Dwayne Michael Taylor was born to Daryl Taylor and Melody Ann Taylor and he was born heir to the Taylor Foundation. At a young age, Dwayne believed that he witnessed the murder of both of his parents in an act of street crime. Due to this belief, Dwayne swore to make criminals of all kinds pay for their crimes. Dwayne was adopted by a friend of his father and board member of the Taylor Foundation, Andrew Chord and his mysterious mother in law, Tai.
Chord and Tai supported young Dwayne's vow against crime. Their support ranged from training, to education to encouragement. Tai, a master of martial arts, helped Dwayne develope an effective fighting style. Dwayne trained hard to hone himself into a weapon against crime. He took on the name, Night Thrasher, for his vigilante activities. During his first outing in his war on crime, he ran into superhuman siblings, Midnight's Fire and Silhouette.
Night Thrasher joined up with Silhouette and Midnight's Fire in their anti-crime activities. The strategy that the group used to take down organized crime was to gain their trust and then destroy the organization from the inside. It was an effective strategy for a time.
For three weeks they used this strategy in an effort to take down a gun smuggling scheme by a Korean gang. During these three weeks, Night Thrasher and Silhouette develope feelings for one another. One night, while working on a job for a member of the Korean gang, Silhouette is delivering money to a gangmember. A police officer comes across the exchange and becomes a threat. Midnight's Fire and Thrasher are observing from a distance and Midnight's Fire wants to neutralize the cop to protect his sister's cover. Night Thrasher restrained him from doing just that and the Silhouette is injured in the crossfire. Midnight's Fire, enraged, attacked Night Thrasher. Midnight's Fire ran off after slashing Thrasher.
With Midnight's Fire gone and swearing revenge on him and Silhouette believed to be dead, Dwayne vowed to do better. He trained harder, improved his fighting ability and uses the Taylor Foundation's resources to construct his battle armor, a headquarters and other technologies and systems to use in his fight against crime. It is at this time that Dwayne determined that he'd need a team of people to help him in his war, realizing that working with Silhouette and Midnight's Fire proved advantageous.
Utilizing the new computer systems that he developed for his headquarters, Dwayne sought out heroes to join him in his war. A depowered Richard Rider was his first target. He tracked down the former Nova, caught up with him and literally dropped him off the top of a building. He reasoned that the stress would be enough to kickstart Richard Rider's powers again and allow him to become Nova. Just before falling to his demise, Nova's powers did kick in. Nova joined Night Thrasher.
Marvel Boy was tracked down and found after being rejected by the Avengers for membership. Vance accepted membership in the group that Night Thrasher was forming.
Night Thrasher, due to accesss to the Hellfire Club's networks, found and contacted Angelica Jones, Firestar. She was given an ultimatum to meet them. Upon meeting Night Thrasher, Nova and Marvel Boy at the rearranged location all four were soon catapaulted into a battle with the former Herald, Terrax. Joined by Namorita and Speedball, they work together effectively to figure out a way to defeat the powerful former Herald. With Nova, Marvel Boy, Firestar, Speedball and Namorita, Dwayne has the allies he needs in his war on crime. He now has the New Warriors.
Night Thrasher and the Warriors are encouraged, by Tai, to investigate cop killings. The reason? Messages were left at the scene of the slayings that would indicate that Thrasher was behind the murders. Dwayne recounts a bit of his past to his team mates. They head off to Chinatown, where the slayings took place, and draw out the real culprit, Midnight's Fire. Thrasher and Midnight's Fire fight a brutal fight, and Fire had Dwayne on the ropes. However, Dwayne gained an upperhand and literally had Midnight's Fire by the throat when Silhouette revealed herself to Dwayne and the team. Midnight's Fire's gang shows up and threatens the team with advanced weaponry and the team engages them. Dwayne gets the upperhand on Fire again and threatens to kill him… only to be persuaded by his team to let him go. After slashing Fire like he had slashed him, Dwayne lets him go into police custody.
The New Warriors come face to face with the Mad Thinker, Harmon Furmintz and Genetech in a plot to create superhumans. The New Warriors, except for Speedball, are all defeated one by one and captured. As Harmon Furmintz went into his backstory and why he is creating Superhumans, Speedball arrived and freed the Warriors. The Warriors fight the superhumans of Genetech and towards the finale of the combat, Night Thrasher threatens Harmon Furmintz with his armor's armblade. Nova and Marvel Boy restrain him to stay his blade and the Warriors leave Genetech, which is now surrounded by the police.
