“Garbo”
(Juan Pujol Garcia)
Context
Juan Pujol García was a Spanish anti-Nazi double agent and spy during World War Two. He was given the codename “Garbo” by Allied intelligence services.
Kal El, one of our Spanish contributors, thought that it’d be cool if Garbo had a writeups.org profile.
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Background
- Real Name: Joan Pujol Garcìa, Bovril, Arabel.
- Marital Status: Married (twice).
- Known Relatives: Araceli Gonzlez (wife 1940-47), three children with Araceli, unnamed venezuelan wife and children.
- Group Affiliation: Republican spanish army (1936-38), National spanish army (1938-39), Abwher (1940-45), MI5 (1941-45).
- Base Of Operations: Barcelona (until 36), Lisbon (40-41), London (42-45), Caracas (46-88) .
- Height: 5’7” Weight: 170lbs.
- Eyes: Light Brown Hair: Dark
Powers and Abilities
Joan (or Juan) Pujol, alias “Garbo”, had a genuine gift when it come to inspiring trust. He was a master of counterintelligence. Garbo managed to fool the whole Nazi secret service and military intelligence, even after his information was proved to be wrong.
In the opinion of the British secret service, he was also one of the best actors on the 1940s. Hence his alias.
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History
Pujol’s biography is documented in various history texts. A decent starter resource is his Wikipedia entry .
Description
Hard as it may sound today when seeing his picture, “Garbo” was considered quite an attractive man in his times. He never had much trouble wooing ladies.
Personality
“Garbo” was a pacifist. As such he was proud of two things in his life: having taken part in both the Spanish Civil War and WWII without killing anybody or even using a firearm, and being the only person awarded a medal by both the Nazis and the British. He earned both an Iron Cross from the Germans and an MBE from the UK.
Quotes
“I went through two wars without ever killing anybody or firing a single shot.”
DC Universe History
“Garbo” actions involved the gathering of information for the Blackhawk Skyrocket operations since 1940. He sometimes had to pull strings that helped their release or escape after some member was captured.
His top priority, nonetheless, was to locate the Spear of Destiny who held the superheroes out of Europe. He focused on this until almost the end of the conflict. But Captain Nazi and the Dragon King’s machinations sometimes forced him to return to more mundane espionage.
In a Bond-verse, maybe he became M after WWII, during the 1960s, directing Connery and Lazenby-Bond operations.
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
“Garbo”
| Dex: 02 | Str: 02 | Bod: 02 | Motivation: Upholding the good |
| Int: 05 | Wil: 04 | Min: 05 | Occupation: Entrepreneur/Spy |
| Inf: 03 | Aur: 05 | Spi: 03 | Resources {or Wealth}: 003 (005 during the 50’s) |
| Init: 010 | HP: 020 |
Skills:
Artist (Actor): 07, Military Science (Cartography, Cryptography): 05, Scientist (Research): 03, Thief (Forgery): 03
Advantages:
Attractive, Gift of gab, Languages (Catalan, English, German, Spanish), Master of interaction (Bluff), Rich Friends (1941-60), Scholar (Counterintelligence), Security Clearance (Medium).
Connections:
Abwher (High, until 1984), MI5 (High).
Drawbacks:
Age (old, 1952-88), Debt (+1, his businesses never seemed to go right), SIA to not using violence, Secret ID (1941-84), Misc.: +2 cs OV/RV on tasks relating the British pre-decimal system.
Equipment:
UK Railroad Guide [BODY 1, Area Knowledge (UK)].
Alternate stats – Comic Book ’Garbo’
Were ’Garbo’ to play against comic-book nazis, his stats could be raised a bit to go on par with the masterminds at DC’s WWII and still make him legendary master double agent. He would surely have operated directly on German ground, infiltrated inside the enemy lines.
| Dex: 03 | Str: 03 | Bod: 03 | |
| Int: 07 | Wil: 06 | Min: 07 | |
| Inf: 05 | Aur: 07 | Spi: 04 | Resources {or Wealth}: 006 |
| Init: 016 | HP: 040 |
Skills:
Artist (Actor): 09, Charisma (Persuasion): 07, Detective: 05, Gadgetry: 04, Martial Artist (OV, RV): 05, Military Science (Camouflage, Cartography, Cryptography): 08, Scientist (Analysis, Research): 05, Thief (Forgery, Stealth): 05, Vehicles (Land): 03
Advantages:
Raise Security Clearance to High level.
Connections:
Also Adolf Hitler (Low), Winston Churchill (High), M (High), Resistance (High) and Omni-Connection.
Equipment:
Also 6 AP ABC Omni-Gadget (x3) and Quick Change Masks [Body: 01, Chameleon: 09, Ammo: 05, Limit.: Maximum Chameleon in effect equals the user’s Actor Subskill, Drawback: takes 1d10 phases to apply. Time can be bought off at 1 HP per phase] .
New rule – Master of Interaction [10 HPs Advantage]
This character is exceptionally good at one of the Interaction Maneuvers (Bluff, Charm…). If he gets the upper hand when comparing the relevant attribute, he earns one more bonus cs than usual. This Advantage stacks with the benefit from Gift of Gab, and can be bought multiple times, though each one will apply to a new Interaction Maneuver.
Source of Character: Real life double agent.