John Greenwood Sr. was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison on Jamel’s 11th birthday. Dianne worked as a hospice nurse, but without John’s income and the mounting bills from legal expenses, Jamel was forced to work and help support his three brothers and sisters. His grades suffered. His promising athletic aspirations were dashed. And his cynicism and disillusion with the world and mankind grew. By the time, he was 18 he’d given up on believing the world had anything to offer him. Then one day as he was watching the surveillance video of his father’s crime – something he’d done at least once a day since John Sr.’s conviction – he noticed a piece of evidence that had seemingly been glossed over during the proceedings. The evidence was not in the video, it was the video itself – it was possible the footage had been doctored to make it seem like John Sr. did something he may not have done.

Jamel first attempted to bring this to his mother’s attention, but she was getting up in years and suffering from several illnesses that made it difficult for her to exert any of the extra energy it would take to fight the court’s decision from nearly 8 years prior. His pleas for others to act also fell on deaf ears. Even his father, whom he went to visit a few weeks after making the discovery, encouraged him to drop it. But drop it is something that Jamel just could not do. He decided that if no one else was going to fight for his father, he would!

He began doing internet searches and trying to read books that could explain to him what he needed to do, however he quickly realized that the justice system was way over his head. He would need to go to college. But he had barely gotten through high school and there were no scholarships available for D-plus students with average ball skills.

He just could not pay. The military, however, could. He enlisted in the army and they promised that once he’d served his term they would help him through college. He admittedly was wary that this promise would not hold true, but he jumped in head first and dedicated himself to service of the country. And just like John Greenwood Sr., Jamel excelled as a serviceman. He worked his way up the ranks and was eventually deployed to serve overseas. He did two tours in Northern Africa before being honorably discharged at the age of 31. He immediately enrolled in Platinum City University’s Pre-Law program and the army kept its word, providing him with full tuition, books and even room and board.

His mother had since passed away, but his father was still alive and well – or as alive and well as you can be while incarcerated. Either way, Jamel was beginning to learn everything he needed to know to help his father’s situation. And as he had been allowed to begin his coursework while still serving, he was able to graduate from Law School within 4 years of enrolling in PCU. He opened a small independent firm and immediately went to work on his father’s case. But even with everything he had learned, he still lacked the support and resources he needed to cut through the miles and miles of red tape thrown his way. That’s when Kwame Archer and Keisha Pine got involved.

Archer and Pine ran a very successful civil law practice in Platinum City and after hearing about what Jamel was attempting to accomplish they invited him into their fold and threw the full complement of their considerable resources behind him. It was a grueling fight, but two years later at the age of 64 and after 25 years behind bars, John Greenwood, Sr. was finally exonerated of his crime and Jamel watched as the man he admired most walked out of prison. It was the happiest day of his life.

Jamel had no desire to find out why the footage was doctored. He had no desire to find out who would want to frame his father. And he had no interest in finding out what truly happened that night. In fact, Jamel was content to quit law altogether and spend the rest of his life trying to recapture the years with this father that had been stolen from him. He invited John Sr. to come live with him and for a month, they spent every free moment together. Then one day there was a knock at the door. It was Kwame Archer and Keisha Pine with a job offer that would make him the third partner in their law firm. At first, he looked at the two kids (they were both about 10 years younger than him) and laughed them off. After all, he never had any intention of being a lawyer. But after speaking to his father, and truly because he did have to do something with the rest of his life, he decided to take the job. But he had a condition…

He would only take the job as a lawyer if they allowed him to join their vigilante superhero squad as well, for Jamel had indeed discovered that when Kwame and Keisha weren’t fighting injustices in the courtroom as Archer and Pine, they were fighting crime in the streets as Black Jag and Night Bird, respectively. They happily agreed and Jamel took on the pseudonym Metro. John Greenwood Sr. also joined as the team’s assistant and base commander.

The law firm of Greenwood, Archer and Pine became one of the best known and most respected firms in Platinum City and the trio of Black Jag, Night Bird and Metro were among the most feared vigilante superheroes around.

Metro was a weapons specialist and his experience in the military combined with Night Bird’s technological enhancements of his gear, made him an extremely dangerous foe to deal with. He left most of the close-quarters combat situations to the younger members of the team, and instead opted to work his magic from long range. However, he was not afraid to mix it up if the opportunity presented itself.

SMASH AND GRAB

Gemini DeLisi, the mayor of Platinum City, had planned to give a speech addressing several major issues with both his city and the country as a whole. It was a moment that was expected to bring unity to a country that was both figuratively and literally divided. But before he could speak, every single bank in Platinum City was hit by armed robbers at the exact same time.

Metro joined Black Jag and Night Bird as they suited up and jumped into action to assist the members of the Platinum City Police Force who were clearly and ridiculously outgunned and overmatched. Car chases and shootouts ensued in all areas of the city. It was complete and utter chaos! But Metro was calm. Using intel from police scanners, Night Bird’s eyes in the sky and John’s triangulation algorithms, Metro found several strategic bird’s-nest positions that allowed him to set up his sniper rifle and shoot out the tires of dozens of getaway cars which, in turn, enabled police to catch up with several crews of bank robbers and apprehend them.

He was suddenly forced to turn his sights on the massive tank that was smashing through a crowded midtown area. His sniper rifle had no chance to take out those “tires.” But he wasn’t worried because his teammate, Night Bird, had already swooped in to engage the behemoth. Using the laser cutters on her wrists, she forced it to stop dead in its tracks. The top hatch of the tank popped open, revealing the supervillain known as Hysteria. Metro watched as Night Bird leaped at her, but Hysteria’s hands suddenly sparked to light and she blasted a wave of mystical energy at the hero, immediately grounding her.

Hysteria’s mental manipulation power then took hold of Keisha’s mind, leaving the heroine disoriented and prone – a perfect target for the tank’s cannon which was training on her. Metro had only a split second to react. He put his eye to his scope and fired off two precise shots! The first one hit Hysteria in the shoulder, the second one hit the fuselage of a nearby car, causing an explosion that knocked Night Bird out of the way just as a rocket from the tank whizzed by, consequently triggering a second explosion in as many seconds.

Moments later Black Jag drove up in the team’s tricked-out Sports Caddy and pulled Night Bird out of harm’s way. Hysteria screamed in agony before training the tank’s cannon on the building from which Metro’s gunfire originated. She blasted numerous holes in the ground floors of the structure as Metro desperately tried to hit her with a disabling shot. However, now with her attention turned toward him, she could easily deflect the bullets with her mystical powers.

The building began to collapse and Metro was forced to flee from his perch. He used a grappling hook to swing safely to a neighboring building, but he watched in horror as the other inhabitants of the structure were buried beneath a smoldering pile of rubble and dust.

Satisfied with the devastation, Hysteria closed the hatch of the tank and prepared to roll out. But a row of police cruisers arrived on the scene and boxed her in. That of course wasn’t a problem in the least, as the tank fired off missile after missile absolutely annihilating everything in its path. The monstrosity easily smashed through the police barricade, but the slight delay gave Metro an opportunity to load his sniper rifle and hit the tank with a customized tracking device.

John Greenwood, Sr. confirmed that the tracker was working and Metro set off to follow the death machine down into the bowels of Platinum City…