Re[2]: [BNW] The Badge; some answers

["Thomas E. Reed" <tomreed@sundial.net>]

Arne: hope this helps:

>  > As far as the Badge goes he strikes me as being very
>>  Punisher-esque.
>
>Interesting. The tough thing for me: I hardly ever read comics, and if
>i do its mostly the french type (fantasy, certainly no superheroes).
>
>So i actually don't even know this punisher ;-).

The short version: The Punisher was a Vietnam vet who returned home 
from the war for a joyful reunion with his wife and kids. On a walk 
through New York's Central Park on a winter's day, they happened 
across a gangland execution - and the killers wanted no witnesses. 
Frank Castle survived, but his wife and children didn't. He decided 
that he had entered a new war, against crime, and that he was the 
only soldier.

For most of his life, the Punisher has been a very dark vigilante; 
unlike most heroes he kills criminals outright, and looting their 
corpses to finance his war on crime. Although driven by a strong 
moral sense, he also seems to be driven by his own emotional agony; 
some writers have depicted him as being a pathetic wreck. Most 
recently, they've tried to change Castle; it seems it wasn't 
criminals who really killed his family, but a demon that manipulated 
events to make the Punisher a bitter vigilante. Now he's apparently 
trying to redeem his soul by avoiding gratuitous murder. (Which is 
odd, since that's what made the character popular in the first place.)

>Well... actually i was thinking into the direction of toy police
>badges made in Hong Kong. Using his own Badge over and over just points
>to him in a very blatant way, doesn't it? Given the paranoia
>permeating the whole game, I'd say he will try to use the security
>anonimity gives him for the time being.

But it's within reason that The Badge, as you describe him, could 
produce copies of his own badge with his own distinct markings. It's 
a character tag, important for establishing who The Badge is, and to 
spread the fear of his name. (Very much like the old comic strip 
character The Phantom would leave a Phantom tattoo on the criminals 
he stopped.) It's no problem to avoid leaving fingerprints on the 
copies. Also, to throw off suspicion he could leave a lot of badges 
around, with policemen he visits, criminals he warns, and the like. 
So, if he's found with one of the badges, he has a reasonable excuse:

"What are you doing with this badge?"

"The Badge roughed me up and pinned it on me. He told me to watch out 
or I'd be his next target. What's wrong...you think for a minute I 
might be The Badge? Ridiculous!"
>
>Contacts are a great idea though. Any ideas, who that might be, and
>why this (these) person(s) are helping The Badge?

Going back to The Punisher, or even to Batman, policemen might pass 
on information because they feel frustrated about not being able to 
stop crime, because of official corruption or lack of authority. 
Personal friends of The Badge, who have special skills like 
demolitions or access to equipment like airplanes and submarines, 
might want to help out without risking their lives. If The Badge is a 
fairly rational sort, maybe a frustrated victim of crime might want 
to get back at the criminals who hurt him. Finally, you could have a 
former criminal trying to reform - or maybe just ashamed of something 
awful he did - who wants to do some good by helping out The Badge.
-- 
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Tom Reed's Off -Model site - http://www.off-model.com