Adam Strange

Space Ranger

Name:	Adam Strange
Gender:	Male
Place of Birth:	Gotham City
Age:	94 (looks 44)
Aliases:	Saviour of Rann, Warrior of Two Worlds
Origin:	Science/Tech
Present Location:	Space
Occupation:	Adventurer, Archaeologist
Team:	Guardians of the Galaxy
Alignment:	Neutral Good
Significant Other(s):	Alanna Strange (wife - deceased), Aleea Strange (daughter - deceased)
Powers and Abilities:	Enhanced Physique, Enhanced Eyesight, Longevity
Portrayed by:	Daniel Craig

Looks like this is going to take brains, not brawn. Story of my life.

I. - "Doctor Strange, I Presume"

Strange started out as an archaeologist. He was born in Gotham in the early 1920s, an era of magic, murder and magnificent music, and soon proved to be a brilliant young man. His grades in school were so high that he found himself "fast-tracked" to university in his mid-teens, however, with the coming of the Second World War he - like so many others - volunteered to fight.

Initially he had assumed the war would put his archaeology and anthropology studies on hold - however, when Hitler began to show an interest in the legends and artefacts of various cultures (seeking an edge that would win him the war), the Allied Forces found a use for Adam Strange's knowledge. He joined a specialised unit (the 105th) that worked closely with the S.S.R. (Strategic Scientific Reserve), dedicated to keeping those artefacts out of Nazi hands.

He was a veritable "Indiana Jones".

He even had the hat.

There were "adventure books" (short stories) written about him.

Strange, like so many other young men (and women, too), made the transition from "regular person" to "soldier" hard and fast - with little time to really think about it. The rest of his life went on hold while the world tried to tear itself apart. He knew he was too young to be involved - they all were - and they needed each other. He and his unit formed close ties to one another, as one might expect of soldiers. They were the Graverobbers (so much time spent in tombs). Inseparable. Invincible.

Immortal.

At least in spirit.

II. - "Beam Me Up!"

In the middle of 1943, Strange disappeared.

His last known location had been deep in the mountains of Peru - racing Nazis to an ancient ruin where yet another powerful artefact was rumoured to be hidden. Most of his team were already dead - lost to enemy fire, the jungles, the mountains… and the traps left behind in the ruin - and when Strange disappeared in a beam of brilliant white-yellow light, the survivors of the expedition assumed he had been killed, too (a Nazi weapon perhaps).

But it was not a weapon.

The phenomenon (which Strange would soon come to call a "Zeta-beam") was in fact a teleportation matter-stream that singled out Strange (he learned later he wasn't the only one) and transported him… to another world, twenty-five trillion miles from Earth. That world was called Rann.

It took time to figure out where he was and what he should do, but a scientist named Sardath approached Strange and tried to explain that he had been behind the Zeta-technology. He showed his "visitor" the Zeta-platform, and then his research into the genetic degradation of his race. Despite the initial language barrier, Strange learned that he (among others) was intended to help the Rannians by introducing new genetic material (without harming him, of course).

Strange agreed.

It helped that Sardath also had a beautiful daughter - Alanna - and she and Strange began to form a relationship, however, the Zeta-technology was not yet complete (the teleport-effects were only temporary), and the beam automatically returned him to Earth (to his exact previous location) a year or so after he had left.

III. - "Return to Oz"

Nothing was ever the same again for young Doctor Adam Strange.

Everyone believed he was dead - so he made quite the comeback when he returned to assist with the war effort. In truth, he wanted the S.S.R.'s resources to help him study Zeta-energy - to locate signs of Zeta-trails (teleportations) in the galaxy, and trace them back to Rann. Strange kept much of this research to himself. He travelled light - and often - putting his alien technology to good use (if not overtly), and as much as the war-effort benefited from his work, nothing drove him more than his desire to return to Alanna.

In late 1944, he did.

Soon after his return, Adam Strange learned three things: 1) The atmosphere of Rann would kill him in a year if he stayed. 2) Earth was somehow closed to him - he could not go back. 3) The war is never over - the places change, the faces of heroes and enemies change… but the war never truly ends. Other alien races intruded upon Rannian space with "interstellar conquest" on their minds, just like the Nazis on Earth.

