Hound55 — Roleplayer Guild

C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T   P R O P O S A LTHE BLUE BEETLE
C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T:

T E D   K O R D   ♦   E N G I N E E R   /   V I G I L A N T E   /   H E R O   /   C . E . O   /   B L O C K B U S T E R   M O V I E   M E M B E R
♦   B O S T O N ,   K . O . R . D   E A S T   D I V I S I O N   /   “ T H E   E M B A S S Y “ ,   M A N H A T T A N ,   N E W   Y O R K
♦   K O R D   O M N I V E R S A L   R E S E A R C H   &   D E V E L O P M E N T   /   S U P E R B U D D I E S

“My greatest strength is an unfocused mind. This is because while you are all thinking of one idea, I’m thinking of five different ideas. My greatest weakness however is an unfocused mind. This is because while I’m supposed to be thinking about one thing, I’m actually thinking of five other things.”

Theodore Stephen KORD
5’11”, 184lbs (Don't judge!)
Born: Charlton, Massachussetts (July 4, 1997)
Graduated: Worcester Polytechnic Institute B.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering, Ph. D degree in Aeronautical engineering, Ph. D in Electrical Engineering, B.S. Degrees in Robotics and Mechanical Engineering
Head of Kord Omniversal Research & Development (the company his father founded has 3 locations - K.O.R.D West Division located in Pasadena, California, K.O.R.D Central based out of Chicago and K.O.R.D East Division located in Boston where Thomas Kord first started the company)
Field Leader and Founding Member of the Superbuddies.  A team of heroes brought together to do good, and to better human/metahuman relations by showing just what can be achieved through collaborative efforts between the two.

A prodigious mind, but flighty and prone to getting himself into trouble, Ted Kord excelled at virtually anything that he enjoyed and put his effort towards.  Science, gymnastics, soccer and baseball, with the world in the palm of his hand Ted Kord could do it all and do it all with a smile on his face and laughter in his heart.  His life took a sharp turn however, when he was expelled in his senior year of high school due to his involvement in a scandal which saw two thirds of a class cheat their way to perfect scores in major Physics and Mathematics exams.  Knowing that his own grades for the year were sufficient to have already graduated, he refused to roll over and snitch out his friend Carter Johns – the one responsible for selling the tests throughout the class.

But whilst his grades were good enough already to have graduated with flying colours, M.I.T did not respond well to news of his expulsion, nor the manner in which it took place.

Some months later, after a number of phone calls and a hefty donation from Kord Omniversal founder and C.E.O Thomas Kord, and Ted was enrolled to local engineering college Worcester Polytechnic.

Given the opportunity to continue his learning, Ted excelled even further in the less structured college environment where he could focus more on endeavours of his own choosing.  He swiftly blew through a degree in Aeronautical engineering, having always looked to the stars with wonder and discovered how much easier the college system suited him.  Enrolling further in a number of other engineering courses to be one of the more rounded young scientific minds in the world.  

But something was missing from the young man’s life.

Ted was on a mission for knowledge, viewing it as the ends rather than the means until he met another scientist named Hank Pym at a symposium in New York.  But Pym wasn’t the catalyst for change so much as a mirror to help see himself better through.

The catalyst was a young man in a black suit slinging some kind of organic strand-like webbing substance, who swept through in pursuit of another man. @DocTachyon

The two scientists bonded over how this young new superhero they witnessed could possibly be doing the things he was doing ("It's obvious!  A spray dispersal system that fires a resin polymer over a chemical silly-string like chain, solidifying it in the process!""Are you kidding me?  It's clearly some kind of fluid that solidifies on contact with the air!""Maybe it's actually organic... you know?  Maybe it's actually something he secretes inside of him, from in his actual wrists?""Yeah, sure, whatever.  And maybe it's Maybelline...""...""...""BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"), and potential mechanical devices that could mimic his amazing movements and feats of agility, speed and strength.  The pair exchanged email addresses and Ted had found what his life had been missing for years.  The spark.  The joy and wonder from his old high school days. 

