Warhawk
(Mitchell Tanner) (Profile #2 - Hellfire Club)
Context
This character profile is part of a series. It is preceded by part #1 of the Warhawk character profile, and followed by part #3 of the Warhawk character profile.
Because it’s part #2, see ?
Background
- Real Name: Mitchell Tanner.
- Marital Status: Widower.
- Known Relatives: Liu Tanh Tanner (wife, deceased).
- Group Affiliation: Reluctant Hellfire Club agent ; also served as an agent of S.H.I.E.LD. and possibly as an agent of the Canadian military.
- Base Of Operations: New York City.
- Height: 6’3” Weight: 550 lbs.
- Eyes: Blue Hair: Blue-black
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Powers & Abilities
After Warhawk became an operative for Sebastian Shaw, he received a number of improvements. These apparently only lasted while he was an Hellfire Club operative. Even the new skills he displayed were never seen again.
Our No-Prize Hypothesis is that his new skills had been telepathically taught, and required psychotronic implants to work. Presumably Warhawk could have retained these skills with enough time and practice (by paying for Character Advancement, in DC Heroes terms). But he didn’t work for Shaw long enough for that to happen.
As an operative of the Hellfire Club, Tanner further demonstrated a mastery of certain K’un-Lunese combat techniques. With these, he could fight Wolverine on a roughly equal standing. How he had learned those was never explored. Our No-Prize hypothesis would be that the Hellfire Club had documented these martial techniques during a clash with Orson Randall and the Confederates of the Curious, decades before.
After deserting from the Hellfire Club, Warhawk reverts to the capabilities he had in the previous writeup. He has those stats during all the events in the “AWOL” subection in the History section.
History
(The History section starts right where the one in the first profile ends).
It is presumably at that point that Warhawk came to work for the Hellfire Club. From what can be pieced together, it would seem that the Club rescued him from drowning. They then used telepathic conditioning to put an end to his hallucinations and other psychiatric symptoms.
They also apparently implanted him with psychotronics, including Hellfire Club psionic shields. Then they taught him new skills, presumably via mind-teaching and/or psychotronics. Tanner was kept in line using the threat of unbearable psychic pain.
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Smashing the atom and its children
Warhawk was sent to work for Cross Technological Enterprises, running surveillance on the villain Atom-Smasher. Tanner eventually received a kill order and shot his target dead. This occurred as Atom-Smasher was fighting Black Goliath (Bill Foster). The goal and context of this mission were never revealed.
The Hellfire Club, very curious about the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, then armed Warhawk with non-lethal weaponry. They sent him on a daring one-man raid. Warhawk sabotaged the telephone lines, then went in as a phone company repairman.
After neutralising the unsuspecting Dr. Moira MacTaggart, Tanner surreptitiously reprogrammed the danger room. Warhawk ambushed and took down Professor Xavier and Jean Grey, then locked the other X-Men in the Danger Room and activated it using the modified settings.
Nightcrawler managed to teleport Wolverine out of the Room before passing out. Logan engaged Warhawk in hand-to-hand combat, but the skilled Tanner managed to knock Wolverine back into the Danger Room. At this point the X-Men got out and took Warhawk down.
The mission was nevertheless a success. The Club now had extensive intelligence about the X-Men.
AWOL, part 1
Warhawk stopped working for the Hellfire Club under unknown circumstances. He lost the psychotronics and augmented skills, but retained a degree of psychological stability. Thus, he was lucid enough to realise that he wanted to die. Tanner decided to go out with a bang by taking out the one man who had bested him – Iron Fist.
In 1981 Warhawk ambushed the Daughters of the Dragon and their friends as they celebrated the opening of the Nightwing Restorations agency. He wounded Iron Fist and Colleen Wing, then defeated Misty Knight in close combat. Tanner purposefully left enough clues to be tracked down, and arranged for Iron Fist alone to confront him on a freighter.
The boat was packed with explosives. Warhawk shot Iron Fist with a tranq dart (using one of the last rounds remaining in his Hellfire Club gun) and engaged him in combat. The plan was to detonate the boat and kill everyone. However, Iron Fist’s special chi techniques allowed him to resist the worst of the dart’s effect.
Iron Fist fought particularly well. Thus, he managed to knock out Warhawk, locate the bomb and partially submerge the boat before it exploded. Nobody died, and Iron Fist delivered the unconscious Warhawk to the police.
AWOL, part 2
Tanner soon escaped. He resumed hallucinating that he was in Việt Nam, though less severely than before. Thinking that the New Yorkers in Chinatown were military occupiers, he attacked the neighbourhood. But Tanner was soon met in combat by Iron Fist. This time it was Warhawk who demolished his foe hand-to-hand, though for some reason he chose not to kill him.
Learning that Iron Fist was in an ICU, the furious Luke Cage came looking for Warhawk. He found him terrorising Chinatown. Shrugging off bullets and even a rocket, Cage stormed Warhawk’s vantage point and angrily beat him unto unconsciousness. Dr. Bernstein, an ally of Cage, provided a gas and rebreather to keep Tanner sedated.
