Clyde Spendelworth (Cataclysmic Gerosha)

Clyde Spendelworth is the main antagonist in the comic remake of Blood Over Water, this time set in the Cataclysmic Gerosha continuity. He replaces Bob Lusital as the CEO of Sleet Mountain, a water bottling plant that hides a sinister agenda behind what at first seems a benevolent operation.

Dark upbringing
Clyde was born in 1944, to a mob family. He noted early on the cold relationship he had with his parents, who seemed to always be involved in something shady, and rarely had time for him. He learned how to become an organized criminal from his gangster uncle. Yet...simply making money through shady means wasn't enough for him. At 16, he got his first exposure to hardcore porn; but that too didn't satisfy him. He developed a fascination with snuff and guro by age 18. As he began to notice pedophilic and ephebophilic tendencies in himself, he began attending NAMBLA meetings.

He noticed his uncle getting involved in occult symbolism one day, and spouting Randian ideology. However, Clyde's NAMBLA indoctrination kicked in. He wasn't interested in joining a classical LeVayan satanic organization. While they said and did many things he liked, the traditional ones had rules against rape that restricted him too much. In search of an organization to belong to that better paired with his own dark heart, Clyde eventually discovered the Society of the Icy Finger. They tolerated rape in certain circumstances; but they weren't all about spreading sexual perversion. Their emphasis was on dethroning God, and instilling their own leader as a new god, by way of multiversal conquest. They weren't interested in human trafficking, the making of various illegal forms of porn, or anything Clyde wanted to specialize in. However, they were tolerant of his doing so. As of 1996, Clyde founded Gleeful-N'-Young. This agency specialized in everything from making porn videos of every variety to sponsoring escorts to selling merchandise targeting college students. However, Clyde made his real money on child trafficking and torture porn. For him, after a while, it wasn't even about the sex or money...but about the thrill of being able to wield power over others, to manipulate them, and to control their destinies.

Rivalry with Victor Nanale
As the more criminal side of Clyde's operation grew, Clyde had to become more ruthless in trying to ensure the loyalty of his minions - to avoid exposure to the FBI and other agencies. He became talented at putting plants in certain agencies as well, in order to draw attention away from his criminality. Even so, the less-criminal side of is enterprise began to suffer in sales - making him have to pull his merchandising and lean more into the criminal element. This put him in conflict in the southwestern US with the Kerpher Gang, led by the ruthless Victor Nanale.

After some Gleeful-N'-Young associates teamed up with the Hebbleskin Gang to thwart an assassination attempt by Kerphers, the Hebbleskins declared war on the Kerphers - but also offered to buy out Gleeful-N'-Young as part of their front dubbed "Shiny Horizons." Clyde soon went into a partnership with Duke Arfaas, and the two discussed a merger.

Befriending Bob Lusital
However, Clyde needed a better place to store his illegal porn videos. Using his connections in northern Michigan, he was able to impress the senile Bob Lusital of Sleet Mountain Lower Northern. By 2006, Clyde had worked his way up to being the second-in-command at Sleet Mountain. He promised to turn things around for the beleaguered company, losing money due to new EPA regulations. Keeping his true dark past a secret, Clyde convinced Bob that he was qualified to be Bob's replacement at the plant once Bob retired. It was also around this time that Clyde re-established contact in India with one Daruka Naidu, who was intent on expanding Gleeful-N'-Young into the underground sex trafficking markets of India.

Recruiting George Lawence
After hearing of the exploits of one George Lawence, Clyde became convinced that George would be a valuable asset to the "Northern Michigan Job." Clyde used his reach to infiltrate the mental facility where George was being held. He ensured that a gun was smuggled in, and allowed George to shoot is way out of the building. A van came to deliver George to freedom, and police arrived on the scene too late to find out where George went.

Clyde quickly introduced George to the new Gleeful-N'-Young operation setup in northern Michigan, and informed George that he'd be put in charge of "securing operations" at the Sleet Mountain plant. He was warned not to kill willy-nilly; but to wait for assignments. He was assured there'd be "plenty of opportunities" to put his skills to use.

Takeover of Sleet Mountain
''See also: Blood Over Water (webcomic)

After a party is held in celebration of the company takeover, Clyde secretly signals to George to follow Bob's car. Bob is never seen again. Clyde notes the financial issues at Sleet Mountain that he inherited from Bob, and resolves on a scheme to save the company millions of dollars in costs - by hook or by crook. This enables him to further use the facility to hide his illegal porn in a secret room that he designates.

