Niklas Kohler was a German engineer and inventor born in the late 1940's who gained minor renown for his retro-future designs for household appliances and robotic assistants. While at the 1974 World's Fair he was introduced to Dr. Kathrin Schneider by their mutual friend, Aaron Walker. Katherine was studying the phenomena of human mutation in the hopes of helping those afflicted with deformities. Within a year the two were married and soon moved to America following Katherine's research in human mutation.

Only a few years later their son, Sergio Kohler, was born. With the high population of mutants and superheroes in America, Niklas's focus on appliances shifted more toward gadgetry and eventually to crime-fighting tools. While he was no hero himself, he befriended the vigilante Vanguardian and with the young man's help tested a new line of weaponry and HUD technology. As a result the Vanguardian and the Kohler family quickly rose to a prominent place in the public eye during the 1980's.

In 1987, however, tragedy struck. While returning home from the lab, Katherine was assaulted and murdered by mutant gang members. His wife seemingly killed by the very people she'd wanted to help, Niklas was devastated. Although he put on a show of strength for the sake of his son, his close friends and coworkers knew something had changed in him.

While Niklas presented the face of a grieving father to the world, inside his mind was filled with cold logic, judgment, and hatred. The weapons he crafted were no longer nonlethal. He improved on his armor and AI designs, resulting in a unified, reactive battlesuit. Most worrying of all, however, where the highly advanced A.R.M. (armored response motorcycle) vehicles that he built in a feverish, dream-like trance. While the advanced designs were applauded by his peers they were deemed too expensive and unnecessarily potent for dealing with inner-city crime.

Meanwhile Sergio was dealing with his mother's death and his father's odd behavior by throwing himself at school and whatever hobby caught his interest. His many short-lived passions included acting, martial arts, and eventually stock-car racing. Seeing his son excel for his father's praise brought a measure of pride and sadness to Niklas' heart and seemed to temper his other emotions.

For a time Sergio saw his father return to semblance of his old self. The man even recovered enough to begin dating again, later marrying one his wife's former colleagues, Dr. Janine Brandt, who had stayed close with the family after Katherine's death. While Janine and Sergio initially didn't see eye to eye they eventually came to an understanding. With the house now a home once more, Sergio continued his pursuit of a career in the sports and entertainment industry.

As time passed, however, Surge began to suspect that something else was amiss. Although his father was no longer partnered with a superhero, he continued his work on combat hardware and his many unexplained cuts and bruises suggested Niklas was testing the equipment himself. More troubling was the similar state of Janine, who claimed she'd been performing 'field work' for the lab. With the recent news reports of violence against mutants being performed by soldiers using equipment much like his father's, Surge was led to a very depressing conclusion; his father was exacting blind revenge on his late wife's killers and the new woman he married was an accomplice using the body trail for her research.

In 2004 Sergio approached his father claiming he wanted to join his crusade against mutant kind. Niklas felt nothing but pride at his son piecing the secret together and understanding what needed to be done. He gave Sergio the second A.R.M. he'd built and began bringing him along on patrols and raids with his secret group of soldiers. That same year Surge gathered the members of several mutant gangs together and created an ambush for the crusaders, resulting in a bloody firefight between the factions and the apparent death of his father. (See the "Outrun the Past" story).

Although the trust between them had shattered, Janine and Sergio collaborated on a story painting Nikla's death as an accident and ensuring he be remembered as a hero. After splitting the family assets, the two of them parted ways on awkward terms. Now more alone than ever, Sergio coped in the only way he knew how; throwing himself headlong into a new hobby. He took the 'Racer Red' character he'd developed in his racing career and turned it into a reality. With that stunt, his sponsorship exploded, turning Racer Red into a corporate icon.

Many of his backers became nervous, however, when Surge began voicing anti-meta sentiment and verbally clashing with other heroes. This culminated in 2012 at a public discussion held by Thundrax at which Kohler gave his unpopular speech denouncing mutants as false heroes. This act brought him to the attention of the hero community at large and sparked numerous debates.

Fortunately the young heroine Scripture decided to intervene. She met him in person and took the time to hear his story while challenging his views with her faith. Humbled and impressed, Sergio offered the then homeless girl a place to stay. She accepted and be a powerful influence on his life as well as reeling in some of his more disagreeable behavior.

All good things must come to an end, however, and Scripture's own past caught up with her and pulled Racer Red into the conflict with her former mentor, Testament. He and a wide range of other heroes were able to save the girl, but in the final conflict the game changed. Whereas Testament was wicked and zealous, the beings who arrived to destroy him were arguably just as bad; demons, undead, and magic-users of the darkest sort. Kohler made the heavy decision to turn on these creatures and, at the battle's climax, struck down the lich Toxtira.

"I am not looking at politics, I am looking at results. I have seen him selflessly dive head first into danger with absolutely zero 'powers' under his belt. Self sacrifice to protect others is a fairly good measure of a man. I would like him to receive some higher end fighting and defense training, however." - Sparrowhawk

"You know, I have a hard time -completely- hating the guy. Sure, he dislikes... quite a few things, actually, but he's also smart enough to realize that sometimes those things can be helpful as well as harmful. Plus, it takes a special kind of man to stick by his guns, even when he receives so much flak for his opinions, so I can respect him for that." - Riptide

"I disagree profoundly with his views, however when an innocent bystander is being threatened by a villain, and someone steps in to save them, the politics of the savior don't matter worth a damn. I've devoted my life to making sure people with his views can't impose them on society, but his bravery and his service shouldn't be dismissed merely because he's going to be on the wrong side of history." -Thundrax

"A compassionate man with an unpopular opinion. I have had the pleasure of speaking to Sergio Kohler on a personal level, and was pleasantly surprised to find there was a great man, a true hero, underneath. He merely needed a gentle nudge in the right direction to return him to the proper path: only time will tell if he chooses to heed my advice, but I have all the faith in the world that he will make the right decision." - Scripture

"Lions do not have spots, Racer. Do you not get the Discovery Channel? Also, thanks for not shooting me, I appreciate that." --Snow Leopard

"Kind of a prick. He's a reliable prick, though. I guess someone should give him, like, a tolerance in the workplace course, or something?" - All-Star

"...Perhaps I was too harsh on Kohler previously. He should learn it does not matter what saves the normal passerby from the voracious flesh-consuming giant insect. Judge not by appearance or skill, but by content of character. On that note, my previous judgement of him I have since retracted. He's a hero like the rest of us - just needs to take a step back and realize the pointlessness of putting politics in a place where it doesn't belong." - Snowtalon

"So... he's intolerant AND a religious nutjob? How refreshing and surprising! He even made MY skin crawl the one time I met him." - Zee the Zombie

"Hah. No. You really don't want my opinion on him. Not my real opinion anyway." - Nightfang

"He seems to have a rather high opinion of himself, but most males and most entertainers do. However, if Scripture believes he is a good man, I can trust her judgement." - Lorekeeper

"He's passionate, and does what he thinks is right. The only difference between most heroes and himself is that he doesn't like most heroes, and he still helps where he can. I may find him personally abrasive, but that doesn't mean I can't respect the work he does." - Kyle Foster

"If pissing off the maximum number of people as quickly as possible were a race, he'd win that one every time. Really, its kinda funny to watch. Sorta cool though that he doesn't care if he pisses off his sponsors, can admire that." - Danni Dash

"Only dealt with him once or twice, never had a chat with 'im. I don't think he takes kindly to my lot, being a man o' god. Like his bike, neutral on the man riding the bike, and wary of the fact that he might just hate my guts." - Leonard Castellar

"I can't say I know much about who Racer Red is, in bottom line. But who hasn't seen a film or such featuring him, these days?" She shrugs her shoulders before continuing. "He defends his opinions as if he thought they were the absolute truth. While I'm sure he'd be right on certain topics, his opinions concerning the metahumans seem to be, to say the least, harsh. I try not to get offended by it anymore, because there's probably a reason behind all the apparent hate. Or at least I hope so." - Natasha Roy

"...I don't like this guy. I saw him shoot someone in the head once. It was awful." - Wicket