the Sultan of Swing

Powers:

Cybernetics: one of the first successful cybernetic experiments conducted by the Electronicists' League, Ed has various implants that were designed after years of trial and error - he's lucky he didn't wind up like his fellow League volunteers. Ed has these known cybernetic enhancements:

* Augmented Musculature (s): Ed's most dangerous enhancement has been a significant upgrade to his muscle structure. Thanks to a powerful, nigh-indestructible weave of powered, flexible fibers nestled within his own muscles, Ed has the impressive Strength score listed above.

* Augmented Skeleton (s): thanks to the use of a molecular resequencer, Ed has had all of his bones augmented to the point that they are virtually indestructible. Every bone in his body is now composed of Invium, a m.s. 20 metal, giving Ed +1 body armor vs physical attack.

Machine Gun Arms (a): weapons he normally reserves for 'mundane' opponents, these are twin guns mounted in each of Ed's arms. He can fire both to inflict his Agility +6 damage in a short burst or +7 full-auto, enhancing either by +1 when firing all four simultaneously.

They pop out, retract and fire at Ed's mental command, one gun mounted on each side of each lower arm, the barrels extending such that they flank his fists when fully activated. Thanks to his other augmentations, he can fire all four guns at once without tearing his body apart.

Equipment:

(none)

Hindrances:

(none)

Skills:

Espionage (i): Ed worked as a bounty hunter before his enhancement, and he sort of picked up this skill as a matter of trial and error. He is well-versed in finding those who wish to remain hidden, digging up odd clues about a crime or mystery, and is competent in surveillance operations.

Electronics (i): though he worked as a bounty hunter, Ed's true passion in life was electronics - he was fascinated by the world opening up before him thanks to advanced technology. He may attempt to operate, design or repair electronic devices at a reduced difficulty.

Marksmanship (a): while he has guns built into his very body, they are wielded different than most standard firearms, thanks to their positioning. As such, Ed has learned how to target opponents with a strange form of hand-eye coordination, and can hit what he's pointing at at a lowered difficulty.

Calling:

Soldier: while he could do a lot more with his impressive physical abilities, the sad truth is that Ed doesn't really want to. He simply wishes to live the high life, as it were, and is willing to do dirty work in order to achieve his goals. Doing good or doing evil, he mostly just does it for the paycheck.

Costume:

It may go without saying, but Ed dresses as an old-school Sultan - he is the Sultan of Swing, after all. His 'action' costume includes a white pair of baggy, white silk trousers, an impressive cerulean tunic, a white sash, and a pair of cerulean shoes with the toes curled upwards.

Personality:

Ed's something of an egotist, but then he is stronger and tougher than most men. He is given to long-winded blabber sessions while on the job, whatever it may be, and almost invariably underestimates his foes. Of course, he's stubborn enough that he usually wins out in the end anyway.

Real Name: Ed Feinstein
Occupation: mercenary, bounty hunter, troubleshooter
Legal Status: American citizen with a criminal record in several countries
Marital Status: divorced
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: the new Boogie Brigade

Height: 6' 2"
Hair: brown
Eyes: brown
Weight: 300 lbs (his cybernetics are heavy)
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: unlike most cyborg experiments conducted in his time, Ed is not all that visibly robotic. Most of his enhancements are internal, the only artificial bits showing being his four guns, two being mounted in each hand - and these retract back in when not in use.

Story:

Ed was born in Israel but raised in the United States, his parents tired of the perpetual violence they grew up with. Of course, New York City isn't all that nice a place when you get down to it, so Ed experienced his fair share of violence growing up. In the end though, Ed came out on top.

He became quite a brawler in high school, and wound up going to college to get a degree in electronics. His parents couldn't pay for it though, so oddly enough, Ed moonlighted as a bounty hunter. He worked with several other people at first, at least until he figured out what he was doing.

Though generally fated to have an unpleasant end thanks to his inexperience, several acquaintances of his, members of a new society calling itself the Electronicists' League, were looking for volunteers. Volunteers willing to subject themselves to surgery to upgrade themselves with experimental implants!

