Agent 47 aka Mr. 47

---

Context

Hitman is a series of stealth/infiltration video games that started in 2000, and is still going very strong as of 2016. The protagonist is a quasi-superhuman assassin, with the games usually offering many different possibilities to conduct the missions. There is not set approach and the missions are more akin to tiny worlds.

This profile is based on the games up to Blood Money (released in 2006) inclusive, plus the first novel. They thus do not cover the movie version, who is a different character.

---

Advertisement

---

Background

---

Powers and Abilities

47 is a genetically enhanced clone designed to be the ultimate hitman. Some accounts describe his strength and agility as being superhuman, but his actual performance in those areas (and the exertion required for said performances) is within the normal range for a man of his size and build in excellent physical condition.

However, his manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and reflex speed are extraordinary. This makes him highly adept with all types of firearms and other ranged weapons.

His overall combat proficiency is equivalent to that of an elite special forces soldier. He has quickly prevailed against small groups of well-trained soldiers and bodyguards in direct firefights.

He has even defeated larger groups of professional paramilitary personnel and small groups of elite fighters (such as other top assassins with skills nearly equal to 47’s) by use of superior tactics.

---

Advertisement

Durability

Though his durability is not superhuman, 47 can take multiple gunshot wounds without significant hindrance so long as they are not to vital organs. A headshot will put 47 down as quickly as anyone else.

The closest he has come to dying from wounds was when he took a shot to the lower abdomen from a high-powered rifle. Though he was badly injured and bleeding profusely, he managed to make it back to his safe house several blocks away without assistance before temporarily succumbing to his wounds. He later regained consciousness long enough to summon a doctor.

Soon after the doctor finished his ministrations, 47 was back on his feet and moving almost as if he’d never been wounded in the first place (Mind Over Matter, Regeneration).

Infiltrator

47’s talents for stealth and infiltration are almost superhuman. The combination of his skills and knowledge have allowed to penetrate security as tough as the White House’s. There he assassinated both the Vice-President and the assassin that the VP had hired to kill the President himself.

Even though the other assassin had the advantage of extensive inside help and 47 did not, 47 still managed to intercept him in the Oval Office and kill him before he could complete his mission as well as terminating the heavily guarded vice president, all without being detected while on the White House grounds.

It is 47’s singular ruthless cunning that allows the amazing intrusion skills described above. They make him the most successful hitman alive even though his skills are for the most part equivalent to those of other top assassins.

Patterns analysis

While he usually receives detailed intelligence from the ICA and supplements it with his own surveillance, it is 47’s ability to analyze patterns of behavior and movement and then form all of this data into a coherent, complex, and spectacularly successful plan on the spur of the moment that accounts for his singular accomplishments.

The plots he develops on the fly are usually so well executed that they would easily be mistaken for pre-planned operations if one was not familiar with 47’s modus operandi.

Dr. Ort-Meyer attributed 47’s innate talents primarily to his 47^th chromosome. Most humans only have 46 chromosomes and the presence of an extra chromosome usually results in debilitating disorders.

Thus, most other efforts to duplicate Ort-Meyer’s work have been ultimately unsuccessful. Some parties have sought not just to eliminate 47 as a threat but also to collect tissue samples (preferably his corpse) for their own research or to destroy his body completely to prevent more such clones from being created.

Though various files of Dr. Ort-Meyer’s work are still in circulation, the data within is incomplete and would require samples of 47’s bone marrow to fill the gap.

Thus far, 47 remains the only successfully made Class I clone. Said classification is presumably a reference to a clone created without the defects that have thus far plagued other similar cloning efforts, including but not limited to albinism and shortened life spans.

By contrast, Class II clones are fully functional clones growth-accelerated to adulthood but tending to die within 18 months of maturity.

Silent Assassin

47 earns the finest wages in the assassin’s trade because of his talent for “silent” assassination. Some such killings are stealthy affairs in which 47 ghosts through a target’s security, kills him, and then fades from the scene without raising any alarms or injuring any other parties.

The most infamous of these hits are the ones made to look like accidents. Two examples of the latter are 47 posing as a sushi chef and “incorrectly” cutting a blowfish to fatally poison the target and impersonating a doctor in order to lethally “botch” a target’s surgical procedure.

Both 47 and his handlers at the ICA usually prefer that he operate in this manner. For 47, this practice not only makes the task at hand easier by avoiding unnecessary complications, it also helps to keep his methods from becoming known to other potential targets who might then be able to better protect themselves against him.

For the agency, avoiding collateral damage is useful for political reasons. A higher body count is more likely to result in more investigative efforts that might uncover their involvement, for example.

