Professor Erik Edison got his first PhD at age eleven. Genetic testing remains inconclusive as to whether or not Edison’s mind was due to superpowers or human genius. When he was 15, he was studying brain surgery—though unlicensed to actually perform it, he was a welcome presence in most operating rooms—and made a breakthrough.
He discovered a process that gave him a super-charged nervous system, making him a living megawatt battery. He could then supercharge his own mind, allowing him to have breakthroughs at unprecedented rates. ECU found out about his experiments and tried to shut him down.
He electrocuted three security guards and discovered he did not care. It is possible Erik had a spark of humanity prior to the accident, but if there was, the electricity burned it out of him.
Using the dregs of his bank account, he set up a second lab, one where he could research what he wanted, without fear of intervention by pesky authorities. The equipment he wanted was expensive, so he turned to crime.
He would usually disable the alarms and help himself to whatever was not nailed down. Crime, he soon discovered, was a fine way to keep his ever-questing mind quiet. Soon after, he built his first suit of armor, powered by his own massive bioelectric powers.