| Black Storm
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| Player: Mordykus
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| " Don't think a single second that you can run faster than lightning."
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| Biographical Data
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| Real Name:
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Ryan Ryder
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| Known Aliases:
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Black Storm
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| Gender:
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male
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| Species:
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human
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| Ethnicity:
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caucasian
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| Place of Birth:
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Miami, FL
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| Base of Operations:
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Millennium City, Vibora Bay
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| Relatives:
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Sarah Ryder (half-sister, presumably deceased)
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| Characteristics
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| Age:
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29
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| Height:
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5'6
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| Weight:
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143 lbs
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| Eyes:
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blue
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| Hair:
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black
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| Complexion:
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light
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| Physical Build:
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average
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| Physical Features:
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none
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| Status
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| Fame:
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| ██
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██
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██
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██
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██
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██
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██
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██
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██
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Local
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| Alignment:
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| LG
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LN
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LE
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| NG
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TN
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NE
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| CG
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CN
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CE
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| Identity:
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secret identity
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| Years Active:
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3
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| Citizenship:
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american
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| Occupation:
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bartender
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| Education:
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high school
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| Marital Status:
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single
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| Known Powers and Abilities
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| high level of electrokinesis
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| Equipment and Paraphernalia
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| electro-belt, Tesla armor, Stormsuit I
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| Physical Attributes
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Strength
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Weapon
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Durability
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Armor
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Speed
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Reflexes
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Resistance
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Stamina
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Dexterity
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Agility
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Combat
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Regeneration
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| Non-Physical Attributes
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Energy
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Psionics
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Telepathy
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Willpower
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Sorcery
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Technology
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Intelligence
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Knowledge
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Charisma
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Bravery
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| MaekadaBox created by @Maekada
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Background
Early life
"Sometimes I regret that I have a second child. Ryan would have been much happier alone." - Ryan's father.
Ryan was born and raised in Florida. His parents divorced when he was 3, and he lived with his father, a veterinarian, while his mother left to Europe to embrace a model career. Mr Ryder soon found another woman who he felt in love with, and Ryan's stepmother gave birth to a girl three years later. The girl was named Sarah.
The family lived a happy life, with their dog Sparky. Ryan had some close friends and worked hard at school, as he wanted to become a famous scientist to build armor for all the superheroes he saw on television. However, things turned complicated when Sarah reached her teenage days and started to rebel against her family. Rumors spread in high school that Ryan's sister was an easy girl, sleeping with everyone, girls included. Mr Ryder asked his son in despair to keep an eye on her, and Ryan agreed reluctantly. Sarah never allowed him to stand in her way, but she couldn't do anything about it ; so she tried to seduced him, as they weren't "real siblings". Ryan was troubled but spurned her. But even when he was there to check on her, Sarah still went ahead with her depraved behavior, and he suffered from it by failing his exams. The parents eventually threw Sarah out, and Ryan had to work as a bartender to earn some money, in order to buy a car and move to Millennium City.
Thunderstruck
"You won't escape me, Arkanoff, even if I have to come back from the dead !" - Flashlight, last words.
Ryan, aged 26, finally managed to spare enough money to achieve his goal. He bought an old Ford and drove to Millennium City, after saying goodbye to his parents. On his way to Renaissance Center, where he was told he would see superheroes and UNTIL headquarters, he got caught with many citizens in a battle involving a hero named Flashlight and his nemesis, a dark warlock known as the Count Arkanoff. Ryan left his car and hid behind it. The struggle ended in a blinding thunderstrike, leaving Flashlight totally obliterated, and Arkanoff severely wounded. The dark magic and the remnants of electricity fused together and stroke upon Ryan. The shock left him in a coma. He woke three weeks later, and learnt from the doctors that he showed meta-human powers in his sleep, destroying computers with black electric shocks. They advised the young man to go to UNTIL and register on the metahumans' official list. Incredulous, Ryan soon had to admit that he had become what he always admired : a super-hero.
