Argus Brute
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Sheer Brute Strength | |
| Argus Brute | |
| Player: @Holiday | |
| Origin: | Mutation |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Brute |
| Threat Level: | 21 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Argus Brute |
| Known Aliases: | A. Brute, The Brute, The Belligerent Bad Ass |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 36 |
| Height: | 8' 1" |
| Weight: | 1,239 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Black |
| Hair Color: | Red |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Scottish American |
| Occupation: | Muscle-For-Hire |
| Place of Birth: | Chicago, IL |
| Base of Operations: | Port Oakes, Rogue Isles |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Unknown |
| Known Powers | |
| Superstrength, Invulnerability | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Bar room brawler, engine of destruction | |
| Equipment | |
| None | |
| Utterly, impossibly, irredemibly, undeniably, incomprehensibly tough! | |
Argus Brute is a character along the lines of the Marv from Sin City, the Hulk, Juggernaut, Doomsday...basically characters that are just STRONG and TOUGH. Personality wise, Brute has the menatlity of the Flash's Rogue's Gallery, as in villiany is just a job that pays the bills. Although recently, he has been developing an inferiority complex, Argus is a firm believer in "might makes right".
Contents |
Personality
"And how'd it feel being a good guy?"
"In the moment, it's the exact same rush. But then ya leave with nothing...an' who the hell wants ta live a life like that?" ~Captain Cold to Mirror Master, DC Universe: Last Will And Testament, 2008
His personality is stated plain as day in his name. Argus is a brute, through and through. He's rough, crude, and mean. Argus wears his emotions on his sleeve, says what's on his mind, and doesn't give a damn about you or your opinion. Argus isn't the most intelligent villian out there, and he knows that. What he lacks in brains, he compensates with brawn.
Argus is obessed with being the strongest and the toughest. To him, those who have the power, have the respect and the wealth. Since his evolution from henchman to self-made-man, Argus has dreamt of being the A-number one, top of the heap. He honestly believes that if he can be tough enough, strong enough, powerful enough, he can simply take what is his, and let no one get in his way. There is only one thing Argus respects, and that is strength. Those who have strength, make the rules.
The Brute is a career criminal. Always relying on his strength and invulnerability, Argus has been commiting crimes, specializing in robberies, since he was a teenager. Considering himself an old-school criminal, Argus has a set of guidelines he follows that he feels seperates him from the common crook. Argus doesn't kill unless it's neccesary. Murder just brings unneccesary heat from the law, and makes you sloppy. Also, while he believes in every man for himself, he believes in getting a fair cut. If you cross Argus, or betray him, he will destroy you. You don't screw him, he won't screw you. These are the rules he lives by. Argus can't stand the "motiveless criminal", or the villain who commits crimes just to commit crime.
Argus plays the loner. However, deep down, Argus longs for companionship. His freakish size has always kept everyone away. Argus has a bitter jealousy for the "beautiful people", and those with relationships.
Powers
Born a mutant, Argus' body is much more dense than the average human being. He's always been abnormally large, and abnormally heavy. His mutation is what makes him the way he is now.
Super Strength
Argus Brute's strength is phenomenal. At the height of his power, Argus could bench 200 tons without breaking a sweat. Argus claims that he could lift over 500 tons if he "really tried".
Currently, after breaking out of Ziggursky Penitentiary, Argus has been pumped full of superpower inhibitor drugs. Slowly working the drugs out of his system, the Brute's strength is at an all-time low. However he still has incredible strength. Examples of his strength in the past few months include:
- Smashing a bank vault door with his bare hands.
- Destroying police cars and whipping them at Longbow agents.
- Punching hard enough to send opponents flying in the air.
Only time will tell if Argus' true strength will emerge.
Invulnerability
Argus Brute can not be injured. Due to the incredibly density and hardness of his skin, muscles, and bone, Argus shrugs off damage that would injure or kill the normal human body. At it's prime, Argus's body can deflect high calibur bullets, energy blasts, superhuman concussive force, sharp objects, and just about anything you could throw at him.
