Champions Online: Villain Profiles

Cryptic Studios has provided us with profiles of thirteen key Villains in the upcoming MMO, Champions Online. Check out the backgrounds and histories of the game’s leading ‘bad guys’ below, and don’t forget to read our hands-on preview to get a better idea of the game in which you can make your own superhero and fight crime, take part in PvP and battle with a nemesis that you get to design yourself. You can also see ten Hero profiles, which we posted last week.Doctor DestroyerBorn in 1917 to a poor Bavarian dollmaker and his wife, Albert Zerstoiten was a precocious child who quickly became aware of his own intellectual superiority.Albert’s intellect and Aryan good looks attracted the attention of the Nazi government, which offered him a job working on secret military projects. When it became obvious to him that Germany would lose the Second World War, Zerstoiten defected.After a brief period during the Cold War spent creating America’s next generation of atomic destruction, Zerstoiten retreated from civilization and built a criminal empire in the jungles of South America. His sales of advanced weaponry, smuggling operations and dummy corporations amassed vast sums of wealth, and powerful underworld figures across the world knew him only by the English translation of his name – Doctor Destroyer™.Destroyer was prepared to begin his conquest of Earth in earnest. Creating the most advanced suit of power armor ever invented, he formed an army of robotic death machines and monstrous minions and made multiple attempts to take over the world.In 1992, he launched a doomsday device designed to obliterate most of North America. Confronted by the combined might of the world’s superheroes, Destroyer was defeated, but not before triggering an orbital cannon that destroyed the city of Detroit and killed thousands.After years of silence, Doctor Destroyer has recently reappeared. But is this in fact Doctor Destroyer, or a malevolent new villain assuming Destroyer’s foul mantle with the intent of picking up where the nefarious master villain and mass murderer left off? This Destroyer has the same dark ambitions to conquer the world and annihilate all who oppose him, but now wears a new costume and commands vastly enhanced powers.Destroyer’s new armor and weapons appear to utilize a strange energy that UNTIL forces have been unable to identify, as do his newly-designed legion of robot followers. It is unclear whether Destroyer has made yet another technological breakthrough, or if this energy has another source. Destroyer certainly isn’t saying, and anybody who investigates too deeply into these mysteries is likely to turn up dead.About Doctor DestroyerDestroyer is arrogance personified. He knows that he is superior to all other beings and that as such it is his right to rule the planet.
 
He is believed to be the most technologically advanced and adept person on Earth and the technology in his robots, bases, vehicles and weapons is far beyond what is considered state of the art. Much of Doctor Destroyer’s technology is made of Destreum, a super-strong alloy he invented.The improved technology in Doctor Destroyer’s redesigned power suit allow him to use a multitude of different energy attacks, from his own Destroyer Beams to particle cannons. Destroyer has armor jets for flight, a sensory overload cannon to overwhelm enemies and a tangleweb projector to ensnare foes during battle. He is utterly ruthless in combat and will take a life, or many lives, as casually as taking a breath of air.The heroes in Champions Online will be on the front lines of the fight against Doctor Destroyer. Foil his plots, stop his servants and ultimately battle Destroyer himself. The fate of the world is in your hands.{PAGE TITLE=Champions Online: Villain Profiles: Dr. Moreau}
Dr. MoreauThanks to the work of H.G. Wells, many people think that Dr. Henri Moreau was a fanciful creation. One man’s nightmare translated into prose. Almost no one believes that any of Moreau’s experiments creating Manimals ever happened. But a few people know better. And, very soon, the whole world will!Young Philippe Murrow, raised in France by an absolutely average family, found out to his delight that Dr. Moreau had been very real. In fact, Dr. Henri Moreau was Philipe’s rarely mentioned grandfather.Unlike his father, who was trying so hard to hide from the Moreau legacy, Philippe embraced it! He retook the original family name and obsessively studied all of his grandfather’s notes and journals. Reading those journals, for the first time in his life Philippe didn’t feel alone or alienated. Here was someone he understood, who understood him. Here was someone with drive, brilliance, and the desire to reshape the world into a better place! Young Philippe was determined to live up to his grandfather’s legacy and prove that the Moreaus were visionaries! It didn’t hurt that he actually really enjoyed torturing and vivisecting the small animals he first experimented on in his childhood.Thanks to his grandfather’s notes, the advent of new technology, and his own genius, Philippe was able to far outstrip his grandfather’s accomplishments. In particular, Radium X has been of tremendous use. He has also been quite willing to do risky and painful surgeries on his subjects. After all, it’s all