King of Spades
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
The King of Spades was the first character I created for City of Heroes. He grew from a Emma Frost-inspired hero into his own character through interactions with the rest of the Guruverse and my own personality that I've learned to incorporate as I played the game. He is still one of my favorites and the one I find most enjoyable to play as.
| |
| Keep it Classy | |
| King of Spades | |
| Player: @TopHat | |
| Origin: | Mutation |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Controller |
| Security Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Alex Zafiro (formerly Sheene) |
| Known Aliases: | none |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 27 |
| Height: | 5'9" |
| Weight: | 145 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Black |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | US Citizen |
| Occupation: | Independently wealthy entrepreneur |
| Place of Birth: | Confidential |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City, Rhode Island |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Jonathan Sheene and Marie Jule Sheene |
| Known Powers | |
| Possesses high-level telepathic abilities that allow a variety of uses. Also possess limited telekinesis. | |
| Known Abilities | |
| A master businessman and manipulator with vast resources and contacts | |
| Equipment | |
| A blackberry and fashionable clothing | |
| No additional information available. | |
Contents |
Affiliations
- Randomus (Friend and leader)
- Electric Burn (Friend and teammate )
- Gold Star (Friend and teammate)
- The Olympian (Friend and teammate)
- Sebastian Kain (Business rival and reluctant ally )
- The Imperial (Friend)
Supergroup: The City Watch
Personality
He keeps his emotions to himself and goes out of his way to remain detached so he often seems cold and his past experiences make feel like he must always be in control. Being a man of the finer things, his taste is expensive and his attitude is often extremely aristocratic. King of Spades also has no qualms about using his telepathy on casually reading the minds of others when he likes. Though he does have a degree of selfishness ingrained in him, he tries to fight it in order to do the right thing whenever he can. Over the years heroics have come more naturally.
Character History
Institutionalization
At the age of 16, a lonely boy named Alex Sheene's powers emerged. He was a mutant but at the time that did not occur to him. The child was born with telepathy and even then it was very strong but he lacked the control needed to wield it. He tuned into voices from all over the city. Being a teen with no friends or siblings he tuned into the far away thoughts and listened in on conversations and thoughts. At first, the amount and intensity of the voices was controllable but his habit of listening for hours widened the door of his mind. A number of voices began pouring in and he could not close the connection any longer. Alex's parents noticed something was wrong with their child when his powers began shaking their child's sanity. They sent him to a therapist who diagnosed him as a schizophrenic and per prescribed him drugs that had no effect. Eventually, it was decided it would be best if he were sent away to an asylum.
Two years past within the institution and the boy lost himself in the twisted thoughts and dreams of the deranged until one day things changed. Alex finally reached out with his mind and screamed for the voices to stop - and they heard him. It was then that he realized what he was listening to and that he could speak back. In time he learned to do much more than that. He trained and honed his abilities until his eighteenth birthday when he decided it was time to leave. He promised himself he would never lose control of his own life and Alex Sheene was checked out of the hospital never to be seen again.
Fortunes Made
An Alex Zafiro appeared in New York City and instantly became a business sensation. The young boy new all the right stocks to purchase and when to sell them. Using his telepathic abilities, Alex created a fortune and bought his way into society. For a year, he wined and dined in the New York scene until he decided he was ready to return to RI - to Paragon City where there was adventure and money to be made.
Crowned King
Alex bought himself a suite in Founder's Fall and began his business ventures. With no qualms about using his powers when he liked, he faced few obstacles. Alex Zafiro became one of the most charming new bachelors in Paragon and a well-known name in the highest social circles. He had achieved the pinnacle of success as far as he defined it and yet he felt bored by it all in the end.
One evening, walking the dark streets of Paragon after leaving an extravagant party early, Alex felt the mental cry of a woman in distress. He followed it to find a woman just about to be raped. Mentally incapacitating the attacker, he came close to the woman in an attempt to calm her but she was hysterical. In an attempt to help her, he created the illusion of a comfortable sitting room with a roaring fire and sat down to chat with the young woman. Alex was too cocky however, and the rapist eventually emerged from mental sedation to attack, catching Alex off guard. By the time he felt the thoughts of the man with the gun pointing at him, it was too late to react properly. However, Alex had an instinctual reaction. His latent telepathy appeared and knocked the gun out of the man's hand. Alex subsequently made the man believe he was a little girl at a ballet recital and left him in that state as he escorted the woman to her apartment.
