App
Player Name: Stacey
Personal LJ: thepenguinred
E-mail: littlegeekpenguin@gmail.com
AIM: thepenguinred
Other characters currently in-game: Peter Parker OU
Who referred you to the game?: NA
Character Name: Maria Hill
Canon source: Marvel 616
PB: Isabella Rossellini
Personality:
There are few people in comics with more conviction than Maria Hill. She knows what is right and what is wrong, and leaves very little wiggle room between those two things. For Hill the ends will always justify the means, the greater good outweigh any other consideration, and she can almost always justify whatever actions she takes as lawful and just. Though Maria believes very strongly in playing by the book, even discussing the ‘slippery slope’ of legal code before busting in to search a building for the hiding Avengers after Captain America’s death, she has an even stronger moral code and will at times disobey direct orders in order to satisfy that code. This disobedience is, usually, still very technically just skirting the line of still being legal, such as when she exerts her authority as interim director of SHIELD to lock down the UN so the recently demoted former-director Tony Stark could continue a mission.
Despite being stubborn, egotistical, and entirely self-righteous, Hill still has a very strong respect for the chain of command. Though she will, at times, very vocally argue about a decision or take matters into her own hands, she does everything she can to serve the United States, its government, and its people without question or pause. Any disagreements she has with orders will be discussed behind closed doors, rarely out in the open in front of lower ranking agents. She believes in law and order above all else and will often be asked to do the jobs no one else wants to do as a result of that. No matter what actions she takes, however, she believes in taking responsibility for those choices and standing by what she has done. Even when given a chance by Dum Dum Dugan (who was...technically a skrull, but anyway) to escape being potentially brought up on charges of treason by having him pretend to have staged a coup against her before disobeying orders, Maria turns him down, preferring to accept the fall out rather than hide.
She is also very aware of her own limitations, however. Hill is a fantastic second in command and she knows it. She will go to any lengths to achieve the goals given to her, will not hesitate to state her opinion on whatever matter her commander may be having difficulty with, and can be nearly fanatically loyal to a cause and leader she believes in. As a leader with no direct commander, however, she very quickly gets out of control. With no checks and no one to balance her, Hill will take something to the extreme very quickly, leaving no room for debate or differing opinions. She will open fire on Captain America before letting him state his reasons for not wanting to hunt down other masks. Maria is aware of this tendency to see the world in very black and white, ‘with us or against us’ terms and recognizes that this is not a trait a leader, who must negotiate with various organizations and powers, should possess. She is most effective when under the command of someone she trusts and who otherwise allows her to do as she pleases to achieve goals set before her. Though she has various difficulties and reservations about them both, there have only ever been two people she respects enough to follow in that role: Nick Fury and Tony Stark, and only Stark has yet to let her down in living up to her ideals of what the leader of SHIELD should be.
Despite her stubbornness and almost rabid fanaticism for her cause, Hill also cares about the people she is protecting. She joined the marines and, later, SHIELD to serve the nation and protect the people of it, not for personal power or fame. Her priority are the innocent people of the United States and the world at large, and she will do whatever is required to do what is best for the people placed under her care, no matter what that may mean for herself or any of her allies.
History:
Comic summary here. I will be taking Maria from Dark Avengers #1, right after she has been fired by Norman Osborn.
How does your AU differ from canon?
I’m not planning on doing AU, but I feel like I should make some kind of note here. Though it all comes after the time point I’m taking Maria from, a vast majority of the Maria Hill that is seen post Secret Invasion, and especially during the Heroic Age, is, to me, pretty much incompatible with the Maria Hill that was seen at any point previous to it. The Hill that storms out on Tony Stark when he comments that he would do Registration all over again and goes along with essentially anything Steve Rogers asks of her does not, to me, connect in anyway with the one that opened fire on Captain America before the SHRA passed or mind-raped Spider-Man during a crisis because the Avengers wouldn’t tell her about House of M. The Hill that freaks out over the fact that she and Pepper both *gasp* slept with Tony Stark does not mesh with the one that looks Norman Osborn in the eye and promises him he will crash and burn as he fires her. They first painted Hill as an isolated woman who was raised by a single father who resented her, then suddenly in one throw away comment give her an extended family who leave her nearly a hundred voice mails when she goes missing for a few weeks. In one issue they randomly make her blond, which has nothing to do with personality but, in my opinion, showcases pretty well how much Fraction and team paid attention to anything concerning Maria Hill that existed before he started writing her.
