| Carnifex | |
|---|---|
| Wild Cards character | |
| First appearance | Wild Cards (1987) |
| Created by | John J. Miller |
| Information | |
| Aliases | William "Billy" Ray |
Carnifex (William "Billy" Ray) is a fictional character in the Wild Cards anthology series. Carnifex (Latin for "executioner") is Billy Ray's nickname given to him for his love of violence. Infection with the Wild Card Virus has given him superhuman levels of strength, speed and stamina, along with a rapid regenerative healing factor and a heightened instinct for physical combat. In Wild card terminology, this makes him an Ace.
Billy Ray was a college football star in the late 1970s, playing for the Michigan Wolverines. He was able to hide his Wild Card infection until he broke his leg in three places in the first quarter of the Rose Bowl (on national TV) and tried to return to the game before halftime.
He was recruited by the U.S. Justice Department, and has worked for them ever since performing various missions such as protecting government officials to hunting down other Aces. He is highly aggressive and confrontational, and will fight at the slightest provocation. Despite his demeanor, he is obsessed with cleanliness, prefers his office absolutely neat, and hates getting bloodstains on his fighting suit.
Billy Ray generally wears his signature fighting suit; a form fitting white jump suit with black hood. He has several as they generally get covered in blood, his and his opponents.
POWERS: Regeneration, Increased Speed, Increased Strength
Billy Ray's Ace allows his body to repair itself at unbelievable speed. As he has gotten older the regeneration has slowed down taking him longer to heal between battles. Secretly he fears that someday they will stop altogether. His regeneration powers were put to the ultimate test when he fought the Vibrating Joker/Ace Mackie Messer (aka Mack the Knife, real name: Detlev Mackintosh). He was shredded and torn in this battle, losing most of his jaw and several fingers, and took several months to fully heal. His regeneration is not perfect, as his body and face are a mass of scar tissue and obvious war wounds and his features are slightly irregular from having his facial bones broken and reset so many times.
Billy is much faster than a normal man and also slightly stronger (greater than Olympic power lifter status).
His speed gives him a marked advantage over average opponents, and his strength makes his fists like 10 pound sledge hammers.