Post by The Canadian Content on Nov 10, 2011 12:42:48 GMT -5
Heroes for Hire
Character Bios
Danny Rand/Iron Fist Daniel Rand was born in New York City. When he was nine, his wealthy father took him and his mother on a trip to find the mystical city of K’un-L’un. His father was killed and his mother dies in an accident on the journey, and Daniel was found by K’un-L’un monks, who raised him as one of their own, including intensive martial arts training. Ten years later, Daniel would defeat the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying, granting him the enhanced Chi power of the Iron Fist. Daniel then returned to New York, where he met Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. The three went into business together as investigators.
Luke Cage/Power Man As a streetwise youth, Carl Lucas was sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. In exchange for parole, Lucas clandestinely underwent an experimental procedure, originally intended to generate immunity to all illness; instead, it inadvertently granted him steel-hard skin and heavier, enhanced muscle. After escaping Seagate Prison, he forged the identity of “Luke Cage,” becoming a “hero for hire”—a sort of super-enhanced private detective—although Cage commonly refused money, or simply received none for cases gone awry. Later, he joined the martial arts hero known as Iron Fist, whose team of investigators cleared Cage of the charges he had gone to prison for.
Misty Knight Misty was seriously injured preventing a bomb attack back when she was a police officer with the NYPD. Her right arm was amputated and rather than take a desk job, she resigned from the police force. Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) provided her a bionic arm which endowed her superhuman strength. Soon after that she met Danny Rand. She and her partner, Colleen Wing, joined with Rand to form a company as private investigators.
Colleen Wing Colleen Wing's late grandfather, Kenji Ozawa, was the head of Japan's secret service, and has been succeeded in that position by his brother. Colleen grew up in the northern regions of Japan, more specifically in the mountains of Hoshu. She was raised by her grandfather, as her mother was killed very early in her childhood. Her grandfather taught her the ways of the samurai, in which she later became very skilled. Colleen’s father learned from a monk who had been to the other-dimensional realm of K'un-L'un that a young warrior, Iron Fist (aka Danny Rand), would come from that land to seek vengeance on his father's killer in New York. He sent Colleen to meet the warrior. Mr. Wing and Colleen befriended Iron Fist, and Colleen (along with her friend Misty Knight) joined with Rand to form a private investigation company.
Parker Robbins/The Hood Parker Robbins was a petty thief who managed to kill a demon. He stole the demon’s mystical cloak, which granted him reality manipulation, invisibility, and demon transformation with undefined magical abilities. Robbins used his new-found powers to gather a team of villains under him with the goal of running New York’s criminal world.
Whitney Frost/Madame Masque Madame Masque was born as Giulietta Nefaria, the daughter of the master criminal Count Luchino Nefaria, in Rome, Italy. Her mother died when giving birth, and Luchino wanted his daughter to lead a respectable life, so he gave the child to Byron Frost—a wealthy financier and an employee of Nefaria—and his wife Loretta to be raised. He called the child Whitney and raised her as his own. As a young adult, Whitney was a debutante and socialite, and became engaged to politician Roger Vane. The Frosts died, and Count Nefaria approached Whitney and revealed her true parentage. He told Whitney that he wanted her to take his place as leader of the Maggia—a Mafia-like organization running the East Coast of the U.S. Whitney at first refused, but when she told Roger about her father, he left her, afraid that her connections to a known criminal would hamper his political career. Whitney then accepted her father's offer to become a professional criminal mastermind and was trained by him in strategy, criminal activities, and combat. She turned out to be a brilliant student, and when her father was imprisoned, she became the new “Big M,” the leader of the Maggia. Her role as Big M brought her into conflict with Iron Man. Whitney was forced to flee after a raid on Stark Industries. The plane she escaped in crashed, and Whitney's face was scarred, but she was saved by the criminal Mordecai Midas and started to work for him as his agent. Midas was obsessed with gold, and Whitney began to hide her face behind a golden mask and use the alias “Madame Masque.” She eventually joined forces with The Hood, becoming both his second in command and his lover.
