Combat Clown
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| File:Clownportrait.JPG | |
| "Does it look like I'm joking?" | |
| Combat Clown | |
| Player: @Holiday | |
| Origin: | Technology |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Blaster |
| Security Level: | 26 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Christopher Conners |
| Known Aliases: | CC, Clown, Happy Chris |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | Unknown, seems young |
| Height: | 6' 4" |
| Weight: | 219 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Hair Color: | Red |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Irish/Italian, born in America |
| Occupation: | Hero-for-hire, Ex-Longbow Officer |
| Place of Birth: | Boston, MA. |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City, RI |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Unknown |
| Known Powers | |
| Latent technological genius, Insanity, Breaking the Fourth Wall | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Marksman, field commando, all manner of clown related activities | |
| Equipment | |
| LR-300 Assault Rifle, joybuzzer gloves, infra-red goggles, spring-heeled clown combat rocket boots, flash/bang juggling balls, blow gun kazoo, sonic whoopee cushion | |
| Who's laughing now?! HAH! | |
Combat Clown is a character that started out as a desire to create a hero who was clearly insane, but still fights for the side of good, without being a psychopathic murderer like the Joker or the Punisher. Combat Clown draws inspiration from Deadpool, as well as various characters across the universe.
Contents |
Personality
In many ways the man that was once Christopher Conners doesn't exist anymore. Combat Clown thinks of himself as a clown first and foremost, and is slowly losing his connection with who he was.To CC, everything is a joke now. Pushed beyond the breaking point when he was kicked out of his Longbow unit and framed as a traitor, the Clown's mind has shattered from it's strict military personality, and has developed into a carefree, anarchist, jovial mindset. This mindset has unfortunately manifested itself in insanity for Chris. Not taking anything seriously, Combat Clown is known to be delusional, losing focus between fiction and reality. He has developed a slight case of A.D.D., as well as fits of multiple personality disorder, as he sometimes forgets that he was once Chris Conners, and not Combat Clown.
Because of his new outlook on life, Combat Clown has a new lease on life. Before he found himself extremely repressed, never wanting to make waves, always following rules. He was introverted, quiet, and only made jokes and pranks as a desperate cry for attention and love. These days now, he's loud, overly friendly, extremely blunt in some cases, and has an almost disregard for all rules and regulations.
A third personality has manifested itself, unbeknownst to Combat Clown. This third personality is a technological genius, even more so than Chris' normal talents. Dubbed "Professor Clown", this facet of Clown's psyche constructed a teleporter out of a Dr. Pepper can and spare parts.
The Clown Code
As found in his combat vest, scribbled in crayon on the back of a crumpled lost dog poster, here states Combat Clown's guidelines, his laws he lives by. These demented new outlooks on life came about when he first became the Combat Clown, and he wrote them down in a fit of madness. They are as follows:
- RULE ONE: Laugh! Have fun!
The most important law Combat Clown abides by. The Combat Clown finds that life is too short to take things seriously, to worry and plot and scheme. That kind of thinking leads you down the path Simon Sirius took. As long as he draws breath, Combat Clown will find the brighter side of everything. He will endure all life has to offer, good or bad, with a smile on his face.
- RULE TWO: They can't laugh along if they're dead.
Although he wields various firearms, and destructive weapons, Combat Clown has vowed never to take another life as long as he has his. His experiences in the Longbow mercenary group brought about this new lease on human life. As such, CC only shoots to wound. Never to kill.
- RULE THREE: Mean jokes aren't funny.
Combat Clown can not tolerate unneccesary cruelty to others. This is why he goes out at night, why he fights crime, and seeks to bring justice to those that deserve it. The job of a clown is to make people feel better. If they feel safe, they feel better, and they can laugh easier.
- RULE FOUR: Never mix colors with delicates in the wash.
This rule came about when Combat Clown tried to wash his clown attire with his white shirts. Oops!
- RULE FIVE: Always leave 'em with a smile.
