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[color=black][b]| Identity |[/b][/color]
Solomon Grundy
Cyrus Gold

[color=black][b]| Origin & Backstory |[/b][/color]

[hider=Born on a Monday] 
Cyrus Gold was born in Gotham City, New Jersey. Cyrus Gold, Sr., Cyrus' father, moved to Gotham in an attempt to gain power and fortune. Gold joined a local gang working out of the Old Gotham docks, gaining money through black market profiteering and protection rackets. Cyrus Senior worked his way up the little gang's ranks until he found himself the second-in-command; he promptly murdered the gang's leader and asserted himself as the new top dog. Gold swiftly conquered nearby territories and absorbed as many rival gangs as he could, killing anyone who stood in his way. He expanded his gang's market, selling drugs, contraband and automatic weapons as well as muscling his way into the prostitution and grand theft auto rings. In a decade, Cyrus Gold built himself a tiny empire in Old Gotham. No one dared to challenge him. That is, until Vincent Falcone, a recent upstart in Gotham, appeared to be gathering up supporters in Upper East Side. Cyrus tried his best to put Vincent down, but Falcone proved to be too cunning for the weak-minded Gold, setting himself up as Gotham's greatest mob boss.

This angered Cyrus. He needed to take down Falcone before anyone else got the bright idea that Gotham City was open season for any upstart entrepreneur. So Cyrus Gold sought out an ally in Pearl Schmidt, a professional criminal from Germany. Pearl reorganized Gold's gang and brought efficiency to the system Cyrus had set up. She was impressed by Gold's ruthless brutality; and Cyrus was similarly impressed by Schmidt's fierce intelligence. The two quickly became an item. The two married, ignoring the rise of the Marconi and Zucco families, as well as Vincent Falcone's growing gang in the north. A year after their marriage, Cyrus Gold Junior was born.

[/hider]

[hider=Christened on Tuesday]
Cyrus, Jr. was raised to be a crook, just like his father. He was taught to do anything he could to get ahead in life; he was brought up specifically to have no moral compass to speak of. His parents showed him little love or compassion, instead choosing to turn Junior into a hardened and ruthless thug. Junior was privately tutored by the best teachers that money could buy. One of these teachers, known only as Miss Mercury, showed Cyrus an alternate perspective: she showed the young boy what it meant to be kind. She gave the boy the only thing his parents couldn't, which was love. Cyrus reluctantly found himself attached to this woman, to the point of caring for her above his own flesh and blood. But her love turned out to be a ruse created by Junior's father, who ordered Mercury to kill Cyrus Junior. Little Gold fought back, murdering Miss Mercury with a pencil through the eye, impaling her brain. This was Cyrus Gold, S'r's ultimate lesson for his son. Anyone who loved you would only stab you in the back. No one could be trusted. Everyone was your enemy.

Gold Senior grew old. His gang had weakened greatly, with the other families gaining more and more of Cyrus's territory each passing day. It wouldn't be long before Cyrus Gold's empire crumbled before him. Vincent Falcone saw Cyrus Gold's weakness and struck; paying off his wife, Pearl, to assassinate the old man. Pearl, more loyal to her pocket book than her husband, accepted the contract. She slipped into her husband's bedroom one midnight and attempted to stab him in the heart. But Cyrus Gold always slept with one eye open. He was always prepared for the worst. Gold retrieved a pistol from his nightstand, and a fight ensued between husband and wife. Cyrus Junior, now a teenager, watched as his parents killed each other from the dim light of the hallway. [/hider]

[hider=Married on Wednesday]
The Gold family gang collapsed, its territory annexed by Vincent Falcone in short order. Cyrus Gold fled Old Gotham and moved to Amusement Mile, seeking asylum from Falcone's wraith. He got a job at a local underworld bar known as "My Alibi." There, he could earn a couple of bucks while keeping his ear to the ground. He learned the ways of Gotham's streets from its most experienced criminals. His father had taught him how to be a crime boss; but Cyrus Gold had to teach himself how to be a common crook. He sought out the best of the best, learned from them what he could and killed them off before they got the same idea. He started to work odd jobs for various bosses across the city. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do; kidnapping, murder, drug running, theft...Ask Gold to do it, and he would. Cyrus gained a reputation for his own brand of brutality, mimicking what his father had shown him. He brought fear to those who opposed him. But Cyrus also knew that he needed to gain the trust of his friends; something his dad hadn't done, which had led him to the grave. Gold created a network of gangsters and informants whom he could turn to for help or work. 

