History Characters / VillainsCode

* MultiethnicName: Ivan's birth name is unknown. He was taken in by a cult. The boys were given first names in honor of great warriors of the past. The last name came from his friend.

* CloningBlues: Strongly hinted by the fact that Professor Quantum calls him "Nineteen" and that they "share DNA" but are not related.

* [[ManOnFire Woman on Fire]]: Tori can turn some or all of her body into living flame, making her extremely difficult to hurt.

* CannotSpitItOut: He's been attracted to Beverly since first laying eyes on her but can't seem to ask her out.

* QueerEstablishingMoment: Reveals at a pool party that she's Pansexual.

* AlternateSelf: According to Nexus, many of Tori's alternate selves did not survive the events of the book.

[[/folder]]

!!!Recruits / Cyber Geek's team

[[folder:Donald Moss (Cyber Geek)]]
A computer programmer working at Vendallia Industries and an avid gamer. On the night of the Confluence, he had just completed his custom-built gaming PC, some of the parts for which had... questionable sources. His apartment building was hit by a lightning bolt, frying his new machine and also granting Donald the power to pull any video game weapon, armor, or tool into RealLife. After he is forced to out himself publicly, he is recruited by the AHC and asks to be called Cyber Geek.

* BashBrothers: Donald and Ren, joining the AHC at the same time, become fast friends, despite having completely different personalities (e.g. nerd and jock, respectively). Despite this, they work well together, especially when they have to fight, with Donald manifesting video game guns for ranged combat and Ren taking care of close-range enemies.
* {{BFG}}: During the fight with the interdimensional monster at the club, Donald summons a Buster Burster Blaster from the game ''Blaster Brahs''. He has trouble even lifting the thing and manages to get a few shots off at the monster by propping the gun onto a railing or a piece of furniture. Then he mentally smacks himself on the head, recalling that the game designers specifically added heavy armor to the game to justify players lugging around such a big weapon and summons Master Brah's Armor around himself, allowing him to field the gun with ease.
* DatingCatwoman: Almost happens, as Donald is interested in Tori but has trouble asking her out. He also has no idea that she's a meta and a villain.
* NeuralImplanting: In-between the first and second novels, Donald agrees to Professor Quantum's upgrade, which involves implanting a number of computers into his skull and an in-head screen into his eyes, despite the risk of him going blind. This means that he no longer needs his wrist computer to access his power. All he has to do is focus on his internal screen and select the weapon or tool he needs.
* SummonMagic: Donald is able to pull any weapon, armor, or tool from a currently-running video game right out of the screen. The item has the same exact characteristics as in the game, which is why he spends a lot of his free time "training", i.e. playing games and leveling up his items, so the ones he pulls into RealLife have better characteristics. When the AHC marketing team suggests hiring programmers to design some weapons for him, Donald explains that his power works only on items from popular video games, so they would actually have to come from the game designers adding them to the game. Some characters suggest his power may involve a collective ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve. Due to the fact that the wrist computer Professor Quantum gives him doesn't have a stable Internet connection, he has to rely only on games that can run offline, and the computer is constantly running a dozen games at any given time, so Donald doesn't have to spend time booting them up.

[[folder:Ren Tanaka (Medley)]]
A former college football player, who tries to use an experimental drug to fix his blown-out knee during the Confluence. The drug turns him into a chimera-like monster with no chance of turning back. Distraught, he is recruited by Apollo and is given the code name Medley by the AHC marketing team. Despite their different personalities, Ren becomes fast friends with Donald.
----
* BashBrothers: See Donald above.
* HolographicDisguise: Apollo provides Ren with a bracelet that allows him to appear human, which Ren is very grateful for. In fact, the bracelet is more than a mere illusion. Ren's claws actually feel like normal hands, his skin (at least the outer layer) feels real, and one has to press really hard to feel the rough scales beneath. He can also speak a lot easier when using the disguise. Apparently, the bracelet is programmed with several different faces, allowing Ren to remain anonymous, even if one of his disguises is compromised.
* HybridMonster: The drug has turned Ren into a hulking mish-mash of different beasts.

[[folder:Irene (Cold Shoulder)]]
A recently-recruited cape code-named Cold Shoulder due to her ice-based powers. She's added to the Donald-Ren BashBrothers to provide some versatility to the team.

* AnIcePerson: Irene can fire blasts of cold and freeze an area around her. She can also manifest a large ice construct with her inside, allowing her to engage in close combat.
* ElementalArmor: He biggest trick is sealing herself inside an ice golem, making her NighInvulnerable and super strong.

