REAL NAME: Rod Elsaw
AGE: MID FORTIES
BASE OF OPERATIONS: Mobile
ASSOCIATES/ACCOMPLICES/MINIONS:
AFFILIATIONS: 5th Power

BACKGROUND: All Rod Elsaw ever wanted to be was famous, a winner.  He excelled at sports and earned a football scholarship to Notre Dame as a halfback.  Things were looking even better when an agents from the Cowboys, Bears and Bils began making offers.  Then the game vs. U of M happened and his knee was destroyed in the impact.  Reconstructive sports medicine had come a long way and Rod’s leg had been fully repaired but new sports regulations proscribing the use of such technology in collegiate and professional sports prevented him from ever playing again.
 Rod tried a variety of jobs but nothing seemed to work for him.  He had seriously considered a new career as a professional drunk when fate intervened.
 Rod had taken a job for the US census, he had a primarily rural district to take care of.  He reached an old farmhouse that appeared to be deserted.  Ignoring protocols curiosity got the better of him and he checked out the old barn.  The barn’s wooden floor was rotting and Rod fell through, right into an old supply of DDT.  Exposure to the toxin should have killed him.  Instead it made him a super hero.
 Rod cashed in on his newfound power right away.  When he wasn’t working the census thing he began making appearances as N.U.K.E. (Nation’s Ultimate Kickass Elite).  A few lucky encounters with inexerpienced super villains got him some noteriety and before he knew it he was doing commercial ads for Bridgestone/Firestone and other  corporations.  Then a chance encounter with High Justice earned him a spot on the team.  Things were going great.
 Then he messed up.
 Rod had discovered Lionheart’s secret identity when he had been walking past the women’s locker room and “accidentally” saw her face.  His girlfriend listened to Kate Bush music so he knew who she was.  Still, he was able to keep the secret until he got drunk one night and he spilled it to his lady.  She could not keep it a secret, and before anyone could stop it the information was all over the world.  It did not take long for the leak to be found, and at first all Rod was going to get was a scolding.  Then The Unicorn, Lord Stiles and Dr. Hades staged an attack on Lionheart and her family and suddenly N.U.K.E. found himself kicked out of High Justice.

 N.U.K.E.’s endorsements also began to fade, one by one.  As a member of a high profile group he was marketable, but as a pariah any company that associated with him could not help but be hurt.  So he decided to be pro-active.  It was time to make his own group and redeem himself.  And maybe someday Kate would forgive him.

N.U.K.E. had little success with 4th Power, but when Mr. Hang approached him with a job offer and the team became 5th Power things turned around in a big way.  Then the EDI happened, Mordon died and Extreme Soldier blamed himself.  N.U.K.E. felt it was time for the group to disband.  Feeling himself slipping back into a depression, not knowing where to go or what to do next, he received an unexpected visitor; Lionheart.

And Lionheart, at a crossroads herself, forgave him.  And suddenly Rod knew no matter what happened next it was going to be all right.

After his team mate Mordon's death Rod went into semi-retirement.  He does part time work at Pure Power's Plant, does the lecture circuit, wrote an autobiography.

PERSONALITY: Rod wanted more than anything in the world to be liked, admired and respected.  He has spent his entire life towards these goals.  When he became a super hero he thought he had it all, until his stupidity took it from him.  Now what he wants more than anything is to make up for the wrongs he did.  That is what 4th Power-late 5th Power-was about, heroes looking for a shot at redemption or a chance to prove they are worth a second chance.  And it worked to a degree.

Now Rod's motivations lean more towards doing public good more than grandstanding.

POWERS: N.U.K.E. is able to create a force field that offers a great deal of protection from both physical and energy attacks.  The field allows him to survive harsh environments such as high pressure and vacuum (he still needs to breath, though).  He is able to fly at super sonic speeds, direct the energies within him for impressive feats of strength and can fire bolts of Megatomic Force!tm N.U.K.E. is not really nuclear powered, the name just sounds cool to him.

APPEARANCE: Rod is a pretty good looking guy.  Standing 6’ 5”, he weighs 244 lbs and is in great shape for his age.  He has tan skin, blue eyes and almost white blonde hair he keeps crew cut that is now starting to thin into a widow's peak.  The skin-tight force field that surrounds Rod’s body makes him appear to be bald with white eyes, and it looks like he is covered with a dark red metallic skin.  Over the force field he wears a blue costume with white trim that leave his arms and most of his chest bare.  High white boots complete the look.