Cold Front

Strength 7d

Agility 6b

Intellect 4x

Willpower 5d

Hand Size: Edge:

4 (25) 2

Origin:

Cold Front is an ordinary fellow, in that he has no quirky, unexpected mutations, no mysterious background concerning the arts arcane, and so on. However, he has an unrequited love for tanks, especially the advanced Avalanche given to him by the GI Joe team to trounce Cobras!

Powers:

(none)

Hindrances / Augmentations:

(none)

Equipment:

Arctic Combat Suit (s): Cold Front wears a heavily insulated uniform to protect him from the cold; ideally he won't have to leave the Avalanche on the job, but how often do things go ideally? This insulated, heated uniform provides Cold Front intensity 12, or +3, protection from the cold.

Avalanche (i): this heavy tracked vehicle is the perfect toy for Cold Front - an experimental, cold weather tank devised specifically to fight Cobra in polar regions. This highly advanced US military weapon will always be Cold Front's favorite tank, and is described in its own vehicular entry.

Helmet (s): protecting him from kill shots while he's outside the Avalanche, this gear grants Cold Front's head intensity 8, or +2, protection from physical attack. Also, its wireless transceiver attachment ties into the Avalanche's telecommunications rig, for 'hands off' talking capability.

Knife (s): you never know when you'll need a knife. It always pays to have a sharp object handy, for your life may depend on your ability to cut someone at the drop of a hat. This m.s. 13 blade can cut through items of like m.s., or be used to inflict +2 slashing damage in melee.

Sidearm (a): though he normally uses his Avalanche to trounce anything within his line-of-sight, Cold Front occasionally gets 'personal' with Cobra. He may discharge one round from this weapon to inflict his Agility +4 in damage, or a semi-automatic burst to inflict his Agility +5 in damage.

Skills:

Boxing (s): one facet of his basic training, this skill describes Cold Front' ability to defend himself in battle even while unarmed. He may divide his pre-card play action score between two unarmed melee attacks, the last of which will occur as a contingent action.

Guns (a): another facet of Cold Front' basic training, this skill demonstrates his ability to wield most conventional firearms. When firing standard, semi-automatic, or even fully automatic rifles or pistols, Cold Front may do so at one difficulty level lower than is normally required.

Marksman (a): to help him fulfill his secondary military specialty, Cold Front has been trained in the science of hitting things with really heavy weaponry. When wielding 'line-of-sight' artillery, Cold Front may attempt to hit a target at one difficulty level lower than is usually necessary.

Military / United States (w): the source of his other abilities, this skill describes Cold Front' inherent understanding of military protocols and procedures: the 'Standard Operating Procedure'. It also serves as a handy 'origin' of sorts - he's a product of the United States Army!

Vehicular Combat (a): while his Artillery skill lets him wreck things while stationary, it's this skill that really makes Cold Front so dangerous in his Avalanche. Cold Front is adept at fighting while driving, and when doing so he may attempt applicable actions at a reduced difficulty level.

Contacts:

As a member of the GI Joe team, Cold Front can definitely rely upon them (and vice versa) in a pinch. Additionally, Cold Front can count on many extra, as of yet unstated contacts of a military nature that he received during his time in the Army before joining the GI Joes.

Calling:

Thrill-Seeker, with a secondary calling of Soldier: Cold Front believes in doing right by his country, but he has absolutely no problem getting his kicks while doing so. The way he sees it, why shouldn't he have a blast while doing his part to protect civilians from the likes of Cobra?

Costume:

Cold Front's GI Joe uniform is his Arctic Combat Suit. It's a heavily padded, internally heated white jumpsuit, complemented with dark red gloves, dark red, hip-high boots, gray wrist bands, a gray belt, gray web gear, holsters, and pouches, and his white, visored helmet.

Personality:

Charles loves to drive huge vehicles and blow stuff up. Some Americans satisfy this urge by driving SUVs and lighting off fireworks, but not Cold Front. No, he's having the time of his life when he stinks of diesel fumes and/or charred metal bits after taking out yet another enemy vehicle.

He's quirky that way.

Real Name: Charles Donahue, Grade E-7
Occupation: Avalanche driver, fire control 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: 5' 10"
Hair: unknown (never seen under helmet)
Eyes: brown
Weight: 200 lbs.
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: none.

Story:

Cold Front grew up with an intense interest in tanks. But then he lived so close to Fort Knox that he inhaled diesel fumes from old M60s, even as his cradle rocked from the distant concussion blasts caused by the turret guns on the Sherman tanks. Tanks just remind Cold Front of good times.

He studied tanks and armored combat tactics while in school, particularly equipment and events from the Korean war to the present. After graduation he enlisted in the Army, and naturally moved on to the 3rd Armored Division thanks to his considerable knowledge of armor.

Though he knew a lot about armored combat in theory, this assignment gave Cold Front the practical knowledge he needed to blossom as a tank driver. In fact, Cold Front got good enough at what he did in a short enough period of time that he was selected to join the GI Joe team.

Quickly demonstrating an unparalleled destructive potential behind the wheel of lesser Joe vehicles, General Hawk eventually put him in the driver's seat of the meanest GI Joe vehicle to ever trundle over the tundra: the highly advanced cold weather tank known as the Avalanche!

Of course, Cold Front pays a price for his hard-driving tank skills; he can't allow himself to operate ordinary cars, for the things just fall apart with him behind the wheel. And fast. In his hands, a well built station wagon only lasts about two weeks before Cold Front will wreck it beyond repair!

He's been known on more than one occasion to say 'I keep forgetting they're not tanks!' while resting in the smoldering heap of his latest attempt to operate a civilian automobile. This has been a considerable drain on his personal resources, but is even harder on Cobra's check book.

The absolute last thing any Ice Vipers or Snow Serpents ever want to see is the Avalanche coming at them. If they know that Cold Front is pointing the thing at them they're likely to just drop everything and flee... or get wrecked along with whatever vehicle they're riding in at the time.

Cold Front truly loves his job, and stuck with the GI Joe team until it was disbanded back in '94. While he misses his Avalanche, and probably detests riding the bus, it's likely he's gotten by with a conventional assignment back in the 3rd Armored Division.

(Historical Divergence)

At least, until the Joe team requested his help again.

Having reassembled again a few years after its original deactivation, the GI Joe team has called back all its alumni on several occasions. The first time was during the second Cobra Island Civil War, and the second was, of course, when Cobra instigated World War III itself!

On each occasion, the Joes called Cold Front in. And naturally, he answered. And not just because he felt it was his duty or wanted to help save the entire world; oh no. After all, when given an excuse to trash an astounding amount of enemy hardware, Cold Front just can't say no!

Extra Goodies:

GI Joe directories featuring a version of Cold Front:

1990

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