Robert Armstrong AKA Rubband: Hero (Finished)

by **Mal** Fri Nov 02, 2018 5:10 pm

RUBBAND
The Unbeatable Hero!:

Civilian Identity: Robert Armstrong
Age: 29 years young!
Birthdate: May 25 (A Gemini!)
Gender: Born, Identifies, and Loves being a Male!
Status: Currently seeking crime!

Physical Attributes

Height: Six and a half feet of JUSTICE
Weight: Two hundred and ninety five pounds of PURE MUSCLE.
Hair: A vibrant mop of orange hair that flops all about him! Apparently, hair only grows on the top of his head.
(I LOOK LIKE A CARROT HAHAHAHA)
Eyes: Big bright blue-green eyes.
(THE BETTER TO SPOT EVIL WITH!)
Physical Structure:
Even in a world where the unusual is accepted as the norm, Robb Armstrong has always stood out. Why? Well, in a word... the man looks goofy. Muscular to the point of being satirical... hair that resembles outlandish orange roots... Even his damn face, from his ever present grin to his massive ears, only serve to make him look like a gigantic, bodybuilding clown. This makes it hard for most folks to take him seriously, and forget for a moment that the enormous buffoon before them is 285 pounds of justice just waiting to throw himself into the fray.
(TREMBLE IN ENVY BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA)
Clothing & Style:
While off duty, Robb prefers to keep things casual and low key. Sweatpants, loose shorts, hoodies and tanktops tend to be his preference. Things that he wouldn't be upset getting dirty.
(Monkey suits are for CHUMPS)
Hero Outfit:
Unlike some heroes, Rubband doesn't believe in tacking on a lot of features to his uniform like visors, or armor. No, all he wears is a simple dark blue unitard, with a pair of gloves and boots. A simple outfit that allows him to retain a great range of motion, while still distinct enough to ensure he's recognized for what he is; A hero.
( Only because wearing a speedo was given the Veto!)

Psycological Profile

Personality:

It's an interesting fact of life that the face we present to the world tends to change based on the situation at hand. Don't believe me? Try and observe how you might treat your dear old grandmother compared to, say, a boss. Or how you'll speak to close friends versus total strangers. It's different. You might be the same person, but what you present of yourself is different. No one knows this better than Rubband.

At home, he's a fun loving, goofy giant. He enjoys spending time with his nieces and nephews, watching comedy specials on netflix, and always insists that he be the one to shovel the snow off the sidewalk in front of his apartment complex instead of his aging landlady. He always makes time to call his parents every week on sunday, exchange new jokes with his old man, roll his eyes and assure his mother that he's taking good care of himself while politely refusing to meet whatever nice girl she'll try to set him up with this time. A normal guy. A nice guy.

But when the Unitard comes on, he's more than just the gentle giant Robert Armstrong. HE'S RUBBAND! A larger than life figure who bounds onto the scene followed by the sound of booming laughter. Sure, there's always someone that rolls their eyes when he arrives. Sure, there's folks out there that think he's a weirdo. But that doesn't matter, not to him. He's not there to be cool. He's there to stop crime, to save lives and most importantly? Foster hope. And he'll do it by being a hammy dork because if there's one thing he's learned in life?

You can't be scared if you're too busy laughing.
(Ain't that the truth.)
Motives:
He wasn't always the bouncy buffoon who doesn't give a damn what others think. There was a time in his life where Robert was a shy, withdrawn kid with self esteem issues out the wazoo. He always felt clumsy, awkward, and at times? Malformed. But one day, he met someone. A hero among heroes, who faced obstacles, no matter how large, and laughed as he made short work of them. More than anything, Robert wanted that. He wasn't quite sure what 'that' was, but he knew it when he saw it. And from that point on, Robert knew what he wanted to do with his life. Screw trying to squeeze into a tiny spot just to fit in with everyone. No matter what it took, he would be his own person, and if someone snickered about it behind his back? He'd laugh along with them.
(DAMN RIGHT)

