Painkiller (real name Khalil Payne) is a fictional character from the Black Lightning series, and a anti-hero with cybernetic enhancements. He is portrayed by Jordan Calloway, who also played Chuck Clayton in Riverdale.
Biography[]
To be Added
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
Cybernetic enhancement: Due to Khalil getting a spinal implant and becoming a cyborg, his physical abilities has been greatly enhanced and resulted in the development of many powers of artificial nature. When his spinal implant was forcibly removed by Tobias Whale, this left Khalil dead. After being resurrected by the A.S.A., he was given a replacement bionic surrogate; one which is entirely under his skin, unlike the old one. According to Khalil, it works perfectly, and as a result he is now considered a biological weapons system.
- Superhuman strength: Khalil's physical strength has been increased as he threw a counselor through the hallway into a glass montra easily. As well as to lift a grown man with a single hand without effort, hit Tobias Whale with enough strength to make him bleed and destroy a wooden table with his bare hands. He was able to kill a grown man with a single, well-placed punch to the chest after his resurrection.
- Superhuman jumping/leaping: Khalil's strength also extends to his legs, increasing his leaping capabilities as he leapt easily from one floor to the next one in Garfield High School as well as on the Pierce house's rooftop. Following his resurrection, Khalil was capable to perform several backflips in mid air without using his hands during his battle with Gravedigger.
- Superhuman speed: Both Painkiller and Khalil possess considerable speed, allowing them to move much faster than an average human. This was first showcased when Painkiller attacked him after breaking out of the firewall. And also demonstrated during a fight with Looker. Khalil managed keep up with and eventually defeat several Perdi who also share this ability.
- Superhuman durability: The spinal implant also increased his body's resilience; this has allowed Khalil, on multiple occasions, to leap down from the second floor of the Jefferson household and land without any discomfort. He was also able to trade blows with the physically enhanced Tobias Whale, and was able to match him for a while before being overpowered by him. After his resurrection this ability was enhanced to the point he could withstand several concussive blows from Blackbird remaining completely unfazed, However he can still be hurt with certain pressure points, as shown when he restrained Anissa, she managed to strike him in his throat, causing him immense pain.
- Superhuman stamina: Khalil's enhancement also has made him far more resilient and durable than a normal human, as he can fall from a rooftop without injury himself or get any damage at all. As well as being pushed against a fish tank and break it without getting hurt. Following his resurrection this ability was augmented to the point that he can be lifted from and thrown for several feet by an individual with super-strength, landing on his back on the ground without reporting any damage and rising again in a few seconds.
- Superhuman dexterity: Another side effect of the spinal implant he received was that it enhanced his entire nervous system. Khalil's dexterity has been enhanced to superhuman levels as he was able to accurately and precisely throw several needles directly in the necks of several students, and even Black Lightning. Since his resurrection, his dexterity has reached even higher levels, with Khalil's movements being so controlled and precise that he always hits his mark and has yet to be defeated in combat.
- Paralytic venom touch: After coming back from the dead and subjected into the A.S.A., Khalil can now poison others with his hands, as shown when he killed his mother, Nichelle; when he wrapped his hand around her throat to strangle her, dark green-black veins began to develop on her skin where his palms made contact. It was later revealed after he killed Tavon Singley and nearly killed Anissa Pierce that this poison in his touch is actually the paralytic venom that was inadvertently created as a byproduct of his previous spinal implant, which he used to have to extract and put into darts prior to his resurrection. However, since being reborn as an A.S.A operative, the venom is now approximately ten times more powerful, according to Peter Gambi's research, and he can inflict it upon someone through direct contact with his hands; according to Khalil himself, he can control the amount of venom that he releases and how quickly it affects his victims.
- Anti-venom touch: Since becoming in control of Painkiller, Khalil had the poison gland in his body that naturally produces the venom switched with another type of antibiotic which can allow him to administer certain amounts to heal others from the lethal effects. He first used this ability to interrogate one of Tobias' assets by placing his fingers on his head which caused the dark blue-black veins of the paralytic venom to be negated with the antidote one which expressed the veins to appear as plain black once it was reversed and he even gave a small dosage to Looker which implies that the venom still remained in her system that renders her powers useless for twelve hours or until Painkiller transfers a full amount of it to remove that effect.
- Accelerated healing factor: Khalil seems to be able to heal his wounds at an accelerated rate and it was implied by Jen that, usually, the by-product of his spinal implant has healing properties, instantaneously curing him. After his resurrection he demonstrated to be able to be fully operative in few hours after having been in a pre-death state.
- Toxic immunity: Khalil has some sort of immunity to toxins as even Cutter's anti-meta-humans venom took hours to have an effect on him, as well as being completely immune to the powerful poison that flows through his veins after he was resurrected.
- Inception immunity: Khalil's cybernetic enhancements make him immune to telepathic attacks. When facing Gravedigger, his power to command obedience in others was useless. He was also able to use this ability to fend off Lookers silver element.
Abilities[]
- Peak of human physical condition: Even before his enhancement, Khalil possesses impressive athletic prowess and was credited as a stand out scholar-athlete that could have had the possibility to get to the Olympics. He also has an extraordinary high-level tolerance of pain, as he was able to withstand being burned by Tobias Whale, electrocuted in the neck and even survive for hours after his spine was brutally ripped out.
- Acrobatics/Free-running:Khalil has developed free-running skills and could drop from a height of several feet without injuring himself. His skills allow him to fluidly dodge and attack from different directions without losing balance.
- Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: Even before his resurrection by the A.S.A., Khalil was a skilled combatant due to his enhanced physical attributes. During his fight with Tobias Whale, he was able to hold his own for a brief time, before he was ultimately defeated. He proved to be skilled enough to defeat multiple aggressors at once almost without effort as well as hold his own against the highly trained mercenary Giselle Cutter. After his resurrection, Khalil was able to fight Anissa Pierce on equal footing, nearly besting her in their first encounter. Khalil has noted that he has now mastered over 23 different martial arts, including Wing Chun, Aikido, Kali, Wrestling, Western Boxing, Judo, Taekwondo, Jujitsu, Muay Thai, Silat, Kyusho-Jitsu, Kenjutsu, Bojutsu, Kung-Fu, and 9 others.
- Expert swordsman: After having a Bio Implant put in him, Khalil is a highly skilled swordsman as shown when he versed Painkiller in his head.
- Expert marksman: Khalil is proficient in handling firearms, and can handle multiple armed men.
- Enhanced intelligence: Due to a chip implanted in Khalil's brain by the A.S.A., Khalil has been given an expert-level understanding of human anatomy, small firearms marksmanship, and military history, as well as the equivalent to a master's degree in classical literature, philosophy, and mathematics.
- Artist: After trying to deal with the trauma he has had as Painkiller, Peter Gambi recommended he put his mind into art in order to focus his mind on creative pursuits. He ended up giving in and trying it, and drew a very well done sketch of Jennifer from memory.