THE WILD COURT

The Wild Court is the name used to refer to a closely-knit family, comprised of immortals, megalomaniacs, and a sorcerer. The patriarch of the family is the son of none other than Vandal Savage.

PETER WILDE

PERSONAL DATA

• Alter Ego: Black Baron

HISTORY

In 1832 Vandal Savage, using the alias Vincent Wilde at the time, fathered a child with a woman from New Orleans. Savage abandoned them both to head West (where he had a part in instigating the Texas War for Independence). The woman named the boy Peter. In 1846, at age 14, Peter left his mother and headed west to make his fortune and perhaps find his father.

Peter did make his fortune in the California Gold Rush. He first encountered his father in San Francisco in 1853. Savage treated Peter as below his notice and they came to blows. Savage easily defeated Peter, leaving him badly beaten. Peter left San Francisco vowing to learn the skills he needed to combat his father.

Over the next few decades Peter travelled all across the western United States, becoming adept at many trades and learning how to fight. Peter also noticed that even though he was nearly 50 years old he was still as fit and healthy as he was when he was 25. Seeking worthy opponents against whom to test his skills, Peter eventually arrived in Superior City. There he adopted the identity of the Black Baron and waged many battles against the vigilante Renegade. Their rivalry came to an end in a fierce battle in Peter's hidden base on Gray Island in 1899 when a cache of explosives went off, apparently killing both Renegade and the Black Baron along with most of the Baron's henchmen.

In truth, Peter managed to barely survive the explosion. He escaped to Australia, then to Europe where he settled to recuperate. His wealth allowed him to mingle with the elite of Eurpoean Society and he married the Lady Penelope Greymalkin who bore him two sons, Peter II and Geoffrey. Lady Greymalkin died in 1914, but Peter remained with his sons, leaving them only near the end of the Great War to track down his father, whom Peter had learned was in Europe working with Prussian forces.

Peter and his family returned to the United States during the 1920's where his older son, Peter II, became involved with the mob during Prohibition. The other son, Geoffrey, married a woman he had met on their boat voyage over from Europe, an Irish immigrant named Helen. They had a son, Garret, soon afterwards, and later a daughter named Patricia.

During the intervening years, Peter's injuries had healed and he found he still had not aged, appearing to be a man in his mid-to-late thirties. Peter became a recluse, but still watched over his family, refusing to leave them as his father had he and his mother. Peter lost much of his money in the Stock Market Crash and the subsequent Depression. The family was sustained by Peter II, who was a high ranking criminal, and had also become a father. Peter Wilde III was born in 1932.

When masked heroes began appearing in 1939, Peter II adopted the criminal identity of the Iron Mask, frequently battling west coast heroes, including the Freedom Fighters and the Adventurers (one of whom had adopted the identity of Renegade). The Iron Mask was actually killed in battle, though none of the heroes knew this for sure. Peter emerged from seclusion to pose as his own son and to raise Peter III. When Peter III was 18, the young man left for Europe to get military training and eventually became a successful mercenary in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South and Central America. Peter III eventually adopted the identity of General Kaos.

By now, Peter I had moved back to Superior City and set out to punish the city and its heroes, both of whom he held responsible for his son's death. Wearing the Iron Mask costume, Peter conspired with the Ultra-Humanite and a legion of other villains to blackmail the city and to get rid of as many masked heroes as they could. During the battle that followed, "Iron Mask" sought out Renegade, who he thought might have been responsible for Peter II's death. His plans of vengeance were apparently thwarted when he saw a building collapse on Renegade (Renegade had survived, but was crippled, ending his career as a hero). Overcome with rage, "Iron Mask" took his frustration out on the Red Bee, killing the hero by breaking his back.

Appalled by what he had seen his grandfather do, and by what he learned of his uncle, Garret Wilde fled Superior, changing his name to Jason Ferrick and settling in Philadelphia. His mother, Helen, died soon afterwards, in grief over her son leaving. Garret's sister, Patricia, left for Europe and little is known of what happened to her between 1955 and the recent arrival of her grandson (a man calling himself Jericho Greymalkin) in Superior City. Garret's father, Geoffrey, was never the same after the death of his wife. He became cold and distant, but stayed with his father.

In the aftermath of the near-destruction of Superior, Peter (still posing as Peter II) emerged and formed Blacksteel Enterprises, a firm specialising in construction and materials production (the name Blacksteel taken from Peter's former identity of the Black Baron and his son's identity as the Iron Mask). Blacksteel became a pioneering firm and helped rebuild Superior. Peter helmed the company initially, then handled control over to Geoffrey in 1963.

