Victor Frankenstein

The Thaumaturgist: 1800s - Present
The earliest account I can find on this enigmatic figure is from the late 1800s. An obscure contemporary of Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison, the man known as Gerhardt Gestern was all the rage for a short time in Germany. I believe that this is his actual identity, but due to lack of information and other details I will get into, I cannot be certain if he had even been born in the 1800s or if Gestern was also an alias he had assumed. I do not even known which century he was actually born.

Whatever the case, Gestern was a technological savant, when he first made waves, only to fall into obscurity shortly after his debut. I believe this was not misfortune, but rather by design. I have found unsubstantial evidence that he made the acquaitance of Ra's al Ghul and the equally mysterious Oscura during this time and let himself disappear from the public eye to explore more illicit and lucrative ventures.

This is all that is known about Gestern, but after his disappearence a figure by the name of "The Thaumaturgist" began circulating through black market channels. This name has been connected to all manner of bad stuff going back as late as the 1890's. Then in the 1930's, during the rise of the Nazi regime, a Doktor Gerhardt showed up as a special consultant on several projects connected to the Third Reich's occult interests. Here Gerhardt was accompanied by a mysterious Spaniard woman whose only record of existing are some documents she signed as "P. Real". Whatever the deal was with Gerhardt and Real, they both vanished near the end of the war, evading capture. I suspect like many Nazi fugitives, Gerhardt fled to South America.

With the advent of caped crusaders, Gerhardt has managed to keep a relatively quiet profile. His operational moniker still pops up from time to time, implicating him in supplying arms and devices of incredible technological ability to mercenaries, assassins, and terrorists; but since 2009 or so, he seems to have stopped that practice altogether.

To be honest, I thought he had been killed, that is until he popped back on my radar in late 2016, apparently having allied himself with the Cadre of the Immortal. This can't be good...

Abilities
Gestern has a natural talent for mechanics and technical assembly.
 * Genius Intellect: Gerhardt Gestern was known to be an incredibly gifted genius in the time of Tesla and Edison. By all accounts, Gerhardt remains one of the greatest minds ever documented.
 * Eidetic Memory: Gerhardt possesses a powerful and near-perfect memory.
 * Science: Without question, Gestern is one of the greatest naturally gifted scientists and is a true master of all fields of study he has ever dedicated himself to.
 * Engineering
 * Experience: Gestern is likely two hundred years old (or older) and has an incredible amount of experience to draw from. It is likely he attained this experience through some sort of rejuvenation science based on the Lazarus Pits he was given access to.
 * Invention: Gestern is a master inventor, able to truly craft just about anything he can imagine.
 * Technomancy: The most fascinating skill of Gestern is his ability to fuse magic and technology without having any true magical ability. Through this, Gestern is able to defy the laws of physics with his inventions and achieve wonders that even make the most powerful of sorcerers take pause.
 * Psionic Blocks: After an encounter with the Martian Manhunter, the Thaumaturgist developed a technique that endowed his mind with potent psionic defenses.

Weaknesses

 * Pacifistic: Not on a moral ground, but one field of study which Gestern has never showed much interest in is personal combat. Gestern will rarely ever get his hands dirty. It is likely that he has no taste for violence and while he can be apathetic to its application by others to achieve his shared goals, he personally finds its use unnecessary.
 * Human: At the end of the day, despite all his knowledge and inventions, Gestern is simply a human being and has all the related flaws and weaknesses that come with being such an organic being.
 * Emotional Dissonance: According to rumors, Gestern may be sociopathic (or at least incredibly awkward in social situations) and has little, if any, emotional core. Whether this is an innate trait or something developed in the wake of trauma remains to be seen. Note: I have recently uncovered some conflicting data that suggests Gestern has had some recent emotional outbursts related to the discovery that he had resurrected his deceased daughter, Haley London, through cybernetic means (see: Cyber_Witch).

Trivia

 * He had an affair with Ellen Trechend and his wife knew about it. He also has an additional hidden agenda.
 * It is implied he is the man of science recruited by La Maestra Oscura, who restored the rejuvenation powers of the Lazarus Pit when one became dormant.
 * He had an encounter with J'onn J'onzz thirty years ago, which caused him to develop mental blocks against telepathy.

Links and References

 * Appearances of Gerhardt Gestern
 * Character Gallery: Gerhardt Gestern