Post by superman on Jun 18, 2012 14:42:02 GMT -5
Real name: Val Armorr
Alter Ego: Karate Kid
Status
Occupation: Sensei (Previously Legionnaire)
Martial Status: Single; engaged to Dinah Lance (Black Canary)
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States and Japan
Group Affiliation(s): None (Former member of the Legion of Super-heroes)
Origin
Place of Birth: Omega Colony, 31st Century
Known Relatives: Kirau Nezumi, a.k.a. The Black Dragon (father, deceased), Valentina Armorr (mother, deceased), Toshiaki White Crane, a.k.a. The White Toshi, a.k.a. Sensei (adoptive father)
History
Val Armorr was the son of Japan's greatest crime lord, Kirau Nezumi, also known as Black Dragon. When Val was born, his mother, the American secret agent Valentina Armorr, tried to hide him from his father, but she failed and was killed for her affront. Various women that his father had hired then raised Val for the next two years. When Val was two years old, Japan's biggest hero, Sensei Toshiaki, otherwise known as White Crane, killed Black Dragon for his crimes. He found Val alone in his home and took him as his own.
Toshiaki raised Val as if he were his own son, teaching him all manner of the martial arts. Toshiaki himself had been one of the top martial artists of his time, and taught Val everything he knew. Val picked absorbed everything his father taught him, and had an uncanny ability to learn it. Toshiaki called Val a prodigy, for by the time he was seven, he had mastered everything Toshiaki knew. Toshiaki then began taking Val to various martial arts Masters, having Val learn all they could teach. At the age of eight Val became the youngest person ever to earn the title Samurai. That same year he also earned the title of Ninja.
Val and his father continued to travel the earth, and in a matter of 3 years, Val had studied every martial art form on earth and had mastered them. Toshiaki was so amazed, yet so determined to have his son continue to learn. The two then left earth, going out into the galaxy, traveling from world to world leaning various different fighting styles. Val had learned everything, from hard, soft, linear, circular, throws, holds, grappling, pressure points, and most importantly, the ability to harness his Ki. Val had an enormous amount of Ki and was able to use it to perform superhuman type feats. Val also learned how to see the weakest point in objects, including living creatures, giving him perfect aiming points for his strikes.
Val’s skill eventually became known, and at the age of 14 he started having fighters from around the galaxy seek him out. On the first such occasion, Val did not want to fight, and his father had intervened. His intervention cost him his life, for the challenger ended up striking him with a deathblow, killing him before his son. Val took out his revenge and killed his father’s killer. He then took on every fighter that came to him, and thoroughly, and easily, defeated each and every one of them. Val’s anger consumed him, until he met an elderly monk named Kyoto. Kyoto took Val under his wing and taught him the ways of Zen, among other eastern philosophies. Val finally found peace. Val spent the next few years continuing his travels, learning the rest of the martial arts of the galaxy.
When Val returned to Earth, he found that the Legion of Super-Heroes was searching for new recruits to help fend off an impending Khund invasion. He went to their HQ in Metropolis and applied. Although he had no superhuman powers, he was accepted. He demonstrated his skill against Superboy in combat, where he was able to avoid the boy of steels superspeed blows, as well as deliver a blow that hurt hum. This showed just how effective he could be. His Legion career almost ended ignominiously when fellow recruit Nemesis Kid framed him for betraying Earth to the Khunds, but Nemesis Kid's own treachery was discovered in time, and Val went on to become one of the greatest Legionnaires ever. As Karate Kid, Val was the Legion's leader for one term and once took on the entire Fatal Five single-handedly.
(His history is continued in the next post, describing how we gets into the 21st century)
Characteristics
Age: 24
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 215lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Short Brown
Unusual Features: Val has a very striking features, inheriting his fathers Japanese looks. He generally wears traditional Japanese garb, such as gei's, or silk outfits with an open "V" chest.
Personality:
Val has many other personality traits, but those are also his weaknesses. See weaknesses for further information.
Powers
Although technically not possessing any super powers, Val still rates as being super himself. Val epitomizes cinematic martial arts and has been referred to one of the, if not thee, greatest fictional martial artist ever.
Known Powers: None
Known Abilities:
Most of Val’s skill comes from channeling his Ki. He has the following abilities just through his Ki:
Strength Level: Peak-human.
Weaknesses: Most of Val’s weaknesses are personality traits, as his physical and combat weaknesses are rare, as he is the greatest martial artist in the galaxy.
Misc (optional)
Equipment: LoSH Flight Ring: Flight at a speed of Mach 5, with its own life support for limited space travel as well as a communication link with other legion members.