It is also desirable because many clients prefer or even require the hits in question to be carried out in this manner. For instance, if a rival political leader appears to die by accident rather than being obviously murdered, he is less likely to become a martyr for his cause or to cause suspicion for the opponent who ordered the hit).

For the most part this is, in DC Heroes terms, covered by 47’s various Skills and Advantages. He also makes judicious use of the “Altering the Game Environment” optional rule, usually applying 5 to 10 points to make sure there is a convenient place for hiding or an opportunity to acquire the proper suit to complete a disguise.

Clever uses of this should go a long way toward the Roleplaying and Miscellaneous Standard Awards if this character is used by a player. If he is being used by the GM, it is simply another aspect of depicting the character.

Brilliant Disguise

Though 47 is highly talented at stealth and circumvention of security systems and procedures, his most notable infiltration skill is his ability to pose as others. Through a combination of acting skill and body language, 47 can even disguise himself as someone who is radically different in appearance, at least enough so to withstand a cursory inspection.

For example, even though 47 is a tall pale-skinned bald man with stern Nordic features, he has passed himself off as a guard among groups of Asians and Columbians. 47’s artistry in this regard has even allowed him successfully disguise himself on occasion as a specific person known to the particular target he was meeting.

This gets complemented by inventive rationales for any notable discrepancies. Once he explained being 30 pounds lighter than the man whose identity he assumed by reference to the prison stint served by that man since he had last met the target: “Prison food sucks, man” (Hitman: The Enemy Within).

Notes about disguises

These efforts at disguise only require switching clothes with a target in the video games. Yet it would be reasonable to assume this is merely artistic license for more comprehensive traditional disguise efforts such as application of make-up and prosthetics. This is how 47’s disguises were depicted in the Hitman novel.

If 47 is being used in a game including characters with superpowers, GMs might consider more extraordinary options, such as a low-level telepathic ability that simply convinces others that 47 is one of the group and not a threat. For one example of how such an ability would work in game terms, see the writeup for the French Gendarmerie agent Godot on WORG.

In 47’s case there would be a further limitation that his disguise aura becomes ineffective against those alerted to his potential disguise.

For example, in the games 47 can put on a guard’s uniform and pass other guards unnoticed unless someone finds the body of the guard he took his disguise from. At this point an alarm is raised for a suspicious person in a guard’s uniform and the disguise no longer fools anyone.

However, if 47 puts on another type of uniform such as a waiter’s outfit at that point, that new disguise will be completely effective so long as the original owner’s body is not found.

Rough Trade

47 works for the International Contract Agency (ICA). This independent company acts as a middleman for professional hitmen and their clients. By maintaining a double-blind arrangement so that the client and contract killer remain unaware of one another’s identity, the ICA provides operational security and deniability to both parties.

The ICA’s motto is Merces Letifer, a Latin phrase that roughly translates as “Deadly Trade,” or “Death as Business.” The exact origin of the ICA is unknown. There have been implications of a connection with both the British governments and, to a lesser extent, the American government.

The ICA’s primary service to its assassins is providing intelligence regarding the target and possible means to get to him. In DC Heroes terms this means that 47 usually has the equivalent of Area Knowledge regarding the site of the assigned contract. He will also know the patterns of the staff’s movements and potential points of vulnerability (weak points in security, locations of potentially useful items on-site, etc.).

If desired, the ICA can also provide extra weaponry in a hidden cache near the site of the planned hit. This can be particularly valuable in minimizing the chances of detection prior to carrying out the hit itself. It allows the hitman to travel to the site without the added difficulty of smuggling his weapons in himself.

In these cases, the ICA usually charges the assassin only for the market value of the weapons themselves, with delivery being a free service.

“He obviously learned too much about me. I can’t have that, not even in my death.”

Both for professional reasons and likely also as a response to a lifetime of being a research subject, 47 is particularly cold-blooded about taking whatever steps are necessary to conceal his identity and details of his past. His diligence in eliminating critical records of Dr. Ort-Meyer’s have for the most part accomplished the latter goal.

The former still shapes his behavior in ways subtle and profound (hence the SIA in his DC Heroes stats).

Some of his methods for concealing his identity are as basic as avoiding meals in chain restaurants because they are more likely to have video surveillance. 47 will also eliminate any items that might have his DNA on it (such as food wrappers from his meals and towels used at hotels). He will burn them if possible, or otherwise dispose of them in locations other than the one he is currently staying at.

An example of a more extreme action was the killing of a deliveryman who brought him a telegram while on a mission. He called the man into his apartment under the guise of giving him a tip and then shot him with a silenced pistol.

One particular moment of daring in pursuit of this agenda took place in France when a large GIGN contingent surrounded 47’s hotel. The hitman had been wounded by members of a rival assassins’ agency. Realizing that the lieutenant on the scene was part of the group that had tried to kill him, 47 did not simply elude the capture teams but actually circled around.

