never meant to be talked about.

## **History**

"Chasing The Cool..."This article isn't fully mixed and mastered yet. What you are reading is subject to change.
### **Early Years**

Marc Shaw was the youngest of two, his older brother Malcolm Clark. In the beginning, their family was perfect. Their father and mother, Michael and Sadie Clark were present in their lives and all. Until his father began to drink, and Sadie became a drug addict. This event left Malcolm forced to raise Marc, but with no money in Las Vegas, the two quickly turned to crime. While the two would drop out of high school, they managed to gain their GEDs.

After being arrested for a third time over grand theft auto and old enough to be charged as adults, the court showed mercy and gave them two options: prison or military. The two brothers enlisted in The Marines the same day. In The Marines, Brandom flourished as he became an excellent marksman, while Malcolm became a breach specialist. Due to their gifts, the two were chosen to become part of a specialized black ops squad called Team 7.

## **Personality**

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Marc Shaw is something of a degenerate. He enjoys vices such as smoking cigarettes and weed; he drinks more often than not. Marc is a known con artist and swindler and has no problem killing people. Marc switched from live fire rounds to energy weapons out of spite, but even then, he would kill if he had to. He finds himself doing more wrong than good but for heroic intentions, such as when he smooth-talked his way into a relationship with Annalise Gibbs to try to free the Suicide Squad from her control. However, he does try to be a good person, such as when he chose not to kill Dr. Harrison Maxis and wanted him to use his intelligence for the heroes rather than create Nazi Zombies.

Barring his heroic leanings, Marc is an incorrigible mischief-maker for both sides of the fence. He causes mischief for his friends for kicks while he does it to villains as a long con, often creating situations that he pays off later. Marc's long cons were shown whenever he made the situation in Miami by using his relationship with Annalise Gibbs and her lowered guard to contact Batman. When not on a mission or faced with a task, Marc is a relentless conversationalist, often talking about pop culture or even personal theories on the government, even though he works for them.

His degeneracy only worsened whenever he gained the Gen-Factor, as Marc seemingly has no limits. He drinks, smokes, and even dabbles in more problematic substances more than before. However, his tendency to toe the line between heroics and killer has become much more defined lately, with him meeting Batman, Black Canary, The Legion, and more. While he doesn't consider himself a hero, he has moved away from killing outright to killing if necessary, relying on his energy weapons more.

Emotionally, Marc is a mess. He uses the vices mentioned above as a crutch to handle his inability to deal with his experiences, dead friends, and, ultimately, his death. This results in his conversationalist manner, pop culture jokes, and sexual innuendos as a mask to be a barrier of protection against how people see him and how he sees himself. Marc sees himself as a serial killer and a blunt instrument to be used by anyone smart enough to use him. While he has led teams before, Marc shudders to think of himself as a hero or a leader.

Marc has a soft spot for children and teenagers. He is incredibly graceful and caring when it comes to them, which is shown when he encounters Raven Rachels, whom he took on as a pseudo-daughter figure over the years. He was understanding and empathic and had her close to him for the entire mission, later showcasing outrage and frustration that Dr. Harrison Maxis was performing his darker experiments on children.

Despite his darker traits, Marc is a laid-back guy who wants nothing more than to spend the day at home, playing video games and watching movies. However, this contrasts with his sense of self as he believes he doesn't deserve a happy ending. He has often claimed that this ends with him in the desert and dying with a gun in his hand, trying to con someone. Marc calls the desert his home, always wanting to return to it but never being able to because of Task Force X, then The Cuda Foundation, and more recently, Requiem. Marc believes that the desert is calling, and on some level, he must answer.

## **Powers**

**"Gen-Factor"/Regenerative Healing Factor**: After being killed by Cheshire in London, Zealot - with permission from Annalise Gibbs - took Marc to her former employers, The Coda Foundation, where he was revived using highly experimental biotechnology. Upon resurrection, Marc had suddenly gained a highly potent and fast-acting healing factor, dubbed the "Gen-Factor" by The Coda Foundation. The Gen-Factor is a powerful healing component grafted to the very DNA of the person it comes in contact with, allowing them to be healed from anything incredibly faster than average. However, this does not make him immune to pain, as he still feels it.

