Chemical King

© DC Comics / Used without permission

Origin: Birthright
Real Name: Condo Arlik
First Appearance: Adventure Comics #371 [DC Comics August 1968]

                            Character created by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan

ABILITIES

Prowess 5 {Good}
Coordination 4 {Fair}
Strength 4 {Fair}
Intellect 4 {Fair}
Awareness 4 {Fair}
Willpower 4 {Fair}

Stamina: 8
Determination: 5

SPECIALTIES

Martial Arts
Power Expert
Science (Chemistry)

POWERS

Transmutation [Limit: Extra Only] 9 {Fantastic}

       Catalytic Control

EQUIPMENT

Legion Flight Ring

QUALITIES

. Inferiority complex: unsure of his powers usefulness.
. Cannot speed up the disintegration process of indestructible materials.
. Cool, calm and collected in face of danger.

Points: 38

ORIGIN STORY

Before the Legion came into his life, Condo's powers were the source of terrible suffering for him. He was born a mutant, with the ability to alter chemical reactions. His powers mostly manifested, at first, over the reactions of his own body, making him gravely ill and needing to be hospitalized through most of his childhood. 

It wasn't until his case was brought to the attention of Lyle Norg (a.k.a. Invisible Kid of the Legion), an expert chemist, that things began to turn around for Condo. Lyle managed to provide a treatment for Condo, and then helped train him in how to control his abilities. He also convinced Condo that his powers were not a curse, but a great ability that could be used for good. The power to accelerate or decelerate any chemical reaction was a significant ability, and Lyle convinced Condo to apply to the newly-founded Legion Academy. 

In his try-out for the Legion, Condo, now calling himself Chemical King, was sent to infiltrate the Legion of Supervillains, which had been forming on Mars under crime boss Tarik The Mute, and included many of the Legion's old foes or failed applicants. Condo did well in his first mission and was elected unanimously into the Legion.

From that time on, Condo proved to be a dedicated and serious Legionnaire, utterly loyal to the group that had saved him from a life of suffering. 

Chemical King had the ability to control the speed of chemical reactions near him. While this was a rather unique ability, it made the character a difficult one to write (not every writer has a science background). This could be used for a variety of abilities. Among those demonstrated, his most common stunt was oxidizing objects at great speed causing them to rust quickly or burst into flame. He could accelerate cellular decay. He could also affect other people's abilities if they had a chemical mechanism for the abilities. This could allow him to slow the susceptibility to Kryptonite, radiation or other materials temporarily, or a chemical reaction which turns the body invisible could be slowed to the point that it was ineffective. He could also throw various chemical interactions in a body out of whack at once — instantly inducing shock (medical shock, not electric shock) or slowing down an opponent's metabolism to the point they passed out. He had to be careful with these abilities - too much could easily be deadly. He could also affect his own body chemistry, giving himself super strength and speed — but doing so was temporary and exhausting. With ICONS Great Power book, Chemical King's powers were much more simplified and streamlined. As someone has stated elsewhere, the Legion of Super-Heroes became the poster team of really odd powers. Character revised according to rules presented in ICONS Great Power book. Streamlined, once again, according to ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying: The Assembled Edition.