Character Questions: Benji Maddox

Full name: Benjamin Joe Maddox

Nickname: Benji (by Callie and Jade after being permitted by Callie. Mulan calls him Uncle Benji due to being Callie's daughter), Benny (by Sareena and Tanya. Tanya does it in mockery and Sareena respects Callie's boundaries for her husband's nicknames), Doctor Maddox, Mad Man Maddox (by the Edenian People after he returned from his year in the Netherrealm), Ben (by Koga and Kim)

Occupation: Doctor, Father, Former Kombat Instructor at the Wu-Shi Academy

Appearance: A Blasian man (leaning more on the Asian side regarding facial features) with dark brown hair like his mother and sister which he slicks back, allowing varied fringes loose in front of his face. Benji's tall at 6'1 with a well-toned build, regularly exercising to keep his body in shape. His eyes are slightly slanted and hazel in color. He's often compared to his mother regarding looks, even being regarded as the male version of his mother despite the slight differences in facial appearance. After becoming a Summoner, Benji gained a Mark of the mythical bird, a Yatagarasu. In short, Benji's a handsome dude.

Age: 23,029 looks like he's in his late twenties.

Mannerisms: Calm, kind, and cool. Very logistic and portrays a silent but strong and mesmerizing charisma. It's like people are drawn to him. Benji's a driven man who while not ambitious, won't stop if he decides to do something until it's done. Benji's the lax Maddox Sibling as he directly counters Callie's formerly boisterous nature and attitude. He's a firm believer in treating people how they treat you. To friends and family, he's one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Something about him is captivating, wanting those he meets to see more of him. To enemies, however, he's stoic, cold, sarcastic, and sometimes wrathful. You wouldn't think of him as wrathful at first glance. However, overstep your boundaries, you'll see a side of Benji that will make anyone feel insignificant, if not horrifying. Don't believe me? Ask Kano and Kotal Kahn. He made them both think they'd wake up in the Netherrealm with the acts done against them along with personally administered threats. Benji can be a stick in the mud, but you can chalk that up to being the older sibling and paternal figure for his sister for most of their lives. After settling down and becoming a father, Benji loosened up immensely. A point that I forgot to mention during Callie's CQs. When around each other, they usually revert to their younger selves. Meaning, Callie becomes loud and boisterous, often insulting her adversaries openly. While Benji is calmer, often tossing insults as well but laced with realism and truth so the people they banter with often come out looking like prime idiots.

What does he/she wear?: Formal clothing for the most part. Buttoned-up shirts neatly tucked into his slacks or black khakis and casual shoes since he does a lot of walking. Benji wore a blue button-up shirt with his white Doctor's Coat when serving as the Freedom Fighter's Doctor. As an advisor to the Royal Family, he wore what he wears now just with a Black Duster. He continued to wear this after moving to Earthrealm. But he made some changes when he was chosen to participate in the Mortal Kombat tournament. Trading a button-up for a long sleeve polo, khakis, and combat boots since he's fighting. If wearing a duster, then he'll tuck his shirt in and roll his sleeves up if not. His final kombat wardrobe happened during the two years he spent helping Callie with physical therapy. He now wears an exercise top tucked into solid black fatigues neatly tucked into his combat. When out, he wears a black duster tattered at the edge since it's the same duster he had since he first lived in Edenia. He also wore a bandana with Earthrealm's insignia but stopped wearing it after the first MK tournament. Instead, Benji lets it hang from his back pocket. He would tape his hands and fingers to grip his opponents better. After becoming a father, he wears a casual version of this outfit. His 9mm Pistol that Callie custom-made for him is holstered in the back of his pants.

Favorite color: Deep Blue

What is he/she good at?: Known for his Medical Expertise, Benji's also a Physicist with a thorough understanding of the human anatomy. To help his sister with the piano, Benji taught himself how to play the Double Bass. He's an expert with Healing Magic, only becoming more proficient as a Battle Medic. Through his training in the Netherrealm, Benji is also an expert in Necromancy with specifics in Summoning. Skeletons, Lesser Demons, all the way to forming contracts with various winged myths. Most recently, he formed a contract with an Ice Phoenix named Everest. In Kombat, Benji fights with Combat Sambo/ Pencak Silat-based Pankration. So I wouldn't lock up with him unless you want a broken limb. He's also adept with a Baton but self-taught since he was never formally trained to use one. He's proficient with his pistol which has only improved over the years, though Jade doesn't like it when he uses it. With his skill in Necromancy comes a solid understanding of sorcery. Hence, he knows various techniques involving one's soul including siphoning, transferring, and adding them to his to augment his strength. Unlike Shang Tsung who expertly extracts his victims' souls from various distances, Benji physically rips them out, showing that he's not as well-versed. But the fact that he practiced Sorcery for a much shorter time but still showed this much skill shows his talent.

