Real name: Gordon Rilla
Occupation: Medical Student
Identity: Public citizen, mutant power unknown to anyone
Legal status: United States Citizen
Other aliases: None
Place of birth: The Bronx, New York
Marital status: Single
Known relatives: Father, Michael. Mother, Conchata.
Brother (Younger), Sam. Sister (Younger), Paulina.
Group affiliation: American Medical Association, aspiring.
Base of operations: New York City
First appearance: May, 2001
History:
Gordon Rilla. That's pronounced 'Ree-ya.' It's a Latino name. He grew up in a predominantly Latino neighborhood in New York with his caring but occasionally inept mother and his horribly abusive father. He was bused to school to a predominantly white system, and kids there didn't understand the whole "ll = y" Spanish pronunciation rule... so he was often called 'Gorilla' growing up. He was never very fond of it, but he grew to accept it. He was a well-developed, intelligent and fit kid, so he knew they weren't calling him that because he was a big hairy jerk.
As he grew up, his father became more abusive, since Gordon seemed more of a threat - he was better read, in better shape and wasn't afraid to mouth off - the typical Good Will Hunting style of mouth-off, to protect the rest of his family from his father's wrath. The constant abuse really wounded his ability to trust people, and he rarely allowed anyone to get close to him. True, he had a couple of friends in school, but no one really knew him... and not many tried, since he was such a minority in his classes. Not many people wanted to hang out with the Mexican kid.
He was a late bloomer in mutant circles... he didn't discover his mutant abilities until late in high school. He was in study hall, he'd finished all the work he had to do.. and he was just gazing out the window, daydreaming. His mind was wandering, and he started looking over the small telephone pole outside... and he imagined a King Kong-esque ape climbing it - although small enough to be climing a phone pole instead of the Empire State Building. Then he saw something.. he blinked a bit and looked closer... and he actually saw... a small gorilla climbing the pole. He was confused for a few moments. He tried to change the gorilla into a big pig climbing the pole... but the ape only disappeared... no pig appeared. He tried to picture a duck in the study hall.. nothing happened. He then pictured a howler monkey in the study hall, and there appeared a screeching, psychotic little primate that immediately started racing around the room, jumping on people and throwing feces at the students. No one knew what had happened... and Gordon had the sense to play it off, as if he didn't either.
That night, Gordon went home and tried to figure out what was going on... and the more he tried out his 'abilities,' the more he learned about them. For some reason, he could only make monkeys and apes appear. No other kinds of animals, no people, no money, nothing like that. None of the extensive research he delved into revealed any scientific instances of anything remotely like this, or anyone with a supernatural/superhuman ability like this, save for the standard ESP-mindreader-psychic-hotline-Uri-Geller-spoon-bending variety, which Gordon had to rethink his cynical stance on after experiencing this power. However, this is one instance where having no one he could trust worked in his favor, as it allowed him to keep his ability a secret. To this day, he hasn't told a soul, for fear of public reprisals, experimentation or some other horrible reaction from society at large... and a slightly devious side of him decided this was a very good thing to keep mum about, in case it might come in handy later.
He continued as usual in school, his spontaneous monkey creation ability aside, and he earned a scholarship to college... and he graduated with a BA in primatology... he studied primates, to get a better understanding of them. He continues to work in the university laboratory, doing a lot of research on the monkeys he creates... and he doesn't feel as bad about experimenting on them, since he made them out of thin air. He assists in medical research, and he's going for another degree in biology, studying to be a medical doctor, hoping to eventually uncover a cure for cancer and many other diseases through his work. No one knows about his ability yet, and most of the research he conducts on his own primates is done privately, so as not to arouse the question 'Hey, where do you keep getting all these monkeys?'
Sometimes, at night, though, when he's feeling restless and overworked... he'll go out on the streets. He doesn't dress up in a monkey costume or anything like that - he goes out... and finds some street level crime... and creates monkeys to help stop the criminals. He's broken up a few robberies, muggings, rapes, murders, etc., by creating large apes and flocks of monkeys to attack the offenders, generally leaving them babbling idiots - according to the police. Gordon himself never appears to be involved in these monkey attacks. He just happens to be nearby at the time.
Doctor by day, avenger by night. Gordon self-deprecatingly refers to himself as The Apemaster from time to time. It's about as threatening as he can make himself sound...
Height: 6'2" Weight: 170 lbs.
Eyes: Brown Hair: Black
Unusual physical characteristics: Hidden scars on chest,
back and arms from abuse as a child.
Strength level: Slightly above average.
Known superhuman powers: He's a closeted mutant with the
ability to summon primates - monkeys and apes - from some alternate
dimension to do his bidding, but he believes he creates them from
thin air. He hasn't told a soul.
Other abilities: Medicine, Guitar, Zoology, Biology
Weapons and paraphernalia: Keeps a wrench near his bed at
night.
Other notes: None