FOES of the NEW ADVENTURERS
HISTORY
While often seen as secondary to Superior City's other super-hero team the New Enforcers of Justice, the members of the New Adventurers have fought their share of super criminals while defending the city.
While often seen as secondary to Superior City's other super-hero team the New Enforcers of Justice, the members of the New Adventurers have fought their share of super criminals while defending the city.
Vincent Jax is a mutant, and a killer, who goes by the professional moniker of Blackmane. Blackmane is sometimes more animal than man, and his appearance reflects it. His eyes are that of a predator and his hair is wild and uncontrollable. His sharp claws can slice through concrete. Blackmane is a mercenary and assassin whose services are available to the highest bidder. Blackmane was finally stopped when he came to Superior City on a mission and was defeated by Twilight.
Blackmane possesses enhanced strength and dexterity, resilience and a rapid healing factor that regenerate damage from injuries in minutes. His senses are also at superhuman levels, allowing him to see and hear beyond normal human range and use his sense of smell to track like a wolf. Blackmane possesses reinforced, extendable, razor-sharp claws on the fingers of his hand.
In addition to his superhuman abilities, Blackmane is a trained special forces soldier, skilled in armed and unarmed combat, military and guerilla tactics, and is skilled in the operation of a wide variety of air, land and water vehicles.
Deathsong is a deadly ninja assassin. Clad all in black, her targets never know she is even there until they hear a haunting tune, and that is the last thing they ever hear. Alongside her sword and shuriken Deathsong carries a ryūteki, a bamboo Japanese instrument whose name is literally "dragon flute", and before she strikes she will always play a short tune to let her victims know their death is at hand. Deathsong's reputation is such that some of her targets have reportedly died of fright upon hearing her tune. In Superior City to assassinate a prominent businessman, Deathsong crossed paths with Patriot. After a lengthy martial arts battle across the rooftops, Deathsong was bested and taken into custody. She was soon recruited by Carnage into his villainous army, but she escaped when his attack on the city was eventually thwarted.
Deathsong is a ninja assassin, trained in the art of ninjutsu. She wields the arsenal of strikes, kicks, and holds associated with that style, and is also skilled in the esoteric aspects of the art including knowledge of pressure points and killing blows. She can make herself as light as a feather when moving, making no sound and leaving no footprints; and her skill in stealth and concealment borders on true invisibility. Deathsong uses the traditional weapons of a ninja, the paired blades of a katana and wakizashi, shuriken for distance, and other weapons as she may need for a particular assignment. She is never without her trademark ryūteki, an instrument she excels in playing.
Francis Remington was an army engineer serving in the Middle East when he was crippled by an explosive device. Bitter at his disability, Francis was unable to find work once he had returned to the United States. In many cases it was Francis' own attitude that led to employers passing him by, but he inevitably believed it was their prejudices against his condition that made them not hire him. With his benefits running out, an increasingly desperate Francis volunteered as a test subject for some experimental prosthetics being developed by an engineering firm.
In reality the company was a front for the Crime Cartel, and the project was an effort to create cybernetic soldiers. When Francis learned the truth, he was more than happy to continue. He saw this as an opportunity to strike back against society. Outfitted with the new cybernetics, Francis became a living tank. His first priority was paying back his benefactors and immediately started using his abilities to commit robberies as Halftrack. After a string of successes Halftrack found himself in Superior City, where his attempt to rob a bank was stopped by Nightmare and he was arrested.
As Halftrack, Francis used an armored suit that compensated for his crippled legs by replacing the lower half of the suit with a pair of tank treads. With the treads, the suit could reach speeds of over 100 miles per hour on flat terrain, but was also more than capable of all-terrain movement. The suit was bulletproof and well-armed. For weaponry it had mini-missile launchers and a heavy calibre machinegun, all connected to an advanced targeting system. Halftrack could also lift several tons with the suit, and the arms could extend out several yards. The suit could also be fully sealed and was equipped with a four hour air supply. Enhanced optics also gave Francis telescopic and lowlight vision capabilities.
As an army engineer Francis was trained in explosives and firearms, as well as basic hand-to-hand combat. Francis is also a skilled mechanic and a capable driver, a skill which helps him get around in his armor.
The true identity of the man, or woman, named Impostor is not known, possibly even to themself. Impostor is a metahuman shapechanger with the ability to assume the form of any person, male or female, they have had time to study for more than a few seconds. Impostor retains whatever form they are duplicating until they choose another, even if they are asleep or knocked out. As such Impostor's true appearance is as much a mystery as their background. Impostor is an infiltrator by profession, specializing in industrial espionage and impersonation. Impostor stopped by Patriot and Rocket while attempting to impersonate a high-ranking military official in order to steal some top secret weapon designs.
Impostor can perfectly duplicate the physical appearance of anyone they have had a chance to examine. This examination process is mostly unconscious, and likely has an extra-sensory component, as Impostor's form is always an exact duplicate, even including physical marks that would not be visible if the subject is wearing clothes. This power also includes the ability to change size, as Impostor has been able to duplicate the appearance and form of people ranging in height from as short as four feet tall up to almost seven feet, and a range of body types both fat and thin. Impostor's power also includes a psychic component that allows them to almost perfectly mimic the skills of the person they are duplicating, but apparently only for as long as they are in that person's form. So if Impostor duplicates a doctor, they have all of that person's medical knowledge, but the second they change shape to duplicate someone else that knowledge vanishes. While in a person's form Impostor can also imitate their behavior and voice, even involuntary tics and other quirks.
The Masters of the Elements are a team of super-powered criminals originally from Philadelphia. They were a group of scientists working for a scientific think-tank who decided to use some of the technology from the think-tank to get rich. They started by stealing a special matter conversion weapon based on the Element Gun used by the second Flash's enemy Mr. Element. When attempting to duplicate the weapon for themselves there was an accident and the members of the group were transformed.
The group turned their newfound abilities to enriching themselves, committing robberies and hiring themselves out as super-powered enforcers. The team traveled to Superior City in an attempt to cash in on the Enemy Awards where they were eventually stopped by the New Adventurers. While in prison the group were recruited by the villain Carnage and took part in his later assault on Superior City. The team was recaptured in the aftermath and sent back to prison.
The members of the group and their powers are:
Dr. Lawrence Charters was a psychiatrist working in Superior City when he developed telepathic powers. The exact origin of his powers is unknown, but Dr. Charters was a native of the city and may have been exposed to the Chimera Project mutagens in his youth. At first Charters used his telepathy to help him treat his patients, but exposure to their thoughts over time began to twist his mind. He began to use his powers to dominate others, starting small but eventually coercing people to commit crime on his behalf. The strange wave of crimes was eventually tied back to Charters, and he was exposed. He then began using his powers openly, adopting the name Mind Warp. His crime spree was ended by the hero Nightmare and Mind Warp was incarcerated in Mercy Island Prison. There he was recruited by the villain Carnage, joining with Carnage's other telepaths to support his revenge scheme against Superior City. Mind Warp was recaptured and imprisoned again when the city's heroes defeated Carnage and thwarted his scheme.
Mind Warp has telepathic abilities which he uses to manipulate and control others. He can project mental illusions into a target's mind, causing them to hallucinate whatever Mind Warp desires. He can also project hypnotic suggestions into a victim, or outright take mental control of the person. Dr. Lawrence Charters is trained in psychology and psychiatry, which he leverages to maximize the use of his telepathic powers.
The Operative is a former M.I.6 agent who has gone freelance and now works for the highest bidder. Feeling unappreciated after years of dedicated service to Queen and country, agent Pierce St. James left the intelligence agency in the middle of a crucial mission. He went underground and then emerged offering his services to any who could afford him. He travelled the globe, performing missions for foreign governments, corporations, terrorists, and even the odd super villain or two. Any time his work brought him to Superior City he would find himself opposed by the Patriot and his sidekick Rocket.
St. James is a skilled intelligence agent, trained in armed and unarmed combat, intelligence and counterintelligence methods, and investigative techniques. The Operative has weaponized his natural charm, and even his worst enemies can't help but respect him. The Operative maintains a network of contacts across the globe, and can easily get his hands on any weapons or gadgets he needs for a mission.
Frederick Garner was a brilliant scientist working at S.T.A.R. Labs when the explosion of an unstable, experimental particle accelerator transformed him into a being with the power over the very building blocks of matter. The accident also damaged Garner's mind and he believed that his newfound powers made him a god. Dubbed the Particle Man by the media he would make various attempts to conquer the world, though these efforts were usually centered in Superior City, where his accident had occurred. This has made him a frequent foe of Chrysalis, who has so far managed to defeat the villain each time.