Weeding out sleuths, spies, and traitors
Clyde knew that running his plan would require several key position holders at the bottling plant to be in on his scheme. His first major conflict came with Vance Lingolin, who immediately resigned rather than be part of the cleanup fraud scam. Clyde sent George to deal with Vance; yet they didn't count on Monica Shelly, Vance's girlfriend, collecting evidence. Later on, missing office supplies suggested to Clyde that Mark Stefflin might be making copies of incriminating documents, and gathering evidence against the company. He sends George and Kyle to put pressure on Mark to surrender any stolen evidence, which Mark denies having.

Frustrated, Clyde sends George to the home of Ashley Phillips. He finds the file on Rev. Campelli in Ashley's file cabinet, and concludes that would make for excellent blackmail. As Ashley goes to talk to Mark, Clyde convinces Chris that Mark is about to betray the company and put everyone in jail. An enraged Chris goes over to Hillcrest, and assassinates Mark. However, Chris then learns that he and Ashley were both manipulated by Clyde. They dispose of Mark's body, and then they conspire to betray Clyde together.

Clyde deduces that Chris is soft for Ashley, and also deduces that Chris will be much more careful - to avoid assassination or jail time. Clyde arranges for Gleeful-N'-Young personnel to kidnap Ashley. He then acts dismissive when Chris shows concern - but fails to deduce that Chris would betray the company over Ashley. Clyde finally signals to Gleeful-N'-Young that the time has come to seize the targeted women and children in his mapped-out region. The siege strikes Big Rapids, Howard City, Paris, and any other town that is reliant on the Meceola Dispatch Center - which Clyde orders his men to sabotage. Brent Yorming, Clyde's plant within Ferris DPS, proves a constant obstruction toward Monica's efforts to solve Vance's murder. Yorming's men even succeed at getting Monica sent to jail for three days, while the murder of her friend Hank Froli is covered up. The only major hitch in Clyde's plan, however, was his failure to anticipate that the Straggele would get involved. Some of the children Clyde intended to steal were rescued by the Straggele - including Annabelle Shelly.

Fleeing Sleet Mountain
George became increasingly suspicious when he saw what looked like Mark around town in various locations. His attempts to capture "Mark," however, led to the target escaping. George and Kyle began demanding answers from Chris as to what was going on, and Chris began to fear that he'd have to inform them about Mark's twin, Aaron. When Aaron persisted with investigations, and then went directly to Chris to inform him that two men tried to abduct him, Chris realized that the jig was up: he needed to come clean about Aaron's existence.

Clyde immediately set to work with arranging for Chris, George, and Kyle to capture and execute Aaron and Monica. Much to Clyde's surprise, however, Chris didn't return to work. Chris instead closed his bank account, then resigned from the company. George and Kyle never reported in to work the next day; further leading Clyde to be suspicious. A news report soon confirmed finding George and Kyle dead. Clyde gathers together his Gleeful-N'-Young troops, and flees Sleet Mountain in December. Around that time, Aaron has successfully convinced the FBI and EPA to look into what Sleet Mountain has been up to. The bottling plant is raided - but the illegal porn is gone, save for one video that a staff member forgot to recover. The EPA finds evidence of cleanup fraud; and notes that Clyde has gone missing. The remaining workers at the company are threatened with criminal charges and lawsuits, putting the plant at risk of being shut down.

Meanwhile, Clyde has successfully completed selling Gleeful-N'-Young to Shiny Horizons. He takes advantage of this to flee into hiding. However, he soon learns that his brothels are under attack by "some maniac." Ashley is rescued by said "maniac" from a brothel in Kentucky - where almost everyone else was killed. Clyde suspects this new vigilante to be Chris; but can't confirm it.

Rise of the Purge-Flare
Chris begins annihilating associates of Clyde's in a nationwide murder spree, as Clyde finds himself unable to put a stop to the vigilante that is tearing his organization apart. Worse: he begins to learn of a network of online vigilantes dubbed the "Padua Network" that has a similar mission - albeit, with more cybervigilantism and less physical violence. Rumors spread after early 2013 of a "Purge-Flare phenomenon." Even more troubling, Extirpon takes out a few Gleeful-N'-Young operatives. Clyde attempts to ride out the storm as long as possible, but realizes that morale among his operatives is dropping rapidly. They can never tell if it's the real Extirpon or the fake one that is about to execute them!

Losing Pencil
See also: Purge-Flare: Stickin' It to Pencil

The time had finally arrived in 2015. The new Kirby Act had thrown SCALLOP into utter legal chaos, making them just as much foe as friend of any Phexos that posed a threat to the Hebbleskin Gang. Likewise, with Emeraldon now entangled in dealing with issues in Florida caused by Rappaccini and his Screwworm Network, southern Indiana was vulnerable. The Gerosha Job had been initiated. However, Clyde ran into an issue with whom to have meet up with his monstrosity associate, Lava Tigre. There were two men left that could lead the Gerosha Job: Frank Morvel and Mike "the Pencil" Javelin.

