Utility
Like many young men who grew up in the Silver and Bronze Ages, William Chow (b. 1958) was fascinated by superheroes.
Unlike most of his peers, he didn't fantasize about gaining superpowers and becoming a superhero (or villain). Always just a little bit smarter than his peers, he'd noted that most super powers tended to come with an attached weakness or hindrance, something that limited the options of the empowered individual. And anyone who knew that weakness would be able to defeat the superhero easily, with nothing more than a clever mind and a healthy body. William fantasized about being the person who could do that, again and again and again.
It wasn't until his great aunt died in 1979, leaving him a considerable fortune, that William was able to make his dreams into a reality. Even then, he spent two years researching the known and theoretical weaknesses of countless superheroes, developing protective gear and weaponry, training his body, and planning out strategies for the day when his work would begin. Finally, he judged that he'd never be more ready than he was, and picked a target.
He chose Crusader -- or the Crusader, as some called him -- the enigmatic, shield-bearing protector of New York's nights at the time. Utility, as William dubbed himself, believed that the Crusader possessed only near-superhuman levels of strength, stamina and agility, making him the ideal trial run. He intercepted the hero as he glided through the night skies, firing blaster bolts at him that Crusader first dodged and then blocked with his famous shield -- just as Utility had planned. Utility then led Crusader on a merry chase across the Battery, ultimately leading the hero into a trap. The hero was unable to dodge or block the high-strength net which surrounded him and pinned him to the side of a building, defenseless and immobile.
"Well?" Crusader finally asked, when he finally exhausted his efforts to break free. "Aren't you going to kill me?"
"Kill you?" Utility asked, disbelieving. "Don't be ridiculous. Humiliate you, on the other hand ..." And with that, he pulled out a Kodak camera and took several shots of the bound and helpless Crusader, which he subsequently mailed to the {i]New York Gazette[/i], where they featured prominently the next day. Crusader was able to work his way free of the net eventually, but Utility was long gone by then.
That was the beginning of a long and prosperous career of making superheroes (and the occasional supervillain) look like fools with technology and clever planning. William was somewhat surprised when Utility was contacted through underworld channels to operate as a mercenary operative with a focus on preparing anti-superhero measures, but he generally accepted those offers that didn't mind letting him set the terms -- most notably, his insistence that he wouldn't be party to any murders. In all his capers, he was only rarely caught, and smoothly escaped custody on those occasions when he couldn't avoid it.
In 1991, however, he was startled to read about the death of Crusader, apparently thrown from a great height to crash to the ground in midtown Manhattan. Despite their adversarial relationship, William felt a certain fondness for the subject of his first victory over a worthy opponent, and actually mourned the loss in his own way. He didn't have much of a chance to do so, however, for it soon seemed that the ghost of Crusader was pursuing him and that the hero's famous code against killing had not survived his death!
Uncertain of himself for the first time in years, Utility approached the heroes who were investigating Crusader's death, Hardcore and the second Raven, offering his assistance in exchange for their help in dealing with the ghost. It was the beginning of a long and frankly terrifying adventure, and in the end Utility's own code against killing was breached when he used his wrist-blaster's overload mode against another murderer who seemed to be about to attack him. Shocked by his own actions, Utility allowed himself to be arrested and made no attempt to escape his jail cell.
Pressured to do something about the increasing levels of supercrime violence in New York, the DA's office asked for a life sentence, and the jury was not disposed to show any mercy either. William Chow went away for twenty years, ultimately serving sixteen before he was released for good behavior, and emerged into a very different world than the one that he'd left. Fifty years old when he was released, he no longer had the physical ability that had made his earlier crimes possible. His money was gone as well, having largely been seized by the state while he was incarcerated.
Eventually, he found a job with Dr. McQuark's Superhero Supply and Gymnasium, assisting in the design of headquarters that could resist infiltration by people like he used to be, and gadgeteering workshops like the kind he'd once used. By all accounts, he seems largely content with his lot, though some observers have noted that he still grins a bit smugly when he hears or reads about superhero defeats by clever supervillains in the media ...
Utility -- PL 10
STR 4 |
STA 4 |
AGL 5 |
DEX 5 |
FGT 8 |
INT 5 |
AWE 5 |
PRE 0
Powers: Armored Costume (Protection 4, Removable),
Billy Club (Strength-based Damage 2, Easily Removable),
Climbing Gear (Movement 1 [wall-crawling], Removable), Fast (Speed 1),
Mask and Headset (Senses 2 [low-light vision, radio], Removable),
Wrist-Blasters (Ranged Damage 8, AP: Ranged Damage 16, Unreliable [5 uses], Inaccurate 4; Removable).
Advantages: Benefit 3 (Millionaire), Close Attack 6, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Improved Aim, Improved Defense, Improved Trip, Inventor, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 7, Skill Mastery (Investigation, Technology), Taunt, Uncanny Dodge, Well-Informed.
Skills: Acrobatics 6 (+11), Athletics 8 (+12), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+10), Deception 8 (+8), Investigation 8 (+13), Perception 6 (+11), Stealth 6 (+11), Technology 14 (+19).
Offense: Initiative +5, Unarmed +16 (Close Damage 4), Billy Club +14 (Close Damage 6), Wrist-Blasters +12 (Ranged Damage 8), Overloaded Wrist-Blasters +4 (Ranged Damage 16).
Defense: Dodge 10, Parry 10, Fortitude 9, Toughness 10/8/4, Will 5.
Totals: Abilities 72 + Powers 23 + Advantages 28 + Skills 29 + Defenses 12 = 164 points
Complications: Thrills--Motivation. Vulnerable (magic).
Enemies (many, on both sides of the law).
The above are his stats in his prime. For his current stats, subtract 3 levels from all physical abilities and Fighting, drop all powers, drop Benefit, Close Attack, Ranged Attack, and 4 ranks of Technology.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."