Randolph Porter (New Earth)

I do not deal in common narcotics. I alter the realities of the human body for specific ends. In the case of my own human body, I design drugs to increase its intelligence, and, I confess, the ameliorate certain emotional inconveniences

— Randolph Porter ^src

Randolph Porter was a creator of the strength-enhancing drug Venom. Several years after his passing, it would be used by the Batman villain Bane.

History

Origin

Working on the concept of designer drugs, Porter devised drugs that could significantly enhance the subject's strength, but at the cost of turning them into addicts, limiting their intellects and making them increasingly dependent on the next dose. Seeking support for his work, Porter allied with discharged General Timothy Slaycroft, and then set up a plan to prove his research.

Drugging Batman

Having begun taking his own version of the pills that enhanced his intellect while leaving himself emotionally numb, Porter set up a scenario where his daughter, Sissy, would be captured for ransom in Gotham City. Batman was able to track down the area in the sewers where the kidnappers had left Sissy, but he was not physically strong enough to remove the rubble between him and the girl before she drowned. Porter was thus able to subtly manipulate Batman into taking the pills that were the first version of venom by encouraging the idea that they would make him stronger. Porter subsequently encouraged the Dark Knight to go after the rivals of his drug-dealing allies, taking advantage of the mental deterioration caused by the drugs. The vigilante was so focused on his own enhanced strength that he couldn't acknowledge how he had been intellectually compromised by the drugs, although he notably went out in civilian clothes rather than the Batsuit.

Ultimately, after three months on the pills, Batman was basically dependent on the drugs and Porter's direction to do anything in the field, to the extent that his own speech pattern had become more limited. However, after Porter introduced Batman to General Slaycroft, the two men went too far when they told Batman to kill Commissioner Gordon to stop his investigation into their activities. Although briefly tempted, Batman warned Gordon about Porter and Slaycroft's orders before he departed to try and capture them. However, Porter distracted him with a bag of drugs, the two men fleeing while Batman was trying to find the bag.

Retreat to Santa Prisca

Hiding on the island of Santa Prisca, Porter and Slaycroft continued to research the drugs, using Slaycroft's own son as a test subject for their work. Their conditioning transformed Slaycroft's son into a muscle-bound superhuman, including sub-dermal implants to make him resistant to bullets, but basically deadened his mind so that he would only respond to orders given by his father. However, after a month or so in hiding, their location were discovered by Batman. Porter had assumed that the vigilante would be reduced to a drooling idiot without regular access to his drugs, but in reality the Dark Knight had defeated his addiction to Porter's pills by putting himself into lockdown in the Batcave for a month.

Despite Batman's attempt to confront Porter, he was captured when Porter and Slaycroft caught Batman's ally and used him as a hostage to lure their enemy in. Batman was able to keep Porter and Slaycroft's men occupied while Alfred escaped, but was captured himself. Slaycroft intended to unmask Batman to learn his identity, but Porter decided to use the Dark Knight for another experiment, intending for their subject to unmask himself on his own choice to symbolically acknowledge their victory. He had Batman stripped of his utility belt and locked in an underground chamber that would gradually fill up with water over the next three days. The only way to get out would be to open an eight-hundred-pound metal door by pulling on a chain hanging from the ceiling, which could be attached to a hook in the floor below it, pulling the door upwards. Porter was certain that Batman would only be able to escape by taking a new, more addictive version of the drugs to increase his strength so that he could pull on the chain, but agreed to provide Batman with weights, food, and blankets to assist the experiment.

Downfall

While Batman was trapped in the chamber, Slaycroft turned on Porter, torturing him to make him confess the full formula of the drugs so that Slaycroft could perform the experiments himself. Batman escaped the chamber just before Slaycroft could kill Porter by using the environment to his advantage rather than the drugs. While Batman trapped Slaycroft, Porter was able to use a recording of Slaycroft's voice to order Slaycroft's son to kill the general. Porter was subsequently taken back to Gotham City to stand trial, but he attempted to escape by taking some of his own drugs. He was able to break the bars of his cell, but he overdosed and collapsed, dying in the prison hospital.

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

Chemistry: Randolph Porter had a degree in chemistry and an excellent knowledge of the human body. He was even able to devise drugs that could enhance his own intellect further. He claimed that he had memorised the ingredients for his drugs so that he could recreate them even after leaving his paperwork behind.