But this was more than just nostalgia.  This was a new path.

“Screw the family business. I want to be one of those guys…”

C H A R A C T E R   M O T I V A T I O N S   &   G O A L S:

Last season was the story of a brilliant, yet flawed young man finally finding a path and slowly discovering his potential despite himself.

This season will see him coming to terms with relying on teammates and people around him on this new team that he has formed, and will also deal with the notions of “family” and “legacy”.

C H A R A C T E R   N O T E S:

Character and Equipment:

Ted Kord – Good natured and affable, unfocused yet brilliant.  Ted Kord possesses an eidetic and photographic memory, the ability to demonstrate great logic and deductive reasoning and a love of film (particularly Bond and Mission: Impossible movies).  Ted was a gymnast in high school (and a few pounds lighter, but hey, who’s judging…) which plays a heavy factor in his agility based hand-to-hand fighting style.

The Bug – Originally designed by Ted as a prototype for potential space travel (young Ted set his mind to Mars as NASA first began sending probes and rovers) it has since been repurposed for his foray into superheroics.  Mimicking the series Star Trek: Enterprise, Ted found a way to provide shielding by magnetizing the airship’s hull.  He also found ways to electrify the outer shell to protect it from unwanted boarders.  Capable of withstanding the pressures of the deepest sea trench or space travel, the mostly solar-powered Bug is at the bleeding edge of modern crimefighting vehicular technology and Ted’s pride and joy.  It’s also controllable by remote, capable of flying or hovering on auto-pilot without Ted needing to be at the helm.

The BB gun – Ted’s primary defensive weapon, the BB gun is capable of emitting either a blinding flash of light, a strong compressed air blast, or a single five second deafening sonic screech.  The BB gun is also powered by solar charged battery cells that Ted keeps on his person.

Ted also has access to a ridiculous array of self-invented gadgetry and gimmicks, although most are limited in use and would require the foresight and planning to bring them to utilize.

The Superbuddies

Maxwell Lord – A former CEO for a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company, Maxwell Lord acts as a figurehead organizational leader planted by Ted Kord as a front for explaining where the money has come from in return for a share of the revenue streams.  Unscrupulous and money-grubbing by nature, he can be quite a stringent taskmaster in keeping the team on mission to preserve their brand as heroes which makes up his mealticket.

The Wasp – Owner of her own fashion label, when Janet Van Dyne discovered that Ted was engaging in activities as Boston’s latest hero The Blue Beetle she became enamoured with the swashbuckling romantic connotations of the hero life.  Outfitted by her husband Hank Pym, who is one of the foremost geniuses in the modern world the Wasp packs a wallop that belies her diminutive size when in costume.

Hank Pym – Generally introverted and reclusive, Hank Pym also has numerous mental issues and social disorders which often cause troubles in his own life and for those who care about him.  He very much loves Janet though and has joined the team out of a feeling of necessity.  Even though this will actually mean occasionally dealing with people and spending less time at work in his lab.  Might just be the smartest person in the world.

Ice – Tora Olafsdotter was formerly a security officer for a branch of S.H.I.E.L.D known as the Global Guardians, who dealt with providing security for foreign dignitaries and private citizens of international importance.  She also happens to be Ted’s girlfriend.  And a metahuman.  Which is not why he dated her.  I mean, not that that would be an issue for him not to either.  Because he is not a bigot.  She is cute, looks amazing in a cocktail dress, and can tolerate Ted’s more irritating quirks which previously subjected him to the single life (which may be a metahuman power in and of itself…).  Ted has zero complaints.