This law is what makes Combat Clown so overbearingly social. He is not happy, unless you are happy. After all, it's a clown's job to make people laugh. Combat Clown will not rest until all smile and see the true joy in things.
Psychological Evaluation
Up until a few months ago, Combat Clown had no joy in his life. As a child, he lived in a very emotionally stagnant house, with a mother and father who treated him more like a trainee, and less like a son. By age 18, he was shipped off into the military, and tried to act like the clowns he saw in his youth for attention and love. This behavior was looked down upon, and he was constantly being punished for it. After that, it was into the serious world of covert operations. Here he was met with betrayal and heartache. In short, up until his most recent events, Christopher Conners hadn't experience anything that resembled love, compassion, or humor. His only example of positive additude came from his observation of the circus clowns.
C.C. created the Combat Clown persona to bury his negative past. Chris Conners led a life or rules and straight faces, so Combat Clown leads a life of chaos and smiles. Combat Clown takes negativity and negative situations poorly, and has fixated himself in a positive carefree mindset to escape the drudgery of real life. Christopher Conners and Combat Clown are essentially two different people, which are forgetting that the other exists.
Combat Clown refuses to cry, or be sad, so everytime those feelings emerge, he retreats into laughter and happiness. C.C. cannot cope with negativity rationally any more.
Powers
Technological Visionary
In his previous life before becoming the Combat Clown, CC was a resident technological genius. Unbeknownst to him, this is due to a brain mutation. In essence, Clown has the ability to communicate with materials and machines, and "see" what they can become. When this ability reaches it's highest peak, CC's concious mind shuts down, and his subconcious takes over. This is what the people who have seen this call his "Prof. Clown" personality. Awaking from this state, CC has no recollection of what has transpired when his concious shut down.
The Fourth Wall
While not neccesarily a superpower, Combat Clown has shown signs of realizing that he is a comic-book based fictional character in a video game. There are times when he explicitly refers to incoming game events like future game patches or special events. There are other times where he will address people by their in-game titles that "appear over their heads". Sometimes he will refer to the villianous "Mapserver" and his quest to find out why his connection to him is so important. Combat Clown also sometimes expresses the desire to obtain "xp".
While he DOES realize these things, Combat Clown never explicitly states that he is a fictional character in a video game. When asked about his breaking of the fourth wall, CC will play dumb, not realizing what the person is refering to. The Invoker once asked Combat Clown, "Fourth Wall?", to which CC replied, "No thanks, I'm still on my second". This has lead people to believe that this aspect of Combat Clown is simply another facet of his insanity.
Abilities
Commando
Despite his goofy appearance, Combat Clown is a resourceful and cunning soldier. He is skilled at stealthily infilitrating and overtaking hostile targets. CC has been drilled in counter-terrorism, and uses these skills to fight crime in Paragon City, as well as evade capture from those who would see him destroyed.
Marksman & Weapons Specialist
Combat Clown has fantastic vision, and is an exceptional marksman. Couple this with his knowledge of almost all conventional firearms as well as other forms of weaponry, and this makes CC a formidable opponent. Clown's helmet augments his already dead-on aim, and allows him to hit targets at almost super-human degrees of difficulty.
"Clownin' Around"
Besides being a soldier, CC prides himself on the clown aspect of his persona. Combat Clown lives to make people laugh, and excels in this area. He is also an accomplished juggler (has been known to juggle numerous objects of varying size and complexity), a skilled balloon animal artist (he once made a life size Andre The Giant baloon), and a decent acrobat (can perform skilled flips and rolls). CC takes his clowning very seriously, and takes umbrage at those who mock the profession.
Also, as a clown, CC has a blood vendetta against all mimes.
Equipment
LR-300 Assault Rifle
"The Punchline"
The Punchline is a rocket propelled grenade launcher that fires rockets with boxing gloves attached to their noses. Combat Clown uses them to knock out enemies from a distance, and can also rig them to explode to take out stronger targets.
