Characters: Claymore

Real name: Steven Falk IV

Occupation: Former Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, operative of Legacy

Identity: Unknown to the public

Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record (believed deceased)

Place of Birth: Annapolis, Maryland

Known relatives: Steven Falk III (father, deceased), Adeline Falk (mother, deceased), Lindsey Falk Highway (sister, deceased), Clint Falk (brother, deceased), James Falk (brother, deceased), Kaolin (wife)

Group Affiliation: (formerly) United States Army, The Factory

Powers and Abilities: Claymore's body is composed of unstable, highly volatile molecules and is prone to very powerful exothermic reactions. These reactions take the form of terrible explosions -- and matter is expelled from Claymore's body very much in the manner of the shrapnel that is blown out of the military ordnance for which he is named. Claymore is able to determine the direction and amount of matter expelled from his body -- an ability that is believed to be psionic in nature.

Claymore wouldn't be able to survive his explosive ability if he didn't also possess the gift of massive cellular regeneration. This ability is advanced to the point where Claymore can fully regenerate an exploded limb in seconds.

As a result of his unique cellular structure, Claymore ages at an extremely slow rate.

Claymore is an excellent marksman and hand to hand combatant. He is also an expert with military grade and homemade explosive devices.

Brief Personal History: Steven Falk IV came from a proud family of American soldiers who had seen a member take part every armed conflict since the Civil War. Once the U.S. decided to enter World War II, Steven stood ready to do his duty. A natural soldier and leader, Falk was quickly promoted through the ranks and was placed in command of a specialized demolitions unit.

In January of 1942, during the German Army Afrika Korps' winter offensive, the "Desert Fox" Rommel's push to Egypt unearthed a curious item; an item that Adolf Hitler, mad for religious and extraterrestrial artifacts, showed great interest in. Soon an albino scientist arrived "on orders from Berlin" and began the construction of a laboratory to determine the authenticity and purpose of the artifact.

In response to news of Hitler's interest in this artifact and subsequent developments, Lt Falk and his unit were assigned to a joint U.S./British operation under the direction of British commandos. The objective of their mission was to capture or destroy the artifact and capture or kill the "German scientist." During the operation Falk came face to face with the "scientist" while setting his explosive charges and attacked him. Falk soon found himself greatly outmatched as the "scientist" was in fact the superhuman known as Legacy. Falk would have been killed if his explosives had not gone off just as Legacy was about to strike the final blow. Unfortunately Falk's body caught a great deal of the force of the explosion. He was gravely injured and lost consciousness. Steven Falk IV's body was never found and he was believed to be killed in action.

Lt. Falk awoke several months later in one of Legacy's facilities with no memory of his former life. In fact the only thing he did remember was that he was a soldier and that his body had shielded Legacy from harm. He thus came to believe that his mission was to safeguard the very man he'd actually been sent to capture or kill. Falk had been in a coma and during that time had been the subject of genetic splicing and tissue regeneration experiments at the hands of his albino "benefactor." During the experiments Legacy used DNA from another member of the Factory -- a young Asian woman known as Kaolin, to unlock Falk's cells ability for massive regeneration (Kaolin's own cells regenerated through her ability to control their clay-like molecular structure). However, Falk's regenerative abilities came with a side effect and his cells never attained the stability of his genetic donor's. Eventually Falk's cells would react violently and undergo an exothermic reaction -- they would explode.

Legacy found great irony in the fact that an explosives expert, who had "saved" him from an explosion -- was now an exploding man. The villain's devious mind reeled with possibility.

Falk spent the rest of World War II under Legacy's knife and tutelage as the madman fine-tuned Falk's abilities. Through training with Kaolin, the former Army Lieutenant gained control of this ability and soon was able to create explosions at will. He also learned how to direct the matter flung from his explosions in a desired direction. It was during this time that Falk and Kaolin discovered their love for one another and when Legacy believed Falk ready to carry out missions, Kaolin was often his constant companion. During the early years of the Cold War, Legacy would often plant Falk and Kaolin within military forces to retrieve sensitive information and materials or carry out assassinations. Falk became one of Legacy's best operatives, often moving in plain sight while the world powers blamed each other for his acts. In fact Falk became so effective that one of his attacks on a Russian submarine was caught on video and eventually became the inspiration for Norman MacLeod to develop a directional anti-personnel mine that mimicked Falk's abilities -- the Claymore; a codename that Legacy seized upon almost instantly.

Lt. Falk never regained his memory and it is possible that the introduction of Kaolin's genetic material may have affected his mind's ability to heal and remember. He does however occasionally experience flashbacks which Kaolin helps him with; constantly reassuring her beloved that all that matters is that they are together in the present.

While on a mission years ago, Falk and Kaolin "secretly" married and believe that they have managed to keep this information from their albino master. What they do not know is that (in his own way) Legacy welcomes their union ... and is already building their child.

Written by Damion Gonzales
Character design by Sean Isaakse