[CHAR] Marvel: Knights of New York

[AndyC]

MARVEL: KNIGHTS OF NEW YORK

VENOM

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CHARACTER BIO:

S.H.I.E.L.D. Anomalous Activity File: SW8-0584
Entity Codename: "Venom"

Real Name: Unknown. So far, no one who has encountered the Venom entity has remained conscious for more than a few seconds, let alone long enough to attempt conversation.
Age: Unknown. Given its fairly recent emergence, it is believed that the Venom entity has only existed in its current state for less than a month. It is possible, however, that the entity has existed in one or more different states for much longer.
Gender: Unknown. Given its unusual properties, it is not certain that the Venom entity is even human, though its basic build and profile suggest a human (or at least humanoid) male as the basis for its form.
Powers, Abilities, and Gear: Unknown. So far, the Venom entity has demonstrated several abilities similar to those of Spider-Man-- superhuman strength and agility, the ability to adhere to any surface, and an almost preternatural sense of incoming danger--but the similarities end there. Venom's outer bio-mass appears to be fluid and possibly alive, able to mimic Spider-Man's synthetic webbing, but also able to change shape and turn the entity's hands into claws or blades, or harden into armor that can deflect high-caliber machine gun fire at point-blank range. By all reports the entity seems to be impervious to conventional weapons, but one unconfirmed report did mention spotting the entity retreating from fire. Further study is required.
Origin: Unknown. Some connection to the vigilante Spider-Man is likely, given the entity's appearance, as well as its emergence nearly a year to the day from the incident on the George Washington Bridge. However, at this point all theories regarding the Venom entity's exact nature and origin are baseless speculation. What is known is that the entity is claiming an increasingly large swath of territory in Brooklyn as its hunting ground, attacking criminal organizations in the area. SHIELD checkpoints have been set up in an attempt to capture and contain the entity, but have been unsuccessful-- in fact, they have resulted in several operatives critically injured. While so far no deaths have been reported in regards to Venom's activities, the entity seems to revel in the use of excessive force against its victims, often leaving them with permanent injuries or in comatose states, and has little regard for collateral damage or endangering civilians. It is advised that a way to contain or neutralize the Venom entity be found before the situation escalates further.

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STORY INFO:

High Concept: The story will start as a mystery surrounding Venom's identity and origin, and as more is revealed, it will turn to a character drama and hopefully a redemption story. At its heart, Venom has always been about different characters at their lowest point and how they deal with it, whether they overcome their inner demons or get consumed by them, and I plan on exploring that from a few different angles, from the person inside the suit and the people surrounding him.
Motivation and Conflict: Venom is lashing out, in pain and anger and frustration at its own being, amplified by the torment of its host. More than anything, it wants to be at peace, but it can never be so because the entity's very nature requires it to be at war with itself.
Notes: To be filled out as the story progresses.

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PLAYER INFO:

Player Name: AndyC
Preferred Contact Method: Private message or Discord
Why This Character?: Venom has been one of my favorite characters ever since I laid eyes on him, and frankly, I've wanted to tell this story for years.
What Can You Bring to the RPG?: Apart from running the game, I can bring solid character work, intricate plotting, and fun fights and/or team-ups with virtually anyone.

[DClassified]

MARVEL: KNIGHTS OF NEW YORK

Master of Kung Fu

CHARACTER BIO

Real Name: Zheng "Shang Chi"
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Powers, Abilities, and Gear: Although possessing no superpowers, Shang-Chi has a lifetime of combat training behind him and is an expert in all known forms of terrestrial martial arts, enabling him to equal and even best many superhumans. He is highly revered as the "Master of Kung-Fu.", arguably being one of, if not, the most advanced Martial Artist on earth. Although he prefers to fight empty-handed, Shang-Chi can also formidably use any martial arts weapon and is skilled at improvising weapons out of ordinary objects in his environment.

Shang's mastery of chi allows him to disperse physical trauma across his entire body (as opposed to accumulating at any single point) and strike with enough force to break through reinforced steel. On many occasions, he has also demonstrated the ability to dodge bullets from automatic weapons after they've been fired. Shang-Chi is usually seen with a pair of bracers made of an unknown material, but known to be durable enough to deflect bullets.

