Tempest

Real Name: William DeMarc
Age: 24 (first death), 3 (after resurrection)
Aliases: Kid Blitz, Whirlwind
First Appearance: Tempest #1
Pictured Above: Tempest #1 (page 26, dialogue removed)

Allies: The Wraith, Rosalyn McBrie “The Crimson Cyborg”, Jitterbug, Zoe Jump
Enemies: Black Lancer, Maelstrom, Syren, Thyrise Adagio

Powers: Super-Speed

History: The origin of Tempest's powers are a mystery even to him (though some have theorized his innate albinism may have something to do with them). DeMarc discovered the martial arts early and has practiced them since the age of 6. He was otherwise an ordinary wolf, showing no hint of manifesting any powers. During a trip to New York at the age of 16, DeMarc and his parents were attacked by a gang of thugs. William was stunned by a brass knuckle strike to the chest, and when he recovered the attackers were more than eight blocks away. Unwilling to let them escape, DeMarc began after them and found himself moving faster than he had ever moved before. Leaping and bounding down the sidewalk, he caught up with the criminals and subdued them. Due to his whirlwind fighting style, the media dubbed the fledgling superhero 'Tempest', a name William took as his own (Tempest #1).

Over the next months, William learned the extent of the amazing levels of speed he was able to achieve. After defeating small time supervillain Osiris in his base in the Grand Canyon, William was approached by The Harbingers who offered him a position on their team (Harbingers #96/Tempest #18). While on the team, Tempest met and eventually fell in love with an unmanifested assistant in Harbinger House named Natalie Nickolson (Tempest #25). The relationship was rocky at times, with much of the turmoil arising from DeMarc's job as a full time hero.

During the 'Seven Deadly Sins' story arc, Nickolson was abducted by Envy and used as a hostage during Wrath's attack on LA (Harbingers #120). Tempest, seeing that Envy was about to shoot Nickolson, pushed himself to run so fast that for the first time he began to travel faster than the speed of sound. His impossible speed crushed his body though, reducing his bones to dust and his muscles to jelly. When Tempest's fist hit Envy's face, he was traveling at Mach 2 and every bone in his arm shattered. As Envy was reduced to a cloud around them, Tempest used his body to protect Nickolson from the pressure wave behind him. The damage from the run and the ensuing shockwave killed Tempest (Aftermath #3).

Ten years later, the New Harbingers were locked in battle with Savage Doctor Cain to close the gate of The Infinity Engine (New Harbingers #22). In the midst of the fray, a resurrected Tempest stumbled from the swirling vortex of the the gate. For all intents and purposes, he was the same then as he was the day he died. He refuses to speak about what he saw or how he returned even after 3 years of his second life. The new Tempest is a more mature and level-headed hero, while at the same time able to safely reach speeds his previous incarnation could not imagine. As of the 'Birthright' storyline, Tempest has replaced Graviton as the leader of the New Harbingers (New Harbingers #60).

(Commissioned from Ms. Smith at FWA 2011)