Tycho was born in Detroit. During his childhood, he spent many time at Guang Mai's place - that's where he first heard the story about prince Nou Yu T'u trapped between two worlds. He grew obsessive with this legend and, eventually, joined the Navy only to get to China. He decided to attend a ritual of Chinese sorcerers but lost his eyes in the process. But Tycho didn't give up - instead, he tried to free Nou Yu T'u (Nao Yut in ancient Yunnan dialect) and the Guardian Spirits but failed due to the intervention of Doom Patrol. Tycho attempted to bring them back to the life for the second time, beginning from retrieving the body of the prince. He conducted a ritual to free Nao Yut using his own blood. Together, they were able to use the bodies of the Doom Patrol members as the hosts for the spirits only to let them move on to the next world. In the end, the spirits cheated him, taking back the sight which Nao Yut gave him.