Shang-Chi is a master of meditation and relaxation techniques as well, allowing him to receive psychic premonitions, limit the spread of toxins in his blood stream, and render his pain receptors insensitive. While possessing no superhuman senses, Shang-Chi is highly attuned to his surroundings thanks to his training and having spent most of his life thwarting his father's assassins. He is able to pinpoint the breath sounds and heart beats of silent aggressors, as well as the distant loading of firearms by gunmen. Due to his training, Shang-Chi is also less susceptible to mental attacks than most humans.

Origin: Shang-Chi, who's name can be interpreted as "Rising of the Spirit" was born in Honan province in China, son to a wealthy international crime lord named Fu Manchu and an unknown American woman genetically selected by his father. Trained privately by the greatest masters of various disciplines, Chinese and otherwise, Shang had limited contact with his parents.

When he did see his father, his father told him that all of his training was being directed toward some sort of great humanitarian goal, as his father manipulated Shang into thinking that he was a philanthropist. When the time finally came for Shang to face the outside world and carry out this mission, he was transported to England, where his mission was assassination. He knew nothing other than to honor his father with complete loyalty, so after stealthily sneaking into his target's home, he killed who he thought was an evil man in one swift strike.

British secret agent Sir Dennis Nayland-Smith arrived on the scene in time to catch Shang, but of course couldn't keep him there. Shang later sought out his mother, now living in London, who then told him the truth about her former husbands life of crime and evil. At that time, Shang swore to become his father's enemy, and do whatever it would take to topple his evil empire.

Shang-Chi became a regular ally of Sir Denis Nayland Smith and worked with him on missions for MI-6, British intelligence, and later for Freelance Restorations, Smith's own independent agency.

Shang-Chi ultimately contributed to his father's apparent death in a confrontation at the Honan retreat. His "Elixir Vitae," which had allowed him to live and remain in his physical prime for many decades, was no longer sufficient to maintain his youth. Rapidly aging, his father needed his son's blood to restore his physical vitality. Yet, Shang-Chi wrested away the blood-filled test tube and spilled it on the ground.

His father seemed to spend his last minutes of life frantically licking it up when the retreat was demolished by an explosion set off by other aides of Smith. Shang-Chi escaped, but his father was assumed to have been killed. Due to the guilt of this loss, he withdrew from the life that he formerly knew and traveled the world to find his own path.

Recently, this has led him to the "City that Never Sleeps", New York. While originally this was a place that he was just going to be passing through, the growing level of crime and vanishing of this city's hero seems to have taken a toll. Seeing the Police of the land struggling, Shang decided to use his talents for good...

STORY INFO:

High Concept: What I plan to do for Shang-Chi's story is to bring a character that heavily questions ethics as we know them. An example would be, if you were to ask other people what's right and wrong, they may give you their definitive answers based on their perspective in life. With Shang, being that his whole life was effectively a product of deception, his answer would be that he doesn't have all of the answers. This isn't to say that he's more or less an Anti-Hero, but that he's a lighter shade of grey between black and white. Something else I'd also add on, would be the fun, classic, "Kung-Fu" movie action that Shang-Chi basically lived his entire life through.

Does this mean that there will be constant high-flying moves and exaggerated gestures? No. That aspect will be kept to a lower key, but they will be there.

Motivation and Conflict: The driving force behind the character of Shang-Chi, as I interpret it, is that of actually trying to find a purpose for himself. All the while, he'd also coping with the guilt of all the people that he hurt, stolen from, and killed in his father's name under the farce of being an agent of good. He isn't going to be all mopey about it, like Batman or something, but there will be bouts and flashbacks from time to time.
Notes: TBD

PLAYER INFO:

Player Name: DC the Dragon
Preferred Contact Method: PM or Discord
Why This Character?: Shang-Chi has always been a favorite character of mine when I first started getting into comics growing up. He's always been a pretty obscure character and continues to be today. So, even though I may never make it to some kind of team that handles his comics or anything like the MCU, I would like to portray his character here in some sort of consolation for a character that has made it to my Top Five out of all of Marvel's heroes.
What Can You Bring to the RPG?: What I can bring, as I've been told, is a sense of characterization. That I can get into the head of my character and actually go about things as them, instead of trying to mold them into a branch of myself.

