KDave

KDave
The Insufferable Meat Mountain!
Creator:	David 2/Battlerock X and Phil K.
First Appearance:	Tales from Paragon City #1
Game:	City of Heroes
Personal Data
Real Name:	Phillip Ski
Known Aliases:	Meat Mountain! Big Strong Beefy Guy! Mister Muscle-Man!
Species:	Human (enhanced)
Age:	'
Height:	'
Weight:	'
Eye Color:	blue
Hair Color:	black
Biographical Data
Nationality:	American (F-yeah!)
Occupation:	superhero/city official
Place of Birth:	Paragon City
Base of Operations:	Paragon Ciyt
Marital Status:	single
Known Relatives:	unnamed parents
Appearances
Tales from Paragon City, Guardians of the Dawn GRADUATION, Furia and the Guardians
Known Powers
strength, invulnerability, leaping
Known Abilities
'
Equipment
'
This character is a member of the Guardians of the Dawn.

KDave is a registered superhero in Paragon City in the now-defunct City of Heroes MMO. He was featured in Issue #1 of the Tales from Paragon City series and later appeared in "Guardians of the Dawn GRADUATION" #2 and "Furia and the Guardians".

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, Chris Jenkins Attorney-at-Law, 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.

As part of his joining, he was required to attend regular therapy and anger-management sessions. He was reluctant to take part in them, especially when he was told time and time again he had to appear in his normal guise.

During the holiday season in 2015, he developed an intimate relationship with fellow teammate Coeur Du Feu, who had some experience with rejection because of her original appearance and of the longing to be something better. Even thought they both claim that this relationship is "friends-with-benefits", it is clear that her involvement with him has improved his attitude.

Task Force Twilight

KDave was recommended by Jason Knight to take part in the task force that would bring down the corrupt officers of the Paragon Police Blue Dog Squad. Jason said that KDave worked like a bull in a China shop and that the task force would need someone like that to put fear in to the abusive cops.

Powers and Abilities

KDave's 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.

Personality

KDave has a real Jeckel-and-Hyde personality when changing into his hero guise.

As the bulked-up KDave, he is overly aggressive and charismatic. He is prone to physical action and is often accused of not thinking about the consequences.

As Phil Ski, however, he is very mild and withdrawn. Some has observed that he has even become more reserved in recent months.

Romantically, KDave has tried to date pretty much every woman except for Galatea Powers. He is intimidated by her, mostly because he knows she could castrate him with a glance. As Phil Ski, however, he had not been successful until he hooked up with Coeur du Feu. She has been trying to reach out to this side of him, even though he prefers his bulked-up alter-ego.

Related Information

According to creator David 2, KDave was inspired by the transformation of his best friend in high school from a skinny nerd into a professional bodybuilder. Indeed, the name "Phil Ski" is a shortened version of this person's real name.