All-Star
Freeform 
U.S. Citizen• Co-Commander and Field Operative of PATRIOT
Criminal Record (Expunged)
Military Service Record (Heavily Redacted)
Ex-Special Forces (Heavily Redacted, Confidential)
athaniel Carter was the only successful result of the highly confidential Project Patriot -- a U.S. government financed attempt to use radical genetic engineering on exceptional military servicemen to create super soldiers in their offspring. When head trauma at the hands of his father triggered his gene-enhanced power of hyperkinesis, Nate became an all-star high-school quarterback and athlete. After a misguided attempt to save a friend ended in his being arrested for manslaughter, however, he was given a second chance by Project Patriot and enlisted into the United States Marine Corps. Losing his lover and fellow Marine in a freak helicopter malfunction, Nate was given a new proposition -- a chance to leave his former life behind and become the ultimate soldier. Through intense training, decades of military service and extreme hardship, Nate grew from an operator to a super soldier to a veritable force of nature before finally donning his star-spangled uniform and taking his endless war to a new level. Now, with his chequered past behind him, Nate charges into battle as the All-Star, fighting for truth, justice and the American way. Perhaps one day there'll be no more wars to fight. Until then, the Soldier Supreme will take the fight to them.
Weathered by a lifetime of war, older than most of his peers and rough around the edges by any measure, All-Star's detached pragmatism, sardonic sense of humour and oftentimes abrasive personality can alienate those who would otherwise be his allies. Despite appearances to the contrary, however, he is as much a self-sacrificing hero as the next when it comes down to the wire with the notable exception that he'll do whatever he feels is necessary to enforce justice. With an undying resolve, All-Star defends his country from all its enemies: domestic, foreign and -- more often than he'd like -- otherworldly.
With a newfound resolve to protect his country and the world, All-Star has established the organisations PATRIOT and SAFEGUARD. With more power in his hands than ever before and most of his past demons behind him, he hopes to do some real good in the world following his "return from the dead."
Biography
The Truth
The story of Nate Carter begins decades before his birth with his father, Geoffrey Carter's, draft into the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. An exemplary Marine who went above and beyond the call of duty, it wasn't long before Geoffrey's superiors and the powers that be took heed of his superior abilities. In 1969, the clandestine government operation that would one day be known as Project Patriot was in its early stages of development. Seeking to take advantage of recent developments in the field of genetic engineering and metahuman science made by the super genius Dr. Alistair Monaghan, the then director of Project Patriot, Lawrence Smythe, chose thirteen servicemen of suitable physical and mental prowess from various branches of the United States Armed Forces to secretly inject with a series of radical gene-altering serums which would, in theory, bestow enhanced physical and mental traits known as 'hyperkinesis' on any offspring they might have. Of these thirteen servicemen, Geoffrey Carter was the only African-American chosen. Seen as being more expendable than his white counterparts, Geoffrey was given a more radical and potentially lethal version of the treatment which boasted a greater degree of hyperkinetic potential in his offspring at the cost of severe long term physical and mental health problems in himself.
Injected with the serums while receiving what he believed to be several vaccinations to ensure his healthy return to American soil, Geoffrey Carter went back to his civilian life as a dock worker in his hometown of Hudson City, New Jersey unaware of the fact that he was being constantly monitored by operatives of Project Patriot. For about a year he, along with the other twelve subjects of Project Patriot, went about their normal lives. Many of those who happened to impregnate their wives, girlfriends or lovers, however, soon began to present a massive setback for the Project Patriot heads when their subsequent children were all stillborn, seemingly as a result of the genetically modified gametes of their fathers reacting negatively with the non-modified gametes of their mothers. After what appeared to be a wave of resounding failures, Project Patriot had only two subjects who could potentially give birth to hyperkinetic children -- Geoffrey Carter and Nicholas Black, a member of the U.S. Army. With the former having something of a distaste for women and the latter suffering from later diagnosed PTSD, it seemed as if Project Patriot was a remarkable failure and the U.S. government quickly swept it under the rug, forcing Dr. Monaghan to resign in shame and leaving little more than a skeleton crew to keep the operation running.
Contrary to what they believed, however, there was still a flicker of hope for Project Patriot in its two remaining subjects, a hope that would only be fully realised many years later. Geoffrey Carter, despite his misogynistic tendencies, soon found himself deeply attracted to Rochelle Masters -- a stripper he met at a co-worker's bachelor party and, after a passionate one night stand, he managed to impregnate her. Though reluctant to commit to marriage, Geoffrey felt honour-bound to make up for his own father's abandonment by staying to take care of his future son and, by the time the birth date neared, the two were married and living together in Freetown, Hudson City.
Born on the Fourth of July
Nate Carter was born somewhat prematurely during the early hours of July 4, 1970. Despite a number of birthing complications both early into the pregnancy and during delivery (likely caused by the intensified serum), he managed to pull through a frail, but relatively healthy baby. Relieved, his mother named him Nathaniel Jackson Carter, taking the names of the only two men she felt had ever treated her with love and respect -- her late father, Nathaniel, and her older brother, Jackson. Opting to spend the night drowning his sorrows at a local dive rather than waiting at the hospital and with his mental state gradually deteriorating due to the effects of the serum he was given, Geoffrey Carter missed the birth and instead spent the night in prison after a drunken bar brawl.
Growing up in the projects of Masonville, a young Nate found himself on the receiving end of his belligerent and increasingly unstable father's bad temper more and more frequently. Heated arguments grew into threats of violence and insults grew into domestic abuse as the years went by, colouring the young boy's hatred for his father and his desperate need to break free of Hudson City. Though Rochelle often did her best to take the brunt of Geoffrey's anger and physical abuse, a black eye and a few bruises were unavoidable every for Nate every now and then. By age twelve, Nate had experienced more than his fair share of pain and punishment at the hands of his father, who would use his failing grades, poor relations with teachers and fellow students and constant schoolyard fights as excuses to abuse him further.
Though both Rochelle and Nate both maligned Geoffrey for his abusive treatment, the once gruff but reasonable man soon began to question his own increasingly erratic behaviour. He became convinced that he was suffering from some form of PTSD and began secretly attending a group therapy session for war veterans. There, he met Frederick Muldoon -- a former U.S. Marine and conspiracy theorist who had been fervently investigating a particularly secretive and seemingly non-existent government operation which he believed had performed experiments on American soldiers -- Project Patriot. Intrigued by Muldoon's theories and beginning to suspect that his loss of mental stability had been the effect of some kind of experimentation, Geoffrey began visiting Muldoon outside of therapy sessions and aiding him in his somewhat frantic investigations when he could.
At home, the growing Nate ran into a number of social and academic problems caused by his abusive and impoverished home life. With Geoffrey's erratic behaviour getting him fired from his job at the Hudson City docks and his mother being forced to return to stripping to help pay bills, Nate was far from a model student and often replicated his father's abusive actions with weaker children, regularly getting into fights and causing his mother no end of grief. Despite his poor behaviour, however, Nate cared for Rochelle and, though her skills as a parent and a positive role model were severely lacking, Rochelle cared for him in return. Encouraging him to take up sports to keep him out of trouble and away from his father, Rochelle took reduced shifts at the strip club to support Nate on his efforts to get onto Morrison Middle School's football team. Through her efforts and Nate's determination, he was eventually accepted onto the team and would continue to pursue sports throughout the rest of his academic life. Despite this, however, Nate's trouble-making tendencies only lessened slightly and he continued to be a bully and a delinquent, even joining up with a group of local vandals who would tag property in the area when he hit sixteen. During one particular act of tagging, the small gang was caught by a patrolling police officer and, seeking to buy his friends time to escape, Nate led the officer on a chase which ended in his being detained at the local police station. While waiting for his mother to retrieve him, he met another juvenile delinquent who had been caught picking pockets in the area -- Antoine 'Wheezer' Freeman. Enthralled by the older boy's tales and abundance of superficial charm, Nate became fast friends with Wheezer and the two maintained regular contact from that day forward.
Meanwhile, Geoffrey, becoming dangerously violent and irrational, desperately threw himself into his shared investigation with Muldoon. The two, using their network of military connections and Muldoon's talents as an intelligence expert, discovered that Project Patriot was not only real, but also pioneered by Dr. Alistair Monaghan. Spurred on by their discovery, Geoffrey and Muldoon made contact with the retired Dr. Monaghan and angrily forced him to explain what he had done. Monaghan, suffering from a terminal illness, readily agreed in the hopes that it would redeem his soul and told them all about the genetic modification they had induced in the thirteen soldiers, the cause of Geoffrey's loss of mental stability and the lack of success they had. Shaken by the discovery, Geoffrey fled the room and went to drink himself into a stupor at the local bar.
Unbeknownst to any of the three men, however, Lawrence Smythe -- still leading what remained of Project Patriot -- had become aware of their snooping and, despite being advised not to by his new second-in-command, Kurt White, opted to have them all assassinated to tie up loose ends and prevent the operation's secrets from getting out. As Geoffrey drank in a bar, Smythe personally smothered Monaghan in his sleep and burned Muldoon to death in his home. He then set his sights on murdering Geoffrey. Breaking into the Carter residence in the middle of the night not knowing that Geoffrey was still drunkenly stumbling home, Smythe was unprepared to find a worried Rochelle waiting for her husband. When she panicked and threatened to call the police, Smythe beat her to death and left her body for Geoffrey to find, planting DNA they had on file to incriminate him. As he was leaving, however, he noticed a picture of Rochelle, Geoffrey and Nate together and realised that Project Patriot may not have been a failure after all. Deciding to keep tabs on Nate in the future, he fled into the night.
When Geoffrey Carter stumbled home from a night of drowning his sorrows he was anguished to find Rochelle, the woman he loved despite his years of abuse, lying dead before him. Drunk and paranoid, he concluded that the government had realised how close he and Muldoon had gotten to the truth and attempted to phone his friend to no avail. Before he could decide on a course of action, Nate returned home from a night out with Wheezer. Naturally assuming the worst upon seeing his father standing over the lifeless form of his mother, Nate launched himself at Geoffrey in a murderous rage. Fighting back, Geoffrey accidentally pushed Nate onto the kitchen counter, causing him to hit his head and fall unconscious. Believing in his instability that he had also killed his son and already convinced that he was marked for death, Geoffrey called the police and fled Hudson City.
When police arrived on the scene, they quickly realised that, while Nate suffered from a severe head wound, he was still very much alive. With his father a fugitive and his mother dead, a comatose Nate was taken to the local hospital for emergency treatment. What he didn't and couldn't know at that point, however, was that his life would never be the same again.
Rebirth
The blow to the head suffered by Nate had an unintended effect. When his brain struck the surface of his skull, the subsequent trauma served to 'jump start' the hyperkinetic potential endowed by Geoffrey's enhanced dosage of the Project Patriot serum. As a result, Nate's mind kicked into a state of accelerated cognition and efficiency that transformed him into every bit the living weapon he was intended to be. While Nate recovered from his injury thanks to the combined efforts his parents' co-workers and members of his high-school football team to help pay medical bills, he slowly began to discover the changes to his body. He could catch flies out of the air, recall the most minute details and pieces of information, bounce a baseball perfectly off any surface and at any angle to make it return to him, and manipulate a deck of cards with the trained precision of a casino performer, even tossing one so hard it embedded itself in the wall. Though he didn't quite understand what had happened to him, Nate was glad for the distraction from the reality of his situation and the loss of his mother and father.
When he was released from the hospital, placed in foster care and allowed to attend school again, Nate found that whatever had happened to him had drastically influenced his athletic capabilities. While playing quarterback in his first game back for the Northdale High Eagles, it was as if time very nearly slowed down to allow for reactions that seemed almost inhuman. He could move and manipulate his body with the precision and flexibility of an acrobat, throw, kick and catch the ball with unerring accuracy and think of new plays and strategies as if on instinct. Mopping the floor with the competition, Nate effectively won the game single-handedly and became a local celebrity for his achievement. Still enthralled by what he could do since his accident, however, Nate continued to test the limits of his abilities. Joining up with Northdale High's gymnastics, acrobatics, running and swimming teams, Nate found that he easily excelled in all of them and became known as Northdale High's 'All-Star' because of it. After school, he practiced parkour, quickly picking up even its most complex maneuvers. He joined a boxing gym and discovered he was a natural fighter. He even began learning Spanish to impress a girl, committing it to memory it with ease. It seemed as if Nate couldn't stop his constant regimen of physical activity as his graduation drew near and, with several college institutions fighting to give him a full scholarship for his athletic prowess, things only seemed to be looking up.
Behind the scenes, however, Nate still found himself distressed over the death of his mother and his inability to take revenge on his father. With constant physical activity and popularity only serving to distract him for so long, he became depressed and frequently contemplated suicide. In his endless pursuit of escapism, he fell in deeper with Wheezer's criminal activities, helping his best friend to sling weed. It was during a midnight jog to distract himself from his depressive thoughts that Nate stumbled upon a late night congregation at his local Catholic church. Intrigued, Nate entered the building and watched its reverend, Dennis O'Malley, preach on redemption and forgiveness. Touched personally by his words, Nate approached Father O'Malley in confession with his feelings of guilt and suicidal thoughts. Father O'Malley expressed to Nate that the only real way to alleviate those feelings was to give what he could to the people of the world, accept that not everything is his fault and seek to forgive his father for his sins. Feeling as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders, Nate resolved to be a good man and developed a close friendship with the father.
From that day forward, Nate was a changed man. He stopped bullying weaker children and started defending them from those who would, regularly helped out at soup kitchens and charity drives, and eventually fell out with Wheezer, unable to convince him to leave a life of crime behind. Though he still harboured a dark resentment towards his 'murderous' father and still felt some guilt over his mothers passing, Nate found a reason to go on in religion and had a promising future ahead of him.
Manifest Destiny
Things took a dark turn for the worse when Wheezer came back into Nate's life with a serious dilemma: after being caught stealing money from his boss, a local gang leader, to bet on a horse and subsequently losing it, Wheezer had been given a fatal ultimatum. Either he would find a way to return the money -- a total of $2500 -- by the end of the week or he would be executed. Though Nate wanted nothing to do with Wheezer's criminal activities, he couldn't leave the friend who had always been there for him out to dry. Knowing that going to the police would simply incriminate Wheezer and, based on the Hudson City Police Department's history of corruption, would most likely still end in his death, Nate concluded that the only thing they could do was somehow cooperate to get the money back. Together, the two hatched a plan to steal the money by holding up a local gambling arcade with fake guns. Unbeknownst to Nate, however, Wheezer managed to procure two real guns, reasoning that it was better to be prepared in case they were met with resistance.
Before the night of the heist, Nate visited Father O'Malley's confession and accidentally hinted that he would be doing something illegal. Concerned for the safety of one of the members of his congregation he was closest to, O'Malley decided to trail Nate on the night of the heist and persuade him to reconsider if he truly was up to no good. Together, Nate and Wheezer held a stake-out at the arcade they planned to rob and, when they believed there would be a minimal amount of employees and customers, they made their move. Donning masks, they held the entire arcade at gunpoint and Wheezer forced its manager to fill a bag with all the money in the safe. As said employee did so, however, another pressed the silent alarm while Nate was distracted. Quickly noting the employees action, Nate panicked and told Wheezer that the police were on the way. Also panicking and frustrated at the manager's pace, Wheezer threatened to shoot him to death. As he carried out this threat, however, he accidentally discharged his weapon and shot the man in the shoulder. The gunshot alerted a nearby Father O'Malley, who recklessly charged into the arcade to stop them. As Nate yelled at Wheezer for getting them real guns and tried to convince him to leave without the money, Wheezer refused to do so and insulted his former friend, telling him that he'd "gone soft". Angrily, Nate drew his gun and tossed it down, refusing to go to prison for Wheezer. As it hit the floor, however, it fired and hit Father O'Malley in the chest the moment he walked in. As Nate ran to the dying man's side, Wheezer hastily snatched the money and fled. Stricken with guilt, Nate held the dying reverend in his arms and tearfully apologised. With his last few breaths, Father O'Malley echoed his words to Nate about setting things right. As police arrived on the scene, Dennis O'Malley died and Nate Carter's once promising life fell apart in mere moments.
Though he was tried as an adult due to being just a few months away from his 18th birthday, Nate was seen as an otherwise upstanding member of the community and was only guilty of Father O'Malley's death through a circumstantial accident. In light of these facts, he was charged with involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to three years at a medium security prison. Though by all accounts he had gotten off lightly for his crime, Nate's future was more or less over. He became despondent and wracked with guilt, spending almost all of his time in the gym or alone in his cell. Frequently harassed by some of his fellow inmates for his youth, his taciturn demeanour and his repentance, Nate found himself on the receiving end of several beatings and was only able to protect himself from anything more severe with his own skills in boxing.
It was during Nate's stay in prison that Project Patriot made a reappearance in his life. After the incident involving Geoffrey Carter and his role in the deaths of Rochelle Carter, Frederick Muldoon and Alistair Monaghan, Lawrence Smythe had been removed from his post through the efforts of Kurt White, who subsequently became the director of Project Patriot. Now in control of its limited operations, Kurt secretly watched over Nate and observed the development of his hyperkinesis. Monitoring his development from troubled teen to morally-upstanding athlete to a wayward young man with nothing to lose, Kurt decided that there would be no risk of disrupting his life by contacting him after he was charged for manslaughter and his chances at becoming a professional athlete or going to college on a scholarship were ripped away from him. Pulling some strings, Kurt got Nate cleared of all charges and released from prison after just under two years of incarceration. When Nate stepped out into the open air for the first time since his imprisonment, Kurt was waiting to escort him by car back to Hudson City.
Kurt introduced himself to Nate as a special metahuman recruiter for the U.S. Armed Forces and explained the fine details of his hyperkinesis. He also, however, left out the classified information on the truth behind Project Patriot's origins, his mother's death, his father's instability and how his powers came to be. Instead, he informed Nate that his abilities were metahuman in origin and that, with the right training, he could be a true force for good in the world and atone for the sins of his past as a soldier. Apprehensive at first, Nate turned Kurt down and returned to Hudson City. Unable to hold down work due to the trauma of what had happened, Nate instead devoted his attention to locating Wheezer and trying to find some way to cope with his feelings of guilt, Father O'Malley's last words haunting his waking thoughts. It was during a reluctant return to the church that Nate was approached by the new reverend. After confessing his sins and internal conflict, Nate was persuaded by the reverend, in actuality a Project Patriot plant, to "set things right." With nowhere else to turn to and with nothing keeping him in Hudson City, Nate said goodbye to his sordid past and contacted Kurt: he was ready to atone for his mistakes.
Particularly drawn to their ideology, Nate joined up with the United States Marine Corps in 1991 and was stationed at its Quantico base. Nate excelled in basic training and earned the ire of his fellow recruits because of it. Though this placed him on the receiving end of ritual hazing, there was one who took a shine to him -- an exceedingly patriotic female recruit with the power of technopathy named Amanda Cho. Throughout boot camp, Nate and Amanda remained close, cooperating with one another and constantly looking out for each other's interests. Nate gave Amanda a level of respect she rarely saw as a female recruit, and Amanda's passion for American ideals and life in general renewed Nate's spirit. By the time they had completed basic training, the two had begun a romantic relationship in secret. Becoming a Scout Sniper and Spotter team, Nate and Amanda participated in the American involvement in the Invasion of Panama, the Gulf War and the Somali Civil War, where the two made a name for themselves for their tight work and efficiency. When their tour of duty in Somalia ended, Nate and Amanda jumped between various U.S. military bases around the world for a time. They would often meet with Kurt White during this period to take on more specialised and advanced training.
It was during this training that Kurt hoped to capitalise on All-Star's hyperkinesis and take the first steps towards gradually molding him into a super soldier and a viable example of Project Patriot's potential. Along with Amanda, Nate was trained in various advanced military skills and techniques for the next year. In that time ,their relationship grew stronger and, eventually, they married each other, deciding to leave their lives as Marines behind and settle down back in America together as soon as they could.
Their plans were disrupted with the entry of the U.S. into the Bosnian War in 1994. Nate and Amanda, equipped with their new training, were assigned to a ground-based strike team to counter Yugoslav forces. Despite the short length of the conflict and the minimal allied forces casualties, Amanda and two other soldiers were killed when their Apache crashed due to a malfunction during a simple training operation. Devastated by the entirely avoidable and senseless loss of his wife, Nate became despondent and wracked with grief once again, returning to a military base on American soil and spending most of his time between his regular duties alone. Taciturn, detached and sombre, he showed all the signs of a man with nothing to live for.
