Mitchell Hundred is the 44th President of the United States, and the first metahumant to be hold the office. He is also often considered the first superhero of the contemporary era, when he was the masked vigilante the Great Machine.
Background[]
Mitchell Hundred grew up the son of radical leftist demonstrators and protestors. As such, his family never stayed in any particular place for long when he was little. He learned how to entertain himself, either by reading about the masked heroes of the 30s and 40s, watching TV or playing with construction toys like Legos or Erector Sets. Eventually, when he was ten-years-old, his family settled into Brooklyn. One of his favorite memories is still traveling across the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time; it was the beginning of a long love affair.
Mitchell became obsessed with construction physics, and specifically how the Brooklyn Bridge worked. He was an average student in everything except for core, physical sciences in which he exceled. He started to gain the first friends of his life, gathering around comic stores and talking about their favorite heroes of yesteryear. He became a proud New Yorker, and decided that he wanted to become a civil engineer for the city. And he started to develop his own political views, seperate but influenced by his parents strong involvement in social justice movements throughout the 60s.
Through dedication and hard work, Hundred eventually met his goal of a civil engineer. He was fully invested in his career, to the point of lacking any sort of love life and very few close friends. He gained a reputation for being a world expert in the field of suspension bridge design, writing multiple books including the definitive text on the Brooklyn Bridge. As construction began for more bridges connecting the seperate buroughs of New York, he was instrumental in design and implementation. In 1995, when a renovation project was started for the Brooklyn Bridge, there was only one man considered the head the project.
One night in November of 1998, Mitchell was called to the Manhattan end of the Bridge to inspect a mysterious glowing object spotted by bay patrolman Rick Bradbury. Unsure what the object was, Hundred reached into the bay for the object, only to feel like his head exploded and fall unconscious. When he woke up, he noticed that half of his face had been scarred, including most of his left ear being blown off entirely. He also heard what sounded like hundreds of voices, crying out to him all at once. Overwhelmed and scared, Hundred screamed out that everything just "Shut up." Unexpectedly, everything listened, causing the second largest blackout in the southern half of Manhattan.
It took a while to figure it out, but eventually Hundred discovered that since the accident, he had gained the ability to both hear and speak to machines. Having gained supernatural abilities, he saw this as his oppurtunity to meet his second goal in life: to become a superhero. He started developing the necessary tools, along with the help of former Sovier Ivan Tereshikov. This included an armored costume, a full-functioning jet-pack and a "ray-gun," an air-born taser that, while nonlethal, was powerful enough to stop most anything in its way. Mitchell Hundred made his public debut in the summer of 1999 as the Great Machine, a name suggested by Tereshikov after a quote from Thomas Jefferson. He was the first masked vigilante in American since the Post-War period of the late 1940s.
Initially the public reaction was mixed, with some calling the Great Machine an inspiration and others a nutcase endangering himself and others. Officially the New York City Police Department labeled the Great Machine as a public menace and offered a large reward for any information on his actual identity. Hundred considered retiring the Machine, worried that his double life would either kill or cause him to lose his profession he'd worked so hard for. That all changed on September 11, 2001, after a plane was flown into one tower of the World Trade Center. After the Great Machine stopped a second plane from crashing, he went from becoming a public menace to a national hero.
After the events of 9/11, Hundred was still convinced that he had to stop adventuring. However, his sudden fame and position as a public symbol of hope in a time of fear caused him to consider doing something else constructive. He publically revealed his identity and announced he would be running for the mayor of New York City. He won in a landslide and spent the next four years as a popular if seemingly reckless leader for a city rebuilding after serious trauma. In 2006, he announced that he was running for the office of the President of the United States. Running on a platform of being a political "outsider" and national hero, Hundred won a narrow victory.
Since being elected, Hundred has been a divisive President. As a confirmed metahuman, Hundred's support for funding the Justice League of America as a sanctioned federal program has convinced several anti-meta organizations that Hundred is a threat to "natural" people. Rumors about his sexuality have also made the life of his press staff rather sleepless. Currently, Hundred is popular enough to those who don't see him as a traitor to his species, though there are general questions of if his nontraditional approach to politics that made him such an attractive candidate also make him unlikely for re-election.
Personality[]
Idealist: One of the things that made Hundred such an attractive candidate for President was his belief that things shouldn't be compromised. If there is ever a better option, then it is his responsibility to not compromise for the easier choice. This attitude has certainly gotten him in hot water with his party, but he would rather be a forgotten one-term President who did the right thing than do things the way they always have been and gain a legacy.
Sarcastic: Hundred is known for having a sharp, often cutting sense of humor and it is often expressed in dry sarcastic wit. He is unafraid to jab at whoever he's talking to, often saying to things to people's face that most won't say behind their back. He can still be diplomatic, but those paying attention will still find back-handed compliments to just about anyone that the President finds crooked. Which qualifies to nearly everyone.
Stubborn: Hundred has a bad habit of making his mind up quickly, and once decided, unwilling to shake from his position. Sometimes this is connected to his ongoing belief that doing the right thing is more important than doing the popular thing. Sometimes however it is a bi-product of digging in his heels against someone he simply doesn't like.