Transportation: See Equipment
Weapons:
His energy represents his Ki, and is what enables him to hit harder, take more damage, and do many of his special moves.
Alter Ego: Karate Kid
Status
Occupation: Sensei (Previously Legionnaire)
Martial Status: Single; engaged to Dinah Lance (Black Canary)
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States and Japan
Group Affiliation(s): None (Former member of the Legion of Super-heroes)
Origin
Place of Birth: Omega Colony, 31st Century
Known Relatives: Kirau Nezumi, a.k.a. The Black Dragon (father, deceased), Valentina Armorr (mother, deceased), Toshiaki White Crane, a.k.a. The White Toshi, a.k.a. Sensei (adoptive father)
History
Val Armorr was the son of Japan's greatest crime lord, Kirau Nezumi, also known as Black Dragon. When Val was born, his mother, the American secret agent Valentina Armorr, tried to hide him from his father, but she failed and was killed for her affront. Various women that his father had hired then raised Val for the next two years. When Val was two years old, Japan's biggest hero, Sensei Toshiaki, otherwise known as White Crane, killed Black Dragon for his crimes. He found Val alone in his home and took him as his own.
Toshiaki raised Val as if he were his own son, teaching him all manner of the martial arts. Toshiaki himself had been one of the top martial artists of his time, and taught Val everything he knew. Val picked absorbed everything his father taught him, and had an uncanny ability to learn it. Toshiaki called Val a prodigy, for by the time he was seven, he had mastered everything Toshiaki knew. Toshiaki then began taking Val to various martial arts Masters, having Val learn all they could teach. At the age of eight Val became the youngest person ever to earn the title Samurai. That same year he also earned the title of Ninja.
Val and his father continued to travel the earth, and in a matter of 3 years, Val had studied every martial art form on earth and had mastered them. Toshiaki was so amazed, yet so determined to have his son continue to learn. The two then left earth, going out into the galaxy, traveling from world to world leaning various different fighting styles. Val had learned everything, from hard, soft, linear, circular, throws, holds, grappling, pressure points, and most importantly, the ability to harness his Ki. Val had an enormous amount of Ki and was able to use it to perform superhuman type feats. Val also learned how to see the weakest point in objects, including living creatures, giving him perfect aiming points for his strikes.
Val’s skill eventually became known, and at the age of 14 he started having fighters from around the galaxy seek him out. On the first such occasion, Val did not want to fight, and his father had intervened. His intervention cost him his life, for the challenger ended up striking him with a deathblow, killing him before his son. Val took out his revenge and killed his father’s killer. He then took on every fighter that came to him, and thoroughly, and easily, defeated each and every one of them. Val’s anger consumed him, until he met an elderly monk named Kyoto. Kyoto took Val under his wing and taught him the ways of Zen, among other eastern philosophies. Val finally found peace. Val spent the next few years continuing his travels, learning the rest of the martial arts of the galaxy.
When Val returned to Earth, he found that the Legion of Super-Heroes was searching for new recruits to help fend off an impending Khund invasion. He went to their HQ in Metropolis and applied. Although he had no superhuman powers, he was accepted. He demonstrated his skill against Superboy in combat, where he was able to avoid the boy of steels superspeed blows, as well as deliver a blow that hurt hum. This showed just how effective he could be. His Legion career almost ended ignominiously when fellow recruit Nemesis Kid framed him for betraying Earth to the Khunds, but Nemesis Kid's own treachery was discovered in time, and Val went on to become one of the greatest Legionnaires ever. As Karate Kid, Val was the Legion's leader for one term and once took on the entire Fatal Five single-handedly.
(His history is continued in the next post, describing how we gets into the 21st century)
Characteristics
Age: 24
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 215lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Short Brown
Unusual Features: Val has a very striking features, inheriting his fathers Japanese looks. He generally wears traditional Japanese garb, such as gei's, or silk outfits with an open "V" chest.
Personality:
- Calm: Emotions--rage, happiness, sadness--are very hard to evoke in Val to any extreme. He maintains a balance of emotion at all times, placid and unflappable. There is rarely anything that rouses Val, in terms of any sort of passion; not combat nor death, pain nor victory. This emotional even keel means that while Val might come across to his teammates as distant or detached, he rarely loses his ability to think about situations thoroughly and rationally to a fit of emotion. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest martial artists, if not thee greatest martial artist, in the galaxy. For this reason he constantly finds himself as the number one target for many up and coming fighters, and he generally takes this calmly. He actually prefers not to fight.
