Eisenkreuz

Name:
Christoph Bernhard

Alias:
Eisenkreuz (German for "Iron Cross")

Identity:
Publically known

Status:
Hero

Occupation:
Professional hero and member of the Heimatshelden, Germany's hero team

Type:
Peak human  

Age:
32

Stats:
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 210
Hair Color, Type: Dirty Blonde; slicked back
Eye Color, Type: Brown

Place of Birth:
Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany

Headquarters:
UHE Consulate in Berlin; highly active world-wide, especially around Europe

Description:
Eisenkreuz is handsome, athletic, and extremely fit. Though not large or bulky, his musculature is dense, giving him a lean and powerful frame. He has gentle features that belie his powers but reflect his strong moral code.

Unique to many heroes, he does not don a mask nor maintain a secret identity (in fact, his place of residence is publically known). His costume is standard hero flair combined light integrated armor on the chest, forearms, and thighs; his attire has the color motif of the German flag: red, gold, and black.

Personality:
Eisenkreuz is passionate, disciplined, and courageous. He takes his job very seriously, maintaining a strong moral streak and strict code of honor. He's renowned for his humility and affability toward the common man, choosing to live a public life

Powers/Abilities:
Eisenkreuz is of peak human fitness, granting him the optimal speed, stamina, and strength of natural human potential. His reflexes and staying power are particularly potent, giving him remarkable speed and nimbleness (which is what his tactics emphasize most).

Formerly an Olympic Gymnast, Eisenkreuz has remarkable dexterity and flexibility, with his acrobatic skills supplementing his innate powers. Though not versed in any particular martial art, he's a keen improviser and street fighter.

Inventory/Weapons:
The Iron Cross, from which he derives his namesake, is a large metallic weapon based exactly on the symbol of German military honor. Despite its size – being larger than Christoph's torso – it is surprisingly lightweight and versatile, and he often keeps it magnetically latched on his back.

His innate magnetism allows him to access and control it with ease, executing fluid movements that can strike opponents, parry melee blows, and deflect nearly all types of projectiles (except for very powerful energy attacks). He can transfer enough of his magnetic abilities to the device to allow it to catch oncoming bullets and weapons or chase vehicles. He's even gotten the hang of 'surfing' on it mid-air, increasing his speed.

Tactics:
Eisenkreuz is a very skilled fighter who relies a lot on speed, agility, and initiative. He combines his gymnastic abilities with his enhance reflexes to give him utmost flexibility in combat. He's very keen on rapid strikes and offensive moves, and is usually the point-man on the team.

Origins:
Christoph Bernhard was the child of none other than Lorenz Bernhard, the first Eisenkruez and Germany's greatest hero. The elder Bernhard, a disaffected Werhmarcht soldier from the Eastern Front, was the product of an underground super-soldier program led by a German resistance movement (and secretly backed by the allies). Venal

Taking the moniker of the Iron Cross, a symbol of honor to contrast the corruption and venality of the Nazis, Bernhard would lead an insurrection against Hitler's regime that lasted to the very end. Eventually, he would fight side by side with allied heroes to bring an end to the war in Europe.

Left weakened and disaffected, with the taint of Nazi crimes, post-war Germany was in great need of a hero. Eisenkreuz I worked quickly to unite his people and lead the rebuilding and relief effort. Though powerless to stop the political dealings that would eventually divide his beloved homeland, he nonetheless remained a stalwart symbol of justice and honor to his beleaguered countrymen.
During his tenure, Eisenkreuz I would go on to lead a Europe-wide effort at peace and unity, parallel to the formation of the EU. He would eventually marry his French counterpart, Marianne, solidifying peace between two historic enemies and ushering a symbolic opening to decades of prosperity and cooperation.

History:
Unfortunately, the elder Eisenkreuz would meet the tragic fate of hundreds of fellow heroes after a brave but futile fight against the evil anomaly known as Enemy. The German people, like the rest of the world, would be left without their shinning knight.

But unknown even to the senior Bernhard himself, he left a legacy in Christoph, an illegitimate child born out of a brief liaison. Lorenz never knew he had a son, given that he died shortly after his fling, Sophie, even knew. Fearing that Enemy may return to claim more heroes, she kept his lineage a secret from young Christoph, who grew up never knowing his birthright.

Christoph was a very charming and extroverted youth from the beginning. He was full of energy and took a liking to outdoor sports and activities, especially gymnastics and track and field. He was studious and gifted as well, balancing his sportiness with bookishness. He dreamed of joining the Olympics, only for his inherited powers to manifest – and render him disqualified.

At 23, he discovered his lineage and took it upon himself to live up to it, taking his father's Iron Cross and moniker (hidden by his mother). Starting off as something of a restrained vigilante, he soon gained enough public attention and government support to become a full-fledged hero of Germany, the first of many that would form the national team, the Heimatshelden. Choosing to keep his identity public (a precedent to be followed by all Germany teams), Eisenkreuz has quickly elevated himself into being of the most beloved and well-respected heroes in Europe, if not the world.