Particle Man can manipulate the quantum particles that make up all matter, allowing him to transform the atomic and molecular structure of everything around him. This can be as basic as the alchemical dream of turning lead into gold up to creating complex materials out of thin air. Through unknown means Particle Man's powers also allow him to fly, possibly by unconsciously manipulating the matter around him into some form of anti-gravity material. Dr. Garner was an expert in a wide range of sciences, including chemistry and nuclear and quantum physics, all of which give him the knowledge to make the most of his matter manipulating powers.
Greg Nichols was struck by a strange beam of energy from the sky while camping in the mountains near Superior City. The beam granted Nichols powers over an unknown force, which he promptly decided to use to make himself rich. Nichols went on a crime spree across Superior City where the media quickly named him Reflector, on account of him using his powers to reflect shots from police back on the shooters. Reflector's spree was stopped by G-Force and he was arrested.
The mysterious beam gave Nichols control over an unidentified force. Reflector could manipulate the force to move objects, create force fields, and ranged blasts. With concentration the force fields he generates can reflect or deflect any attack directed against him.
The being called Starmaster is a pale-skinned alien with designs on conquest. By accounts he was once ruler over a moderate space empire but was deposed and has been wandering the cosmos seeking a place to recover and build up the power to return and take back his throne. Whether deliberately or by accidental, Starmaster made planetfall on the outskirts of Superior City. He immediately called attention to himself by attacking the Metroplex, declaring himself the new ruler of Earth. He was confronted by the New Adventurers and defeated.
Starmaster has the ability to absorb all forms of electromagnetic energy, which uses to sustain himself and power his other abilities. He uses this power to generate powerful magnetic fields and project powerful plasma energy blasts. Starmaster does not need to breathe, his energy absorption is all he needs and starlight is usually sufficient to keep him alive and healthy. He can survive in vacuum, and is capable of flight at speeds fast enough to leave Earth's gravity well and, once in space, he can travel faster than the speed of light by entering hyperspace.
Jared Stradler was an Air Force pilot with a reputation for reckless flying. To show off his piloting skill he would take his fighter plane and buzz major storms, including tornados. Despite frequent punishments for his behavior, Jared kept doing it. His luck ran out when he tried a close flyby of an F5 tornado and his plane was pulled into the vortex. Jared's fighter was torn apart around him, but at that point his metagene activated and he gained powers that let him survive the ideal. Facing a definite court martial and possible arrest, Jared immediately went AWOL and decided to use his powers to get rich. With the money from a few quick armored car robberies Jared commissioned the construction of his special harness and once it was ready he took to the sky as Stratosfear.
With his power of flight and harness Stratosfear launched a career of mid-air robberies, flying to intercept target planes and using the weapons from the harness to board and rob the plane and then flee before the authorities could do anything. When one of his robberies netted Stratosfear some experimental medical supplies destined to help a patient in Superior City he drew the attention of the New Adventurers (the doctor expecting the material was secretly the hero Nightmare and he called in his teammates to help track down the thief). Patriot and Rocket were able to track down Stratosfear's hideout and the heroes were able to defeat the villain and recover the stolen medical supplies in time for Nightmare to save his patient.
As Stratosfear, Jared has the power to fly and to control the air currents along with enhanced eyesight that lets him see much farther than a normal human. Stratosfear's harness replicates much of the functionality of an aircraft, including an independent air supply to let him breathe at high altitudes, radar to track his targets, thermal and lowlight vision to let him operate at night and in cloud and fog, a radio to contact his target to deliver his warning and demands, and built-in machineguns for offense and defense.
Isaac Bergstrom only ever had one lucky day in his life, and even that is debatable. Stuck out in a violent storm late one night Isaac was struck by lightning, but instead of being hurt or killed by the strike he instead gained super powers. Isaac discovered that the lightning strike had given him the ability to control the weather. After a lifetime of bad breaks, Isaac thought his day had finally come and decided he would get what he thought he was owed. Cobbling together what he thought was a suitable costume, Isaac set off on his new career as a super villain, calling himself the Weather Master. The Weather Master enjoyed a string of successful small-time robberies which Isaac used to practice being a super villain. When he finally thought he was ready for the big time the Weather Master decided to rob a major diamond and jewelry show, only to promptly find himself facing off against the heroes Chrysalis and G-Force. The Weather Master was no match for the more experienced super heroes, who also had a little unofficial help from former super villain Storm King, and Isaac was arrested.
The lightning strike gave Isaac the ability to channel and control the weather. As Weather Master he could change the weather in his locality, inducing drastic temperature changes and summoning or dispersing precipitation. He could control the winds to use them as weapons or to lift himself in the air to fly, and he could generate his own lightning bolts to strike his enemies with.