Iron Reign Volume V characters

 Dr. Faust Steel Full 

Name: Dr. Faust Steel 

Age: Unknown  appears to be in his late 40s 

Occupation: Scientist, weapons engineer, military researcher, field operative 

Affiliation: United Wasteland / Iron Oath Classification: Highly Restricted Personnel 

 Appearance Faust Steel is a tall, slender, strikingly handsome middle-aged man with short, neatly styled blond hair. Despite his apparent age, his face is almost unnaturally well-preserved. There are few wrinkles, no visible physical deterioration, and his blue eyes remain unnervingly sharp behind thin, futuristic glasses. He dresses almost entirely in different shades of grey. His clothing resembles a strange combination of military uniform, laboratory attire, and futuristic formalwear. His long grey coat has subtle metallic seams running through it, while his gloves and boots contain technology that isn't immediately recognizable as conventional Iron Reign equipment. Unlike most Iron Soldiers, Faust doesn't wear bulky armor. He doesn't seem to need it. He carries himself with the confidence of someone who already knows exactly how dangerous everyone around him is. 

 Personality 

Faust is cold, analytical, calculating, and extremely difficult to read. He rarely raises his voice. He doesn't need to. When everyone else is panicking, Faust becomes quieter. He approaches combat the same way he approaches an experiment: observe, calculate, test, adapt. He has little patience for emotional decision-making and can come across as arrogant or even cruel. To Faust, feelings are important data but they are still data. Interestingly, he dislikes being called a coward. Many soldiers assume that because he's a scientist, he avoids the battlefield. They quickly learn otherwise. Faust is an exceptionally capable fighter, possessing strength, speed, reflexes, and combat instincts far beyond what his slender appearance suggests. He doesn't fight like a brawler. Every movement is deliberate. He wastes nothing. Not a punch. Not a step. Not a bullet. Energy Manipulation Faust's right hand contains an artificial energy-generation system. When activated, faint lines of blue-white light travel underneath his skin before concentrating around his palm. He can fire concentrated energy blasts powerful enough to tear through armored targets. He can also use the energy system at close range, concentrating it around his fists to dramatically increase the force of his strikes. His fighting style therefore combines scientific precision with brutal hand-to-hand combat. His favorite approach is ironically simple: Get close. The Scientist Everyone Underestimates Faust is frequently dismissed by soldiers because of his profession. He's a scientist. He's a researcher. He's a man who spends his days around laboratories and machines. Therefore, surely he isn't a real warrior. Faust finds this amusing. He has personally survived situations that would kill ordinary Iron Soldiers and possesses an intimate understanding of military technology, genetics, cybernetics, artificial intelligence, and biological enhancement. There are rumors among the highest levels of the Iron Reign that Faust's work is responsible for some of the greatest technological achievements in United Wasteland history. There are even whispers that he was involved in the original creation of the Steelborn program. Faust never confirms this. Whenever someone asks, he simply adjusts his glasses and says: “You're asking the wrong question.” The Secret Faust is far older than he appears. Much later, people begin noticing inconsistencies. Old military photographs contain references to Faust. Very old research documents contain his name. Scientists who supposedly worked with him decades ago describe him exactly as he looks now. Eventually, the truth becomes horrifying. Faust Steel isn't actually walking around in that body. His apparent body is an advanced android an extraordinarily sophisticated synthetic body designed to perfectly imitate a living human. The body is essentially Faust's remote-operated vessel. His real body exists somewhere else, hidden in a heavily protected facility. The Faust everyone encounters outside the United Wasteland is essentially a drone controlled by the real Faust. This explains why he's willing to undertake missions that should be suicidal. He isn't risking his real body. He's risking a machine. And Faust has absolutely no emotional attachment to the machine. If it gets destroyed, he'll simply build another one.   

