Dr. Seth ForrestDr. Seth Forrest
Real Name: Seth Forrest
Identity/Class: Human mutate
Occupation: Criminal entrepreneur;
former research scientist
Group Membership: Formerly Power Broker, Inc.;
formerly Great Northern University research faculty;
Affiliations:
formerly Angela Golden, Karl Malus, his mutates
Enemies: Alicia (at least formerly known as Marcia Guzman), Angela Golden, Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Emi Ishida, Jake (formerly known as Nita Young), Karl Malus, Mel, Trace; his former-prisoner mutates, numerous unidentified test subjects
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
last seen in a ship that exploded on the Hudson River in New York City;
Great Northern University
Education: M.D. (Doctor of Medicine), Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy/Doctorate) in unspecified field(s)
First Appearance: (Pictured) Avengers: Solo#1 (December, 2011);
(full appearance)
Avengers: Solo#4 (March, 2012)
Powers/Abilities: Dr. Forrest was presumably of gifted, if not genius, intellect; and he was knowledgeable in fields such as biochemistry.
He gained superhuman strength (presumably class 10) and durability (while one of Hawkeye's arrows could penetrate his thigh and cause him pain, he could deflect arrows with his hand (although this may have been energy projection).
He could also generate energy from his hand, with which he could repulse/blast away others as well as pin them to the ground. The energy also produced some illumination.
He could either simulate injuries by some means, or could rapidly recover (or recover under his control) from real injuries.
He did not demonstrate particular fighting skill.
Height: Unrevealed (he was never seen clearly along with anyone of known height; I'd speculate him to be 5'8")
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps 165 lbs.)
Eyes: Green (it is possible they merely glowed green when he was
using his energy powers, but they were not shown clearly with color in
any other images)
Hair: Bald (with brown beard)
History:
Note:
The experimentees (Alicia, Emi, Jake, Mel; and also via Tuli), Dr.
Forrest, and Angela Golden offered varying and sometimes contradicting
sources of information on the history/actions, etc. of Forrest, Power
Broker, etc. Anything from the latter two is certainly considered
suspect. I will report the information as it was reported in-story, and
then discuss the information further in the comments.
(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) <according to Forrest; see comments> - For 20 years, Dr. Seth Forrest did good research, improving millions of lives, but he was frustrated that he remained unknown.
(Avengers: Solo#1 (fb) - BTS) <from Tuli's notes> - Dr. Seth Forrest ran a large, seemingly benign study at Great Northern University's medical center on prenatal nutrition -- specifically "Long-term effects of increased calcium in the diet of women intending to become pregnant in 3-5 years" -- for over 5 years, amongst 6 clinics in 4 states.
(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) <per Hawkeye based on information from Tuli and the experimentees> - A new Power Broker Inc. incarnation sought to develop formulas to enhance people, intending to sell these to governments, drug lords, and anyone who could bid highly enough.
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb)) <according to Forrest; allegedly 2 years before the main story> - Angela Golden and Dr. Karl Malus approached Dr. Seth Forrest for Power Broker, Inc. to fund and oversee his research. Forrest questioned how they could hope to profit from a calcium study, but Golden assured him that he just had to plan how to spend his fee and she would take care of how it would become profitable for Power Broker, Inc.
(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) <according to Forrest> - When Power Broker approached him, Forrest saw his chance for more. His Pharmy (see comments) would generate power for warriors that any nation could afford.
(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) <per Hawkeye based on information from Tuli and the experimentees> - Power Broker Inc. experimented in secret on unwitting volunteers in legitimate studies, such as Forrest's calcium study.
(Avengers: Solo#3 (fb) - BTS) <according to the experimentees> - There were five clinics, each with approximately 400 subjects.
(Avengers: Solo#3 (fb) - BTS) <according to the experimentees> - Power Broker Inc. tried four specific formulas, meant to produce four different specific traits in the children the female test subjects would have someday.
(Avengers:
Solo#4 (fb) - BTS) <according to Forrest> - As he could not figure out how why the others were trying to profit
from a calcium study, Forrest tried to figure out what they were trying
to accomplish.
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb)) according to Forrest> - Forrest considered Malus and Golden's methods sloppy and their records amateurish.
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb)) <according to Forrest> - Golden found additional investors for Power Broker Inc.'s research into a super-soldier gestational formula promising the investors early access to newfound data. She lied about Captain America's support of the project, and Forrest found himself implicated in the matter and afraid of what the investers or the law might do to him if he tried to expose them.
