FORCES OF NATURE
HISTORY
The original Forces of Nature were assembled by OMEGA and set against
the New Enforcers of Justice. This team
was made up mainly of metahumans with a pro-environmental philosophy. They were defeated and it was learned that
OMEGA had only intended for them to serve as a distraction to keep the Enforcers from interfering in his plan.
The second Forces of Nature were a one-off team assembled by Dust Devil. Seeking to participate in the
upcoming Enemy Awards, Dust Devil turned to the
Exchange who provided a team of villains which, like the
original Forces of Nature, had nature and weather-themed powers.
Captured after facing off against the New Adventurers, the
second Forces of Nature were imprisoned in Mercy Island Prison where they were then recruited by the villain
Carnage for his scheme of revenge against
Superior City.
STORM KING
PERSONAL DATA
HISTORY
Nick Wilson was a storm chaser, a meteorologist who would investigate and report on tornados from close
proximity. During one violent storm Nick was caught in a freak electromagnetic phenomenon that may have
been some kind of ball lightning or superbolt. Nick survived the encounter and discovered that he had
gained metahuman powers as a result. Overwhelmed by his new powers, Nick lost control of them and
caused some damage across the Midwest. These actions caused him to be hunted by the authorities and he
panicked and fled, causing more damage. Nick was found by OMEGA, who helped him to gain a measure of
control over his powers. Outfitted with a costume and a new name, Storm King, a grateful Nick became part
of the Forces of Nature and participated in the team's attacks in Superior City.
After the Forces of Nature were defeated by the Enforcers of Justice and incarcerated, Nick came to regret
his actions. He became a model prisoner and was granted early parole. After he was paroled Nick went to
work for KSCO-TV News in Superior City as their weatherman. The conditions of his parole prevent Nick from
using his powers to influence the weather but he is still sensitive to meteorological phenomenon, an ability
which makes his weather forecasts uncannily accurate.
POWERS & WEAPONS
The accident gave Nick a number of weather-related powers. As Storm King he can project massive gusts of
wind, strong enough to rival a hurricane. He can control his wind gusts in order to lift himself off the ground
and fly. Storm King can also project powerful bolts of lightning. With concentration, Nick can exert control
over the local weather conditions including raising or lowering the temperature, or causing various forms of
precipitation. His control is strong enough that he can cause tornados to appear on a clear and sunny day.
CORAL
PERSONAL DATA
- Alter Ego: Katherine (Katy) Andrews
HISTORY
Katy Andrews was a marine biologist in the 1950s. Born in Australia and Oxford-educated, Katy was ahead of her
time for environmental activism. She was especially involved in opposition to above-ground nuclear testing in the
South Pacific due to the effects on marine life. When she learned the details of an upcoming test at a South
Pacific atoll Katy decided to take a more active role in protesting the bomb. With help from other activists she
was able to sneak past the US Navy cordon around the bomb site several days in advance of the test and reach the
target island. On the day of the test she lit a bonfire on the beach and showed herself to the military observers,
intending for her presence there to force them to cancel the test (and for the resultant publicity to draw attention
to her cause).
Frustrated by the disruption the head of the test, Dr. Henry Glass,
had himself flown over to the island to deal with the problem personally. Katy was able to evade Dr. Glass and
prevented him from finding her. Eventually Glass was forced to leave and boarded the plane and flew off back to
the control area. Katy was overjoyed that they would now have to cancel the test. That was when the bomb went off.
Katy Andrews was obliterated in the explosion, but was not actually dead. Somehow, through some unusual properties
of the radiation given off by the bomb, Katy's consciousness had survived. Her individual atoms and molecules,
scattered and transformed by the explosion and radiation, retained a sense of identity and through force of will
Katy slowly began to unconsciously reassemble herself.
The process took decades, slowly pulling the nanoscopic components of her body from across the oceans and seas,
until finally there was enough of Katy's body reformed for her to regain consciousness. Her body was now mostly
water, but she discovered she could transform it into a form resembling her original self. After the shock of what
had happened wore off, Katy became enraged. Not only had they dropped the bomb on her, they had killed all the life
on the atoll. Discovering that her new water form came with other water-based powers, Katy decided to set off and
get revenge for what had been done to her and the other marine life.
Katy's first task was to track down the man she blamed for the bombing, Dr. Henry Glass. Since the bombing,
however, Glass had developed powers of his own and had become the super-villain Doctor Radiation. Katy tracked
him down to the Central American nation where he was now based out of, but Doctor Radiation had years of experience
using his powers and Katy was no match for him.
