John Corben

John Corben is an ex-mercenary that has been altered with a Kryptonite powered heart. He is the alter-ego of Metallo.

Early History
John Corben was born in Bakerline on the outskirts of Metropolis, the older of two children born to parents Edward and Megyn who immigrated from Wales. His father was an engineer and his mother a simple housewife. When he was 12, John's father was killed in an accident and his mother was forced into the workplace to support him and his younger brother Steven who was seven.

Pratically raising his brother because his mother was too busy trying to put food on the table, it wasn't long before John joined the local gangs to help supplement her income. Megyn tried to do her best to keep John on the straight and narrow but in order to make ends meet, she couldn't turn down the money he brought in. Despite his involvement in the gangs, John was determined to keep that world away from Steven. Unfortunately, in an effort to keep up with his brother, the younger boy enlisted in the life, entreating the gang leader to take him on over John's objections.

John tried to keep Steven out of trouble but his brother was not cut out to be a street kid. One night, after a car jacking gone wrong, Steven was shot and killed by a terrified citizen, trying to defend himself. Megyn never forgave John and threw him out of the house.

Military Service
Guilty over his brother's death, John enlisted in the army. When he was filling out the application forms and the questionairre for the psych test, it appeared John fit a particular personality type.

Instead of the Marines, John was inducted into a more specialist military training course focusing his skills on assasinations. He spent the next decade working for the government in black ops, eventually entering the private sector after leaving the service to farm out his abilities to the highest bidder.

Metallo
A year after he he had gone private, he ws recruited by Intergang and Bruno Mannheim. Intergang fit John very well and it wasn't long before he rose up in the ranks to become Mannheim's right hand man. When arrested following the interference of Superman when he was attempting to silence Lois Lane, Mannheim was there to bail him out.

Shortly after, John was visited by someone claiming to be from LuthorCorp, offering him participation in an experimental surgery that would enhance his skills. John refused.

However, it did not stop the mysterious stranger from drugging him and taking him anyway. John woke up weeks later in one of Mannheim's research facilities, sporting a kryptonite powered heart. Fearful that Mannheim was somehow involved and might attempt to dissect him, John turned to Luthor who offered him a way to find out who had done this to him, since the stranger had lied about being a LuthorCorp's employee.

With nothing left to lose, John now has a new master but a secret agenda of his own to escape his monstrous state.

Vital Statistics
Age: 34

Height: 6ft

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Blue

Family:
 * Edward - Father (deceased)
 * Megyn - Mother
 * Steven - Brother (deceased)

Race: Human

Distinguishing Marks/Features:
 * Tattoos on both arms.
 * Kryptonite power heart visible on chest

Place of Birth: Bakerline, Metrpolis

Skills/Powers/Abilities
His kryptonite heart provides him with a high degree of protection from physical and energy attacks. He has enhanced strength, endurance and agility. Because his heart is powered by kryptonite, he is also able to defend himself against Superman.

His military training also makes him a skilled combatant in hand to hand combat as well as an expert in weapons such as knives, guns and explosives.