Winterson Steel 

Full Name: Winterson Steel 

Designation: Neo Steelborn Prototype / Unit two 

Apparent Age: Early 20s 

Actual Age: Unknown 

Occupation: Soldier / Experimental Super-Soldier 

Affiliation: United Wasteland / Iron Oath 

Appearance 

Winterson is a very tall, exceptionally muscular young man with broad shoulders, a powerful physique, and striking platinum-blond hair parted neatly down the middle. His face is almost absurdly handsome. He looks like someone designed a propaganda poster of the perfect United Wasteland soldier. Except Winterson doesn't act like one. When first introduced, he wears pure white clothing, making him look almost completely out of place among the Iron Reign's grey-and-black military aesthetic. Later, once he begins operating in the field alongside Faust, he changes into grey clothing matching Faust's distinctive style. This becomes an understated visual connection between the two. Soldiers initially assume he's Faust's son. The resemblance isn't obvious enough to prove it, but there is something strangely similar about them. 

 Personality 

Winterson is the complete opposite of Faust. He is innocent, naïve, curious, emotional, and incredibly easy to impress. Despite being an enormous, powerful super-soldier, Winterson sometimes behaves like a little kid. He gets excited about food. He asks ridiculous questions. He doesn't understand sarcasm. He becomes fascinated by ordinary objects. He can stare at something as mundane as a vending machine for several minutes because he's never seen one before. He also has an almost comically literal understanding of things. If Faust says: “Don't touch that.” Winterson will stand there staring at it. “Why?” “Because it will explode.” “Oh.” Five minutes later: “Faust?” “Yes?” “Does it explode if I touch it with a stick?” Faust slowly removes his glasses. “No.” “Okay.” “Because I removed the explosive.” “Oh.” Despite his childish behavior, Winterson isn't stupid. He's simply young. Much younger than everyone believes.

Powers and abilities

Energy Absorption Winterson possesses an unprecedented ability to absorb energy. His body can absorb virtually any form of energy directed toward him. That includes: Gunfire Explosions Heat Electrical energy Physical impacts Radiation Nuclear energy Magical energy Even magic which the Iron Reign considers anathema can be absorbed by Winterson. The energy doesn't simply disappear. His body stores it. And he can convert that stored energy into physical power. The more energy Winterson absorbs, the stronger he becomes. His strength, speed, durability, and reflexes can increase dramatically depending on how much energy he has accumulated. A normal gunfight therefore has the bizarre effect of making him stronger. An explosion that would kill an ordinary soldier can instead send Winterson charging out of the smoke with a grin. The Problem With Winterson Winterson doesn't fully understand his own abilities. He doesn't instinctively think of himself as a weapon. If someone shoots him, he might look down at the bullet hole and say: “Did you do that?” Then he'll look at the shooter. “Do it again.” The shooter probably regrets doing so. His greatest weakness isn't physical. It's naivety. Winterson trusts people easily. He doesn't understand why someone would lie to him. He doesn't understand why people fear him. And he doesn't understand why Faust sometimes looks at him with an expression that resembles regret. The Truth Behind His Creation Winterson isn't Faust's biological son. He's something much stranger. He was genetically grown in a laboratory. His genetic foundation comes from General Alaric Winter, one of the United Wasteland's greatest military figures. But Faust's own DNA was incorporated into the process. The result was intended to combine the physical potential of General Winter with Faust's genetic adaptations. Winterson became something neither man was. A one-of-a-kind superhuman. The ultimate evolution of the Iron Soldier concept. The first true success of the Steelborn project. And unlike conventional Steelborn candidates, Winterson wasn't slowly raised and conditioned. His body grew extraordinarily quickly. His physical development happened at an unnatural speed. His mind, however, didn't develop at the same pace. That's why there is such a strange disconnect between his appearance and personality. He looks like a fully grown super-soldier. Inside, he's still learning how the world works. The Hidden Hint There are subtle signs that Winterson is younger than he looks. He doesn't remember having a childhood. He doesn't understand references to historical events that happened only a few years ago. He sometimes asks questions that reveal he has no concept of basic human experiences. When someone asks him what he did when he was ten, he genuinely doesn't know how to answer. Eventually, someone realizes something terrifying: Winterson may not have existed ten years ago. His body simply reached adulthood extremely quickly. Faust & Winterson Their relationship is intentionally difficult to define. Everyone assumes Faust is Winterson's father. Winterson certainly treats him like one. Faust insists that he is not. But he never actually tells Winterson the truth. Faust is the cold, distant creator. Winterson is the innocent creation. Faust sees Winterson as the culmination of decades of research. Winterson sees Faust as the person who taught him how to exist. That creates a fascinating contradiction. Faust can look at Winterson and see a successful experiment. Winterson looks at Faust and sees family. And somewhere beneath all of Faust's calculations, there is the uncomfortable possibility that he has begun to see Winterson as something more than an experiment. Something he was never supposed to create. A son. And that may ultimately be Faust's greatest weakness.

