Hunter

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Background

Powers and Abilities

Hunter reportedly has enhanced senses. The details are unrevealed – our game stats take wild guesses on the subject.

He also seems to be a superb hand-to-hand fighter and athlete. He’s at least at the level of Barb Wire. His powers might even include slightly enhanced agility, reflexes, strength, coordination, etc. since he was also briefly seen fighting Blackbelt.

He’s also a large and powerfully built man with obvious charisma and intelligence (and cool dreadlocks).

Though he’s a skilled leader by most standards, he doesn’t evidence Leadership in DC Heroes terms.

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History

Hunter has seemingly been a gang leader since his teens. He reportedly recruited unwanted, desperate children and youths in Steel Harbor. He gave them a family, structure and discipline as Wolf Gang members. He also played long term, subtle political games to maintain a balance between gangs and reduce violence.

The Wolf Gang does seem to be more familial than most adult street gangs, though they are also very heavily armed. ”Clan” might be more appropriate than “Gang”, really. They are fiercely independent – this is one of Hunter’s core values.

Up and comer

When Hunter was in his early 20s, the Wolf Gang was already a disciplined, well-run organization – though he apparently had yet to recruit his superhuman lieutenants.

A young Hunter with the early Wolf Gang

During that time, Wolf and Barb Wire (who was roughly the same age) were lovers. Hunter was instrumental in helping a young Barb establish her cred as a skip tracer. He supplied her with intelligence, and the Wolf Gang intervened at least once to save her life. Hunter and Barb eventually broke up in violent circumstances, but managed to remain friends (most of the time).

The rise of the Wolf Gang was in turn covertly aided by the Machine (Avram Roman), an ally of Barb Wire. With his immense access to information, he greatly helped Hunter navigate treacherous circumstances and they continued to help each other for years, usually in secret.

Oh-gee in da house

By the 2010s, Hunter (now 34-ish) was something of an elderly statesman in Steel Harbor. His deadly enemy Mace Blitzkrieg had matured enough to work with him on maintaining stability, and they made Barb Wire’s Hammerhead Bar and Grille a neutral ground where to maintain that peace.

Though of course he doesn’t exist as far as official politics are concerned, Hunter seems more influential, more politically adept and with more reach than ever. Though it is relatively benign, the Wolf Gang is probably as powerful as any well-established mob.

Description

Hunter is an handsome, extremely athletic man. He has a number of vaguely African-style ritual scars along his arms (horizontal parallel lines from across the back of wrists all the way up to the shoulders) and across his chest. They may have some symbolic meaning (dead Wolf Gang members ?).

Hunter has mostly abandoned the costume-like read leather. He now tends to wear sneakers, broad jeans, and a large hooded jacket left open over his impressively-chiselled chest. He sometimes wears a large crucifix.

Personality

Though Hunter is no angel, he has often be described as being relatively benign. Presumably, while the Wolf Gang makes its money like all gangs do, Hunter sets and enforces limits as to what can be done. Nevertheless, much of Hunter’s benign reputation comes from the fact that the other gangs and mobs in Steel Harbor, and in particular the Prime Movers, are much worse.

Hunter seems to have a very, very precise idea of what he wants to do with his gang, to the point of micromanagement and slightly cult-like discipline. Every YG wears a signature uniform, his OGs are supposed to only use street handles and not their real names, Hunter is clearly a charismatic leader, no sign of infighting is ever tolerated, etc.

However, even he cannot create a perfect discipline – Wolf Gang remains a youth street gang, complete with teenage boys taking idiotic decisions involving violence and testosterone.

Hunter thinks in strategic and political terms, more than in terms of personal honour, friendship, morals, etc. He’ll reliably do what is rationally best for the Wolf Gang, and even good friends outside of the gang (such as Barb Wire) are less important that the Wolf Gang interests and stance.

Ferrell’s relationship with Barb Wire is complex. He often seems to miss her, but their strategic interests often diverge. And they both have crappy tempers and macho tendencies that keep getting in the way, to the point of having physically fought multiple times.

Still, the somewhat zen-ish Hunter is better at tolerating Barb’s outbursts than the proud Barb Wire is at tolerating his manipulations. He will also discretely intervene if she’s in danger (well, in more danger than her extremely dangerous job implies) – and Barb Wire has taken considerable risks to help the Wolf Gang.

During the 1990s Hunter had many old-school ghetto values – machismo, self-reliance, always putting the good of the gang first, feeling contempt toward The Man and mainstream society, feeling that the roots always talk stronger than the rest of one’s life, etc.

He doesn’t evidence any misogyny or homophobia, though, and the Gang is evidently multiracial (with a majority of African-American guys). Women are apparently not part of the troops, though it can be hard to say since Wolf YGs wear bulky parkas. As he got older, Hunter became markedly less antagonistic, more pragmatic, calmer and wiser.

Quotes

“Just once, use your brains before your guns.”

“Break action ! Nobody move !”

“Bring what you got, Mace… I’ll die like a chicken before I bow down to a dog !”

Bomber: “So, what are we going to do ?”
Hunter: “Not a thing. The city’s got a policy of non-involvement with anything on gang turf. Far as I’m concerned, that works both ways.”

(Singing sarcastically to a friend who has gone corporate) “Ya dig 16 tons, whatta ya get ?”

“If you really care about the ’hood, then come with me now. We need your help bad…”

By Sébastien Andrivet.

Source of Character: Dark Horse’s CGW.

Helper(s): Capita_Senyera.