(Avengers: Solo#1 (fb) - BTS) <from Tuli's notes; one year before the main story> - The study began paying participants.
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb)) <according to Forrest> - Forrest allegedly thought the whole thing was a sham, just swindling investors, until the subjects started getting sick and dying.
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb)) <according to Forrest> - After discovering the true nature of the empowerment, Forrest saw the immediate damage to the subjects, but he told no one, not even Golden, Malus, or the medical board; allegedly he was trying to protect the project.
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb)) <according to Forrest> - Forrest resolved to go to the medical board when he realized the formulas were working, just not as they expected. The metabolic inhibitor formula was the first to show success.
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb)) <according to Forrest> - Forrest told the medical board that the calcium supplements must have been contaminated, and that the study had to be shut down.
(Avengers: Solo#1 (fb) - BTS) <from Tuli's notes, as well as from reports at the time of Forrest's seeming death> - Forrest apparently reported that multiple subjects had became ill and at least 7 died (a report at the time of Forrest's apparent death noted that 27 patients had been hospitalized and 4 had died).
(Avengers: Solo#3 (fb) - BTS) <according to the experimentees> - At least 15 women died, while over a hundred women...had unspecified issues. Only one woman (Nita) was confirmed to have received the incendiary formula.
(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) <per Golden> - Going behind the back of Golden and Malus, Forrest took the opportunity to further his pet project Pharmy with Power Broker Inc.'s funding.
(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) <according to Golden> - Golden promised Forrest to aid him in driving Malus out of the project. She wasn't aware Forrest was lying to her and the board of Power Broker Inc. and actually planned to sell his formulae to all nations that could afford it.
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb)
- BTS) <according to Forrest> - Golden showed Forrest's notes to Malus; they showed a more
profitable, less time-consuming option involving granting superhuman abilities to
the women and not their children.
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb)
- BTS) <according to Forrest> - Golden and Malus suspected treachery, and they went through his home and found all of his notes. 
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb) ) <according to Forrest> - Forrest and Golden ousted Malus from the project, and Golden and Malus got into a fight at Forrest's house, which was burnt down. Forrest fled, but Golden seemingly forced him to ally with her to continue the research.
(Avengers: Solo#1 (fb)
- BTS) as well as from reports at the time of Forrest's seeming death> - A
deceased apparent duplicate of Forrest's body was placed in his
home. It was found by firefighters after an hour-long firefight.
Golden and Forrest framed former test subject Nita Young for setting fire to Seth Forrest's home.
(Avengers: Solo#3 (fb) - BTS) <according to the experimentees> - They presumably did this in hopes of drawing out Nita, as they really wanted the subject with the incendiary power.
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb) - BTS) <according to Forrest> - Forrest allegedly tried to escape as his house burnt down, but was captured by Golden and brought to her vehicle.
(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) <according to Forrest> - Forrest found a private prison that was happy to arrange a work-release program in which he could work on granting super-powers to the inmates.
(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) <according to Forrest> - Forrest made sure his process was irreversible early on, considering that a selling point.
(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) <per Golden> - Keeping only a single set of notes for himself, Forrest was able to push past Golden in the command structure, as information was the real power.
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb)) <according to Forrest> - Golden's employee Trapster pressured Forrest to give him the data on the strength limits, and Forrest told him subject 12 could live 1400 lbs.; as this was the upper limit, there was no need to press further.
(Avengers: Solo#3 (fb) - BTS) <according to the experimentees> - Alicia (formerly Marcia Guzman), Dr. Emi Ishida, Melanie, and Jake (formerly Nita Young, who had completed gender reassignment secretly started before the study) joined forces. They investigated the clinics that had treated the other women in hopes of finding other "positives," but they found the clinics had already been stripped. They did find some files referring to a central laboratory, but they found no information on where that lab might be.
(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) <6 months prior to the main story, per information from Iron Man/Tony Stark> - Emi Ishida, Alicia, Jake, and Melanie arranged -- perhaps via someone owing a friend a favor -- for the Black Cat (although the thief's identity is not confirmed) to steal a suit of armor from a private research facility in Estonia. As the situation demanded, all four of them donned the stolen armor as Trace.
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb) - BTS) <according to Forrest> - At some point Golden started taking a formula herself, and it made her sick.
(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) <according to Golden> - Unbeknownst to Golden, Forrest had tricked her and only gave her a fake formula, preventing her from gaining any superhuman abilities while actually making her sick
(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) <according to Forrest> - They continued their trials on the work-release criminals, and Forrest used a disfiguring formula on them, promising a cure to keep them in line.
