Character: Caveman Etc (Name appears as The Legendary Caveman Etc, Justice Defender)
Archetype: Tanker, Mutant (Invulnerability/ Stone Melee)
Super Group: Justice Strike Force
The Caveman, in many ways, is a modern day primitive. Lost over the wilds of North America in a plane crash at the age of 10, he was taken in by a mother bear and her cubs and managed to survive and even flourish among wolves, mountain lions, snakes, rams and various other savage creatures. Befriending many of the animals he interacted with on a daily basis by proving his loyalty and almost uncanny survival skills, The Caveman was able to live comfortably in the harsh environment without any interaction with the modern world.
One day, when The Caveman was 12, he made the mistake of stealing from a new pack of wolves that was new to the area, and he bit off more than he could chew. Backed into a corner, and with none of his companions to defend him, The Caveman's powers manifested. As the Alpha male struck, The Caveman raised his arm to ward off the attack, and the wolf bit hard and on target. What should have been a vicious blow never came. The Caveman heard the sound of breaking teeth and realized that the wolf's bite had had no effect. Then, the rest of the pack attacked, each wolf doing it's best to tear and rip at their prey, but still to no avail. The Caveman, it seemed, had somehow become invulnerable to the wolves' attacks. Confused, scared and now facing a pack of very pissed off wolves, The Caveman looked around for anything to defend himself against the now advancing pack. Finding nothing, The Caveman could think only how he wished he had something, ANYTHING, to use as a weapon. Almost perfectly on que, he felt something growing in, no, from, his hand. The Caveman looked down and realized that he'd generated a large stone club from his bear hands, and was somehow strong enough to wield it. Without even thinking, he began to swing, crushing the wolves, knocking many of them hundreds of yards away. When one weapon would break, he almost instinctively grew a new one, or even encased his bare fists in gloves of stone. He had become a juggernaut, a nearly invincible being capable of taking tremendous amounts of damage, and had somehow become capable of controlling the very earth around him, causing ruptures in the earth and making powerful, but localized earthquakes. Not only had The Caveman survived what surely would have been his death, but he'd come out of the engagement a new being.
Over the next few years, The Caveman grew to tremendous size, his strength increased and his other abilities developed and were honed. He learned to use his new strength to launch himself on leaps of two hundred yards or more, allowing him to patrol the forest, and bringing him into contact for the first time in many years with the outside world. Rumors of a wild man living in the forests began to circulate, and words such as "Yeti" and "Sasquatch" began to get thrown around. People started to venture into the woods, hoping to catch a glimpse of what eventually became known as "The Last Caveman of North America".
While The Caveman certainly wanted to remain in the woods with his surrogate family, he couldn't deny that he was curious about a world full of people just like him, whom he hadn't been around for nearly a decade of his life. He grew more and more restless until one day a man dressed in a strange red costume and carrying a bow slowly approached him in a clearing. The man, who called himself Manticore, admitted that he'd been drawn to the forest by curiosity about the supposed "missing link" that had been sighted in the area. Manticore said that he'd been watching The Caveman for a few days and realized that he could be of great help back in the city he came from. It seemed that aliens (something which The Caveman remembered from his youth, but thought to be make believe) had attacked the city and in the long battle that raged afterward, most of the heroes in the city had been killed. The City was now in trouble, as many evil people had swarmed the now nearly defenseless town. The City needed heroes, and Manticore thought that The Caveman could do a lot of good if he returned there with him. The Caveman, after much thought, agreed to go back, and after saying his good byes, departed with Manticore for his new home: Paragon City.
A few years later, The Caveman has adjusted relatively well to the "steel forest" of Paragon City. He's managed to build himself a career as park ranger, although his paying job isn't much different from his night-time job as a crime fighter in that the parks of Paragon City are rife with criminals and creatures that would do harm to the general populace.
The Caveman has recently joined a group of crime fighters called the Justice Strike Force, which has earned him many new friends and team mates. The Caveman does however sometimes have problems relating to his fellow man. His animal instincts and savage tendencies are always right there behind his relatively reserved and jovial personality. He sometimes has to fight the urge to chase a fleeing cat or smash an uncooperative computer terminal. While he enjoys his new friends and life, he never feels so free as when he is leaping from rooftop to rooftop or tree to tree, letting his instincts guide him as he patrols his territory. JSF scientists and doctors fear that The Caveman may be regressing mentally as he becomes more powerful and that his feral side may eventually take over. While the scientists themselves are at odds on the subject, the mere thought of becoming a complete savage has become a new and horrifying fear for The Caveman. The last thing he wants is to not be able to control himself and to potentially hurt the people around him. Only time will tell if The Caveman will be able to control himself and his powers as he continues to fight evil in the City of Heroes.