Peter again encountered his father later that year in Dallas (where Savage was acting as an aide to Nixon). At this time, Peter learned that modern medical techniques allowed Savage to replace his occasionally damaged organs with compatible ones; compatible meaning organs that came from living descendants of Savage. Savage himself was surprised to learn that Peter was still alive. No other child of his had inherited his immortality. The battle that followed led to a compromise where Savage agreed to leave Peter's family and their descendants alone. Peter returned to Superior upon Geoffrey's death in 1979. He took control of Blacksteel again, this time posing as Peter Wilde IV (claiming to be his own grandson's child!) and has remained there ever since.

Meanwhile Garret, as Jason Ferrick, had married a woman named Bridget Samuels and had three children, Kevin, Helen (named for his late mother),and Robert. "Jason" told no one, not even his wife, who he really was so the children grew up ignorant of their savage heritage. Robert eventually married and had a daughter, Lisa. Bridget Ferrick died in 1992 and "Jason" died six years later. Using the inheritance money, Robert set up his own software company, which was recently bought out by a west coast firm. Robert was given an executive position with this firm and he and his family have moved out to the company's head office - in Superior City.

Twenty years had passed since Peter Wilde "IV" took over Blacksteel, and Peter began to feel he might soon have to leave again. But this time he had no one to trust with running it for him. Peter III was in jail, and was dying of a form of radiation sickness, no one knew where Patricia had gone, and Peter had deliberately avoided trying to track down Garret for fear that Savage would learn of his whereabouts as well, and since Garret had severed all ties with his family before Peter struck the bargain with Savage, then Vandal might consider Garret and his descendants fair game.

Then a young man arrived in Superior. His name was Jericho Greymalkin and he was Patricia's grandson (Patricia had taken the Lady Greymalkin's title when she went to Europe). Jericho claimed he had a way to help his dying cousin (General Kaos) and Peter gladly welcomed him. Knowing that his family still lived and could achieve greatness, Peter has a renewed sense of purpose and is assembling his family around him to prepare for the new millenium.

More recently, Vandal Savage located Robert and his family and targeted them in Superior City. Robert's wife was killed but he and his teenage daughter, Lisa, survived and have been taken in by Peter and the rest of the Wilde family. Greymalkin fulfilled his promise and used Chaos magic to not only heal Peter III but also grant him powers, making the family the strongest it had ever been. Peter Wilde and his family briefly, and reluctantly, joined forces with the Enforcers of Justice to take on his father, Vandal Savage.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Like his father, Peter Wilde is immortal. He does not age and is extremely difficult, and is possibly, impossible to kill through injury or disease. Additionally he possesses superhuman levels of strength and endurance. Over the decades of his life Peter has mastered a number of skills and is a master of multiple forms of combat. He is also an accomplished chemist and engineer.

GENERAL KAOS

PERSONAL DATA

• Alter Ego: Peter Wilde III

HISTORY

General Kaos is the grandson of the patriarch of the Wilde family, and son of the villain Iron Mask. His father was killed while he was still a child and Peter was raised by his grandfather until he was 18 and went off to military academy in Europe. He began working as a soldier of fortune, traveling the world and mastering the skills he had learned. Peter eventually branched out into weapons, becoming a supplier and eventually designing his own for sale in different trouble spots across the globe.

Peter came to embrace the ideals of anarchy and chaos, initially as a means to increase his weapons sales but later seeing as a means of weeding out the week of humanity. He adopted the identity of General Kaos, continuing his efforts to destabilize governments around the world. His efforts targeting the United States brought him into conflict with the super heroes that had emerged in the latter half of the Twentieth Century, during the so-called Forgotten Age of heroes between the Golden Age and the rise of the Modern Age.

General Kaos soon joined forces with several of the era's super villains to form the Sinister Society. They battled many groups of heroes during this period, notably the Crusaders. When Kaos built a powerful anti-matter weapon with which he and the Society threatened to destroy the east coast of the United States it was too much for one of his teammates. Laser Lord secretly informed the Justice Society, who had recently come out of retirement, and the heroes defeated the Sinister Society once and for all. Kaos and his teammates were convicted and sentenced to lengthy terms in prison, except for Laser Lord who was granted immunity and a new identity for his help and testimony.

Peter spent nearly two decades behind bars, at which point he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, possibly a side effect of exposure to some of the more exotic weapons he had designed and used as General Kaos. He was released on compassionate grounds and returned to Superior City where he was taken in again by his immortal grandfather. Peter gained a new lease on life when his previously unknown cousin, Jericho Greymalkin, arrived in Superior City looking for the family. Jericho had become an accomplished sorcerer and offered a mystical solution to Peter's health problems. Facing the prospect of death, Peter agreed to Jericho's proposal.

