Simon Ardvin (Cataclysmic Gerosha)

''The following article is about a villain in Dozerfleet Comics. For the similarly-nicknamed Marvel villain Chon Li, see Aardwolf (Marvel Comics)''

Captain Simon Aardvonius/Aardvin (a.k.a., Captain Aardwulf and Capp Aard) is a Dozerfleet Comics villain that features in Ciem 2 and in Ciem: Nuclear Crisis. He is an archnemesis of both Ciem and Miriam Flippo, as well as Vienna Dockler. He was originally designed in 2005 to be a parody of Alfred Molina as Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2 combined with Gollum, but was later revised to become an original character with a more complex and sympathetic backstory.

Biography
Simon's life and times were always difficult, to say the least. However, those difficulties became more pronounced as time went by. He was originally to be a flat character, a villain spoofing Doc Ock and allowing the Ciem webcomic series to be free-for-view. As the webcomic sections of the Dozerfleet Web Network died out, so did interest in making Ciem a free-for-view parody of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films. The original story was retooled to create a potentially-profitable book series that aimed to be as original with the characters as possible. Due to this, the very nature of who Aard is became completely different from Classic to Comprehensive Geroshas. Therefore, he has two biographies here.

Early involvement with Miriam
Classic Capp Aard was once a benevolent seafarer named Simon Aardvonius. Simon had a wife named Kathy and a daughter. He often operated a fishing boat near Alaska during the ideal months, and spent time with his family when not on duty. It was during this time also that he got to meet the adventurous couple Steve McLaine and Miriam Flippo. However, an incident during an expedition resulted in him being extorted by the Hebbleskin Gang.

Not long afterward, Steve tried to help Simon escape from Hebbleskin persecution. The plan backfired; and Steve soon found himself the victim of Hebbleskin espionage efforts. Arfaas sent a loyalist named Melvin Markus to befriend the couple and report back on whatever the couple did. Making matters worse, one of Steve's other friends betrayed the couple and started hiding cameras in their cabin. He used stolen sex tape footage to portray Miriam as a porn star named Mila Fila. Eventually, this resulted in the porn site webmaster being assassinated, and his hard drive stolen, when Hebbleskins wanted it to learn more about Miriam.

Hebbleskin forces soon cracked down on Simon's payments and upped their efforts to spy on Steve and Miriam once they recognized that Mila Fila was one of Shalia's daughters. They assumed that Miriam was also Sniperbadger, and that she may be the Gifted Flippo in hiding. Curiously, they did not suspect Candi of being the Gifted Flippo first, in spite having spy footage proving she was Emeraldon's girlfriend.

Transformation into Capp Aard
Simon's failure to make extortion payments following a few more incidents at sea led to him trying to go into hiding to avoid punishment from Duke Arfaas. The pressure this put on his family resulted in Kathy filing for divorce and taking the child with her. A lonely Simon trudged on, making as much distance between himself and Miriam as possible to avoid bringing down further wrath from Arfaas.

His plans ultimately failed, and he was captured by Hebbleskin scientists determined to use him as a Guinea pig for developing the Meethlite werewolf technology they were assigned to. Since Milthuen research was failing and AI backvisors were becoming ineffective, Arfaas was quickly losing interest in Milthuen Prototypes like Milp. He planned to create a werewolf army, which would forever crush the Centhuens and Centhuen Prototypes and destroy Phaelite science.

Simon was all set up to be made into a wolfman; but then a shipping error complicated things. The scientists did not receive the wolf DNA they wanted for their experiment. They decided to substitute with aardwolf and hyena DNA, an aardwolf to get the wolf-like characteristics they wanted and a little hyena DNA to give their creation some aggression. As they were working on their experiment, they were about to plant on Simon anything they could to make him unquestioningly loyal. They failed to do so in time. The extreme agony of his transformation instead prompted Simon to force his way out of the transformation chamber. He shattered the glass, and immediately proceeded to slaughter all the scientists involved. He escaped into the night, making his way back home in only his underwear.

Split personality takeover
He began growing aardwolf fur rather quickly, and within the span of two days he found most of his excess body fat had been converted to fur. He began developing an insatiable appetite for termites, and being haunted by an alter-ego. That alter-ego soon took complete control, limiting his vocabulary and narrowing his focus. Capp Aard had been born. He immediately used what mentally faculties remained to read up on information that Arfaas had sent him regarding plans for a Mik-Non invasion of Dirbine. He kept reading until he discovered that those plans would also involve framing Sniperbadger for espionage against the Chinese government. Part of the plan would be to either find and capture Miriam while she was still in Alaska or chase her all the way to Gerosha, where she would most likely run to for cover. Aard also reasoned that she was herself searching for the Queen Illaka Ruby.

Russia, and Alaskan Inuit tribes, debated furiously as to whom the ruby truly belonged; but its worth in ransom would be more than enough for Aard to create his own termite plantation. Megalomania set in, and he argued to himself that a termite plantation was the beginnings of his quest to take over the world and have women serving him termites night and day.