in the pursuit of science. Plus, he still enjoys inflicting pain. His own notes and journals – which he keeps in the exact same sort of leather bound books his grandfather used to use – detail all of his tremendous successes in creating human-like Manimals.Much like his grandfather, however, he has experienced the scorn and rejection of his peers. Other scientists shudder at his work and refuse to honor his achievements. Likewise, on occasion different governments have felt the need to incarcerate him.Fortunately for him, the criminal organization, VIPER, sprung him from prison in return for his services. It was a condition Philippe was delighted to accept. VIPER promised to keep him well funded, provide him with plentiful resources and firepower, and encourage his work creating an army of Manimals.Unfortunately, VIPER hasn’t been keeping him in the style to which he’d like to become accustomed lately. Recently they’ve begun working with that puffed up scientific popinjay, Dr. Teleios. Now that they have Teleios, they essentially dropped Moreau.About Dr. MoreauDr. Philippe Moreau is an underappreciated genius – at least, he thinks so.  His enemies are disgusted with his methods and his allies don’t pay him enough attention. The only person who ever understood him was his dead grandfather.He dreams of creating a populace of Manimals – to serve and obey him. With his army of Manimals, he will take over the world and reshape it to please himself.{PAGE TITLE=Champions Online: Villain Profiles: Foxbat}
FoxbatHey girlie! Yeah, you! Get away from that computer! You’re not qualified to write the epic tale of the rapid yet monumental rise to power of the greatest supervillain ever!That’s me. I’m Foxbat. And I’m awesome.The day I was born, the earth shook and the heavens cracked open. The stars realigned. Rivers changed their courses. A comet appeared. Choirs of angels proclaimed my greatness. All ice cream was free.Mumsie and Dadders were super rich, so of course I got the absolute best of everything, which is only what I deserve. I studied at the best schools, had every action figure ever made, and gave away ponies in the gift bags at my tenth birthday party. Boy howdy – those ponies were hard to get out of those little bags!But what I really loved were comic books. I’ve got thousands of ’em – Golden Age, Silver Age, all the chromium double covers and crossovers and even those lame issues they put out for the girls, like when Captain Patriot got married.It was perfect – until one day Penhurst (he was my very first minion, but my parents called him a butler) told me that Mumsie said I couldn’t have any more comics. No comics? NO WAY!!!Apparently Dadders’ business was going belly up, and the comics cash was gone. It was a tragedy of epic proportions – the worst thing to ever happen in the history of the planet. And I was emo, let me tell you, until I realized something. Great destinies are forged in the flames of despair.This wasn’t the end of the good life; it was the start of my origin story! I was fated to take my place at the head of superhumanity, where I would rule supreme with a fair, yet firm hand and ultimately usher the entire planet into a new era of achievement, like that old movie about the two kids in a phone booth with George Carlin.I thought for a long time about being a hero, but let’s face it – heroes are boring. Most of ’em are kinda dumb. They always blather on about doing the “right” thing. They never get the hottest women.That is not how I roll! Villainy rules!So I raided the accounts for the rest of the family cash and got to work. I mastered forty-seven different kinds of martial arts, including drunken boxing and flying monkey style. I learned gymnastics. Slight of hand. Electronics. Computers. Chemistry. Lockpicking. Security systems. I learned it all! Then I started designing my amazing and awe-inspiring Foxbatgadgets so I could terrorize all of humanity!Laugh with me now – BWA HA HA HA HA!!Developing my first Master Plan was tough – should I take over the planet with my Mind Ray Hypno-Amplifier, or rob the Freezy Delight? Ooh, ice cream …I’ve done a bunch of amazing stuff since then – you see this? It’s the world’s largest cubic zirconia. I stole it. I was gonna grab the Empire State Building too, but I ran into some logistics issues. That sucker is big!I’m sure I’ve done lots of other rad stuff too – but there has just been too much amazing in my life for me to remember every detail. Go Google it or something.Anyway, there’s your flashback. I’m Foxbat. And I’m awesome.About FoxbatFoxbat is the world’s greatest supervillain. Women want him, and men want to be near him. His crimes are comic masterpieces, and are always successful. He lives life with legendary panache and a tastefully sexy style that movie stars and other supervillains can only envy.In combat, Foxbat relies on an array of Foxbatgadgets, which are both super effective and super cool. Primarily he uses his Amazing Ping-Pong Ball Gun, which can fire a variety of ammunition including irradiated plutonium and vanilla custard. He also is a master of forty-seven different types of martial arts, but finds shooting people to be more fun.{PAGE TITLE=Champions Online: Villain Profiles: Gigaton}GigatonTim Colton was not the sort of man you would ever expect to become a supervillain.