He made a life for himself up in Amusement Mile. A hard life, but a good one. Cyrus met a nice girl named Katelyn while working a job out of Alibi. The two hit it off. Two years later, Cyrus would ask Katelyn to marry him. But the proposal went awry when Cyrus learned that of Katelyn's relations to Vincent Falcone. She was a spy for the mob boss; sent to find Cyrus and end him. Katelyn claimed that she'd cut all ties with Falcone, and that she really loved Cyrus. But Gold was furious. He hated Falcone for what he'd done to Gold's family. Cyrus, blinded by rage, dragged Katelyn miles out of Gotham and hung her outside Slaughter Swamp.  [/hider]

[hider=Took ill on Thursday]
When Vincent learned what had become of Katelyn, one of his most trusted agents, he was furious. Falcone sent a crew of hitmen after Cyrus Gold. The trained killers attacked Cyrus at My Alibi, murdering a dozen people there while trying to get him. But Gold escaped, dropping two of the hitmen before he made his way out of Amusement Mile. He ran out of the city as fast as his legs could carry him. The Falcone family's hit squad grabbed their automobiles and pursued Cyrus, not wanting Gold to get away again. 

They chased Cyrus all the way back to Slaughter Swamp, where the now-decaying body of Katelyn still hung on the Swamp's largest tree. Gold climbed the tree, hiding from his pursuers next to the corpse of his former lover. The hitmen searched the Swamp for Cyrus but couldn't find him. 

So Gold decided to play a bit of a game with the murderers. He recited the poem of Solomon Grundy, traveling through the tree tops. He always stayed just out of their sight, infuriating them with his taunting. He killed off a pair of the hitmen before they caught on to Cyrus. Falcone's men shot Cyrus from the trees, knocking the mobster into the murky waters of the swamp. Just to make sure Cyrus Gold was dead, the men poured canisters of hazardous materials they found nearby into the swamp. The hit squad returned to Gotham, confident in their victory over Cyrus Gold.  [/hider]

[hider=Grew worse on Friday]
But the swamp had other ideas. The hitmen hadn't known, but Slaughter Swamp was home to the dark magical force known as the Gray. The Gray saw the dead mobster and had pity on him. It took the man's fallen corpse, imbuing it with the power of the Gray. Cyrus Gold's body was then remade from bark, muck and chemicals, held together by the magic of the swamp and given life by the Gray. A giant, bleach white-skinned monster made from mush and death crawled out of Slaughter Swamp fifty years after the death of Cyrus Gold. The creature had no memories; his mind was completely blank, all except for a single rhyme...He didn't know the meaning of it. At the time, the zombie thought the story was about him; it thought its name was Solomon Grundy. He'd been born on a Monday, after all. Solomon Grundy shuffled out of Slaughter Swamp and made his way towards the distant lights of Gotham City. The behemoth stomped through the streets of Gotham, repeating the rhyme as he did. People panicked, running and screaming in all directions. The Gotham City Police were called not long after Grundy's arrival. In the confusion, Solomon attempted to escape the police, causing them to fire on Grundy. The massive zombie retaliated, now angry, killing the police officers. The beastly construct tried to escape and hid in a nearby cemetery.

It wasn't long before Batman arrived on the scene. The Dark Knight attacked Solomon Grundy. The monster tried to fight back, but found himself terrified by the giant bat monster. Batman used the creature's simple mind to his advantage, defeating Solomon through trickery and deceit. Solomon was then transported to Belle Reve, where he would spend the next few years in captivity. Grundy knew very little about anything, and had to learn what he could while inside the prison. Luckily for Solomon Grundy, he caught the attention of the Calculator. The genius criminal mastermind gave Grundy a basic education in exchange for protection from his enemies.

[/hider]

[hider=Died on Saturday]
Solomon Grundy's life changed once more when the Legion of Doom attacked Belle Reve. They freed the prisoners within, setting loose the most dangerous metahumans on earth. Grundy went on a rampage, attacking the cities of Gotham, Metropolis and Bludhaven in a fit of rage. He was angry at his imprisonment and the people working for the Legion of Doom had freed the monster. They had told Grundy that they were friends, and that the nasty Justice League were his enemies. So Solomon fought the caped heroes until he had his heart ripped from his chest by a bloodlusted hero. The Legion of Doom's all out assault on the superhero community proved a failure and Grundy was once more dead. But the Gray was not yet finished with Solomon. The zombie soon found himself reanimated in Slaughter Swamp, his memories of his previous life as Grundy intact. Knowing now that he couldn't die, Solomon set out to reunite himself with the Legion of Doom and help them in their mission to take over the world. He didn't have much else to do with his time anyway, being a zombie and all. Besides, his friends were nice to him, and Grundy wanted to make it up to them.

