Black Flag

Born Victor James, the man who would become Black Flag grew up in the most dangerous section of Harborview during its bad years. The young man graduated high school, had aspirations of becoming a professional actor, and was enrolled for classes at Mansfield College when the incident that would change his life occurred. He was grabbed by agents of the drug lord Toxyn, who was looking for...test subjects. Toxyn's goal was the development of synthetic drugs that would produce variant powers in the recipients, while carrying addictive and will-sapping elements as well, making the new variants his slaves. In Victor, he was half successful.
    The drugs did indeed give Victor powers: phenomenal strength, immunity to injury and enhanced speed. What they did not do was wear off, generate an addiction or sap his will. Victor escaped, destroying Toxyn's lab. While Toxyn's goons assumed that Victor had eventually died like the rest of the test subjects, Victor survived. Over an amazingly painful month in the abandoned subway tunnels under Harborview, he came to grips with his new powers while dodging the ever-present street gangs, which had taken to using the tunnels as hideouts. Once he had a grip on his powers, he returned home to tragedy.
    Toxyn's men, having Victor's wallet, visited his home and burned it to the ground. While his family had escaped, they had left the city, fearing further attacks from Toxyn and his hoods and thinking Victor dead. The only one left was Victor's maternal grandmother, in an apartment a few blocks away. She had not been attacked and refused to leave. Victor, all but unrecognizable from the effects the drugs had on his system, became his grandmother's boarder while building a new life for himself.
    The cornerstone of this life was the destruction of Toxyn and the drug dealers that were the base of his operations. Victor had grown up watching Toxyn and the men like him rule the decaying streets of Harborview, and his mother told him of the days when it was safe to walk those streets at night. Victor took the name Black Flag and swore to make those streets safe again. He spent his days as James Victor, struggling actor and musician auditing classes at Mansfield U., and nights stalking Toxyn's organization.
    After operating solo and with Wildcard for over a year, he became a member of Ground Zero, the only initial member not gifted with powers from the Sidari space-folding drive. Like the other team members, he continued his solo activities, though he teamed up with Wildcard more and more, since their goals, if not their tactics, dovetailed so well. Unlike Wildcard, Black Flag was not always a grim vigilante. While he had a strong temper and sometimes went beyond the bounds of acceptable force, he was a comedian and jokester in fights and with the public. (He also claimed his teddy bear could fly and was his sidekick. He named it Baby Rabies. He was weird.) While he never provoked the fear in the criminal element that Wildcard instilled, Black Flag was more accepted by society. He used most of the funds provided by his Ground Zero membership to back community anti-gang/anti-drug organizations.
    Black Flag never reached his goal of destroying Toxyn's organization. He died in space at the close of the Plovian invasion, ensuring the destruction of the Plovian Command Ship. His was the first statue erected in Heroes' Square in recent history, and was later joined by the members of Ground Zero who gave their lives in the Daemonwar. Victor's grandmother, Gretchen Herris, is still alive, and heads the community growth program.
    Black Flag's main ability was his superhuman strength and resistance to damage. He was clearly variant in strength, being able to lift several tons, ignore small arms fire and survive significant explosions. In addition, he was significantly faster than a man with his training should have been; while this was a variant ability, it did not enhance him beyond human levels.
    Over the course of his career he developed an effective combat technique based on his speed and damage resistance. This was a straightforward style, combining boxing and wrestling moves modified for his physical power. He was also a skilled actor and singer, had a faultless knowledge of the tunnels under the city and a clear understanding of the complicated gang power structure.
    A novel based on Black Flag's life and activities was released in 1986 to significant popular acclaim, and it is now recommended reading in Variant Studies classes across the country. Black Flag, not Wildcard, is the role model for most urban vigilantes—walking that tightrope between violence and justice, fear and respect. In the history books he will remain the odd man out in Ground Zero, but his heroism and sacrifice are remembered by all who make the study of variant history a passion.

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