CAPTAIN PETER MCMURPHY Fireforce
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Parapalegic - When outside of his armor, Peter is crippled from the waist down and needs a wheelchair to move around.
Relationships - While Peter still loves his wife Wanda (his first true love), he has found in Paula that love really can strike twice.
Responsibility - As a police officer, Peter is sworn to uphold the law.
Revenge - Peter has a deep-seeded desire to see Captain Zero destroyed.
Background: Peter McMurphy had everything his heart desired: he had just earned his gold shield, leaving the days of being a L.A. beat cop behind, he had been happily married to his high school sweetheart for the past fifteen years, and they were at the mall to buy her a new engagement ring to celebrate his promotion. Then everything went horribly wrong. When a (then thought to be) insane Count Zero began attacking former allies, the battle was fought in the same mall that the McMurphy's were shopping. Thanks to a good deal of collateral damage, Peter was left trapped and crippled as his wife died under rubble.
While in the hospital recuperating and receiving physical therapy, Peter was visited by Alex Wells on behalf of Adams Industries, sponsors of the Champions of Justice. In an attempt to make amends for everything McMurphy lost, they offered to equip him with the latest in cybernetic and exo-skeleton technology. But Peter wanted more. His life had been dedicated to two things, keeping the peace and loving his wife. He lost the latter forever; he didn't want to loose the former as well. Wells agreed to help him and created the Fireforce battle armor. Shortly thereafter, Peter was introduced to the CoJ, but still harbored some ill-feelings toward the group and turned down their offer to join.
Fireforce spend the next few months working the streets of LA as a vigilante while holding down a desk job at the precinct during the day. When his path crossed with the CoJ again, however, he accepted membership with the team, in spite of the fact that (and, in truth, partially because) Count Zero had rejoined the team, claiming that the attack was committed by his "evil twin, " Captain Zero. If Zero went evil again, Fireforce wanted to be there to help take him down. Over time, however, Peter managed to form friendships with teammates (even Count Zero eventually) and overcame most of his psychological hang-ups that had formed after that fateful day. He even managed to fall in love again with the team's resident pilot, Ms. Scarlet. He also built up the courage to reveal his dual identity to his bosses at the police department, sparking the development of the Strikeforce branch of law enforcement.
Personality: When Fireforce first arrived on the scene, he was still harboring deep-seeded anger and pain and his personality reflected that. He was suspicious, hard-driven and merciless, but still held to his true nature by not going over the edge. Over time, however, his psyche healed thanks to the efforts of his friends and teammates and he learned to smile again. He can now joke with others and enjoy socializing, but knows when its time for business and is one of the most dedicated people on the team. His natural leadership qualities sometimes cause conflict with those who don't feel leaders are needed, but serves him well in organized institutions like the police force and Strikeforce.
Powers/Tactics: McMurphy is first and foremost a cop. As such, he will handle almost every situation like a police officer would, making his expectations known upfront and being no-nonsense in serious situations. When it comes time for combat, he tries to subdue the perpetrator as quickly as possible using any and all of the tools at his disposal. Thanks to his exo-skeleton powersuit, he is stronger, faster and more durable than any normal human and uses those abilities to their full advantage. He also carries a variety of tools and armaments, most notably a Tazer sidearm and the Pulse Cannon; an electromagnetic weapon releases a powerful EMP blast (formerly referred to the ZeroKiller earlier in his career). He also carries a shield that serves the dual purpose of providing extra protection and acts as a powerful bludgeoning weapon.
Appearance: Peter McMurphy is 6'1" tall and 205 pounds, with the Fireforce battle suit adding 3" and 200 lbs. to his mass. Peter's build is athletic, with his arms holding the majority of his musculature. Through daily physical therapy, though, the rest of his body is in decent shape. When out of the powersuit, Peter moves about thanks to a manual wheelchair with the hidden mechanics to power-lift him to a standing position. The Fireforce suit is a stripped-down design of the Technon armor, painted black and grey. The cybernetic helmet system crosses the design of a riot gear headpiece and a modern visored football helmet, leaving the bottom half of the face exposed.
Fireforce was created, designed and played by Jim Caswell.
© Copyright 1989, 2012 - James Caswell
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Last updated on 14 May 2012