[General Information]
Name: Hiko Hakim (Pronounced “Hee-ko”)
Nicknames: Notorious
Titles: Animal Man, Avatar of the Red
Age: 22
Birthday: November 3rd
Star sign: Scorpio
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Alliance: Hero
Personality: In short, Hiko is a city boy who’s heart and soul belongs to Gotham. He’s a product of the city in every sense of the words ambitious, cunning, and rough. Hiko is a very charismatic guy with very little filter to his words. He’s a truth speaker at best and crude at worst. Being infamous for undermining authority figures of all types as he’s beyond caring for titles and social stature. Hiko’s a bit difficult to get used to given his discourteous and vulgar colors. When he’s on the upswing, Hiko is extreme and can be hedonistic. His ambitious nature often shows his sly and witty edge. While he’s no Ivy School graduate, Hiko is very intelligent and capable, especially in social situations.
Like most people, Hiko is loyal to those who are loyal to him even if they are somewhat criminal. Due to this, Hiko dabbles the line a little in regards to good versus evil. He’s not afraid of working with criminals or even employing their conduct to get the job done. While this strikes a nerve with some heroes and especially the government, Hiko doesn’t really care. To him, the ends justifies the means. That isn’t to say that Hiko lacks empathy or sympathy. He’s very good natured at heart but his ideas of justice and heroism are quite skewed. Regardless, Hiko remains optimistic and courageous. He’s dedicated to his craft and does so out of compassion for humanity.
[Personal Information]
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 190
Occupation: Student
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Likes: Sports, coffee, working out, barhopping, drinking, dancing, flirting
Dreams: Making it big so he can retire his parents.
Dislikes: Authority figures, long commute times, nights ending early.
Fears: Being unable to support his family since they’ve invested so much into him.
Darkest Secret: He struggles with finding a passion or real purpose for crime fighting.
Favourite Food: Hamburgers and fried wings.
Favourite Drink: Any cold draft beer.
Least Favourite Food: Carrots.
Least Favourite Drink: Bloody Mary cocktails.
Loyalties: Himself.
Intelligence Level: Although he isn’t a genius by any calibre, Hiko is very calculated and smart. He’s socially intelligent and capable of picking up cues both verbal and bodily. He’s also quite good at logical deduction and induction.
Dominant Hand: Left handed.
Strengths: Ambitious, witty, resourceful, cunning, tenacious, hardy, and charismatic.
Weaknesses: Rude, blunt, criminal (to some degree), egocentric, impatient, mannerless, scornful.
Cherished Items:
None
Philosophical/social viewpoint: Hiko holds a very straight forward viewpoint which is the “eye for an eye” position. If someone wrongs him or someone innocent, then Hiko believes that judgement should be passed on them in the same manner if not worse. He isn’t much for socialist movements though. As much as he’d like for reform within society to happen, he doesn’t believe it will without appropriate action and large movement. Until then, he’ll continue on with vigilantism because he doesn’t expect the policing institution to accomplish much on their own.
Religious viewpoint: Religion isn’t a topic of interest for the boy. Hiko is a non-believer. He respects other people’s beliefs though and doesn’t any noise towards them because he simply doesn’t care.
Romantic viewpoint: Hiko dates around and enjoys flirting with other women. He isn’t against the notion of settling down, but he doesn’t think it’s likely given his lifestyle.
Biography
Hiko was born and raised in one of Gotham’s poorer neighbourhoods. His mother a Japanese immigrant, while his father a second generation Middle Eastern man. They were a happy family, living paycheck to paycheck but still happy. His childhood is characterized by tight bonds in the neighbourhood and playing in the streets into the early evenings. Needless to say, the boy was socialized through the city’s urban environment and was practically a product of it. He grew up internalizing the values of being street smart, resilient, tough, and placing the value of loyalty on a pedestal. It wasn’t uncommon for him or his friends to get into legal troubles over the years, which is where Hiko really started learning the value of small knit circles.
In highschool, Hiko was fortunate enough to attend Gotham Highschool but graduated amongst the middle of the pack. While Hiko was never wealthy or rich like most of the other students, he rode the athletic programs and their grant money as much as possible to solidify his status as a student. He was a standout quarterback in the state and drew high reviews from multiple scouts. He was also a huge socialite amongst his peers and was a well-known troublemaker throughout the school. The boy too often struck a nerve with teachers and other authority figures. He was much too blunt for their liking and had no filter when it came to making his thoughts known. Nonetheless, his decent grades and consistent win rates in athletics kept him bound to the school. As the administrators found out, winning in sports did good for the face of the school.
From highschool to university, Hiko accepted an athletic scholarship to Gotham State University to play for their football team. For the first few years, Hiko was simply an above average student who had a knack for athletics. By his fourth year at the university, his play on the field garnered him national spotlight as a quarterback. It was during this time that Hiko began seeing a fall out with how he was acting and the repercussions. Stuck in his own stardom at the school, Hiko started acting irresponsibly midway through the season. He would party a lot, study very little, and eventually fall into a spiral that saw him suspended from play. It was around then at the age of 21, where he was at the lowest of his life, that access to the “Red” was granted to him.