Fire – Beatriz Da Costa was Tora’s best friend and almost like a bigger sister for her when the two worked previously for the Global Guardians.  She barely tolerates Ted and trusts that this whole thing will soon end once Tora comes to her senses, sees him for the geeky dork he is and dumps him for someone better suited to her.  She is extremely open and comfortable with her own body and sensuality, which makes Ted wrap a towel around himself anytime the team uses the on-site pool.  She is extremely protective of Tora.  At this point Ice is the only reason she’s wasting her time with this whole superhero charade.
Peripheral NPC characters this season:

"Sunspot"
"Dan Garrett"
"Scott Lang"
"Cassie Lang"
"Abner Jenkins"
"Melissa “Mimi/Mims” Gold-Jenkins"
Other characters which are already intrinsically linked to K.O.R.D. in the comics.

S E A S O N   O N E   S Y N O P S I S :

No sooner had Stark Industries unveiled the Iron Man suit, than Tony Stark announced it was not for sale.  Spiking demand for a product that would not be available on the market.  Tech giants scrambled, seeing a rare hole in the market.  Kord Omniversal Research and Development had a unique problem.

In their B.E.E.T.L.E suit, a high-tech suit designed for exploration in hostile environments, on this world and off it, remained the leading example of similar technology, but its C.E.O Ted Kord refused to push it to market.  Objecting to pivoting into a role as a weapons manufacturer on moral grounds.

The suit’s designer, K.O.R.D’s Chief Financial Officer Abner Jenkins, sensing he was not getting any younger and seeing a way he could cash in on his life’s greatest piece of work was driven to seeing K.O.R.D take it to market by any means necessary.  Aided by an unknown ally, Jenkins organized an attempt to steal the B.E.E.T.L.E suit at the New York Science Expo by having false information leaked about it being the upcoming flagship product for Kord Omniversal which he would then be able to very publicly thwart, displaying its value and forcing Ted Kord’s hand.

Unfortunately, Ted Kord also had his own plans.  Using an all-terrain space craft and numerous tech-based gadgets of his own design, Ted Kord has been moonlighting as Boston’s new hero the Blue Beetle – the eponymous hero of a 1960s television series starring Dan Garrett.

When the thieves, a group of Madison Avenue advertising workers led by Farley Fleeter and naming themselves the Madmen, made a move on the B.E.E.T.L.E they were not only facing down Abner Jenkins in the suit.  Also on the scene were the Blue Beetle and a pair of security workers for the organization known as the Global Guardians operating under the names of Green Flame and Ice Maiden.  When the smoke cleared, the Blue Beetle was not only able to incapacitate the Madmen, he also successfully captured Jenkins in the B.E.E.T.L.E suit and handed him off to the local New York police.

He also found himself falling ass-backwards into a relationship with Ice, otherwise known as Tora Olafsdotter.

It also saw him form a new idea.  An idea that would see him change his Blue Beetle solo act, to an ensemble – a hero team.

Working with a variety of different heroes types, both young and old, under heavy fire in New York’s recent Crisis Ted’s thoughts on what a hero should be have been shaped by those around him who he has come across in his life.  Whether they wear a labcoat, wings, or shroud themselves in flame.

S A M P L E   P O S T:

So, it’s true confessions time I guess…

I never really studied in high school.  Ever, if I’m being honest.  I never really had to.  I read the text books that we were given for the standard curriculum at the start of the term.  Tests would come. And every page of every text book was just sitting right there.  In my head.

I mean that’s not the sum total of schooling, let’s be honest.  Rote memorization.  You have to come to terms with the concepts that the class deals with that are inside the books.  But when you can just recall everything and anything that the class is dealing with, the second you turn your test sheet over… you don’t really ever need to pay too much attention in class.

So you drift.  Your focus waxes and wanes.  You become a dreamer.  A class clown.  Anything to ease off the monotony of those classes which hold you captive from 9 til 3.

Instead of listening to how the mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell, which you read about as soon as you got your books, you’re sketching a spaceship that will one day take you beyond the moon.  The spaceship that will make you the first man on that red planet, from this blue one which has been sending probes and rovers over for exploratory purposes since the day you were born.

