Manhattan Project
Warren Peters is an example of an individual who got in over his head and rather than admitting the consequences, has consistently chosen to make the wrong choice in hopes of making a quick fix to the problem. Manhattan Project was once going to be a hero as great as Divinos, now he's going to be forever remembered as a monster and a murderer unless he can figure some way to correct his past mistakes.
Warren Peter's history is a bit checkered. In 1958, he was a sailor for the United States Navy and a well known Don Juan. Arrogant and slightly condescending, he crossed the wrong woman when he dumped his latest fling from the secretariat during one of the Bikini Atoll nuclear tests. Already unpopular with his fellow sailors, he was clubbed by the woman's husband and left to be incinerated during the nuclear tests. This would have been the end of him, if not for the fact that Warren was unknowingly one of the second generation of Metamen. Warren developed powers of flight, invulnerability, and the ability to create energy constructs from his mind.
Warren debuted as the world's first nuclear powered super hero not long after the event. Unfortunately, Warren was not a man that had the temperament to be a super hero. Compared to the Second Steel Commando, his only real competition for America's Most Beloved Champion, he was an arrogant jerk that had learned nothing from his experience. Warren beat up communists, assisted the United States in Vietnam, and became a verbal mouthpiece for the establishment. Life would have remained good if not for the fact that he soon found himself dying from cancer. Worse, he'd infected numerous other associates with cancer and was scheduled to be terminated by the United States. They had less need of a walking nuclear weapon in the detente period.
Manhattan Project turned to the Second Steel Commando for help. Despite the fact that Warren had consistently insulted and tried to upstage the patriotic hero in hopes of replacing him in the public's heart, Jack Washington Junior agreed to assist him as best he could. Jack managed to save the lives of most of Warren's accidental victims and placed him in a cryogenic suspension chamber that was also designed to stabilize his internal atomic reactions. Warren slept for the better part of two decades. When he awoke, it was the end of the Silver Age and the entire world had changed.
Determined to prove himself the world's greatest super hero, he frequently embarrassed the Patriots who seemed confused by his belief that there was a popularity contest going on. His attempts to become the government's new champion also failed as they had no desire to be associated with a living atomic reactor. Losing himself in drink and loose women, the Justicars approached him with the belief that he could become a hero who performed missions that the rest of the world was afraid to do. For a time, Manhattan Project gained great popularity by ruthlessly overthrowing dictators and incinerating enemies that the law couldn't touch. This was not to last.
Warren rebelled against the coup attempt by his fellows and was fully intent on informing the United States government about it when Aquarius revealed that Jack Washington Junior's fixes had only been temporary. He'd need advanced Atlantean and Nestorian technology just to survive. Worse, he'd never be able to leave his radiation suit for the potential of having a nuclear meltdown. Warren was blackmailed into assisting in the coup and watched himself villified the world over.
Manhattan Project is now trapped in a living Hell of a half-life. Hunted relentlessly by the authorities and Ymir, the Radioactive Viking in particular (for killing the later's sidekick during the coup attempt), he can enjoy none of the pleasures he used to enjoy. Manhatten Project frequently attempts to reign in his fellows and has even developed a courage that he never had in his previous career by standing against monsters like Jack Union III. He desperately wants to restore his lost honor and is the one who most encourages the Psychotic Seven to "act like real heroes."
Manhattan Project used to dress in a garish atomic themed costume with a yellow cape and red tights. Since his transformation, he now wears a chrome suit of Nestorian armor with a green helmet that bears little sign of his former theatricality. Manhatten Project's voice is altered by his costume but he normally speaks with a strong Texas accent.