With the help of UNTIL science board, he trained to master his newly acquired powers. During these two years, UNTIL conducted research on the true nature of his abilities. It was discovered that the fusion of Arkanoff's spells and Flashlight's electric shocks created a new form of hybrid energy, half-lightning and half-spellcraft. However, most of the mystical force vanished when Ryan was struck ; so his own powers is mainly Flashlight's legacy, and only a minor part of it is mystical. To help Ryan contain the electricity his body create, UNTIL scientists developped a special tesla belt. He has to wear it all the time to prevent unforeseen lightning shocks.
When the Qularr attacked Millennium City, Ryan, now known as Black Storm, faced real danger for the first time. He had to evacuate UNTIL headquarters to reach a safety point outside the city, but was caught in an ambush with several other students. Together, they succeeded in beating the aliens, but they were trapped in the sewers. It's only a few hours after the Champions' victory that the group was freed by Sapphire and Kinetic.
Ride the lightning
"Not a problem if you never heard about me. Once I'm finished with you, you won't heard anything else ever." - Black Storm.
Like many others, Black Storm had the potential and the training, but was never really involved in the crime-fighting activities. As a survivor of the Qularr invasion, he was allowed by the famous Defender to help MCP. It was the first step of his new career as a vigilante. Kodiak and chief Surhoff asked him to assist as they were investigating over several gangs in Westside. On many occasions, Black Storm proved himself to be a force to be reckoned with. He showed no mercy on any foe he crossed path with, leaving them badly wounded. After a psychologist met him, it was reported that Ryan's mind was inhabited by a small portion of Arkanoff's own conscience. It was only awaken when Black Storm used his powers, and he wasn't clearly aware of it. Kodiak kept an eye on him, asking him not to overdo things, and that was all. Even if Black Storm beat villains to their limits, he never killed any of them.
When Hi-Pan was defeated after his attempt to control Westside, Black Storm was sent to other locations, to carry on his training. He met with Justiciar and the Canadian superheroes, helped Project Greenskin against the radioactive mutants, and visited the depths of Lemuria.
Arkanoff returns
"Your aura is familiar. You remind me of someone I hate. Who are you ?" - Count Arkanoff.
Deep inside, Ryan knew that the Count Arkanoff wasn't dead. His soon-to-be nemesis was hiding somewhere, recovering from his wounds, waiting for the time he could come back and finish what Flashlight had delayed. That proved to be right when Arkanoff showed at the museum during a conference. MCP called UNTIL for assistance, but Black Storm called back to tell them he was on that one. He entered the museum, defeated the mobs, and introduced himself to the half-mechanical Arkanoff with his signature black lightning strike. The supervillain wasn't a fool, and he quickly understood that the dark vigilante was linked to his old late counterpart. Puzzled by the new hero, Arkanoff retreated. In the following weeks, the sorcerer sent his frozen minions to Black Storm in order to capture him, but to no avail. He then changed his mind and decided to simply obliterate Millennium City with a deathray, knowing that Black Storm would interfere. Ryan did, but he escaped Arkanoff's trap and put an end to his sinister plot. Defender came just in time to stop Black Storm before he thunderstroke Arkanoff to death, and the supervillain was sent to Stronghold.
Apocalypse
"I don't wish to alarm you, but I fear heroes may fall before this battle is over." - Dr Ka.
Dr Silverback, the famous scientist, called Black Storm for an important emergency. Something was going wrong in Vibora Bay. Following Juryrig's requests, Black Storm helped the woman called Valerian Scarlett gather several artifacts. But it was a trap, and the only thing Black Storm succeeded in was helping her and the almighty fallen angel, Therakiel. Apocalypse was there.
Black Storm and the Champions made their way to a ravaged Vibora Bay, and they fought their best in order to stop Therakiel. The endless battle took its toll, and the Champions were killed one by one. Black Storm very nearly died too, but was saved by Juryrig and a diversionary move from both the Dogz and Dr Ka. In order to prevent Apocalypse from happening, the only way left was to send Black Storm back to the past. The operation was a success. Black Storm told UNITY about what he had witnessed, and the superteam agreed to let him go to Vibora Bay. Ryan managed to find a job as a bartender at the Minefield, the club run by Valerian Scarlett, and secretly worked with the local heroes. During his time in Vibora Bay, Ryan befriended a supergroup called the Ultimate Guardians, who were regular patrons.
See you on the other side
"I already killed you once, Ryan ! I can do it again and I will !" - Allie Jackrabbit.