You drew sketches of yourself in the James Bond suit and tie, holding that trademark Bond pose with the Walther PPK skyward.

…and little do you know that the reason you’re wearing a suit before your 23rd birthday has nothing to do with neither space travel, nor espionage.

You’re sitting in the seat your father vacated.  The business and the world he left for you early.  And still you drift.

But the craft that sits in the covered hanger, recessed into the roof of the Kord Tower isn’t a dream.  And neither is the other suit that hangs in your wardrobe.  The one you never tell people about.

“Well, if we’re done here ladies and gentlemen.  I think we’ll call it a day.”

P O S T   C A T A L O G U E:

Season One:
1.  “I mean, even if we don’t have a product here, we could send that in and get $500 off of America’s Funniest Home Videos…”
2.  He grabbed his sky wire and looked down the hatch at the lights of the city and rooftops far below.  “Well, if I screw this next bit up, at least I won’t have to worry about what I’m going to do for long…”
3.  “Whoa!  No-no-no-no-no-no… Don’t want to do-- wait… do I?”  Ted thought for a beat.  “No.  Lucrative as that side of robotics may well be… let’s leave that to more… driven men.  Shower, delete preference profile ‘looking for a good time’.”
4.  “See!”  He pointed at her.  “Still the boss!  Respect commanded!”  The elevator door opened.  He walked in and turned around.  “Now please call ahead so that I can see the Research and Development engineers in my Research and Development company...”  He called back to Angela as the elevator doors closed.
5.  “I just realized this is the most I’ve been able to speak to a fellow scientist’s wife or girlfriend at one of these events without either her eyes completely glazing over, or outright running away and going to talk with Tony Stark instead…”
6.  “Yeah, you know how it is, Hank.  All these kids out there these days…  All hopped out of their gourds on... Fizz.”
7.  “I’m not going to kill him, Jeremiah.”  He mumbled whilst deep in facepalm.  “I might shave him bald and feed him each of his $5,000 suits, and the expensive Italian loafers he purchased with his undeserved senior executive salary, garnishing it generously with his own hair… but I’m not going to kill him.”
7b.  Back-end of Blue Beetle/Spider-Man crossover courtesy of @DocTachyon
8.  Tora nodded, and straightened up, hands on her hips.  “I should get out of here.  Make sure we get your B.B. Suit clear from when the police get here and do their sweep.  Did I say that right?” 
 “No, it doesn’t work like that.  B.B. gun is a play on words.  You know ‘Pew! Pew!’ like the kid’s toy?”  Ted said, making finger-guns.
9.  “How do you even put a thing like that on?  I mean it looks like it’d hurt your neck anyway, but...  Oh he’s wearing gloves!  Well that makes sense.  You wouldn't put a helmet like that on without gloves…”
10.  “That’d be right.  You drive around in a hotrod like this, all of a sudden you’ve got every two-bit wallcrawler out to make a buck stepping off the curb in front of you to drop a lawsuit.”
10b.  Crisis/Event Spider-man/Blue Beetle team-up courtesy of @DocTachyon
10c.  Crisis/Event Spider-Man/Blue Beetle team-up courtesy of DocTachyon
10d.  Crisis/Event Spider-Man/Blue Beetle team-up courtesy of DocTachyon
10e.  Crisis/Event
10f.  Crisis/Event Culmination - Captain America/Wonder Woman/Arsenal/Blue Beetle team-up courtesy of @Lord Wraith, @Webboysurf and [@Star Lord]
Epilogue.  “Just-- please don’t destroy the universe.  It has all of my stuff in it and I just got it how I like it.”  Ted facepalmed.

Season Two:
1.  First Post
2.  Post Two
3.  Post Three
4.  Post Four
5.  Post Five
6.  Post Six - Tora
Hound55 Member

Create-A-Hero RPG GM, Blue Bringer of BWAHAHA!

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