History[]
Ray Dexter is one of the protagonists of the 2000 AD strip Sinister Dexter. He is a 'gunshark' (hitman) in the futuristic city of Downlode, which occupies most of what was once central Europe at a point in the unspecified but near future, and his professional partner is Finnigan 'Finny' Sinister.
An aficionado of old movies and pop culture, Ray has had a Fony 'headcase' implanted in his pineal gland, on which he can watch old movies and TV shows beamed directly onto his retina, as desired. He is also a noted womaniser and self-styled fashion icon. Ray and Finny were freelance gunsharks until they went to work for 'Queenpin' of crime Demi Octavo, having killed her husband, Holy Moses (Downlode's former kingpin) on her orders. Following her murder their lives became increasingly complicated when they took on a headstrong apprentice called Kal Cutter and started to work for a new crime boss, Senor Apellido, who was actually a clone of Holy Mses.
Ray, who had been conducting an illicit relationship with police officer Tracy Weld, was separated from Finny and ended up killing a police officer in self-defence. He thereby broke the gunshark code, which prohibits the killing of innocents, and was shot by a conflicted Weld, who wanted to injure him enough to take him down before her fellow officers could kill him.
Apparently rendered quadriplegic, Ray was sentenced to a minimum 725 years in prison. He spent some time in a prison hospital before being rescued by Finny with the help of Weld, who gave Finny one of the prison's security codes. Ray eventually discovered that he had been deliberately immobilised by an implant in his spine. With the implant removed, Ray resumed his career as one of Downlode's prime gunsharks and he and Weld were reconciled.
After Ray and Finny had saved the universe by killing the Mover, a parallel universe counterpart of Holy Moses whose presence was destabilising reality, the pair discovered that they had inadvertently erased themselves from reality as well. They returned to work as gunsharks in a Downlode where nobody knew who they were.
Powers and abilities[]
Powers
A malfunction in Ray's 'headcase' once gave him the ability to see in infra-red, and at another point caused him to 'tune in' to the thoughts of another headcase user who was a serial killer, briefly causing him to think he was going insane but later allowing him to catch the killer. He can now see heat signatures, even through walls.
Abilities
Killing people for money.
Strength level
Peak human male.
Paraphernalia[]
Equipment
Headcase.
Transportation
Oil-black replica 1950s Edsel convertible, registration SIN DEX.
Weapons
Two chrome-plated nine mil Ruger automatic pistols.
Trivia[]
- Ray's 'headcase' was originally a Sony. He later switched to a 'Fony' because it had "two to the power ten more channels than the old Sony kit, plus adult pay-per-peep," as well as the ability to stimulate the user's olfactory nerves so they could smell the programme they were watching. (Source: 2000 AD prog 2000 (published December 1999).)
- In 2000 AD prog 2000 (published September 2016), Tharg was shown patting Ray and Finny's shoulders while describing them as examples of "characters that stood the test of time" despite having been created in the 1990s. This panel was drawn by Colin MacNeil.
Links[]
- Appearances of Ramone Dexter
- Character Gallery: Ramone Dexter
- Images that feature Ramone Dexter
- Fan-Art Gallery: Ramone Dexter
- Ramone Dexter quotations
Discover and Discuss[]
- Search News for: Ray Dexter · Ramone Algonquin Winnibago Dexter · Ramone Dexter