- Determined: Some people are easily thwarted, easily discouraged, and easily dissuaded Not so with Val Armorr. Val does not understand the concept of giving up, or giving in, or even really of dissuasion. This determination, especially combined with his martial skill, makes Val a very fearsome opponent indeed, but moreover it makes him a stout ally, as his confidence and resolve can bolster the failing hearts of teammates around to see Val take his stand, either in combat, mental duress, or just the same dogged way he approaches everyday life.
- Disciplined: Karate Kid lives his life within certain fairly rigid parameters. Provided there is no Legion crisis that interrupts his routines, Val's like is lived very much by rote and ritual. He gets up at the same time, he eats at the same time, he does patterns of kata and mental exercises every day. Val likes patterns, and organization, and although he doesn't try to necessarily force those things on the people around him--it'd be an exercise in futility--he keeps what he has control over well ordered. Discipline is a central tenant of the martial techniques that his life revolves around, and so discipline is also a central tenant of Val's personal life too.
- Focused: Just as Val is eminently calm in the face of danger, he is eminently focused. While he is a master of splitting his attention equally and efficiently over a thousand different distractions, Val is just as good at focusing all of his attention on one single task until it is complete. He is not a man who is easily sidetracked.
- Honorable: Many of the central concepts of the martial arts that Val is trained in have bled over into his everyday, and the concept of honor is another of those. Val does not, through his inaction, allow the casual slaughter of innocents. Val prefers to meet his enemies one on one, in hand-to-hand combat, and he prefers a fair fight to guerilla warfare and subterfuge. A true warrior with a code of ethics, Val will never fail to accept a surrender from a defeated opponent, or to treat his prisoners with respect.
Val also follows the Code of Xia: Foremost in the xia code of conduct are "righteousness" and "honor", which emphasize the importance of gracious deeds received, and revenge, over all other ethos of life. The code of xia is grave enough for its adherents to kill and die for, and their vendetta can pass from one generation to the next until resolved by retribution, or, in some cases, atonement. The martial artist is expected to:- Aid the person who needs help
- Take revenge for all dishonors against themself or their fellow martial artists, friends, and loved ones. Dishonors include murdering people the warrior cares about, stealing from such people, and kidnapping such people. Those dishonored are grateful, expectant, and even insistent of this revenge.
- Honor their word. What a warrior says is considered a vow.
- Pay back all 'gracious deeds received' in full. These favors will be paid back even if the person they are owed to has long been dead, and even if the person is their mortal enemy.
- Aid the person who needs help
- Leader: He has the personality of a fighting monk: insightful, cool, humble, and honorable; but in combat he is a natural leader: strong, fast and merciless. He inspires others to do their best.
- Minimalist: Val is not a man who needs very much to be happy. Clothing to wear, food to eat, and a roof over his head (roof optional). He does not make equipment or resource requests, except in the rare event he needs something specific for a specific mission, and anything excess he returns to the Legion immediately. Even money, Val would rather do without; of all the money that McCauley paid to Val for his work in the Workforce was deposited into a bank account that the Karate Kid never withdrew from, and was indeed all transferred back to McCauley upon Val's defection to the Legion. Val simply does not take up much space. He does understand the need for money, however, and would work for it if he had a cause or reason in which to have it, such as starting a dojo.
- Philosopher: Lastly, he is a philosopher. He is fully trained in Zen and nearly all other eastern philosophies. He currently lacks a clear path, but this is more of a philosophical dilemma than any kind of angst.
- Quiet: Val is not a man of many words. In fact, Val is a man who conserves his words until they are most needed. It isn't unheard of that Karate Kid may go hours or even days without stringing more than three or four words together at a time. He's just not a gossip, although that isn't to say Val isn't willing to talk about the things that are important to his teammates and their missions.
- Self-Aware: Like as to how Val is observant of the world around him, he is also aware of his space within. He is very cognizant of his emotional and physical states, aware of when he is out of balance in either a psychological or physiological sense, and when he must spend extra time realigning himself and his ideals. It is hard to sneak up on Val in the exterior world, and likewise it is difficult--although far from impossible--to sneak up on him in his own mind.
- Spiritual: Val is a deeply spiritual person, and it is evident in everything he does. He approaches the world around him from a stance of inherent respect, careful not to harm things that to not merit being harmed. Val's life is an endless search for spiritual enlightenment, and his many forms of martial arts are only steps along the path to righteousness, in Val's mind. He believes in an interconnectivity of all living and sentient beings, and respects it, respects the flow of life in the universe and the balance it strives to maintain.
Val has many other personality traits, but those are also his weaknesses. See weaknesses for further information.
Powers
Although technically not possessing any super powers, Val still rates as being super himself. Val epitomizes cinematic martial arts and has been referred to one of the, if not thee, greatest fictional martial artist ever.
