Steelhead
Bradford Steeley (a.k.a. Brad)
Brad Steeley just couldn’t seem to catch a break. At least, that’s how he saw the series of mishaps and failures in his life. His father, an abusive drunk, left his mother when he was in grade school. Brad was a talented athlete and capable student in school, but prone to juvenile pranks and goofing off with his friends, such that his grades suffered and he couldn’t maintain a spot on any team. Every time Brad fell flat on his face, his strict Navy officer step-father Gil, was there to lecture him. Worse yet, his step-sister Veronica—their father’s favorite—was always there to bail him out and make him look bad by comparison.
Nothing Brad ever did was good enough. He joined the Navy after graduation, but earned nothing but reprimands and a dishonorable discharge for conduct unbecoming within two years. The only good thing in Brad’s view was Veronica left for college (where she earned praise and honors, of course) but rarely visited home, finally giving him a chance to mend fences and spend time with their father. Brad assisted the retired Capt. Steeley with his engineering design work to create a more efficient and effective diving suit for underwater work. He didn’t understand all of the design, but he could see the potential, and he told others about it. When Capt. Steeley ran into money problems, Brad arranged a financial backer for the project, finally earning his step-father’s grudging respect.
Of course, when Veronica came home, she immediately displaced Brad in Gil Steeley’s eyes, offering her “help” in finishing the design in time to meet their deadlines. She and Brad tested the prototype suits together, and Veronica quickly began to outstrip her brother’s understanding and proficiency. She was on a solo test-dive when Gil Steeley confronted Brad with evidence that the financial backers he recruited, Brande Management, intended to turn the diving suits into weapons to be sold to the highest bidders. The ex-military man refused to see his designs made into weapons to further wars, saying he would go bankrupt first. They argued and Brad threatened his step-father, trying to get the codes to copy the plans. They struggled, and the blaster of Brad’s suit went off, triggering a fatal heart attack for Capt. Steeley.
In a blind panic, Brad grabbed what he could and fled. He realized he would be wanted by the police and, worse yet, his “partners” from Brande Management would want to see a return on their investment. He briefly considered giving them his diving suit, but realized it was the sole advantage he had. So Brad Steeley vanished, and the smuggler and high-seas criminal known as “Steelhead” began operating in the waters around Emerald City. He had already built a reputation as an effective smuggler when Trawler and Coral Snake contacted him with a business proposal. He became the third part in the Trident and didn’t look back.
Physical Description
Special abilities
Steelhead wears a sophisticated suit of powered armor designed for aquatic operations. It enhances his physical strength and has sufficient armor (strengthened by a force field) to resist deep ocean pressures and other damage. Turbines allow him to move through water or air at a fair rate of speed, and the suit is equipped with several tools Steelhead has turned into weapons, including a blue-green spectrum welding laser and a steel cable netline.
Mental characteristics
Intellectual Characteristics
Steelhead is a screw-up completely incapable of accepting responsibility for himself or his actions. He just wants the respect he feels is his due, but always has some reason why things don’t go his way. He has considerable pride, in spite of having no real accomplishments, and it is easily wounded. What Steeley really wants is an easy life with the respect he feels wealth and success will bring. He does his best to drown his self-doubt in alcohol when it becomes too loud to bear.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Although Steelhead likes to think of himself as the alphamale of the Trident, he’s truthfully the junior partner. He trusts Trawler too much for his own good, having convinced himself that she’s as attracted to him as she acts. He doesn’t like Coral Snake overly much, but tolerates her for the time being.
Steelhead is sought by the authorities on a variety of charges, including smuggling and high-seas piracy. His erstwhile financial backers, Brande Management, would also like to recoup their investment by claiming Steelhead’s armor, with or without him in it.
Ultramarine is Steelhead’s arch-foe, sworn to bring her step-brother to justice for his crimes.
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