[Taytay]

MARVEL: KNIGHTS OF NEW YORK

Elektra

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CHARACTER BIO:

Real Name: Elektra Natchios
Age: 29
Gender: Female
Powers, Abilities, and Gear:

Elektra, even before her rebirth, was a deadly foe. What she lacks in superpowers she makes up for with her training from the Chaste and Hand organizations. Elektra is a master assassin, learning many techniques from both of the aforementioned organizations, aside form that she is proficient with almost all the Okinawan Kobudo weapons. Her token weapon of choice are the Twin Okinawan Sai, and sometimes katanas. Elektra uses a special technique which is know as the Assassin Instinct. Nick Fury can attest to the usage of this eerie mind control in person after her resurrection he conducted scientific experiments on the captured assassin and found strange morphology in her brain that explained her phenomenal reflexes, yet sane rationale. Elektra moves with heightened primal instincts but the more evolved parts of her brain remain intact, preserving her intelligence. In other words, she thinks like a woman and strikes like a cobra.

Elektra is proficient in many martial arts originating from China, Thailand and Japan. While many of them are unstated, Ninjutsu is the most noticeable one. She won trophies in aikido, kendo, karate. Also due to her training as a ninja assassin, she can blend in with the shadows and remain undetected by most humans. Among other things like pressure point location, acrobatics, marksmanship, etc, she earned her title as one of the hands best creations for a reason.

Origin:

Elektra Natchios was born on a Greek island near the Aegean Sea to Hugo Kostas Natchios and his wife Christina Natchios. She grew up with her older brother Orestez Natchios. Elektra's mother was gunned down by enemies of her father while vacationing on a yacht. After her mother's death, Elektra grew up close to her father but was plagued by visions and voices with no known source. She reacted to them through self-harming herself. Her father eventually sent her away to psychotherapy until becoming more stable. As she grew up, her father required that she train in the martial arts where she excelled.

Her father was later appointed Greek ambassador to the United States of America. She attended Columbia University. This is where she first saw Matt Murdock when he was leaping across rooftops. From then on their relationship blossomed into something more exciting and raw, the two were a special pair and each fed into the vices of the other. They lived on the brink, drawn to the edge, and sometimes over. It was Foggy who told Matt Elekta's true identity and after, Matt went to her mansion where he broke in but was stopped by security, Elektra was playing the piano at a party as the guard crashed through the glass ceiling and right onto the piano. Elektra never stopped playing while the guards took aim and fire up at the window where Matt was standing. When Matt gets home and treats his wounds she was there and the two slept together, she leaves later on as Foggy arrived.

On her way home she saw a group of five gangbangers who she overhears them bragging about what they've done to innocent women. She lured them into a dark alley. Then left soon after with torn clothes and those tugs blood on her hands. It was her first time killing, mix that with the high she was getting from Murdock and life in Elektra's world was great.

This all changed when her father was gunned down by assassins. She soon after went to the Mountain of the Chaste to train from them, but she was later dismissed by Stick for bearing too much emotion over the death of her father. Determined to prove herself to her former mentor, she infiltrated the rival organization known as The Hand, wise to her plan the Hand instead tricked Elektra into killing the sensei with whom she had studied under before Stick. Elektra continued to serve the Hand thereafter, becoming corrupted by their ways. That was until she eventually rebelled and fled Japan.

Years after she became a bounty hunter/assassin for any and all who would pay, she met with the hooded vigilante Daredevil. Elektra who later find out the the blind hero was Matt Murdock, and they would go on to team up to fight Bullseye who was losing his mind due to a tumor. Daredevil disapproved of Elektra's chosen profession, but the two still cared deeply for one another. They would tackle not only the lost villain but also The Hand as they tried to hunt down Stick.

Soon after Kingpin, the most powerful figure in East Coast organized crime, hired Elektra as his chief assassin. She was sent to kill Ben Urich and came into conflict with Matt, who stopped her and thwarted the Kingpin's plans. In retaliation, Kingpin ordered her to kill Matt's best friend and law partner, Foggy Nelson. When Foggy recognized her, Elektra realized she could not carry out the contract and spared his life.