Instead he infiltrated the police lines outside. He then quietly killed the lieutenant at point blank range in the middle of a gathering of police before escaping without a trace.

These efforts have ultimately proven successful enough. Only those in the upper reaches of the assassin’s trade, law enforcement, and related governmental agencies know that 47 is a real person and not simply an urban legend.

This focus on secrecy may also go a long way toward explaining how an assassin with such prominent visually distinguishing features still manages to go undetected on his missions.

Hitman: Resurrection

The exact status of 47’s connection with Diana Burnwood and the ICA in the wake of the events of Blood Money is unknown. 47 may well rejoin the reborn agency or instead operate as a freelancer.

His inheritance of half of the original ICA’s resources may have increased his wealth considerably. It might also provide new resources for intelligence and equipment. This can be exploited by GMs to make changes to the way 47 operates while still remaining true to the original storylines.

---

Video

Trailer for the 2015 game.

---

History

(Note: The chronology below generally assumes that the events of the games occur roughly concurrently with the years they were released when specific in-game dates are not given.)

In the 1950s, the discredited Romanian geneticist Dr. Otto Wolfgang Ort-Meyer (sometimes spelled Ortmeier) joined the French Foreign Legion. His goal was to further his dream of creating the perfect warrior. He sought individuals within the Legion who had both impressive natural qualities to serve as gene donors, and influential social ties to provide the necessary funding for his work.

Four candidates ultimately presented themselves :

• Chinese crime lord Lee Hong.
• Latin American drug dealer Pablo Belisario Ochoa.
• Austrian terrorist-for-hire Franz Fuchs.
• Russian arms smuggler Arkadij “Boris” Jegorov.

Together, these men became known as the “Five Fathers”. They would support Ort-Meyer’s research in exchange for specialized medical treatment and the chance to employ whatever supersoldiers the doctor managed to create.

Dr. Ort-Meyer spent the next few decades managing a Romanian asylum, the basement of which housed a secret laboratory for his genetic experiments. Meanwhile the other Fathers rose to the tops of their respective fields.

Though Ort-Meyer’s dream of a cloned supersoldier would not be realized for a very long time, his early cloning efforts provided replacement organs for the Fathers, which extended their longevity and thus assured their continued support of Ort-Meyer’s research. (Codename 47)

Enters 47

47 was the culmination of Dr. Ort-Meyer’s work. He was born on September 5^th, 1964, as part of Ort-Meyer’s Series IV clone line. 47 spent the first 30 years of his life undergoing constant mental and physical training and testing.

The preparation for his role as a hitman even extended to things such as being employed in the asylum’s slaughterhouse at the age of 10 so 47 would become accustomed to killing as well as the sight and smell of mutilated bodies. Quiet and inquisitive, 47 was a natural marksman. He even began to make improvised projectile weapons such as slingshots.

As 47 grew older he displayed increasing signs of rebelliousness that troubled Dr. Ort-Meyer. He began fighting with doctors as they attempted to give him shots or take blood samples. When he found tasks insufficiently challenging, 47 would indulge in more imaginative approaches. When practicing with firearms he would forego simply hitting the bull’s-eye, instead shooting smiley faces in his targets. (Silent Assassin)

First kill

One of the most notable signs of 47’s potential was his assassination of clone brother Number 6 at the age of 12. 6 was a sadist who especially enjoyed tormenting the more intelligent 47.

He regularly chose 47 as his sparring opponent in their kickboxing classes so he could pummel his rival, killed the stray mouse that 47 liked to feed with crumbs taken from the cafeteria, and soiled 47’s bed with human feces.

47 finally tired of 6’s abuse and monitored his habits. Noting that 6 always awoke around 3am to urinate, 47 snuck after him one night and ambushed him in the bathroom, killing 6 with a homemade garrote. 47 then fled the asylum to a nearby Transylvanian city.

Though his studies had included detailed knowledge of the outside world, 47 had never actually been outside the asylum. He was quickly caught by Headmaster Lazlow, the commanding officer of the clones’ trainers. Far from being upset as 47 feared, Lazlow was pleased with 47’s work. He took the cold and frightened young man to a restaurant for a nice warm breakfast.

Lazlow explained that 6’s sadism was considered a weakness because it distracted from the efficient execution of his duties. Ort-Meyer had planned to eliminate 6 anyway. 47 had only done what his masters had planned to do themselves and in the process demonstrated the talents that made him superior to 6 in their eyes.

