Foes of the Superwomen of EVA #10: Arcade
"Although dressed like, speaking like, and overall presenting himself as if he were the funniest carnival barker around, the man known by the alias Arcade is one of the deadliest freelance assassins in the world. Though dubious and unconfirmed, according to the man himself, he was born into an obscenely wealthy American household, living a very, very cushy life. When he was either 18 or 21 years old, his father cut off his allowance, declaring that his son didn't deserve any penny of it. In retaliation, the future Arcade murdered his father and inherited the man's entire vast estate. He used this wealth to fund his burgeoning career as a hired killer, though grew bored with the rather mundane ways he killed his targets even if each job netted him more money. After discovering an aptitude for both mechanical engineering and carnival theatrics, Arcade changed up his methodology when he constructed his first Murderworld, an elaborate deathtrap disguised as an amusement park. Recruiting two assistants codenamed Ms. Locke and Mr. Chambers, he reemerged on the underworld scene as the most expensive hitman around the globe. For the mere price tag of $1 million, he'd tweak Murderworld to focus on the specific weaknesses of his targets and then watch as they were killed off by a variety of colorful deathtraps strewn throughout the facility; however, because he's a self-described 'sporting' fellow, he always deliberately leaves his targets with a small chance for them to escape.
Arcade has counted a number of unscrupulous people as clients over the years, with one group calling upon his services often being the clandestine organization SEELE, the secret backers of NERV, the U.N. special agency tasked with defending mankind from the otherworldly threats codenamed 'Angels'. When a number of superpowered individuals began to emerge in Tokyo-3 (the location of NERV's central branch) and 'assist' NERV in its anti-Angel efforts, SEELE, wanting to prevent any disruptions to their scenario, hired Arcade to set up shop in the city and take out as many of these 'superwomen' as he could. His plan for doing so involved using the public's newfound fascination with 'escape rooms'; to that end, Arcade and his assistants set up an elaborate marketing and advertising campaign for one such new escape room opening in Tokyo-3. Equipped with specialized tech that let them detect any possible 'anomalies' in the genetics of the room's customers, Arcade lured four of them further into the facility with special bonus prizes. The ruse worked, and the participants soon found themselves trapped in the Murderworld built underneath the front that had been set up at street level. The quartet soon changed into their costumed alter-egos, revealed to be Captain America (secretly NERV Evangelion pilot Mari "Illustrious" Makinami), Spider-Woman (secretly NERV head scientist Ritsuko Akagi), Spirit (secretly Hikari Horaki, classmate and friend to the Evangelion pilots), and Storm (Mayumi Yamagishi, another classmate of the pilots). Each was then challenged by Arcade to not only escape his Murderworld alive, but also to rescue four other hostages held in hidden areas of the facility, all under a close time limit. In spite of the odds, each superwoman was able to rescue each hostage after they managed to meet up with one another and team up to increase their odds, much to Arcade's chagrin. Before they could go to confront Arcade himself, he and his assistants made their getaway in an escape vehicle they'd prepared for such a possibility.
Since the thwarting of SEELE's plans and the end of the Angel War, Arcade has still continued to be in-demand as an assassin, though he's become more scrutinizing if the job involves anyone with superpowers..."
*Author's Note(s)*
Rounding out this wave of redheaded rogues is a SWOE take on the classic all-around Marvel Universe baddie Arcade, known mainly for his tussles with the likes of the X-Men and other mutant heroes (though he has occasionally targeted non-mutant ones like Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, and even the Micronauts). I figured a SWOE Arcade might occasionally be on SEELE's payroll should they want to take out anyone trying to get close to uncovering their conspiracy-heck, one could even write a chapter in one of the Marvel-based SWOE stories where the hero has to rescue Ryoji Kaji from Murderworld.
As for the anime character to visually base an SWOE Arcade on for my Deviation, I looked to the chief 'goofball' character in the otherwise all-serious business affair that is The Big O. Said goofball is the criminal Jason Beck, aka 'Beck Gold', a supposed parody of the title character of Lupin III. (SWOE2 writer Mike313 mentioned to me he could also make a good basis for a SWOE2 version of the Riddler.) His personality made him a perfect fit as a model for Arcade, and thanks to an image from the manga adaptation of The Big O, coloring him to better resemble Arcade (along with the addition of a boutonnière) was an easy job. (As much as I wanted to tweak his neckwear into a bowtie, I decided to leave it be, as I'm sure the man would change up his look slightly every now and then.)
