Copperhead

Melee
RV 10

Coordination
RV 20

Brawn
RV 10

Fortitude
RV 20

Intellect
RV 6

Awareness
RV 10

Willpower
RV 10

Lifestyle
RV 10

Repute
RV -10

Health:
Fortune:

60
26

Origin:

While he may very well appear superhumanly strong, Copperhead is but a normal human, lacking ascendant powers of any stripe. However, he does tend to wield advanced technology supplied by Cobra, so one could consider him a high tech villain if they so desired.

Known Powers:

(none)

Limitations / Enhancements:

(none)

Equipment:

Helmet: whether due to disfigurement or simply because he has seen too many high speed boat crashes, Copperhead always wears a racing helmet when boating. This protective headgear offers him rank value 10 protection against physical attacks striking his head.

Knife: having dwelled in Florida swamps for years, it goes without saying that Copperhead always has a knife on his person. He can inflict Slashing damage with this implement, or cut through items of a m.v. equal to its own, which is 30.

Sidearm: whether to take down pesky Joes or intransigent thugs looking to collect a debt, Copperhead is always armed. He can fire a single shot with this weapon to inflict rank value 6 Piercing damage, or a semi-automatic burst to gain a +1 RS damage bonus.

The Water Moccasin: an expert in swamp boats, Copperhead was a natural to helm Cobra's first inland aquatic attack vehicle. Over the years, in its various incarnations, he had truly made the Water Moccasin his own, the details of which are in its own vehicular description.

Quirks:

Compulsiveness: his sole weakness, Copperhead is a compulsive gambler. Even when he knows better, Copperhead has difficulty resisting the urge to bet on any number of games or races, and must pass a Willpower ACTION at -2 RS to avoid doing so when given the opportunity.

Skills:

Boating: a speedboat racer even before he began to ply his trade for Cobra, Copperhead excels in the fine art of piloting ships large and small. He may attempt actions to control aquatic vehicles at a +1 RS to his Coordination or their Handling, whichever is lower.

Demolitions: while he isn't all that good at building things, Copperhead excels at tearing them apart. He may receive a +1 RS on ACTIONs called for when determining the best means of destroying a vehicle or structure, and then making it happen.

Guns: a skill he picked up well before signing on with Cobra, Copperhead knows his way around most firearms. Whether brandishing a standard, semi-automatic, or fully automatic rifle or pistol, Copperhead may fire such weapons at a +1 RS to his Coordination trait.

Martial Arts style B: Copperhead can definitely pull his considerable weight in a fight, which is probably why his bookies haven't managed to kill him yet. He may attempt unarmed attacks as though his Melee was +1 RS in value.

Military: it is unknown whether or not he served with any national military, but Copperhead has displayed at least a bit of martial knowledge in the past. As such, he can generally function in a fighting body, whether he happnes to be giving or taking orders.

Repair / Tinkering: before he could pilot boats, Copperhead knew how to patch them up. His original trade, Copperhead is an excellent mechanic, and should receive a +1 RS whenever attempting to repair or modify an existing device.

Sports / Speedboat Racing: supplementing his base skill in boating, Copperhead is a competent speedboat racer - though not competent enough, considering his losing streaks over the years. He may add a further +1 RS to boating actions while racing.

Contacts:

As a ranking member of Cobra, Copperhead can usually draw resources and personnel from that organization in the execution of tasks it requires of him, though true loyalty is lacking in either direction. He has similarly dicey contacts in racing and gambling circles, as well.

Costume:

Copperhead's first Cobra uniform includes a green tank top adorned with a silver Cobra sigil, two-toned green trousers, black leather boots, light green gloves and arm bands, a black leather belt, black hip and shoulder holsters, and a two-toned green racing helmet.

Personality:

Copperhead isn't stupid by any means, but he does come across as simple. He tends to favor the shortest, quickest means of accomplishing a task, even if there's a better way to make it happen. But then, he likes things to be handed to him on a silver platter.

Somewhat sadistic, Copperhead takes great pleasure in the suffering of others, whether physical or mental. This tendency most often expresses itself in a cruel and cynical sense of humor, one which others not sharing such sensibilities often finds distressing.

Real Name: unrevealed
Occupation: Cobra naval operative, speedboat racer
Legal Status: citizen of unknown nationality wanted by numerous governments for various crimes
Marital Status: unrevealed
Alias(es), if any: Mamba, Gator, High Tide, Edward T. Johnson
Group Affiliation: Cobra, Python Patrol, the Phoenix Guard

Height: 6' 5"
Hair: brown
Eyes: brown
Weight: 240 lbs.
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: Copperhead tends to loom over everyone around him, due to his considerable size.

Story:

Numerous details about Copperhead's background have yet to be revealed. However, authorities assume that he grew up in the Florida Everglades, where he worked in his youth as a boat mechanic, fixing up air boats and other aquatic vehicles tore up by the rough local waters.

Eventually moving into boating himself, Copperhead began to participate in speedboat races, both at home and abroad. He wasn't all that successful in this, which wouldn't have been that big a deal had he not developed the bad habit of betting on himself to win so often.

Quickly racking up a spectacular amount of debt in high-stakes gambling losses, Copperhead found himself needing to make a whole lot of money fast. As it turned out, Cobra was hiring men such as him at the time, and Copperhead thought anything was better than death by bookie.