Essentially, I do not plan on taking pretty much any of the characterization that occurred past the point I’m taking her from into account when I play Maria. She is still fiercely pro-registration and government, despite how SHIELD was recently ended, and will not be fangirling over Captain America anytime soon.
Strengths:
Level 9 Agent
Maria may not have been cut out to lead SHIELD, but that doesn’t change the fact she’s a long time agent on top of being a former US marine. The Black Widow makes an offhand comment at one point of Maria being ‘one of the most talented agents of her generation’ and she manages to surprise Tony Stark a time or two with her ingenuity and fearless dedication to her cause. While she has no enhancements, she’s trained in hand-to-hand combat, firearms (including sniping), espionage, military strategy, and everything else that comes with being among, and at times the, highest ranking officers in SHIELD.
Resilient
Maria does not call it quits. Even with SHIELD dismantled, Tony apparently distraught, and Norman Osborn in control, Maria has only dry sarcasm and determination to see Osborn fall as a response. She sticks to her guns and will see the mission, or the cause, through no matter what the odds or opposition.
Weaknesses:
Maria is a normal human. She has no kind of superpowers whatsoever, never has and (please god hopefully) never will. Her stubbornness can also be seen as a weakness, as once Maria digs her heels in, no matter how difficult the issue, it can be neigh-on impossible to get her to move from that stance. While this can be good at times, if she digs her feet in on the wrong side of the issue it can lead to things getting out of control. Like, say, using remotely controlled villains to hunt down rebelling superheroes or granting world famous assassins a presidential pardon in exchange for them testing SHIELD’s security.
Preferred drop-in point: I would like her to start in NYC just for ease of plotting and would then be fine with her being forcibly removed or something to another city after if the capekillers don’t like so many former SHIELD agents in one area or the like, but am fine starting elsewhere if need be.
What are some of your plans for this character in their new environment?
SHIELD people. Seriously a rarity, I’m looking forward to her interacting with them. Dealing with the mental fallout of having SHIELD dismantled back home and now being on the other side of ‘the people vs powerful government agency’ and seeing how she ends up playing that.
First Person Journal Sample:
[Voice]
Well, isn’t this just peaches. I’d thought, actually thought, I was going to make it to thirty-five without one of these. Made it through my rounds as agent, deputy, and flat out directer of the directorate without indecent. Aliens? Sure. Magic? Of course. Atlanteans, terrorists, the Hulks, rogue AIs, former co-workers with boundary issues? All routine problems in the scheme of things. But not a single accidental tumble through space or time. Not a one through it all. The second I’m a civilian for the first time in fifteen years, on the other hand? I get both before I can even put away the uniform.
[Scoff]
Now there’s a kick in the head for you.
Third Person Sample:
Street clothes. Of all the things to bother her about being tossed out the other end of a transdimensional portal, she hadn’t counted on the civvies being among them. When jeans that stopped just under the arch of her hipbones had come into style she wasn’t entirely sure, but she was certain they weren’t designed with concealing weaponry in mind. Low rise jeans. And she’d thought the spandex had been bad.
Still, information gathering was far more effective when one didn’t stand out like blip on the radar screen by wearing the skin tight uniform of a military, no, peace-keeping as they’d so fondly called it, organization that didn’t exist. Especially when there was already a competitor in town. Not to mention the sheer number of capes around that still associated the uniform with a bad taste in their mouths, because Maria Hill could never even vacation in a dimension without that particular brand of dramatics. Oh, the capes existed in force, along with the inevitable rallying against the powers-that-be, as did the inevitable number of self-proclaimed villains and ‘evil masterminds’ that went hand in hand with that particular brand of vigilante. Homey, really. It was only a pity she’d missed Stark.