Marc has been shown to heal from cuts, bruises, and more in seconds to minutes. The Gen-Factor even extends to mental attacks as he has recovered from these just as fast, if not quicker, than physical wounds. His mental regeneration was shown whenever Saturn Girl attempted to stop Lightning Lad and himself from fighting. Lightning Lad was rendered unconscious, while Marc was fine after a few seconds. The Gen-Factor can also resuscitate Marc if he clinically dies, making him near-immortal, but he still has weaknesses.

Another notable side-effect of possessing The Gen-Factor is that Marc has begun to age incredibly slower than his peers (except for Zealot). As he was in his early twenties when he gained The Gen-Factor, his body has consistently stayed at its peak physical form since with extremely minute changes. Marc can survive in most conditions without worry, such as sub-zero temperatures. He also cannot gain any illnesses as his body will filter them out before they infect his immune system.

### **Abilities**

* **The Bladed Combatant**: While possessing no superhuman abilities, Marc is an exceedingly dangerous man, both feared and respected in combat circles. Marc, initially, was trained in QCQ by The Marines, but over time, as he joined The Suicide Squad, spent time in Themyscira, and later joined Requiem, he has amassed an extensive library of combat skills. While he knows how to handle several opponents with nothing but his fists, his proper and primary way to fight is with blades. He has been trained by Zealot in knives and swords, then by Asteria in spears and axes. However, he has stated that he prefers to utilize a combat knife. Marc's proficiency in bladed combat has no bounds as he took down an entire room of highly trained Amazons with only a combat knife and a scarf, only suffering from minor injuries. Annalise Gibbs has labeled Marc as "The Bladed Combatant" due to his proficiency and stated that this, combined with his marksmanship, makes Marc equal to an entire Navy SEAL squad. His training with Asteria, however, furthered his hand-to-hand combat prowess as she taught him how to wrestle correctly. Regarding QCQ, Marc's primary and default fighting style is boxing, and he is incredibly skillful at it, having gained a boxer's instincts. The only reason he gained an upper hand on Batman during their fight was because Marc noticed that Batman was telegraphing his attacks, albeit slightly. Even Asteria has complimented his boxing, and in his brief time in Themyscira, he showed her a couple of moves. However, he is bested in QCQ by his brother, Nemesis, who is far superior.

* **Maestro Sharpshooter**: Where Marc's equals are very slim is with his marksman ability. Marc is in the upper echelon of the greatest sharpshooters in the world and has been called the greatest by a few people, such as Annalise Gibbs, Asteria Locke, and even Batman. He has always had a good sense of accuracy, but after joining The Marines, he flourished and became the most excellent sharpshooter in his cadre. His marksman ability led him to be chosen for Team 7 and The Suicide Squad. Marc has personally trained with most firearms, ranging from small caliber guns to extensive weapons such as RPGs and Grenade Launchers. However, his marksmanship doesn't end with guns, as he has shown to utilize knives with perfect accuracy, such as when he nailed a fly to a wall with a butter knife. Later, Marc would use a bow and fire an arrow to disarm Asteria without hurting her hand or damaging her sword's hilt, something that hadn't been done to her by anyone else but her mother. Through repetition, Marc has become a master with pistols and battle rifles, but since joining The Suicide Squad, he switched from live fire rounds to energy variants of these weapons. He has hit targets hundreds of yards away with only his pistol and has shot targets even further with his battle rifle. While his brother is the better fighter, Marc is the better shot and, arguably, one of the greatest sharpshooters, dead or alive.

* **Tactical Brilliance**: Another aspect of Marc is his tactical mind. While he wasn't the squad leader of Team 7, his brother often looked to him for battle plans and routes out of hairy situations. It has been stated by Malcolm and the other members of Team 7 that Marc is the only reason why that group survived for as long as it did. Later, his tactical brilliance was tested when he unwillingly became the field leader for Task Force X. They were often given limited knowledge of their objective and were forced to use the world around them to complete their mission. However, Marc somehow kept the members of The Suicide Squad alive each time they had a task, impressing and disappointing Annalise Gibbs. His tactical awareness was also relied on by Batman as the two made the plan to liberate The Suicide Squad and later whenever Marc and he developed the scheme to defeat Mongul.

