Viktor comes from the Undercity of Zaun. Born with a malformed leg and needing a cane to walk, his mobility issues inhibited him from playing with other children. Despite his loneliness, he was incredibly intelligent. He fostered an engineering talent, even creating a working model steamboat that he completes and tests. After placing the boat in a stream to test-run it, the current of the water pulls it downstream faster than Viktor can keep up with it. Demonstrating recklessness even as a child, Viktor chooses to follow the stream down into a dark cave, where he finds it in the hands of Singed, a scientist who is attempting to preserve the life of a mutated Waverider named Rio. Praising Viktor for the quality of his invention, Singed allows Viktor to assist him in caring for Rio, feeding her what appears to be an early, raw variant of Shimmer. After finding Rio contorted in pain and hooked up to a series of machines, Viktor is horrified. Singed claims, "The mutation must survive," but Viktor soon runs away.As a child, Viktor was quieter than other children but creative in ways to create new technology. He chooses to help Singed with Rio's health out of kindness, and when he sees what the scientist does to her to keep her alive, he angrily leaves and does not believe in his cruel methods. "Hm...hi...I'm Viktor."