Player: @Starforge
Personal Data
Real Name:	Matt King
Known Aliases:	Starforge
Occupation:	Guardian/Registered Hero
Base of Operations:	The Lambent Dawn
Species:	Human/Peacebringer
Age:	30s
Height:	6'3"
Weight:	235lbs
Eye Color:	Brown
Hair Color:	Brown
Place of Birth:	Confidential
Powers
Bond with Kheldian enables the use of Kheldian energy for a variety of purposes
Abilities
Skilled in close-quarters and ranged combat, Knowledge of various alien cultures
Affiliations
Global Defense Force

Background

Before he became the hero known as Starforge, he was simply Matt King. Born in a small, midwestern town, Matt had no idea about the life he would eventually go on to lead. While he was aware of super-powered beings such as Statesman, he never encountered anyone like that...until that fateful day that started him on the path to becoming a Guardian, and a hero.

Not long after his 18th birthday, Matt was walking back home when he was stopped by a thug and his cronies. Something was off about the man, however. From what Matt could tell, there seemed to be a sinister glow in the man's eyes. Before he knew it, Matt was being attacked by the gang. Fortunately for the future hero, a great beam of energy shot down from the sky and knocked the thug and his men away. As everything started to come back into focus, Matt could see a mysterious figure knock out the thug and retrieve a handful of dark-colored shards from his body.

Turning his attention toward Matt, this strange individual walked toward Matt and began to address him. "Are you alright?" Matt wasn't sure what was going on, but all he could do was respond: "Yeah...I'm fine. Thanks for the help." "You're not a normal human are you?" The man narrowed his gaze at Matt as if sizing him up before answering him. "No, not fully. Not anymore." Holding out his hand to show the shards to Matt, he began to explain in detail that the shards were imbued with Nictus energy and that caused the man to attack him. He also began to explain the nature of his abilities to the young man.

Seeing as this was the first super-powered being he had ever encountered, Matt immediately began asking him tons of questions; mostly about his powers and about the Guardians. To his surprise, the Guardian fully indulged him. Perhaps most surprising was what the mysterious man said next."You know, you may have a future as a Guardian. Surviving as long as you did against those Nictus-influenced men is quite an accomplishment for an ordinary human. This sector does have need for a Guardian."

Soon after that, Matt found himself in the Guardian Collective's Training Academy. Four years of the most intense training of his life began. Many styles of fighting were taught to him, as well as the history of the Kheldians and their conflict with the Nictus. Matt also learned a great number of alien languages as most of the Guardians were from planets throughout the galaxy. The future Guardian would come to greatly respect his teachers and even managed to impress them with his tenacity and eargerness to learn and improve.

Before he knew it, his training was over and it was time to bond with his Kheldian. As all of the academy graduates began to merge with the energy beings to officially become Guardians, Matt was confronted by a Kheldian known as Epyon. Much younger than most other un-bonded Kheldians, Epyon had been watching Matt throughout his training and deemed him to be the best fit for a host and partner. Matt felt the same way upon meeting Epyon and two beings merged together to create a brand new Guardian.

Not long after, Matt was sent back to Earth in order to investigate the increased Nictus activity on the planet. During this time, he found himself face to face with powerful Nictus such as Requiem and Arakhn. With the help of other heroes in the city, Matt was able to stop their Nictus uprising for the foreseeable future. However, that would only be the beginning of Matt's problems with the Nictus. After that conflict was concluded, the Guardian decided to turn his attention to assisting Paragon's heroes in fighting the host of other forces that sought to take control of the city and destroy the heroes that stood in their way.

Making the decision to truely become a hero in Paragon City, Matt took the name Starforge to use as his alias while fighting crime in the city. Soon enough, Starforge found himself fighting alongside such heroes as Knight Sentinel, Xanatos, and Ascendant. He also gained a huge target on his back from powerful enemies like Victor Van Braun, Dark Carver, and Dr. Victor Byte. However, through it all Starforge was able to overcome them with the help of these heroes and groups like the Palladium Sentry. Despite all this, he still had a mission to accomplish to stamp out the Nictus on Earth and that is where most of his attention was focused. However, that was all before Starforge was approached to help lead a new group of heroes. A group that would soon become tasked with protecting the entire planet.

