- "From a place you can't see, comes a sound you will never hear."
- —Killshot
Killshot, known to the public as Gregory Cross, is one of the finest snipers on the planet and a mercenary. After leaving the military, he put his skills in shooting to use as a gun for hire, becoming notorious for his infallible aim.
Cross attempted to claim the bounty placed on Almanac in early 2015, alongside Satsujin and Twilight Tarantula, but he failed.
Biography[]
Military Service[]
Gregory Cross excelled in mathematics in school. After college, he enlisted in the military and became a master sniper at Fort Benning following his service as an infantry soldier. In his training, he learned the motto "stay low, move fast, kill first, die last, one shot, one kill, no luck, pure skill." He received education in physics and further lessons in mathematics, learning how to calculate the effect that wind, gravity, distance, and even the Coriolis effect (the effect of the Earth's rotation on a moving object) will all cumulatively have on a bullet as it travels through the air. He also received a high grade in the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery and underwent thorough psychological evaluation to prove his mental fortitude in order to be able to withstand the pressures and isolation of his position.
Cross served three tours in Afghanistan and was credited with nearly 400 combat kills. He was nicknamed "the Lobotomist" for the amount of enemy operatives he had shot in the head.
Assassin Career[]
Cross returned to American soil and became employed by people in need of his talents, beginning a career as a gun for hire.
Time in Emerald City[]
Gregory attempted to claim the bounty placed on Almanac by Vincent Vizioso. He set up a trap for the vigilante, and although he managed to shoot him once, he did not succeed in his killing effort because the vigilante outsmarted him, disappointing Vizioso.
Personality[]
Cross was a dedicated soldier. He enlisted in the military because he was a patriot, and he gladly served. However, when he returned home, he still had a taste for death and decided to become a high-cost assassin and mercenary. As "Killshot," he is confident, coldblooded, merciless, patient, committed, meticulous, thorough, disciplined, and relentless. He does not hesitate to pull the trigger, and he is not the least bid modest about his sharpshooting skills.
Abilities[]
- Peak Human Condition: Cross, as a former soldier, is in peak physical condition. Before he attended sniper school, he underwent the Army Physical Fitness Test with his home unit with flying colors. As a sniper, he thrives under stressful combat conditions with a steady heartbeat.
- "A bullet will kill you three ways. The first way: extremities. Miss a major artery and you got ten to twenty minutes before you bleed out. The second way: anywhere in the tens, center chest. The bullet will tumble, lots of bone to splinter, the heart or the arteries get hit, blood pressure drops to zero. The final way is the kill shot. Middle of the skull, any angle. Like a marionette with the strings cut, you're dead before your brain can process what happened. Guns change everything, and a bullet is forever."
- —Gregory Cross
- Master Marksman: Cross is a superbly accurate marksman, as he can make a perfect shot from a mile out and he rarely misses his target. He has experience as an infantry soldier and he is one of the best snipers in the world, nicknamed "the Lobotomist" for how many headshots he has gotten, and he can use all firearms with expert precision. He is methodical, surgical and calculating, being familiar with angles and variables such as rifling twist, chamber pressure, the weight of his bullets, and he can even take the curvature of the Earth in with the effect of the wind. During his days in sniper school, he received target detection training, being taught to use his eyes, binoculars and rifle scope, and he learned to shoot from different positions. Cross can also shoot between heartbeats, keeping his heart rate under control by decreasing his respiratory rate with diaphragmatic breathing and focusing on his target. He managed to shoot the vigilante Almanac, but the latter survived.
- Master Assassin: Cross is a trained killer specializing in long distances. He is quiet, stealthy, patient, and relentless. His true skill is killing, and he has mastered it, being credited with hundreds of kills in his career as a soldier and assassin. Cross prefers to wound his targets in order to draw out medics and other soldiers, so he can kill more of them.
- Expert Combatant: In addition to being a sharpshooter, Cross is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, should he find himself unable to shoot. He is trained in the Modern Army Combatives Program, which includes techniques from Boxing, Muay Thai and Wrestling. However, he is not as capable as fellow assassins Satsujin and the Twilight Tarantula, and could not defeat the elite martial artist Almanac.
- Stealth: Cross can disappear into his surroundings for long periods of time, and he can hide in plain sight. He can also easily conceal his guns on his person, and he knows how to conduct quiet and effective assassinations.
Equipment[]
Attire[]
- Killshot Suit: Cross wears a suit as his villain alter-ego, Killshot, when he is out on an assignment. The suit is equipped with an armored chest piece, fully loaded bandolier, and various magazines of ammunition.
Weaponry and Gadgets[]
- Beretta M9: Cross' sidearm carried during his service was a double-action pistol.
- Heckler & Koch Mark 23: Cross' sidearm as an assassin is a suppressed pistol.
- VBR-Belgium PDW: Cross also carries a pair of fully-automatic, compact, lightweight machine pistols with medium fire rate and modest damage for acceptable performance and stopping power at close range.
- M4 Carbine: During his days at sniper school, Cross received a perfect score during the marksmanship test with a rifle using only iron sights.
- M24 Sniper Weapon System: Cross used a sniper rifle throughout his military service.
- Knight's Armament Company SR-25: Cross' sniper rifle of choice as a mercenary is a modular semi-automatic sniper rifle with strong recoil but good stopping power and penetration. It comes with an attachable suppressor to dampen the weapon's sound, a thermal scope and a red laser sight.
Relationships[]
Allies[]
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Enemies[]
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