Steel Heart
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
Steel Heart arose from a love of mythology and a desire to incorporate lesser used aspects of myth. I was in the process of looking into Celtic myhtology when I came across the legend of a sword. THe sword made the user completely invulnerable in battle, at least until the eve of their greatest fight. Then the blade would abandon the weilder and leave them to their own devices. Thus I begin to devise the story for a tragic hero, following in the path of the Greek Tragedies of old.
| |
| Heart of Steel | |
| Steel Heart | |
| Player: | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Scrapper |
| Security Level: | 42 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Doughlas McRaven |
| Known Aliases: | Steel, Cain(undercvoer name) |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 38 |
| Height: | 6'4" |
| Weight: | 210lbs |
| Eye Color: | Pale Blue |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Scottish |
| Occupation: | Hero/Detective |
| Place of Birth: | Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
| Base of Operations: | Currently Paragon City |
| Marital Status: | Widower |
| Known Relatives: | Alice McRaven (Daughter) |
| Known Powers | |
| Broad Sword, Invulnerability | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Modest detective skills, slightly prescient (see bio), excellent hand to hand combat skills | |
| Equipment | |
| Mystic Claymore, Sunglasses, communicator | |
| ' | |
Contents |
Affiliations
- Xanatos (Defenders of Paragon)
- The Imperial
- Yin
Supergroup: None
Personality
Calm and reserved most of the time, but capable of a friendly exterior. Fond of sharing his experience with younger heroes.
Character History
Steel Heart's history is a messy collision of Gods, villains, and tragedy. At a young age he was bitten by a poisonous snake that should not have even been in his home region of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Near death his soul actually started to cross over to the realm of the dead for those who follow the Celtic Pantheon (a tradition amongst his family of remaining observant of these acient gods). However his soul was stopped from crossing over by the Goddess of Healing, Brigit. Bestowing a blessing upon him, she rid his body of the snakes venom and saved his life. However, having seen the underworld left his eyes stained a pale, icey blue. This would later grant him the ability to see visions, though not of his own free will and often with a great deal of pain. This is due to the nature of his eyes, seeing half in the mortal realm and half in the realm of the dead. His visions come in threes. A vision of the past, a vision of the present, and a vision of the future.
As the years passed Doughlas grew older and eventually fell in love with a woman named Laureline. Unfortunately she was the chosen female for the Celtic God of War Teutatis, sparking a feud between the two that has never quite been settled. It was not long after their marriage though, that tragedy struck. Soon after giving birth to a beautiful daughter, Doughlas's wife was kidnapped along with their daughter. Grief-stricken and raging at his impotence to prevent this misdeed, Doughlas raged at the Gods to grant him the power to save his wife and daughter. The Gods responded by sending Brigit to him with a sword. She granted it to him with a warning. "To accept this sword, is to seal your fate. It will give you the power to become an avenger, to save your wife, but it will also consume you and destroy you. This power was never meant to be held by mere mortals." Too focused on regaining his wife, Doughlas accepted the sword without heeding the warning.
Following a trail of clues across Scotland and England, Doughlas eventually found his way to America. The government soon took an interest in his abilities and offered him a position on a top secret team known as M.Y.T.H. They offered him information on the whereabouts of his wife and daughter in exchange for his allegiance to the group. He accepted and adopted the moniker Steel Heart, unwittingly activating yet another prophecy involving the sword he now bore. He worked witht he group for awhile, performing many deeds he found distasteful, and finding any information he got to be old and useless. During his tenure he formed a father-daughter relationship with a young female known as Freeze Frame. On their final mission, a sabatoge mission in Paragon City, the team found themselves caught up in the initial invasion of the Ritki. With his team being slaughtered around him, and no oppurtunity to strike back presenting itself, Steel and Freeze-Frame made a run for it. Freeze Frame is hit by a stray plasma shot. Enraged at her death, Steel Heart unsheathes his sword and unleashes its magic on the Ritki. With their weapons rendered useless against him, and his sword cutting through their armor like butter they were no match for the blood raged warrior. Coming to his senses, Steel Heart departed into the shadows of the city and continued a rogue gorilla campaign against the Ritki.
As the years passed, Steel started to make his living as a detective. His eye's and their stange sight allowed him to solve many cases that were otherwise deemed unsolvable. It was during this time, in the aftermath of the Ritki war, that Steel met many of his future allies and comrades. Most notable of these companions is the heroine White Tigress. During their many missions together Steel found himself falling for this small asian warrior. The conflicting emotions of his love for his missing wife, and his growing love for this heroine caused him to leave the city on a short sabbatical. During his absence a new heroine appeared on the scene. Her hero name was Druidess, but her real name was Alice. When he returned Steel met her in a coincidental passing and recognized his daughter. (His eyes allowed him to see her as she was and as she is). From her he learned that his wife was dead. The new conflicting emotions of Joy for finding his daughter, grief over his lost wife, and hope for his future with White Tigress pushed him to the brink of his mental sanity. He was forced to retire from heroing for a time to recouporate.
Not long after his return the city was struck by a new danger. A massive assault of villains from the Rogue Islands, led by Lord Recluse, forced most of the city's heroes to confront them. During this time the rampagin giants of the Devouring Earth started to assault Peregrine Island. With the Heroes occupied, only Steel Heart was left to fend off these behemoths. He was holding his own when the terrible prophecies of the sword he weilded came to fruition. The sword took its power back and left the weilder with only his own abilities. Just as the first of the heroes arrived at the scene to aid him, Steel Heart was killed by a vicious blow from one of the monstrosities. And with that, the tragic life of Doughlas McRaven, the Steel Heart, came to an end.
Powers
Broad Sword
Immensely skilled in the use of his missclassified claymore. Due to it's magical nature it is able to cut through anything not of a magical origin itself.
Invulnerability
Bestowed upon Steel Heart by the magic of the sword, the invulnerability grants him extreme resistance to damage, temperature extremes, and pressure.
Super Leap
Also a byproduct of the swords magic, whether it is in his hands or not, is his immense strength. Using this he is able to propel himself long distances by shoving off the ground with his powerful leg muscles.
To contact this character's creator
aim: DogeyoBogey CoHGuru: Druid
Creator Notes and Trivia
This character has undergone multiple origin revisions. His history, due to this, can at times appear quite convuluted.