Having numerous skills to back him up, Copperhead quickly rose through Cobra's ranks, which is where he acquired both his unique alias as well as his first military hardware. This is because Cobra was rolling out its new freshwater assault craft, the Water Moccasin!

Copperhead readily put this vehicle through its paces, which also helped demonstrate to Cobra just what he was capable of, as well. As such, they utilized the man on numerous operations where inland assaults from the water were necessary.

Unlike most Cobra operatives, Copperhead managed to avoid direct conflict with the GI Joe team for the most part, only occasionally running afoul of that highly trained, special mission force. And, when he did, he managed to keep himself unarmed, for the most part.

(Historical Divergence)

After Cobra wound down its operations in 1994, Copperhead found himself without a whole lot to do. Having paid off his immense gambling debts long ago, he drifted back into speedboat racing again, but his troublesome gambling habit got him into trouble once more, as well.

That's why Copperhead happily rejoined Cobra when it got itself back together several years later. By this time, Cobra Commander entrusted Copperhead with control of Cobra's overall naval forces, due to his years of previous successful service to the organization.

Thus, Copperhead came to the fore during the second Cobra Island Civil War, after which he made the security of the island's coasts a priority. Nonetheless, this didn't stop the occasional GI Joe excursion into Cobra territory, especially by that team's Spy Troops.

When Cobra Commander infiltrated the US Government by posing as its White House Chief of Staff, he prompted the President to commission a new anti-terror strike team: the Phoenix Guard. This group was to be staffed entirely by undercover Cobra operatives, including Copperhead.

Training hard to pose as an (at least) minimally competent Navy SEAL, Copperhead took on the role of High Tide, and participated in the Phoenix Guard's attempt to dismantle the GI Joe team. When this operation went south, he was captured by the Joes, however.

Liberated in a subsequent jailbreak, Copperhead then went on to participate in World War III, Cobra's final attempt to conquer the world. This also failed, and when Cobra Commander was captured, Copperhead disappeared into the swamps once more.

1989 Variations

Equipment:

M-16 Machine Gun: upon joining the Python Patrol, Copperhead adopted this firearm. It inflicts rank value 6 Piercing damage when firing a single shot, rank value 10 Piercing damage when firing a short burst of rounds, and rank value 20 Piercing damage when fired fully automatic.

Furthermore, Copperhead's M-16 is equipped with an underslung, M-203 grenade launcher. This one-shot weapon fires a grenade up to four sectors away from him, which can detonate to inflict rank value 30 Slashing (fragmentary) damage to everything in its target sector.

Wraith Suit: the primary benefit of being a member of the Python Patrol, other than the increase in pay, is that Copperhead was given a wraith suit. This ensemble makes him invisible to infrared scanners and radio wave detectors with rank value 50 ability.

Costume:

Copperhead's first Python Patrol uniform includes a green and yellow Wraith shirt under a black vest, green and yellow Wraith trousers, black leather boots and gloves, a black and a red holster for his pistols, and a yellow and black racing helmet.

2007 Variations

Equipment:

Sword: whether he won it in a bet or adopted it for practical uses, Copperhead began carrying a sword with him in 2007. He may inflict his Brawn +1 RS in Slashing damage with it, or use it to cut through items of up to its m.v., which is 40.

Costume:

Copperhead's third Cobra uniform includes a black and green vest over a light green T-shirt featuring a silver Cobra sigil, two-toned green trousers, black and green leather boots and gloves, a black holster for his pistol, a silver spaulder, and a two-toned green racing helmet.

2008 Variations

Equipment:

2009 Variations

Equipment:

M-16 Machine Gun (v2): upon joining the Python Patrol, Copperhead adopted this firearm. It inflicts rank value 6 Piercing damage when firing a single shot, rank value 10 Piercing damage when firing a short burst of rounds, and rank value 20 Piercing damage when fired fully automatic.

Sting Raider (v1): when Cobra updated its aging fleet of Water Moccasins, Copperhead naturally received the result of their work: the Sting Raider. This fresh water aquatic vehicle is described in its own vehicular entry, as is its predecessor.

Sword (v2): whether he won it in a bet or adopted it for practical uses, Copperhead began carrying a sword with him in 2007. He may inflict his Brawn +1 RS in Slashing damage with it, or use it to cut through items of up to its m.v., which is 40.

Costume:

Copperhead's second Python Patrol uniform includes a black Wraith tank top adorned with a gold Cobra sigil, yellow and brown Wraith trousers, black leather boots, gloves, and arm bands, a brown leather belt, a black hip sheath, a red shoulder holster, and a yellow and black racing helmet.

His third Python Patrol outfit vaguely resembles his third uniform. It includes a black and red Wraith vest over a gray T-shirt, black, red, and gray Wraith trousers, black and gold leather boots and gloves, a black holster, a silver spaulder, and a black and chrome racing helmet.

Extra Goodies:

Copperhead 4C System: Edition 13 Text File Download

Cobra directories featuring a version of Copperhead:

1984

1989

2007

2008

2009

* Note: 2009 saw two verisons of Copperhead being released (Versions 5 and 6).

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