A.R.G.U.S. Threat Report
- CodeName: The Beast
- Place of Origin: Portland, Oregon, USA
- Real/Birth Name: David Wrath
- Real Identity Status: Public
- Age/Apparent Age: Early-40s
- Height: 6'1"
- Gender: Male
- Category/Occupation: Mundane/S.T.A.R. Commander
- Superhero Affiliations: None
- Real Identity Affiliations: Emerald City Police Department (S.T.A.R. Squad)
- Power Set: Combat Expert
- Power Origin: Training
- Player: NPC
Appearance
Commander Wrath is a strong, powerfully-built man, six feet tall with broad shoulders and a weightlifter’s physique. He has struggled with his weight his entire life, and so gives the appearance of being slightly soft or out of shape, which isn’t true in the least. His brown hair is receding, and he still likes to keep it in a high-and-tight military style. During his time in the army, Wrath took a liking to tattoos, and as such bears a large number of them on his back, chest and arms, but only those that are on his lower arms are normally visible. He sports a thick, regulation moustache which only adds to his rugged good looks.
Background
Wrath served as a cadet in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps while attending Portland State University. He completed his training at Camp Rilea, Oregon, before he was stationed in Vicenza, Italy, where he served in the 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade Combat Team. He served in the military for several tours of duty, seeing action in both Iraq and Afghanistan and eventually achieving the rank of Major. Like most soldiers he enjoyed being part of a structured, disciplined group - but his service made him see things and be involved in things that made him doubt the reason for being in the Army, wondering if the deployment of U.S. troops abroad sometimes did more harm than good, and if it served a greater purpose than fulfil political ambitions at the cost of the lives of U.S. servicemen.
He became disillusioned with the service but, not wanting to step away from protecting civilians after resigning his commission, Wrath joined the police force and was quickly named Commander of the Storm Breakers due to his knowledge of frontline combat and tactics. He rapidly proved his worth in the field, and showed an extremely high level of promise.
Wrath is highly respected by the Storm Breakers but acknowledges that whilst he has plentiful combat experience, he knows comparatively little about Law Enforcement although he has done (and continues to do so) various training courses. As such Wrath relies heavily on working alongside Commissioner Hackman and his Lieutenants as he adjusts to his new role, as well as Sergeant Patricia "Skinny" Hackman.
Personality
Despite (or perhaps because of) his military background, David Wrath is a "friendly giant" who watches out for those under his command, not willing to ask them to undertake anything he is not willing to do himself, as well as protecting the civilian population of Emerald City. His leadership style is thus "leading by example" and quite friendly, although he keeps his men disciplined. When off-duty he enjoys watching sports over a few beers with his fellow Storm Breakers (especially with "Skinny" Hackman)
Motivation: Justice
Commander Wrath fights primarily to protect civilians and a distant second place to bring criminals to justice.
Secret Identity
Wrath has no secret identity. Although he may not have the fame that others do, his identity is public knowledge and his service history is easy to find.
Other Notes
Wrath’s fellow Storm Breakers respect him highly, and are willing to undertake anything he asks of them, knowing that he would never ask of them something that he wouldn’t do himself. In a similar vein, he has formed a good relationship with some of Emerald City’s leading superheroes, in particular the Sentinels, as well as A.R.G.U.S. believing that they all are working towards the same goal and seeing no point in grandstanding or useless rivalries. He also has good working relations with Commissioner Hackman and Mayor Talbot, although the latter to a lesser extent as he rarely deals with her directly but works directly with/under Commissioner Hackman.
Combat Style
Wrath has served in the U.S. Army for many years and his combat style reflects his military training. He relies on cover and ranged firepower to take down targets, coordinating and directing his allies or those under his command, His weapon of choice is the Colt AR-15 Assault rifle (as his main weapon in the army was the M16 assault rifle which the AR-15 is a Law Enforcement variant of) or the similar Colt M4A1 Carbine if in closer proximities. He falls back to a Glock 21 SF pistol if he has to, or if space inhibits.
Unsurprising for a man of his size and build, Wrath is very strong and has trained in self defence most of his life as well as been forced to fight in close combat whilst on deployment. He is actually a better close combat fighter than he is a shooter (although he is an excellent shot too), especially in unarmed combat which he prefers over using the standard-issue Baton (which he only uses in situations where unarmed combat could be a risk, for example if fighting a Stormer with a damaging energy aura).
A point that he is trying to work on is that he is experienced in military-style combat, rather than police-style combat. This means that he is trained to instinctively shoot for effect (usually kill shots) instead of to disable. Whilst he attempts to be aware of this, when things "get busy" his natural shoot-to-kill instinct kicks in.