Seeing an opportunity to sway Nate towards becoming a super soldier and sympathising with his loss, Kurt came back into his life in 1997 and gave him the partial truth about Project Patriot. Introducing it as a special government operation designed to find exceptional metahuman candidates and mold them into soldiers, Kurt explained that the reason he had been contacted in prison all those years ago was because Project Patriot saw a potential in him to be their greatest asset -- that his hyperkinesis endowed him with the potential to be a living weapon with the right training. Kurt made Nate a simple offer: in exchange for his unwavering dedication to his country and to the protection of its best interests, Nate would undergo a intensive training and participate in various military operations that would help transform him into the perfect soldier. Though Nate had encountered his fair share of tragedy over the years, the words of Father O'Malley and Amanda's love for America rang fresh in his mind. Deciding to do them both proud, Nate took Kurt up on his offer and set in course the series of events that would give birth to the All-Star.
Stars and Stripes Forever
At Kurt's behest, Nate began to take part in global black operations and underwent grueling training when not doing so. In the space of four years Nate attended training courses all over the world and was placed 'on loan' to various military and law enforcement organisations such as the CIA, UNTIL and PRIMUS, even serving a notable stint in the short-lived multinational black ops unit Broadsword. Participating in assassinations, reconnaissance, espionage, counter-terrorism, counterinsurgency and hostage rescue among other operations, Nate soon became a legend among military personnel -- an unstoppable force of nature whose military career was shrouded in mystery and superstition. Between tours of duty and loan periods, Nate was prompted to take part in underground fight clubs, take on olympic level athletic training and even spent time in a POW camp all for the purpose of systematically deconstructing him and rebuilding him from the ground up. From being taught in the ways of combat by some of the greatest fighters in the world,to learning strategy from the most brilliant tactical minds of our generation, Nate was gradually transformed into an unstoppable killing machine, his hyperkinesis honed and refined to the point of mastery. With the promise of redemption and the memories of those lost driving him forward, Nate exceeded all limitations and became almost superhuman in his level of expertise.
His 'training' was cut short, however, on September 11th, 2001. The tragedy that befell the United States of America and the subsequent establishment of a new kind of enemy prompted the higher powers in the U.S. Government to force Project Patriot to bear more significant results early. It was no longer enough for Nate to merely be an exceptional operator. In an age of terror and global uncertainty, a symbol of the American power of perseverance in the face of hardship was needed more than ever and an immediate test of Project Patriot's ability to provide one became essential. Though he was being taught in the ways of Krav Maga on a military base at the time, Nate saw the attack on the World Trade Center on the global news and was ready to answer the call to service almost as soon as it came. Returning to American soil for the first time in years, Nate was thrown into the chaos of a post-9/11 world feet first. Nevertheless, he accepted his responsibility and was re-enlisted into the United States Marine Corps, where his superiors hoped he would serve as an inspiration and morale boost for his fellow servicemen. Assigned to Force Reconnaissance and promoted to the commissioned rank of second lieutenant, Nate was immediately placed in command of his own specialised squad.
When he flew into Afghanistan, Nate was given a level of preferential treatment by his superiors against his will, which made things more difficult when it came to dealing with his fellow Marines, most of whom already feared and distrusted him based on his shadowy reputation and the rumours that circulated around him. As if to make things more complicated, an unexpected face from Nate's past resurfaced in the most unlikely of ways. As Nate was introduced to his squad, one of its members stood out from the crowd; older and wearier with age and hardship, Wheezer, clad in full USMC uniform, came face-to-face with Nate for the first time in seven years. Though Nate and Wheezer recognised each other on sight, both men decided to keep their mouths shut until they were in private. Once they managed to get a moment alone, Nate immediately attacked Wheezer and demanded that he explain why he was there. With no other alternative, Wheezer explained that, following the botched robbery of the casino, he had fallen deeper and deeper into his life of crime until he hit rock bottom. Seeking redemption for his past mistakes just as Nate had, he eventually enlisted in the USMC and became a devoted young Marine. Though he still harbored some resentment toward Wheezer, Nate saw that he was a changed man and decided to forgive him. Taking the first step to reconciling their relationship, Nate and Wheezer agreed to cooperate with one another and try to maintain a sense of professionalism.
As the commander of his Force Reconnaissance squad, Nate made waves during the early years of the war in Afghanistan. Known for being an extremely effective asset and honing those under him to be just as exceptional, Nate's old high-school nickname, 'All-Star', eventually began to stick (thanks in no small part to the efforts of Wheezer). As successful operation after successful operation passed by with no casualties among their ranks, Nate's squad came to be known as the "Hall of Famers" and their unwavering resolve in the face of a war unlike any other made them a force to be reckoned with. On his own part, Nate's leadership earned him various accolades and the rank of captain. After five years spent serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, the heads at the U.S. Department of Defense decided that Project Patriot had a resounding level of potential to create super soldiers and took steps towards capitalising on the one they already had. In 2006 it was decided that Nate would be transferred from Force Reconnaissance to the newly coordinated Marine Corps Special Operations Command, becoming one of the very first members of what was then the Marine Special Operations Regiment but what is now known as the Marine Raider Regiment.
It was towards his final days serving in Force Reconnaissance that Nate stumbled upon a conspiracy by corrupt higher ups within his company's ranks to sell military surplus, weapons and technology to terrorist cells within Pakistan. Though he originally planned to simply alert Kurt, the shocking discovery that Wheezer had allied himself with the corrupt officials as a gofer between themselves and the terrorists prompted him to take matters into his own hands in the hopes that he could save his friend. Trailing him to one of his clandestine meetings with a potential buyer, Nate spied on Wheezer as he made the deal -- a very large sum of gold in exchange for a canister of highly experimental neuro-toxin confiscated from VIPER. Knowing what would happen if such a dangerous resource got into the wrong hands, Nate single-handedly launched an attack on the meeting and forced the terrorists to retreat without their product. In the rush of combat, Wheezer took the neuro-toxin and attempted to flee as Nate gave chase. Eventually, this led them to an abandoned power station where Nate attempted to talk Wheezer into giving himself up and letting him help his case. Angered at Nate's sanctimonious sentiments, Wheezer attempted to kill him in a close quarters brawl. Though he had the element of surprise, Nate managed to overpower him and kicked him face first into the neuro-toxin canister. As Wheezer choked on the neuro-toxin filling his lungs, he stumbled off of the raised platform they had fought on and into a still active power generator. As Nate watched in horror, Wheezer was violently electrocuted, filling the air with his choked screams. The subsequent explosion incinerated his body and set the power station on fire, forcing Nate to retreat. Though the evidence he obtained from that night toppled the entire arms dealing conspiracy, Nate had lost one of his few friends in an avoidable accident and would be haunted by that memory even after leaving the Marine Corps.
Nate served as a special forces Marine for just over three years. In that time he was renowned for being an outstanding asset to American interests both on and off the battlefield and participated in a number of successful counter-terrorist missions with a new group of "Hall of Famers" and quickly earning his final rank of major. When he eventually filed for an honorable discharge in 2009 after a certain incident convinced him he had seen enough war in the Middle-East, Nate was awarded with several medals for almost two decades of faithful military service. Considered by many Marines one of the first true new age 'Marine Raiders' despite leaving before the unit's renaming, Nate's legacy is still very much alive in MARSOC to this day with many of those who worked with him telling stories of his service to new recruits.
Returning to his homeland eager for a fresh start, Nate spent some time in Hudson City in the hopes of regaining some semblance of stability in his life. To his dismay he quickly found that, without some sort of war to fight, he felt lost and depressive. It was during his stay at a cheap Hudson motel that he fully realised the extent to which he was incapable of simply settling down and living a peaceful life. From his room's window, Nate often watched the goings on below and, eventually, the activities of a drug dealer who sold to teenagers caught his eye. When he caught the man trying to push heroin on two schoolgirls while returning home from shopping one day, he finally reached his limit. Attacking the armed dealer with his bare hands, Nate beat him within an inch of his life, disassembled his handgun and dumped his stash in a sewer. As startled and mesmerised bystanders watched on, he warned them that the nation was at war and that all its enemies should be kept at bay -- foreign and domestic. Though he had acted in defense of a noble cause, Nate was arrested for his assault and placed in temporary holding.
Fortunately for him, the Department of Defense had been concocting their own plans on what to do next with their wayward super soldier. Though Nate had served his time, the war on terror still raged on. The face of terrorism and the way it was fought continued to evolve and, while forces like the Al Qaeda and ISIS were a dangerous threat to American interests, super terrorist coalitions like VIPER, ARGENT and GAIA brought the fight to American soil. Metahuman crime presented a bigger threat to the country than ever before and, though registered, most superheroes acted as independent agents with interests that didn't always coincide with the U.S. Government's. It was Kurt White, an avid follower of superhero activity, who proposed an unusual -- but not untested -- idea; what if the U.S. government had its own superhero -- an agent who would act as a one man strike team, simultaneously tackling international dangers to U.S. interests and acting as an inside man within the superhero community? This agent would effectively have all the obedience, reliability and pragmatism of a trained operative while enjoying the positive publicity, connections and relatively unchecked jurisdiction of a caped crusader. Fully endorsing the notion of such a unique and flexible asset, the Department of Defense gave Project Patriot an unlimited budget to transform their super soldier into a superhero.
Believing that he could only ever be of any worth to his country as a weapon, Nate accepted the call to arms. All previous records of Nate's life before his military service were heavily redacted and made classified; his criminal record expunged to protect his image. For all intents and purposes, Nate Carter became a ghost, dying with the records of his past life. Outfitted with the best gear, guns and training money could buy and a star-spangled red, white and blue outfit, he burst onto the costumed scene as the Soldier Supreme, the Star-Spangled Sharpshooter -- the unstoppable All-Star. Working closely with the CIA, the Department of Defense, PRIMUS, UNTIL and even the Protectors of the World, All-Star soon made a name for himself and proved to be an outstanding success. Gradually, the heroic facade fell away to reveal a genuine hero lying beneath the surface and, as the years went by, All-Star became every bit as respected and devoted to seeking justice as the traditional heroes he fought alongside. While he still answered to his country as a special metahuman operative and even continued to participate in military conflicts as the All-Star, he frequently risked life and limb fighting enemy forces his training never prepared him for. Having finally found his place in the world, All-Star's exploits became the stuff of legends to military personnel and civilians alike and, though he was met with many ghosts from his past, he never faltered in the face of adversity.
From the ashes of Nate Carter, the All-Star had been born.
Made In America
During his six year career as All-Star, Nate continued to use the U.S. government's resources to locate his missing father. With murderous intent still fresh in his mind, his search finally bore fruit when he learned of a man matching the description of Geoffrey Carter (albeit slightly older) living out in a favela in Rio De Janerio, Brazil. Making sure to cover his tracks and temporarily dropping out of the Protectors of the World's active roster, Nate journeyed to Brazil to verify the identity of his potential father and kill him in cold blood.
When Nate arrived in Rio De Janerio, he stalked the lookalike and, after determining that he was, in fact, his father, waited at his modest home to kill him. When Geoffrey showed up, Nate instantly held him at gunpoint and demanded he explain why he killed his mother and left him without a family. Weary from a life spent on the run and wracked with guilt over what transpired all those years ago, Geoffrey merely apologised to Nate and accepted his death. Angry at his acquiescence, Nate beat his father and demanded an explanation. Before he could be angered further, however, he noticed a photo of his father in a United States Marine Corps uniform posing with his fellow Marines on an end table. Surprised by the revelation that his father was once a Marine, Nate further noticed several bottles of anti-psychotic medication on the same table. His hesitation prompted Geoffrey to explain himself.
Geoffrey relayed his investigation into the truth behind Project Patriot to Nate and the attempt to cover it up with the deaths of Frederick Muldoon and Dr. Monaghan. When Geoffrey discovered Rochelle's corpse, he fled in a panic and subsequently went on the run, his state of mind afflicted by the genetic modification and his paranoia rightly mounting. Over the coming years, Geoffrey had gone into hiding and had devoted much of his life to trying to fully understand what Project Patriot had done to him and, while he had kept an eye on Nate for the first few years, he soon accepted the fact that his son's life would be far better without him. As his investigation continued, Geoffrey discovered that most of the technology and research used in Project Patriot was being held in a top secret military storage facility where it would be hidden from the public eye and where no evidence of its existence could be brought to light -- a sort of 'dead zone'. Shaken by the notion that he was a manufactured experiment and the implication that his entire life had been manipoulated by Project Patriot, Nate refused to believe Geoffrey and instead argued that he was merely trying to save his own skin.
At that moment, a smoke grenade flew through the window of Geoffrey's house. Acting quickly, Nate grabbed his father and escaped out the back door. As they fled through the favela, they quickly became aware that a highly-trained and heavily armed team of operators were pursuing them with the intent to kill. Reluctantly arming Geoffrey with a gun, Nate engaged in a shootout with the men in the middle of the favela. When the combat ended, Nate seized and interrogated one of the men, demanding that he reveal who he was working for. Though it took some force, the man eventually broke and revealed that none of them had ever formally met their employer, who had dealt with them primarily through back channels and encrypted lines as to remove all accountability. Realising that Geoffrey may have been telling the truth, Nate begrudgingly decided to cooperate with the man he had spent almost his entire adult life hating to uncover the truth.
Nate and Geoffrey returned to North America to confront Kurt White directly. Cornering Kurt at his private residence, Nate demanded that he tell him the whole truth about Project Patriot and his own recruitment. Finally understanding that the jig was up, Kurt explained that the previous director of Project Patriot, Lawrence Smythe, was the one who ordered the increased strength treatment to be tested on Geoffrey and was directly responsible for the deaths of Muldoon, Dr. Monaghan and Rochelle. Though he was subsequently removed from his post thanks to Kurt's efforts, he was reassigned to a position within the Department of Defense and was able to climb the ranks to once again hold a position of power. Kurt theorised that Smythe had been keeping a close eye on Nate for fear that he would one day stumble upon the truth and had personally contracted mercenaries to stop him. Though he personally regretted using the foundations of Smythe's corruption to push Nate into becoming a super soldier, Kurt insisted that it was for his own good and that it potentially saved him from government ordered assassination. Spurred on by this truth, Nate resolved to blow the lid off of Project Patriot's secrets, despite Kurt's warnings that it would have dramatic consequences on everyone involved -- himself included. When he saw that Nate would not be swayed from his task, Kurt revealed to him the location of the Dead Zone: a hidden U.S. military compound on a man-made island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Bidding Kurt farewell and warning him to keep his head down, Nate left with Geoffrey to find the Dead Zone.
Calling in a favour with his old commanding officer, 'Grizzly' Griswold, Nate and Geoffrey took a borrowed cargo plane out to the Pacific Ocean. Landing a few clicks away from the Dead Zone, Nate and Geoffrey swam to its shore and prepared to infiltrate the facility. Little did they know, however, that Smythe had been keeping close tabs on them the entire time. Knowing his special connection to Kurt White, Smythe confronted him and, when he wouldn't give up Nate's plans, captured and tortured him for information. Once he discovered that Nate had planned to go to the Dead Zone and uncover Project Patriot's secrets, Smythe arranged to ambush him there with his mercenaries. Arriving there first, Smythe seized control of the facility under the guise of official government business and set about locating the Project Patriot lock-up and destroying all evidence of its existence. Nate and Geoffrey arrived just in time to find Smythe and his men setting about their duty. Stealthily working together, Nate and Geoffrey dispatched of several of Smythe's men before they were discovered. As the commencing shootout plunged the Dead Zone into chaos, a wounded Smythe fled towards a lock-up full of prototype suits of power armour and donned one.
As Smythe resurfaced wearing a strength enhancing suit of power armour, he caught Geoffrey off-guard and struck him in the chest, mortally wounding him. Angered, Nate fought the more powerful Smythe to a standstill and, eventually, managed to fire a shotgun blast into his chest, apparently killing him. Rushing to his father's side, Nate struggled to stabilise his condition to no avail. As he lay dying, Geoffrey apologised to Nate for all the wrongs he never had a chance to rectify. Distraught, Nate forgave his father and comforted him in his final moments. When he finally passed away, Nate briefly mourned for him and left to find the Project Patriot lock-up. By the time he had arrived, however, Smythe's remaining men had already torched most of the physical evidence and were preparing to execute a bound and beaten Kurt. Killing the men, Nate freed Kurt and asked him for any alternative means of exposing Project Patriot. Kurt reasoned that it'd be highly likely any information would be stored on the Dead Zone's computer mainframe. Before they set off towards their goal, Kurt apologised to Nate for the manipulation he had played a part in over his years and expressed condolences over Geoffrey's death. Thanking Kurt for always being at his side, Nate forgave him for his role in Project Patriot and the two friends resolved to finish their mission together.
Fighting his way past security measures and armed guards with Kurt, Nate arrived at the Dead Zone's mainframe, accessing its database and proceeding to upload all of its files on all of its hidden projects to the internet. Halfway through the upload, however, the Dead Zone's self-destruct sequence was remotely activated. Revealing that he was very much alive, Smythe arrived in the mainframe room and swore to kill both Nate and Kurt and leave their bodies to be incinerated along with the rest of the Dead Zone's secrets. Forcing Kurt to leave, Nate fought Smythe to protect the upload of the Dead Zone's files and shut down the facility's self-destruct sequence. Taking Geoffrey's body with him, Kurt boarded one of the Apaches that had been used by Smythe and his men and waited, hopefully, for Nate to resurface from the facility.
Back in the Dead Zone, Smythe got the upper-hand over Nate and managed to drive his own knife into his side. Before he could stop the upload, however, he realised that Nate had subtly placed an explosive on his back. Barely even having a chance to shout out, Smythe was blown apart in a fiery explosion. With the upload completed and the self-destruct sequence too far gone to be aborted, the wounded Nate had just two minutes to escape with his life. As Kurt watched from the Apache, the Dead Zone was rocked by the first in a series of devastating explosions. With no other choice but to abandon Nate, Kurt flew away from the island and watched from the skies as it was incinerated by explosions.
Amidst the scandal and controversy that dominated news cycles for the next few weeks, Kurt had his men investigate the sunken remains of the Dead Zone for any sign of Nate. Though several charred bodies were found and Smythe's own power armour covered corpse was eventually retrieved, no sign of Nate's body was found and, after a while, it was decided that he couldn't have made it out of the Dead Zone alive. Geoffrey Carter's name was cleared of the murder of his wife and his body was buried in Nate's place beside Rochelle's, the official story being that Nate had died on a classified mission that went wrong. Lawrence Smythe was labelled a rogue terrorist with no connection to the U.S. government and blamed for all that had transpired. Over the coming weeks, many branches of the U.S. government was forced to face responsibility for their secret and controversial activities and several projects and organisations were terminated or scrapped, Project Patriot included. Resigning amidst the media blitz, Kurt returned to his home to drink to Nate's memory. As he poured a glass, however, he received a text on his private phone from an unknown number. When Kurt checked the message, he found it contained only two words: signing off. With a knowing smile, Kurt responded with an equally brief message: permission granted. His spirits restored, Kurt finished his drink and began reapplying for government jobs.
Though seemingly dead, the memory of Nate Carter would live on and his legacy would soon inspire others to pursue their own truths -- for better or worse...
The Price of Freedom
In 1997, the then active Broadsword became involved in the infamous Zimbavian Revolution. Led by the young princess of Zimbavia, Cleantha Zambala, the peasants sought to overthrow the tyrant king Aoade Zambala III and place his daughter on the throne. Though together they managed to successfully assassinate Aoade and help Zambala rise to the throne, a British SAS member of Broadsword named David Crook was mortally wounded by one of the king's soldiers in the final battle. As he bled out in Nate's arms, he made him promise to keep an eye on his wife and daughter. Out of respect and love for his fellow soldier, Nate agreed. From that they forward Nate maintained a close surveillance of Mrs. Crook and their young daughter, Catherine, using satellite imaging and informants, even spying on them in person whenever he passed through England. It was during one of these personal check-ups that he inadvertently ended up meeting Catherine face-to-face.
Just six years old when her father was killed in the line of duty, Catherine grew up eager to do his memory proud by one day joining the British Army and becoming a top-grade soldier. Despite her militaristic ambition, however, she was firmly discouraged by her grief-stricken mother from ever enlisting and was instead persuaded to use her considerable intellect to pursue an academic career. Though Catherine completed her A-Levels with outstanding marks and was readily accepted into Oxford, she ran away to join the army just a few weeks after she turned eighteen. Completing her training, Catherine was more than ready to finally see combat, despite her mother's constant attempts to dissuade her and bring her home. Just a month before she was supposed to ship out to Afghanistan, however, she received sudden notification of her medical discharge for an 'undisclosed medical condition' she didn't even have. As she was being escorted back home by car, she found herself sharing her transport with none other than Nate Carter. Informing her that he was the one who pulled strings to get her discharged, Nate told an indignant Catherine about the horrors of war and cryptically hinted that, like her mother, her father wouldn't have wanted her to see combat. As Nate left a confused Catherine to her civilian life, he unknowingly spurred the girl's obsession with the military in an unexpected new direction.