So Solomon Grundy teamed up with other super villains whenever they needed some extra mystical muscle. He traveled across the United States, robbing banks and destroying nuclear power plants and stealing crates of kryptonite. He did whatever he was asked. Grundy lived the life of a free spirit; he worked where he wanted. Did what he wanted. Helped who he wanted. He enjoyed the life of an immortal criminal zombie monster. It was rather freeing not to have to worry about anything. After all, he could just come back. So what was the point of being afraid?

 [/hider]

[hider=Buried on Sunday]
The world would never be the same. Superman was dead, killed at the hands of the monster known as Doomsday. Solomon Grundy hadn't been in Metropolis when the monster first appeared, but he and a group of other villains made their way there when they heard the news: the Justice League were losing a fight! Whoever this guy was, he singlehandedly walked through the Justice League International and turned the rest of the main Justice League to paste. But when Solomon Grundy got to Metropolis, he didn't like what he saw. None of them did. Bodies were strewn throughout the rubble-filled streets. Skyscrapers burned. Buildings collapsed. Blood curdling screams echoed past the destruction. Grundy had only wanted to see those heroes get what they deserved. But he'd never seen so much...death. It was disconcerting, even for a former killer turned zombified corpse. Solomon Grundy and the other supervillains decided to intervene when Big Blue died. They helped survivors escape collapsing buildings. Solomon cleaned up streets so that emergency vehicles could get in to help the injured. He and the other villains were given temporary pardons by the Metropolis Police for their efforts.

It was all so surreal. What would happen now? The Man of Steel was dead; he died protecting the world from an unstoppable killing machine. Grundy knew that he should be happy the hero was gone. But all he felt was emptiness. There was no joy in the slaughter. Only apathy. Maybe even a little hint of sadness. The world would never be the same without Superman. [/hider]

[color=black][b]| Attributes |[/b][/color]
[b]Super Strength:[/b] Solomon Grundy is one of the strongest villains on earth. He can go toe-to-toe with any member of the Justice League, and they most certainly feel his punches. He can lift enormous weights with little strain.

[b]Invincibility:[/b] The zombified body of Cyrus Gold is extremely durable. He can tank extreme damage without injury. When injury does occur, Solomon Grundy's supernatural healing factor allows him to absorb life force to restore his body to its fullest power.

[b]Life absorption:[/b] The Gray gifted Solomon Grundy with the ability to suck the life energies out of anything that lives and breathes. This includes humans, animals, aliens and plants. Certain objects are harder to drain, such as living creatures, and require more time and effort to absorb into himself. Solomon tends to avoid 'eating' sapient beings, especially other people. He isn't fond of murder.

[b]Reanimation:[/b] Whenever Solomon Grundy is killed, he is brought back to life in Slaughter Swamp. This is due to the curse of the Gray making him effectively immortal. His previous body turns to nothing but wood and swamp pulp when his new body reforms back in Gotham.

[color=black][b]| Character Notes |[/b][/color]
N/A for now

[color=black][b]| Character Goals |[/b][/color]
I was introduced to Solomon Grundy during the Justice League cartoon, and fell in love with the character since then. He's such an odd character. His origins are extremely dark, and he's surrounded by pure evil, yet he manages to be fun and light hearted at the same time (at least sometimes.) I've never really liked it when Grundy was little more than a mindless zombie. So I want to write Solomon with a bit more emotion and humanity; I want to show his good side. I want to look into the psyche of a giant, memory-less zombie and explore what he thinks of this world that he finds himself in. Things are cut and dry for him. Black and white. Good guys fight bad guys, the good guys win, and the bad guys get away to plan their next big job. But things have become different. Become...gray. Villains aren't supposed to win; they aren't supposed to kill their heroes. That's the line of thought that I want to chase down with Grundy.

[color=black][b]| Sample Post |[/b][/color]
Grundy's heart hurt.

