Cerebra's Files
Black Rook
Real Name: Friedrich von Roehm
Affiliation: Hellfire Club NY
Alternate-X Versions Damask (AOA)
Codename Etymology: Pronounced blăk rŏŏk [From Middle English, blak] + [Middle English, rok, from Old English hrOc; akin to Old High German hruoch rook]; a common Old World gregarious bird (Corvus frugilegus) about the size and color of the related American crow but having a bare patch of skin at the base of the bill. Also, a chess piece that can move multiple horizontal or vertical spaces in one turn.
Status: Deceased (Nimrod)
Powers: The original Black Rook of the Hellfire Club was a man whose family had been bred by Selene to possess a semi-lycanthropic state, which she could activate by mentally closing a genetic psychic switch. In the werewolf state, von Roehm appeared human, with only slightly enhanced claws, but he had heightened senses and agility. While he retained some intelligence as a were-beast, von Roehm was still highly dangerous, so Selene kept him on a leash. The Black Rook was disintegrated by Nimrod during a battle, but his title was bestowed upon Madelyne Pryor, and more recently, on Roberto DaCosta.
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