"...above all, for the world to understand that the Coalition of Corruption never went away, that we are as strong as ever and that no-one is safe from our influence!"
| Grand Cross | |
| Coalition of Corruption | |
| |
| {{{class}}} | |
| Real Name | Galen Salvatore |
| Species | {{{species}}} |
| Age | 63 |
| Home | Naples, Italy |
| Relatives | Gestalt (partner), Gap (daughter) |
| Status | Deceased |
| Owner | Kumata |
Grand Cross is one of the founding members of the Coalition of Corruption, and is currently one of its two leaders.
History
Galen was born in Naples, Italy. The son of an ex-Nazi, the idea that certain members of humanity were stronger and more deserving than others was instilled in him from a young age. However, as he began to develop powers he and his father's ideologies opposed; Galen believed that the presence of powers was proof he was special, whilst his father believed it was proof he was a freak and subhuman. Galen's mother managed to calm the pair during their more heated arguments, and Galen remained with his parents until he had completed schooling. He displayed a keen interest in the cosmos and its workings, and achieved a degree in astrophysics. As he learned more about the workings of the universe he began to realise how his powers could be applied to achieve their full potential. During his university years his mother passed away from illness, and Galen and his father ceased contact.
At the age of twenty he founded the Apex Space Research Centre, secretly robbing banks to cover the funding costs and altering paperwork so that the other employees did not grow suspicious. He hoped to use the research centre as a base of operations as he carried out more research into his plan, which he had decided by this point must involve the moon in some way. He created a supersuit and alias for himself, ready for the day when he would rule the world.
His first act as Grand Cross was to travel to his old home and kill his father. Witnessing his normally-proud father's final moments spent cowering and begging for mercy convinced Galen that he was special.
As the years passed several employees of Apex caught wind of what Galen was really up to. He threatened to kill their families in order to maintain their compliance.
To Rule the World!
A younger Grand Cross.
Doctor Danger, Mr. Mystery, Renaissance and Gravedigger posed as representatives of a scientific equipment company in order to look around the research centre. They began to suspect that something was up, but so did Galen. He attacked them in full costume as Grand Cross, crushing Gravedigger with gravitic force before any of the others could react. The villains explained that they were here to recruit him, but Grand Cross declined and tried to kill them - after a short battle he negated the gravity beneath them, the momentum of the planet flinging them through a wall and out into the mountains.
He ordered his employees to put the finishing touches on his plan: by utilising a modified telescope he would channel his powers into the moon, giving him the ability to increase or decrease the strength of its mascons. This would allow him to attract important satellites or fling nearby objects towards the Earth, causing massive destruction. He was convinced that with such a powerful weapon at his hands the leaders of the world would have no choice but to surrender to him.
However, as he was about to begin his plan the villains burst in, having managed to escape death. Doctor Danger explained that Galen had gotten his calculations wrong, not accounting for Omega Radiation. The actual effect of the plan would be that Grand Cross would be torn apart by gravitic feedback whilst knocking the moon out of orbit. Grand Cross was skeptical, but felt intrigued by the villains as they were the only people to have ever stood up to him. He eventually relented, and agreed to ally with them. Renaissance explained that their organisation was only to include the elite, and that non-powered humans such as Grand Cross' servants would not be welcome. Understanding, Grand Cross killed his former employees.
To Save The World!
After Doctor Danger's death, Grand Cross chose not to re-join the Coalition of Corruption when Midnight reformed it, not believing that Midnight was worthy to rule. He arranged for G-Force to investigate a certain matter for him.
3 days after the invasion of the Technax Armada, Grand Cross was visited in his mansion in the dead of night by Mr. Mystery. With Midnight gone mad the Coalition was once more in need of leadership, and Mr. Mystery proposed that he and Grand Cross rule it together. Grand Cross agreed, and in the following weeks they worked to gather its members and build a new headquarters. He travelled with Primevil to The Twister's hideout in the Aleutian islands; Scorpius prepared to attack them, but was killed when Primevil transformed into a Triceratops and rammed him. Grand Cross offered The Twister a place in the Coalition of Corruption, reasoning that they both had the same goal - to create a world populated only by superhumans, to which The Twister accepted.
Relationship with Other Characters
Galen is arrogant, selfish and egotistical. He genuinely believes that he is one of the most powerful individuals in the world and that therefore he deserves to be one of its rulers. Ordinary humans he views as a weaker species and has no qualms with killing them. Other SuperHumans he is more willing to spare, but mostly because he considers them useful as pawns.
Although he has varying degrees of tolerance for his fellow Coalition members there are only five people, in perhaps in entire lifetime, that he has ever held affection for: Gestalt and Gap, whom he has emotional ties to, and Doctor Danger, Mr. Mystery and Renaissance, whom he considers his friends and are the only people in the world he considers his equals.
Doctor Danger was one of the few whom Galen was prepared to made an exception for in his philosophy that power equals authority. He greatly respected Otto's intelligence and leadership and was devastated to learn of his suicide.
Abilities and Skills
Galen can generate, manipulate, sense and negate gravitic fields - he has years of experience in using this power and has become extremely skilled with it. By altering the weight of targets and creating miniature points of gravitic attraction, he can guide targets through the air with almost as much ease as a regular telekinetic. He can fly in this manner. As well as creating ordinary gravitic fields Galen can invert them to create repulsive force, a sphere of which can be used to crush a target. He can also alter the strength of a target's personal gravitic influence, causing objects to be drawn towards them. By negating portions of the Earth's natural gravitic field he can cause targets to be flung upwards by the planet's momentum at high, often lethal, speeds.
Techniques that require a greater level of concentration include using small gravitic influence on a person's head to disrupt their sense of balance, rapidly decreasing the weight of an enemy to remove the force from their punches, and attracting objects from Earth's orbit. Galen could also theoretically create a black hole by generating enormous gravitic power in one spot, although he would never do this as it would destroy the Earth.
Galen was once a man of peak physical fitness, although that has deteriorated in his old age. Over the years he has had to be treated with several medicinal drugs to prevent his bone and muscle density from diminishing, an effect of being regularly exposed to low gravity. He has trained himself so as to be impervious to psychic attack; with concentration he can block others from entering his mind.
After he lost his left leg, Galen had it replaced with a mechanical one. It is connected directly to his nervous system and thus he can control it as if it were an ordinary limb. He can use the leg to kick with SuperHuman force. It also contains a hidden comparment containing a gun and a medi-kit.
His supersuit is made from extremely durable fabric, flexible as cloth yet tough as steel. It is heatproof, shockproof and watertight. He wears a special wrist-communicator that can be used to contact any Coalition communicator or base.
Galen is a qualified astrophysicist, and extensively knowledgeable when it comes to all things cosmic. He is a capable engineer. He also has vast experience of the strengths and weaknesses of many SuperHuman abilities, having encountered so many during his years of villainy.
He is trained to pilot Coalition tiltrotors and various spacecraft.