Henri wasn’t much of a guide. It wasn’t that he didn’t know a few of the local dialects of the tribes in the interior of the Ivory Cost or that he didn’t know how to set up a camp, or that he knew what he was talking about. However, Henri liked to talk, brag even.

His latest trip up the Sassandra River was just like the rest. The weather was miserable, the mosquitoes were biting and the customers were certainly creepy, especially the leader of the group, a German. Henri didn’t care that much for Europeans in general, especially Germans. What had the Europeans ever done for the Ivory Cost or for Africa for that matter? Enslavement and subjugation that’s what.

Henri, being Henri, expressed this sentiment to the German - a man all the others in the group kept calling Vater or something. Henri didn’t speak German. However, the German didn’t even seemed to be phased by Henri’s words. That was a big mistake. Henri wasn’t the type to be ignored. For days upon days, Henri ranted about how the Europeans did this and that. It certainly bugged the heck out of the Kinder as they called themselves. Especially the big freak who called himself Leibwachter or something. They were a pair of brutish Siamese twins.

Eventually the party had reached their destination. The German and his men had come to the Ivory Coast to study hippos. Lac de Buyo certainly had enough of the brutes. Henri set up camp while the Kinder went looking for hippos. At first Henri turned a blind eye to what they were doing; he had seen poachers before. However, he was awakened one night to the sounds of a hippo screaming. It sounded like they were torturing the animal.

Against his better judgment, Henri got out of his sleeping bag and went to investigate. Henri was almost sick by the sight of what they were doing to the animal. To Henri the poor best should’ve been dead for all the damage the German had done to it. Vivisecting.

Henri made the mistake of stepping on branch, which snapped loudly under his foot. The sound was like a gunshot in the night for the effects it had on the Kinder. Before he knew what was happening a band of the Kinder materialized out of the night and grabbed him.

Henri was dragged before the German who was finishing his vivisection of the hippo. Turning to Henri the man spoke.

“So,” he said blood dripping form his gloved hands, “you don’t approve of my little experiment, ja?”

Henri was too shocked to answer and he was sweating like crazy.

“Ja, we came to your miserable, wretched country to extract genetic material from the hippopotamus amphibius. You would be surprised at the power the humble hippopotamus has. Such power. But I have captured that power.”

Smiling, the German held up a vial of a purplish liquid. He turned the vial and admired its contents. Frowning a little he looked again at Henri.

“Alas,” he said, “I didn’t have the foresight to bring along a test subject to experiment on. Or did I?” The German motioned to the Kinder who immediately pinned Henri down. Smiling evilly the German brought our a syringe and drew a large dosage from the vial.

“Now,” said the German, “this might hurt a little,” as he drove the needle deep into Henri’s carotid artery.

It was like acid flowing through Henri’s veins and he screamed in agony. The Kinder smiled at this as did the German. They kept Henri confined for days while he was injected several times a day with the purplish liquid. Each time he was inject the effects of the mutated hippo-dna became more evident. Henri’s flesh seemed to swell and he couldn’t get enough to eat. All through it the German kept notes.

However, it was on a moonless night that Henri made his escape. The shots finally had their final effect. His ubergene was fully active. Super human strength now coursed through his corpulent frame. Breaking free, he made a mad dash for the lakes. Several shots from the Kinder hit him, but Henri didn’t feel a thing. He spent several days in the lake before fleeing down the river. Since then Henri, who is now know as Hippo wanders Africa trying to make a living using his super powers.

Henri has always been a big mouth, always shooting it off, and this was always getting him in trouble. Nothing has changed since he became Hippo. He’s opinionated and gladly shares his point of view with anyone who’ll listen. Those who ignore him get it worst. The mutated DNA that he was injected with has also had effects on his personality. Henri’s temper is certainly shorter, and is easily irritated. Those who irritate Hippo pay for it. Another effect is that Henri is almost constantly eating. Doesn’t matter what, so long as he has something handy. His one big weakness is his gullibility, which was very evident when he took the Kinder on a safari. To Henri he believed what they had to say.

“Hey I’m not fat. I’m just big boned.”

Hippo is super humanly strong. The injections activated his ubergene granting him incredible strength at the cost of becoming immense. His girth actually protects Hippo, in that attacks are rarely felt, and those that are felt are quickly healed from. Occasionally Hippo can even increase his already super human strength for short periods of time. Because of all his weigh it is difficult to move Hippo when he doesn’t want to be moved.

Hippo has developed his own fighting style using his immense weigh. His Hippo Hug is really a bear hug where Hippo wraps his arms around his victim and squeezes. With a step of his huge foot Hippo can crush technological objects. This is one of his favorite tactics. Finally Hippo can cause shockwaves by slamming his fists in the ground.

Hippo doesn’t wear a costume as such. His usual dress is a black tank top, green trousers with a yellow stripes down the sides, and boots. He also has a belt, but his gut hangs over so much it’s hard to see. Hippo is naturally huge, weighing close a ton. Due to his immense size it would be impossible for him to maintain a secret identity. What hair Henri had fell out after he was injected. Another distinct feature is that he sweats a lot, and it gives off a distinct aroma.