Ace Melee: RV 20 Coordination: RV 30 Brawn: RV 6 Fortitude: RV 10 Intellect: RV 10 Awareness: RV 20 Willpower: RV 20 Health: 66 Fortune: 50 Lifestyle: RV 10 Repute: RV +2 Origin: As is the vast, vast majority of the GI Joe team, Ace is but a normal human, one lacking super-human powers, obscure magical prowess, or trained psionic capabilities. However, he does excel above and beyond the call of duty in his trade of choice, that being the Joe team's premiere pilot. He could technically be called a high tech hero, however, what with his access to advanced Air Force vehicles. Known Powers: (none) Limitations / Enhancements: (none) Equipment: Combat Jet Skystriker (XP-14F): the Skystriker is the first actual fighter jet that was put into the service of the GI Joe team, and Ace was there to fly it from day one. This impressive combat aircraft can fly as fast as Mach 2.3 at 60,000 feet (Mach 1.3 at sea level), and has more armament and airborne sensors than you can shake a really big stick at. See its entry for more information. Flight Helmet: nicely complementing his flight suit, this helmet gives Ace all he needs to dogfight with the best of 'em. Like his suit, his helmet varies depending on just what he's flying, but the helmet itself is armed with shatterproof glass, giving him rank value 40 screened senses on his vision - including being polarized to resist light flashes - and rank value 10 resistance to physically based head shots. Flight Suit: though his flight suits have varied over the years, they've all had the same capabilities. They're all armed with rank value 20 resistance to both cold, heat, and pressure variance, allowing Ace to withstand intense aerial maneuvers, and extreme environments should he have to eject in a hurry. Further, it has a special apparatus that allows normal breathing at almost any altitude. Knife: every self-respecting fighter pilot carries a blade on his person at all times, should he be faced with a runaway parachute upon ejection, and need to cut the straps before he drowns or is pulled over some cliff or another. Ace can use this blade to inflict his Brawn value in Slashing damage with each deadly strike, or cut through objects of up to material value 30. Pistol: holstered on his right ankle, this handgun is a handy replacement for his submachine gun should Ace run out of ammo or similarly lose the weapon. In battle, Ace can use this pistol to inflict rank value 6 Piercing damage in a single shot, +1 RS in a semi-auto, magazine-extinguishing burst of lead. He usually only wields this firearm as a last result, however. Submachine Gun: though the exact models have varied over the years, Ace has always carried a submachine gun on him during missions, should he get shot down over hostile territory. He can use these guns to inflict rank value 6 Piercing damage in a single shot, raised +1 RS in a semi-automatic burst. He also carries several magazines on his person, to fight for lengthy periods of time. Quirks: (none) Skills: Aerial Combat: a pilot since he was a wee youth, Ace naturally can fly almost any plane out there. However, it takes a special person to actually perform fighter to fighter combat - and win - like Ace does. When he's operating any aircraft, though especially fighter planes, Ace may add +1 RS to any applicable combat roll, whether it be Melee or Coordination based. Guns: one essential military skill that Ace picked up in basic training is the ability to fire any standard, semi-automatic, or fully automatic rifle or pistol effectively. When utilizing a gun in battle, Ace may do so as though his Coordination trait was +1 RS higher than is listed above, though he rarely makes use of this skill, other than during target practice; he's a good enough pilot that his fights never come to that. Martial Arts style B: though he prefers to fight with an airplane all around him, part of Ace's military training has included the ability, should he find himself in a pinch, to defend himself bare-knuckled. He can attack in unarmed melee combat as though his Melee value was +1 RS higher than is listed above, and can dodge such attacks with a similar bonus. Military / United States: the skill that has made most of his other talents possible, this represents Ace's years in the military, offering him an intimate knowledge of military protocols, basic leadership, and instruction training, and of course, has given him more non-Joe military contacts than you can shake a stick at. Thus, Ace makes all military know-how ACTION rolls at a +1 RS to the standard rank value. Piloting: though it goes without saying, Ace is one of the best fighter pilots in the Air Force - much less the GI Joe team. He's so good, in fact, that he was a fighter pilot instructor before hooking up with the Joes! When piloting aircraft of any stripe, Ace does so as though his Coordination (or the vehicle's Handling rating) was increased by +1 RS, though combat