In late February 2012, Starforge was approached by his long-time friend and former ally in the Palladium Sentry, Black Authority. The hero formerly known as Kaz Kade, Black Authority came to Starforge in the hopes that he would help in creating a brand new group. Before both men knew it, the Global Defense Force was born. It wasn't long before the new group was up and running. After coming across a derelict Guardian sattelite, Starforge was able to outfit it with all the technology they would need in order to make the new base of the Global Defense Force as good as possible. No sooner had the newly christened Lambent Dawn become fully-funtional, the group found itself with some of the world's premier heroes jumping at the chance to join. Another development in the early days of the Global Defense Force was a short partnership with the Challengers. So far, the two groups have fought together against the growing threat of the United Underworld as well as the villainous Phanto and his associates.

With Starforge's focus being on these groups, he was blind to the growing threat in the shadows; The Doom Society. The relatively unknown group of supervillains led by Dominion had their sights set on the upstart Global Defense Force. Thanks to intel from their latest member, Dark Carver, they plotted for months until they made their first move against the heroes. In late November 2012, the Doom Society launched a full-scale assault on the GDF's base of operations, the Lambent Dawn. During the attack, many of the original members of the Global Defense Force perished and thanks to Dark Carver sabotaging their ship, Starforge was left hurtling through space. It would be some time before the Guardian made his way back to Earth, but when he did, the Doom Society had a receipt coming their way.

Personality

Extraverted sensing types are pragmatic and realistic with a zest for living life to the fullest by way of multiplying experiences. Always on the alert for what needs immediate attention or what might provide a bit of action, excitement or entertainment, they engage quickly with their environment. They seek and enjoy freedom, are good-natured, direct, and tolerant and are often the ones who provide levity.

They have a way with dealing with people on a very equal platform and are not easily star struck. Rank, celebrity and status mean little when they are face to face with another individual.

On the job, they appreciate having the right tools and are quite ingenious at finding ways to fix and repair things with dexterity. They love variety and are curious and adventurous, enjoying the unexpected. Their brand of extraversion is one of deeds rather than words. As long as things are moving along, they are happy. They like to keep things simple and immediate, going with the flow. They are helpful in very concrete ways, providing the correct tools or specific service the person requires. They often have an uncanny ability to respond appropriately in cases of emergencies, often having excellent reflexes. They act without thinking. They also tend to have natural mediating skills.

They are attuned to the environment and the myriad colours, textures, sounds, beauty and the sensuousness of it all. They are quite graceful and agile while moving through their environment. They love having fun and if things are too quiet they may provide the entertainment or distraction. They learn by imitation and are keen observers. They teach through example. Their attention will always go towards whatever provides the keenest impression on their senses.

-Credit to MBTI for this.

Powers & Abilities

One of the things that Starforge found after bonding with Epyon was that he could now utilize Kheldian energy in battle in many different ways. He was able to fire off blasts of energy, as well as put that energy behind his punches or kicks. Matt also noticed he was able to use this energy to propel himself through the air as well as use it to heal from injuries quickly. Here are a few of Starforge's signature abilities:

Incandescent Strike:

The Incandescent Strike is an absolutely devastating melee attack that focuses a great deal of energy and strength into a single massive blow. This slow but incredibly devastating attack can knock out most opponents. This attack has taken down a fair share of the foes that Starforge has faced during his time in Paragon City.

Photon Seekers:

Starforge is able to manifest three spheres of light energy drones from his very Kheldian essence. These drones follow him around until they detect an enemy target. The Photon Seekers then zero in on their target and detonate on impact. Starforge uses this attack often when facing multiple opponents at once.

Judgement:

Another attack Starforge uses when surrounded by a large number of enemies or a particularly challenging opponent is known as Judgement. Only developing this attack in the past year, it deals a tremendous amount of damage and is probaly his most powerful energy attack. He only uses it as an absolute last resort, as it takes quite a bit of time to gather enough energy to perform it again.

Flight

After Starforge merged with Epyon, the Guardian learned that he could now fly under his own power. Nothing is more peaceful for Matt than flying around the city of Paragon, seeing its many sights. He is able to fly somewhat quickly but has found that if he put more energy into his flying, he could greatly increase the speed at which he could travel. He has used this new ability to escape many dangerous situations.

Enhanced Healing

Another by-product of his Kheldian bond, Starforge can now almost instantly heal most wounds he receives in battle. He can also transfer some of his own energy into others to heal them from their injuries. Due to his regenerative abilities, Matt can also train for hours on end without the need to rest for long periods of time.

Guardian Collective

Throughout the Universe, you'll find an innumerable amount of beings or groups. Some good, some bad. Most have selfish goals, others are a bit more altruistic. If you had to define the Guardian Collective, they would definitely be the latter. For as long as Nictus have been active in the Universe, the Guardians have been at the forefront of the battle against them. Recognizing the grave threat the Nictus pose to the Universe, the Guardians realized that a group of dedicated Kheldians needed to band together to guard against that threat. That said, let us take a look at how the Guardian Collective is organized.

