Dolphin (Kappa)

The first variant to emerge after the Quiet Years was Dolphin (he is known in his own country as Kappa). Dolphin is an amphibious martial artist from Japan who appeared in July of 1963, taking on a violent, high tech yakuza smuggling ring known as the Crystal Dragons. Hailed as a hero and catapulted to instant fame, Dolphin was the toast of the international press for several months. He was charming in an understated fashion, humble, and from good moral stock. He was a sailor, like his father, and had been trained in the family Martial Arts by his uncle.
    At the age of 20 he was in an accident on the docks, falling from the of a ship and thought crushed between the ship and the pier. Instead he discovered the ability to breath underwater, rapidly followed by an enhancement of his strength and reflexes, allowing him to act at human maximum speed under water. Given the density level of air as compared to water, this made him a holy terror on land, roughly seven times faster and stronger than any normal human, and tougher as well. His variance was a perfect adaptation for deep sea survival as well as survival on land; the increases in durability and strength (though not speed) continue to this day. This, combined with his experience and martial arts training, ranked him at first as a low Gamma, but now he's approaching high Gamma status.
    While he was a competent marital artist before the variance, he was now amazingly potent in close combat. His training has continued, but he lacks the spark that would make him one of the truly great in the martial arts world; his style is not innovative or exceptional, but it is very solid. Combined with his inhuman strength and reflexes, he doesn't need to be great. It is unlikely any purely human martial artist would stand a chance against him.
    Dolphin well deserved the accolades he received upon his appearance. For years he battled for truth and justices, fighting any who challenged the safety of his people or took crime to the south Pacific. He received funds from merchandising his appearance (you may remember a brief Dolphin anime series if you are a real fan, as well as the Dolphin character on the Children of Justice Cartoon Saturday mornings), as well as work with marine biologists. He was a fine example of heroism. His people loved him, and the world cheered for him.
    The cheering stopped on February 22, 1970 when Dolphin disabled three whaling vessels and declared that the practice of whaling was at an end. Any who continued it would answer to him.
    Dolphin has never explained his actions to the world, but has made stopping the hunting of whales, dolphins and (oddly enough) squid his top priority. He works peacefully if possible, but is capable of wreaking havoc if his will is countered. While he works occasionally with Greenpeace and other environmentalist groups, he prefers to act alone, for where he calls home, few can follow.
    As further evidence racks up concerning the intelligence of cetaceans, more have come to understand and sometimes support his actions. He has allies in many camps, and his tactics (destroying the technology of whaling, but not the whalers themselves) have done much to keep that support. Still, he is persona non-grata in his homeland and is actively hunted by the Soviet government for the sinking of one of their fast-attack submarines in 1979. (The soviets had taken to guarding whaling vessels with attack subs, and Dolphin needed to prove to them that that wouldn't help. He let the crew get off before sending the vessel to the bottom of the sea.)
    Dolphin has had encounters with other variants over the years, heroes ad villain, good and bad. He knows where his morality lies and stands firmly against crime and piracy. He is a man of strong convictions, and that some of his convictions make him unpopular and even hunted is not enough for him to stop. Despite violent encounters with other variant heroes, he still considers them allies. Despite similar goals with some variant terrorists (such as the former Aquarian Abyss), he holds killers of men in contempt and brings them to justice when he can. Of everyone in the world, he has closest moral and philosophical ties with Fawn, but the two see each other seldom, and tend to grate on one another's nerves - they are too much alike for a lasting friendship.
    Dolphin has spent decades as a variant adventurer, and holds the title of most powerful man in the ocean. He has become nothing but stronger and tougher, more experienced and far more cunning over the years, but age is slowly blunting his edge. He is an acknowledged eco-terrorist but still a perceived hero in the western world. He has many harbors, but no home save the depths.

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