"There was no long-term, and trying to cling to one would only spoil it all."
This article contains spoilers regarding the ending of Worm and plot of the sequel.
Victor is a member of The Shepherds and a former member of Empire Eighty-Eight.
Personality
His power allows Victor to be self-assured if not outright arrogant. He is completely committed to the E88 cause as much of his self worth and resources are tied up in the organization and the ideology.[2] Thanks to his stolen training he has some modicum of self-awareness.[3]
When forced to address his actions in the E88 before Gold Morning he owned up to it but didn't fully apologize for it.[4]
Relationships
Othala
He did love her.[2] But she was also his second love.
Appearance
Victor wears a breastplate, painted black, coming down to a v-neck, over a blood red shirt with black pants. While he previously wore a mask while operating as "Victor", after the E88's identities became public knowledge he divested of it.[5]
He changed his color-scheme after joining The Shepherds, possibly more.[4]Upon undergoing a Broken Trigger, Victor transformed into an enormous black figure, with golden hair running down the spine. His arms became overlong, reaching to the ground, and with the same golden hair from elbow to wrist. He wears a crown, with many prongs and only has a mouth on his face.[6]
Abilities and Powers
Victor is an skill thief, with the ability to absorb the practical expertize of anyone he spends time in the presence of. He has used his power to become a veteran martial artist, a computer hacker, board game player, an expert in various forms of gunplay, and many other things.[7] Similarly, he has gained resistance to many thinker abilities thanks to the absorption of standard PRT psychological counseling,[3] and similarly many master abilities have negligible effects on him.[8] These may be a function of his psychology and not solely due to his power.
This mechanism can act through several paths, such as eye contact or general proximity, with each connection made intensifying the breadth and depth of what he is able to steal, whether a specific skill or imparting a target's general skill set.[9][10] Barring a complete "robbery" of the skill in question, the victim will completely regain the skill given time.[11]
After becoming a Titan, his power increased dramatically in strength and potency. It affected everybody within a certain radius of himself, effectively giving them brain damage.[12]
History
Background
Before his trigger, Victor may have attended a meeting of the extended Herren family when they were attacked. When the resident parahumans were incapacitated following Othala's trigger event, Victor disabled the person attacking the newly activated parahuman.[13]
Eventually triggering and working his way up through the ranks, he would marry Othala after her cousin - his original fiancee - died.[14]
Story Start
Engaged with New Wave alongside Krieg, Alabaster, and Othala during the Collapse of the Empire Eighty-Eight.[15]
He participated in the fight against Leviathan and was knocked out in the later stages of the fight. He survived where many others did not.[16]
Post-Leviathan
With the death of Kaiser at the hands of Leviathan, Victor and Othala fell in with Fenrir's Chosen.
Post-Slaughterhouse Nine
Had a disagreement with the Undersiders that led to his capture.[17][18] Coil persuaded Victor to use his hacking abilities in the service of his organization when Dragon began focusing her efforts to combat them.[19] His fate after the death of Coil and the escape of Echidna is unknown.
The Chosen that operated at Boston did not include Victor.[20]
Gold Morning
His wife was killed by Scion while controlled by Khepri, erased alongside a number of capes including Trickster and Ash Beast.[21]
It is unknown how he handled this.[22]
Post-Gold Morning
Two years after Gold Morning he became a member of The Shepherds, a religious team. Still going by Victor he evidently "found God" and a new girlfriend, Gospel.[4]
Post-Time Bubble Pop
Victor was outed as former neo-nazi alongside Rune by Teacher's operation, and as damage control was moved into in Wardens Bunker.[4]
Post-Attack on Teacher
Victor was present for the Second Shin Crisis alongside the rest of the Shepherds.
When Fume Hood broke reality by becoming a Titan, Victor joined her due to the fact that he was in a bad place. Upon becoming a Titan, he attacked his teammates.
References
- ↑ Assuming she was someone along the lines of Victor or Über, a combat-oriented thinker, she'd try to do something like a Judo throw - Excerpt from Crushed 24.2
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 - Excerpt from Colony 15.3
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 “The PRT trains its squads in resisting and reacting to master-category attacks. I’ve picked up some things,” Victor’s chin raised a fraction. - Excerpt from Colony 15.3
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 I saw Victor- Brockton Bay native, named for his power, not because it was an actual name. The costume had been changed so it didn’t have that bold red, black, bit-of-white color scheme, but he’d kept the name, I knew. He was talking with one of Capricorn’s old teammates from Reach, and had his girlfriend with. She seemed to be Gospel, an ex-member of one of the smaller religious teams.
[...]
