Palmer Cokes is a professional hitman with ties to a subversive organization known as the Echo Initiative. It is said that he can execute a target from five miles away. Little is known of Cokes' background, but it is believed that he suffered from severe psychological instability, particularly with regards to authority figures and impulse control issues. When he refused to undergo a psychological evaluation, the Echo Initiative considered him a liability and arranged to have him killed. Cokes was saved by the warrior Shado (masquerading as Ra's al Ghul) and given a new assignment. He was to assassinate Green Arrow. Provided with a ship that could travel undetected by most sensors, Palmer Cokes tracked Green Arrow to the shores of Themyscira. For reasons yet to be revealed, he could not bring himself to shoot Green Arrow and instead fired a potentially fatal shot through the heart of Green Arrow's son, Connor Hawke.