It may be the wine I had this evening but...I mean, I can't argue with you on most aspects of this discussion. I do, however, fully stand behind the biometric device. I believe it's a great idea to prevent illegal use of handguns which lead to incidents such as the one here. Your wife/friend/neighbor may not be able to play with it at the range, but maybe something can be done about finding a way to activate/deactivate the device. Only you as the owner would have the option to do so though.
And the argument where someone threatens you at knifepoint or whatever is a bit silly, but I was trying to look at every viable option to try to cover all grounds in favor of the biometric device.
I do have to admit that you're probably the first person with a different belief than mine who's successfully managed to get me to agree with some of their viewpoints.
One of the primary reasons people are opposed to mandatory biometrics, is really simple: Reliability.
A lot of people, in the US, have firearms for self defense (or partially for that reason). The problem with biometics is, is that it introduces a failure mode to the firearm. If it doesn't work, when you need it to? Well, you're shit out of luck.
Hell, some people still only carry revolvers for self defense, because they view the possibility of a semi-automatic pistol jamming, as too much of a risk, if their life were at stake; even though a quality pistol might only jam once in 10,000 rounds of ammunition fired through it. Because they don't know when that jam will occur, on the second round, or the very last round fired.
Biometrics, however, adds in electronics. Electronics have always had issues with vibration, impact, and need a power source. Yes, lot of people use red dot sights on their rifles, some are switching to red dot sights on their pistols, or add laser designators. And yet regardless of what red dot sight is chosen? You might get one that works for a period, and then flakes out. Some fail sue to vibrations causing stress fractures in the mounting of SMDs (surface mount devices, like resistors and such), some fail because of faulty batteries.
But none of this stops the firearm from being used.
Biometrics? Does. Biometric locking also involves more complicated electronics than just a red dot, or a laser. It requires a sensor to read your finger print. It requires memory to store information. It requires a processor to...process information. It requires a servo or a linear actuator, an electromagnet. And it requires a battery. All of these can fail, at any given point. If/when they do? The gun is a metal brick. That's all it is. Hell, there's a company that is working on a biometrically locked gun, that uses electromagnets to lock it, but the lock can be bypassed, or engaged...by an outside magnet.
On top of all this, is the need for a battery. Now, I wish every single person who owns a firearm for self defense took defensive gun use classes, and took meticulous care of their chosen self defense armament. But that is a childish dream, because while some do? Many do not. Many walk into a gun store and buy a small pistol, and maybe put a magazine through it once every 2-6 years...if ever. What happens when these people need their chosen tool, but it is a brick because the battery is dead?
Another reason against biometrics...is cost. In 2014, Armatix released a pistol called the iP1. A .22 LR caliber handgun, that needed a matching wristwatch to unlock it. Cost for the set? $1800. For a .22 LR, blowback pistol. In 2014. For comparison, a Ruger SR-22 costs $420, Walther P22 is $300. Around $420 for a Browning Buckmark .22. These are all high quality pistols, known for the their reliability. They are not cheap, off brand pistols. They are also known to be reliable, where the iP1, during a review, could not fire through its 10 round magazine, once, during testing.
In 2016, Armatix announced their new pistol, the iP9, which was set to release in 2017. I haven't heard about it since 2016 really. Advertised price then was $1356. Again, more than double the cost of currently available, quality, 9mm handguns.
Costs will come down. But to parity with "dumb" guns? I doubt it. They will always be less reliable than "dumb" guns as well, due to the inherent nature of the beast.
I personally am against the idea of making them mandatory.
Duncan looks like one of the many homeless that live upon the streets of Maximum City; wearing a tattered, dirty, wool, dark navy coat over a torn and faded, red and black plaid hooded jacket, with light grey hood and sleeves. He always has the deep hood raised over his head, and his head drooping forward to the ground. Further concealing him newer, cleaner scarf of black and gray stripes. Over his legs he wears oversized, patched military surplus camo pants. Protecting his hands are a pair of dark forest green, woven wool gloves, while his feet are stuffed into a pair of filthy old steel toe work boots, that have been re-soled with what looks like some rubber from a car tire, and patched over in places where the leather has worn through.
Physically, when he isn't slouched over, he stands at 5'7", but looks almost as broad in the shoulders, with a deep barrel chest. Heavy set, squat, almost cubic of build. Yet his attire muffles it, conceals it, make him seem less than he is, more obese, than powerful. What would shock most to learn however, is that he weighs over 360 pounds.
Appearance (costume): Technically, Duncan doesn't have a different appearance for fighting crime, but it is more likely that he, himself will be seen.