Description
See illustrations.
Personality
While he was a thrall for the Hellfire Club, Warhawk hated his unseen masters and swore to make them pay. Through they had stabilised him psychologically, they held him under their thumb and Tanner hated that.
Quotes
“I am Warhawk, little man. I am the ultimate soldier”
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Warhawk – Hellfire-enhanced
| Dex: 07 | Str: 08 | Bod: 08 | Motivation: Psychopath |
| Int: 06 | Wil: 04 | Min: 04 | Occupation: Psychopath, mercenary |
| Inf: 05 | Aur: 04 | Spi: 04 | Resources {or Wealth}: 006 |
| Init: 022 | HP: 035 |
Powers:
Density increase: 01, Iron will: 09, Mind blank: 18, Mind field: 09, Skin armour: 03
Bonuses and Limitations:
- Density Increase is Always On and already factored in.
- Mind field is Self Only.
Skills:
Martial artist: 08, Military science (Cartography, demolition, field command): 06, Scientist (Computers): 05, Thief (Security systems): 08, Thief (Stealth): 05, Weaponry (Firearms, heavy): 06
Advantages:
Familiarity (Special Forces tactics), Language (Vietnamese), Lightning Reflexes.
Connections:
None.
Drawbacks:
Distinct Appearance, MIH of Asian males, Misc. – can be telepathically contacted, located and subjected to pain at any time by an Hellfire Club psychic (presumably Emma Frost).
Equipment:
Warhawk was outfitted with less-than-lethal weaponry :
- Dart Pistol [BODY 03, Projectile weapon: 02, Poison touch: 10, Ammo: 08, Note : Poison touch can be Combined with projectile weapon, Poison touch is ineffective against targets with a RV to Projectile weapons more than 2CSes above the Dart Pistol’s projectile weapons AP (i.e., RV 7+)].
- Gas bomb [BODY 03, Fog: 05, Poison touch: 10, Grenade Drawback, Note : Poison touch and Fog can be Combined ; Warhawk is immune to the bomb’s Poison touch].
Game Stats — DC Adventures RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Warhawk (Hellfire agent) — Averaged PL 10.6
| STR | STA | AGL | DEX | FGT | INT | AWE | PRE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02 (07) | 02 (07) | 02 | 03 | 07 (09) | 01 | 01 | 02 |
Powers
Steel-like skin ● 37 points (Noticeable, Permanent)
– Superstrength — Enhanced Strength 5, Enhanced Fighting 2.
– Invulnerable — Enhanced Stamina 5, Protection 3, Impervious Toughness 10.
– Very heavy — Feature 1 (Weights 4 Ranks).
Devices
Implants ● 16 points ● Descriptor: Psychotronics
– Concealment (all Mental senses).
– Impervious Enhanced Will 8 (Limited 1 to telepathic effects).
Combat Advantages
Chokehold, Defensive Roll 2, Close attack 4, Improved aim, Improved critical 1 (Unarmed combat), Improved critical 1 (Firearms), Ranged attack 2.
Other Advantages
Diehard, Equipment 8, Language (Vietnamese – English is native).
Skills
Athletics 2 (+9), Deception 2 (+4), Expertise (Special operations soldier) 9 (+10), Insight 3 (+4), Intimidation 5 (+7), Perception 5 (+6), Ranged combat (Infantry weapons) 5 (+10), Stealth 5 (+8), Technology 10 (+11) (Limited 1 to Demolitions, Security, Operating).
Equipment
These Devices are considered Equipment for Warhawk since he cannot replace them, reload them, etc.
- Gas bomb — Cloud Area Affliction 13, Dazed/Stunned/Asleep, resisted by Fortitude.
- Dart Gun — Ranged Affliction 12, Dazed/stunned/Asleep, resisted by Fortitude, Resistible (another check vs. Toughness), Diminished Range 2.
Offense
| Initiative +2 |
| Unarmed +13, Close, Damage 7, Critical 19-20 |
| Equipment, see below |
Defense
| Dodge | 10 | Fortitude | 11 |
| Parry | 13 | Toughness | 12/10* |
| Will | 12**/4 |
* Without Defensive Roll
** Against telepathic attacks only
Complications
- Quirk Unwilling thrall of the Hellfire Club.
- Temper Murderously prejudiced against various groups.
- Prejudice Strange appearance.
Power levels
- Trade-off areas Attack/Effect PL 10, Dodge/Toughness PL 11, Parry/Toughness PL 13, Fort/Will PL 8.
- Point total 154. Abilities 40, Defences 18, Skills 21, Powers 37, Devices 16, Advantages 22. Equiv. PL 11.
Helper(s): Roy Cowan, Darci, Patrick Sandhop, Jackson.
Source of Character: Marvel Universe (Uncanny X-Men).