Calico Jack
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Calico Jack | |
| Player: Bedloe | |
| Origin: | Mutant |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Scrapper |
| Security Level: | 35 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Rackham |
| Known Aliases: | Jack Smith, Rack |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 23 |
| Height: | 6'1" |
| Weight: | 197 |
| Eye Color: | Blue (actually appear as blue flames) |
| Hair Color: | Brown |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Career Criminal turned Superhero |
| Place of Birth: | Kings Row, Paragon City, RI, USA |
| Base of Operations: | St. Martial, Rogue Isles |
| Marital Status: | Unmarried, but in a relationship |
| Known Relatives: | None |
| Known Powers | |
| Darkness attacks, Regeneration | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Confidential | |
| Equipment | |
| Confidential | |
| Theme song: Animal I Have become by Three Days Grace | |
Contents |
Affiliations
Friends and Allies
Germaine: Calico Jack can often be found in the company of Germaine. It was Germaine that first introduced him to the group known as As Seen on TV, as well as giving him his first tour of Paragon. The two of them have been dating and now share an apartment in Steel Canyon, although it's not unusual for one or both of them to be gone for days when on a mission.
Supergroup: As Seen on TV
Jack is a member of this rather irreverant supergroup. While occasionally frustrated with the stranger members of the group, their bizzare behaviour only serves to distract from Jack's real identity.
Personality
Jack would like to see himself as a suave, sophisticated James Bond type, though he occasionally default to his previous role of posturing gang leader. He usually ends up regretting acting like this, but that doesn't seem to keep him from doing it again.
Sometimes his darker mercenary viewpoint will surface and he can seem rather cruel and uncaring. He also can be a bit indifferent to things such as due process, excessive use of force, and the proper handling of evidence.
The exception to all this is when Jack is around Germaine. He will do his best to shield her from any darker aspects of his personality as well as downplay any questionable activities he may have participated in.
Regardless of his current mood, Jack always maintains a strong hatred for the Back Alley Brawler, although he will refuse to discuss the reason for behind his feelings. He will not willingly travel to Galaxy City because of this.
Character History
((Blatantly copied from the Rackham entry))
Juvenile Delinquent
Jack was born in the Kings Row neighborhood of Paragon City, where he grew up using the name Rackham. Born to a poor mother who was more interested in her current boyfriend than Rackham, he largely raised himself. Rackham fell into a gang early on and when his mutant abilities manifested at puberty he quickly put them to use. He dominated the local gang, becoming leader of the gang shortly after his 17th birthday.
The gang was firmly second tier, well behind such large groups as the Hellions or Skulls. After holding off several rival gangs, the Skulls took notice of the gang in general and Jack in paticular.
Rackham was not interested letting the Skulls absorb his gang and was able to defeat the rather suprised Skulls who came to make the propostion. The Skull leadership's reaction to this turn of events is unknown and unimportant. The Back Alley Brawler didn't leave either gang with enough time to dwell on Jack's first real victory.
Go To Jail, Do Not Pass Go
The gang's celebration of their victory over the Skulls was short lived. That night Back Alley Brawler decided to make an example in hopes of once again curtailing gang activity in Paragon City. Busting in, Brawler quickly incapacitated the normal gang members leaving only himself and Rackham. The two fought, however Rackham was no match for the more skilled Brawler. The Back Alley Brawler landed a blow that sent Rackham flying. Unfortunately, he landed in a spilled puddle of alcohol from the gang's party. Rackham's fire aura quickly ignited the alcohol and the fire soon spread to the entire building. End result? Two warehouses destroyed and five dead: one police officer who was on hand to aid the Brawler in cleaning up the defeated gangers and four members of Rackham's gang.
Rackham himself was knocked unconcious in the fight. When he awoke he found himself in jail, accused of arson and murder and set to be tried as an adult.
Rackham was accused of deliberately setting the fires during the battle. Despite his protests, Rackham was quickly convicted by a jury. His gang afiliation as well as the appearence of his eyes was all the evidence the jury really needed.
