Dr. Karl Malus was fascinated by the subject of superhuman powers since the first time he read a newspaper account of the hero team Fantastic Four. Upon graduating with a degree in biology from the University of California at Los Angeles, he applied to various institutions for a grant to study supernormal capacities in depth. Unable to get any funding through legal means, Malus contacted certain wealthy investors active in the Los Angeles underworld. They set him up with a laboratory facility he immodestly called the Institute for Supranormality Research, despite the fact that he comprised its entire staff. The underworld provided him with human test subjects to experiment upon, usually individuals the mob sought to liquidate. Malus hoped eventually to find an individual who already had superhuman powers he could study. In the course of research, Malus came up with a number of special toxins and other chemical-based weaponry which he sold to Los Angeles criminals. Doctor Malus is an ordinary man with a gifted intellect. He has an MD specializing in surgery, and a Master's degree in biochemistry. Malus is a brilliant surgeon with a great knowledge of chemistry, genetic manipulation and radiology. First Appearance: Spider-Woman # 30, in September 1980

A character with this Disadvantage isn't bothered by disturbing scenes or emotional situations. Emotional reactions just get in the way of objectives. He might eat a hotdog at a bloody crime scene, or punch out a villain in a nun suit in front of a busload of school children. Others might not understand this character and see him as having an "I don't care" attitude. In situations where strong emotional responses are normal and the character is with a group of people, he receives a -2 penalty on any Presence-based skills. A character with this Disadvantage has an unreasonable urge to perform some specific action that could be considered unusual. The list of possible actions is almost infinite, but some examples would include Compelled To Attack Polluters, Compelled To Steal Gems And Jewelry, or Compelled To Bring His Own Silverware To A Restaurant. The reasons behind this compulsion, as well as the exact details of it, are up to the player. The Frequency of the compulsion depends on how often the compulsion would come up. For example, if the GM's campaign deals with environmental issues and the players are a team of environmentally conscious heroes, Compelled To Attack Polluters may well be a Very Common Disadvantage. The character can resist the compulsion only in the most extreme of circumstances. This is a character who thinks the world revolves around him. The character will assume that he will win any award he is a candidate to win, that he deserves special treatment simply because he is who he is, and believes that no one else's problems are more important than his. At the Moderate level, the character can force himself to consider others or to place others before his own wants if necessary. At Strong, the character must make an Ego Roll to do so, while at Total commitment the character won't consider the wants or needs of others except in the direst of circumstances. Taking this Disadvantage higher than Moderate is not recommended for Player Characters, as it would tend to make the character annoying to the other players.