 
Tim Colton was an ideal soldier. Handsome, clean cut, loyal, well organized, and capable of leading a squad of men. He liked to party a little bit, but no more than any other young soldier given leave. He was also the sort of soldier who would volunteer when his superiors said it was important. Which is how his life changed completely. In the early 1990s, Tim volunteered for Project Sunburst, a war game that would involve a nuclear war scenario. What his superiors didn’t tell him was that the nuclear blast would be real.Tim was one of the lucky ones; he lived. Many of the other volunteers died that day. Some few lived on a few months more, sickening and slowly dying. A very lucky few developed unusual powers, but even many of them died over time. Tim, and two or three others like him, was merely in a coma.The army doctors were perplexed. Nothing seemed to be wrong with him. Nothing at all. Except for the fact that he was in a coma. His body was healthy, and getting healthier by the minute! In time they realized that they didn’t even need to feed him, he survived just fine on his own. He might have stayed there, in the army’s “Crypt,” forever if not for Dr. Destroyer.That’s right. Dr. Destroyer came to his rescue.The wily doctor was laying low and assessing his strengths and needs when he heard about Project Sunburst. He sent his chief spy, Raksasha, to investigate. And what Raksasha found was fascinating.Using a device of Dr. Destroyers, Raksasha was able to take readings off of Tim and the other comatose soldiers. All of them tested as having strange powers, but Tim’s readings were off the charts! Raksasha took Tim’s comatose body with him back to Dr. Destroyer’s hideaway.Dr. Destroyer was far more capable than any of the army scientists. What puzzled and perplexed them was easy for him to figure out. He was able to wake Tim. Naturally, he told Tim of how the army had abused him, and how Dr. Destroyer had rescued him, and offered, since Tim clearly no longer had a job, to help out by giving Tim a place within his organization. He also offered Tim the new name, Gigaton, to reflect Tim’s bio-nuclear superpowers. Feeling lost and betrayed by the army, Tim willingly accepted Dr. Destroyer’s offer. He found himself questioning so many of his prior assumptions about the army, and about life in general, that it was just so much easier to have a purpose and focus on that. And his purpose became serving Dr. Destroyer.Of course, over time he came to realize that Dr. Destroyer was outright dangerous, and possibly insane. Well, when he let himself think about it. So long as he kept himself busy heading up Destroyer’s security staff, completing missions for Destroyer, or focusing on his hobby trimming bonsai, he was able to ignore his unease. He also distracted himself from any niggling little doubts by appreciating the money, luxury, and ladies he’s surrounded by, working for Dr. Destroyer.But then, of course Dr. Destroyer disappeared.About GigatonGigaton never believed that Dr. Destroyer died in the Battle of Detroit. Dr. Destroyer was just too powerful and too brilliant to be caught. And they never did find a body. So Gigaton has continued holding down the fort and running security in all the years Destroyer has been gone. Raksasha has been the brains, and Gigaton has been the brawn of the operation. They’re keeping Dr. Destroyer’s legacy going, waiting for the day Dr. Destroyer comes back.Recently, though, Gigaton has seemed to be a bit more active. He’s been seen in the dessert, not far from the area in which there has been nuclear testing going on. Something seems to be going on, but he’s not saying anything about it.{PAGE TITLE=Champions Online: Villain Profiles: Grond}
GrondSidney Potter was a small-time thug whose string of bad luck got him locked away a third time. Potter knew his only chance to get any sort of leniency from the warden and the parole board was to volunteer for special medical experiments. Getting poked and prodded by a few eggheads in exchange for a few decades knocked off his sentence seemed like a good idea to Potter.But Potter’s bad luck was just beginning. Upon discovering he was injected with the wrong experimental serum, Potter went berserk. When prison guards attempted to subdue him, he was thrown into a shelf full of chemicals, which entered his body through dozens of cuts caused by broken glass beakers. Fighting his way past the guards, Potter escaped into a rainy night, diving into a heavily polluted river—just as lightning struck. Scientists have since theorized radiation also figured prominently into Potter’s calamitous transformation, but none can agree exactly how.