Surprisingly, Doctor Radiation took pity on Katy and spared her. Pointing out that he had been as much a victim
of the detonation as she had (ignoring the fact he was one of the bomb's designers), Doctor Radiation managed to
turn Katy's anger towards those who were a greater threat to the ecosystem. While she had been reforming her body,
Katy had subconsciously become aware of the growing levels of pollution in the world's oceans, so the prompting
from Doctor Radiation was enough to set her on a new path - as an eco-terrorist. Calling herself Coral, Katy
now began to attack ships and factories that were dumping pollutants. After a while she also began targeting
the corporations and governments behind those polluters.
OMEGA was able to manipulate Coral into becoming a member of the original Forces of Nature and she participated
in the team's attack on Superior City. She and the others were defeated, but the authorities did not realize the
true nature of Katy's powers and she was able to escape. Realizing she had been duped, Coral abandoned the rest
of the Forces of Nature and has since resumed her solo eco-terrorism efforts.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Coral's powers make her ideal for the water. She can move through the water with complete freedom, as smoothly
as moving through the air. Though she typically resembles her original body, Coral is still made mostly of water and,
if she drops the façade of appearing human she is virtually invisible when under the water. Her control of water
extends beyond her own body; Coral can manipulate any source of water, shaping it and moving it in ways that gravity
and other forces would usually prevent.
PLANTMASTER
PERSONAL DATA
- Alter Ego: Douglas Clearwater
HISTORY
Forestry professor Douglas Clearwater was conducting research in the Amazon jungle when his team were attacked
by mercenaries hired by logging firms who were performing illegal clearcutting. Most of the group were killed, and
Douglas was mortally wounded. Douglas' body was dumped into a river and he was left for dead. Douglas' body drifted
along the river until he was deposited deep in the jungle. By chance or by fate, Douglas had arrived at the home of
the Parliament of Trees, the final destination for Earth's Plant Elementals since the beginning of life on the
planet. Seeing the potential in the scientist and ecologist, the Parliament healed Douglas and granted him
plant-related powers.
Thus transformed, Douglas emerged from the jungles and, using his new abilities, he took vengeance on the
mercenaries and the logging company responsible for the attack on he and his team. Tracking the trail of money
behind the loggers, Douglas made his way back to the United States. Calling himself the Plantmaster he began
attacking the parent companies that were ultimately behind the attack. He soon expanded his crusade to include any
company that was responsible for destruction of forests.
OMEGA approached the Plantmaster and recruited him into the first Forces of Nature. When they were defeated he
and the other members of the Forces of Nature were arrested and imprisoned. Plantmaster was at the heart of an
extradition fight, as he had committed his crimes across multiple countries across South, Central, and North America.
He was broken out of jail by a group of eco-terrorists and was last spotted in Canada, battling against logging
efforts in British Columbia.
POWERS & WEAPONS
The Parliament of Trees transformed Douglas into a human-plant hybrid. His skin turned green and his hair took
on a mossy texture, and Douglas gained superhuman strength and resilience. As Plantmaster he can also increase his
size, growing to a height of up to 30 feet tall; and Douglas can rapidly heal from almost any injury. The Parliament
also gave Douglas the power to control all plant life; he can rapidly increase the rate of growth and expansion of
plants near him, and can manipulate plants to move on their own, using them to entwine, trap, or impede his
opponents.
SCORCHER
PERSONAL DATA
HISTORY
A scientist working on ways to combat global warming, Enrica Diego was caught in a lab accident that gave
her superhuman powers. Enrica had been helping to develop radically advanced thermal control technology when
the prototype exploded, bombarding her with the exotic particles the device was based on. Feeling that somehow
the accident was a sort of punishment for trying to help the planet, Enrica decided she could use her powers
for personal gain.
Calling herself Scorcher, Enrica started offering her services to those who could meet her price, while
also taking advantage of her powers to make money on her own. Despite her decision to work purely for herself,
Scorcher's jobs tended to be for pro-environmental groups. On her own she would also periodically attack oil
drilling and processing facilities, then extort money from the oil companies with the threat of more
attacks.
With her mercenary attitude it was easy for OMEGA to recruit Scorcher for the Forces of Nature. Since the
team's defeat Scorcher has been in prison, awaiting trial for her multiple crimes.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Scorcher has the ability to manipulate thermal energy. She can raise or lower the temperature in her
vicinity, with a preference towards making things very hot, on the order of hundreds of degrees. She herself
is immune to the effects of extreme temperatures. Scorcher's control over thermal energy includes the ability
to manipulate open flame, shaping the fire to her will. By focusing her control she can emit beams of intense
heat, or concentrating massive spikes in temperature to generate spontaneous explosions.
