Robert Jacob James Smythe

"Vanguard"

First Appearance: Forte #60 (original), Forte 2000 #3 (latter)

Robert Jacob James Smythe, the very wealthy son of British industrialists, used his light-based powers and amazing intellect by becoming the hero known as Vanguard. Forming an investigative/intelligence organization called Bottom Line Incorporated, and living a number of different identities, he traveled to Seattle during one of his ongoing investigations and crossed paths with the hero team Forte. Though first suspicious of him, his motives, and his secretive nature, the team learned to trust and respect Vanguard, and he ended up joining them full-time. Though he joined the team after they were already well established, Vanguard became a Forte icon and one of their most popular members. A brilliant (and some, even among his comrades, might say paranoid) strategist and a fearless hero, Vanguard spent years with the team, standing with them through some of their darkest times, and helped save the world many times over. He left the team, finally, to move to New York, to be near the woman he loved—Telestar of the female hero group Angel Flight—but stayed a regular part of Forte operations, aiding new members and constantly updating and maintaining the vast Forte database that he’d established himself. Vanguard married Telestar in a gala New York wedding in 2002, an event attending by his friends and teammates, and heroes from around the world. After the birth of his children, Vanguard officially retired, promising his wife he would never put on the mask again. Providing support to both Angel Flight and Forte, Robert continues, even without a costume, to aid in the ongoing fight for justice and to keep the world safe.