Daedalus

To most people, Daedalus is one of the world’s most brilliant scientists and inventors, but few know his secret. Daedalus is not merely named for the figure from Greek mythology—he is the original. He was a great inventor in ancient Greece, so great he attracted the attention of Minos, King of Crete. Minos commissioned Daedalus to build an inescapable labyrinth to contain the monstrous Minotaur. But when Daedalus completed his work, Minos imprisoned him and his son Icarus so they could never reveal the maze’s secrets to the outside world.
Daedalus fabricated two pairs of wings from feathers and wax to allow he and his son to escape. Unfortunately, Icarus ignored his father’s advice not to fly too high. When he did, the wax on his wings melted and Icarus plummeted into the sea. Daedalus searched for his son in vain, until he was forced to fly on alone. The gods granted Daedalus the gift of immortality as compensation for Minos’ cruelty and Icarus’ loss. He spurned their offer, but the gods do not revoke a gift once it is given.
So Daedalus wandered the world for centuries, finding purpose in his studies and his work. He met and learned from the great philosophers and scientists of the ancient world and followed the rise and fall of civilization. All the while, he avoided staying in one place for too long, so as not to give away his true nature. Daedalus often spent time alone with his work, isolated for decades at a time. The centuries seemed to pass by faster and faster.
Over the centuries, Daedalus often recalled the lesson Icarus inadvertently taught him: technology was dangerous in the wrong hands. Humanity continued to prove that maxim throughout the years, as they developed newer and more inventive ways of killing and enslaving each other. Still, people also developed technologies to improve life, preventing his cynicism from growing intolerable. Daedalus’ own works also moved society forward, though history attributes them to others.
In the 20th century, Daedalus became equally fascinated and concerned with humanity’s progress. After the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he decided he needed to act more openly. He spent some years designing a suit of armor equipped with various weapons and began using it to fight crime. He particularly targeted criminals abusing science and technology for personal gain. When his ancient adversary, the Greek god Hades, invaded Freedom City, Daedalus helped a number of heroes thwart his plan. The ancient inventor turned adventurer became a founding member of the The Freedom League.
Daedalus worked with the League for years before the endless battles made him question the purpose of his immortal existence. He decided to leave Earth in a starship of his own design, the Icarus. He explored the galaxy alone for years, encountering various alien civilizations and challenges along the way, including The Grue and the Star-Khan. His faith in human potential restored by seeing what humanity’s “cousins” had done out among the stars, Daedalus returned to Earth just in time to help against the Terminus Invasion, and mourned the death of his old friend The Centurion along with the rest of the world. Daedalus and others reformed the Freedom League shortly afterward, and helped rebuild Freedom City in the aftermath.

Physical Description

Special abilities

Daedalus is one of the most brilliant inventive minds who has ever lived, backed by millennia of experience. Due to the gift of the Olympian gods, Daedalus is truly immortal: unaging, immune to illness or toxins, and able to recover from any harm, given time. Daedalus wears a sophisticated suit of powered armor of his own design, styled to look somewhat like the armor of an Ancient Greek warrior. It is made from advanced alloys, laced with circuitry and computer systems. The armor’s primary systems are based on the manipulation of gravity: focused into force beams for offense, or gravitic “grappler” beams to hold targets in place, anti-gravity for swift and near-silent flight and enhancement of lifting strength, and so forth. Daedalus’ armor also includes full-spectrum life support systems, allowing him to function in deep space or virtually any other environment, and sensor systems that allow him to scan and analyze new situations and tap into communications networks. Daedalus has access to his small starship, the Icarus, capable of faster-than-light travel and extended voyagers out amongst the stars.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

With his great intellect, age, and experience, Daedalus tends to play the role of father-figure to nearly everyone, perhaps making up for the guilt he still feels for failing his son, Icarus. In particular, Daedalus has a patrician sense of noblesse oblige when it comes to keeping humanity away from things they’re “not ready” to handle yet, which includes many of his own inventions and those of his rivals and foes (which Daedalus has secreted away over the years). In spite of the formidable capabilities of his battlesuit, Daedalus considers himself a man of peace, and prefers to let reason solve disputes, rather than violence, where possible, and looks for intellectual solutions to problems, sometimes chiding his allies for solving all of their challenges with sheer force. That said, Daedalus is not much of a diplomat, and can become impatient with those who (in his opinion) fail to see reason. The immortal inventor has a tendency towards obsessiveness, particularly when confronted with an intellectual puzzle or challenge. Daedalus is known for shutting himself up in his lab or workshop for days at a time, barely eating or sleeping, completely focused on the matter at hand and ignoring all other concerns. He has saved the world in this way more than once, but it also makes him difficult to deal with at times.

Current Location

Freedom City

Species

Human

Gender

Male

Eyes

Black

Hair

Black

Height

5'11''

Weight

210 lbs

Aligned Organization

Freedom League