Two days ago, the pair of them had been outed. Victor hadn’t really been hiding it, but he’d kind of been exposed to the public years ago, and had more or less dropped off the map for two years after that, long enough for most people to forget. After they’d been revealed as ex-members of the Neo-Nazi gang back in Brockton Bay, Victor had been open about it. He’d written a letter about his past life, his attempt to use the amnesty to be better, how he had someone close to him that inspired him to be better, he’d found God, he condemned everything about who & what he’d been, blah blah blah. He’d still been a guy who had a history that was violent and stark enough to have records remaining after the end of the world, who’d done what he’d done when he was a full-fledged adult. The letter had been an apology letter without an actual apology or trace of contrition. I was kind of glad in a way that the public hadn’t really bought it, but his team was standing by him. - Excerpt from Breaking 14.2 - ↑ Victor – A white supremacist and partner to Othala, Victor wears a black v-neck breastplate, red shirt and black slacks. His power allows him to steal people’s skills and talents, draining them temporarily or permanently (depending on the amount stolen) and giving it to himself on a permanent basis. - Cast (spoiler free)
- ↑ A massive figure, hunched over, black-bodied, with golden hair running down the spine, moving as if billowing in a wind that wasn’t actually there. Hands extended down to the ground, arms overlong with more of that gold hair from elbow to wrist. It bore a crown that took over part of its face, that looked like something between hair in the wind and gold, many-pronged. Below that crown, there was only a mouth, corners downturned. - Excerpt from Interlude 17.z II
- ↑ Victor – Has the ability to steal learned skills and talents through proximity to others. Victor retains these talents indefinitely, while his victims may recover some of what was lost over weeks, months or years. An exceedingly accomplished martial artist, orator, singer, musician, dancer, fencer, gunman, sniper, pilot, driver, chess player, go player and computer hacker, among other things. Victor wears a black-painted breastplate with a v-neck, a blood red shirt and black slacks. Since his identity was revealed, he’s decided not to wear a mask. - Cast (in depth)
- ↑ But Lung was part of the handful I’d fought where I could input fear and get anger. Dean had run into the same thing, with emotions other than fear returning the same output.
Some people, especially those of a more feral stripe, just processed things in a different way. The upside was the tactical advantage in it, if I could adjust my expectations fast enough.
The downside was that I had to make that adjustment. Most of my costumed fighting experience was that my enemies would hesitate, get sloppy, or back off, but Lung, like Bitch, like the cooler but still dangerous Krieg or the seemingly unflappable Victor who would still act differently when under the influence of my power, attacking faster and more recklessly. They were the people who were angry at the world, or those with the natural predisposition to fight rather than fly. - Excerpt from Gleaming 9.11 - ↑ Victor. He was a talent vampire, stealing people’s trained skills, keeping them if he held on to them long enough, and leaving that person temporarily bereft of whatever skill they’d spent their lives learning. People like him had a tendency to pick up martial arts, parkour, weapons training and other combat skills. He tended to pair up with Othala, the girl who could grant powers, meaning Victor also had super speed, super strength or invincibility. If he was wounded, she could give him regeneration instead. - Excerpt from Colony 15.2
- ↑ “I’d step back, Skitter,” Tattletale said. “His power works by proximity, among other things. Physical contact, eye contact and active use of a skill lets him leech them off you. The stronger the contact with each transfer point, the more transfer points he’s maintaining, the faster the drain. He could suck away something essential, or make you just a little bit worse at everything you do.” - Excerpt from Colony 15.3
- ↑ People Victor drains regenerate what they’ve lost, unless it’s taken to an extreme, in which case it may be gone forever (or ‘regenerating’ the lost skill would be more time consuming than learning from scratch). Tattletale probably wouldn’t have volunteered her people for his skill-vampirism if they could lose something vital forever, and her people wouldn’t have accepted. - Comment by Wildbow on Colony 15.3
- ↑ In the wake of the blow, again, she felt that wave of Victor’s power, writ large. A loss of all faculties. Balance, coordination, everything else. Given enough of a hit, and they wouldn’t regain what they lost. - Excerpt from Interlude 17.z II
- ↑ Othala's power grants powers. It does so by means of a striker venue (touch) and it's a positive relationship. She was being supported by a variety of powers when she triggered due to a pointed and immediate, in-her-face physical threat. The clan was attacked, possibly during a moot, a big meeting of multiple branches of the family/organization. Someone came after her, and despite everything, all the power around her, fighting off the other enemies, this guy wasn't stopped. He had a weapon or grabbed her and scared her. Good enough for a second generation trigger. I imagine that after that point, during the usual 'trigger visions' blackout, that someone (an unpowered Victor?) knocked out the assailant. - Othala's Trigger event
- ↑ - Excerpt from Colony 15.3
- ↑ Buzz 7.9
- ↑ The Armband spoke. Losses are as follows: Debaser, Ascendant, Gallant, Zigzag, Prince of Blades, Vitiator, Humble, Halo, Whirlygig, Night, Crusader, Uglymug, Victor, Furrow, Barker, Elegance, Quark, Pelter, Snowflake, Ballistic, Mama Bear, Mister Eminent, Flashbang, Biter… - Excerpt from Extermination 8.3
- ↑ Colony 15.2
- ↑ Colony 15.3
- ↑ I've been made aware that Dragon is also making a bid to claim, seize and lock out digital goods within the city. Victor has agreed to work with my teams and do what he can to minimize the damage. - Monarch 16.1
- ↑ “The individuals in question are Menja, Stormtiger, Cricket, Rune, Othala, Niflheim and Muspelheim. I’ll see you have all available records. Best to enter any confrontation with your eyes wide open.” - Excerpt from Interlude 19.x
- ↑ Speck 30.5
- ↑ Pitch 6.9
| Leader | Allfather † • Kaiser † |
|---|---|
| Leiutenants | Hookwolf ‡ • Krieg ‡ • Purity ‡ |
| Members | Alabaster † • Cricket ‡ • Crusader ‡ • Fenja † • Fog ‡ • Heith Anders † • Iron Rain † • Menja ‡ • Night ‡ • Othala ‡ • Rune ‡ • Stormtiger ‡ • Victor ‡ |
| Associates | Aster Anders † • Theo Anders ‡ |
| Leader | Hookwolf ‡ • Menja |
|---|---|
| Members | Cricket • Muspelheim • Niflheim • Othala • Rune • Stormtiger • Victor |