To describe his appearance, is it best to visualize Grig from the Last Starfighter, with a bit of Killer Croc skin texture, and a hint of Aliens (Geiger). Now, for more indepth explaination. Duncan started out with normal, human skin, a long time ago, 50 years. However, due to his mutation, his skin, when injured, started to thicken, and become more resilient to being damaged. As this process went, his skin became more, and more keratinized (the thick, tough, fibrous material fingernails, hair, and other such materials are made of). Eventually, flecks of bone began to form in places where he was frequently injured, these grew into nodules, and in less mobile parts of his anatomy, started to turn into plates. In some areas, thick plates of chitin (Insectile and arthropod exoskeletons) began to take over from the bone. One the backs of his forearms and front of his shins, the plates have further begun to grow layers of enamel, further being mineralized with iron sulphates, of gregite and pyrite, further hardening and strengthening the enamel to the point where it is harder than most steels. This also manages to give the enameled plates a luster with a hint of brassy-gold in good lighting conditions.
IE: He is ugly as fuck.
Name: Real Name: Ira Per Hawkins Current Identity: Duncan Harrow Past Identities: Mason Ferrel (1969-1978), Jack Briggs (1978-1982), Liam Zurba (1982-1989), Wade Macneil (1989-1990), Cieran Liles (1990), Joe Thoms (1990-1995), Arne Tomassi (1995-2003), Alan Dussault (2003-2010), Kyle Nells (2010-2012), Wade Cormier (2012-2016), Duncan Harrow (2016- )
Quote: "Please, punch me. I will laugh in your face when your bones snap like twigs."
Age: 67 Gender: Male Occupation: Beggar Abilities:
Strong enough in most places to resist pistol caliber rounds. Is quite difficult to cut through, and in some places, is effectively impervious to blades wielded by human strength. Is difficult to pierce, but is possible.
His primary mutation has altered not just his skin, but also his internal structure. His bones are physically larger, and also denser than ordinary human bones can be. Making it much more difficult to break them. His muscles are denser, which while adding to his strength, but compounded with more connective tissue, makes his flesh more difficult to cut through, pierce, or puncture. Primary and secondary arteries/veins are sheathed with muscle, which can cease blood flow to stem bloodloss, and can also function, for a short period, as secondary blood pumps, should his heart fail. They don't pump as well (less flow, and less pressure), but can keep him alive long enough if he stops moving, for his heart to regenerate from some damage, or restart.
Peak Human Strength [World's Strongest Man competitor equivalent) Lesser Regenerative Healing Factor Reactive Adaptation (Tied to Regeneration, slow enough to be effectively ignored)
Weaknesses: Density: He is small and compact, but heavy as hell. He cannot swim, or float. Heat: While his skin makes for fantastic armour, it is also a good insulator. In addition, he lost his sweat glands. While he can survive brief, intense heat for moments, that would scar, or potentially kill a normal human, his stamina and endurance are greatly lessened in hot environments. In the summer? He is not good in a foot chase, or a prolonged fight. Slow: Short legs, and a lot of body weight, make him quite slow. Add into this the cumbersome nature and reduced flexibility.
Equipment: Not much. Some blankets, a ripped rain jacket, a shopping cart and some grocery bags. One thing he does keep in his possession is a small tin cookie can from the 70's with faded, worn paint, and rust at its seams. Inside the tin, is a collection of artifacts of his life; mementos of his triumphs and failures that trace him through history. He keeps a copy of all of his false identities, along with his original drivers license and birth certificate. He has three photographs of him and Joseph; the first is a polaroid faded from the years of two young men laughing at the edge of a lake, on the bottom is written in faded black marker; 72, the second as their alter egos, a professional print that has lasted fairly well, written on the back; 74, and the final one just them hanging out on a sunny afternoon in front of the Celica, the back scrawled in a different writing, "Nice car Ira! Proud to be your friend and comrade, Joseph Carter" Under that in the same printing as the others: 76. A yellowed, folded, and mildly stained scrap of news paper from the Redding Record Searchlight that detailed the day of the conflict between Magnetron and Hyde. Several other newspaper clippings in various states of yellowing and decay. A small folding knife with a blade half rusted and pitted, a blank black button, a highway patrol officer's badge, and a blood stained half of an apron folded neatly
Bio: May want to grab a drink, and a snack, be warned.
Grew up in a small, mountain town, lead a normal life. Played football as a running back, was good, not not good enough for a scholarship or anything. Learned how to work on cars with his father when he was young, and carried that with him when he went to highschool. When he was 17 however, he got into a rather horrible wreck while racing down a road; split the car in half, one of his good friends in the passenger seat died on impact when the tree took his place. Best friend in the back seat was rendered paraplegic, who was also the school's star quarterback. No one quite understood how Ira was alive, and walking. The doctors and nurses were shocked at how quickly he recovered from his injuries.