The "Ha-ha" Handgun
Combat Clown carries a holdout Desert Eagle pistol behind his back. Often this is CC's last resort weapon, and he hardly ever uses the gun. Clown finds this handy when his opponents think he is unarmed.
Gag Weapons
Combat Clown employs a number of hi-tech weapons that are designed to resemble gag jokes or toys.
- Joybuzzer Gloves: CC's gloves are glorified joybuzzers that are amped up to cause real physical harm. He can up the charge on the gloves as he sees fit. The gloves can manipulate electricity to a high degree.
- Plastique Pie: While they resemble regular whipped cream pies, they're filled with C-4 plastique, with a blasting cap in the center. Combat Clown throws them at an enemy for a laugh, then detonates them from afar.
- Balloon Sword: The Balloon Sword is far from deadly. But when CC pops it, it releases a dosage of nitrous oxide, or "laughing gas". Combat Clown uses these to knock out enemies and leave 'em laughing.
- Fire Flower: Combat Clown sometimes wears a flower on his shirt that sprays napalm at it's target, incinerating on site.
After busting up a Freakshow weapons cache, Combat Clown was given free range to do as he wished with the confiscated weapons. CC went into over drive creating several weapons, some useful, some strictly made to get a laugh.
- NERF Launcher: What looks like a harmless toy soft dart gun, this high powered grenade launcher shoots "soft darts" with weighted lead in them. The result is a physical blow that disorients its target.
- Silly String Taser: Combining a taser and a can of spray mace, this device looks like silly string. However, its "streams" are tazer tarts that give opponents a nasty shock.
- Gag Laser: This laser pistol looks very serious. However, pulling the trigger halfway releases a flag that says "ZAP" on it. But the joke doesn't end there. Pulling the trigger all the way back fires a welding laser from the tip of the flag.
- Scream-In-The-Box: Combining a sonic cannon and a jack-in-the-box, this box unleashes a devestating sonic blast that can lift opponents off their feet.
Combat Clown's brilliant technical mind is always working to cook up new tools and weapons to use in his "War On Serious".
Miscellaneous
There are some items Combat Clown uses that defy normal science, or simply can not be categorized as a weapon.
- Teleporter: Made of a Dr. Pepper can, and various electronic and mechanical attatchments, this matter transporter, or teleporter, can either take Combat Clown to another area, or recall numerous targets to its current location. CC is not totally sure how he got it to work, but this marvelous contraption is able to transcend time and space.
- "Facepaint": Combat Clown's "facepaint" is a digital nanotech assembler. It was created out of CC's jealousy of other's with "quick change" superpowers. This device allows Combat Clown to switch attires on the fly, and even disguise himself as other people. Thus far, he has only successfully managed to recreate an Arachnos costume for two hours.
- The Clown Suit: Currently in a state of repair, the Clown Suit was a mechanical armor that had a giant mallet as it's main offensive weapon. The Suit also incorporated a time-altering device, which allows Combat Clown to travel fowards and backwards through time.
Combat Clown's genius may not know any limits. Who knows what wild contraptions he will come up with next?
Clown Face Helmet
Clown Shoes
Combat Clown's shoes have two features. For one, they have spring loaded soles, which enable Combat Clown to jump higher than the average human. CC uses these to get the drop on enemies, or access hard to reach areas. Also, they contain retractable rocket powered roller skates. Combat Clown uses these as a means of quick transportation. While outfitted with brakes, CC finds it hard to control himself while on these skates.
Weaknessess and Limitations
Combat Clown is only human, and falls prey to the same standards and limitations that ordinary humans who keep fit and train daily will succumb to.
Also, CC's mind is fragile, and attempts to delve deep into his past or his psyche will cripple him.
Affiliations
Friends
High Jinks: A kindred spirit, Combat Clown found a partner in heroism when he met this jovial jokester.
Lucy Xiao: When Lucy proclaimed Combat Clown her new surrogate big brother, she may have gotten more than she bargained for!
