Zartan 

F       A       S       E       R       I       P       Res     Pop
Rm 30   Ex 20   Rm 30   Rm 30   Ex 20   In 40   In 40   In 40   Ty -5

Health: 110
Karma:  100

Origin:

The man known only as Zartan is apparently a mutant, who wields several super human abilities above and beyond those of ordinary human beings. Furthermore, he has augmented his impressive powers with state of the art holographic technology and ninja training to make him a singularly dangerous man.

Known Powers:

Blending: his principal natural ability (aside from his exceptional Strength), this power allows Zartan to alter his coloration at will, which effectively allows him to either a) be very colorful, or b) blend into his surroundings. Usually using the latter, Zartan can blend into the background with Remarkable (30) ability, and people usually can't detect him visually as long as he's motionless.

Regeneration: Zartan's other, lesser known ability is his power to recover from injury at a tremendously accelerated rate; for instance, he healed up from several gunshot wounds inflicted upon his person in a mere day or two - one head and one thigh shot. Consider this a Good (10) ranked power, allowing Zartan to heal up one lost Hpt per turn.

Limitation / Weakness:

Vulnerability to Sunlight (optional): if you're playing the 'cartoon' version of Zartan, you must take into account his tremendous vulnerability to the sun's rays. If exposed to natural light, Zartan is almost incapacitated with pain, and must drop everything and flee into shadow. He's fine once the sun's rays are off of him, but he can not act until he's away from them.

Of course, it should be noted that recently, Zartan has exhibited signs of this weakness even in the new comics that he's appearing in of late; an effect of old age - or experimentation performed on his body at his request. However, this weakness seems to be in remission somewhat, and will apparently only affect Zartan if he uses his blending powers excessively.

Whether or not to utilize this weakness, of course, is up to you - since it varies so much in different media.

Equipment:

Assault Rifle: after his Dreadnok organization joined forces with a reborn Cobra, Zartan took to carrying around a heavy duty machine gun with him at all times. This gun can inflict Good (10) Shooting damage in a short, controlled burst, +1 CS in a fully automatic, ammunition-depleting hail of lead. It's equipped with a starlight scope for a +1 CS to any ambush / sniping shots Zartan may attempt.

Chameleon Swamp Skier: this small, one-man vehicle is sort of like a jet ski, but not quite. Held aloft on the water's surface by four skis, this little aquatic speeder is quite adept in maneuvers in crowded waterways, like those often found in a swamp (thick trees, etc...). Further, Zartan (or anybody else) can easily dismantle it and disguise it as a pile of junk... see its entry for more information.

Compound Bow: this special bow, of Excellent (20) material strength, has been modified to take Zartan's super-human strength into account. When firing an arrow from it, Zartan can inflict Remarkable (30) Shooting damage on an unsuspecting foe, using it to shoot through obstacles a body may be hiding behind (trees, building foundations, etc...).

Daggers: whenever he should find himself otherwise unarmed in a given situation, Zartan always has two daggers secreted on his person somewhere, either for throwing or thrusting attacks. These daggers are made of Incredible (40) material strength metals (to account for Zartan's enhanced strength), and inflict Remarkable (30) Edged Attack in his hands.

Disguise Kit: at times when it is impractical to utilize his mutant powers or his optical technology, or just to enhance the use of these capabilities, Zartan will often make use of a disguise kit, one that allows him to basically impersonate anybody of his approximate size and build - though with his skill, he can stretch this some. This kit comes with the appropriate makeup, wigs, false beards, and even clothes.

Holographic Costume: various elements on Zartan's costume are actually holographic emitters, allowing him to take the appearance of virtually anybody the man has seen in the past. This light-bending circuitry allows him to basically utilize the Imitation power, at Remarkable (30) rank, though this is boosted 1 CS if Zartan also uses his Blending power while imitating a body.

Holographic Vehicles: applying his revolutionary technology to various vehicles allows Zartan to drive about the nation with impunity, as he can look like a school bus, ambulance, mack truck, etc... Whatever he wants, really, with these Remarkable (30) ranked holographic generators. He has added this technology to at least two vehicles: his personal motorcycle, and a transport helicopter.