Davos/The Steel Serpent Davos (aka the Steel Serpent) is an exiled native of K'un-L'un, and son of Lei Kung the Thunderer. Davos Was Danny Rand’s best friend and main rival as they grew up together in K’un-L’un. Davos felt that is was his destiny to become the next Iron Fist, and chose to battle the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying before he was fully prepared. He lost a hand in defeat, and Rand beat the dragon shortly thereafter. Davos blames Rand for his shortcomings, and the two are now mortal enemies. Davos joined forces with The Hood to destroy Iron Fist.
Karla Sofen/Moonstone Karla Sofen was born in Van Nuys, California. She grew up in the mansion of Hollywood producer Charles Stockbridge, as the child of Karl Sofen (Stockbridge's butler). After her father died, her mother (Marion Sofen) worked three jobs to put her daughter through college, and Karla vowed never to end up like her mother—to never put another's needs before her own. Despite building a successful practice as a psychologist and psychiatrist, Karla so disliked being dependent on her patients for income that she entered the super-criminal world as an aide to Doctor Faustus. Learning of the original Moonstone (Lloyd Bloch), she became his psychologist and manipulated him into rejecting the source of his powers: an extraterrestrial gem of considerable power, which she then acquired and absorbed to gain the powers of Moonstone. Karla murdered her mother by suffocating her and then set her house on fire. During Karla's career as a psychologist, she convinced depressed patients to kill themselves while she watched. Her alliance with The Hood is temporary. She merely wishes to see the deaths of the Heroes for Hire, who have foiled her plans countless times.
Zebediah Killgrave/Purple Man Zebediah Killgrave was born in Rijeka, Croatia. As an international spy, he was sent to infiltrate a chemical refinery. During the mission, he was accidentally doused with a chemical that turned his hair and skin purple. Caught outright and questioned, Killgrave offered a weak, inadequate alibi to his captors. Much to his surprise, he was believed and released. Several more incidents of this nature demonstrated that the nerve gas had given Killgrave the superhuman ability to command the wills of other people. Calling himself the Purple Man, Killgrave embarked on a criminal career. The Purple Man has vacillated between an actively criminal life and easy retirement. Morally, however, he has never reformed. He can most commonly be seen in expensive purple street clothes. His mind-controlling skills are of great interest to The Hood, who has a plan for their use.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Agent Phil Coulson Coulson is a high-ranking agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who works directly with Director Nick Fury. Coulson’s main task is to recruit members for the Avengers Initiative. He believes he may have found potential Avengers in Iron Fist and Luke Cage, so he’ll be keeping a close eye on how they handle The Hood’s threat.
Post by The Canadian Content on Nov 10, 2011 15:30:36 GMT -5
Heroes for Hire
Plot Summary
Danny Rand (aka Iron Fist), Luke Cage, Misty Knight, and Colleen Wing run a detective agency that specializes in superhuman cases. Rand and Knight are also involved in an intimate relationship.
Parker Robbins (aka The Hood) has designs on running the entirety of the criminal activity in New York City. He has recruited Madame Masque, Davos (aka the Steel Serpent), Moonstone, and the Purple Man to his cause, forming a group known as The Cabal. The Hood and Madame Masque are also involved in an intimate relationship.
Purple Man gains control of Wing’s mind, forcing her to feed The Hood info regarding Heroes for Hire investigations, allowing the Cabal to evade capture and eventually leading to the Cabal setting a trap for the Heroes.
There are several minor fight scenes, including Cage vs. Moonstone, Knight vs. Masque, and Iron Fist vs. Steel Serpent.
In the climactic final fight scene, on the verge of victory, the Hood loses control of his mystical cape to Dormammu—the demon who gives it its power. Purple Man is killed in the ensuing melee, and Wing regains her mind in time to steal an unconscious Moonstone’s gem and use it against Dormammu, killing herself in the process.
Agent Coulson arrives at the Heroes for Hire offices the next day to offer the three surviving members a place in the Avengers. Cage and Iron Fist accept, but Misty decides to continue running Heroes for Hire.