Art by me. Done on MS Paint and paint(.)net.Dr. Joseph Angioni, M.D.
Alias:Doc
Alignment:Hero/Vigilante, although he doesn't think of himself that way.
Powers/Abilities:StasisJoseph has the ability to instantly "pause" an object. All motion will cease, all biological activities will pause, and outside forces will have no effect on the object. This is only temporary, however: as soon as the object is "unpaused", motion will resume as if uninterrupted, and everything that happened during stasis will happen all at once. For example, debris falling at terminal velocity will smash into the ground even when "paused" only a few inches from it, and a "paused" glass pane will remain whole when hit with a hammer, but shatter the moment it is "unpaused".
Joseph himself is an exception to the "outside forces" part of his powers. For reasons he does not fully understand, he can still fully interact with "paused" objects. He has used this property to "pause" severely injured people and move them without deteriorating their conditions, or to perform emergency surgery in his home.
The activation range of Stasis is short, only able to "pause" objects up to 3 meters away, although once "paused", the state can be maintained from further away. The bigger an object is, the farther away it is, and the more forces it is subject to, the harder it is to maintain in stasis. Keeping multiple object "paused" or trying to "pause" living people is also much harder, especially if the person fights against it. Maintaining this power necessitates concentration and causes mental fatigue, and straining it too hard will cause devastating migraines or even loss of consciousness.
In ideal conditions, in which the object is at rest and Joseph maintains physical contact with it, Joseph could keep a unresisting person in stasis for about 2 hours, a resisting person for a minute or two, a small rock for over a day, and a car for a couple of hours. In less than ideal conditions, Joseph could maybe "pause" a resisting person at a range of 3 meters for 10 or so seconds at most. Joseph can put himself in stasis for up to 3 days, before he becomes too fatigued to keep it up.
Weaknesses:No real long-range option: Stasis has a rather short range of activation, and maintaining it over longer distances is extremely draining.
Physically fragile (for a hero): Joseph is very fit and has excellent cardio, but he's still just a normal person physically. His strength, speed and resilience are that of a civilian.
Non-combatant: Joseph can defend himself and has some knowledge of self-defence and firearms (although he doesn't own a gun), but he is not a trained fighter. Most heroes and villains would defeat him in a 1-on-1 battle.
Personality:Irritable: Stress and overwork has left Joseph very irritable and with little patience for the nonsense of others while off the clock. He tries not to let it affect his bedside manners, though.
Pushover: Joseph has trouble saying no to people, and simply cannot refuse a genuine plea for help, even when he know it's a bad idea.
Nerdy: Joseph legitimately enjoys reading medical journals, and doesn't simply do it out of professional obligation. He also owns the entirety of
Star Trek: TOS and
Star Trek: TNG on DVD.
Background:Born in Ironclad, Joseph comes from a working class family. His father, a first generation Italian immigrant, worked as a construction worker; his mother was a grade-school teacher. He was raised Catholic, with his parents insisting on the sanctity of life and the importance of living a virtuously. These lessons stick with him to this day, even though he no longer is as pious as he used to be. He quickly developed an interest in medicine, wishing to help people for a living, an ambition his parents gladly supported. Through hard work, and a bit of luck, Joseph managed to obtain a decent scholarship, letting him afford medical school and graduate with relatively few student debts. He first began working as a surgeon, but after a few years decided to return to school, and switch to being a general practitioner, as he felt closer to his patients that way.
His powers first manifested some time after grad school. He kept them secret, only revealing them to his family; he didn't want people bothering him and detracting him from his work because of them. After all, what did it matter that he could pause things? He had a residency to finish!
His work as "Doc" started due to coincidence. A fight had broken out between two super-powered criminals, and as usual for when superpowers got involved, there were damages. And injured people. Looking around, Joseph realized that 1. Emergency services hadn't yet arrived on the scene, and 2. Even if they had, they couldn't simply run in, not with the fight still going on and so many newly unstable structures around. If only you could just freeze the debris in place, then you could get these people out. And freezing things in place, Joseph realized, was something that was entirely within his power. He ran around, getting people out of tight spots, and tending to the worst of the injuries. And when one of the villains went down, and the other had already left the scene, Joseph tended to him too.
The day Joseph met Jackie also was the day he became Ironclad's resident back-alley doctor. It started when he found her in an alleyway while walking home from work, beaten and bloody after she was caught trying to steal a car from someone who visibly didn't appreciate it. He dragged her barely conscious body back to his flat, where he patched her up. Now, what he didn't know, was that Jackie had many friends with similarly illegal tendencies, and she was a real blabbermouth. The word quickly spread about the doctor who treated for free, no questions asked, and Joseph quickly found himself regularly visited with other small time crooks and criminal in need of some patching up. He couldn't in good conscience refuse medical care to people who needed it, and so he took care of them (and told them to shut their trap about their work, he at least deserved to keep plausible deniability). Then the super-villain he'd treated heard of it, and he started getting
super-powered visitors in need of patching up.
