Characters: General Widowmaker
Real Name: Kitwana Abadam
Occupation: Assassin, Prime Minister
Identity: Known to world leaders, intelligence agencies and underworld figures
Legal Status: Citizen of the Democratic Republic of Yarwanda wanted in several countries (his status as a known assassin has forced the U.N. to revoke Diplomatic Immunity for Yarwandan diplomats)
Place of Birth: The Democratic Republic of Yarwanda
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Yarwandan National Armed Forces.
Powers and Abilities: General Widowmaker possesses various enhanced abilities granted through an unknown process where his cells were mutated using genetic material from the Nazi powerhouse Fuerrgott. His aging process has slowed considerably and his ability to process complex information has greatly increased. As a result Gen. Widowmaker is a tactical genius, with the ability to predict and counter a number of possible battle scenarios at amazing speed.
General Widowmaker can lift up to 7 tons under optimal conditions and possesses speed and stamina that far exceed even the most physically gifted humans. He also heals from physical injury much faster than a normal person. Widowmaker is also a premier martial artist, highly skilled in several martial arts systems.
Widowmaker is skilled in the use of several weapons including guns, rifles, staves and swords. He is an expert with his signature weapon, a battle-staff that possesses plasma energy blades on both ends. This is the weapon that ended Apollo's life.
Brief Personal History: Kitwana Abadam was born in the year 1939 in the small yet prosperous French-African colony of Yarwanda. Blessed with superior intelligence and fortunate enough to be a member of a well to do family, the youth was sent to Oxford University at the age of 15. It came as a shock to many when Kitwana enlisted in the French Armée Colonial (Colonial Army) after earning a B.A.'s in History and Political Science. Not many of his family members knew that young Kitwana had become associated with many "black-emancipation intellectuals" while abroad -and his belief that the burgeoning African Liberation Movement would need defending, led him to seek military expertise.
Kitwana's keen intellect, physical prowess and family connections enabled his quick rise through the ranks and he volunteered for additional training at every opportunity. Through a series of fortunate incidents, stellar recommendations and well placed bribes he was selected to undergo the training necessary to become a member of the Commando Marine (French Special Forces). The driven young man excelled at the grueling 20 week training program and finished with the highest scores any recruit had recorded in years. By the time Kitwana earned his green beret, France was losing its hold on its colonies. Independence was in the air.
When Yarwanda gained its independence and became the Democratic Republic of Yarwanda, Kitwana joined the National Defense Force and was elevated to the rank of Captain. However he feared that European powers would never truly respect their former colonies' sovereignty and urged military commanders in his own country and throughout decolonized Africa to step up their intelligence and military Research and Development efforts. When the WW2 Axis superhumans Fuerrgott and Blackfrost attacked the United Nations and John Henry revealed himself to the world, Capt. Abadam's worst fears seemed to take life; superhuman agents serving hostile governments and their agendas were the worst threat he could possibly imagine.
Captain Abadam convinced the military leaders of several African nations to assemble their brightest scientific minds and to provide him with the resources needed to assemble a strike team which would conduct a raid on the undersea detention center where the two superhumans were held. Their mission would be simple - acquire biological samples from one or both captives so that African nations could jumpstart their own superhuman operative programs. Using stolen information, Abadam and his team trained for months, simulating an assault on a facility that most believed impregnable. In fact so many soldiers lost their lives while training for the operation that the entire enterprise soon earned a most foreboding nickname; "Project Widowmaker."
Eventually Capt. Abadam and his men conducted a successful operation; escaping with blood and tissue samples from Nazi powerhouse Fuerrgott. With samples in hand, the race to unlocking the secrets of superhuman abilities for African nations was on. Naturally, Capt. Abadam was selected to be the first recipient of the finished process and he envisioned himself as the first warrior of a legion that would finally ensure Africa's safety.
However, shortly before he was to undergo the process Abadam learned that several leaders of the project (a group that included several of the most important politicians and military leaders on the continent) planned to employ their nascent superhuman army as a bloody weapon in their bid to conquer all of Africa and bring it under the rule of a singular tyrannical regime. With this in mind and with most members of the conspiracy present to observe the process, Captain Kitwana Abadam entered the chrysalis to have superhuman abilities bestowed upon him.
Abadam emerged a changed man; the superhuman soldier that he and many had wished for, and after the assembled conspirators celebrated and applauded – the newly forged super soldier grabbed weapons from a nearby guard and brutally slew every single one of them. Kitwana then destroyed the biological samples he had worked so hard to acquire, burned the entire facility and went into hiding.
A year later Kitwana Abadam resurfaced as General Widowmaker and embarked on a campaign of terror and political assassination throughout the African continent; working his way through members of the conspiracy he had missed in his first attack. He then expanded his campaign to the political and military hierarchies of Rhodesia and South Africa. In order to fund his activities General Widowmaker offered his services to terrorist organizations, rogue governments and the criminal underworld as an assassin-for-hire and over the next two decades he would become widely considered the deadliest assassin on the planet. It is believed that he was responsible for the deaths of: former Italian premier Aldo Moro, Prime Minister Olof Palme (Sweden), President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq (Pakistan), Popes John Paul I and VI and hundreds of underworld and political figures. He is believed to be (partially) responsible for several regime changes including those of Rhodesia, Italy, South Africa, the Philippines, Greece and Nicaragua. His name has been mentioned in connection with several acts of terror, hijackings, bombings and "incidents." With each successful kill and attack the reputation of General Widowmaker spread and the assignments grew ever more challenging.
However it was the hunt and assassination of Greek god Apollo (retribution for dalliance with a Mafioso's daughter that left her with child) that earned him the title of "Godkiller." In the underworld a saying was born; "If you want a man dead, you hire an assassin but if you want to kill a god, you call the Widowmaker."
When the Second Congo War turned Central Africa into a warzone and fighting threatened to spill over into Yarwanda, Widowmaker took action to protect his beloved country. He took control of the rebel forces and within weeks ended the country's civil war. He then installed himself as interim Prime Minister and set a date for democratic elections, which he won in a landslide. With Yarwanda safe, the General switched his focus to the other conflicts surrounding his nation. He took in thousands of refugees and spearheaded missions into warzones in search of the war's most helpless victims – the children. These children became known as the "Blessed Orphans" and received the best care, educations and military training available. Under General Widowmaker, the Blessed Orphans became one of the most formidable fighting forces in the world; warriors loyal to their adopted father and to Yarwanda. The nation's economy now revolves around revenue from its elite warriors for hire.
General Widowmaker is still an elite assassin available to those willing to pay the highest price - an assassin capable of bringing the forces of an entire warrior nation against his targets.
It is rumored that General Widowmaker has been hired to eliminate members of Africa's superhero team, The First World. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen.
Written by Damion Gonzales
Character design by Sean Isaakse