Clyde kept Frank as a backup; suspecting that Frank's noisier approach to matters would draw attention from Ciem. He intended to get Pencil to do the job instead. However, Pencil was still in Kentucky in late September. What Clyde wasn't aware of around that time, was that the local Cincinnati-based gang of the Finneytown Ferrets was already aware of his plans with Pencil. Worse: Padua had caught on, as had the Critter Resistance Network online vigilante Sniperbadger. The Purge-Flare was on his way to assassinate Pencil.

Clyde arranges for Bert Mongale in a private jet to arrive at the Cincinnati Airport and retrieve Pencil. However, Emeraldon intercepts the plane and downs it. Police find some of Clyde's illegal porn on Mongale's jet, and Mongale is quickly arrested. Pencil panics that Mongale's jet never arrived; and Clyde attempts to calm Pencil down. However, Chris assassinates Pencil minutes later. It only takes Clyde a day to realize that either the Purge-Flare or Extirpon had done the job. Either way, Frank would be needed for the Gerosha Job.

It is at this point that Clyde starts to become nervous: Arfaas and Rappaccini begin to have big plans for their cooperation with the Phaletori - as well as for Halal Affadidah's plans for an "Ameristani Caliphate." Clyde suspects that he's about to become obsolete, and that he'll need to assist the assault on Gerosha via Frank and quickly prove himself to avoid obsolescence. Arfaas, realizing what's at stake, assigns Madison Juvenile corrections officer plant Lonny "Drop-In" Factor to assist, in case Lava Tigre isn't enough.

The Gerosha Job
See also: Ciem: Inferno

The Gerosha Job went into high gear on October 15th of 2015. However, Clyde was informed that the operation met with resistance almost immediately. Factor reported being attacked by Ciem, although reports of her presence dropped fairly quickly afterward. Rumors were that this was due to the arrest of one Candi Flippo. Meanwhile, there were reports that the Purge-Flare and some local girl were harassing the Pyro Panthers, Lava Tigre, and the Hebbleskins inside the new dome around Gerosha. They may have had assistance from two other young men.

The Gerosha Job falls apart shortly after a secondary spotting of Ciem in town. An upgraded Purge-Flare kills Lava Tigre, and reports come in to Clyde that Factor had been killed by an "Flintirah" at the Madison Juvenile Center - after he attempted to kill Candi Flippo. Ciem is revealed to be responsible for rescuing several women that Frank Morvel attempted to flee town with, and for disabling Frank's van. Frank was beaten badly, and left for the police, by an enraged Ciem. Miriam Flippo is revealed to be the woman who assisted the Purge-Flare, and the latter is revealed to have escaped. Miriam also is revealed to have disabled the dome, allowing the National Guard to enter Gerosha and restore order.

Candi is later sent back to Madison on trumped-up charges of Kirby Act violations; and Miriam is sentenced to the SCALLOP Juvenile Containment Center outside of Houston. However, all of Clyde's most important men in the Gerosha Job were either dead or in prison at that point. And worse: Chris was still at large!

Death
See also: Ciem: Ash Cloud

Chris continues to dismantle Clyde's operations, until Clyde finds himself all alone in early June of 2016, hiding in a motel room in Colorado. Clyde begs Arfaas to send reinforcements, but Arfaas claims to be unable to get them to Clyde in a timely manner. Making matters worse: the Triumvirate is panicked that the Sodality Church has allowed for Kamohoalii and Anarteq to steal the information on Project: Kaiakahinali 2! The Icy Finger gets the battle baton, and Rappaccini hires Eric Korsicht to initiate a plan to cripple the entire American Midwest. Major emphasis is on Cincinnati, though this doesn't stop Korsicht from wishing to harass the Madison Juvenile Center.

With all the focus on southern Indiana and Ohio, Clyde is left all alone. Chris, much to Clyde's horror, finds out where he is, and breaks into Clyde's motel room. The two of them have a very brief scuffle, with Chris easily overpowering the old man. Extirpon and the Gray Champion arrive, but aren't quick enough to stop an enraged Chris from executing Clyde in the parking lot right outside the motel. Instead, Clyde looks up to see the two shocked heroes, as they then elect to stand by and helplessly watch Chris' handiwork.

John Domeck agrees to dispose of the body, and Extirpon offers to assist Chris with a SCALLOP-sponsored witness protection program that would allow Chris to start his life over as a lowly rancher. The Gray Champion collects the ashes of Clyde's remains into some glass tubes, then takes these tubes to Houston to have them attached to the next rocket to be launched. Clyde's body is smuggled into space, and the tubes disappear into orbit. Clyde, in the end, was not even afforded the luxury of decomposing into Earth's soil.