Argus was tough enough to survive a battle intact with the entire Freedom Phalanx. While they did eventually subdue and arrest him, he survived the battle with a couple of bruises, and a scratch or two. Because of this, Argus wades into battle with a devil-may-care attitude.
Abilities
Although Argus is mostly a dumb brute, he has a few valuable skills that go beyond punching things. Yet all things considered, punching things is the first and best course of action for Argus!
Bar Room Brawler
Argus not only has vast amounts of strength, he knows how to use it. Argus knows when to hit, when to duck, and when to fight dirty. He is not beyond cheating in a fight, as long as he wins.
Engine of Destruction
Once Argus begins breaking things, there is little one can do to stop him. Argus once leveled an entire section of neighborhood outside of Steel Canyon, just to avoid some jail time. If it breaks, Argus will break it, if it doesn't, Argus will use it to break the breakable stuff!
Security Systems Expert
Perhaps the most surprising ability Argus has is his extensive knowledge of security and alarm systems. While he doesn't use this ability with much finesse, opting to stop defensive countermeasures by breaking them, Argus knows all about surveillance systems, alarm systems, vault mechanisms, state-of-the-art security systems, you name it. Talking about these systems, Argus almost comes off as intelligent.
...Almost.
Equipment
Argus doesn't use equipment other than his fists. He does however happen to own a cell phone, which is how people contact him, and how he contacts others. He also uses two tailor made burlap sacks with handles and straps. He takes them with him on bank heists, and his massive hands can dump as much cash as he can carry into those bags.
In the field, anything and everything becomes a weapon in the hands of Argus Brute. If he can lift it, he will try to hit you with it.
Weaknesses and Limitations
The Brute has no physical weaknesses. To date, he has survived every physical attack thrown at him, from guns fired at him, to Statesman's punches. At best, Argus can be rendered unconscious if sufficent blunt force is applied to his head. However, there are other ways to take out the Belligerent Bad Ass without laying a finger on him.
Mental Attacks
Argus' weakness has always been his feeble mind. While his skull is thick, his brain is extremely succeptible to mental and psychic attacks. The Brute has an extremely simple mind, making it easy to confuse him, disorient him, make him forget what he is doing, or shut down his mind all together.
Argus claims to be working on eliminating this weakness.
Berserker Rage
When Argus gets angry, he becomes an uncontrollable whirlwind of destruction. However, many heroes have been able to use this to their advantage. The angrier Argus gets, the more unfocused he becomes, leaving him open to recklessly harm himself. This has often slowed Argus down enough to allow him to be apprehended.
Inferiority Complex
Argus is by no means inferior in any sense of the word as far as strength goes. However, he is easily riled up. Insult his strength, or his invulnerability, or any aspect of his personality, and he will instantly go above and beyond to prove you wrong. Many heroes have used this, along with a combination of his other two weaknessess to their advantage.
Magic
Due to it's unexplainable circumstances and effects, Argus also has a vulnerability to magic.
Affiliations
As a muscle-for-hire, Argus Brute's friends are the people who have the money to pay him. And while he believes in honor amongst thieves, he has no true friends to speak of.
Argus is currently in the employ of The Supreme Society, and has access to their allies and facilites.
Character History
Is Argus really a brutish monster? Or is he just a trouble man with the weight of the world on his shoulders? One can only judge properly when they know the history of The Brute.
Origins & Childhood
Argus was born to a single mother in the poorer parts of Chicago, Illinois. Unlike most mutants, Argus was born with his mutation, rather than discovering it during puberty. Because of this, he was born larger and denser than most humans. As such, Argus' mother died during childbirth. Born 15 pounds, two feet long, the doctors at the hospital knew that this child would be a handful.
