F Ex 20

A Ex 20

S Ty 6

E Ex 20

R Gd 10

I Rm 30

P Rm 30

Res In 40

Pop Ex +20

Health: Karma:

66 70

Origin:

Like many adventurers in his time, Thomas Halloway was but a normal human, physically speaking. While the 'heavy hitters' of his day were androids, Atlanteans, and super soldiers, they mostly just fought crime with their fists and wits, and in Thomas' case, a magic, flying cape.

Known Powers:

(none)

Equipment:

Cape of Mercury: while he originally wore a red cape as a simple part of his costume, Thomas eventually gained this mystic item as a reward after a particularly harrowing adventure. This cape allows Thomas to defy gravity, giving him the power of flight at Excellent (20) rank - 150 m.p.h. airspeed.

Quirks:

(none)

Talents:

Acrobatics: even before he acquired the Cape of Mercury, Thomas was rather efficient in his movements while on one of his many adventures. As such, he should receive a +1 CS to any Dodge, Escape, or Evade maneuvers (which may add to the bonuses he receives from his Martial Arts C talent).

Crime: having been raised from infancy in a prison, Thomas is well-versed in how the criminal mind works, and understands the behavior of such folks rather intimately. This talent aids the man in FEATs where he wishes to determine what a villain may be up to - and how he's going about his business.

Detective / Espionage: a master sleuth by choice, Thomas is truly at home when investigating some mystery or another. As such, he should receive a bonus whenever looking for the clues necessary to solve a crime, to learn secret information from villains, and so on.

Languages (various): Thomas has demonstrated a mastery of various languages, in addition to his own. Supplementing his English tongue, Thomas has shown a mastery of Greek (both modern and ancient), and likely knows how to use several additional languages fluently.

Martial Arts types A, B, + C: a veritable master of unarmed combat, Thomas knows these fighting styles. As such, he can inflict Slam or Stun results regardless of the comparative Strength and Endurance between him and his foe, and receives a +1 CS to Dodge, Escape, Grapple, and unarmed melee attacks.

Medicine: one of his lesser known skills, Thomas is quite a good doctor. He can bring back folks who've slipped below Shift 0 Endurance up to 20 turns after this occurs, can stop a body from losing subsequent Endurance ranks (if he's losing them), and speed up long-term recoveries.

Occult Lore: various investigations that Thomas has undertaken were what can be classified only as 'weird'. Most of these involved all kinds of weird cults, mystic villains, and overall unexplained phenomenon. Thomas is well-versed in such paranormal activity, receiving a +1 CS to related Reason FEATs.

Contacts:

As a hero of significant renown, Thomas was on rather good terms with a large number of heroes from his time, including the Human Torch. He's also worked with the V-Battalion in the past, and apparently was the man behind the incredibly lethal Scourge of the Underworld scheme.

Costume:

While adventuring as the high-flying Angel, Thomas wore a primarily blue costume. This consisted of blue, stretch fabric trousers, blue trunks, blue boots with yellow, criss-crossed bands on them, a blue stretch fabric shirt with yellow cuffs and yellow wings on the chest, and his trusty red cape.

Personality:

Thomas is a rather dapper fellow, one who felt the need to use his extensive knowledge for the betterment of his fellow man - and had all kinds of fun adventures while doing so. He was a true hero at heart, brave enough to fight his foes bare-handed, and willing to spend his considerable fortune doing so.

Real Name: Thomas Halloway
Occupation: adventurer
Legal Status: citizen of the United States with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: originally solo, later member of the V-Battalion, founder of the Scourge of the Underworld scheme

Height: 6'
Hair: brown, later gray
Eyes: brown
Weight: 170 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: Thomas wears a pencil-thin moustache at all times.

Story:

When Thomas' mother died in childbirth, his father, a prison warden, apparently went a bit off the deep end. Instead of doing what normal men would do in such conditions, the man decided to raise his son in secrecy and isolation, within the prison he himself managed!

