Nemesis

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Powers and Abilities

Nemesis has grown considerably in skill. This is true both as an agent (combat skills, athletic ability, stealth and infiltration, security, fitness, etc.) and as an inventor (helped of course by overall technological progress and access to Federal labs).

Though his work routinely involves superhumans who are much mightier than he is, his competency and intelligence should never be underestimated. When he deals with more mundane opponents he can fly rings around them.

Tresser is now closer to a Nick Fury type than to a James Bond type, to use a loose comparison. With less combat experience, admittedly, but far keener technological skills.

Man of a thousand faces

Nemesis’s “man of a thousand faces” schtick is still his most distinctive and useful weapon. These impersonations are now near-perfect and can be done on the fly. Since these are important to the character, here are a few examples of tactics employed by the modern version of Nemesis:

• Passing himself as an enemy leader (including Circe or a maddened Hippolyte) to gain access, give orders causing chaos, trick lieutenants in revealing what the current plan is, approach persons he intends to take down, etc.. Taking the shape of the opposition’s security chief — or even their principal — is one of his favourite tricks.

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• Briefly dropping out of sight and switching to the form of one of his enemies (a soldier, a nurse, a gorilla…). This is usually to disappear and be overlooked – or to create brief confusion and have the opposition hold their fire.
• He once researched a Secret Service agent who was part of the backup team but not the reaction team. In the confusion of an explosion Tresser adopted the form of that man – with some serious wounds. Everyone assumed that their colleague had come to reinforce the reaction team and he was evacuated past the security envelope, toward the medical unit within the building, delivering Nemesis deep into the secured perimeter.
• Using disguises of the older generation to disguise unconscious enemy agents as himself, and his imager to turn into the enemy agent.
• Using a smoke pellet or flash grenade as a diversion, then change his appearance to maximise confusion.

Technologic

Nemesis is proud of his inventions. As can be seen from their game stats they’re quite clever, and allow for daring plans and unconventional approaches. Nemesis still prefers long-term planning, and if needed will build gadgets specifically designed for one mission.

Nemesis has bought an apartment building to serves as his HQ. Everything in it is treated with a special compound. Once a specific gas is released, everything dissolves and the entire building collapses cleanly.

It held a lot of equipment, his main servers and the like, but was destroyed after Batman (Dick Grayson) penetrated its security. The security systems had about 8 APs, with a laser grid and the like. This sort of array of precautions is typical of his current level of paranoia.

Like all close associates and loved ones of JLA members, Nemesis is under special surveillance by the JLA to ensure that he doesn’t disappear. This seems to be pretty light, though – presumably checking every six hours or so via satellite that he’s alive and his general location. Nemesis was unaware of this until late 2010.

History

The activities of Nemesis during the early 2000s are undocumented, though he resumed working for Federal agencies.

During the fall of the Luthor administration, when Vice-President Ross was in the Oval Office, Tresser helped with a mysterious plan from an undisclosed agency. It involved :

• Keeping super-heroes busy with Luthor.
• Arresting Sarge Steel for a short while on trumped-up charges to curtail his ambitions.
• Convincing Ross not to run again.
• Keeping Amanda Waller alive for later.

Though Tresser seemed conversant with his employers and their goals, he was also being deceived, since these persons were at that time working on the construction of Electric City, with which Nemesis would later be all too familiar.

Department of Metahuman Affairs

Nemesis then came to work at the Department of Metahuman Affairs (DMA). That was the agency which the demoted and increasingly paranoid Sarge Steel was heading. Nemesis remained a special agent working in the field. He insisted on working alone, both to facilitate infiltration work and to avoid risking the death of fellow agents in high-risk situations.

After several years, he was nevertheless saddled with a partner, newcomer agent Diana Prince.

Though the reluctant Nemesis kept snarking at her to drive her away, she didn’t seem to mind. Thus, the partnership held long enough for Nemesis to become certain that Prince was Wonder Woman. At the same time, Nemesis started running into Wonder Woman much more often, which did not surprise him – though he kept up an act of hating his partner.

While Wonder Woman was wanted by the DMA for the killing of Max Lord, Nemesis was firmly on her side – even against his own hierarchy.

Meet the princess

Due to Wonder Woman’s presence, things got more interesting for Nemesis – often in painful and dangerous ways. He was briefly captured and tortured by Circe, though Wonder Woman quickly found him and treated his wounds.

This rescue led to Wonder Woman being captured by the DMA. As a result, the incensed Nemesis turned against the agency to free her. During this escape, they became clearly attracted toward each other — with no immediate result, since Wonder Woman was freed just in time to deal with the Amazon attack on Washington.

Nemesis provided critical help during this crisis. He discovered :

• That a shape-changer working for Circe had impersonated Sarge Steel.
• That an armed ICBM had been launched toward Themyscira .
• What the secret weapon of the Amazons was.

He also assumed command of the DMA. Thomas aborted all Amazons-related missions (since they had all been designed to fail by the Sarge Steel impostor) and redeployed the manpower to coordinate with the JLA.

