Maelstrom

Overview

Maelstrom (CoH Going Rogue Trailer)

Maelstrom was originally introduced with the announcement of the second City of Heroes expansion, Going Rogue. Described in the Going Rogue press release as "a pistol-wielding hero gone rogue," he appears to be a technologically augmented human who wields two pistols as his offensive capabilities.

Heroes find him in:

• Destroy the Bomb Triggers Alignment Missions
• Recruitment Flyer Alignment Mission as an enemy (Heroes and Vigilantes)

Praetorians find him in:

• Even the Odds from Calvin Scott
• Project Olympian from Aaron Walker.

Heroes and Villains face him in the following Incarnate Trial:

• TPN Campus Trial (Level 50)

Praetorians can learn about Eddie Polstra in the Personal Monster arc from Mr. G.

Video Dialogue

They made me this way.

They thought I'd serve them.

They... were wrong.

Background

Overview History

The son of a soldier who was Killed in Action, Eddie Polstra found himself destined to live in the shadow of his father. He entered the military at the earliest convenience and never had a problem accepting the orders of a superior officer. His loyalty and devotion (as well as the connections his father had before he was killed) saw Eddie promoted into a super-secret black ops division of the military. His loyalty never wavered and his devotion was only strengthened with every off-the-books mission he performed. That is until the one day he was captured and disavowed by the very government that he swore to uphold.

After nearly being killed in his escape, Eddie was cybernetically enhanced and dubbed "Maelstrom", a new military asset. One thing was clear to Eddie, he was disposable. No matter how many upgrades they put into him, he knew that he couldn't be loyal to this government anymore. He could only look out for one person now, himself. On a mission into the alternate dimension of Praetoria, Maelstrom made the fateful decision to sever his ties to our Earth and become a free agent. Loyal only to himself, Maelstrom earned the respect of Tyrant and now stands at his side, plotting the attack and decimation of his former home dimension.

Taken from Official Bio

Full History

Eddie Polstra's life was dramatically altered at the age of 4 when on April 24th, 1980 his father was killed in the failed rescue attempt of the U.S. embassy workers being held hostage in Iran. His father was a U.S. Marine who gave his life for freedom and for the United States, for Eddie, military service was inevitable.

Eddie entered the Marine Corps right out of high school, and quickly proved himself a more than capable soldier. He received particularly high grades in marksmanship and paratrooper training, and soon found himself leading small teams on crucial missions. With his promotion to Sergeant, Eddie was transferred out of the regular military and into a top secret, off the books, operation known as Ultimatum.

Ultimatum was budgeted under a crop-dusting program that didn't exist. They ran out of a ghost town in the Nevada desert that had been converted to a secret military base. Everyone had code-names. Eddie's was "Whirlpool". Ultimatum was sent into the most hellish and dangerous situations, and within three months, Whirlpool was the only original Alpha team member still alive. But the government never saw this as failure. Whirlpool and Alpha team had an unheard of 100% success rate in their missions, mostly due to Eddie's expertise and improvisational skills.

Then one night in Afghanistan changed everything. Whirlpool and Alpha team HALO'ed into the mountains searching for a terrorist leader they had gotten a tip on. It turned out the tip was a trap. Alpha team was ambushed. Most of the team was eliminated when they set off an I.E.D., and only Whirlpool and Melee, the newest recruit into Alpha team, were left alive. They were captured by the terrorists they were sent to eliminate, and even though videos were shown on the internet of their captivity, the U.S. Government denied their very existence.

That was when Whirlpool learned that Melee was more than he had let anyone know. Melee was actually the hero known as Ironsides, who had super strength, and invulnerable skin at-will. When all seemed lost, Melee confessed his secret to Whirlpool and the pair began their breakout.

Melee shrugged off the terrorist's bullets without breaking a sweat, and Whirlpool used this to his advantage, taking cover behind the invulnerable soldier. But there were simply too many of them, and Whirlpool ran out of options. While Melee was breaking down a wall to escape to the outside, Whirlpool was cut down in a hail of bullets, and his world went black.

He awoke in Ramstein, Germany. Melee had dragged Whirlpool's unconscious body and commandeered an off-road vehicle. Amazingly Whirlpool survived the multi-hour trip to the evac site. Eddie thought that this was the end of the road. The damage to his chest was so extensive that there was no way he'd ever serve his country again.

Ultimatum had a different opinion. They could rebuild him. Better. Stronger. Deadlier. Eddie was transferred to a secret location in northern Europe where cybernetic enhancement could be performed without government oversight. The damage to his heart precipitated its removal and replacement with an alternate power source. This experimental power source was called the "Maelstrom", and the scientists modified it to work as a central organ in Eddie's system.

After six months of rehabilitation, Whirlpool returned to duty as Maelstrom. Eddie was more reckless after his return. It seemed that no matter what the mission plan was, he would change the parameters and "get the job done, no matter what". All of this rubbed the brass the wrong way but it didn't stop them from using their "controllable asset".

