Maxwell Karlov, AKA The Hooligan

Maxwell Karlov
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Portrayed By	Elias Koteas
Gender	Male
Date of Birth	11/13/1975
Age	34
Zodiac Sign	Scorpio
Aliases	None
Place of Birth	New York City
Current Location	New York City
Occupation	Junkyard Owner, Vigilante
Known Relatives	Harry Karlov (Father), Lucy Karlov (Mother), Eric Karlov (Brother, Deceased)
Significant Other	None
Identity	The Hooligan
Known Abilities	Weapons, Training
First Appearance	Unknown

No I'm not going to kill you, but by the time I'm finished you're going to wish I had. Say hello to the boys at intensive care for me scumbag.

History

The oldest of two brothers, Max and his brother Eric were both born and raised in new york city. The two couldn't have been less alike, with Max being the more physical of the two, but Eric always seeming to come out on top. Max always felt overshadowed by the accomplishments of his younger brother and worked hard to get out of his shadow. He played every sport in high school he could manage, but with his attention split in too many directions always fell short while the more focused Eric won awards in chess club and the science fair. This resentment inevitably caused Max to act out and by his 18th birthday he'd been arrested twice for fighting and had run with a street gang for nearly a year. He graduated with average grades in high school and ended up in a trade school learning welding and mechanical work. Eric graduated a year later and ended up with a college scholarship, and finally and upon graduation went to the police academy. Seeing his brother so much more successful than himself was too much to bare and upon leaving the trade school Max joined the army, his skills landed him in the Army Corps of Engineers in charge of the Motor-pool and after basic training he was sent for a 4-year tour of duty in South Korea where he'd meet the man that would change his life.

His unit in Korea was in charge of overseeing the construction of bridges and other structures in a province that had been devastated by civil war and natural disasters. After work one day he was hanging at a local bar when he watched the owner take down 5 men with only a bar towel, he'd never seen anything like it and jumped in to smash a chair over the head of another man trying to jump the older man from behind. While the man was grateful for the help he avoided any questions about how he learned to fight like he did, but Max was too stubborn to take no for an answer. He began helping out around the bar after his shift was over, volunteering his help to move things or do the odd repair and slowly the old man began to open up. His name was Chang, if he had a last name he never shared it. He'd spent his life in a monastery studying the marital arts and was a master of the art of Hwarang-do and it's sub-style Moo Gi Gong. The Monastery had been destroyed at the beginning of the civil war and he'd been forced to leave and took up ownership of the bar. He agreed to teach Max the styles in return for his help around the bar and thus began a master/student relationship that lasted for the remainder of his tour in Korea. Max found that the Buddhism teachings of the styles helped to curb his temper and ease his still smoldering resentment towards his brother, while at the same time learning the skills of the two forms gave him a focus he'd never had before. The calculating strategy of Hwarang-do mixed with the flexibility and weapon training of Moo Gi Gong seemed to be a natural fit and he picked them up fairly rapidly. He signed on for another 4 years when his tour was up, returning home only briefly to find out that Eric had been promoted to detective on the new york police force only 2 years after being accepted, while Eric's continued success still stung deeply he brushed it off as best he could and returned to his training with Chang. When his second tour was up he bid farewell to his master and returned to the states, another change was coming.

Max returned to New York only to find that Eric had been killed, he'd been investigating a drug ring run by a man named Cortez when he was shot by one of his thugs. The grief of his death was tempered by a building rage. Rage at the man who killed his brother, and rage at himself for not being here and maybe having been able to save him. All his work with the army now seemed meaningless with this loss and despite his best efforts he couldn't keep his anger from eating at him, he took up work in a junkyard outside of the city wondering what to do now when the answered seemed to just drop into his lap. He'd been walking back to his apartment from the subway when he spotted two men beating on a homeless man, he saw that one of the men had a tattoo of the symbol Cortez used and in an instant he knew what he had to do. Pulling a scarf over his face he snatched up a discarded piece of pipe and ambushed the pair beating them to within an inch of their lives. He didn't have time to think about what he'd just done as he heard the police sirens and quickly left the scene, but this would only be the beginning.

