Thomas was the usual nerdy kid of the high school, gifted in intellect and shunned by jocks. His actual skill only bloomed afterwards, when access to superior college education made his mind develop several times faster than those of his peers. He became the rock star equivalent of research and engineering, and companies tried to cajole him with fattened payslips. He eventually settled in the nearby city of Whuston and married his highschool sweetheart, a shy girl named Helen.

However, he was living too fast and too intensely, and soon it all came to bit him in the back. An industrial spy infiltrated his inner circle, wooed his wife and tricked her into revealing the careful project in developments he had. The infidelity hurt, but it wasn't nowhere as bad as losing his job with the fallout. Swallowing his anger like a bitter medicine, he forgave her, and sought out a new chance.

He never got one.

Spiraling into depression and bitterness as they got by with oddjobs like technician and taxi driver, one day the battered Thomas opened the door of his dorm. Only to find his dear Helen dangling from the ceiling, limp and lifeless, the burden of it all being too much to bear. So much grief and anger ensued, without a clear direction. Thomas shunned life, he shunned society. He shunned mankind.

He became Emperor, and much like in the Merchant of Venice, he rampaged, hellbent to get his pound of flesh out of the sick and wrong Whuston who had done him so much harm for the sake of profit. He used his skill not to help, nor for a brighter future, but for the sake of self-wealth and destruction, obstacles in his path be damned. He struck terror in the people's hearts, when his dark metallic power armor soared through the skies.

Heroes kept opposing him, but it was never enough to put him down. After all, his hatred could not be quelled easily. Eventually his style and power made others flock to his side, fellow crooks and madmen, into what constitued the Evil League of sorts. Heroes also were quick to band together.

The ensuing war tore the city apart, and culminated in a massive explosion that reduced Whuston to cinders and killed everyone involved. He almost died, aswell. It was then when he realized. Nothing but ashes came from the Emperor's drive. Broken, and with the deaths of friends, foes and an entire city weighing heavily in his mind, he drifted away towards Treaft, in hopes of finding an answer to his existial crisis. He now gets by with some stock market seeds that net him modest benefits to live frugally as another John Doe of the crowd.