Doctor Mindbender

Melee
RV 6

Coordination
RV 10

Brawn
RV 6

Fortitude
RV 20

Intellect
RV 40

Awareness
RV 20

Willpower
RV 30

Lifestyle
RV 50

Repute
RV -20

Health:
Fortune:

42
90

Origin:

Doctor Mindbender is a formerly ordinary human being who, after inadvertently scrambling his mind with his own brainwave altering devices, was shorn of his kind, benevolent demeanor, not to mention his conscience. A mad scientist of the highest order, Doctor Mindbender himself became the result of his works, when he died and was revived in the form of a genetic construct sharing his memories!

Known Powers:

(none)

Limitations / Enhancements:

(none)

Equipment:

Brain-Wave Scanner: this device, invented by the late Doctor Venom, can be used to extract audio-visual information from a target's mind, doing so per a rank value 30 mental probe. Of course, its use causes its victim untold agony, and can also be used to transfer information from one mind (per brain 'tapes') into another. Of course, Doctor Mindbender has improved it over the years.

For one thing, he's drastically reduced the size of the equipment necessary to produce this effect, while actually enhancing its effect by +2 RS. Also, he increased its effectiveness to the point that the device can be used to simulate similarly valued mind control, per that power. Finally, Doctor Mindbender has also produced several portable models of the scanner, which can be used to reinforce the main scanner.

Brain-Wave Scrambler: somewhat resembling a cattle prod, and powered by a back-mounted energy pack, this device can be used by Doctor Mindbender to induce fear in the minds of others. Working as a specialized, rank value 30 emotion control, this unit can reduce even the most strong-willed individual into a cowering wimp - and the Doctor loves watching people cower before him!

Sidearm: in the event that his brain-wave scrambler fails him, Doctor Mindbender also carries at least one semi-automatic pistol on his person - just in case. This weapon can discharge a single round to inflict rank value 6 Piercing damage, or instead inflict rank value 10 Piercting damage in a semi-automatic burst of such. The gun's magazine can most likely hold eight shots before it requires reloading.

Quirks:

Dulled Sense / Vision: while otherwise in good health (physically speaking, at least), Doctor Mindbender has a slight vision problem. That's why, at all times, he wears some sort of visual aid over his right eye - most often a monocle, but on occasion a strange cybernetic heads-up display. Without these aids, Doctor Mindbender attempts vision based Awareness ACTION rolls at -2 RS.

Insanity: while he is quite intelligent, Doctor Mindbender is also quite mad. Living in a world he perceives differently from the rest of humanity, the Doctor wishes to impose his reality upon the unwashed masses. Desiring to bring about an earth filled with chaos, discord, and mayhem, Doctor Mindbender does his very best to create the tools with which this can be accomplished - no matter the cost!

Skills:

Electronics: though an accomplished electronics whiz before his transformation, Doctor Mindbender learned everything he needed to know about robotics technology after he became, for the lack of a better word, evil. His Intellect trait should be considered +1 RS for the purposes of creating, repairing, or modifying electronic devices, robotic systems, or even items to be implanted into living, breathing organisms.

Genetics: one of the first fields he latched onto after mangling his own mind, Doctor Mindbender has proven to be quite effective in the alteration of genes towards a specific effect - for instance, he has created at least one strain of aggressive, fast growing plants capable of immobilizing a vehicle as large as an MBT Mauler. His Intellect in such areas of knowledge should be considered +1 RS.

Guns: though he loathes physical violence, preferring to use his creations against an opponent in such a way that will render them useful in the future, Doctor Mindbender has nonetheless pursued training in the use of various firearms - working with terrorists necessitates this as a general matter of course. He attacks with standard, semi-automatic, and fully automatic guns as though his Coordination was +1 RS in value.

Medicine: originally, Doctor Mindbender's medical knowledge was limited to that of an orthodontist. However, after his personality change, he researched all of the knowledge he needed to perform various operations on living beings. Though not at all accredited to perform such procedures, he knows how to do so - and engages in such work with a relatively high frequently.

Contacts:

Over the years, Doctor Mindbender has been an on-again, off-again member of the terrorist organization / state known as Cobra. While involved with this clandestine group, he has made many allies, but has also made many, many enemies - either amongst the Joe team or within the ranks of Cobra itself. In fact, at one point, Cobra Commander had him killed for his treachery - even if he brought him back later on.