Though she obeyed her mother's wishes and went to Oxford to study computer science, Catherine used her spare time and skills as a hacker to investigate the identity of the strange man. After recognising Nate as All-Star fighting alongside heroes of Millennium City in a global news story, Catherine used the back channels and dark corners of the internet under the Dickensian codename 'Dodger' to discover that Nate and her father had once served as members of Broadsword and that her father's records as a Broadsword operative ended after the Zimbavian revolution, around the same time he was supposedly killed during a routine training mission. With further investigation, Catherine deduced that her father had played a role in Zimbavia, where he died and made Nate promise to protect her. After making this discovery, she became obsessed with his career, keeping tabs on his various public and secret missions where possible and idolising him as she did her father.
Catherine was headhunted to be an intelligence analyst for MI6 upon receiving her masters degree in 2014 and spent the next year continuing to follow All-Star's activities. After his apparent death the following year, Catherine became determined that All-Star couldn't have died so easily and set out to prove otherwise. Taking a work leave from the MI6, she used her resources and connection to carry out an investigation that eventually led her to Indonesia almost a year later to chase up the latest in a long list of rumored All-Star sightings. Travelling with a group of mercenaries she had hired to escort her into the Indonesian wilderness, Catherine eventually stumbled upon a small, handmade hut in the middle of nowhere. Upon closer inspection, she found what she had been searching for all those months -- spearfishing in the middle of a stream was a heavily bearded Nate Carter. Excitedly, Catherine approached the surprised and extremely cautious super soldier. Though Nate was initially ready to fight her upon seeing her armed escort, he soon recognised David Crook's daughter and reluctantly allowed her to stay so long as the mercenaries left.
Once they were alone inside his hut, Nate told Catherine that he was no longer the man she thought he was. Worn down by a lifetime of war and dispirited by the events of Made in America, Nate wanted nothing more than to disappear from the world and live out the rest of his years in isolation. Though Catherine tried to convince him that the world still needed All-Star and that he had been a force for good in the world, Nate remained convinced that he was nothing more than a weapon and, as such, was only ever good for the killing he had grown tired of. Though he allowed Catherine to stay for as long as she felt was necessary, Nate assured her that he was a broken man and that the All-Star was gone for good.
Unbeknownst to both parties, there was a third person with an interest in Nate Carter who, unconvinced of his death, had resolved to find him. Born in 1974 to PTSD-addled Vietnam veteran, Nicholas Black, and his wife, Nancy, Desmond Black was one of only two children conceived by subjects of the original Project Patriot who had managed to survive the gene-altering effects of the Dr. Monaghan's serum, the other being Nate Carter. Whereas Nate's existence as a hyperkinetic child was discovered and he was subsequently taken in hand by Kurt White, Black's powers went undiscovered. Living a similarly difficult life to Nate but with a lack of positive figures to guide him in the right direction, Black's childhood was filled with abuse and neglect. His father's PTSD often caused him to lash out physically at his wife and child, and his mother's depression made her despondent and unwilling to provide him with the comfort and protection he needed. In school, Black was an outcast, bullied and reviled by his peers for being reclusive and off-putting. A burgeoning sociopath, Black became increasingly disenfranchised with his lot in the world and convinced that everyone around him was holding him back from his full potential. From torturing small animals, Black went to playing cruel and sadistic tricks on his schoolmates. Engaging in underaged drinking and drug abuse to try to make himself numb to the urges that were welling up inside him, he was eventually suspended from school after being caught drinking on campus. It was as the teenage Black returned home early from said suspension that he found his father, off his medication, savagely beating his mother, who had defensively pulled a knife on him. Emboldened by his suspension, Black demanded that he leave her alone. In response, Nicholas called him a wimp and a mistake and warned him that if he didn't go to his room he would be next. Saying nothing more, Black went to the kitchen and boiled a pot of water. As his mother screamed for help, he calmly lifted took the boiling water and doused his father in it, severely burning him. Without even a hint of hesitation, Black proceeded to use the pot to beat his father to death. As he turned to his mother expecting some sort of praise, he was surprised to find the terrified woman now pointing the knife at him, warning him against getting any closer. Enraged by what he perceived as a lack of gratitude, Black advanced on her with a rant about how everyone had held him back. Fearing for her life, Black's mother slashed his temple with the knife. The sudden rush of pain to the head suddenly triggered Black's latent hyperkinesis. More intellectually inclined and less physically able than Nate, Black's powers manifested in a significantly different way. As he screamed at his mother in anger, a wave of telepathic force rushed out from his mind and, striking his mother's at full force, reduced her to a vegetative state. Collapsing under the strain of his new power, Black immediately fainted amidst the bodies of his parents.
Both Desmond Black and his parents were eventually found by a neighbour who alerted the authorities. Though they could not figure out what had reduced his mother to a vegetable, the court charged B;acl for the murder of his father and, trying him as an adult, sentenced him to thirty years in prison. Predictably for a small-framed seventeen year old, prison was a difficult experience for Black. Between regular and persistent abuse at the hands of the other inmates, he spent his time in solitude, slowly trying to develop the powers he had displayed when he lashed out at his mother. Over five years, developed his 'inverse hyperkinesis' into the ability to use his mind to manipulate those of others. Initially using his powers to control guards and prisoners into procuring contraband for him, his hard work eventually culminated in him successfully using his powers to simply walk out of prison with ease. Changed by his power, his worsened sociopathy and his experiences in prison, the first thing Black did was locate his vegetative mother and smother her with a pillow -- no one would ever hold him back again.
Using his inverse hyperkinesis, Black became a major player in the world of global crime, working his way up from hitman to mob boss to a criminal mastermind. In time, the name Desmond Black was synonymous with greed, cruelty and entropy. Before long, though, simple crime wasn't enough for Black. For reasons he wasn't even sure he knew himself, he became extremely dissatisfied with his wealth and power. Deep down, he felt that something was still holding him back -- that there was always a part of himself that was missing. When All-Star leaked information about Project Patriot online and the subsequent revelations dominated news cycles, he finally realised why he felt so incomplete. With the discovery that, like Nate, he had been developed to effectively be a killing machine, Black became deeply enraged towards the American government that he perceived to be responsible for everything he had become -- a killer, a monster and a criminal. In Black's mind, every action he had taken had been because of Project Patriot and, had they not performed the experiment that supposedly gave him his powers, he would have been able to live a life of normality and wholeness. Setting his sights on loftier goals, a wrathful Black burnt his criminal empire to the ground and resurrected it as Ouroboros -- an organisation of super-terrorists with what seemed to be a single goal: destruction of the self through destruction of all power. Comprised of mind-warped mercenaries, maniacal killers and anarchists alike, Ouroboros began to work from the shadows; assassinating government officials; assimilating operatives and committing seemingly untraceable acts of terrorism. With Ouroboros at his command, Black would bring the power that had manipulated him to its knees in an all-consuming inferno. And, whenever a new nation of secrets and lies would rise from the ashes, he maintained that Ouroboros would simply wipe it clean again. In all effectiveness, Black had become the perfect terrorist to Nate's perfect soldier.
As Ouroboros began to gain prominence in the year following All-Star's 'death', Black became convinced that his spiritual 'brother' must have survived the explosion of the Deadzone and had several Ouroboros agents run investigations into his theory. Eventually, they stumbled upon Catherine's search and, having kept tabs on her, several agents followed her trail to Indonesia to either recruit her to their cause, kill her before she becomes an issue or find All-Star off the back of her efforts. Paying off the Indonesian mercenaries they received confirmation of Nate's presence and alerted Black, who immediately flew in to finally meet the inspiration for his crusade. Arriving a few days after Catherine, Black set his soldiers around the perimeter and went to greet Nate. At the time, Catherine was taking a walk through the jungle to try and figure out how to get Nate to become the All-Star again and, upon hearing a commotion at the hut, began making her way back. Sensing danger, Nate armed himself with a hunting rifle and went to meet the overly friendly Black, who introduced himself as family and explained that he too was a product of Project Patriot. Black explained his anger towards Project Patriot for what they did and seemed convinced that Nate would feel the same way. When Nate confessed his distaste towards Project Patriot, Black enthusiastically invited him to join Ouroboros in their mission to topple America, eager to seek revenge with his 'brother'. Unimpressed, Nate referred to Black as a crazed terrorist and pointedly stated that he killed terrorists. As a regretful Black waited for his men to move in, Catherine arrived at the perimeter and alerted Nate to the hidden ambush. With two of them pursuing the fleeing Catherine into the jungle, the Ouroboros agents opened on Nate.
Reacting quickly, Nate attempted to shoot Black only to find that he couldn't, the villain's inverse hyperkinesis stopping him from pulling the trigger until he had safely walked off the battlefield. Outmanned and outgunned, Nate managed to dispatch three agents with his hunting rifle before being forced into his hut. As the remaining agents riddled his home with bullets, Nate ducked low and reached for the weapon under his bed. When the agents all ceased firing to reload their weapons and make sure their target was dead, Nate emerged from the hut with an M249 and opened fire on all of them, completely ripping them apart in a matter of seconds. In the meantime, Catherine fled from the soldiers who had pursued her, hiding among the trees and springing out with a heavy rock to knock one of them unconscious. The second soldier quickly opened fire, however, shooting her in the leg and sending her to the ground. As he prepared to execute her in cold blood, Nate emerged from the brush and, after a brief struggle, sent the final agent plummeting off a cliff to his death.
Patching up Catherine's leg, Nate realised that he couldn't simply disappear into the world and live a peaceful life so long as a man like Desmond Black threatened lives due to his own actions. With a resolve he hadn't felt for a year, Nate decided to become the All-Star once more in order to kill Black and right his own wrongs. Admonishing himself for allowing her to get injured, Nate warned Catherine to fly back to England and leave the situation alone. Catherine, however, was determined not only to find out more about her father, but to help Nate in any way she could and refused to leave his side. Instead, she suggested that he employ her skills as a hacker and intelligence analyst to track down and eliminate Ouroboros before they could enact their fiendish plans. With minimal resources and no allies to his name, Nate reluctantly agreed on the condition that she stayed behind the scenes where she couldn't get hurt. Now partners, Nate and Catherine flew to America on a mission to save it by any means necessary.
Touching down in New York and driving to Hudson City, Nate and Catherine arrived at one of Nate's old safehouses. While Nate checked his armory and outfitted himself for the task at hand, Catherine ran research on Ouroboros, uncovering their origins and their past dealings with VIPER and ARGENT, the latter of which they had plans to conduct an illegal arms deal with. Rushing to the rumoured location of the arms deal, a shipping dock in Washington D.C., Nate watched as ARGENT dealers unloaded what appeared to be a high-tech bomb. When Ouroboros arrived moments later, Desmond Black was with them. Using stealth to take out the various ARGENT and Ouroboros guards situated around the docks, Nate ambushed the deal and proceeded to shoot his way through to Black. The heavy resistance he was met with, however, gave Black and his men time to load the bomb into their truck. When Nate finally made it to Black and leveled, he again found himself unable to fire and instead pointed it at his head. Gloatingly, Black explained that his powers were the inverse of Nate's, affecting the minds of others rather than his own. Expressing bitterness towards Nate for allowing himself to be a "slave" to the government that condemned him to life as a human weapon, Black ordered him to blow his brains out and left with the ARGENT device. Struggling against Black's control with all his might, Nate managed to direct his handgun at his stomach before firing. Though he was gravely wounded by the shot, he managed to drive to the doorstep of the one person who could be trusted to help him: Kurt White. When a confused Kurt opened the door, the heavily bleeding Nate passed out in his arms.
Kurt stopped the bleeding and patched Nate up, questioning why he had returned to America after faking his death. After Nate explained his meeting with Desmond Black and Ouroboros, the typically reticent Kurt revealed that Project Patriot only became aware of Black's existence after he had already risent to prominence as an international criminal and had made several attempts over the years to assassinate him under the guise of gang warfare, only to fail miserably each time. Now working as a mere liaison between the White House and UNTIL, Kurt was no longer able to provide Nate with the resources he once had. Nevertheless, he was able to provide Nate with a copy of UNTIL's file on Black and a lead on what UNTIL suspected was an Ouroboros base situated in Philadelphia. Thanking Kurt for his help and promising to disappear once Black had been dealt with, Nate made his way to Philadelphia, but not before being warned that he upset a lot of higher ups by leaking the information at the Dead Zone and that he would be considered a wanted man if they discovered he was alive.
While Nate made his way to Philadelphia, both Kurt and Catherine had their own issues to worry about. Being called in to attend an emergency meeting at the White House, Kurt found that it was being coordinated by Gregory Hunter, who had been placed in charge of an ARGENT sting operation just a few months prior. While observing the arms deal at the docks between ARGENT and Ouroboros, his surveillance team were instead blindsided by the sudden appearance of Nate, which they had managed to record. Using the reappearance of Nate and his current status to maneuver his way into a new career opportunity, Hunter proposed that he be placed in charge of a task force to stop him before he posed a significant threat to the country. Reluctant to set a squad on Nate but admitting the pragmatism of stopping him as soon as possible, the assembled officials agreed to Hunter's proposal. Fearing for Nate's safety, Kurt offered to be the joint commander of the task force with the intention of following their activities and protecting his friend. Meanwhile, Catherine managed to use her connections to secure what she believed was the location of Desmond Black's personal home and, arming herself with one of Nate's handguns, set out to prove her worth by catching him unawares and killing him. When Catherine arrived at Black's supposed penthouse, however, she was ambushed by Ouroboros agents who had planted the false information in order to lure Nate into a death trap. Under Black's orders, however, they instead took the unexpected Catherine alive in order to use her as leverage.
Arriving in Philadelphia, Nate launched a one man raid on the Ouroboros base and eventually located a database where he discovered their the true purpose of the ARGENT device and their plans to utilise it. In factuality, the device was a power amplifier of sorts which could store psionic energy and amplify it, increasing its radius and magnitude -- a 'psi-bomb' of sorts. With it, they planned to launch one final assault on Washington DC, psionically sending its populace into a widescale frenzy which would cripple the country. When Nate attempted to contact Catherine to inform her of this, however, Black answered from the other end of the line. Informing him that Catherine was in his custody and that he would kill her if he continued to interfere, Black offered Nate one last chance to walk away from it all before remotely wiping the database and hanging up. Before Nate could figure out his next move, the task force assembled to take him in launched an attack on the Ouroboros base in the hopes of ambushing him. Though Nate managed to non-lethally dispatch several operatives, he was caught off-guard with a bullet to the back by Hunter and subsequently arrested.
Bound and loaded into a truck for transport to a private holding facility, Nate tried to explain to Hunter and his men that Washington was in danger and that Ouroboros had to be stopped. To his dismay, however, Garret simply ignored him and had his men work him over as revenge for all the times Nate had humiliated him in the past. When they arrived at the holding facility, Hunter brutally interrogated Nate to find out how he survived his supposed death and why he was back in America. Although Nate answered honestly, Hunter refused to believe his responses and continued the interrogation. Eventually, Kurt arrived and informed him that their superiors were on the line and that he would take over. While Hunter made his way to the phone, Kurt surreptitiously incapacitated the guards and freed Nate, allowing himself to be knocked unconscious so it would look like he escaped on his own. After making sure to beat up Hunter and warn him to stay out of his way, Nate stealthily exfiltrated the facility and made his way to Washington D.C. to stop Ouroboros before it was too late.
Arriving in Washington D.C., Nate surmised that the air show would be the ideal location for the psi-bomb to be detonated and called in favours from Fathom and Kara McIlroy, having them locate and defuse the psi-bomb while he found Catherine and Black. As Kara and Fathom infiltrated the airfield and discovered that a military transport aircraft intended to fly at the show had been hijacked by Ouroboros, who had planted the psi-bomb inside and seemingly planned to drop it on the airshow, Nate managed to decipher a secret message in what the captured Catherine's cries for help when Black called him at the Philadelphia base, realising that the psi-bomb was merely a distraction and that Black's true target was the White House. While Kara and Fathom engaged in a mid-air battle aboard the aircraft to stop Ouroboros from dropping the bomb, Nate was ambushed by Kurt, Hunter and their task force, having pursued him from Philadelphia. While Nate and Kurt attempted to persuade the operatives that the President was in danger, Hunter demanded that they shoot to kill. Eventually, each operative lowered their weapon and sided with Kurt and Nate, prompting Hunter to draw his sidearm and attempt to kill Nate there and then. In response, Kurt used his walking-stick to disarm Hunter and knock him unconscious. Now with Kurt and Hunter's task force behind him, Nate rushed to the White House to stop Black.
At the White House, Nate and the task force fought Ouroboros to a standstill, allowing the former to pursue Desmond Black and a captive Catherine into the White House. Slowed by having to non-lethally take down mind-controlled secret servicemen, Nate eventually arrived in the Oval Office to find the President and his council being controlled by Black into launching nuclear missiles at various military and government institutions around America. In Black's madness, he sought to completely annihilate most of the country's infrastructure in order to punish those who had made him a a killer. Taunting him and mocking the childish incredulity of his plan, Nate managed to cause Black enough stress to make him lose control over the government officials in the room, giving Nate an opportunity to tackle him. As Nate began to fight him hand-to-hand, however, Black narrowly managed to manipulate a serviceman into turning his weapon on the President, buying him enough time to escape while Nate knocked the man unconscious.
With his plan completely thwarted and his forces dead or scattered, Black retreated to the helicopter waiting to fly him to safety. When Nate pursued him, Black revealed that Catherine was aboard the helicopter, pointing a gun at her own head as a result of Black's mental dominion. With Catherine under a clear and present threat, Nate was forced to drop his weapon. As he prepared to take his leave, Black expressed his hidden jealousy towards Nate for being 'saved' from his hard life by Project Patriot, whereas he was forced to save himself. Before he could finally board the helicopter, however, Nate began to mockingly recite the details of Black's childhood that he had read in the file. Enraged Black advanced on Nate and proceeded to angrily beat him to a pulp, using his mental manipulation to keep him from fighting back. All the while, his flux of emotions caused his grip on Catherine to lessen and, pointing her gun away from herself, she shot Black in the shoulder. Taking his chance, Nate fought back and slammed Black's head into the helicopter, dazing him enough to temporarily prevent him from using his powers. As Nate stood over him with his handgun, Black taunted him into finishing him off like they were both "programmed" to do. Tossing his weapon aside after some deliberation, Nate realised that killing had always been his choice and, although Project Patriot had made him into the perfect weapon, he was the one who allowed them to use him as such. Finally at peace with himself, Nate refused to kill Black and told him that he was the one who made himself into a monster, not the government. As the task force ran in to arrest both men, Nate knocked a hysterical Black unconscious and willingly gave himself up. Fathom and Kara had defused the psi-bomb, the President was relatively unharmed, Catherine was safe and Ouroboros had been decimated in the battle. Thank to Nate, America would live to fight another day.
After briefing the authorities on what had happened over the last few days, Nate was saved from a charge of treason by the President, who hailed him as a hero and a true American who blew the lid off of Project Patriot because he valued the truth. Catherine was fired from her job at MI6 for her extended and heavily falsified absence; Gregory Hunter was demoted due to 'incompetence' and Kurt White was offered his old position, and Desmond Black was transferred to the Stronghold with multiple life sentences for his crimes. Cleared of all charges and legally reinstated among the living, Nate took some time to visit his parents' graves to make amends with his father. He was met there by Kurt, who wondered what he would do next. With a newfound resolve, Nate stated that he was ready to take up the mantle of the All-Star again in order to protect his country the 'right way' -- not as a weapon or a killer, but as a hero emboldened by a new sense of agency and freedom. Pleased with his response, Kurt revealed that the United Nations were considering funding their own super team and suggested offering him up as the commander of the task force. Nate agreed to consider the idea and appreciated that it could be a step in the right direction. Side-by-side, the two old friends walked off together, discussing the future.
Meanwhile, Catherine arrived back in England and promptly cleared out her desk at the MI6. Visiting her mother on her way back home, she asked her if it ever bothered her that so much of David's life had been a mystery even to them. Thoughtfully, her mother responded that, even though she wasn't always sure what David was doing or whether or not he'd make it home safe, she could always rest easy at night knowing that her husband was fighting the good fight regardless of where he was or how he did it. Reassured by her mother's words, Catherine decided that she didn't need to know everything about her father's service and was satisfied knowing that everything he did, he did for their safety. As she returned home and started to try and figure out what she'd do next, Catherine received a call from Nate, asking her if she was willing to come back to America in order to put her skills to real use working with him. Spurred on by the memory of her father, Catherine readily accepted Nate's offer and requested that she also be given a codename -- 'Dodger'.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, and, with the sins of the past no longer weighing him down, All-Star is more willing to pay that price than ever before.
