Tao (comics)
| T.A.O. | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Wildstorm |
| First appearance | WildC.A.T.S. Vol. 1 #21 (July, 1995) |
| Created by | Alan Moore and Travis Charest |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Tactical Augmented Organism (TAO) |
| Team affiliations |
Wildcats Syndicate |
| Abilities | Superhuman intelligence Has charisma and mind-control through his voice |
T.A.O. is a fictional character in the Wildstorm universe.
The Tactical Augmented Organism was created by Optigen, a subsidiary of the Halo Corporation, on behalf of International Operations. As a child, he grew at an amazing rate. The scientists working on him thought that he was imprisoned in his test tube, but at nights he would sneak out and use the lab's computers to learn more about the world outside.
When Savant and Mister Majestic were reforming the WildC.A.Ts, Savant read the files on TAO. The scientist of Optigen was unwilling to let TAO go until TAO handed him a note with several numbers on it. The scientist immediately agreed to release TAO. When asked what the numbers meant, TAO explained to his new teammates that the top one was the phone number of the scientist's wife, the other four were the phone numbers of the scientist's mistresses. Despite seemingly having no superhuman powers, TAO's intelligence and manipulative nature appeared to be quite an asset to the new WildC.A.Ts. He manipulated Mister Majestic into agreeing to recruit the murderous cyborg Ladytron.
This new WildCATS team made an appearance in issue 2 of the New Man comics series.
Under TAO's influence the WildC.A.Ts started a true war on crime, but the criminals organized and struck back. The situation worsened when a criminal bombed Clark's, a bar for superheroes, wounding WildC.A.Ts-member Condition Red. Rival superhero team Stormwatch and the WildC.A.Ts formed an alliance against the criminals, but the heroes soon discovered that TAO had been behind the bombing. They returned to base to confront TAO and found out that he was far more dangerous than they had expected.
In an attempt to capture him, several of his pursuers were hurt. Fuji was manipulated into a mental loop concerning his own identity, which took him some time to recover from. Ladytron's nuclear power source was damaged and Savant, who thought she loved TAO, was tricked into stepping in front of Grifter's bullets. In the end Majestic, after saving Ladytron, disintegrated TAO with his heat-vision. Or so he thought. Despite his betrayal, WildC.A.Ts members held a symbolic funeral for TAO.
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Wikipedia