Personnel
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Camden, New Jersey's a rough neighborhood to grow up in; bars on windows, police sirens consistently ringing throughout the night. Pimps, hustlers, prostitutes, drugs permeating the atmosphere. This was no place for a child to grow up and yet this was the world of Robert Statler. Born in 1976 to Sandra and Leroy Statler, Rob learned very early on that to survive in this world you have to fight. His father left the family when Rob was three. As of 2006, this relationship between father and son remains non-existent. Growing up, Rob relied mostly on his burgeoning hustling skills to make ends meet and because he was born with a condition that gradually lead to the loss of much of his hearing, he was apt to remain resourceful. As a child, he made the acquaintance of another youth named Marcus, the son of his late friend and former co-worker Alexandros Hittles. Mark would go on to become one of the closest friends he would ever have, and later, one of his most enduring rivals. Though Rob treated the rivalry as a friendly battle of the wits, as time wore on, Mark became more engrossed with showing others that he was Statler's superior. In a heart-rending occurrence of random violence, Rob lost Alexandros and his younger and only brother in the crosshairs of a drive-by shooting. Nothing would ever be the same again. Following this incident, he and his mother did their best to hang on. Rob spent a lot of time with the Hittles, though much to the chagrin of Marcus. By the time he was sixteen, he regressed into an existence devoid of hope brought on by an overwhelming sense of remorse and anger in the wake of his loved one's death. He had nothing more to lose and; thus, made the choice to do whatever was necessary to support the family he had left. Taking solace among the only ones who shared his grief and a desire to survive in a city that afflicted its citizens, he embraced Camden's underworld and began to sympathize with the other side. The criminals who made his life hell, in their numbers, provided him with the luxury of protection that he'd never known before. Rob has always possessed a talent for mathematics, an ability he used to his favor as a stolen goods trafficker for a local gang employed by the unseen cartel leader known only as 'The Italian'. He had become very astute in his role, but unlike some of his associates he never killed anyone and never had an urge to take a life. He used the money from his illicit endeavors to support his mother, who herself was wrought in a reprehensible minimum wage job. She always questioned its source but was never given an honest answer. This slow disappointment has always begrudged Rob and continues to be a thorn in his side to this day. One day on a routine run, Rob and several other high profile smugglers were busted during a SWAT raid. Rob diligently served his time in a youth detention center in North Brunswick, NJ before being released on good behavior. Despite temptations on all sides, he would never again fall into that world. The experience would leave Rob with a disdain for all that is evil. He would never allow that type of corruption into his life--or anyone else's--again. Following his release, Rob attended Gallaudet University for a few years where he sought a bachelor's degree in Computer Science with a minor in Graphic Design before leaving to attend Temple University in Philadelphia to gain his masters in Applied Science & Technology. After his graduation in 2001, he joined up with the United States Army at first as a technician but t hen slowly moved up the ranks to the Army's "Special Ops" division, where he was transferred to the base town of Dalton, Nevada. On a bleak day in 2004, his life would change forever when he saw, of all things, a zombie sprawling up the road. Rob joined up with Ghostbusters: Doom Patrol following the Dalton Incident, immediately resigning from the armed forces and taking much of his projects with him. He has been an invaluable service to the team, creating special weaponry and devices (he personally designed the group's two vehicles, the Ecto-Millennium and the Ecto-1M) and has even been known to bullshit alongside the other guys in the group. But, when it comes down to business, Rob is not one to be messed with and possesses and incredible determination that rivals Andrew's in making sure the job gets done and nobody gets hurt. He was wounded in 2006 by a servant in the employ of Adrik Thorsen, but survived his wounds to continue with the second incarnation of the team. MISCELLANEOUS:
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