Because of their abilities, Maelstrom and Melee were teamed up as a duo on more than one occasion, and the two worked well together as a unit. Maelstrom was constantly getting upgraded as he manipulated missions to uncover new technologies. He was outfitted with a chameleomatrix of nanites that could render him nearly invisible, as well as a short distance teleportation device based on the MediCom teleporters, but on a much smaller scale. It was all bleeding edge tech, and every piece he found opened up more and more jobs for Ultimatum. And every piece made him less and less inclined to follow their rules.

Eddie knew he was disposable. He knew that if he was captured again, he would be disavowed and ignored by his government, no matter how many trinkets they put into him. This stewed inside of him, and was the cause of many arguments with Melee. Eddie was just waiting for the right moment to jump ship. Then Ultimatum overstepped their bounds and gave him the perfect opportunity.

Ultimatum had access to one of the only dimensional portals outside of Portal Corporation. They used it to fund their research and acquire new technologies for their operatives. This time they used it to access Praetorian Earth, the home of Tyrant and his evil Freedom Phalanx analogues. They were seeking technologies belonging to Anti-Matter and Neuron for their own gain. Unfortunately their operatives had been captured.

It was only a matter of time before their operatives gave up information to Tyrant about where they came from, and this information could spark an inter-dimensional war. Maelstrom and Melee were sent to Praetorian Earth to rescue the hostages or at the very least make sure the hostages didn't talk.

Maelstrom thought back to his father's death. Eddie was determined not to go out the same way. Melee could tell something was wrong, and when the pair hit the ground in Praetoria, Maelstrom immediately threw out the plan and began improvising.

Melee told him to follow orders. Their argument turned into a fight, a fight that exploded out into the streets of Praetoria. In full view of the Seers, two super-powered beings, previously unknown, had appeared. This caused not only Mother Mayhem to quickly appear, but Tyrant himself showed up.

Mother Mayhem, with her Seers, had subdued the pair by the time Tyrant arrived. She informed Emperor Cole that although she was able to read and control Melee's mind easily, she found it impossible to do the same to Maelstrom. Tyrant was intrigued by this, he knew of nobody other than himself that could push Mother Mayhem from their thoughts. She informed Tyrant that the two were sent to retrieve the extra dimensional 'terrorists' they had captured, but according to the thoughts of the one called Melee, their dispute stemmed from a question of the loyalties of their superiors.

Tyrant could tell that Mother Mayhem was perturbed by her inability to pierce Maelstrom's mind, a sentiment he had not felt for a long, long time. He ordered her to glean what information she could about Primal Earth from Melee's mind. Maelstrom, on the other hand, was too dangerous to keep around, Tyrant would deal with him personally.

Just as Mother Mayhem started her mental scouring of Melee she was cut short by a bullet ripping through his head. The shot came from Maelstrom, who watched as the closest thing he'd ever had to a best friend drop lifeless to the ground. Eddie made it clear to Tyrant that he had to deal with him now, especially if he wanted the sensitive military data necessary to cripple Primal Earth's militaries.

Tyrant asked why he should trust him. Maelstrom told him that was the point; mutual trust, mutual respect, mutual loyalty; all things none of his 'subordinates' could offer him, all things that Primal Earth had thrown in his face. Mother Mayhem was not amused at the suggestion that her loyalty was questionable. Tyrant had to admit, he was impressed. If Maelstrom could be trusted, and only asked for the same in return, then he had finally found an ally within his pack of wolves.

Tyrant agreed to Maelstrom's simple wishes. Maelstrom was now a Praetorian and he now had a new nation to serve, a nation where his loyalty was respected.

Taken from Official Bio

Description

Eddie 'Maelstrom' Polstra received his nickname due to the device on his chest that keeps him alive. His background as a soldier has given Maelstrom a strong sense of loyalty, but only to those who are willing to trust him back. What exactly Maelstrom is after is a mystery to all but him, though his determination will surely see his goals become a reality one day.

Character Stats

Secret Identity: Edward "Eddie" Polstra
Origin: Natural/Technology
Archetype: Blaster
Primary Powers: Dual Pistols
Secondary Powers: Energy Manipulation
Other Powers: Stealth, Martial Arts, Teleportation
Signature Powers: Teleport Kicks, Marked for Death, Time to Die, Whirlwind Blast

All four Signature powers are only used in the TPN Campus Trial. Teleport Kicks apparently works like Vorpal Judgement. Marked for Death paints a target icon over every affected player. If they do not retreat by increasing distance (30+ft) or breaking line of sight before Maelstrom follows up with Time to Die, they will be automatically defeated. Whirlwind Blast is a large knockback attack which sets up his enemies to use Teleport Kicks more readily.

External Links

• Going Rogue site with trailer featuring Maelstrom
• NCsoft press release announcing Going Rogue expansion with Maelstrom as a new character
• Maelstrom Profile

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