[[folder:Lucy Donovan (Hat Trick)]]
One of the capes recruited by the AHC during the Confluence, personally chosen to Apollo as the fourth member of his pet Donald-Ren-Irene team. While her magician-like powers don't particularly lend themselves to direct combat, she's invaluable in the support role. Her code name is Hat Trick.

* HatOfPower: Lucy's top hat can be used to store and retrieve any object. The objects come out in the exact same condition as they went in. She can apparently also unleash white doves from the hat that do what she commands them to.
* {{Expy}}: Of ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}, Lucy also being a MsFanservice with magical powers who uses a stage magician aesthetic.
* MagiciansAreWizards: Lucy bought an amateur magician's kit from a store, not realizing that the Confluence has imbued it with actual magic. Upon putting on the props, they bonded to her body (she can still take them off, but they won't work for anyone else) and turned out to have magic properties related to stage magic. Her cape can be used to cast illusions, her rings can bind anyone, her playing cards can be shaped as whatever she wants, and the scarves coming out of her sleeves can be used to grab people from a distance.
** {{Subverted}} slightly in that her hero identity made be based on a magician's motif but she establishes there's a difference between "real" magic and stage illusion.
* MsFanservice: Apollo selected her for Cyber Geek's team primarily for sex appeal. She ''is'' a fine support hero, but there were plenty of other options; Apollo was mostly looking for something who would look sexy.
* LoveTriangle: Beverly is able to clock that she has a crush on her teammate Cyber Geek who has a crush on Tori who has shown no romantic inclinations towards anyone.

!!!Champions' Congress

[[folder:Apollo]]
A highly-ambitious cape, whose power comes from a shard of divinity that, apparently, belonged to his namesake, the Apollo of Greek myth. He is kind of like a ComicBook/{{Superman}} wannabe with similar (but weaker) powers and mistaken belief in his own righteousness. He is a professional butt-kisser and careerist, playing the office politics game for ten years in order to get himself appointed to the Champions' Congress. He has gathered a group of loyal followers, who help him achieve his goals. Apollo arrogantly sees himself as the next Lodestar, the legendary hero of the past several decades.

* DeathEqualsRedemption: [[spoiler:After Balaam unleashes Fornax, Apollo realizes that he's done as a hero no matter what. He also sees that Fornax is gunning straight for him in his madness, which means that, for now, Fornax is ignoring everyone else. Thus, Apollo does his best to keep Fornax on his tail in order to give the other capes as much time as possible, even at the cost of his own life. After Tori manages to bring Ivan back from the brink, moments before Fornax beats Apollo to a pulp, Apollo offers to fly to Rookstone in order to stop Balaam from releasing dangerous metas. Unusual for this trope, he survives, although the Champions' Congress removes him from his position and punishes him for his part in this mess]].
* KnightTemplar: Apollo is disgusted by the AHC allowing supervillains to operate right under their noses and wants to do what heroes are meant to do - destroy villains.
* MeaningfulName: What better name for a {{Jerkass}} SmugSuper then referring to a member of a pantheon of the most famous examples of JerkassGods?
* PhysicalGod: Apollo's powers come from a shard of divinity from, apparently, the real Apollo.
* ThePowerOfTheSun: Sunlight (coupled with the shard of divinity) imbues Apollo with many powers, many of which are similar to ComicBook/{{Superman}}'s, including flight, EyeBeams, SuperStrength, and the ability to see through magical disguises.

[[folder:Helen (Lodestar)]]
A legendary superhero called Lodestar, whose power comes from a comet that hit her when she was nineteen. She's one of the most powerful metas in existence and the only one to join the AHC without an ulterior motive. She is the only cape that has managed to bring down Fornax decades prior. Since then, Ivan sees her as the quintessential hero, and the two of them have become close friends.

* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Helen worries about using her powers again, as doing it even once undoes all the aging she has done since then. Given that she has a daughter, she's worried how Penelope will react to her mommy suddenly looking like a nineteen-year-old girl. Even worse, when Penelope realizes that her mother is functionally immortal and can revert back to that youthful persona at will, effectively resetting all the aging "progress". [[spoiler:To her relief, Penelope takes it all in stride, although it's possible she's just too young to understand the ramifications]].
* BigGood: Helen AKA Lodestar is the most powerful superhero in the world as well as the founder of the Alliance of Heroic Champions.
* CannotSpitItOut: Neither Helen nor Ivan are able to say the real reason he keeps visiting her, knowing the realities of their situations and being mature enough to know that [[DatingCatwoman relationships like that never work out]].
* TheCape: The ultimate example of this in this 'verse. According to Ivan, every other cape got into the AHC for their own reasons, but only Lodestar ever did it just because it was the right thing to do.
* ClarkKenting: Helen is actually pretty bad at maintaining her secret identity and constantly slips up on details. But a side effect of her power is that no one is capable of putting the pieces together as the dots just refuse to connect in their brain, no matter how hard they try. The only ways for people to learn that Helen is Lodestar is to either witness the transformation or to have her tell them the truth. If, for example, Helen jumps behind a tree and Lodestar comes out instead, people will wonder where Helen went and be unable to make the connection.
* FlyingBrick: Lodestar is, basically, this world's female ComicBook/{{Superman}}. As far as anyone knows, she's unbeatable and the only one capable of taking down Fornax. [[spoiler:The first book's ending reveals that Nexus that learned that someone in TheMultiverse has managed to kill a Lodestar]].
* MagicMeteor: Helen became Lodestar when a comet fell on her and imbued her with great powers. Many have pointed out the similarities between rapidly-descending Lodestar and a falling comet.
* TheParagon: Helen is every bit as good, decent, and kind as she appears to be. Which contrasts her to many other heroes.
* PhysicalGod: In a world where actual gods are running around, Lodestar is still the strongest of anyone. At the very end of the book, [[spoiler:Nexus finds a universe where someone has successfully killed Lodestar--the first time that has ever happened ''in the entire multiverse''. Then again, the next novel reveals that this isn't the first time this has happened, it's just it's the first time someone witnessed it and lived to tell the tale, as a Lodestar's true death (as opposed to the death of the current host of the power) is so cataclysmic it results in the destruction of that entire universe in a matter of seconds. Many of Nexuses selves didn't escape in time]].
* RetiredBadass: After decades of fighting villains, Helen has been slowly pulling away from the public eye and barely shows up in person for the meetings of the Champions' Congress. She finally retires officially in order to free her Congress seat for Apollo. Helen lives a quiet suburban life with her daughter Penelope, occasionally visited by Ivan, whom Penelope treats as an HonoraryUncle. [[spoiler:Ivan turning back into Fornax forces her to come out of retirement]].
* SuperSpeed: Lodestar is quite possibly the fastest meta in the world, although spending a long time at superspeed makes her a little dizzy.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Helen can, potentially, live forever, although she can also choose to die naturally. All she has to do is never call to her power again, and she will be functionally human. However, every time she becomes Lodestar, her body resets to the same state she was in when the comet fell on her, as a nineteen-year-old girl. However, Helen is a mother now, so she's not sure she wants to outlive her daughter.
* WorldsStrongestWoman: Helen is the most powerful superhero by far, even stronger than Ivan.

[[folder:Quorum]]
One of the members of the Champions' Congress with thousands of distinct personalities in his head. Despite this, he is pretty level-headed and tends to be the uniting voice in the Congress.

* AlternateSelf: According to Nexus, there are no other Quorums in TheMultiverse, making him unique. [[spoiler:It's possible all the other Quorums' minds have somehow merged in his head, explaining the thousands of personalities]].
* LivingLieDetector: As Quorum puts it, a number of his personalities are masterful liars, which means he can easily spot another person lying. [[spoiler:This is how he knew that Apollo was planning something, so he deliberately sped up Apollo's rise to the Congress in order to be able to root out all of Apollo's accomplices]].
* MindHive: Quorum has thousands of personalities inside him.
* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: Nexus states that the version of Earth the hero hails from is the only one where he exists: the villain notes it's one of the only AlternateUniverse where he can't predict with total accuracy how events will turn out.]]
* SuperStrength: While it's not explicitly stated, it's implied that this is one of his powers, as [[spoiler:Apollo shoving him only causes him to take a few unsteady steps forward instead of being flung against the wall at bone-crushing speed]].

[[folder:Vernon (Professor Quantum)]]
The original MadScientist, except he's on the side of the capes. Now known as Professor Quantum, his experiments opened the can of worms, altering the laws of physics, thus allowing metahumans to exist. He founded the original SuperTeam, the Science Sentries, which was a precursor to the League of Metas and, eventually, the AHC. He spends most of his time in his private island lab, experimenting on something, only getting involved in AHC business when he absolutely has to. He typically calls in to Champions' Congress meetings. He returns to Ridge City and takes a more active role in AHC operations in the second book.

