Cardinal Glick

* Biography
* Threat Assessment
* Trivia and Notes
* Gallery

### Cardinal Glick: 1955 - 1987

Matthew Glick is the son of a New York City sex worker and her abusive procurer. When Matthew was still a baby, his mother was killed by his father (who forced her to drink drain cleaner and dumped the body in an alley). By the time the police went to arrest the murderer, he was already dead in his apartment. Upon the discovery of a crib in the apartment, police originally suspected that their child was also dead.

However, a local priest brought a one year old baby into the station later that week, claiming a red-haired teenager brought the child in and asked the church to look after him. The young man was gone before the priest could get his name or even the baby's name, so the priest and nuns that looked after him named him after the apostle Matthew and Saint George. With no known next of kin of age, Matthew grew up in a orphanage, completely unaware of his parentage aside from his surname.

Grateful to the Church, Matthew considered joining the clergy after his graduation, but a mentor convinced him to experience the world first. Taking that advice, Matthew saved up enough money to go to Europe. He traveled several countries, switching between studying abroad and aimless wandering. Naturally, he eventually found himself in Rome and was fortunate enough to have a brief encounter witht the Pope while touring the Vatican. This experience was enough to confirm Matthew's decision to enter the clergy.

However, while attending seminary, Matthew met Jennifer, an American art major on her own European self-discovery tour. The two fell in love and decided to travel back to the States that summer so Matthew could seek permission from her parents to be married. Matthew was a rather traditional young man, it seems. Permission was granted and the two were wed in a simple ceremony.

Matthew's marriage may have prevented him from priesthood, but Matthew found work as an associate in his father-in-law's PR firm. Matthew did however served the church as a deacon; first in a voluntary role but later being employed by the church as a public relations consultant for the local diocese, applying the tricks he learned from his time with his father-in-law's company.

### Cardinal Glick: 1987 - Present

While accompanying an archbishop on a business trip to the Vatican, Matthew's plane suffered some engine trouble and was forced to make an emergency landing. It was at the airport that Matthew learned that the cause of the mechanical failure has been due to some electromagnetic feedback brought on by the intrinsic blasts that devastated nearly thirty cities across the globe. Matthew would soon discover one of those blasts has claimed the lives of his pregnant wife and her family, as well the orphanage where he had been raised.

After two years spent grieving the loss of his wife, Matthew was allowed to join the priesthood. He was not a priest for long, quickly advancing to bishop in short order due to his long-standing service to the faith, experience with public relations, and his exceptional education enriched by his time spent in Europe.

As the world was still recovering from the episode of destruction still known as the Manhattaning, Glick was named Archbishop of the archdiocese containing Star City. His experience with public relations and comfort with cameras and celebrities would play a significant role there. He was soon made cardinal and was soon dubbed as the "Cool Cardinal" and "America's Cardinal" by the press, famous for wearing his sunglasses with his vestments at many outdoor press events.

During Hell on Earth, Glick became somewhat controversial when he declared openly on live television that demons were real and pleaded to God, to send angels. Failing that, he begged for the Justice League's help. After the fallout, Cardinal Glick publically thanked the Ghostbusters and other heroes for doing "what God couldn't" and this saw the Cardinal chastised by the Church he had dedicated his life to.

Glick was promptly reassined to Gotham City. He remains a controversial figure, openly discussing angels and Church secrets to anyone who will listen to him. His latest exploit concern his campaign to have the Pope openly admit the truth about God, angels, and such to bring disillusioned people back to the pews.

## Threat Assessment

### Resources

* **Church Authority:** Cardinal Glick is a member of the College of Cardinals, effectively making a true leader of the Catholic faith, whose authority within the Church is only truly surpassed by the Pope himself. This gives him incredible freedom to make use of the significant resources of the Catholic Church at will.
* **Doctrine Philosophy:** Cardinal Glick is a man who has dedicated much of life to the study of philosophy and theology. He can quote the Bible and many other religious texts easily.
* **Obscura:** In addition, Glick has access to many of the Catholic Church's secret records and relics. He knows for a fact that angels exist, as do demons. He has a firm understanding of the true structure of Hell and the bureaucracy of the Silver City. He has personally met at least three archangels and can recognize/identify at least a dozen other angels on sight. He also has knowledge of the true heritage of Yeshua (Jesus Christ) being the son of the archangel Gabriel, and not the Divine Presence, as most are led to believe.
* **Occult Knowledge:** Cardinal Glick is familiar with various rites with actual mystical power. He can bless water and sanctify oil, conscrate holy ground, and utilize exorcism against hostile spirits and demonic entities. However, he has never served as an exorcist and has spent most of his time within the clergy in more administrative functions so his actual ability to utilize this esoteric ability remains unknown. That said, he is known to bless his golf clubs and during the Hell on Earth event, his clubs were known to be effective weapons against the mid-level demons.
* **Philanthrophy:** Glick may usually only be involved in genuinely philanthropic endeavors just for a good photo-op, but his past connections to these works has opened a number of doors for him. He has a long-standing relationship with the Wayne Foundation and LuthorCare Group. He endorsed vigilante justice, publically praising the actions of Team Arrow and helped get the legislation passed that allowed the creation of the SCPD's Greensleeves Division. He also personally dedicated the Ghostbusters' new Firehouse to thank for their service to Star City (which ultimately was the event that saw him ousted to Gotham City).
* **Press Connections:** Cardinal Glick, though somewhat controversial in recent years, has remained quite populr with the press. Many journalists enjoy his interviews as he's much more candid and casual that other religious dinitaries and his off-the-cuff remarks are always good for headlines. Glick can almost always secure an interview even the Catholic Church tries to silence him.
* **Belief in a Better Reality:** Surprising to some who find the cardinal to be somewhat glib and shallow, Glick appears to actually have a strong sense of faith. This provides him some protection against certain supernatural entities.

### Weaknesses

* **Controversial:** Once something of a golden boy for the Catholic Church, Glick is now held in some contempt by his peers and the Holy See. Though many Catholics find Glick to be refreshing and appreciate his candor, most would agree that this guy has no place ever becoming pope, nor should he really have a say in choosing a pope.
* **Fame:** Cardinal Glick is always up for a chance to smile for the cameras and provide a soundbite on almost any subject.
* **Man of the Cloth:** Glick being a member of clergy often restricts his lifestyle.
* **Vice — Wrath:** Cardinal Glick is on record saying he will do whatever is in his power to assure anyone who brings an end to Adrian Veidt will be allowed into Heaven. When asked the subject of the Manhattaning is brought up, Cardinal Glick usually becomes visible uncomfortable and will become increasingly incesed as the topic continues.

### Analytics

* **Physicality:** 2 — Basic / Typical
* **Occult:** 4 — Expert / Enhanced
* **Weaponry:** 2 — Basic / Typical
* **Expertise:** 3 — Trained / Exceptional
* **Range:** 4 — Expert / Enhanced
* **Strategy:** 4 — Expert / Enhanced
	+ **TOTAL:** 39
	+ **RANKING:** Low Threat

## Trivia and Notes

### Notes

* Cardinal Glick is a character from the *Dogma* film.
* His appearance is based on the actor George Carlin, who portrayed him in the film.

## Links and References

* Appearances of Cardinal Glick

1. ↑ Network Files: Cardinal Glick