He had a purpose now, he had a goal. The cops couldn't stop Cortez because they had to play by the rules, so it was time to break the rules. He started prowling the streets at night, watching Cortez's men and trailing them to their safe-houses and street corners. His military training coupled with his newly gained martial arts skills gave him the edge over the street punks and his prowling soon turned to assault. He left their dealers beaten on their corners and ransacked their drug dens, taking the money and putting everything else to the torch. He crafted his weapons at the junkyard in secret, modifying baseball bats or making his own from pipes and chains. After a few close calls he decided he needed some protection and begin building a suit of body-armor, he traded in his scarf for a Hockey mask to built his suit from steel plating and sporting gear. During one raid he was interrupted by the fire department while leaving the scene and stole one of their Halligan bars from the truck after knocking two of them out that had tried to tackle them. The pressed dubbed him "The Hooligan bandit" after the name of the tool he snatched, though in time the reports simply called him "The Hooligan".

For two years his crusade against Cortez's operation raged. His gear and persona evolving as time went by, after two hired guns nearly killed him during a setup Cortez had planned Max decided it was time to end this once and for all. He'd known where the drug lord had been living for some time and finally staged a raid on his penthouse apartment. Bluffing his way into the building through the rear entrance as an air-conditioning repairman with his gear hidden in a fake conditioner unit he made his way to the top floor and changed into his Hooligan persona. Jumping the lax security on the penthouse floor he cornered Cortez and despite his pleas and offers of money those cries fell on deaf ears and he brutally beat Cortez to death with a baseball bat. This was the only time he'd ever killed someone as Hooligan, and silently swore it would be the last time as he detonated a pair of smoke bombs in the penthouse and slipped out in the confusion down the fire escape.

With his work done Max was ready to just pack up his gear and go back to the mundane life. But the countless reports on the TV of violence and drugs and crime kept picking at him. While he'd never admit it he enjoyed being the Hooligan and eventually decided that for better or worse, the City needed him to carry on. He used the drug money he'd stolen from Cortez's operation to buy out the owner of the Junkyard and made it his new base of operations. The Hooligan was here to stay.

Skills and Talents

Combat Skills

Moo gi Gong - A Korean Martial art that stresses flexibility, both physically and mentally. A practictioner of this style is trained to use ANYTHING as a weapon, from credit cards to power tools. Anything is deadly in the hands of one trained in this style. Garages and hardware stores are veritable arsenals for The Hooligan. This training also involves weapon katas and training in all types of conventional melee and thrown weaponry. It's techniques are designed to work hand in hand with those of Hwarang-Do.

Hwarang-Do Karate - A Korean Martial art that focuses on studying your opponent's style and countering appropriotly. A linear attack will be met with a Circular defense etc. Observation and strategy are key components to this style, it's hand to hand attacks and defense maneuvers are designed to work in harmony with the weapon katas and flexibility of Moo gi Gong.

Military Combat - Maxwell has received the basic hand to hand training given to all members of the United States Army. Boxing/Wrestling, Knife-fighting Techniques, and various locks/holds. Maxwell combines this training with his martial arts styles to form a single hybrid fighting technique.

Firearms Training - Maxwell knows how to use and repair/maintain most types of firearms. From Rifles and handguns to automatic weapons and even small anti-tank weaponry. He can also case his own ammunition and caliberate sights and add accessories.

Mundane Skills

It can't be all fighting all the time. Having an educational background of trade schools and military schooling has given Maxwell a wide variety of skills to pull from. These are simply his skills of Note:

Vehicle operation - In a combination of his time as a construction worker and his time in the military Maxwell and operate practically any kind of conventional land vehicle. From Cars and trucks to bulldozers and armored vehicles. He's also familiar with most vehicle-based weaponry. It has wheels or Treads, he can make it move.

Welding and Engineering - Maxwell is a certified welder and from his time in the army Motorpool can repair and modify any conventional land vehicle. His skills as an engineer have broadened into fabrication and allow him to hand-make his own armor and weapons. Maxwell is also familair with home and commercial air conditioning and heating systems, as well as building electrical systems.

Linguistics - Maxwell can speak Korean fairly well from his time in the Military and can tell the difference between different regional dialects. He also knows a bit of High-school spanish reinforced by dealing with immigrant workers when he worked as a construction worker. No great shakes but enough to carry on a basic conversation.