Nowadays, Joseph juggles his general practice, his hero/rescue work, and his... less upstanding patients. The stress, huge workload, and unpredictability of it all has severely affected his work-life balance for the worse. His personal life and relationships outside of his work have been degrading, to the point that a long-time partner of his recently broke things off, citing him "acting so shady all of the goddamn time" as the main cause. It's gotten to the point where he's even picked up smoking. But despite everything, he simply can't bear to not offer his help to the people that need him, to let them suffer when he could offer some degree of cure, no matter the cost to himself.
Appearance:Joseph is a stout 49 year old man. Standing at a very unimpressive 5'6'', he is not the kind of man that leaves much of an impression, should you pass him in the street. He shaves his head
because he has male pattern baldness but keeps a short, greying beard. He favors business casual clothes in his day-to-day, and wears bottom rimmed glasses, which both accentuates his dark eyes and helps to hide his deep eye bags. Deep frown lines mark his forehead, a testament to the strain he's been under for a while now. He is not the type to wear jewellery, but still wears a small silver crucifix, a memento from his late grandmother.
Doc's hero costume is simple: a Kevlar vest to protect himself, a white coat with a large red cross sewn on the back to show his intentions, and a balaclava to conceal his identity. It is purely utilitarian, a result of necessity and nothing else, and so Doc doesn't bother with any embellishments.
Affiliations:Small time crooks, super-villains and vigilantes of IroncladDoc will never refuse treatment to anyone who needs it, criminals included. These small time criminals, who often have no other places to seek treatment, have become rather protective of Doc, and will not target him, even trying to outright protect him when possible. After all, attacking a medic is already in bad taste; it becomes downright foolish to do so when that medic is the one that stitches you up whenever something goes wrong.
Ironclad emergency servicesDoc and Ironclad's EMTs have a mutual respect for each other, and have created a sort of unofficial partnership. It's often too dangerous for unpowered EMTs to try and rescue people in the middle of a super-powered altercation, as they'd only add themselves to the victim count; Doc, with his powers, is in less danger. When a fight breaks out between a superhero and a super-villain, Doc will try to stabilize and rescue civilians, as well as injured heroes and villains, and bring them to the EMTs.
Motivations:To save as many lives as possible. When Joseph swore the Hippocratic oath, he swore before God to treat all that come before him, no matter their past or background. His rescue and "back-alley doctor" work are an extension of that oath: he has the capacity to give medical care to those civilians, heroes, and villains, and thus he has a duty to do so.
Relationships:Nicola Angioni: Joseph's father. Now living the sweet retirement life in Solhaven. Unaware of his son's hero work. Hoping Joseph will one day get married.
Marina Beauregard: Joseph's mother. Also retired, and living together with her husband in Solhaven. Suspects her son may be Doc, but doesn't push the issue.
Jackie: A 22 year old car thief keeping her ear to the ground for super-villain rumors. Will relay what info she can gather to Doc, so that he can prepare for his rescue work in advance.
Base of Operations:His apartment in Ironclad, a nice 2 bedroom flat, in which he converted the study room into a makeshift doctor's office/surgery room. Considered neutral ground: when you step inside, you stop being a hero or villain, and simply become a patient, which means all grudges and conflict stay outside if you want to receive treatment.
Signature Gear:A trauma kit, a defibrillator, EMT shears, and a flare gun. Doc doesn't need nor have access to fancy gear: all he has, and all he really needs, are medical supplies. The flare gun serves to signal heroes and emergency services for help, and can double as a weapon if ever needed.
Public Perception:The general public has a positive view of Doc, as his main goal is to help and treat people. Municipal authorities don't mind him: he helps the emergency services and, unlike so many other superheroes, does not cause any property damage. Heroes, on the other hand, are somewhat split in their opinions. Some admire his dedication to helping people, but others are frustrated or suspicious due to the indiscriminate nature of his care, which includes villains and criminals.
Combat Style:Joseph is a non-combatant, but should he ever be forced to defend himself or one of his patient, he'll prioritize non-lethal ways of disabling his opponent(s). He's a combat pragmatic, not afraid to fight dirty or outright cheat if it means minimizing harm. Basically, while he'll never outright kill someone, as that would go against his oath and entire code of morals and ethics, if he can't reason or otherwise immobilize his opponent, he won't hesitate to stab or shoot them in the leg if that'll make them stop (and then treat their injuries, of course).
Member
KITCHEN GUN
Chrys
Snowdrops
Noctis
TokyoPewPew
Hos
Bacon
Crimson Flame
Eventua