Blue Diamond

Powers:

Body Armor (s): after an exceptionally large, alien Lifestone detonated while he was examining it, Elton's body was penetrated by millions of microscopic fragments of the stone, fragments that act to provide him +4 protection against attacks of all varieties, unless they are specifically stated as armor ignoring. Of course, with his Strength, that doesn't really matter...

Diamond Form (s): for a time Elton was transformed into a humanoid, diamond-like form by his ersatz 'mate', Shanga the Star-Dancer. In this configuration, Elton's body was much more resilient, and able to survive the rigors of interstellar travel with ease. While so changed, Elton's ordinary armor score is improved by 2, to a total of +6, and he had this additional power:

* Life Support (s): after his transformation into a crystalline entity by the Star-Dancer, Elton had 'lost' the need to eat, drink, breathe, or even sleep, and could function normally regardless of his environment - from the depths of the underground to the far reaches of space. As such, this incredibly convenient power effectively functions at intensity 20.

Hindrances:

Bruiser: never very well-trained in the use of his physical might, Elton must rely upon his Agility to determine his action score when making melee attacks, instead of Strength. Sure, the man is quite intelligent, but he's still not much of a rough-houser when you get down to it.

Skills:

Boxing (s): if he declares it in the beginning of an exchange, Elton can divide his action score among two separate unarmed melee attacks, the last of which being a contingent action. Considering that he's already at a severe penalty to strike an opponent, this is not a good idea, to say the very least...

History (i): as an anthropologist, Elton has a distinct understanding of the history of mankind, and as such, he can apply his knowledge of the past to help current situations. Furthermore, should he be dropped back in time, Elton can at least attempt to blend into the culture. Especially since he is history!

Sociology (i): using his anthropological knowledge, Elton can reasonably predict how a person (or people) will react in a given situation. Also, as an added game benefit, should he declare that he is observing folks in an exchange, he can always launch an undeclared contingent action.

Teaching (w): as a skilled instructor, Elton naturally has this skill, which allows him to pass his knowledge onto others. In other words, if somebody should be wanting to learn anthropology, Elton's the man to ask, as he was one of the world's leading authorities in this area, in his time.

Calling:

Responsibility of Power, temporarily Explorer: at first, Elton wasn't sure he wanted to be a hero, but once he received a call for help from Bucky and the Patriot, he decided to do what needed to be done. Later on, in the modern age, he left earth for a time to explore the cosmos with Shanga the Star-Dancer, who had transformed him into a being of living crystal and took him as a mate.

No, really.

Costume:

As the Blue Diamond, Elton wears a blue stretch fabric uniform, which was complemented by yellow boots, gloves, trunks, and a yellow belt. Elton also wore a mask that covers all of his face, save for his mouth and nose; this mask is blue save for the very top, which has a yellow sort of 'dome' shape on it. He also bears a stylized diamond design on chest, with yellow 'glow' around it.

Personality:

Elton really comes across as a reluctant sort of hero, as he tried the job on for a time, and then retired until calamity forced into action again. He is a worldly, intelligent college instructor and a dependable hero that, while sort of inexperienced, gives it his all. Of course this is all his fellow crime fighters expect of him, being aware of his situation and relative unease with combat in general.

Real Name: Professor Elton T. Morrow, PhD.
Occupation: adventurer, instructor (retired)
Legal Status: U.S. citizen with no known criminal record
Marital Status: widower
Alias(es), if any: none known
Group Affiliation: former member of the Liberty Legion

Height: 6' 2"
Hair: brown, later white
Eyes: blue
Weight: 495 lbs.
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: for a time Elton was transformed by the Star-Dancer into a form more suitable for interstellar travel. His entire body was made from a diamond-like substance similar to his Lifestone, giving him a bluish, vaguely humanoid, and gem-like appearance.

Story:

Way down in Antarctica, while on a scientific expedition of great import, Elton T. Morrow and another scientist discovered an 'azure diamond' of exceptional size - the largest ever, in fact. The two recovered the stone, and proceeded to take it back to America. However, their boat was torpedoed by a German U-Boat, and in the mayhem that resulted, the stone exploded.

His compatriot didn't survive the incident, but Elton himself was besieged by millions of tiny 'diamond' fragments, each of which embedded themselves within his body. He managed to survive this somehow, as well as the frigid waters of the Antarctic, and was eventually picked up by a passing ship - though it quickly became apparent that he had been forever changed.

En route to his home, Elton discovered that the gemstone bits in his body had somehow given it the 'hardness of diamond itself, and great super human strength to go along with it. This worked, of course, because the stone Elton found was actually one of the alien Lifestones. For a time, Elton decided to use his newfound powers as the heroic Blue Diamond, but he didn't find the adventuring life very interesting.

Returning to his career as a college instructor, Elton tried to forget his heroic phase, but was forced into action yet again after he was attacked by Nazi thugs on campus. Right afterward, he heard a plea for help from Bucky, the partner of the one and only Captain America, who claimed that the Invaders were in serious trouble. Though he didn't want to, Elton became the Blue Diamond yet again!

Journeying to New York City, Elton met several other heroes who responded to Bucky's call for help, and with them he formed the Liberty Legion! This band of heroes, though they'd never worked together before, nonetheless fought with a mind-controlled band of Invaders, and managed to free them before the evil Red Skull could use them to kill countless Americans at a ball park.

Elton continued on with the Liberty Legion after this, and he and his teammates were on very good terms with the Invaders, and in time the two groups blurred together into one great strike force. While the Legion worked against threats at home, and the Invaders fought abroad, the two groups would trade members and favors to assist each other when necessary, in order to maximize their overall effectiveness.

Elton remained with the Liberty Legion until the end of the War. He retired from adventuring again at this point, resuming his instructing career and marrying his childhood sweetheart. A happy ending it seemed at the time, but unfortunately time passes, and the years were not kind to Elton. When his wife died Elton was left a broken, lonely man - at least until he encountered the Star-Dancer.

Wielding the power cosmic, Shanga the Star-Dancer was an alien entity from unknown parts in the universe. Upon her arrival on earth, this strange alien woman essentially adopted Elton as her mate, transformed him into some sort of crystalline being, and took him into space with her. Of course, all was not roses for the couple, for they quickly fell prey to the machinations of the Stranger.

This dangerous cosmic entity captured both Elton and his new bride, and imprisoned both within his bizarre laboratory world, wherein he studied beings of power from across the universe... and beyond. This imprisonment lasted for quite some time, until Quasar, the designated protector of the universe, freed both Elton and the Star-Dancer from their deplorable situation.

After Quasar returned the Stranger's many, many captives to earth, Shanga the Star-Dancer seems to have made for space once more, though she didn't take Elton with her. No, Elton was left on earth alone once again, and he returned to a life of relative obscurity, only recently donning his Blue Diamond costume - though this only to attend the funeral of Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch.

Whether or not Elton will resume crime fighting at some point remains to be seen.

Extra Goodies: