Dogfight

Strength        Agility         Intellect       Willpower
6d              6a              5d              6d

Hand Size:      4 (25)
Edge:           2

Origin:

Like the vast, vast majority of the GI Joe team, Dogfight is naught but a normal human, lacking special powers of any kind. However, he does wield advanced hardware in the service of the United States government, so he could be considered a high tech hero.

Powers:

(none)

Hindrances / Augmentations:

(none)

Equipment:

the Mudfighter (i): a seeming technological throwback, the Mudfighter is powered by a large, unducted fan engine. This rear-mounted propeller moves the Mudfighter faster than you'd expect - and the racket it makes is astounding! The Mudfighter is described in its own vehicular entry.

Sidearms (a): in the event that he has to take down someone outside his aircraft, Dogfight keeps a few pistols handy. He can fire a single shot from either of these semi-automatics to inflict his Agility +4 in damage, or a short burst of such to inflict his Agility +5 in damage.

Skills:

Aerial Combat (a): complementing his core piloting skills, Dogfight has also shown that he's an expert in aerial combat. The man can fight like a demon in almost any aircraft, and may resolve combat actions in the air at a reduced difficulty.

Boxing (s): while he didn't need much training in self-defense thanks to his 'sordid' past, Dogfight brushed up some after enlisting. He may divide his pre-card play action score between two unarmed melee attacks, the second of which occurs as a contingent action.

Electronics (i): not just a bundle of twitchy reflexes, Dogfight maintains a secondary military specialty as an electronic technician. The man can build, diagnose, repair, and operate most advanced electronics at one difficulty level lower than is usually necessary.

Flinging (a): a curious skill of Dogfight's is his ability to fling objects with almost unerring accuracy. He's not deadly with knives or shuriken, per se, but the man has amazing aim with ordinary objects, from baseballs to books, and can fling them at a reduced difficulty.

Guns (a): though he prefers to wield his plane at most terrorists, Dogfight has been trained in the fine art of gunplay by the Air Force - it's one of those minimum requirements, after all. He can operate most modern firearms at a reduced difficulty.

Military / United States (w): the source of all his marketable talents, this skill serves as a convenient origin for Dogfight. It denotes his inherent understanding of the Standard Operating Procedure, as well as his ability to function in almost any fighting unit.

Piloting (a): his claim to fame, Dogfight is quite the pilot. The man can readily operate almost any aircraft, whether it be a helicopter or a fixed-wing aircraft (or even his Mudfighter), and may operate such at one difficulty level lower than is normally required.

Contacts:

As a member of the GI Joe team, Dogfight can easily rely upon his fellows for assistance should he but ask - especially his fellow fighter pilots, like Slipstream and Ghostrider. Dogfight can also rely upon several additional Air Force contacts, as well.

Calling:

Soldier, with a secondary calling of Adventurer: Dogfight enjoys his life as a fighter pilot for Uncle Sam, because he gets to see all kinds of new aircraft, and shoot them down! Though he's doing his duty, he sees no reason why he can't have fun along the way.

Costume:

Dogfight wears a simple, to the point GI Joe field uniform. It includes a white, collared shirt beneath a brown leather flight jacket, dark blue trousers, black leather boots, black leather belts and holsters for his gear, silvered sun glasses, and a brown leather flight cap.

Personality:

Smart, strong, and fast, James is known as something of a dirty fighter, and he doesn't mind a bit. The man is confident in his abilities almost to a fault, and is more than happy to demonstrate them at the drop of a hat, whether his own or anyone else's.

Real Name: James R. King, Grade O-2
Occupation: fighter pilot, electronics technician
Legal Status: citizen of the United States with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: GI Joe

Height: 6'
Hair: red
Eyes: blue
Weight: 190 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: James wears a rather large, thick handlebar moustache at all times.

Story:

James duly earned his nickname of 'Dogfight' after demonstrating his incredible natural ability time and time again. Of course, even before he was a pilot for the Air Force, the man was doing the same in carnivals and county fairs across Alabama, until they banned him for life.

You see, his uncanny hand-eye coordination, his almost super-human depth perception, and a powerful throwing arm simply caused him to win too many stuffed bears in those normally rigged games. Hurting their profit margins too much, the fairs simply blacklisted him.

Once he'd enlisted in the Air Force, however, Dogfight was putting those skills to use as a crackpot pilot, often doing so behind the stick of some of the government's most experimental aircraft. It was this that got him ultimately invited onto the elite GI Joe team!

Upon joining the Joes, Dogfight was given a strange conveyance to fly: the Mudfighter. Unlike everything else the Air Force produces these days, the Mudfighter is propelled by a large, unducted fan engine, making it somewhat slow, and incredibly loud - like a 'mutant lawn mower'.

He's used this strange vehicle on more than one occasion to harry Cobra troops, the sound of his ride rattling them even before they can spot him on radar or visually. It doesn't hurt that he tends to fly out of the sun with guns blazing either.

Dogfight has served on a number of missions for the GI Joe team, some of which are considered Special Missions, and have been classified to this very day. He continued to do so until the team was disbanded the first time, and presumably returned to conventional service at this point.

(Historical Divergence)

However, Cobra's shenanigans have caused the GI Joe team to be reformed again and again, even after interference from corrupt politicians has seen it shut down repeatedly. When Cobra pulls a major stunt in its quest for global domination, Dogfight has always volunteered to help out.

As such, he's seen action against Cobra in several major operations since he 'officially' left the team, including flights over Cobra Island during its second Civil War, as well as running interference during World War III, when Cobra almost succeeded in taking over the entire planet!

With the threat posed by Cobra seemingly neutralized in the wake of their disastrous defeat, Dogfight has reassumed full-time GI Joe membership, as someone's got to round up all those Cobra goons who escaped justice to date. And who else should have the job but GI Joe?