actions are cumulative with his Aerial Combat skill. Sports / Poker 2: while one could be forgiven for thinking that Ace got his code name solely due to the fact that he's one of the best fighter pilots on earth, the truth is that it has a dual meaning. A master poker player, nobody on the GI Joe team can recall him actually ever losing a hand, which is why they don't play with him any more. He may roll any applicable ACTION rolls while playing at a +2 RS. Contacts: A vital member of the GI Joe team, Ace can easily call upon that group for assistance should he need it, whether he be on a mission or not (the Joes look after their own). Furthermore, as a member of the Air Force, Ace can also call upon that agency - both as a whole and using several close contacts - for aid of a much less personal, yet just as important variety. Costume: The uniforms that Ace wears while on the job with the Joes are flight suits. For instance, his first suit is a primarily white flight suit, one with gray racing stripes down the outsides of the legs, gray wrist straps, gray torso pieces, red pockets on the sides of the biceps, a powerful breathing apparatus (in white and red), and a very large, dome-like, shatterproof, and polarized glass helmet. Personality: Ace is a highly skilled and highly dedicated pilot, capable of combat feats that would make other fighter jockeys cringe in terror. He's also a good guy, never rubbing in the fact that he's saved the Joe team from certain doom on numerous occasions with his airborne savvy. Unless, of course, you find yourself opposite him on the poker table; if you do, you'd better look out, because Ace NEVER loses at poker! Real Name: Brad J. Armbruster, Grade O-3 (Captain), later O-4 (Major) Occupation: fighter pilot Legal Status: American citizen with no known criminal record Marital Status: single Alias(es), if any: Wendell L. Armbruster (as he's known on some dossiers) Group Affiliation: GI Joe Height: 5' 9" Hair: brown Eyes: blue Weight: 160 lbs Other Distinguishing Characteristics: none Story: Brad was a natural born pilot. He's had a love for flying since high school, during which time he worked late into the night so he could afford flying lessons. Once he'd graduated, he got a job flying various jobs that allowed him to flex the muscles of his piloting skills, such as a year run on the Alaska Pipeline, and a two year job flying as a Hollywood stuntman. Brad decided to do some real flying eventually, and at the tender age of 22 he enlisted in the Air Force, where he continued to excel as a pilot. In fact, he was so good at flying that he became the lead instructor at the USAF Fighter Weapons Squadron affectionately known as the 'Aggressors' (a fighter pilot training school). His service here eventually earned him a spot on the GI Joe team, under the code name of Ace. Immediately upon hooking up with the Joes, Ace's piloting skills were put on the test, and they were repeatedly tested for years as the man served as the GI Joe team's only fighter jockey. He was virtually all the team's air support - when Wild Bill wasn't on the scene - and kept most of Cobra's air forces away from the team's ground pounders while they were going about the business of fighting the forces of evil. Over time, however, Ace was joined by several other fighter pilots, and he wound up flying increasingly complex missions with them as they got better acquainted. Through the years, Ace became exceptionally good friends with Slipstream and the man you can't help but forget (the pilot code-named Ghost Rider, for those of you that are copyright-impaired). Many of the missions that Ace participated in involved Cobra Island, some of which were shortly before that blighted land came into being (a part of which Ace himself was unwittingly responsible for). Various missions afterward involved reconnaissance missions flown by himself, or flown as cover for other pilots (like Ghost Rider) while they did the dirty spying deed. Though the Joe team had numerous pilots over the years, all of which flew various aircraft in the fight against Cobra, Ace tended to be known as the leader of the bunch, having been around the longest and, most importantly, being the most skilled. He was active for the duration of the team's actions against Cobra, and flew missions up to the day the Joe team was disbanded in '94. (Historical Divergence) When this happened, Ace returned to regular Air Force duties until the Joe team was resurrected a few years later. When Hawk began to reassemble the team anew, Ace was one of the very first of the Joes to hook back up with the unit, and both he and Hawk began flying as a two man team in the A-10 Thunderwing, blasting Cobra goons from here to eternity with their superior skill and firepower. Ace has been with the team ever since, through thick and thin - even during its second, false deactivation. Though not needed much while the team resumed