[center][img]http://media.ufc.tv/photo_galleries/UFC157-TrainingSession/UFC157-TrainingSession-19.jpg[/img][/center] [center] [i]"My grandfather was a murderer. My father was murdered. My mother was murdered. My uncle has more blood on his hands than I could comprehend...And yet, here I am, wearing this costume. Fate has given me a chance to fix things, and I don't plan to let fate down. I will avenge my father, and I will redeem my family's name; even if it kills me."[/i] [/center] [center] [b]Edwin Dorrance | Twenty-three | Dark Cloak[/b] [/center] [b]Stats:[/b] 6'3 (Without venom) 6'7 (With venom) 195 lbs (Without venom) 279 lbs. (With venom) Black hair Brown eyes [b]Occupation:[/b] Waiter, vigilante [b]Skills & Abilities:[/b] [b]Combat:[/b] Trained under Bane from an early age, Edwin is a capable martial artist and wrestler - yet, he still has much to learn. Bane taught Dark Cloak a number of martial arts, including some the warrior had formed on his own. Edwin's fighting style is less stationary than Bane's, but still appears rather slow and bulky when put alongside the likes of Batman and the Robins. He is trained to observe his enemies movements and is capable of blocking most kicks and punches that he can see coming. Edwin is also a skilled wrestler; Bane trained him to use his size to his advantage, specifically by using counter-grapples to catch his enemies in various choke holds when Edwin blocks their attacks. Without his venom, Edwin mostly relies on his defensive abilities to tire his opponents until they are too exhausted to defend themselves against Edwin's own assault. He generally uses light punches and heavy combinations, rarely using his feet unless absolutely necessary. On venom, however, Dark Cloak becomes much more offensive. He's much quicker to counter attack his opponents than without his steroids, and uses more grappling techniques. He generally goes for grabs and takedowns, only punching when he needs to tag much more agile opponents, or if his enemy is a better wrestler than he is. He'll occasionally use mix-ups instead of counter-grappling to keep his opponents on their toes. [b]Mental:[/b] Like most members of the Dorrance family, Edwin has a photographic memory. While not on par with Bane's, Edwin is capable of remembering most anything he tries to. He can usually recall most things he sees or hears without much difficultly. This has allowed him to excel in his schooling, as well as his martial arts training. Unlike the other Dorrances', however, Edwin lacks a genius level intellect. While he is considered above average, Edwin struggles with subjects like Calculus, Algebgra, and Physics. He tends to have trouble paying attention during lessons, and when he does he usually becomes rather frustrated at the simplest of problems. Bane chided his student for his lack of discipline in this area, but never pushed him to his limit as he did with Edwin's body. Being from Santa Prisca, Edwin is fluent in Spanish. His father Charles, however, made sure that he was able to communicate in both English and Mandarin as well. Edwin is now fluent in all three languages, thanks in part to his photographic memory. Bane passed on his tactical ability and extensive strategic knowledge down to his nephew during their training sessions. Edwin has memorized the likes of "The Art of War" and "On War," both of which are considered the venerable Bibles of the greatest generals of history. Edwin is slowly learning to use these teachings to fight crime, however he struggles to make connections on his own and generally requires a few beatings before he realizes how he can win a certain fight. Edwin's crowning achievement in regards to his intellect comes in the form of his Dark Cloak suit. It required quite a bit of research, sweat, and money to create, but he was able to do so. Hopefully without arousing suspicion. [b]Venom:[/b] Edwin's use of the Super-steroid Venom allowed him to temporarily enhance his physical functions to superhuman levels, particularly his strength, endurance, and speed. His body's senses and healing abilities are also augmented to a degree. Dark Cloak needs to periodically inject himself with Venom to retain these abilities, although overuse can result in temporary insanity. As a side note, every dosage of Venom tends to affect Edwin's frame permanently. With each use, his muscles become more solid and his stamina increases. However, each dosage also makes Edwin even more addicted to the substance. [hider=Venom's affects][b]Superhuman Strength:[/b] The primary effect of Venom is that it enhances strength to low superhuman levels, depending on how much venom is injected. Edwin has been shown to be just as strong if not even stronger than Batman without the Venom, and while injected is able to bend thick steel. When Bane injects the maximum amount of Venom that is considered healthy into himself, he becomes capable of lifting about 3 tons. He is ultimately capable of exceeding his limit to 5 tons, though not without temporarily losing control over himself. [b]Enhanced Reflexes:[/b] Under the effects of Venom, Edwin can react just as fast as the fittest human can. Able to react as fast if not a margin faster than Batman, Edwin has fought many opponents while applying his tactics and supporting his massive frame. [b]Enhanced Speed:[/b] Under the effects of Venom, Edwin can run as fast as the fittest human