Strange would not stand for that.

Rannian society had become stagnant in more ways than one: genetically, they were a dying race. Scientifically, they had grown complacent and sloppy in its use. Emotionally, they had lost the will to fight. They had no army, no navy… and even if they did - who would lead them? They were desperate.

IV. - "Our Last, Best Hope"

Doctor Adam Strange brought every ounce of his drive, his intellect and warrior-spirit to helping the Rannians overcome a number of threats - threats that descended from the stars, and some that arose from the world itself, from within Rannian society. There were rumours of a mystical "ban" upon Earth, and multitudes of alien predators that might have targeted Strange's homeworld instead turned their attention to other civilisations… such as Rann. And Strange was ready for them. Within the year, he had been dubbed "Protector of Rann", hailed as a hero. He was the godsend, the saviour from beyond the stars - the last, best hope of Rann's people.

In the same year, Strange married Alanna, daughter of Sardath. He became a Rannian citizen, in full.

But none of this did anything to fix or avert the imminent problem of Rann's atmosphere upon Strange's physiology. Medical intervention boosted his strength and immune system to a degree - and he always had his power-suit (designed by both Sardath and himself) - but could not remain it all the time. Furthermore, the Zeta-beam that had brought him to Rann in the first place still required fine tuning. As soon as the Zeta-radiation wore off, the beam would automatically send Rann back to Earth (as it had done the first time)…

…except for the fact that it couldn't.

Earth was closed.

V. - "As Time Goes By"

Strange did not even know why - not at first. Rumours were rumours, nothing more. Nonetheless, when the Zeta-signature wore off, the beam did as expected, and attempted a teleport… with disastrous results. Strange remained upon Rann, but the beaming technology (combined with his prolonged stay there), destroyed his eyes. Rannian medicine could grow new eyes for him (Rannian, not human), but toxicity levels in his bloodstream were so high that he had to be put into a stasis pod immediately after the procedure. The new pair of eyes granted Strange the ability to see across the electromagnetic spectrum (like all Rannians) - but due to his being in stasis, he had little opportunity to enjoy this new "power".

For the next… several decades, Adam Strange spent his time alternating between protecting Rann (and nearby star systems), raising his family, and sleeping in stasis. With each year, however, he was forced to increase the stasis-time, or his time in space - but at the expense of his family. Strange saw distant worlds, ancient civilisations, fought fantastical creatures, and made new friends… but as time in stasis accumulated, he missed YEARS of his family's lives.

He tried to make up for it by "flash-learning" (info-downloading into his memory) whilst "sleeping" in his pod, but it fell far short of being there, especially for his daughter.

VI. - "Defender of the Earth!"

By the time the Spectre had lifted his curse, Adam Strange was an old, old man… except being in stasis meant he still had the appearance and vigour of relative youth. He had no wish to return to Earth, but knew he must. In 2010 (at the urging of his wife and daughter), he finally did - and discovered he had a lot of history to catch up on, and plenty of alien threats to take care of (some used stolen Zeta-tech to teleport to Earth - and he felt responsible about that).

One year. One year Strange intended to stay, before going back to his family - but when the time came for him to "beam back"… his beacon failed. Knowing Sardath would trigger another Zeta-beam from Rann, in a year, Strange didn't worry.

No beam came. One year became two. Then three.

Strange tried making contact via some of the friends he had made on Earth (which were purposefully not many), but there was no reply. Distraught, he took to the stars by means of his jetpack (which was not really designed for long-term interstellar travel), to hunt down his missing home… but he never found it.

Eventually he learned the Rann solar system had been destroyed by its own star (it went supernova), and as far as anyone knew… the planet - and everything and everyone on it - was gone. His family was gone.

From that point onward, he threw himself into "cross-galactic crime-fighting", and he did not care if it killed him. Fortunately, he was not the only "good guy" to be found in such dark corners of the galaxy, and he was encouraged to give Earth a chance - it was, after all, the only home he had left.