Kira: A young girl with mental issues, Combat Clown can relate to her, and they share their insanity together.
United: Combat Clown's current supergroup, one whom he's trying not to completly alienate.
Enemies
Character History
What drives a man to don clown attire mixed with military gear and decide to fight crime? To truly answer that, one must understand the past of a man who was once simply Christopher Conners.
Childhood
Chris Conners was born into a strict military family. His parent's idea of a good time was reading up on old war history and seeing how fast they could dissassemble, clean, and reassemble a M-16 rifle. While Chris absorbed this information, and learned these skills rather quickly, he longed for a life of REAL fun. He found this outlet once a year, when the circus came into town. Each time he would sneak out, and watch in awe of the spectacular performances. Christopher was particularly fond of the clowns, and how they brought laughter to everyone in the crowd.
Chris did this anually until he was 18 years old. By then, as was Conners family tradition, Christopher was shipped off to the Marines.
Military Life
Christopher was an exceptional soldier. Thanks to his latent mutation, a fantastic ability to obtain and store knowledge from his surroundings, he rose through the ranks quickly. However, due to his obsession with practical jokes and clowning around, Chris always had a few demerits on his record for behavior, and earned the nickname "G.I.Joker". Despite his apparent "character" flaw, the government took notice of Christopher's gifts and knack for military operations.
Longbow Spec Ops
Christopher was recruited into the Longbow program along with three other select candidates. Together, they formed a special black ops unit, sent on special assignments and tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, The Rogue Isles and more. The group consisted of Christopher, the tech specialist, Reynolds, the sharpshooter, Svensen, the demolitions expert, and Simon Sirius, the field leader. This group was often given autonomy to do as they pleased, to conduct missions on their own. It was this freedom that would inevitably lead to their corruption.
Betrayal
The Longbow group began to take on shadier and shadier missions. Christopher often found himself in the dark as to why they were assasinating the current target, or destroying certain embassies. He didn't realize that they had become a mercenary group. He began to start asking questions, questions that rubbed his three teammates the wrong way. It wasn't until Christopher found himself working with Malta agents that he decided to blow the whistle. The timid Christopher threatened to tell the Longbow higher-ups of what was going on.
Reynolds, Svensen, and Sirius would have none of that. The trio turned on Chris, gunning him down on a mission in Striga Isle. What's worse, they framed him for the jobs they had commited, and Christopher was branded a traitor. Hunted by Longbow, Chris was left for dead in the Atlantic Ocean, never to be heard of again. Or so many had hoped...
Laugh And The World Laughs With You
A wounded, dying Christopher washed up on the shores of Peregrine Island. Here he was taken in by an ex-Carnie, and nursed back to health. Miserable, pennyless, and friendless, he wandered the streets of Paragon a broken man. It wasn't until he heard of Simon Sirius' promotion to Chief Of Longbow Secret Operations that the final straw was drawn. Christopher went mad with hysteria. Laughing uncontrollably, he officially denounced all that was serious and strict in this society. He would prove that fun and chaos would triumph over the grim and opressive world Chris thought it had become. Casting care into the wind, he became a clown dedicated to combating evil and seriousness wherever it may lurk! And eventually, he will tell the greatest joke of all, and bring forth the fall of a man who rose to power on lies and deceit.
Christopher Conners was dead.
Combat Clown had arrived.
Get the joke?
The First Few Weeks
After fighting crime for a few weeks, Combat Clown ran into some trouble with the law after he mistakenly destroyed an office building to help a friend.
Combat Clown began operating as an unregistered hero, slowly biding his time for when he could take down Simon Sirius once and for all.
He was arrested, and imprisoned within the Ziggurat for his efforts.
Revenge
Deciding now was the right moment, after biding his time, Combat Clown sought his revenge. CC managed to escape the Zig after some Freakshow caused a power failure.