TREMOR
PERSONAL DATA
- Alter Ego: Reginald (Reg) Trevors
HISTORY
As a low-level hood, Reg Travers often found himself doing the dirty jobs no one else in his crew wanted.
One time this meant it was Reg who drew the short straw and had to help illegally dispose of some toxic waste.
It had been raining for several days prior to the night Reg was to bury the barrels of waste, and the rain was
still coming down hard when he set out in the van loaded with the waste. Reg had barely finished digging the
hole to dump the waste in when the rains triggered a mudslide. An entire hillside broke loose, slid down, and
buried Reg, the van and the barrels of toxic waste.
Somehow Reg had survived the initial deluge, but was buried alive and slowly suffocating. He panicked and
began scrambling at the tons of mud covering him. Suddenly he found himself in the open, breathing the fresh
air as the rain continued to pour down. He gave little thought to how he managed to survive, simply being glad
he did. It was a few days later that Reg discovered that the incident had changed him. When a fight broke out
between Reg and a few other members of his crew, not an unusual event, he tossed aside the others with a wave
of his hand. Reg went to an old quarry and after some experimenting discovered that he had gained superhuman
powers related to the earth.
Seeing his powers as a ticket to the big time, Reg started calling himself Tremor and immediately tried to
use his powers to rob a bank. His powers let him tear off the vault door, and he fled with several sacks of
money, but was having trouble shaking the pursuing police. OMEGA intervened and helped Tremor escape, and in
gratitude Reg agreed to join the first Forces of Nature. After he and the others were defeated by the Enforcers
of Justice, Tremor found himself arrested and incarcerated.
POWERS & WEAPONS
The accident that transformed Reg gave him increased strength and a range of earth-centric powers. As Tremor
he can move massive volumes of earth, letting him create tunnels or manipulate the earth into rough shapes he
can use to strike blows or grapple opponents. He can ride along a wave of moving earth at high speed, like
surfing a wave of water. Tremor can also generate shockwaves that he fires from his hands as blasts of kinetic
force. Tremor's one weakness is that his powers seem to disappear if he is not physically connected with the
ground, either directly or standing on a surface that is in contact with it.
DUST DEVIL
PERSONAL DATA
- Alter Ego: Giovanni Pizaro
HISTORY
Giovanni was a low-ranking figure in the Superior City organized crime families when he was chosen by
the A.I. OMEGA to be part of the group of villains known as the
Forces of Nature. The criminal was given his powers by OMEGA and sent with his teammates to battle the
Enforcers of Justice. Defeated, Dust Devil and the others went to prison but he escaped during a prison break
organized by the Crime Cartel. He went on the form a second
Forces of Nature team that was again defeated.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Dust Devil can move at superhuman speeds, but does so by spinning at high speed. While he is spinning he
can travel at high speed, is protected from attacks by a wall of air, can generate powerful gusts of wind,
and create vacuums by sucking the air out of an area.
EVERGREEN
PERSONAL DATA
- Alter Ego: Frederick Argosi
HISTORY
Frederick Argosi was a S.T.A.R. Labs scientist who was attempting to reverse engineer some of the
biotechnology used by Jason Woodrue, aka the Floronic Man, in an effort to discover radical new medical
breakthroughs. When Frederick's project was under threat of being cancelled, he rushed to show results and
decided to test his developments on himself. The experiment had an effect, but not what Frederick expected;
wracked with pain, his whole body began changing. When the pain finally subsided, Frederick was horrified
to discover he had been transformed into some kind of plant-being that looked like a humanoid tree.
Argosi's mind snapped and he went on a rampage, trashing the lab and leaving a swathe of destruction as
he fled into a nearby forest. He eventually regained his senses, but realized that with his lab now
destroyed there was likely no way for him to reverse what had happened to him. Argosi decided he would take
revenge on society, specifically the capitalist mindset that led to the threat to cancel his research.
Calling himself Evergreen he began targeting private research firms, claiming that science should be free
from the shackles of capitalism.
Needing money, Evergreen reluctantly signed up with the Exchange and his first offer was for the Forces
of Nature. He is currently imprisoned awaiting trial.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Evergreen is a human-plant hybrid who looks like a humanoid tree. He has the general shape of a person
but with bark-like skin and leaves and smaller branches growing out of different parts of his body. Evergreen
can communicate with all plant life, and can control all types of plants, from increasing their rate of
growth to making them move around. This includes some of the plant life growing out of himself, and Evergreen
often grows out vines that act as extra limbs for himself. He can also use his power over plants on his own
hybrid body, which lets him rapidly heal wounds.