Dedicated

Dedicated… Driven… Obsessive… When Strange sets his mind to something, there is little or no stopping him. He takes his work seriously - all of it, the study and practice of various sciences, and the protection of the innocent against the nefarious. He is a good man, but he will take risks in the pursuit of knowledge that a careful man might not…

Curiouser and Curiouser

Strange cannot resist a mystery, a puzzle, a riddle - in whatever form it takes. He values knowledge very highly, and understands better than most that limits are meant to be tested…

Jaded

Throughout his life, Strange has had to deal with a great many obstacles - and not merely the enemies he has fought. There have been setbacks in science, in relations with both Earth and Rann, other worlds… but nothing has hurt him more than the repercussions of the Spectre's judgement upon Earth. All of it has left him…fed up.

Strange does not trust - cannot stand - beings as powerful as the Spectre. If he were given the chance to "stick it" to the "gods" of his universe, he would.

Resourceful

Strange specialises in overcoming problems through innovative and unconventional means. He has a natural gift for taking whatever is near at hand, and using it to his advantage. He is clever enough, at times, to have enemies convinced he has great super-powers (i.e. superhuman strength, speed, invulnerability… those kinds of powers), which he does not.

One Chance

Even though he does not enjoy killing, he is quite prepared to do it. In most cases, he will give his enemies a choice - but only once. Those who have gone up against Adam Strange have come to learn this truth about him:

No second chances.

Goals

More allies. Less enemies. A safer galaxy. A home. To protect the "everyday folk" against the malice (or neglect) from the supposedly all-powerful beings in the galaxy. To make the most of his life.

Motivation

Fate has cut off Adam Strange from the ones he loves, and he would give anything to have them back… Alas he cannot, therefore, he strives to honour them in all he does. He does what he knows, and he knows how to fight, to thwart the wicked, to save the innocent, to explore the unknown. He will make the most of his life, one way or another - after all, it was his wife's request, too.

Special - Genius Intellect

Strange is a brilliant scientist, having turned his talents toward both archaeology (Terran and Alien), anthropology and engineering (mostly with alien tech - specifically Rannian). He holds doctorates in the first two aforementioned fields, and has worked with other scientific institutions around the world (particularly the S.S.R. - Strategic Scientific Reserve - during WWII).

Resource - Power-Suit

Strange's power suit is of Rannian design and highly advanced. The suit itself is light, but extremely resilient and employs hard-light technology to seal it against the vacuum of space, extreme temperatures (and most forms of damage), allowing Strange to take a lot of punishment. Its hard-light visor serves as a holographic HUD. The suit has a day of oxygen at max, and can self-restore by entering an atmosphere.

Jetpack - Rannian tech. The pack uses molecular compression to 'fold up' when not in use, and is capable of growing wings, for gliding. While the power-suit uses anti-grav technology to simply levitate, the jetpack's engines can reach speeds of several hundred kilometres per hour in an atmosphere, and high sublight speed when in space. It is capable of FTL travel - but only in short bursts that require time to recharge.

Resource - Advanced Tech

Strange carries with him a variety of gadgets, weapons and other devices on his person at any given time. These include:

"Hard-light" Plasma Weapons - holographic energy constructs. The hard-light emitters are built into the gauntlets of Strange's power-suit; the emitters can also project melee weapons into his hands, or a small energy-shield (only the 3 basic settings: blasters, blades - twin daggers - and sword & shield).

Rayguns - Strange's "signature" weapons, after the holo-guns. All his weapons pack a punch, but would not penetrate substances like adamantium, vibranium.

Trackers - small devices that can trace targets across star-systems.

Explosives - small devices based on the same principle as the Trackers; (once thrown) they can home in on a target for a few seconds, guided by the HUD in Strange's helmet.

Medicine - Rannian medicine is far more advanced than that which can be found on Earth, and Strange has stock-piles of it on Earth.

Resource - Zeta-Beam Tech

This technology allows Strange to teleport from anywhere there is a Zeta-Platform (a teleportation device). Its range is interstellar, and there are a more than a few worlds now with these platforms (Earth included). The platforms can "send" or "retrieve" a target person, but the small beacon Strange carries will only take him to a platform, then it has to recharge (which takes about a day at least - longer, the further he goes).

