General Freedom
Contents
Appearance
Arthur Cannis is a plain featured, heavily muscular man that stands at 6' with red brown hair and green eyes. As General Freedom, Arthur wears a blue mask with a white star on the forehead and one way lenses over the eyes, and a leather jacket featuring some kind of patriotic logo on the back.
Background
Arthur is the grandson of the original General Freedom (Carey McCannis), one of America's many WWII costumed heroes that pitched in with the war effort. He grew up never knowing his grandfather, who died two years before he was born while saving a group of civilians from a former Nazi super soldier named Die Granate, who was seeking revenge on his one time rival. Not long after Carey's death, Arthur's father, who displayed no superhuman powers of his own, decided it would be best for the family if they stayed out of the public eye and disappeared for a while. He moved the family to Sandstone, New Mexico and had their last named changed to Cannis. Arthur grew up not knowing who his grandfather really was, with his parents simply telling him he was a great man and that he was involved with the military in his youth.
Growing up in Sandstone, Arthur was an average student who was incredibly physically gifted. He played football and baseball and participated in many other physical activiities. Even when young he displayed a nearly unlimited stamina, excellent strength and physical resilience (though he did not reach superhuman levels until later). He also had a short temper that got in him a lot of trouble and he barely graduated due to multiple infractions of school policy as well as a rocky senior year.
Tired of school and academic rules, he turned down a football scholarship and went into the work force, performing hard, menial labor as he drifted around the Southwestern United States. By the time he was nineteen he had been working on road crews and taking other unskilled jobs to get by and had been arrested a few times for brawling and destruction of property. For a while, he was even part of a small time group of crooks, providing them with muscle.
When he turned twenty however, things changed. He suddenly gained a surge of superhuman strength. It was also the year that his father died of lung cancer. After Jack's funeral he revealed his powers to his mother, hoping she could explain why he had recieved them. She then revealed the truth about Arthur's grandfather, kept from him since he was a child. Ashamed at how he had been wasting his life, Arthur began his superhero career in honor of his grandfather, taking up the mantle of General Freedom.
Personality
General Freedom is usually the lone wolf type, preferring to fight his own battles and do things his way. He has been known to team up with other heroes, but he often clashes with them over their course of action. He is reckless due to his invulnerability and strength and likes to rush into combat rather than think things out.
Freedom has terrible anger issues and becomes annoyed and frustrated easily. This is one of the reasons he tends to avoid people. He takes being a hero very seriously, is slow to warm up to people and it's rare for even his teammates to know his secret identity.
Powers and Abilities
-Legacy Powers: Due to his grandfathers powers somehow being passed down to him, General Freedom is much stronger than a man of his height, weight and build, able to lift around two hundred tons. He has great stamina, is highly resistant to toxins and disease and heals faster than most humans. His skin and bones are incredibly dense, allowing him to shrug off rifle shots and other small arms fire with ease at the cost of increased weight and a reduction in flexibility. His increased strength also allows him to run at superhuman speeds and jump great distances. He is also able to temporarily increase his strength. This makes him a much more effective combatant as well as nearly doubling the amount of weight he can lift.
-Athletically Gifted: Before gaining his powers, Arthur was a naturally talented athlete and unarmed fighter, skilled in boxing and wrestling. He also used to be fairly agile, capable of moderate displays of acrobatics but his increased density has slowed him down.
-Mechanically Inclined: He knows enough about motorcycle maintenance to keep his motorcycle running and upgrade it when he needs to. Being a hardy, working class type he is also skilled at repairing mundane machinery and household devices.
Weaknesses
-Lone Wolf: Freedom works fine on his own... and that's the way he likes it. He's hesitant to call for back up and likes to do things his way, when he wants. Arguments with teammates were the main reason for him leaving several teams.
-Furious: Ever since he was a young man, Freedom has been prone to violent rages. In certain situations he can be almost impossible to keep calm and he has a tendency to lunge in at whatever has enraged him without considering the consequences. Though seeing a therapist for these issues, he still has trouble.