Asexual: While much has been made in public forums about exactly why Hundred has never been married, the truth is that he simply has such little sex drive to the point of being negligible. Statistics suggest that only 1 of the world's population fall into the category of asexual, but Hundred is a fairly textbook example. He has little to no need for intimate human contact, and is often generally naïve or unaware in regards to sexual innuendo towards him or otherwise. While some would argue this is a preferable situation than how the sexuality has influenced past Presidents, the nature of Hundred's sexuality (or lack thereof) has been kept a secret due to fear of a misinterpretation by the media and general public.
Powers[]
After the accident in the New York Harbor and the strange alien device, Hundred gained the ability to both hear mechanical devices "speaking" aloud as well as give spoken commands back to nearby technology. While this ability includes most complex machines (cell phones, automobiles, firearms, etc.), simple, Hundred can't communicate non-mechanical devices. This communication does not necessarily mean that mechanical technolgy will obey his commands or even tell him the truth, simply that they can hear and understand when he speaks to them. Still, most machinery is surprisingly obedient and simple commands are often met with speed and submissiveness; the spoken command to "Stop" will almost universally switch any machine that has binary functioning and non-functioning states into its off position.
Hundred's ability to speak to machines only extends as far as sound waves from his vocal chords carry which is the same amount as any normal human being, able to extend his range by shouting. Similarly, devices have their own traditional speaking ranges, with larger devices speaking more loudly. Hundred has no way to turn off his ability to hear machinery, and in especially industrialized areas the noise can be so loud that it drowns out the sound of human beings speaking.
Skills[]
Mitchell Hundred's primary passion has always been suspension physics. As such, he has spent several hours studying civil engineering and bridge construction, becoming an expert specifically on the Brooklyn Bridge. He also has had a lifelong interest in electronics, often taking apart different devices to see how they work and then put them back together. He's more of a tinkerer than an expert, though his ability to speak with machines gives him an easier way to decipher what might be causing an issue if a toaster is on the fritz.
Even though he has had a relatively short career in politics, President Hundred has proved himself an able diplomat, able to dissect a relationship and find the solution that can make all sides feel like they came out on top. Growing up the child of politically active radicals, Hundred has been aware of American politics all of his life and has a keen understanding of the different issues in contemporary public policy. He is also an impassioned public speaker, a fact that proved useful both on the campaign trail and in convincing citizens of his ongoing policies.
Part of Hundred's training as a superhero included learning how to operate a jetpack as well as how to aim a raygun; both of these are highly specified, but extremely useful skills to have.
Of course, none of this covers Hundred's deepest secret: that he is deep down a big old geek. He grew up on comic books and dime-store profiles of his favorite masked heroes. As a latchkey kid, television was a constant companion and he's remained an addict ever since.
Boons[]
Being the President of the United States comes with benefits, to put it mildly. On the most personal level, Hundred has his own security detail staffed by the Secret Service and led by his personal appointee of Rick Bradbury. These agents are trained to take a bullet for the President and have his safety as their upmost concern. In addition to being constantly protected, Hundred also has a considerable influence on the national discussion in terms of political and public policy. He has an easy audience to just about any meeting in the world, simply by asking.
Also of interest is the tools of the trade for his former profession as New York superhero: namely, a jetpack and "ray gun" (really, an air-born taser) that were his primary tools in combat. Both were designed by his close friend Ivan Tereshikov, and have since been looked over by the US government for consideration as mass production. The jetpack can only reach speeds of around 65 MPH while in full flight, and the gun is the definition of nonlethal, but they have proven very effective in the past. Largely for public perception reasons, both have been retired and are currently being held at the Pentagon. But it would not be inconceivable for Hundred to be able to get them if he demanded it as Commander in Chief.
Flaws[]
Impulsive: While he certainly has enough handlers and advisors to inform him what he can and can't say to the press on a daily basis, President Hundred has an earned reputation for doing what he wants without considering the outcome. This has a habit of getting him in trouble with the citizens across the country, and can make certain diplomatic negotiations tense.
Chatty Machines: Who knew that machines were such talkers? Maybe it is because they have simply been waiting for a time to have someone to talk to. No matter the reason, any time that Mitchell Hundred is in the same room with any mechanical devices (so basically all the time,) he can do nothing to stop them from talking and, more importantly, anything to stop from hearing them.
Half Deaf: The explosion that gave Hundred his strange abilities also caused him slight scarring which included most of his left ear to be permanently disfigured and for nearly all sense of hearing on that side to be lost. Thus he has been left with a hearing disability which, while not disabling, has made it necessary for some conversations with multiple people (and cell phones) difficult.
Marijuana: While Hundred has made his position on marijuana be non-addictive very clear in the press, it does happen to be his medication of choice when needing to isolate himself from the constant buzzing of clocks and TVs trying to chat him up. Of course smoking marijuana is still illegal, making his use a potential political disaster if news was going to get out, so he has to be very careful to not let anyone know about his habit and where he gets his own supply from. And while it may not be physically addictive, Hundred has found that going more than a few days without smoking can make his attitude rather sour.
Public Figure: Having a personal life when you've had your life chosen to be on public display is difficult; having a personal life when you're the President is nearly impossible. Between constant questions and probing into his love life, ongoing criticism politically no matter what decision he makes and a growing unrest within anti-meta lobbying groups, Hundred often feels like he can't take two steps without it become front page news. His every movement is scrutinized and judged, giving the impression that his life isn't his own. This is largely because, for the most part, it isn't.