After Silhouette was injured by Bengal in Brazil, the team minus Night Thrasher, are flown to Brazil to confront who injured Silouette. Night Thrasher remains behind with Silhouette and learns from her what happened to her that night, months ago, when she was injured in a crossfire and about her brother Midnight's Fire's abilities.
Night Thrasher is transported to Brazil where he stops an assassination attempt on a priest, Father Jane. The assassin is Bengal and the two of them fight a pretty brutal fight. The two's fighting styles are evenly matched and neither of them can gain an advantage over the other.
That is until the fight is interrupted by the Punisher who is after Silhouette. The Punisher and Night Thrasher fight each other in a brief, fierce encounter. The Punisher retreats after Thrasher jams a blade into his leg and only after Punisher unleashes machinegun fire on Thrasher at point blank range. The Punisher retreated to do more research on Thrasher, as he did not know who he was or what he could do.
After Punisher retreated, Father Jane explained why Bengal was after him and how he became a priest to cope with his past sins. The Punisher returns, puts a gun to Silhouette's head and has a standoff with Night Thrasher. Silhouette escapes and explains that she doesn't work with her brother anymore. Being at a disadvantage, Punisher accepts what Silhouette says and leaves. Bengal, meanwhile, worked to get himself in a position to finish his assassination of Father Jane. Thrasher noticed Bengal and saved Father Jane again from an assassin's arrow. The two of them return to the brawl that Punisher interrupted, only for it to be interrupted by him yet again! This time Punisher points a gun at both Bengal and Night Thrasher and instructs them that their fighting is pointless and must stop. He preaches to Night Thrasher about his need to bring criminals to justice rather than seeking the bloody revenge that has been consuming him during his war on crime.
Night Thrasher and Silhouette, when returning to their headquarters, are greeted by the Hellions. They are caught off guard by the group of mutants, but soon prove a formidable match for the Hellions. They are soon overwhelmed, however. The White Queen tried to probe Night Thrasher's mind only to find an incredibly powerful mental shield blocking her probes. She finds out that Night Thrasher is immune to such mental probes. She sought out information for why and how Dwayne accessed the Hellfire Club's network.
The Warriors pair off with the Hellions and each fights the other one on one. Night Thrasher is defeated by Catseye and rendered unconscious. When he comes to, the fighting is over and the White Queen and Hellions leave in defeat.
Night Thrasher and the New Warriors had another run in with the manufactured superhumans of Genetech, Psionex. During another brutal fight with the team of superhumans, Terrax is released by Genetech. Members of Psionex join with the New Warriors to fight Terrax, who has taken over the body of a member of Genetech to use as a host for his powers and essence. With the aid of the Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer, Terrax is defeated after a pitched, destructive battle.
Dwayne uncovered a long string of corrupt activities in the Taylor Foundation's Financial Records that went back several years. The culprit of these activities? None other than his guardian, Andrew Chord. Dwayne confronted Chord about the misuse of Foundation funds and rather than face them, Chord attempted to kill himself by shooting himself in the head.
Following up on the bad business dealings of Chord, Night Thrasher brings the Warriors to Japan to investigate a Yakuza smuggling ring. He uncovers that Taylor Foundation warehouses were used to store and move illegal merchandise. The catch? They have to leave the Yakuza and their operations alone. Wanting to know the truth about the Taylor Foundation, Thrasher unilaterally agrees to those terms… much to the anger of the other Warriors. At the apex of the arguement between the New Warriors and Night Thrasher on how to deal with the Yakuza, Night Thrasher quits the team and announces the dessolution of the New Warriors!
Now working solo, Night Thrasher heads to the Taylor Foundation location in Hong Kong. While continueing to do research and investigate Chord's illicit acitivities with the Foundation, Thrasher is attacked by a group calling themselves the Folding Circle. Despite being outnumbered overwhelmingly, Thrasher manages to to hold his own. That is until he is attacked from behind by another member of the Folding Circle, Midnight's Fire. Fire pummels Thrasher into submission.
When Thrasher recovers, he is confronted by Midnight's Fire and the leader of the Folding Circle, Left Hand. They tell him of 'The Pact' that all of their fathers had belonged to. 'The Pact' was meant to find answers to each of its members. Thrasher joins 'The Pact' and the Folding Circle as a means of getting answers to the questions that have consumed him.
