Paul Lorenze the beast
Context
The early Strange Tales issues predate the Marvel Universe. The Atlas brand yet had to become Marvel Comics. However, there are multiple Atlas stories who have been retroactively been made part of the Marvel Universe.
This was never the case of Paul Lorenze… but it could.
“The Beast” is the title of this 1951 story. Lorenze is not clearly called that in-text.
Background
- Real Name: Paul Lorenze.
- Marital Status: Presumed single.
- Known Relatives: None.
- Group Affiliation: None.
- Base Of Operations: Unrevealed.
- Height: 6’ Weight: 550 lbs.
- Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown
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Powers & Abilities
Paul Lorenze has all of the characteristics of a particularly aggressive and uninhibited gorilla, with unusually large fangs.
Even as a human, he had an unusual level of physical strength and behavioural intensity.
History
Back in 1951, Paul Lorenze was a deranged student fascinated by the power of evil… and by apes.
He considered apes to be perfect. In his view they possessed great strength and ferocity unhindered by the moral sophistication plaguing humans. For Lorenze, that made apes capable of true evil.
His dearest wish was to become an ape, and know strength unfettered by morals.
The inevitable mad scientist
Lorenze was one of two students who were accidentally locked into a zoo at night.
There they stumbled upon another lunatic. Namely Professor Manheim, who had devised a serum to super-evolve apes into men.
Manheim was about to gun down the students who had witnessed his attempt to inject a gorilla. However, the weirdly charismatic Lorenze convinced him to devise an inverted variant of his serum. One that could turn a man into an ape.
(This being a 1951 story it is full of crass racism and terrible biology and zoology. It is also reminiscent of 1940s fare, such as the Golden Age Giganta).
Science without conscience
Kidnapping the other student, Manheim and Lorenze launched into a wild experiment. The process allowed Lorenze to reminisce past historical, then prehistorical incarnations.
As he went back in time before the appearance of the Homo genus, he physically turned into a savage ape-like creature. This primate killed Manheim with one blow.
(As you likely know, great apes were a fixture of this era’s comics. You could thus tie the revoltin’ development of Lorenze becoming an ape to other gorilla-centric stories. Such as the gorilla curse.)
Gorilla fight
Somehow, the zoo gorilla whom Manheim had wanted to experiment on then found Manheim’s house. It attacked.
The bestial Lorenze eventually prevailed. But the other student had freed himself and defenestrated Lorenze from behind.
Handlers from the zoo, who were chasing the escaping gorilla, captured Lorenze instead. Somehow, they did not notice the difference. The bestial Lorenze thus ended up behind stout steel bars at the zoo.
Description
See illustration.
Personality
Lorenze was a crazy dude fond of :
- Mad science.
- Ranting about how only animals could know true evil that was sadly denied to men.
As an ape-like creature, he was apparently incapable of speech. It is unclear what level of intelligence he retained.
Quotes
“It’s the apes I admire ! They’re powerful, vicious… and evil ! I like all evil things… and brute force ! Look at that big fellow there… his tiny, mad eyes, the snarling lips, the tremendous power… He’s the embodiment of all the wicked things in man !”
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Lorenze as an ape
| Dex: 02 | Str: 05 | Bod: 05 | Motivation: Psycho |
| Int: 02 | Wil: 02 | Min: 02 | Occupation: Captive |
| Inf: 03 | Aur: 02 | Spi: 02 | Resources {or Wealth}: 000 |
| Init: 008 | HP: 005 |
Powers:
Analytical smell/tracking scent: 02, Density Increase: 01
Bonuses and Limitations:
- Density Increase is Always On and Already Factored In.
- AS/TS doesn’t have the tracking component.
Skills:
Acrobatics (Climbing): 03, Martial Artist (AV): 03
Advantages
Iron Nerves.
Connections:
None.
Drawbacks:
Strange Appearance, MPR (seemingly incapable of speech).
Design notes
As per our usual approach, these stats model what he’s actually seen doing.
If you want him to have more DEX and the like, go right ahead. You could always reason that Lorenze wasn’t used to his new body yet when he fought that gorilla.
Game Stats — DC Adventures RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Lorenze as an ape — Averaged PL 3.8
| STR | STA | AGL | DEX | FGT | INT | AWE | PRE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04 | 03 | 02 | 00 | 02 | -2 | 01 | 00 |
Powers
Evil ape body ● 2 points ● Descriptor: Zoological
– Senses 1 (Acute smell).
– Feature 1 (+3 bonus to Climbing rolls).
Combat Advantages
All-Out Attack, Defensive Roll 2.
Other Advantages
Fearless.
Skills
Close combat (Unarmed) 2 (+4), Insight 1 (+2), Perception 1 (+2)
Offense
| Initiative +2 |
| Unarmed +4, Close, Damage 4. |
Defence
| Dodge | 02 | Fortitude | 07 |
| Parry | 02 | Toughness | 03*/05 |
| Will | 01 |
* Without Defensive Roll.
Complications
- Primal evil Even worse than real estate.
- Bestial appearance Lorenze looks like a scary killer beast.
- Physical restriction He may be unable to form speech, at least early on.
Powers Levels
- Trade-off areas. Attack/Effect PL 4, Dodge/Toughness PL 4, Parry/Toughness PL 4, Fort/Will PL 4.
- Points total 32. Abilities 20, Defences 4, Skills 2, Powers 2, Devices 0, Advantages 4. Equiv. PL 3.
Notes
As per our usual approach, these stats model what he’s actually seen doing.
If you want him to have better Defenses, Offense and the like, go right ahead. You could always reason that Lorenze wasn’t used to his new body yet when he fought that gorilla.
Source of Character: Strange Tales vol. 1 #1 (1951).
Helper(s): Darci.
Writeup completed on the 28th of September, 2014.