That year, they lost the championship in their league of football, and his teammates blamed him for injuring the star quarterback. At first they beat the living tar out of him, and left him tied in a shed over night. They were going to free him after that, but when they returned, it was like they hadn't so much as scratched him the night before. Furious, afraid, and in disbelief, they beat him down again, and fueled by liquor and adrenaline, the tied him to the back of someone's truck, and dragged him 12 miles along a gravel road. He recovered, eventually, but his appearance was now, quite different. His skin thickened, almost scaly. He exacted revenge on the former teammates, accidentally killing one of them before disappearing.
Since he left home, Ira has lived in the shadows of the world, from living in a forest for two years, and racking up two deaths from bad mushrooms and being hit by a rockslide, to living in abandoned buildings, and struggling to find work to feed himself. A lot of his childhood notions of right and wrong have been shattered over time, but he still tries to cling to the core tenets of good vs evil, and right vs wrong. He's been forced to steal food to keep himself going. He's been forced to kill on a number of occasions from anti-mutant groups hunting him, to perhaps his worst stroke of luck of being mistaken as an ally to a thief by a superpowered do-gooder who had a very zealous streak to him.
However, it always seems like when he's at his lowest, moments before the tenets he clings to finally wither into dust; something comes and renews just a little hope in him. The most empowering, and longest lasting of which was many years ago. It started back in 1971 when he was nineteen and after the rockslide incident, he made his way our of the mountains into Redding. He began living in an abandoned miner's shack on the outskirts of town. Around this time, he didn't appear too "different" to normal people, just his skin looked thickened, like he was covered in a giant callous. He got himself a job at the local lumbermill and was doing fairly well until one night, when his house was destroyed by the collision of two men, a young Joseph Carter and the man known as Buzzsaw (no one really knew why he called himself that, he was just your typical strong guy). Buzzsaw had managed to get the drop on Joseph until Ira, awakened by two jackasses crashing into his abandoned shack, got up and cracked Buzzsaw over the head with a cast iron frying pan. Thus ending his less than illustrious criminal career.
Joseph Carter, eighteen and with the power of magnetism, and Ira Hawkins decided to team up and be the "Defenders of Redding". And truth be told, they did damned well for themselves and the young, growing city. For the next seven years, they had a tremendous run in learning how to fight, how to work together, and were even rewarded by the city for keeping their streets safe in 1976. By then, Joseph had become known as Magnetron. Ira had several nicknames spawned by the press; Leatherneck, Toughman, and finally Hyde, recalling his growing "disfigurement". Ira was able to buy a car in 1976, a Toyota Celica Liftback GT. Not an expensive car by any means, but a good looking car that worked. 1977 however, was a turning point. Redding's streets were safer than practically anywhere else. Magnetron and Hyde, the Defenders of Redding were heroes. This publicity helped to fuel Redding's population boom from the 16,000 or so when Ira arrived, to 46,000 (with the annexation of a neighboring town). Following this population, and fame....was a small band of "anti-vigilantes". A group of powered thugs who saw the end of organized crime in the future due to the success of these self-styled "Heroes".
This group had a systematic plan, that was rather well thought out. Two female members stalked the two Heroes to learn about them and their habits, and then installed themselves in their lives, quickly becoming "girlfriends". Magnetron's girl was Evelyn, and the girl who became Hyde's relationship was Cassandra. Evelyn began seeding Joseph's ears with words of honey coated lies, saying that Hyde was jealous of his popularity in the town. Truth be told, Hyde sort of was. But he also understood why; Joseph was a poster boy if there ever was one; Young, charming, good looks, able to fly and wield magnetism. He even had a sharp costume. Hyde on the other hand...well, was becoming rather ugly, his power wasn't all that flashy; many saw him as sort of a body guard to Magnetron. Cassandra meanwhile, fueled this jealousy in Ira, pointing out how many times he'd been shot, hurt, and injured while Joseph usually got out of anything without a scratch. How the public liked Joseph much more.
After the women had a few months to work, the rest of the anti-vigilantes started their smear campaign. Colouring the public's view of their heroics. Shortly after, two destructive "Villains" appeared. They stole little, but damaged a lot. In short order, nearly half of Redding began to decry the Defenders. Meanwhile, they were beginning to fall apart themselves. Everything came to a head in 1978. Joseph's ego, fueled by Evelyn came to a head. He demanded to be made Mayor of Redding. By force. Ira, after a two hour showdown that destroyed three city blocks, and several hundred thousand in assorted property damage, brought Joseph down. Hard. He had killed his first partner, and the best friend he ever had. Three minutes later, he looked up into the two dark holes of a twelve gauge shotgun.
He survived. It took a month for him to regrow the parts of his brain that were damaged, the bone structure of his skull, and all of his face. A month of sheer agony. But he survived. On the twenty-sixth day, he opened his eyes to the gasping astonishment of a little girl who was crouched on stairs that lead into the dark basement, and then disappeared. Moments later, a man, three years younger than Ira himself came downstairs. His name was Kinsley Morgan. He was a doctor and had found Ira's body in the street where the people had left him for dead. Kinsley revealed that he had a massive respect for Ira and the things he had done for Redding. Kinsley had been 18 when Ira joined up with Joseph, and started cleaning up the streets. The pair had actually saved Kinsley during an attempted robbery, where Ira had jumped into the line of the gunman's aim intended for Kinsley himself. Seeing someone jump, without hesitation into the path of bullet for a stranger, to willingly take that pain and risk of death astonished the young man. While he knew he couldn't be a super hero, he could do something for people, and went to university to become a doctor. Now here he was, a wife, a daughter, and a good practice. Saving the people the Defenders never could.
For another week, Ira stayed with Kinsley, regaining his strength as the anti-vigilantes revealed themselves to Redding. Gloating in their victory. Ira left after that week. Leaving Kinsley and his family with what remained of his tattered jersey and badge, his uniform, and a note; "You're the real Defender of Redding, Kinsley."
For twelve years, Ira kept himself out of the light. The only thing he kept, was his Celica. Occasional situations forcing his hand in saving someone, or being stabbed in the back by those he tried to trust. Until in 1990, he dragged back into the spot light for a brief period of time.
In twelve years, his body had changed quite a bit, most of his skin turning to the dark rusty-brown scutes, making him look lizard-like, but lacking the heavier plating and scales of his current stage in life. He found himself in Lubbock, Texas. He had found work as a graveyard shift cleaner of a local school. Hired by someone who didn't mind his outward figure. He was at a grocery store, getting some food in the early morning, when he had just gotten off work. He suddenly heard the alarm as the store had just been robbed. He was there, it seemed like a small issue that he could deal with without attracting much attention; he charged out after the thugs. Only to find the three of them laid out on the ground, bleeding from wounds caused by a man who appeared to have blades for arms. Instantly Ira was mistaken for one of the criminals, and the young "Dark Blade" went after Ira.
Ira quickly subdued the young Hero, and then ran home. Figuring he'd get groceries the next day. Dark Blade however was infuriated. He got the drop on Ira the next day, and managed to sever Ira's right arm. Ira managed to get away, and stay low for three days before he ran into a young man known as Jake Collins. Jake happened to be the Dark Blade. Instantly throwing away his secret identity to catch this "ruthless criminal", Collins went after Ira. He was enraged, having been defeated, and then having this freak escape him....he refused to let that happen a third time. Their fight lasted an hour, and left several people injured in its wake as Ira tried to lead Collins away from people. But it seems like Collins had somehow increased his skills drastically in those three days. Eventually, Ira was able to knock the kid out. He went straight to his boss, and told him that he was leaving. Trying to just get away from the insanity.
A month later and in Dallas, Dark Blade showed up once more. Fully unhinged and with Ira's old boss' head in hand, claiming he was Ira's "Crime Boss". The kid seemed to have somehow increased his skills drastically once more. Practically cutting Ira to ribbons as he realized that the kid also had some kind of power to rapidly learn from his own mistakes. Couple that with his shattered ego and mental state, Ira quickly realized that this kid might finally kill him. How? He wasn't sure, but if anyone was going to, this kid might accomplish it. No longer a fight over right or wrong, mistakes or not. It was down to pure life or death. Subdue him now and leave him, and he would still hunt him to the ends of the earth, and come back stronger than Ira could possibly hope to defeat. Leading Collins into a construction site, finally away from people, Ira tried to come up with a plan to take down someone who seemed to be faster, stronger, and more skilled then he himself. Finally, Ira gained the upper hand by practically letting Dark Blade get a hacking cut into his shoulder, where the blade became trapped in the dense bone and muscle. Locking the blade-arm into his shoulder with his free arm, he shoulder rushed Jake Collin's into stack of rebar, impaling the young man to death.
By then, news helicopters were on the scene, broadcasting the battle between the two mutants. Ira managed to get home and escape. Fleeing to the north. Trying to get away from the blood that had been spilled in his past. For sixteen more years, he has tried to remain under the radar of the world. Living in the shadows. Moving sporadically to try and prevent the chances of someone getting hurt. In desperation to escape the law, he fled from America for the anonymity of foreign shores for the past fourteen years.
