ULTIMANPL: 10,
Name: Henry Cross, Male,
Size: Medium;
INIT: +5, DEF 15/14; SPEED 30; MELEE +10, RANGED +7,
MENTAL +7, SV: DMG +4, FORT +4, REF +3, WILL +1;
STR 18, DEX 13, CON 18, INT 12, WIS 13, CHA 14.
SKILLS: Computers* +2, Gather Info +3, Listen +11, Profession: +3, Search +11, Spot +11.
FEATS: Durability (Super) (lethal dmg < = to dmg save is stun), Ultra Hearing (Super) (can hear low and high pitched noises), Fame (+3 cha if fame is a benefit, -3 if not), Imp. Initiative (+4 to initiative), Lightning Reflexes (+2 ref saves).
POWERS: FLIGHT [MUTATION] [+10], stunt: super flight, SUPER-STRENGTH [MUTATION] [+10], extra: protection, extra: immunity {aging, disease,, exhaustion, poison, pressure,, starvation, suffocation,, critical hits, electricity,radiation}, extra: super-senses.
WEAKNESS: Vulnerable to Trans - Dimensional energies.
COST: abilities 28, combat 26, skills 4, feats 10, powers 92, weakness -10, total 150.
The Origin Of UltimanSometime in the late 1940's a top secret US government project was engaged in
experiments to break the dimensional barrier, the theoretical division between
our dimension and others, presumably vastly different in nature.
The project was utilising the superhuman known as The Comet and his superspeed abilities, to attempt to form a transdimensional rift.
The experiment succeeded but not without cost.
An enormous discharge of energy was released, killing The Comet and seventeen US military personnel. The result was that a small, but detectable, tear in the fabric of our dimension was created. The focus of the research changed as it became obvious that the dimensional rift was too small to be traversed by equipment or personnel, but strange energies with unusual properties were emanating from it.
And so Project Ultimate Human was born (ULTImate huMAN). Several years of research into this new form of energy yielded several advances in technology but primarily it was discovered that human tissue exposed to the dimensional rift became more resistant to damage, old wounds healed and so on. One particularly insightful and patriotic scientist saw an opportunity to advance the cause of democracy by creating a rallying point in human form. His proposal was rejected by the President, who feared that the American people would never accept the result of human experimentation as fully human, but the scientist's cause was picked up on by a shadowy group existing the upper echelons of the US military known as The Twelve, whose origins lay in the American war of independence. Their own aims were far from benevolent, however. They funded in secret the commencement of the project and provided a willing volunteer, a World War II veteran who'd been dishonoranbly discharged from the service but in all other respects was an exemplary soldier.
The subject was placed in a chamber into which all of the interdimensional energies were being focused. His physical form gradually changed until his abilities reached and exceeded the theoretical human maximums. The very cells of his body began radiating the otherwordly force, negating to some degree the very force of gravity and enabling him to lift frankly unbelievable weights, and resist most forms of physical harm. He could also fly unaided and his senses began functioning at a heightened level. Strenuous testing suggested that the experiment had succeeded in advancing the test subject to perhaps the next stage in human evolution. His masters had big plans for their new wunderkind. A series of assaults on the fabric and mechanism of the communist war machine and an eventual unveiling of their figurehead, a godlike figure behind whom The Twelve envisaged the free world falling into line, under their ultimate control.
The flaw in their reasoning was strikingly simple however. For in line with the advancement of his physical attributes, an equivalent advancement of his moral code had occurred. The Ultimate Human could not allow himself to be the motivation behind an unjust crusade such as The Twelve proposed. He literally tore apart their base of operations and made for Washington, where he presented himself to the President.
The truth of Ultiman's origin has been buried in the deepest recesses of the US Government archives. The official version of his origin, as known by most small boys in the USA is that he arrived through an accidental tear in the barrier between dimensions, our own dimensional laws granting him powers and abilities undreamed of by mortal man. It was many years after his 'arrival' that Ultiman first began fighting crime and doing good. The reason for this gap remains something of a mystery.
In reality, there is no denying that Ultiman has done much good in the years since he was allowed to operate publicly, rendering aid to all nationalities and fighting crime in many forms. His physical appearance has remained largely unchanged as the aging process appears to have slowed or stopped altogether. He is seen as somewhat of an anachronism by the modern breed of heroes, with his manners and morals from another age, but remains one of the worlds most recognisable and renowned superhumans. Ultiman's alter - ego Henry Cross, by comparison lives a modest life, making a respectable living as an author of historical reference books.
His longevity has brought a unique perspective to his writing which has earned him some success but he is careful to maintain his anonymity as it is the work of Ultiman which always comes first.
Lt Cmdr Julius Barron
