METALMORPH

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Jamie Ray was the only child of two prominent scientists, his father was a computer research specialist and his mother an expert in extraterrestrial technology. Both of Jamie's parents worked at S.T.A.R. Labs in New York and Jamie Ray spent much of his time as a child with them at work. It became apparent when Jamie was very young that he possessed an exceptional level of intelligence. His parents quickly arranged for Jamie Ray to be educated by private tutors at S.T.A.R. labs where his exceptional progress could be monitored. By age seven he was already an accomplished computer programmer and at age nine his mother noticed that Jamie Ray had an intuitive ability to understand even the most complex alien technology. When he was eleven Jamie Ray created a chemical formula for a soft drink which he licensed to a struggling beverage company. At age twelve he was already financially secure as the majority shareholder in what was renamed JR Cola Enterprises.

Because he had spent his youth at S.T.A.R. Labs Jamie Ray was constantly exposed to super heroes, most notably the New Titans who had a strong relationship with the New York lab. He often dreamed of becoming a hero and when he was thirteen he got his chance. For several weeks he had been secretly examining an unknown piece of alien technology in his mother's lab. While most of the scientists had no idea what the amorphous extraterrestrial metal was for, Jamie Ray had discovered that it responded to mental commands. He was able to get the unusual material to alter its shape by commanding it and it could even duplicate complex objects that Jamie Ray would mentally design. One day he heard a news report of a battle between the fledgling hero team Justice Inc. and a band of aliens in the guise of circus clowns. Jamie Ray commanded the alien material, which he called Morphonite, to shape itself into a suit of power armor and he went to help the heroes as Metalmorph. As Metalmorph, Jamie Ray became the first new member of the fledgling group.

Metalmorph's scientific and engineering skills were invaluable to the team and he helped develop the technology used in Justice Inc.'s headquarters. When in public as Metalmorph Jamie Ray always wore the Morphonite-generated power armor so it was not apparent that he was only a teenager. Jamie Ray was forced to leave the team after a few months when his father was transferred to the S.T.A.R. Labs in Wichita, Kansas. With little super-villain activity in Kansas Metalmorph went into semi-retirement, occasionally being called on by former teammates when they needed technical help. Jamie Ray concentrated on his studies and earned his high school diploma at age fourteen.

Initially Jamie Ray decided to attend university in Chicago but he had only been there a few months when he learned that Justice Inc. had been killed (though in reality they had been sent into deep space by Vandal Savage, who had made it appear as if they had been killed). Jamie Ray transferred to Hudson University in New York, determined to fill the super-hero void caused by Justice Inc.'s apparent demise. Metalmorph joined forces with Torch and the other older members of the Justice Subs to form a new hero team called Generation 2000, or Gen 2K for short.

Gen 2K battled crime in New York until Justice Inc returned from their exile in space. At that time many members of Gen 2K with the exception of Metalmorph and Torch elected to retire from heroing in spite of the other two's pleas to keep the team intact. Despite this setback Metalmorph and Torch continued their heroic careers and after helping Justice Inc. in a battle against one of the incarnations of H.I.V.E. both joined the team. It was at this point that Jamie Ray finally learned the origin of the Morphonite. While working with Justice Inc.'s allies Guy Gardner and Buck Wargo, Metalmorph discovered that the Morphonite was a Vuldarian artifact designed to be able to "morph" itself into any weapon the wielder could conceive of. In the hands of Jamie Ray, who could design complex weapons and systems in his head, the Morphonite was a formidable tool. With Gardner's help Jamie Ray perfected his control over the Morphonite and is now able to create more powerful and complex tools than ever before.

Recently, during a battle in the antimatter universe alongside the new Enforcers of Justice, Metalmorph accidentally killed one of his opponents. Guilt-stricken over having killed someone, Metalmorph was taken off active duty with Justice Inc. by Mindblade. Since then Jamie Ray has been undergoing therapy to help him come to terms with what he did. Though not active as a hero, Metalmorph still serves as technician for the team.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Jamie Ray possesses an uncanny, almost metahuman level intelligence. He has shown the ability to understand and even improve upon highly advanced and even alien technologies. Jamie Ray is responsible for designing much of the technology that Justice In. uses, including their A.I. computer system, Pandora. In addition to his powerful intellect, Metalmorph possesses an alien substance which he calls Morphonite. Vuldarian in origin the Morphonite appears as a piece of semi-pliable metal in its inert form. When willed to, however, the Morphonite can transform itself into nearly any object the user can conceive of. It was originally designed to be a variable configuration weapon for use by Vuldarian troops but it is capable of greater feats in the hands of someone like Metalmorph. Because of his genius with advanced engineering Metalmorph can command the Morphonite to change into far more complex and functional forms than a normal user could. Metalmorph usually commands the Morphonite to transform into a suit of protective power armor which he can reconfigure at will.