Costume:

Originally, Doctor Mindbender wore a pair of purple trousers, coupled with a steel codpiece, black boots (each having a silver band around the top) and black gloves (with purple wrist guards). This outfit was enhanced by silver web gear to hold his power pack and various gear, and of course, a rather large black cape with a silver Cobra sigil on the back. Finally, he almost always has his trademark monocle on at all times.

Personality:

Doctor Mindbender is the quintessential evil genius. He's too smart for his own good, and enjoys nothing better than turning his latest creation upon some hapless victim or another. However, while he likes bullying others, he's also quite the coward, and will generally toady to whomever he believes is a direct threat to his person - or whoever is in a position to help further his own twisted goals.

Real Name: unknown
Occupation: mind control expert, inventor
Legal Status: American citizen wanted for various acts of terrorism, later citizen of Cobra Island
Marital Status: single (presumably)
Alias(es), if any: the Interrogator, Doctor Brainwave
Group Affiliation: Cobra

Height: 5' 10"
Hair: none (shaved bald)
Eyes: brown
Weight: 180 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: Doctor Mindbender wears a thick, handlebar moustache, and wears a monocle at all times.

Story:

A long time ago, the man who would become the infamous Doctor Mindbender was merely an honest, caring, and mild-mannered orthodontist, albeit one who had some curious ideas about using electronic brainwave stimulation to treat dental pain. However, the man made the critical mistake of testing his revolutionary equipment out on himself, and it diametrically altered his personality.

The Doctor came to believe he was formerly deluded, and decided this change was a blessing. After this, the dentist abandoned his practice, and bent all of his efforts towards the transformation of his brainwave altering equipment into a hand-held weapon of devastating potential. Once he managed to do this, he began to study all of the sciences, hoping to change the world into one more to his liking.

The man spent years learning the ideas behind genetics, cybernetics, and more, all the while testing out his knowledge in most unethical ways - usually in the creation of strange, hostile mutant plants and assassin robots. In fact, his first encounter with Cobra involved his trying to sell them to Destro and the Baroness, though his pitch included using his creations against several members of the GI Joe team.

This demonstration ultimately failed, but Doctor Mindbender (as he began to call himself), stuck with his new friends in Cobra, and began to develop all kinds of new technologies for that terrorist state. However, these trivial innovations were nothing to him, for Doctor Mindbender had a greater creation in mind - a (supposedly) genetically perfect super-soldier!

With Cobra Commander's approval, Doctor Mindbender scoured the tombs of earth's greatest warriors, using their genetic material to create the template for this super-soldier. Of course, he also used samples of the recently-deceased ninja known as Storm Shadow to 'freshen up' the mix, and then added his knowledge of modern politics and warfare to the soldier via Doctor Venom's brain-wave scanner.

This creation, which he christened Serpentor, went on to win a major victory against the GI Joe team when they invaded Cobra's United States headquarters, the quaint town of Springfield. Of course, Serpentor didn't plan on stopping there, and after he made his way to Cobra Island, began to worm his way into power, trying to usurp Cobra Commander's rule.

As the man did so, Doctor Mindbender toadied to both Serpentor and Cobra Commander, not sure exactly which man would win out in the end. Ultimately, however, when Cobra Commander and Destro were presumed lost in the wake of a Cobra assault on the Pit, GI Joe's headquarters, Serpentor assumed command, taking Doctor Mindbender with him.

Under Serpentor's rule, Doctor Mindbender continued to create all manner of strange new innovations to help Cobra take over the world, including the creation of the Star-Viper, a cybernetically enhanced pilot capable of super-human reflexes and piloting ability. Of course, things never last, and eventually Cobra Commander returned to retake his island. Kind of.

You see, one of Cobra Commander's Crimson Guardsmen journeyed to Cobra Island in a suit of battle armor he'd designed for the 'late' Commander, and tried to wrest control of the tiny Caribbean nation away from Doctor Mindbender's creation. This ultimately resulted in a civil war, a war that Doctor Mindbender wound up being on the losing side of - once Serpentor was killed, that is.

Somehow finding his way into the new Commander's graces, Doctor Mindbender continued to live in a relatively safe environment - aside from Zartan's growing desire to see him dead - until the eventual return of the one, true Cobra Commander. In a graceful, fluid move, the man retook all that was his, entombing all of his enemies in a land-locked freighter he'd buried under the volcano on Cobra Island!

