Jack
Jack1.jpg
Jackhammer
Real Name: John James 'Jack' Bowen
Age: 16
Identity: Secret
Birthplace: Albany, NY
Date of Birth: March 2, 1994
Known Relatives: David (father), Alison (mother), Anne (younger sister, aged 11), Sam Bowen (Grandfather), Elise Bowen (Grandmother), James Bowen (Great-Grandfather, deceased), Jacuqeline Ashton-Bowen (Great-Grandmother, deceased), numerous extended relatives
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 161 lbs
Eyes: Gray
Hair: Blonde
Grade: Senior
Dorm: Baldwin

Background

In the latter part of the 1930s, the advent of Neohuman adventurers was beginning. In a few areas, costumed vigilantes were appearing, fighting against the mob, bank robbers, or other shadowy organizations. Often, these incidents would create new Neohumans all their own.

One such case happened in the fall of 1938. New York City already had a costumed hero or two, such as The Animus, Mister Arcana, and The Torch Singer, but others soon appeared. And since heroes appeared, villains and criminals were not too far behind. Sociologists still debate Neohuman Heroism and criminal activity in a 'chicken or egg' debate.

At New York University, years before the experimentation with splitting the atom, a number of noted scientists were working with creating high-grade fuels, for both automobiles and other vessels. For extra credit, number of gifted students worked in the lab as assistants and gophers, which was fine by them. One such assistant was the young science student James Bowen, who was working with some of the base chemicals that would be used in creating this 'super fuel' when the lab was attacked. In an effort to assist their allies, a group of 5th Columnist terrorists had attacked the lab, hoping to steal notes about the project, a prototype of the fuel to send to Germany to reverse-engineer, or the scientists involved themselves. Using machine gun fire to cover their search, one of the bullets struck the chemicals close to James, where it exploded.

Miraculously, James survived, even though the combination of force from the explosion and the poisonous fumes should have killed him immediately. Through the chaos and smoke, James Bowen discovered that he had been changed. He found he was as strong as fifty men, and bullets didn't hurt him at all. Using his newfound abilities, James drove off the 5th Columnists. Afterwards, James did some testing on his own, finding his body had been toughened to a startling degree; while able to withstand bullets, he found he was also unaffected by toxins and disease.

Having seen stories in the news about costumed heroes, James decided to join the effort, the attack on a college opening his eyes to the rise of evil in the world. One colorful (made from stuff in the closet) costume later, the Bulldozer joined the ranks of New York's heroes.

And just in time, too, for when 1941 rolled around, President Roosevelt asked for help from the Neohuman community for the American War effort, and James Bowen enlisted in what would be called the US Allies, along with other Neohumans from around the country. While Hitler's possession of the Book of Thoth prevented Neohumans from attacking Berlin directly, Bulldozer went with a number of American heroes went over to Europe to help France and other beleagured countries during the war.

Germany was not cowed by the presence of Neohuman adventurers working for the allies, for they had Neohumans of their own, the result of mystical or scientific experimentation. The US Allies, along with the few Eurpoean Neohumans that existed at the time, fought such creatures as Herr Geier (Mr. Vulture), Teutonica, Son Krieger, and Doktor Toxin. Doktor Toxin and Bulldozer had an ongoing mini-war or rivalry during the German Occupation, since the American Hero seemed to be able to withstand any poison the mad Doktor could concoct. The Doktor, along with the other German Neohumans, was believed to have been killed in the final days of World War 2 in an allied Attack on Castle Waltzheim.

After the War, James Bowen returned home, and given a War Hero's honors, though what he did was kept classified due to his secret identity. Still, the War had left its scars nonetheless, and James hung up the Bulldozer costume to marry Jacuqeline Ashton, his high school sweetheart. Whern McCarthy and his cronies blew in in the 50s, the Bulldozer was not able to be found to be targetted by their witch-hunting, and the Bowens were able to raise their family in peace.