Ryan's half-sister Sarah, known as Bunny Haze, lived in Millennium City as well. Even if she worked as an undercover agent for MCP at the time, she spent most of her days and nights partying and "having fun" with anyone she could put her hands on. The siblings had very few contact, as they were strangers to each other. Things changed when Sarah had to fly to Japan : her armor was supposed to be upgraded. However, she disappeared along with the flight crew as she was crossing the Pacific Ocean. UNTIL investigated and discovered that a Qliphotic portal had opened for a short time, swallowing the plane. The Trismegistus Council in Vibora Bay contacted Black Storm. Ryan left the city and went back to UNITY, but it was a waste, as the portal couldn't be opened again and the plane most probably was trapped in the demon realm. Sarah/Bunny was as good as dead. Ryan took it, and funerals were held, where only he attended.
That sad experience left Ryan mentally weakened, and he had to use meditation in order to get back in shape. Ready to fight crime again, he crossed the portal to the world named Multifaria, and helped the Resistance against the fascist laws and robotic army of Shadow Destroyer, who he had already met in Vibora Bay once. In New Harmon Reeducation Facility, he met Stacy Turner (Mind Slayer's counterpart) who told him his name was quite famous among the Resistance. The Multifarian Ryan Ryder, known as Ebon Shock, used to be a double agent. He was betrayed and captured, and the warden Arcana cast him to her obedient pet, Allie Jackrabbit, none other that Sarah's counterpart. Allie tortured her stepbrother for weeks, before she finally raped and killed him. His outfit was taken by Resistance and given to the real Black Storm, who took it after the battle against Shadow Destroyer was won.
Allie wasn't defeated though. She escaped the facility when the Resistance claimed it, and followed Black Storm in the real world. With her powers, she didn't fight much to gather a bunch of followers, and she vowed to make Ryan's life a living hell. Her many attempts to kill him failed, as Black Storm was much more powerful than Ebon Shock was. Unaware of Allie's true nature, Ryan was shocked to discover it when Allie revealed herself without armor and willingly surrendered. The Multifarian demented criminal was taken in charge by UNTIL, but Shadow Destroyer, who was back too, freed her and took her as one of his lieutenants.
Flashlight's legacy
"You vill pay vor vhat your masssster haz done, Black Ssssstorm !" - Gutsrain.
By that time, Black Storm had become a well-known superhero. His fame unfortunately came in the wrong ears. While he was patrolling on Monster Island, Storm was attacked by an unknown group of lizardmen, who called him a traitor and a murderer. Barely escaping, Ryan's electro-belt was damaged, and he had to use his only willpower to contain his electricity. Following Celestar's wise advices, Black Storm isolated himself in order to meditate. Meditation was supposed to help him take control of his real dormant power without the help of his tech gear. Things turned bad, though. While everything went according to the plan at first, Ryan lost control when he met Arkanoff in his conscience ; the battle within ended with Ryan literally exploding in a giant lightning ball. The lightning then reunited to form a new body of black solid energy, surrounded by a chaotic aura. Ryan's human body was no more, his hair had burnt while his eyes turned solid white. After going through X-ray exams, it was clear that he had no longer any internal organs, but his skin was a shell to maintain his electricity inside of him. Only his soul was able to hold the body and energy together. Meanwhile in UNITY headquarters, files about the late Flashlight were found and given to Ryan. There, he learnt that the superhero once worked in South America to help a native tribe. For reasons to be explained, the natives were changed into lizardmen and Flashlight had to leave them in emergency. Their high chief, dubbed Gutsrain, came to Millennium City to take revenge on Flashlight ; but as he was already dead, he turned his reptilian eyes on Black Storm. His troops proved to be no match to the new overpowered Black Storm, who defeated them quickly. Gutsrain went on the hunt, but to no avail : Ryan struck him down without mercy, and killed him.
Nowadays
"Up for some holidays, sir ? I'm afraid Millennium City still needs you." - Mayor Biselle.
After all these adventures and fights, Ryan felt that he needed some rest. Even if he's still officially on duty, he asked UNTIL to let him work when he feels like it, and they agreed. He was found recently aboard the UNTIL Carrier, as he came to help the agents against an aerial assault by the forces of Dr Destroyer. It was noticed by soldiers that his body was back to normal, a detail that was later explained by the use of a new Questionite tech gear. This allowed Black Storm to reform his original self, with a new Storm Belt.