Powers
Hyperkinesis
As a result of his father being subjected to a radical and highly experimental serum designed to alter the genetic composition of his offspring to create a super soldier perfect in body and mind, All-Star was born with the power of hyperkinesis. His brain processes information, movement and all other external input at a significantly faster rate than a normal human's, subconsciously taking in all spatial information around him and using it to perform complex mental operations. Effectively, this allows him to make split-second calculations and assessments which would take even the most advanced human brain several minutes to do and react to these calculations instinctively. Though this doesn't inherently make All-Star a genius, it does give him perfect accuracy, as he is able to mathematically work out factors such as distance, air resistance, trajectory and more in milliseconds. He also has a vastly enhanced level of communication and coordination between his body and mind, which grants him enhanced agility and reflexes. In addition, All-Star's memory has been enhanced to near photographic levels allowing him to learn and memorise skills, actions and information much faster than an average human and recall that information with outstanding precision. This enhanced memory makes him far more resilient to memory loss and erasure but also causes him to 'dump' unimportant bits of information such as the names of minor acquaintances. All-Star's hyperkinesis also makes him highly resistant to telepaths, his mind too fast for many to even get a lock on, and offers further resistance against intoxication.
Perhaps one of the most unusual applications of All-Star's hyperkinesis is the ability to throw almost anything with inexplicable force, accuracy and power, allowing him to weaponise a variety of mundane items. The exact explanation as to how is, heretofore, unknown, but All-Star is able to throw or launch anything from rocks and pebbles, pens and pencils, playing cards, toothpicks, tools, broken glass, boomerangs, teeth, paper-clips, needles, nails and more with strength and accuracy enough to allow them to travel extreme distances and damage or penetrate surfaces they usually wouldn't be able to.
The upper limits of hyperkinesis and its growth as a power are still being explored. It is theorised that, in a more intellectual subject, hyperkinesis might have developed in a different way, unlocking psionic abilities instead of the physical and sensory ones seen in All-Star. Whether or not these powers will eventually be unlocked by All-Star remains to be seen, though his power of projectile enhancement may be an early manifestation of psionic prowess.
- Accelerated Cognition
- Perfect Accuracy
- Psionic Resistance
- Intoxication Resistance
- Enhanced Coordination
- Enhanced Agility
- Enhanced Reflexes
- Enhanced Memory
- Projectile Enhancement
Abilities
Peak Human Condition: All-Star, through intensive training, a rigorous diet, genetic engineering and his hyperkinetic mental coordination, has reached the pinnacle of human conditioning and athleticism. He has a level of physical conditioning that exceeds most Olympic-level athletes and could be considered a near perfect physical human specimen in some regards. Capable of pulling off complex acrobatic feats, enduring even the most strenuous activity and showing acts of strength that sometimes seem inhuman, All-Star is a prime example of just how incredible a human body operating at its peak can be. Though he's currently in his forties, All-Star's body remains a finely-tuned machine that shows few signs of slowing down.
Master Marksman: Though his years of advanced military training and experience as a Scout Sniper alone would have made him into a top-grade marksman, All-Star hyperkinesis also lends itself to his talents to increase his proficiency tenfold. He is arguably one of the greatest marksmen alive and has performed feats of marksmanship which often appear to be far outside the realms of possibility such as ricocheting fired bullets off of multiple surfaces to hit his target and hitting weak points most people wouldn't even be able to locate from a mile away. You'd be hard pressed to find a better shooter.
Master Strategist and Tactician: Years of high-school football, military experience and field leadership of the Protectors of the World have given All-Star an aptitude for strategy and the application of tactics both on and off the battlefield. As a result of his hyperkinesis, All-Star's mind is often able to intuitively grasp the most minute details about situations and use them to rapidly formulate plans of action and reaction, making him a fast-thinking and highly improvisational leader who thrives off of changing circumstances. As such, he typically takes charge of situations and puts his enhanced tactical prowess to use whenever he feels he needs to. Whether it's facing down a single supervillain or an army of foes, All-Star strives to always have a plan, a contingency and the flexibility to pull more from his ass when needed.
Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Despite his preference for more long-ranged combat, All-Star is a very lethal hand-to-hand combatant. In addition to years of experience in Boxing stemming back to his teenage years, All-Star holds black belts in Krav Maga and Silat, and a Masters of Sport in Sambo. On top of this, he is trained in Pankration, the LINE System and MCMAP, which provide a more brutal and practical alternative to martial arts. In combat, All-Star is something of a brawler, using a straightforward, but brutally effective, blend of his fighting styles to disassemble his enemies piece by piece. He often employs unconventional stances, dirty techniques and improvised weapons to give himself an edge.
Skilled Athlete: Having been an athlete for a large part of his adolescence and continued in his athletic training during his adulthood, All-Star's prowess as an athlete is not to be sniffed at. As a talented acrobat, swimmer, runner, quarterback and traceur, it isn't surprising that his experience has valid combat applications
Military Expertise: As a former Force Reconnaissance and Special Forces Marine who has been cross-trained with various other military organisations, All-Star has accumulated a number of special skills including: advanced weapons; navigation; SERE; first aid; counter surveillance; amphibious assault; demolitions; HALO/HAHO; covert influence; interrogation and interrogation resistance; reconnaissance; piloting and more. He possesses all the knowledge and skills of a living weapon, arguably making him one of the most lethal men alive.
Multilingualism: Over the years, All-Star has become fluent in six languages besides English with the help of his hyperkinesis. Having learnt Spanish as a teenager, he has since developed a command over Arabic, French, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and Russian during his time as a Marine and a special operative. He also has some understanding of Zimbavian and Portuguese.
Equipment
S.T.A.R.S. Nanosuit v3.670
Designed by SteelTech's advanced warfare division, the SteelTech Advanced Recon Stealth Nanosuit (or S.T.A.R.S. Nanosuit) represents the bleeding edge in military grade technology for the U.S. soldiers of tomorrow. Designed to enhance and support the natural abilities of ground infantry, the S.T.A.R.S. Suit was intended to give recon operatives the ultimate upper hand in the field. As a prototype, All-Star's suit is the only one in existence and has been custom tailored to suit him.
A bodysuit of military-grade synthetic lightweight carbon nanotube armour provides its wearer with protection against dangerous elements while remaining flexible and comfortable enough to allow for long periods of intense activity. Additionally, the suit is lined with a layer of protokinetic gel which reactively alters its temperature and reshapes to conform to the wearer's environment and body type. The protokinetic gel can also harden in response to impact and pressure to potentially save the wearer's life should they fall incredible distances or be placed under high gravitational forces.
Cohesive nanotechnology planted within the innermost mesh layer of the suit allows it to meld to the wearer's body, acting as a 'Second Skin' which simulates muscle fibre, making the wearer stronger, faster and more agile. This 'Second Skin' also syncs with All-Star's S.T.R.I.P.E.S and uses the same nanotechnology to monitor and maintain his physical condition, using nerve-targeted electric currents to stem lactic acid build-up; mitigate pain; and slow the metabolization of harmful toxins, poisons and diseases. It is even able to dampen the wearer's heat signature to offer protection against thermal imaging. Perhaps one of its most useful features, however, is its 'Rigidity Response' system which reacts to the breakage of bones and heavy bleeding by intensifying pressure on the affected areas, allowing its wearer to continue operating through injuries for much longer without worsening or succumbing to them.
The S.T.A.R.S. suit's functionality doesn't stop at the suit itself, though. The bracers, made up of a low-density questionite alloy, offer added protection during close quarters combat and have ridges which allow the wearer to block, break or disarm melee weapons The boots, meanwhile, use strategically placed dura-gel padding to increase comfort and protect against sprains, breaks, penetration, water, infection and inflammation. They also use a system of clasps over laces to minimise the risk of tripping and are steel-toed for durability and combat applications. Additionally, patented 'Nightrunner' stealth technology has been built into the rubber soles, greatly suppressing the volume of the wearer's footsteps. The gloves are padded with questionite and kevlar for added protection and combat effectiveness whereas the pouches are magnetised for added security.
The entire suit is woven in with interlocking nano-scales designed to reduce drag and air resistance and repel water like a swimsuit, allowing for increased adaptability for aerial, high speed and water based missions. These scales also make it resistant to heat, cold, electricity and radiation.
- Enhanced Durability and Protection
- Survivability and Adaptability Features
- 'Second Skin' Nanotechnology
- 'Nightrunner' Stealth Technology
- Resistance to Heat, Cold, Electricity and Radiation
S.T.R.I.P.E.S. v6.767
Developed by SteelTech, these S.T.R.I.P.E.S or SteelTech Real-Time Information Perception and Evaluation Specs are designed to perceive and analyse their wearer's surroundings and possess a myriad of features which give All-Star the one up he needs when out on the job. Effectively a mini-computer with all the processing power to match, the specs come with an advanced tactical HUD which monitors All-Star's physical condition and mission objectives among other things. In addition, they allow him to lock on to hostiles via a sophisticated targeting array, giving him a better tactical grip of combat situations. They also possess an optional heartbeat monitor which can be used to calculate the emotional and physical state of those around All-Star, enabling him to detect the bodily changes associated with lying, infection and, more frequently, death. The specs possess high powered telescopic lenses with thermal, night, sonar, electromagnetic field and ultraviolet imaging and a 'Smart-Fit' function which molds them to the contours of All-Star's face without the need for arms or straps. Additional features include: facial and armament identification, size and weight estimation, GPS tracking, a geiger counter, a holographic interface and a video/photographic camera. Perhaps his most iconic piece of gear, All-Star is rarely seen in the field without his eyewear.
More recently, the S.T.R.I.P.E.S have been modified by Dodger to allow for wireless access to nearby technology via satellite uplink and share a two-way connection to her own computer mainframe, allowing PATRIOT's mission control to see through them and communicate with All-Star. She can then utilise her own technical skills as a hacker and intelligence expert to aid him during his missions,
Specialised Ammunition
All-Star knows better than anyone that it pays to be prepared, especially when fighting alongside and going up against people who could crush you without a second thought. As such, going into battle with specialised ammunition on-hand allows him to better adapt to circumstances in which he'd typically be at a hefty disadvantage.
Hothead Ammunition uses advanced hyper-thermal technology to melt through metal, kevlar and anything else someone might wear for protection with superheated shots. Hellfire Ammunition uses contained hellfire shells cooked up by military sorcerers to bypass magical defenses with mystical fire which is very difficult to extinguish by normal means, making it extremely effective against magic-based and intangible foes. Blessed Silver Ammunition uses a tried and true method to keep supernatural monsters, demons and the undead at bay. Gel Ammunition expands into an solidifying gel that delivers an electric shock on impact, making it significantly less-lethal than standard ammunition. Blockbuster Ammunition uses nanoexplosives to detonate into a concussive blast on impact, generating enough force to make your average brick think twice before throwing their strength around. And Tracer Ammunition uses bullets laced with a resonating electromagnetic charge to allow the shooter to tag and track targets over moderate distances.
With the exception of Gel and (sometimes) Hothead ammo types, it is uncommon for All-Star to keep more than a few magazines of specialised ammunition in his armory at any given time due to it being appropriately expensive. He still has plenty of FMJ, rubber and beanbag rounds, however.
Dual SteelTech Panther Handguns
Specially designed for use by special metahuman operatives, the SteelTech Panther is a revolutionary new handgun which is intended to be "smarter than the average firearm". Incorporating semi-automatic fire, and manual and automatic focusing, the Panther boasts a low recoil, a large magazine capacity, a comfortable ergonomic grip, impressively long-range firing capabilities and impressive stopping power. Smart firing technology allows the user to seamlessly transition between semi-auto and three round burst firing types and an in-built laser sight can be toggled on to give an added bit of security in combat situations. In short, it's the perfect handgun for someone in All-Star's unpredictable line of work.
A Panther can only be operated by its designated owner, whose genetic signature is programmed into the gun's memory. Any attempt to use one by an unauthorised party results in the gun releasing an electrical discharge and locking down.
The All-Star Arsenal
All-Star's arsenal of weapons, gadgets and technology is rather impressive to say the least. This arsenal is usually stored at whatever he uses for an armory at the time and includes:
- M27 Infantry Assault Rifle
A designated marksman rifle outfitted with a high-tech scope, custom selective fire, a suppressor and a collapsible bipod.
- AR-15
A more lightweight and low-tech alternative to All-Star's kitted out M27 IAR, the AR-15 is used as a semi-automatic rifle by All-Star when he wants to be less overt.
- M110 SASS
A gas-operated, semi-automatic sniper rifle. Boasts an effective range of approximately 800 metres and a lightweight, ergonomic design. It can be disassembled in less than three minutes and serviced without tools. All-Star's M110 SASS has been outfitted with a hybrid scope with thermal imaging and standard settings, a detachable suppressor and an additional frame designed to lower recoil.
- M40A5
A Marine Corps variant of the Remington 700, the bolt-operated M40A5 is an alternative to the M110 SASS that takes All-Star back to his Scout Sniper days.
- Barrett M82
An anti-materiel rifle, All-Star's Barrett M82 has been modified to penetrate some of the most durable metals known to man and several layers of obstacles. Like the M110 SASS, it also possesses thermal imaging settings.
- Dual SIG-MPX-Ks
An alternative to the Panthers, the lightweight SIG-MPX-K submachine gun is capable of punching through body armour when using standard rounds and is, according to All-Star, the height of modern gunslinging fashion.
- Smith & Wesson Model 500
With its abundance of stopping power and its reputation as the most powerful handgun in the world, this revolver fires rounds powerful enough to put down elephants and buffalo. It carries five bullets in its cylinder at any given time and All-Star is capable of firing it with very little recoil, a testament to his often underestimated strength.
- Dual Smith & Wesson M&P Shields
Compact and effective, the Smith & Wesson M&P Shield provides a lightweight alternative to All-Star's usual handguns and acts as a handy concealed carry firearm.
- Dual FN Five-Sevens
When he doesn't want to draw attention to himself with the unique SteelTech Panthers but wants a little more power than he gets from the M&P Shields, All-Star uses dual FN Five-Sevens.
- Mossberg 590
A combat shotgun. The Mossberg 590 is usually slung at All-Star's waist for quick access, provided he's actually carrying it at all and is perfect for close quarters.
- Benelli Nova Entry Short Barrelled Shotgun
A short-barrelled shotgun useful for tight confined spaces and more casual combat situations.
- Serbu Super Shorty Shotgun
An even shorter-barrelled shotgun for concealed carry.
- M4A1 Carbine
Lightweight and good at spitting a bunch of bullets in the direction of anyone who looks at you funny, the M4A1 Carbine is a popular rifle. For All-Star, it provides the perfect deterrent against overzealous mooks and has a detachable grenade launcher.
- MK18
A compact version of the M4A1 Carbine which is easier to use in and around vehicles and in tight confined spaces.
- HK MP5
A submachine gun. The HK MP5 comes with a scope and a custom suppressor for added stealth when operating.
- M249 LMG
Relatively lightweight, durable and effective, the M249 is everything one could want from a light machine gun: a nigh-unstoppable killing machine.
- MGL-140
The MGL-140 is a US military made variant of the M32 MGL and acts as a lightweight six-shot grenade launcher. All-Star's personally modified MGL-140 is capable of firing Explosive, Semtex, Tear Gas, Knockout Gas and Beanbag rounds.
- FIM-92 Stinger
A light to carry, easy to operate surface-to-air missile, All-Star usually uses his FIM-92 Stinger to blow planes, choppers and the odd power armoured combatant out of the skies.
- M3 MAAWS
The M3 MAAWS as a recoilless rifle designed to give infantry a lighter, cheaper alternative to traditional rocket launchers. All-Star doesn't use his very often, but it's useful to have it around anyway.
- Bear Cruzer Compound Bow
For times where All-Star requires absolute silence at the cost of reload speed and fire rate, his Bear Cruzer Compound Bow is always waiting in the wings. The bow comes with Standard, Armour-Piercing, Explosive, Thermite, Flashbang and Cable arrows.
- SteelTech L95 Particle Rifle
The latest in a line of weapons specifically designed to combat high-powered metahuman threats, the SteelTech L95 Particle Rifle is a lightweight energy rifle capable of firing bolts or concentrated beams of hyper concussive particle energy. Fueled by an energy efficient fusion battery, it requires no reloading, instead releasing excess heat periodically between use and within seconds in the event of overheating.
- 'Moxie'
All-Star's SteelTech Obsidian combat knife, which he affectionately nicknamed. Crafted from a lightweight and durable questionite alloy, perfectly weighted for use as a combat knife and a throwing knife and charged with a high-frequency current which weakens molecular bonds to allow it to cut through more resistant materials, Moxie is one hard-hitting dame.
- Dual Gerber Mark II Dagger Knives
For times when the enemy is giving you a run for your money, All-Star has two Gerber Mark II Dagger Knives. Lightweight and with a shorter blade length than Moxie, the dagger knives provide an agile alternative for fast-paced close quarters combat.
- Strider SMF
A tactical folding knife, the Strider SMF's compact size makes it ideal for survival situations and even certain combat scenarios.
- Tech Grenades
Utilising modern weapons technology to provide an effective yield despite their compact size, tech grenades are small metallic balls which can be primed and expanded at the press of a button. Using a SteelTech developed gas called 'Adaptagen' which reacts differently to different catalysts, tech grenade effects can be altered on the fly, allowing for maximum adaptability. Tech grenades can be primed to be Explosive, Fragmentation, Incendiary, Stun, Smoke, Tear Gas or Knockout Gas.
- Proximity Discs
These handheld discs feature state of the art motion detecting technology which enable them to detect any movement within a preset area and detonate when something passes through its sensory range. Along with the range of its motion detection, the size of a proximity disc's area of effect and the parameters for detonation can also be set to suit the situation. They come in Explosive, Fragmentation, Concussive and Stun.
- Rebreather
A small rebreather no bigger than a harmonica. It allows All-Star to breathe under water and in low oxygen conditions. The rebreather can also double as a respirator, giving him resistance to gas-based attacks.
- Hybrid CO2 Laser
A pen-like device capable of projecting a concentrated laser beam at the push of a button, allowing the user to cut through various sturdy objects while out in the field. Can also be focused for welding purposes.
- Stun Rod
Simple in design and function, All-Star often carries a hand-sized stun rod taser while out in the field. His particular taser has been modified to allow for much higher voltages when dealing with durable metahumans.
- SteelTech Grapnel Gun
Compact, collapsible and lightweight, the SteelTech Grapnel Gun functions by using a 'magazine' of of compressed CO2 to launch a hyper-tensile nylon cable with a weighted prong at bullet speed. The line can then be reeled in via a powerful motorised spool system to either pull the wielder upwards or pull the targeted object towards them. It can also fire a secondary cable from its lower barrel. This can then be anchored to create a zip-line using the gun itself as a pulley. All-Star's grapnel gun can also be attached to his belt for added security when in motion.
- Medkit
All-Star occasionally carries a small medkit loaded with bandages, tourniquets, medical tools, healing salves, water, suturing thread, painkillers, antiseptics, burn ointment, combat gauze and other vital medical supplies on his person while out in the field.
RT-453 Recon Drone
The state-of-the-art in military surveillance and reconnaissance technology, the RT-453 Recon Drone -- or 'Artie' as it is known by the PATRIOT team -- is a sophisticated UAV which can be collapsed into a highly portable, hand-sized dormant form to allow it to be easily carried by soldiers in the field. When deployed, the RT-453 unfolds into a small quadcopter drone that can be controlled either by All-Star himself or through its controls back at Kansas. Outfitted with advanced surveillance technology, an intelligent targeting computer, facial recognition, weapons and armament identification, wireless network interface capabilities and the ability to switch into a spider-like 'land mode', the RT-453 is invaluable to All-Star and the rest of PATRIOT in gathering intelligence without being noticed.
- High-Power Omnidirectional Surveillance Camera
- Intelligent Targeting Computer /w Heartbeat Monitor
- Mid-Range Wireless Network Interface Capabilities
- Scanner Technology /w Full Visual Spectrum
- Facial Recognition Function
- Weapon and Armament Identification
- Size and Weight Estimation
- Hi-Tech Proximity Sensors /w Battlespace Cognizance
- Mid-Range Audio Receiver and Transmitter /w Recording Function
- Lightweight Carbon-Fibre Body
- Low-Power 'Silent' Quad-Rotors
- Electromagnetic Pulse Protection
- Able to switch between quadcopter 'Flight Mode' and quadrupedal 'Land Mode'
- Can be slotted into a portable charging dock on All-Star's person in the field
- Synced to All-Star's STRIPES, allowing him to control it from afar
- Synced to flight controls and surveillance systems at Kansas (PATRIOT HQ), operated by Dodger
Personality
Standing at 6'3" and weighing in at 240lbs, All-Star is physically intimidating by any standards. With strong facial features, short-cropped combat ready hair, a full beard and sharp, vigilant eyes, he is attractive in a conventional macho sense of the word and carries himself with the air of a former serviceman. In fact, it is not uncommon to see All-Star in bandages sporting fresh cuts, scars, bruises and black eyes. Despite his peak athleticism and genetic excellence, however, he is a man in his mid-forties who spent his entire adult life fighting and killing and it shows. There are plenty of lines and scars that tell dark stories and a certain simmering intensity that can make him seem standoffish or unnerving at a glance.
