Origin

On Earth in 2163, Rook worked his ancestral family farm in Illinois, until it was burned down. His father, who died in the fire, was being blamed for the fire. The arson would be swept under the rug if he allowed the farm to become a new port for the ships to Exodus, a new terraformed home for humanity. He was also given the opportunity to jump the line if he took a job as a warden, a member of the advance team who would acclimate animal life to the new planet. He would be assigned to blackbirds and would use a neural network helmet to control them.

Creation

Rook first appears in a short story by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok in the anthology one-shot Ghost Machine #1

Major Story Arcs

The Wildlife Grid

Exodus was originally colonized in 2159, but the terraforming engine only lasted 11 years. The wealthy elite were evacuated from the planet first with the company, Better-World, promising to return for the workers, but it has been 2 years and most of them have lost faith, especially Rook. He was trying to build a scrapyard rocket ship to leave the planet on his own, but it was destroyed by Ursaw, a denizen of Exodus who stole the bear warden helmet. He has been trying to convince wardens to join him in ruling the planet or give up their helmet to one of his loyalists. Rook refused to do either. Instead, he joined Dire Wolf's efforts to defeat Ursaw and fix the world engine.

Rook was brought to The Oasis by Dire Wolf where The Wildlife Grid was being kept. The grid was a broadcasting orb responsible for the network the helmets work on, and it was protected by Carapace. Now that they were three, they would be able to triangulate a universal connection between the wardens and call for help. This included Ursaw, who had tracked them down. He was joined by Kaa, the warden of snakes, and Warhog, an Ursaw loyalist who was given Swine's helmet. Rook was determined to protect the Oasis. He took on Warhog, while Dire Wolf took on Kaa. Rook was ultimately saved by Dire Wolf's pack who ate Warhog, leaving the pig helmet behind for Rook to take possession of.

Unfortunately, Rook wasn't enough for Ursaw, who was an enhanced human. He threw Rook clear of The Oasis. Rook's natural fight or flight response kicked in which caused an interruption in his animal neural network. He had a vision of his father saving the animals on their farm. and the birds proved to him that they are actually fight AND flight. When he comes to, he finally embraces a deeper connection to his animals that he has been avoiding. By the time he caught up with Ursaw and his army, they had Dire Wolf and Carapace captive and were using the Wildlife Grid to track the other helms. He confronts Ursaw, who is still too strong for Rook. He pulls off Rook's helm, but the birds continue to listen to him. They swarm Ursaw, knocking him off his roaming fortress and rendering him comatose. Rook and the others keep him prisoner as his helm has been fused to his body.

With reinvigorated hope, Rook joins Carapace and Dire Wolf as they round up wardens for a new army of environmental protectors, including Dire Wolf's father, Bloodhound.

The Search for Bloodhound

Rook and his new warden allies set out to track down the rest of the wardens to manually turn on their communicators and bring them into the fold, while also tracking Bloodhound. He first found Matterhorn, warden of mountain goats, looking for the world engine in the mountains. She agreed to have her communicator turned on but warned that Bloodhound had given in to the instinct influence. He had already killed the engineers who were travelling with Matterhorn. Despite this, she volunteered to help Rook and Dire Wolf.

Together, they track him to an access hatch to the World Engine under a mountain. They were attacked by both Bloodhound and a swarm of spiders. They nearly escaped when they were interrupted by Stag, who wanted vengeance on Bloodhound for killing his wife. All four of them found themselves stuck in a trap set by Arachne, the warden of spiders. The human under the helmet was stuck in a mech suit that was being controlled by his super intelligent spiders. They admitted to sabotaging the world engine trying to kill or run off the human population.

Character Profile

• Height: 6'
• Weight: 200 lbs.
• Eyes: Brown
• Hair: Brown
• Age: 35 (at the beginning of Rook: Exodus)
• Occupation: Warden of Corvus Brachyrhynchos
• Distinguishing Features: A number of scars on his face

Powers and Abilities

Neural Network Helmet: As a Warden, Rook was given a special helmet that allowed him to control a particular group of animals to help terraform the planet of Exodus. In his case, it was various blackbirds.

• Communication: They come equipped with two-way communicators to other Wardens
• Instinct Influence: The neural connection is two-way, and the animals can sometimes influence their own instincts on to their wardens. The scientists who developed the tech believed that the animals would be too weak minded to have a significant effect on humans.
• Evolution: Rook has used the helm for so long that he has made a natural connection to the blackbirds and can still influence them without it.

Marksmanship: Rook relies on firearms to defend himself. He has a pair of dual pistols and a rifle.