Post by Jordanna on Mar 4, 2006 20:50:15 GMT -5
Character's Name: Michael "Mike" Whitebird.
Mutant Nickname: Warhead (his rather incongruous nom de plume in the boxing ring).
Mutant Power: Mike has the rather prosaic mutant quality of superhuman strength--approximately seven times that of an ordinary man.
Occupation: Formerly a prizefighter, now a general helper and pseudo-refugee at Our Lady of Refuge Church.
Gender: Male.
Age: Even Mike doesn't know precisely, but he's roughly thirty.
Height: 6' 5".
Hair Color: Black.
Eye Color: Black.
Physical Description: A Native American, Mike has the typical bronze coloring and hawkish facial structure (although his features are usually softened by a somewhat vacuous expression). He is large, but not excessively bulky. He walks with a slight limp, and tends to be slow-moving, but can be surprisingly quick when threatened.
Country/Hometown: Oraibi, Arizona (Navajo reservation).
Immediate Family: None known. He was orphaned at a fairly early age.
Personality: Mike is the classic gentle giant, with a low I.Q. and a heart of gold. Having the intelligence level of a young child, he tends to be a very innocent and helpless figure. Under ordinary circumstances, he wouldn't hurt a fly--but if someone he cares about is endangered, he can be provoked to great ferocity (although he's very likely afterwards to lapse into whimpering remorse). He is easily and inordinately pleased by very simple things, and he particularly loves to be helpful. His attention span and memory are both lacking, to say the least, but he is a diligent and contented worker when given simple tasks.
Weaknesses: Mike's slow-wittedness is his most obvious weakness. Efforts have been made to educate him at Our Lady of Refuge Church, but he can still read and write little more than his own name, and count to no more than twelve. He also has a tremendous appetite; he's intensely fond of chocolate in particular, and if he is promised some as a reward, he will do almost anything short of physically harming someone.
Additional Skills: Mike is a surprisingly capable handyman, doing everything slowly, but very precisely.
Hobbies/Interests: Mike is happy simply being around people and making himself useful (or at least trying to). He hasn't the mental capacity for very involved interests, but he enjoys playing games with the parish children, and sometimes clumsily takes part in their organized sports.
Personal History: One of Nick Tiernan's oldest rackets is the time-honored criminal enterprise of rigged sporting events. In his case, he uses various methods of bribery and intimidation to have boxing officials write off physically powerful but ordinary-looking mutants as human, so that they can compete (since mutants are banned from the sport due to their ostensible advantages). Needless to say, these mutants then flatten their opponents, and Tiernan profits immensely in bets placed through his assorted fronts.
When Mike Whitebird turned up at Lusus Naturae, his great strength and simple mind caused him to be pegged by Nocturne's operatives as an ideal boxer for the scam. However, it didn't turn out to be quite so easy, once they came up against his aversion to the idea of hurting people. Plied with plenty of chocolate and persuaded that the boxing was just a sort of game, Mike finally agreed to fight, and was painstakingly given enough training to look legitimate.
For the next three years, Mike was one of the racket's most successful and profitable boxers--until he overheard a conversation between his "manager" and other agents of Nocturne, and somehow managed to gather from it that there was something wrong about his fights. Feeling confused and vaguely guilty, he asked a policeman for advice, and ended up giving testimony that sent several fight managers, bookies, and other figures in the racket to prison. (Tiernan, of course, was thoroughly insulated from any connection with them.)
Although it did not permanently cripple the operation, Nocturne did not take kindly to Mike's disloyalty, and put a death order on him. Mike survived the attempt on his life, although he sustained a leg injury that caused his limp. He fled from Nocturne's enforcers and wandered for some time, eventually seeking sanctuary in a church--which happened to be the mutant-centered Our Lady of Refuge. Sympathetic to Mike's story, Father Steele took him in and semi-employed him, on a temporary basis that ended up becoming permanent. Mike now lives contentedly in obscurity, doing odd jobs for the church and other residents of the neighborhood.
Anything else:
In the course of his errands for Tiernan, Joey "Ricochet" Falco had several encounters with Mike, and became quite friendly with him.
