The Explorers Club
No. XII - The Jacobite Rebellions, Part I: James Francis Edward Stuart a.k.a. "The Old Pretender" to his opponents and "King James III and VIII" to his supporters and Charles Edward Stuart a.k.a. "Bonnie Prince Charlie" to all, "The Young Pretender" to his opponents, and "King Charles III" to his supporters.





Extra Credit: Henry Benedict Cardinal Stuart a.k.a. "King Henry IX" to the supporters of the Jacobite cause.

Brick Malloy
I've got an idea for a story set in an alternative, steampunk version of the Edwardian era. Young American soldier Brick Malloy (I don't yet know if "Brick" is his Christian name or a nickname) is kidnapped during the Boxer Rebellion by agents of the worldwide criminal empire known as Perfidious Albion. A member of the upper echelons of Perfidious Albion known as "The Doktor" forces Brick to ingest the mysterious Antaeus Serum, imbuing Brick with prodigious strength and astonishing durability; The Doktor's colleague "The Egyptologist," a mentalist and master of the hypnotic arts, bends the now inhumanly strong Brick to Perfidious Albion's will.

Later, in combat with Severus Kincaid, a pirate, supervillain, and implacable foe of Perfidious Albion, Brick is freed from The Egyptologist's thrall. Though a gentle and decent man before The Doktor's depredations, Brick dedicates himself solely to revenge, using his monstrous power to force Kincaid to act as his mentor in the ways of the supercriminal underworld. Later allies include a British spy Brick and Kincaid nickname "Agent Crowne" since he will identify himself no further than to say he is an agent of the Crown; Dr. Simon Westinghouse, an American inventor and science hero; and "The Dreadnaught," another victim of Perfidious Albion's ghoulish crimes against nature and Dr. Westinghouse's Man Friday. Other adversaries include "The Leper," Perfidious Albion's master assassin, and "The Croatian," the shadowy organization's even more mysterious leader.

I'm not yet sure if The Doktor's ministrations will leave Brick with his nautral appearance or a freakish deformity.