And then let’s never talk about Amazon Attack again

Tresser then nearly sacrificed himself to help contain the weapon provided to the maddened Hippolyte by Circe – Stygian killer hornets. He was saved by the JLA, Wonder Woman procuring an antidote just in time, and the DMA’s medical staff.

My God, bees.

Leaving the hospital early, Nemesis freed the real Sarge Steel. However, a chance encounter with Captain Nazi sent him right back to the ICU mere weeks later. While he was still being hospitalised, Wonder Woman offered to make their relationship a bit more serious, through a small Amazon ritual called the Bond of Consideration.

Nemesis thus came to share the life of Wonder Woman, socialising with her troops the Gorilla Knights, meeting her sister Donna and being formally introduced to her mother Hippolyta, Queen of Themyscira. Tresser was formally made an Amazon, and given a spear that the Queen created for his hand.

Later comments imply that he took a vacation to Themyscira during this general time frame, presumably in Diana’s company, and came to greatly appreciate Amazon lands and culture.

Genocide and aftermath

However, DMA surveillance discovered that Tresser was intimate with Wonder Woman. And at this point, the acts of war in Washington were still in fresh memory. Sarge Steel had Nemesis arrested. Though Tresser immediately escaped, he discovered that, meanwhile, Wonder Woman had nearly been killed by the creature called Genocide.

As an Amazon warrior, Nemesis took part to the battle to recover the lasso stolen by Genocide. He fought at the side of the Gorilla Knights, Donna Troy, Cassie Sandsmark and Wonder Woman. This battle sent Tresser back to the hospital yet again, frustrating him. Still, he got out within days and returned to help Wonder Woman against Genocide.

Nemesis, allying with repentant evil genius T.O. Morrow, attempted to take down Genocide with weaponry developed by Society researchers. Their assault helped a bit, but brought Tresser too close to Genocide. Holding the Lasso, the monster knew all the truths that destroy.

For whom the golems would destroy

Genocide was inspired by Tresser’s presence to hold him hostage. It then challenged Wonder Woman by asking whether she loved him truly. The perfectly truthful Amazon had to answer in the negative – since while she was genuinely attracted toward Nemesis, her first wish was actually to have children.

Though he did not know the details of the reasoning, hearing Diana answer negatively broke Tom’s heart. Wonder Woman immediately managed to have Genocide drop Nemesis, and he survived the battle without further physical wounds.

When they managed to see each other several days later, Wonder Woman told Nemesis what had been on her mind. She explained why she had been attracted toward him, how Amazons saw love, and why she had wanted children. Thomas still chose to end the relationship, in part because his hideously dangerous life meant that he wasn’t fit to be a father.

Thomas Andrew Tresser left the DMA, wishing to move away from superhumans for a while and go back to his roots. The Council having secretly reconstituted itself under a new form, Tresser decided that it was his job to go after them – and did so with considerable heart.

With his far greater experience and skill, and his new technology, Nemesis took the Council apart. They had little chance to ever fight back.

The global peace agency

However, during this new mission of justice, Tresser was touched by the Global Peace Agency. This Agency is a transtemporal and transspatial concern, working to prevent universal crises (such as the Final Crisis) in thousands of arcane ways.

The Agency apparently wanted to recruit Tresser as one of their agents, and seemingly approached other espionage and action types at the same time.

Determining what happened is difficult. The Agency put Tresser through a strange gauntlet where many of the events were hallucinations, engineered through time travel, and/or relied on android doubles.

Tresser spent, by his reckoning, several months in a non-place called Electric City. All the while he was doggedly trying to escape and determine what was going on. He eventually ’won’ when he partially determined the nature of Electric City, Buddy Blank, Myron Forrest and their OMAC.

Thomas was apparently returned to Earth seconds after he was kidnapped.

After spending months that didn’t exist in a place that didn’t exist to break free from a trapped reality, Tresser resumed his activities – but he was clearly harrowed by his experiences.

The Impostors

Despite the sophistication of the new Council, Tom worked his way up to the head, a Senator. Nemesis managed to kidnap Sen. Andrew Bell in spite of the best efforts of the Secret Service. However, he was then intercepted by some sort of superhuman duplicate of himself — possibly a robot — who took him down.

The enhanced double then very publicly shot Bell dead and left Nemesis holding the murder weapon.

Nemesis was thrown into prison. Batman and Wonder Woman realised that there was some sort of conspiracy framing Nemesis. However, Tresser said that he would not seek to escape. This time, he’s waiting for whatever the conspiracy is to come and get him.

Description

Nemesis is a leftie.

Personality

Early during this era, Nemesis is far more lively, extroverted and seductive than he used to be. Yes, he’s still very, very serious and committed to his values. But he now realises that life is much more enjoyable with a charming, talkative rogue act than as the dull and stiff person he used to be.

Nemesis adopts a great sense of humour and an excellent repartee, coming across like a good stand-up comedian when he’s on a roll. He occasionally adopts a bit of a jokey frat boy style.

