Deathlok

"You said that if we worked hard, if we did right, that we'd have a place. You said it was enough to be a man. But there's better than man. There's gods. And the rest of us, what are we? They're giants. We're what they step on."

- Michael Peterson

Michael Peterson was an ordinary man until he was approached by the mysterious group who helped him to develop superpowers through use of the Centipede Device. However, when he compromised the secrecy of the project, they decided to eliminate him, but they were stopped by a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents led by Phil Coulson. Some time later, Peterson decided to join S.H.I.E.L.D.

Early life
"Michael Peterson, factory worker. Married, one kid. Gets injured, gets laid off, wife jumps ship. Good guy, bad breaks. Best guess is, somebody tells him they can make him strong again. Make him super."

- Phil Coulson

Not much is known about Peterson's early life. He lived alone with his son, his wife having left him when he lost his job due to injury.



The Centipede
"You're in danger." "What do you mean danger?" "S.H.I.E.L.D." "I should carry a shield?"

- Skye and Michael Peterson

At some point during his rehabilitation he was approached by a woman known only as Raina, who represented an organization that created a treatment that could restore his health and put him back to work.

Raina introduced Mike to a doctor known as Debbie. Debbie treated Peterson with the Centipede Device, which utilized, among other things, unstable Extremis technology. A side-effect of the treatment was Peterson's development of super-powers, including strength and durability.

When Debbie's lab was destroyed by the detonation of another Centipede user, Peterson saved Debbie from the burning building. This action was observed and recorded by Skye, who was investigating Centipede for the Rising Tide. Skye posted her video online, giving Peterson an unwanted celebrity, as he only desired to find work and raise his son in peace.

Peterson was later tracked down by Skye, who led him to believe that he was in danger from S.H.I.E.L.D. Soon after, Peterson's condition began to deteriorate, both mentally and physically.

In desperation, Peterson returned to his former workplace, hoping to regain his old position. After being rebuffed, he attacked his old manager, putting him in the hospital. He then visited Debbie in the hospital, who convinced him that he needed to disappear, as the people behind Centipede did not want to be exposed.

Mike's condition from the Centipede soon grew critical. However, Mike was still convinced that he needed to try and rebuild his life. He took his son and broke into Skye's van, ordering her to take him to the nearest train station. He soon discovered that Skye was working with S.H.I.E.L.D., and escaped into the station. He was confronted by Agent Phil Coulson who tried to talk him down, before being shot by Agent Grant Ward with the Night-Night Gun, which tranquilized him with a curative agent created by agent Jemma Simmons, saving his life.

He was then taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. protective custody for rehabilitation, and his son taken to live with Mike's sister Mindy during his recovery.



Fighting Back
"I’m just saying this could easy go sideways. The last time we saw this guy he was a raging homicidal manic... "He’s standing right behind me, isn’t he?"

- Grant Ward about Michael Peterson

After recovering Mike decided to make up for his actions by working for S.H.I.E.L.D. Eventually Agent Coulson asked for his help to help bring down the organization that gave him his powers: the Centipede Group. While on the "Bus" their were some hostile feelings from some members of the team (mainly Ward and May), but after helping Coulson and the team attack one of Centipede's bases he earned the group's trust. While back on the "Bus" Micheal thought about joining S.H.I.E.L.D full time, afraid to return to his son after he had seen his outrage at the train station, but Coulson assured him his son would think no different of him and told him to think on his decision.

The Bridge
Mike called his son to tell him he would return, only to have Raina, who had somehow found Ace's location, threaten to kill him if Peterson did not trade Coulson for Ace. With no choice Mike was forced to trick the team into thinking they wanted him. When the exchange started Mike attempted to break off the deal by threatening Raina's life but Coulson told him it was okay, understanding that he had no other choice. After getting his son to safety Mike attempted to redeem himself by going back to rescue Coulson only for Raina and her group to have the Bridge explode, brutaly burning him and destroying his right leg.

Mike was revealed to have survived the blast, and was ultimately recovered by Centipede agents, badly burned, missing his right leg, and implanted with a monitoring ocular implant similar to Akela Amador's Backscatter X-Ray Eye Implant.

Powers
Due to use of Centipede, which is a combination of Extremis, gamma radiation, alien metal and elements of the Super Soldier Serum, injected into his system through a device on his arm, Michael Peterson possesses various superhuman abilities.

Superhuman Strength: Mike possesses strength that is greater than a normal human. He can lift much heavier objects that cannot be moved without use of machinery and overpower normal humans and send them flying about tens of feet away. With his strength, he can tear any solid objects like concrete with ease. In addition, his strength extends into his leg muscles as he is able to leap great distances.

Superhuman Speed: Mike can move at speeds much faster than any normal human athlete. After exiting the building, he was able to reappear behind his son to leave the scene.

Superhuman Agility & Reflexes: Mike has agility and reflexes far greater than a normal human being.

Enhanced Durability: While he is not bulletproof, Mike can withstand physical damage much greater than that of a normal human. He was able to withstand a fall from the higher level of the train station down to the ground.

Regenerative Healing Factor: If injured, Mike is able to heal much faster than a normal human being. He took a shot from a shotgun but showed no siginificant damage upon getting up.

Trivia

 * An unrelated character named Mike Peterson appeared in the comic books. He was the best friend of Slapstick.

Behind the Scenes

 * On January 23rd, Marvel announced that Mike will be the MCU's version of Deathlok the Demolisher.