Niles Hermington the Third, named for his grandfather,
was born to John and Elanor Hermington in the quiet town of Stratfordshire
in 1979. John Hermington was a coal miner, not an especially gifted man
in the sciences, but he had always taken inspiration from great men like
Einstein and Darwin, and passed this on to his only son. Elanor Hermington
had left school at a young age and became a nurse, and taught her son what
Biology she knew in the hopes that one day he would go further than either
she or her husband had managed.
At a young age, Niles recognised that his parents cared deeply for him
and wished to see him succeed in life, and he had no desire to let them
down. He threw himself into his studies, taking time out only to be with
his loving parents and to enjoy the science-fiction novels and films he
so loved. Young Niles would sit there and watch Star Wars time and
time again, pondering the physics that allowed the ships to go and the
biology that allowed such astounding creatures to exist. He also loved
what few superhero comics he ever saw - in a world that did not publish
many of them, he found the tales of hope and the sharp wits of such characters
as Golden Glory, The Dark Avenger; and The Indestructable
Goliath inspirational.
Niles advanced through his schooling faster than anyone his teachers had
ever seen, showing a particular flair for the sciences and biology. At
the age of 19 he began working on his PhD at Oxford university in the field
of Evolutionary and Ecological Biochemistry. Now, at age 21, he continues
his work, having surpassed many of his teachers in knowledge and talent.
He lives in an apartment in Oxford, paid for by his grant, but still has
little or no social life. He is a klutzy, but lovable, geek.
Recently, Niles has exhibited unearthly charisma -
women throw themselves at him (as do some men), people are all too happy
to help him any way that they can and everyone is nice to him all the time.
Suffice to say that this was quite a shock to a science geek like Niles,
who had spent most of his life out of the public eye, and had had little
to no contact with women before.
Apart from that, he began to be extremely lucky. He won Lotto three times on three tickets - in the same week as he won an airline ticket to Hong Kong in a competition he has no recollection of entering, discovered a
new antibiotic by accident and was dealt 12 completely unbeatable hands in a row at the weekly faculty bridge game.
Through study of his and his new friends' powers, he has come up with an
idea for a formula which he believes will give him shapeshifting abilities
similar to those of his lover Samantha. As soon as he gets back to Oxford,
he's going to try it out.
He feels a slight kinship with Ralph, who is also very intellectual, and
with Dean who also doesn't seem to fit in anywhere. Matt intimidates Niles
- he's very gruff and direct. A likeable fellow, but more confrontational
than Niles would like. Lindsay worries Niles firstly because she's a professional assassin, and secondly because she seems a little uncomfortable with the group, and Niles doesn't want to see anyone put out. Finally, Niles feels so lucky to have found Samantha - not only is she dynamite in bed, but
she's easy going and likes to have fun, which Niles hasn't had the time to do all his life. Love turns up in the most unlikely places....
Niles started out with the thought "I always play
a Shape-shifter because I personally dream of shedding this life for a
better one. But I want to do something different - how about if the better
life came to me??". So I started with the template for myself - the Nerd.
Niles, like me, is a biologist and a philosopher-scientist. He dreams of
a better world for all, despite the knowledge that such a thing cannot
be. Then he got powers - astounding luck and unfathomable likeableness
really will get you anything you want in the world, I reason. From there,
it has simply been a task of roleplaying myself with kickass powers, which
I have found very rewarding. Niles has been very easy to turn into a human
being becuase he embodies so much of what I'd like life to be like. Thankyou,
Benji, for the opportunity to taste of a dream.
All Pictures (C) Marvel comics Inc - yes, they are pictures of Bruce Banner, aka the Incredible Hulk, who was partly the inspiration for Niles.
Page by Jaime
Lawrence
