Origami was one of Malleus' Man-Melds.
History
Origami was once an ordinary man named Chris who was happily married to his wife Juniper. Under unrevealed circumstances, Chris gained the ability to fold space in order to teleport himself over great distances. Chris initially viewed his power as a great gift, but soon discovered it came with a cost. The more Chris used his power, the more he would suffer from increasingly severe nosebleeds and headaches. The situation seemed hopeless since conventional medicine could not reverse Chris' deteriorating health.[1]
Chris and Juniper were then contacted by Malleus, a brilliant geneticist who claimed he could cure Chris' condition. In exchange for this aid, Chris would use his power to occasionally help Malleus. Chris and Juniper agreed to this deal and were transported to Transformation Station, a secret space station were Malleus conducted his experiments. Amazed by the station's resources, the couple believed Malleus could keep his promise and decided to live on Transformation Station full time. Soon after, Chris began working for Malleus, who named him Origami and then inducted him into the Man-Melds, crewmembers who had been empowered by Malleus.[1]
However, Malleus was not as benevolent as he seemed. He was in fact a criminal scientist who created the Man-Melds as mercenaries to be hired by mobsters, oppressive governments and other unscrupulous parties. Hence, Malleus' promise of a cure was to earn Origami's trust to exploit him former own ends. Origami's power was especially useful as a back up to Malleus' rocketship Doctor Moreau, which regularly ferried personnel and supplies from Earth to Transformation Station. Origami began to question the ethics of the missions Malleus was sending him on. However, Juniper convinced Chris that supporting Malleus' questionable activities in the short term was worth getting the cure to save his life.[1]
This status quo ended due to the armored hero Hardware, who stowed away on the Doctor Moreau to board Transformation Station and bring Malleus to justice for his crimes. Soon discovered by the Man-Melds, Hardware found himself imprisoned, but soon freed himself by blasting out of the station and into space. Malleus ordered Origami to join Barnacle Bill and Melt in taking Hardware away from Transformation Station before he caused more damage. Origami questioned if Hardware was really a threat, which renewed his doubts about Malleus' sincerity. Juniper encouraged her husband to don his spacesuit and join the battle though she secretly began to share his mistrust of Malleus.[1] [2]
Confronting Hardware in space, Origami teleported himself, his allies and the hero to the Moon, home to more Man-Melds, the Crater People.[1] Hardware was quickly overwhelmed by these new odds,but Origami could not appreciate this impending victory as he suffered the worst headache and nosebleed yet.[1] Noticing this, Hardware radioed Origami and persuaded him to agree a truce.[2] During this parley, Hardware quickly explained that the Preventive Measures Agency (PMA) had dispatched a weapons satellite to destroy Transformation Station.[2] The Doctor Moreau was stolen U.S. government property, and the PMA had been authorized to use any means necessary to ensure the rocketship was no longer in enemy hands.[1]
Fearing for his wife, Origami convinced Barnacle Bill and Melt to help Hardware save everyone on Transformation Station. Origami then overcome his weakness enough to teleport them all back the vicinity of the station, which was already under attack. This would prove Origami's last teleport since the strain of the trip caused him to suffer a fatal cerebral hemorrhage. Everyone paid their respects and then left Origami in orbit as his final resting place. Origami's sacrifice was not in vain since most on Transformation Station, including Juniper, were evacuated to the Doctor Moreau. As for Malleus, he was finally captured by Hardware, who turned him over to PMA custody.[2]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Reality Alteration: Origami could bend space in order to create a space warp connecting two points that otherwise lay great distances apart. The process of creating space warps appeared to be psionic in nature. The greatest distance Origami covered with one of his space warps was 240,000 miles (the distance from the Earth to the Moon at its apogee). However, he typically used his power to travel much shorter distances. By passing through a space warp, Origami was instantly teleported to his intended destination. He could also teleport others along with himself by creating larger space warps.[1]
Weaknesses
- Power Instability: Origami suffered headaches and nosebleeds when he created space warps.[1] These worsened the greater the distance he traveled and required him to take a lengthy recovery time between teleports. If he did not rest, Origami risked serious and even fatal injury using his powers.[2]
Notes
- Hardware speculated that Origami was a Bang Baby, but there is no conclusive evidence to confirm this.[1]
Related
- 1 Appearances of Origami (Dakotaverse)
- 3 Images featuring Origami (Dakotaverse)
- Quotations by or about Origami (Dakotaverse)
- Character Gallery: Origami (Dakotaverse)
Footnotes