His arm hurt too. And his ribs. In fact, Solomon Grundy's entire body racked with the most intense pain he'd felt in his entire life. He shifted his weight a little, trying to get his barrings. Rock and rubble tumbled over his chest as he moved. Grundy blinked, blinded by the light. He reached a hand up to rub the dirt and dust off his face. Hmm. That was odd. Solomon could only move his left arm. He couldn't feel his right. The zombie glanced to the right and was surprised to find his arm was missing. There wasn't any blood; but swamp water dripped from the hole in his torso. Solomon used his one hand to free his trapped legs and stood to his feet. Grundy knocked down a brick wall, smashing it out of his way as he stepped into the street. He was in Metropolis. The golden city of the future, home to the iconic Superman. But Metropolis was different today.

Metropolis' heart hurt too.

So did its body. Grundy could see all the vast destruction that Doomsday person had caused when he attacked the city. There wasn't a building in sight that hadn't bee scarred in some capacity by the violence. The big, gray...thing...had knocked down multiple skyscrapers and turned entire blocks into piles of brick and mortar. Fire engulfed structure after structure and smoke blocked out the sun. Solomon made his way down the street, littered with bodies and the wounded. Cars sat bumper to bumper, most of the doors open being evidence that people had tried to escape the fighting on foot. The few vehicles with unopened doors were either flattened or filled with corpses. Grundy glanced inside a nearby van, his eyes catching sight of a pair of tiny skeletons in the back. They were burned black by something incredibly hot. Another pair of skeletons sat in the front, clutching each other in their bony hands. They had died holding each other. [i]How romantic,[/i] Grundy thought.

The big, ugly zombie marched further down the street. He headed towards the center of the violent storm of complete destruction. That's where Superman and Doomsday had been seen last. Grundy pushed his way past the apocalyptic-like ruination, knocking over a fallen apartment building. Solomon had to lift up an overpass on his way downtown. He tossed the annihilated bridge of his way, careful not to cause much more damage than had already been done. Grundy's march was interrupted by the cries of a terrified voice. The voice of a small child. Solomon picked up the pace, running towards the sound. He found a little girl, clutching her unconscious father closer. They were wedged between a concrete pillar and a massive school bus, the latter of which threatened to crunch and collapse on top of them. Grundy shoved his powerful fingers into the metal of the bus, tossing it behind him without much effort. He picked up the man and the girl, placing her on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Grundy will take you to doctor men." He informed her. The girl appeared nearly as scared of Solomon as she had been of being crushed to death; but his words offered her a small bit of comfort.

After Grundy dropped the girl off at the nearest aid station, he continued on his trek towards the center of town. He'd try not to stop much this time. Of course, the injured and in-danger couldn't help it that they were in need of his assistance. Grundy couldn't hold it against them. Solomon responded to everything cry for help he heard. He saved a trio of teenagers from a burning building. Grundy rescued a dozen people from a falling bridge. He even helped a dog dig out his owner, who was trapped underneath his car. Solomon didn't like seeing people hurt. He remembered killing people, sure. But he never much liked it. It was usually an accident. Besides, today was...different. There was something in the air. Something [i]wrong.[/i] He heard it all the time. People were wailing in the streets. Others gathered into circles, listening to reverends, priests and pastors offer words of condolence and peace. Leaders tried to rally the able to help with searches. But there was so much crying. Everyone seemed to be crying.

Metropolis' heart hurt like Grundy's.

It didn't take much longer for Solomon Grundy to reach the crater in the very center of Metropolis. It was surrounded by super heroes. People in capes and tights. Heroes. Nobody was talking, though. The few that were whispered very quietly. Some stood in silence. Others sobbed. Grundy didn't know what to do, so he decided to get closer. Nobody stopped him. Grundy got a few hateful looks, but they didn't fight him. Today was not a day for fighting. The fighting had stopped earlier. Grundy touched the area where his missing arm had been. He had tried to help Superman; Superman was Grundy's friend. Well. Not really friend. But Superman was nice to Grundy. So Solomon wanted to be nice to Superman. But Doomsday was strong; stronger than Grundy. It tore off Grundy's arm and tossed him across the city.

Grundy looked to the center of the crater, where a pair of familiar figures stood. One, clad in all black, and the other, dressed in colorful armor. Grundy knew them. Everyone knew them. They were Superman's friends. And Superman was gone now. He couldn't come back like Grundy could. He wouldn't come back. Superman's friends knew that. Grundy looked on, and he knew what was going on.

Their hearts hurt.

Just like Grundy's.