 
A few days later, an enormous green-skinned, four-armed monster calling himself “Grond” went on a downtown rampage. The creature was captured, and tests conclusively proved the man-monster was once Sidney Potter, but no one could find a way to transform him back or hold Grond against his will for any amount of time.In the years since Grond’s first appearance, the great brute has attacked sporadically, always proving to be an almost unstoppable destructive force and one of the world’s most dangerous superpowered threats. He’s gone on to cause billions upon billions of dollars of property damage and untold misery and left a swath of horrific destruction in his wake.About GrondGrond is a creature of pure, unbridled rage, and enormous strength. His skin is nearly impenetrable, and he has the power and the brawn to literally take on armies and defeat them with ease. Grond is continually angry and possesses the intelligence of a young child, along with a child’s short attention span. This makes Grond impossible to reason with, though clever supervillains find him gullible and easy to manipulate. Grond is not intelligent or clear-headed enough to have any real grasp of tactics, opting instead to smash people and things that annoy him until they stop moving or something else distracts him.
 
Recently, Grond has returned to the Southwest Desert, to the radiated former nuclear testing grounds known as Uranium Flats. Years ago, this was the site of a previous Grond rampage that reduced an American Army base to dust and rubble. Grond says he has come to this remote area for the peace and quiet, but UNTIL scientists surmise he is seeking the plentiful radiation, which Grond’s strangely-altered body feeds on and processes to make the monster even stronger.
 
This time, UNTIL is ready. The base, now renamed “Project Greenskin,” has been rebuilt, and UNTIL has recruited some of the world’s most powerful superheroes to help stop the creature before his next devastating rampage.{PAGE TITLE=Champions Online: Villain Profiles: Menton}
MentonFor centuries, the Medinas have been one of Spain’s wealthiest, most prominent families, with blood ties to royalty and an open invitation to Europe’s most exclusive social events. What the European glitterati do not know, however, is that shortly after the end of World War II the Medina family pledged its loyalty and obedience to Albert Zerstoiten, the fiendish mastermind known as Doctor Destroyer.When Destroyer recognized latent psionic potential in the twin children of Pacorro Medina, he demanded that the children be turned over to him. The Medinas complied, and for the next ten years the lives of Alejandro Medina and his sister Isabella were a whirlwind of studies, tests, experimental treatments and painful surgical procedures.Doctor Destroyer’s ruthless research was a success. Isabella became a powerful psionic. But for reasons even Destroyer could not explain, Alejandro became much, much more. His formidable powers are greater than any other human mentalist.Destroyer quickly put his new assets – whom he named Mentalla and Menton – to work as assassins and spies. The twins spent many years in his service, but chafed under Destroyer’s iron rule. Menton in particular was unsatisfied with his role as Destroyer’s minion – why should anyone as powerful as he serve?In the chaotic aftermath of the Battle of Detroit, Menton seized his opportunity. He defected from Doctor Destroyer’s organization and set out to conquer the world himself.He has made several efforts to take control of nations, and even the entire planet, with his immense mental powers. So far he has always been defeated, but a few cautious superheroes worry about just how much behind-the-scenes control Menton may exert over world leaders.About MentonMenton is the most powerful human psionic alive. He makes no secret about his contempt for the rest of humanity, and considers everyone, even Doctor Destroyer, to be his mental inferior. To him, people are just puppets to control and manipulate as he wishes. The only person he retains any affection or empathy for is his sister.Menton’s powers allow him to control minds, create absolutely convincing illusions, read or alter thoughts and memories, paralyze or blind an opponent by shutting off his victim’s brain functions, and project psychokinetic shields and blasts. His powers have developed to the point that he can affect animals or alien minds as easily as humans, and he can even completely project his consciousness into another person, wiping away his victim’s personality and memories and taking the body for his own.Menton took a new, younger, stronger body with powerful latent psychic abilities after breaking away from Doctor Destroyer’s organization. He used this “perfect disguise” to evade detection for some time, but after a confrontation with The Champions, he was captured, convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to hot sleep in Stronghold.But while Menton’s body may be imprisoned, can anything contain a mind as powerful as his?{PAGE TITLE=Champions Online: Villain Profiles: Mind Slayer}
