Difference between revisions of "Tracer"

John was born in San Diego, California to Nathaniel and Jane Upshaw. His father was a mid-level narcotics distributor and, as such, was in and out of prison often, making it difficult for his mother to do little more than stay home and look after her son. At age six, John's parents divorced, though his mother kept his father’s surname up until his death when he was eleven, returning to her maiden surname of Lawrence. John was, naturally, torn up by this series of rather unfortunate events - as well as strongly turned off to narcotics - and went into a mild, bottled-up depression for a few years until high school when his hormones started to level out and he became more sociable.

On August 27th, 1996 (John's seventeenth birthday) he enlisted in the Marine Corps MOS of 0231 Intel Specialist. Three years through his contract with 1st Marine Division, 1st Intel, Counterintelligence/Human Intelligence Company (where he quickly excelled in his job), he picked up the rank of Corporal. He later on went through a screening in order to become a Marine Corps Raider based on high marks from a Chief Warrant Officer Hauberk. He excelled in the two years of training and later on became a top operator with 1st MSOB running multiple missions around the world that still remain highly classified to this day. He went on to be enlisted for a total of thirteen years when he decided to retire as a Gunnery Sergeant and took up work with the Defense Intelligence Agency.

In 2013, after four years worth of operations in the DIA, John led the security convoy for the American ambassador to China. Upon heading back to the embassy, his convoy was ambushed by a group of mercenaries. There were no casualties; however, upon further inspection, the head of their security detail was missing in-action. The mercenary in question had kidnapped John and returned him to their base of operations - a remote cell operating in Tibet. It was broadcast that terrorists had an American operative in captivity and planned to execute him on live television. He was there for four months, held for ransom and interrogated - to no avail. When they grew tired of a futile ransom attempt, they finally attempted to execute him. When the cameras went on and the gun pointed to his head, latent metahuman abilities came forth, allowing John to eliminate his captors. Fashioning a makeshift rescue beacon using their broadcasting technology, he was eventually rescued by SFF (Special Frontier Force) commandos, eventually transferred back into American hands.

Officially overqualified, John traded his career with the DIA for unemployment, immediately heading for the pinnacle of superhuman activity -- Millenium City, Michigan. He spent roughly a year here before receiving an opportunity to work with a team of DOD-sanctioned prior-military heroes known as Alpha Group. Alpha was on call for the next World War and would be one of the several American superteams to be deployed first. As such, John spent his tenure with Alpha Group training, attending ceremonies, and shows of force. He worked with them for three years until early 2017, he hit his twenty years of service to the nation and opted to retire to return to Millenium City.

On the surface, John is a charismatic man with simple tastes. An air of chivalry resides about him, materializing through simple acts. One can easily perceive him as a textbook gentleman. One might also learn soon enough that John is a master in the art of deceit, easily being able to pull lies from thin air and roll with them on the spot, as if they were rehearsed.

John is a reserved leader, as charismatic as he may be. He finds he can handle most situations solo, and doesn't necessarily need another person tagging along. He can be very happy alone, enjoying his own thoughts and ideas. As such, this classifies him as an introvert. In his experience, other people aren't always completely dependable, so he generally relies on himself and a few close others. Despite this sense of independence, though, he isn't a close-minded person who makes hasty judgements about others. He knows it isn't easy to walk in other people's shoes.

John's vision of the world is complex - his values aren't set in stone. Instead, he's able to change his beliefs based on new information. At times other people's feelings are puzzling to him, and he wishes that people were more rational. He finds it difficult to understand why some people get so emotional and tell everyone else their problems. His solid grounding in the practicalities of life, along with his self-assuredness and willingness to appreciate new things makes him a leader. He's in touch with what is going on around him and adept at remaining down-to-earth and logical.

Although he's detail-oriented, this doesn't mean that he loses the big picture. He tends to find beauty in form and efficiency, as opposed to finding it in broad-based, abstract concepts. Never one to pass on an adventure, he's consistently seeking and finding new things, even in his immediate surroundings. Because of this eagerness to pursue new experiences, he's learned a lot; his attention to detail means that he gains a great deal from his adventures.

The intellectual curiosity that drives him leads him to seek out causes of and reasons behind things. John's confidence gives him the potential to take his general awareness and channel it into leadership. He's not set on one way of doing things, and he often has the skills and persistence to find innovative ways of facing challenges. He is well-attuned to his talents, and can deal with most problems that he faces. He's not afraid to let his emotions guide him, and he's generally considerate of others' feelings as well.

Put here the way your character would be perceived by the general public. This means, the things that the general public would know, how the media would portray them, things people might know without ever having met the character.