This humour and snappy patter is to a degree an act and not his real personality. Yet he seems to enjoy it and it helps him endure the rigours of a life dedicated to fighting injustice.

Hard life

His experiences with Amanda Waller and other shady government operations (including the DMA and Sarge Steel) have left Tom bitter. On one hand, he realises that it’s still where he can do the most good and balance the scales. On the other he insists on working alone, does what he can to drive any partner away, and definitely does not trust his superiors.

In some ways he’s the archetypal 1980s American maverick hero who makes his own rules. But these similarities are superficial.

Tresser now accepts to use his name again, and prefers to have his friends use it rather than “Nemesis”. He’s also grown back into a true hero of impressive courage, who will unhesitatingly sacrifice himself to save lives. He may seem way more flippant and roguish than before, but he’s even more determined to serve the cause of justice and defend innocents.

He may pretend that he’s just in for the adrenaline, but he’s very, very serious and committed about his fight for justice. He’s also extremely intelligent, quite experienced, and very quick mentally, making him genuinely dangerous.

Nemesis has a minor problem with taking on the personality, habits, mannerisms, etc. of the person he’s impersonating if that lasts for too long. But that seldom causes trouble for him. It’s more of a small characterisation bit.

After Electric City, part 1

After his experiences in Electric City, Tresser is a changed man. He drops the Han-Solo-as-a-comedian routine, since his heart is no longer in it. He becomes more violent (though still using less-than-lethal force and working to prevent casualties as best as he can). He’s much more tense. He no longer has any sense of humour – faked or real.

He’s still serving the cause of justice, of course — anything else would be impossible — but his harrowing experiences led to him developing a paranoid streak.

He continues to have occasional hallucinations of Electric City (which seem induced by Brother Eye), and trusts nothing and no one. His plans get even more devious and full of traps, and anything that starts going wrong is going to trigger a spurt of tension as he wonders whether he’s encountering another piece of tricked-out reality.

Nemesis plays hardball, and he’s fed up with preternatural situations where even the best resources of a highly intelligent and experienced vigilante are not enough to prevail. He’s been through some semi-incomprehensible, surreal nightmare that is still haunting him, manipulating him and establishing an invisible wall between him and reality. That’s unbearable

Though he’s burnt out on superhuman stuff — even resentful — he still greatly respects his old allies such as Batman and Wonder Woman. Though he’d rather be out of their lives he’s touched by their faith in him.

After Electric City, part 2

In particular he has come to terms with the failed relationship with Diana, understanding what she wanted to do. He’s not bitter at all about his time as an Amazon – he has great memories of his time on Themyscira and with Diana, and feels an affinity for the Amazon culture.

His life may now be haunted by stealthy P.K. Dickian  horror, but at least he also experienced wonders.

After Electric City, Nemesis is in a sense back to his roots as a generally laconic planner and man of action. But his understandable paranoia leads to sudden bursts of verbosity, usually to rant about the world he’s now living in or his wish to just break something to reassert some sort of control over his existence.

He’s obviously unravelling, but yet is still clearly an intelligent and good man who remains in control and will not give up.

Nemesis has always had minor problems with slightly lacking a sense of identity. This is especially true during long-term impersonation/undercover work as he wears the mannerisms, voice and identity of another 24/7. This never was very important, but now that he’s unravelling for other reasons he sees this as a threat to his mental integrity.

In particular he’s had a moment of panic that resulted in plastering an entire room of his HQ with photos of his face, on all the walls and the ceiling, to reassure himself in case yet another crazy hallucination were to happen.

Quotes

“I don’t always do what I’m told. Especially when I get the feeling I’m not being told everything.”

(To Wonder Woman, sarcastically) “Uh, right. Clearly you Amazons have a *lot* to be insecure about aesthetically.”

Black Canary: “Call me sweetheart again and I’ll kick your butt so hard you’ll be gagging on my boot until Christmas.”
Nemesis: “Will you quit focusing on my butt ? I know it’s sexy, but we’ve only just met.”

Nemesis: “Don’t be so surprised, Prince. I got the date [of your birthday] out of your files.”
Agent Prince: “You read my personal files ?”
Nemesis: “Yeah, but don’t be mad. I read everyone’s files.”

“I’m angry because I know I don’t deserve [Wonder Woman]. Because everything about her from the inside out is about finding and uncovering the larger truth. And [me, I am] a liar to [my] very soul.”

(Kicks through a door and levels his rifle) “Freeze, you ******** furball !” (realises that he’s actually facing five armed and annoyed super-gorillas) “Uh.” (beat) “Not that a ******** furball, is a bad thing, really…”

Tolifhar, about Nemesis: “He isn’t suitable for the Princess. He takes nothing seriously.”
Donna Troy: “On the contrary, Tolifhar. He takes everything incredibly seriously. And he carries that weight alone.”

By Sébastien Andrivet.

Source of Character: DC Universe.

Helper(s): Darci, Capita_Senyera.

Writeup completed on the 24^th of January, 2011.