A product of a lifetime of war, All-Star is a hardened, self-possessed man who can seem gruff, stubborn and, at times, downright antagonistic. A direct, no-nonsense military type, he likes to do everything with as little pretence as possible. With All-Star, what you see is usually what you get. Despite occasionally seeming like a tactless, jaded brute, however, his head happens to be screwed on pretty tight. With an instinctively tactical mind, a deceptively high intelligence and resourcefulness in spades, All-Star is in equal parts an observer, a protector, a commander and an enforcer. There is very little that escapes his notice and, while he may not always make it apparent, he has a deep understanding of how things work. As such, he can swing between a natural leader who thinks on his feet and a savvy, dependable follower, always acting with fierce independence and a take charge attitude. Actions speak far louder than words in his book.
As a former Marine with a bevy of wars under his belt, All-Star operates with the detached pragmatism and adherence to order one would expect. In his mind, there's little room for sentimentality, emotion or doubt on the battlefield and there isn't much that fazes him. That said, his own unflinching moral code is what primarily drives him, and he shows little loyalty to laws and institutions he feels go against it. All-Star also has an irreverent and sardonic sense of humour which he readily displays through deadpan snark and aloof banter. While many would label All-Star cold-blooded and dispassionate, however, it's more the case that he strives to keep a 'safe' emotional distance from the harsh reality of what he does and the world around him. Beneath his world-weary cynicism, All-Star is actually empathetic to a fault with a deep sense of personal honour, loyalty and compassion towards his loved ones, his ideals and his country. For All-Star, it's not enough to simply do good; he needs to be the one getting his hands dirty and shedding blood in the process. In fact, he often shoulders unnecessary burdens and can be excessively hard on himself out of his strong sense of duty and responsibility. The true humanitarian All-Star can be seen not in his words or even his actions, but in their intended result.
An operative first and a superhero second, All-Star is tough as nails and willing to use lethal force to accomplish his goals. While he hardly slaughters his way through petty crooks and costumed criminals, he does not hesitate to put down more severe threats, especially when working alone. In his mind, they simply have to die and he is the most suited to killing them. Indeed, All-Star has rarely shown remorse when it comes to killing his enemies and bounces between missions with almost inexhaustible conviction. Despite this, even he cannot help but notice the ease with which he is able to end lives and realise, with some concern, that he not only enjoys the thrill of his work, but that he also enjoys dispensing his fatal brand of justice. In more recent times, All-Star has taken steps towards defying his 'programming' as a genetically engineered super soldier, dialling back his lethally violent tendencies in the hopes that he can better himself.
All-Star rarely takes time off. When he does, he typically spends it practising his combat skills, working in his armory, exercising or taking on personal missions. Though naturally unflappable, the stressful nature of All-Star's work and its effect on his hyperkinesis prompts him to take on several relaxing hobbies. These grooming his bonsai tree, listening to music, and even travelling. He is also a highly skilled chef, a reader, and a film buff. All-Star's approach towards romantic relationships reflects his fast-paced lifestyle. He regularly flirts with the women in his life regardless of intent and sees physical intimacy as completely independent of romantic feelings, usually engaging in it as a means of either releasing stress or seeking comfort. This approach naturally has a negative effect on his ability to maintain relationships, many of which end due to his inability -- or unwillingness -- to open up and connect with his partners. His Myers-Briggs personality type is ISTJ.
Amazon Chaser - Anti-Hero - Blood Knight - Broken Ace - Chef of Iron - Cold Sniper - Combat Pragmatist - Crazy-Prepared - Cultured Warrior - Dark And Troubled Past - Deadpan Snarker - Dented Iron - Determinator - Fights Like a Normal - Genius Bruiser - Good Is Not Nice - Hurting Hero - Improbable Aiming Skills - Jerk with a Heart of Gold - Majorly Awesome - Military Superhero - More Dakka - Nerves Of Steel - Old Soldier - One-Man Army - Pay Evil Unto Evil - Pragmatic Hero - Really Gets Around - Semper Fi - Survivor Guilt - Superhero Packing Heat - Super Soldier - The Dreaded - The Gunslinger - The Strategist - Walking Armory - Wife-Basher Basher
Friends & Allies
PATRIOT
In the wake of Project Patriot's dissolution and All-Star's return to America, he and Kurt White became the founders and co-commanders of PATRIOT -- a small, but elite black ops unit which would act as the spiritual successor to Project Patriot. Though PATRIOT has a much tighter budget and fewer resources than its predecessor, it is quickly gaining a reputation for how much it accomplishes with so little and has become useful partially because of its small size, providing a precision instrument to be used as needed. PATRIOT's roster currently consists of All-Star; the individuals listed below who form his 'inner circle'; and a small handful of supporting personnel. All-Star typically goes into the field alone and is more or less the only consistent field operative.
Dodger (Catherine Crook)
Catherine Crook was six years old when her father, an SAS soldier turned Broadsword operative who fought alongside Nate Carter before he became the All-Star, was killed on a classified mission during the Zimbavian Revolution. Idolising her father and the sacrifices he made for his country, Catherine aspired to join the British Army and become a soldier like him. Despite her militaristic ambition, however, she was firmly discouraged by her grief-stricken mother from ever enlisting and was instead persuaded to use her considerable intellect to pursue an academic career. With a particular proficiency with computers and technology, Catherine was readily accepted into Oxford University. Just a few months after the completion of her A-Levels and her eighteenth birthday, however, she joined up with the army against her mother's wishes and completed her basic training. Before she could be deployed into active service, Nate, who had secretly been observing her since her father's death, used his connections to get her discharged from the military for her own protection.
After meeting Nate for the first time and being warned against ever seeing combat, Catherine became obsessed with the mysterious stranger and, using her skills as a hacker to investigate his background, discovered not only that he was the All-Star, but that he had once served with her father. Although she obeyed her mothers wishes and studied computer science at Oxford, Catherine continued to follow Nate's career as All-Star, viewing him as the one link she had to her father and his secretive time in the military. Upon earning her masters degree, Catherine -- who frequently operated as a hacker under the Dickensian screen name 'Dodger' -- was headhunted by the MI6 to become an intelligence analyst. Leaping at the opportunity, she used the agency's resources to follow All-Star's activities more closely.
When the news of All-Star's death came a year later, Catherine became convinced that he survived and launched a personal investigation which eventually allowed her to locate him in the jungles of Indonesia. Together, Catherine and Nate managed to thwart a dangerous threat to America's safety and effectively bring All-Star back to the world of the living. Though Catherine was subsequently fired from the MI6 for her extended and heavily falsified absence, she was offered a new position as PATRIOT's chief technician, data analyst and hacker. Operating under her 'Dodger' persona, Catherine works behind the scenes to provide All-Star with all the expertise he needs out in the field and to hopefully learn more about both her father and herself in the process.
Young and impetuous, Dodger has proven herself to be a stalwart ally to All-Star during their time together and the two have developed an almost familial bond. Though she can occasionally disobey orders and still desires to be in the field, Dodger values her role as the woman behind the star-spangled man. When she needs to have some kind of presence in the field, she typically uses an RT-453 model recon drone which she affectionately calls 'Artie'. Her Myers-Briggs personality type is ENTP.
- Genius Level Intellect
- Master Hacker and Programmer
- Expert Engineer and Technician
- Competent Hand-to-Hand Combatant
- Computer and Technology Expertise
- British Army and MI6 Training
Inspired By: Oracle (DC), Julia Pennyworth (DC), Microchip (Marvel), Jubilee (Marvel), Otacon (Metal Gear), Mei Ling (Metal Gear), Benji Dunn (Mission: Impossible)
Kurt White
Once a former member of the CIA with a degree in political science, a young Kurt White was injured in the line of duty, developing a permanent limp that abruptly ended his field career and relegated him to a desk job. Unwilling to settle for being a mere desk jockey, Kurt used his knowledge of politics and his superior social skills to propel himself into a better career. Through sheer determination, aptitude and networking, Kurt eventually worked his way into a position within the White House and, later, a job at the Pentagon. Known for his his commitment to his job and his consistently high standards of excellence, Kurt was specifically headhunted to participate in Project Patriot, becoming the personal assistant and effective second-in-command to its then director Lawrence Smythe.
A staunch patriot and an admirer of superheroes, Kurt went into Project Patriot full of idealism and hoping that the end result would be soldiers who could minimise American casualities in war. When he looked back on the project's files and discovered the methods they had used to create their subjects, however, he began to chafe under Smythe's command. Just two years later, news of Geoffrey Carter's investigation into Project Patriot came out and Smythe decided the best course of action was to assassinate him and his accomplices. Disagreeing with the corrupt director's actions, Kurt hurriedly set about pulling strings to get him fired. Though he was too late to stop Smythe from killing Frederick Muldoon and Alistair Monaghan and sending Geoffrey into hiding, Kurt eventually succeeded and subsequently became the director of the downsized Project Patriot.
As the new director, Kurt refused to compromise his morals to get results. Instead, he kept close tabs on Nate Carter with the intention of allowing him to live his life. When Nate eventually wound up in prison for manslaughter, however, Kurt decided that the only alternative to a life of crime and guilt was the one Project Patriot intended for him. Kurt personally reached out to Nate and pushed him into enlisting in the United States Marine Corps. When Amanda Cho died, Kurt took the final step towards turning Nate into the All-Star by extending an offer to get the experience and training he needed to become a full-fledged super soldier.
Having spent years working alongside Nate as his handler, Kurt used his network of contacts and his political and military savvy to get All-Star where he had to be and give him what he needed to complete his missions. With the dissolution of Project Patriot, Kurt continues to serve Nate in this capacity as co-commander, mission director and liaison officer of PATRIOT, and the director of SAFEGUARD. Serious, composed and exceedingly polite, Kurt comes across as your typical government man in black. Beneath it all, however, he's a very sensitive and people-oriented person who likes to keep things as above board as possible and, as such, carries out his duties with constant professionalism. Though his life is still shrouded in mystery, he and All-Star remain the closest of partners and friends. His Myers-Briggs personality type is ESFJ.
- Expert Tactician and Strategist
- Expert Political Scientist and Manipulator
- Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combatant
- Military and Government Expertise
- Advanced CIA Training
- Multilingualism
Inspired By: Phil Coulson (Marvel), Kay Faraday (DC), Amanda Waller (DC), Roy Campbell (Metal Gear), Irving Lambert (Splinter Cell), Agent K (Men In Black)
Dr. Anu Shahani
Dr. Anu Shahani was a brilliant Indian-American medical doctor and surgeon working with Doctors Without Borders in Syria. The chief coordinator working at the facility she was appointed to, Shahani regularly risked her own life and took bold risks to help protect civilians and soldiers caught in the conflict. Having grown up in conditions of poverty and discrimination, Shahani had a great deal of empathy towards those made to suffer at the hands of dictators and oppressors. Eventually, her clinic was attacked by Syrian forces who slaughtered most of her staff and patients and took survivors into captivity. Throughout her imprisonment, Shahani showed courage and compassion for her fellow hostages and was eventually forced to patch up injured Syrian troops at gunpoint.
All-Star, who was operating in Syria at the time, was called in on a one-man mission to infiltrate the prison and rescue the hostages. When he arrived at the facility, he met a captive Shahani who offered her help in freeing the others, distracting the Syrian soldiers long enough for All-Star to free the prisoners and detonating an explosive to cover their escape. During their retreat, however, All-Star was shot in the chest by a sniper and subsequently began to bleed out, forcing Shahani and the freed prisoners to hole up in a derelict hospital behind enemy lines. With All-Star rapidly fading and unable to protect the group, Shahani took charge of the situation. Utilising the captured soldiers among the prisoners and the weapons they had taken in their escape along with what little tactical advice the wounded All-Star could offer her, Shahani set up a defensive perimeter around the hospital. Then, with a mixed team of the surviving members of her clinic and civilians, she performed complex surgery which narrowly saved All-Star's life.
Before All-Star could fully recover and regain consciousness, the Syrian soldiers arrived and a shootout between themselves and the escaped hostages broke out. Though lives were lost on both sides, Shahani's quick thinking and use of All-Star's tactics managed to keep the soldiers at bay long enough for the man himself to recover and finish them off. When the battle was over and the prisoners reached the designated extraction point, All-Star thanked Shahani for all she had done and maintained contact with her. After returning to America following the events of The Price of Freedom and taking back the mantle of All-Star, Nate sought out Shahani and offered her a job as the chief medical officer for PATRIOT. Explicitly trusting the man who saved her life years ago, Shahani accepted his offer.
Strong-willed, capable and deeply spiritual, Dr. Shahani is an extreme humanitarian who has devoted her life to helping others. A natural healer with a sense of justice that exceeds even Nate's, Shahani's selflessness and compassion shine brightly through her severity. As such, she typically provides All-Star with moral guidance and support when she isn't patching up his wounds. Unlike other members of PATRIOT, Shahani is happily married with three children. Her Myers-Briggs personality type is INFJ.
- Genius Level Intellect
- Brilliant Medical Doctor and Surgeon
- Competent Geneticist-In-Training
- Multilingualism
Inspired By: Leslie Thompkins (DC), Alfred Pennyworth (DC), Kavita Rao (Marvel), Naomi Hunter (Metal Gear), Karin Chakwas (Mass Effect), Shepherd Book (Firefly)
LZ (Vaughn Brady)
With an influential USAF general father and a state senator mother, Vaughn Brady came from a distinctly privileged upper class background where great importance was placed on excellence. A slacker who coasted by on his charm and good looks, Vaughn quickly found himself falling short of his older sister, who owned a successful law firm, and his younger brother, who would go on to become a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. When he graduated from his expensive private school with bad grades, a low-paying job at an auto-mechanic and no particular motivation to move out, Vaughn was given an ultimatum by his disciplinarian father: either he would make something of himself or he would be financially cut off.
Ultimately, Vaughn decided to enlist in the Air Force like his father, thinking that he would receive preferential treatment through nepotism. Unfortunately for him, however, his father saw his enlistment as a sign that he had finally learnt to respect his nation and encouraged him to fight on the front lines. A reluctant recruit, Vaughn was surprised to find that he took to his training like a fish to water and, when he eventually became an airman and a pilot, he felt completely at ease soaring through the skies. Before long, Vaughn had served three tours in Afghanistan, rising to the rank of Senior Airman and earning accolades for his exceptional talents. When he finally left the Air Force and returned to civilian life, Vaughn had been molded into a sterling young man and the apple of his father's eye.
Using his father's connections and his Air Force vehicle operations training, Vaughn secured a comfortable private security job chauffeuring and guarding VIP clients. It wasn't long before he began to long for the thrill of flying, however. Sensing his son's discomfort, the general contacted Kurt White -- a close friend of his -- and called in a personal favour. Intrigued by Vaughn's military service record and apparent talents, Kurt offered him a role as a member of PATRIOT. Serving as the team's senior pilot and vehicle operations specialist, Vaughn took on the codename 'LZ' and became responsible for managing vehicular and aerial operations, deploying and extracting field operatives and providing his expertise when needed.
Vaughn is the only other member of PATRIOT's inner circle besides All-Star to have fought in a war and is arguably the team's most capable field operative behind the Soldier Supreme himself. Relatively new to the world of black ops, Vaughn overcompensates with showboating and machismo. Due to the fact that he's narcissistic, wealthy and a bit of a meathead, however, he is often the butt of the joke among the rest of the inner circle. Despite his obnoxiousness and the lack of respect he's usually shown, Vaughn is a loyal and dependable ally who always comes through when it counts. His Myers-Briggs personality type is ESTP.
- Expert Pilot and Driver
- Skilled Mechanic
- Skilled Marksman
- Competent Hand-to-Hand Combatant
- Advanced USAF Training
Inspired By: Happy Hogan (Marvel), Steve Trevor (DC), Hal Jordan (DC), Kazuhira Miller (Metal Gear), Joker (Mass Effect), Po Dameron (Star Wars), Wash (Firefly)
Tatyana Molotov
As a young, orphaned girl living in the slums of Russia, Tatyana Molotov was kidnapped by slave traders and taken to Somalia where she was forced to build firearms and bombs. Operating under the threat of execution or prostitution if she ever failed, a determined Molotov became extremely adept at constructing weapons and explosives. Having spent four years of her life in the misery and squalor of slavery, Molotov began stealing pieces from her factory over the course of several months to create a high-powered explosive, detonating it in order to escape with her fellow slaves. With nowhere else to go, she disappeared into the criminal underworld of Somalia and sold her talents to the highest bidder.
Though she started off as a simple bombmaker, Molotov soon fell in with a group of mercenaries. As a member of her mercenary team, Molotov served in Bosnia, Kosovo, Zimbavia and Afghanistan, becoming a highly talented and capable operative. After they found themselves in possession of a large shipment of military-grade weapons, however, Molotov mercilessly mowed down the rest of her team and kept the stash for herself in the hopes of selling them on. Calling in a favour with the Bratva and using the stash as the foundation of her new enterprise, Molotov became a highly successful international arms trafficker with a network of operatives all over the world. As an arms dealer, Molotov ran afoul of All-Star on multiple occasions, becoming one of his earliest and most frequent rogues.
Eventually, the Bratva called in their debt, attempting to seize control of Molotov's organisation. When Molotov rejected their terms, they began to personally target her operation, systematically burning her empire to the ground. Before long, the once powerful arms dealer had nothing and, after an attempt on her life blinded her in one eye, realised she would need protection from her enemies. Desperate, she contacted All-Star and begged for amnesty in exchange for information. All-Star personally escorted Molotov back to American soil, fighting the Bratva every step of the way. When the perilous journey was finally over, Molotov upheld her end of the deal and eventually became one of Project Patriot's most valuable assets. In more recent times, the formerly bitter and scornful Molotov has professed her admiration and respect towards All-Star and America. Though her damaged eye meant she was no longer viable in the field, she willingly aided Project Patriot from behind the scenes as a regular contact. By the time PATRIOT came into formation, All-Star had come to trust Molotov so much that he readily invited her to be the unit's chief gunsmith, armorer and weapons specialist.
Toughened by a difficult life, Molotov is a taciturn and independent woman with a no-nonsense outlook. She is probably the member of PATRIOT who has the most in common with All-Star and he is typically the only one she speaks to at length besides Dr. Shahani. Amusingly, she inspires fear or distrust in anyone else. Despite her withdrawn demeanour, Molotov is a deeply philosophical and sophisticated woman with a love of art and literature. Her Myers-Briggs personality type is INTJ.
- Expert Gunsmith and Weapons Engineer
- Expert Smuggler and Trafficker
- Expert Marksman
- Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combatant
- Demolitions and Criminal Expertise
- Multilingualism
Inspired By: Aristotle Rodor (DC), Nastasha Romanenko (Metal Gear), Anna Grímsdóttir (Splinter Cell), Balalaika (Black Lagoon)
Players
Ada Clover: Having started his affair with Ada Clover during his time in the Protectors of the World, Nate eventually pursued a genuine relationship with the team's feline PR representative. Though their short-lived romance was interrupted by his faking his own death, Nate has recently returned to Millennium City and resparked their relationship. Though Nate enjoys his time with Ada and cares for her, it's difficult for him to view their relationship as anything more than physical.
Adapto: A trip to a fractured universe created through the power of the Polychoron led to both All-Star and Adapto gaining control of the unknown artifact at the same time, creating a link between their consciousness and sending them to another plain of existence. There, All-Star and Adapto bonded and made a shared decision to undo the damage to the Megaverse done by the Polychoron, restoring reality to its natural state. Despite no longer being 'one', however, their time sharing a consciousness has developed their understanding of one another and led to a developing friendship.
Artifist: All-Star and Fist have something of a love/hate relationship. With both often being on the receiving end of the other's jabs and quips, they're much more compatible on the battlefield than they are off of it. All-Star trusts Fist to have his back when he's out in the field and makes sure to have her back just as much.
Dobergirl: All-Star sees Dobergirl as something of a daughter and has always viewed her as one of the few genuinely good and pure-hearted people he's encountered during his career as an operative and a hero. He is as extremely protective of her as he is with Kara.
Fantasma: Fantasma is as opinionated as she is bold and isn't afraid to tell someone what she thinks of them. With a personality so similar to All-Star's, the two are prone to heated arguments and squabbles over even the smallest things. Regardless of their bickering, though, All-Star trusts Fantasma to be straight with him when it really matters and appreciates her fiery temperament. The two are close friends.
Fathom: As a strong, confident and assertive woman, Fathom is exactly All-Star's type and he has made no attempt to hide his attraction to her. In fact, he feels a certain kinship towards her due to their shared military background and their willingness to be firmer than other superheroes. The two have something of a mutual understanding of one another.
Kara McIlroy: Similarly to Dobergirl, All-Star views the intrepid Kara as a daughter and has promised her late father that he would look after her. He is extremely protective of her as a result of their close relationship.
Riptide: Riptide and All-Star have an odd relationship built as much on camaraderie as it is on thinly veiled contempt for one another. All-Star cites that Riptide is one of his best friends because he's just as much of an asshole as he is and Riptide often says words to the same effect. Ultimately, All-Star trusts Riptide implicitly and couldn't think of anyone else (of the same sex) he'd rather go out for a drink with.