Lazlow only asked that 47 not kill anyone else without getting permission first. Because of the meal that they shared during this talk, 47 would come to consider a good breakfast as the most important meal of the day for nostalgic as well as practical reasons. (Enemy Within)

Asset deployed

In 1998, after more than three decades of intense training for his most prized creation, Dr. Ort-Meyer chose to set 47 into play.

Though 47 had obviously tired of his confinement, he was unable to leave the asylum as he had when he was younger. Overall security had presumably been increased. The surviving clones now spent most of their time in the much more restrictive underground facility rather than in the asylum itself.

Ort-Meyer deliberately introduced a flaw in the facility’s security which 47 exploited to escape the asylum, unaware that this was part of the doctor’s manipulations.

Sometime after his escape, 47 came into contact with the International Contract Agency (ICA), a freelance organization that served as a middleman for expert hitmen and their clients. 47 superbly distinguished himself in their employ.

At one point in his career it was noted that while 47 had only performed three percent of the Agency’s hits in a single particular fiscal year, these had been the most difficult contracts that the agency had taken. Their completion was responsible for 37.2 percent of the ICA’s gross profits during that period (Enemy Within).

By 1999, one year after he had escaped the asylum, 47 was taking his assignments directly from Diana Burnwood, director of the ICA. (Codename 47)

Parricides

At this point, Dr. Ort-Meyer decided to take a more direct hand in 47’s destiny. His first goal was to eliminate the other Fathers so he could retain complete control over his clone creations. Ort-Meyer used the simple expedient of hiring 47 through the ICA.

47’s missions during the next year were against each of the Fathers’ organizations. All of them culminated in the assassination of the Fathers themselves. While 47 was unaware of the Fathers’ connection to his origins, he and the ICA uncovered evidence that they were all connected to one another and to Dr. Ort-Meyer.

47 even began having dreams recalling childhood memories of the Fathers’ meeting with Ort-Meyer. But at the time he had seen them only as shadowy figures in a darkened room.

Early in 2000, Ort-Meyer’s final contract took 47 back to the asylum that he had lived in all of his life. 47 had been assigned to kill one of the doctors there, who presumably also stood in Ort-Meyer’s way. After 47 had killed the target, it was intended that he would in turn be taken down by the SWAT team that had been called in by Ort-Meyer.

Instead 47 was able to evade the SWAT team by disguising himself as one of the asylum staff and then penetrated the underground facility in search of answers. Therein, Ort-Meyer congratulated 47 on his skill but bemoaned his independence and then set out to kill him by releasing the 48s, ten clones of 47 modified to be unquestioningly loyal to Ort-Meyer.

47 defeated them one by one. He then used the barcode on the corpse of one to bypass the barcode scanner securing Dr. Ort-Meyer’s lab. 47 shot Ort-Meyer before the doctor could see through the deception. Cradling the doctor in his arms, 47 was congratulated by Ort-Meyer for his ingenuity just before he snapped the doctor’s neck. (Codename 47)

Monastero

With Dr. Ort-Meyer dead, 47 removed the information regarding his creation from the doctor’s lab. He then slipped past the SWAT team storming the asylum in response to the numerous alarms raised during the firefight (Contracts).

47 decided to retire, donating his money to the Roman Catholic Church. He became a gardener at Gontranno Monastery in Sicily. 47 came to think of Padre Vittorio, the small monastery’s sole priest, as a friend and mentor. He confessed his sins to Vittorio and discussed the issue of redemption. (Silent Assassin)

While 47’s background seems to indicate no previous religious affiliation of any kind, it is easy to speculate on the factors that might have attracted him to the Catholicism in general and monastery life in particular.

The concept of original sin would likely resonate very strongly with a man created by criminal masterminds to be the perfect killer. As would the possibility of redemption by rejecting the malevolent intent he was made for. 47 also evinced an intellectual curiosity about the theological implications of his artificial origin and his place in the world.

Similarly, life as a gardener in a small monastery would probably be simple and routine enough to comfortably resemble the Spartan life 47 led at the asylum. It would also replace the brutal elements of inhospitable medical examinations and martial training with more life-affirming alternatives of spiritual exploration and the learning of horticulture.

After almost two years at Gontranno, 47 was drawn back into the world by the kidnapping of Padre Vittorio by local mafia thugs. They had somehow discovered 47’s identity and decided to profit from the knowledge by taking the padre for a $500,000 ransom.

The Zavorotko gambit

Renewing his contact with the ICA, 47 agreed to go to accept some new contracts in exchange for information about the kidnapping.

The ICA’s investigation revealed that Vittorio was being held in the Sicilian mansion of mafia Capo Giuseppe Guilliano. 47 infiltrated the heavily patrolled grounds and killed the Capo in his own office. He learned shortly thereafter that Vittorio had already been spirited away from the grounds by 4 men who appeared to be in Russian military uniforms.