Personal LJ: thepenguinred
E-mail: littlegeekpenguin@gmail.com
AIM: thepenguinred
Other characters currently in-game: Peter Parker OU
Who referred you to the game?: NA
Character Name: Maria Hill
Canon source: Marvel 616
PB: Isabella Rossellini
Personality:
There are few people in comics with more conviction than Maria Hill. She knows what is right and what is wrong, and leaves very little wiggle room between those two things. For Hill the ends will always justify the means, the greater good outweigh any other consideration, and she can almost always justify whatever actions she takes as lawful and just. Though Maria believes very strongly in playing by the book, even discussing the ‘slippery slope’ of legal code before busting in to search a building for the hiding Avengers after Captain America’s death, she has an even stronger moral code and will at times disobey direct orders in order to satisfy that code. This disobedience is, usually, still very technically just skirting the line of still being legal, such as when she exerts her authority as interim director of SHIELD to lock down the UN so the recently demoted former-director Tony Stark could continue a mission.
Despite being stubborn, egotistical, and entirely self-righteous, Hill still has a very strong respect for the chain of command. Though she will, at times, very vocally argue about a decision or take matters into her own hands, she does everything she can to serve the United States, its government, and its people without question or pause. Any disagreements she has with orders will be discussed behind closed doors, rarely out in the open in front of lower ranking agents. She believes in law and order above all else and will often be asked to do the jobs no one else wants to do as a result of that. No matter what actions she takes, however, she believes in taking responsibility for those choices and standing by what she has done. Even when given a chance by Dum Dum Dugan (who was...technically a skrull, but anyway) to escape being potentially brought up on charges of treason by having him pretend to have staged a coup against her before disobeying orders, Maria turns him down, preferring to accept the fall out rather than hide.
She is also very aware of her own limitations, however. Hill is a fantastic second in command and she knows it. She will go to any lengths to achieve the goals given to her, will not hesitate to state her opinion on whatever matter her commander may be having difficulty with, and can be nearly fanatically loyal to a cause and leader she believes in. As a leader with no direct commander, however, she very quickly gets out of control. With no checks and no one to balance her, Hill will take something to the extreme very quickly, leaving no room for debate or differing opinions. She will open fire on Captain America before letting him state his reasons for not wanting to hunt down other masks. Maria is aware of this tendency to see the world in very black and white, ‘with us or against us’ terms and recognizes that this is not a trait a leader, who must negotiate with various organizations and powers, should possess. She is most effective when under the command of someone she trusts and who otherwise allows her to do as she pleases to achieve goals set before her. Though she has various difficulties and reservations about them both, there have only ever been two people she respects enough to follow in that role: Nick Fury and Tony Stark, and only Stark has yet to let her down in living up to her ideals of what the leader of SHIELD should be.
Despite her stubbornness and almost rabid fanaticism for her cause, Hill also cares about the people she is protecting. She joined the marines and, later, SHIELD to serve the nation and protect the people of it, not for personal power or fame. Her priority are the innocent people of the United States and the world at large, and she will do whatever is required to do what is best for the people placed under her care, no matter what that may mean for herself or any of her allies.
History:
Comic summary here. I will be taking Maria from Dark Avengers #1, right after she has been fired by Norman Osborn.
How does your AU differ from canon?