As he got older, and the decades passed, as James Bowen watched values change from when he was younger, he was mostly happy. Mostly, because it seemed none of his children had any trace of his own metahuman abilities, like so many of the children of his US Allies teammates seemed to have. It wasn't jealousy; James just felt that some of the newer heroes were a bit…rougher, than the Allies had been, and he had tried to raise his kids right. His kids, in time, had grandchildren of their own, and up until 1994 when his first great-grandchild was born, no one in his family possessed any Neohuman ability.

Nor did the aforementioned great-grandson, John James 'Jack' Bowen, seem out-of-the-ordinary either. Jack was the son of David Bowen, who was the won of Sam Bowen, the first-born child of Great-Grandfather James. The knowledge of James' days as the Neohuman hero Bulldozer were a family secret, kept close to the chest.

Still, while Bulldozer was one of the many heroes from the 40s who passed into memory, there were those that didn't forget. Especially one, whose experiments with poisons and chemicals had rendered him, already immune to poisons, to the ravages of age as well. While Bulldozer and the other allies had aged or died, Doktor Toxin pulled himself together and dug himself out of the ruins of Castle Waltzheim. Slowly. He was quite insane by the time he was free again, and doing some sneaking around and searching, he found the identity of his most hated enemy.

Wanting to see Bulldozer suffer as he had, Doktor Toxin attacked his family, striking during Jack's christening and kidnapping the infant boy. He could have killed them right there, but he wanted to do it in front of Bulldozer himself, to make him feel helpless. And, while retired for so many years, James still had his powers (though they were reduced; he was not as strong as he once was). He also had help; surviving members of the Allies who were there for Toxin's attack assisted, and they tracked down the mad Doktor in record time, and went to get James' great-grandson back.

In the final battle, Jack was poisoned by Doktor Toxin's ministrations, and fading fast. A slow-acting poison, Doktor Toxin said, to prolong the suffering. Desperate, and knowing his time was long past, James asked for help to save Jack. Knowing he was always immune to the poisons the Nazi villain produced, he worked with his teammate Mister Arcana, to transfer his own power to be immune to poisons to the boy, so that he could live.

It worked. A little too well. The spell Arcana used was untested, and made at the spur of the moment in the field, after Doktor Toxin was destroyed; his body still burning thanks to the fiery powers of Alice Reed, the Torch Singer. The spell transferred James' power to Jack, ensuring the infant would resist Doktor Toxin's poison, and James fell lifeless to the floor once the spell was completed, the transference being too much for his aged body to handle. Jack has heard the story over and over again, since then.

As Jack grew up in upstate New York, it was discovered he was sort of an 'odd duck,' which is a term he would use, himself. As a matter of fact, there were parts of his personality that made him seem more like his deceased great-grandfather, as opposed to other kids his age. He preferred music from the 30s and 40s, and even adopted and adapted their style of clothes to modern times (though he always has his Great-Grandfather's fedora. Always.) Even his general outlook seemed different from other kids; calling others 'doll' or 'babe,' refusing to hit a woman (there was that one incident with a new winter jacket, Cass Perkins, and a mud puddle. Jack acted the gentleman, and needed a new winter jacket afterwards). His interests led to swing dance lessons, and a study of the perior in general.' His ability to shrug off poison and disease, kept secret save to his family, also served him well during his teenage years, along with the fact that while he could feel pain, it took a lot to hurt him. Just durability, everyone said. Good clean living and all that.

It wasn't until he was jumped while walking home from the park at night when he was fourteen in the spring of 2008 that Jack found the spell to save him gave him all of his grandfather's powers, able to shrug off the kicks and fists of his muggers without feeling a thing. When one of them pulled a gun and fired, he stopped the bullet. With his hand. "Youse punks never learn, do ya," he said, and proceeded to, well, go Old School on them.

His parents were frantic, and contacted James' old friends from the Allies. After some tests, it was determined that Jack had his own will and mind, but some of James' mannerisms, a residual effect of the transference spell. James was not possessing his great-grandchild; his soul had moved on. But Jack could also lift a tractor trailer, shrugs off bullets, run for hours without tiring, and still never got sick.

His family, with none of them having Neohuman experience, were at a loss of what to do. But, Mister Arcana was able to solve that problem easily, and put the Bowens in contact with the Steranko Institute.

