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Description

Origins- Stuart Gormley had dreams of being a big time stock broker. He wanted to be like Gordon Gecko, a power broker, right in the thick of the action with all the finest luxuries and always in the heat of the action. Unfortunately, Stuart didn't have the skills or the intellect to live that dream. He believed it had to do with his soft, short pudgy body and lack of "Movie star" good looks. But people kept informing him that he just wasted good at what he wanted to do. Desperate after making so many poor deals, Stuart took to stealing from one of the chemical companies he had heard about during his attempts to sell stock for their company. Knowing they were working on an experimental artificial silicon compound to create artificial diamonds, Stuart conned his way into the lab and made off with a sample, mistakenly believing he could sell it to a diamond company. However, Stuart didn't get that far, as in an effort to avoid the lab's security, he accidentally injected himself with the compound. Stuart fled back home, hoping the chemical would work itself out of his system. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect, transforming Stuart's body into an organic diamond compound.

At first shocked by his new appearance, Stuart soon learned that his new body came with it's own set of advantages. He was far stronger now, and nearly invulnerable. Stuart could also now grow diamond shards from his body, and alter aspects of his body to his whim, such as making his hands into spikes maces or claws made of diamond. With his new abilities under his control, Stuart concocted a daring scheme. Leaving his city of origin, Stuart embarked on a cross country crime spree, using his new abilities to break into banks in small towns and make off with all their cash, the randomness of the robberies preventing anyone from making a connection or determining where he would strike next. After a while, Stuart had millions of dollars at his disposal. Using his newfound funds, he paid off several individuals to create a new identity for him. Changing his body into one that fit his ideal of the "Alpha Male," Stuart completed the disguise with lifelike latex skin he used to cover his silicon form and took on the identity of Justin Banks, a new hotshot wall street exec who set up shop in Valiant City.

Now settled in his new home, "Justin" quickly became one of the top celebrities around town. A hotshot stock broker who always managed to score huge financial wins for both himself and his clients. Unbeknownst to all, Justin wasn't scoring huge wins due to his sound financial choices. Rather he would occasionally ditch his disguise as Justin Banks and rob various financial institutions as the Diamond Man to secure the funds to pad both his and his clients bank accounts. These actions eventually brought him into conflict with Starfigther, who eventually exposed both Justin's scheme and his identity.

Justin no longer regards himself as Stuart Gormley, becoming incensed whenever that factoid is brought up. He is fully convinced of his genius and financial brilliance, and that he is a man of wealth and taste, despite being a two bit crook who got lucky. His elitist attitude rubs many of the other megacriminals the wrong way, especially with the assumption that he is on the same level of importance as the likes of Pulsar or Sovereign. Even when he embraces his nature as a criminal, it comes with the notion that he is or has what it takes to be an exceptional crime lord, when in reality he tends to get used as dumb muscle, or his schemes are painfully simple and straightforward. Still, as the Diamond Man, he is incredibly powerful. He also has the rare ability to deflect and dissipate Starfighter's energy blasts due to his diamond skin, forcing the young hero to fight him hand to hand, a situation where Diamond Man has the definite advantage.

Design- A diamond skinned villain was definitely one of the rogues I had from the start, However, it took a while to refine his look.

Initially starting out colored red, I quickly dropped it since there was a lot of all red villains I had planned already. I also wanted to try and refine his look so that he would be set apart and not be confused with another villain- Earthmaster. Again drawing inspiration from Spider-man's rogues, I decided to give Diamond Man "Normal" clothes since those would help set him apart and stand out. Given his nature, I thought of dressing him in high class business suits since it would fit the notion of him being a man of wealth and taste. I then gave him "Hair," and settled on the color green for him after experimenting with white and silver for a bit, to complete the look.

Initially, his origins saw him AS the big time stock broker turned bad guy. However, I refined it a bit to make it more about him being a fraud and someone who was more interested in the trappings of fame and fortune, to make him a bit more of an active character.

