Clutch

F Gd 10

A Gd 10

S Ty 6

E Gd 10

R Gd 10

I Ty 6

P Ex 20

Res Gd 10

Pop Sh 0

Health: Karma:

36 36

Origin:

Like the vast majority of the Gi Joe combat force, Lance is simply a normal human, though an elite soldier who's been extensively trained in the principles of vehicular combat, various weapons of mass destruction, and standard infantry techniques.

Known Powers:

(none)

Equipment:

Colt M1911A1 Semi-Automatic Pistol: Lance packs a pistol at all times, in the event that he finds himself without other armament for some reason. This pistol is capable of inflicting Typical (6) Shooting damage per shot, and Lance can make eight shots with it before he needs to reload.

Helmet: since his job involves his getting shot at and driving vehicles in hazardous situations, Lance usually has a helmet on while 'on the job'. This item offers him Good (10) protection against any attack that strikes him on any part of his head besides his face.

the V.A.M.P., Mark 2: though the original V.A.M.P. is his baby, Lance has indeed had to move with the times, and when the basic model V.A.M.P. was updated to include a rocket launcher instead of .50 Caliber weapons, he just went with the flow. Like the Mark 1, see the new V.A.M.P.'s entry for more info.

Quirks:

High-Stress Capacity: one of Lance's noted mental oddities is that he rarely, if ever, takes any situation seriously, even if it involves severe personal risk to his person. Thanks to this, he receives a +2 CS when attempting to maintain a cool demeanor in the face of adversity.

Talents:

Detective / Espionage: having undergone specialized training in Covert Ops school, Lance can perform surveillance missions, infiltrations, and can typically piece together clues and such involving a crime or mystery of some type. He receives a +1 CS when performing actions towards these ends.

Guns: Lance has been trained in the use of all kinds of assault rifles and pistols, whether they be automatic or not. As such, he can wield just about any gun (save for your advanced, energy-types) at a +1 CS to his standard Agility rank.

Martial Arts type B: Lance's military training has provided him the basic tools of self-defense, which basically comes in the form of an offensive talent (in Lance's case). If unarmed, Lance can nonetheless make melee attacks at a +1 CS to his standard Fighting score.

Military: having been in the Army for a good long time, Lance knows military protocols like the back of his hand. Furthermore, he gains a +1 CS in all military matters, such as commanding troops, knowing rules and regulations, and receives the military as a free Contact.

Repair / Tinkering: one of the Joe's supreme gear-heads and grease monkeys, Lance can fix broken machinery and alter existing equipment into new devices as if his Reason score were +1 CS. He's been doing this since he was a kid, and always enjoys getting down and dirty with mechanical toys...

Vehicular Combat: Lance's extensive Army training has made him adept at taking shots at opponents while in a moving vehicle, and can do so at a +1 CS, helping him to avoid some penalties for shooting at (relatively) moving targets. This bonus also applies to his avoiding attacks while behind the wheel.

Contacts:

As a member of the Gi Joe team, Lance can rely upon that organization for aid should he need it, as the group never leaves its members out in the cold. Furthermore, since he's a military man, he can possibly rely upon the various American armed forces in a pinch on a mission, should they be available.

Costume:

Lance's second uniform, which he adopted when he began driving around the mark 2 V.A.M.P., was basically the same as his first, save for one notable difference. Since the mark 2 was meant to be a desert terrain vehicle, his uniform was tan in color, instead of green.

Personality:

A natural gear-head, Lance has been fixing, rebuilding, or otherwise modifying cars, trucks, and motorcycles since he was a young teen. Smooth and light-headed, Lance rarely, if ever, takes anything seriously, caring only for cars and women.

In fact, he's something of a relic of the early eighties, and seems to refer to women as 'chicks' still. But he's otherwise an okay guy. Really. Otherwise, why else would he be risking his life to protect the world on a nearly daily basis?!