In the aftermath of Clyde's demise, what remained of Gleeful-N'-Young started being operated by the Hebbleskins more directly. This meant that Duke Arfaas took over Clyde's contacts with Daruka Naidu in Porbandar. However, Daruka vanished a year later, and Arfaas was left to conclude that Daruka had died during the meteor shower that destroyed Porbandar in 2017.

Personality
This version of Clyde is much more efficient, effective, and resourceful than the original. He also thinks more of the big picture. His insatiable appetite for money, power, and sex fuels his decision-making process; but he also is intrigued by occult pathways to power. Even so, he is reluctant to embrace sorcery outright. At the same time, he has dabbled with satanic organizations - but found classical libertarian sects to be too restrictive regarding issues like rape. Clyde is a competitor with Victor Nanale of the Kerpher Gang, one who sees the Hebbleskin Gang via its front Shiny Horizons to be the future of staying one step ahead. Both of these rivals idolize Jeffery Epstein, and wish they could've become as connected to high-ranking officials around the globe. Yet, Clyde sees the budding Triumvirate involving Duke Arfaas, Rappaccini, and the Phaletori to be a better pathway to what he wants than getting involved with more traditional globalists.

Clyde in this version is a much more talented manipulator than in previous incarnations, one whose plan had only one flaw: failure to perceive that Chris would switch sides on account of Ashley's fate. This version's key story demonstrates that Clyde is gifted at extending his reach, putting his connections wherever they need to be to ensure maximum efficiency. His ability to win over Bob Lusital's trust demonstrates Clyde's skills at deception. His use of George to blackmail Ashley was proof that he will stop to any low to get what he wants.

That being said, Clyde can also become arrogant, and becomes less organized and aware as time goes on. He fails to perceive that Bert Mongale has been captured by Emeraldon, leading to him failing to understand why Pencil was so nervous. This led to Pencil being assassinated by the Purge-Flare, which then led to Clyde having to make a move he dreaded: sending Frank Morvel to Gerosha. Losing Frank to Ciem's intervention, along with the Purge-Flare and Sniperbadger killing Lava Tigre, led to the quick crumbling of what remained of Clyde's empire. Arfaas began to reshuffle, as there was talk of unleashing a plague. This left Clyde feeling obsolete.

Yet, Clyde also knew that his time was short when he was left all alone in a motel. He wasn't at all surprised when Chris finally showed up to kill him off; but he was appalled that Extirpon would simply stand there and watch - and that the Gray Champion arrived late to the party, but then didn't intervene to put the fire out. He was defiant to the end; yet he was still shocked that his fortunes would reverse so quickly and dramatically - simply due to losing Morvel.

He became a master schemer, whose schemes came to very little in the end. He was mildly amused by the feud he discovered himself to have with Krampus, who rescued some of the children that he'd captured in northern Michigan. He also learned of rumors that one Annabelle Shelly from Howard City had joined the Straggele. He heard that she now personally knew Jerry the Psycho Reindeer - who fled to work for Krampus while Jerry's fellow Project: Ijiraq survivor George had become one of Clyde's enforcers.

Trivia

 * Having Clyde have motives to use Sleet Mountain as a front to help hide his side operation with the Gleeful-N'-Young trafficking ring was part of a move to ensure that he'd become an offensive and despicable villain to both sides of the US political spectrum.
 * Almost nobody identifying as conservative would defend a man who runs a brothel. Ever.
 * Liberals who might go out of their way to perform the moral gymnastics necessary to excuse him for that; would not want to be caught defending him for pollution and cleanup fraud. Therefore, Clyde makes enemies for himself from across the entire political spectrum.
 * Arguably, this meant the comic dropped some of the character's subtlety and mysterious aura of unknown horror and gloom in exchange for shock value.


 * Clyde joining Shiny Horizons at the comic's end, a front for the Hebbleskin Gang, serves as a way to integrate Blood Over Water into the greater whole of The Gerosha Chronicles.
 * The story otherwise appeared to happen unto itself, detached from the greater continuity family, until Purge-Flare: Stickin' It to Pencil directly bridged Blood Over Water to Ciem: Inferno.


 * Much of Clyde's current appearance stems from his Sims 3 and Sims 4-generated forms, which were in-turn sculpted using an Aaron Stefflin template that was slightly modified - and then aged up and given extra weight. This, in turn, is homage to the fact that he was the third character to be played in one fashion or another by Zach Foster in his original miniseries form.
 * His voice, while intended to sound natural in the comic, was clearly a voice masking effect in the original miniseries.


 * Whatever details about Clyde are not presented in Blood Over Water, Purge-Flare: Stickin' It to Pencil, Ciem: Inferno, nor Ciem: Ash Cloud proper, are instead explored in Blood Over Water: Dirty Laundry.


 * Clyde's AI art, generated with the app Wonder, features prominently in The Gerosha Chronicles, According to an AI, from November of 2022.