The Masked Shrike
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Keep 'em flyin'! | |
| The Masked Shrike | |
| Player: @Masked Shrike | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Tanker |
| Security Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Diana O'Dare |
| Known Aliases: | None |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 24 |
| Height: | 5' 5" |
| Weight: | 140 |
| Eye Color: | Green |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | USA |
| Occupation: | Aviatrix, celebrity hero and spokeswoman |
| Place of Birth: | Argonia, Kansas |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City, RI |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Parents William and Mary, older sister Deirdre, older brothers Michael, Joseph, Patrick; younger brother Douglas; younger sister Kathleen |
| Known Powers | |
| Light-based strength and invulnerability, flight, light control, laser beams, near invisibility | |
| Known Abilities | |
| If it has wings, she can fly it. | |
| Equipment | |
| The Amulet of Hatshepsut | |
| Battle cry: The Shrike STRIKES! | |
Contents |
Origin
When she was old enough, she bid her family goodbye and took up Hap's barnstorming mantle. It didn't take long for the daring young aviatrix to catch the public's attention. Vying against other famed female flyers like Louise Thaden and Amelia Earhart, Diana strove to win races and break records in the air. Fame brought an offer of sponsorship from Stiles Aircraft. For them Diana traveled the world, a living advertisement in her modified Stiles Shrike racing plane, the Butcher Bird. However, Di led a double life: she was recruited into a clandestine government project and secretly worked as a military test pilot and covert operative. This is the same agency that recruited the ill-fated Earhart, who really was on a spy mission over the Pacific when she disappeared.
Diana's missions have taken her all over the world, usually under the cover of air races or public appearances on behalf of Stiles Aircraft. It was on one of these trips to Egypt that she 'happened' to rescue a young archaeologist, Professor Ashton Lloyd. She 'borrowed' an airplane to help him escape from villainous Nazi thugs, but the damaged aircraft crashed in the desert. As the Nazis tracked them down and Diana readied her two .45s to go down fighting, the injured professor knew there was only one way to save the day. He gave Diana the artifact he'd so painstakingly hunted: the Amulet of Hatshepsut, which would not bear the touch of a male. Donning the Amulet, Diana collapsed into a strange coma as the artifact bonded itself to her. Alone, Professor Lloyd faced the Nazis defiantly, but he knew he would soon fall. Even as the thugs closed in, the rising sun blazed down on a new heroine: Diana, powered by the Amulet, filled with the energy of the day's new light! Laughing, she swept down on the Nazis, scattering them with powerful fists and burning light beams.
Back on home soil, Diana was kept busy test flying airplanes as the military geared up and the situation overseas became dire. Yet it wasn't enough for Diana. Aided by Professor Lloyd and her old mentor Hap, she began her secret life as a masked crimefighter, hunting down gangsters and thugs. Though she longed for the spotlight, she worked hard to keep her powers under wraps, fearing that she'd end up in a lab somewhere as an experiment. The covert life didn't agree with the lively young heroine, and seeing that other heroes with similar powers had begun to surface, she burst on the scene at last with a triumphant victory over the villainous Ma Jong and her gang of thieves.
Finally in the spotlight, the Shrike gathered around her other heroes whose aims paralleled her own. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, they came together to form the group known as Allied Force. With so many other heroes in Paragon City, they decided to base their operations there. At last, Diana need act in secret no more! It didn't take long for her to become a celebrity, garnering commercial endorsements, a radio show, books, comics, and a movie deal. The Shrike and Allied Force battled bad guys at home and abroad, especially the group calling themselves the Axis Powers.
In modern-day Paragon City, the Midnighters Club discovered some disturbing information: the Axis Powers had somehow become active again, though the war had ended decades ago. Several of the members acted precipitiously and performed a magic ritual to bring forward assistance. The ritual reached back into 1943 and dragged Allied Force into the 21st century. The rite had gone awry, however. The members of Allied Force were somehow 'stuck,' perceiving that they remained in their own time. The Masked Shrike still leads her friends in the fight against the Axis, even though the war was over long ago.
Affiliations
The Shrike is a founding member of the WWII-era group known as Allied Force. The core members of Allied Force included M4 Sherman, P-38 Lightning, Victory Gardener, and the Fifinella. Diana worked for Stiles Aircraft as a spokesperson, the US government as a covert agent, and for the USAAF as a test pilot.
