A.R.G.U.S. Threat Report
- CodeName: None
- Place of Origin: Emerald City, Oregon, USA
- Real/Birth Name: Alexander Gary Hackman
- Real Identity Status: Public
- Age/Apparent Age: Late-50s
- Height: 5'8"
- Gender: Male
- Category/Occupation: Mundane/Police Commissioner
- Superhero Affiliations: None
- Real Identity Affiliations: Emerald City Police Department
- Power Set: Political Influence (Police)
- Power Origin: None
- Player: NPC
Appearance
Alexander Hackman is a slight man of average height. He sports a thick greying moustache and keeps his salt and pepper hair combed back, although he has of late been dying his hair in an attempt to deny the encroachment of age. He normally wears traditional grey or brown suits, usually with earth-coloured shirts and ties appropriate for his office. Despite his best efforts, Hackman always appears dishevelled, even back when he wore a uniform. This appearance has served him well in the past, leading others to misinterpret it as a sign of incompetence or lack of professionalism, which is far from the truth.
Background
Police Commissioner Alexander Hackman comes from a poor family that was involved in organized crime. A small scale affair, the family business came to the attention of the Malakov Mafiya who offered them an ultimatum: provide a cut of their revenue to the Mafiya or face an “unfortunate closure.” Of course, the Hackmans decided on the easier option, making them yet another of the Malakov’s lackeys.
Young Alexander had no idea what his family were involved in, but when he was introduced to the “family business” as a young man, he rejected it entirely. Wanting nothing to do with criminal activity, he took the exact opposite path than what was expected, and joined the police force. While at the academy, he met Cadet (and future mayor) Amanda Talbot, and the two would form a friendship that lasts to this day.
Whilst his career was rather uneventful, Hackman was a diligent police officer. His record was always exemplary and he never accepted any of the “perks” that his position offered. While many of his fellow officers where more than happy to accept free donuts or coffee from grateful store owners, Hackman always paid his way. Though recommended to make the jump to detective, Hackman preferred to remain a uniformed officer, steadily climbing the ranks and proving to be an asset to the force. On a number of occasions he was approached by the Malakovs in an attempt to get him to operate as their “inside” man in exchange for substantial wealth. When he refused, he was threatened, but still he held onto his principles, and even used what knowledge he had of the organization to help bring in some of the more influential members of the Malakov Mafiya.
A staunch supporter of Amanda Talbot when she held the role of police commissioner, Hackman acted as an adviser and sounding board when she needed someone to talk to, being one of the few people she confided in. When Talbot was elected mayor, she strongly suggested Hackman run for police commissioner, which he narrowly won.
Hackman is happily married to Mary, his wife of nearly 30 years who was also an ECPD police officer (now retired) and desk sergeant. They have three children: Alexander Jr, Joseph and Patricia, all of who are also in the ECPD. Whilst the whole family is a picture of the stereotypical "cop family" with strong american and family values, Hackman has always had a particular closeness to his daughter Patricia, who's exemplary record in the ECPD rivals his own and looks set to soon eclipse him.
Personality
Hackman is a down-to-earth and amiable, god-fearing man. He spent his entire career as a uniformed officer and has not forgotten what that was like - either for himself, fellow officers or the civilian population of Emerald City. He is easily approachable and understanding, and always tries to do what is best for the city and the ECPD and it is believed that he would willingly jeopardise himself and his career for the best interests of his police officers rather than for political expediency (fortunately his friendship with Mayor Talbot makes this an unlikely situation unless she loses the upcoming elections). Whilst he is renown for being considerate and forgiving to officers that have made mistakes, he is known to be firm and has a reputable hard stance against police corruption and negligence. Whilst the ECPD has never been particularly corrupt, the ECPD's current reputation of low corruption is due to his efforts. He is aware that it can be difficult for officers to resist the threats of organised syndicates like the Fraternal Order of Evil (F.O.E.), Malakov Mafiya (Russian Mafia), the Golden Dragon Society (Chinese Tongs) or the Takazumi-Gumi (Japanese Yakuza), and takes protection of officers and their family very seriously. Even in cases where corruption is uncovered because of willingness or blackmail (usually due to vice), whilst Hackman acts hard against the corrupt officer, he still acts to try to protect the officer's innocent family and fellow officers.
Motivation: Justice
Hackman believes strongly in delivering justice to criminals and protecting the residents of Emerald City. He is incorruptible. He is strongly committed to reducing crime within the city, and has a special interest in eradicating organized crime. Hackman believes that the new "Storm Breakers" Squad is an excellent initiative, one which will help reduce the number of crimes committed by the recent creation of the stormers. He works closely with both Mayor Talbot and the CSHA to try and incorporate the new influx of superheroes into the city as smoothly as possible, and is a staunch supporter of deputizing them.