Thinking this could get him an edge in his line of work, Ed looked over the League's proposed experiments, and decided that they had a reasonable chance of success. So, he went under the knife - and the molecular resequencer - and when the knockout drugs wore off, Ed was... different.

He was unbelievably strong, for one thing. Apparently the League's new muscle-enhancing fiber weave worked, as did the guns that he had installed in his arms. Figuring out how to exude and retract them was quite a challenge, though not as much as actually firing them was - but Ed managed it in time.

After he recovered from his surgeries, Ed returned to bounty hunting, and did incredibly well at it - being partially invulnerable and having the ability to lift fifty tons makes you real good at catching people who skip bail. Ed was so good at his job, in fact, that he became somewhat famous.

Though his flashy get-up might have something to do with it. You see, Ed decided he was akin to a super-hero with his newfound abilities, and as such adopted a theme, if you will, that he wears while at work. This theme is that of an old-school Sultan, named after his current favorite song by the Dire Straits.

So, word quickly spread that the Sultan of Swing was on the job, taking down all kinds of people for the highest bidder, and by the early eighties Ed had even been interviewed by a few television reporters. This kind of notoriety is bad for you though, especially when there's people on the look-out for super-types.

People who have no problem putting them on ice. This is why the B.A.H. lured Ed into chasing down one of their own, and when he was thinking he was on the verge of capturing this fellow, this Team Gamma fellow told him he was under arrest. Arrest! Not that Ed didn't go down without a fight; he didn't do anything wrong.

Ed is one of the few people the Bureau of Ascendant Humans jailed that didn't actually use his abilities for evil, you see. They did so not because he was a menace so much as the world simply wasn't ready for the likes of him. Though they hated to do so, they nonetheless 'iced' him indefinitely.

Enter Disco Head. When this villain managed to escape the B.A.H. thanks to the machinations of the diabolical A-Lonse, he came back to assemble a team of super-thugs to save the world. Since time was short, he grabbed the first bunch of stasis pods he could get his hands on, one of which contained Ed.

Not amused that he was, in his opinion, wrongly imprisoned, Ed wanted to take down the B.A.H. prison facility. However, Disco Head told him of the graver threat posed to the world, the one that set the B.A.H. in motion in the first place: Gerald R. Ford, the demon-possessed former President.

Seeing the need for his power, Ed agreed to help Disco Head take on Ford, but only if he would in turn help Ed wipe out the B.A.H. afterward. Since he himself had a bone to pick with the government's ultra-super-duper-top-secret ascendant human police agency, Disco Head readily agreed to these terms.

So, as a member of the new Boogie Brigade, Ed helped Disco Head capture and neutralize Ford, but then Captain Cocksure, leader of the B.A.H., showed up with several vigilantes he didn't jail for some reason. Needing a diversion, Disco Head teleported to his headquarters with Miss Behavior 2.

This left the rest of the Brigade to fend off the would-be heroes that wishes to stop them. When he had the opportunity, Ed attempted to take down the visibly strongest member of their number, since that's generally his stock in trade. This means that he faced down the rocky vigilante, Stone Cold.

Though amazingly strong, and possessed of many handy implants, Ed was simply no match for the super powered mutant, who has both ice-generating powers and the ability to transform into rock. Stone Cold put the smack down on Ed and then went after Disco Head with his pals after they mopped up.

Shortly thereafter, Captain Cocksure's B.A.H. minions showed up to collect the super-powered people left in the wreckage of Ford's California home, one of which was Ed. In fact, other than Disco Head and Miss Behavior 2, only Browneye the Pirate managed to escape recapture by the Man.

This is why Ed was presumably put back on ice by the Bureau. Of course, since the man isn't really a criminal (some of his more exceptional bounty hunting forays notwithstanding), it is unclear just how much longer Ed will be on ice. This because, you know, technology is catching up to the League somewhat...

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