The soldier, the gunslinger, the red-blooded American. CITIZEN THIRTEEN isn’t so much a patriotic icon as he is an embodiment of stubborn American grit, an exemplar of the United States Soldier. He stands against those that threaten the freedoms that we enjoy in our daily lives, ready to deploy an American sense of Justice to all enemies that wish to intimidate and harm the innocent, no matter the danger, no matter the odds. In a world where individuals are gifted with the strength to hurl tanks and enough speed to break the sound barrier, Thirteen doesn’t stand much of a chance. But that’s hardly stopping him. It’s his sheer willpower that‘s his greatest strength, and he will keep fighting until the mission is complete, or he’s taken his last breath.

Born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, James Graham Rodgers enlisted into the US Army at the age of eighteen as an 11B Infantryman. James fast tracked his way to Green Beret in just under five years, having completed numerous military schoolings such as Airborne, Air Assault, and Ranger School along the way. From there, he conducted numerous combat operations until he was severely wounded in 2005. Having lost his arm, it was looking like an early medical retirement for James Rodgers. But thanks to his exemplary military records, he was flagged as a potential recruit for Project Citizen, a black operations super soldier program. James jumped at the opportunity to continue his service. Project Citizen took James and turned him into a super soldier using various degrees of bioengineering and fusing him with top of the line cybernetics to replace his lost arm. James was assigned the code name of "CITIZEN THIRTEEN" denoting him as the thirteenth member of the program. It was the name he went by for the next decade before retiring from military service in 2015.

After trying civilian life out for a few years back home in Texas, James moved to Paragon City to follow up an invitation he'd received from Agent Michael Wilson of GUIDE, a federal program that recruits and sponsors meta humans to become super heroes and icons of hope in the public eye. While not exactly keen on the Public Relations aspects of GUIDE, James Rodgers felt it in his bones that this was the best chance he had to satisfy the yearning in his heart to continue doing what he'd come to love. Garbed in patriotic themed tactical gear and returning to his old Project Citizen moniker, CITIZEN THIRTEEN returned to duty once more.

Thirteen typically portrays himself as a minimal-nonsense straight-man, especially around younger heroes. His past has caused him to be a bit cynical at times, and he finds himself getting irritated when having to work with the less mature heroes who like to have a good time while on patrol. It especially comes out the more his age shows, and the less he understands the new age lingo being used by the younger heroes(seriously, what the heck is a pog champ?!). Around the more professional heroes, especially those that have him beat in age and skill, he tends to be much more laid back, as he doesn’t feel like he’s babysitting the less experienced. But regardless of who he’s working with, when the chips are down Thirteen will always have a fellow hero’s back.

With a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice, and a LEO certification out of the state of Texas, Thirteen knows the legal system very well, and will use it to his advantage whenever possible. He hates the thought of a perpetrator escaping Justice due to bad case work on his own part, so to him it's of the utmost importance to follow proper legal procedures. Thirteen also utilizes a modified Use of Force Continuum similar to what the PPD use, altered slightly to take into account his abilities. He believes that having a strong working relationship with the local police can(and often does) work in his favor, especially when things get a little more gray that he'd prefer.

However, while he may be very by the book in the public eye, Thirteen is not afraid to fight in the shadows when need be. If the legal system were to ever hinder his fight against crime, and that hinderance would cause innocents harm, he will carry out justice as needed according to his own moral standards. Off duty, Thirteen tends to keep to himself. He maintains a daily regime of physical training, both hand to hand and firearms training, and equipment maintenance in between his patrols. He doesn’t maintain a secret identity, but he keeps his personal life spartan enough to not need one. He enjoys going out for beers with old Army buddies if he runs into one, or even a fellow super hero if he feels trusting enough with them.

Citizen Thirteen appears to always be poised for battle, even when not actively on the job. He carries himself as a man who is sure of himself and clear in his purpose, a dour expression and a no-nonsense attitude. His unkempt brown hair has wisps of grey, and his five o’clock stubble is rarely trimmed. A black domino mask hides the crows feet gathered at the corner of his dark blue eyes, but not the grizzled determination his gaze carries. Thirteen wears armor tinted in red, white and blue, to help represent the Justice the American people deserve to have protecting them.

To the front of the panoply of armor a single star is displayed, bold on the chest in shining white. The torso is protected by a form fitting dark blue tunic made of a Kevlar/Dyneema weave, with underlayers that are black and snug, made from much thinner layers of Dyneema. The polished dark blue finish of the metal spaulders cannot quite hide the deep lines scraped into them, and the heavy red sabatons conceal rocket boosters capable of augmenting the wearer's jumps. While his left hand sports a noticeable red leather glove, his right arm demands the attention from passerby’s, as the metal appendage was designed for combat, not subtlety or grace. Tactical webbing on the thighs and midsection hold pistol magazines flush to the body, and holsters on the belt are shaped to fit two customized M1911s.

