Alphonso de la Rocha
Contents
Details
Name: Alphonso Rodrigo Cesar de la Rocha (deceased)
Aliases: The Black Rook
Affiliation: Hellfire Club
First appearance: February 29, 2004
Family: First wife: Carmelita (deceased); son: Manuel de la Rocha; second wife: Adoracion
Biography
Alphonso was the scion of an ancient Spanish family who gambled, drank and wenched away the family fortune and then had to rely on his own ruthlessness and business smarts to build himself back up. He was a serial womanizer, with a preference for younger women bordering on pedophilia, and a strong sympathizer to ETA and other "revolutionary" concerns. He did deals all over Europe, but strictly small-time. Interpol had him on a watch list but never could pin enough on him to build a proper case. In many respects he was a high-powered pimp - if you wanted it, chances are he or someone he did business with could get it for you. He made many powerful "friends" in this manner.
He took his young son Manuel with him on many, many business trips throughout Europe and North Africa. While he did not hide what he was he also didn't rub Manuel's face in it either. Any bloody work was done well out of the boy's sight.
An alcoholic, but a functional alcoholic, Alphonso was filled with a sense of his own superiority that he passed down to his son. he also had a hatred of fascism and communism thanks to his experiences under Franco's reign as well as post-WWII Spain and was a rabid believer in free markets unfettered by regulation, law, or even morality.
His family connections led him to the Hellfire Club early on, and he became a supporter of the Black Court, seeking to eventually gain a place in the Club's Inner Circle. When Manuel's powers grew beyond the boy's control, Alphonso initially threw him out of the house, although this may have been due to empathic manipulation as later he realised what a 'resource' his son was and sought him ought, colluding with Manuel's best friend to have the boy arrested and incarcerated in a mental institution, where he was to the trained as a mind breaker. Emma Frost's use of Manuel to escape stymied those plans and put the boy temporarially out of Alphonso's reach. It was whilst Manuel was incarcerated that Carmelita, Alphonso's wife and mother to their son, died in mysterious circumstances. It was believed that Alphonso poisoned her. He later remarried, to a girl younger than his teenaged son, and there were rumours of her being pregnant with his child.
Alphonso continued his machinations, preying on his son's loyalty to the family to manipulate him. Manuel's girlfriend, Amanda Sefton proved to be an obstacle that needed removing, as she did not trust Alphonso and was beginning to succeed in convincing Manuel to turn away from the Hellfire Club. Alphonso asked Selene to mindwipe Manuel with her magic and had Amanda beaten severely during a HFC function, but the pair escaped with Selene's wipe only part-done. Selene's residual influence was removed by Romany Wisdom. Alphonso disowned Manuel, a move which almost destroyed the young man when he recovered his memories.
As a warning against interfering with his plans, Alphonso then had the father of Pete and Romany Wisdom killed. It was a rash move, setting off a chain of events that would lead to his own death, apparently at the hand of Pete, but in reality Alison Blaire. However, even in death he had power over his son, the news of his murder driving Manuel almost to madness and almost destroying his relationship with Amanda.
Powers/Abilities
Alphonoso was a bseline human, with no powers. However, he was extremely influential and was able to hire people to do just about anything.
Plots
Asgard (visited the school during the disappearance)
Meta
Socked by: Redhawk
PB:
