Nuke’s origin is a mystery. Rumors abound, ranging from him being a mutated American soldier from nuclear tests in the 1950s (least credible) to a radioactive monster created and controlled by the Mysterious Hooded Man on a mission of vengeance (most credible because its source is Gentleman, and he generally knows about things like this). Only this is clear: his name came from the Pulp City Planet’s reports on thefts at military installations. 

About 2 years ago, Pulp City was hit by a series of raids on military laboratories and warehouses. Prototype weapons and chipsets disappeared and never surfaced in anywhere else in the world. The only clue about the thief was the atomic bomb levels of radiation contaminating the bases. So the Planet dubbed the thief “Nuke.” Not one of these stolen pieces was ever tracked down by customs or federal agencies so many believed they were still somewhere around Pulp City. The speculation about what kind of nefarious purpose they were being used for fueled wilder and wilder rumors.

After the fourth raid, military authorities asked two defenders of Pulp City, Iron Train and Chronin, to stop the madness. They set an ambush. The Heroes went to guard a prototype of mechanized infantry armor in a military base in the desert north of the city. Around midnight, a massive electro-magnetic pulse fried most of the scanners and sensors. The heroic duo jumped out of hiding to face the unknown threat. They saw a glowing, human-like form clad in steel armor who welcomed them with two massive blasts of greenish energy. Deflecting the attack with her sword, Chronin jumped at Nuke and managed to slice its chest plate with her sharp-as-a-razor blade. The creature’s body expanded beyond its limits, and the heroine was sent flying as Nuke disappeared in blinding flash. Various Heroes encountered Nuke a few more times, but with no more success than Iron Train and Chronin had in stopping him.

The arrival of Nuke is usually heralded by a massive surge in radiation and the jamming of electronic devices. It never speaks but it is folly to doubt Nuke’s intelligence. Just stare into his eyes and see the maniacal mind behind those burning pools of plasma. The nuclear being uses a whole variety of radioactive blasts and rays, but Nuke is not invincible. When wounded or enraged, its body loses stability and the human-like form. Moreover, Nuke is known to have disappeared from the battlefield when the odds are bad. Discretion is the better part of valor, as they say.