Mind SlayerStacy Turner thought any place had to be better than home. Her old man was such a drag! When they weren’t fighting, he was devising new and more restrictive punishments in an effort to “get her on the right track.”She didn’t see any reason to stay in school either – classes were boring and the teachers were stupid, and she wasn’t learning anything she actually needed to know. So one night after yet another fight with her father, Stacy packed a bag, snuck out her bedroom window and struck out on a life of adventure.Life on the streets of Chicago was a lot harder than she’d thought it would be. But Stacy did what she had to do, and bit by bit she scratched and clawed her way toward survival.One night Stacy was unlucky enough to walk down the wrong dark alley, and she found herself surrounded and outnumbered by a group of gangers looking for something to steal. Stacy knew the few dollars she had on her wouldn’t be enough, and they’d take their anger out on her.Terrified, she snapped, and her powers manifested in the form of telekinetic knives that ripped her attackers apart. She stole their wallets and used the cash for a ticket on the first bus out of town.Stacy stayed on the run, moving from city to city as the mood struck her. When she landed in Millennium City for a few days she was approached by a man named Trace, who not only knew who she was, he knew what she could do and what had happened in Chicago. He said he could take her someplace safe, someplace where doctors would help her learn how to use her powers safely and no one would ever be able to hurt her again.Stacy was suspicious, but Trace eventually won her over. He took her to meet Dr. Sebastian Poe, who taught her new ways to use her powers, and Poe’s student Psimon, with whom she felt an instant connection.Stacy, now calling herself Mind Slayer, became one of PSI’s most feared assassins. And when Psimon approached her about joining him in taking over the organization from Poe, she instantly agreed. Now she works in the field on behalf of PSI, but will return to Psimon’s side to act as his personal bodyguard.About Mind SlayerMind Slayer is totally loyal to Psimon. To everyone else, she is utterly cold and uncaring. She rarely speaks to anyone but Psimon, and reacts harshly and sometimes even violently to any attempt to engage her in conversation. Other members of PSI have learned to keep their distance as much as possible.Mind Slayer’s powers are all variations on telekinesis, from straightforward mental grabs to shields and psychokinetic fingers. Her favorite uses of her powers are the razor-sharp blades she fashions from pure mental force and uses to slice her opponents to ribbons. She will not hesitate to use lethal force to complete a mission for PSI, and sometimes she’ll kill just for the fun of it.{PAGE TITLE=Champions Online: Villain Profiles: Qwyjibo}
QwyjiboQwyjibo was one of the many manimals Dr. Moreau created in his drive to create his own personal army. As a gorilla, Qwyjibo was quite naturally strong, and should have been an ideal soldier for Moreau. However, much like Dr. Silverback, another gorilla manimal Moreau made, Qwyjibo began to question Moreau’s way of life. Qwyjibo simply didn’t take to evil. He was naturally good.When the New Knights of the Round Table attacked Dr. Moreau’s base of operations on Monster Island, Qwyjibo was among the Manimals who turned against Moreau and helped them. He was also among the manimals who decided to stay on the island and create their own peaceful society.Qwyjibo helped found the manimal village of New Gornyj on Monster Island. While he believed in a peaceful society, he was also perfectly willing to fight to defend the village and his fellow manimals. He wasn’t as intelligent as Dr. Silverback, but he was just as noble and determined to do good in the world.Unfortunately for Qwyjibo, just such a crisis occurred. He fought to protect New Gornyj, but in the process something went horribly wrong. He was given the choice to save his village, or save himself. He willingly sacrificed himself for the good of his fellow manimals. However, far worse than dying, he survived and became something truly monstrous in the process.About QwyjiboThe Qwyjibo who fought Dr. Moreau and co-founded a peaceful manimal settlement is no more. In his place is a ravening monster. He cannot be allowed to rampage through the world. Knowing that he became this monster out of noble sacrifice makes it all the worse. No true hero wants to kill Qwyjibo, but someone must stop him.   {PAGE TITLE=Champions Online: Villain Profiles: Raksasha}