His fighting style is practical and tactical. In melee he’s a brute, using crushing and effective blows to quickly take out his opponents, as he believes strongly in the economy of effort even when gifted with long lasting endurance. When it comes to firearms, Thirteen prefers his 1911 handguns, as his superior reflexes allow him to dual wield easily them with extreme speed and precision. But it is not above him to utilize carbines, rifles or machine guns if necessary.

When off duty, Thirteen is usually seen in a simple t-shirt and jeans. Like most Texans, he chooses to carry a pistol around in civilian life. He’s always armed with an officer model 1911 that he conceal carries instead of open carries.

Face and voice claim is Tom Hardy. Voice Audio Track: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uf1gDfA8eYBIzCllnlxeXQz27FUhT2nP/view courtesy of @willowgust

Super Soldier Enhancements: Thirteen’s attributes were all greatly improved from the combination of bioengineered organs transplanted into his body, and the cybernetics fused to his right shoulder and spinal column.

Superior Strength: Capable of dead lifting over a ton, and leg lift over two tons. His blows can smash through concrete barriers, and can certainly shatter bone.

Superior Speed/Endurance: Thirteen has been recorded reaching top speeds of 36 MPH, and was able to maintain that for just over an hour before reaching physical exhaustion. Recovery from intense physical activity is only a matter of minutes. During sleep deprivation tests, Thirteen was able to stay awake for two straight days without any signs of weariness, and another 36 hours before exhaustion finally set in. However, it is recommended that the Citizens maintain at least two hours of sleep daily to maintain peak combat awareness and clarity.

Superior Reflexes: His agility is high enough that he can fight multiple opponents with relative ease, and simultaneously fire his favorite 1911 pistols with extreme efficiency. Thirteen is also able to dodge projectiles, such as arrows, traveling roughly 350-400 feet per second. And while not able to flat out dodge bullets, he can evade a single active shooter well enough to counter attack with melee if need be.

Increased Durability: Thirteen’s body is incredibly tough, from a higher bone density to blood being able to coagulate faster when exposed to the air, allowing him to sustain hard hits and prevent excessive blood loss from combat. Recovery time from injuries is impressively fast also. Minor wounds tend to heal within hours, fractures within a day, and full breaks and other severe trauma usually less than a week to fully recover. Project Citizen also gifted him with an improved immune system, making Thirteen resilient against all forms of bacterial and viral infections. On top of an improved immune system, his body is capable of expelling harmful toxins from his body whenever adrenaline kicks in, allowing Thirteen to continue fighting even if poisoned.

Special Forces/Black Ops: Thirteen’s Special Forces training and experience has left him with a wealth of knowledge on weapons available throughout the world(and even some off world). He can disassemble and reassemble almost any weapon he can get his hands on, perform temporary field repairs with scrap he can get his hands on to, and of course expertly handle most of these weapons. And between Special Forces and his time with Project Citizen, Thirteen has learned to survive in any environment, from the hard elements of Mother Nature to blending in with foreign societies. And while Thirteen prefers overt operations, his past experience has taught him the value of stealth and the element of surprise.

Hand to Hand Combatives: Decades of military service have honed Thirteen’s hand to hand prowess. He’s studied various forms of martial arts and uses what feels natural and practical for him. His style of mixed martial arts tends to be extremely brutal and effective, with zero flair or elaborate movement. Gut punches, groins, throats, knees, choke holds, it’s all on the table.

Gunslinger: Probably the most notable feature of Citizen Thirteen is his ability to handle firearms. Efficient and precise with a rifle, brutally devastating with a shotgun, and fast and fluid with his Colt 1911 .45 ACP handguns. Give this man a gun and he accomplish anything with it, even breakfast.

Colt 1911: America’s handgun since World War II. Keeping his chambered in the traditional .45 ACP(as anything else would be blasphemy), Thirteen’s custom 1911 handguns are tailored to his needs, with Trijicon night sights, custom magwell, tactical rail with surefire light attachment, threaded barrels, and higher capacity magazines.

Fabrique Nationale SCAR: A versatile platform that can be set up for any situation, whether it be close quarters or for a long range, designated marksman role.

M60E3/E4: The king of LMGs. This modified and updated version of the American classic is James' absolute favorite machine gun, and second favorite firearm, ever. He keeps one in the trunk of his patrol vehicle at all times.

Cybernetic Arm: Thirteen’s right arm is not only stronger and more durable than his already super-soldier enhanced left arm, but it’s chock full of gadget goodies. An energy shield, tazer, lock picker, basic electronics hacking program, short ranged single use EMP device, and a biofoam injector for deep penetration wounds. It is made of a combination of alloy steel and impervium, making the arm extremely durable. Through extended surgery and further cybernetic modifications, the arm is reinforced through Thirteen’s shoulder and spinal column. The arm is designed to separate from Thirteen’s shoulder if repairs are needed, or if extreme trauma is directed to the arm and it is required to break free to prevent damage to the supporting cybernetics in the shoulder.

