![[Proteus]](proteus.jpg)
Gender: Male
First Appearance: "The New Olympians"
Other Appearances: "Seeing Isn't Believing"
Proteus is the only criminal New Olympian. A psychopath and murderer, he made multiple attempts to escape his imprisonment, and to get off New Olympus. In the last attempt before the arrival of the Avalon travellers, Proteus slew the then-current security chief, the father of Taurus. Proteus took malicious delight of reminding Taurus of that fact by imitating his father.
In 1996, Elisa Maza arrived on the island, and, after getting caught in an anti-human riot, she was placed in a cell near Proteus. Proteus was curious as to how she found the island. When Goliath came to liberate Elisa, Proteus took on the form of Elisa, tricked Goliath into freeing him, shifted into the form of a cyclops, and trapped Goliath in his former cell. As Goliath, Proteus freed Elisa, planning to travel with her off the island. However, when he failed to turn to stone at sunrise, Elisa quickly deduced "Goliath"'s true nature, and went off to find help. Proteus shifted into the form of Taurus, and entered the tower that was the main power source of the island. Proteus planned to overload it, which would destroy New Olympus. He was delayed by Talos, but Elisa led Taurus to him, and, after a brief battle, Taurus defeated and recaptured Proteus.
In the Goliath Chronicles, Proteus escaped, and found his way to New York City, seeking revenge on Elisa and Goliath. He used his shapeshifting abilities in an attempt to turn them against one another, and managed to capture Goliath. However, his plans were foiled in the end by Elisa, Hudson, Angela, and Taurus, who pursued him from New Olympus. He used cryptic clues to send them all over the city in search of him, but they eventually tracked him to a lighthouse, and there they defeated him. Taurus took him back to New Olympus, and he was returned to his cell.
Proteus is a powerful shapeshifter, able to imitate the form of any lifeform he sees. He can also imitate the abilities of the creature. He can also transform himself into other creatures that are in his imagination, such as a cyclops, or a giant six-armed monster gargoyle. His main vulnerability is that he retains his natural physical durability- which is of a rather low degree- no matter his form.