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb) - BTS) - Forrest made Golden and the mutates believe they needed to capture the successful test subjects from the women trials because according to him they were their only hope for a cure.
(Avengers: Solo#2 (fb) - BTS) - Golden and Forrest tracked down their former test subjects over the next six months.
(Avengers: Solo#1 (fb)
- BTS) - Golden and/or Forrest ordered Tulio Guzman, Marcia's brother, to be killed
when he found out too much about their experiments and also set Hawkeye
on their trail.
(Avengers: Solo#1 (fb) - BTS) - Golden (+/- Forrest) hired Chance to kill Hawkeye, but he failed partially due to Trace (Alicia)'s interference.
(Avengers: Solo#2 (fb) - BTS) - Golden (and/or Forrest) sent her drug-enhanced mercenaries to capture Trace (Alicia) and her allies.
(Avengers: Solo#2-3) - Hawkeye and Trace (Alicia) defeated Trapster and a number of armed Power Broker Inc. agents.
(Avengers: Solo#3 (fb) - BTS) - Golden (and/or Forrest) sent a bunch of lawyers to shield Trapster and the enhanced mercs from interrogation, but not Chance.
(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb) - BTS) - Golden and Forrest planned to set up the former test subjects by either leading them to Golden or leading Golden to them after dealing with Hawkeye, who Golden was afraid would get Trapster or Chance to talk.
(Avengers: Solo#3 - BTS) - Hawkeye learned from Chance about Power Broker Inc., his contact being Golden and that most of the mercs were paid with a drug.
(Avengers: Solo#3) - When Hawkeye left Ryker's Island he was assaulted by more drug-enhanced monstrosities sent by Golden (and/or Forrest)..
(Avengers: Solo#3) - Trace (Emi) interfered and allowed herself to be overpowered by the mutates, who were ordered by Golden to capture her because she was their only chance for a cure (and to follow Golden via a tracker).
(Avengers: Solo#4) - The Power Broker mutates tried to tear off the Trace armor to see who was inside, but Trace fought them off. Seemingly a tortured prisoner of Golden, Dr. Forrest told Trace about a protected energy dampener and noted that he had been a prisoner (of Power Broker) for at least 6 months; and Trace vowed to free him.
Hawkeye -- fighting his way past a couple mutates -- and Emi successfully "freed" Dr. Forrest from Golden's transporter. They expected Golden to turn around to try to recover Trace and Forrest, but she drove off, leaving her freed prisoners behind.
Forrest told the escaped mutates and Hawkeye a version of his history with Power Broker, telling them he wanted to help stop Golden and the group and that he had been told by Golden to lead her to them; he further told them that he could instead lead them to Golden and take Power Broker Inc. by surprise; but the former subjects remained skeptical. As Forrest appeared to have been beaten and had evidence of lung damage, they considered he may be being truthful.
(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) - Hawkeye and the four Power Broker mutates plotted to have Forrest take Alicia and Emi to a Power Broker, Inc. ship at a dock on the Hudson river in New York City where Golden and her men would take them in. They anticpated having Forrest betray them, but made arrangements to have Alicia and Emi working from the inside, after which Hawkeye and Trace (Jake) would follow them and help them break out those imprisoned by Power Broker Inc.
(Avengers: Solo#5) - Golden welcomed Forrest on board her
ship on the Hudson River with Emi and Alicia as his captives.
(Avengers: Solo#5 - BTS) - Soon after, Hawkeye and Trace boarded the ship, and Melanie helped take out the PBI agents, blocking their planned exit. When Jake used the fire power, Forrest received reports from his agents.
(Avengers: Solo#5) - Forrest then showed up, asking if it was Nita and then demanding to see the fire power. Revealing he was super-powered, Forrest tossed around Hawkeye and threatened to drown Melanie if Trace refused to come to his lab. Hawkeye then shot Forrest in the leg with an arrow, but Forrest -- arguing that he was doing everything for a better world, as his formulas, his "Pharmy," would reshape global politics -- blasted and then held down Hawkeye with energy from his right hand.
(Avengers:
Solo#5 - BTS) - As Hawkeye fought Forrest, Emi and Marcia pulled Melanie
out of the water, and they got all of the imprisoned women onto another
boat to take them to safety; after Golden stated she had received a
placebo and had been duped by Forrest, Alicia swam to shore with her to
escape the now-sinking ship.