Laser Pistol: another application of his optical technology, this weapon allows Zartan to use light itself to kill people! In practice, Zartan can use this beam weapon to inflict Excellent (20) Armor Piercing Energy damage per deadly strike, and can most likely make up to eight shots with the device before it needs to be recharged. He refrains from using this weapon unless absolutely necessary, however.

Quirks:

Multiple Personalities (optional): if you're playing the version of Zartan that is, in fact, insane, you will want to give him this particular quirk. Basically, this describes him as having more distinct personas than you can shake a stick at, possibly a result of his practice of imitating the personalities of others for so long. Or, he's simply a lunatic - take your pick.

Talents:

Bows: Zartan is a master bowman, as has been shown time and again during his published tales. He wields any bow at +1 CS to his Agility score, including crossbows, and can also fire a shot and reload his bow within one turn. Furthermore, Zartan can fire off multiple shots within one combat turn, provided he can pass the necessary extra attacks roll.

Detective / Espionage: Zartan is a master spy, having incredible skills at infiltration even before you account for his ability to impersonate others. Furthermore, he has a keen eye, and easily notices small details in a situation that may reveal that all is not as it seems. He gains a +1 CS in all criminal and espionage matters, and gains a free crime, law enforcement, or espionage contact.

Disguise: the so-called master of disguise, Zartan knows that it takes more than mere visual appearance to imitate another. So, in addition to his holography, Zartan has learned how to imitate the voice, body language, and other not-so-obvious traits of another, effectively making his deception foolproof - unless he says something he shouldn't, that is...

Languages: Zartan is quite the linguist, and has utilized this trait in his infiltration exercises to the furthest. Having a mastery of over twenty tongues, it is assumed that he can speak all major languages in use on the earth today, as well as some of the minor ones. And, if he doesn't know it, Zartan can learn a new language for the small cost of only 500 Karma (neat, eh?).

Martial Arts types A, B, and E: Zartan's unarmed combat style allows him several benefits in a fight. Essentially, he receives a +1 initiative modifier in unarmed combat, can slam or stun an opponent regardless of the comparative Strength or Endurance between him and his foe, and he gains a +1 CS whenever making unarmed melee attacks.

Military: though it is unknown which nation sponsored this master of disguise as a young grunt, it is known that Zartan is a master of military practice and theory. He gains a +1 CS to any applicable FEAT roll concerning the military, gains the free Guns talent, and can utilize at least one extra contact from military circles (most likely from Cobra).

Optics: though competent with most matters of electronics design, construction, and repair, Zartan's genius really shows in the area of optics. This specialized area of electronics knowledge involves the usage of lasers and holography to produce various effects, and Zartan can wield this knowledge at his Reason score +1 CS.

Oriental Weapons: in addition to his vast experience with the bow, Zartan can also effectively wield any weapon, missile or melee, of oriental origin. Weapons such as nunchaku, shuriken, sais, katanas, and kris move fluidly in his hands, and he can wield them at his Fighting or Agility (as is applicable) +1 CS in battle - though he prefers his bow, mind you.

Weapon Specialist / Compound Bow: though he can use any bow with competence, his weapon of choice is a special compound bow that has been designed for people with exceptional Strength, like himself. He wields this special bow at his Agility +2 CS, and receives a +1 to his initiative score when using this weapon in combat.

Contacts:

As always, Zartan can rely on his loyal Dreadnoks to do his bidding, or otherwise help him out when he requires it. He made them what they are now, after all, and they all fear his wrath should they ... disappoint him. Furthermore, Zartan can call Destro, the Baroness, and even Billy, Cobra Commander's son, reliable contacts, as they are all former Cobra agents, and have become friends over the years.

Costume:

Zartan's eighth costume is similar to his first. It includes a steel plate over a gray long sleeved shirt, brown trousers, gray leather gloves, gray leather boots with steel plates on the front, gray shoulder pads, black thigh pads, a green belt, and his brown cowl.

