FEARSOME FIVE (I)
HISTORY
The original Fearsome Five was formed almost a decade ago by the villain Dr. Light to battle the New Teen Titans. That
team consisted of Dr.Light, the powerful psionic named Psimon, a gadegeteer named Gizmo, a matter-manipulator named Shimmer,
and Shimmer's brother, the hulking Mammoth. After numerous defeats at the hands of the Titans, Psimon ousted Dr. Light as
leader of team. For a brief period the team added a criminal sorceress from India named Jinx to its roster as well as the
super-strong nuclear-powered mercenary Neutron. The Fearsome Five effectively ceased to exist after Psimon's apparent death
during the Crisis. The team's various members continued their criminal careers, either going solo or as part of other
criminal organizations. When Psimon returned shortly after Zero Hour he sought out many of his former teammates. Psimon
killed Shimmer and effectively lobotomized Mammoth, then tracked down Gizmo and used his powers to shrink the already
diminutive gadgeteer to nothingness. Psimon was later defeated by the New Titans.
FEARSOME FIVE (II)
HISTORY
The second Fearsome Five was formed by the mysterious being called Paradox sometime after Psimon's defeat. The group was hired
secretly by business tycoon Jeremy Dark to disrupt the New York Stock Exchange
in such a way as to allow Dark to manipulate stocks and increase his own wealth substantially. Despite the efforts of
Justice Inc. the Fearsome Five succeeded in their mission and escaped. Dark's
involvement was never discovered. This incarnation of the Fearsome Five consisted of Paradox,
Hi-Rez, Blaze, Chillblaine
(one of several thugs to use that name), and Mammoth (who, though effectively comatose, was outfitted with a cybernetic control
harness that let others control him). Other than the fact that there were five team members, including one from the original
Fearsome Five, it is unknown why Paradox chose that name for the group.
After this mission the new Fearsome Five effectively dissolved. Hi-Rez and Blaze went on to other criminal endeavors, Mammoth
was eventually imprisoned (and actually recovered some of what little faculties he had possessed before Psimon's attack), and
Chillblaine, like so many of the others who wore that costume, was killed by the Golden Glider. Paradox disappeared and though
there were rumors of his appearance in Empire City during a temporal anomaly, these later proved untrue.
FEARSOME FIVE (III)
HISTORY
Another Fearsome Five, again led by Paradox appeared recently in Superior City where they encountered the
new Enforcers of Justice. Though they were eventually captured, a crack
legal defense resulted in only two of the five being convicted and sent to prison. This team consisted of Paradox, the recovered
Mammoth, Jinx and Neutron from the one of the Five's earlier incarnations, and Hawk and Dove's foe Sudden Death. After the team's
capture by the Enforcers only Neutron and Sudden Death were convicted and imprisoned. Investigations by the Enforcers have tied
the legal defense team that the Fearsome Five used to the World Crime League, leading
the heroes to suspect that the League had recruited the villains for some unknown purpose.
Paradox was later recruited by the U.S. government as part of a Suicide Squad mission to Apokalips during the
Imperiex Crisis. He and Mammoth were next seen in Superior City operating a
front as a criminal gang called the Faces of Fear alongside a new recruit
called Dr. Fright. This was part of a plan by the World Crime League to resurrect their deceased leader Shiwan Xan. The three
were arrested in the aftermath of the incident but as Jinx was not involved she remains at large.
MEMBERS
PARADOX
Paradox claims to be from another dimension. His powers stem from his apparent ability to make himself out of phase with
normal space-time. When he is out of phase, Paradox is never where he appears to be making him nearly impossible to hit,
and even if an attack does connect its effectiveness is often greatly reduced. Paradox has also exhibited the ability to
fly and can use his power to cause other shifts in space-time which he uses to disorient or disable opponents and to
teleport himself or others.
JINX
Jinx is a powerful sorceress, able to use her magic to transform matter, animate earth and other inanimate objects and several
other powerful effects. Jinx's one weakness is that her feet must be in contact with the ground in order to use her powers.
MAMMOTH
Mammoth is superhumanly strong and resistant to damage. In a battle with Mammoth, the hero
Orchid accidentally hit him with a mental blast that apparently destroyed his mind.
The Fearsome Five had taken Mammoth's body from the battle and when they were later captured, Mammoth appeared to be fine.
Later evidence seems to indicate that Mammoth's body now has a new mind in control, one that is far more intelligent than the
original ever was. What the authorities have not yet discovered is that the mind now in control of Mammoth's body is that of
Gizmo, Mammoth's diminuative former teammate in the original Fearsome Five. Though Gizmo had been killed, Jinx was able to use
her powers to resurrect his mind in the still-living body of Mammoth.