While awaiting further information from the ICA regarding Vittorio’s status and whereabouts, 47 completed various ICA contracts as agreed in exchange for their help. Once again, 47 and the ICA discovered that these contracts had a secret link, this time to Russian arms smuggler Sergei Zavorotko.

Zavorotko was the older brother of Boris Jegorov, one of the Five Fathers. He learned of 47’s existence while investigating Boris’s death. Sergei had kidnapped Vittorio to bring 47 out of retirement. He then gave him contracts through the ICA to cover up the theft of a nuclear weapon by Sergei’s organization.

The wrap-up to the operation was supposed to be a false mission given to 47 that placed him in the gun sights of another clone, 17. But 47 saw through the ruse and killed his clone brother first.

With that attempt having failed, Zavorotko chose instead to confront 47 at Gontranno Monastery with Vittorio as bait. But 47 managed to pick off the almost two dozen men Sergei had guarding the Monastery before killing the Russian smuggler himself.

Back on the job

Realizing that his place was not with the monastery, 47 returned to his previous profession. Vittorio gave 47 a silver cross necklace to take with him, imploring him to try to live a moral life and find peace, but 47 simply left the necklace hanging on a nail before departing the monastery, a symbolic gesture indicating his belief that his life was on a different path. (Silent Assassin)

Though 47 had rejected the church as a home, he did not bear any ill will toward it or Padre Vittorio. He even contacted Vittorio on one occasion since then to give shelter to some abandoned children 47 came across on a mission, an act of charity necessary to placate others who were assisting him. (Enemy Within)

After that 47 returned to business as usual, once again becoming the ICA’s most prominent assassin. This made him a critical target for two separate groups who sought to supplant the ICA as a talent agency for hitmen.

The first was Puissance Treize (French for “To the 13^th”), which had subverted one of the ICA’s top members and sought to eliminate 47 and thus deprive the agency of its single most profitable contractor.

47 survived the rival group’s attempt on his life and investigated the case on behalf of the ICA, eventually uncovering and killing the traitor in the ranks. Puissance Treize was ironically weakened by this effort as several of their finest assassins died trying to eliminate 47. (Enemy Within)

A second similar effort was undertaken in 2004 by The Franchise, a US-based ICA counterpart founded by Leland Alexander, former head of the FBI. The Franchise had their own clone assassins. They sought not only to eliminate the ICA and 47 as competitors but also to kill the current US president.

Their goal was to keep him from legalizing cloning research, which would have threatened the Franchise’s monopoly in that area.

The Franchise

The Franchise was much more successful than Puissance Treize in their efforts. Alexander was able to channel official government resources into an international task force dedicated to catching 47. He also used the Franchise’s extra-legal resources for the same purpose.

By August, 2005, Diana Burnwood and 47 were the only surviving members of the ICA. Burnwood split the remaining resources of the ICA with 47 at the same time that she gave him his last mission.

After that mission ended, a CIA agent acquainted with 47 contacted him about another contract: killing the Franchise’s head assassin, Mark Parchezzi III. The primary goal was to stop Parchezzi before he could assassinate the President of the United States. The secondary goald was to take out the vice-President, who had hired Parchezzi for the hit.

47 completed both tasks and escaped the White House grounds. Afterwards, he was met by Diana Burnwood, who betrayed 47 by poisoning him on the Franchise’s orders. The Franchise rewarded Diana for killing 47 by inducting her into their organization.

Double cross

Unfortunately for the Franchise, 47’s death was an elaborate ruse by Burnwood. The poison had not actually killed 47 but instead put him into a coma simulating death.

As the Franchise prepared to cremate 47 (to ensure that no one else would learn Ort-Meyer’s techniques and make new rivals for the Franchise’s clones), a disguised Diana surreptitiously applied a stimulant to 47.

47 awoke during his own wake and murdered all of the Franchise members present, including Leland Alexander. He also killed the officiating priest and reporter Rick Henderson, who had been called in by Leland to cover the Franchise’s version of the story. 47 thus maintained the secrecy of his existence.

Diana went on to rebuild the ICA. 47 is still apparently operating as an assassin, now working freelance. (Blood Money)

---

Description

A tall white male of average build, 47 manages to generally avoid notice despite several visually distinguishing characteristics. He is bald with pale, lightly freckled skin and a classically Nordic face (strong brow, high cheekbones, and an almost-aquiline nose).

These distinct facial features are made all the more prominent by his usual facial expression, a tight-lipped near-frown and a cold, intense gaze.

Another signature part of his appearance is a barcode tattoo centered on the back of his head. Underneath the barcode is the numeric sequence 640509-040147.

