The Keeper of Infinite Earths - Lightning Squadron
Created by Bob Justice
Silent Angel
Alter Ego: Axel Angelo
Occupation: Supervillian
Known Relatives: Adrian & Jessica Angelo, parents
Group Affiliation: Lightning Squad
Base of Operations: Mobile
Background/History:
Axel’s father was a chief prosecutor for the government and his specialty was
convicting traitors. Axel idolized his father and, at a very early age while
other kids were reading Dr. Seuss, was studying legal texts. His problem was his
temper and a marked difficulty accepting defeat. Engaging in mock trials and
debates with his father and losing would lead to fits of rage that he generally
took out on classmates. A clique of science geeks became his favorite target.
School officials would do nothing to Axel for fear of being branded disloyal.
Finally, the five kids had reached the breaking point. During a science lab a
small amount of a radioactive isotope was being exhibited, Axel was harassing
the geeks before he realized they were the only ones left in the room. While the
others distracted him, one of the boys picked up a chair and hit Axel from
behind. The frenzy that followed was fueled by their frustration and anger.
Whichever one of them came up with the idea or actually did the deed was never
revealed, but the beaker with the liquefied isotope ended up poured down the
unconscious Axel’s throat. The burns destroyed his throat’s lining and
damaged his larynx before his gag reflex could spit it out. His whole life was
ruined. Everything he had planned and that his father had planned was pointless
if he could not speak. It took weeks for him to recover from the injuries and
months before he would go out in public. He internalized his anger and used it
as fuel to build himself into the peak of physical shape. His father thought
martial arts training would aid in his self-control. He was wrong. What it did
was teach him how to hurt people better and revealed a strange mutation. He
developed sonar and the hearing to use it which gave him a 360 degree range of
perception. His rage limited his knowledge of moves, but his new talent made up
for that making him virtually impossible to surprise and his sonar’s
sensitivity revealed weak points in his targets. When he was captured by the
state police after murdering the now adult geeks, his family position made him
an interesting problem. Some of his former schoolmates had created some
interesting gadgets like the lightweight bladed hoops he stole and called halos
and the suit intended for climbing buildings for window washing. Those items and
his skills made him too valuable not to make him an operative. He was drafted
instead of being tried for murder and codenamed "Silent Angel".
Personality/Motivations:
Basically an egotistical jerk unwilling to accept his own responsibility for his
actions, Axel always had a temper problem which lead to violence. Still having
the tendency to keep beating on a defeated foe and his ego demanding vengeance
for any defeat he might suffer, his psychotic determination creates a lack of
fear that makes him even more formidable than his abilities do. His dream of
being a prosecutor having been destroyed, he lives to serve his country as an
assassin, secretly hoping that one day he will slip up and his miserable
existence will come to an end.