Mutant Nickname: Warhead (his rather incongruous nom de plume in the boxing ring).
Mutant Power: Mike has the rather prosaic mutant quality of superhuman strength--approximately seven times that of an ordinary man.
Occupation: Formerly a prizefighter, now a general helper and pseudo-refugee at Our Lady of Refuge Church.
Gender: Male.
Age: Even Mike doesn't know precisely, but he's roughly thirty.
Height: 6' 5".
Hair Color: Black.
Eye Color: Black.
Physical Description: A Native American, Mike has the typical bronze coloring and hawkish facial structure (although his features are usually softened by a somewhat vacuous expression). He is large, but not excessively bulky. He walks with a slight limp, and tends to be slow-moving, but can be surprisingly quick when threatened.
Country/Hometown: Oraibi, Arizona (Navajo reservation).
Immediate Family: None known. He was orphaned at a fairly early age.
Personality: Mike is the classic gentle giant, with a low I.Q. and a heart of gold. Having the intelligence level of a young child, he tends to be a very innocent and helpless figure. Under ordinary circumstances, he wouldn't hurt a fly--but if someone he cares about is endangered, he can be provoked to great ferocity (although he's very likely afterwards to lapse into whimpering remorse). He is easily and inordinately pleased by very simple things, and he particularly loves to be helpful. His attention span and memory are both lacking, to say the least, but he is a diligent and contented worker when given simple tasks.
Weaknesses: Mike's slow-wittedness is his most obvious weakness. Efforts have been made to educate him at Our Lady of Refuge Church, but he can still read and write little more than his own name, and count to no more than twelve. He also has a tremendous appetite; he's intensely fond of chocolate in particular, and if he is promised some as a reward, he will do almost anything short of physically harming someone.
Additional Skills: Mike is a surprisingly capable handyman, doing everything slowly, but very precisely.
Hobbies/Interests: Mike is happy simply being around people and making himself useful (or at least trying to). He hasn't the mental capacity for very involved interests, but he enjoys playing games with the parish children, and sometimes clumsily takes part in their organized sports.
Personal History: One of Nick Tiernan's oldest rackets is the time-honored criminal enterprise of rigged sporting events. In his case, he uses various methods of bribery and intimidation to have boxing officials write off physically powerful but ordinary-looking mutants as human, so that they can compete (since mutants are banned from the sport due to their ostensible advantages). Needless to say, these mutants then flatten their opponents, and Tiernan profits immensely in bets placed through his assorted fronts.
When Mike Whitebird turned up at Lusus Naturae, his great strength and simple mind caused him to be pegged by Nocturne's operatives as an ideal boxer for the scam. However, it didn't turn out to be quite so easy, once they came up against his aversion to the idea of hurting people. Plied with plenty of chocolate and persuaded that the boxing was just a sort of game, Mike finally agreed to fight, and was painstakingly given enough training to look legitimate.
For the next three years, Mike was one of the racket's most successful and profitable boxers--until he overheard a conversation between his "manager" and other agents of Nocturne, and somehow managed to gather from it that there was something wrong about his fights. Feeling confused and vaguely guilty, he asked a policeman for advice, and ended up giving testimony that sent several fight managers, bookies, and other figures in the racket to prison. (Tiernan, of course, was thoroughly insulated from any connection with them.)
Although it did not permanently cripple the operation, Nocturne did not take kindly to Mike's disloyalty, and put a death order on him. Mike survived the attempt on his life, although he sustained a leg injury that caused his limp. He fled from Nocturne's enforcers and wandered for some time, eventually seeking sanctuary in a church--which happened to be the mutant-centered Our Lady of Refuge. Sympathetic to Mike's story, Father Steele took him in and semi-employed him, on a temporary basis that ended up becoming permanent. Mike now lives contentedly in obscurity, doing odd jobs for the church and other residents of the neighborhood.
Anything else:
In the course of his errands for Tiernan, Joey "Ricochet" Falco had several encounters with Mike, and became quite friendly with him.