Her failure was the perfect opportunity for Bullseye to reclaim his spot as Kinpin's chief assassin. So Bullseye impaled Elektra on her own sai, and she died in Matt's arms. Unwilling to part with one of its most talented operatives, the Hand attempted to resurrect Elektra and place her fully under their control through a magic ritual. Stone, a member of Stick's order, completed the process, bringing Elektra back to life after Daredevil had purified her spirit through sheer force of will.

Now purged of the Hand's corruption, Elektra left Matt's side, determined to find her own place in the world. Now with her life back in her won hands she set out to New York to find new contracts. The fall of the web slinger has stirred the under world and drawn Elektra back to a city that has caused her so much pain. She has many ghost to face, Matt, Stick, Kingpin, but all she can do for now is pick up her next mission and start to build herself from there.

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STORY INFO:

High Concept:

In the case of Elektra, I wanted to tell the story of her struggle to finding a spot in the world. Before her second rebirth (via the Hand), she was lost and lacked any real direction. I wanted to focus on this part of her life because it was a major building period for her and sort of acted as a mini reboot to her entire character. Lets not forget that she is a killer, a cold blooded assassin for hire that has worked with some of the biggest and baddest. I want to show a raw and vulnerable woman with the skills to kill those who harmed her.

Motivation and Conflict:

Elektra came back to New York to settle debts that where long overdue. Aside from that she is lost, she needs to find some sort of purpose or drive to keep her going. With all the commotion going on it was the perfect opportunity to slip back in undetected and start to forge a path that she could be proud to walk down. She has no friends or family to lean on, her mentors have shunned her and The Hand is on her heels, hiding under all the commotion while trying to fix herself in the process is her driving force behind her character.

Notes: TBD

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PLAYER INFO:

Player Name:Queen (or Tay)
Preferred Contact Method: Discord, or PM
Why This Character?: I choose Elektra because she is one of the few characters to die come back to life and reinvent herself every time. Aside form the fact she is one of my favorite Hell's Kitchen characters, she has always been well rounded to me and brings a certain spice to any of the Marvel rps I have ever used her in.
What Can You Bring to the RPG?: Aside from my experience being a roleplayer (not just on guild but other sites as well), I am a avid Marvel (and DC) fan and literally live the in comics and movies. I am a nice guy, awkwardly funny and once you get to know me, most say I am pretty chill.

[HenryJonesJr]

MARVEL: KNIGHTS OF NEW YORK

The Incredible Nightcrawler

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CHARACTER BIO:

Real Name: Kurt Wagner

Age: 24

Gender: Male

Powers, Abilities, and Gear:
Kurt has the ability to teleport from one place to another, traveling through a parallel dimension as he does so. While Kurt's power theoretically allows him to travel anywhere he pleases, long distance jumps drain him physically. Also, without direct line of sight he runs the risk of teleporting himself into a physical object, which would kill him. Kurt's mutant physiology has also granted him incredible dexterity, a prehensile tail, and the ability to wall-crawl. Kurt is also an expert fencer, a skill he picked up during his time in the circus.

Gear-wise, he has a holographic disguise emitter, which allows him to blend in with normal looking humans when needed.

Origin:
Kurt was abandoned as a baby in Germany by parent unknown to him, presumably because of his clearly-mutant visage. Luckily, the newborn was discovered by a traveling circus. He was raised by the childless acrobats in the circus and given the name Kurt. When he was old enough, he began performing under the moniker of "The Incredible Nightcrawler". Kurt loved his time with the circus, but was forced to flee as Anti-Mutant sentiment began to sweep across the globe. He knew what he looked like, and he knew if he continued to stay with the circus, he was putting all the people he loved in danger. In the dark of the night while the circus was moving from one city to another, Kurt teleported away, leaving the only family he ever knew.

He lived in isolation in the forests of Eastern Europe for years, managing to hunt and forage for all the food he needed. His powers allowed him to survive, and he was content in his solitude.

That is, until he met Rahne Sinclair. Rahne, like Kurt, was a young mutant running from persecution to save her family. The two came across one another in the woods, and decided to join up to increase both their survival and morale. Rahne had the ability to turn herself into a wolf-like creature, which was fearsome for those who were too ignorant to see her for who she really was.

Over their months together, Kurt and Rahne fell in love, and their life together, though hard, was happy.

