SuperPatriot

Origin

SuperPatriot was once Johnny Armstrong, a U.S. soldier in World War II. He was captured by the Nazis and used as a guinea pig for scientific experiments, but instead of killing him the experiments gave him superhuman powers. Using his new power of superhuman strength, he broke free and released the other prisoners before destroying the base at which he was being kept so the Nazis could not replicate the process on their own troops. Afterwards, Johnny would don an American flag-styled costume to become SuperPatriot.

Super-Patriot was the symbol of thruth, justice and the american way!. He was larger than life. He was a noble and pure person.

Creation

SuperPatriot was created by Erik Larsen. The character was derived from a design that Larsen had come up with for a failed story pitch that he and Fabian Nicieza had for a new X-Factor series in the 1990's involving a severely crippled Crimson Commando to be rebuilt as a cyborg. Even after Marvel rejected it, Larsen recycled his creation as a short-lived character known as Cyborg X as seen during his run in the Spider-Man comic series.

Character Evolution

Image Universe

A gifted athlete and student, Johnny Armstrong quit school on December 11, 1941; the day that Adolf Hitler declared war on the United States and immediately enlisted in the U.S. Army. He and several other soldiers were captured by Germans and were used as guinea pigs in experiments to develop an Übermensch. The experiment worked and Armstrong promptly freed himself and proceeded to liberate the rest of the detainees before leveling the compound to ensure that the Nazis could never duplicate their experiment on one of their own.

Armstrong would subsequently take on the patriotic themed costume of SuperPatriot and became one of several superhumans who fought the Nazis during this period, SuperPatriot would work alongside the superhuman group, The Allies with such notables as Supreme, Mighty Man, Glory, and DieHard. It was during this period that he began taking an experimental drug that enabled him to fly.

He especially became close friends with Mighty Man and after the disbanding of The Allies, they went on to form their own group known as the Fighting Force alongside Battle Tank, Mister Big and the Hornet. In the 1960's, the federal government started funding them and they renamed themselves as the Liberty League.

However, internal dissension between SuperPatriot and Battle Tank erupted as Armstrong became increasingly disillusioned regarding the Vietnam War and began speaking out against it. Ultimately, he quit the League in order to join the anti-war movement and the Liberty League ultimately dissolved. Despite this, SuperPatriot continued to serve as an active crimefighter primarily in his native city of Chicago over the next few decades.

However by 1992, time and old age had finally got the better of the aging warrior as he found himself facing crueler and more powerful villains than ever before. Eventually, he was overpowered by members of the Vicious Circle, a group of super-villains organized by Chicago crime-boss OverLord. SuperPatriot was savagely beaten by Mako, Hellrazor, and Basher who crushed his arms and legs beyond repair and the savage shark-man Mako bit off much of his face and left him for dead.

Despite his grievous and crippling injuries, SuperPatriot survived and his body was taken by Cyberdata, a corporation of underground scientists who performed illegal experiments to rebuild his lost limbs and transformed him into a cyborg. Driven temporarily insane by Cyberdata's grafting cyborg limbs to his body, SuperPatriot broke out and proceeded to go on a murderous rampage before he was shut down by Chicago's newest super-police officer, the Savage Dragon.

His cybernetic body was recovered and he became a helpless stooge for the Covenant of the Sword for a time. He ultimately reasserted himself and became once more a powerful force for good and joined the newly-formed Freak Force, emerging as a key member of the team. He brought to the group his experience and his exceptional power. He was personally shocked and dismayed to discover that the Mighty Man, who was an active member of Freak Force, was not his friend from World War II but rather his replacement, a nurse named Ann Stevens.

Savage World Universe

In Savage World, SuperPatriot was controlled by Cyberface, until his eventual downfall. Afterwards, he rejoined the newly reestablished Liberty League. He has had various adventures, including meeting Claire Bono and eventually marrying her.

Major Story Arcs

Image Universe

A Family Man

Sometime after being freed from the Covenant of the Sword's control, Johnny learned that he had fathered two children, twins, who grew up to become the superheroes, Liberty and Justice. His ex-wife, who the twins and Johnny thought dead, was revealed to be alive and was a member of the Covenant of the Sword prior to marrying him. His daughter also never really forgave her father for not raising them, even if he was kept unaware of their existence.

Mars Attacks the Image Universe

SuperPatriot is well-respected in the superhero community, becoming one of the main resistance leaders during the "Mars Attacks" event.

SuperPatriot Joins S.O.S

Eventually, SuperPatriot accompanied most of his teammates in joining the United States government’s new super-team to replace Youngblood (presumed dead from the Martian Attack), the Special Operations Strikeforce. The hero gradually slipped into a state of depression after the loss of several teammates in DarkWorld Universe, including Rapture, and the crippling of Dart.

