Church speaks little of his early life, though he reveals that both his parents died when he was young and that he was primarily raised by his uncle in rural Virginia. His uncle was a carpenter who struggled with depression and bouts of anxiety, often requiring Church's help both on the job and around the house. Because of this, Church matured quickly, gaining ample amounts of common sense and diligence, though his academic life suffered as a result.

Though he graduated high school, Church lacked the grades and finances to move onto college, and settled down to working at an automotive shop until he reached the age of 25. Growing tired of the simple day-in/day-out job, Church enlisted to join the U.S. Army, his forceful demeanor and physical ability making him an ideal soldier.

At some point between completing Basic Training and beginning his first tour, Church purchased a modest house in Georgia and met his future wife, Jaimie, a barista at a small coffee shop. The two developed a relationship and eventually were married shortly before Church's first tour abroad.

Church served four tours of duty in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, becoming a valuable soldier, though his time spent abroad caused his marriage to sour, with even time spent on leave being very awkward due to Church's increasing distance from society and ever-growing signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Finally deciding to leave after 10 total years of service, Church, now in his mid-thirties decided to settle down and try to start a family, getting a job at the local police department as a SWAT officer. Church wanted to have children and become a father, though his own dangerous job and lifestyle coupled with his wife's difficulty conceiving due to family history made such an endeavor difficult, and Church had all but given up on the prospect. This yearning for children of his own influences his present protective behavior.

Only a few years later, everything went to Hell. Returning to work following a lunch break, Church was blindsided by a glaring radio report that was too blunt to be taken any other way:



Church returned to the police station as fast as he could, finding the building itself almost completely evacuated following an immediate call for any and all able officers to try and quell the rioting.

Gearing up in his now-iconic tactical gear and grabbing a variety of weapons, Church hurried to make his way back home - only to find his house in flames, a beacon of anarchic destruction to the whole world as humanity killed themselves in their own unquenchable furor. Feeling lost and without purpose, Church abandoned his previous identity; viewing the mask he wore as his new face in the wake of horror, deserting his old self entirely.

Wandering the blood-soaked canvas of Georgia, Church (now identifying solely by his last name) found a group of survivors known as Monsoon, a dedicated team that went to extreme, almost Darwinist measures to ensure their own survival. Accepted into the group due to his military and police background, Church soon realized that Monsoon was little more than a highly organized group of opinionated men and women who took human nature into their own hands; exiling or killing anyone they deemed too weak to survive in the post-apocalyptic world. The elderly, diseased, and children were culled, childbearing was forbidden, food was heavily rationed, and any protest was met with harsh rebuke.

Church soon lost himself in their ideology, becoming little more than a monster, brutally efficient and lacking in empathy. Never showing his face and speaking little to anyone, he was thought of as little more than a ghost, used as a weapon. Church remained in the group for almost two years before an epiphanic event brought him back to reality and made him realize who he was and what he had become.

Going on a self-imposed exile from Monsoon, Church roamed Georgia alone, surviving on skill, instinct, and luck alone. His current whereabouts and status are unknown to the world.