Known Powers: None
Known Abilities:
- Physical Attributes:Val has physically conditioned his body and mind (willpower) to their near-peak levels of efficiency. He has "peak human" strength, stamina, agility, speed, and durability. Furthermore, Val's trained his mind to resist psychic attacks and is thus more resistant to mind control.
- Galaxies best martial artist: Val is the greatest martial artist in the 30th Century's GALAXY. He spent his years learning the martial arts styles, philosophies, self control, mental strengthening and weapons skills of every inhabited planet in the United Planets. His skill in hand-to-hand combat is seemingly superhuman.
He is considered by most to be unbeatable in hand-to-hand combat. Val’s skill has enabled him to spar with Daxamites and Kryptonians. While not being able to defeat them, he has avoided their blows and caused them pain. Val has taken on defeated the Fatal Five by himself, defeated the 30ths Centuries top assassin in one move, and has recently killed Lady Shiva in a Kumite in one strike as well. - Martial Arts Prodigy: Val is a prodigy of the martial arts. In only a matter of years he was able to learn and master hundreds of different martial arts styles. He can learn and master a style of martial arts in a few days. His unique, almost superhuman ability to pick up and learn fighting styles is what made him what he is today.
- Weapon Mastery: Val is a master with all melee weapons, though he rarely used them, preferring to rely strictly on unarmed combat. He has the ability to make anything and everything a weapon.
- Acrobats: Val is more as agile as a human can be, and his experience in martial arts, from Taido, to Wu Shu, makes him own of the most acrobatic humans that have ever lived. Val could give Nightwing a run for his money when it came to performing acrobatic stunts.
- Espionage: Val is not the sneakiest member of the Legion, and considering that some of his teammates can shift shape and turn invisible, it is unlikely that he will ever be. That does not mean, however, that Val isn't a capable spy on his own. While his real talents lie elsewhere in the gathering and interpretation of information, Val is very good at moving quietly when he wants to, and at going unnoticed when he wishes to.
- Information Analysis: Val has a natural eye for patterns in anarchy, but that natural eye means nothing without the ability to analyze them and discover their meaning. Therefore, not all of Val's training has been spent on direct combat techniques. As well as the way of the ancient warrior, Val has dedicated himself to making sense out of things that seem random to others, and out of trends in vast armadas of seemingly useless information. Val sees the order in the chaos, and can usually tell what it means, what it portends. Furthermore, Val is very good at analyzing ambient environmental information in a matter of seconds, from the shifts of air currents to abnormal temperatures, or even similar information about his opponents, such as pulse rate or breathing speed.
- Combat Mind: Val has learned to temper his mind to be mentally prepared for combat on a level that seems superhuman. He does not fear death or dismemberment and can block pain with force of will. He is also unaffected by blows that would normally daze or stun, and can resist most blows that would normally knock out a person.
Most of Val’s skill comes from channeling his Ki. He has the following abilities just through his Ki:
- Focused Blow: When Val throws a strike, he uses his Ki, which increases the effectiveness of his attacks. He can punch through solid wood, cinder block, and knock dents in steel. Through his Ki, he can also send his 'power' threw objects. For instance, he could punch a person in a suit of power armor and send the ‘energy’ of his strike through the armor and into the person inside. He could punch a stack of bricks and cause only the last one to be broken.
- Enhanced Toughness: When Val can prepare for an attack, he can channel Ki through his body in order to make it more tough. can withstand great punishment, allowing him to survive lethal attacks from people strong enough to damage nearly indestructible metals. He has also not been harmed after having several tons of metal dropped on top of him. Val can also, through preparation, send his Ki into the earth making himself immovable. It would take considerable strenght to move him, and it may in fact, pick up a pile of earth with him on it, instead of moving him from it.
- Enhanced Reflexes and Speed: Val’s can channel his Ki to enhance his reflexes and speed, enabling him to dodge a hail of machine gun fire or even lasers, or even redirect the attacks of superhumanly fast opponents, even those of superhuman strength. His speed is capable of allowing him to spar successfully with beings using superspeed.
- Enhanced Senses: Val’s Ki gives him an enhanced awareness of his surroundings, enabling him to fight equally well while completely blind. His senses become so enhanced that he is able to tell what an opponent is wearing in total darkness. His Ki provides him with a sixth-sense of incoming danger. He can also sense living beings by their Ki. This also grants him a body-language reading ability that allows him to tell if someone is under outside control based solely on how their Ki appears.
- Body Reading: By reading the Ki flow in a target, Val can read his or her actions even as they concieve them. This ability does not work on non-living creatures, and only gives Val a bonus to dodge and block, not make it 100%.
