Network

Doug Romens learned how to write code by the time he was 12 years old. In high school, he had minor brushes with the law for computer hacking: not because Doug set out to do anything illegal, but because he enjoyed the challenge. It surprised no one that he went on to attend the Hanover Institute of Technology's computer science program or that he graduated with honors.
Doug was fascinated by the potential of human/computer interfaces and intended to focus his postgraduate work on it. He enlisted the help of his former roommate at HIT, Paul Petrus, now a junior biochemist at ASTRO Labs, to test some of his theories. When they tested a prototype interface device Doug designed, hired mercenaries chose that moment to try and kidnap both Doug and Paul. An accidental power surge apparently disintegrated Doug Romens, leaving only the smoking remains of the equipment and the chair where he sat.
In fact, the accident somehow translated Doug’s body into pure electricity and drew him into the power grid. After regaining consciousness and learning to control his new “body,” Doug’s newfound abilities allowed him to discover his friend Paul, being used as a test subject in an underground lab. Doug freed his friend, who wrecked up the lab before escaping, and Archer confronted the two of them. After explaining their circumstances, they accepted the vigilante bowman’s offer of help and soon joined FORCE Ops.
Network (as Doug calls himself) is more content with his transformation than Bruiser, but he would still like to find a means to achieve some sort of normal life, ideally without giving up the amazing powers he now has. He’s considered the possibility of an android body his electrical energy could inhabit and animate, although it would only be a small step closer to normal existence. Ideally, he wants to find a way to switch between human and energy form at will.
Note that although Network’s Electrical Form power is permanent, his Insubstantial state from it is not: he can “solidify” his energy through the use of complex magnetic fields, letting him interact with the physical world, but he still remains in energy form.

Year of Death

1993

Circumstances of Death

The Terminus Invasion