NAME/ORIGIN
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Character name
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Universal Soldier
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Song/Album
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Universal Solider/ It's My Way!
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Act
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Writer
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Release Date
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1964
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ABILITIES
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Powers
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Skills
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Excellence in use of all weaponry
"He fights with missiles and with spears" |
Attributes
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Loyalty, to whoever's side he's on this time
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Vulnerabilities
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Each body is mortal, but the spirit is unkillable
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Formidability
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Versed in fighting alone or with a unit, but no leadership skills
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Attractiveness
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varies depending on host body
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Source
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immortality? N/A. Skills? lots of practice
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Goals
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Fight to the death for his side
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POSSESSIONS
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Weapons
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"He fights with missiles and with spears"
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Amulets
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N/A
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Objects
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N/A
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Clothing
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varies, depending on when and where resurrected
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Vehicles
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varies, depending on when and where resurrected
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Dwelling
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Milieu
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the field of battle, often the front lines
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BIOGRAPHY
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Gender
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Age
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Physique
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-Changeable
"He's five-foot-two and he's six-feet-four"
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Ethnicity
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Origin
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Ancestry
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N/A
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Profession
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Education
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SES
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Relationships
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Pets
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PERSONALITY
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Morality
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"He knows he shouldn't kill, and he knows he always will/
Kill you for me... and me for you."
"He's fighting for democracy; he's fighting for the Reds."
"He's the one who must decide who's to live, and who's to die."
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Intro/extrovert
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Likely an introvert. No reason to make friends.
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Intelligence
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Emotions
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Sanity
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N/A. What he does is insane, arguably. but he goes about it with clear-mindedness.
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Enemies
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Whoever his commanding officer points him at
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Narrative Function
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Other Notes
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The Universal Soldier is a spirit. He is reborn into a new body every time the old body is killed. As that boy grows into a man, it becomes clear that he would make an excellent soldier. He is recruited and trained, but as he retains all the skills he gained in his past life, he appears to learn at lightning speed. He is soon sent into battle, where he fights with amazing skill, endless determination, complete loyalty to the mission, and death-defying bravery. His body is inevitably killed, likely young, and the cycle begins again.
Since he is just a soldier, he never rises very high in the ranks, which would put him behind the lines or even (shudder) behind a desk. No, he is where the action is. The spirit likes to fight, so it finds situations likely to put it where fighting is. A detective or historian would be able to posit that certain amazing soldiers, over the ages, have been incarnations of The Universal Soldier. How to depict this character, who is reborn into a new body, with new features, every time? Perhaps the artist would give him a feature that shows up in every incarnation, like hazel eyes, a crooked front tooth, etc. Something subtle that the reader/viewer can identify but that wouldn't register to someone not looking for it. We could see his whole history, through the point of view of a historian who thinks she has discovered this spirit and is looking for his incarnation today. She scours the press for reports of extraordinary soldiering... and finds some likely candidates. Posing as a reporter, she does track him down. When she interviews him, he simply says he likes to fight and kill. He can't stop himself, but he doesn't kill civilians anymore--- as a spy or hitman, say-- because it's wrong and also boring, since they don't fight back. So he figured out a way to always be fighting and in a way that society doesn't just approve, he says, but celebrates and honors. If there were no more war, he shrugs, he would have to find another idea, but so far, he hasn't needed to: "There's always a war somewhere!" |
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