Description

Origins- Stuart Gormley had dreams of being a big time stock broker. He wanted to be like Gordon Gecko, a power broker, right in the thick of the action with all the finest luxuries and always in the heat of the action. Unfortunately, Stuart didn't have the skills or the intellect to live that dream. He believed it had to do with his soft, short pudgy body and lack of "Movie star" good looks. But people kept informing him that he just wasted good at what he wanted to do. Desperate after making so many poor deals, Stuart took to stealing from one of the chemical companies he had heard about during his attempts to sell stock for their company. Knowing they were working on an experimental artificial silicon compound to create artificial diamonds, Stuart conned his way into the lab and made off with a sample, mistakenly believing he could sell it to a diamond company. However, Stuart didn't get that far, as in an effort to avoid the lab's security, he accidentally injected himself with the compound. Stuart fled back home, hoping the chemical would work itself out of his system. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect, transforming Stuart's body into an organic diamond compound.

At first shocked by his new appearance, Stuart soon learned that his new body came with it's own set of advantages. He was far stronger now, and nearly invulnerable. Stuart could also now grow diamond shards from his body, and alter aspects of his body to his whim, such as making his hands into spikes maces or claws made of diamond. With his new abilities under his control, Stuart concocted a daring scheme. Leaving his city of origin, Stuart embarked on a cross country crime spree, using his new abilities to break into banks in small towns and make off with all their cash, the randomness of the robberies preventing anyone from making a connection or determining where he would strike next. After a while, Stuart had millions of dollars at his disposal. Using his newfound funds, he paid off several individuals to create a new identity for him. Changing his body into one that fit his ideal of the "Alpha Male," Stuart completed the disguise with lifelike latex skin he used to cover his silicon form and took on the identity of Justin Banks, a new hotshot wall street exec who set up shop in Valiant City.

Now settled in his new home, "Justin" quickly became one of the top celebrities around town. A hotshot stock broker who always managed to score huge financial wins for both himself and his clients. Unbeknownst to all, Justin wasn't scoring huge wins due to his sound financial choices. Rather he would occasionally ditch his disguise as Justin Banks and rob various financial institutions as the Diamond Man to secure the funds to pad both his and his clients bank accounts. These actions eventually brought him into conflict with Starfigther, who eventually exposed both Justin's scheme and his identity.

Justin no longer regards himself as Stuart Gormley, becoming incensed whenever that factoid is brought up. He is fully convinced of his genius and financial brilliance, and that he is a man of wealth and taste, despite being a two bit crook who got lucky. His elitist attitude rubs many of the other megacriminals the wrong way, especially with the assumption that he is on the same level of importance as the likes of Pulsar or Sovereign. Even when he embraces his nature as a criminal, it comes with the notion that he is or has what it takes to be an exceptional crime lord, when in reality he tends to get used as dumb muscle, or his schemes are painfully simple and straightforward. Still, as the Diamond Man, he is incredibly powerful. He also has the rare ability to deflect and dissipate Starfighter's energy blasts due to his diamond skin, forcing the young hero to fight him hand to hand, a situation where Diamond Man has the definite advantage.

Design- A diamond skinned villain was definitely one of the rogues I had from the start, However, it took a while to refine his look.

Initially starting out colored red, I quickly dropped it since there was a lot of all red villains I had planned already. I also wanted to try and refine his look so that he would be set apart and not be confused with another villain- Earthmaster. Again drawing inspiration from Spider-man's rogues, I decided to give Diamond Man "Normal" clothes since those would help set him apart and stand out. Given his nature, I thought of dressing him in high class business suits since it would fit the notion of him being a man of wealth and taste. I then gave him "Hair," and settled on the color green for him after experimenting with white and silver for a bit, to complete the look.

Initially, his origins saw him AS the big time stock broker turned bad guy. However, I refined it a bit to make it more about him being a fraud and someone who was more interested in the trappings of fame and fortune, to make him a bit more of an active character.