The technology is much more stable now, but the beacon-devices can be easily damaged.

Special - Fame

Strange is hailed as the "Space Ranger", the "Protector of Rann", and the "Warrior of Two Worlds" - despite the fact that one of those worlds is apparently gone now (supposedly destroyed by a supernova). There are those who will remember (or have learned of) his work with the S.S.R., the 105th, etc during WWII, and others who have simply heard his reputation.

Archaeology & Anthropology

These were Strange's first professions (studied in conjunction with each other), and were limited to cultures etc on Earth until he became a space-traveller - after which, Strange expanded his expertise by studying ancient sites and artefacts on the planet Rann (his doctorate were completed on Rann). Currently, he has expert knowledge of a number of extraterrestrial cultures and their history - not just Earth and Rann.

Engineering

Since teaming up with Rannian scientist, Sardath, Strange has become an accomplished engineer. Many of the gadgets, weapons etc… he utilises are of his own design.

Marksmanship

Whether it is with his rayguns, gauntlet lasers or another ranged weapon in his hands, Strange is a crack-shot.

Combat

Strange is highly trained in a variety of combat-styles, both Terran and Rannian. This includes experience with myriad weapons, and (especially) aerial combat. Strange is in his element when in the skies, and has enough skill to battle opponents even in free-fall.

Pilot

Put Strange either in a Rannian spacecraft, or in his personal jetpack (or an old warplane) and he will prove to be a superior pilot. Most of his flight experience is with early 20th Century fighter planes, and a variety of advanced alien ships (Thangarian, Kree, Shi'ar…). He can navigate the spacelanes just fine.

Leadership

This is a natural talent Strange has displayed, and is something he has had the opportunity to develop as he has served Rann as the world's protector. He is a canny tactician - particularly adept at finding unconventional means to resolve conflicts.

Stealth

If he does not want to be seen… there is little chance he will be. Strange is not a master of stealth, but still has plenty of experience with it. He can also pick basic locks in a matter of seconds or minutes, depending on the lock.

Multilingual

Strange is fluent in English, Rannese, and Interlac (the galactic language of commerce). He is also well-versed in a number of alien customs, social mores…

Only Human

Even with all his genius, his technology, enhanced eyesight and physical endurance, his fighting skills - Strange is still human. Mortal. He can die just like any other.

Zeta Radiation

Using Zeta-technology leaves traces of radiation (harmless) upon oneself. There are people (entire organisations) out there in the galaxy that can detect and trace Zeta-radiation - not a good thing for one trying to avoid one's enemies.

Enemies

Strange's enemies can be found all over the galaxy, and all of them are quite dangerous. Governments that are not (or were not) "officially" at war with Rann still have cause to despise the "Space Ranger" - for thwarting covert attempts to steal Zeta-technology, or simply take advantage of Rannian complacency.

Missing Years

Rann's atmosphere is actually toxic to humans, therefore, Strange would normally have had to return to Earth every year to "de-tox" or the atmosphere on Rann would kill him. Since 1945 (the Spectre's Judgement), this has been impossible. The only solution was to put him into stasis every OTHER year, and the length of time in stasis has increased from one year to the next.

Strange has missed a lot of Earth-history (1945 - 2010 at least).

He gets a number of "pop culture references" wrong.

He has missed much of his family (wife - Alanna, daughter - Aleea).

Lost World

At this point in time, Strange believes Rann to be lost. There are rumours that the planet is not destroyed, but merely… "elsewhere", but he has been unable to verify anything he has heard. Strange considers Rann more his "home", than Earth - despite the fact that A) it is gone, and B) if it were to return, he would still have to deal with the toxicity in his bloodstream before he could reunite (long term) with his family.

Truth be told, he fell in love with a dying people, on a dying world, under a dying star. He knows it, and he wouldn't change it for anything. In the meantime, there is still a galaxy out there, and he intends to see it - it's what his family would've wanted.