DR. FRIGHT
The original Dr. Fright was a Nazi agent and brilliant scientist, specializing in the
psychology of fear. The new Dr. Fright is Sean Franklin, a former army chemical weapons specialist who became mentally unstable
after exposure to unusual materials while disposing of WMDs. At some point in his past Franklin had also studied under Dr.
Jonathan Crane, who later became the villain Scarecrow. Franklin was discharged and was eventually recruited by Paradox and Mammoth
as a new Dr. Fright as part of the Faces of Fear operation. Dr. Fright possesses an array of gadgets including a helmet, ray gun,
and specialized grenades that allow him to induce fear and terror in his targets.
FEARSOME FIVE (IV)
HISTORY
Yet another team calling themselves the Fearsome Five emerged during the villain Carnage's
attempt to take vengeance on Superior City. Among the super-villains that were part of
Carnage's "army" were a quintent of criminals going by the name of the Fearsome Five. None of this group's members have
any apparent connection to any prior iteration of the Fearsome Five, so it is unknown why they elected to use the name. The villains
were defeated and imprisoned after Superior City's assembled super-heroes were able to thwart Carnage's scheme.
MEMBERS
BEHEMOTH
Behemoth is Ken Sanders, a career thug who made a living beating people up on the orders of others. When his metahuman powers
activated Ken grew to over 7 feet in height and nearly 500 pounds, and his strength increased to a level where he could lift
several thousand pounds. As the newly christened Behemoth, Ken kept on doing what he did best - act as muscle for hire.
GROUND ZERO
Robert Keally was an expert thief, a specialist in breaking and entering, when a botched job robbing a nuclear laboratory led to an
accident that granted him metahuman powers. Now able to fly, project blasts of energy, and generate waves of explosive energy
centered on himself, Robert adopted the name Ground Zero and started a new career as a super-powered mercenary.
SHARD
While working as an exotic dancer Sylvia Flowers (who professionally went by a variety of flower-based names like Lily and Rose) was
nearly killed when she overdosed on an experimental street drug. Instead of killing her like it had so many others, however, the drug
gave Sylvia metahuman powers. Sylvia had gained the ability to transmute and reshape matter, a powerful ability that lets her change
the very atoms and molecules of objects around her and reshape them to her whim. Adopting the name Shard, Sylvia first sought out those
she felt had used, abused, or otherwise wronged her and took a measure of revenge against each. She has now turned to using her powers
to make herself rich and powerful. She is especially fond of transforming objects, and often opponents, into precious gems.
RAPTOR
A fan of Hong Kong Kung Fu films since he was a child, Lawrence Kincaid set out to learn every martial art he could master. Lawrence
was quite adept at learning the styles, but his brash and violent nature kept him from learning the discipline that goes along with them.
Lawrence would frequently get kicked out of the martial arts schools he attended due to his aggressiveness. Outside of the schools
Lawrence would constantly challenge other fighters, sometimes to his own detriment, in order to prove himself. Seeking to further his
skill and reputation Lawrence joined the secretive Nimba Cult. In addition to providing
additional training, the Cult used an unknown procedure (possibly mystical in nature) to grant Lawrence metahuman powers. Lawrence now
possessed superhuman reflexes and the ability to shape his arms and legs into lethal martial weapons. As Raptor he began serving as
an agent and assassin for the Nimba Cult, but Lawrence's ego again got in the way. The missions he was assigned were meant to be covert,
but Raptor could not help but openly challenge any opponent he thought was worthy of his skills. These overt actions would always draw
unwanted attention to Raptor and, by extension, the the Nimba Cult. The Cult decided that Raptor was a risk so tried to have him killed,
but Lawrence fled. As Raptor he now offers his skills to the highest bidder, preferring to choose jobs that will give him an opportunity
to test his martial arts prowess against worthy adversaries. In fact, on more than one occassion Raptor has abandoned a paid assignment
if an opportunity arose to do battle with a noteworthy martial artist he happened to come across. The Nimba Cult, meanwhile, has not forgotten
nor forgiven Raptor's betrayal and is still on the hunt for him.
ARMATURE
Thomas Evans is a genius inventor and engineer. While working for Ameritech Industries, Thomas developed a revolutionary modular,
highly-adaptable, configurable weapons system. When a senior executive stole Thomas' invention and tried to pass it off as his own,
Thomas killed the executive, took his invention, destroyed his notes, and fled. He turned his invention into a powered suit which he
named the Armature Armor. Donning the armor and adopting the code-name Armature for himself, Thomas became a high-tech mercenary
taking criminal jobs to help pay for continuing his research. The Armature Armor is flight-capable and is shielded to protect its wearer
from attacks. More importantly, the armor is a walking weapons and engineering lab, allowing a skilled user to deploy nearly any kind of
weapons system he can come up with.