Night Thrasher, along with the Folding Circle, head to Cambodia under the leadership of Left Hand. It is in Cambodia where some answers can be found. The Folding Circle is attacked in the jungles of Cambodia by a group called Dragons Breadth. The Cicle defeats their attackers and come across an ancient, hidden temple in the jungles. The temple appears to be guarded by people wearing armor oddly similar to Thrasher's.
The guards clad in armor similar to Thrasher's are dealt with quickly by Left Hand. This is when Thrasher deduces that the armor is similar to his because Chord must have once been to this temple, because it is Tai and Chord who helped him design it.
Tai happens to be at the temple too, and her true colors are revealed. She tells the story of how the fathers of all the gathered individuals were at the temple during the war and formed The Pact. The fathers paired up with the 'Daughters of the Dragon' at the temple to create powerful offspring. The New Warriors show up and Tai commands the Folding Circle to attack them. Night Thrasher turns on the Folding Circle and the Warriors are victorious. Tai attacks the Warriors, ensnaring them and reveals that she is the one that order Dwayne's parents killed. She explained the origin of the Well of All Things, where her power and others' power originates. She explained that she and her progeny were destined to conquer the world and that the New Warriors were formed in order to give her an adaquate sacrifice to the Well of All Things.
Now that Night Thrasher knows the truth about his parents' deaths, the truth about Tai and Chord and the truth about the reason the New Warriors were formed, it was time to take Tai down. The Warriors teamed up with the remaining members of the Folding Circle. Tai proved a formidable opponent, but was defeated inside the Well of All Things and the Well closed up.
Obsessive: Dwayne is an obsessive individual. That is to say, when he latches onto something he simply can not let it go! The prime example of this is his own personal war on crime. Though originally fueled with the memories of his parents being gunned down by criminals, despite recent events and light being shed on his own past, his obsessive drive to end street crime has not dimenished. Aside from his crusade against crime, Dwayne tends to take his personal crusades a little too seriously and persue things to the end even if it means to his own detrement.
Intelligent: Dwayne is a smart cookie. Part of his training and preperation for his war on crime was to hone his mind as well. Dwayne had some of the best schooling money could buy. The result? A genius level intellect. Dwayne can wrap his mind around many concepts and ideas. He's a natural engineer and tinkerer who utilizes his talents to better equipment himself and his allies. Outside of a garage or lab, Dwayne can figure out most technology.
Alpha: Perhaps it was due to growing up an orphaned only child. Perhaps it's due to the raising he received from Tai and Chord. Dwayne is a good example of an Alpha personality. He takes charge, puts himself at the center of attention and has commanding influence even among some individuals he hardly knows or just met. He is almost overbearingly an Alpha and often it causes problems when interacting with others with similar alpha tendancies.
Brutal: Dwayne usually does not give any quarter in a confrontation. Whether it be a confrontation in the business world, a verbal arguement or a physical throw-down. Dwayne believes in the mantra, "Win at any cost". There's not such thing as a fair fight in Dwayne's mind. He'll throw sand in the eyes of opponent, attack someone from behind, drag up an old, dirty secret to win an arguement, sniper-bid someone on an online auction forum; So long as the outcome is the same. Victory.
My Way of the Highway…: Dwayne thinks of himself as a leader, and honestly he is a pretty decent one. He's organized, resourceful and can get a job done when he puts his mind to it. However, the downside of this thought is that he doesn't make mistakes. He's human and everyone makes mistakes, but with Dwayne it takes a lot to prove it to himself that he is wrong. Because of this, while working with a team, Dwayne has a tendancy to be bossy and dismissive of his team's thoughts and ideas. When his plans do not coincide with the plans of his team mates, Dwayne has the tendancy to let them do it their way while he does it his own way. This is a very dangerous and exploitable aspect of Dwayne's personality.
MENTAL RESISTANCE: The closest thing that Dwayne has to a power. Dwayne's DNA has been referred to as 'Advanced DNA'. He's not a mutant but there's something different about him. Due to manipulations made by Tai when Dwayne was younger, Dwayne is immune to mental and telepathic probes. This is a passive ability and is not something Dwayne has any control over. The mental defenses are so strong that when mentally probed by the likes of Emma Frost, she was sent physically staggering backwards due to the mental feedback such an endeavor created. Frost referred to the defenses as a 'natural immunity'. It is unknown whether the resistance weakens under constant mental probing or if a telepath stronger than Emma Frost could break through the resistance.
