Battling Bulldog
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| The Battling Bulldog | |
| |
| Protector of Kings Row | |
| Union Supreme City Sentry | |
| Player: @Ultradynamic | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Tanker |
| Security Level: | 29 |
| Identifying Data | |
| Real Name: | Frank Buchanan |
| Known Aliases: | Bulldog, Bulldog Buchanan (note: the nickname Bulldog has been used in all aspects of Frank's life and is what most people refer to him by, including himself) |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 46 |
| Height: | 5'10" |
| Weight: | 263 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Hair Color: | Greyish black |
| Additional Data | |
| Place of Birth: | Kings Row neighborhood of Paragon City, RI |
| Citizenship: | US Citizen |
| Current Residence: | Kings Row in an apartment above his gym |
| Occupation: | Former professional heavyweight boxer, former cook in the US Navy, gym owner and trainer, community volunteer |
| Marital Status: | Divorced |
| Legal Status: | US Citizen with criminal record |
| Known Relatives and/or Associates | |
| Ex-wife, daughter, names and locations unrevealed | |
| Known Powers | |
| None | |
| Training / Abilities | |
| Expert boxer and brawler, maintains rigorous exercise routine | |
| Equipment | |
| Wears a bulletproof vest underneath his costume | |
| Footnotes | |
| Bulldog considers himself the unofficial protector of Kings Row | |
 | |
| "Together we can make a better world" | |
Contents |
History and Background
Born in Kings Row to Irish Catholic parents, Frank Buchanan had a fairly happy, if poor, early childhood. At an early age, his mother was killed in an accident and his home life changed. His father worked as a night watchman and was rarely around the house as he was usually drowning his sorrows at local bars. When he was home, he was usually either passed out or verbally abusive. As a result, young Frank spent most of his time on the streets hanging out with the other kids, some of whom he is still friends with today. Of course, this was a recipe for the young man to eventually find trouble, which he did in the form of fighting. From an early age, Frank was a natural brawler and had a tendency to stay on his opponents, earning him the nickname "Bulldog." A local gym owner, Ernie Lange, broke up one of Frank's fights one day but was impressed with the young man's raw skills. Offering him a job cleaning up the gym in exchange for a little pocket money and access to equipment and training, Frank jumped at the chance, finding the father figure he had been missing. From the ages of 14 to 17, Frank worked at Ernie's gym, honing his abilities and developing his natural strength.
Never much for school, Frank, upon turning 17 decided to join the Navy so he could see the world. Unfortunately for him, seeing the world meant being assigned as a cook. This meant that Frank largely stayed put but had the opportunity to pursue his boxing in Navy exhibitions. Another thing Frank discovered during this time was alcohol, something he had previously avoided because of his father. While Frank was able to continue to improve his skills and avoid trouble, he also developed quite a taste for liquor.
Upon being discharged, Frank decided to dedicate himself full time to boxing. While he was quite skilled, Frank spent years floundering through the small time, never achieving the success he had hoped for. Blaming it on lack of offered opportunities, Frank never realized his drinking may have played a roll in this. During this time, Frank met and married his first and only wife. They were only married for a few years, but had a daughter in this time. Tired of his lifestyle, his wife left him and took their daughter with her. Frank still has little contact with her.
Finally, the event that would change Frank's life forever occurred. At the age of 32, despairing of his chance of ever hitting the big time, Frank was offered a fight against Tommy Finnegan, considered to be an up and comer. What Frank didn't know was that Tommy had an undiagnosed heart defect; however, the mobsters that Tommy owed money to did know about this. The fight was set up to send a message to other debtors. Known for his bodyshots, the hope was that Frank would kill Tommy in the ring. After three rounds, this is exactly what did happen. Blaming himself, Frank retired from boxing and returned to Kings Row. There, his former mentor, Ernie, died, leaving Frank his gym. Living off the meager revenue, Frank mostly stayed to himself drinking and nursing his self-pity.
This went on for about a decade, during which time Frank managed to burn almost all of his bridges, alienate his friends, and almost drive himself into abject poverty, not to mention the physical toll his drinking was taking. Furthermore, Frank was arrested several times during this period for fighting, public drunkenness, and driving under the influence.
