History
Underworld: 1990's - Present
The hitman known as Underworld made a career as a type of torture specialist and assassin. Much of his past remains unknown and his recent (brief) stay in Arkham did not shed much more light onto his character. So here is the little we know.
Judging by his appearance and overall demeanor, as well as reference he makes in conversation, I suspect the Underworld to have been born in the late 1980's or 1990's. His first known work as the 'Underworld Killer' was in Civic City some years ago, but based on exchanges he had with others, I believe he was formerly affiliated with organized crime in Gotham, possibly as the son of a low-level enforcer or maybe a back-alley doctor and torturer based on his knowledge of human anatomy. Either way, he has claimed that his father worked for Zucco.
In his early days, Underworld liked to leave a signature in blood on the walls of his crime scenes but as the years went on, he preferred to let his work speak for itself. He became notorious for making elaborate death traps and torture chambers using whatever was in the environment, whether it was the victim's home, office, or vehicle. He is like the serial killer version of MacGuyver... or he was.
Apparently this being known as the Anti-Monitor got a hold of Underworld recently. He changed him, giving him a portion of cosmic ability which allows Underworld to create traps and weapons out of memories, thoughts, and nightmares instead of memorabilia, trinkets, and knick-knacks lying around. Empowered with psychic might, Underworld wreaked havoc upon the Challengers of the Unknown until he was captured by the Monitor himself and sent to Arkham. Unfortunately, Gargoyle broke Underworld out of prison with Anna Wilson and his whereabouts since have been unknown.
Threat Assessment
Resources
- Psionics: Given these powers by the Anti-Monitor (and the skill to use them effectively), Underworld is able to do a variety of effects. Exactly which psychic powers he is able to pull off varies by the target's own mental clutter. Victims who have unresolved tragic pasts, traumatic memories, or dark secrets are usually more prone to Underworld's meddling than others. The things which Underworld has shown himself capable of doing include telepathy, mind control, memory rewriting, and illusions.
- Cosmic Awareness: Due to his cosmic tether to the Anti-Monitor, Underworld may have some latent ability to sense cosmic power and/or cosmic beings.
- Interrogation: Whether with the implement of torture or just through psychological (or psionic) intimidation, Underworld is a skilled interrogator. He made a name for himself as a freelance criminal able to extract information from a victim through a variety of techniques.
- Medical Knowledge: While it is unknown if Underworld is a properly educated medical professional, he has shown comparable skill in the precision of his cuts, knowledge of human anatomy, and ability to keep his victims alive and in excruciating pain for long periods of time.
- Mechanics: Underworld has a flair for jury-rigging and improvisational mechanics. Though he is most dedicated to using this talent for creating weapons, death-traps, and instruments of pain, he is also quite skilled at lock-picking, vehicle hot-wiring, and once was able to build a glider in less than three minutes to escape the police who were banging down the door of the 27th floor high-rise hotel room which Underworld was using as a kill-room.
Weaknesses
- Direct Conflict: Underworld is not skilled in hand-to-hand combat, at least on a level compatible with most professional crimefighters. While he can usually beatdown a typical civilian or take down the average police officer if he gets the jump on them, Underworld can usually only pose a threat to hero types if he has superior firepower or the element of surprise.
- Psychic Feedback: If Underworld tries his mind games on a psychic aware of his shenanigans, it's possible that the psychic could turn the tables and use his own powers against him. This might be difficult as Underworld was not only given his powers by a truly powerful being, but he was also given the skill to use them extremely effectively and has demonstrated the ability to subvert the minds of other powerful and talented psychics.
- Indomitable Will: Underworld's mind games are more or less ineffective against being's with indomitable willpower.[1]
Trivia and Notes
Trivia
- Underworld has a fondness for classic rock, disco, big band music, and other musical performances from the 1920's to late 1970's. If he has need to concentrate, he often finds it helpful to hum such tunes or will turn a nearby radio on and tune it to such music.
Notes
- Underworld is an original character created by bjv016.
- Underworld's hairstyle is based on that of Adam Conover, the creator and host of Adam Ruins Everything.
Links and References
- Appearances of Underworld
- Character Gallery: Underworld