DEEP FREEZE
PERSONAL DATA
- Alter Ego: Dr. Simon Grant
HISTORY
A world leading expert in cryogenics, Dr. Simon Grant attempted to develop technology to slow his own
aging process. Instead the experimental technology gave him a variety of cold-based powers. Grant's powers
have caused him to develop, or perhaps simply enhanced existing tendencies for, sociopathic behavior. He seems
singularly focused on continuing his research into cryogenics, but has no concerns for ethics. He commits
crimes to fund his scientific endeavors and the press dubbed him Deep Freeze. Deep Freeze's activities brought
him to the attention of the Exchange which in turn led to him joining the new Forces of Nature. He is in
custody after the team's latest defeat.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Deep Freeze has the ability to generate and control ice. He can form the ice into a variety of useful
shapes, including using it to sheathe himself in ice armor. He can fire streams of ice to freeze opponents,
or create ice slides for rapid transit.
MONSOON
PERSONAL DATA
- Alter Ego: Anthony Prince
HISTORY
Get a few drinks in him and Anthony Price will be glad to tell you how he got his powers. Unfortunately the
story seems to be different every time. He was struck by lightning during a storm when he was a child; he was
struck by lightning while riding in a hot air balloon that strayed into a rainstorm, he was hit by radiation
from an experimental weather controlling machine being used by a super-villain, he was blessed by the rain gods,
he is a rain god; Anthony has given all of these as his origin. Whatever the source of his powers, the
man who calls himself Monsoon has decided to use those powers to make himself rich, no matter how many laws
he has to break in the process.
Monsoon started out In Los Angeles, robbing high-end jewelry stores. He then proceeded to
Pacific City, where he barely escaped being captured by the
Manhunter when he attempted to rob an armored car. After that he
was in Gateway City, where he again had to flee to evade capture, this time from Wonder Woman. Deciding he
needed to better plan his jobs he got in contact with the Exchange, who got him his position in the new Forces
of Nature. Since the team’s last defeat he is in prison awaiting extradition back to California.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Monsoon is a living storm generator. He can manifest all types of storm phenomena, from dense fog banks to
driving sheets of rain as well as powerful winds and cyclones and destructive bolts of lightning.
TUNDRA
PERSONAL DATA
- Alter Ego: Jason Phillips
HISTORY
Jason Philips was a demolitions engineer working for a mining company that was strip mining a region in Central
America. When the miners came across the ruins of a temple from an unknown Pre-Columbian culture they knew it would
put a stop to their work, so the company opted to hide the discovery. Jason was ordered to destroy the temple to
erase any evidence of the discovery, and was in the process of setting his demolition charges when he and the men
with him were attacked by a stone giant. The giant killed the others and was about to kill him when a desperate
Jason threw several of his explosives at his attacker. When Jason triggered the charges the giant was shattered into
a thousand pieces, apparently killing it. Before he could recover from the close call, Jason was confronted by a
ghostly figure.
Jason could not understand what the ghost was saying, but realized he was in trouble when the figure raised a
hand and pointed at him. The ground around Jason surged up, piling around him until he was completely encased in a
cocoon of earth. Jason struggled hard as he gasped for breath, and with a burst of strength he didn't know he had
he managed to shatter the cocoon. Jason's elation at being free turned to shock when he realized that his skin had
turned to stone. When more of the mining company's men arrived the assumed that Jason was the thing that had killed
the others and opened fire with their guns. The guns had no effect, and Jason lashed out to defend himself, killing
or injury the men. He fled into the jungle before more men could arrive.
Keeping hidden and only traveling by night, disguising his appearance as best he could, Jason made his way back
to the United States. Needing money, Jason leveraged some underworld connections to put him in touch with the
Exchange. They gave him the name Tundra and began arranging for opportunities to use his new powers to earn some
cash. Between jobs Jason started trying to research the mysterious temple where he had been cursed into becoming a
stone man. His most recent work has been as part of the new Forces of Nature, and now that he is incarcerated after
the team's latest defeat he is making the best by using prison library resources to try and continue his research in
the hopes of finding a way to reverse his transformation.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Tundra is physically linked with the Earth. He possesses superhuman strength and resistance, with his skin having
a rock-like texture. He can also manipulate the earth, moving and shaping it to his will. As long as he is in contact
with the ground Tundra is effectively immovable unless he wants to move and he can draw on the earth to regenerate
damage to his body.