Junkyard Dogs Unit

“Junkyard Dogs” aesthetic: over-equipped, underfunded, chemically enhanced, loud, muscular, and very much aware that command considers them expendable.

Sergeant “Big Red” Rourke 

Sergeant “Big Red” Rourke 

Appearance: Rourke is a massive, barrel-chested man with a shaved head, thick red beard, and arms that look like they were built for dragging vehicles out of ditches. His battered steel-gray armor has been repaired so many times that almost none of the original plating remains. He wears a red scarf underneath his helmet and has a permanent grease stain across his cheek. 

Personality: Loud, bossy, and convinced he is everyone's father. Rourke gives unsolicited advice constantly, including during firefights. He's actually extremely protective of his squad. He'll complain about carrying someone's ammunition for ten minutes before silently carrying it for them anyway. Annoying habit: Calls everyone “kid,” including men older than him. Relatable side: He worries constantly about whether his squad will make it home, but disguises it as angry yelling. 

Private “Doc” Elias Venn 

Private “Doc” Elias Venn 

Appearance:  Tall and muscular, but less bulky than the others. He has sandy blond hair, a thick mustache, and rectangular protective goggles permanently sitting on his forehead. His armor contains an absurd number of medical pouches. Despite being a combat medic, his armor is covered in kill marks. 

Personality:  Sarcastic, cynical, and constantly irritated by everyone's stupidity. Doc has the unfortunate personality of someone who has been forced to keep idiots alive for too long. He'll save someone's life while insulting them. “Congratulations. You survived. Try not to make me do that again.” Annoying habit: Corrects everyone's terminology. Relatable side: He secretly cares about every member of his squad and remembers everyone's allergies, injuries, birthdays, and favorite foods. 

 “Brick” Halden 

Private First Class “Brick” Halden 

Appearance: Brick is enormous nearly seven feet tall, with a thick muscular torso and disproportionately large arms. His helmet has a crude yellow stripe painted across it because, according to him, “yellow makes bullets respect you.” Nobody knows if he is joking. His armor is covered in dents, tally marks, and crude drawings of angry dogs. Personality: Not particularly stupid, but definitely not clever. Brick takes everything literally and asks incredibly inconvenient questions at the worst possible moments. He's cheerful, friendly, and almost impossible to anger. Annoying habit: Repeats jokes until somebody laughs. Relatable side: Brick is terrified of dying. He just doesn't like admitting it because everyone expects the giant man to be fearless.

“Lucky” Tomas Vale

Private “Lucky” Tomas Vale 

Appearance: Compact, muscular, and covered in old scars. He has dark curly hair, a crooked nose, and a constant five-o'clock shadow. His armor is noticeably cleaner than everyone else's. Hanging from his chest plate are dozens of tiny metal charms spent shell casings, bolts, washers, and pieces of old machinery. 

Personality: Superstitious, smug, and irritatingly optimistic. Lucky believes the universe has personally decided not to kill him. Every time something explodes near him, he says: “See? Still lucky.” Everyone hates hearing it. Annoying habit: Takes ridiculous risks because he believes he's invincible. Relatable side: He's actually terrified of losing his friends. His superstition gives him an excuse to pretend everything will turn out fine.