Black History Month Celebrates – Phaser.

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Real Name: Christian Cord
Aliases: Radian
Identity: Secret
Occupation: Former Student, Adventurer
Citizenship: United States Citizen with a criminal record.
Place of Birth: Unknown
Known Relatives: Christine Cord (Longstrike – formerly known as Tattoo; Deceased)
Group Affiliation: Formerly Omega Gang, New Warriors
First Appearance: (Radian) New X-Men #134, (Phaser) New Warriors #2 (v4), (Identified) New Warriors #4 (v4)
History: Not much is known about the mutant who had gone by the name Radian, until he became a student at the Xavier Institute. Born with the mutant ability to emit a blinding flash from his body; Radian had a difficult time fitting in, even at the Xavier Institute. His powers, along with his sister (who had formerly gone by the name Tattoo, now better known as Longstrike of the New Warriors), had developed their powers during Church, which had left him temporarily blind.

At Xavier’s Institute, Radian found himself a victim of Cassandra Nova’s mental control, in which he was forced to attack Wolverine, Beast and other X-Men. Radian would eventually be freed by the Stepford Cuckoos, during the battle against Cassandra Nova.

After the death of Jumbo Carnation, Quentin recruited Radian into his “gang” called The Omega Gang.

As a member of the Omega Gang, they fought – often drastically – for their belief in Mutant Rights. They also sought revenge in Jumbo Carnation’s murder, and even battled a mutant-hating organization known as the U-Men.

The Omega Gang’s rebellious attitude continued into the Opening Day of Xavier Institute, when they were going to bring in “normal, non-powered humans” into the school. The Omega Gang was neutralized, and the members were sent to jail, for their crimes.

Radian is one of many mutants that lost their superhuman powers after the events of M-Day.

He would eventually be recruited by a man calling himself Night Thrasher and join a team that had adopted the name “The New Warriors.”

In a battle against a new Zodiac Team, Phaser watched in horror as his sister, Longstrike, was killed by Cancer from the Zodiac Team.

Sometime later, at the Appalachian Safehouse, Night Thrasher finds that the entire area is undisturbed. He had hoped that if Dwayne were still alive he would be hiding here. He does however, managed to snag some of Dwayne’s DNA for testing. As he exits the house however, he discovers he’s not alone and is confronted by Counter Force which consists of: Justice, Rage, Debrii, Slapstick and two of the Scarlet Spiders.

Both Rage and Justice try to talk to Night Thrasher but he refuses to discuss it with them and a fight breaks out – and just when it seems like Night Thrasher’s been captured – the arrival of the New Warriors tips the balance once more.

Throughout the fight Night Thrasher is thinking about how Justice and the rest of Counter Force think he’s a Skrull – while he’s wondering if it was Skrull who perished at Stamford, not his own half-brother. As the fight processes, Night Thrasher realizes that this has to end quickly.

He decides to stop the fight and unveil who he is. He explains his actions about looking for the truth about Dwayne – and whether he would ever take part of some reality television show as a part of the “New Warriors.” Justice steps up and informs Donyell that he can help – because he knows the location of Dwayne’s body.

The New Warriors, along with Counter Force, arrive at the Helicarrier only to find it under attack by Skrulls. The New Warriors and Counter Force get out of the plane as Night Thrasher crashes it into one of the Skrull ships. After that, they follow Justice onto the Helicarrier and begin helping the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents against the Skrulls.

As the New Warriors and Counter Force battle the Skrulls, Night Thrasher grabs Justice and enables “ghost mode” – allowing them to phrase through the floor. The others continue to battle the Skrulls – and just when it seems like they might be doing all right – the arrival of a Super Skrull, looking a lot like Nova, appears and tilts the odds back in favor of the Skrulls.

Meanhile Justice leads Night Thrasher to the bodies of what appears to be Dwayne and Microbe, with Nita’s ashes in a jar. Night Thrasher takes a sample from Dwayne’s body and begins the DNA comparison. All three turn out to be positive identifications – proving that the Dwayne, Namorita and Microbe did indeed die at Stamford. Night Thrasher turns to Justice and explains, he’s taking the remains with him. Justice, after a brief pause, agrees to help.

They bury the New Warriors and create a memorial plaque for Dwayne, Namorita and Zachary.

Later, the New Warriors burst in through the roof and the Dread Dealers are subjected to Pym Particles and reduced in size.

Their victory is short lived however, with the sudden appearance of Sykes, Givens and the New Warriors Task Force. The New Warriors make a break for it – but Blackwing, who is carrying Night Thrasher gets tagged and the two crash to the ground. Panicking, Tempest screams out and doesn’t see the net shot at her – Wondra tries to push her out of the way but gets snagged.

One of the New Warriors Task Force members fires a shot – but Ripcord kicks him at the last moment. The shot hits the flame tank of another New Warriors Task Force member – and Ripcord stops to try and help him. Skybolt seeing that the tank is about to explode tries to get to Ripcord – he manages to grab her and start flying away – but the tank explodes, causing a blinding flash. Night Thrasher gets the other New Warriors together, and they quickly make their escape – unsure of the fate of both Skybolt and Ripcord. They later learn that both perished in the fire.

The New Warriors are later teleported to an alternate reality, in which Dwayne Taylor has become Iron Man, and Tony Stark has become Night Thrasher. Dwayne has become an evil corporate leader, and while Donyell struggles to not betray his brother, in the end he knows he has to stop him. After a long fight, the New Warriors defeat Dwayne, and return to their own time.

Donyell tells them to keep their tech equipment regardless, because they had definitely deserved it. As everyone exits the room, Wondra approaches Night Thrasher and the two seem to be ready to say something – instead, Wondra kisses Night Thrasher on the cheek then follows the others out of the room, leaving Donyell there to sit and think about all that he had done – and what he was going to do next.

Height: 5’11”
Weight: 180 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

Powers: Formerly able to generate a blind flash of ultra-violet light, that he was able to control to the degree of blinding people, or burning them.

Accessories: Phaser uses armor that seems to emulate that of Iron Man, that allows him to emit beams from his hands, as well as a “Uni-Beam” from the chest similiar to Iron Man. The magnitude of the beams at this time remains unknown.