Though if we do fight in a casino, I'll probably change his attire to something more fitting.
On second thought, after letting the idea of removing the above character's main shtick marinate a little, I think I'd prefer to duke it out using this fellow instead. I'd be willing to drop any of the weapons except the gauntlet blades, if you think the guns and sword and staff unbalance things.
Name: Real name unknown
Aliases and/or titles: Bloodshot
Age: Mid-thirties
Height: 6'6'' (6'7'' in armor)
Weight: 242 lbs
Body type: Lean and athletically muscular.
Powers:
Very little is known about Bloodshot's actual appearance beneath his armor, as no one can definitively say they have ever seen him outside of it (or one of its many variations), but what is known is that he is physically very far from what one would call a "normal human". He has been shown to be capable of lifting a literal tonne above his head, briefly sprinting at speeds up to 170 mph, and shrugging off impacts that would have instantly killed normal men, as well as demonstrating reaction times well above the human norm. It is also known that he is not, thank the heavens, bulletproof. If one manages to hit a weak point in his armor, such as the joints, he will bleed. This is a more difficult task than one would expect, however, as he has often displayed reflexes that enable him to dodge bullets at all but point blank range.
Abilities:
Bloodshot has demonstrated master level marksmanship with both pistols and rifles, as well as proficient use of his melee weapons and knowledge of several unarmed techniques. His level of reflexes and accuracy with firearms is such that he has been seen to shoot grenades and other explosives out of the air in mid-combat, though his proficiency in melee and unarmed techniques is somewhat less advanced, likely due to the ability to simply overpower most opponents.
It has also been noted that Bloodshot possesses a keen tactical and scientific mind that allows him to rapidly re-assess developing situations to determine an optimal outcome, as well as the mental wherewithal to maintain a cool head in the midst of great physical pain and/or trauma. One incident records that he was able to out-think and subsequently escape a trap laid by a cadre of mercenaries sent to assassinate him, without his armor and after being severely burned in the initial assault. His scientific intelligence is of a sufficiently advanced level that he himself designed and created the specific materials used in his armor and weapons, as well as the software used to run its electronic systems.
Equipment:
Armor.
The matte black armor that Bloodshot most commonly wears is of an advanced design that makes use of carbon nanotubes to create plating that is extremely light and moderately flexible, while also being both harder than diamond and stronger than steel. This flexibility makes the plating an excellent shock absorber, while its strength and hardness render it all but impenetrable to conventional firearms. The chest piece has been seen taking a hit from a .50 caliber sniper rifle with minimal damage, and while the simple impact force would kill a normal human regardless, Bloodshot managed to survive the shot (though he was forced to retreat from the engagement, so it is assumed he was significantly wounded by the impact).
While the armor plating is capable of surviving almost any form of injury a personal weapon can inflict, the body glove underneath has no such luxury. While it too utilizes carbon nanotubes in its construction, the concentration and density within the fabric is geared primarily toward maintaining flexibility and reducing/dispersing damage from explosions, and it cannot stand up to the concentrated impact force of even a small caliber bullet (.22 caliber rounds being a notable exception).
Another important feature of this armor is the inclusion of a nanotube cooling/heating layer that both augments the external temperature of the armor to match that of the surrounding environment and also maintains a constant and comfortable internal temperature, allowing it to appear nearly invisible when viewed on thermal imaging systems. This trait also allows the suit to operate unhindered at temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees fahrenheit without causing increased strain to the wearer, though higher temperatures can quickly overwhelm the ability of the suit to compensate, roasting the wearer alive.
The armor also possesses advanced electronics that are capable of gathering and displaying vital battlefield data within the facemask's HUD, including penetrating radar, thermal, EM, and nightvision, and an auto-tint to prevent bright flashes from blinding him. The armor's sound systems are likewise enhanced, and allow him to both increase sensitivity and focus to hear distant conversations, as well as activate an auto-decrease feature to prevent excessively loud noises from causing damage to his hearing.
Weapons:
2 - .45 caliber pistols that hold 15 rounds per magazine. Descendants of the Glock pistols of the 21st century and comparable in power and functionality. Armor-piercing ammunition.
2 - Single edged swords. 36" titanium-carbon alloy blades. More durable than his armor, though much less flexible. With Bloodshot's strength behind them and the addition of an energy field that enhances its cutting power, these blades are capable of slicing cleanly through a steel I-beam with no damage to themselves.
1 - Retractable staff. Titanium-carbon shaft. Length varies between 2' and 6'. When retracted, the entire length of the staff (or each half of it separately) is capable of emitting a kinetic discharge on contact that is ten times greater than the force of the physical impact (when extended, only the last foot on each end of the staff possesses this ability). The weapon also possesses friend or foe analysis hardware to prevent Bloodshot himself from being affected.
2 - Gauntlet blades. 12" titanium-carbon alloy blades that extend from the armor's gauntlets over the back of Bloodshot's hands. Reinforced with an energy field granting them the same cutting power as his sword.
Any relevant weaknesses:
Armor dependency. Bloodshot's facemask is fitted with a filtration unit that not only cleans the air as he breathes it, but also injects each breath with a minute amount of an unknown gas, without which Bloodshot will descend into increasingly drastic stages of mental degradation that remove his self-control and ability to think and reason properly, turning him into an unthinking being operating purely on rage and instinct.
Personality:
Cold, calculating, and clinical. Bloodshot was a child raised with the sole purpose of becoming the perfect soldier, and the extremely harsh treatment and training he received produced predictably harsh results. Mercy and compassion are words that have no merit in Bloodshot's view of the world, and while he is not a vindictive man, he is nevertheless a very dangerous one to cross. Something that those who trained him found out the hard way.
History/Backstory:
Born in the year 2142 into a world ravaged by war, Bloodshot's birth name was lost to the destruction that was wrought upon his homeland, the former United States of America. Fifty years before his birth, the country had torn itself in half in the second civil war of its globally short history, and that single conflict had pulled the rest of the world with it. While no one was willing to create a nuclear wasteland, both China and Russia took the opportunity to claim lands they had long since lost, while Europe was plunged into its own small re-enactment of world wars long past. As it always has, war paved the way for scientific advancement at a rate that far exceeded any of the advances made in the century before, and new weapons, technology, and soldiers were created by all sides in an attempt to maintain an even playing field.
Taken from his family as a child, Bloodshot's body was altered and enhanced to the very peak of human performance, and by the time he was twelve he could regularly compete against seasoned soldiers and emerge the victor. That was not the end of his alterations however, and when he reached the age of sixteen he was initiated into an experimental program that utilized microscopic nanomachines to enhance the user's physical condition, bonding to bones and muscles and nerves to increase strength, durability, speed, and reflexes. The process was imperfect, however, and without a near-constant application of a stabilizing agent, the nanites bonded to Bloodshot's nervous system begin to overwhelm his conscious thoughts with those of primal instinct and rage. Later iterations of the technology opted out of the nervous system bonding in order to fix the problem, but while these new soldiers were stable, they would never match up to Bloodshot and the other original subjects.
Due to the inherent instability of Bloodshot's nanites, he and his fellow test subjects were scheduled for "decommissioning", as there was no way to reverse the bonding process and an unstable soldier would be a liability on the battlefield. As they often do, however, plans went awry and a dozen subjects managed to escape the facility, taking with them the formula for the stabilizing agent and what little supply of it the lab had on hand. After the escape, they all went their separate ways, with Bloodshot becoming a mercenary available for hire to the highest bidder.
Power level:
Intelligence - 5
Strength - 3
Speed - 3
Durability - 4
Energy - 2
Skill - 3
Synergy - 2-3
Overall - 22-23