Now came the time to out his enemy. First, the proof. Compiling the evidence he had gathered over the past few months, he pirated a television broadcast, and exposed Simon Sirius for what he really was: a murderer, and a traior. Then he took the battle to the streets.
CC took out Sirius' lieutenants, and fellow co-conspirators. Svensen was first. Combat Clown blew up Svensen, ironically the demolitons expert. Then Clown had a protracted battle with Reynolds, the sharpshooter, and Sirius' right hand man. Though injured in the battle, Combat Clown accidentally shot Reynolds through the throat. Sirius had no choice but to compromise his postition, and confront this seemingly insane rogue hero. It was atop a Steel Canyon roof where Combat Clown revealed his identity to Sirius, much to his chagrin. They wound up fighting each other in armed hand to hand combat. It seemed Sirius had the upper hand, until Combat Clown hit him in the face with a plastique pie, and detonated it.
The explosion propelled the two enemies off the roof. Combat Clown managed to grab hold of a ledge, saving himself from certain death. Sirius plunged into a lake. His body was never found.
None the less, Combat Clown proved his innocence, and was allowed to re-register as a licensed hero.
Interview With A Clown
In mid July of 2008, Combat Clown was supposed to be interviewed by one of Paragon City's premier reporters. However, things went a little differently than planned.
Now with PICTURES!!! Ooooooooh.
Faultline Fun
At the end of the summer of '08, Combat Clown saved New Overbrook, Paragon City, and potentially all of time and reality itself after confronting an elaborate Arachnos plot designed to alter history with a device called the PsychicChronoMetron.
This invovled uncovering the mystery of the villian Faultline, who turned out to be a hero whos past was altered to make him into a bad guy. After uncovering this, Combat had to take on the Lost, the Sky Raiders, and two Arachnos operatives, each with seperate goals.
Along the way, the Clown met many new friends. There was Faultline's son, Jim Temblor, who wanted his father's name restored. There was Fusionette, Jim's friend who had a knack for getting into trouble. Doctor Delilah D. Stein, a superpowered archeoligist, helped CC get into the superbase ruins of Faultline. The Clown even teamed with Longbow and Agent G, a group he still has a hard time trusting after his "being framed for a traitor" ordeal.
In the end, it was Penelope Yin, who Combat Clown had met saving her father, who would prove to be the true hero of the story, using her latent psychic powers to alter the device that everyone had so intensly sought after.
The Aftermath
Captain Castillo, a Sky Raider captain, Arbiter Sands, an Arachnos agent with his own agenda, and Night Widow Nocturne, another Arachnos agent, were sent in custody soon afterwards, and on their way to Zig, and still the "bestest of friends". For the other citizens of New Overbrook, life continued...
Agent G and Longbow continued it's tireless battle to contain the forces of Arachnos, with the occasional help from a certian clown....
Doc Delilah wrote a best selling book about the Faultline Incident, and credited Combat Clown as a co-author. "Bitchin'!" She is already working on a second book, and has promised CC a copy...
Penelope Yin began tutoring in how to use her powers from the mightiest psychics among the world's heroes, while Yin's Market is doing brisk business as more people return to the area. They occasionally have issues with a clown disrupting business with his outlandish demands for 50 pounds of whipped cream and bananas without the banana, just the peel...
Finally, there's a rumor that the heroine Fusionette is now working with a new hero who calls himself Faultline, and is trying to restore the honor of that name. ("I totally know it's you, Jimbo!") Even though Arachnos and the Sky Raiders are still scavenging old ruins, and the Vahzilok and the Lost are still lurking in the shadows, the future will be bright now that the nightmares of the past have been cleared away.
As for the Combat Clown, he lives to laugh another day...although Arachnos won't be laughing quite as hard.
In The Spider's Web
Recently, the Combat Clown has made an enemy of Arachnos. Seemingly hired by the villianous organization, The Assassin Mime ambushed CC in Perez Park, subduing and capturing him.