Real Name: Lance J. Steinberg, Grade E-4
Occupation: Gi Joe vehicle driver
Legal Status: American citizen with no known criminal record
Marital Status: presumably single
Alias(es), if any: Double Clutch
Group Affiliation: Gi Joe

Height: 5' 10
Hair: black
Eyes: brown
Weight: 165 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: when he hasn't grown out a full beard and moustache, Clutch often has a rather unshaven look about him.

Story:

Born in Asbury Park, New Jersey, Lance grew up as a hopeless grease monkey, loving cars and little else while a teen. In fact, his first job involved his working for his uncle at an auto-garage. Lance eventually 'grew up' (as much as he could), and enlisted in the Army to forge himself a future.

After he finished basic training, Lance entered (and graduated from) several armored and wheeled vehicle training schools, and actually saved Colonel Abernathy from mercenary assassins once. This was what landed him a position in Special Counter-Terrorist Group Delta, code-named Gi Joe!

As one of the original members of Gi Joe, Lance has been on dozens of missions against the vicious terrorist organization known as Cobra, a ruthless band of cut-throats and mercenaries ruled by a disillusioned businessman with paranoid tendencies and delusions of grandeur.

Such missions included the invasion of Springfield, a town that had been used by Cobra in the States as their main headquarters, and participation in a civil war on Cobra Island (once the terrorists went legit for a time) between Cobra Commander and the genetically engineered Serpentor.

Furthermore, Lance has managed to run afoul of several Cobra agents while on leave with his good pal Rock 'n' Roll on occasion, usually when the duo (either by themselves or with Breaker) got in the way of one of the destructive Dreadnoks' joyride / rampage fests. This has happened at least twice.

The first time this occurred, Clutch, Rock 'n' Roll, and Breaker were on leave after being moved off of field duty, and on their road trip to Malibu Beach, the Dreadnoks attacked Rock 'n' Roll's ride, causing the trio of Joes to chase them down until they crashed, due to a hologram generated by Zartan's stolen bike.

The trio eventually got their payback, however. While they were being carted away in an ambulance after their wreck, the Joes saw the Dreadnoks fleeing the scene of another crime they'd committed, and (seeing through Zartan's bike's camouflage) smashed the Dreadnoks and their bikes up real good.

The second time Clutch and Rock 'n Roll ran into the Dreadnoks involved the duo's vacation to a town that had transformed itself into Broca Beach. This town was actually a Cobra front, from which Zarana was running all of Cobra's various money-making plots, such as pyramid schemes, real estate fraud, etc...

The two Joes had ran into several cops sporting rings with a Cobra sigil on it, and tried to leave, though they were recognized by the Dreadnoks as they fled, leading to their eventual capture. Taking advantage of this, Zarana reprogrammed their minds with the late Doctor Venom's brain-wave scanner.

Her ultimate goal involved letting the Joes go, and slipping them into the Pit, at which point she would trigger a murderous rampage within the two brainwashed men, though this failed when their inherent morals prevented them from acting against their pals and their base.

While they were later cleared of any brain damage after this incident, Zarana had done her work all too well, and Clutch and Rock 'n Roll never did figure out where they were reprogrammed. In fact, they couldn't remember what that happened during their trip to Broca Beach - or even that they'd been there.

Lance was a member of the team for the duration of its existence, as a vehicular combatant when not testing out new, prototype equipment for use in the war against Cobra. Though Gi Joe was disbanded in 1994, a recent rise in Cobra activity has caused the team to be activated once again.

Naturally, Lance answered the call of duty. Though he had a successful career in automotive racing going on, Lance was never one to sit back while other people had all the fun. So now he's a Joe again, driving various Joe vehicles on missions for the team, like his new desert coyote...

He stuck with the team through thick and thin, even during its second, pretend deactivation, up through the veritable end of Cobra, during the caper in which it instigated World War III. Though Cobra seems defeated, the Joes have been tasked with holding the entire world together.

The world needs time to rebuild after all the damage Cobra did to almost every major nation on earth...

Extra Goodies:

Gi Joe directories featuring a version of Clutch:

1982

1984

1993

2003