Unfortunately for the young couple, Kurt was spotted on one of his rare visits to the local village. Word of the "Demon of the Forest" got out, and the two were captured by a gang of mutant slavers. He was shipped to America where an unknown experiment was in his future. Rahne, however, was sent somewhere else, and Kurt had no idea where. Whispers of "hounds" came to his ear, but little else. Thankfully, before he was delivered to his final destination, Kurt was saved by the X-Men and taken to their home outside New York.

There Kurt found his place in the world, and became part of the team himself. Thanks to his powers, Wagner is invaluable as a scout for the team.

After reports of vanishing mutants began to point towards shady dealings in the volatile New York City, Kurt and his best friend Kitty Pryde were dispatched to New York City to investigate. Thanks to SHIELD's ever present eye sweeping over the city, the two were instructed to keep a low profile and merely investigate.

Whether or not they could do that and stay alive was the real question.
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STORY INFO:

High Concept:The X-Men are some of the best characters in comics, but most of their storylines aren't what you' consider small. I'd like to take some of my favorite characters from the franchise, take them out of their blockbuster domain, and stick them into a noir-style story filled with gangsters, slavers, cults, and downright bad people. Kurt and Kitty will be in the most danger they've ever been in. New York is a powderkeg ready to blow, and the citizenry and SHIELD have no desire to have mutants operating in their midst. The two Young X-Men will also be dealing with New York's criminal element, something neither of them are used to.

Motivation and Conflict: This is personal for Kurt. He himself was almost a victim of the mysterious group kidnapping mutants. He wants to know who took his friend, and, if possible, save her. Still, he knows these slavers, who ever they are, are well equipped. He doesn’t know if he and Kitty will survive this mission.

Notes:
NPCs
Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat - Kurt's best friend and teammate. The two were dispatched to NYC to investigate reports of mutant kidnapping and slave trading. The two's powers allowing them to keep a low profile was why Professor X chose them for the assignment.

Piotr Rasputin/Colossus - Kurt’s other best friend and Kitty’s boyfriend

Agent Danielle "Dani" Moonstar - A mutant and an agent in the ranks of SHIELD, Dani is Professor X's informant in New York. She is also working with the two X-Men while they are in the city.

Church of Humanity - A fundamentalist group who believes humanity is in a holy war with mutant-kind.
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PLAYER INFO:

Player Name: HenryJonesJr
Preferred Contact Method: PM
Why This Character?: It's honestly a throwback to my start in the RPing community. Kurt was the very first character I played as, and I saw this as an opportunity to revisit him. Plus I have a fun, noir detective-type story to tell with him.
What Can You Bring to the RPG?: An experienced player with (hopefully) a fun story to tell.

[Hound55]

MARVEL: KNIGHTS OF NEW YORK

FLINT

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CHARACTER BIO:

Real Name: (former Detective Lieuetenant) Flint
Age: Late 50s. Too old to do anything else, too poor to retire.
Gender: Male
Powers, Abilities, and Gear: Baseline human. Police trained in combat and firearms years ago. Fortunately, this city doesn't let those skills wane. His service weapon - A Smith and Wesson Class 39 from when he came out of the academy.

...as well as a Smith and Wesson model 5906 which may have disappeared from NYPD inventory over the years when the younger rookies were coming through. These things happen.
Origin: Flint was a career cop. Scrapped early on in the Anti-Crime Unit, before being transferred early to Gang Division in the Bronx where he quickly learned the merits of legwork as he was generally kept behind the scenes. He rose up the ranks as his division grew in reputation and was succesful in his application for detective in Central Robbery, first in the Bronx and then Manhattan. His name found wider notoriety when he was the lead officer who closed a number of prominent cases in Hells Kitchen, as the suspects were apprehended unconscious whilst in the middle of another crime. What he first thought was luck, he'd soon discover in the following weeks was the work of a new vigilante who named himself Daredevil. Riding the fame and reputation again he transferred to Major Case Squad at One Polica Plaza where he would be known as a "lifer". His career arc slowed in Major Case Squad, but he learned more about te realities of crime and the police system. He rose to Detective Sargent, but became increasingly jaded (and some suspected dirty) as he fast began to turn into an old burnout, taking shortcuts and beginning to rely on playing in-house politics. This came to a peak when he met Carson Knowles; the victim of a routine B + E and softballed the investigation, since Knowles had overinsured the stolen property. Carson Knowles also happened to be running for New York City Mayordom, on a platform of law and order and planned on drastically changing the upper hierarchy of the NYPD.

