Origin
Born to Chuck and Mara Locke, Victor Matthew Locke was a normal kid growing up on Chicago’s Southside, but as he grew he began to change. In physical conflicts with bullies in high school he was stronger than other kids, whereas physical violence such as punches or kicks may hurt him a simple shove from him would send a bully flying into a wall or slamming to the floor hard and in some cases making him seem like the aggressor. Also cuts, bruises and even bone breaks would heal quickly, in many cases instantaneously. He was seen as both a freak as well as someone not to be messed with.
Victor also began to notice sometimes people looked like horrible monsters or gave off a feeling or immense evil. These people then would sometimes randomly attack him or run from him. These people were strong like him and sometimes had what seems to be super powers. He was scared, but always managed to fight the beings off. While raised in both Catholic and Baptist traditions Victor saw no meaning in these attacks and thought it was a mental issue, hiding it from his parents.
After fighting and killing a being that followed him home and attacked his parents. It was clear this wasn’t a delusion as his parents and the police confirmed it happened. Victor knew he was attracting these things and after high school moved out of his parents house not telling them why. Living on his own and having to move about more for work and college he didn’t make many friends as he didn’t want to create targets and he had more encounters.
Aside from a few skirmishes, Victor’s life seemed to calm down. He did eventually meet an attractive woman named Susan Guerra. She was a model and bar girl. She and Victor dated for a few years. While both liked to go out, she was still a party girl. They dated for awhile, but he left her after finding out she was a cheater and thief. She did seek to get back together on several occasions and began to stalk him for awhile, but since she wasn’t violent he didn’t consider it a big deal and eventually she just left him alone. Around that time Victor also met Cassie, a sex worker he met when he did outreach with a local church. She had moved into a cheap apartment nearby and he would buy her food and help her out if he bumped into her. Aside from being able to put down of pint of beer, she wasn’t a druggie, she was just trying to make ends meet. Cassie would eventually be murdered by a serial killed called Ripper Jack and her body was never found, but it was said that Frank Stein Industries had taken it as they had done others who had signed their bodies over to them for research.
One night coming home alone from a club Victor was attacked by man who had been watching him all night. The man had fangs and was very strong like him. Victor had a hunch and brandished a cross necklace he wore, upon seeing it, the man fell back. Victor was shocked and fought while allowing the cross to be visible as the man hissed and eventually ran off. The next day Victor went to the hardware store and fastened together what he calls a “stake bo” from two pieces of steel piping and a wooden dowel. It allowed him to fight with the weapon as a metal hand bo, then remove the top half and use it as a stake, making the weapon useful against both Darklings and Vampires. This attack seemed to ramp things up again as he was attacked more frequently when he was out.
After numerous battles with what he eventually figured out were various types of supernatural beings, he began studying paranormal and mythological creatures. He had a generals understanding of God and the Devil, Heaven and Hell and angels and demons, but he was not ready to be a part of the war he was predestined to fight.
Though Victor tried to stay away from his loved ones, his parents were killed in a home invasion. Victor knew it wasn’t just a random crime. The attack was very vicious, nothing was stolen and he could feel the traces of a demonic presence. It became a high level FBI investigation. He was questioned by an agent named Tsang and even asked about possible involvement with cults and aliens. Victor didn’t mention the attacks on him and parts of the investigation are still classified, even to him. Victor didn’t know what killed them, but he know it wasn’t human. He blessed their bodies, had a memorial and their bodies cremated and the urns buried on Holy ground, as he couldn’t stand the thought of one or both of his parents coming back as a vampire or some kind of demonic creature.
Story Arcs
Later in life a group of Mizrahimic vampire hunters called “The Defenders of Eden,” a group that had battled Estries, Nephilim and other supernatural creatures since the reign of King Solomon, made contact with him after intervening in an ambush on Victor.
Epitaph: Bread and Salt Movie
The Defenders of Eden took him back to their home and informed him that he is a War Christ, chosen to help protect humanity from supernatural evil and that the reason so many demonic entities were roaming free is because demonic cults were trying to take over the world and these beings were helping them and were flourishing as people turned to them for money and powers.
While Victor didn’t fully believe their story he did began to be more proactive. While he would bless all of his weapons and ammo he also began using and making silver tipped bullets, a skill he learned from the Defenders who also give him ammo and sometimes even special weapons such as shotgun shells with silver shots. Victor makes his living as a professional exorcist and supernatural problem solver.
Epitaph: Beginning of the End
Victor is introduced fighting demonic entities in a bathroom. He is later sent to find Loren Talbane to try to gain knowledge about the Rise of Magic. He is also investigating the supernatural death of a college student named Steve Savanni.
While seeking Loren at one of her known hangouts, Victor had a chance encounter with his ex Susan who he ended up driving home to prevent her from driving drunk. Later he ends up bumping into Hanover while investigating the church fire with Decoy. His storylines were left open to spin off into his solo series.
Demon Noir
Victor was hired to track down a dybbuk that had become incarnate. After dispatching it, the woman who hired him, Ms, Hakimi, had made a deal with the monster that allowed it to gain the power it did. In later editions of the one shot he finds out about the Demon Noir. Again this is left open ended.
Victor Locke Demon Hunter Series
Victor kills a gang of Darklings and later is tasked with killing a vampire named Flashbang, by another vampire named Estelle a.k.a Artema Midnight. Upon coming back home he finds Susan waiting for him and when he enters his apartment, Zombie Girl is showering in his bathroom. Victor is attacked by Flashbang and does fight and kill her, but does so just by shooting her with his shotgun and not in the way he was told too. The series is currently being remastered picking up from where it ended.
Powers and Abilities
Victor is a highly skilled, self taught martial artist, gun combatant and powerful exorcist. Aside from enhanced strength and a supernatural healing factor Victor also has a precognitive danger sense in which he can see glimpses of what’s to come, but only seconds, before it does. He can also sense various kinds of mystical energies and has an active demonic recognition allowing him to immediately see disguised demonic beings and sense cloaked ones which he can then demand to show themselves. Victor is also omnilangual, people hear him in their language and he can understand anyone who speaks to him. While not particularly religious he does pray and meditate especially when he knows he’s going into battle. He can bless weapons, make Holy water and knows various binding and protection prayers.
Oddities
Two nurses assisted in the Victor’s delivery, but both his mother and father saw three in the delivery room. The third, being taller than everyone else, Mara would go on to say that the nurse comforted her and made her feel safe. To this day no one at the hospital knew the nurse described.
Though Victor is human, he has a spiritual signature that can confuse and frighten demonic beings. He reads as human, but also as something divinely antagonist and threatening to them. While this makes him intimidating to certain supernatural creatures, it also makes him standout to those who can read spiritual signatures.
Victor’s father Chuck was born with a birth caul or “veil over his face” and could see and sense ghost and they would notice him.