Obsidian Bowman
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Obsidian Bowman | |
| Player: @Paleface Phantom | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Blaster |
| Security Level: | 50 (Incarnate) |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | James Michael Kowalski |
| Known Aliases: | Jack Phillip Perkins, Sidney Bowman, Jim Sideras |
| Species: | Baseline human |
| Age: | 44 |
| Height: | 6'1 |
| Weight: | 240 |
| Eye Color: | Hazel |
| Hair Color: | Black, graying |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | United States |
| Occupation: | Bounty Hunter |
| Place of Birth: | King's Row |
| Base of Operations: | King's Row |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Sera Janelle Freeman, (Daughter, going to college... someplace)
Michael Hershal Kowalski (Father, Deceased.), Ruth Kylee Kowalski (Mother), Susan Ruth Kowalski (Sister), Location of Mother and sister unknown. |
| Known Powers | |
| None. A true flatscan. | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Though Bowman has no powers, he is not without gifts. Bowman seems to have a near-superhuman talent for violence. The ability to inflict great pain on others, with seeming no regard for their feelings. That said, He also seems able to piss off just about everyone he's ever met. It is worth noting, his ability to enrage seems to have lessened with his advancing age.
Bowman works out constantly, as his life now revolves around his mission. He's learned how to fabricate bullet-proof material, break down and rebuild super-tech, as well as assemble his own devices from time to time. Bowman, like many natural blaster-class heroes, has uncanny marksmanship. It's been shown that this relates to more then just bows. Before he joined the Warriors, he was a varsity pitcher for his high-school team. After his father died, young James Kowalski was so angry, he purposefully shattered the knee of the batter, crippling him for life. Intelligent and ruthless, James seems more cunning then actually "smart." A fantastic investigator and detective, years of gangs, violence and continued isolation has left his social skills somewhat sub-par. During his time with the Warriors, he became an accomplished Boxer and wrestler, able to melee more then one would expect from a natural blaster-class. As has been noted in several examples, Bowman's pain tolerance is epic. This has led to him being labeled as an iron-body boxer. It seems that he thrives when he is in pain. Being a natural human, without any enhancements, Bowman has no "Special" way to move about the city, as such, he's fallen back upon a form of Parkour, where he climbs buildings, and uses the city as an obstetrical course. | |
| Equipment | |
| Bowman has two uniforms. A modified SCORPIO Light-armor, with flack pants, and a modified visor for when he's working with people who don't know about The Bowman. Beyond that, he has his own, self-made uniform, sporting a all-black, spectral appearance, designed to look as much like a ghostly meta-human as possible. Both uniforms come with a flexible mask/helmet hybrid. The weaving is made of a bulletproof fabric, sandwiching a high-tech "Impact Gel" that allows him to survive deadly blows to the head. Inside his mask are radio's, comms, cameras, and night-vision goggles. All micro-sized to make him look as super-human as possible.
Bowman also possesses a large arsenal of both self-made and Scorpio equipment; -Trip-mines -Several bows with a draw weight of over 200lbs. -Stealth fields -Smoke Grenades -Napalm Arrows -Explosive Arrows -Caltrops Bowman is also known to carry his father's old Police service pistol, and a heavy wooden baseball bat. | |
| Bowman seems to have an obsession with Death, that borders on religious. He has often called his non-Scorpio uniform his "Vestments." possibly in relation to this, Bowman keeps a running tally of the names of everyone he's ever killed. Again, possibly related, is that he never kills unless he's "Sure."
Bowman also has several Tattoos on his chest, on his pecks are gangland style letters, spelling "Warriors." And on his stomach is letters in Greek, spelling "Odysseus." | |
Contents |
Intro
Obsidian Bowman: She thought she could Help... innt dat sweet. Like the capes who run past hookers dyin' from a knife-wound ta get inta the fuckin' D.They're hear ta "help."
