Grail (Wildstorm)
| Grail | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Wildstorm Productions (DC Comics) |
| First appearance | WildC.A.T.S. (Vol.1) #2 |
| Created by | Whilce Portacio |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Salvador Joel Alonday |
| Team affiliations |
Wetworks Team 7 International Operations |
| Abilities | Chi-State allows him to form protective shields, fire chi blasts and enhances his resistance to injury. |
Grail is a fictional character who is published by Wildstorm Productions an imprint of DC Comics. He first appeared in WildC.A.T.S (Vol.1) #2.
Fictional character biography
Joel Alonday joined the Philippine's Army Scout Rangers as soon as he became old enough to be eligible, quickly being promoted to the rank of Captain. During a joint U.S./Philippines drug bust operation he met Colonel Jackson Dane, who was so impressed by Joel's performance that Grail became one of his first choices for membership in the new Team-7.
During a mission to the Balkans to shut down a supposed extremist faction Grail, Colonel Dane and the rest of Team-7 were bonded to Gold symbiotes which acted as lightweight and skintight suits of armor. The Symbiote which took Grail as host converted his body into a vessel of glowing chi energy over which he exercises near-absolute control. After discovering that the NSC told his loved ones he was dead, Grail did not want to reopen painful wounds and regretfully turned away from his former life.
Unable to return to his old life, and afraid of the effects the powerful energy emanating from his Symbiote would have on a normal human, Grail found relief in the arms of his teammate Mother One. She was not affected by his chi energy by virtue of being a cyborg. After Wetworks disbanded, the two left together, but further details beyond that are unknown. Mother One has been found, deactivated and left for dead. Grail is nowhere to be found.
Powers and abilities
Like all members of Wetworks, Grail is bonded to a symbiote which normally hides inside him, but can flow out to coat his skin with a golden (or, in Grail's case, pale blue) armour. As well as increasing his durability considerably, this enhances his strength and reflexes. He also has a telepathic link with the other symbiote wearers, the rest of Wetworks.
Grail was a martial arts expert, mostly trained in his native martial Filipino martial arts of Escrima, Sikaran, Arnis de Mano, and Kali as the foundation. His "chi" was enhanced by his symbiote - after a while his Gold began to glow with a blue-white light, called a Chi-State, which enhanced his durability, allowed him to charge hand-to-hand weapons with chi, preferably his Escrima Battons. He is also able to burn organic matter on contact and create forcefields that protect him from all directions as well as healing most wounds very rapidly.
During his later appearances, Grail began to demonstrate considerable energy manipulation beyond simple chi. He was able to contain and dissipate beings made of pure EM energy, contain closing portals in his hands and keep them open, track energy signatures/sources, shift invisible radiation into the visible spectrum, create EMPs and fields that interfered with both radio signals and telepathy and convert himself to pure energy to travel through electrical/phone lines.