Stalking Miriam
Aard ventured out of his home, no longer loyal to either Miriam or Arfaas. He soon learned of Vienna having captured the Ming-Yo from China, and reasoned that capturing that jewel would give him an extra advantage over merely stealing the Queen Illaka. Its radioactivity didn't seem to matter to him. He resurfaced during the Mik-Non attack right as Candi and Miriam were attempting to flee Dirbine. He swooped down on Miriam, attempting to kidnap her. This led to a brief battle with Ciem, which ended when Miriam hit a distracted Capp Aard with the front of a stolen car. The girls made their escape from town, and Miriam began the long process of clearing her name.

However, Aard quickly recovered from the initial assault. He battled Vienna for the Ming-Yo, initially losing only because she was able to use superior firepower to her advantage. However, he followed her scent all the way to Latin Town. Vienna tracked down the girls and attempted to hide with them; but Aard set up a trap to ambush Vienna. He snatched the Ming-Yo and challenged Ciem to a battle. Candi was now at the peak of suffering from her flu, with her powers glitching constantly. She chased after Aard anyway in her efforts to get the Ming-Yo away from him before he accidentally nuked the whole town. Alas, she lost the battle; and was sent flying into traffic. A family she had saved earlier rescued her from the highway, and took her unconscious body to their house until she could recover. Aard used Ciem's defeat as his golden opportunity. He attacked the Latin Town motel yet again, this time successfully kidnapping Miriam and making off with her. Vienna went in pursuit of him, chasing him all the way to a Farrenville industrial complex.

Death
While Candi recovered from her illness and Donte retrieved his Emeraldon gear, Vienna teamed up with Chinese agent Black Rat to keep Aard from activating the Ming-Yo. The rapid deterioration of Aard's mind to a more animal-like state resulted in him activating it anyway. He soon killed Black Rat; and Vienna was forced to hide while Aard continued to play with the Ming-Yo and unwittingly expose himself to its radiation. Ciem showed up with Emeraldon, and battled Aard as a diversion. Emeraldon flew the Ming-Yo as fast as he could to the Gulf of Mexico and destroyed it; while Ciem kept Aard busy. She finally lured him outdoors and bought time for Miriam and Vienna to expose Lloyd Kolumn's treason against the US and conspiracy with Arfaas. With Chinese as US forces allied against the Mik-Non and the Hebbleskin Gang, Miriam was finally off the hook. Aard began slowly melting to a puddle as the Ming-Yo's radiation ripped his molecules apart. A horrified Candi fled the scene, lest she be captured by police. Aard's last word was: "Ter....mites....."

Discharge from military
Simon Aardvin was an army private right out of college, where he did his best to make a living. However, his girlfriend Kathy Gentry broke off their engagement to run around on him with another soldier. After that, he began having multiple flings with women in his unit. Word of the drama this produced eventually led to an investigation which got him discharged. He went about his life from one job to another, frustrated that he never got to live up to his dream of being an army captain as his father had been.

Kolumn's plot
When Arfaas decided he was going to launch a second attack on Evansville to get revenge for Darius exiling him two years ago, he decided to capture the Ming-Yo experiment from China. He also suspected Miriam of being the Gifted Flippo, and was determined to have her either captured by his forces or else killed by the Chinese. With the aid of a corrupt NSA agent named Lloyd Kolumn, Arfaas was able to connect with a hacker named Melvin Markus. Melvin pretended to befriend Steve as a way to spy on him; but Steve eventually figured out the truth of Melvin's intentions. Melvin hacked into Miriam's PC one night while she and Steve were having sex, and he stole several Sniperbadger passwords.

Impersonating Snipergbadger, Melvin hacked into the Chinese government's Ming-Yo project mainframe. Steve flew to China to meet with authorities and warn them of Arfaas' ruse, which left Miriam to flee to Evansville in the hopes of finding Candi. Some detective work on the Hebbleskin Gang's part led to them discovering that Miriam had taken a plane to Evansville, so they decided to set a trap.

Capture and transformation
Simon was captured by the Hebbleskins after failing to get a license to carry a concealed weapon. They killed the hooker that he was with at the time, and took him prisoner. He was transformed into his Capp Aard form, and warned that his new animal side would start taking over his mind. Kolumn promised a cure to stabilize him so he could stay somewhat human; but only if he captured Miriam and brought her to Kolumn. He is then informed that the Ming-Yo and Ming-Cho had been intercepted by CIA agents Vienna Dockler and Betty Harmin. Betty was missing; but Vienna was believed to be hiding somewhere in downtown Evansville. Aard would have to capture both Miriam and the Ming-Yo, and take them to a specially-disclosed industrial park. Kolumn would send Melvin there with the stabilizer, and an exchange would be made.

Frustrated with the extortion on him, Aard initially lashed out and killed a few scientists. However, he reluctantly agreed to Kolumn's terms. His path eventually becomes similar to that of his Classic Gerosha counterpart.

