The Young Magistrate (Earth 49996)

Raul Rodrigo Cordero was fifteen when he was chosen by the Magistrates (Earth 49996) to join their ranks. Before that, Raul was a fairly ordinary, Puerto Rican teenager living in a poor neighborhood in New York City. Ramon, his father was suffering from leukemia. Julia, his mother was working two full time jobs to keep the family afloat. His brother, Tomas was beginning to hang out with a bad influence. Raul was looking for a job to relieve some stress on his mother but was finding it difficult in a neighborhood where gang members outnumbered job openings by ten to one.

The Magistrates are a mysterious group and even after becoming a Magistrate himself, Raul does not know the origin of the Magistrates or what their full agenda is. What Raul does know is: Each Magistrate is selected from a different universe and Raul is the only Magistrate for the universe of Earth 49996. Each Magistrate is given almost god-like power and Raul has already been granted a significant amount of this power and will receive more as his training as a Magistrate continues. The Magistrates are benevolent and interested in promoting the welfare of all life within all the universes the Magistrates are involved with, however, being concerned with all life, all Magistrates are restricted from ever showing partiality or using their power except when it benefits all life.

Raul has had several conflicts with the Magistrates Council (Earth 49996) but they have been strict to enforce their impartiality, even to the point of preventing Raul from saving his father's life. Raul was allowed to ease his father's suffering but Ramon still died a relatively painful death from leukemia. Raul was also prevented from saving his brother, Tomas, from being hit and shredded by a subway. Raul continues to be a young Magistrate though he struggles with mixed feelings. He understands how the Magistrates are acting for the greater good but he still feels anger and grief about all he's lost for the greater good.