Per the order of the original creator of the Guardians, the Universe was divided into eight quadrants: Omega, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, and Eta. Within each universal quadrant are one-thousand space sectors. The Collective itself is based on the planet Kanessia in Sector 1 of the Omega Quadrant. As far as the hierarchy of the Guardians is concerned, the current structure has the Master Guardian as the leader of the Collective, with eight Prime Guardians next. The Prime Guardians oversee their respective quadrants, including their home sector. What makes the Prime Guardians unique from the rest is that their mergers with their respective Kheldians are pushed to the point where they cease being in a host/sybmiotic relationship and truely become one whole being. Finally, underneath the Prime Guardians are the Guardian agents tasked with protecting their home sectors.

Kanessia is also home to the Guardian's own training academy, which builds up the future agents of the Guardian Collective. On average, most training takes a few years and is meant to build up the Guardian enough to merge with their Kheldian at the end of their training and to become a true Guardian. After their training is complete, if their home sector is currently without a Guardian, they will be assigned to it. However, if a sector already has a Guardian, the new Guardians will be based at Kanessia and step in only if the current Guardian of their home sector needs assistance. Unfortunately it seems the battle against the Nictus is at a relative stalemate, with neither side gaining much ground over the other despite the sheer number of Guardians currently active. Although that is the current situation in this ongoing conflict, it will not stop the Guardians from doing everything in their power to protect the Universe from the Nictus.

Relationships

The Guardian Collective The Guardians: As the current Prime Guardian of the Delta Quadrant of the known universe, Starforge has been a key member of the Guardian Collective for nearly a decade; despite being a Guardian for only about half that time. As one of the main peacekeeping forces in the universe and perhaps the most well-known group to do battle with the Nictus, Starforge will do anything he can to assist his allies in the Collective any way he can for as long as he is needed. Global Defense Force Authority: In early 2012, Starforge was approached by this man in the hope of bringing together some of the world's greatest heroes in order to better protect the planet. Soon enough, the Global Defense Force was born. As one of the original founders of the group, the former Kaz Kade is greatly respected by his fellow teammates. Starforge has been though many battles alongside Authority, mainly when they were both members of the Palladium Sentry. However, now that he is much more experienced, Authority has proven to be one of the greatest heroes in Paragon City. Colleagues Ferret: Starforge first met Ferret over a decade ago with the two often finding themselves fighting side-by-side against some of the most dangerous supervillains Paragon City was faced with. After years apart, the two eventually reconnected while investigating the same case of an alternate-universe doppelganger causing trouble in both Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. During that investigation, Starforge and Ferret grew closer as friends and then more as Ferret briefly began calling herself Mindswipe and Starforge tasked himself with getting Ferret back. Helping to reunite the animal spirit back with her, the two are now even closer than most would expect. Legacy Allies The Palladium Sentry: In the past four years, Starforge has been linked to many groups. Perhaps the one he is most well-known for being a part of is the Palladium Sentry. For nearly two years, Starforge had the opportunity to befriend many members of this group, including Knight Sentinel, American Avenger, Lightkeeper, Glimmer, and countless others. For most of his time in the group, the Sentry went toe-to-toe with Victor Van Braun's Harbinger Foundation, including the events involving Van Braun's possession by Red Moon, and former member Dark Carver's plot to invade Paragon City. While saddened by the closing of the group late last year, Matt hopes that the legacy and the virtues of the Palladium Sentry live on. Knight Sentinel: If Matt had to make a list of the most influential heroes he has worked with during his time in Paragon City, Brent Sheppard would be at the top of the list. For much of Matt's time in Paragon, he worked directly with Brent as a member of the Palladium Sentry. Even early on Matt was able to see that whether he was operating as Brent Sheppard, CEO of Palladium Inc., or Knight Sentinel, hero and leader of the Palladium Sentry, Brent always put his all into everything he did. During their time as teammates, Starforge and Knight Sentinel fought side-by-side against a number of dangerous and powerful enemies such as Red Moon, Dark Carver, Victor Van Braun, and his Harbinger Foundation. Despite Knight Sentinel being out of commission at the moment, Matt still hopes that one day he will return so the two will be able to fight crime together once again. Glimmer: While she is known as "The Visionairess" to her people, Matt met her as Glimmer about a year before he joined the Palladium Sentry. Since that time, the two have battled many powerful foes and have gotten to know each other a great deal. Matt considers her to be one of his best friends and is willing to do anything to help her out. Although Glimmer is currently busy assisting the remaining citizens of her planet, Matt hopes that one day she will return to Paragon City. The Doom Society Dominion: One of the original supervillains for Starforge and the Global Defense Force, the relatively unknown villain mastermind known as Dominion appeared before the group very recently proclaiming that his group, the Doom Society, will soon rule the world. Starforge knows that the Global Defense Force will have to deal with him and his Doom Society as quickly as possible. He just hopes that they will be able to, as most of the villains in Dominion's employ are relative mysteries. One of the things that worries Starforge the most about Dominion are the mysterious psychic abilities he has been shown to liberally use to subdue and control his enemies. Halloween Ghoul: A former scientist, Leopold Arthur had an almost obsessive love with Halloween; more specifically, the art of a good scare. His obsession led to Arthur developing an extremely potent toxin which had the amazing outcome in causing those afflicted with the toxin to see monstrous creatures come to life before their very eyes. What was horrifying about this toxin was that the creatures were also able to physically harm those who were seeing them. Another facet of this toxin was that Arthur could tweak it to make people see visions of people who weren't actually there, however this is currently just a theory. Razorjaw: Prior to the lab incident that caused him to mutate into the monstrous Razorjaw, Jackson Jones was an intern for Crey Industries. After a series of unfortunate incidents, a lab accident caused Jackson to mutate into a horrifying creature with unparalled strength and durability. Called Razorjaw by those who were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of him and live, this new monster soon caught the attention of the Paragon Police Department after a series of killings were traced back to him. Relocating to the Rogue Isles, Razorjaw was sought out be God Mask to be the muscle of his Doom Society. Shadewarp: The second creation of Dr. Victor Byte is an considerable improvement over the previous Void Menace project he used in the past. As far as Starforge knows, the cyborg is a much more powerful upgrade of the Void Menace. With the ability to now project Nictus energy akin to Matt's own Kheldian energy, Shadewarp is clearly a more dangerous enemy. However, the true secret of Shadewarp's power is seemingly known only to Dr. Byte and his benefactor. Perhaps one day Matt will learn of Shadewarp's true nature, but as of now he is just another in a long line of dangerous enemies that Starforge has had to face.