As it turned out, Doctor Mindbender was but one of many, many folks Cobra Commander doomed with this action, including his ersatz impersonator, Firefly, Zartan, and even his own son, Billy! Eventually, these doomed men ran out of air and food, and died under tons of rock - only Zartan, Billy, and Firefly managed to escape before this doom claimed them all.

Discovering their escape in time, Cobra Commander torched the freighter under the volcano, to prevent any other folks who may be hiding within from escaping, and to end the threat of Serpentor once and for all - his corpse was in the freighter, after all, and he didn't want anybody using it to bring about any mysterious resurrections. Only one corpse escaped this charring - Doctor Mindbender's.

You see, Cobra Commander had need of his genius, and used his cloning equipment to bring the man back from the dead. When he'd done so, Mindbender was on the verge of attacking the Commander for his deeds, when he discovered that the man was currently in the process of making a deal with the Decepticon known as Megatron for advanced technology, and decided to stay.

The possibilities were endless, after all. Once he'd completely recovered from being dead, Doctor Mindbender decided to stick around for the long haul, helping Cobra Commander to rebuild his organization. He mainly did this by subjecting various former Cobra operatives to the Brain-Wave Scanner, and literally reprogramming their minds to convince them to serve the Commander once again.

Once he'd done so, Doctor Mindbender concocted a strange, massive device intended to befuddle the senses, even those of a trained ninja. This device, a large room he christened the Cyberspace Matrix, was a danger-room style chamber which combined holograms with real-life items and massive speaker banks to blend reality with illusion - and it even worked against Slice, Dice, and Storm Shadow.

Of course, the room couldn't defeat the veritable force of nature known as Snake-Eyes, who (knowing what he was up against) took the room apart, along with a new suit of armor Doctor Mindbender whipped up for Cobra Commander. However, the Doctor's brainwashing proved effective when it helped him command those folks he'd brainwashed (Storm Shadow, Billy, and the Baroness) into driving Snake-Eyes off.

(Historical Divergence)

Cobra scattered to the four winds shortly after this, and the evil Doctor continued to ply his trade for the highest bidder - at least until Cobra eventually reformed. Happy to associate with Cobra Commander again, Doctor Mindbender immediately went to work, turning some of his earlier work with genetic tampering into the Neo-Vipers, and ultimately creating his highly potent Venomization process.

As things tend to happen though, Doctor Mindbender got on the bad side of Cobra Commander again, and when that villain decided Mindbender had betrayed him for the last time, he personally shot Mindbender in the gut - a lethal shot. However, Mindbender got the last laugh, foiling the Commander's plan to hold the world ransom with an orbiting murder platform with his dying breath.

So having died a second time, the world has not heard from Doctor Mindbender or his terrible creations for quite some time. However... he has been brought back from the dead at least once. And it's quite possible that Doctor Mindbender planned for his resurrection this time around, so though he is dead for the moment, Doctor Mindbender may return to inflict his world-view on us all before we know it!

1993 Variations

Cybernetics:

Brain Integrated Computer: after Cobra Commander brought the good Doctor back from the dead using his own technology, the man underwent several bionic enhancements, the most dangerous of which is this thought-enhancing device. While active, the BIC boosts Doctor Mindbender's Intellect trait by +1 RS, and offers him the use of a rank value 40 Computer Link.

Heads-Up Display: mounted on his right eye and connected to his BIC, this device overlays tactical information over Doctor Mindbender's vision, including an infra-red scan of a given sector, and any other data delivered to it via his computer link. This device works for the good Doctor at rank value 20, and improves his Intuition in combat by +1 RS.

IPS: rank value 2.

Limitations / Enhancements:

Implant Psychosis Statistic: as a cyborg, Doctor Mindbender is subject to the condition known as implant psychosis. Under duress, he must pass a Willpower ACTION roll against the intensity of his IPS, one which will never be automatic, lest he suffer from extreme instability for the duration of an encounter. Already a bit unhinged, this takes the form of his hamming up the mad scientist schtick to the third degree.

Equipment:

Driller Pistol: after his resurrection, Doctor Mindbender replaced his brain-wave scrambler with this less bulky model. In addition to retaining its fear-inducing capabilities, this high tech weapon can be used to impair its target's ability to think straight, reducing his or her effective Intellect trait by 4 RS, unless they can pass a Willpower ACTION roll against rank value 40.

Lightning Dagger: this custom-built, titanium dagger is of material value 75, and in Doctor Mindbender's hands, can be used to inflict rank value 6 Armor Piercing Slashing damage due to its extremely jagged nature. This is yet another weapon the good Doctor added to his personal arsenal after his clone-based resurrection at the hands of Cobra Commander.