* AbsentMindedProfessor: Unlike other capes, Professor Quantum can't be bothered to actually fight crime personally. Instead, he acts as the scientific brains behind the AHC, producing much of their tech. He spends most of his time in his island lab. [[spoiler:He finally comes back to Ridge City aboard his heavily-armed boat at the end of the first book]]. Like the typical portrayal of a scientist, he's not very good with people and sees nothing wrong with having someone undergo surgery in order to enhance his abilities, while citing ''only'' a 22% chance of blindness as a result.
** The second book, however, progressively shows that its less he's absent-minded and more of an arrogant {{Jerkass}} ''especially'' where the New Science Sentries are concerned.
* {{Foil}}: to Doctor Mechaniacal. If it wasn't explicitly spelled out, one might think by behavior alone that the arrogant and aloof Vernon headed up the Guild while the more empathetic and caring Wade was in charge of the capes.
* GoodIsNotNice: Professor Quantum is the world's first superhero: that doesn't make him a NiceGuy by a ''long'' shot made more and more apparent in the second book.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Just barely (at least as far as the Heart of Gold aspect.) As noted above, he's cold, arrogant, and just barely cares about those who work for him. The main thing that qualifies him for this trope is that he leads the organization that fights against evil-doers.
* MadScientist: His inventions rival those of Doctor Mechaniacal, his (sort of) EvilCounterpart with the only other person said to be on his level is the supervillain and ruler of her own island nation Tyranny. [[spoiler: The third person is his former friend and colleague Alfred Settler who gained his own powers in the same accident as Professor Quantum.]]
* MassSuperEmpoweringEvent: Professor Quantum is THE first meta to ever exist, as it was one of his experiments that accidentally bent the laws of physics and allowed superhumans to exist.

!!!The New Science Sentries

[[folder:Austin (Agent Quantum)]]
The superstrong leader of the New Science Sentries, hand-picked by Professor Quantum to carry on his legacy. Austin cares deeply for his team and for the job of protecting the people.

* CannotSpitItOut: He's been attracted to Beverly since first laying eyes on her but can't seem to ask her out.
* GeniusBruiser: Despite being the team's muscle, Austin is also a good tactician. His main flaw is sticking too closely to Professor Quantum's training.
* TheLeader: Austin cares deeply for his team and even refuses to trade Tachyonic for a new team member when the latter screws up.
* LegacyCharacter: To Professor Quantum, who may or may not be his father, as they're stated to share some DNA.

[[folder:Kyle (Tachyonic)]]
The team's speedster and Austin's NumberTwo.

* BodyguardCrush: He develops feelings for Tori, possibly because to him she's a civilian who doesn't give a shit about superheroes and treats him like a normal person.
* RescueRomance: {{Deconstructed}}. Kyle and Tori met for all of three seconds when he rescued her from a robbery gone bad and [[NotWhatItLooksLike a photo just happened to capture the moment in a way that looked like this]] sparking internet rumors. The problem is that the [=AHC=] actively tries to avoid such rumors from starting because less scrupulous criminals may try to kidnap the civilian as leverage even if he or she had nothing to do with the heroes. Sure enough Tori ''does'' get kidnapped, by luck it was her and not an actual civilian but nevertheless [[EvenEvilHasStandards hammers home for her why the Guild exists]].
* SuperSpeed: While he's reasonably fast on his own, he'd never cut it as a top-tier superhero without Professor Quantum's devices that further boost his speed (although not nearly to Lodestar's level).

[[folder:Ike Pemberton (Presto)]]
The team's teleporter and resident smart-ass and show-off.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:With no way to stop Alfred Settler from slaughtering everyone, Ike teleports in front of Ellie, taking Alfred's deadly strike, and then uses the goggles Tori built to see into space, thus allowing him to teleport himself and Alfred there, with the effort alone likely killing him.]]
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ike always acts like a jerkass and a joker, but when he gets serious, you know that things are dire.
* TheScapegoat: Ike admits to Tori that this is his role on the team. If anything goes wrong, he gets blamed.
* {{Teleportation}}: Presto can teleport but only within his line-of-sight. He can also teleport other objects, but the size and power determine the effectiveness and strength required. Trying to teleport someone leagues above him would likely kill him.