- Enhanced Balance and Jumping: Val can perform amazing feats of balance, grace, and acrobats. He can make his body near weightless, which enables him to jump extremely high, as well as bounce and jump off walls, limbs, poles, etc. He can also walk over dried leaves without so much as cracking them, or run across a hundred poles with perfect balance.
- Sense Weakness: Through mental discipline, Val has gained the Ki-sensory ability to perceive the stress points, fracture planes, or weaknesses, in all objects or persons around him (even things like force fields). By striking and applying pressure at these points, he can split or shatter objects made of seemingly invincible substances or damage beings of far greater durability than he. He has done this to alien species he has never seen before. This mental discipline is virtually effortless, but does take longer for objects of great density. For instance, after being trapped inside a diamond, it took him about a minute before he found a weakness, and then a lot of Ki Focus to shatter the diamond. Less dense objects, such as a stone, could be done rather quickly.
- Pressure Points: Val has knowledge of esoteric bio-manipulation philosophies that allow him to inflict incredible pain on a species he has just met with a light tap. He can also use pressure points to inflict paralysis, blindness, and deafness, as well as revive hurt and unconscious allies.
- Ki Healing: Val can heal a targetm or himself, by sending positive Ki energy into it. Damage such as bruises can be healed totally, and more serious injuries, such as cuts and stabs, can be healed to the point that the blood loss stops and the natural healing rate is increased. This ability takes mediation and time, with grave injuries taking hours.
Strength Level: Peak-human.
Weaknesses: Most of Val’s weaknesses are personality traits, as his physical and combat weaknesses are rare, as he is the greatest martial artist in the galaxy.
- Code: Val’s warrior code can also be used against him, as he will generally do what he can to stop innocents from dying, and to keep his honor. However, if left with no choice, he can still be aggressive if he feels it is the best option.
- Concentration: His ability to sense the weaknesses in objects takes longer the more dense and durable it is. If fighting someone with titanium hard skin, he would have to concentrate for many seconds, and his blows would be coming far less frequent because of this.
- Human: Val's normal durability is only twice that of a peak human, and thus is still affected by common injuries. He can make himself more durable with his Ki, but that requires advanced notice. So if caught unaware, his ability to take punishment would be less. Val is still vulnerable and susceptible to miscellaneous attacks, such as poisonous gases, flash bombs, wide-area attacks, etc.
- Mental Attacks: Val has no mental defenses except his own internal discipline. Although this is strong for a typical person, it still is nothing for medium and high level psychics to get past. Val also has no magical resistance, unless the spell allows for the target to dodge, or resist with his willpower.
- Never Give Up: Val has a serious problem with identifying when it's okay to give up, or change his habits. It takes Val far longer than most people to come to the conclusion that he must abandon anything in order to save something greater than whatever it is he's defending or fighting for. He will take a lot of punishment while trundling slowly to the uncomfortable and foreign decision of 'retreat', and yet still remain no matter how hurt he might be in mind, body or soul.
- Range: Val also has problems with opponents that can stay at range. Since Val is a melee fighter, he needs to be up-close and personal to do any sort of offense. However if there are items around that he can throw, he will do so, but the effectiveness of these are depending on what they are, and who he is fighting.
- Stubborn: When Val is convinced he is dedicated to the right and honorable course of action, it is nearly impossible to convince him otherwise. He does not give up. He does not surrender; he is determined, and sometimes and in the right setting, that determination turns into a suicidal stubbornness. Val Armorr does not stay down, no matter how many times he might be knocked down.
- Temper: Val's temper is not easy to trigger. In fact, Val is, in most regards, a very even-tempered person, hard to bring to anger by any means. Once Val's anger is stirred, however, it is a mighty and frightening thing. When angered, Val's first instinct is always to punch everything until it stops moving, and his supreme mastery of martial combat means he's very frequently very capable of doing just that thing. Fists and feet are Karate Kid's version of crowd control, and he has a very finite amount of tolerance for disorder, chaos, and anarchy. Val meets riots with pugalitive justice, and an inherent anger at having to resort to common brawling. When roused to this level of anger, his tactical focus slips, consumed more often by sheer fighting skill and sheer fighting need. Luckily for Val, this is not something that he struggles with often, and never a state his allies and friends provoke in him. Val's rare need to Smash Everything is usually supplemented by a lot of Everything that is acceptable to Smash around him.
Misc (optional)
Equipment: LoSH Flight Ring: Flight at a speed of Mach 5, with its own life support for limited space travel as well as a communication link with other legion members.
Transportation: See Equipment
Weapons:
His energy represents his Ki, and is what enables him to hit harder, take more damage, and do many of his special moves.