Stuntmaster
Growing up in the Southwest US, Buck Bardo figured out pretty early on in life that he was good at two things: taking big risks, and picking himself back up when they inevitably backfired. With a skillset like that, his future career as a professional daredevil/stuntman/idiot was pretty much predestined. As a child he'd tried - not always succeeded - to climb, jump over and jump off every structure over two feet tall around the family home, natural or otherwise. Once he was old enough to legally ride a motorbike, the attempted feats of daring only got bigger and bolder, and soon enough he'd started to make a name for himself as a pro daredevil amongst the citizens of the South. Achieving some minor fame - thanks to his spectacular accidents as much as his successes - local TV stations soon began using the nickname "The Boneman" in reference to his dubious achievement of having busted almost every single bone in his body at one point or another, even the tiny little ones that are really tough to break. Fully settled into the life of a career cranium-cracker, Buck would have been content to live out the rest of his days doing increasingly ridiculous stunts until it was time to retire and tell his hypothetical grandkids about the time he leapt the Grand Canyon using nothing but a bike, a giant rubber band and some jury-rigged jet engines. However, much like many of Buck's displays, things didn't work out quite as planned...
Aiming to bring the thrills, spills and tassel frills of his act to everyone in the US, Buck decided to take his show national, embarking on a grand stunt tour of the country. First stop, Rhode Island! Trusting his capable show team could figure out the logistics of starting an entire tour on the opposite side of the country, Buck set off for the dubious jewel of the state: Paragon City. He barely had time to get his trailer settled, however, before the combination TV/radio started squawking: the Galaxy City area was in ruins, destroyed by alien attack. Over the coming days, seeing the relief and rescue efforts of the City's various heroes inspired Buck, and he decided that if he had been given the gift of being able to take a titanic licking and keep on (somewhat gingerly) kicking, he should put it to use where it would help most. With the help of the Bardos who'd joined him on the trip, he fashioned a costume out of his show gear and made his way down to City Hall, proudly announcing to the FBSA liaison that he was here to register as Paragon's newest protector: Stuntman!
The liaison threw a minor wrench in the works by informing Buck that the name "Stuntman" was taken, but there were several similar options still available. Buck's a humble guy, but "Stuntperson" just didn't pop, and so he opted for the next name down - Buck Bardo became the daring, death-defying Stuntmaster!
Coming soon!
- As an unpowered human, the one thing that helps Stuntmaster in the hero game more than anything else is his frankly unreasonable toughness. Your average villain may (with some work) be capable of putting him down, but it takes a whole lot more than average to put him out. The survivor of a thousand bumps, scrapes, crashes and catastrophes, Buck's uncanny ability to get back on his feet and back into the fight, coupled with his single-minded refusal to pay danger any heed makes him one of the toughest nuts to crack in Paragon. Not great for concussions, though!
- Large families always share some similar dynamics, and the Bardo family is no different: with this many kids, at some point they're guaranteed to start fighting. Stuntmaster has been in countless wars with siblings and cousins throughout the years, and as a result has mastered the highly specific fighting style that is Roughhousing. It may not be particularly elegant or refined, but Buck can scrap, and feels perfectly at home in the middle of melee mayhem. Stuntmaster's expertise has seen many a would-be crook surrender at the hands of a vicious headlock!
- The life of the professional daredevil and stuntman demands a certain level of physical capability, and Stuntmaster more than meets the grade. A peak athlete and acrobat, he can execute all manner of jumps, flips, twists and tumbles, and has near-perfect equilibrium - the benefits of a low center of gravity! He has the stamina to wade through a horde of bad guys and demand seconds, and the strength to back up the ask. That Bardo boy's a real specimen!
Coming soon!
Coming soon!