Jack entered the school in what would have been his sophomore year of high school, and has been at the school since then. His own 'out of time' manners, along with sneaking off campus some nights for a party or two irked his teachers, even if his grades were decent, and he was awfully polite in an archaic way. He applied to be a Dorm Advisor a year and three months later, and true to form, he got the job as Advisor for the 'pranksters and wildlings' of Baldwin Hall. He's just about to finish his Junior year, and still hasn't chosen a codename for himself. He might go with Bulldozer, like great-grandpa. But Jackhammer sounds good, too…

Personality

A mix of mischievous and an old-school charm, Jack is definitely the friendly, outgoing sort. He's always ready with a smile and gets a kick out of meeting people. He has confidence, but tries to curb any bragging, and especially keeps quiet about his origins, since he wants to see how people react to both Jack as himself, and the heroes of yore.

He has views that could be considered by modern teenagers to be antiquated (never hit a girl, for example), and he would have been perfectly fine and normal if he had been born in 1924 instead of 1994. He calls people 'kid,' 'doll' and has even referred to a girl as a 'dame' from time to time.

He does a lot of research on things from the 30s and 40s: music, clothes, and Neohumans. He was way too young to remember his great-grandfather James, but knows the story of the old man's sacrifice for him. Despite being a bit rambunctious, he does want to live up to that sacrifice. He knows other descendants of the US Allies are out there, and he's been wondering if they're organized.

Logs

Links to logs the character is in here.

Stats


Attr: Str 26 (+8), Dex 14 (+2), Con 18 (+4), Int 12 (+1), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 16 (+3)

Saves: Toughness +10, Fortitude: +9, Reflex: +4, Will: +5

Combat: Attack +5 (+8 Melee), Defense +5, Grapple +17, Init +2

Skills: Skills: Bluff 5/+8, Diplomacy 7/+10, Drive 1/+3, Gather Info 4/+7, Intimidate 4/+7, Knowledge: Pop Culture 3/+4, Notice 3/+3, Perform (Dance) 4/+7, Search 3/+4, Sleight of Hand 2/+4

Feats: Attack Focus (Melee) 3, Attractive, Diehard, Dodge Focus 1, Improved Sunder, Interpose, Luck 1, Power Attack, Stunning Attack

Powers

Protection 6 (Extra: Impervious 10) cost 2/rank, PP 16
Super-Strength 4 (Feats: Groundstrike; AP Super Strength 8 (Flaws: Flaw: Lifting Only)) cost: 2/rank+2, PP 10
Immunity 7 (Disease, Poison, Fatigue effects) cost: 1/rank; PP 7

Attributes 36 + Saves 11 + Combat 20 + Skills 9 + Feats 11 + Powers 33 - Drawbacks 0 = 120 PP

Complications:

Boy Out Of Time Jack, due to the way he gained his powers, is a bit odd for a modern-day teenager. He has his own free will, but part of his Great-Grandfather's essence is still inside him. He sometimes slips into views that are a little politically incorrect in modern times, and has mannerisms and speech that would have been just fine in the Thirties and Forties, but mark him as really out of place in 2010.

Damoclean Legacy Jack is all too aware of who he's descended from, as well as his Great-Grandfather's death and his own part in that. He has a bit of residual guilt (even though he was an infant and really couldn't do anything), as well as a bit of a complex about heroes from that era. He feels he has to live up to that legacy, but is also a teenager with all the requisite wants and needs and rebellious thoughts.

Wouldn't Hit a Lady Self-explanatory. He's also likely to throw himself in front of a lady getting attacked, in a chivalry that was socially acceptable during the Thirties and Forties, but now might just irk people (especially the lady in question).

Vengeful Enemies The original Bulldozer, at the dawn of the Neohuman Age, probably made a number of enemies in, New York crime families, local world-beaters, and assorted Nazi Neohuman operatives. One: If they find out Jack is Bulldozer's descendant, they could easily attack him (with decades of experience behind them), or his family (he's the only one with any powers). Two: If Jack realizes anyone is one of his Great-Grandfather's old enemies, the part of his personality that has Bulldozer's essence will make him go after them first, even if they're not the greatest danger.

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