RaksashaYou may have already met Raksasha and you may not even know it. In his true form, he is a handsome and debonair man of Indian origin. But much of the time he doesn’t use his true form.He was born Palash Krisharan to a poor family, in a small village in India. Very early on his mutant talent for illusion became apparent. As did his ability to reshape his body. It terrified his family and the local community. They cast him out to fend for himself when he was just a boy. He drifted around the country, using his abilities to steal enough to survive. Eventually he came to enjoy it and set himself up as a very successful confidence man. By the time he ran into Dr. Destroyer, he was already quite happily ensconced in a very comfortable lifestyle.His mistake was trying to con a bunch of Destroyer’s lackeys. The lackeys, realizing what was going on, captured Raksasha. He nearly escaped them, first through illusion (and one of them is still half in love with the beautiful woman he made appear) and then by shifting his form so that he could slip out through a grate in the floor. Destroyer, however, was smarter than his lackeys. No surprise there. He sent out a minor blast, incapacitating Raksasha.When Raksasha came to, he was in an hermetically sealed chamber with no possibility of escape. Dr. Destroyer, intrigued by Raksasha’s abilities,  threatened to torture Raksasha unless he would reveal all of his secrets. No fool, Raksasha immediately told Destroyer his story. Seeing something of worth in this industrious conman, Destroyer made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.Initially, Raksasha wasn’t so thrilled to be working for Dr. Destroyer. He’d gotten really used to being his own boss. But a funny thing happened. Suddenly, his life was a lot more cushy. Working for Destroyer provided him with greater resources – he could boss other people around, and get the highest tech gadgets, and always have assistance – more luxuries – Dr. Destroyer has never been one to stint on money, and he’s certainly never had any issues with his loyal servants having plenty of women around.In time, he became one of the Destoryer’s most loyal followers. He is a brilliant spy and tends to avoid battle. He gathers information as easily as he breathes. He’s also completely amoral and has no qualms whatsoever about doing anything the job requires.He can cast both small and large scale illusions. Sometimes he’ll make himself look more threatening. Other times he’ll make himself look like a supervillain with powerful offenses (like Grond or Gigaton), other times he’ll make himself look like a hero (like Defender or Witchcraft) to make you trust him and give him information, or make you think that Defender has suddenly gone bad.About RaksashaHe is Dr. Destoryer’s spy master and right hand man. You might think that ought to be in the past tense, since Dr. Destroyer died in the Battle of Detroit. However, Raksasha knows better than to believe that. Destroyer plays a deep game, and Raksasha is holding his peace, keeping Destroyer’s organizations in top shape, and waiting for the day Destroyer returns. Of course, if potentially opportunities to further Dr. Destroyer’s goals pop up, Raksasha is in a position to pursue them. Gigaton will take direction from him. Between the two of them, they are still quite a force to be reckoned with.{PAGE TITLE=Champions Online: Villain Profiles: Stingray}
StingrayOnce upon a time, there was a tremendously talented and intelligent little girl. She was also a princess. In fact, her mother was the Queen of Atlantis, an underwater kingdom. Like her mother before her, this little girl had a remarkable talent for magic. Unlike her mother, she was also extremely emotionally fragile. High-strung and easily hurt, she didn’t understand why her mother ignored her in favor of her older brother. He was not so talented in magic as she. He was not so intelligent as she. He was older, but so far as she could tell that’s all he had going for him.That princess grew up to become Stingray, a notorious supervillainness. However, if just a few things had happened differently when she was a child, her life would have been completely different. She might even have become a superhero instead.When Princess Thalassa – for that was her name before surface dwellers renamed her Stingray – was very young, her father died. If not for that, her mother, Queen Mara, might have been more aware. Instead, Queen Mara retreated into grief and became obsessed with preparing Thalassa’s older brother for the day he would become King.The only person who paid any attention to the little princess was Ikthos, the elderly court librarian. He acted as her tutor and parented her more than her mother ever did. But Thalassa never understood why her mother would praise her brother for managing the slightest little spell, and not care at all when Thalassa would successfully cast a much more advanced spell, even though she was younger. Thalassa became absolutely determined to prove that she was better than her brother. One day, when she was twelve years old, she found her chance.Hidden in the depths of her mother’s Crystal Palace, Thalassa found a trove of magical texts. They contained spells unlike any she had ever seen before; very powerful spells that would let her use bioelectric shocks, like those of electrical eels, or allow her to hide herself within sudden dark inky clouds, like an octopus. She practiced those spells, determined to master them all and prove herself. What she didn’t fully understand was where those spells came from. They were the lost notes of a traitorous mage who had, a generation ago, helped to kill her grandfather and drive her mother out of the kingdom in a civil war.Ikthos, however, knew exactly what they were when he found her studying those forbidden