Using a variation of the spell used to create the Kestrel, an agent of the Lords of Chaos, Jericho granted similar powers and abilities to Peter. Not only was he cured of the cancer that had been killing him, Peter now had superhuman abilities. Now a true soldier of Chaos, Peter has resumed his General Kaos identity and has allied himself closely with his grandfather. He has been joined by his old teammate, the Black Phantom, who had been trapped in a darkness dimension for many years before freeing himself, and has begun building a team of mercenaries to serve him.

POWERS & WEAPONS

General Kaos was an accomplished soldier and military tactician, with skills honed while participating in conflicts across the world. He expanded his expertise with weapons into learning how to design them, creating a wide range of advanced weaponry over his criminal career.

Since being rejuvenated by Chaos magic, General Kaos has gained superhuman strength, speed and resistance to injury. He also possesses a regenerative ability that lets him heal what injuries he manages to sustain, even near catastrophic ones, in a shortened time. Kaos can also manifest claws capable of rending steel and can project powerful force bolts.

MAGUS

PERSONAL DATA

• Alter Ego: Jericho Greymalkin

HISTORY

The mysterious Jericho Greymalkin claims to be the grandson of Patricia Wilde, the granddaughter of Peter Wilde who had left Superior City for Europe decades earlier. Whether this is true or not, what is not in question is Jericho's claim to be a magician holding the title of Magus in the mystic order he represents. Jericho demonstrated his abilities as a sorcerer shortly after arriving at the family home, offering proof of his statement he could help his dying cousin, Peter III aka the former General Kaos.

Jericho used his sorcerous powers to cast a powerful spell on his cousin, healing his cousin and granting him magical Chaos powers. Since then Jericho has remained at the side of family patriarch Peter Wilde, including during a recent confrontation with Vandal Savage.

POWERS & WEAPONS

The Magus, Jericho, has proven to be a powerful sorcerer. He is widely knowledgeable in the occult and can manipulate Chaos magic to cast spells.

IRON MAIDEN

PERSONAL DATA

• Alter Ego: Lisa Ferrick

HISTORY

Lisa Ferrick was a normal teenager until her life was turned upside down. Her father had sold his software company and taken an executive position with the buyers, moving his family to Superior City. Lisa started to make friends at her new high school, one of whom was the heroic teen speedster < ahref="dc_blur.html" class="entry">Blur. Unfortunately for Lisa, there was a secret about her family that neither she nor her parents knew about, one that would destroy their lives. Unknown to him, her father Robert was actually the great-grandson of Peter Wilde, and the great-great-grandson of Vandal Savage.

When Savage learned who the Ferricks were he abducted Robert and Lisa, and killed Lisa's mother Julia. Though immortal, Savage sometimes needed to replace organs that had been damaged due to disease or injury, and he preferred to use organs from his descendants. As Lisa's mother was not a blood relative he considered her irrelevant, but Robert and Lisa not so much.

The Wilde Family also learned of the Ferrick's identity and patriarch Peter Wilde took family members General Kaos and the Magus Greymalkin to find where Savage had taken them. The family tracked Savage to San Francisco, arriving at the same time as the heroic Enforcers of Justice, teammates of Lisa's friend Blur. Confronted by both groups, Savage stands down and releases the Ferricks, agreeing to leave them be under the same agreement he had with his son Peter. Lisa and her father had not been treated well in captivity, with Robert being driven catatonic and Lisa with a damaged eye that would need to be removed. After learning of her heritage, Lisa believed that it was her involvement with Blur that had somehow brought her family to Savage's attention and so blamed him for the death of her mother and her and her father's injuries.

Peter Wilde took in Lisa and her father was placed in a secure care home for treatment. In the aftermath of all of this Lisa fully embraced her place in the Wilde Family. Her cousin General Kaos began training her in various forms of combat, and be built her a specially equipped cybernetic eye to replace the one she lost. Since then Lisa has adopted the name Iron Maiden in honor of Kaos' father, the villain Iron Mask. As Iron Maiden she joined the family in another confrontation with Vandal Savage alongside members of the Enforcers of Justice.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Since joining the Wilde Family, Lisa has been receiving training in martial arts, weapons, military tactics, various sciences, and in the occult. She refers to the cybernetic eye she received as her Evil Eye. As Iron Maiden, Lisa makes use of her Evil Eye's vast array of functions. The Eye has telescopic, microscopic, night vision, and x-ray vision capability and can also project a powerful laser beam. The Eye can also send electrical signals that attack a target's nervous system and causes them to suffer agonizing spasms of pain.