Condition Red (comics)
| Condition Red | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Wildstorm |
| First appearance | Savage Dragon#13 (October, 1994) |
| Created by | Brandon Choi and Jim Lee |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Max Cash |
| Team affiliations |
WildC.A.T.S. I.O. |
Condition Red is the name of two different fictional American comic book characters who exist in the Wildstorm Universe: Max Cash from WildC.A.T.s and Caleb from the Monarchy.
Max Cash (WildC.A.T.s)
Max Cash and his big brother Cole were raised by a Chicago gangster after their father was murdered. Their mother had died years before. Both Max and Cole showed a natural aptitude for handling guns, but Max always remained in Cole's shadow. When Cole joined the military and later International Operations, Max followed in his footsteps and joined I.O. as well. I.O. ordered him to infiltrate the Mafia, but Max went in too deep, accepting pay-offs and killing police officers. Soon Max had nowhere to turn, sinking deeper and deeper into the criminal underground.
When Savant and Mister Majestic gathered a new team of WildC.A.T.s, she suggested Max as a member, because Cole had been a member of the WildC.A.T.s. Savant blackmailed Max into joining in exchange for protection against the Mafia and I.O. The new WildC.A.T.S. where manipulated by their member TAO into starting a war on the criminal underworld. Fellow WildC.A.T.S. member Ladytron was attracted to Max, but he was turned off by her cybernetic body.
During a night with Ladytron at the superhero bar, Clark's, Max saw a known criminal entering the toilets carrying a briefcase. He came out without the briefcase and left. Knowing that no criminal would ever enter Clark's, Max ran into the toilets and was caught in the blast when the briefcase exploded. Max was taken to hospital and the war between superheroes and villains intensified. While in hospital, Max discharged himself and fled, partly to escape Ladytron. He joined up with I.O. again and was placed undercover in the group of the Puritans, a high-tech fanatical organisation.
Months later, Max joined up with the WildC.A.T.S. again and went them on a journey through time to stop the time-travelling Puritans. The Puritans wanted to prevent the Kherubim and the Daemonites from ever landing on Earth by going back in time and blowing up both spaceships. During this journey, Max grew closer to WildC.A.T.S.-member Olympia Atreides, but she was killed in ancient Rome during their travels. Max became separated from his teammates when he was attacked by the Puritan Gina DiMedici. Max defeated her and disarmed her, leaving her stranded on a prehistoric Earth. Max himself used her Puritan time-beacon to travel back. On the journey back he was followed into the timestream by the Kherubim Stratos. He picked up Olympia, preventing her death and travelled to the present. Olympia was dropped off with her protégé Ming Kai Shen, while Max appeared in the New York harbour. Immediately upon his return Max was killed by an assassin.
During Devil's Night, Max was one of the heroes who returned to life as a zombie. He went on a killing spree, claiming to punish those responsible for his death while in fact targeting random people he had known. He was finally stopped by his brother. For a short moment, Max's mind became clear and he asked Cole to kill him. Cole complied.
Caleb (the Monarchy)
Years after Max died, a new Condition Red appeared as a member of the Monarchy. He was not related to Max Cash in any way. Instead he was a "chaos artist" and a trickster named Caleb. He was saved by Christine Trelane and Jackson King from years of torture after a powerful wizard found him in bed with his daughters. Little was known about Caleb and he liked it that way.
Condition Red worked for the Monarchy as a hitman. He had the ability to teleport to alternate universes using a device or artifact which resembled a vial of smoke. He also had access to advanced weaponry like a gun capable of removing spirits from a body.