Michael White
Origin: Natural Archetype:
Tanker
Power Sets/Powers:
·Invulnerability
·Super
Strength
Levels: Unknown
Current Whereabouts: Galaxy City (in Freedom Court, directly
in front of the Freedom Corps HQ)
Group Affiliation: The Regulators (Leader); "Surviving Eight"
Benefits/Rewards
·Training
History
The son of a gang enforcer, Michael White was determined to make a difference
in Paragon
City. He joined the local police force, but eventually realized that he could do
far more good as one of the city’s superheroes. Using training techniques from around the world, Michael was able to
dramatically increase his strength and resilience. Sometime in the 1970s, he left the police force and assumed the costumed
identity of the Back Alley Brawler. The popular and charismatic crime fighter gained prominence as the leader of the Regulators,
a hero organization that battled gangs and eventually launched a sustained war on drugs.
Using his police contacts, "White worked closely with Paragon
City law enforcement to make sure that every criminal he and the Regulators brought
to justice would see conviction in a court of law. Of course it didn't always work out that way, but more often than not,
Regulator captives (and there were a lot of them) did their time in prison. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be making much
of a difference. Certainly crime rates went down, but the drugs continued to make their way onto the streets and into the
hands of anyone who wanted them."
Under White's leadership, the Regulators teamed with the Dawn Patrol to destroy
drugs at their source. "They launched a series of controversial attacks in South America and Central
Asia, burning coca and poppy fields to the ground. These assaults, while popular in the US,
were not very well received abroad, with over a dozen nations forbidding members of both hero organizations from ever setting
foot or flying over their sovereign territory again."
Ironically, the Back Alley Brawler's attempts to destroy the drug supply actually
increased the drug problem in Paragon City.
"The dramatic, albeit temporary, decline in imported narcotics merely left a void that a cartel of chemical engineers rushed
to fill. With cocaine and heroin in short supply, the streets soon found themselves awash in a new, laboratory made drug:
Superadine, or Supes as it became known on the street. Supes was eventually shown to be a modified
version of soldier enhancement formulas developed by the US Army during World War II. When injected, it gives a sense of profound
confidence and euphoria along with increased endurance and strength. Beyond these seeming benefits, it is also a mild hallucinogen
and powerfully addictive. It was no great surprise that Supes made its first appearance in Paragon
City.
"Throughout the mid-eighties, Supes became a more and more popular
drug, and despite the Regulators' best efforts, it continued to proliferate in the streets of Paragon
City. There seemed to be no obvious, organized force behind the drug's distribution.
Dealers were simply waking up and finding stashes of the serum in their homes. With no distribution and money trail to follow,
it was impossible to get to the source of the problem. Paragon City
became a very dark, gritty place to live. Despite the growing strength of the national economy, crime (both street and super
villain) continued to rise."
The Regulators would not relent and continued to search for the source of Supes.
With the aid of the Midnight Squad, the Back Alley Brawler located a secret Supes laboratory. However, after infiltrating
the lab and capturing most of the staff, White realized that it was, in fact, a high-tech research facility. White called
in the Freedom Phalanx, who discovered that the scientists were studying the effects of Supes on addicts. The researchers
learned that "in less than 1% of those addicted to Supes, the human brain undergoes a radical alteration. The result is the
creation of a new kind of sense - the ability to see, and even travel to other dimensions. This amazing psychic feat had long
been theorized, as had the existence of alternate realities. The researchers had proven the theories true. Although the process
drove the addicts quite mad, it also showed them whole other worlds; worlds similar, but yet different than our own."
White and the Statesman agreed that the world should not benefit from the Supes'
discoveries, which had ruined the lives of so many. They vowed to take this secret with them to their graves. However, just
a few years later, a former Freedom Phalanx technician named Dr. Brian Webb discovered other methods for reaching these alternate
dimensions, making White's vow obsolete.
The Back Alley Brawler eventually went into retirement, presumably sometime
in the late 1980s. However, he reappeared to fight bravely alongside the Statesman and others when the Rikti invaded Paragon
City. One of the world’s most prominent surviving heroes, the Back Alley
Brawler has now dedicated himself to training aspiring crimefighters.