[[folder:Ellie (Plasmodia)]]
The team's ranged attacker, able to fire beams of plasma.

* HandBlast: Ellie can shoot plasma beams out of her hands.

!!!Others

[[folder:Stalwart Iron]]
A robotic hero and one of Apollo's followers.

* JustAMachine: Apollo and the other heroes are rather dismissive of him, considering him nothing more than a helpful servant.
* TheMole: [[spoiler:He was actually built by Doctor Mechaniacal, who still has some control over him and uses him to spy on the capes]].

[[folder:Erinite]]
A hero made of living crystal, capable of growing crystal shards on his body and hurling them at enemies.

* {{Flight}}: Somehow, being a living crystal, Erinite is able to fly.
* GlowingEyes: Erinite's eyes glow green.
* SiliconBasedLife: Erinite is composed of living crystal.
* SpikeShooter: Erinite's main mode of attack. He grows crystal shards on his body and then shoots them off with great force towards the enemy.

!!Unaffiliated

[[folder:Chloe Henson (Cliché)]]
A barista working at the coffee shop across the street from Vendallia Industries. During the Confluence, she was given the power to make her words come true, as long as what she says is a commonly-used saying. During the climax, she provisionally calls herself Cliché. She has learned to pattern her speech without using old sayings, just in case.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Tori becomes increasingly glad that [[NiceGirl Chloe]] ended up with her powers instead of someone else when it becomes clear how powerful and dangerous her ability could be. Chloe herself is actually freaked out and careful about using her abilities out fear of abusing them. [[spoiler: According to Nexus, a being who takes his greatest pleasure from watching destruction and chaos, outright tells her that many versions of her embrace her powers. And while some become heroes, many others become villains and the greatest (read: worst) of them are "always a delight to watch.”]]
* {{Cliche}}: Chloe's power only works on phrases that are of this type. She can only keep one active at a time, so she usually defaults to "A penny saved is a penny earned", which acts as a minor cash flow, as long as she keeps herself from buying something she really wants (cash only, and it has to be something she can actually afford and really wants).
* WordsCanBreakMyBones: While it seems that her power is marginal at best, she quickly learns during the climax that it can be destructive and deadly under the right circumstances:
** "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" can potentially give a person SuperStrength, as long as that person is willing to endure enough of a beating to increase his or her strength proportionally.
** "Liar, liar, pants on fire" does exactly what it sounds like, which, apparently, also works on {{Badass Boast}}s (since they're usually exaggerations). Now imagine someone's pants bursting into flame in the middle of a battle.
** "Fortune favors the bold" drastically increases a person's luck, as long as he or she does something bold. In Chloe's case, [[spoiler:she manages to kill a powerful meta-criminal through a string of accidents]].
** "It's just a hop, skip, and a jump away" allows her to teleport anywhere she wishes, as long as she performs the mentioned actions (and knows the difference between the three).
** "Beauty is only skin deep" causes a layer of her skin to melt away turning her into a drop-dead gorgeous woman though whether its based on her opinions of beauty or a concensious of everyone in the immediate area is unclear. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is similar, only she appears different to everyone based on ''their'' preferences
** [[spoiler: "Anything you can do, I can do better." Allows her to duplicate abilities and skills, but she gets a pretty nasty psychic backlash along with it as all that person's knowledge suddenly appears in her head. This can even extend to ''meta-human'' abilities as demonstrated when she and Beverly starts experimenting with the former copying the later's powers as "practice."]]
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: [[spoiler: Her villain self in alternate universes is named Edict.]]

[[folder:Nexus]]
A powerful interdimensional meta, whose actions are chaotic and unpredictable. According to Ivan, Nexus could have been a guild member, were he willing to follow the Code and pay his dues. A such, he just pops in whenever he wishes and leaves just as suddenly.

