Strength 8a

Agility 10b

Intellect 7c

Willpower 9b

Hand Size: Edge:

5 (30) 3

Known Powers:

Ninja Powers: nephew to both the Hard and Soft masters of the Arashikage ninja clan, Tommy was sent to study the 'family business' with them as a child, and mastered his martial arts prowess with them after the Vietnam War. He has to date demonstrated these supernatural, ninja trained powers:

* Arashikage Mind-Set: a rare and potent meditation technique, this mind-set allows those who are trained in its use, once they make eye contact, to instantly free a body from any sort of brainwashing or other mind control power or influence. This handy hypnotic ability works at intensity 15.

However, the Mind-Set also has a secondary use. It can be utilized to place a body in a sort of Zen combat trance, one which will focus their mind absolutely on a given task, to the detriment of all else that may concern said body - or even any sort of non-related action going on in the vicinity.

* the Cloak of the Chameleon: this unique Arashikage technique is one that they can use to disguise themselves as another person. Not in the visual sense, mind you, but in the actual assumption of their heart and breathing rate, their style of movement, and even the sounds they make when doing so.

This technique, the Cloak of the Chameleon, is a powerful complement to any disguise skills that one may utilize. In fact, it is so potent that it is about the only way to fool the Ear that Sees, another Arashikage technique that is on a par with superhuman senses of hearing. This ability works at intensity 15.

* the Ear that Sees: one of Tommy's most potent - and dangerous - ninja techniques is the Ear that Sees, an uncanny ability to tune his hearing to an almost super human degree. When using this technique, he can locate a target by the sounds they make - no matter how quiet they may be.

This allows him, when doing nothing else, to make hearing-based actions at a reduced difficulty level. This ninja-enhanced hearing ability is so potent that Tommy can target opponents without seeing them, even through solid objects such as walls or doors, thus ending their threat before they know what hits them.

* Psychic Link: Tommy has been shown to share a mental bond with his sword-brother, the one and only Snake-Eyes. This bond works on a global level, and likely has at intensity 20, allowing one to sense when the other is in trouble, powerful emotional conflicts, etc...

Equipment:

Claw (v2, v4): occasionally, Tommy will make use of a claw that is strapped onto the back of his wrist, one that has three long, thin blades extending from its wrist-strap. This item can be used to inflict +2 damage in melee (it is of m.s. 12), or it can aid him in difficult climbs.

Compound Bow (v1, v2, v5): his personal weapon of choice, Tommy can use this weapon to incredibly lethal effect if he so chooses. Any arrows he fires from this bow will inflict damage per a +3 weapon - and considering his skill with the bow, this is a bad, bad thing.

Crossbow (v9): for a short time, Tommy made use of this weapon instead of his normal bow. He can use this spring-loaded mechanism to inflict damage per a +3 weapon, though it takes a bit to reload; Tommy can fire this weapon once every other exchange.

Inviso-Power Suit (v4): an upgrade to his third costume, this uniform is equipped with specialized optic devices that act to effectively render its wearer invisible, at intensity 10. The origin of this experimental technology is as of yet unknown, but it may be based on Zartan's designs...

Katanas: while not as good with these weapons as is his sword-brother, Snake-Eyes, Tommy always carries at least one of these weapons on him at all times. He can use this blade (or blades, for he occasionally (v4, v6, v7) carries multiple blades) to inflict damage as though they were +4 weapons.

Knives: in addition to his Katana(s), Tommy is always armed with at least one shorter blade. Usually, these come in the form of a regular knife, but are occasionally (v1, v4, v5) accompanied by a Wakizashi, an Oriental short sword. These weapons allow Tommy to inflict +2 damage in melee.

Nunchaku (v1, v4): depending on his mission needs, Tommy occasionally carries one of these weapons with him into battle. Linked by chain, these two hard wooden sticks can be used to reach a target about five feet away from Tommy, and inflict +3 damage on impact.