Secret Identity
Everyone in Emerald City knows who Alexander Hackman is - he has been in the media many times during his long tenure as Commissioner.
Combat Style
Although the weight of his age and years of not being on active duty have affected his physicality somewhat, Hackman is an experienced police officer, and still in better physical shape than most civilians. Fearing for his childrens' safety (because of Malakov Mafiya threats) as they grew up, he taught all his children self-defence and how to use firearms. He still goes to the range occasionally with his daughter, where he still performs respectably and has not forgotten his police self-defence training.
As such Hackman is not the type of Commissioner who would be expected to hide behind his two permanently-assigned police bodyguards if a villain were to attack. He would pull out his trusty Colt M1911 pistol (which he jokes is older than most active duty police officers, and still in better condition) and shoot from cover. If engaged in hand to hand combat, he is an experienced officer and can handle himself against your typical criminal. Whenever there is a serious incident, especially one where S.W.A.T. or the Storm Breakers would be called out, Hackman can usually be found there overseeing the situation and not far from the front line.
Despite this, if combat was to erupt around him, his police bodyguards would rarely allow him to engage and would shield him from harm whilst trying to remove him from the danger area.
Social Style
Hackman is an easy going man who has a lot of respect for others, from fellow police officers (he still thinks of himself as one of them) to your average citizen. He is renown for not taking advantage of the perks of his position, and even when offered free donuts by grateful citizens would insist on paying. When asked about this, he would simply state "everyone has to make an honest living." With these characteristics, honesty and self-integrity are traits he respects in others, which can be evidenced by those he gets along best with: Mayor Talbot and Captain Wrath (Commander of the Storm Breakers) are both people of renown personal integrity.
He despises corruption, however. Whilst he can forgive mistakes, even officers forced to act for organised criminals because of threats to their family, someone who chooses to take advantage of their position for personal gain (such as bribes or abuse of authority) will quickly see his unforgiving side.
In short, Hackman responds well to those who put others' well-being before their own, and responds badly to those who seem self-serving (which is why he despises most lawyers and politicians). After many years as a police officer and political involvement (as Commissioner), Hackman is an excellent judge of character and good at detecting dishonesty.
Relations
Patricia "Skinny" Hackman
Patricia is Hackman's youngest child and the proverbial apple in his eye. A highly successful police officer with an exemplary service record, Patricia graduated from ECU with a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and then earned her way first onto ECPD's Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) unit and recently onto the Superhuman Tactics and Regulation (S.T.A.R.) "Storm Breakers" squad. When they have free time (which is not common due to the time requirements of both their jobs) they spend a lot of time together, either at the gun range or simply relaxing in the yard having a few beers whilst watching the latest football game on the television.
Mayor Amanda Talbot
Hackman and Amanda Talbot met as cadets in the police academy, and have been life-long friends. He supported her when she was police commissioner, and even moreso as Mayor, and it was she who convinced him to run for Commissioner. As such they are close friends and have a good working relationship, seeing eye-to-eye on most issues.
Captain David Wrath, Commander of the Storm Breakers
Fairly new acquaintances, Hackman and Wrath met as part of their respective jobs and out of necessity work closely together. Wrath respects that Hackman is not the type of Commissioner to stay at home during a crisis and then punish officers for impossible decisions. Whenever Wrath's squad is called out, inevitably the Commissioner is there and Wrath (a former Mayor in the U.S. Army) thinks of him more like a Colonel or General than a political leader. They see eye-to-eye on many things, with their only major difference being approach - as a former soldier Wrath thinks of his team and their duty as soldiers in combat, whilst Hackman sees them (as they're officially meant to be) as peace-keeping officers. The reality is negligible (as Wrath is a man of integrity who also tries to avoid combat if necessary) and so they have quickly developed a good working relationship and are fast becoming friends (the fact that Wrath is his daughter Patricia's commanding officer has probably aided this - Hackman feels his daughter is "in safe hands with Captain Wrath").
Signature Powers & Special Abilities
Hackman has no superpowers, but is respectably skilled in some regards:
- Experienced with firearms and self-defence
- Good judge of character
- Good investigator and negotiator
Signature Equipment & Gear
- Brown suit.
- Undercover ballistic shirt
- Colt M1911 heavy pistol
Signature Quotes
- "You're going to make a difference. A lot of times it won't be huge, it won't be visible even. But it will matter just the same."
- "Son, at the risk of sounding pompous: experience with women and experience with wives are two vastly different things."
Gallery
Commissioner Hackman