books one day. Horrified, he ordered her to tell her mother what she’d been doing. In a panic, suddenly understanding that her mother would not be proud, but instead furious, Thalassa struck out at her tutor with one of the spells she’d learned. It killed the old man instantly.Never particularly stable or happy, Thalassa was thrown over the edge into madness by Ikthos’ death. She refused to accept the blame for it. Instead, she fled the castle, blaming her mother and brother for Ikthos’ death. All of her unhappiness, all the time she spent resenting her brother and ignored by her mother got tied together in her head with Ikthos’ death. If she could only depose her mother and take over the kingdom, somehow that would prove that she’d been the best all along. That she should have been heir. Somehow, that would make Ikthos’ death all right.Since then, she’s allied herself with all sorts of infamous villains in the hopes of taking over Atlantis. It’s not so much that she’s evil or wants to hurt people, it’s that she always feels p***cuted and needs to lash out. She might even ally herself with a hero, if it would help her get any closer to her goal.The truly sad thing is that, if she didn’t have all this painful history, she might well have been a wonderful superhero. A few years ago, during a battle against the Sentinels, Stingray was injured severely enough that she lost her memory. During that time when she didn’t remember any of her own history, she was actually a very kind and honorable person. She was still temperamental and high-strung, but she was much happier. She even met and fell in love with the aquatic superhero, Amphibian.Unfortunately, she regained her memory, and with it all of the anger and fury she’d felt before. Enraged at Amphibian for taking advantage of her vulnerable state, as she saw it, she completely rejected him and became his enemy. Her own lingering affection for him infuriates her and makes her rage against him all the more. He now tops her list of people who have wronged her, along with her family.About StingrayStingray today is a very conflicted young woman. She hates those she once loved, but mostly because she thinks they took advantage of her or didn’t return her regard. She desperately needs to prove herself, and the one thing she believes will do that is taking over Atlantis. All of her magic, all of her wilyness and intellect, is directed at that one goal. If she thinks allying with someone will help her achieve it, she’ll do that regardless of who they are or what their goals are. Underneath it all, though, she still cares about her brother and she still cares about Amphibian. It’s possible those nearly hidden emotions might give her pause at a key point. Of course, it’s also possible that she’ll gladly kill the both of them. With Stingray, it’s hard to know.{PAGE TITLE=Champions Online: Villain Profiles: Talisman}
TalismanPamela Duquesne is hot stuff, and she knows it. She’s also evil stuff, but she doesn’t really care about that. As far as she figures it, good and evil don’t really matter. What matters is getting what you want, and being the best.She goes by the name Talisman now – it’s a lot cooler than Pamela – and she has a history of both getting what she wants and being the best. She was born into a witching family. Both Mommy and Daddy were dark witches in the Circle of the Scarlet Moon. So far, a perfect setting for a gal like Talisman. Except for one thing: her twin sister.Where Talisman was selfish and self centered, her sister Bethany was kind and generous. Where Talisman was outgoing and sexy, her sister Bethany was shy and awkward. All of which was horribly annoying, but not enough to cause a major problem. The problem was that where Talisman was tremendously magically talented, so was Bethany! It was completely unfair. Talisman didn’t think she should have to share the limelight with a wimp like her sister.Fortunately, little Bethany was too nice and wishy washy to really take to their parents’ teachings. Talisman, on the other hand, soaked up every nasty spell and dark magic that she could. She excelled.It was no surprise to her when, on their 18th birthday, as they were being inducted into the Circle of the Scarlet Moon, Bethany  freaked out and ran away. Good riddance was all she thought about the issue. Talisman stepped forward, swore the oath, and began to learn all the darkest and most powerful magics she could.In time, she moved past the Circle. They were too caught up with their own petty politics, and didn’t have the kind of breadth of scope she really wanted. She left and found other teachers. For a time she studied with the sorcerer priests of DEMON. Later she studied with the Dark Seraph. Other times she seduced powerful magic workers into teaching her their secrets. So long as she got more and more power, she didn’t care what she did. If she had to be nice to someone, she could fake it. If she had to sacrifice an innocent child, she could do that, too.Don’t think she’s a complete book worm, though. She does plenty of stuff besides studying. For example, going out on the town, partying, being adored, committing crimes. After all, being a supervillain is just another kind of power. She uses her Darkness powers to commit crimes and battle enemies.About TalismanThe one thing in the world that irritates her more than anything else is seeing her sister succeed. That’s right. Little wimpy Bethany became Witchcraft, one of the Champions. Talisman would just love to take her down. She nearly did it once, too, but was only able to curse her sister.Unlike Witchcraft, who has studied a variety of different magics, Talisman has focused solely on her Darkness powers. She’s very powerful, but not very adaptable. She’s also petty and vindictive.So long as she’s getting what she wants, she’s happy. Taking out her sister would make her very, very happy.{PAGE TITLE=Champions Online: Villain Profiles: The Bleak Ones}