Russia however, was not much of a safe haven. He came under the attention of a group of radical xenophobic group who despised anyone and anything that was not purely human. With no way to hide his mutation, Ira was an easy target, and a symbol of what they hated. The captured him after derailing a train he was riding in, before torturing him for a little over a week. He escaped finally, when Police raided their compound, vanishing into the depth of Moscow. Eventually he made his way into the Ukraine, Finland, and found himself back in America. Maximum City this time. Life dragging on, his resources spent, he finds himself homeless, jobless, with nothing to fall back on now.
Duncan looks like one of the many homeless that live upon the streets of Maximum City; wearing a tattered, dirty, wool, dark navy coat over a torn and faded, red and black plaid hooded jacket, with light grey hood and sleeves. He always has the deep hood raised over his head, and his head drooping forward to the ground. Further concealing him newer, cleaner scarf of black and gray stripes. Over his legs he wears oversized, patched military surplus camo pants. Protecting his hands are a pair of dark forest green, woven wool gloves, while his feet are stuffed into a pair of filthy old steel toe work boots, that have been re-soled with what looks like some rubber from a car tire, and patched over in places where the leather has worn through.
Physically, when he isn't slouched over, he stands at 5'7", but looks almost as broad in the shoulders, with a deep barrel chest. Heavy set, squat, almost cubic of build. Yet his attire muffles it, conceals it, make him seem less than he is, more obese, than powerful. What would shock most to learn however, is that he weighs over 360 pounds.
Appearance (costume): Technically, Duncan doesn't have a different appearance for fighting crime, but it is more likely that he, himself will be seen.
To describe his appearance, is it best to visualize Grig from the Last Starfighter, with a bit of Killer Croc skin texture, and a hint of Aliens (Geiger). Now, for more indepth explaination. Duncan started out with normal, human skin, a long time ago, 50 years. However, due to his mutation, his skin, when injured, started to thicken, and become more resilient to being damaged. As this process went, his skin became more, and more keratinized (the thick, tough, fibrous material fingernails, hair, and other such materials are made of). Eventually, flecks of bone began to form in places where he was frequently injured, these grew into nodules, and in less mobile parts of his anatomy, started to turn into plates. In some areas, thick plates of chitin (Insectile and arthropod exoskeletons) began to take over from the bone. One the backs of his forearms and front of his shins, the plates have further begun to grow layers of enamel, further being mineralized with iron sulphates, of gregite and pyrite, further hardening and strengthening the enamel to the point where it is harder than most steels. This also manages to give the enameled plates a luster with a hint of brassy-gold in good lighting conditions.
IE: He is ugly as fuck.
Name: Real Name: Ira Per Hawkins Current Identity: Duncan Harrow Past Identities: Mason Ferrel (1969-1978), Jack Briggs (1978-1982), Liam Zurba (1982-1989), Wade Macneil (1989-1990), Cieran Liles (1990), Joe Thoms (1990-1995), Arne Tomassi (1995-2003), Alan Dussault (2003-2010), Kyle Nells (2010-2012), Wade Cormier (2012-2016), Duncan Harrow (2016- )
Quote: "
Aliases: Leatherneck, Toughman and Hyde. All aliases date back to the 1970's. He is unaware of any current Alias the media has dubbed him, if they have yet noticed him.
Age: 67 Gender: Male Occupation: Beggar Abilities:
Strong enough in most places to resist pistol caliber rounds. Is quite difficult to cut through, and in some places, is effectively impervious to blades wielded by human strength. Is difficult to pierce, but is possible.
His primary mutation has altered not just his skin, but also his internal structure. His bones are physically larger, and also denser than ordinary human bones can be. Making it much more difficult to break them. His muscles are denser, which while adding to his strength, but compounded with more connective tissue, makes his flesh more difficult to cut through, pierce, or puncture. Primary and secondary arteries/veins are sheathed with muscle, which can cease blood flow to stem bloodloss, and can also function, for a short period, as secondary blood pumps, should his heart fail. They don't pump as well (less flow, and less pressure), but can keep him alive long enough if he stops moving, for his heart to regenerate from some damage, or restart.
Peak Human Strength [World's Strongest Man competitor equivalent) Lesser Regenerative Healing Factor Reactive Adaptation (Tied to Regeneration, slow enough to be effectively ignored)
Weaknesses: Density: He is small and compact, but heavy as hell. He cannot swim, or float. Heat: While his skin makes for fantastic armour, it is also a good insulator. In addition, he lost his sweat glands. While he can survive brief, intense heat for moments, that would scar, or potentially kill a normal human, his stamina and endurance are greatly lessened in hot environments. In the summer? He is not good in a foot chase, or a prolonged fight. Slow: Short legs, and a lot of body weight, make him quite slow. Add into this the cumbersome nature and reduced flexibility.
