Alexander Rhoades (Earth-1)

*“A dream worth having is a dream worth fighting for.”*

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Psychologist
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Dr. Rhoades is a preeminent neurologist and psychiatrist with a history of working with patients suffering from neurological disorders. He is now the leading expert in the field of extrahuman research. His life's goal is to understand extrahumans and help to create cohabitation between humans and evolved humans.

## Personality

Dr. Rhoades is a physician, psychiatrist and preeminent expert on the study of evolved humans. He is a brilliant man with a keen understanding of psychology and enhanced physiology. Unlike most people, Rhoades does not view extrahumans as supernatural in origin. As such, he dislikes the word "superhuman". Instead, he sees them as scientific in origin; a product of genetics. Evolved, extraordinary humans. Extrahumans.

Rhoades is committed to the greater good, both for humans and evolved humans. He has seen the depths that humanity has sunk in treating and studying evolved humans and fears the uses that the governments would see fit to assign them. He sees them as no different than anybody else and as such desires a situation in which humans and evolved humans may cohabitate alongside each other.

Gentle in speech and firm in authority, his most evident character trait is his empathy. Serving as both a mentor and a therapist, he seems to possess a firm grasp on the basics of evolved humans and their capabilities. He also seems to understand that powers come with an inherent flaw, usually psychological in nature and he makes sure to address this in his ongoing studies. While recruiting evolved humans into the Institute, Rhoades always makes sure to address their control over their abilities along with the underlying psychological issues that accompany them. Due to both his past experiences and his natural pacifistic tendencies, Rhoades tries to avoid violence whenever possible. He refuses to "weaponize" the evolved humans under his protection. This does not mean he will not step in to stop violence when it arises; he has also seen the acts of horror evolved humans are capable of perpetrating and if necessary, he and his team will do what they must to protect innocent people.

Rhoades is often seen by his colleagues as a big dork. A bit socially awkward outside of the office, Alexander has always had a hard time fitting in. His humor tends toward "dad joke" territory and he has a very innocent, naive enjoyment of his friends' companionship. He does desire to be accepted by those he is helping, but not at the expense of his work.

He genuinely cares for the members of the Institute, providing them with lodging and work opportunities, in addition to regular psychiatric evaluations and exercises to help them with controlling their powers and their own psychological difficulties when they present themselves. He is patient and caring, always going the extra mile in order to help each member of the Institute achieve their full potential. His innate understanding of evolved humans grants him a level of connection with them that few outside of that community are able to achieve. He looks at them like people, not like weapons or tools to be exploited, and that seems to be gaining him trust from those he works with. He is also protective of his colleagues, fiercely fighting to hide their presence from government officials.

One of his major goals is to compile at least a decade worth of his research into his team and present it to the United Nations in a detailed dossier. Peace can only come with understanding. Since fear stems from what mankind does not--or will not--understand, he intends to present evolved humans with as much science as possible. He hopes mankind will be ready and that reason will, in the end, prevail. While he admits it is a long shot and probably a naive dream, he also believes that a dream worth having is a dream worth fighting for. While he is aware that his research and ambition will probably result in his death, he believes bringing peace and understanding between humans and evolved humans is worth that price.

When not engaged in a study or science, Rhoades engages his mind and body with regular exercise, to keep himself in peak condition. He loves comic books and science fiction, since they were his only outlets during his lonely childhood. He loves art and poetry, and he regularly engages in creative writing (usually Lovecraft or Star Trek fanfiction). He enjoys a wide range of music; from classical, to rock and roll, to jazz & soul, to psychadelic and even the emerging hip hop scene. He also loves going to the movies, something he tries to do once a week.

In conclusion, Dr. Rhoades is a brilliant, patient and highly empathetic man with a passionate desire to understand evolved humans and bridge the cultural gap between the two species.

