Hassan Al-Talib

Origin
One day, while Steve Hiromatsu was working in his lab with his good friend, Hassan Al-Talib, a strange feeling came over Steve, and Hassan rushed to his aid. Suddenly, a shockwave rolled through the lab, collapsing it on top of them both. Steve, feeling more energized than ever, freed himself from the debris, and then hefted 3 tons of concrete off of Hassan. Within seconds, Steve found himself in a hospital with Hassan unconscious in his arms. Steve had no idea how he had gotten to the hospital, which was 5 miles from his lab. He only knew that it was where he wanted to be.

After waking from his coma, Hassan found out that Steve had become Astro-Man! However, Hassan desperately wished to harness the energy's strange properties. He believed it was a key to wealth and glory. But Steve would not share his research, for fear that the energy could be dangerous in the wrong hands. New agents of Viro were already at work on Earth, under the direction of General Kalthar, and Steve was forced to assume the identity of Astro-Man, so that he could use his abilities to combat them. Hassan felt scorned that Steve would not share his research and that he flaunted his abilities as Astro-Man.

In addition to his desire to study the scientific ramnifications of Astro-Man's power, he is also motivated to defend mankind from the Astro-Men himself, after seeing the devestation caused by Kalthar's last battle with Astro-Man on Earth. Perhaps he blames Astro-Man for the death of his wife, who was killed during the battle, an event that Astro-Man accepts a certain amount of blame for (even though it was not his fault). And, of course, in true supervillain style, Talib thinks that only he, being a superior man, has the right to bear the powers of an Astro-Man.

Powers and Abilities
Talib is a well-respected scientist and can be a pretty influential guy in the right circles, especially if his early work is promising enough.