Equipment: Not much. Some blankets, a ripped rain jacket, a shopping cart and some grocery bags. One thing he does keep in his possession is a small tin cookie can from the 70's with faded, worn paint, and rust at its seams. Inside the tin, is a collection of artifacts of his life; mementos of his triumphs and failures that trace him through history. He keeps a copy of all of his false identities, along with his original drivers license and birth certificate. He has three photographs of him and Joseph; the first is a polaroid faded from the years of two young men laughing at the edge of a lake, on the bottom is written in faded black marker; 72, the second as their alter egos, a professional print that has lasted fairly well, written on the back; 74, and the final one just them hanging out on a sunny afternoon in front of the Celica, the back scrawled in a different writing, "Nice car Ira! Proud to be your friend and comrade, Joseph Carter" Under that in the same printing as the others: 76. A yellowed, folded, and mildly stained scrap of news paper from the Redding Record Searchlight that detailed the day of the conflict between Magnetron and Hyde. Several other newspaper clippings in various states of yellowing and decay. A small folding knife with a blade half rusted and pitted, a blank black button, a highway patrol officer's badge, and a blood stained half of an apron folded neatly
Bio: May want to grab a drink, and a snack, be warned.
Grew up in a small, mountain town, lead a normal life. Played football as a running back, was good, not not good enough for a scholarship or anything. Learned how to work on cars with his father when he was young, and carried that with him when he went to highschool. When he was 17 however, he got into a rather horrible wreck while racing down a road. split the car in half, one of his good friends in the passenger seat died on impact when the tree took his place. Best friend in the back seat was rendered paraplegic, who was also the school's star quarterback. No one quite understood how Ira was alive, and walking. The doctors and nurses were shocked at how quickly he recovered from his injuries.
That year, they lost the championship in their league of football, and his teammates blamed him for killing the star quarterback. At first they beat the living tar out of him, and left him tied in a shed over night. They were going to free him after that...but when they returned, it was like they hadn't so much as scratched him the night before. Furious, afraid, and in disbelief, they beat him down again, and fueled by liquor and adrenaline, the tied him to the back of someone's truck, and dragged him 12 miles along a gravel road. He recovered, eventually, but his appearance was now, quite different. His skin thickened, almost scaly. He exacted revenge on the former teammates, accidentally killing one of them before disappearing.
Since he left home, Ira has lived in the shadows of the world, from living in a forest for two years, and racking up two deaths from bad mushrooms and being hit by a rockslide, to living in abandoned buildings, and struggling to find work to feed himself. A lot of his childhood notions of right and wrong have been shattered over time, but he still tries to cling to the core tenets of good vs evil, and right vs wrong. He's been forced to steal food to keep himself going. He's been forced to kill on a number of occasions from anti-mutant groups hunting him, to perhaps his worst stroke of luck of being mistaken as an ally to a thief by a superpowered do-gooder who had a very zealous streak to him.
However, it always seems like when he's at his lowest, moments before the tenets he clings to finally wither into dust; something comes and renews just a little hope in him. The most empowering, and longest lasting of which was many years ago. It started back in 1971 when he was nineteen and after the rockslide incident, he made his way our of the mountains into Redding. He began living in an abandoned miner's shack on the outskirts of town. Around this time, he didn't appear too "different" to normal people, just his skin looked thickened, like he was covered in a giant callous. He got himself a job at the local lumbermill and was doing fairly well until one night, when his house was destroyed by the collision of two men, a young Joseph Carter and the man known as Buzzsaw (no one really knew why he called himself that, he was just your typical strong guy). Buzzsaw had managed to get the drop on Joseph until Ira, awakened by two jackasses crashing into his abandoned shack, got up and cracked Buzzsaw over the head with a cast iron frying pan. Thus ending his less than illustrious criminal career.
Joseph Carter, eighteen and with the power of magnetism, and Ira Hawkins decided to team up and be the "Defenders of Redding". And truth be told, they did damned well for themselves and the young, growing city. For the next seven years, they had a tremendous run in learning how to fight, how to work together, and were even rewarded by the city for keeping their streets safe in 1976. By then, Joseph had become known as Magnetron. Ira had several nicknames spawned by the press; Leatherneck, Toughman, and finally Hyde, recalling his growing "disfigurement". Ira was able to buy a car in 1976, a Toyota Celica Liftback GT. Not an expensive car by any means, but a good looking car that worked. 1977 however, was a turning point. Redding's streets were safer than practically anywhere else. Magnetron and Hyde, the Defenders of Redding were heroes. This publicity helped to fuel Redding's population boom from the 16,000 or so when Ira arrived, to 46,000 (with the annexation of a neighboring town). Following this population, and fame....was a small band of "anti-vigilantes". A group of powered thugs who saw the end of organized crime in the future due to the success of these self-styled "Heroes".