Throughout his early years, Argus was bounced from foster home, to foster home, each one unable to care for the massive child. Argus was constantly ostricized for his size, and made fun of by the other children. It was at this time that Argus learned one of his first life lessons: size equals power. He quickly silenced anyone who taunted him with his sheer strength. It was throughout these stints with foster homes that Argus earned his full name: Argus Brute.
Realizing he'd never be accepted for what he was by "normal" people, Argus ran away to the streets at age eleven.
Turning to Crime
Argus had no people skills. He had hardly any education, and there was no room in the coporate system for lumbering brutes that could bench press cars. So, Argus turned to the only thing he knew how to do. Strong-arm people.
Argus started as a pickpocket. And by pickpocket, I mean he would simply shove people 10 feet and just take their valuables. Then it would turn to knocking over liquor stores and convienience stores. In some cases, he literally knocked them over. As Argus grew older, he grew stronger. His superdense body was immune to harm, and his superior musculature allowed Argus to use his strength with ease.
Not content with "petty" nickel-and-dime store robberies, Argus set his sights on the big leauges. Bank robberies, and high profile crimes. With his invulnerability came arrogance. Argus never wore a mask during his crimes, never hid who he was. Angry at the world, Argus wanted everyone to know who he was, and that he couldn't be stopped. Or at least, he thought he couldn't be stopped.
By age 20, Argus had become a one man crime spree. A crime spree that was halted by local Chicago superhero, another superstrong hero named Chicago Steel. Lacking imagination, Argus attempted the same crimes again and again, only to be thwarted by some local hero. He decided enough was enough. It was time to use his skills in a different way.
Loyal Henchman
Finding him self less and less successful as a solo criminal, Argus began offering his considerable might for hire. Advertised as muscle-for-hire, The Brute found himself the brawny half of many criminal masterminds.
Argus usually found himself paired with the brainy villians. The masterminds. The ones that when the heat came down, they hid behind the strongest ones and shouted orders. Argus couldn't stand these villians, but he none-the-less enjoyed the glory years of his criminal career. If he couldn't take down the hero-of-the-week who opposed his boss' grand plan, he escaped with what he could, and let the mastermind take the heat. It was a good gig for awhile.
It was good until one of the masterminds outsmarted the Brute.
Doctor Hysteria
It was a hot day in June, 2001. Argus Brute found himself in the City Of Heroes as the bodyguard for a mad scientist who called himself Doctor Hysteria. The mad doctor was working on some ultimate weapon, and he asked for Argus' protection. Argus assumed that the weapon was something stupid, like a device that turned people into dogs, or one that tried to turn grass into money. He'd seen the type before. He had already devised his escape plan when the "weapon" failed. He had no idea of Hysteria's intentions.
Doctor Hysteria had one goal: destroy the planet. He had constructed a thermonuclear drilling device that would warp at light speed to the center of the earth, and the ensuing explosion would crack the planet in two. And this was a device that would actually work. It was so dangeroud, that the legendary Freedom Phalanx was called in to halt the weapons destructive countdown.
When Argus heard that not only were the Freedom Phalanx about to become involved, Hysteria's weapon would destroy the planet (and himself along with it), Argus demanded Hysteria stop the weapon. The mad doctor refused. In a desperation move, Argus crushed Hysteria's head with his bare hands, and began to single handedly destroy the Doomsday Drill.
Argus had just about saved the world when Statesman and the Freedom Phalanx arrived.
Rage & The Phalanx
When the Phalanx arrived, they saw two things. They saw a dead Doctor Hysteria, and Argus Brute tearing apart his secret complex. This had led them to the conclusion that Argus himself was the weapon of mass destruction. To "save the world", they attacked The Brute without hesitation.
Argus was beside himself. He had basically just saved the planet from destruction, and now he was being treated like a monster? If they wanted a monster, Argus would give them a monster. Making his last stand, Argus attacked the Phalanx head on, with every ounce of savage strength he could muster.