* **Exceptional Con Artist**: A lesser-known part of Marc is that he is an exceedingly gifted con artist and deceiver. It began when he was a delinquent as he could trick people out of money, often being told to talk someone out of house and home. He was able to get Asteria to trust him after fighting him; he convinced Artemis to steal Nemesis' communicator and even got into a sexual relationship with Annalise Gibbs to try to find a way off The Suicide Squad. While not utilized as his other abilities, Marc's silver tongue has gotten him out of more hairy situations than his mind has.

### **Weaknesses**

* **Oxygen Dependance**: While Marc can heal from almost anything, his healing factor depends on his brain still working consciously and subconsciously. If a gas encompasses him and he cannot breathe, he will die. If Marc is in space unassisted, he will die. If he is drowned, he will die. If Marc does not have oxygen, the Gen-Factor will not resuscitate him under any circumstances.

* **Magic-Based Weapons/Technology**: For some unknown reason, The Gen-Factor is highly weak to magic. Anything relating to magic will harm him and force his body to heal that specific wound as usual. He cannot be resurrected by the Gen-Factor if killed by magic, and he can't heal if magic is used against him. Regardless if Marc retreats, his body will still force itself to heal like an average person would if the wound he sustained is derived from magic.

## **Paraphernalia**

### **Equipment**

* **The Grifter Mask**: The Grifter Mask or Grifter Tunic was created by Task Force X R&D specialists who wanted to give Marc something lightweight and easy to put on but conceal his identity. The mask is created out of liquid armor and lined with Kevlar, making it impervious to small calibers. The physical weight of the tunic is the same as an average T-shirt, but it is interesting that the fabric also doubles as a gas mask, filtering out toxins and other deadly gases. The featureless lenses emote his eye reactions but have a purpose, granting Marc night and thermal vision at voice command.

* **Tactical Utility Belt**: Given to him by the same specialists who granted him his mask, Marc has a tactical utility belt that he never leaves home without. It is collapsible by pressing the center button and can also be used as a bandolier. Inside the belt, Marc has several high-tech ordinances to help him, such as explosives, shurikens, miniaturized flashbangs, nano-tech attachments for his handgun, and more. Interestingly, the specialists designed the belt to be almost as weightless as its contents, making it weigh only a couple of pounds, allowing Marc to still move without hindrance.

### **Weapons**

* **Cuda Foundation 9511**: The 9511 is an incredibly powerful ionic energy-based heavy handgun. The pistol has an entirely titanium frame and has two firing modes. The first allows the ionic blasts to be ricocheted off surfaces to hit targets in hard-to-reach areas, while the second provides armor-piercing shots. The weapon is non-lethal, designed to hinder and render people unconscious, but it packs quite a punch, harming even metahumans. While the handgun is primarily energy-based, the ionic battery can be swapped with live rounds and be used as if it were ionic shots. The weapon does have an overheating problem. If used non-stop for hours, the handgun is unusable to cool the ionic battery down for a few minutes. Another exciting aspect is that nanotech-based attachments can be added to the gun to turn it into a DMR.

## **Trivia**

* Marc specifically smokes Marlboro Reds. There have been a couple of times that he has vaped, claiming that it takes less time to vape than to go outside and smoke a cigarette.
* Marc's favorite drink is Jameson.
* He adores Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and other Sci-Fi franchises. He is a closeted nerd.
* Marc's favorite movie is The Matrix.
* The amount of time Marc spends playing video games in his free time is uncanny.
* Marc's favorite genre of music is between Rap and R&B. His favorite rapper is Kid Cudi.
	+ Marc has stated on numerous occasions that his favorite R&B album is John Legend's *Let's Get Lifted*.
* He secretly thinks that Batman is cool.
* Marc considers Cameron Crass (Spartan) & **Demetrius Jackson (Batman)** his best friends.
* Marc has an extensive CD collection.
* Marc does not like any seafood.
* His favorite food is between Mac & Cheese and Pizza.
* Marc's favorite soft drink is Sprite and he hates Pepsi, cited as calling it, "Fizzly ass."
* He and Timberwolf play virtual blackjack often.

## **References**

1. ↑ Days Before Maximus
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Maximus
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 It's Dark & Hell Is Hot
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Stones Thrown
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Hotline Miami
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Powers That B
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Defcon
8. ↑ What Goes Around...
9. ↑ The Next Episode