This group had a systematic plan, that was rather well thought out. Two female members stalked the two Heroes to learn about them and their habits, and then installed themselves in their lives, quickly becoming "girlfriends". Magnetron's girl was Evelyn, and the girl who became Hyde's relationship was Cassandra. Evelyn began seeding Joseph's ears with words of honey coated lies, saying that Hyde was jealous of his popularity in the town. Truth be told, Hyde sort of was. But he also understood why; Joseph was a poster boy if there ever was one; Young, charming, good looks, able to fly and wield magnetism. He even had a sharp costume. Hyde on the other hand...well, was becoming rather ugly, his power wasn't all that flashy; many saw him as sort of a body guard to Magnetron. Cassandra meanwhile, fueled this jealousy in Ira, pointing out how many times he'd been shot, hurt, and injured while Joseph usually got out of anything without a scratch. How the public liked Joseph much more.
After the women had a few months to work, the rest of the anti-vigilantes started their smear campaign. Colouring the public's view of their heroics. Shortly after, two destructive "Villains" appeared. They stole little, but damaged a lot. In short order, nearly half of Redding began to decry the Defenders. Meanwhile, they were beginning to fall apart themselves. Everything came to a head in 1978. Joseph's ego, fueled by Evelyn came to a head. He demanded to be made Mayor of Redding. By force. Ira, after a two hour showdown that destroyed three city blocks, and several hundred thousand in assorted property damage, brought Joseph down. Hard. He had killed his first partner, and the best friend he ever had. Three minutes later, he looked up into the two dark holes of a twelve gauge shotgun.
He survived. It took a week for him to regrow the parts of his brain that were damaged, the bone structure of his skull, and all of his face. A week of sheer agony. But he survived. On the sixth day, he opened his eyes to the gasping astonishment of a little girl who was crouched on stairs that lead into the dark basement, and then disappeared. Moments later, a man, three years younger than Ira himself came downstairs. His name was Kinsley Morgan. He was a doctor and had found Ira's body in the street where the people had left him for dead. Kinsley revealed that he had a massive respect for Ira and the things he had done for Redding. Kinsley had been 18 when Ira joined up with Joseph, and started cleaning up the streets. The pair had actually saved Kinsley during an attempted robbery, where Ira had jumped into the line of the gunman's aim intended for Kinsley himself. Seeing someone jump, without hesitation into the path of bullet for a stranger, to willingly take that pain and risk of death astonished the young man. While he knew he couldn't be a super hero, he could do something for people, and went to university to become a doctor. Now here he was, a wife, a daughter, and a good practice. Saving the people the Defenders never could.
For another week, Ira stayed with Kinsley, regaining his strength as the anti-vigilantes revealed themselves to Redding. Gloating in their victory. Ira left after that week. Leaving Kinsley and his family with what remained of his tattered jersey and badge, his uniform, and a note; "You're the real Defender of Redding, Kinsley."
For twelve years, Ira remained kept himself out of the light. The only thing he kept, was his Celica. Occasional situations forcing his hand in saving someone, or being stabbed in the back by those he tried to trust. Until in 1990, he dragged back into the spot light for a brief period of time.
In twelve years, his body had changed quite a bit, most of his skin turning to the dark rusty-brown scutes, making him look lizard-like, but lacking the heavier plating and scales of his current stage in life. He found himself in Lubbock, Texas. He had found work as a graveyard shift cleaner of a local school. Hired by someone who didn't mind his outward figure. He was at a grocery store, getting some food in the early morning, when he had just gotten off work. He suddenly heard the alarm as the store had just been robbed. He was there, it seemed like a small issue that he could deal with without attracting much attention; he charged out after the thugs. Only to find the three of them laid out on the ground, bleeding from wounds caused by a man who appeared to have blades for arms. Instantly Ira was mistaken for one of the criminals, and the young "Dark Blade" went after Ira.
Ira quickly subdued the young Hero, and then ran home. Figuring he'd get groceries the next day. Dark Blade however was infuriated. He got the drop on Ira the next day, and managed to sever Ira's right arm. Ira managed to get away, and stay low for three days before he ran into a young man known as Jake Collins. Jake happened to be the Dark Blade. Instantly throwing away his secret identity to catch this "ruthless criminal", Collins went after Ira. He was enraged, having been defeated, and then having this freak escape him....he refused to let that happen a third time. Their fight lasted an hour, and left several people injured in its wake as Ira tried to lead Collins away from people. But it seems like Collins had somehow increased his skills drastically in those three days. Eventually, Ira was able to knock the kid out. He went straight to his boss, and told him that he was leaving. Trying to just get away from the insanity.