Machine Guns: after his resurrection, Doctor Mindbender replaced his ordinary pistol with a small arsenal of machine guns. He usually has one of these on his person at any given time, each of which can be fired in a small burst (inflicting rank value 10 Piercing damage) or a large burst (inflicting rank value 20 Piercing damage) of ammo. He's also got plenty of spare magazines on hand.

Pistol-Grip Shotgun: though his machine guns are far more efficient, Doctor Mindbender finds the damage this weapon causes to be more sadistic - and thus, more satisfying. He can fire birdshot with this weapon to inflict rank value 6 Piercing damage in a sixty degree arc, buckshot to inflict rank value 10 Piercing damage to adjacent targets, or slugs to inflict rank value 20 Piercing damage to a single foe.

Wrist Computers: after his resurrection, Doctor Mindbender's costume absorbed two wrist-mounted computers. The processor on his right wrist is basically a personal computer with audio-video input-output capability, and the processor on his left wrist contains several scanners (most likely infrared, ultraviolet, and motion sensors) all of which function at rank value 20.

Costume:

After Cobra Commander brought him back from the dead in the form of a genetic construct, the good Doctor changed his outfit some. His second ensemble includes a purple shirt, yellow pants, black boots, a black belt leather belt, black belt pouches, a black Cobra belt buckle, yellow straps to support his cybernetic gear, his wrist-mounted computers, and, of course, the BIC upside his head.

2002 Variations

Cybernetics: *

IPS: rank value 2.

Limitations / Enhancements:

* It should be noted that, upon his return to active duty in Cobra in the last few years, it would appear that Doctor Mindbender is no longer cybernetically enhanced - there are no visual cues to his augmentations. Of course, he's had a long time to improve on his technology, so it's possible that all of the Doctor's cybernetic improvements are now internalized, allowing him to pass as a normal human being.

Equipment:

Costume:

With the dawn of the new millennium, Doctor Mindbender adopted a different, yet still tacky costume. His third ensemble includes gray and blue trousers, a purple, long-sleeved, button-down shirt that he both leaves unbuttoned and keeps the sleeves rolled up (to apparently show off his musculature), blue-gray wrist guards, gray leather boots, an oversized, golden Cobra amulet on a necklace, and a huge black cape.

2003 Variations

Cybernetics: *

IPS: rank value 2.

Limitations / Enhancements:

Equipment:

Costume:

Doctor Mindbender's fourth uniform is just like his third, although he has recolored it considerably. It now consists of black and red trousers, a red, long-sleeved, button-down shirt that he both leaves unbuttoned and keeps the sleeves rolled up (to apparently show off his musculature), black and red wrist guards, gray leather boots, an oversized, gold Cobra amulet on a necklace, and a huge red cape.

2004 Variations

Cybernetics: *

IPS: rank value 2.

Limitations / Enhancements:

Equipment:

Costume:

Doctor Mindbender's fifth costume is oddly the one most associated with laboratory work - it's strangely his least outlandish of all his various ensembles. It includes a gray pair of trousers, a pink turtleneck sweater beneath a white lab coat with a Cobra emblem on the chest pocket and red buttons, black rubber gloves, black rubber boots, a black leather belt, and a pair of spectacles.

2009 Variations

Cybernetics: *

IPS: rank value 2.

Limitations / Enhancements:

Costume:

Doctor Mindbender's sixth costume is something of a variation on his original. It is comprised of purple trousers, a matching purple leather belt, a purple holster for his sidearm, black leather boots, black leather gloves, a metallic set of web gear to support his Brain-Wave Scrambler's generator's weight, a large black cape with a silver Cobra sigil on the back, and once again, the monocle he wears over his right eye.

2015 Variations

Cybernetics: *

IPS: rank value 2.

Limitations / Enhancements:

Equipment:

Costume:

Doctor Mindbender's seventh costume is a winter variant on his sixth - and thus, his first. It is comprised of purple trousers, a matching purple leather belt, a purple holster for his sidearm, black leather boots, a metallic set of web gear to support his Brain-Wave Scrambler's generator's weight, a purple winter coat with a white fur collar and fur lining, and once again, the monocle he wears over his right eye.

Extra Goodies:

Doctor Mindbender 4C System: Edition 13 Text File Download

Cobra directories featuring a version of Doctor Mindbender:

1986

1993

2002

2003

2004

2009

2015

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