can. Running on par with Olympic runners, Bane can support his weight while maintaining a high rate of speed. [b]Superhuman Stamina:[/b] Under the effects of Venom, Dark Cloak can fight almost forever. As long as he can continue to pump Venom into his veins he can continue fighting indefinitely. While on a single dose of venom Edwin has fought many battles for many hours and never seemingly stopped. [b]Superhuman Durability:[/b] Under the effects of Venom, Dark Cloak can withstand powerful blows from metahumans, multiple bullets and explosions. With mere scratches and bruises Bane has withstood extreme torment at the hands of his enemies. [b]Accelerated Healing:[/b] Bane can also use his Venom as a form of medicine to heal from injuries, poisons and diseases. Depending on how devastating the injury, Edwin needs to inject a certain amount of Venom into himself. When faced with extreme wounds, such as many broken bones, excessive blood loss, or terminal poisons or diseases, Edwin needs to inject an unhealthy amount of venom which will cause him to temporarily go berserk in order to heal properly. Shamelessly stole most of that from the wiki. I updated it to cut out Bane's name, as well as changed some of the factors to be more consistent with New 52 Venom. [/hider] [b]Equipment:[/b] Improved Venom Delivery System: Edwin has developed a tubing system linked directly to his body, similar to the one his uncle uses. However, there are a few key differences: The tubing itself is left underneath Dark Cloak's armor and clothing, to prevent the tubes from being easily accessed by opponents looking to stop Edwin's flow of Venom. Secondly, the button used to send bursts of Venom into Edwin's system is on his belt buckle, not his wrist. There is also an emergency button located on the back of his neck. [b]Personality & History:[/b] Charles Dorrance is the son of Edmund and one of King Snake's many prostitutes. At first, Edmund saw the child as a threat to his legitimacy and forced the whore into an abortion. Luckily for Charles, the doctors had chosen a technique that lacked a 100% kill rate. This small chance allowed Charles to survive; his mother, seeing this as a sign from above, took Charles in and raised him. Charles grew up hating and resenting his father, planning to exact revenge against King Snake for his attempted murder. As an adult, Charles was a wealthy businessman, one of the few in Hong Kong not in Edmund Dorrance's pocket. When Charles approached his father, claiming to be Edmund's bastard child, King Snake tried to kill him. King Snake pushed his own son out of a window; yet again, however, Charles survived. The battered man left Hong Kong, heading for the last place he expected Edmund to come looking for him - Santa Prisca. It was there that Charles met the love of his life, Maria. The two married after only a year of courtship, and Maria bore Charles' child, Edwin. Years later, when Edwin was eight years old, King Snake's assassins attacked. They seemed to have finally tracked Charles down and were there to finish the job that their leader could not. Charles fought bravely, but he didn't stand a chance against the attackers. It was only by chance that Maria and Edwin came into contact with Bane's men. During Charles' trials and tribulations, Bane had been embroiled in a long and brutal war against the tyrants and drug lords that ran Santa Prisca. Maria told Bane all that had transpired; at first, the Man who Broke the Bat could not believe the fantastical tale. However, after performing a DNA test on Edwin, Maria's impossible story was revealed to be truth. Bane then took in his sister-in-law and her son, promising to keep them safe from harm. Edwin then grew up under the tutelage of both Maria and Bane; quite soon, Edwin began to look at Bane as his second father. The supervillian turned dictator took it upon himself to teach Edwin all that Ra's Al Ghul had taught him. The ex-heir to the League of Assassins raised Edwin with the same brutal teachings he had learned behind the walls of Peña Duro. At first, Maria was against such horrible methods being used on a mere child; however, after a time, she learned to accept that Bane meant to make Edwin strong. If Charles had been strong, he could have protected himself and his family, and he wouldn't of had to die. That's what Bane told Maria, anyway, and that is what she told herself whenever she witnessed her son being beaten and battered in yet another brutal martial arts lesson. When Edwin was seventeen, everything seemed to fall apart in Santa Prisca. Bane was removed from his throne by rebels and turncoats. This forced Maria and Edwin to flee alongside Bane to Gotham. Upon his arrival into Gotham, Bane and his allies found themselves beset by none other than Two-Face. A turf war broke out between the two powerhouses; many lives were lost in the first few days of the conflict. Tragedy struck the Dorrance family once more. Two-Faces goons had gunned down Maria and severely wounded Edwin during one of their raids on Bane's small but growing territory. Eventually Bane was able to broker a peace treaty with Two-Face; however, the damage had already been done. The loss of his mother being too much to bare, Edwin began to take the Venom drug in an effort to escape his reality. Edwin soon became addicted to the strength it gave him. Bane and his gang retreated into the shadows, not