Motivation
Classic Capp Aard developed a complete split personality, similar to Gollum in Lord of the Rings. This split personality very quickly takes him over, and he develops a very limited vocabulary. He also obsesses with termites and with ways to get termites. Comprehensive Aard also has a craving for termites; but he is driven more by wanting to prevent the further deterioration of his mind than he is by megalomaniacal delusions of a "termite empire." Classic Aard is "Captain Aardwulf" because he used to be a seafarer. Comprehensive Aard is given the title mockingly by Kolumn and Arfaas, since he wanted to be an army captain like his father. This affects the way that the two Aards dress significantly. Classic Aard whipped together what little clothing he needed to look terrifying and be functional without looking like a naked monster. Comprehensive Aard still has a lot of his mind intact, and wants to keep it that way. Since he had some army training, Comprehensive Aard has combat experience in addition to his savage impulses. Classic Aard is more motivated by pure insanity.

Design
Overall, Comprehensive Aard is a significant departure in formula from Aard Prime. However, he and Aard Prime have in common the fact that they are struggling to maintain control of the human parts of their brains against gradual deterioration to an animal state. This gives Prime and Comp some drama to their transformation not found in Classic Aard. Not only that; but both of them are significant departures from Aard Prime's outfit.

In Gerosha Prime, Denny Levens was brainwashed into the evil Dr. Leone. Turning Simon into Capp Aard specifically was the goal all along, and Aard's only motivation for killing Denny was because the transformation was painful. The scientists in Classic Gerosha had no such deliberation, and were transforming him to follow orders. Therefore, his costume was made less like a pirate and more like a chaotic madman. Comprehensive Capp Aard takes his old boot camp clothes and re-purposes them, reliving his dream of his military training actually meaning something. However, his transformation makes it difficult for him to wield a rifle like he used to. On top of that, his increasingly animal-like impulses prevent him from having the patience to aim a gun.

He therefore uses his hand-to-hand combat training to his advantage whenever he can. In addition to this different interpretation of "Captain" in his name, Comprehensive Aard does away with the brown coat. It was originally part of his pirate outfit in Gerosha Prime. In Classic Gerosha, it was put there to deliberately knock off the green coat worn by Alfred Molina in Spider-Man 2. Comprehensive Aard's design has no intention of shouting out to any one previous movie or movie villain in particular, so the iconic trench coat is gone. His hairstyle change is there to serve as a reminder that he is no longer a parody of Alfred Molina's Doc Ock.

Catchphrases
As far back as Gerosha Prime Ciem 2, one of Capp Aard's defining characteristics was to scream "TERMITES!!!" to indicate his obsession with termites. As his parody of Gollum grew more emphasized in Classic Gerosha Ciem 2, he also began referring to Ciem as "Nasty Centipede," and to himself as "Aardie." His fascination with termites is played more dramatically in Nuclear Crisis. Also, his other phrases are toned down. "Nasty Centipede" is all but done away with. Even so, he continues to gaze at the Ming-Yo and proclaim: "Shine, pretty thing, shine!"

Gerosha Prime
Aard was originally designed based entirely around Gerosha Prime Ciem being a Sims 2 parody of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. The idea of his voice being Gollum-like as he obsessed over termites and Miriam was designed to be comedic, as the source material being spoofed was likewise corny. Since the midway cancellation of Despair Gerosha's version of Ciem 1, no experimentation was attempted to make a better Aard in that universe.

Aard Prime's outfit was a recolor of a default outfit for pirate Sims, made to fit his aardwolf color scheme. His sunglasses were made green to distinguish him from the black sunglasses worn by Ock in Spider-Man 2.

Classic Gerosha
For Ciem 2, Aard was made an even more extreme form of his twin inspirations. It was ruled that a man losing his mind that quickly would not wear a pirate outfit like the one he was originally depicted with. Therefore, he was revised to wear his more savage brown sweatpants and brown trenchcoat. The pants were a Maxis default recolor; but the coat was a repaint of the Wearable With Anything Trenchcoat by GeneralZoi at Mod The Sims. His aardwolf fur was the result of repainting Abragon's Werewolf Warrior from the same site. His face was a repaint using a Maxis facepaint file. It was modified using a photo of an aardwolf taken from Wikipedia.

Comprehensive Gerosha
The new Capp Aard's design has so far only been explored with UGO's HeroMachine software. This version attempts to be a more sympathetic villain. He is focused and brutal; even stoic. But his stoicism is an outer shell to hide how hurt he is inside. He has low taste in women; but he is not particularly chauvinistic. Miriam is even able to converse with this one; but not break his determination. While resisting the inner animal, he remains somewhat more human. He is even somewhat caring for Miriam as he holds her prisoner, assuring her that Arfaas' plans for her beheading are punishment enough.

His brief military past gives him access to some military garb; so he dresses like he's in junior boot camp. The lack of a trenchcoat also makes him more maneuverable in the face of trouble; making it more credible that he and an flu-infected Ciem could be evenly matched.