Iron Maiden (Tina Adams)
 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Inventor Tina "Torque" Adams was developing a crime-fighting robot for the MCPD when the villainous computer hacker called "the Trojan" pirated the device. In the subsequent rampage, several MCPD officers lost their lives, and Torque was gravely injured -- paralyzed from the neck down, confined to a wheelchair, and dependent on a ventilator. Overwhelmed with guilt and anger, she was determined to walk again -- and so she developed the Point Interface Neural Spine (PINS) system, a network of ultra-thin needles that could be tapped into critical nerve centers. By connecting a grid of these to her body, she was able to route around her broken spinal cord and regain full use of her body.
In order to hold the grid in place and power it, Torque created a mobile exo-skeleton. When her assistant saw the ultra-thin, semi-rigid body sheathe with its network of inward-facing PINS, she said that it looked like the medieval torture device, the Iron Maiden. Inspired by these words, Torque continued to work on the suit, adding weapons, armor, and propulsion, until the Iron Maiden was a state of the art suit of combat armor. Determined to avenge the lives of the police officers killed by her robot, Torque Adams took to the skies to protect the innocent as the IRON MAIDEN!
Contents
Equipment
Iron Maiden Armor
The Iron Maiden armor is one of the most techologically advanced pieces of equipment on the planet. It began as a simple exo-skeleton for holding the PINS network in place, but has subsequently been augmented with heavy armor plating, weapons, tactical sensors, titanium-carbon-mylar electro-musculature, and a boot propulsion system.
The entire Iron Maiden system is integrated with Torque's body via the PINS system. The Point Interface Neural Spines were initially designed as a workaround for Torque's brojen spine. However, with the evolution of the Iron Maiden armor, they have been upgraded into an advanced, neural-integrated waldoing system for the Iron Maiden, making the armor an extension of Torque's body. This direct neural integration eliminates the need for internal sensor displays -- the information from the Iron Maiden's sensors is passed directly into Torque's brain as "sense" data. Unforunately, wearing the PINS is quite painful -- many of the PINS-tapped nerve centers are pain centers. Torque will often utilize pain medication if she expects to operate the Iron Maiden for extended periods. Torque has implemented a lighter version of the suit for day-to-day tasks, but because of the discomfort associated with the PINS, she only utilizes it while she is working; in the evenings, she is effectively paralyzed from the neck down.
The tactical systems on the Iron Maiden include:
- Energy Sword: A carbon-titanium baton with a heated-plasma edge, this is a devastating weapon that can carve through almost any armor.
- Force Field Projector: A directed electro-magnetic resonance shield in a geodesic ablative configuration.
- Mini-gun: A shoulder mounted GAU-17/A mini-gun firing 7.62mm teflon-coated, depleted uranium rounds.
- Micro-Missile Array: Chest mounted, individually targeted micro-missiles that can be loaded with armor-piercing, incendiary, or fragmentation warheads.
- Concussor Beams: Hand mounted concussion beam projectors; the Iron Maiden's force field generator is used to generate "impact beams" of electro-magnetic energy. These beams lack penetration on armored targets, but produce considerable kinetic energy on impact.
- Chest Beam: Expels heated plasma from the Maiden's reactor through a port on the chestpiece. This is a devastating weapon, but draws almost the entire power supply of the Maiden, rebooting the sensor grid and powering down all other weapon systems.
The Iron Maiden also possesses the following capabilities:
- Sustained Flight: Through boot-mounted rockets, the Iron Maiden can achieve sustained sub-orbital flight.
- Titanium-Carbon-Mylar Electro-Musculature: To allow Torque to move freely while burdened with over 1/2 ton of weapons and armor, the Iron Maiden possesses strength-enhancing electro-musculature. This enhances Torque's strength to the point where she can lift approximately two tons.
Abilities
Inventor
Tina Adams is a technological wizard, possessing a deep, intuitive understanding of systems engineering, electronics, mechanical engineering, and material science. A triple-major at MIT, she has her doctorate in electrical engineering and Master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering and material science.
Just as valuable as her personal ability, however, is her network of connections, established during her time at MIT. Via an internet collaboration space for "mad inventors", she has access to some of the greatest technological minds in the world for consultation and collaboration. During her recovery, she was a near-contant presence in on the site, building good will in the community that has been invaluable as she has developed the Iron Maiden.
Weaknesses
Paralysis
Tina Adams is paralyzed from the neck down due to traumatic impact to her 4th cervical vertebra. She requires a ventilator to breathe.
The PINS system gives restores full function to her body, but wearing the PINS is extremely painful. Torque has been known to self-medicate to deal with the discomfort of wearing the PINS.
Background
Torture
Redemption
Costume & Character Notes
Costume
Iron Maiden's costume turned out awesome. I'm a little disappointed that there aren't more available "spike" options (arm accessories, leg accessories, chest), but it turned out appropriately medieval looking. The real win was the hat -- I don't even remember what the option is called, but it pulled the entire look together from "generic armor" to "gothic looking generic armor". The shoulder pads are also whizzy.
It's a little closer than comfortable to the source inspiration (Iron Man) in the face, but them's the breaks. I tried it with red eyes, and it just made her look too sinister. If I were in some sort of contest for "most original character", I would never in a million years submit the Maiden. But the look of the armor makes me happy, and since I mostly solo, the rest of the world can suck it. The single color and fairly toned-down look make it stand out from the veritable hoards of armored super-heroes.
Additional note: You can't really tell from the profile picture, but the Iron Maiden stands about 7 feet tall, and has some serious curves in the hips area. For some bizarre reason of human perception, the result is really attractive. Weird. Must be the proportion of the hips, because a seven foot tall, dark gray robot should not be sexy by any definition of the word.
Character Notes
Obviously, the Iron Maiden is a riff on Iron Man -- almost any armored super-hero is going to be. But Tina Adams is very different from Tony Stark. While Tony Stark is a "futurist", a "big idea" man, Tina Adams is at her core an engineer. She sees problems, and she fixes them. Where Stark is pro-active, Adams is re-active. It makes her less "super" than Iron Man, but also makes her more relatable -- at least, to me.
Somewhere in Tina Adams is a lot of anger, guilt, and redemption-seeking. This spun out of the character name -- I'm of the mind that "Iron Maiden" should work on more than one level, so I want to hearken back to the Inquisition (even though the iron maiden was not actually used in the inquisition, I think public perception links the two strongly). It's torture to be in the suit, which is the price Tina pays for redemption. Tina's name (and nickname) are also linked to the inquisition -- flip around her last name (sort of), and you get "Torque" Mada. Har dee har har.
