Codename: Mr. Twist

Real Name: Carl Twist

Affiliation: Villain

Origin: Carl Twist was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The latest in the line of Twist newspaper magnates, Carl expanded the business like never before, acquiring business after business, implementing brilliant ventures before analysts knew they existed, and generally being five steps ahead of everyone else. What no one knew was that Carl Twist had an edge. Through some freak mutation in his genetic makeup, Carl was always able to connect with people's minds, hear their thoughts, use it to make himself sharper, more aware, more on the ball. As a result, he'd often show up at rival companies on a friendly visit, maybe float them a non-serious buyout offer, before walking out with their best new idea squirreled away in his mind. After a time, legitimate business didn't challenge him anymore, and he started to see how much he could get away with, little by little. Before long, with his skill set and his cunning, he ran Metro City, from the Glades to the Slums...

Powers/Abilities/Skills: Mr. Twist is a telepath of an odd sort. Instead of reading minds, he drains them of their intelligence. He can drain all the people around him to boost his intelligence, or drain a single person dry, killing them.

o Level 1: Mr. Twist can either use up to five people in a 10 foot radius to boost his mental acuity and learn their surface thoughts, or drain a single person by touch of their mental energy. This process takes about 30 seconds to cause irreversible brain damage, and 1 minute to be fatal. Twist also gains a small portion of the target's memories.
o Level 2: Twist can use up to 10 people in a 20 foot radius, and cause brain damage in 15 seconds, and death in 30. Twist is now able to access any of the memories of his linked minds.
o Level 3: Twist can use up to 30 people in a 50 foot radius, and cause brain damage in 5 seconds, and death in 10. If a target has any physical skills (martial arts, knitting, swordplay, etc.), he will be able to mimic it completely as long as he has access to it (and permanently if he drains them).
o Level 4: Twist can use up to 100 people in a 200 foot radius, and cause brain damage and death nearly instantaneously. Additionally, if he drains or co-opts anyone with super powers, he gains the ability to mimic those powers as long as he's connected.

Weaknesses: The more energetic a person's body is, the harder it is for Carl to connect to their mind. So while powered entities are arguably the more tempting target, they're also the hardest to drain.

Equipment: Does an entire media empire count? Twist owns the Metro City Herald (and a dozen other papers in major cities across the nation), Spin Network News, SNN.com, a chain of casinos, and a dozen shell companies he uses to funnel cash to his own pocket.

Appearance: Clean cut WASP. Shortish blonde hair, blue eyes, square jaw.

o Civilian: Tidy Gucci suits, turtlenecks, and the occasional pair of glasses.
o Costumed: None.

Team (if applicable): He IS his own team.

Miscellaneous: Carl loves board and card games. Some favourites include chess, Settlers of Catan, and Jenga (the far and away favourite: he's a regional champion).