NPCs
Ackerson: A relatively inexperienced pilot and occasional field operative working for PATRIOT, the meek and bumbling Ackerson is usually seen in the company of LZ, who treats him as more of a lackey than anything else. No one seems to know or remember his first name and he often takes time off for illness or injury.
Geoffrey Carter: Nate's formerly abusive biological father. Though Nate committed many years of his life to locating and killing him, he recently found him during the events of Made In America and made peace with him before he died. Though he still has some misgivings about their relationship, All-Star has more or less come to accept his father for who he was.
Amanda Cho: Nate's late girlfriend from his early service in the United States Marine Corps. Thought it's been decades since she was tragically killed in the line of duty, she still holds a special place in Nate's heart as his first real love and the person who inspired his patriotism.
Ignacio 'Nacho' Diaz: The head of SteelTech's military R&D division, 'Nacho' typically presented Project Patriot with the latest technology provided by its partnership with Steel Industries and formed a respectable relationship with Kurt and Nate as a result. Following the dissolution of Project Patriot, Nacho continues to represent SteelTech by providing new gear and weapons and has even acted as a consultant from time to time.
Antoine Freeman: Nate's one-time best friend and partner in crime. Also known as the supervillain Wheezer. Nate blames himself for Wheezer's mutation as much as Wheezer does and desperately seeks ways to end his path of vengeance, to no avail. Wheezer simply wants Nate to suffer as much as possible.
Manfred 'Grizzly' Griswold: Nate's former squad leader from his early days in the USMC who would later go on to be his commanding officer when he joined Force Recon. The two have remained close since Nate became the All-Star and, though Griswold now runs a private security company, he has frequently come to Nate for help and vice versa. Griswold has acted as an informant and contact for Project Patriot and PATRIOT on several occasions.
Veronica Hall: A high-ranking figure in the Department of Defense, Veronica Hall became an outspoken detractor against Nate's actions as the All-Star, believing him to be a sociopath and a sanctioned assassin. Though she worked for a time to get Project Patriot scrapped, she was eventually convinced of its worth and even temporarily replaced Kurt as Nate's handler when he was suspended by Gregory Hunter. She has since been transferred to a new branch, but has reappeared several times to support both Nate and Kurt.
Gregory Hunter: An agent of the Department of Defense, Gregory Hunter is a petty and self-concerned individual who's only interested in furthering his own career and crushing whoever gets in his way. Hunter has been a frequent obstacle for Project Patriot, often using bureaucracy to impede them due to a personal rivalry with Kurt White and Nate Carter. After being humiliated and outwitted by the two time and time again, Hunter has resolved to do all he can to ruin both PATRIOT and SAFEGUARD.
Marcella Lotte: An actress and political activist, Marcella met Nate when he saved he saved her from a kidnapping and the two soon became romantic partners. Though he planned to propose to her, their romance came to a tragic end when Clownface tortured and killed her to prove that Nate could never sustain a real relationship in his line of work.
Rochelle Masters: Nate's late biological mother. An uneducated stripper, Rochelle attempted to do her best to ensure her son had as good a life as she could give him, but was struck down by Lawrence Smythe before she could. Nate loved his mother, warts and all, and still holds her memory dear. He often uses his memories of her to spur him on in difficult times.
Dennis O'Malley: The Catholic priest who helped Nate through a difficult time, Father O'Malley was accidentally killed by a young Nate during a botched robbery, setting into motion the series of events that would lead to him becoming the All-Star. Even now, Nate often draws reference to O'Malley's teachings.
Tyler Stone: A journalist who attended Nate's high school, Tyler used his skills to track down his old friend and ask for his help rescuing a fellow journalist from captivity in Iraq. Since then, the two rekindled their friendship and often helped each other until he and the rest of the employees at his office were gassed to death by Wheezer.
The Hall of Famers: The name for several distinct squads of Marines led by Nate during his time in the Marine Corps, there have been many iterations of the Hall of Famers. Nate has kept in contact with a number of them and is not above calling in favours every so often.
Cleantha Zambala: The dictator queen of Zimbavia and Nate's former lover, Zambala sees Nate as both an enemy and an ally depending entirely on her own desires and motivations at any given time. The two share an intense love-hate relationship and have run afoul of each other just as often as they've wound up wanting the same thing.
Zara Zambala-Carter: The daughter of Nate Carter and Cleantha Zambala born out of their brief affair following the Zimbavian Revolution, Zara was raised as an assassin and taught to hate her father. Though their first encounter left her with a severe case of retrograde amnesia, the wary and confused Zara remains out of Nate's reach, much to his despair.
Rogues Gallery
As a Department of Defense backed special operations unit operating in total secrecy, PATRIOT typically carries out highly surgical black ops missions against terrorist organisations and particularly dangerous individuals who pose a threat to American or international security. As such, most of the forces All-Star faces off against are dispatched or incarcerated rather summarily after their being engaged, rarely becoming a recurring presence in his career. For the few notable individuals who have survived their initial encounters with All-Star and subsequently become frequent or personal antagonists to the Soldier Supreme, the PATRIOT mainframe at Kansas contains a database of highly confidential dossiers -- an unconventional 'Rogues Gallery'.
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CLOWNFACE
"See, Nate, I never had whatchu did. I never had myself a flag. I never had me a purpose or a cause t' justify doin' what I loved t' do. All I had was a powerful sense o' humour an' a winnin' smile. But, shoot: those'll take ya pretty far, man."
Real Name: ??? (Seymour Slaughter/Wilson Graves/Buddy Goodman/Happy Galecki/Ronald McDonald)
Powers/Abilities: Peak Human Condition, Genius Level Intellect, Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant,
Expert Marksman
Occupation: Mercenary and Assassin
Origin: Natural
Motivation: Thrills/Insanity/Money
Inspired By: Bullseye (Marvel), Crossbones (Marvel), Barracuda (Marvel), The Joker (DC)
A mercenary as notorious for his brutality and unpredictability as he is for his exceedingly high rate of success, there is surprisingly very little that is actually known about the enigmatic 'Clownface'. Appearing on the scene for the first time in the early 00s, Clownface notoriously slaughtered his way through an entire building full of mafia enforcers. When forensics teams investigated the building afterwards, the gruesomely creative and darkly humorous ways in which some of the victims were killed earned the mysterious mercenary his name. Seemingly taking to the identity the media assigned to him, Clownface subsequently appeared wearing his iconic clown mask and quickly became a big name in the world of mercenaries and hired guns.
Amoral and deeply eccentric in his approach to his work, Clownface is particularly favoured for assassinations, extortion and bounty hunting jobs due to his uncanny ability to get inside the minds of his targets and prey on their vulnerabilities. This combined with his sociopathic disregard for human life and his apathy towards anything outside of his work makes him a somewhat risky, but extremely effective operative. During Nate Carter's early days as the All-Star, he ran afoul of a human trafficker who hired Clownface to terminate him. Leaping at the chance to kill someone like All-Star, Clownface researched and stalked Nate for weeks. Eventually he surmised his lingering affection for Amanda Cho and drew him out by defiling and destroying several of their past romantic spots.
Though All-Star survived his assassination attempt, took down the trafficker and nearly killed Clownface, the masked mercenary developed a dark obsession with the Soldier Supreme as 'the one that got away'. Since their first encounter, Clownface has been employed by many as the 'Anti All-Star' and has perhaps caused more harm to him on a personal level than anyone, usually going out of his way to emotionally torment him seemingly for the challenge. He has a habit of surviving his many supposed deaths and seems to have taken personal offense to All-Star's new, softened stance on killing. He is also implied to have been a Neo-Nazi, a biker, a self-made orphan, a mafia enforcer and a dishonorable discharge in the past and speaks in a deep Mississippi accent.
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Kurt's Notes:
"Clownface is the farthest thing from a human being that a human being can get. The man's an unrepentant monster -- a rampant psychopath in his truest element. He ruins lives for shits and giggles, and Nate knows that better than anyone. I know that one day their twisted rivalry will come to a gruesome end; I just hope the right man's blood is spilled."
ACTIVE
WHEEZER
"I'm your boy, Carter. You think just because you killed me, that changes? Nah. Just gotta kill you an' we'll be square."
Real Name: Antoine 'Wheezer' Freeman
Powers/Abilities: Gas Generation, Gas Mimicry
Occupation: Mercenary and Gang Leader
Origin: Science
Motivation: Emotional/Money/Power
Inspired By: Vapor (Marvel), Sabertooth (Marvel), Venom (Marvel), The Mist (DC), Ebon (DCAU)
Evicted by his stepmother after his father's passing, Antoine Freeman grew up as an errant street thug in Hudson City, slinging drugs in order to keep himself afloat He eventually earned the street name 'Wheezer' for the potency of his product. It was during one of his many stays in the Police Department's temporary holding cell that Wheezer encountered a young, wayward Nate Carter and the two formed a bond. Over the years, Wheezer and Nate became like brothers, loyal and almost inseparable from one another. An extremely negative influence on the impressionable Nate, Wheezer typically used him as a lookout for his drug sales. After triggering his hyperkinesis and finding religion, Nate distanced himself from Wheezer and tried to keep his life on track. When his old friend returned to request his help in paying off a debt to a local crime boss, however, Nate's cooperation led to the accidental murder of his friend, Father O'Malley. While Wheezer escaped, Nate was sentenced to three years in prison for his crimes and the two friends would not encounter each other until much later in their lives.
When Nate resumed active service in the Marine Corps and flew into Afghanistan to command his own squad following 9/11, he was shocked and angered to find Wheezer among their ranks. When his former best friend claimed that he had joined up to seek redemption for his past sins, however, the two became a competent team on-and-off the battlefield. Towards the end of his regular service before being transferred to special ops, Nate discovered that Wheezer had fallen in with a corrupt weapons smuggling ring within the Marine Corps, acting as a gofer between his treacherous superiors and the terrorists they sold to. Tracking Wheezer to the location of his deal, Nate forced the buyers to retreat and seemingly killed Wheezer in an explosion following the inhalation of the neuro-toxin he had planned to sell.
This couldn't be further from the truth, however. Granted the power to mimic various gaseous substances to certain degree and generate anything from deadly nerve agents to tear gas, Wheezer set his sights on the man who had made him a freak. Becoming a mercenary to earn money and reputation, Wheezer formed his own gang and set out to kill Nate. Since then, Nate and Wheezer have been butting heads in violent and personal ways. Though Nate feels terrible for what he did to his former friend, Wheezer wants nothing more than to tear him limb from star-spangled limb.
Threat Level:
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Kurt's Notes:
"With is unique powers, Antoine Freeman is a living bioweapon who could just as easily drift into the Pentagon as he could walk through an unlocked door. Fortunately for us, you can take the gangbanger out of Hudson, but you can't take Hudson out of the gangbanger. He's got big powers and a small mind -- and he seems chiefly concerned with using them to get revenge on Nate."
INCARCERATED
ZAMBALA
"The Zozu flower is the national treasure of Zimbavia -- both my birthright and my greatest resource. With it, none shall stand in our way."
Real Name: Cleantha Zambala
Powers/Abilities: Super Genius Level Intellect, Brilliant Chemist and Botanist, Master Tactician and Strategist, Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant, Diplomatic Immunity, Contaminant Immunity, Multilingualism
Occupation: Monarch of Zimbavia
Origin: Natural
Motivation: Power/Ideals
Inspired By: Talia al Ghul (DC), Black Adam (DC), Poison Ivy (DC), Doctor Doom (Marvel),
Silver Sable (Marvel), Madame Hydra (Marvel), Queen Bee (Young Justice)
Born the only child of Aoade Zambala III, the king of the South Asian nation of Zimbavia, Cleantha Zambala was considered a child prodigy and given the best education money could buy, studying around the world so she could one day take the throne. While Cleantha studied abroad, however, Zimbavia's political and social climate rapidly deteriorated. Widespread poverty, an oppressive caste system and the denial of basic civil liberties led to many outbreaks of violence and rioting among the lower classes and King Aoade's deteriorating mental state made him increasingly unpredictable. When an adult Cleantha returned to a nation on the brink of collapse, she decided to lead a revolt against her mad father and seat herself on the throne, giving way to the infamous Zimbavian Revolution.
Before long, the rest of the world took interest in Zimbavia and especially in its unique natural resource, the Zozu flower, which could be used to make various medicines, poisons and drugs. Seeking to establish an alliance with Zimbavia, the United Nations sent a team of Broadsword operatives led by Nate Carter to secretly help overthrow the king. During their time working together, Nate and Cleantha had a brief romantic affair that ended with the discovery that she had been using a potent hallucinogenic synthesis of Zozu poison to drive her already unstable father mad enough to spark a rebellion. When they succeeded in placing the duplicitous Cleantha on the Zimbavian throne, Nate spurned her affections, leaving her heartbroken and vindictive.
Over the coming years, Zambala would prove to be a surprisingly manipulative and dangerous ruler who relentlessly sought to seize power, using her nation's resources and the Zozu flower to bend others to her will. Though Zambala's genius allowed Zimbavia to become a global power, her corrupt methods meant she frequently found herself going up against (or manipulating) All-Star. Today, Zimbavia threatens to be the next Nazi Germany and its scheming, megalomaniacal queen continues to rule with an iron fist.
Threat Level:
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Kurt's Notes:
"Brilliant, beautiful and dangerously aware of it, Zambala is arguably one of the most controversial figures of our time. Beloved by some and despised by others, she's willing to do anything for the sake of her nation. That means her allegiances can change like the weather -- a fact Nate is painfully aware of. The woman's twice as deadly as that flower of hers."
ACTIVE
CAPTAIN HOOK
"Lost the 'and in a brawl with some blue-eyed Interpol boy. When I got the hook, the men'd snicker behind m'back -- called me 'Captain Hook'. 'Alright,' I thought. 'They want Captain Hook? I'll give 'em Captain Bleedin' Hook.' So I called in a favour an' came back with a big, scary blighter of a thing for a new hook. I christened it by skinnin' the blue-eyed boy alive. I was the only one laughin' that day. Just me an' the sea."
Real Name: Abraham Rothwood
Powers/Abilities: Questionite Hook Hand, Expert Smuggler and Pirate, Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combatant,
Skilled Swordsman, Skilled Marksman, Royal Navy Training
Occupation: Pirate Captain and Smuggler
Origin: Tech
Motivation: Money
Inspired By: Plunderer (Marvel), Klaw (Marvel), Grim Reaper (Marvel), Captain Boomerang (DC),
Tiger Shark (DC), Hector Barbossa (Pirates of the Caribbean), Captain Ahab (Moby Dick)
An English career criminal and Royal Navy dishonorable discharge, Abraham Rothwood soon decided to try his hand at furthering his criminal career elsewhere. Relocating to Somalia, Rothwood joined up with a band of small-time pirates and made a living off of raiding cruise ships, yachts and party boats. Before long, opportunities afforded to the talented young pirate led to him being noticed by arms and people traffickers who employed him to transfer their cargo from point A to point B -- a task Rothwood quickly found he excelled at. Having made a name and a decent profit for himself as a smuggler, Rothwood started his own band of pirates and used his expertise to turn them into one of the most efficient crews in the business.
It was during one of his crew's smuggling runs that Rothwood discovered that their ranks had be infiltrated by an undercover Interpol agent. Confronting him alone, Rothwood engaged in a brawl with the agent and, though he managed to overpower him, he lost his left hand in the process. Enraged by the way his crew would mock his prosthetic hook hand behind his back by calling him 'Captain Hook', Rothwood called in a favour with Tatyana Molotov -- a prominent arms dealer. Molotov procured for Rothwood a questionite hook hand with an extendable chain. With his new and improved hook, Rothwood returned to his crew and used it to skin the captured Interpol agent alive.
From that day forward, Rothwood became a far crueler and more ambitious criminal, selling his services to even the most morally reprehensible clients. His seafaring crime spree eventually brought him into conflict with All-Star and he became a frequent antagonist of the Star-Spangled Sharpshooter. In more recent times, Rothwood has expanded his operation exponentially and has even given his hook hand a number of upgrades to make it more effective in combat.
Threat Level:
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Kurt's Notes:
"He may not be the most overtly threatening rogue in All-Star's gallery, but Captain Hook is still dangerous. After all, you don't become the leader of Interpol's most wanted pirate crew without being a talented criminal and a complete psychopath."
ACTIVE
DEADHEAD
"Next person to call me Deadhead gets mailed to their mother piece by piece."
Real Name: Vincent Caruso
Powers/Abilities: Pain Suppression, Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combatant, SKilled Marksman
Occupation: Entrepreneur and International Criminal
Origin: Natural
Motivation: Money/Power/Fame
Inspired By: Two-Face (DC), Black Mask (DC), Finn Cooley (Marvel), Jigsaw (Marvel), Hammerhead (Marvel), Handsome Jack (Borderlands), Ajax (Deadpool), Tommy DeVito (Goodfellas)
Vincent 'The Face' Caruso was a corrupt entrepreneur and international criminal with connections to several organised crime syndicates when he first encountered All-Star. Brokering a deal for a shipment of ARGENT weaponry between his client and a group of would be terrorists, Caruso was caught off guard when All-Star showed up. In the ensuing firefight, he seized a frag grenade and tossed it at the distracted hero. Acting quickly, All-Star picked it up and tossed it back. Exploding just shy of Caruso's face, the grenade did severe cosmetic damage to his once attractive features and lodged a particularly large piece of shrapnel in his brain, severely impairing his ability to feel both pain and pleasure.
Though he managed to recover with surgery and physical therapy, the narcissistic Caruso was deeply affected by his now horribly disfigured face and became even more inconsolable when he discovered that he could no longer register pleasure to an enjoyable degree. Vengeful towards the man who had ruined his life, Caruso launched an all out war against the All-Star. With the help of a network of criminals, Caruso tracked Nate to Millennium City and placed a large bounty on his head. Soon, Millennium City became a war zone with every gang and lowlife crook in the area gunning for Nate's bounty. Eventually, however, Nate stormed Caruso's penthouse and, after a brief struggle, forced him to call off the bounty, making sure to mockingly refer to him as 'Deadhead' during the encounter. The cruel name quickly caught on and stuck with Caruso throughout his subsequent stay in prison. Though he eventually escaped prison and reestablished himself as a key player in the world of organised crime, Caruso could never escape from his new identity or the grim visage that inspired it. 'The Face' was no more and 'Deadhead' became the name whispered and sneered by his associates.
Time has done little to lessen Caruso's hatred of All-Star and the two have wound up encountering each other many times as a result. For the most part, though, Caruso prefers the idea of keeping his business afloat over devoting time and resources to petty revenge and acts of violence. That is until he overhears someone mention his nickname...
Threat Level:
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Kurt's Notes:
"If you thought Deadhead was ugly on the outside, I'm sorry to say he's worse on the inside. Much worse. If you've ever wanted to know what happens when a narcissistic criminal mastermind obsessed with wealth, reputation and his gorgeous face loses just one of those things, then look no further. Trust me: it's not pretty."
INCARCERATED
SOVIET SUPREME
"You are a patriot. You are the glorified mascot of an inferior, cowardly regime. I am no patriot, American. I fight not for a nation, but for a paradise -- for a way of life. One that the world, in its hubris, has all but broken. But they will not break me."
Real Name: Ivan Grigorovich
Powers/Abilities: Personal Gravity Field, Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combatant
Occupation: Terrorist
Origin: Meta
Motivation: Ideals/Insanity
Inspired By: Bruiser (Marvel), Russian (Marvel), Flag-Smasher (Marvel), KGBeast (DC),
Mad Stan (DCAU)
A metahuman born with the power to generate and manipulate a personal field of gravity that could be used to enhance his strength and durability, Ivan Grigorivich had the ideals of Soviet Russia impressed upon him by his father. When his father passed away, a young adult Grigorovich became the strongman in a travelling circus, using his powers to accomplish great feats of strength. A vocal supporter of communism, Grigorovich grew to resent the world that had, in his mind, rejected the perfect system. Showing a special level of disdain towards the various patriotic heroes who paraded around in their nation's colours, Grigorovich created his own costume modelled off of the Soviet flag and became the Soviet Supreme.
As the Soviet Supreme, Grigorovich began to travel the world on his mad crusade, targeting flag-wearing heroes and villains and killing them with his bare hands. Before long, Grigorovich had racked up a sizable international body count and earned a place on several most wanted lists as a 'flag hunter'. Eventually, his rampage brought him to America where he set his sights on All-Star, attacking him at his home. During their first encounter, the vastly stronger Griorovich very nearly killed the unprepared All-Star and left him for dead. Recovering from the experience, however, All-Star used his hyperkinesis to find the weak points in Grigorovich's gravity field and defeated him. Though Grigorovich was finally imprisoned, his hatred of patriotic heroes has only intensified and he has made many a number of subsequent attempts on All-Star's life.
Recently, Grigorivich has become a significantly more versatile threat as he targets political figures, jingoistic organisations and even celebrities dependent entirely on whether or not their particular views have disagreed with him. Though his methods and motivations have slightly changed, however, he remains just as much of a powerhouse as he's always been and has developed a much finer control over his powers.