Physical Skills

Physical Conditioning - Max works out daily, from his high school days he's been obsessed with keeping himself in top form and routinely runs obstacle courses and hits the gym. His strength and speed are comparable with any professional atheletes in the world today, able to lift around 300lbs and can run a 100 yard dash in about 14 seconds.

Parkour - Maxwell has been training in the style of Parkour for over a year now. A utilitarian discipline based upon the successful, swift and energy-efficient traversing of one's surrounding environment via the practical application of techniques, based around the concept of self-preservation and the ability to help others. He mainly uses this technique to get around the city rooftops on foot while patroling at night.

Weapons and Equipment

Armor

Maxwell's Hooligan armor is the product of several years of tinkering and rebuilding over and over. If asked he calls whatever suit the current "Prototype" since no two suits of the armor are ever exactly the same. Cosmetically they all have the same Do-it-yourself look that often lead to it's effeciveness being underestimated.

The Armor is a layered system of Leather, Kevlar, and strategically placed steel plating to optimize the defensive properties while not sacrificing mobility and only slightly impairing his speed. On average the suit weighs around 65-75 pounds.

The mask is designed to fit snugly over his face, filters in the mouth protect him from standard tear gas and most commercial vapors/toxins. The lenses over the eyes are polarized to protect his eyes from the flash of his flashbang grenades and other bright light sources. The plastic covering hides a steel underlayer and rubber shock pads to reduce impact, making a headbutt from this mask a formidable attack. The gloves are loaded with a half pound of powdered lead behind the knuckles to add extra force to his attacks.

Twin bandoliers, a wide belt and a variety of scabbards and holsters cover the armor and carry the variety of weapons, tools, and other gadgets that make up his arsenal. The setup is designed to distribute the weight evenly along his body.

The armor comes standard with one built-in weapon. Under the plating on the forearms is concealed a canister of pepper-spray designed to spray out over the back of his hands. The trigger for these is concealed on the side of his elbow padding.

Lastly a new addition to his armor is a sheild. Inspired by watching way too many documentaries on Captain Amercia this is Hooligan's take on the classic. A Steel base covered in dual layers of Kevlar with a riveted leather overcoating emblazed with the image of his mask on the front. Yes he can throw it, no he can't make it come back to him. The Sheild has pockets on the inside for holding tear-gas grenades, flash-bang grenades, and rounds for his shotgun.

On average the armor can withstand direct hits from up to 7.62mm and 5.56mm rifle rounds. Though they will blow up layers of the leather puncture some of the kevlar, and they still hurt like hell. The sport underarmor(tm) bodysuit worn under the armor keeps him from overheating and can absorb small amounts of impact damage, but not much. It was clearly designed as an anti-firearms defense. Obviously armor-piercing ammo will puncture the home-made suit alot easier.

Melee Weapons

While Maxwell can wield any object he can get ahold of as a weapon thanks to his Moo Gi Gong training he carrys a standard arsenal of custom-made Weaponry. Made from steel pipe, chains, and modified sporting gear they are balanced to his preference and tend to pack extra weight than thier normal counterparts for added impact.

Baseball Bat - A standard wooden bat with a lead core and studded with dozens of round-headed machine screws. The grip wrapped in leather cord and has a large eye bolt screwed into the end of the handle so it can be attached to a rope or chain.

Nunchaku - Made from 14 inch lengths of steel pipe hooked together with a 6 inch length of heavy steel chain. Both pipes are weighted with a half pound of lead and the pipe fittings on the ends can be unscrewed and usually conceal small canisters of pepper spray or road flares.

Chain - A 6ft length of chain with 1/4th inch think links, carabiner hooks on each end allow it to be clipped to rails or other objects and hold it in place on his armor belt.

Halligan Bar- The only Melee weapon Maxwell always carries that isn't home-made. The Halligan or "Hooligan" tool is a 4ft long steel rod with a wide crowbar end on one tip, and a steel block with a large steel hook and additional prybar wedge set in an L shape.

Ranged Weapons

Not only a melee fighter Maxwell carries a variety of ranged tools normal used while closing the gap to engage a target hand to hand. Like most of his equipment it's been modified from stock items.

Baseballs - Standard regulation baseballs with a series of heavy bolts driven into them to add weight and impact. Max has clocked his fastball at around 85mph, ouch.

Bolos - Mostly used to stop running opponents, three large half-pound machine nuts on braided leather cord. Thrown like normal.

