A tie-in novel reveals that Gold was a preacher in the orphanage where Blood was raised, with the two later joining the Church under its founder Roger Trigon. Becoming Blood's henchman, Gold gained super strength and endurance after Blood injects him with the Mirakuru serum in an attempt to replicate the process that gave Slade Wilson his powers. After Gold breaks into Queen Consolidated's Applied Sciences division under Blood's orders, the Arrow starts tracking him.