: Maximillian von Lindenburg
Age: 40
Job: CEO of MaxTech, philanthropist
Affilation: secretly V.E.N.O.M.
Moniker: The Modern Makhai
Backstory:
Son to the legendary Werther von Lindenburg, the renowned hero of old Techknight, Maximilian grew enthralled by his father's exploits in the early age of heroes, seeing those larger than life shoulders carry the burdens of the world as if they were nonexistent. Despite Werther's somewhat frail appearance and quieter personality, Max understood from his very childhood that his father was strong, the strongest even! Villains, tyrants, rogue mercenaries from the nth dimension, Techknight took them all on with his ever-improving gadgets and colorful combat carapace.
Prepared from a young age to fill in his father's shoes as the next head of the conglomerate of tech companies under his father's employ, it is needless to say the boy led a quite uneventful life. That was until the last days of Techknight's very own golden age. Obviously being a public figure meant the von Lindenburg family had made quite a few enemies due to his dad's activities, and while the armies from Dr. Legion or the unstoppable onslaught of the rampaging Roid Raider could not reach them, some small, no-name crook eventually did. Max was 13 when his mother was kidnapped and the situation blown over throughout all the media, he watched with sparks in his eyes as his dad flew into the building, and he saw with ghastly shock as he walked out carrying his mother's lifeless body.
That day Maximilian understood his father was not
truly strong.
In all his life, no matter how many superpowered aliens he crashed into, no matter how many ridiculously named criminals he stopped, nothing could ever graze the Techknight pride, he would laugh off beatings, get up, shake the dust off and try again. That was his father, a man who never gave up, who never conceded defeat, that could lose a single battle, but would survive the war, even triumph over it. Seeing the pathetic shadow of that man after what happened, though? It opened his eyes.
That no-name goon killed his father more than any other supervillain could ever hope to. It showed to all that the cracks in his armor were plenty, not few. Werther von Lindenburg, the man who allegedly never bent, was not fit to survive the war, much less fight it. That man, that very man he loved with arms that could carry the whole world, with might that would scare the fiercest warlord, he was nothing now.
All it took was a single slip.
In a world of strength, you can never be caught off-guard, you can never expose your flaws to your enemies, and if they discover any, you must iron them out until your weak points become your strong points. You should not rely on gadgets forever, you should not take time off instead of improving, you should not flaunt your loved ones, your family, your
weakness in live television and expect to make it through. Maximilian respects the man his father was, he loves him with every fiber of his being, just as his father thought of his mother.
Love was exploitable.
Love was weakness.
So Maximilian conquered his.
Ever since his father's tragic suicide at his 18th year of life, Maximilian took control of MaxTech's operations, diversifying even more their projects by finally breaking the ban on militaristic projects and "less humanitarian causes" his father had established before him, cultivating his influence within many circles and lining his pockets even more.
It was due to this he finally found a man who shared his vision for the world, even though with quite a few caveats. A man who would create the world of survival where strengths clashed, eager to prove themselves. A man who could be bothered with the political details and lengthy paperwork that would come from such a world, so he had not to bother anymore. A man he quickly learned was a valuable ally in his pursuits.
That is why he serves.
That is why he is...
V.E.N.O.M!!!
Powers:
Maximilian's unnatural strength comes from the very structure of his body's muscular and skeletal systems, while his bones are much denser than normal to withstand the pressure of his bulky musculature, the true crux of his powerset come from the very fibers weaving his muscles. It functions much similarly to armor, where it's heightened durability protects the body by dispersing and absorbing a great deal of the kinetic energy of any impact, while taking minimal damage itself, granting Lindenburg a feasibly invulnerable body, impervious to damage from firearms and bladed weaponry alike, while it's added mass contribute to the man's strength, increasing it a hundredfold.
That, however, is not the most unique quality of his distinguished genes, for his muscles to not simply dissipate kinetic energy. Rather, they absorb and store it, allowing Max to unleash controlled bursts of energy within close proximity, needing only to charge a nearby body - organic or not - or simply unleash it from his own. The radius for these abilities is admiteddly short, totaling around 15 feet around him, anything charged leaving that radius would then immediately suffer the release of all stored power.
Skills:
Being the head of a large conglomerate of companies under the MaxTech banner, Max had to learn from a young age how to charismatically bring out the best on each and every of those he employs, as well as take multiple classes on business, economics and administration. While quite capable as a CEO, however, his true interests lie as far from his work as possible.
An admirer of warrior cultures from the world over, he developed an interest in martial arts from a very young age, and dedicated his fortune and free time to honing his own abilities in as many forms of armed and unarmed combat one could feasibly take given his schedule. While he may claim mastery of fewer styles than he would prefer, Maximilian von Lindenburg's greatest skill is indubitably his martial prowess, capable of mixing and matching multiple culturally distinct styles and adapting to combat situations on the fly.
Equipment:
Despite being the owner of a plethora of technological companies, the Modern Makhai's interests far diverge from his late father's fairly fanatical refinement of gadgets, armor suits and anything of the sort. He believes in achieving everything with one's own strength instead. Thus his personally funded project, which also interests many a military, is a simple substance that allows any human to activate between 90 to 100 percent of their fibers simultaneously with no drawbacks whatsoever, greatly increasing the strength and effectiveness of any soldier, and even moreso Maximilian's own power. Currently there are a few side effects, notably the skin and hair of the subject lose all pigment for the duration, much like a corpse's, and it burns through their energy reserves quicker than average, lasting only a few minutes for an average human before they simply collapse from exhaustion.
BANDED TOGETHER FROM THE FAR CORNERS OF THE WORLD AND BEYOND, THE VALIANT HEROES OF THE JUSTICE ASSOCIATION DEDICATE THEMSELVES TO THE DEFENSE OF AMERICA AND THE EARTH AGAINST THREATS TOO POTENT FOR ANY ONE GUARDIAN TO OVERCOME! 
