The fate of Doctor Trick

Back to The hidden face of Omnicorp

George Li has never been content with being a successful businessman. Despite making his original fortune legitimately, he wanted more - far, far more than he could achieve legally within a human lifetime. Putting aside any concerns for morality and legality, he set to find something that could allow him power and money orders of magnitude beyond that which he already had.

Then Doctor Trick entered the equation. This was following the incident of Riverfield, Ohio - the mad scientist had enslaved the entire town for almost a year before being found out. Following the news carefully, it occurred to Li that the technology Trick had had the time to create in Riverfield could be highly valuable. Through bribery and blackmail, he was able to obtain some of the surviving gadgets that had been gathered as evidence. With the right people studying them, Li discovered that some of the technology could potentially be marketed...But, more importantly, he discovered how to tap into a secret communication network through which Dr. Trick could contact the machines in several hideouts of his across the continent.

Taking a huge chance, Li used the network to reach Dr. Trick, and make him a sinister deal: Li would provide him with a laboratory, equipment, and even test subjects in such a manner that the authorities would be unable to trace anything to the doctor; in exchange, Trick would put his world-class scientific skills at Li's disposal, creating technology years ahead of its time that the businessman's companies would market.

With Trick's technology, Li's newly-founded Omnicorp soon made billions. Dr. Trick still works for Omnicorp - the deal allows him to run his experiments and satisfy his curiosity without having to waste time on covering his back, and he sees no downside to working with Li.

Plot seeds:

• The Return of Doctor Trick: George Li is one of the smartest evil masterminds of the setting. If Checkerboard make a big enough impact, sooner or later he will begin to understand that someone is acting behind the scenes to oppose supervillainy. When that happens, he may resort to using Dr. Trick as a bait - after all, both the heroes and Checkerboard are bound to show interest if one of the greatest villains of his era shows signs of returning...