Archer II
Connor King is the second Archer, trained and instructed by original Iron Age hero himself. After having spent 6 years training to take up the mantle, Connor has entered the super hero scene, making his home in Freedom City's Southside, where he fights to restore the reputation that he believes the Archer name deserves. Confrontational and out to prove himself, the new Archer might not be the easiest person to work with, but his heart is in the right place, and no one can question his dedication.
History
Connor King grew up in Southside, Freedom City. Living with loving, but ultimately flawed parents, he had little, but he was a happy, if somewhat intense, boy, owing in part to having to help his parents from a young age. When Connor was only three, Rachel was in an accident that left her addicted to pain killers. Struggling to keep up with medical bills, Fabian fell into the same addicted. Over time, the addiction spread to harder drugs. For all their faults, Rachel and Fabian tried to shield Connor from their addiction as well as they could.
When Connor was six years old, his parents were killed for their stash, leaving Connor to find their bodies. Traumatized, but given little care in Southside, Connor was sent into the foster system. Though readily moved into foster homes willing to take care of him, Connor's trauma and resulting issues caused him to lash out, sometimes violently, and he would soon be sent back, and others would be chosen to try to help him. They tried to give him stable homes, but Connor only had one thing on mind: Revenge. It wasn't bad homes. He spent time with good, loving foster parents, but he rejected all their help. They knew nothing about him, didn't understand what he had gone through. Why should he care what they thought?
At the age of eleven, Connor ran away to Southside, disappearing into the streets in his search for revenge.
He thought it would be easy to find whoever had killed his parents, despite their murder going unsolved. He was wrong, of course, and he found that it wasn't easy to survive on the street alone. Out of both necessity and a need for companionship, Connor fell in with a gang. He was young, so he acted mostly as a lookout, but a natural aptitude for mechanics saw him slowly rise through the ranks, often being sent to steal from cars, or set cars up to be stolen by others.
When Connor was twelve, his world was turned upside down again. A security consultant had been hired to protect a place that the gang had been looking out for, so Connor was sent to steal his car to distract him. A simple job, right? At least until Connor was caught. For the security consultant, history repeated itself. Once upon a time, Ethan Keller had lived on the street. Trying to steal the third Bowman's car, he had been taken in and trained as the next Arrow, eventually leaving to forge his own path as the Archer. He had been a hero for years, one of the few to remain active in Freedom City during the Iron Age, at least until the Terminus Invasion of '92 that claimed the Centurion's life. He had lost his lust for the life of a hero, but as he saw Connor struggle and fight to evade him, a spark ignited in him once more. After a chase, Keller revealed his previous identity, and gave Connor the offer to train with him, become his protege and successor, to channel all his rage into something good.
Connor was reluctant, but accepted. The gang had started to become increasingly violent and dangerous, and if anything, this could help him get his revenge. He spent the next six years training under Keller. The old hero was tough, but fair. He would push Connor to his breaking point, then nurse him back to health. He would teach Connor how to use the bow and arrow, endless drills and training, discovering that Connor possessed a raw talent, not unlike what the third Bowman had seen in him. He would do his best to teach Connor what he had missed from the public school system, and about the world of heroes. Connor would become his successor, but he would become a better man, a better Archer, than Keller had ever been. Connor's own world view changed, and he began to see the first Archer as the underdog, his legacy tainted by the era he operated in, despite his good deeds. Aiming part of his anger at the heroes that had abandoned his mentor, Connor decided to become the best, to prove that the Archer's methods worked, even as Keller reigned in some of his once more extreme ideas.
The new Archer made his debut in June 2019, first seen in Southside. Using his contacts, Keller had managed to find the man that had killed Connor's parents. Connor tracked him down, finding an old man, an addict wracked with guilt of what he had done more than twelve years prior. Despite his initial plans to kill the man, Connor left him behind. He would become a hero. But not for revenge.
Costume and Appearance
A somewhat good looking atheletic young man, Connor prefers to dress in jeans, sneakers and various t-shirts. He is not particularly picky about the style or colors. He stands at 6 feet and 190 lbs., with brown hair in a buzzcut and blue eyes.
As Archer II, Connor wears a red and white costume. Starting from his feet, he wears red boot with white toes and soles, and a white T-shape where the boots end a bit below his knees. He wears red pants, and a black utility belt with red pouches. On his upper body he wears a red t-shirt under a primarily white jacket, which has a red arrowhead design, with the tip of the arrowhead at his solar plexus, lines to just where his shoulders start, which then stretches around to his back. While the jacket can zip up around his neck, he usually leaves it slightly unzipped, letting the collar hang loose around his neck. He wears red braces around his wrists, and white gloves. A full red cowl with white lenses leaves only his mouth visible, in an effort to hide his face. He wears a metallic grey square quiver on his back, and uses a metallic grey bow.
Powers & Skills
Connor posses no superhuman powers, instead relying on skills honed through years of training, and raw talent. He is a master marksman with most weapons, though he prefers the bow and a variety of specialized trick arrows. Though he lacks actual experience outside of extensive training, he is a nimble opponent, able to evade most attacks with practiced ease. Well aware of his relative fragility in super human conflicts, he fights tactically, putting his range to good use, prefering ambushes and staying at a distance that puts his range to good use.
Allies
- Ethan Keller: The original Archer might be retired, but he has spent more than 6 years training Connor as his successor. While he is not active in the field, he provides training, knowledge and tactical suggestions to Connor when in the field.
- Arthur, Alexander and Ajax: Connor's trio of American Bobtail cats.
Trick Arrows
Connor uses a number of specially designed trick arrows, either designs used by the first Archer, or designed by Connor and his mentor. Connor is able to make the arrows himself, if necessary.
The list of trick arrows include, but are not limited to:
- Standard Arrow: Standard arrows with a variety of heads, including blunt heads. Connor is able to fire multiple at once.
- Piercing Arrow: Arrows designed especially for piercing heavy armor.
- Smoke Arrow: On contact with a surface, or when a set time has passed, the arrowhead will release a heavy smoke, obscuring all vision.
- Net Arrow: The arrowhead releases a net that wraps around the target, hindering their movements.
- Grappling Line Arrow: The arrow is designed to attach to any surface, with a line attached to the arrow. Connor can use the line to swing between buildings or rapidly change his position while in combat.
- Flashbang Arrow: A flashbang grenade attached to an arrow, used to blind foes.
- Stun Arrow: Essentially a powerful one-shot taser attached to an arrow.
- Bolas Arrow: After travelling a set time through the air, the arrowhead explodes, releasing a bolas to capture its target.
- Thermite Arrow: An explosive arrow, useful for taking out a number of foes at once.
- Hypodermic Arrow: A needle at the tip of the arrow delivers a pharmaceutical substance designed to weaken its target.
Timeline
2019
Summer
- July 26th: Kingmaker: Opening Move: At his mentor's urging, Connor joins Corona's ragtag band of heroes in an attempt to aid the former Delinquents.
Concept & Design Notes
Successor to the Archer from the Iron Age Freedom City setting.
Taught by Archer I with the lessons he learned from his time, in an effort to be a better Archer than he ever was, including no-killing rules and always saving civillians first.
A slightly typical confrontational archer-archetype, always out to prove himself.
