Name: Caleb Benoit
Alias: Statesman
Age: 24
Powers: Super jumping, (can leap one 7th of a mile at most) Advanced Strength (Roughly enough to mangle a handgun, lift the weight of a minivan over his head and tie steel bars in knots. Not enough to hold up and entire building without help.) Enhanced Durability (Able to withstand lead and copper bullets and other conventional weapons, but not enough to withstand a ballistic missile.) and night vision. (able to see in the dark, but only in the colour green.) Enhanced Stamina, (this is what sustains his powers.)
Weaknesses: Caleb's stamina is what keeps his powers working round the clock but it can be worn down after a certain period of time. Caleb therefore needs to recharge, eat, sleep and drink the same as everyone else. Not doing this causes him to loose that energy and become weak. Caleb isn't invincible either. The right amount of fire power
can wear down and damage him.
Personality: Statesperson never tries hard to put himself above everyone else with his powers, due to his desire to be somewhat of a “champion of the oppressed”. While he's always sure to see to it that vengeance and anarchy never get in the way of Justice and Order, he refuses to tolerate corruption and will see to it personally that positive social changes are made, even if it means directly threatening the enemy with physical harm. However most of his threats are rarely ever carried out as Statesperson has made it a point to never take a life or give himself over to vengeance. (Ironically he holds this belief even while carrying out his own style of justice and seemingly putting the corrupt politicians, gangsters and businessmen he deals with in harms way.
Outside of his heroic life, Caleb lives in Goldwater Heights and works as as a construction worker in The Foothills, sometimes using his powers secretly while on the job. Outside of his masked persona he is a reasonable guy to get along with, if not a little aggressive and condescending at times towards those of a differing viewpoint to his own. Despite having a deep respect for heroes like the Honour Guard, (and his childhood hero the All American) he believes that there is allot more that they could be doing with their powers than just protecting the world from natural disasters and supervillains and wishes other heroes would follow his motivations. His hobbies include swimming, video gaming and pulling the occasional prank on a friend. Despite his faults and questionable tactics however, Caleb enjoys his work both with or without his mask and is willing to protect his part of Astro City from anyone who would do it harm. Despite what many conservatives in the Foothills will tell you, Statesman loves his country and is willing to to anything he can to rescue it from these troubled times as well as those within who seek to destroy the american dream for their own corrupt ends.
Enemies: Statesperson has no arch Nemesis in terms of Super villains yet. His enemies range on a more social level, from wife beaters and killers to corrupt politicians and homeland terrorists.
Hometown: Burlington, Vermont.. (now residing in Goldwater Heights.)
How long in Astro City: 15 months.
Hero Experience: 5 months.
Appearance:
BRIEF Bio: Caleb Benoit was born in Burlington, Vermont on June 17th, 1990. As a young boy he grew up on the stories of the heroes of Astro City and like most young boys his age, wanted to either visit or live there. In school at the library he chose to study superheroes of the past and present them in his spare time. It was during that time that he first heard about and became enamoured with the 40's hero ''The All-American'' A football themed war hero who operated in Astro City during World War II. His seemingly hopeful attitude and never say die attitude created fantasies in the child's mind in which HE was the next Slugger. (AA's Baseball themed sidekick.) The historical tales of heroes of a bygone era such as The Lamplighter, The Frontiersman Astro Naught and his idol All-American thrilled and inspired Caleb for most of his childhood. Caleb's parents loved their son and tried their best to encourage his dreams as best they could. After all, it wasn't as if they had much to look forward to, what with Caleb's father on the verge of being forcefully retired from his job at a steelworks due to what his boss called ''Budget Cuts'' and his mother having to work full time and raise a family at the same time. Due to this, while the Benoit Family wasn't exactly starving, Caleb never managed to get a college education after high school and instead chose to find employment as a construction worker in Burlington.
At the age of 23, 2 years after the deaths of his parents from the flu, Caleb found himself possession of the money his mother and father had been saving for him before their deaths, on the condition that he use to money to make a better life for himself in Astro City. Caleb agreed to honer this final wish and left by train to the city. Once there, he used to money to buy himself a modest little house in Goldwater Heights (dating back to the 50s) and got himself a job as a Construction Worker in the foothills area, building towers and penthouses for some of Astro City's richest residence. It was here that he was exposed to the corruption of some of the business men and politicians who resided in the area. These corrupt men and women constantly abused their workers as well as the people who voted for them,. Not to mention the gangsters who paid off the cops to save their hides. It burned Caleb up to see this mistreatment go unpunished and longed to do something about it all. He secretly wished that their money would rise from their wallets and attack them for their corruption.
One night while Caleb was sleeping, a strange light appeared in his bedroom. It glowed so intensely that it filled the whole room, waking Caleb from his sleep. As Caleb stared transfixed at the light, he saw a strange figure emerging slowly from it. As the figure stepped out of the glow, the light gradually disappeared until there was nothing left. The figure identified itself as the ''Spirit of The Working Man.'' He had heard Caleb's desire for justice and offered to give him the power to carry out his dreams. Caleb agreed to this and the spirit transferred a piece of his power to him before disappearing.into thin air. The next day Caleb woke up, believing the encounter to have been nothing more than a dream. But as the day progressed, he soon found out that what he'd experienced had been anything but. Within the course of 24 hours he found that he could Leap a 7th of a mile, bend steel with his bare hands and even see in the dark. Remembering that the Spirit had told him to use his powers for good,the exploits of his childhood hero The All-American and his comments the month before, Caleb made himself a blue and red costume in the style of the american flag, a dollar bill and the costumes of the 40s and 50s. Calling himself ''Statesman,'' he began to not only hunt down criminals but also shake up the corrupt residents of the Foothills and fight for social change for the good of the city. As of now, Caleb has been operating as Statesman for 5 months and has made himself the Enemy of allot of powerful people in Astro City along with some of the city's more crooked cops. The only question is, will he take things to far and if so, when?
Notes: Statesman's power set and motivations are based on the early exploits of the golden age Superman. His appearance is that of Dollar Bill from the graphic novel ''Watchmen.'' Hope I'm not too late to join in. :)