Characteristic

Cost

END

Cost

2

2

2

2

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Cost

16

5

3

1

3

3

1

0

3

3

3

5

11

3

3

3

2

15

20

5

15

15

5

15

15

1

1

1

1

1

5

10

15

10

Late in 2002, the original three members of the Comets—Deadlock, Ojo, and Rush—managed a coup: They stole a prototype Fortinbras VII battlesuit from Denmark’s Hauberk Industries. When their client was arrested before making payment, however, they had to figure out what to do with the armor. Enchanted by the potential offered by the powerful armor—not to mention the improvements he felt he could make to its design—Deadlock was loathe to sell the device. Wearing it would cripple the cybernetic abilities he and Rush possessed, and Ojo was simply too small to fit in it. Instead, he needed to recruit a new member to the team.

Deadlock generated a profile of the ideal candidate: thrillseeker; amoral; unambitious; physically fit without being obsessive about it; intelligent, but not in Deadlock’s class; a decent strategist; greedy; good at following orders; skilled at video games, especially those with complicated controls; at least six feet tall; single; mentally stable; computer literate. Armed with the profile, Deadlock launched an extensive search using his access to various computer databases.

The man he ultimately found to fit the role was Phuc Matsuda, the son of a second-generation Japanese American and a first-generation Vietnamese American. The second-place world champion at MechWarrior tournaments, Phuc was a graduate student and part-time clerk at a video rental store. He’d dabbled in a lot of different hobbies, including video game design, war gaming, and sumo wrestling, which he’d given up after losing 50 pounds on the Atkins diet. He was ostensibly studying mass communications in school, but was basically spinning his wheels, unsure what to do with his life. To Deadlock, he was perfect.

Phuc was enthralled at the possibilities that the suit offered him. He shrugged at Deadlock’s code name for him—Yamato, after a World War II–era Japanese battleship. He didn’t care about the name, just about the power that the armor gave him. As Deadlock had planned, he easily mastered the armor’s functions, suggesting several modifications that the Comets were able to install. Even better, he enjoyed using the armor so much that he never questioned the Comets’ missions or the morality of them. To him, getting to use the armor to its full extent—including in combat now and then—was all the motivation he needed.

Created by Rob Rogers

The Yamato armor is large, heavy, very strong powered armor. It is incredibly resilient, with sophisticated armor, communications, and propulsion systems, as well as a series of armaments. Its concussion blasts, strobe lights, and chest-mounted tractor beam were part of the original ordinance developed by Hauberk Industries. The tangleweb attacks were traded to the Comets by Iron Maiden as partial payment for a job they performed on her behalf. The micro-lasers that allow him to burrow through the ground were stolen from Unger Munitions. The armor also enhances Phuc’s natural abilities, making him stronger and faster than he is without it. Phuc particularly enjoys combining the armor’s incredible strength with his own sumo wrestling training to launch surprising and effective attacks against enemies who focus too much on his mounted weaponry.

Out of his armor, Phuc is a young, heavyset Asian American man who typically wears brightly colored T-shirts over green shorts. His weight fluctuates depending on whether or not he’s on a diet, but he always keeps it low enough to make sure he can fit well into his armor. He keeps his hair cut very short, claiming that long hair makes his head get hot inside the Yamato armor.

The Yamato armor is slate-gray, trimmed with silver and black. It is heavily built powered armor about nine feet tall and weighing more than 1,100 pounds. It has oversized gauntlets, boots, and helmet. Most of the armor’s weaponry is placed in obvious fashion (a turret on one arm, a grenade launcher on another, etc.) and the armor is clearly bristling with firepower. The Comets logo is stenciled on one arm and the Japanese flag and the Japanese characters spelling “Battleship Yamato” are stenciled on the chest.

Art by Ben Langdon