Major James Ashe
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Major James Ashe | |
| Player: @Major James Ashe | |
| Origin: | Science |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Tanker |
| Security Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Major James Ashe |
| Known Aliases: | Rhino |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | Older than he looks |
| Height: | 7' 4" |
| Weight: | Never you mind |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | United States Army (retired) |
| Place of Birth: | Paragon City (King's Row) |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | No immediate family |
| Known Powers | |
| Superhuman strength and durability | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Trained in hand-to-hand combat, small arms use, demolitions, and small unit tactics | |
| Equipment | |
| Wears a bandolier of expended high explosive rounds | |
| Trivia: the Major is ambidextrous. | |
Major James "Rhino" Ashe is a character I first created many years ago for use in my Top Secret S.I. (a pen-and-paper espionage RPG made by TSR in the 80s) campaign. His first appearance in virtual form was as my custom mercenary in Talonsoft's excellent strategy game Jagged Alliance 2. He made the jump from soldier to super-soldier during the CoH beta, and he's been tromping around Paragon City ever since.
Contents |
Known History
The Major doesn't tend to talk much about his past, but the odd remark here and there has allowed his friends to draw a few conclusions.
Early Life
He was apparently born and raised in the King's Row district of Paragon City sometime between 1930 and 1960. His youth was not necessarily well spent, and his enlistment in the army may have been at the "suggestion" of a judge (read: "You can go in the army or go to jail, your choice.").
"I could tell you, but then ..."
Once in the army, the Major got his act together and, in fact, had a fairly distinguished career which included many years in special forces (doing, as his friends have since put it, "Secret Squirrel stuff"). It was during a covert mission in the late '80s that he gained his superhuman abilities, and he left the service shortly thereafter.
Lights! Camera! Rhino!
Details of the Major's post-army life are much more readily available, as he spent most of the '90s in the public eye. As "The Rampaging Rhino," he became an immediate sensation in the world of super-powered professional wrestling (and, in the countries where it wasn't illegal, the world of full-contact metahuman combat). In 1994, he made the leap to the silver screen, starring in several action/adventure B-movies, most notably "Extreme Payback" and "Extreme Payback 2: With Interest". His biggest success, though, came when he landed the title role in the cable TV crime drama "Doug Stone, P.I.," which ran from 1997-2001. Of course, during this period, he also grabbed the occasional "Hero Saves the Day!" headline, but his heroics were strictly of the "I was in the neighborhood" variety.
Present Day
In the aftermath of the Rikti War, the Major decided that his casual style of crime-fighting wouldn't cut it any more. From his home base in Paragon City, he set about assembling, training, and financing a super-powered paramilitary force that could respond to the threats facing the world. This organization, the Metahuman Emergency Response Corps (M.E.R.C.), would not only confront villainous groups as their plans unfolded, but also hunt them in the shadows, striking silently, preemptively, and -- if necessary -- with extreme prejudice.
Enemies
At one time or another, the Major has come up against just about every villainous group in Paragon City. There are a few groups, though, that he is especially motivated to fight.
The Rikti
The Rikti invaders rank Number One on the Major's hit list, hands down. The threat presented by any group with the Rikti's troop numbers, organizational skill, and advanced technology would warrant extra attention, but add to that the horrific experiments the Rikti perform on their captives, and you have one very, very angry Major.
5th Column/Council
Before its takeover by the Council, the Major spent a great deal of his time disrupting the activities of the 5th Column. He paid special attention to the Warwolves and Nightwolves, due to their penchant for mindless slaughter. There were many nights in Independence Port and Founders' Falls when the Major could be heard calling, "woooooolfie ... heeeeere wolfie."
Once the Council was in charge, the Major felt safe in turning some of his attention towards other enemies. While he still worked to take the organization down, he just didn't see it as being driven by the same fanatic zeal that made the 5th Column so dangerous. With the recent reappearance of 5th Column troops on the streets of Paragon City, though, the Major has begun to refocus his efforts. If, as the events in Cimerora --as well as the Reichsman incident -- indicate, the 5th Column is thriving once again, it could replace the Rikti as the Major's primary target.
The Malta Group
Of late, the Major has had many conflicts with agents of the Malta Group, and it appears things can only heat up from here. As a clandestine organization with virtually limitless resources and absolutely no moral qualms, the Malta Group is exactly the sort of threat that M.E.R.C. was created to combat.
The Clockwork
Though they rate as more of a nuisance than an actual threat, the Major has an intense dislike of the Clockwork, largely due to their theft and subsequent destruction of his VCR (see:"The Vicar"). To this day, the Major makes a point of pulverizing any Clockwork he sees.