The first six digits note the year, month, and date of 47’s inception and the second series of digits note that he is the 47^th of the first line of Ort-Meyer’s Series IV clones. The barcode itself is a reproduction of that same numeric series in Code 39.

While on missions 47 wears whatever attire is appropriate to the task on hand, usually an unobtrusive disguise acquired on-site. His preferred dress is a well-tailored black suit with red silk lining, a white dress shirt, a tie with alternating diagonal stripes of red and maroon separated by thin gold lines, and black leather gloves. This makes him look somewhat like the director of an upper-class mortuary.

Realizing the value of well-maintained equipment, all of 47’s gear is always in excellent condition and immaculately clean. Signature items such as the sleek black laptop provided by the ICA and his chromed AMT Hardballers are often embossed with the modified fleur-de-lys that symbolized Dr. Ort-Meyer’s lab.

---

Personality

47 takes the phrase “all business” to a new level. He has an almost flat affect, with minimal inflection. The latter only show either:

• When he is trying to be cordial (which usually only occurs when he is striking up a conversation with others to elicit information).
• When is highly annoyed with someone (which is only a factor when 47 has to deal with an associate whose behavior at the moment does not meet 47’s professional standards).

47 only expresses something approaching the normal range of human emotion when he is playing the role of another. During extremely dire moments, such as the time in France where he had been almost fatally wounded and was surrounded by GIGN officers, he can get somewhat contemplative for a moment (see the relevant quote below).

Even this is a passing thing and 47 will quickly resume his usual coldly calculating behavior.

Even 47’s manner of speech falls into that same pattern. He talks in a sedate, precise manner and manages to be curt to the point of being abrupt even though he is articulating in a near-drawl.

The only time 47 has been witnessed even raising his voice or losing his otherwise even temper was when Diana had apparently betrayed and fatally poisoned him, at which point he simply cursed, “Bitch !” before losing consciousness.

While he can be extremely ruthless when eliminating a target or a threat to his identity, 47 is otherwise not even a particularly violent person. Even when on a mission, he will not kill anyone unless he needs to, preferring non-lethal takedowns such as stranglehold or use of tranquilizers.

However, this seems to be rooted in pride over precision in executing his craft rather than any quality of mercy. For 47, violence is a tool of the trade to be used only when appropriate and even then only to the extent necessary.

Affection

There is little room for affection in 47’s life. He engages in no personal relationships of any kind with other people. The closest he came to such a thing was the trust he had in Diana Burnwood.

Even then 47 was obviously annoyed in his own low-key way at a perceived lack of professionalism when she met with him personally on occasion during the Franchise’s dismantling of the ICA. He always preferred to maintain as much separation between himself, his employers and his clients as possible for reasons of security.

Displays of affection or gratitude by those 47 has ended up helping are met with mild puzzlement or even slight disdain.

This trend stems back to the loss of his childhood pets in the asylum, with 6 killing the stray mouse 47 was feeding and Dr. Ort-Meyer euthanizing the lab rabbit 47 had grown fond of. These separate incidents taught the same lesson, the former inadvertently and the latter deliberately — avoid attachment because everything ends in death.

He still keeps the occasional small convenient pet, 47 obviously considers them completely expendable. Once, when 47 heard an intruder enter his hideout and his parakeet’s chirping made it difficult for him to hear the other person’s movements, he reached back and snapped the bird’s neck without even bothering to look at it, focused entirely on his apparent adversary.

Those loner tendencies of 47’s can be carried to a fault sometimes. Even when targeted for death by large well-connected groups such as the Franchise, 47 was inclined to face them alone rather than accept Diana’s aid.

This was part of the reason for her ruse in “killing” 47. It not only tricked the Franchise into trusting her, but it also forced 47 to effectively accept Diana’s assistance and use her more subtle plan rather than taking the more dangerous course of fighting the Franchise directly on his own.

Not that sort of boy

47’s flat affect and lack of personal connections in combination with his ability to create a charming persona, his lack of remorse over his actions, and his disregard for the law and social norms might incline others to assume that he is a sociopath (or more properly, has antisocial personality disorder).

However, such a diagnosis is likely in error as there are several common traits of sociopaths that are absent from 47’s behavior. He is not impulsive or prone to thrill-seeking or risk-taking, instead being extremely patient, methodical, and as cautious as he can be given the nature of his profession.

He is fully capable of making and adhering to long-term plans, making reasonable judgments, and learning from experience.

Though 47 often commits violent acts they are very deliberate and solely instrumental rather than being the result of emotional volatility. He does not attempt to rationalize or shift the blame for his actions and has shown none of the fragile ego or low self-esteem typical those with antisocial disorder. He even accepted his inability to achieve redemption with an almost bland equanimity.