Shuriken: Tommy has always got several throwing weapons on him, and if they aren't knives, they'll invariably be these throwing stars. He can use these small bladed weapons to inflict damage per +2 weapons to his foes, as long as they are within firing distance of his person.

Sickle (v3): rarely, Tommy will carry this creepy-looking weapon with him into melee. Made from strength 11 materials, Tommy can use this rather hooked blade to inflict +3 melee damage, though it has other applications, such as helping him to climb vertical surfaces, etc...

Uzi 9mm (v7 - v10): while he normally uses 'traditional' ninja weapons, Tommy has recently started carrying one of these firearms around, which can be used to inflict damage per a +4 weapon with a single shot, +5 damage with a small burst, or +6 damage by expending a full clip.

Hindrances:

(none)

Skills:

Bows: while he's competent with most other weapons related to the 'family business', Tommy is truly a world class archer. He can fire any style of bow at a reduced difficulty, and may in fact trump on any non-Doom suit while using such weapons in combat - not bad, eh?

Boxing: a portion of his frighteningly effective melee combat capability, this skill describes Tommy's unarmed fighting prowess. He may divide his pre-cardplay action score between two such attacks, the last of which will occur as a contingent action.

Brawling: another facet of his melee dominance, this skill denotes just how deadly the man can be - even when unarmed. If he reduces an opponent to zero (0) health (or cards) in unarmed melee, Tommy will render him or her comatose - and s/he may die without medical attention.

Climbing: his years as a ninja, whether he be the student or the master, have given Tommy quite the climbing ability. He can move up almost any vertical surface, even those that at first glance have no hand-holds to speak of, at one difficulty level lower than would otherwise be required.

Espionage: ever the stealthy, ninja master type, Tommy is good at this kind of work. Surveillance missions, information gathering operations, and even old-fashioned, hard-boiled detective work is his cup of tea. He can even tell when others are using this skill against him!

Languages / English and Japanese: being an American citizen of immediate Japanese descent, much less one that has trained in the martial arts for years in Japan, Tommy is assumed to be fluent in both English and Japanese. He may know additional tongues, but they have not yet been demonstrated.

Marksmanship: though he is one of the most accurate and dangerous archers in the world, Tommy is still more than competent with guns - any gun. Whether it be a standard, semi-automatic, or fully automatic rifle or pistol, Tommy may use such weapons at a reduced difficulty level.

Martial Arts: like his sword-brother, Snake-Eyes, Tommy is a master martial artist, one who can perform feats in melee that can truly boggle the mind. He is, in fact, a world class practitioner of the martial arts, being equaled in skill by almost no one. Almost.

Martial Arts Weapons: thanks to the extensive training he received from the Arashikage ninja clan, Tommy can competently use any oriental fighting weapon (blowgun, crossbow, katanas, kris, nunchaku, sais, and shuriken) - either in melee or when thrown - at a reduced difficulty level.

Military / United States: a long range recon patrolman during his stay in Vietnam, Tommy can be considered a highly trained military operative. This skill allows him to lead fighting men and women into battle, and offers him an inherent understanding of military protocols and procedures.

Survival: more than anything else, Tommy is rather skilled at keeping himself alive. Regardless of the environment, situation, or even what appears to be his obvious destruction, Tommy always wins out in the end - he's simply too stubborn to give up - especially since he's already died once...

Trance: Tommy has mastered the Sleeping Phoenix technique, giving him the ability to slow his metabolic processes to the point that he appears dead. If he passes an average intensity Willpower action, opposed by a person's Intellect, said person will believe him to be deceased.

Calling:

Vengeance: it would appear that, in his current state, Tommy is obsessed with vengeance against Snake-Eyes. He originally had the same motivations in regards to Zartan, though drifted into a Peace of Mind calling, and then finally a calling of a Soldier nature.

Costume:

Tommy's first adventurous costume, worn while he was first in service to the evil Cobra organization, is a simple one. It consists of white, loose-fitting trousers, a white, short sleeved shirt under a white vest with a red Cobra emblem on it, white boots, white wrist bands, a white mask, and a black sash.

His second costume, donned upon his activation as a G.I. Joe operative, is a bit different than the first. It consists of white, loose-fitting trousers, a white, long sleeved shirt, a white face mask, a white hood (all of which have a gray 'urban' camo pattern on them), white boots, and a white belt.

Tommy's third, Ninja Force costume, is a further departure from his first. It consists of black trousers that turn white towards the bottom, a black, long sleeved shirt that turns white towards the top, a black face mask, a white hood, a white sash, golden shoulder pads, white boots, and black gloves.

His fourth costume bore essentially the same look; however, in addition to its features, it added special, experimental 'inviso-power' devices that allowed Tommy to essentially become invisible. It is believed that these devices were based in part on Zartan's optic technology.

Tommy's fifth costume is close to his first in appearance. In fact, it is of the exact same style, save for the fact that it has black speckles on top of the trousers, on the shirt sleeves, and on the bottom of the vest - the latter of which now lacks a Cobra emblem. Additionally, the boots, wrist bands, and sash are gray.

His sixth costume, the one he wore upon his return to Cobra, is essentially identical to his third in style. However, he removed the black coloring from the outfit, and added a Cobra logo to the shirt. Of course, he also changed the shoulder pads to a black on white color, and ditched the gloves.

Tommy's seventh costume is somewhat different from his others. It consists of white, loose-fitting trousers, a white, long sleeved shirt, a red face mask under a white hood, black boots and gloves with red ankle and wrist bands on top, a black belt and holsters for his gear, and gray webbing to hold equipment pouches.

His eighth outfit is rather close in appearance to his previous one. It includes light gray, loose-fitting trousers, a light gray, long sleeved shirt, a red mask under a light gray hood, black boots and gloves with red ankle and wrist bands, a silvery belt, and brown webbing to hold his stuff.

Tommy's ninth Cobra uniform is a throwback to his previous fashions - specifically, his third. It has red, loose-fitting trousers, a red, long sleeved shirt, a black face mask, a red hood, a red sash, red and black shoulder pads, black boots, black gloves, a red belt, and various strapped on accessories.

His tenth uniform is a return to his more modern 2002 look. It consists of black, loose-fitting trousers, a black, long sleeved shirt, a white mask under a black hood, black boots and gloves with white ankle and wrist bands, a brown, pouch-laden belt, and brown webbing to hold his stuff.

Personality:

Tommy is a good guy, really, who is continually in the midst of incredibly bad situations. Despite having had to walk a hard road for the majority of his life, Tommy usually comes out on top, and he hasn't become a bitter man despite the years of hardship he's endured thanks to the G.I. Joe / Cobra conflict.

Real Name: Tommy Arashikage
Occupation: ninja
Legal Status: citizen of the United States with a considerable criminal record, one that is never really followed up on...
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: G.I. Joe (occasionally), Cobra (occasionally), former leader of the Ninja Force (G.I. Joe sub team)

Height: 5' 7"
Hair: black
Eyes: brown
Weight: 150 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: Tommy has the Arashikage ninja clan emblem tattooed onto his lower right arm. Also, he has several bullet hole scars on his chest from when the Baroness tried to shoot him dead, not to mention all kinds of other, minor scars elsewhere.

Story:

Tommy was born in San Francisco, but he didn't spend all of his childhood there, oh no. You see, when his father died, Tommy moved to Japan for a time, in order to study the 'family business' with his two uncles. Of course, the family business was that of the Arashikage - a powerful ninja clan!

Tommy stayed with his uncles until his eighteenth birthday, at which point he defied them to return to the United States, registering for the Draft. Soon after, Tommy was in the Army, and with his exceptional discipline, the young man quickly went through Airborne - and then Ranger - school.

Winding up in Vietnam thanks to his prowess, Tommy spent years in the same Long Range Recon Patrol unit as did Snake-Eyes, Stalker, and one Wade Collins, a man who would wind up getting entangled with Cobra as Tommy eventually did himself; though that's a tale for another time.

Tommy did get on rather well with Snake-Eyes, however, and the two were constant companions. Tommy seemed to do all the talking whenever the two of them were hanging out together - which was all the time - but the duo became incredibly tight friends during their time together in the 'Nam.

On a particularly hairy patrol, two members of their LRRP squad were killed, and it was thought that Wade was also slain; however, he managed to survive, and became a P.O.W. for several years. After Stalker called in an extraction, the enemy following the survivors caught up to them.

As Snake-Eyes covered them while they boarded the extraction Huey, he was gunned down from behind. Though Stalker ordered him to leave the man behind, Tommy leapt into action, dodging bullets like they weren't even moving, and retrieved his friend (and a picture of his twin sister) before leaving the field.

After the War, Tommy returned to Japan, and resumed his martial arts studies with his uncles: the Hard Master and the Soft Master. A terrible tragedy also brought Snake-Eyes to Japan, however, for Tommy had promised his good friend a place in the family business while they were in Vietnam.

Since he had nowhere else to go, Snake-Eyes took Tommy up on his offer. While Tommy had the edge on Snake-Eyes time-wise, Snake-Eyes' single-minded drive pushed him such that his mastery of the fighting arts grew in tiger leaps, and soon enough, the two were almost equal in martial prowess.

In fact, Snake-Eyes had managed to exceed his close friend's skill in the blade, even though he could never match Tommy's ability with the bow. While the two were like unto brothers, it eventually became apparent that the Hard Master favored Snake-Eyes over Tommy for eventual clan leadership.

Some of the Arashikage whispered that Tommy was secretly resentful of this, but this was far from the truth; Tommy would've never faulted Snake-Eyes for leading the ninjas if he had in fact been worthy of it. These whispers were what ultimately broke up the Arashikage ninja clan, however.

You see, unknown to everybody involved, the brother of the stoned-out Vietnam vet who had killed Snake-Eyes' family (the tragedy that drove him to Japan) was insane with grief over the death of his brother, and he felt the need to blame someone for his loss - irrationally, he chose Snake-Eyes.

To this end, he hired not one, but two assassins to take care of his blissfully unaware nemesis: Zartan, a mutant shapechanger, and Firefly, himself a ninja of the Koga clan. Infiltrating the Arashikage to get at Snake-Eyes, Firefly quickly learned that there was no way he could defeat the man.

As such, he brought Zartan in to help him with the plan. Though Zartan found he didn't want to go through with the job once he'd gotten used to his meditative life there in Japan, the man who hired him - the man who would eventually become the Cobra Commander - blackmailed him into finishing the job.

As such, armed with sound amplification gear and a compound bow worthy of his superhuman strength, Zartan went about his plan, stealing a practice arrow from Tommy (in order to implicate him for the deed) and listening to Snake-Eyes to learn the sounds that the man made - in order to kill him from a distance.

That night, the Hard Master was demonstrating the Cloak of the Chameleon to Snake-Eyes even as he offered to make him the heir to clan leadership instead of Tommy. Though he refused the offer, the Hard Master continued to demonstrate the Cloak - at least, until he was stricken down by an arrow.

One of Tommy's arrows!

Zartan had been listening for the sounds Snake-Eyes makes you see, and these were being issued forth from the Hard Master as he imitated Snake-Eyes - a truly impressive demonstration of the Cloak. As the other Arashikage discovered what had happened, Tommy fled into the night.

He was chasing the assassins down, but they managed to escape in a F.A.N.G. helicopter. Knowing what he must do, Tommy left the Arashikage at once, leaving his family to believe it was he that killed his uncle while he went to infiltrate Cobra, hoping to learn who it was that killed the Hard Master.

For years, he worked his way through the organization, and eventually became trusted enough to be Cobra Commander's own bodyguard. The Commander knew he could keep Tommy in check, though, for he promised to reveal the identity of the assassin for his loyal service.

This ultimately failed, however, for Tommy found himself impressed by the unwavering loyalty that the Commander's own son, Billy, had demonstrated to those that brainwashed him into an assassination attempt on his father. Seeing what the man would do to his own son, Tommy rescued him.

This got him on Cobra's bad side, for those that weren't behind the assassination attempt assumed that the whole thing was Tommy's idea. Regardless, Tommy disappeared for a while, setting up shop in a water tower atop one of New York City's many buildings, where he trained Billy in the family arts.

Tommy continued to do so until he was approached by Snake-Eyes, who had received the information that Tommy was looking for from the Soft Master - shortly before he was killed by Firefly and Scrap-Iron in Cobra's Springfield headquarters: they learned that Zartan was behind the Hard Master's death!

Traveling to Cobra Island in a stolen Rattler jet, the two ninjas put the beat-down on everything that Cobra threw at them, but the terrorist nation couldn't stop two master ninjas bent on revenge. They eventually caught up to the man they thought was Zartan, but was in fact the Joe known as Ripcord.

He had encountered Zartan on his own unauthorized mission to Cobra Island, and was defeated. Thinking this the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the Joes, Zartan took Ripcord's place while at the same time dressing Ripcord as himself, in order to confuse anybody looking into the mess until it was too late.

However, Cobra picked Ripcord up, and Professor Appel (a chief Crimson Guardsman) figured out who Ripcord really was: the Joe that was dating his daughter. When Tommy and Snake-Eyes came to kill 'Zartan', the Professor blocked Tommy's sword strike with his own body, sacrificing himself to save the Joe.

Launching the Firebat that he put Ripcord in as his dying action, the scientist passed even as the two ninjas found their mission to have ended in failure. Moving to get off the island before a concerted effort to eliminate them could be made, the two fought their way to the Cobra Island airport.

By the time they got there, though, it had been pretty much demolished when Destro and the Baroness' transport helicopter crashed there (after Cutter shot it down, of course). Deciding to try for a boat, the duo then stole a Cobra Hydrofoil, but were ultimately sunk on the island's rocky shores.

As the Joes nearby collected Snake-Eyes (they were originally there to rescue Ripcord, but saw the ninjas going to town on everybody present), they saw Tommy fighting it out with two Cobra Eels - and a bunch of sharks that were attracted by their blood. Only Tommy survived this encounter.

Only to be shot down by the Baroness as he reached the shore of Cobra Island. Not wanting such 'fine genetic material' to go to waste, Doctor Mindbender collected Tommy's limp body and put him into storage, transporting him to Springfield after he'd collected everything he needed for another project.

This project was, of course, the creation of the ultimate warrior, built from the genetic material of the earth's greatest military minds. In addition to the remnant genes used to make this warrior, Mindbender added Tommy's body in order to 'get some fresh blood into the mix'... which worked out rather well.

As he activated his apparatus, though, the essences of these dead warlords passed through Tommy's mind; he wasn't dead, you see, so much as deep in the trance of the Sleeping Phoenix. He'd been almost-dead this whole time, but the otherworldly energies he was exposed to him brought him back.

Though the experience changed him a whole lot.

Escaping from the city as the G.I. Joe team assaulted the city, tipped off to its location thanks to Ripcord (whose Firebat eventually brought him to the sleepy little terrorist town on autopilot), Tommy spent a short period of time with the Dreadnoks before finally infiltrating the G.I. Joe team's Pit headquarters.

Once he defeated the Joes that were in his way, he finally got what he wanted - to talk to Snake-Eyes. You see, his bizarre experience with the afterlife - or a small portion of it, at any rate - had made Tommy realize that he'd been living solely for revenge, and he suddenly felt dead inside.

Even if he was no longer dead without. Hoping to help his sword-brother, Snake-Eyes gave Tommy the key to what was left of his cabin in the High Sierras, thinking that would allow him to come to terms with his life. Tommy spent some time there, and did indeed sort his life out once and for all.

Having become quite philosophical, Tommy returned to civilization once he was ready, founding the Arashikage Martial Arts Academy in San Francisco. He ran this school for a time with both Billy (his apprentice) and Jinx, another Arashikage clan member and distant relative of his.

He did this for a time, at least until Zartan came after him with a busload of renegade, former Arashikage ninjas gone bad. The shapechanger believed that Tommy was still after him, not knowing that the ninja no longer wanted to kill him for his many misdeeds of the past, and Zartan was obsessing over this.

To this end, he and his ninja cronies assaulted the Academy with everything the had, the ultimate result of which was that Tommy almost killed Zartan, his van careening off the side of the Golden Gate Bridge during the two archers' incredible battle through the city of San Francisco.

Shortly after this, Tommy spent some time with Snake-Eyes and Scarlett (and Timber, of course) in the Sierras, during which time the ninjas that were formerly working with Zartan, the so-called Red Ninjas, tracked them down and tried to kill them. They naturally failed in this, of course...

Seeing that conflict surrounded him, Tommy decided to return to active military duty with Snake-Eyes and Scarlett, and assisted the G.I. Joe team with various tricky operations. This culminated with his becoming the leader of a new G.I. Joe task force, the so-called Ninja Force.

These guys were the G.I. Joe team's ultimate dirty tricks squad, and dealt with the growing number of such individuals that Cobra employed, like Slice, Dice, and of course the Night Creepers - thus allowing the more 'conventional' Joes to handle the 'normal' Cobra operatives on missions.

The Ninja Force was active up to and through the Battle of Millville, at which point they seem to have been disbanded. With the exception of Tommy, Snake-Eyes, and Scarlett, these martial artists journeyed to Harlem to reopen the Arashikage Martial Arts Academy anew - and opened it to anybody who wanted in.

Tommy continued to serve the Joes on covert missions, at least until one fateful day when he was captured in Cobra's new citadel in Trans-Carpathia, thanks to Doctor Mindbender's newly-devised, ninja-beating Cyberspace Matrix (which functioned almost like a 'danger room', really).

Tommy journeyed there to rescue his former apprentice, Billy, who had been captured by Cobra Commander - he obviously failed, however. Once they got their grubby little hands on him, Cobra Commander and Dr. Mindbender subjected him to the Brain-Wave Scanner, rewiring his personality.

While he was never really loyal to Cobra's cause before, the ninja was now truly a servant of the organization - even if unwillingly. As the Commander did with several other former operatives, like Destro, the Baroness, Zartan, and even Billy - he simply tinkered with Tommy's brain until he was 'evil'.

Snake-Eyes attempted in turn to rescue Tommy (and by proxy, the others), but their brainwashing was too complete, and in order to avoid hurting his friends, Snake-Eyes had to leave them to the tender mercies of the Commander - though he did beat the snot out of the villain for his troubles.

Shortly after this, the G.I. Joe team was disbanded, and the fight against Cobra was left to a very large contingent of conventional military forces - forces that ultimately disbanded the terrorist organization; this was possible only after the Commander abandoned the diplomatic safety that Cobra Island offered.

What exactly happened to Tommy at this point is unknown.

It is believed that Tommy eventually shrugged off the influence of the Brain-Wave Scanner, possibly thanks to the Arashikage Mindset - it had worked to counter the Commander's diabolical brain machine in the past. The exact story of what happened has yet to be revealed, however.

When the G.I. Joe team was reactivated a few years later, once the 'big brass' figured out that eradicating Cobra wasn't as easy as was first imagined, Tommy joined his sword-brother Snake-Eyes once again in the fight against evil, working in a three-man covert ops squad with Lady Jaye.

Something happened shortly after this, though, something that is not fully understood. You see, he has once again signed on with the forces of Cobra. In fact, while working with these evil thugs, even Tommy's amazing discipline is not enough to stifle his anger upon spying Snake-Eyes' presence.

It is not known if this is the result of some falling out between the two good friends, or whether Cobra Commander still holds some sway over the guy. Regardless, he's doing his level best to apply all of his many talents to the completion of the Commander's mad schemes.

As such, it's only a matter of time before things come to a head between Tommy and Snake-Eyes - and the results may not be pretty at all...