A new work-in-progress, artwork by thatwickedsmile.

Not much is known about the villainous Variola, who bears the striking image of old plague doctors but spreads disease instead of curing it. Rumours suggest that he was once an eminent doctor, but one driven mad by his obsession and experiments with contagions, viruses and bacteria. Other rumours claim that he can no longer breathe like any other being, instead depending on a mixture of toxins and poisons, his body under the suit decrepit and decaying.

However he came to be, Variola is known to be a ruthless villain, responsible for a string of high-profile crimes involving prolific use of poison and toxins, mostly in gas form but occasionally as liquids. Whether it be sprayed from the nozzle mounted at the head of his silver cane or released from one of the many vials and gas grenades he carries in his "doctor's bag", his hand-crafted poisons have had numerous devastating effects on those exposed to them. He is also renowned as a vicious melee fighter, a practitioner of the fighting art of Bartitsu.

It is also believed that he is responsible for a string of kidnappings, his victims being used as live test subjects in his experiments.