which Doomsday left Kord in a coma during his murderous rampage, as well as a six-inch scar on the back of his skull. Kord and Booster Gold both subsequently joined the short-lived Justice League offshoot known as Extreme Justice. Kord then entered a period of relative obscurity. The miniseries The LAW (Living Assault Weapons) reunited him and the other heroes acquired from Charlton, but the series met with critical disfavor. Super Buddies In July 2003, Giffen, DeMatteis, and original JLI artist Kevin Maguire reunited for the six-issue miniseries Formerly Known as the Justice League, where many of the original JLI characters re-teamed with a storefront office. Ted (who had grown in maturity) was an important member of this new team known as the "Super Buddies". The sequel story arc I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League was initially slated as a second miniseries, but instead ran delayed in JLA: Classified #4–9 (2005). Ted made several appearances in Birds of Prey, at first as Oracle's internet friend and later in person. It was hinted in several issues that Ted had a crush on Oracle. Ted had gone back to his company, but still had many, many problems with it; problems Oracle tried to help resolve. During this time, it was revealed he had a heart condition (where he had actually experienced multiple heart attacks while in action without noticing), but this did not stop him from assisting when it was needed. After his death, the Birds of Prey visited a statue in Valhalla Cemetery built in his honor; Black Canary revealed that being in the JLA was only fun when Ted was there, and Oracle revealed having had a cyber crush on him. Infinite Crisis Death In the 80-page special Countdown to Infinite Crisis, Kord discovers a revived Checkmate organization headquartered in a Belgian castle fortress where Kord is captured. Maxwell Lord, former bankroller of the JLA, reveals to Blue Beetle to use Checkmate to ensure that metahumans, including superheroes, will be kept under human's surveillance and control. Blue Beetle is then given an ultimatum to join Lord's organization, but refuses with the reply "Rot in hell, Max" to which Lord murders him with a bullet to the head. That same story had earlier reiterated that Kord had thought the scarab was destroyed back in Blue Beetle vol. 6, #18 (1987); however, it had been rediscovered, untouched, in a temple