Mal Duncan - Guardian (eventually)

MALCOLM DUNCAN / GUARDIAN
40s :: American :: Auto Mechanic / Team Arrow Tech Support / Vigilante (soon)
Currently in: Gotham City

Character Background

• Though he seems like an unassuming car mechanic, Mal Duncan is actually a highly skilled engineer, who worked as a postgraduate researcher at STAR Labs in Metropolis until he grew uncomfortable with the intended military applications of his research. In his own words: I became an engineer to fix things, not to help figure out new ways to tear them apart.
• Mal currently owns and operates a modest garage in Gotham, which serves as a front for Green Arrow's base of operations in the city. He is responsible for designing several of Green Arrow's gadgets and gizmos, particularly the non-lethal parts of his trick arrow arsenal.
• Based on his STAR Labs research, Mal has designs for a mechanised "Guardian" suit to become a vigilante in his own right, but has not yet decided to use it.

Raw Material

• Mal is a towering muscular behemoth of a man, and he knows it. He is willing to use his stature to impose and intimidate, especially if that stands a chance of resolving a situation without it devolving into a fight. However, he would much rather resolve situations through words and kindness, and will often insert himself as a mediator in conflicts, talking people down before they do something they will regret.
• He is very old fashioned, particularly when it comes to his opinions on modern convenience technology. He hates the way that modern culture encourages people to delegate and procrastinate rather than fixing problems themselves. Despite the fact that fixing cars is his current livelihood, he would much rather teach a customer how to fix the problem on their own in the future. He has been known to hire troubled teens from his neighbourhood for a modest wage at weekends and during vacations from school, teaching them the basics of auto-repair so that they feel a sense of being capable of doing something useful. Some of his proudest moments are watching neighbourhood kids band together to change a tire or jump-start a car.
• Mal has a mixed opinion of vigilantes. They are illegal, and all things being equal, it should be as simple as that. In Gotham especially though, he does appreciate that there are some things that the authorities just aren't equipped to deal with; and until they are, people like Green Arrow are a necessary evil. Even so, he constantly questions and challenges their methods, and has made it his mission to hold them to account, and provide them with the tools they need to go about their business in the best and most moral way possible.

Plot Ideas

• Team Arrow exploits.
• Possibly equipping other vigilantes on the side?
• Crossing paths with vigilantes and villains who have powers and abilities. The likes of Green Arrow and Batman he can cope with; speedsters and aliens, not so much.

Existing Relationships

• Oliver Queen - Mal knows Oliver, and knows he is Green Arrow. They get along, but Mal feels as if Oliver doesn't tell him the whole story, and he isn't quite sure if he knows the real Oliver, or just some carefully crafted performance.
• Tatsu Yamashiro - Mal knows "the scary little Japanese lady with the sword" by association with Oliver (she is his bodyguard, allegedly) rather than on any sort of personal level. They have yet to spend much time together, and Mal is likely dreading the occasion when they have to.
• Connor Kent - Mal has been introduced to Connor by Oliver, who hopes he'll become a friendly face that Connor can go to if he ever gets in trouble. Mal believes Connor to be a metahuman, and isn't yet aware of any specifics.

Current Plots

• The Mechanic - Mal meets Connor for the first time. Oliver Queen pays for their food.

Credit for the basic template goes to Dun of RPG-D