Portrayed By | David H. Lawrence XVII |
---|---|
Sex | Male |
Status | Registered Evolved |
Ability | Puppetry |
Age | 41 |
Date of Birth | September 14, 1968 |
Date of Death | None… yet |
Occupation | Fugitive |
Family | None Living |
Significant Other(s) | None |
First Appearance | The Wind Cries |
Last Appearance | |
Other Incarnations |
'We are no longer puppets being manipulated by outside powerful forces: we become the powerful force ourselves.'
-Leo Buscaglia
Character History:
Eric Doyle was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He was orphaned at five when his parents died in an auto accident and was raised by his uncle, Ned, in San Diego, California. Eric shunned his new home and the Southern California lifestyle in favor of an elaborate imaginary world revolving around a set of crude finger puppets that his birth mother had made for him. Ned, an avid outdoorsman, clashed frequently with his nephew over Eric's desire to "play with dolls."
One day, during one of Ned's frequent attempts to force Eric to enjoy the beach, Ned gave his nephew's ragged finger puppets to his dogs as chew toys. Watching the last keepsakes of his childhood destroyed sent Eric into rage, causing his power to manifest for the first time: Eric forced his uncle to swim away from shore and drown in the Pacific.
Afterward, Eric experimented eagerly with his power while waiting to be arrested for Ned's murder. But the police investigation concluded that Ned had been caught in a riptide while beachcombing. The escape emboldened Eric in the months ahead. Left with his uncle's house and assets, Eric opened a moderately successful marionette theater, entertaining children with intricate shows but clashing constantly with parents and business relations. Behind the theater operations, Eric carried out an increasingly more brutal pastime: the kidnapping and torture of those whom he felt had slighted him.
Eric Doyle met Claire Bennet's birth mother, Meredith Gordon, at an antique flea market, where Meredith was admiring a rare 19th century marionette. In Company interviews, Eric claims he fell in love at first sight and felt that he and Meredith were meant to be together. But despite Meredith's initial politeness and Eric's increasingly desperate attempts - including abduction and manipulation - he was unable to make her love him, to his deep frustration. The Company made its initial bag and tag of Eric at this point, and Meredith survived.
Eric was imprisoned in the Level-5 containment facility until the PARIAH raid on the Primatech paper facility in 2008. During the chaos when other inmates were escaping, Doyle made his way to freedom. On Christmas day, Eric was captured by the Department of Homeland Security in Austin Texas and eventually brought to the Moab Federal Penitentiary after negotiations with the Company placed Eric in a position of "special authority" in the facility… tasked with the monitoring and control of their 'security system', a temporal controller named Brooke.
She had another name, once. Eric recognized it immediately. And the pain that she'd once caused him.
After the destruction of Moab, the puppeteer was on the run once more. No friends. No walls between him and the outside world. Just the puppeteer, his whims… and his fear of being captured again.
Evolved Human Ability: Puppetry
Eric Doyle's power is the ability to force his will upon the bodies of others. By extending a telepathic command to those within line of sight, Doyle is able to manipulate their motor skills and to a limited extent their endocrine and adrenal systems, allowing him to control their powers while he is dominating their bodies. Motions while Doyle is in control are jerky and unnatural, making it clear that whoever Doyle is puppeteering is not moving of their own accord. Telepaths and other mentally strong individuals may be able to break Doyle's control, and if he is not careful to keep an Evolved's power restrained, ones with long-range abilities such as Telekinesis could effectively kill him.
Company Psychological Profile - Case File CO19
"Doyle's traumatic loss of his parents at a formative age, accompanied by the abrupt transition to an unsympathetic environment and caregiver, resulted in persistent feelings of anger and frustration toward society. Psychological interviews reveal classic anti-social tendencies and an aversion to casual human interaction. In substitution, Doyle projects a highly developed fantasy instinct onto his perceptions of the world, and any cognitive dissonance encountered as a result is channeled into his repressed frustrations and sense of rejection. Because of this acute disruption in emotional development, the he possesses many of the psychological characteristics of a pre-pubescent child.
Eric's ability has become the primary outlet for his childhood feelings of loss and powerlessness, leading to a chronic psychological dependency. He has also developed a number of accompanying defense mechanisms, such as a radical perception of justice and vengeance that validates virtually any action against any given victim."
Timeline:
Title | Date | Summary | Other Participants |
---|---|---|---|
Death Like Cigarettes | June 28, 2009 | The end - and beginning - of Niles Wight's story. Another Doyle would've known what he was watching. This one merely needs a new place to hide. | Cat, Elisabeth, Gillian, Niles and Niles |
It's A Little Dreary | July 3, 2009 | A casual meeting in the park. Doyle can appreciate art. | Alia, Hadley, and Wendy |
Just Your Average Bank Robbery | July 7, 2009 | On a strange mission, Doyle finds his timing is still horrible. A robbery ensues to distract him from what he's there for, and an old acquaintance decides to torment him while there's time. The puppetmaster is unamused. | Adam, Holly, Phoebe, Kaylee, Felix, and Alia |
Memorable Quotes:
- "We never talk anymore. Why, I remember when we'd haveā¦ conversations that went for hours. Whatever happened to the good ol' days, hm?" - to Brooke, The Wind Cries