View source for Ajax

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{{Infobox NPC
| box_color  = #FF0000
| name       = Ajax
| image      = [[File:Ajax.jpg|200 px]]
| caption    = Omega Team Member
| sd         = Ralph Valetti
| gender     = Male
| archetype  = Unknown
| affiliation= [[Wyvern]]
| age        = Unknown
| romantic   = Unknown
| family     = Unknown
| pp         = Unknown
| sp         = Unknown
| loc        = 
}}
== Overview ==
'''Ajax''' is a former [[Omega Team]] member who is considered utterly invulnerable.


Villains face him:

* In the mission [[Dean MacArthur#Part One: Ajax and Me|Ajax and Me]] from [[Dean MacArthur]], as a Boss and an Enemy (Levels 20 - 29).

* In the mission [[Dean MacArthur#Confront Ajax!|Confront Ajax!]] from [[Dean MacArthur]], as a Boss and an Enemy (Levels 20 - 29).

{{Spoiler}}

== Description ==

Ajax was originally the only known surviving member of the Omega Team. His guilt drove him into years of depression until the Omega Team Time Capsule was opened. It was revealed that the current Ajax was nothing but a thug who killed the original Ajax. Now, Ajax seeks to redeem himself by cleansing the Rogue Isles of all villains within it.

== Background ==
"Ajax" is a name shared by two heroes. Both were considered to be utterly invulnerable.

The first Ajax was shot and killed by a criminal named Ralph Valetti on an outlying island near [[Talos Island]] fifteen years ago. He is buried in an [[The Old Me Badge|unmarked grave]]. How his invulnerability failed him and he was killed by a standard firearm is a mystery.

The second Ajax is Ralph Valetti, the man who killed the first Ajax. As Ajax died, his powers transferred to Valetti. Valetti took Ajax's costume and identity and continued the heroic career of Ajax. Ajax II was part of [[Hero 1]]'s [[Omega Team]], but was able to survive the blast that occurred when the Omega Team destroyed the portal to the [[Rikti Homeworld]] after being trapped in a [[Rikti]] stasis ray. He was the only known survivor of Omega Team until [[Glacia]] and [[Infernia]] managed to return from the Rikti Homeworld several years later.

In the hero acceptance of the [[Mission:Tip - Malta Gunslinger Action Figure|Malta Gunslinger Action Figure Mission Tip]], it is revealed in a [[Longbow]] file that Ajax spent the years between the Rikti War and the opening of the Time Capsule trying to drink himself into a stupor. Unfortunately, his invulnerability made getting drunk impossible for him.

The nature of Ajax's powers is unknown. The way the original Ajax received them, and the method of transfer to Ralph Valetti is a mystery. What is certain is that they make him impervious to any standard form of attack.

In Dean MacArthur's story arc, MacArthur theorizes that the invulnerability has worn off. It has not. However, Ajax can be made vulnerable by powerful psionic blasts. Ajax also mentions that it is his "fate" to return, and that the vulnerability is temporary. He claims to be immortal and unkillable.
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== Dialogue ==

During the mission '''Ajax and Me''':

'''Combat start:''' ''Listen up {{GenderDialogue|female=sunshine|male=pal}}, this place is under MY watch!''


During the mission '''Defeat Ajax''':

'''First Psionic Projector Destroyed:''' ''Agh...hah...is that it, {{Character}}?! It'll take more than that to put me down!'' <br />
'''Second Projector Destroyed:''' ''You're...nothing...I didn't survive the [[Rikti War]]...to be beaten by YOU!'' <br />
'''Fourth Projector Destroyed:''' ''Maybe you're the one...huh? Who's gonna kill me? You think you're the ONE?! PROVE IT!''  <br />
'''"Ajax has become vulnerable!":''' ''COME ON! HIT ME WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!'' <br />
'''At 75% Life:''' ''I haven't felt pain in a while, {{Character}}. I'll give you some credit for that.'' <br />
'''At 50% Life:''' ''But you can't put me down, this is all just temporary. I'm immortal, unkillable!'' <br />
'''At 25% Life:''' ''Even if I fall here...I'll still return...that's my fate...!'' <br />
'''Defeated:''' ''What...where am I...going...?!''

== Time Capsule ==
When the Omega Team time capsule was opened Ajax's letter was inside, which he contributed to the time capsule before the [[Alpha Team|Alpha]] and [[Omega Team|Omega]] Gambit took place.

{{Quotebox|source=the [http://web.archive.org/web/20121025123406/http://na.cityofheroes.com/en/game_info/story/omega_team_time_capsule.php Official Website]|date=November 27, 2009|text=''To whoever reads this.''

''My name is Ajax. All my life, all I've wanted to do is save people. That's just how I was raised. I don't have a tragic past, lost parents, or a vengeful arch nemesis. I've had a great life, to be honest.''

''This is what I wanted to write, what everyone would want to hear. However, you all deserve to know the truth. I know at this point I will have been gone for many years. After all this time, you all deserve to know this. I am not the real Ajax.''

''My real name is Ralph Valetti. The real Ajax is dead and buried somewhere on one of the islands off of [[Talos Island|Talos]]. Given when this letter will be read, he will have been buried there for nearly fifteen years.''

''I killed Ajax. I shot him and he died. I don't know how - he was supposed to be invulnerable. I didn't even mean to do it. I was scared, I was petty - I was a coward. Ajax stared into my eyes before the life left his body. In that moment his power was somehow transferred to me.''

''I buried Ajax and ran. I was terrified. I stayed in hiding for weeks, testing these new powers. I really couldn't be hurt - believe me, I tried. But how then did I kill Ajax? This is something that I still have not figured out.''

''It was in my fourth week of hiding that I saw on the news people were searching for Ajax, wondering about his disappearance.''

''I returned to where I buried Ajax and took his outfit. He always wore a helmet, so no one knew his identity. We both had a similar look in the outfit  - anyone would have, really. I looked at his body one last time before burying him. Maybe I did it out of fear of being discovered. Or maybe I really wanted to be a hero. I still don't know.''

''I took Ajax's life, his powers, and then finally, I took his name.''

''I can only hope those reading this now can forgive me for what I've done, for who I was. I did everything I could to redeem myself, to fill in Ajax's shoes. I even forced my way into the [[Omega Team]]. I was one of the few who found [[Hero 1]] and told him I was going to join.''

''Hero 1 told me that this mission will be one that we will not be coming back from. I knew that from the start. My one wish is that when this begins, I will be able to save as many lives as possible - as an indestructible man going in with a team of magicians, it's the one thing I'm there to do.''

''If everything goes according to plan, the rest of the Omega Team will be reading this now, with myself stuck somewhere on the [[Rikti Homeworld]]. Whatever you do, please do not come looking for me. No more heroes should die on my behalf.''

''No matter what happens, just please keep living your lives, even if it is as the forfeit of my own. That's what the original Ajax would have wanted. It's what I would want.''}}

Upon the opening of the Omega Team's capsule, and the revelation of Ajax's true identity, a warrant was put out for Valetti's arrest. He fled to the [[Rogue Isles]], where he started taking down as many super-powered criminals he could find. After being defeated during [[Dean MacArthur]]'s arc, he is recruited by the writer of the [[Ouroboros Letters]] to defend against the [[Menders of Ouroboros|Menders]] and the [[Coming Storm]]. What happened to his helmet is unknown.

==Related Badges==

{{BadgeBox|Bane of Ajax}}
{{BadgeBox|The Old Me}}

== See Also ==

* Ajax's [[Independents#Ajax (Boss)|Independents]] profile for a list of his powers.

[[Category:Special Boss]]
[[Category:Rikti Lore]]