## History

Alexander Rhoades was born the son of an affluent lawyer in Montpelier, Vermont. It was clear from an early age that he was special. He seemed a natural at problem solving and was talking much earlier than other chilren his own age. When he was four years old, his IQ was tested. His parents were surprised to receive a result of 196, putting him well above the genius level. As such, he was accepted into MENSA and underwent an accelerated academic program.

Alexander graduated from high school at twelve years old and went straight to Princeton University, where he underwent the doctorate program. An unpopular student due to a combination of his young age relative to his peers, his advanced intellect, top marks and poor social skills, Alexander was relentlessly bullied and intensely disliked by other students. Always more of a studier than a socializer, Alexander was known for skipping social functions and parties in favor of studying, spending the evening at the library or going off by himself to catch a movie. Although, even when he attended parties, he was often humiliated by his older peers.

He graduated an MD at the age of 18, making him the youngest doctor in the history of the school. At 20, he received a PhD in Psychology and another in Chemistry & Physics. At 21, he was accepted into the top secret OLYMPUS project for the United States government, which accepted only the top minds in the country.

He moved to Taos, New Mexico , where he began his studies into Abnormal Neuroscience. While the specifics of the next few years is unclear, what is known is that Rhoades eventually left the OLYMPUS Project and founded the "Institute for Extrahuman Studies" with a partner and friend, Thomas, in New York City. The purpose of the Institute was to find Extrahumans and help them cope with their powers and drawbacks, and it is known that at one time, the Institute was helping at least nine people.

During this time, he was stalked by Gladys Hartoonian, a young woman who could control pheromones, effectively controlling the minds of anyone she touched; anybody except Dr. Rhoades, who was apparently immune to her influence. She became obsessed with him and Rhoades eventually contacted the Extrahuman Defense Agency; the government organization also known as the "Ghostworks" to apprehend Gladys after she killd or injured eleven people who she believed were in the way of "her love".

Contacting Ghostworks was controversial and eventually led to government intervention and a violent falling out with Thomas, who allegedly hurt a lot of people. Things came to a head during an unspecified incident that "brought down the building and cut several city blocks of power". He believed Thomas to have perished, and Rhoades spent a sixteen months in Federal Prison.

After his release, Rhoades decided to continue his work and traveled to California (with the intention of putting as much space between himself and the government as possible) and secretly founced the "Rhoades Institute" using the inheritance left to him by his late father. On paper a psychiatric institute, its true purpose is to help evolved humans like the ones he failed back in New York City.

He is starting small but he hopes to one day have the Rhoades Institute help millions of evolved humans worldwide learn to control their powers and integrate themselves peacefully into society.

## Notable Accomplishments

Note: this list only covers Rhoades' accomplishments since the beginning of the campaign.

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## Relationships with Others

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### Anna Flint

Rhoades has become fond of the young runaway and finds her ability to control earth and stone terribly fascinating. Beyond that, he is quickly coming to see the charming, sweet, caring, funny and adorable young woman that Anna is, and more than anything, he thinks much more highly of her than she will ever know. As he comes to understand more about Anna's past, the more he sees her gentle heart.

### Franklin Dodds

Franklin Dodds was the first evolved human to join the Rhoades Initiative. A stern and skilled detective, Frankling is an electrogenic, meaning he can generate electricity and electro-magnetic impulses with his body. A tough, hardened detective with a flaming temper, Franklin was a tough sell initially. Over time, Frankling has slowly started to become the face for the Institute's agenda. He is the unofficial leader of the team and one of the few people able to keep up with Rhoades on a philisophical level. This is partially due to Franklin's age (he is 41) and his life experience. Rhoades likes Franklin alot and sees him as a close friend.

### Kurt Pinkman

Kurt Pinkman is one of the first evolved humans to join the Institute and is also one of the first two Field Team members. Possessing Hyper-Acceleration, Kurt is able to run at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour (though Rhoades believes he's capable of much faster speeds with practice and control). It also causes his mental perception to slow in order to compensate, causing him to become impatient and antisocial. Rhoades is the most patient with Kurt and he most often has to step in to help him in times of stress. Kurt has proven to be one of the most difficult cases he's ever worked with, but it is also the most rewarding. He is proud of the leaps Kurt has made toward mastery of not just his power but also his social difficultied that stem from his altered cognative perceptions. He finds Kurt funny, intelligent and more than capable of fine conversation when he wants to be, and he has great hopes for him in the future.

