Origin
Raphael Acre received new abilities when the volcano on Lazarus Island erupted, causing global rainstorms contaminated with lazarus resin, causing metahuman abilities to spontaneously develop. He could read people’s emotions, even absorb their emotional pain, freeing them of it while forcing it on himself.
Creation
Raphael Arce was created by Dan Watters and Max Dunbar in the short story “Martian Manhunter in: Songs of Pain,” part of the Lazarus Planet: We Once Were Gods one-shot.
Major Story Arcs
Songs in Pain
Ever since the lazarus rain, Raphael had used his new empathy abilities soothing patients in a Metropolis hospital of their psychological trauma. He had helped 327 people when he stepped outside for fresh air before continuing. Unfortunately, he was absorbing a lot of the memories from the day that Doomsday attacked Metropolis and killed Superman. This memory was starting to injure him, even began shape-shifting into Doomsday. I
It caught the psychic attention of Martian Manhunter. J’onn came to Metropolis to investigate. He commended Raph and tried to share his burden, however, the memory of Doomsday was too much for J’onn as well. This memory of Doomsday started using J’onn’s psychic energy to travel dimensions and propagate himself, eventually finding himself in hell. Raph could not stand by as Doomsday caused J’onn pain, so he took the memory back.
Unfortunately, the pure heat and pressure of Doomsday’s rage crushed Raph’s body into a new blood gem.
A Superman of Hell
After re-absorbing the memory of Doomsday from J’onn, both Raph and Doomsday ended up in Hell. Raph wandered the land, untortured but trapped in a specific circle of Hell without an escort. He would bait demons into attacking him so that they would drag him to the next. Because he had empathically connected to Martian Manhunter, he had the memories of J’onn’s time posing as Bloodwynd. By taking the form and powers of Bloodwynd, Raph ventured deeper into Hell, believing it had no reason to exist, that no sinner deserved eternal punishment.
DC Power 2024: Pit Stop
In his travel throught the circles of hell, Raphael/Bloodwynd found a construct of the Hall of Justice with his name on it. Curios about that he entered the pladce and he found himself on a memroy loop, whithc showed him the whole origin and history of the original Bloodwynd. Ther Rapahel discovered than the original Bloodwynd was his uncle, Quintus Arce, who he had thought to have died years ago in a car accident. The captivity of Quintus was because after a conflict against Felix Faust, Bloodwynd found himself trapped in hell under the torture of a demon who put him in a memory loop. He had choose to stay there because he thought this way he could prevent others from his family line to fall under the curse of the Blood Gem. However, his newphew Raphael had became Bloodwynd during the Lazarus Event, making his fate found him. The demon who have Quintus prisioner told Raphael than because he has died with the Blood Gem over him, now Quintus was tied to hell. Raphael then took over the Blood Gem on himself, efectively, as Quintus, at last free, ascended to heaven, with Rapahel now being burden as holder of his family’s Blood Gem.
Powers & Abilities
Empath: Since being exposed to the lazarus rain, Raphael was capable of reading the emotions of other people.
- Pain Siphon: He can even absorb emotional pain and traumatic memories, freeing people of them. However, he feels the pain and experiences the trauma instead.
Empowered Soul: Due to the circumstances of his death, Raphael absorbed a fragment of both Doomsdayand Martian Manhunter, granting his soul a unique set of powers in the afterlife.
- Flight
- Shape-Shifting: After absorbing powerful enough memories, he appears to be able to shape-shift.
- Super Strength
- Power Mimic: If the memory is of a particular metahuman, he appears able to mimic their power as well.