Amongst his own depression, Hiko wandered into a dire situation with another student. On a jog to clear his head, Hiko came across a visibly distressed young woman on one of Gotham’s busiest overpasses. The girl was sitting on the edge of the bridge when he stopped to strike her up for conversation in hopes to change her mind on a drastic decision. When she ultimately made the choice to jump in midst of their talk, Hiko reactively followed her over and pulled her close to him, doing his best to use his body as a shield for the impact below. The result of it sent him into a comatose state for the next few weeks. During this condition, Hiko was brought into a spiritual meeting with the Parliament of Limbs, a collective body of Totems (previous Avatars of the Red). The Totems disclosed to Hiko their desire to find a new Avatar after Buddy Baker, the previous Animal Man, had disappeared with the world’s other heroes. They noted that they considered the boy a potential candidate due to his pure innate traits of heroism, but were highly tentative because of his recent mental state and decision making. To ensure that he was the right candidate, the Parliament of Limbs created a scenario where Hiko had to make the most paramount decision that any hero would ever have to. Thus, the situation with a suicidal girl on an overpass was put in play.
While the boy passed the test, he was nonetheless pissed about being used as a guinea pig and quite vocal about it to the Parliament. His reaction wrought forth mixed reception amongst the Totems. While some viewed him as the spunk the next Avatar needed, others viewed him as a ticking time bomb. It was this prolonged debate between the Totems that kept Hiko in a comatose state for weeks. Eventually, they all came to the decision to make him an interim Avatar that could be revoked down the line if he proves too troublesome or if a better candidate comes to being.
With the decision made, Hiko awoke to find himself surrounded by his family, teammates, and friends. While his heroic event was designed by the Parliament, it had nonetheless looked very real to the rest of the world. Though the girl according to witness testimonies “ran off”, Hiko’s act was still considered very valiant and logged by local news for weeks. The act of heroism gave Hiko a renewed chance at football after physical therapy but he chose to turn it down. Instead, he focussed on school and the subtler things in life like his family. He would eventually graduate university with his class and proceeded to enter into a Master’s program for mechanical engineering at the University of California.
Hiko now works towards his degree while balancing the rough life of a crime fighter.
.
[Relationship information]
Friends:
○ Character name as URL link | Alliance | Relationship type
Relationship explanation
Enemies:
○ Character name as URL link | Alliance | Relationship type
Relationship explanation
Family:
○ Hector Hakim | Good | Father
Hiko’s biological father. A second generation immigrant man who resides in the heart of Gotham city. He’s good at heart and compassionate. He owns his own bakery and works late shifts to make ends meet. He is aware of Hiko's double life as Animal Man and supports it so long as the boy keeps himself safe.
○ Lena Hakim | Good | Mother
Hiko’s biological mother. An immigrant woman from Japan who moved to Gotham with her parents and married Hector. She’s a lovable woman and well known throughout the community that she resides in. She often takes part in social and community movements to help bring funds to the neighbourhood. She teaches at a local kindergarten. She is not as supportive of his life as Animal Man but nonetheless does her best to guide him through the endeavour.
Romantic Relationships:
○ Character name as URL link | Alliance | Relationship type
Relationship explanation
[Weapon information]
○ Weapon name: Weapon explanation and description, Include factors such as range, piercing strength, etc.
[Other item information]
○ Item name: Any item that is neither a cherished item nor a weapon would go here. For example armour, med kits etc. Please include an explanation for each item.
[Ability information]
○ Avatar of the Red: Hiko learned to draw abilities directly from the "Red", an energy field that connects every animal ever to have lived on Earth. Apparently the Red extends past earth and exists as a universal concept.
○ Animal Mimicry: Hiko can mimic any abilities of any animal as a result of his position as the Avatar of the Red. He does this by either focusing on a specific animal near him, or, as he learned later, by drawing power from the animal kingdom in general (this enables him to even mimic animals that are extinct). The level of Hiko’s abilities are not proportional to the size of the animal they are drawn from. Hence, drawing the jumping ability from a flea would allow him to cover great distances. However, taking the abilities of a larger animal does not result in diminished power for him. With enough focus Hiko can also take on physical attributes of the animal, turning into a chimera-like being.
○ List of Known Adaptations:
The strength of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The flight of a bird.
The swimming ability of a fish.
The speed of a cheetah.
The sonic blast of a pistol shrimp.
The sense of smell of a moth.
The agility of a snake.
The durability of a rhino.
The electricity of an electric eel.
The regeneration ability of a worm.
The wall-crawling of a spider.
The stench of a skunk.
The color changing of a chameleon.
The reproduction abilities of protozoa.
Force Blasts: Tapping into the Red, Animal Man can also fire powerful blasts of force or unidentified energy. (Locked)
Animal Empathy: In addition to his mimic abilities, Animal Man can make contact with animals, empathize with, "talk" to and see their thoughts and memories. This ability to transfer his life essence has allowed him to survive even when his body has been killed. (Locked)
Animal Control: Animal Man can, to a lesser degree, control animals by entering their minds. He can also transfer his mind to living animals of any kind, using their bodies as long as he wants to. (Locked)
[Weakness information]
○ Untrained: While Hiko has access to the Red, his efficiency with it and the transformative states aren’t the best. He struggles with calling the right powers to play that he needs when the environment is chaotic. Sometimes he also struggles with maintaining the powers in the midst of a fight.
○ Only Human: The classic weakness of being “only human”. He is still capable of dying to injuries, disease, and old age.
○ Immaturity: Hiko sometimes struggles with making the appropriate decisions which throws him and others into jeopardy. He’s terrible at following structure and rules, so it isn’t uncommon to see him being sought out by authority and other heroes.
○ Unable to Swim: Hiko struggles with swimming without having to use the “Red” for assistance. Even then, the boy hates being submerged in water and usually panics so much that the abilities are nullified.