What is he/she bad at?: His well of patience also means that enemies constantly push his buttons for various reasons. If they're of nobility, it's because of their sense of entitlement and envy because of what Benji has ironically enough. They feel like Benji doesn't deserve to have two beautiful wives, two (soon to be four) kids, and his vast skills. Anyone else, want to see him angry and lose his composure. Whether it is because Benji rarely gets angry at all, to make him suffer for not being on their side. That also invites Benji's wrathful behavior and those who see that side either die (Goro) or irreversibly change. (Kano, Kotal) Also, Benji tends to beat himself up regarding the charisma he possesses in tandem with his handsome features. And this obliviousness in combination with his sister's hardass behavior inadvertently created one of his biggest enemies in Tanya. Add this to being kind and loyal makes enemies - I want to stress this as much as possible. It pisses off his enemies to no end where most want him to die, get killed, murdered, etc. Shang Tsung wants his soul, Sektor wants to cyberize him, Daegon and Kotal want him killed, and Tanya's conflicting behavior and nature doesn't know if she wants him in her bed or a coffin since only she knows that they truly were made for only each other. And if his enemies don't want him dead, they want him on their side. Shao Kahn wanted him to be his personal doctor; no doubt if Shinnok were out and about he'd want Benji dead to remake him as a revenant. Even allies feel this way to a much lesser extent. They won't want anything bad to happen to him, but by the same token, they'd wish for bad things on Benji's loved ones and if given an excuse, would personally do bad things to those around to get a chance to get closer to him. Sonya had a crush on him for years. Li Mei had repeatedly tried to belittle Sareena's bond with him to take her place, and Sindel had made no secret about attractive she found him. And his choosing to remain loyal drives them to the brink of insanity.

What does he/she want?: To defend Earthrealm and Edenia's safety.

What is his/her goal?: To ensure the safety of his family and friends.

What lie does he/she believe?: That becoming a father has placed a target on his and his loved ones' back.

What flaw results from the lie?: Not necessarily a 'lie' but as a result, Benji is extremely protective of his family. However, his family is much more protective of him, although he's more powerful than them. (Specifically, Sareena and Jade though they both refuse to get him involved in inter-realm matters)

What truth does he/she learn?: That it's his family that makes him truly powerful.

What is his/her background?

The older Maddox Sibling is a popular man. He's my editor's favorite OC, arguably every one of my reader's favorite OCs, and I can see why.

Benji was born in Edenia where he spent his childhood into early adulthood. A thousand years later, one of the lights in his life was born in the form of his little sister, Callie Ann. But the train of positives quickly ended as we all know why. Benji quickly made sense of the situation and began doing anything to ensure he and Callie survived until they could provide for themselves. That won Benji his sister's undying admiration, trust, and respect. He did it all, whether from stealing food, money, or even books. As the siblings grew up, Benji found a medicine book and a talent for medicine after studying. He tunnel-visioned his focus on learning how to save lives, whereas his sister would learn how to survive by learning various tools of kombat. Benji became smart enough to enter medical school before he was 9000 years old. Eight years later, he received his Doctorate in Medicine. Another four years passed before he earned a Doctorate in Anatomy and Physiology. He learned Pankration from one of his Phys teachers since he recommended him to join the Edenian Freedom Fighters as the Doctor and needed a way to defend himself. Not long after gaining his second Ph.D., he joined the E.F.F. as one of the Doctors and was well-liked there for being arguably the best Doctor on staff and, y'know, being good-looking.

After Callie finished living in the forest and learning to hunt predators, Benji recommended her to the E.F.F. General. He trusted his word and let her in since Callie was a model soldier, if not close to her teammates. Callie climbed the ranks with frightening speed, eventually becoming the next leader of the E.F.F. herself. She promoted her brother since he could fight well and was an expert in Medical Magic. With the knowledge of being a Doctor, Benji would be invaluable on the field and become the Battle Medic of the Infantry. He took to the job well, and his outstanding performances caught the wind of Jerrod and Sindel, who requested he pull double duty as the Royal Family's advisor. Initially, Benji said no since he felt something was off with Jerrod. But he was forced by Jerrod to comply. Eventually, by using the ridiculous amount of vacation time he accumulated, Benji decided to venture to the Netherrealm to learn how to resurrect the dead since that would be invaluable for the E.F.F. He quickly learned once he got inside the cities that resurrection was the biggest no-no of Necromancy. But the man who told him this, Okada, offered to teach him everything Necromancy and Sorcery had to offer in the allotted time. Benji took Okada up on his offer, and for the next year, Benji became an Expert on Necromancy, specifically on matters of the soul and of summoning creatures.