Ryan spended his time between Millennium City and Vibora Bay. Recently, his relationship with Virginia Bennett has taken an unexpected turn, but they both agreed to stay nothing more than close friends, for the greater good. Black Storm then went back on his hunt for Arkanoff again, the latter being free again and more revengeful than ever. The electric hero disappeared for weeks. He came back a bit changed, with glowing eyes and white hair, but refused to explain anything so far.
Characterization
Ryan isn't the tallest guy on the planet, nor the heaviest. He has the same haircut for years, and has no real interest in changing his look for any reason outside of his work as a superhero. His eyes are blue, with a serious look. He tries to keep is body in shape by doing regular physical exercices, even if he doesn't need to be in close combat. His skin may sometimes have a weird feeling when touched : the electricity inside his body is the reason why.
Ryan Ryder
In his civil disguise, Ryan is wealthy, sociable and friendly. The few people who know him well would say he's a little bit too serious : he doesn't drink nor smoke, and while he can laugh with other people around, he mostly tries to avoid it. From his bartender job, he is very polite when adressing customers, even when they aren't, and he won't have recourse to violence if he can use any other way. He's very caretaking with women, especially those who show interest in him, and may be flirty sometimes. One side of his personality that he would likely hide : he's a sort of a nerd, he really loves to read comic books.
Black Storm
When fighting crime, Black Storm is as merciless as Ryan is sweet. When he received his powers, he got some of Flashlight and Arkanoff's personnalities with them. From the late hero, he gained the wish to protect the innocents and fight against evil fearlessly ; from his enemy, his only desire is to bring punishment and doom to those who oppose him. Black Storm shows no remorse when his black thunder strikes a bunch of criminals, even if they beg for forgiveness. However, he will not make suffer them uselessly and prefers to put them into coma. When he's ordered to take prisoners, he obeys reluctantly, stating that crime doesn't deserve any form of pity. To this day however, he only killed one of his enemies, the lizardman called Gutsrain, as a blow of mercy rather than the desire to murder him (or so he said, but it may be a lie).
Powers and abilities
- Electrokinesis : Black Storm's main ability is his high level of electrokinesis. He's unaffected by any electric attack, and his body generates a constant flux of electricity. When he uses his abilities to his full potential, his lightning strikes have the same power level as a 1 hour raging thunderstorm, on any target, humans or objects.
- Flight : a consequence from electrokinesis, Ryan is able to fly by charging the air with electricity, to fly at high speed or simply float. After years of training, this only requires a very low amount of energy and concentration.
- Health regeneration : The electricity control allows Black Storm to use it to stimulate his cells unconsciously. This way, he regenerates from severe wounds a lot faster. If his body surrenders from too much beating, a high-voltage strike recovers him at full health, though he needs a short time to regenerate from the wounds afterwards.
- Elemental summoning : The minor part of sorcery he inherited from Arkanoff allows Black Storm to summon three bolts who can chase an opponent on a short distance before they explode.
- Teleportation : He's able to briefly turn into a giant thunderbolt and fly, becoming completely immaterial for a few seconds. This is mainly used in battle to escape too much opponents.
- Time bomb : The only real downside is that Ryan needs to get rid of the electricity he generates before he stores too much. If he doesn't, his body may disintegrate. The Storm Belt created by UNTIL Science Board allows him to store the energy excess for 24 hours, what is enough time for him to find a safe place to empty it. He sometimes uses it to feed power stations.
- Average close combat : Without his powers, Ryan is quite the average human when it comes to fight. He can't hope to go one on one against an expert fighter. He's also powerless if his enemies are protected or immune to his lightning shocks.
- Secret base : The Storm Center is Ryan's secret headquarters, under Downtown in Millennium City. Black Storm uses high-tech computers, linked to the MCP and UNTIL network. It also counts a small lab to analyze DNA samples, and an important database from PRIMUS.
- Intelligence : Ryan is a skilled detective, as he trained with MCP officers for 2 years. He knows how to find clues and lead an investigation on his own. To be able to deal with any threat, he studies many different subjects, like botany, zoology, and psychology.