-Heavy and Dense: Freedom's bones and muscle are very dense. He's much heavier than he should be and has to be careful or he can break things... like floors, rooftops and furniture. He also has trouble swimming.
-Heart Problems: The strength boost that greatly amplifies General Freedom's strength is very damaging to his body. He has slowly been developing a heart condition over the years that threatens to rob him of not just his powers, but his life.
Equipment
-The Freedomcycle A heavily modified motorcycle passed down through the family from his grandfather. General Freedom has added heavy armor to it, as well as a commlink and radio, extra storage space and a more powerful engine built to handle the additional weight of both General Freedom himself and the armor.
Important NPCs
-Sally Jenks Cannis: Sally was Arthur's high school girlfriend and a friend of the Cannis family that had grown up alongside him in New Mexico. After Arthur left the state to start his own life, Sally continued on to journalism school in the state and eventually a career covering news in Sandstone. She reconnected with him when he came home for his father's funeral and she easily discovered he was a superhero some years later when he was fighting an outbreak of giant mutant insects that were threatening to devour New Mexico. They engaged in a long distance relationship until his teammates in the Prometheus Union convinced him to take it a step further and the two ended up engaged, then finally married on March 23rd, 2013.
-Old Teammates: In his nearly fourteen years as a hero, General Freedom has been on several teams. He knows a lot of heroes and still keeps limited contact with them. A short list includes the following names; Alpha Man, Reach, Gray Owl, Peril, Black Diamond and Red Diamond, White Hare, Barricade, Sidewinder and Black Badge.
-Dr. Thornbody: A long time tech adviser in South City, Dr. Thornbody was a pioneer in the field of artificial and virtual intelligence and cybernetics. She got a bit too close to one of her subjects for comfort when a living machine from an extraterrestrial source bonded with her body permanently to save her from wounds suffered during a lab explosion, turning her into an android made of biologically based metals. She is rarely involved with General Freedom's work anymore, but can be counted on to help.
Friends, Allies and Aquaintances
-Thundrax: Freedom has teamed up with Thundrax a few times through his career. He respects him both as a hero and as a good man.
-Chivalry: Millennium's Shining Knight has been an ally now and then against crime. Though he thinks his theme is a bit goofy he knows that his heart is in the right place and has always been impressed with him.
-Cosmic Glory: Freedom is always happy to see young heroes that aren't following in his Iron Agey footsteps. He worries she'll get beaten down by the things she's experienced and will experience as a hero.
-Azunai: Due to unfortunate circumstances, Freedom doesn't have a lot of trust for Azunai. This distrust has lessened over time and Freedom even works with him on his team. Partially because he wants to stay close and partially because he can do more good with the group.
-Anahasa: She thinks Freedom is a terrible grinch. And he is.
-Riptide: Sparring partner, teammate and sometimes drinking buddy. Freedom finds Riptide quite tolerable, which is more than he feels about a lot of people. He finds his nickname for him (Babyarms) funny.
-Subatomic: Freedom and the young woman bonded during an unusual mission involving time travel. He was impressed by the pint sized heroes sympathy and determination. He has fought to save her life and would gladly do so again.
-ATU-M2: Distrusted for much the same reasons as Azunai. Unlike Azunai however, Freedom's dislike for the cyborg has in no way lessened. He is immensely powerful but cold and emotionless. Freedom sees ATU as something that is opposite of what he fights for every day. A mechanical slave.
-Primordo: The monstrous Primordo is another powerful being that Freedom dislikes. In spite of the sacrifices Primordo had made, Freedom sees him as a rampaging monster and a murderer that escaped justice.
-Captain Quasar: Freedom finds Quasar to be a complete and total goofball. He knows he's a hero and that he's a good guy but... he just can't help but sigh every time he sees him or teams up with him.