Quirk: RUBBER BODY

Quirk Type: Transformation
Power of Ability:
When Rubband uses his quirk, his entire body is just like rubber! His skin, muscles, bones AND organs become extraordinarily elastic which in turn grants him a number of inherent superhuman qualities:
1. He can absorb a great deal of blunt force with ease! Weak blows will usually just bounce or glance off of him with hardly any impact. Stronger blows will force his body to contort with the impact, while at the far end of the bellcurve will send him flying. However, even in such cases, his body is usually resilient enough to prevent most of the damage he might've received otherwise. He can even resist electricity to a certain degree, making him suited to take out Emitters. This resilience, however, is not nearly as effective against sharp or pointy objects as well as extreme cold and heat, so he must be careful not let down his guard in such scenarios where they are present.
2. By twisting and clenching his muscles, Rubband can force his body to move in ways normally impossible, from stretching his limbs to mind boggling lengths as well as contorting his body in impossible ways. However, unlike other elastic heroes, Rubband can't just will his body to morph and reshape itself. No, as his power makes him function like Rubber, to make his limbs and body shift requires force, which is part of the reason why he's spent so much time building his own body. Even simply stretching out his arm requires him to force his muscles to stretch and strain themselves, and afterwards will either result in his arm flying back toward him, or vice versa. However, while this might seem a disadvantage, Rubband had found numerous ways to make this work for him, rather than against. Years of practice and training now allow him to utilize this aspect of his power to help generate great deals of force, allow him to compete even with superstrong villains in his own way.

( STRETCHING IS IMPORTANT)

History

Chapter 1: The start

Born the eldest of three to middle class parents, Robert never had to worry about going hungry, living on the streets or any number of hardships those less fortunate than him suffered through. Hell, he had a pretty good childhood all things considered... up until school came around. Until that point, he’d been an energetic, happy and outgoing kid. But he was a big, chunky boy, taller than the rest of his classmates while as round as a ball. And if anything in life other than death and taxes is certain? It’s that kids are assholes. Especially one rotten jerk named Salvatore Sotelo.

They were a study in contrasts. The big, bouncy butterball who kept tripping over himself versus the slim, slick sadist who loved nothing more than to spit fire while putting down others. From day one, Sal rode Robert mercilessly. Sure, there were others he’d pick on. But Robert always seemed to be his favorite. And so, while Robb did his best to fit in any way he could, the jokes and the pranks that befell him never seemed to stop. And slowly but surely, they began to take a toll on him. From Kindergarten all the way through most of middleschool, Robert found it harder and harder to try and stand up for himself. He was a fatass with a stupid quirk that made him look even more stupid than he already looked. How could he argue about Sal saying as much when he knew for a fact the and his pack of cronies were right?

Life might have lead him down quite a dark road if he’d continued thinking that way... Were it not for a chance encounter during the 8th grade.

Chapter 2: The Encounter.

Graduation day. 8th grade was almost over, and for once things seemed to be ok for Robb. See, for the latter half of the semester, Sal has found a new target; a transfer student by the name of Joshua that rubbed him the wrong way so much that Robb had enjoyed a relatively peaceful period in his school life. True, he still wasn't very popular... And he still felt bad that SOMEONE was getting picked on. But at least it wasn't him. And hey, to top it off, people said that a famous hero was going to speak later! All in all, a better day than he would have imagined at the start of the year. So, coasting on this luck, Robb was elated when he found a note in his locker, asking him to come meet with a 'friend' on the rooftop at lunch! As lunch time finally arrived and he rushed up the stairs, all he could think was 'No one picking on me, a real hero coming to speak, AND maybe... Just maybe a friend...?'

He didn't honestly know what he was expecting to find when he arrived. But it most certainly wasn't seeing Sal gagged and tied up, tears running down his face as Joshua stood over him, holding a bat. Joshua turned, gave him a smile. Told him he was glad that he'd decided to come up and join the fun. After all, from what he'd heard Robb had just as much reason to off Sal as he did. Hell, maybe more. But regardless, now everyone was here. And Sal could finally get what was coming to him-

"... T-this is a joke, right?" "What?" "A-a joke. Y-you know, you and Sal are jus-just messing with me. Last day of school prank... r-right?"

