Name:  Rocketeer
Real Name:  Tatiana Balkovik
Occupation:  Former hero of the Soviet Union; former supervillain; currently head of armor research

DESCRIPTION:  Tatiana Balkovik is a Russian woman, who despite pushing 50, still turns heads.  She owes this mainly to her daily exercise regimen, which includes practicing Systema, and not eating fast food.  Her hair is dark, and kept shoulder length.

As Rocketeer, she’s a towering 7.5’ tall, 6’ wide at the shoulders while wearing the bulky looking crimson colored armor of an industrial brutalist nature (though some folks claim it’s “hot rod” red, rather than Soviet crimson).

BACKGROUND:  Rocketeer…one of the first suits of powered armor, appeared in World War 2.  It was of Soviet design, created by Dmitry Balkovik, one of the Motherland’s greatest engineers for the war.  His genius was enough to get him freed from the Gulags and sent to Tankograd—at first to help the Russians create a better tank.  But then he came up with the Rocketeer armor, and his status among the Communists skyrocketed.  From frontline to frontline, whenever Hitler’s Ubermenchen threatened the Russian lines, Rocketeer and the other Soviet supersoldiers would intervene.  He would meet his end during the battle of Stalingrad, where his sacrifice would rally his comrades to turn the tide and push back the Nazi menace.

About a year after Stalin’s reign came to an end.  Igor Balkovik, son of Dmitry Balkovik, would pick up where his father left off.  Like his father, he was a gifted engineer, largely responsible for Russia’s nuclear program.  He would bring improvements to the Rocketeer armor, chiefly by making it nuclear powered.  For many MANY years, the Rocketeer armor would be the benchmark of “most powerful powered armor” as a result, but it came at a terrible price:  The shielding on the armor was sub-par, meaning that Igor was slowly exposing himself to radiation every time he donned the Rocketeer armor.  This would catch up with him in 1981, when radiation poisoning took his life.  His family—particularly his daughter Tatiana—would mourn his passing, and the dangerous suit of armor would be locked away…until his daughter decided otherwise.

In 1985, Tatiana would beg Mr. Gorbachev to let her resurrect the Rocketeer.  The young girl had reason to believe she could succeed; she was a genius in her own right—a prodigy in science and engineering.  More importantly, she had a solution to replace the small reactor with what she called a “nuclear battery”, which came with its own shielding.  The Soviet Premiere was reluctant to allow her to do this (she was a child, after all), but the USSR was suffering, and the return of a Soviet icon to the state’s new Oktober Guard could rally the people.  Despite his reservations, he agreed to her request, and the Rocketeer came into its third incarnation.  Tatiana would serve proudly, and sometimes would clash with heroes of the West.  On one occasion, she and the Oktober Guard worked with the West when an international terrorist group tried stealing two ballistic missile subs for their own sinister ends.

But like the USSR, Tatiana’s time as a hero came to an end.  A couple years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the daughter of one of the Oktober Guard’s enemies was elected to the State Duma, and pushed to have the Oktober Guard’s budget cut, and ultimately dissolved.  After her comrade Dr. Radiation committed suicide as a result, Tatiana saw the writing on the wall.  She soon disappeared, showing up in the People’s Republic of China.  That didn’t work out.  Neither did Vietnam, Cuba…and then it was working for Leftist rebellion groups across the world.  Soon, she was no longer the Peoples’ hero.  She was a mercenary, and in some cases, labelled a supervillain.  Finally she had had enough, and was close to ending her own life…until a lifeline in the form of an unexpected friend from STRIPE.

The deal was simple:  Her armor for citizenship, and any charges against her dropped.  Caught between that, and bullet, she swallowed her pride and took the offer.

Years later, she has few regrets, while she wishes she didn’t have to leave her life as Rocketeer behind, it was for the better; she’s pushing 50, after all.  Her work with STRIPE has allowed her to be an engineer again, and STRIPE has benefitted from her skill and experience.  Her latest project is producing a series of armor systems to let regular personnel participate in Metahuman action.  She’s working on three different sets of armor.  The first two are low level, but allow better survival against metahuman attacks, and engagement against metahumans using squad tactics.  One is barebones (the minimum), the other is a more modular system, allowing for specialized weapons to be integrated.

The third one is the masterpiece:  A suit of power armor that would allow a regular person to be on the level of a metahuman.  It’s well armed, has durable composite armor, can traverse land, sea and air, and can even be fitted for limited space travel with the right mission modules.  It’s even compatable with evolving US military doctrine, and capable of networking with military assets (proposed drones, missile carriers, laser satellites, etc.).

The work on it is going well, but she’s concerned with the current selections for test pilots.  The three potential candidates are fine soldiers, but she wished at least one of them had police experience; they’re going to be commanding an arsenal with the armor, but more than likely they’ll be interacting with civillians in civillian occupied areas.  They need to act less like soldiers and more like rescuers, or she worries tragedy will happen.

1.  Rocketeer Armor:  Built along similar lines of the original Rocketeer, this chassis is built to take a lot of punishment, but require a minimum of maintenance (kind of like an AK-47).  The suit is 7.5’ tall and 6’ wide at the shoulders, and the user is part pilot, part wearer of the system.  It’s heavily armored with a secret composite formula, is fully capable of moving on land, in the air, and underwater.  It has enough life support to allow for nearly a week of survival inside when the suit is fully sealed.  Both arms are modular and can be switched out for spares or specialized missions

2.  Rocketeer Tactical Systems:  Rocketeer’s main weaponry is comprised of paired plasma cannons built into the hands of the armor—the density of the plasma can be regulated, from light to heavy.  In the chest, a high density particle accelerator is mounted, but it can only be fired intermittently.  It also has two weapons bays for mini-missiles—chiefly laser guided (but different missiles can be installed).  There are shoulder and leg mounted hardpoints for additional weapons and mission modules.  For defenses, the armor is capable of launching flares as well as ECM missiles to fool more intelligent tracking.

3.  Rocketeer Sensor/Commo Systems:  There is a full sensor suite in the Rocketeer armor, and computer aided communications systems, allowing for full tactical access in a networked battlefield environment.

4.  Rocketeer Technical Support:  Such an advanced system couldn’t be developed alone; it makes sense to keep the same team that built the armor there to support it.  Said support team has all the tools it needs, including transport vehicles filled with spare parts and accessories to maintain, modify, repair and sometimes transport the armor and the team—all of which can be packed away into a C-17 Globemaster III.

5.  Did I mention she’s a genius?  Because she is.

6.  Checkered past:  Tatiana has experienced great highs and great lows.  She went from being a state sponsored hero, to a mercenary, to supervillain and back.  While she’s been able to move on thanks to STRIPE, there are elements of her past that would like to infect her future.  Case in point:  Vladimir Putin would like her to be returned to Russia to answer for her “crimes” against the state.