- Fitted outfits : Black Storm uses a variety of outfits depending on the situation. His main costume is a black and pale purple one, made of a special fabric that can withstand his lightning shocks. Another one is made of kevlar. He also possesses a steel armor, a Tesla armor (for underwater use or as a replacement generator to enhance his power level), Ebon Shock's outfit, and the official In Tenebris inlayed clothing.
- Cocktail making : His personal experience as a bartender has left him able to prepare some of the most sophisticated cocktails. His friends at the Minefield particularly praise him for his skills with alcohol, though he doesn't drink it himself.
Enemies
The crime gangs of Millennium City and Vibora Bay are the main enemies Black Storm fought against. After defeating Hi Pan and the Death Dragon, he was put in charge by MCPD to investigate on Argent and PSI, along with the Gadroon invasion. In some occasions, he came to fight Foxbat, Teleios or Destroids. Lately, Ryan was sent to Monster Island to help Ironclad and Doctor Silverback against VIPER, Dr. Moreau and the alien worms.
Count Arkanoff
Status : alive
Black Storm's main nemesis. Count Hector Arkanoff, fourth of his name, is the heir of a famous warlock's family. The Arkanoff signed a pact with the demongod Kigatilik centuries ago, and so they can summon a legion of frozen demons to do their will. Hector used to be an archeologist, and a rival of Shannon White, a.k.a. Flashlight. Their rivalry turned into a deadly battle between the two, which Arkanoff eventually won two years ago, but at a great cost. He had to ask help from Cyberlord to replace his missing limbs (like the supervillain already did to Justiciar), and is now a half-cybernetic sorcerer. Even if he has lost most of his mystical powers with his human body, Arkanoff is still able to use his family's pact with Kigatilik, and his intelligence makes him a dangerous foe.
Arkanoff was beaten a first time by Black Storm, after his evasion from Stronghold. However, he fled again thanks to an unknown ally, and travelled to Canada to meet with Kigatilik. The frost archfiend agreed to give him a hand, and the mystic alliance successfully captured Ryan. The sorcerer brought his enemy into the depths of Lynx's Fold, and tortured him for weeks. He even got his magic back by sucking it out of Ryan's body, leaving the hero extremely weak. Black Storm could only escape with Ravenspeaker's help, whose astral form found him and distracted the guards, allowing him to get free. His glowing eyes are the consequence of these weeks of suffering.
Allie Jackrabbit
Status : alive
Sarah Ryder from Multifaria. She's demented, obsessed about the idea to kill Ryan, and possesses better powers than Sarah ever had. Her armor is enhanced with nanobots that she can use to create weapons, like miniguns and missiles. She used to be one of Arcana's favorite in Harmon's Facility, and she pretends they were lovers - something that may be a lie from her crazy persona. She killed her stepbrother, Ebon Shock, by tearing his heart apart while raping him, and she's now looking forward to do it again to the real Black Storm, as it was "the best experience of [her] life". Her goal was never achieved, as Ryan tricked her and delivered her to the MCP. She escaped a couple of months later.
Shadow Destroyer made her join his League of Destruction, but it isn't clear if he's using her. She wasn't seen since her defeat at the hands of Black Storm, but she's very likely alive and still plotting.
Gutsrain
Status : deceased
The hyperviolent Gutsrain was once a fierce warrior, devoted to the protection of nature. He lived with his family in the depths of the Amazonian forest, hunting and fishing, until the day they were threatened by trucks and chainsaws. Flashlight was sent by UNITY to help them, and the natives hid in a sacred cave where shamans from ancient times buried an artifact of great power, the Lizard's Eye. Believing it to be the tool that could help the natives build a new village, Flashlight gave it to them, but it turned them into reptilian monsters instead. Gutsrain screamed for vengeance and the lizardmen attacked their ally. Flashlight escaped with his life and went back to USA, where he told UNITY about his failure. Lizardmen weren't heard of until that day when they attacked Ryan. The latter proved to be too strong for them, and even Gutsrain fell before him, ending a life of savagery.
Affiliation
Black Storm is a member of the super group In Tenebris, but acts as a reservist. He used to work closely with UNITY, but chose to go his own way afterwards.