A month later and in Dallas, Dark Blade showed up once more. Fully unhinged and with Ira's old boss' head in hand, claiming he was Ira's "Crime Boss". The kid seemed to have somehow increased his skills drastically once more. Practically cutting Ira to ribbons as he realized that the kid also had some kind of power to rapidly learn from his own mistakes. Couple that with his shattered ego and mental state, Ira quickly realized that this kid might finally kill him. How? He wasn't sure, but if anyone was going to, this kid might accomplish it. No longer a fight over right or wrong, mistakes or not. It was down to pure life or death. Subdue him now and leave him, and he would still hunt him to the ends of the earth, and come back stronger than Ira could possibly hope to defeat. Leading Collins into a construction site, finally away from people, Ira tried to come up with a plan to take down someone who seemed to be faster, stronger, and more skill then he himself. Finally, Ira gained the upper hand by practically letting Dark Blade get a hacking cut into his shoulder, where the blade became trapped in the dense bone and muscle. Locking the blade-arm into his shoulder with his free arm, he shoulder rushed Jake Collin's into stack of rebar, impaling the young man to death.
By then, news helicopters were on the scene, broad casting the battle between the two mutants. Ira managed to get home and escape. Fleeing to the north. Trying to get away from the blood that had been spilled in his past. For sixteen more years, he has tried to remain under the radar of the world. Living in the shadows. Moving sporadically to try and prevent the chances of someone getting hurt. In desperation to escape the law, he fled from America for the anonymity of foreign shores for the past fourteen years.
However, he seemed to have over stayed his welcome in Russia, the Ukraine, and Finland, and found himself back in America. Maximum City this time. Life dragging on, his resources spent, he finds himself homeless, jobless, with nothing to fall back on now.
@Goldmarble He could be a homeless guy wrapped in a very large trenchcoat. Maybe he's covered in bandages. He's known to the public as a hobo with a physical deformity but his super hero identity would still be somewhat a mystery.
His bone plate body thing is fine (I imagine him to be like mutant marrow or spike) but regeneration would have to be quite limited as a secondary power.
Hmm, if that's allowable, then....yeeesss. Always have had him being covered up; deep hooded coats, baggy pants, gloves, heavy work boots, etc. Tries to avoid being seen, because people tend to react badly, and he's had...history. Physical appearance has always been hard to describe, until I watched something again. Something old; Grig from The Last Starfighter movie. A bit rougher, and less uniform, heavier set, shorter, broader, squater, etc.
The idea for his powerset, was actually a very slow acting reactive adaptation mechanism; essentially, it has taken years of getting the shit kicked out of him, to grow the dermal armour he has. And by slow acting, I mean slowly, like needing to be electrocuted six or seven times in a week, just to kick in for the body to start trying to generate methods to resist it, stop it, or do something to prevent the harm from occuring. Even then, it would take months of being electrocuted, daily, before it came up with some means of truly protecting him from it. But it isn't just his skin, it is everything: his bones are stronger and denser, his muscles have greater resistance to damage (cutting, crushing, etc). The regeneration has always been a slow-acting thing, definitively not "Wolverine" class in healing a bullet wound in a couple minutes to a couple seconds, depending on who wrote it. More like, taking over an hour.
Essentially, his entire powerset is devoted to being resiliant, tough, and extremely survivable. He is strong, but only to peak human capability (Dead lift ~1000 lbs, etc). He isn't fast, but he can run for a long time, so long as it isn't hot out...as his protection, has eliminated his ability to sweat. He can sustain a higher core temp than a normal human, but that doesn't mean much, as his overall endurance in any sort of moderate climate is still at, or less than average, due to his inability to simply get rid of the heat. Inversely, he can tolerate extremely hot environments for very short durations; his skin that insulates him from getting rid of heat, also insulates him from heat for a couple minutes at best. So he can run into a burning building, stay there for maybe three minutes and get out, but that heat will still transfer through and he will burn...just after the fact.
Other weakness? He cannot damn well float. Due to the increased density of...well, everything about him? He simply sinks in water, no matter how hard he tries to swim against it. He avoids any sort of location with deep water, because he can tank being punted through some walls, being shot, impaled, whatever. But drowning? He is not so sure he can survive that.
Personality wise? Cynical, with reason. Finds it hard to trust people, but he wants to. Is kind, gentle, supportive and caring of those who he does trust. Fatherly (He is over 60 years old!)
Old bastard with a permanent physical deformity of organic armour, as in his skin having turned into plates of bone, chitin, etc. Backed up by regeneration. One of the core themes of the character being, that he is a brooding, cynical asshole, who has suffered greatly because he cannot hide well...but still continues to help others. Also, he's poor as hell, and in no way could ever afford some kind of holographic/cloaking disguise.
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Mixtape Ghost N