### Thomas

Not much is known about the mysterious Thomas at this point in time, beside the fact that Thomas was an Extra; at one time, Rhoades and Thomas were "like brothers" and that they founded the "first Institute" together. Thomas was apparently somewhat militant in his outlook, however, and it is largely due to Thomas' increasingly extreme actions that they had a falling out that resulted in Thomas' apparent death. Rhoades feels responsible for what happened to his friend and feels guilty for it, despite thinking that Thomas was an unstable, dangerous man.

## Powers and Abilities

Rhoades is a human, which means that he does not possess any superhuman abilities. He does, however, have extensive mundane training:

**--Athletic:** Rhoades engages in regular physical exercise and is capable of lifting weights average for a man of his age, size and lifestyle.

**--Intellect:** Extremely smart, Rhoades is a natural problem solver and brilliant researcher, writer and polyscience.

**--Linguist:** Rhoades has studied languages since childhood and as an adult he is fluent in Hebrew, English, French, Greek, Latin, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Hindi and two native American dialects.

**--Literature:** He is extremely well-read and possesses an extensive knowledge of books, poetry and other writeen manuscripts. He is also a talented, natural writer.

**--Medicine:** A PhD in medicine and the youngest attending physican in Princeton's history. His speciality is Neuroscience, which details the workings of the brain.

**--Pianist:**Rhoades is a lifelong piano player. He possesses professional-level skills.

**--Polyscience:** Rhoades is trained and formally educated in several different areas of science, including advanced mathematics, biology, chemistry and physics, among others.

**--Psychology:** A brilliant psychiatrist, Rhoades is one of the preeminent psychiatrists in the eastern United States. He knows how to talk to people and, more importantly, he knows what to say to get others to do what he desires.

## Paraphernelia

Rhoades does not possess or carry any unique gear.

### Weaknesses

Rhoades does posses a number of weaknesses that hinder him in some way:

**--Idealist:** Rhoades believes in his cause one-hundred percent, which can cause his judgement and inight into others to become skewed at times. Other times, it is blind devotion to his ideals.

**--Pacifist:** Rhoades is a pacifist and will not resort to violence unless no other option presents itself.

**--Sickly:** Despite his healthy lifestyle, Rhoades is prone to colds and other minor ailments.

## Notes

* Rhoades' faceclaim is Ben Whishaw.
* Originally conceived as an older man in his 60's.

## Trivia

* Writing a book called "Activating Evolution". He plans to use the information gathered from his study in the book.
* His favorite movie is Alfred Hitchcock's *Veritgo*. He is an avid Hitchcock fan.
* Loves music of any variety, but he harbors a particular fondness for *Bob Dylan* and the band *The Doors*. Can play the guitar and the piano.
* Loves science fiction, especially the *John Carter of Mars* series and *Star Trek*. He has written a number of short stories and novellas set in the Star Trek universe, most of which about a Science Officer named Nick Rosetta.
* Claims to like cars, despite not knowing a thing about them.
* Enjoys attending Dodgers games. He doesn't understand baseball and he doesn't enjoy the game, but he likes the experience of it.
* A surprisingly good cook.
* Voracious reader, but his favorite things to read are old pulp novels, especially H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard and Jules Verne. Again, he has written a considerable volume of fan fiction about the works of Howard and Lovecraft. A short story he wrote, titled *The Thing Under the Stairs*, was published in a Lovecraft fan magazine only a year ago. He saved the issue out of pride.
* Favorite color is blue.
* The curtains in his office are brown and are meant to be neutral, so as to not elicit an emotional reaction that could contaminate his results.