its more covert status, Ace was more than ready to lend a hand when needed, as he did when Cobra instigated none other than World War III. He and every other still-living Joe returned to make sure their long-time enemies didn't finally succeed and take over the world. With this done, Ace presumably is assisting the team in clean-up operations against Cobra insurgents who escaped capture, not to mention others like them that may rise in the face of a weakened, global infrastructure. Note: In a variant timeline, Ace became involved in the battle against the evil, subterranean Inhumanoids when one swatted his aircraft out of the sky. Rebuilt by the Earth Corps as Sabre Jet, he utilized a possibly cybernetic suit which allowed his now-broken body to move as it could before, not to mention fly. This is probably why Slipstream took over his spot on the GI Joe team in its Sunbow cartoon series. * 1992 VARIATIONS * Equipment: Flak Jacket: for a large portion of his career as a Joe fighter pilot, Ace has taken to wearing a bullet proof vest, should he get shot down over hostile territory; this happened several times during Ace's career, despite his best efforts. While wearing this jacket, Ace receives rank value 10 protection against physical attacks on any assault that strikes him on his torso. GI Joe Battle Copter: after years of being a fighter jockey, Ace got himself trained in the proper use of helicopters, expertise he used behind the stick of the Joe team's very own Battle Copter. This offensive VTOL weapons platform is more than effective for the purposes of putting Cobra in its place, and Ace found that he liked it almost as much as his airplanes. Almost. See its entry for more information. Costume: Ace's second flight suit was a notable departure from his first, essentially consisting of a completely different style altogether. It consisted of a light blue, long sleeve shirt covered by a cornflower blue, padded jacket and pants, both of which were then covered by a light blue flak jacket and leggings. Ace complemented this outfit with black leather gloves and a nifty, less dome-like helmet. * 1993 VARIATIONS * Equipment: Flak Jacket: for a large portion of his career as a Joe fighter pilot, Ace has taken to wearing a bullet proof vest, should he get shot down over hostile territory; this happened several times during Ace's career, despite his best efforts. While wearing this jacket, Ace receives rank value 10 protection against physical attacks on any assault that strikes him on his torso. Ghoststriker X-16 Fighter Jet: in the last couple of years that Ace flew for the Joe team before its temporary deactivation, he traded his Skystriker in for a newer aircraft, the one and only Ghoststriker. While it did have similar capabilities, the craft was engineered with the advances in Cobra aircraft in mind, and as such, Ace used it to great effect. See its entry for more information. Costume: Ace's third flight suit was rather similar to his second, albeit with a change in color scheme. It was a red shirt covered by a natural green padded jacket and pants, both of which were colored by an identically colored flak jacket and leggings. Ace similarly complemented this flight suit with black leather gloves and his cooler helmet, which still offered him the same amount of protection from injury. * 1997 VARIATIONS * Equipment: A-10 Thunderbolt: once the Joe team was reassembled back in '97, Ace was assigned a modified A-10 aircraft for his personal use. Like the Rattler before it (even if that was a Cobra design), this plane has full VTOL capabilities, as well as a staggering array of armament that both he (and his co-pilot, General Hawk) can use to pulverize the forces of evil. See its entry for more information. Flak Jacket: for a large portion of his career as a Joe fighter pilot, Ace has taken to wearing a bullet proof vest, should he get shot down over hostile territory; this happened several times during Ace's career, despite his best efforts. While wearing this jacket, Ace receives rank value 10 protection against physical attacks on any assault that strikes him on his torso. Costume: Ace's fourth flight suit, donned after he rejoined the Joes in '97, was yet another recoloring of his second. The undershirt was of a slightly more Crayola ™ brand of green, and was topped by a brown jacket and brown pants, both of which were then topped by a similarly colored flak jacket and leggings. Ace still utilized his cooler helmet and black leather gloves with this suit. * 1998 VARIATIONS * Equipment: Conquest X-30 (1998 model): though this was Slipstream's baby for years, the design has been proven effective time and time again, and once Ace got done with his modified A-10 Thunderbolt, he assumed the use of one of these babies back in '98. This nifty craft has a top speed of Mach 2.42 and flight capabilities that positively boggle the mind. See its entry for more