Unfortunately... Knowles also happened to be moonlighting as the villain Black Spectre and was attempting to undermine the current administration's record on crime and was also blackmailing several other high officials.

As Knowles campaign beganto unravel, Flint quickly saw the changing tides and leaked evidence and his known whereabouts to the vigilante Moon Knight. The Black Spectre was apprehended and Flint's part in his arrest became public knowledge. The Mayor was re-elected and Flint was a hero.

But a hero who was not trusted by the current administratiion...

Flint was granted the promotion he was due to Lieutenant - the public would allow no less - but was transferred away to helm his own unit where he could be held fully accountable and cause no greater political trouble. A new "sweeper" unit that would come to be known as "The Freak Beat" by other officers. He supervised night shift and held rank over two other "Sargents" the Chief of Police was looking to hide, which would be sufficient personnel to uphold his rank and he'd be the butt of jokes, a symbol of ineptitude for all. The cop who babysits the capes. Keeper of the weird and wild.

And a funny thing happened...

Whilst he'd fast been plummeting towards total burnout he found that this was something that kept life interesting. Sure, a lot of the job sucked, and it felt like your hands were tied in dealing with things most people would find incomprehensible... but it was undeniable, running point on a stock standard home invasion couldn't hold your attention once you've tried to follow through on a search warrant to 177A Bleecker Street.

The gruff detective who spent far too long debriefing and getting reports from self-proclaimed heroes was actually becoming interested in the work again. He'd never admit it to anyone around - neither cape nor cop - but seeing resolution to mysteries tiers beyond the common man's ken held a great appeal... even if he most often wasn't the one closing the cases or doing all of the legwork.

It was an insane response to a man who had dealt with more craziness than most. The ticking timebomb unit that he had been made to helm, he actually enjoyed it.

The bomb's fuse ran out on April 11th, 2014, with a hostage situation on the 88th floor of One World Trade Center. No bigger stage, no greater scrutiny. Flint crossed a line. The unstable vigilante "hero" Moon Knight had allegedly attempted to resolve the situation in an overly bloodthirsty way, further traumatizing several hostages. It also came to light that Flint had knowledge of the fragile nature of Moon Knight's mental state and both enabled his own intervention in the situation as well as obstructed his arrest.

Flint was the obvious sacrificial lamb, as was inevitably going to be the case in his role at some stage. The remaining sargents were subjected to greater scrutiny with the full support of the public and both were made redundant and allowed to leave with their pensions. Flint however, would not be allowed to leave with the same financial security. Flint took a deal to leave without further charges and only a third of his pension in tact.

With no marketable skills and a paltry amount to subsist on Flint was left with only two viable options. Private security or private investigation. He took what little nest egg he had saved up and applied for his PI's license and the rent on an office in a dank building that should probably be condemned and began to run his own operation, an operation with an appetite for, and experience in dealing with, the weirder mysteries.

These are his stories.

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STORY INFO:

High Concept: I'm bringing street-level gumshoe stories with a shades-of-grey character who has a unique view of the capes and cowls who'll be finding himself in the weirder corners of the Marvel street scene.
Motivation and Conflict: I think the Origin makes this pretty clear. He needs money. He has very few options and out of the options he does have he might as well jump into a caseload he finds interesting.
Notes:
Supporting cast (or characters he's familiar with):
Moon Knight (unstable vigilante - the reason Flint has to bust his hump for a PI's pittance)
Daredevil (brighter light of justice - too effective for Flint to have many dealings with)
Carson Knowles/Black Spectre (incarcerated - not one to drop a grudge or election campaign)
This will grow significantly with time.

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PLAYER INFO:

Player Name: Hound55
Preferred Contact Method: PM
Why This Character?: Combines a lot of things I like. Street level characters interacting with things faaaar beyond their purview.
What Can You Bring to the RPG?: An unreliable player who dicks around, but isn't jumping in with two feet on a character you particularly care about.