Personality:

Supposedly, Zartan is an extreme paranoid schizophrenic, and has himself claimed to possess droves of differing personalities. However, this doesn't seem to be the case, as he demonstrates a level of cool-headedness that one simply couldn't reach by being a terminal mental case.

It is more likely that this master of disguise simply says this to confuse and befuddle would-be enemies. Unless, of course, Zartan is simply hiding his madness under a masterful personality mask of his own devising. With him, it's impossible to tell, and we may never know.

However, regardless of his mental state, it is important to note that, once Zartan sets his mind towards a goal (good or evil), there is nothing that can stand in the way of his success - he's very, very stubborn. Using charm, guile, or brute force, he will do anything to get his way. Anything.

Real Name: unknown
Occupation: assassin, mercenary
Legal Status: citizen of France with a criminal record there and in many other nations
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: Zartan has posed as innumerable folks over the years
Group Affiliation: the Dreadnoks, Cobra (on and off again)

Height: 5' 10
Hair: orange
Eyes: green
Weight: 190 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: it has been noted that Zartan looks just a little bit different each time you see him.

Story:

Notorious as a 'cosmic biker hit-man', the man known only as Zartan is supposedly of European origin, but plied his trade globally as both an assassin and a master of disguise. Having such a reputation, it was only a matter of time before the man who would become the original Cobra Commander, insane with grief, hired Zartan to kill the man he believed responsible for his brother's death.

This man, going by the alias Snake-Eyes, was a long range recon patrol soldier in the Vietnam war, and was currently being trained in the ninja arts thanks to the Arashikage ninja clan. Thinking this a challenge worthy of his talents, Zartan packed up and made for Japan, where he worked towards infiltrating the ninja clan. However, he quickly discovered that this was impossible.

So, looking for a 'back door' into the clan, so to speak, Zartan attempted to become the apprentice of Professor Onihashi, the clan's swordsmith, and kneeled outside the man's gate for six straight months, rain or shine. Impressed by this, the Professor interviewed Zartan in his gardens, where he could clearly see the bad karma that suffused his being.

Nonetheless, Onihashi decided to take Zartan in, hoping to temper his spirit as the men worked on a special commission for the Arashikage clan. The very next day, the two men made their way to Onihashi's forge, and started work on a unique blade for the Arashikage clan. When it was done, Zartan marveled at the perfection that the sword demonstrated, and felt at peace.

No longer feeling the need to kill Snake-Eyes, Zartan only wanted to help the old man make swords. However, this was not to be, for the Cobra Commander tracked Zartan down, and threatened to expose him to Onihashi as the assassin he was if he didn't fulfill the contract on Snake-Eyes. So, fearing the loss of his perfection, Zartan did the only thing he could - kill the American.

Stealing an arrow from another Arashikage ninja, Storm Shadow, Zartan used a sound amplified targeter on his bow, intending to kill Snake-Eyes before he knew what hit him. However, just then the clan lord, the Hard Master, was demonstrating the Cloak of the Chameleon, a technique to imitate the very sounds of another, such as breathing patterns, etc..., and Zartan accidentally killed him, instead.

He had been imitating Snake-Eyes.

Returning to the forge, Zartan found Professor Onihashi dead, having taken his own life in shame for what he allowed to happen. With Onihashi dead, Zartan had lost everything he ever wanted, and went completely over the edge. A broken man, he fell into a spree of criminal activity, and eventually became the leader of a rag-tag band of bikers known as the Dreadnoks.

These reprobates worked with Zartan as he fulfilled various contracts for Cobra Commander and others, working from their Florida Everglades hideout to ransack various people, places, and things all over America. Eventually, various Cobra high-ups made their way to his base as they fled from members of the Gi Joe team, and asked for the master of disguise's help.

This aid caused his Florida base to be compromised, and in retaliation, Zartan sought out the secret location of the Gi Joe headquarters. He failed in that, though he did manage to locate the Joe airfield, secreted within McGuire A.F.B., and he and the Dreadnoks tore apart much of the Joe's air power before they were forced off of the premises.

