Difference between revisions of "Solaris (Richard Rogers)"

Richard Rogers was an only child, born to Andrew and Julie Rogers, a successful civil engineer and a nurse from Providence, RI. Richard's upbringing was largely unremarkable; he grew up in a loving family and was home schooled, before attending college in order to train as a structural engineer, following in his father's footsteps. When Doctor Destroyer attacked Detroit in 1992, Richard was in his freshman year and interning at his father's consultancy firm. For several months after the Battle of Detroit, he ended up working with his father on the planning & rebuilding of what would eventually become Millennium City. At the end of this time he returned to Providence in order to complete his education and graduate. However, seeing that level of destruction first hand had a profound effect on Richard and he chose not to follow in his father's footsteps. Instead he enrolled as a teacher at a community college in Rhode Island, where he hoped to inspire & help those who needed it, and there he stayed until the incident that gave him his powers.

Richard had always been a keen amateur astronomer and he ran a stargazer's club for local kids, to share his enthusiasm for the night sky. He'd booked an excursion to Ladd Observatory, Providence for the group, but while there he noticed an unusual light phenomena in the sky. Tracking the strange light with his own telescope, Richard was about to inform one of the attendants when the beam of light suddenly changed direction, heading straight towards him. Before he could react, there was a blinding flash as the beam struck the lens of the telescope and Richard Rogers was thrown to the floor amidst the wreckage of his equipment, unconscious. He awoke several hours later in hospital, with a splitting headache and minor burns to his face, but otherwise seemingly unharmed. Despite protestations by the doctors, Richard discharged himself and went home, not noticing any ill-effects until the following morning.

Throwing open the curtains, the Sun's rays reacted with the strange extraterrestrial light that had entered his eyes and Richard underwent an unexpected, and startling physical transformation. His body became charged with the power of the Sun and he quickly learnt that he had gained incredible new powers of strength, flight & invulnerability. Unsure at first what to do with his new abilities, Richard traveled to Millennium City, home of The Champions, to seek their advice. Fate stepped in at this point, as his arrival coincided with the Qularr invasion and Richard suddenly found himself in the front line. Helping to repel the alien forces and meeting Heroes like Defender and Kinetik inspired him to help in other crisis and eventually return to Millennium City to begin a new life as Solaris, Man of the Sun!

Prior to his disappearance, Richard Rogers was always considerate, honest & altruistic. As a teacher at a Community College, he often came into direct contact with young people trying to improve themselves, despite difficult circumstances. Richard was always known to go the extra mile and give time to those students (and families) that needed it, as much as he was able.

His personality & outlook had very much been shaped by his upbringing; with both his parents leading by example at work & home, investing their time through volunteering & activism. It's almost inevitable then that, when Richard acquired superpowers, his first thought was to help those less fortunate than himself and protect them as a superhero.

Since his return to Earth after his absence, it's clear that Richard has changed. He still has the same desire and drive to help & protect others, but the merging with the So'larian entity that forcefully inhabited his body & mind has altered him fundamentally. In some ways he sees far more wonder in life, as if he is experiencing things for the first time, despite having all his original memories of them.

Solaris is very much aware of this change and that fact does concern him. He often wonders whether he is still 'Richard Rogers' at all, which is a thought that both scares him and leaves him feeling horribly isolated. He tries to hide these feelings, which sometimes leads him to avoid contact with others, despite craving those connections & relationships he feels that he lost.

Solaris is capable of lifting between 10-30 tons when fully charged with solar energy, but his strength can vary based on how much energy he has used, how much he still has in reserve and whether he's been able to recharge.

When fully charged, Solaris is surrounded by a glowing golden aura, which is a visible component of the force field which shields and protects him, projected from within his own body. This aura is capable of dissipating large amounts of virtually any energy which strikes it; stopping bullets, turning lasers and generally preventing Solaris from being harmed.

Solaris is capable of self-propelled flight and has been able to reach speeds of up to 60mph, so far. When flying, particles in the air colliding with his protective aura cause a flare or sparking effect, similar to the golden trail of a firework. The faster he flies, the more pronounced the effect.

Although his shining aura protects him from the majority of injuries, Solaris is still able to be hurt. Fortunately, his body is capable of using its stored solar energy to heal faster than a normal person and from injuries which might otherwise incapacitate or kill a human. The energy which powers his abilities also appears to fuel his body, as Solaris does not require food, drink, sleep or even oxygen when fully charged. He also appears to age more slowly than regular humans, judging by his relatively unchanged appearance between his disappearance from, and subsequent return to, Earth.

Solaris can release beams of energy from his golden eyes, draining himself but also causing a great deal of damage to his targets.

One of Solaris' lesser known powers is the limited ability to manipulate different wavelengths of energy. He hasn't spent much time developing these powers, but Solaris has used them to eavesdrop and communicate on radio frequencies without the use of comms equipment.

Richard Rogers is a qualified Civil Engineer, with a specialty in Structural Engineering.

As a keen amateur astronomer before receiving his powers, Richard has a good knowledge of the constellations, planets and other basic areas of cosmology.

Solaris recharges himself by directly absorbing energy from the Sun through his eyes. Without access to sunlight, Solaris only has the energy stored within his body to power his incredible abilities. This allows him to continue to use his powers during the night, but it's unclear how long he can last without recharging or what would happen if he exhausted all of that stored energy. Generally speaking, it's assumed that it would not be a happy ending.

Solaris is a member of The Sentinels, and has access to their Aero-Carrier, The Artimus.

Following his success during the Qularr invasion, Solaris was approached by PRIMUS to help with a situation in Nevada, at their Project Greenskin facility. It was here, under the harsh desert sun, that Richard became more aware of his growing powers. As he fought the irradiated mutants, his body absorbed more and more of the sun's energy, increasing the strength of his abilities until he suddenly found himself able to fly! The changes in his powers didn't stop there when, as he flew high over the ghost town of Burnside, he felt his body reach its capacity of stored energy and, like a safety valve releasing excess pressure, rays of golden light burst from his eyes. Solaris quickly learnt to control these emissions, but using them often quickly diminished his store of inner energy and left him feeling drained. But this was not a problem in the desert where a few moments exposure to the harsh sun overhead was enough to replenish that store of solar energy again. Working with PRIMUS, Solaris was able to assist in areas like Burnside, Burning Sands and the Atomic Wasteland, and in the process battling supervillains such as Talisman, Leech and Gigaton, Richard was able to learn alot about his power as Solaris, but the origin of this power still remained a mystery to him. Impressed by his work here, PRIMUS requested that Solaris assist the RCMP Steelhead Division in Canada with local trouble they had been experiencing.

Upon arriving in the Canadian wilderness, Solaris was informed that the "local trouble" was mutated animals attacking locals and making the area surrounding Force Station Steelhead more dangerous than usual. Following information provided by the RCMP, Solaris eventually found that the animals were being affected by the toxic runoff from a VIPER project, where they were attempting to produce some kind of aquatic super-soldier. This was the first time that Solaris had encountered VIPER and their nefarious schemes, but it would not be the last. As he took apart their various operations, Solaris defeated both their first, fully operational 'Electric Eel' Super-Soldier and Redstone, one of the heads of VIPER's Canadian operations, leaving their projects in disarray.

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Strange Behavior

To Infinity & Beyond

The Crystal Consciousness

Returning Home

Roleplaying Hooks

Additional Notes