This made for a peculiar childhood indeed. Of course, his father did the best he could by Thomas, bringing in experts from various fields to educate him on, well, everything. In addition to this, Thomas learned various secrets from the inmates of his father's prison, who gave him the 'keys' to the underworld.

After saving an inmate from his untimely execution in the prison, Thomas is dubbed 'the Angel' by the man he saved, not to mention other inmates who were also doomed to a similar fate. This stuck with the man, who became fascinated with those winged creatures of legend.

Once he was old enough to leave his curious (to say the least) childhood home, Thomas decided that he wanted to use his skills to help others, and he had many, many skills to offer his fellow man. To this end, he became a costumed vigilante - supposedly the very first in his era.

Sticking with 'the Angel' as his alias, Thomas chose a costume he felt appropriate, and then began to solve various mysteries as they arose, both mundane and occult. He fought a very large group of weirdo villains, such as the armless Tiger Man and Fritz von Bock, Master of Disguise!

On one such adventure, Thomas was given the Cape of Mercury by a 4,000 year old woman after rescuing her from an underground city. Thomas then used this cape to further enhance his reputation as the Angel, being able to actually swoop in on would-be Nazis, criminals, and occult freaks.

A few years after the end of the second World War, though, Thomas got involved in crime-fighting of a different stripe. You see, after the All-Winners' Squad collapsed, some associates of his felt that there was still a need for people like him to fight the villains of the world, and to otherwise protect it from itself.

This is why Thomas was one of the founding members of the V-Battalion, serving as a member of its so-called Penance Council, the leadership of said organization. Working in secret, the V-Battalion hunted down Nazi war criminals and all manner of unsavory types - both mundane and super-powered.

As the Angel, Thomas worked with these fellows for a time, but after an incident where he inadvertently caused the death of an innocent bystander, Thomas hung up his spandex costume and Cape of Mercury. He retired from his crime-fighting lifestyle, and followed other pursuits.

This didn't last for long, though. You see, apparently becoming bitter over the vast rash of super-human crime that was surging all around him, Thomas set about using his vast fortune in an all new way. He decided to deal with the threat that modern-day heroes couldn't seem to handle.

He decided to take care of them permanently - with a squad of villain assassins that came to be known (if singularly) as the Scourge of the Underworld. Though it was never proven that Thomas was behind this scheme, the U.S. Agent figured it out, even if he knew he couldn't bring Thomas to justice.

When this plot had outlived its usefulness, Thomas apparently retired the Scourges, and went about enjoying his retirement. However, Thomas was eventually targeted by the so-called Zeitgeist, a man with a problem regarding super-types - especially since he was supposedly the very first costumed adventurer.

Not counting the original Union Jack and all those other fellows he adventured around with, mind you. The Zeitgeist killed Thomas' brother in this effort, though, mistaking him for Thomas, and was ultimately stopped by Captain America during a sort of 'Golden Age hero reunion'.

The weird thing about all of this, though, is that no mention of a brother had ever been made in Thomas' long and varied career before this point. He would have to either have been an older brother - or half brother - who decided to take up the mantle of the Angel for a time... possibly after Thomas quit.

The ultimate resolution of this mystery has yet to be revealed. However, Thomas himself, the original Angel, is alive and well to this very day, if in a rather... aged status. Whether he will resume any sort of clandestine, anti-criminal behavior or scheme is as of yet unknown...

Using the Angel in other stories:

In stories set during Thomas' prime, he was quite the adventurer, and was only slightly less famous than the Invaders themselves. As such, he could easily appear in the midst of a bizarre mystery of some sort. In modern-day tales, though, he's not likely to be doing any crime-fighting.

He could be the mastermind of any number of heroic (or less than heroic) schemes, however. He could fund his very own hero team, get involved with the V-Battalion anew, restart the Scourge plot, or even do something completely different. He could even pass the torch to an all-new Angel!

Of course, this new Angel would probably wind up duking it out with the current bearer of that super-heroic alias - that's what heroes, do, after all...!