---

Quotes

Guard: “What the fuck you lookin’ at, cracker ?”
47: “I’m here to see Joseph Clarence.”
Guard: “Never heard of him.”
47: “Mr. Swing King.”
Guard: “Oh, that sorry-ass dickhead. What the fuck they call you ?”
47: “Names are for friends, so I don’t need one.” (Knocks guard unconscious)

47: “My client has hired me to show you this photograph.”
Joseph Clarence: “I don’t understand.”
47: “My client has asked me to ensure it’s the last thing you ever see. Please, look at the photograph, Mr. Clarence.”

Agent Smith: “I hope we meet again under more favorable circumstances.”
47: “Yes, that might seem possible… to you.”

47: “So, you’re the famous Mark Parchezzi the Third.”
Parchezzi: “You don’t want to kill me, 47. I’m just like you.”
47: “Our similarities are irrelevant.”
Parchezzi: “We’re practically brothers. You can’t shoot me.”
47: “I can do whatever I’m paid to.”

(Upon leaving Gontranno Monastery) “Always knew I never belonged in this world. I wasn’t made for this. But I’ll never forget — those who betrayed me, and those who never failed my trust. I’ll be carrying nothing from Gontranno but this lesson : never trust anyone and rely on your instincts. Forget the past. I’ll never find peace here. So, I’ll seek justice for myself. I’ll choose the truth I like. ”

(As a GIGN team surrounds the room where 47 has been recovering from his near-fatal gunshot wound) “This room. This bullet. There’s a bullet for everyone… and a time and a place. An end. Yes, maybe this is how it has to be.”

Diana Burnwood: “You and I are all that’s left of the agency, 47. And I doubt I’ll survive much longer.”
47: “I’m sorry to hear that. Has my fee been transferred ?”

47: “Show me the money.”
Agent Smith: “Thank God ! Here’s some. You get the rest after. What do you say ?”
47: “I’ll contact you with instructions on how to get the rest of the money up front, and how to get me the mission details.”
Smith: “But then how can I be sure that…”
47: “If you’re on the level, I’ll do the job. If you’re not, you won’t be needing the money.”

47 (when Diana has sought him out for help): “I don’t buy it. You’ve got nothing to gain here. The smart play would be getting out of the country.”
Burnwood: “Out of the country ? We’re dealing with the Franchise here, 47. Borders don’t stop them. You’re my last chance.”
47: “You know my terms — cash on the nail.”
Burnwood: “Don’t you get it ? You have to fight them, but if you do it alone you’re a dead man.”
47: “Death is always a risk.”

---

DC Universe History

Dr. Ort-Meyer was a colleague of Dr. Oka, a geneticist who was part of the internation crime organization known as the Council that cloned Paul Kirk (a.k.a. Manhunter).

Ort-Meyer was not present when Paul Kirk and his allies crippled the Council. He used the opportunity to sever his ties with them and pursue his research more independently. The doctor still needed financial and technical support and eventually made a secret arrangement with Lex Luthor, who also had an interest in cloning technology.

Several sources of DNA went into Ort-Meyer’s next project. Thanks to Luthor’s connections with Project Cadmus, the doctor was able to borrow some of Jim Harper’s DNA. It was valuable for both the original subject’s innate physical prowess as well as its unique suitability to cloning (as demonstrated by its use in numerous projects).

Combined with this were elements of Paul Kirk’s DNA, which Ort-Meyer had brought with him from his time with the Council, and Lex Luthor himself (just as Luthor had incorporated some of his DNA into the Cadmus-created Superboy clone).

The Luthor years

After the third line of unsuccessful clones, Ort-Meyer believed he had developed an ideal blend of clone genetics programmed to age to adulthood at a vastly accelerated rate (and thereafter aging normally), implanted knowledge using Cadmus technology, and traditional training to raise a line of highly skilled assassins.

With this success, Ort-Meyer looked for an opportunity to separate himself from Luthor so he could finish his work as he chose. The chaos caused by Dabney Donovan’s clone plague and the revelations that Luthor “II” was actually the original Luthor in a cloned body was exactly what the doctor needed.

Ort-Meyer faked his death in a laboratory explosion during the missile attack orchestrated by Luthor as a “scorched earth” policy in event of his imprisonment.

Setting up operations in an isolated asylum in his native Romania to avoid notice by Luthor or other potential enemies, Ort-Meyer began creating his fourth line of clones.

Creating 47

One clone, number 47, emerged as the finest of the series in terms of skills but had an annoying independence. Ort-Meyer intended to rid himself of 47 and use the data to create a more servile clone line, and ultimately decided to allow 47 the opportunity to escape rather than simply terminating him.