ARMOR: Dwayne's armor that he wears as Night Thrasher is an advanced armored that he developed with the resources of the Taylor Foundation. It was designed to give Night Thrasher an edge, since his partners in crimefighting at the time had powers and he did not. The Night Thrasher armor is bullet-proof from low-powered street-grade guns, knives can not penetrate it and it's fireproof. The armor is composed of a synthetic silicate, kevlar and ceramic material that is ultra-flexible. Inbedded in the material are super-thin light projecting material that allows the Night Thrasher armor to blend with its surroundings, offering a passive camoflage ability. The helmet of the armor protects Dwayne's head and offers him several important crime fighting features. These features include: Infrared and telescopic vision, magnetic resonance scanning and digital camera recording through the lenses of the helmet. The helmet includes a communications link, an emergency breathing aparatus with a limited air supply, voice altering device, audial enhances to increase Dwayne's natural ability to hear and finally a computer uplink system that allows him to directly interface with computer systems through his armor.
NIGHT THRASHER GEAR: Dwayne has designed several weapons and pieces of equipment for himself to complement the advanced armor he wears. Night Thrasher's primary weapons are a pair of escrima that he refers to as his 'Battle Staves'. These weapons are about a foot long each and made of a highly durable titanium alloy. They are usually holstered in special clips on the back of the Night Thrasher Armor. Further more, Dwayne has a pneumatic system built into his right gauntlet that will deploy a foot-long, retractable blade for close-quarters combat. In his left gauntlet, he has access to a long, thin strand of adamantium alloy wire that he can use for any number of ways, such as a tether or garrote wire. In emergency scenerios, Dwayne can deploy micro-surface to surface missiles from his gauntlets as well as utilize a stored mini-Uzi Sub-Machine Pistol. As Night Thrasher, Dwayne also has access to an advanced Skateboard. The skateboard is made out of a highly durable, armored fiberglass composite. It is rocket propelled to provide Dwayne with an extra boost of speed and also has a retractable blade on it similar to the one on his wrist. He can use the skateboard as a melee weapon or as a shield when not riding it. Dwayne also has a belt with many compartments and satchels meant to store any number of items, such as explosive packs, smoke bombs and caltrops. Dwayne always seems to have just what is needed for any situation.
TAYLOR FOUNDATION: The source of Dwayne's wealth. This is the company that Dwayne's Father Daryl founded and made profitable. Dwayne inherited it and draws his own personal fortune from. For most of his life, Dwayne was merely the heir… surragates ran the company in his stead. It is a multi-national, multi-faceted organization with its influence in many business endeavors. Consulting, technology and trade are its major ventures but any branch can seemingly be involved in any number of activities. It's a dynamic venture that provides Dwayne with the capital to fund the Warriors.
THE NEW WARRIORS: The team that Dwayne was encouraged to found. He gathered up a group of young heroes and they've trained into an effective force against crime and those that would endanger others. Dwayne has come to count of his teammates to be there for him when he needs them. Whether it be to save him from an enemy about to strike him from behind or if it's to talk Dwayne down from doing something he'll regret, he can count on his team to do it. Also, aside from the support of his team there are the resources the team brings to the table. The New Warriors have access to some super advanced technology, mostly developed, designed and created by Dwayne himself. The Warriors' HQ is the Crashpad and it offers training facilities, room and board as well as a super computer and database. A garage is also available with various vehicles ranging from helicopters to motorcycles in case any member of the team needs a ride.
MIDNIGHTS FIRE: He is like Dwayne's personal nemesis. The superpowered Midnight's Fire is partially why Dwayne created the Night Thrasher armor; It was in order to be able to hold his own against SIlhouette's Brother. Since Silhouette was gravely hurt early in Night Thrasher's crime fighting career, Midnight's Fire has had it in for Dwayne. He has framed Night Thrasher for murder and on several occasions they have been in brutal combat with one another. Dwayne always finds a way to get an edge on Midnight's Fire, but he is still a constant thorn in Dwayne's backside.
LACK OF RESTRAINT: When angered enough or fed up in a situation enough, Dwayne can nearly cross over and do something he'll probably regret later. He lacks restraint and has been fortunate enough to have others around him to provide a cooler head in situations. Dwayne has nearly choked Midnight's Fire to death, dropped Chord off a building and has put a gun to the Punisher's head. When provided enough negative influence, Dwayne could be driven to kill or seriously injure someone. In the heat of the moment, Dwayne isn't afraid of killing his enemy.