Clockwork King

"Don't worry, Penny! I'm here to protect you! I'll keep you safe from everything! Safe from villains, from Rikti, from heroes, from boys! You'll be my little Clockwork Princess, safe and happy forever!"

- The Clockwork King

The Clockwork King, originally named Russel Brandit, is a early established villain in the M.M.O. City of Heroes. He fancies himself a master inventor yet he frequently comes off as a scatter-brain. Even a scatter-brain can be dangerous in a giant clockwork automated body.

First Sighting
The Clockwork were first sighted in 2002 - at first a curiosity as the mechanized soldiers roamed the streets. Soon the Clockwork were an annoyance, stealing bits of wire, foundation debris and raiding construction sites. When one police officer decided to put his foot down and stop the raids he met his end to the diligent machines, which barely slowed down due to the interference. The police clamped down on the dwarf-sized gear-wound soldiers once they saw they were capable of murder and began to organize task-forces with local heroes of Paragon City. The hero and police officer Blue Steel, lead a raid on what was confirmed to be these Clockworks' headquarters, an old, thought abandoned factory. Inside though, Blue Steel and his men found the factory had been repurposed and they had found the manufacturing plant of the Clockwork. Directing the operation was a young man in ragged cloths, presumably homeless, or previously homeless. The man shortly noticed the police and commanded his army of wind-up minions attack. Blue Steel lost his men in the fight. In his rage, Blue Steel smashed the Clockwork to literal pieces and beat the young-man to a pile of broken bones. Exhausted, Blue Steel radioed in the situation then had to leave to fight a fire near-by.

By the time the rest of the police-force and paramedics arrived the man was gone, as were a few Clockwork. Blue Steel was shocked, his general conclusion was that the man was somehow still alive despite his broken state and the Clockwork had bought him off to safety. Some time later the Clockwork would re-emerge, this time lead by a massive Clockwork, with a brain-in-a-jar perched on-top-of it. The massive villain called himself "The Clockwork King" and with him at the reigns the Clockwork organized into a blight on Paragon City.