(Avengers: Solo#5) - Meanwhile, a pair of mutates restrained Hawkeye, while Forrest explained how he had gotten access to the men to mutate them. Hawkeye asked if the subjects knew that he had made a formula that didn't disfigure men, further questioning whether the disfigurement was meant to brand them, or whether there was a promise of a cure that was meant to keep them in line. Infuriated by their constant pain, the mutates released Hawkeye and closed on Forrest, asking if he knew it would hurt. Forrest warned them away, but as water damage shut down the craft's electrical systems and eliminated any potential power dampeners, the mutates grabbed Forrest, threatening to pull him apart.
Hawkeye argued that if they let him turn Forrest over to the police, the Avengers would find a cure for what had been done to them; but Forrest explained he had made sure the process would be irreversible. Regardless, Hawkeye had Trace use fire to drive the others toward the boat, and Trace made sure to destroy the records of the formulae. As they approached the boat, Forrest taunted the mutates, telling them they were pathetic lowlifes that he had made worth something; in response, the mutates hurled Hawkeye and Trace out of the ship; the mutates and Forrest were still in the ship as it exploded.
(Avengers: Solo#5 - BTS) - Hawkeye swam down to find and pull to safety the only two mutates he could find, bringing them to the surface, along with Forrest's notes. Alicia/Marcia, Emi, Melanie, and Jake planned to identify the remaining test subjects before going to the police. Hawkeye gave them four Forrest's notes (and Golden assured them that Forrest did not have copies)
Golden planned to tell everything she knew to the authorities because she knew how to survive in the world.
(Avengers: Solo#5 - BTS) - Hawkeye told Captain America and Iron Man about his experiences, telling them he still needed to pursue the Power Broker angle and also to find the prison that had sold its inmates for the second round of tests. However, he told them Forrest had sterilized all of the clinics and that any other records would have been destroyed with the ship.Comments: Created by Jen Van Meter and Roger Robinson.
This story arc was extremely hard to follow / sort out. After reading it for the third time (with the latter two times being within about a month) and having compiled information for multiple profiles (and having reviewed the notes from fellow profiler/editor Markus Raymond), I finally started to sort it out...I think. But a LOT of uncertainties remain.
They never explained what Pharmy was...it's obviously based on the word pharmaceutical or pharmacy, and it may refer specifically to his business or the formulae he used to mutate others, or perhaps both.
As noted above, the experimentees (Alicia, Emi, Jake, Mel; and also via Tuli), Dr. Forrest, and Angela Golden offered varying and sometimes contradicting sources of information on the history/actions, etc. of Forrest, Power Broker, etc. Anything from the latter two is certainly considered suspect. I will report the information as it was reported in-story, and then discuss the information further in the comments.
It seems pretty clear that Forrest was an honest researcher initially,
and that he changed, seeking power, wealth, and glory, sometime after
becoming affiliated with Power Broker. But when exactly did the change
occur, and how much of his investigations/motivations and discussion
from #4 are true?
I would think that Forrest
faked his death to escape further scrutiny after reporting to the
medical board, but was that completely planned, or a result of a
struggle between Malus and Golden?
His intense
interest in Jake/Nita and the incendiary power would seem to indicate
he was involved in that research early on.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Dr. Seth Forrest should be distinguished from:
images: (without ads)
Avengers: Solo#1, pg. 11, panel 2 (obituary picture);
#4, pg. 13, panel 1 & 2 ("victim"; profile and frontal);
#5, pg. 8, panel 4 (full);
pg. 9, panel 1 (face; angry);
pg. 10, panel 2-3 (energy hand, releasing force and pinning Hawkeye to the ground);
pg. 13, panel 5 (restrained by mutates)
Appearances:
Avengers: Solo#1 (December, 2011) - Jen Van Meter (writer), Roger Robinson (artist), Tom Brennan (editor)
Avengers: Solo#2 (January, 2012) - Jen Van Meter (writer), Roger Robinson (artist), Tom Brennan (editor)
Avengers: Solo#3 (February, 2012) - Jen Van Meter (writer), Al Barrionuevo (pencils), Raul Lopez (inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
Avengers: Solo#4 (March, 2012) - Jen Van Meter (writer), Roger Robinson (artist), Tom Brennan (editor)
Avengers: Solo#5 (April, 2012) - Jen Van Meter (writer), Roger Robinson & Declan Shalvey (artists), Tom Brennan (editor)
First Posted: 04/27/2017
Last updated: 04/27/2017
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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