By the end of the battle, a good portion of a neighborhood outside Steel Canyon lay in smoking ruins. Argus had managed to punch a hole through Citadel, then known as Bastion. He had broken one of Synapse's legs. He had almost shattered Positron's armor. He nearly killed the Back Alley Brawler. He even gave Statesman a bloody nose.
However, the Phalanx had won. Argus' face looked like hamburger meat, and he lay in the middle of the ruins, beaten, thanks to Sister Psyche. Placed in a temporary mental coma, Argus was pumped full of superpower inhibitors and shipped off for his first stint in the Ziggurat.
Imprisonment & the Rikti War
Sentenced to life in jail, Argus was a quiet prisoner. Miserable with himself, and humanity, and with the world's so called "heroes", Argus was defeated. He was content to relegate himself to a life of imprisonment, locked away from the people who hated him so. He would've been happy spending the rest of his life withoug being disturbed.
He wouldn't have to wait that long.
May 23, 2002, the Rikti began their onslaught on humanity. When the Zig was bombed, a good portion of the inmates were set free. Argus himself saw a wide open window of oportunity to escape. He merely put his restraints back on, and told them to come get him when it was over. Argus was one of the only inmates who stayed in the Zig those few weeks.
Escape
Argus spent the next three years imprisoned in the Zig. Argus thought it may have been because he was locked up in there so long, but he began to hear a voice. A female voice. It was Kalinda, Lord Recluse's chief Night Widow. She was telepathically reaching out to all Zig inmates, calling them Destined Ones, and Children of Fate. Most inmates didn't buy into it, but to Argus it was a revelation.
"Yes", he thought. "I am destined for greatness. I am meant for bigger things." Argus suddenly had a newfound lease on life. He was going to make a name for himself. And when Arachnos freed the inamates from the Zig on Halloween night, 2005, Argus was the first in line to be freed.
Argus Brute arrived on the Rogue Isles, and got to work. Once again muscle-for-hire, Argus is being smarter about the jobs he takes. He won't be anyone's patsy ever again. He's out for himself, and himself alone.
The Brute will be the strongest one of all, even if he has to destroy Lord Recluse himself to do so.
Current History
Currently, Argus is trying to amass a fortune, to set his bigger plans into motion. He spends his nights either working for the boss of the week, or going solo, robbing banks in the Isles and Paragon City alike.
Argus tends to lay low months at a time. It's possible he is avoiding the law, but some suspect he is on to something bigger.
Recently, Argus allied himself with Boss Agonus, and his group The Supreme Society. Within hours of joining, Argus and the Society found themselves confronted by The Global Guard, fighting, and subsequently beating them. Argus believes this is the group that will catapult him into the "big leauges".
Argus is feeling extremely confident at the moment, having taken a trip to Paragon City, tearing through a Crey Industries laboratory, and crushing a hero named Arc Flash, and stealing her cape as a trophy.
IC Trivia
- Argus' voice sounds like Solomon Grundy from the Justice Leauge cartoons, except he has a (somewhat) smarter way of speaking.
- Argus used to live in a one room hole-in-the-wall above the Port Oakes Pocket D entrance. He has since taken up residence within the halls of the Supreme Society's secret base.
- For a brief period of time, Argus was actually in the service of Arachnos, but left, unwilling to be a pawn in anyone's schemes.
- Argus only kills when he deems it absolutely neccesary, or when he gets extremely angry.
- Argus drinks full beer kegs like they were beer cans. He hefts them up with his mighty weight, and pushes his thumb through the top of the keg to make a hole. A full keg is the equivilant of a 40 oz. to Argus.
- Argus has a thing for large women.
OOC Trivia
- Argus Brute can also be read as A. Brute. A brute. Get it?! :-/
- The name "Argus" was almost going to be "Angus", as the Angus Burger was popular at Burger King and McDonalds for awhile.
- Originally Argus wasn't going to have a name at all. I wanted him to simply be called, "The Brute", but the name was already taken.
- Argus is my only villain. At least, my only RP villain. I suck at being the bad guy. :P