-Aldenard: Freedom sees Aldenard as a person that would gladly sell out humanity and its freedom for a false peace. He thinks of him as someone with misguided views and possibly outright hates him thanks to the short time they've spent together.
Nemeses
-Crimelord: An old foe from South City. Crimelord was a small time gangster who worked himself up to become the Lord of South City's Underworld through force of will, quiet brutality and skillfull betrayal. General Freedom was a constant obstacle to Crimelord's plans and apparently the old crimeboss can't let go of a grudge. He has moved into Millennium, quietly gathering resources and playing factions against each other until he has the strength he needs to strike against his old rival.
-Major Mayhem: An alternate version of General Freedom from a world where Carey McCannis lived and became a monster after his experiences in WWII. Major Mayhem is completely loyal to his grandfather and has served as one of his brutal Enforcers of Public Order for his whole life. General Freedom met this version of himself after a teleportation experiment went very wrong, depositing him in the alternate world. Since their first encounter, the two have been bitter enemies with Major Mayhem even going so far as to find a way to temporarily enter the "Prime" Earth reality to engage his alternate.
-Power Gauntlet: A former professional athlete who gained super powers, moved into the metahuman league and started doing super steroids to try and stay ahead of the curve. After being kicked out in disgrace he became an enforcer and professional super goon. Freedom has faced Power Guantlet many times, first meeting him while looking into the production of the super steroid Boost in South City. Since then they have clashed many times.
-Jessica Freewind: A delusional sky pirate who just wants to have fun. Jessica is sort of stalking General Freedom and is usually more of an annoyance than a serious threat. Her crimes include daring robberies of highrise penthouses, midair heists from cargo planes and even a few acts of sea going piracy.
Trivia
-Arthur is very embarassed when people bring up his grandfather as he knows relatively little about him. He owns a limited edition issue #1 of General Freedom I's comic.
-Though he grew up in New Mexico, Arthur prefers Virginia. He says that New Mexico is way too dry for his tastes and hates Southwestern decor.
-Arthur loves to drink, but it takes immense amounts of alcohol for him to even get buzzed. He has run up enormous tabs at several West Side bars which he intends to pay "sometime". These days he mostly drinks for the social aspect.
Thoughts and Comments on Freedom
-What other heroes think of the grim patriot-
"I don't know much about the General personally, but after what happened when we fought Hour Man together, I feel like he's one of the guys that you can trust wholeheartedly. Plus, he totally said he'd be willing to help me train with my powers, so he can't be -that- bad." - Victory
"Brutal, but effective. He's amazing at being able to press the attack. I can get behind his tenacity though our methods are a bit different on the field. Freedom is a force of nature when pushed." - Sparrowhawk
"General Freedom's a pretty angry guy, but at least he's got enough sense to aim it all at the bad guys. I'm just glad he decided to retire those dorky tights. The jeans and jacket look is a lot better looking on him." - Cardinal
"One of the coolest guys to wear the red, white, and blue! People say he's super grumpy but I don't really see it...But maybe he's just nicer to me. Oh! He also makes a great jungle gym." - Particle Man
"We didn't get along for the longest time, but after awhile we actually became friends. Of course, that might just be because I have the kind of alcohol that could get somebody like he and I drunk." Azunai
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| Heroes: American Witch • Doll • General Freedom • Nightfang • Surova Grimwish Dobergirl • Violet Mask • Mercy • Lorekeeper • Impsblood • Midas • Greymist Wanderer Zee the Zombie • Ada Clover • Whitecloak • Ember • Tartolmec • Ultima King • Crash Fist • Bom-Pom • Aqualung | ||
| Villains: MetaCorp • Death Watch Beetle • Mindleech • Magpie Family • Other Villains • Cerulean Steel | ||
| Places & Things: PsyKiss • The Bracen Institute • The Forever Night | ||
| Groups: New Vigil (Leader) • Protectors of the World (Member) • Frontiersmen (Member) • Gen Prime (Leader) | ||