Ryan is friend with some of the Ultimate Guardians, who he met during his bartender time at the Minefield. He borrowed their goth style as a way to fit in with the crowd in Vibora Bay.
Trivia
- When Black Storm made the first step on his superhero's career, his outfit was inspired by Terry McGinnis' Batsuit.
- He never had a real girlfriend, though he had one-night stands sometimes.
- His friends "Doc" Amadhan and Ginny Bennett, whom he met at the Minefield, encouraged him to listen to dark electro (no pun intended) and aggrotech. He now enjoys the industrial scene and look.
- He has shown some interest with Ginny (as she did), but they only stand as close friends. Ginny may tease Ryan sometimes for enjoyment. She uses to call him "Ry".
- His missing half-sister Sarah isn't dead ; her body was retrieved by Heaven after she was seemingly killed by demons from the Qliphotic world, and then possessed by the soul of an angel of vengeance. She's now known as Mist of Fury. It's unknown what Sarah's soul became since then.
- Ryan's parents are aware of his secret identity and dubbed him "Sparky", the name of the family's late dog.
- UNTIL scientists used Questionite to upgrade the Storm Belt. Thanks to that, Ryan has retrieved his normal self ; but if the belt was to be destroyed or lost, Ryan could suffer a lethal pain.
- His mates during his days of training nicknamed him Jim, because of the famous song by the Doors "Riders on the storm".
- Sounds of black thunder : Turmion Kätilöt feat. Marco Hietala - Stormbringer (Deep Purple cover) [1] ; Terrorfrequenz - Hellectro [2]
OOC : How Black Storm was created
I've always been a big fan of Batman, especially the 90's cartoon, which was dark and entertaining. Many of the characters I've created so far share something with the Dark Knight : color theme, background, nemesis... My first idea was to create a mutant Batman, a dark vigilante with superpowers instead of high skills. I already had a few characters with many power sets, but I didn't played electricity yet, and I wanted one. As stated above, the first costume was a clone of the Batman from Batman Beyond, with sharp side blades on the face, a full black suit with a logo, and no cape. It evolved quickly to the current one, adding the lightning storm and the belt (which I developped to be a mandatory tool, like Batman's utility belt). As the game doesn't allow to color powers in black or white, I used indigo as the darkest color I could find in the available ones.
The background asked for quite a time to be put together. I felt that copying Bruce Wayne's tragic childhood would be a serious lack of originality, and I went the other way. The name Ryan Ryder was inspired by Stan Lee's method of creation, with the double first letter (like in Peter Parker, Matt Murdock, or Red Richards). Ryan had a nice childhood with nothing special taking place, he's the average guy at the beginning. So, how did he become a superhero ? I stuck with the classical way, where something happens and change the hero into a superhero. Batman was born because of the crime, Spider-man because of the spider's bite, the X-men are mutants... I remembered Hal Jordan (played by Ryan R.) inheriting his powers from Abin Sur, and I thought it could be nice. But I wanted crime to be involved too. So I mixed all and I ended with that mortal fight between a hero and his nemesis, creating a mystical abnormality that stroke upon Ryan. It led to the vigilante personnality too : Ryan is a good guy, but using his powers awakes the personnality of Arkanoff inside him. So he feels like he owns Flashlight a favor and a revenge, by fighting criminals and beating Arkanoff, while on the other side he enjoys making bad guys suffer without realizing it.
Everything else, from alternative costumes to new enemies and character's evolution, was inspired by in-game events. The powers were retconned a few times until I found the best ones for a lightning themed-ranged DPS, and explained by that mix of mutation and sorcery. Enemies are varied as much as possible : mastermind sorcerer, maniac tech-upgraded girl, and brutal lizard creature. Black Storm is now as good as I wanted him to be : dark but not scary, powerful but not godlike, with a strong original background but some references to famous superheroes. It's basically Terry McGinnis' Batman with Electro's powers.
I'm also very much aware that his whole background only repeats what everyone has done in the game, but considering that he has no childhood trauma or a long life before he gained his abilities, it's the best way to describe what he's done so far. Moreover, it falls within the whole Champions Online lore. This is how I want him to be, a part of the world, and not one hero with a complicated past.