Joshua stared at Robb, the fake grin on his face gone as his mouth twisted into a horrible grimace. "Are you fucking high? No, this isn't a god damn joke. I'm serious. I'm gonna get rid of this piece of shit trash once and for all, and I THOUGHT you might want in. Clearly, I was mistaken. Jesus, he must have done a number on you, but whatever-"

"Y--you're serious?"

"YES! Jesus. How hard is it to understand that?"

Robert gulped, looked at Sal, then the bat, then back at Sal.

"Look, it's whatever, just sit back and watch then-"

"C-can I say something to him first?"

Joshua turned back, a look of somewhat pleased surprise on his face.

"Ah, had to let it sink in first? Yeah, ok. Fair enough man, I guess it IS a lot to take in. Sure man, go for it,"

Joshua stood aside as Robb made his way over, continuing his rant about how Sal had what was coming to him, how this was gonna feel so good, hell if Robb wanted he could get in a few lumps before he ended it.

And as Robb pulled Sal to his feet and looked him in the eye, the rant continuing behind him, he whispered.

"Don't worry."

And with that he jumped off the roof.

Of course, neither boy was in danger. It was a simple matter for Robb to turn himself into a round mass of rubber before they hit the ground, and although Sal passed out before Robb finally stopped bouncing every which way, the important part was that they were both safe for now. Joshua, of course, was furious. Ended up injuring several students and a teacher before the visiting Hero finally arrived and took care of the situation in a single move. It was utter chaos for awhile, and at the center was a practically catatonic Robb, numbly nodding as people either would either berate, praise, or a combination of both for what he did. It's hard for him to remember any of what people said to him afterwards... Except for when that Hero came to shake his hand.

"I understand that the kid you saved used to bully you. Is that right?"
"Y-yessir."
The hero laughed at that, slapped Robb on the back and smiled.
"Damn fine work son. That's the kind of attitude fit for a Hero. Ever given any thought to being one?"
"Well... No sir." Robb looked down at his feet. "I've not really athletic, and besides my Quirk is stupid. All I can do is just be rubberlike. I can't even stretch like other elastic quirks."
"... Son. " The Hero knelt down beside him, his expression serious. "No one ever starts out looking like I do. I got this way by training. And so can you. I promise. And as for your quirk?" He smiled again. " I can hardly imagine anything more suited for anyone diving in to save people than a quirk that let's you shrug off blows. Who cares if you look silly? If I'm right about you, and I think I am, that feeling you'll get when you've done some good will more than make up for whatever people might say. Give it some thought, kid. Lord knows the world could use more heroes unafraid to do what you did today."

Chapter 3: The Training

I'm sure you can guess what happened next, but I'll fill you in anyway. That vote of confidence, as well as the thanks of his former bully, gave Robb the drive to turn his entire life around. During the summer break that followed, Robb threw himself into shedding fat and building muscle. And while it was tough going at first, by the time he started High school hardly anyone recognized him. Over the next four years, Robb forced himself to take risks he never had before. He signed up for just about any sports club that would take him, anything that could help him reach his new goal of peak physical perfection. He participated in Drama class, learning to shed his fears of interaction by placing himself in front of the world to see. And of course, he spared no effort in trying to be a productive member of society by volunteering his time to others. By the end of High school, the sad fat kid who couldn't fit in was a thing of the past. In his place was a bombastic giant of a man, both in height and in heart.

After High school came both college, where he sought a Bachelors in Criminal Studies, as well as a gig as a Sidekick to a famous superhero by the name of Captain Calcium. As part of the Calcium Corps, he fought alongside the Captain as well as three other Sidekicks with a variety of powers. Through training along side his comrades, Rubband came to find a new respect for his Quirk as well as new ways to utilize it, becoming a valued member as time passed. Eventually, several years after graduating, the Captain asked Rubband to see him in his office to give him the news; His training period was finally over. After demonstrating a great deal of promise as well as aptitude for the work, the Captain was proud, and a little sad, to tell him that his application to be a standalone hero had finally been accepted. After a crazy party thrown by friends, family and comrades alike to send him off proper, Rubband finally headed over to New York to start his own Hero Office, ready to fight the good fight and have fun while doing it.