That would be a hidden curse. Upon returning, the Edenian people turned their back on Benji, dubbing him 'Mad Man Maddox.' And once his sister stood up for him, their respect for her quickly declined. The only people who still had some semblance of respect were the E.F.F., his fellow Doctors, and surprisingly Sindel herself who all understood why he did that. The trip itself was fruitful for him and the E.F.F. He would take the souls of those who died and transfer them to the living soldiers to empower them. Unfortunately, Jerrod was not one of those who held respect for him or Callie due to being members of the Maddox Clan, bitter rivals of his family, the Dacarthi Clan. Jerrod's paranoia continued to increase until it boiled over to him blatantly not taking his advice, and being the first person to want him to die openly. (Wouldn't be the last one either)

Fed up with the constant discrimination, Benji and Callie renounced their Edenian citizenship and left for Seido. After establishing the Resistance, the pair moved on to Earthrealm where Gone, but Not Forgotten began properly.

Benji lives in Edenia with his two wives, Jade and Sareena, his kids Dakini (her present infant self and a future version), and his son Ted. Rumors say that Jade is hoping to get impregnated a second time due to wanting to bear more of his children and being addicted to his you know what. Benji has repaired his relationship with his mother while maintaining an unbroken bond with his little sister. Sources say he enjoys being a father much more than he initially thought.

Benji's a lucky man, at the end of the day.

Additional Questions for the Patriarch of the Maddox Family?

Does Benji resent his father for not wanting a son?

I could've worded that better in Callie's Bio. I meant to say that Joseph preferred having a daughter over a son. Benji's father still loved him. He just preferred Callie because he preferred having her over him. Regardless, Benji doesn't resent his father because that would invite repeating what his father did to him, which would lead to him preferring Dakini over Ted. And he vowed to love all of his children equally. (AD: As any sensible parent should)

What threat level does Daegon present to Benji personally?

We don't have a definitive answer. Not because we saw Daegon for less than half a chapter, but because he is unstable and unpredictable. Benji is smart, so not seeing Daegon as the biggest threat to his way of life would be incredibly stupid. Especially since Daegon practically wants mass genocide.

How have Jade and Sareena help/supported Benji during the time skip to this arc?

If anything, it's the other way around. Benji has been helping Jade settle as the new General while caring for Dakini and Ted with Sareena as she works. Simultaneously, he's helping Sareena with being around other people who are often judgmental. All the while, Benji proves to be a willing and able dad. Dakini being around helps too. The only thing he doesn't like about Edenia (besides the people pestering him or Sareena occasionally) is that Jade and Sareena are so protective of him that they'll flip out if he decides to leave the house or hell even Edenia for extended periods like they're more powerful than he is. They aren't, and if a physical fight were to occur, I'd place my bets on Benji beating them both. That won't happen, but I had to put that out there. Benji is the strongest member of his married family. (AD: I believe Jade and Sareena each are fearful if something happens to Benji; they can only do so much to protect their children. Plus, neither woman had their own parents around all that much. Each side needs to come to a compromise)

Does Benji regret not noticing Tanya's advancements sooner?

He certainly did for a time. I don't like beating a dead horse, but you and I have seen firsthand their chemistry with one another if they were on the same side. Had Benji learned of this before he and Callie fled Edenia, best believe he would pursue Tanya as they got along well back then. However, Jerrod and Rain got to her first. Benji being oblivious doomed Tanya, and by extension any chance they had for an official coupling. No use crying over spilled milk, he believes. (AD: A shame really. I always held a soft spot for Tanya despite her wicked ways in MK)

What will Benji do about Kotal should he go for Jade again?

Easy, murder him. Benji may be occasionally treated like a child by his wives overprotecting him, but he's much the same as them. He made his intentions clear after threatening Kotal at the Climax of Arc IV. If Kotal keeps overstepping his boundaries with him and Jade, Benji will act on that threat and ensure that Kotal never forgets the torment he'll cause him. We both know Benji doesn't make promises he can't keep. If Kotal keeps trying, he'll inevitably learn that too. (AD: It's a miracle Benji hasn't done it yet knowing what Kotal has attempted and done against Jade to this point. Not to mention Dakini as well)