Zartan eventually managed to find the Joe base when he replaced the Gi Joe H.A.L.O. jumper, Ripcord, when the man illegally landed on Cobra Island, the sovereign state recently created in the Gulf of Mexico by Cobra Commander. When his team-mates came to save him, they inadvertently dragged Zartan off to their base, believing him to be Ripcord.

Once in their base, Zartan attempted to flee, but in a wounded state (Ripcord shot him up before Zartan could take him down), was easily defeated by new Joe Sgt. Slaughter. Zartan was eventually freed by his Dreadnoks (aided by his siblings, Zandar and Zarana), as one of them had already figured out where the Joe base was - it was under a minor military base on Long Island.

Zartan hung around to participate in several Cobra operations over the next few years, working for both Cobra Commander and Serpentor, who took the Commander's place when he was thought dead for a time, until shortly after the Cobra Civil War, where a false Cobra Commander appeared and deposed Serpentor - thanks to Zartan slaying the genetic construct as he was about to win the fight.

Shortly after this, Zartan went to kill Storm Shadow, who had been hunting him for years, even though the ninja had supposedly dropped his grudge against Zartan for framing him for the Hard Master's death. The two fought on the streets of San Francisco, though Zartan supposedly died when his car veered off the Golden Gate Bridge.

Zartan survived, however, and was tracked down by the Blind Master, another Arashikage master, who didn't forgive him for his black deeds in the past. The blind ninja had almost killed Zartan, when his student saw him about to kill a man, and freaked out. When he went to comfort his student, Zartan took advantage of the moment, and struck out against the Blind Master - lethally.

With his dying breath, the Blind Master revealed that Professor Onihashi had forgiven Zartan for his murderous deeds, and this shook Zartan so badly that he renounced his criminal ways. In order to make up for the damage he had done, Zartan took the guise of the Blind Master, and continued to teach his student in the ways of the ninja. He did this for months, until he returned to Cobra Island.

Zartan went there with Billy, the original Cobra Commander's son, and Tyrone, his erstwhile student, to expose the new Commander as an impostor. When they confronted the fake Commander about his true identity, the real Cobra Commander returned, and sealed them, along with several other Cobra agents he thought traitors, in the land-locked freighter on Cobra Island.

The Commander then sealed that within the island volcano.

However, this wasn't the end of Zartan's story, as he and Billy managed to escape from this live burial by digging their way out with the help of some partially functional B.A.T. robots. However, everybody else entombed within the volcano died of botulism - a fate that the Commander found amusing when he investigated the escape tunnel Zartan and Billy made.

Having nowhere else to go, the two ninjas made their way to the home of Destro and the Baroness, two other expatriate Cobra operatives, and stayed with them for several years, combining their forces as they battled with Cobra Commander on various fronts - usually because Cobra Commander wanted Destro's palace, a facility he had enhanced with Transformer-like technology!

Eventually reaching a stalemate, Cobra Commander had a resurrected Dr. Mindbender activate several mind control chips he had implanted within Zartan and Destro long ago, and turned them once again to Cobra service. The Commander eventually got the others, as well, in addition to Storm Shadow, who had come to investigate why Zartan and the others had rejoined Cobra.

Zartan continued on in Cobra's service, if unwillingly, performing various assassinations meant to destabilize the nations surrounding Cobra's own Borovia, a eastern European country they'd recently taken over. Zartan continued in this state for quite a while. In fact, when Cobra went under for awhile, he formed the Dreadnoks into a national biker gang comparable to the Hell's Angels.

Since then, he's been content to run his little criminal empire, but once Cobra Commander got his act back together and reformed Cobra, Zartan was inexorably drawn into Cobra's sphere of influence yet again. As is usually the case, Zartan has elected to remain on the periphery of Cobra activities, lending men and resources to the Commander's efforts while staying out of the group's politics.

This tendency remained for the duration of his association with the Cobra Commander, only expiring when the man was captured at long last by the Joes at the end of World War III, a conflict the Commander himself instigated. With that, Cobra was seemingly finished, so Zartan resumed his normal activity with the Dreadnoks, even though he's now one of the world's most wanted men...