History
James Michael Kowalski was born the son of a King's Row cop. He grew up excelling at baseball, and detective reasoning. The family believed he'd be the first to make sergeant in their history. His mother taught piano, and James worked very hard in school, showing a voracious appetite for learning. His best friend as a child was another policeman's son, now a hero called Prime Sentinel. When he was around seven, he was given the only pet he's ever had. A snake he named Bitey. The snake was a cherished friend, sometimes coming to school in his backpack, and being read to under the covers by flashlight.
Though, even as a child, his natural abilities for violence came through. When a boy was picking on his sister, young James jumped him, and broke his arm by smashing it against a school bench. The school counselors were amazed that James could do it with a straight face, he was the only child on that playground not crying.
His father always swore on the goodly qualities of the heroes. How it was their actions that allows him to come home every evening. When two heroes were having an argument in Kings Row, James' father went out to move civilians away. When blows were exchanged, shards of the street flew out, and James watched as one slid right through his fathers eye, and out through his head. James was left holding his father's body, screaming for help, and the heroes kept fighting.
Without a father, James grew angry, turning to gangs and drugs. Eventually, he fell into the Warriors, and a downward spiral of violence - his natural talent making him a shoe-in for Warrior leadership. As Odysseus, he lead a small squad on many brutal attacks against the meta-human community. James spent the next fifteen years in and out of prison. It was during this stage of his life that he'd first meet Sgt. Maria Lobos of the PPD, she arrested him. It has been theorized that Bowman had at least one romantic tie during this stage of his life, but he has never pursued this.
Bowman was eventually caught in a gang-land drive-by by the freakshow as he was walking after another fight with his mother. When the freaks came to finish him off as he lay bleeding in the alley, Bowman's vision dimmed, then a figure, golden like the sun, came in, and scared the freaks off. Looking at the dying man, the golden hero, (Now ID'd as Golden Avatar) did the only think he could think of. He gave James his hero Medi-com, using the blood all around to key it to James' genetic ID. Escaping from the hospital, James found himself thinking about how it'd all gone wrong. When he looked in a puddle on the hospital's roof, he saw his own face, then for the briefest of moments, a skull.
Birth of the Bowman
It was then that the Obsidian Bowman, lethal protector of King's Row, was born. Initially, he simply dressed in black, but over time he began to dress as some form of specter, fooling criminals into believing that he was something otherworldly, and invincible.
To protect his mother and sister, who still lived in King's Row, Bowman began to wear the full skull-mask we see and know today. Not always killing the villains, but always beating and maiming them.
Despite his anti-hero tendencies, Bowman has a history of working with the government. Contracted by Longbow, Bowman was instructed to infiltrate a patriotic supergroup, looking for a fifth-column spy. When the spy revealed herself, Bowman was able to get a shot off, allowing them to follow a blood-trail. The mission went sour, as the spy then framed Bowman for the murder of two heroes. When Bowman's friend, Hyperion Shield, came to arrest Bowman, (Following him through his radio tracking com.) Shield found a warehouse full of men bleeding from multiple arrow wounds, and Bowman standing very still, holding the radio. Not able to do both, Bowman told Shield he'd need to choose to arrest him, or let these men die.
Shield didn't see it as a choice. The comm was left behind, and the men were saved. However, the spy, named Golden Quiver, got the drop on Hyperion Shield, using some of Bowman's own arrows that she had stolen, she was able to penetrate his super-hard hide. As shield lay bleeding, She lined up another shot, when Bowman de-stealthed, with a full draw on Quiver's head. In the ensuing standoff,she revealed that she was simply hired by a Nazi super-human, and didn't share the beliefs, hoping they would let her go. It was then that Bowman's ability to inspire Terror first really showed. Golden panicked, hitting the trigger for the explosive arrow that would kill them all. Split-second timing by shield and bowman saved them all, but Bowman gave up his shot. Golden stabbed him three times in the armpit, what should be fatal.
