Doctor Ecks is a world renowned geneticist. After he was recruited by the Bedlam Syndicate, he was given a low paying job at the Markovburg Children's Hospital as a cover.[3] He used it to acquire test subjects for the syndicate's meta-human experiments and falsified records to make it appear they had died.[4] This has led to the hospital having mortality rates well above the norm.[3] He tested positive for the Meta-Gene himself and had it activated, becoming able to create copies of himself.[2]
Ecks oversaw the acquisition of the latest test subject, Ana von Furth. While Henchy abducted her, he lied to her brother Otto that she had died. Shortly after, he submerged her in Tar, which activated her Meta-Gene.[4] Following the success, he decided to also use the procedure on Otto, luring him in with a cure for a supposed hereditary heart condition.[2]
At the pre-coronation gala for Gregor Markov, Ecks's fellow scientist Helga Jace introduced him to Brion, the new King's brother, who had expressed interest in Meta-Genes. Ecks brought him to the hospital and took him to the secret levels. Ecks waxed lyrically about his work, comparing the process to the birth of butterflies. Brion was disgusted at the process, as well as Ecks's offhand dismissals. But the doctor viewed the process from a purely scientific point of view with no regard for the sick children. His only defense was that not all of the test subjects were sick to begin with.
Before the situation got out of hand, Count Vertigo incapacitated Brion, allowing for Ecks to sedate him and place him in a metamorphosis pod. Vertigo chastised Ecks for nearly exposing the Syndicate to the royal family. Ecks explained that he was just following orders. When Vertigo left to verify that, Jace entered. Ecks protested to her submitting Brion to the Tar protocol.[3]
When Vertigo returned in anger, Ecks quickly turned the blame to Jace, who did not deny lying to Ecks. Baron Bedlam ordered Ecks to shoot Jace for her betrayal while the others left. Nightwing, who had been lying in wait the whole conversation, knocked Ecks out without effort. When more heroes intervened, the lab was destroyed, but Ecks got away with Vertigo and Henchy.
They used a Fatherbox to track the heroes to the riverbed. To give his side a numerical advantage, Ecks used his multiplication powers. With four extra Eckses, each armed with a different weapon, they outnumbered Nightwing, Tigress and Black Lightning. But under the cover of a smoke grenade, the numerical advantage and weapons proved useless, as Ecks had little to no training in combat and his clones were quickly disarmed or taken out. The prime Ecks was hiding, but Nightwing tracked him down and took him out.[2]
After Bedlam staged a coup d'état in Markovia, Ecks rounded up King Gregor's loyalists for execution. He and about a dozen of his duplicates held them at gunpoint, while they dug their own graves. Ecks was swiftly thwarted and collared by Miss Martian and her Gamma Squad, before he could carry out the deed.[6]
Ecks, Platz and Mintz hid out in a woodland cabin. Warned to expect the Infinitors, they noticed a raccoon being ridden by a small, blue man spying on them, and signaled the armored attackers to spring their trap. As the attackers fought the Infinitors, Ecks and the other escapees met with Zviad Baazovi in the woods. Once Brion had left with a what appeared to be Perdita Vladek, Baazovi had the armored attackers leave with the escapees.[8]
Powers and abilities[]
Ecks self-duplicating.
Self-duplication: He can generate numerous copies of himself for physical combat. The "prime" version must concentrate while doing so, emitting a cyan aura; if he is knocked out, all duplicates vanish.[2]