Comments & Thoughts

"It is easy to see Matt as a competent and strong hero. His contributions to Paragon are endless; but Matt is also one of the most loyal and friendly people I have ever had the privilege to know. I can always count on him if ever I need anything" - The Visionairess

"He's a hard-ass, but he knows what he's doing. His heart's in the right place, even if his foot sometimes gets caught in his mouth." - Kiloton Kid

"A wonderful human being and a greater hero. I'm always proud to fight beside him." - Light of the Phoenix

"In a city like Paragon there are two types of heroes: those who demand respect and those who command it. I like to think of Matt as the latter. This community -this city- should count Matt as a tremendous asset." - Knight Sentinel

"My stay on Earth has been pleasant and Matt simply adds another reason as to why I enjoy it here. A man of kindness with a heart of a true warrior. I am honored to stand at his side as an ally." - Lightkeeper

"...Meh... *laughs* Nah, Matt's great. He could take jokes a little better, but he is great to talk to and hang out with." - Dorreen Winter

"Starforge is a rare individual. His work ethic and pristine morals set him aside from others. In some ways his fortitude is even stronger than mine, and I am relieved that I can count on him in these trying times...even if he doesn't laugh as often as I joke." - American Avenger

"Starforge, a fellow Carrier, and leader of the Global Defense Force. He is charismatic, bold and knows what needs to be done to get the mission on hand done. He is also an... interesting individual who I believe can be depended on fully." - Star Rain

"What can I say, he's a one of a kind guy. Perfect example of what a hero should be, he knows what to do in any situation. He's a great hero and friend, one I don't mind leading with at all. I can always trust to have him there in battle and to tell me when I've messed up.....which could be often." - Powered Omega

"A selfless hard working individual, Starforge is a shining example (literately) for the heroing community. Beware evil doers!" - Ferret

Themes

• Guardian Collective Theme
• Global Defense Force Theme
• Starforge's Theme 1
• Starforge's Theme 2
• Starforge's Theme 3

Artwork

Starforge, drawn by leohirok	Starforge, drawn by Kal-El7	Quick sketch of Starforge by Bleedman	Cool picture of Starforge by Juggertha
Starforge sketch by Wolvtrune	Starforge & Glimmer by Wolvtrune	Starforge by ArtGutierrez	Starforge emblem created by BrandFrontier