| DC/Marvel: Age of Infinite Heroes | ||||||||||||
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Wonder Man is a hero and an Avenger, even if he only had a short stint as such before his apparent death.
Simon Williams is known as the inheritor of Williams Innovations, a munitions company that has fallen from lofty heights in years past.
Background
Simon Williams was the first of two sons born to Sanford and Martha Williams. His little brother, Eric, came second. Sanford was a business industrialist, owning the factory company called Sanford Innovations in Paterson, New Jersey. Being of an upper middle class bent, they had a good education, but home life was troubled.
Sanford was a lazy, inattentive father who drunk and vegetated in front of the television, and only served to discipline by beating both sons when they wouldn't get straight A's. Martha doted lovingly on Simon from the start, but considered Eric to be 'born bad,' and that made a rift. Eric began exhibiting sociopathic behavior, like torturing the family cat and burning the very house down while playing with chemicals. After that happened, Simon tried to be more responsible for his little brother, with little success.
Eric became an athlete in school, getting into fights and committing petty thefts. Simon, however, became more studious, and still ended up getting into fights to try to help his brother. College served to split the two - Eric moved to Las Vegas, not telling anyone he joined the Maggia crime family, while Simon studied electrical engineering. He was a brilliant mind, and earned his PhD in near-record time. That record was held by Tony Stark, which was sort of a point of contention for Simon. Williams Innovations and Stark Industries were industrial rivals, as well.
Then Sanford, their father, died suddenly. It was tragic. Simon was only twenty-two at the time. Eric didn't even come to the funeral, and refused taking over the family business. So it fell to Simon, who minored in business, and majored in electrical engineering and physics.
Simon was an inexperienced CEO. He did his best, but his best was not enough. With the death of his father and this pressure looming over his shoulders, his management had the company lose its edge. Williams Innovantions' competitor, Stark Industries, dominated the industry world.
Desperate for help, Simon went to Eric, who, using Maggia family influence, convinced Simon to embezzle his own funds in an effort to invest in businesses Eric had gotten rich from. However, the board of directors, and the authorities, found out about the racketeering attempt. Simon was incarcerated and put on trial.
Facing conviction, Simon found a savior that he did not expect. Amora, the Enchantress, allied with Baron Zemo, freed him by paying his bail and enchanting the authorities. In return, she told him to meet, and speak, with her master, Baron Zemo. Zemo was fueled by hatred of the Avengers, Iron Man in particular. Assuming that Iron Man was employed by Tony Stark, Zemo added in the notion that Stark Industries was leading the way in the industry game now, and that Simon could be the tool instrumental to the downfall of all these problems. Simon, disheveled, desperate, and disoriented, agreed to be Zemo's test subject.
Baron Zemo intended to make a soldier who would be the match of any avenger. Simon underwent a series of chemical and radiation treatments, specifically from an experimental ionic ray series of bombardments. This was supposed to make him super strong and super tough. It did better. He could use this energy with technology to allow himself to fly. He was faster, stronger, more invulnerable than anticipated. Zemo gave him a costume, a name, and a plan - Wonder Man.
The plan was to make a show for the Avengers, impress them, join them, and destroy them from within. The plan succeeded, except for a small snag. Over his time with the Avengers, Simon learned that they really were good guys. And although Zemo had a fail-safe in a special serum he needed to treat Simon with, or else he would die, Simon chose heroism and his new friends over a life of villainy and the twisted machinations of the leader of the masters of Evil.
The battle won, Simon died. At least, that's what the Avengers thought. He was even given a hero's funeral. The thing was, he wasn't dead. Not... really dead. He was in a coma, or something like it. Zemo was wrong when he said that Simon would die from the ionic ray treatments. Instead, he was in a deathlike coma brought on by the still-unstable mutagenic changes in his body from the ionic ray treatments. The ionic particles were changing him, altering his very physiological make-up.
This process took years, very slow going, and Simon slept, dreaming incomprehensible dreams as he changed from body and mind into an ionic being. He slept right through the merging of the worlds, as universes collided, he remained in a coma and changed. Time had passed, and the process was complete. But Simon was still in that coma. It would take some working to wake him up. But now, in a world with more heroes and villains than ever before, an old one was about to wake...
Personality
In so many words, Simon is a complex individual. At first, he was motivated by bitter envy and a desire to get back at an imagined slight. That desire threw him into a world of heroes and villains. In a very short time he grew to learn real values, and understood what it meant to self-sacrifice. He strives for perfection, as time in his youth taught him that failure is not an option. As such, he is prone to long brooding times after a failure. One might say he is prone to bipolar tendencies - incredible highs and abysmal lows. From taking on the world to being crushed under its weight. However, through all that he's shown a devil-may-care joie de vivre that rivals the likes of his contemporaries like Johnny Storm. Yet at the same time, he can be a cowardly lion when faced with problems he's failed against before. With all these complexities, it doesn't change that he values life and compassion, and for all his bluster and strength, he's a marshmallow, a big softie.
Logs
- 2013-12-04 - The Job Interview - Stark Enterprises is hiring! The new applicant? Simon Williams, aka -Wonder Man-.
- 2014-01-11 - Simon's Mxy'ed Up Space Adventure - Simon is asked to check out problems on an orbital research station. He finds a small fifth dimensional problem, indeed.
- 2014-01-31 - Malibu Arthur - Arthur buys a West Coast house and meets Wonder man and Beast to talk TV
- 2014-02-25 - Avenger's Meeting and Announcement - A meeting for nominations for a new chairman and field leader. Also, surprise! An announcement that leads to strife.
- 2014-03-30 - Stark Expo: This is the End. Goodbye! - Tony Stark gives the closing speech, but what happens after is the shocking part.
- 2015-04-01 - Just a Fan - Mia Walkers gets an autograph from Wonder Man. Simple scene.
- 2015-05-04 - Workout - Short meeting at the gym at Avengers mansion.