Characters: Triomphe
Real Name: Jean Luc Tréville
Occupation: Agent of the French Government, adventurer
Identity: Known to the general public
Legal Status: Citizen of France with no criminal record
Place of Birth: Lupiac, France
Known relatives: Pierre Tréville a.k.a. The Musketeer (father, deceased), Jalila Alloula aka Naab (mother, deceased), Evelyn Samuel Tréville aka E.Vee (half sister)
Group Affiliation: T.A.S.K.
Powers and Abilities: Due to the combination of his father's microbes and over three decades of suspended animation in a radiation saturated suspenso chamber, Triomphe has developed superhuman abilities. Triomphe's body has surpassed the pinnacle of natural human physical potential. His strength, endurance, agility, speed, reflexes, durability, and healing are beyond what humans could naturally achieve. The long acting microbes have hardened his bones and muscle tissues and decreased his reaction time. They also enhanced all of his metabolic functions and greatly reduce the build-up of fatigue poisons in his muscles, giving him endurance in excess of an ordinary human being. Triomphe and his sister are extremely resistant to the effects of radiation.
Triomphe is an excellent gymnast, fencer and hand-to-hand combatant having been trained by his father, mother and some of the greatest fighters the French military could provide.
Brief personal history: Jean Luc Tréville is the son of deceased French national hero and T.A.S.K. member The Musketeer. The Musketeer was the second hero to join T.A.S.K. after it was granted its U.N. charter in 1964 and he served with distinction and honor for many years. The Musketeer was not only physically formidable; he also possessed a gifted scientific mind. A pioneer in field of cellular microbiology, the elder Tréville employed his radical theories in the creation of microbes to counter the effects of the acute radiation syndrome he often found himself suffering after battling his nemesis Death Cloud (a French soldier turned nuclear nightmare). Pierre also created the "suspenso chamber," an invention he would seal himself in to effect accelerated healing while in a state of suspended animation.
At some point during the mid 70's he secretly married former Algerian freedom fighter, mercenary and former foe, Jalila Alloula aka Naab (the Fang). Their son Jean Luc was born soon after. Jean Luc was a sickly baby but quickly strengthened after his first birthday. Pierre did not hide his identity as a costumed adventurer from his son and Jean Luc idolized his father along with an entire fascinated nation. He could not wait for the day when his father would pass the mantle on to him. His parents separated for a time and his half sister Evelyn was born of a brief romance his father shared with French police detective Emilie Samuel. When Emilie was killed in the line of duty Evelyn came to live with the Trévilles and Jean Luc's parents reconciled. The children grew to love each other dearly and would and grew up listening to tales of their parents' exploits and learning armed and unarmed combat from two masters; Jean Luc often exclaiming that he was training to be the next Musketeer.
After many years as a hero, Pierre Tréville retired from adventuring with the intention of dedicating himself to his family. A month into his retirement the family was attacked at their home by his longtime foes Death Cloud, Crimson Diabolique and Phobius. Death Cloud had recently undergone a procedure that greatly increased his powers and Tréville quickly predicted the battle's outcome. While Jalila battled the villains, Pierre took the children to his sub basement laboratory where he injected them with massive doses of his special microbes and locked them away in suspenso chambers. He barricaded the lab and returned to the battle just as an out of control Death Cloud achieved critical mass and detonated; the explosion taking the life of the hero, his wife and two of the villains (Phobius world perish and Death Cloud would be resurrected later). The area surrounding the explosion became a radioactive wasteland; so radioactive that no search was ever mounted as none believed that anything could have survived. While hundreds of feet below the ground, two young children slept a cold, dreamless sleep, safe in their suspenso chambers, while their father's microbes fought the effects of any radiation reaching them. Not only did the microbes battle any effects of radiation. They thrived, they multiplied ... they transformed.
The siblings would stay suspended in their chambers for the next 35 years until a government mission to recover a secret Cold War file believed to have been in The Musketeer's possession, uncovered the hero's children deep in their secure bunker. They were moved to a government facility (one of the Musketeer's old bases while he worked for the French) and awakened. Amazingly while three decades had passed since their father placed them into the chambers, the pair barely aged 10 years. Jean Luc was now near 16 and Evelyn was a mere girl of 12. Incredibly, despite their long incubation within the radiation saturated suspenso chambers and the constant interaction of the microbes, the two were in perfect physical and mental health. Further observation would show that not only were they healthy but they now possessed superhuman abilities.
The children became wards of the State and upon visiting their parents' memorial site were devastated to learn that Death Cloud was still alive. Jean Luc informed their handlers that he intended to follow in his father's footsteps and use his abilities in the service of France and the world. He was trained by some of the best combat trainers and battle strategists the French military had at its disposal and with his extraordinary gifts he quickly surpassed all challenges. He even learned fencing from one of his father's old sparring partners (although he never quite matched his father's skill). Three years later the French government announced that it was going to debut a new hero, born from the fires of the old; the son of their beloved Musketeer was finally claiming his father's mantle. Donning his father's Musketeer jacket and rapier and armed with his mother's twin Naab blades in homage, Jean Luc Tréville was introduced to the world -- not as the Musketeer, but as Triomphe (Triumph).
He was welcomed into the world of superheroes by none other than John Henry himself.
Triomphe is now the hero that the people of France cheer and revere, as beloved as his father before him. Celebrated and idolized on television and in magazines (he's routinely been awarded a spot on People Magazine's Most Beautiful and various Sexiest Man Alive lists), he futilely attempts to avoid the spotlight as he carries on his father's legacy as protector of France in a world he is only now learning to understand, and prepares himself for the day he comes face to face with the monster who killed his parents.
Written by Damion Gonzales
Character design by Sean Isaakse