But, he recovered, thanks to allies that remain unknown. While he was mending, the mastermind was revealed, and she had a daughter of two heroes held hostage in an alternate dimension. One Bowman had been given the coordinates to, from the heroes mother, who suspected foul play before she too was captured.An assault was raged, with the hostage thrown at Bowman, who took used his body to cushion the child. At the cost of many broken bones. During that fight, to shield the girl, Bowman threw himself on top of her, as high-energy weapons were fired into the room. They melted some of his armor, permanently scarring his back. The mission was completed, with Bowman sending a Nazi Superwoman into a swirling void, after having his leg broken. As for Golden Quiver, there is this report. (Story link coming)
Arrest
Eventually, the police became tired of Bowman's fooling their arrest attempts, and his flagrant disregard of human life. Some of his closest hero friends, the Gods of the Golden Age, were recruited into arresting him.
They succeeded, after a 12-hour manhunt in the Sewer system.
While in the Zig, Bowman proved himself more dangerous amongst other killers, smashing faces into bubbling oil, shoving another man into a working dryer, and fashioning himself another Bow out of the materials of his bed.
To protect his mother and Sister, he had forwarded them all the money he had stolen from his victims, and given them several fake passports. To this day, he doesn't know where they are (Israel, or Greece, perhaps).
Operative Nobody
When Vanguard recruited him, they faked his death with a clone, who the other inmates killed, some of them eating him.
As Operative Nobody, Bowman continued his work, as an indentured servant until his contract expired.
Scorpio
Before his contract expired, and he could be released, Scorpio picked up the contract. When Bowman protested to Vanguard, they reminded him of his current status as a legally dead man. Thus, he wasn't in any position to argue against it.
During that time, He found a home in Scorpio, Running various missions. Some of these were clandestine, some were not. At times, even employing the vigilante reputation he had built, and fostering a myth that he was indeed, a ghost. A true spirit of vengeance.
Bowman also formed two more relationships of a sort. One was with his Commanding Officer. While not at all a romantic relationship, the pair became somewhat of squabbling siblings. When Cherry 9, the CO, went rogue, she trusted Bowman to come with her.
The other was a romance in secret. Due to military rules on relationships in the ranks, Bowman and Mackenzie Hill fell in love. It was something nobody could have expected. The always angry and belligerent Bowman, and the gentle and kind Mackenzie. They were deeply in love, and in the fullness of time... who knows what would have happened with them?
Daughter and Absence
After a few years as the Bowman, James received a message he wasn't expecting. One of the old "Camp Girls" of the Warriors had died from a bad batch of drugs. She had left behind a daughter. On legal paperwork, James was listed as the father. Upon meeting the seven year old, there could be no doubt.
James left behind Paragon, Scorpio, the Bowman, and the love of his life, MacKenzie Hill. He had moved to London, operating a gym, and doing his best to raise his daughter in peace.
He also reconnected with his Jewish faith, and tried to bring up his daughter in the faith. However, there were some Skinheads who broke windows at the Temple... But what happened to them is a different story.
Even then... violence called to him. And once she went to college...
The Return of the Grim Guardian
He came home. Stunned at how much things had both changed, and stayed the same. The Skulls were in force, and his first day back, he was accosted by several. The Good Work, as he called it... must start again.
Financed by laundered stolen criminal funds, Bowman has begun recruiting allies, as his aging body is beginning to show signs of slowing down.
Personality
Gruff, standoffish. Loyal, brave, foolish, potentially suicidal, mean, determined, sarcastic.
James is also Jewish, His mother's family being from Poland, fleeing after WW2, and his father's family is Greek.
The Obsidian Bowman is taken from a Grecian Warrior-Cult (which I made up) who roamed the ancient Mediterranean. These men believed death came not with a scythe, or a boat, but like Might Apollo, with a bow, pinning the guilty souls with their black arrows, sending them screaming to hell.