* DimensionalTraveler: Nexus appears to be able to travel through TheMultiverse at will and even perceive every world in it at once. [[spoiler:The ending of the first book implies that he's actually multiple beings with a single mind]]. He can also open tiny portals in order to spy on people from a distance. He has great interest in this particular universe, as, according to him, no other universe has a Quorum or a Stasis.
* EvilCounterpart: To Quorum in an "Evil {{Foil}}" manner: Nexus is a DimensionalTraveler and TheDreaded with [[spoiler:dozens of [[AlternateSelf Alternate Selves]] sharing a {{hivemind}} as opposed to Quorum who also has a hivemind but there's only one version in the entirety of TheMultiverse]]
* ItAmusedMe: Nexus' primary, if not ''only'', motivation. Sometimes, he will intentionally cause trouble for both heroes and villains simply to stir things up when he feels things are getting too boring.
* PrisonEscapeArtist: No prison can hold Nexus for long. Eventually, he just vanishes and reappears somewhere else. Presumably, him being a DimensionalTraveler means he simply pops out of this universe and pops back in elsewhere.
* UnexplainedRecovery: Nexus has been killed at least once before, but he always comes back sometime later. [[spoiler:It's implied he shares a HiveMind with his [[AlternateSelf alternate selves]], so, when one dies, then another arrives to take his place]].

[[folder: Captain Bullshit]]
A prankster and "artist" whose work are what he calls "absurdist abstract expressionism". A RealityWarper, he escapes Rookstone during the Ridge City Riots and returns several months later to show off his new pieces.

* AntiVillain: He's an artist not a criminal and thus not interest in causing pain or suffering, or gaining wealth or power. In fact his art pieces are more or less, according to him, to add an unexpected twist to people's everyday lives, injecting a little excitement into tedious humdrum of normal every days.
* NoodleIncident: Why and ow he ended up in Rookstone is not clear, only that it was because one of his art pieces caused harm to civilians and whatever the heroes did to get him to the prison and to stay there can only work once.
* RealityWarper: An insanely powerful one that works on a world-wide scale, to the point where he's left alone after his escape simply because trying to do so would end in a great deal of hero and civilian casualties.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Since they escaped during the Ridge City Riots, [=AHC=] hadn't been able to find any of the Rookstone escapes through science or magic. Captain Bullshit confirms he "gifted" them protection until they made themselves noticeable: he in turns states this is a gift to the heroes as well. After all, what point would it serve for them to capture the escapes when they're freshly free and weak as opposed to be given time to rebuild and actually give them [the heroes] a challenge.
** This is also the general theme of his "absurdist abstract expressionism" artwork: to shake things up and create unexpected roadblocks (literally in one case), allowing people's lives to take unexpected turns if they so choose.
* WeHaveBecomeComplacent: Its implied to be the true point of his artwork: humanity has become accustom to the general insanity of living in a world of superpowers, magic, and aliens to the point of treating an AlienInvasion like a solar eclipse or fireworks display. His art is inject some chaos into people's lives so they'll remember to "[[TheCatchphrase expect the unexpected]]".

[[folder:Wendel Worthington/[[spoiler:Alfred Settler]]]]
A strange individual with the mind of a metagenius on par with Doctor Mechaniacal, Professor Quantum, and Tyranny.

* MagnificentBastard: Apollo is a masterful schemer and liar, ingratiating himself in with members of the Champions' Congress in order to, one day, replace the retiring Lodestar. [[spoiler:He secretly works with Balaam to enact their plan to take over their respective organizations in order to get back to the "golden age" of superheroes and villains, without all the red tape and a so-called peace. Unfortunately for Apollo, he turns out to be not quite crafty enough to see through Balaam's deception, who easily outwits him]].
* MeaningfulName: What better name for a {{Jerkass}} SmugSuper then refering to a member of a panetheon of the most famous examples of JerkassGods?

* ButNotTooEvil: The Guild was established as a way of keeping meta criminals in check. Via various tests and trials, they ruthlessly eliminate anyone deemed too selfish, greedy, and/or sociopathic in order to avoid bringing down the wrath of the AHC.

* PunchClockVillain

* MagnificentBastard: Balaam is known as a schemer and [[spoiler:has orchestrated the events of the final third of ''Forging Hephaestus''. He initially cooperates with Apollo, but then betrays the cape when it's convenient]].

A modern day ThievesGuild of sorts that exists as a haven to metas who don't wish to be swooped up by the AHC and used as capes. While not all are criminals, the guild was established as a way to keep meta criminals from going too far and thus bringing down the (very destructive) wrath of the Alliance of Heroic Champions.

* ButNotTooEvil: The Guild was established as a way of keeping meta criminals in check. Via various tests and trials, they ruthlessly eliminate anyone deemed too selfish, greedy, and/or sociopathic in order to avoid bringing down the wrath of of AHC.

* Foil: to Doctor Mechaniacal. If it wasn't explicitly spelled out, one might think by behavior alone that the arrogant and aloof Vernon headed up the Guild while the more empathetic and caring Wade was in charge of the capes.