Seraphim

Reverend Stronghammer was thought of as a charismatic, but eccentric, minister which played very well on television. Among his eccentricities was the fact that he had his name changed legally to 'Stronghammer. Whether he was simply fascinated with superheroes or he could not quite come to grips with people having superpowers, he started linking superheroes to the Bible which raised the eyebrows of the other members of the clergy. He began spending his time not studying the scriptures, but researching superpowers and, especially, their origins. When Dr. Morris Manto reformed, the Reverend hired him to build an exoskeleton that he could wear under his robes for 'protection'. During a TV broadcast, when Plainsman was addressing a group of ministers, Stronghammer barged in and challenged Plainsman to a contest of strength. All were amazed, thought that he was unhinged, and had security remove him. After reading Dr. Solomon's work on the theory that many people could have latent superpowers that were simply dormant until activated, he moved his church to Los Angeles and decided that it would be in God's will if there were an earthquake creating a disaster to befall his flock, making certain that his cathedral was poorly constructed to help God's plan along. There was an earthquake and his cathedral came crashing down. Out of the roughly 500 attendees, nearly half died in the collapse and five discovered that they had super powers. He took them and convinced them that that were called into God's service as his soldiers. Following the investigation of the disaster, the authorities sought out Stronghammer, but he persuaded those loyal to him that their charges were lies and persecution from Satan to test their resolve.