Yeah, he's pretty much always implied to be gay. I actually really love the mystery of Hooded Justice in the book, where we're given all of these peeks behind the curtain that imply so much depth.
In the original comic he's just a brutal vigilante, who kicks off the whole "masked crime fighter thing," is implied to be in a relationship with Captain Metropolis, and made some pro-Nazi statements. Circus strongman Rolf Muller is listed as a possible identity.
In Before Watchmen (The Minutemen series, which is quite excellent, done by Darwyn Cooke) his identity is never revealed, but he's confirmed to be German and is explicitly NOT Rolf Muller, who is a character that shows up separately.
In the TV show, yeah, definitely not Rolf Muller. He does have explicit German sympathies though, which I thought was an interesting way to include that vein of the character. (I thought the show was kinda garbage but the Hooded Justice episode was definitely a highlight.)
One draft could easily hit all those notes though:
- Hates criminals and lawlessness
- Brutal, vicious methods; possible sadist
- Inspiration for "masks" movement
- Big
I actually had a basic draft for him, shown below. Obviously agreed on for Criminal Intimidation, similar tack for "multi-attack" stuff, but I think I like your version better overall. Maybe you could dovetail the "hunting down criminal conspiracy" power with an "inspiring others" power?