KDave
KDave is a registered superhero in Paragon City. He was featured in Issue #1 of the Tales from Paragon City series and later appeared in "Guardians of the Dawn GRADUATION" #2.
Character History
Origin
Phil Ski spent over thirty years of his life living as two of the worst things one could be in Paragon City. The first was that he was a nerd. He wasn't athletic, he had to wear glasses, and he wasn't that great with women. But even worse was the fact that he was considered "normal". In a city full of costumed adventurers, being considered normal or "norm" was far from acceptable.
He had always had a crush on Susan Davies, but she was always considered unattainable. As a teenager, she preferred jocks over nerds. As an adult, she preferred heroes over "norms", especially since her brother Rick was once a hero. But Phil kept on trying, especially after the two of them ended up working in City Hall.
While working for the S.E.R.A.P.H. branch of government offices, Phil was offered an opportunity to make some additional money as a test subject for a new muscle-growth serum for soldiers on the battlefield. He jumped at the chance, hoping to at least break out of his "nerd" category. The serum worked in ways he did not expect, giving him incredible muscle growth. He went from a six-foot skinny "norm" into a seven-foot monstrosity of muscle. Not only was he bulked-up, but he also had super-strength and a dense skin and bone structure.
Once the serum was in his system, Phil could control the changes through a series of activating and suppressing agents, thus allowing him to change from being "normal" to "superhuman".
Unfortunately, S.E.R.A.P.H. scientists could not explain why the serum could only work on Phil, but they did decide to continue with the testing of the serum's long-term effects on him on the field.
With the help of Icon, Phil developed a costume that could be encoded with the activating and suppressing agents, allowing him to change outfits along with the changes in his size. He also attempted to get registered at Freedom Corps Headquarters but due to a miscommunication, he was registered under the field name of KDave.
Still, Phil took it all in stride, and after defeating a bunch of reality-show-wannabe punks and rescued the kidnapped starlett, he accepted the name and his role as a superhero. Finally, he was a nerd no more.
Downfall
After his debut, KDave was treated as a minor celebrity. He began taking high-profile assignments, hoping to ride the wave of publicity as long as possible. But eventually his quest for fame began to interfere with his "normal" work. He was urged by the City Representative to join the Omega 2 supergroup, in the hopes that working with other heroes will temper his inflated sense of self. For a while, it worked.
Then his career took a turn for the weird.
Wendy Wohan, the pop-star celebrity that he rescued in his first assignment, came out of her latest rehabilitation stint a changed woman. Part of that change included her thoughts on the young man that had kidnapped her. She began seeing and was involved in a relationship with the convicted criminal. Out of "love", she recanted her kidnapping claim against "Chad Star", which allowed all charges to be dismissed and his conviction overturned.
Chad's attorney then filed assault and false arrest charges against KDave and sued him personally for damages. The lawsuit was then joined by the attorney representing the lone female member of the reality-show-wannabe gang. (It turned out his claim of the woman's father being the owner of a "cloning factory" in New Jersey turned out to be pretty close to the truth.)
The aggressive demeanor of the attorneys got the better of KDave, and he made the situation worse when he "sneezed" on one of the attorneys, injuring him. The "sneeze" was considered assault and battery, which became a new charge against the heavy hero.
KDave was forced to resign from Omega 2 group due to the "assault". Even though legal support would help defend him, the costs eventually drove him to bankruptcy.
Recovery
Down on his luck and on the brink of resigning altogether, KDave accepted help from Andrew Wentworth, the CEO of Wentworth's Family Consignment stores and the new patron of the Guardians of the Dawn supergroup. The Wentworth patriarch provided financial and legal assistance to dismiss the charges and settle the lawsuit. He was also offered a position in the Guardians, which he readily accepted.
Powers and Abilities
KDave is classified as a Tanker archetype with Science origins.
His primary ability is Invulnerability. He has super-dense skin and bone structure, able to withstand a lot of punishment.
His secondary ability is Super Strength. He is incredibly strong, which also allows him to leap long distances.
His abilities are controlled by a combination of activating and suppressing agents which can be pressure-injected into his blood. Within seconds, the agents will either trigger or suppress the serum in his system.
His personality also changes after the transformation. He becomes more prideful and egotistical in his "bulked" mode, which is the opposite of his natural "nerdy" nature.