Being sentenced to 45 years with no chance of parole was rather distressing for the 17 year old Rackham. His mutant abilities and the severity of the crime had him place in the maximum security wing of the Ziggurat. Being 17 and tossed into a hardend prison population was a shock for Rackham. He felt betrayed and abandoned by the world. Spending most of his days in isolation, Rackham turned to losing himself in the books he received from the prison library. He soon discovered a love of learning and while in prison earned his G.E.D.
Freedom, Vengence, and Redemption?
Rackham spent 5 years in the Zig before being broken out by Arachnos as part of their Project Destiny plan. Freed by Arachnos Rackham took a mercenary bend, selling his services to whomever could meet his steep fees. Not really caring to be involved in the various power struggles found throughout the Isles left Rackham something of an outsider. He has spent the last year drifting through the Rogue Isles working for an ever-growing web of contacts and employers.
Rackham has twice come into direct conflict with the Back Alley Brawler since his escape from the Ziggurat. Both times Rackham has managed to come out the victor. However, Back Alley Brawler's use of the emergency teleport system has prevented him from carrying out his revenge as fully as he would like. This has left Rackham more frustrated than ever. Just mentioning the Brawler is enough to set Rackham off on a tirade.
Recently Rackham had a falling out with Lord Recluse and Black Scorpion. While the cause of this is subject none of them seem willing to discuss it is known that it involves Rackham's part in the Project Destiny plan. While not official censored by Arachnos, Rackham has taken to keeping a low profile. He has only taken a few jobs recently, mostly in an effort to keep his name in cirrculation as a possible employee for various mercenary contacts.
Rackham has recently returned to Paragon City. Shortly afterwards he managed to secure a Hero License under the name of Calico Jack. He does his best to keep his face concealed and remain "just another hero" to the public. He has shown an aversion to facing Arachnos criminals, but has already arrested several throught his short career.
Powers
Dark Melee
Jack's powers allow him to form a frigid vaccum around his forearms as he attacks. He uses the trauma this field causes to enhances his blows. While in excellent physical shape, Jack is not any stronger than a normal human and without this ability he would be at a severe disadvantage in combat.
Originally believed to be a manipulation of physical space, Jack has revealed that the power is actually far more than that. Through means unknown, Jack is able to open small portals to an alien dimension of cold and darkness. His control is limited and for that reason he generally restricts the size to merely slightly larger than his fist. Jack has been able to open portals much larger than this though, including ones large enough to pull a Behmoth through.
Exactly what lies on the other side of these portals is not clear, however the larger portals all errupt with something large, tentacled, and very angry trying to pull its way into our dimension. Frustrated, the creature tends to attack whatever or whomever comes within reach.
Regeneration
Jack wears a suit designed to channel his fire aura into enhancing his healing powers. The end result is greatly boosted regeneration at the expense of much of the protection his normal powers afford him. Jack does not wear this suit when off-duty. While the channeling ability of the suit is not painful, Jack claims that it leaves him feeling cold.
Superspeed
Another power tied to the suit he wears, Jack is able to travel at a high running speed. Jack's normal method of travel, a fire aura assisted leap, is suppressed. Instead he makes use of the excess energy to power a relatively weak time dilation device. The device has minimal effects. From Jack's perspective he simply jogs at his normal pace, while he seems a sped up blur to outside observers. Occasionally Jack will fight with this device on, but the energy use makes it difficult to sustain during long battles.
Minor abilities
Jack posseses the power to temperarily "supercharge" his powers allowing him to increase both his healing and the speed with which he attacks. Doing so tends to leave him feeling drained and he often saves it for when he knows a he will face a paticularily tough battle.
Additional Notes
-Calico Jack is indeed the supervillain known as Rackham, although he will do his best to hide this fact from most people. If discovered he will attempt to claim that he has seen the error of his ways and seeks to make amends.
-He's less reformed than he claims, often diverting confiscated goods and evidence for sale on the black market. He also sees his Hero ID as a way to keep busy, not as a change of heart.
-A short story about how Rackham gained his Hero ID can be found here: http://tiny.cc/XsM25
To contact this character's creator
- In-game: @Bedloe
- CoH official forums: Oldeb [[Category:As Seen On TV]