Threat Level:
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Kurt's Notes:
"We've seen slobberknockers and we've seen mad men, but we've rarely seen a mixture of the two quite as potent as the Soviet Supreme. The man's a total lunatic and he'd almost be a joke if he wasn't so damn good at what he does. As if that wasn't enough, he's painfully unpredictable. It's all we can do to follow his path of destruction."
INCARCERATED
HENCHMAN
"Hench Co.! Expendable just got employable! Buy Hench!"
Real Name: Ronald Blake
Powers/Abilities: Various Skills and Abilities, Brilliant Businessman,
Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combatant, Multilingualism
Occupation: Mercenary/Arms Dealer/President of Hench Co./Henchman Trainer/Comic Store Owner
Origin: Natural
Motivation: Money/Emotional
Inspired By: Taskmaster (Marvel), Deadpool (Marvel), Bob, Agent Of Hydra (Marvel),
Scott Lang (Marvel), Henchman 21 (Venture Bros.), Saul Goodman (Breaking Bad)
Ronald Blake was always an underachiever. With his entire existence being able to fall under the one word descriptor of 'mediocre', Blake always dreamed of becoming an UNTIL liaison. Unfortunately for him, however, lackluster grades and an unexpected pregnancy forced him to settle down, marrying his one night stand. Though Blake loved his daughter, it wasn't long before his marriage fell apart and, after the divorce, he got an entry level job at UNTIL.
When his dream job was abruptly ended by a frame-up, Blake joined up with VIPER. When he accidentally caused an avalanche that killed an entire team of Steelhead soldiers, he became a legend among the VIPER ranks and was given more authority and power. Time and time again, circumstance and luck allowed Blake to survive various encounters with heroes and even kill a few, furthering the misconception that he was the "Greatest Henchman Who Ever Lived". Wanting to cash out before they discovered the truth, Blake resigned and opened up a comic book store in Millennium City. When his daughter discovered his sordid past, however, her fascination prompted him to return to his life of crime as the Henchman -- the world's first 'Hench-for-Hire'. Starting out as a mercenary and a henchman trainer, Blake eventually established Hench Co. -- a multipurpose underground supplier of henchmen, weapons and the training to make the most of both.
Nowadays, Hench Co. is a big (if not somewhat unreliable) name in the world of international crime with a number of network of branches and an annual 'HenchCon'. Though Blake himself has made a good living off of his successful brand as a mercenary and a businessman, he is Still a coward who prefers to use guile to overcome obstacles. Still, Blake has had a number of encounters with All-Star as both a marginally inconvenient antagonist and a majorly annoying ally.
Threat Level:
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Kurt's Notes:
"The Henchman is a coward and a con artist who managed to stumble his way into the big leagues. Don't believe the tall tales: the guy's mouth is his most dangerous feature. For the most part, he runs his 'business' like a pro and tries not to rock the boat. That means he's rarely a legitimate threat -- at least not one worth our time."
ACTIVE
DOCTOR FAUSTUS
"On the contrary, I don't think you'll die, Nathaniel. Not just yet. I think men like you and I will be the only ones who live long enough to see just how pointless it all was. Even when everyone we ever loved is dead and gone. Even when all our institutions and delusions have crumbled into nothing. Even when we've fought our last fights. We'll survive. And, if we're lucky, we'll still have tears left to shed."
Real Name: Dr. Solomon Hirsch
Powers/Abilities: Enhanced Condition, Enhanced Senses, Super Genius Level Intellect, Brilliant Geneticist and Engineer, Master Tactician and Strategist, Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant, Occult Expertise
Occupation: Terrorist
Origin: Science
Motivation: Ideals
Inspired By: Baron Zemo I (Marvel), Red Skull (Marvel), Ra's al Ghul (DC), Ozymandias (DC),
Captain Nazi (DC), Vandal Savage (DC)
Dr. Solomon Hirsch a brilliant Nazi scientist who pioneered one of many attempts by the Third Reich to create a perfect race during the Second World War. Decades ahead of his time in the field of genetics, Hirsch's project was one of the few to actually bear fruit when he used it to transform himself into a physically and mentally enhanced super soldier. Operating under the codename 'Brother Superior', Hirsch became a kind of secret weapon for the Axis powers. Eventually, however, he grew disillusioned with the atrocities he saw committed by his nation and deserted their cause, fleeing to the farthest corners of the world to get away from war and suffering.
Spending some time with a temple of Tibetan monks, Hirsch became engrossed in spiritualism and occultism as a means of coping with what he had done. As the years went by and his body stayed more or less the same, Hirsch became more and more convinced that humanity was being led astray by bigots and warmongers such as the ones he had served under. Travelling the world in the aftermath of the war, he began using his talents to fight a private war against human disunity from the shadows. After years of watching pointless wars and gradually losing touch with his own humanity, however, HIrsch's methods became more extreme. By the time the War on Terror began, Hirsch had taken on the pseudonym 'Doctor Faustus' and had become convinced that the only way to save humanity was to wipe its slate clean.
Using a combination of his enhanced abilities and decades of esoteric knowledge, Faustus has willingly sided with anyone and done anything to accomplish his dream of a world without war or hatred. An extremist by nature, he has proven himself to be one of All-Star's most dangerous enemies and a persistent threat to the stability of the world.
Threat Level:
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Kurt's Notes:
"Doc Faustus has lived through enough death and destruction to believe that the human race is practically unsalvageable. He's not a lunatic or a monster -- he's a man who's seen what we're fully capable of and decided to do something about it. Sometimes you wonder if he's right to try and stop us before we blow it all up. But, then, that's not what we're paid to do."
ACTIVE
MIRROR
"Like looking into a mirror, no?"
Real Name: Dominique DeBlanc
Powers/Abilities: Mirror Suit, Master Spy and Saboteur, Expert Hacker, Expert Detective, Expert Actor,
Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combatant, Skilled Acrobat, Multilingualism, Master of Disguise
Occupation: Spy and Assassin
Origin: Tech
Motivation: Money/Emotional
Inspired By: Spymaster (Marvel), Spot (Marvel), Chameleon (Marvel), Batroc the Leaper (Marvel),
Mirror Master (DC)
A French private investigator and corporate spy for hire, Dominique DeBlanc stumbled upon the opportunity of a lifetime during one of his infiltration jobs. Breaking into the R&D department of Steel Industries' headquarters in Arcadia City, DeBlanc found an experimental suit that allowed its wearer to bend light in order to holographically mimic the appearances of others and travel through reflective surfaces. Deciding to take his operation to a new level, DeBlanc stole this 'Mirror Suit' and began selling his services to the highest bidder.
Called in by his friend and head of SteelTech R&D, Nacho Diaz, to investigate the Mirror Suit's disappearance, All-Star went on a personal mission to find DeBlanc and bring him in. Chasing down leads in the criminal underworld, he eventually ran afoul of the man he was pursuing and was very nearly assassinated in his sleep for his troubles. After a lengthy chase, All-Star eventually managed to trick DeBlanc into exposing himself and was forced to shoot him in the head, apparently killing him and losing the Mirror Suit in the process. Much to Nate's chagrin, however, DeBlanc survived his initial encounter with him and has since become a recurring member of his rogues gallery as the Mirror -- a notoriously elusive spy and assassin who can be anywhere at any time. Using his powers, he has often toyed with All-Star on a psychological level and forced him to use his mind over brute force.
A consummate professional, the Mirror tends to avoid direct conflict and favours getting his job done without being seen if possible. This coupled with the capabilities of his suit make him a difficult enemy to pin down let alone fight. That being said, he is not above getting his hands dirty when he has to -- so long as he feels he has an advantage. Despite being a relatively skilled fighter, the Mirror possesses a notorious 'glass jaw' which adds to his desire to work in a less confrontational manner. The non-lethal shot to the head from his first encounter with All-Star has left the Mirror with a scar on his forehead that resembles a bullet hole in glass, rendering him easily identifiable without his suit.
Threat Level:
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Kurt's Notes:
"The Mirror is a different kind of threat. He's not some mercenary hopped up on crazy or a terrorist -- he's a spy. What's more is that he's a spy with a hi-tech suit which allows him to be anyone, go anywhere and disappear in the blink of an eye. The guy's more slippery than a lubed-up eel, and he knows it. Here's hoping he never gets hired to impersonate someone in Washington."
ACTIVE
BLOOD DIAMOND
"The diamonds are a commodity to be hoarded and exchanged. What I truly value is fear. Fear of being mowed down by my men; fear of your children being ripped away and forced to work in my mines; fear of whatever merciless, mystical thing I shall do next. No, it was never about the diamonds, Mr. Carter: they could never buy me half of what fear does."
Real Name: Chidi Mapoza
Powers/Abilities: Expert Tactician and Strategist, Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combatant,
Competent Shaman and Blood Sorcerer, Occult Expertise, Military Expertise
Occupation: African Warlord and Cult Leader
Origin: Mystic
Motivation: Money/Power
Inspired By: Man-Ape (Marvel), Mandarin (Marvel), Kobra (DC), Brother Blood (DC), Grigori Rasputin (Hellboy)
Formerly a sergeant in the Nigerian Army, Chidi Mapoza was eventually recruited by a branch of the Army's special forces devoted to liberating civilians and villages from warlords and dictators. While on a routine mission to save a small village from an up-and-coming warlord, Mapoza discovered that the warlord in question was a staunch believer in mysticism and that he had invaded the village in search of a diamond mine rumoured to hold blood red gems with distinctly arcane properties. Seeing an opportunity to get rich off the treasure, Mapoza reached out to the corrupt members of his team. Together, they mercilessly gunned down the warlord's forces and their fellow soldiers and continued the search for the diamond mine.
What began as a pursuit of riches soon took on new meaning as Mapoza began to immerse himself in the late warlord's research. Like the man before him, Mapoza became convinced of the mystical properties of the diamonds and began to study shamanism and blood magic in an attempt to better his understanding of them. By the time his band of rogue soldiers finally located the mine protected by a village hidden in the mountains of Africa, Mapoza was a burgeoning practitioner of the dark arts and used them to assume control of the village's people and their diamonds. Within a year, Mapoza had become known as the 'Blood Diamond' -- a feared warlord in his own right who used a combination of his magic, his diamonds and the slaves and mercenaries at his command to spread terror throughout the continent in the pursuit of wealth and powerful mystical artifacts.
Able to use his blood diamonds both as currency and as a means of amplifying his abilities, it wasn't long before Mapoza's actions drew the attention of the U.S. government and All-Star. The mystic warlord has run afoul of the Soldier Supreme plenty of times and seems set to become a greater threat as he continues to hoard arcane power.
Threat Level:
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Kurt's Notes:
"You give a man like Chidi Mapoza even a whiff of power and he'll chase it to the ends of the Earth. He doesn't simply want it -- he craves it. It's more than an obsession, it's a sickness. One day his interest in all this mystic nonsense will destroy him -- the problem is that it'll probably destroy a lot of innocent lives in the process. He needs to be stopped before that happens."
ACTIVE
TALLY-MAN
"I've made a comfortable living out of calculations and resolutions. To the rest of the world you may be a super soldier, but to me you're just a bundle of equations waiting to be solved."
Real Name: Preston Parnell
Powers/Abilities: Genius Level Intellect, Brilliant Mathematician and Criminal, Master Tactician and Strategist, Expert Hacker and Programmer, Multilingualism
Occupation: Professional Criminal
Origin: Natural
Motivation: Money
Inspired By: Calculator (DC), Clock King (DC), Mad Thinker (Marvel), Gustavo Fring (Breaking Bad)
Preston Parnell was a highly talented risk analyst and hatchet man frequently called in by companies all over the world to increase profits wherever he could. As his career progressed, however, Parnell fell in with shadier companies such as ARGENT and Steel Industries and, as a result, began to perform his role in more criminal ways, laundering money, managing illegal bank accounts and even organising wide-scale criminal enterprises. Before long, Parnell expanded his business from the legitimate to the illegitimate, lending his services as a fixer, money launderer and adviser to various criminal organisations. With a mathematical genius beyond compare, Parnell quickly made a name for himself in the criminal underground and began operating under the name 'Tally-Man', selling his business-minded criminal and mathematic expertise to anyone for the right price.
All-Star first encountered the Tally-Man while investigating ARGENT for selling weapons and technology to various terrorist organisations. The Tally-Man had been hired to oversee the illegal weapons trading operation and was eventually able to use his mathematical talents and knowledge of probability to perfectly predict All-Star's actions. When the Soldier Supreme made himself known, the Tally-Man counted his bullets and calculated his physical movements and managed to catch him off-guard with a bullet to the chest. Though All-Star narrowly survived, the Tally-Man's genius forced him to approach the operation from a more unconventional angle, using his own tactical intelligence to keep one step ahead of the villain. After a number of twists and turns, All-Star managed to take down the ARGENT operation and destroy a potential weapon of mass-destruction. In the chaos, however, the Tally-Man wiped all data of ARGENT's direct involvement in the arms dealing and made a hasty retreat.
Since his first encounter with All-Star, the Tally-Man has frequently appeared in a supporting capacity to a number of the forces he goes up against. For the most part, however, he prefers to stay as far away from the action as possible.
Threat Level:
| ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ |
|---|
Kurt's Notes:
"Don't let the unassuming looks fool you -- the Tally-Man is more than just a bean counter for scumbags and low-lives. He's smart, he's meticulous and he's a dirty coward. That means he knows how to keep from ever having to risk his skin. Add any given criminal or terrorist organisation's resources and you've got yourself a man who borders on being untouchable."
INCARCERATED
QUARTERMASTER
"War is my business. And, as always, business is booming."
Real Name: Giancarlo De Sisto II
Powers/Abilities: Genius Level Intellect, Expert Marksman, Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant,
Expert Tactician and Strategist, Multilingualism
Occupation: International Arms Dealer
Origin: Natural
Motivation: Money/Power/Ideals
Inspired By: Baron Zemo II (Marvel), Madame Masque (Marvel), Deathstroke (DC),
Drebin (Metal Gear), Destro (G.I. Joe)
The identity of the Quartermaster dates back to 13th century England. A nobleman who owned a number of blacksmiths used them to produce weapons and armour of a particularly exceptional quality and began to expand his operation outwards. As time passed, the nobleman passed his franchise onto his son and, in turn, he passed it on to his son. In cases where no male blood relation could take on the mantle, it was passed on to proteges. For every age there would be a Quartermaster selling the finest weapons to those who could afford them. By the time the 20th century rolled around, what had started as the simple dispersal of swords and shields had transformed into a complex international arms dealing operation with the latest in a long line of Quartermasters at its head.
The latest Quartermaster is Giancarlo De Sisto II, an Italian who inherited the title from his father. A wealthy entrepreneur and owner of the prominent research and development company, Sisto Solutions (or SistoSol), De Sisto splits his time between posing as the philanthropic CEO of his family's company in the public eye and using his connections and resources to sell the bleeding edge in weapons technology to the highest bidder as the Quartermaster. Carrying his mantle with solemnity and pride, the Quartermaster first ran into All-Star when he used SistoSol scientists to create a serum that could temporarily induce hyperkinesis in its subjects. Though the Quartermaster planned to sell the dangerously unstable serum to organisations in need of super soldiers, All-Star's intervention managed to thwart his plans and destroy the underground facility where the serum was being developed, eliminating all traces of it once and for all. The Quartermaster, in return, marked the Soldier Supreme as a threat to his operation and started a long-time feud between them.
The Quartermaster remains arguably the biggest name in international arms dealing, providing the kind of technology that most can only dream of and employing an intricate network of operatives to keep his operation running strong. All roads seem to lead back to the Quartermaster in some way, and All-Star has stumbled upon this truth many times during his career.
Threat Level:
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|---|
Kurt's Notes:
"The Quartermaster is a legacy that stretches back to the Middle Ages. It's more than just an arms dealing operation -- it's a lineage. No matter what we seem to do, the Quartermaster gets up and keeps going. I have no doubt that his empire will survive all of us..."
ACTIVE
EX-PATRIOT
"This country's a bonfire. I can see the strings. You can see them too. The only difference between us is that you haven't decided to cut them yet."
Real Name: Clifford Briggs
Powers/Abilities: Robotic Arms and Spine, Peak Human Condition, Expert Marksman,
Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant, Skilled Tactician and Strategist, Skilled Athlete, Military Expertise
Occupation: Terrorist and Mercenary
Origin: Tech
Motivation: Emotional/Ideals/Insanity
Inspired By: Nuke (Marvel), Winter Soldier (Marvel), Red Hood (DC), Metallo (DC), Adam Jensen (Deus Ex)
Clifford Briggs was once a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps and a member of the Hall of Famers -- the special operations capable squad led by Nate Carter. A morally upstanding and devoted Marine, Briggs was one of Nate's most trusted squadmates and the two quickly developed a rapport. Things soon took a turn for the worse, however. In the middle of an intense firefight between the Hall of Famers and a group of terrorists, Briggs was caught in an explosion and had both his arms and most of his spine severely crushed by debris. Though he survived his injuries thanks to the efforts of his squad, Briggs' arms had to be amputated and he was paralysed from the waist down. With such severe injuries, he was discharged and shipped back home -- a tragic end for a heroic Marine.
Back home, Briggs fell into a deep depression caused by his own infirmity. Though the compensation he received from the USMC allowed him to afford some minor robotic prosthetics to replace his missing arms, he remained confined to a wheelchair and lamented his inability to feel the sensation of touch. Despite a growing bitterness towards his country, Briggs maintained contact with All-Star and the two remained friends. After he thwarted Briggs' suicide attempt, All-Star personally recommended him for the new version of Project Patriot which aimed to use advanced cybernetic technology to create the next generation of super soldiers. Outfitted with powerful robotic arms and augmentations to his spine which restored his ability to walk, Briggs became 'American Steel' and began working alongside his former CO. However, the continued loss of his humanity to technology and the moral ambiguity of his and All-Star's work worsened Briggs' already fragile mental state. He became disillusioned with America, lashing out at All-Star during a mission and going rogue. Though a guilt-ridden All-Star tried to help his wayward friend, Briggs was too far gone. Calling himself the 'Ex-Patriot' he led a plot to destroy the Pentagon as retribution for what was done to him.
Though All-Star reluctantly stopped and, apparently, killed Briggs, the Ex-Patriot has made several reappearances in his crusade against America's corruption, his mental state seemingly worsening each time. He remains a constant reminder of one of All-Star's greatest personal failures and the importance of never taking his work too personally.
Threat Level:
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|---|
Kurt's Notes:
"The Ex-Patriot is what happens when this country fails one of its finest. Clifford Briggs was a good man once, and we let him slip through the cracks. That's on us. Nate would do anything to bring his friend back, but maybe there is no coming back from losing everything you believed in. Maybe you're not supposed to come back from that."
INCARCERATED
TARANTULA
"I fought in wars myself once. But war only profits those in power. Here, I am in power. Here, I do not fight in wars -- I decide them."
Real Name: Cesar Santiago
Powers/Abilities: Peak Human Condition, Master Tactician and Strategist, Expert Marksman, Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant, Military Expertise, Multilingualism
Occupation: Drug Lord
Origin: Natural
Motivation: Money/Power/Fame
Inspired By: Kingpin (Marvel), Tombstone (Marvel), Bane (DC), Brick (DC)
A former soldier in the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, Cesar Santiago was known by his fellow enlistees and superior officers as a model soldier -- brave, strong and a veritable force of nature on the battlefield. Quickly rising to a position of authority in the Cuban Army, Santiago was placed in charge of his own special forces team primarily focused on cracking down on the various smugglers that were running drugs to and from the country. What was unbeknownst to his superiors, however, was that Santiago was becoming increasingly disillusioned with life as a soldier and communism in general and, when his team stumbled upon a group of smugglers exporting sizable shipment of cocaine to Mexico, he gunned down his own squad and appointed himself the head of the terrified smugglers. Using the opportunity to flee Cuba and establish connections within a powerful Mexican drug cartel known as Las Arañas Negras, Santiago used his military expertise to prove his worth to his initially apprehensive employers, who promptly made him an enforcer and a hitman.
As years of service went by, Santiago became feared in the world of illegal drug trade. A grim reaper with a reputation for mercilessly destroying anyone his masters ordered him to, his signature means of execution -- which involved using his immense strength to grip the sides of a person's head in a spider-like manner, painfully gouging their eyes with his thumbs and finally killing them by wrenching their necks loose -- earned him the nickname 'The Tarantula'. Behind the scenes, however, the deceptively intelligent Tarantula plotted to take over his cartel and eventually led a blood-soaked revolt which put him on top. As the new head of Las Arañas Negras marked by his distinctive facial hair, the Tarantula vastly increased the cartel's influence and power, overseeing the development and dispersal of a potent brand of heroin known as 'Spiderbite' for the minor swelling it leaves after injection. The prominence of Spiderbite in the U.S. drew the attention of the DEA which brought in All-Star. Tracking the origin of Spiderbite to Tarantula's cartel, All-Star waged a one-man war against the Tarantula, who proved to be the Soldier Supreme's tactical and physical equal, if not his superior, going on to become one of his more dangerous enemies.