After the incident, Alex felt something that he had not known - a sense of fulfillment. It was possible that he really wanted to do good for others with his power but he shrugged that off as ridiculous. He was no hero, but a man looking out for himself. However, his services were again required when was at a benefit for the arts there was an attack by the group known as the Circle of Thorns in search of an artifact that was going to be put on display. Alexander Cromwell was there as well and fought the attackers as The Imperial and Alex communicated with him telepathically that he would cover The Imperial's back. Alex nonchalantly manipulated and disoriented the mystics and The Imperial easily defeated them. Afterwards, The Imperial asked that Alex extract information from the men and discover their plans. Alex did so and then went with The Imperial to put an end to a great magical threat to the city. From then on, The Imperial contacted Alex when he needed the aid of a telepath and his heroic beliefs - which he so often communicated - began to have an effect. Alex admired the work Imperial did and though he would never admit it, he enjoyed helping when he could.
Finally, Alex decided he would begin working on his own. He told himself it was for the adventure and possible new contacts he may make that would be useful but there were deeper motivations there. When deciding his alias Alex decided he wanted to be known as a King because he always felt like royalty and in the end he decided on the King of Spades because he looked excellent in a black suit.
City Watch
Not long after Alex named himself The King, he entered into a project with an odd group of men - Randomus, The Olympian, Gold Star, and Electric Burn. King of Spades, along with The Olympian financed a reality TV series that would also be a supergroup. The cameras followed their adventures every week. The show had excellent ratings in the first two seasons and made millions in merchandising. The team came together and in time King came to know them as friends who he trusted. His time with them helped him go from a businessman who dabbled in heroics to a true hero. However, the team eventually faced difficulties. Randomus was lost in another dimension, The Olympian went off to find himself in the Himalayas, Gold Star went on an environmental crusade, and that left only King and Burn. The show was canceled and the HQ closed up though King bought the property from The Olympian to ensure that it remained opened and taken care of if they should ever need it.
Though now a solo hero, King has amassed a wide web of connections in the hero community and works alongside many of them to fight threats to Paragon. With his powers and resources he does what he can to help others and occasionally still - himself.
Kain's Games
Sebastian Kain approached King with something a favor. He required King to stand in as the Mysterious Mr. Z and lead the USS in his absence. In exchange, King would receive a reasonable percentage of stock in Kain's business and an as yet undisclosed favor. For months, King made the broadcasts and even a few appearances as directed by Kain. For the purpose of better controlling the group, King brought in his own member - Offbeat. Offbeat was an empath and King wanted him to read and subtlety control the groups emotions for his favor. King wanted to win them to his side just to spite Kain and aggravate his long-time rival. However, everything fell through when it was revealed that Kain was using the team as pawns. King realized that he was only being used by Kain to take a fall in an event that is still in the works. Enraged at being played the fool, King is now providing what assistance he can to the group in order to turn the tables on their leader.
Powers
Telepathy
The ability to enter and control the minds of others, which allows the following feats: Mind control, control of emotions, project and read thoughts, alter or wipe memory, create hallucinations, and create "psi-bolts" that incapacitate an individual. King of Spades has become highly proficient at this skill over the years and is able to perform them with little concentration, over a larger range, and with little mental strain. The King of Spades is considered to be a member of Paragon's highest order of telepaths.
Telekinesis
The ability to move objects with his mind. It's limitations and uses include the following: Lift and move objects of about 30 tons, create protective shields that can withstand forces up to 30 tons, and fly at subsonic speeds. While King has trained himself in the use of these abilities since he became a hero, it lacks the finesse he has with his telepathy. In addition, prolonged or overuse leaves him mentally fatigued.
Vulnerabilities
He lacks any combat training, which makes him highly reliant on his powers. Though he has honed his telepathy to effect machines if he concentrates, they still present a problem in combat. Also, extended use of his telekinesis eventually exhausts him. Finally, King is highly upset and distracted when one of his many stylish outfits are harmed in battle.
To contact this character's creator
- In-game: @TopHat
- CoH official forums: TopHat
- CoH Guru forums: TopHat
