Golden Boy
Jack Braun
Fighting |
Excellent |
Agility |
Excellent |
Strength |
Monstrous |
Endurance |
Incredible |
Reason |
Good |
Intuition |
Good |
Psyche |
Good |
Health |
155 |
Karma |
30 |
Resources |
Amazing |
Popularity |
5 / -15 with Older Aces |
Powers
- Force-Field: The Force field acts like a Force Field vs. Hostiles of Monstrous strength in that it activates whenever Jack is attacked in any capacity.
- Longevity: Jack doesnt age any more although he may still die
Talents
Farming, Bi-Lingual:(German and English), Business/Finance, Military, Guns, Piloting, Tumbling.
Contacts
Any of the 'Four Aces', Dr. Tachyon.
History
Braun grew up on a struggling farm in South Dakota, the son of second generation German-Americans. He was an indifferent scholar at school, reserving his passion for athletics and drama. He graduated from high school in 1942, immediately enlisted in the army, and was sent to Italy as part of the Sth Division. He was a good soldier, collecting a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts, and was a master sergeant by war's end. Along the way he met Milton Aronowitz, whose father was a theatrical producer in New York.
When the war was over, Aronowitz senior gave Jack some small acting jobs to help him get experience in the field. He got his really big break when he woke up the day after Wild Card Day as the strongest man in the world. Archibald Holmes recruited him for the Exotics for Democracy (the Four Aces) and he became the physical part of the team, doing what Holmes and his friend Earl Sanderson told him to do.
The big break in his acting career came when he signed a contract with MGM for Golden Boy, a semi-autobiographical movie based vaguely on the way the Four Aces overthrew Peron in 1946. A quickie marriage with starlet Kim Wolfe ended in divorce. His movie career in full swing, the subpoena from HUAC fell on him like a bombshell. The other aces had testified by the time he was scheduled to appear. He watched van Renssaeler go insane, Tachyon disintegrate, and the others be buffaloed and railroaded. His wife and the people at MGM pressured him to become a friendly witness and testify against his friends. He held out to the last minutes then, convinced that it was the only way he could save himself, gave in. He praised the conunittee and answered their questions about his friends and comrades.
He came out of the meeting feeling unclean. He wanted to go somewhere and do something, and volunteered for Korea.
The army gave him the rank of lieutenant colonel and flew him to Pusan where he almost single-handedly held the perimeter. He wrecked entire tank columns. He tied artillery pieces in knots. He captured North Korean generals. He was grim and determined and angry, and he was very good at what he was doing, which was breaking heads and saving American lives. After Pusan was saved he returned to America and Hollywood, where he made a lot of pictures.
But it slowly went to pieces. Braun was a mediocre actor at best. The budgets for his films got smaller and smaller, the scripts worse and worse. His last acting role was that of Tarzan, whom he portrayed on television from 1961 to 1964. He went into real estate after the show's cancellation, and made millions of dollars building shopping malls and civic arenas in small towns throughout California.
He stayed out of the limelight until 1987 when he joined the WHO-sponsored trip around the world, and eventually recon- ciled with Tachyon. He gets along well with Tachyon's grandson Blaise. Some other aces, notably Hiram Worchester, still want nothing to do with him.
Braun's a changing man. He's a party-goer and sometimes drinks immoderately. He gets lots of girls, but doesn't stay with any of them for very long. Like the Four Aces, he's part of history that has largely been forgotten, though some aces have long memories. He doesn't get old. He's never sick. He still looks 25 after his 50th birthday. He still feels like a rat, and hopes that someday he'll be able to make it up to everybody.
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