History: Bill Norris donned the purple cowl whenever nazi villains and the criminal element were about. He fought in Europe and on the home front. It is unknown if he joined S.M.A.S.H. during or after the WWII.

In 1969 an alien menace invaded Earth. Attempting to stop the alien, some members of S.M.A.S.H. were killed while others were imprisoned in suspended animation. The Grim Reaper was one of those imprisoned. He was freed thirty years later by Tom Strange and his counterpart, Tom Strong. Together the science heroes, including the Grim Reaper, defeated the alien threat. Like the others, Norris had to readjust to the current time period after being away for so long. However, the adjustment period took its toll on S.M.A.S.H. and the team disbanded.

Three years after the alien threat Lance Lewis was found murdered and Norris seemed the prime suspect. However, Norris had his sights on something else. Before his death Bob Benton, the Terror, created a security protection program in which he somehow downloaded his personality into it. A Pragmatist by nature, Norris was alarmed of the increasing influence the Terror 2000 was having on society. He decided The Terror 2000 and its excessive use of force had to be stopped. Accepting a job from the mob, The Grim Reaper entered the Terror Inc. Corporation. He used Diana Adams (Ms. Masque) as a human shield in his attempt to make his way to the building’s control center in order to shut the Terror 2000 down. Unfortunately the Grim Reaper miscalculated the advance technology of the computer program and the Terror 2000 killed him.

The former members of S.M.A.S.H discovered that the one-time hero Mystico was responsible for Lance Lewis’ death. Norris’ name and his dealings with the mob were exonerated. He was given a heroes burial.

Powers: Norris had no super powers, but was skilled in hand-to-hand combat. He employed a hangman’s noose, gun and a sword with electromagnetic properties in his fighting arsenal.