This gave Ort-Meyer the opportunity to “field-test” 47. This would provide additional information for training of future clones, and in the process have 47 eliminate various rivals and enemies of the doctors.

After escaping 47 joined the Agency and began taking high profile assignments, unaware that Ort-Meyer was his client. His first target was Dabney Donovan. Though the person 47 killed was actually just one of Donovan’s clones, it was the only one with significant knowledge of Ort-Meyer and his work. So the assassination accomplished the intended purpose.

The second target was a Council-created clone of Asano Nitobe who had gone independent and created his own criminal organization. This clone had supported Ort-Meyer’s recent work financially and with instructors for the clone warriors in exchange for medical help with ailments specifically related to cloning.

47 weakened the clone Nitobe’s criminal organization in order to reduce security and then successfully completed his contract.

The truth exposed

After two more missions that resulted in the death of Ort-Meyer’s remaining supporters, 47 and the Agency became aware of the link between 47’s missions. 47 returned to the asylum where he had been created and was forced to battle his way through the 48s, ten clones of 47 bred to be obedient slaves to Ort-Meyer.

After defeating the last of the 48s, 47 posed as one of them and was thus able to get close enough to Ort-Meyer to kill his creator.

47 then went into seclusion at Gontranno Monastery much as he did in his original history. When the League of Assassins splintered after Ra’s al Ghul’s death, Russian arms smuggler Sergei Zavorotko became the leader of one of the factions. Zavorotko was a minor associate of Ort-Meyer’s whose elimination had not yet been arranged when 47 killed the doctor.

Knowing of 47’s existence, Zavorotko plotted to bring him out of retirement and send him after rivals in other splinter League factions. 47 was ideal for this purpose not only because of his outstanding skills, but also because he was unknown to most of the League. He was thus less likely to be detected during mission prep as well as not being traceable directly back to Zavorotko.

Though most of Zavorotko’s plan went as intended, it fell apart in the end stages. A fourth NKVDemon was meant to assassinate 47 after the final mission, but 47 turned the table on his would-be killer. Zavorotko tried to lure 47 into an ambush at Gontranno, but 47 again prevailed and killed the Russian and his men.

Afterward, 47 returned to his old life as in his original history.

The Franchise

In the DCU, the Franchise was another splinter faction of the League of Assassins, one which hoped to bolster its ranks with clone assassins. Their research had uncovered information regarding 47 and Ort-Meyer’s work and sought to eliminate 47 and his employers as a competitor while recovering tissue to create their own 47-based clones.

They were also aware of President Lex Luthor’s interest in cloning, an interest now bolstered by both governmental research and his own corporate resources. They wanted Luthor killed before that research became widespread enough to threaten their near-monopoly (Cadmus having been dissolved at the time to avoid absorption into Luthor’s cloning labs).

The Franchise’s war with 47 and the Agency proceeded much as it did in the original history, with 47 ultimately infiltrating the White House to save Luthor from Franchise assassins. Ironically, 47 was aided by data on Luthor’s standard security procedures that had initially been gathered by Ort-Meyer in anticipation of sending 47 to kill Luthor himself.

Afterward, Burnwood and 47 destroyed the leadership of the Franchise as in the original history and 47 is currently working freelance.

Though the Franchise was eliminated, some of its clone assassins and samples of 47’s DNA collected after his death might still exist.  One way to introduce these would be to retcon a limited partnership between the Franchise and the Brotherhood of Evil. The Brotherhood would have gone into business cloning unstable metahuman warriors for purchase by third world dictators in the mainstream DCU.

The Franchise would have been their best customer and possibly also a beta tester for clone lines. 47 could thus find himself entangled in a Brotherhood plot that picked up where the Franchise’s machinations ended.

47 could enter a campaign in a variety of ways. He might be used as a PC working with heroic characters for a variety of reasons, most likely in a “Suicide Squad”-style scenario. He could also be assigned to kill someone that the PCs need to protect.

Note that 47’s targets are invariably villains in their own right. This may be due to the Agency’s own interests in accepting contracts rather than any scruples on 47’s part. So this could put the PCs in the position of protecting a person they themselves dislike, such as a particularly heinous criminal who has agreed to provide valuable information in exchange for protection from 47.

Another option would be for 47 to enter another redemptive phase and offer his services to the PCs in some way. He might even craft a new identity since his existence is currently known to only a few people, which would raise some interesting conflicts if exposure of his secrets became a threat.

---

By Roy Cowan.

Source of Character: Hitman video game series (Hitman: Codename 47, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Hitman: Contracts, and Hitman: Blood Money) and Hitman: Enemy Within (novel).

Helper(s): www.hitman2.com (defunct) for some history details, Sébastien Andrivet, Jay Myers, Kal El el Vigilante.