What finally helped pull Frank out of this whole was the arrest of the promoter who had booked his last fight on charges of murder. Apparently, Frank was not the only fighter who had been used this way. Looking at what he had become, Frank realized how far he had fallen. That was the last day he drank. Frank spent the next several months sobering up as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous and putting his life back in order. On his 43rd birthday, Frank began training again. Spending the next several months regaining his fighting form, Frank discovered he was a better fighter than he had previously thought, once he was taking better care of himself. Furthermore, seeing the damage he had done around him, Frank began quietly volunteering around his community, such as volunteering at soup kitchens, helping neighborhood kids from backgrounds like his own, and helping others with addicition problems.
Feeling this work was still not enough, Frank decided more needed to be done about the general level of crime in the Row. At first, he simply began walking the streets at night, hoping his presence would serve as a deterent. This, of course, proved not to be the case. Deciding he could take a cue from the costumed heroes so prevalent in the city, but who never seemingly found their way to his neighborhood, Frank fashioned, with some help from firends, a simple costume for himself based on his nickname. Since then, he has been an almost nightly presence in the Row.
Abilities
Bulldog has no superhuman traits. He is a naturally large man and maintains strict workout discipline. Furthermore, he has been involved in boxing for hisentire adult life. Bulldog is good at sustaining punishment, as he points out his face attests to. He is also quite skilled at training, something which seems to come from natural aptitude. This has been attributed to the fact that he genuinely enjoys teaching kids.
However, Bulldog is woefully behind on most modern innovations. He only recently got a cell phone and had a friend teach him to "use the email." Furthermore, Bulldog stubbornly refuses to see much use in other forms of unarmed combat besides boxing, referring to most martial arts as "flippy, kicky ballet." Boxing, for him, is the only legitimate form of fighting. Luckily for him, he's quite good at it.
Notes on Identity and Role in Kings Row
Bulldog's secret identity is perhaps the worst kept secret in Kings Row. Most people who know him are fully aware of his costumed activities, a fact compounded by the fact that many of them helped him get started. For example, a couple of his neighbors sewed his costume, a cop friend of his gave him an old bulletproof vest, a priest friend of his blessed his costume gloves, and so on. However, they are also extremely loyal to him and thus far have kept their shared secret from others.
Frank sees himself as still making amends to his friends and those around him for his drinking years. As such, he tends to be very protective of his neighborhood and those within it. He also has a very low tolerance for those who would do it harm. With that said, he is also a firm believer in second chances. For example, seeing the activity of Outcasts hurting his neighborhood, he realized it was their leader who was to blame. He reasoned that if he could best him in combat, some of the Outcasts might turn from Frostfire and listen to what he had to say. As a result, he is currently helping out a couple of former Outcasts, putting them to work as volunteers and teaching them to fight without guns or enhancing substances.
The Union Supreme
While patrolling one day, Bulldog met a member of the Union Supreme, the Emerald-Sentinel. Deciding to help each other out, Emerald-Sentinel remarmked on Bulldog's ability and mentioned he should join up with the group he was a member of. Unsure due to his lack of powers, Bulldog promised to consider it and decided it might be nice to have some people to help him out occasionally, although he was still unsure exactly what he would be able to contribute. Frank decided to meet with the team and quickly felt at home among them. Furthermore, seeing the number of young members with great powers, Bulldog decided they could use someone to teach them more practical types of fighting and also to provide them with a grounding to balance out their awesome abilities.
In particular, Bulldog has taken an interest in the training of Alley Prowler, a young superhero from Kings Row. Bulldog has begun acting as her mentor as well as something of a father figure. It is not uncommon for Bulldog to offer her, or any of the the other young members a home cooked meal. Furthermore, his gym is open for use to any of the Union Supreme members.
Weaknesses and Limitations
Bulldog, while incredibly strong and resilient is still a non-powered human and 46 years old to boot. In addition, while he has now been sober for a few years, Frank is an alcoholic and drank heavily for a number of years. It is unknown if this has had any long term lingering health effects upon him.
Furthermore, while Frank is an expert boxer, the disdain he shows for other forms of combat often means he is unwilling to study them. Therefore, while he usually wins through due to tenacity and toughness, he often leaves himself somewhat open to other forms of martial arts and sometimes takes unnecessary damage.