Agent of the Covenant of the Sword once more

SuperPatriot finally snapped when his son, Justice, was found in a beaten state. Before he fell into a coma, the young man warned that his twin sister had been taken by the Covenant of the Sword and was being brain-washed into becoming a full member of their organization. SuperPatriot left immediately to recover his daughter and avenge his son’s injuries, but was taken out by his grandson, Damien DarkLord, and the mentally-manipulated Smasher. He was once again converted into an agent of the Covenant of the Sword.

SuperPatriot - Back in Control

When Dragon was convinced to raid the Hamptons headquarters of the Covenant of the Sword by Mighty Man IV, they encountered a number of their allies, all of whom had been brain-washed. SuperPatriot was rendered unconscious early on by Mighty Man, although both were captured later on. The rescue team that arrived consisting of the remaining superheroes of the Earth managed to liberate the abducted heroes. SuperPatriot was able to break free of his mental conditioning and retake his place on the S.O.S.

Savage World Universe

A New Family Man

After married with Claire Bono, SuperPatriot got to know his estranged children, Liberty & Justice. The family reunion did not last nearly as long as desired as both Liberty & Justice were killed by the Vicious Circle thug named Baby Killer. The villain was immediately beaten to death by SuperPatriot in a move that then caused his victim’s wife to file a lawsuit against him. The murder of his two children prompted SuperPatriot to try to start a new family with his new wife, with Claire Bono giving birth to a set of twins that are named after the murdered heroes, Liberty & Justice.

Personal Data

Characteristics

• Height: 6'2"
• Weight: 390 lbs.
• Eye Color: None with artificial eyes; formerly blue
• Hair: White; formerly blonde
• Other Distinguishing Features: Entirely cybernetic arms, legs, ears, and eyes. Also possesses various cybernetic implants visibly embedded on his chin, forehead, and sides of his face. Massive scarring on the left side of his face and upper lip.

Status

• Identity: Publicly known
• Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York
• Citizenship: U.S.A.
• Base of Operations: Chicago, Illinois,
• Occupation: Adventurer, crimefighter; former bounty hunter and soldier
• Known Relatives: Liberty Farrell (daughter, deceased), Justice Farrell (son, deceased), Claire Bono (wife), Liberty Armstrong (daughter), Justice Armstrong (son), Damien Darklord (grandson)

Powers & Abilities

Enhanced Physical Abilities

As a young man, SuperPatriot underwent an experimental procedure that greatly enhanced his body to superhuman levels. He was said to possess "the physical strength, agility, and stamina of ten men."

He could lift (press) approximately 10 tons and possessed extraordinary agility, reflexes and stamina. He also had a vastly enhanced healing factor that enabled him to recover from injuries at an accelerated rate and also slowed down his aging.

Due to his advanced age, his physical attributes were somewhat reduced from his prime. Despite losing his arms and legs and having them replaced with cyborg replacements, he still retains his various physical enhancements.

Flight

From the mid 1940's to sometime in the 1960's, SuperPatriot took a drug that allowed him to fly for a limited range. However, he began to discover that this drug began developing dangerous hallucinogenic side effects causing him to discontinue using it.

Cybernetic Enhancements

After the total loss of his arms and legs as well as his eyes and ears, SuperPatriot was outfitted with cybernetic limbs that were constructed through nanotechnology. Through the use of cybernetic circuitry, SuperPatriot can utilize these limbs as an extension of himself and allowing them to function much like regular arms and legs. Far more durable than mere flesh and blood, SuperPatriot is as strong as he ever was and can still lift 10 tons with his replacement limbs.

These nanite-powered limbs also have the ability to reconfigure and reconstruct themselves to a molecular level at his command. He can cause them to assume any shape or function that he can think of. Typically, he can create guns of various calibers and types from machine guns to gatling guns. He has also demonstrated the capacity to create flamethrowers or laser cannons as well. Presumably, due to the limited range of the flamethrowers and the prohibitive energy costs of the lasers, he prefers to use regular ballistic weaponry.

In addition, SuperPatriot can stretch his limbs to incredible lengths to seize people or extend his legs and arms to crawl up and down buildings or cover large tracks of ground by taking gigantic steps; create retractable grappling and repelling devices; generate gigantic hammers to increase physical damage when he strikes opponents or structures; and even clawed hands to rip apart barricades.

His limbs also can repair themselves if they are damaged and have the capacity to generate more nanites to replace lost or damaged ones.

One limitation to these cybernetic limbs is that his shape-shifting abilities are not unlimited. His arms and legs can assume any configuration as long as they retain its original mass. He can even use some of his nanites as ammunition for his guns if he so desires; but he only uses it in this manner in an emergency as this would deplete his nanites until they regenerated their numbers. Instead, he carries conventional loads of ammunition that are stored elsewhere in his body for his weapons and simply reloads his weapons from them.

SuperPatriot's artificial eyes give him enhanced sight such as night vision, microscopic vision, and telescopic vision. In addition, a secondary skin layer that is bulletproof and laser resistant was implanted beneath his natural skin to increase his durability.

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