The Bleak OnesThey wait in the darkness, as they have for longer than mortal minds can imagine. In that darkness, they plan. They dream of freedom. They dream of fire and blood and broken worlds. They ache for the screams of the dying, for the tears of defeat, for the last broken hope of the fallen.They are not kind gods, but they are gods. They are the gods who created the Lemurians, from mortal clay and cold fire. They are the gods who gave the Lemurians overweening pride, endless ambition, and terror to goad them. They gave the Lemurians the ability to change shape, skill at magic, and a promise. And what a promise it was!To the Lemurians they said, You will struggle all your days. You will fight for your glory, your place in the world. And when you die, we will bring you home. We will gather you to us. We will devour your souls in the ever after. You shall be our sustenance.They howled in rage when the Lemurians turned from them to worship false gods. They exacted revenge and publically tortured the soul of the false prophet upon his death. They laughed to see their Lemurian children lose the ability to change shape. They delighted to watch Lemuria sink into the sea amidst fire and chaos. They have waited, and hungered for thousands of years, as the Lemurians strove for immortality.They are done waiting. They are calling their children back and offering, in trade, the power of a reptilian form that can live freely under water. They are watching in delight as Lemuria collapses in civil war.Their promise remains the same because they will never change. They are the Bleak Ones, and they are hungry.    {PAGE TITLE=Champions Online: Villain Profiles: The Bronze King}The Bronze KingOnce, he was King. He ruled over Lemuria with more wisdom than any one man could ever boast. He was wise, just, and in possession of the vast arcane secrets of his underwater kingdom. That was before he went mad.But the seeds of his madness were sown long ago. For the Bronze King was no mortal king, was no single consciousness. He was the result of sorcery, science, and human sacrifice. He was never born of mortal woman, but was born, instead, of Civil War.Tens of thousands of years ago, in Lemuria’s last Civil War, a sorcerous cabal captured and dethroned the last of the Priest-Kings. After centuries of strife, they had learned that the gods of the Priest-King were completely false. In anger, they gathered all the false priests and sacrificed each one by slowly lowering him into a magical construct full of viscous green liquid. That liquid disintegrated flesh and bone, freeing the souls of the sacrificed to be gathered and devoured by the Bleak Ones, but capturing all the memories of the dead priests. Last to be sacrificed was the Priest-King, with all of his knowledge of Lemurian history and magic. And that was the birth of the Bronze King.Standing sixty feet tall, he wore three faces: the falcon, for matters of magic, the lion, for matters of war, and the last face was that of a child, for matters of ruling his people. For thousands of years, the Bronze King ruled well and justly. He carried all the knowledge of the sacrificed priests, but none of their mortal flaws and foibles. However, as magic in the world began to fade, the spell that allowed him to contain the minds of so many people began to weaken. He still retains all his knowledge, but he is completely mad.The Bronze King no longer rules Lemuria. Two hundred years ago King Arvad took over Lemuria and used his magic to subjugate the Bronze King. It is only Arvad’s magic that controls the Bronze King, and at that, not perfectly. For so long as Arvad finds him useful, the Bronze King serves as historian and advisor. Arvad has not yet used him as a weapon, but that day will come.About the Bronze KingThe Bronze King is an immense magical construct, driven mad by the many minds he contains. He feels no emotions and will not listen to anyone other than King Arvad. Thanks to Arvad’s magic, the Bronze King will obey him, but without Arvad’s guidance, the Bronze King could wreak havoc on the world. He is a weapon in his own right, but what makes him a truly terrifying threat is his knowledge of ancient Lemurian weapons. He may well be the only one left on the face of the earth today able to use the Mandragalore. And, should King Arvad lose control of him, there is no way of predicting whether he will choose to do so.