Personality
Resourceful, energetic, enthusiastic and unabashedly patriotic, Diana brings the best of her forebears into her own person. She hates indecisivenes and prefers to take action now, even though there are times when caution would be better exercised. Optimistic and adventurous, sometimes the force of her personality can sweep over her friends to the point of drowning them. Though this makes her well-suited to both her chosen professions, she can also be self-centered, overbearing, impetuous, and stubborn. She has adopted pulp magazine slang and loves to come across as a two-fisted fighter of evil, a la her favorite dime novel and radio serial heroes like The Shadow. She tends towards the overly dramatic, and often heralds herself to evildoers with her motto, "The Shrike STRIKES!"
Powers
Abilities
Diana is a natural pilot. If it has wings, she can fly it--and even if it doesn't have wings, she'll give it a good try. She has the ability to fly pretty much anything she can get her hands on, no matter how alien or unfamiliar the technology. She's even flown strange spaceships and cobbled-together weird science aircraft. Her seat-of-the-pants instincts are just that good. She received some useful training in hand to hand combat, guns, and surveillance during her time as a covert agent. Other than that, her talents run toward reading pulp novels, listening to her favorite radio programs, and posing for photographers. She's done ads for such products as Coca-Cola, Ovaltine, Chesterfield cigarettes, and of course Black Jack gum.
Weaknesses and Limitations
The Amulet is powered by sunlight, and very extended periods of darkness (such as storage in a lightless box or lengthy imprisonment underground) will render it dormant, and the wearer comatose. Luckily the Amulet stores enough energy to make limited nighttime use possible. As it is symbiotic, the Amulet infiltrates its wearer with a multitude of tiny gold filaments, which weave into her neuromuscular system. Removing the Amluet would most likely cause the death of the wearer, and would involve hideous surgery or some other awful procedure.
Equipment
In addition, the Shrike has owned a small fleet of beloved aircraft: a Stiles Shrike named Butcher Bird, its successor the Butcher Bird II, and a downsized version of a P-47 Thunderbolt built specially for her by the Republic corporation. The fleet is kept in trim by faithful mechanic Hap Logan and his bulldog Sparky.
Known Enemies
The Shrike, to put it mildly, lives to beat up Nazis. However, any enemy of the United States had better look out for her flying fists. In 21st century Paragon, the Council and the Fifth Column are on her short list of 'heads to be busted.' More specifically, Allied Force was brought forward in time to combat their old foes the Axis Powers, and the Shrike will be gunning for Baron Hallesturm and Baroness Stuka.
Trivia
Character Trivia
- Diana is the unknowing object of Professor Lloyd's unrequited crush.
- Her heroic alias, as well as her outfit, were all a result of her job with Stiles Aircraft. The sleek racing plane she competed in was a Stiles Shrike, painted white and green. She wore a matching green flight jacket; her crimefighting costume is nothing more than her regular flying togs.
- Her trademarks are autographed photos which she hands out to all and sundry, and 'lucky' Beeman's gum, which she invariably offers to her companions before a mission.
- Her radio show was called The Shrike STRIKES! Shrike decoder rings and 'silver wing' badges have become sought after collectibles.
Meta-trivia
- The Masked Shrike is the latest version of a character who was first dreamed up many years ago for a pen and paper TORG game. There have been many variations of the Shrike through the years.
- She was based largely on The Rocketeer by way of Russell Keaton's Flyin' Jenny Dare, but with Valkyrie's color scheme. As a bit of a Shadow homage, she should have twin .45s.
- Researching her got me so interested in airplanes and flying that, some years later, I became a pilot.
- In her original incarnation she would have likely been a peacebringer or illusion controller, as her powers were mainly light-based. Due to random rolls and the vagaries of the Champion system, she later became a superstrong, supertough two-fisted fighter.
- Originally the Shrike lived on the Victory server, but she has recently migrated to Virtue.
- Stiles Aircraft is a nod to the best flying movie ever, The Great Waldo Pepper.
- Her theme music is Benny Goodman's Sing Sing Sing (with a Swing), and the main theme from The Rocketeer.
- The masked shrike is a real bird that just happens to have a great pulp name. I learned this because 'The Shrike' was unavailable at character creation.
- Her player is a big enough geek that she owns the entire Shrike outfit, which she has worn for Halloween a couple of times, and to Comic-Con once.
