Backblast

Powers:

(none)

Equipment:

Anti-aircraft Launcher (i): Backblast's primary combat implement is a large launcher which he can use to target and destroy aircraft. This shoulder-mounted system is loaded with three projectiles in total, each of which inflict intensity 13 damage.

Helmet (s): Backblast naturally wears this head gear whenever he's in the field. Made from m.s. 8 materials, the helmet provides him +2 protection against physical attacks that strike him in the head (save for in the face), and like Screened Senses for his hearing.

Knife (s): handy should he need to chop something up in the field, Backblast always carries this blade in an arm holster. Made from m.s. 12 materials, he can use it to cut through like materials (given enough time), and to also inflict his Strength +2 damage in melee.

Monocular (w): helping him to keep tabs on the area surrounding his person, this device greatly extends Backblast's visual radius. When peering through his monocular, Backblast may increase his effective visual range out to line of sight, assuming no obstacles.

Semi-automatic Pistol (a): in the event that he has to deal with troops instead of heavily armed gunships or fighter jets, Backblast keeps this weapon handy, on a boot holster. He can fire it to inflict his Agility +4 damage in a single shot, raised to +5 in a semi-auto burst.

Submachine Gun (a): while he prefers his mega-blast anti-aircraft weapon against larger targets, this isn't always practical (if, say, he runs out of ammunition). In such instances Backblast fires this weapon to inflict his Agility +5 damage in a short burst, +6 fully automatic.

Hindrances:

(none)

Skills:

Artillery (a): his primary military specialty, Backblast is well versed in the use of most heavy ordnance. Whether wielding a mortar or his anti-aircraft missile system, Backblast may ignore range penalties, and wields such weapons at a reduced difficulty.

Boxing (s): though he'd prefer to fight with his hardware, Backblast has the ability to do without when the situation arises. He may divide his pre-cardplay action score between two unarmed melee attacks, the last of which will occur as a contingent action.

Electronics (i): though he doesn't get to use it often, Backblast's second military specialty involves the operation and upkeep of communications gear. As such, Backblast has been trained to understand military-spec electronics, and may work on them at a reduced difficulty.

Marksmanship (a): a vital skill everyone picks up in this man's modern military, Backblast is well versed in the art of gunplay. Whether he carries a standard, semi-automatic or fully automatic rifle or pistol, Backblast may wield it at a reduced difficulty.

Military / United States (w): the source of all his marketable talents, this skill serves as an origin of sorts for Backblast. It reflects his knowledge of the Standard Operating Procedure, as well as his inherent ability to fight in almost any combat unit if necessary.

Calling:

Soldier, with a secondary calling of Demolisher: Backblast is a soldier - and a good one - it's just that he has a problem with aircraft. His childhood makes him want to smash every single one he sees, and luckily his job as a Gi Joe gives him plenty of opportunities...

Costume:

Backblast's second Gi Joe field uniform is like his first. It includes a green T shirt with the Army logo printed on, beneath padded green webbing (for his rocket launcher), green camoflauged trousers, a green belt, dark green leather boots, and a thick, dark green helmet.

Personality:

Edward has nerves of steel and a bone to pick with most anything airborne. He's smart and aggressive, and is more than happy to do his job under the most adverse of conditions - after all, his job involves blowing up aircraft, and he enjoys smacking them down hard...

Real Name: Edward J. Menninger, Grade E-5
Occupation: air defense artillery, signal corpsman
Legal Status: citizen of the United States with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: Gi Joe

Height: 6'
Hair: brown
Eyes: brown
Weight: 200 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: Backblast wears a thick moustache most of the time.

Story:

The man who would grow up to become Backblast, Edward J. Menninger, grew up near the largest airport in the world. A New York City boy, you'd think he'd be used to a lot of racket throughout his daily life, but being under the landing path of jumbo jets can be rattling.

Their intense lights blaring through his window, the vibrations caused by their passage literally rattling things off of his furniture. It had an affect on Backblast - a bad one. When he enlisted in the Army, the first thing he asked was where he could go to shoot airplanes down.

Sure enough, his recruiter pointed him in the direction of air defense, and Edward has excelled with a level of ability that borders on the gleeful. He likes nothing more than grounding some obnoxious metal thing streaking through the air above him, or as it turns out, shooting at him.

Backblast proved good enough at his job that the Gi Joe team, which has an eye out for such single-minded military men and women, scooped him up. Once he'd made it through the horrific Gi Joe entrance exam, Backblast was an official member of the team, and put to work right away.

His very first mission saw Backblast in Sierra Gordo on a mission to rescue several Joes and members of the Oktober Guard who'd been captured there. In the field he proved his skills by downing a Cobra Condor, a powerful new bomber jet, that was dogging him and his teammates.

After this, Backblast was seen in several additional, major Gi Joe operations, such as the battle of Benzheen, where he was seen working with Rampart to provide cover to a covert mission launched by the Joes once hostilities had stopped, and Cobra supposedly pulled out.

Backblast continued on as a Joe until the group was disbanded for a time in '94. What he did after this time is unknown, but when the Gi Joe team was called in to intervene in the second Cobra Island Civil War, Backblast was ready and able to come to the aid of his former teammates.

He's been with the team on and off ever since, helping them out on major operations, up to and including World War III itself, which Cobra instigated to take over the entire planet once and for all! With the failure of this scheme, it falls upon the Joes to bring Cobra to justice.

And Backblast is there along with his fellows to finish the deed - after all, their aircraft are so pretty when he reduces them to burning hulks on the ground...

Extra Goodies:

Gi Joe directories featuring a version of Backblast: