Nicholas Lewis

## Personality

Nicholas Lewis Jr in many ways is an ordinary guy. He enjoys sports such as baseball in his off-time, enjoys going out on dates with his fiancee and overall the sort of man one would enjoy having a beer with. He is charismatic, confident and charming. However, beneath the smile on his face lies a cold, calculating and cunning mind. After all, he is very much like his father, the senior Lewis, who used his mind and determination to carve a crime group independent of The Maggia and seeking to challenge and overthrow the current establishment of the criminal underworld. He has a practical and down-to-earth view of the world and prefers diplomatic measures such as bribery rather than violence often. This allows him to establish business connections with certain unknown individuals. He does maintain his flaws though, such as not being used to being refused his offers however.

## Capabilities & Tools

Nicholas Lewis is a veteran criminal, well-versed in handling firearms along with running a moderately sized criminal empire, such as organizing subordinates, planning and strategizing areas, giving reasonable orders and so on. He is also reasonably adaptable, hence why he got used to his more unorthodox weapon easily.

***- Handgun:*** He carries a variety of handguns with him, usually not seen with the same one on his person.

***- Gas weapon:*** His new weapon of choice, his gas weapon is a hand-held device that allows him to release a burst of heavily pressurized gas onto the target in front of him. About the size of a large hand flashlight, it is activated by the press of a button. Additionally, it can be reloaded with different cannisters of gas, such as a blinding green gas, a knockout gas or so on, each with their own different release rates.

***- Specialized gas mask:*** He wears an iconic black mask with white bands across it, which he has worn more frequently to mask his identity. While the original mask was that of his father's, hewears an additional white and black gas mask component to protect himself from his own gasses, whicn includes goggles to protect his eyes. He also does it protect his face.

## History

Nicholas Lewis Jr was born in 1965 as part of what some crime historians call "The Last Generation", referring to traditional crime organizations before the rise of superheroes. The mob had gradually been dying out over in large cities thanks to the tactics of the police and the FBI. Nicholas Lewis was named after his father, the infamous Nicholas “Lucky Lew” Lewis, a crime boss who rose to prominence in the days after World War II and notable for his black and white mask he used to cover his identity. One of the few prominent crime families not associated with the crime syndicate known as The Maggia, the Lewis family adopted more militant and business tactics to try and remain relevant in the game. Nicholas Lewis Jr adopted these tactics unsurprisingly in his time growing up. Being the heir to a crime family, he was given a diligent and thorough training, especially in being adaptable due to the fact that the tiimes were changing. While growing up, most people assumed that his father was just a wealthy and diligent banker.

Despite this, he lived a relatively charmed life in preparations for the rise of taking his father's place. However, he would ascend sooner than expected when in 1985, his father would be shot by a rival of his, that being Frederick Foswell. That was when he truly rose to become the Crime-Master in order to assert control of the New York criminal underground, though he was the underdog in dealing with The Maggia. His big name rival was Foswell, aka The Big Man of Crime. However, after Foswell's arrest due to his growing loyalities toward *The Daily Bugle* among personal reasons, he would end up being arrested. Additionally, during that time, Nicholas would end meeting the love of his life, Janice Foswell, Frederick's daughter.The two revealed their lives to the other and would get married, with the hopes that by uniting their two gangs, they would be able to try and deal with The Maggia and other crime lords, especially with the end of the USSR and the Cold War disrupting international affairs, allowing them to begin expanding more control and beginning to wage war against the Manfredi family, one of the major familites of the Maggia.

However, everything changed when Spider-Man began targetting the mob and violent criminals with a frightening pace. The fact he nearly got The Chameleon, a noted assassin that the Maggia held in high regard, this was what convinced Foswell he needed to meet the hero, masked man to masked man. Taking the mask his father once used, he upgraded it into a gas mask and getting a special gas weapon, he marched forward to meet this mysterious vigilante...

## Trivia

* The Crime-Master often relies on loan shark practices to maintain his funds in exchange for a bit of the cut, using various proxies such as “Blackie” Gaxton and keeping track of who owes what. He notes that it's not much different than actual banking.

* One of the Crime-Master’s most notable “clients” is Bennett Brant, older brother of Elizabeth “Betty” Brant. Often giving him loans to make up gambling to pay off their mother’s medical bills, he was paid a few visits. Often times, he would make use of Bennett as a mole within the Daily Bugle by having him get information from his sister.

* Nicholas Lewis Jr is a surprisingly good chemist, having recreated the knockout gas that he purchased along with the gas gun. He did this in order to remain independent while also trying to maintain some distance with the mysterious client.

* While reproducing the gas, the Crime Master did not create the gas gun and those who have gotten a look at it say it is not like anything they have never noticed before. However, upon closer expectation, some have noted that it bears a distinct resemblance to a patent for a gas distribution device that was associated with Oscorp.

* Additionally, his public identity as Nicholas Lewis Jr has been spotted discussing financial opportunities with Norman Osborn though observers noted how Lewis Jr always had his three bodyguards with him and involved in the dealings.

* His lieutenant was a man named Gordon "Terrier" Savinski, the code name referring to his love of terriers and how the terriers were bred for the purpose of hunting vermin. Terrier’s job was to be the private hunter and hitman of the Crime-Master and was skilled enough to match one of the Enforcers. After meeting Spider-Man, Lewis sent Terrier over to check out The Power Brokers, who he heard could help...

* His first encounter with Spider-Man was an indirect accident when Terrier tried to get back together with his ex-girlfriend, Betty Brant. While done for personal reasons, he also noted how she was Bennett's sister and hoped to leverage that. It ended up backfiring due to Spider-Man getting involved, which is what got Lewis' attention.

* Despite his attitude toward Bennett for his lateness on payments, he has confessed to actually liking him, noting that he possessed a similar drive and motivation to get on top so no one looks down upon you.

* The handgun he has on him at all times was given to him by his father, who used it back in his own early years. Furthermore, the mask was also an heirloom, given how the senior Lewis used it back when he was just a common robber.

* Beyond unusual connections to Norman Osborn, he also has the name of Dr Bartholomew Carson on his connection, a famed neurobiologist and scientist who has been on the verge of creating a “cerebral chip”, a form of “biological computer chip” that could influence the activities of the cerebrum and has been seen going to visit Dr. Carson...