information. Flak Jacket: for a large portion of his career as a Joe fighter pilot, Ace has taken to wearing a bullet proof vest, should he get shot down over hostile territory; this happened several times during Ace's career, despite his best efforts. While wearing this jacket, Ace receives rank value 10 protection against physical attacks on any assault that strikes him on his torso. Costume: Ace reverted to a variant of his original suit's style when he started flying the Conquest X-30. This version of the uniform is primarily a gray flight suit, one with black racing stripes down the outsides of the legs, black wrist straps and gloves, gray pockets on the sides of the biceps, a powerful breathing apparatus (in metallic hues), and a very large, dome-like, shatterproof, and polarized glass helmet. * 2004 VARIATIONS * Equipment: Flak Jacket: for a large portion of his career as a Joe fighter pilot, Ace has taken to wearing a bullet proof vest, should he get shot down over hostile territory; this happened several times during Ace's career, despite his best efforts. While wearing this jacket, Ace receives rank value 10 protection against physical attacks on any assault that strikes him on his torso. the Thunderhawk (v1): this powerful, advanced fighter craft is a completely new animal the GI Joe team rolled out in the midst of Cobra's experiments with their so-called 'Venomization' process. Both Ace and Slipstream took turns flying this beast against them and their terrible, twisted creations - and were happy to do so! The Thunderhawk is described in its own vehicular entry. the Tigerhawk: even smaller than Cobra's old Firebat, the Tigerhawk is a marvel of modern engineering, a fighter jet the size of a subcompact car - you could probably carry one on the back of a large pickup truck! Despite its diminutive stature, the Tigerhawk is a very deadly weapon with Ace in the cockpit, thanks to its exceptional maneuverability and armaments. See its description for more. Costume: Ace's sixth flight suit is an all new affair, not being a mere recoloring of his previous suits at all. It consists of light gray trousers, a light gray jacket under a dark gray, accessory-laden vest with yellow trim, a gray leather belt, black leather gloves, black leather boots, and a light gray flight helmet with a black visor and dark gray air hose. Scattered across the flight suit is an inordinate amount of straps and webbing. His seventh uniform, on the other hand, is simply a slight recoloring of his sixth. It includes off-white trousers, an off-white jacket under a dark gray, accessory-laden vest with yellow trim, an off-white leather belt, black leather gloves, black leather boots, and an off-white flight helmet with a black visor and dark gray air hose. Scattered across the flight suit is an inordinate amount of straps and webbing. * 2008 VARIATIONS * Equipment: Flak Jacket: for a large portion of his career as a Joe fighter pilot, Ace has taken to wearing a bullet proof vest, should he get shot down over hostile territory; this happened several times during Ace's career, despite his best efforts. While wearing this jacket, Ace receives rank value 10 protection against physical attacks on any assault that strikes him on his torso. Costume: Ace's eighth flight suit is similar in look to his first, but comprised of different components. It includes a white flight jacket with red bands on the arm over a red T-shirt, white chaps with red stripes down the side over burgundy trousers, burgundy knee pads, white leather gloves, white leather boots, and finally a translucent flight helmet attached to a red, gray and white breathing apparatus. When he's not about to hop into a plane and shoot down some terrorists, Ace wears a completely different uniform, however. It consists of an Army green jacket, a pair of Army green trousers, black leather boots, black leather gloves, overlapping black leather belts, a series of straps and holsters holding several black gear pouches to his chest, and a green flight helmet (in case he hops in a plane after all). * 2011 VARIATIONS * Costume: Ace's tenth GI Joe uniform is an entirely new affair. It primarily consists of a greenish-gray flight suit, with boots, gloves, shoulder pads, and thigh pads in a darker shade of that same color. This is topped by various black belts, holsters, elbow pads, and webbing, a black and greenish-gray harness that attaches to his headgear, and a black and greenish-gray helmet with a translucent orange visor. * 2015 VARIATIONS * Costume: Ace's eleventh GI Joe uniform is a variation on his tenth. It starts with a metallic gray flight suit with a few orange stripes on its left leg as its base, worn beneath dark gray shoulder and thigh pads, black gloves, black elbow pads, black holsters, black and red webbing, a black and metallic gray harness that attaches to his headgear, and a silver and black helmet with a translucent red visor.