Art by Kostmeyer and colours by Shaylinn
 
Written by Kostmeyer June 2003.
Updated, December 2006.

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Code Name: None
Real Name: Matthew Buckingham
Nicknames: None known
Occupations: Private Investigator.
Legal Status: No criminal record.
Identity: Buckingham does not use a secret identity.
Aliases: None.
Place of birth: Peckham, London.
Age: 32.
Marital Status: Unrevealed.
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual.
Known Relatives: None known.
Group Affiliation: None.
Base of Operations: Office in London's East end.
First Appearance: Spitfire #5 "Buckingham".
Origin: Matthew Buckingham is a mutant whose psychic powers developed in his late twenties.
Height: 5 foot 10 inches
Weight: 176lbs (12 stone and 8 lbs)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black, going prematurely grey, short.
Distinguishing Marks: Looks much older than he really is.
Strength Level: Buckingham possesses the normal human strength of a man of his age, height and weight who engages in moderate regular exercise.
Known Superhuman Powers: Matthew Buckingham possesses psychic abilities which manifest themselves in the form of visions. These visions are usually (but not exclusively) triggered by touching an object that has stored a psychic imprint. Quite how this occurs is not entirely clear, but a strong psychic imprint seems to be left by intense emotion. By touching the item, Buckingham receives a vision of how the item was used. He uses this ability to interpret events at crime scenes. Most of his visions allow him to experience past events, but rarely he has precognitive visions. So far, these premonitions have been accurate. In one of these visions, he experienced his own death.
Abilities/Special Skills: Buckingham is a trained detective. He has developed a wide range of contacts in London’s criminal underworld, and has contacts in the Metropolitan police force. Due to his knowledge of the circumstances of his own death, Buckingham takes insane risks in combat, believing that he cannot be killed until the exact circumstances of his vision.
Weapons Usedl: Routinely uses a revolver.

Personality: Once a confident, popular person, Buckingham’s life was shattered by the revelation of his own death in a precognitive vision. He has lived with this knowledge for a number of years, initially attempting to ensure that the circumstances in his vision never come about, he appears to have met with little success. It seems he has even attempted suicide in order to cheat the vision. The attempt was unsuccessful. Essentially a good person, Buckingham continues to use his considerable abilities to help people, but can sink into self pity and depression. He has been drowning his sorrows in drink for a number of years and has become an alcoholic.
Personal Interests: Buckingham maintains an interest in the latest developments of criminology, however his consuming passions are for alcohol and cigarettes.
History: Matthew Buckingham was a rising star in London’s Metropolitan police force following successes in a number of high profile cases. He gained a reputation for having exceptional deductive skills. What nobody, including Buckingham himself realised, was that part of his success was due to an emerging psychic ability, enabling him to ‘read’ the psychic imprints left on objects at a crime scene. However, as his powers developed, the psychic impressions he was picking up became more and more violent – in the worst cases he could experience the final moments of a murder victim or even the murderer. Becoming more and more driven as a result of these visions, his personal life suffered. His powers continued to develop, and the psychic impressions which had previously enabled him to look into the past also enabled him to look into the future. He was suspended from duty for brutally beating a man who his visions had revealed would commit a series of murders. Leaving the police force before he was sacked, Buckingham set himself up as a private investigator, and was making a successful career when he received his most vivid premonition yet – his own death. He has come to accept this as inevitable, and has sunk into alcoholism and depression. He has unsuccessfully attempted suicide on at least one occasion. His business has suffered and his physical and mental condition continues to deteriorate.
Recently Buckingham has assisted the super heroine Spitfire on several occasions, notably against the Spider Queen, and in Carrie’s recent conflict with the Hellfire Club. He was also with Carrie’s friends during the demonic invasion of London led by the Horde (see Hell on Earth).