Caltrops - He usually carries 2-3 small bags of these, each covering about a 6ft area. The caltrops are made from sharpened metal tubing and designed to punch holes in the soles and unarmored shoes/boots and car tires. Being hollow once they punch through a tire they immediatly start letting the air out.

Shotgun - A Pump-action 12 gauge shotgun with the barrel sawed down to be flush with the pump slide. 6 round capacity and is usually loaded with riot "Pancake" rounds, rubber shot designed to flatten on impact and incapacitate rather than pierce or kill. He will on occassion carry standard buckshot and solid slug ammo.

Secret Arsenal - Max has been stockpiling weapons from the drug dealers and gangs he hunts and has a large assortment of Shotguns/Rifles/Pistols/Automatic weapons stashed at his hideout along with lethal and non-lethal ammunition. He will sometimes carry a .357 magnum as a backup weapon.

Gadgets

Aside from being a walking arsenal Maxwell carries a wide selection of gadgets and gizmos to give himself an edge in a fight. All of these have either been looted from gangs/drug dens, stolen from the police, or purchased from various questionable sources.

Grenades - With his efforts to remain non-lethal he doesn't carry normal grenades. His selection is made up of smoke, tear-gas, and flash-bang grenades.

Tazers - Max will usually carry 2 small police-issue tazers for ranged targets, and a hand-held stun gun for melee work. He usually carries enough batteries to reload each of them once.

Chloroform - Max carries a small vial of liquid chloroform and a small sloth for stealth work.

Tools

Lastly are the tools of the trade, usually small and easy to carry they make the job that much easier. His equipment can change from mission to mission, but these are his standard selection.

Mutli-tool - A Standard Multi-tool carried in hardware stores. Like an oversized pocket-knife it has pliers, screwdriver heads, can-opener, knife, small saw, leather punch, and corkscrew. Max usually carries 2 of these.

Binoculars - A Compact army-surplus set of binoculars with nightvision capability. Standard 20x80 magnification.

Restraints - For restraining people obviously. These come in both standard handcuffs and large police-grade plastic zip-ties.

Vehicles

What would a vigilante be without at least one suped-up vehicle to get around the city? The Hooligan has two.

Motorcycle - A Heavy street-Bike with enhanced suspension and a top model engine. The bike come equipped with extra armor to protect the engine and side compartments that can open on the sides to reveal a spare bat and Shotgun. Lastly a Nitro canister gives the bike a 10 second burst of speed. Top speed is 90mph normally, and 130mph on a Nitro-boost.

Hummer - An army-surplus Model 1 hummer. Armored to withstand small arms fire and equiped with a larger Nitro canister than the Motorcycle. This vehicle is modified with dispensers for smoke-bombs, oil-slick and larger caltrops of the same styling as his personal ones. Top speed 100mph 150mph on a Nitro boost.

Recently the Hooligan has undergone changes due to his exposure to an Alternate Reality version of himself and has been implanted with a fragment of the essence of a Spirit of Vengeance. His new Alter-Ego has become known as the Harbinger

+Code

Code of honor for "The Hooligan"

Never kill unless there is no other option
If you must kill, make it fast and clean.
Maiming, Crippling and Torture are fully acceptable, the ends justify the means.
Stealing from Criminals is not stealing, take what you need and destroy the rest.
There is no such thing as a fair fight, use every advantage you can get.
Never hurt the Innocent.
Retreating from superior odds is acceptable, hiding behind a hostage to escape is not.
Do not Discriminate, all people are equal regardless of race, color, or genetic makeup.
Defend the common man.
Punish the Wicked.

Timeline

** February 2nd 2011 -** Posing as a genetic scientist Maxwell infiltrates the jungle compound of African warlord NERO and during an attack by Magneto and other Mutants destroys the generators disabling Nero's power inhibiter and frees his prisoners.

Quotes

"Nobody appreciates having to work on a budget these days."

"Wakey wakey sunshine, it's that dream where you're taking a test in school and forgot to wear pants. Only this time Mrs. Fowler has been replaced by a pyschopath with a Baseball Bat!"

Soundtrack

Survivor - Eye of the Tiger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf45I1ZI__w
Motorhead - Born to Raise Hell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbOCF9zYgHc
Twisted Sister - We're not Gonna Take it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOqk_q4NLLI

Gallery