The Tarantula remains one of the biggest and most feared names in international drug trade and sits comfortably at the top of several most wanted lists. While this has often put him in All-Star's crosshairs, the infamously menacing drug lord has just as regularly returned the favour.
Threat Level:
| ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ |
|---|
Kurt's Notes:
"The Tarantula is everything his name implies -- big, dangerous and completely terrifying. You don't work your way to the top of a Mexican drug cartel by being anything else."
ACTIVE
SCAVENGER
"This damn country took everything from me. It's time I returned the favour."
Real Name: Tadi Nelson
Powers/Abilities: Scavenger Exosuit, Genius Level Intellect, Brilliant Engineer, Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant, Expert Hunter and Tracker, Expert Hacker and Programmer, Skilled Marksman
Occupation: Criminal Technician and Weapons Designer/Mercenary
Origin: Tech
Motivation: Emotional/Money
Inspired By: Scalphunter (Marvel), Bushwhacker (Marvel), Tinkerer (Marvel), Forge (Marvel), Whiplash (MCU), Boba Fett (Star Wars)
A Native-American who grew up on a reservation, Tadi Nelson showed a prodigious affinity for technology from a young age. Sneaking off of his reservation and salvaging used and broken parts against the wishes of his traditionalist father, Nelson aspired to one day leave his culture behind and chase his dreams of inventing. His outlook changed, however, when a group of drunken and disgruntled white supremacists ventured onto the reservation and brutally murdered both his parents while he watched, hidden, from a closet. From that day forth, Nelson begin to resent the dynamics of race and power in his country and swore to devote his talents to bettering his people.
Nelson attended Arcadia City University on a full scholarship and quickly landed himself a job at Steel Industries developing weapons alongside Nacho Diaz in the SteelTech division. Though Nelson still held onto some bitterness about the way the country had treated his people, he found a sense of belonging among the R&D team of SteelTech, becoming close with Nacho especially. It was Nelson who developed plans for the exosuit that would eventually become All-Star's S.T.A.R.S. suit. Nelson was horrified by Maxwell Steel's suggestion of military applications for his suit and refused to go along with his ideas. Steel promptly fired Nelson and foisted his work onto the more cooperative Nacho, which left Nelson feeling bitter and betrayed. Disappearing for years, Nelson resurfaced when he discovered that SteelTech used his plans to create the S.T.A.R.S. suit, wearing a suit of power armour capable of grafting any piece of technology to its frame. He attacked the expo where the suit was revealed, incapacitating All-Star and kidnapping both Nacho and Steel. Dubbed 'The Scavenger' by the media, Nelson threatened to kill both his captives unless they relinquished his 'stolen' technology.
When All-Star managed to track down and stop the Scavenger, he was forced to commit to his new criminal lifestyle. Becoming a technician and weapons designer for the criminal underworld, Nelson sells his services to the highest bidder while also using the funds he earns to seek revenge on those who 'took everything' from him.
Threat Level:
| ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ |
|---|
Kurt's Notes:
"The Scavenger is a guy who's been stepped on for so long that all he knows to do is hate. With that suit of his he's a walking swiss army tank, and he's got the brains to back it up. His tech puts some of ours to shame -- and the rest to his arsenal."
ACTIVE
ZARA
"Hello, father."
Real Name: Zara Zambala-Carter
Powers/Abilities: Hyperkinesis, Genius Level Intellect, Brilliant Chemist, Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant, Expert Marksman, Expert Swordsman, Expert Strategist and Tactician, Skilled Athlete, Multilingualism
Occupation: Assassin
Origin: Natural/Science
Motivation: Emotional/Money
Inspired By: Damian Wayne (DC), Winter Soldier (Marvel), Elektra (Marvel), Daken (Marvel), X-23 (Marvel)
When Nate Carter and Cleantha Zambala first encountered each other during the Zimbavian Revolution, the two quickly became attracted to one another and had a passionate affair. Though their brief relationship ended in heartbreak and bitterness, an unexpected pregnancy was discovered only after Nate had left Zimbavia. Fearing that a pregnancy with an outsider who wouldn't be around to take responsibility would reflect negatively on her reputation, Zambala kept it a secret from all but her most trusted servants and confidantes. When she finally gave birth to a healthy baby girl, she named her Zara and swore that she would be raised to one day punish Nate for abandoning them.
Raised in secret within the Zimbavian royal palace, Zara was trained in the art of combat as soon as she was old enough to fight and was given the finest education money could buy. When she developed the power of hyperkinesis inherited from her father, Zambala revealed to her the story of her conception and fostered a hatred for Nate within her. By the time she had reached eighteen, however, Zara had become rebellious and defiant towards her mother's attempts to control her and her insistence on waiting until she was older to seek revenge. Sneaking out of the country under the cover of night, Zara traveled to America with the intent of locating and killing her father. When she finally found him and made an attempt on his life within the comfort of his own home, Zara angrily revealed who she was to the surprised Nate before escaping. Going to confront Zambala with this information, Nate learned the whole truth behind Zara and was wracked with guilt and regret. When Zara returned to Zimbavia to finish the job, Nate made an emotional appeal in an attempt to reconcile with her. As a deeply conflicted Zara emotionally struggled with the choice between exacting her revenge and finally having a father's love, she was shot by a tearful Zambala who felt that she had done irreparable damage to her only child for the sake of revenge, plummeting into the ocean and seemingly to her death.
Zara survived her fall with a severe case of retrograde amnesia. Remembering only her many talents and he feelings towards Nate and Zambala, she became a mercenary and assassin. She uses her free time to come back into their lives, sometimes as a tragic antagonist and sometimes as a confused girl seeking answers. Nate would do anything to restore her memories and finally get to know his daughter.
Threat Level:
| ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ | ██ |
|---|
Kurt's Notes:
"Zara is...complicated, to say the least. Nate's always had a thing about abusive and neglectful parents. Finding out that he was one nearly destroyed him, and what happened after that did the rest. Nate has dedicated so much time and resources to try and find and help Zara. I just hope that he's able to do that one day. He deserves a win, and she deserves a father."
ACTIVE
Weaknesses
Weaknesses
Stay Frosty: While All-Star's hyperkinesis enhances several of his physical and mental attributes beyond that of an average human, heavy and persistent stress can have the inverse effect, distorting his abilities to make him far less competent than the average person. As a means of countering this weakness, All-Star is typically cool and detached in and out of combat, taking on several relaxing hobbies that keep him even.
Almost Human: For all intents and purposes, All-Star is simply a normal human operating at the very peak of human genetic, physical and mental potential and is certainly a normal human in terms of physiology. This makes him vulnerable to all the hazards that most people would be vulnerable to.
Hello, Nurse: All-Star has a weakness for the ladies, and while a pretty face isn't enough to completely disarm him, it can cause him to lower his guard under the right conditions.
You're Gonna Carry That Weight: All-Star's done a lot of bad in his life and has taken more than a few lives. Though he likes to pretend it doesn't bother him, his self-loathing, despair and deep-seated regret occasionally bubble to the surface. When his past catches up to him, All-Star is prone to letting his emotions rule his better judgement.
Seeing Red: Though his apparent aloofness would fool anybody, All-Star has a lot of anger he strives to keep in check. Though it usually only comes out in intense combat or during heated moments, he becomes much less controlled than usual. In combat, it usually leads to his 'programming' kicking in with gruesome results...
Shortcomings
Independence Day: Though he can work well on teams when required, All-Star clearly prefers to do things alone. He feels far more comfortable taking responsibility for his own actions and safety alone than he does compromising for the sake of others. This can lead to him biting off more than he can chew and foolishly turning down support.
Semper Fi: As a military man, All-Star does things a lot more rigidly than the average hero, with a greater emphasis on law and order. While this can have its advantages, it makes him somewhat close-minded and conservative. It also occasionally presents the question of whether he's loyal to the cause or those giving him his orders.
Young and the Reckless: Though he is a talented strategist and tactician, no one can say that All-Star isn't reckless at the best of times, even when he does have a plan in mind.
Call Of Duty: All-Star shoulders burdens and responsibilities like it was going out of style. Driven by a past he desperately wishes to atone for, he's almost incapable of standing by and doing nothing while others suffer. His work is his life and vice versa.
Old Man Carter: Despite his genetic excellence, physical conditioning and hyperkinesis, All-Star is still a man in his mid forties and his age threatens to catch up to him at times.
Soundtrack
1. Freedom - Anthony Hamilton & Elayna Boynton
5. You Know My Name - Chris Cornell
6. Devil In Me - Jamie N Commons
7. Paradise Circus - Massive Attack
9. Black - Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi
10. Sounds of Silence - Disturbed
11. Devils and Dust - Bruce Springsteen
13. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone
14. Feeling Good - Nina Simone
15. Dream A Little Dream Of Me - The Mamas & The Papas
RP Hooks
- All-Star is a sports fan and will openly discuss it with anyone in the loop, especially when it comes to football.
- All-Star works closely with various military and government organisations and has earned a reputation in doing so.
- All-Star is a top-class chef, having taken up cooking as something of a hobby. It's not something people usually expect out of him.
- All-Star served in the United States Marine Corps for most of his life and conducts himself as a career soldier. He earned quite a name for himself among servicemen.
- All-Star is a big fan of the works of writer John Grisham, actor Julie Andrews and singer Nina Simone.
- All-Star is a pretty big fan of cinema and has a collection of films which he likes to relax with when he gets a chance.
- All-Star grew up in Hudson City, New Jersey, where he was a star high-school quarterback before becoming a subject of great controversy.
Trivia
- All-Star is primarily inspired by: Captain America (Marvel), The Punisher (Marvel), Ultimate Hawkeye (Marvel), Nick Fury (Marvel), Wolverine (Marvel), The Comedian (DC), Jack Bauer (24), Sam Fisher (Splinter Cell) and Solid Snake (Metal Gear). Additional influences include: Black Widow (Marvel), Bullseye (Marvel), Isiah Bradley (Marvel), War Machine (Marvel), Deadshot (DC), 007 (James Bond) and Master Chief (Halo).
- All-Star really does get around. He has had (often brief) flings with Virgil Landekl, Adriana Seymour, Emily Cain and Claire Thompson and was in a long-term relationship with Alexandra Harper before starting a new casual affair with Ada Clover.
- All-Star hates magic. While he doesn't outright reject its existence like some, he believes that nothing good ever comes of it.
- All-Star has a bonsai tree named 'Bosley' which he regularly maintains. He finds it relaxes him. Until someone touches it, that is.
- All-Star's penmanship is atrocious, which is odd considering the fact that he's also ambidextrous.
- All-Star keeps a signed picture of Julie Andrews in his wallet. Of course he does, she's a national treasure.
- All-Star doesn't like hospitals. They're part and parcel with accepting mortality, something he's never been good at.
- All-Star can sometimes be seen smoking Redford Cigars directly before or after missions to calm his nerves. The first cigar he ever smoked was a Redford given to him by Kurt White after their first mission together.
- You haven't lived until you've tried All-Star's apple pie. With a dusting of cinnamon and a scoop of ice cream, it's his best dish.
- All-Star rarely goes anywhere without a weapon on his person, whether it's a concealed firearm or a small combat knife. He likes to be prepared.
- All-Star is a creature of habit. He often patrons a traditional diner near his apartment where he routinely orders a cheeseburger, a slice of fresh apple pie and a black coffee. He gets his hair cut short by the same barber when necessary. He cleans his armory every two weeks and exercises between missions. He even keeps his apartment organised by military standards.
- While serving as a Major in the United States Marine Corps, Nate turned down a promotion several times so he wouldn't be taken out of the field more often.
- When he has enough downtime, All-Star likes to travel the country to clear his head. He usually winds up running into trouble, however.
- All-Star returns to Hudson City every year to visit the graves of his parents, Amanda Cho and Father O'Malley. He also uses the same trip to visit MCB Quantico and the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
- All-Star technically never graduated high school, making him a drop out. Despite mediocre grades, he excelled in Gym, History, English, Spanish, Shop and Home Economics. He was also the star quarterback of Northdale High's football team, which would have earned him a full scholarship upon graduation.
- All-Star drives a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS given to him by Kurt White following his return to America in The Price of Freedom. Though it seems like a regular car, its windows and frame are highly bullet resistant and it comes equipped with several secret compartments for the storage of weapons and gear. All-Star also owns a 2016 Harley Davidson Breakout which he bought to replace the older model he lost during a confrontation with the Scavenger.
- All-Star's favourite films are 'The Sound of Music', 'Old Yeller' and 'Dirty Harry'. He pointedly dislikes watching war films. His favourite living author is John Grisham while his favourite books are 'The Pelican Brief', 'Walden' and 'Native Son'. He has a surprising interest in literature. His favourite styles of music are jazz and the blues and his favourite musician is Nina Simone. Most modern music only seems to annoy him. His favourite food is either cheeseburgers or apple pie.
Art Gallery
Guns? Check. Pouches? Check. Stylish Neckwear? Check. All-Star's ready for anything when he's wearing his standard outfit!
This modern costume has a neat little belt with a star on it. That's nice. Isn't that nice?
All-Star's got a whole new look. It's darker, it's edgier, it's beardier and it's sleevier.
Nate Carter pictured with jacket. Not pictured: other jacket.
Dual SteelTech Panther Handguns
The M27 IAR
The AR-15
The SIG-MPX-K
The Smith & Wesson Model 500
The Smith & Wesson M&P Shield
The FN Five-Seven
The Mossberg 590
The Benelli Nova Entry Short Barreled Shotgun
The Serbu Super Shorty
The M110 SASS
The M40A5
The Barrett M82
The M4A1 Carbine
The MK18
The HK MP5
The M249 LMG
The MGL-140
The FIM-92 Stinger
The M3 MAAWS
The Bear Cruzer Compound Bow
The SteelTech L95 Particle Rifle
'Moxie'
The Gerber Mark II Dagger Knife
The Strider SMF
The Stun Rod
The Grapnel Gun
All-Star's 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS
All-Star's 2016 Harley Davidson Breakout
It's all about style. (Art By Avionetca)
Every time he salutes the sky turns into a flag. (Art By Daggerpoint)
Lift weights everyday. (Art By Eric Guzman)
He'll probably end up getting billed for that. (Art By Eryck Webb)
Explosions have damn fine asses. (Art By Eryck Webb)
James Bond doesn't say 'Aw Jeez', but whatever. (Art By Eryck Webb)
Life's a beach. Might as well enjoy it. (Art By Eryck Webb)
He still bleeds red, white and blue, at least. (Art By Eryck Webb)
No, he's not carrying enough gear. He can still move. (Art By Eryck Webb)
In his combat ready onesie. (Art By Eryck Webb)
Why does he need a rifle AND a crossbow? Because sometimes you just really need to shoot people in as many ways as possible. (Art By Taclobanon)
This isn't what it looks like. (Art By Kenpudiosaki)
Okay, so that's another window. (Art By Kenpudiosaki)
Haha! Windows are for breaking! (Art By Kenpudiosaki)
I can neither confirm nor deny the fact that All-Star is aiming at a window. (Art By Kenpudiosaki)
I whip my scarf back and forth. (Art By Phil Cho)
Decapitated, stuffed and mounted on some villain's fireplace. (Art By Phil Cho)
That one time All-Star got really drunk and woke up in the late 18th century. (Art By Ravietta)
All-Star and Sparrowhawk pose as the universe implodes around them. (Art By Rose McClain)
Not Pictured: Star-Patterned Underoos (Art By Suppa-Rider)
And they said taking a rifle on safari was a dumb idea. (Art By tohdaryl)
Take that, unidentified off-screen enemy I was too cheap to pay extra for! (Art By tohdaryl)
Why is he wearing his current day shades during his origin story? Why you ask? WHY?! (Art By Tovio Rogers)
You know, this whole window thing is gonna bite him in the ass at some point. (Art By Zachula)
Falling To Your Death: Now With 100% Less Windows! (Art By Zachula)
THIS IS AN AGGRESSIVELY PATRIOTIC THING THAT IS HAPPENING. (Art By Zachula)
Comments
"Homies help homies. Sorry I couldn't do it when it mattered, Nate. See you on the other side." - Adapto
"He can be a bit of a bastard, but for what it's worth, he's a good guy. Puff the Gun-Toting Dragon, eh? I bet people are gonna start usin' that some time..." - Snowtalon
"Nate underestimates his true value, regardless of how boastful he comes across to others. I'm a better person for having met him, and that's not something I say about many. A partner, an ally, a friend... and much, much more." - Sparrowhawk
"All-Star? He's pretty cool actually. Don't have a single problem with him. We got similar viewpoints, come from similar backgrounds, and not to mention, he's got a helluva shot. He's alright in my book." - Anarchy
"My opinion about Nate changed. I still haven't spent much time with the guy, but he's once told me something that's been sort of shifting in my head for a while. He said something about his skills defining who he was. That not being the best about what he does would make him lose his identity... That, kind've opened up an old wound of mine. And I kinda, sorta freaked out at him." She pauses for a moment. "I apologized, later on. But yeah, he and I got a little something in common, on that, I think. I'd have to chat with him about it at some point." - Natasha Roy
"Having worked with All-Star a few times recently, I'll admit he's rather rough around the edges at first, but he's cool-headed and determined to get the job done - some things I can't say about some of my powered colleagues." - The Peacemaker
"Almost as good a shot as I am. ..Almost. Other 'n that he takes his job seriously and handles his shit 'n that's more or less all ya can ask for." - Desperado
"An excellent ally. He is accurate, carries the right equipment to allow for a high degree of versatility on the battlefield and is quite capable of handling his job. He doesn't seem to know the difference between an android and a robot, however." - Doll
"A big mouth, but his heart's in the right place." - Thundrax
"He's always wearing sunglasses. I think he has light sensitive eyes or something. And he said I was childish! I'm not not childish... right?" - Impsblood
"He's a hater with a silly mustache. Come on bro, don't be like that." - Zee
"He is a fun person with a love for living life. I always enjoy the time I spend with him. I do not think his facial hair is creepy, either." - Greymist Wanderer
"General Freedom? He's an alright guy, I guess, but I always thought he was like, bigger, you know? And angrier. Less shooty, too. Oh well!" - Dohwa
"Nate? I like Nate. He's the sort of asshole you like having around because he makes you feel better about yourself." - Riptide
"Handsome, professional and he really knows how to wear his guns and moustache. He's not as good with women as he likes to think he is though." - Demoness
"Definitively not the 'shoot first and ask questions later' type, as evidenced by his taking advantage of an opponent being surprised in order to... ask them questions. But yeah, he does seem to like his guns. And dislike other peoples' kneecaps." - Snow Leopard
"Terrible taste in facial hair and his inability to recognize that I'm a woman aside, he's definitely someone I know I could rely on in a fight. He strikes me as the sort to not let something as silly as being outclassed ever take the fight out of him. And if he's half as good as he thinks he is..." - Artifist
"The first true friend I made on this world, and one of the finest examples of Terran warrior-hood in- ..What? Stop giving me that look, you know what I meant!" - Zelara
"Impressive enough, I suppose." - The Doctor
"World's. Dumbest. Mustache." - Blue Freedom
"Cool guy and he always is vewy fwiendly! I wike him a lot! Hi Mr. All-Star!" - Chocolate Chip Chelsea
"A real professional. Ready to face any situation that's thrown at him, even if he complains about it a little bit sometimes. All-Star's alright in my book." - Victory
"He cheats at poker." - C.O.P.
"He seems like a pretty cool guy, despite wearing sunglasses all the time. What, does he think he's a rap star or something? Er, anyway, we seem to get along pretty well. And he's pretty hot." - Ada Clover
"I can't decide if this guy is over the top or really bat shit insane from all the stories I've heard. So far he seems like a very capable field leader and an generally cool guy. And a fellow brotha who's a metahuman is always a plus in my book. Wait he's tapping Sparrowhawk?! That black sumuvabitch..." - SoulStar
"He is a sincere man. Perhaps a little too sincere." - Voreen
"Loudmouth." - Katsuo
"He's an effective and pragmatic soldier, I liked him pretty much instantaneously. I hope he tries to stay alive as I want to work with him more and get to know him." - Fathom
"I saw All-Star at a grocery store in Los Angeles yesterday. I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn’t want to be a douche and bother him and ask him for photos or anything. He said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?”I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but he kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing his hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen Milky Ways in his hands without paying.The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Sir, you need to pay for those first.” At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter.When she took one of the bars and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly." - Soldier Celsius
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|---|---|---|
| Active: Captain Collider • All-Star | ||
| Inactive/Incomplete: Mach V • Science Stork • The Flea • Bearzerker • Kid Billionaire Henchman • Captain Cash • Citizen Z • The Lovecraftian Man • Screwball • Patricia Pan | ||
| Misc: Frontiersmen | ||