Combat Clown awoke in a dingy dirty cell. Apparently, Arachnos has taken CC prisoner, as they wanted him to construct a device similar to the PsychoChronoMetron he stopped them from obtaining. If Combat Clown refuses to cooperate, they swore to detonate a bomb they implanted in CC's body while he was unconsious. CC had full reign of the Isles, and was even allowed to go to Pocket D. If he tried to escape, he would be killed.
Combat Clown began operating in the Rogue Isles as an Arachnos agent against his will. He told Arachnos he was constructing their time-altering device, however, he is was also secretly building a device that should locate the bomb implanted in his body, so he could remove it, and free himself from the clutches of Arachnos.
Finding the bomb took time. It was a nanite bomb, injected into his bloodstream, and could be at any position in his body at any given time. Combat found the bomb, and tied off his arm to cut off circulation. He removed the bomb by slicing his wrist, and allowing the blood to pour out, and along with it, the bomb. Upon contact with the open air, the bomb detonated.
Woozy from the loss of blood, CC stumbled back to the Isles. He had constructed the time altering device, but had installed it into a mechanical suit of armor, Combat called the Clown Suit. He put the Suit into action, and battled his way off the Isles. Once in a secure location, CC time traveled a half hour into the future, and escaped the Rogue Isles intact.
Combat Clown is unaware that the Arachnos kidnapping, and the subsequent trauma it caused him was all a part of Simon Sirius 's master planning. He is once again working along side The Assasin Mime, and the duo is plotting to kill the Combat Clown once and for all.
Love and Insanity
In mid-October of 2008, Combat Clown came into contact with E. Layted, the reporter who snapped on him months before. She was back, dressed in clown attire, and determined to become Combat Clown's soul mate. CC fell deeply in love with her, but culd not express himself properly, as she was a murderous villian, whose morals were against everything he stands for.
He could not escape the notion that they were meant for each other though. They were both mentally unbalanced clowns, and they understood each other. They had a very strong connection. E. Layted's murderous rage at anyone who crossed them, however, forced the Combat Clown's hand. Attacking each other in a fountain, CC shot E. Layted, and had her arrested. As clown makeup and tears ran down her face, her wild sorrowful eyes locked upon him and said, "Don't you love me anymore?". CC had no answer. Before the PPD dragged her away, E. Layted planted a big messy red kiss on CC's Clown Helmet.
The Clown Helmet now rests on display at CC's home, a reminder of what could have been.
Current Events
Combat Clown is continuing his "War on Serious". He has managed to bypass his Arachnos death sentence by bribing a high ranking Arachnos official known as Subject Eighteen. Don't ask what the bribe is composed of.
IC Trivia
- Combat Clown's voice sounds like Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker.
- His favorite drink is Dr. Pepper.
- Combat Clown currently lives and sleeps in the United base, but is looking for an actual place to live.
- The arresting officer when Combat Clown was sent to the Zig was the hero Electrode.
- Before he began his War On Serious, Combat Clown's grand plan for saving Paragon was throwing rocks at the Longbow recruiting office daily, for a week.
- Combat Clown is allergic to dust.
- Combat Clown, despide his goofy exterior, is a rather graceful ballroom dancer, and an accomplished illustrator.
- Combat Clown has a hidden dark side. Whether it will show up one day is anyone's guess...
OOC Trivia
- Combat Clown is currently my favorite character.
- Combat Clown draws inspiration from many sources, most notably Deadpool, as well as bits of The Punisher, The Joker, Ambush Bug, The Mask, Warner Bros. cartoons, and of course, the clown profession.
- If there were to be a Combat Clown movie, Combat Clown would be portrayed by Ryan Reynolds. Simon Sirius would be cast as Clive Owen, and The Assassin Mime would be portrayed by Crispin Glover. (Thanks Jinks!) Combat Clown's insane love interest, Erica Layted, would be portayed by Anne Hathaway.
- Like most of my characters, Combat Clown started off as merely a test idea, and evolved into something else entirely.