Despite being the Commander of the Storm Breakers, Wrath does not have an ego and is used to being part of a disciplined unit. He knows that even with their training and equipment, the Storm Breakers are not equipped to handle higher Power Level threats. In these circumstances he directs his officers to try to contain the situation, keeping the criminals held and his officers and civilians safe, until the Sentinels or A.R.G.U.S. can turn up - both of which he is quite happy to work alongside.
Social Style
Wrath is a friendly giant and easy to get along with. A typical military man he respects people with discipline and commitment - especially those in any kind of paramilitary or emergency service. He has little tolerance for "self-centered bastards" who disrespect laws, chain of commands or otherwise do as they please without caring or consideration for legalities or others. In many ways, he thinks of the Sentinels as a volunteer paramilitary unit, and knows that the Sentinels have chosen to put their powers to protecting Emerald City, when they didn't have to - and many of them are simply "juiced-up civvies" and so to put their lives on the line takes courage and is worthy of respect. This can be offset by Sentinels who think of being superheroes as entertainment or otherwise do not show respect for the laws, which will gain his emnity as easily as the villainous stormers who chose to use their new powers for self-gain and villainy.
Relationships
Sergeant Patricia "Skinny" Hackman, Storm Breaker
Patricia "Skinny" Hackman is his most experienced Sergeant who he has openly stated on various occasions is his best Storm Breaker. Although a Sergeant and squad leader, he relies on her and entrusts her to duties normally given to Lieutenants, such as being his chief training instructor, and hopes she will make Lieutenant soon. Whilst he has nothing against (and in fact respects) his lieutenants he is aware that many of them have achieved their posts because of service seniority and whilst competent, do not have Patricia Hackman's gifted combat ability or potential. Put another way, he believes that most of his lieutenants have peaked as individuals and career-wise, whilst Hackman has a lot of potential still ahead of her.
Whilst he endeavours to not let his high opinion of her worth affect his judgement and decisions, and most of his men would agree, there have nonetheless been some accusations that his favouritism is due to political appeasement to Commissioner Hackman (and thus beneficial to Wrath's ambitions or practical benefit). Some (mostly non-Storm Breakers) have even insinuated or outright stated the belief that Wrath is romantically interested in, or otherwise having sexual liaisons with Patricia. As it is an open secret that he is in fact gay, he and his Storm Breakers simply laugh this off and take bets on whether Patricia will break someone's nose for saying it.
Shortly after the S.T.A.R. squad was formed Wrath witnessed Patricia practicing on the range and was impressed by her shooting skills. He nicknamed her "Skinny" - a common nickname used in the U.S. Army to refer to army snipers (much like "Jarhead" is used for standard infantry) and (to her consternation) the name has stuck. Most of her squad call her by this nickname (when not in the field, when operational codenames are used) and even her own family have found it amusing and began to use it.
Commissioner Hackman
Wrath gets along well with Commissioner Hackman, and sees the man as a competent colleague. Likewise, Wrath’s friendly personality has been received positively by Hackman. They see eye-to-eye on many aspects and whilst their methods may differ, their core principles align well. Wrath is aware that the Commissioner's daughter is one of his officers, and tries hard to not let this be a factor or use this in a way he would consider unfair to either of the two Hackman's. Despite this, inevitably the fact they both have a fatherly relationship with Patricia Hackman (one her true father, the other a form of surrogate paramilitary guardian) has obviously given them more in common and their relationship is developing to true friendship.
Signature Powers & Special Abilities
Wrath has no superpowers, but due to hard work and intense training has various talents:
- Strong physique and great endurance
- Skilled marksman
- Skilled close-combat fighter
- Skilled tactician
Signature Equipment & Gear
- Primary Weapon: Colt AR-15 Assault Rifle OR Colt M4A1 Carbine
- Secondary Weapons: Glock 21 SF heavy pistol
- Baton
- Flash-Bang grenades
- "Storm Breaker" Suit
- S.T.A.R. Tactical Operations Center (vehicle)
Signature Quotes
- "We are well trained and equipped - but when your assault rifle's bullets bounce off some Stormer's armoured hide, force field or other kind of goddamned thing... well... we might as well be throwing rose petals at them. That's why we need a group like the Sentinels in Emerald City."
- "Pride is noble. Ego gets you killed."
- "I don't include Skinny in operational planning because she's the Commissioner's daughter or because of her pretty smile. I do it because she's the best God damn officer I have and twice as good as any of my Lieutenants!"
- "GOD DAMN IT!"
Gallery
Captain David Wrath
Captain David Wrath