wanting to attract the attention of the Batman before Bane's plans were complete. Hearing of the defeat of his uncle, Edwin leaves Bane's gang (enraging Byrd in the process) and moves out to live on his own. A few months into living in a small apartment and working a full time job at a diner, Edwin begins to develop an obsession with the Batfamily. He started to study them, recording and archiving anything he could find that involved them. Eventually, the Batfamily's efforts began to have an effect on Edwin's psyche. Eventually, his obsession became a life style for Edwin - The man, now twenty one, began to engage in acts of vigilantism. He would stop robberies, catch muggers, and other such small deeds. It was only when he first encountered Killer Croc and had his face plastered all over the memory of the giant green thug that Edwin considered donning his own version of the cape and cowl. After all, he didn't need supervillians knowing what his face looked like. So Edwin designed his own version of the Bat-costume, and took to the streets as...Dark Cloak! ..He really needed to work on the name. [b]Character Impressions:[/b] [b]Batman:[/b] The Batman? He is my inspiration. The Dark Knight is the reason I put on the mask. He's the greatest warrior this world has ever known, and my only chance at defeating my grandfather in combat. I [i]must[/i] convince him to train me. It is my destiny! [b]Nightwing:[/b] The man from Bludhaven. He went missing from action four or five years ago, if I remember my studies correctly. His connection to the Batman is unknown to me; but I have observed the pair working together before. An excellent fighter, if not a little too light on his feet for a man. [b]Red Robin:[/b] Ah, yes. The previous Robin. He, like the rest of the Bat personas, is a formidable warrior. I followed his formation of the so called 'Teen Titans' with interest; from what records show, the team is highly successful. I've always wonder why he left the Batman's side for inferior allies, though...Perhaps a falling out? [b]Oracle:[/b] Who? [b]TANDEM:[/b] I am unfamiliar with them. [b]Batwoman:[/b] An interesting character to be sure. She is extreme in her methodology; willing to go places the other Bats are not. I admire that in her. However, I hypothesis that the other vigilantes do not. From what I've seen, she and the rest of the Cowls do not interact often. Maybe she acts on her own accord, as I do? It is hard to say. She does not appear to have the same martial skill as the Batman or his counterparts. [b]Robin: [/b]The current Robin is...Different, from the others. I can see it in the way he fights. He seems more skilled, and more aggressive. Perhaps even a bit arrogant. I wonder why that is... [b]Catwoman:[/b] The Catwoman is a thief. She is a savage combatant, but lacks the discipline to finish the fight. I haven't seen much of her these days..Perhaps she has retired? Better for all of Gotham, if that is the case. [b]Blackbat:[/b] The Batgirl of Hong Kong. I have kept a close eye on her exploits overseas; for she operates in the home of the serpent that I hunt. A ferocious warrior, worthy of the Cowl she wears. Perhaps a potential ally for his war against the snake? [b]Batwing:[/b] Yes, I know the name. He's the armored soldier who battled alongside Batman, ridding Gotham of one of its gangs. I've heard rumor he defeated a man using Venom; a remarkable feat. However, I know little of his exploits outside Gotham: I've heard he was seen in Africa multiple times. A powerful vigilante to be sure. [b]Red Hood:[/b] A gangster, if I remember correctly. A drug lord who battled the Batman...He disappeared after his apparent defeat. Rumor has it he was in Santa Prisca for a time. Just another rogue, fallen to the might of the Bat. [b]James Gordon:[/b] Gotham's Police Commissioner. A honest man, with a commendable list of accomplishments. It takes quite a bit of courage to work in this city's police force. To lead it, though? That is another thing entirely. [b]Story Arc:[/b] The Serpent of Hong Kong: Edwin's training is finally complete, and he has amassed a large group of allies and believes himself prepared to take down his grandfather, King Snake. Travelling to Hong Kong, Edwin prepares himself to do whatever is necessary to end the serpent's reign and redeem his family's name. He will do anything for redemption: even if it means Dark Cloak must take his grandfather's life. [b]Extra: [/b] [list] [*]Edwin is an insomniac - he can't sleep without a bit of Venom in his system. [*]Dark Cloak plans to some day defeat Bane in the trials of combat, to prove himself better than his master. [*]Edwin isn't of completely sound mind. [/list] [b]In Costume Appearance:[/b] Edwin's costume uses a color pallet of grey, red, and black. Underneath the armor lies a highly elastic suit made of various fabrics, to create the apex of stretchy clothing. When Dark Cloak activates his Venom, the plates shift to allow the extra mass to grow comfortably; the underlining expands as Edwin's muscles do. The helmet and boots both have a similar function installed. [hider=mask][img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/2c/8e/dc/2c8edcf58ee0018d648056c98ef0a680.jpg[/img] [/hider] [hider=body] [img]http://imageserver.moviepilot.com/alternative-batman-fanart-streets-batman-24-awesome-alternate-fan-art-takes-on-batman.jpeg?width=650&height=929[/img] [/hider]