Patriotic Body Armor: Thirteen’s torso is protected from a combination of Dyneema and Kevlar, with his chest and back having thicker layers of Kevlar, and his sides and underarms being covered with Dyneema to allow for more flexibility. The spaulders are made of an alloy steel, and his knee pads and boots are made of the same steel alloy, with the boots having a hard rubber sole. The armor covering his legs is mostly made from Dyneema.

Repulsor Boots: Thirteen’s armored boots aren’t just for protection. Each is fitted with a small repulsor engine in the heels. This, in combination with his enhanced strength, allows Thirteen to jump to great heights with minimal effort.

Utility Belt: To be fair, it’s more for holding ammunition than anything. Besides the rows of magazines for his 1911s, The belt also carries a medkit with biofoam injector, a set of high tensile steel handcuffs, multiple flexicuffs, and det cord.

Born and raised outside of Beaumont, Texas, James was the eldest child to James Ray and Mildred Rodgers. He had one younger brother, Benjamin, of whom he was very protective of throughout their childhood. His father and grandfather were both proud military veterans, his father having served in Vietnam, and grandfather serving throughout WWII, the Korean War and Vietnam, retiring as a Sergeant Major.

James always felt it was in his blood to serve in the military. His younger brother on the other hand, excelled in academics, which led Ben to being the target of bullies at a very young age, and at times a disappointment in their father’s eyes. James saw his brother as something special however, and he knew Ben would become someone important in life, capable of great things. As such, he took great pride in being his brother's protector growing up. At the age of eighteen, James enlisted in the United States Army.

In 1992, James attended Basic Training and AIT at Fort Benning, GA to become an 11B Infantryman. After which, he completed Airborne and Air Assault schools, and was at the top of each class by displaying an unwavering drive to succeed and performing all of his tasks above and beyond the standard.

His first deployment was to Bosnia in 1993, where his heroic actions earned him a Bronze Star with Valor. Upon returning stateside, he was given the opportunity to attend Ranger School, where he graduated at the top of his class yet again.

In 1994 he completed his second combat deployment to Haiti as a Ranger in the 75th Ranger Regiment. He was wounded during a skirmish and received a Purple Heart. Post deployment, he began training for Special Forces.

By the end of 1996, James Rodgers had earned his beret, and was official 18B Weapons Sergeant. James spent nine years serving in 10th Special Forces Group out of Fort Carson, Colorado. He conducted numerous combat operations in various locations, to include Albania, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Serbia. Throughout the years as a Green Beret, he earned himself a second Bronze Star with Valor, a Silver Star with Valor, and the Distinguished Service Cross.

In 2005 James was wounded in combat again, this time losing his arm from an IED blast. Medevaced to Walter Reid Hospital in Washington D.C., he was fitted with a standard prosthetic. His military career seemed at an end, but that didn’t stop James from submitting waiver packet after waiver packet. This show of dedication and drive was ultimately what got James Rodgers flagged as a recruitable candidate for Project Citizen.

All military service records from 2006 to 2015 were sealed.

The United States government funded Project Citizen with the intention of mass producing an elite force of super-soldiers for the military. However there were massive setbacks in the early years of development. Project Citizen suffered from extremely high failure rate, and the program was deemed unsuitable for use on active duty service members. The project was moved to black ops, and authorized the recruitment of a platoon sized element of soldiers to undergo the super-soldier development procedures.

The nature of the failure rate was a problem, and since the military refused to allow perfectly fit soldiers to be selected for the program, they had to look elsewhere. It was decided to target disabled service members who displayed a fervent desire to return to active duty. James Rodgers was one of three dozen service men and women recruited for the program.

Phase One began with compatibility testing, making sure each candidate met the physical and mental health standards to maximize success rates. From there, the candidates all signed waivers of consent and nondisclosure agreements, after which the procedure was revealed to them. All of the candidates agreed to proceed.

Phase Two was the most crucial phase, and the entire process took over a year to complete. Bioengineered organs that were designed to be superior to their counterparts were to replace existing organs in candidates, beginning with the heart. A month would pass to ensure that the heart was not rejected, after which the candidate would be able to recover much faster from series of surgeries to follow, thanks to this new heart. However, about half of the recipients experienced transplant rejection, and while they were able to receive their normal heart again, they would be released from the program otherwise.

Following the heart, the remaining candidates would receive new kidneys, liver, and adrenal glands, all with added benefits to their recipients. After six months the candidate’s body would become malleable, easily adapting to new organs that were foreign in nature to the normal human body, but necessary in creating the perfect soldier. These new organs each had a specific role to play in the new anatomy of the soldiers, granting them additional attributes to improve their combat prowess.

Phase Three began after the first set of organ transplants were successful and the candidates were able to recover from surgeries at a much faster rate. Cybernetic reinforcements would be grafted onto the recipient’s skeletal structure and fused with the nervous system, and top of the line cybernetic appendages would be given to those who had previously suffered a loss of limb. Ultimately these cybernetics were stronger than the already enhanced strength of these super soldiers.

The men and women who made it through these phases were then tagged as ‘Citizens’. Each Citizen experienced different results of the bioengineering and cybernetic augmentations, but ultimately they could expect massive improvements to strength, speed and endurance, along with a faster recovery time from injuries sustained in the field. Improved immune systems protected them against most known viral and bacterial infection, and harmful toxins could be purged in seconds as adrenaline enters the bloodstream and is dispersed throughout the body. In combat, reaction times were shown to be at a near precognitive level as they performed with absolute precision while utilizing firearms and engaging targets in record speeds.

Project Citizen operated in the shadows, protecting the United States from threats known and unknown. Espionage, sabotage, assassinations, Rescue operations, intelligence raids, acquiring persons of interest, the Citizens did it all. Often working hand in hand with the CIA, their job was a thankless one, and they would never receive acknowledgment of their deeds, not even in death.

In 2015, Project Citizen was retired and replaced by new and improved super soldier programs. The surviving members were given proper military retirement benefits, and introduced back into civilian life.

Separation from the military can be a difficult process for any veteran, and the transition to civilian life for James was no exception. He returned to his home in Beaumont, Texas, and was invited by his brother, who was now a lawyer and married with two kids, to stay with them for the time being. For a while James and his brother, Ben, struggled to regain the camaraderie they once had as kids. Awkward silences and forced conversations became a regular occurrence. It wasn’t until Ben asked his brother to split a six pack of Shiner Bock with him while he worked on a casefile for his law firm. The two quickly realized that they still shared a common ground - they both enjoyed taking down high-profile targets. Ben introduced his brother to his way of pursuing justice through the legal system. Through this, they rekindled their old childhood bond.

Ben helped James get his degree in Criminal Justice, as well as a LEO certification through the state of Texas. He then set him up as a private investigator and security manager for his law firm. Nearly a year passed, and things were smoothing out quite well for James. Ben’s wife and kids even got along with him, and they insisted that he live with them indefinitely.

Towards the end of 2016, Ben took on a big case against a very powerful drug cartel known as the Reitman Cartel. The case should have been a done deal, but the justice system buckled as prosecutors and key witnesses were bribed and threatened. By the end of it, the Reitman bosses walked free.

The Reitman Cartel made an example of all known law enforcement officers involved in the case, as well as the prosecutors, including James' brother. Ben was killed a week after the verdict, in what looked like an armed robbery gone wrong. James demanded that something be done, but the authorities said they were doing all they could.

Some time later, Texas Rangers showed up at the Rodgers' home and brought James in for questioning, revealing that all the known members of this cartel had been found dead or missing, all in a single night. Given the public knowledge that James was a returning military veteran and former Special Forced, the police felt it was worthwhile to ascertain his whereabouts the night of the incident. James was innocent of course, and had an airtight alibi as he had been home watching his niece and nephew while his sister-in-law was working late. Eventually he was cleared and released from police custody, and word quickly spread about a masked vigilante suspected to be involved in the destruction of the cartel that had murdered his brother.

Tensions rose between himself and his sister-in-law after the death of his brother and the events that had followed, so James decided it best to move on. He packed up his things and moved to Paragon City.

James has never cared for the whole super hero gimmick, but super heroes were undeniably a major part of society, and an effective form of law enforcement. They often managed to get stuff done that the police could not, for one reason or another. The vigilante hero from back home had been proof of that. James had the skill set and the knowledge to become something like the person who took down the cartel that murdered his brother, but vigilante justice wasn’t something James was interested in. It wasn’t what his brother believed in, either. James wanted the freedom to take down criminals independently, but he wanted to do so legally.

It didn’t take long for GUIDE to notice James once he’d moved to Paragon City. A relatively new government agency, GUIDE used the resources provided by the FBSA to seek out and sponsor well-to-do heroes that would promote a positive image of the superhero community in the public eye. Given James’ abilities, military service record, and education in criminal justice, he was a perfect candidate for GUIDE. Agent Michael Wilson approached James, offering to assist in getting properly registered and funded.

James initially resisted the idea of a costume and monicker, but Agent Wilson convinced him that it was a necessary part of the process. If he had to wear a colorful costume, it would be in the colors of the country he’d served his entire life, that three generations of his family had served. And there was only one name he would be willing to use and not feel ridiculous maintaining in public. Thus, Citizen Thirteen was reborn in Paragon City.