Crankcase (deceased)

Melee RV 10

Coordination RV 20

Brawn RV 6

Fortitude RV 10

Intellect RV 6

Awareness RV 20

Willpower RV 20

Lifestyle RV 20

Repute RV 0

Health: Fortune:

46 46

Origin:

As are the majority of his fellow GI Joes, Crankcase has no special powers to speak of. Sure, he's not quite right in the head, and tends to have a high tech ride with which to fight the forces of evil, but he's otherwise completely normal!

Known Powers:

(none)

Limitations / Enhancements:

(none)

Equipment:

the AWE Striker: the original driver of this versatile off-road vehicle, Crankcase has truly put the All Weather / Environment Striker through its paces - all in an effort to prove whether or not its name applies. And it does! The AWE Striker has its very own vehicular entry.

Helmet: knowing that he drives like a maniac, Crankcase always wears a helmet whenever he's with the GI Joe team; he's rolled more vehicles than he can count. This headgear provides him rank value 10 protection from physical attacks that strike him in the cranium.

Knife: a useful tool for a soldier in the field, this sharp implement is handy whenever Crankcase needs to cut through something - or someone - during a mission. It can be used to cut through items of up to m.v. 40, or to inflict his Brawn value in Slashing damage.

Sidearm: in the event that all his other hardware fails him, Crankcase still has at least one firearm to depend on. He can wield this hand cannon to inflict rank value 6 Piercing damage in a single shot, raised to rank value 10 in a semi-automatic burst of lead.

Submachine Gun: though he usually prefers the recoil-less rifle on his AWE Striker, Crankcase will resort to this weapon if absolutely necessary. He can fire a single shot with this weapon to inflict rank value 6 Piercing damage, or a fully automatic spread to raise that by +2 RS.

Quirks:

(none)

Skills:

Driving: a builder and racer of muscle cars since well before he was legally allowed to drive, Crankcase is naturally at home with this skill. Whenever he's behind the wheel of a car or other ground-based vehicle, he may operate it at a +1 RS to the applicable rank value.

Guns: one talent he learned in basic, this skill allows Crankcase to handle most guns with ease. Whether he's firing a standard, semi-automatic, or fully automatic rifle or pistol, Crankcase may do so as though his Coordination was +1 RS in value.

Martial Arts style B: another talent picked up during basic training, this skill describes Crankcase's ability to defend himself while unarmed. He may punch, kick, head butt, or otherwise attempt unarmed attacks at a +1 RS to his listed Melee rank value.

Military / United States: both a talent and an origin, this skill details how Crankcase got to be where he is in life - and has a paycheck attached. Crankcase has an inherent understanding of the SOP, and gained most of his other skills thanks to his time in the service.

Repair / Tinkering: having been working on muscle car engines for as long as he can remember, Crankcase is very, very good with all things mechanical - especially if they're loud and powerful. He gains a +1 RS to any attempt to repair or build mechanical devices.

Survival: a graduate of both Ranger School and the Desert Warfare School, Crankcase is quite competent in fights around the world. Should he be stranded with only the clothes on his back, Crankcase has the skills necessary to survive - if not thrive - almost anywhere.

Vehicular Combat: loaned out to the Special Air Service Tactical Driving School, Crankcase is more than capable of using his considerable driving skills in battle. He should receive a +1 RS on any ACTION made (Handling or otherwise) while fighting in a vehicle.

Contacts:

Crankcase is a member of the GI Joe team that, while somewhat cranky, gets along with his fellows - particularly his gear-head peers. He can rely upon them for assistance should he only ask (and the reverse is true), for the GI Joe team is a very tightly-knit group.

Costume:

While active with GI Joe, Crankcase wears a uniform including a green sweater over a khakis collared shirt, khakis trousers, brown leather boots, a brown leather belt, brown web gear, black leather gloves, a black holster, and a gray crash helmet.

Personality:

Crankcase grew up an incredibly impatient young man, due to frustration with life in rural Kansas. He gets jittery when things proceed too slowly for his tastes, which is almost constantly, and he's always cranky unless he's behind the wheel of some jalopy or another.

Real Name: Elwood G. Indiana, Grade E-4
Occupation: motor vehicular combatant, armor specialist
Legal Status: citizen of the United States with a possible criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: GI Joe

Height: 5' 9"
Hair: red
Eyes: blue
Weight: 180 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: Crankcase wears a moustache, occasionally coupled with a tightly trimmed beard.

Story:

Crankcase grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, and quickly grew impatient with its terminally slow pace of life. This irritation eventually redirected itself into a fondness for really fast cars, and by the time he was thirteen, Crankcase was building his own, custom racing engines.

By the time he was sixteen, Crankcase was street racing, but it was never enough. Ever reaching for faster pursuits, Crankcase worked the race car circuits for years, always pushing himself further until the boredom struck him like a sledge hammer - and he needed a change.

Convinced he was in for a life of speed, Crankcase was talked into a four year enlistment by a clever recruiter. Before he knew it, Crankcase was working his way through one specialty school after another, even hitting some special schools thanks to a military exchange program.

Seeing some great potential in the man, the powers that be pushed to get Crankcase signed up with GI Joe - they always have need of more vehicular combatants, after all. Easily passing most of the entrance exams, all Crankcase had to do was prove his mettle in a field exercise.

Doing this with fellow new Joes Airtight, Bazooka, and Heavy Metal, Crankcase saw things go awry when they and their exercise leader, Lady Jaye, were captured by Cobra robots wielding plant spores. Though initially flat-footed, Crankcase and company won out in the end.

Once he was a full member of the team, Crankcase got to put his special equipment through its paces. Assigned an AWE Striker, Crankcase was continually tinkering with it and pushing it ever farther, wanting to get all the mileage he could from this all-terrain vehicle.

He served on the team with distinction despite his grumpiness, at least until a fateful day in the desert nation of Trucial Abysmia. There, on a supposed milk run of a mission, he and several other Joes were captured by Cobra operatives waiting in ambush for them.

While some of his fellows got away, Crankcase was gunned down in cold blood by a Cobra SAW Viper while he sat unarmed in a hole with several other Joe prisoners. Though killed in the line of duty, Crankcase was at least given a hero's burial in the Arlington national cemetery.

2008 Variations

Costume:

In those timelines where Crankcase escaped his Abysmal doom, his second field uniform is similar to his first. He added brown knee pads, and began to wear a single shirt, this one a green collared shirt with the inside of the collar dyed a khakis color.

Extra Goodies:

GI Joe directories featuring a version of Crankcase:

1985

2008

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