Bowman is quite frankly, a jerk. He's mean-spirited, sadistic, yet has his own regrets, and sorrow that he keeps very VERY hidden.
Allies
((Opinions are Bowman's, but not necessarily what he'd say to anybody.))
Maria Villa Lobos: "Guess ya could call'er the love'a my life. Would fit wit' the rest'a the goddamn mess my life's been. Good, gruff woman, wouldn't gimmie no shit, wouldn't take none either. Got bit by a werewolf or somethin' befer I met'er... Some time past she died. Looked like a suicide. Silver bullet to the temple." (It is not known that it was Bowman's hand that pulled the trigger, acting out her wish. It's also not known how much he misses her. )[Modern thoughts] "Maria... She was a turning point, I think. A focus. While I still miss her, It's tinged with more regret an' anger. For makin' ME be the one."
Hyperion Shield: "Schmuck. But the kinda guy Dad woulda liked. First met'em when some new kid was tryin' ta do the whole hero Schtick. He was tellin' her how things're supposed to be, I was tellin' her how things are. Arrested me once, threatened to do more. Still, good man, good friend. Ain't many others I'd wanna have wit me goin' against demigods." [Modern thoughts] |It's been ten years since I've seen Blue. Wonder if he and the lady ever had kids. He was probably my best friend back then. Should'a told him that."
Colossal Girl: "Heh. Cee-Gee. Or Triple-D. She don't like me much. Fact, she's threatened to throw me through walls more times then I can count. Still, she's Hyperion's lady, so she'll hafta get used ta me someday. Or she'll kill me. Whichever happens first." [Modern Thoughts] "She never did get used to me. But, I think.. deep down.. that she was glad there was people like me. People t'cross that line. So she would never have to."
Prime Sentinal: "Mike. Yeah, still kinds pissed at him. We grew up together, sons'a cops, kids'a the Row. I always figgered he was a late-bloomer mutant. Turns out instead he's some kinda alien prince, here by disguise? An' all'a our childhood was a lie? Yeah. I'm still pissed at'em." [Modern thoughts] "In the end, it didn't matter if we'd been friends as kids, we ended as strangers."
Cherry 9: "The boss. THE. BOSS. Tough as dragon-skin and has more balls then half the guys I know. First met'er, wasn't so sure 'bout taking orders from the little red-head who won't even wear a helmet, but after jus'a week, she proved herself. She says jump now, I ask on who."[Modern thoughts] "Cherry.... Not sure what became'a her. Wouldn't have met my girl without her. So, she'll always have me on her side."
Mercy Guavara: "Shit, I still ain't sure what happened 'tween us. I ain't the datin' type, an' It's been a while since anybody was comin' after my junk. Anyway, reminds me a bit'a myself, if I'd gone another way. Kid's got serious potential."[Modern thoughts] "Heard she became director after I left or something. Jack always saw somethin' in her, so who knows?"
Agent Mackenzie: "It's wierd. When I firs' met her, I pushed'er off as a pretty bimbo. Nice to look at, but would crack under pressure. More I get ta know her, more I see there's somethin' else there. A steel under the silk. Somethin' that keeps her here, keeps her standin' when everythin' else falls around. Beneathe alla that softness, I think she might be the strongest of all of us." [Modern thoughts] "Ah... Kenz.... I loved her more than almost anything. We hadda keep it secret, or there would'a been problems. But... I miss her like I'd miss breathing. Missed her all through London. Even now, I see hints of her... But I know she's moved on. I should to.... eventually."
[Modern Allies]
Petite Morte: "My.. Underling? My partner? I dunno how to describe that relationship. But that's the limit of it. Thought fer a time it could be somethin' else.. But, I think that was jes' my Empty Nest syndrome. Just not a great fit."
Doctor Revenant: "Heh.. She fell on me. That's how we met. SHe's... I dunno... Skinny, pale.. Maybe undead? But, she's smart enough, practical enough, I'm just... comfortable with her. I dunno."
Assorted Art