I’m not planning on doing AU, but I feel like I should make some kind of note here. Though it all comes after the time point I’m taking Maria from, a vast majority of the Maria Hill that is seen post Secret Invasion, and especially during the Heroic Age, is, to me, pretty much incompatible with the Maria Hill that was seen at any point previous to it. The Hill that storms out on Tony Stark when he comments that he would do Registration all over again and goes along with essentially anything Steve Rogers asks of her does not, to me, connect in anyway with the one that opened fire on Captain America before the SHRA passed or mind-raped Spider-Man during a crisis because the Avengers wouldn’t tell her about House of M. The Hill that freaks out over the fact that she and Pepper both *gasp* slept with Tony Stark does not mesh with the one that looks Norman Osborn in the eye and promises him he will crash and burn as he fires her. They first painted Hill as an isolated woman who was raised by a single father who resented her, then suddenly in one throw away comment give her an extended family who leave her nearly a hundred voice mails when she goes missing for a few weeks. In one issue they randomly make her blond, which has nothing to do with personality but, in my opinion, showcases pretty well how much Fraction and team paid attention to anything concerning Maria Hill that existed before he started writing her.
Essentially, I do not plan on taking pretty much any of the characterization that occurred past the point I’m taking her from into account when I play Maria. She is still fiercely pro-registration and government, despite how SHIELD was recently ended, and will not be fangirling over Captain America anytime soon.
Strengths:
Level 9 Agent
Maria may not have been cut out to lead SHIELD, but that doesn’t change the fact she’s a long time agent on top of being a former US marine. The Black Widow makes an offhand comment at one point of Maria being ‘one of the most talented agents of her generation’ and she manages to surprise Tony Stark a time or two with her ingenuity and fearless dedication to her cause. While she has no enhancements, she’s trained in hand-to-hand combat, firearms (including sniping), espionage, military strategy, and everything else that comes with being among, and at times the, highest ranking officers in SHIELD.
Resilient
Maria does not call it quits. Even with SHIELD dismantled, Tony apparently distraught, and Norman Osborn in control, Maria has only dry sarcasm and determination to see Osborn fall as a response. She sticks to her guns and will see the mission, or the cause, through no matter what the odds or opposition.
Weaknesses:
Maria is a normal human. She has no kind of superpowers whatsoever, never has and (please god hopefully) never will. Her stubbornness can also be seen as a weakness, as once Maria digs her heels in, no matter how difficult the issue, it can be neigh-on impossible to get her to move from that stance. While this can be good at times, if she digs her feet in on the wrong side of the issue it can lead to things getting out of control. Like, say, using remotely controlled villains to hunt down rebelling superheroes or granting world famous assassins a presidential pardon in exchange for them testing SHIELD’s security.
Preferred drop-in point: I would like her to start in NYC just for ease of plotting and would then be fine with her being forcibly removed or something to another city after if the capekillers don’t like so many former SHIELD agents in one area or the like, but am fine starting elsewhere if need be.
What are some of your plans for this character in their new environment?
SHIELD people. Seriously a rarity, I’m looking forward to her interacting with them. Dealing with the mental fallout of having SHIELD dismantled back home and now being on the other side of ‘the people vs powerful government agency’ and seeing how she ends up playing that.
First Person Journal Sample:
[Voice]
Well, isn’t this just peaches. I’d thought, actually thought, I was going to make it to thirty-five without one of these. Made it through my rounds as agent, deputy, and flat out directer of the directorate without indecent. Aliens? Sure. Magic? Of course. Atlanteans, terrorists, the Hulks, rogue AIs, former co-workers with boundary issues? All routine problems in the scheme of things. But not a single accidental tumble through space or time. Not a one through it all. The second I’m a civilian for the first time in fifteen years, on the other hand? I get both before I can even put away the uniform.
[Scoff]
Now there’s a kick in the head for you.
Third Person Sample:
Street clothes. Of all the things to bother her about being tossed out the other end of a transdimensional portal, she hadn’t counted on the civvies being among them. When jeans that stopped just under the arch of her hipbones had come into style she wasn’t entirely sure, but she was certain they weren’t designed with concealing weaponry in mind. Low rise jeans. And she’d thought the spandex had been bad.
Still, information gathering was far more effective when one didn’t stand out like blip on the radar screen by wearing the skin tight uniform of a military, no, peace-keeping as they’d so fondly called it, organization that didn’t exist. Especially when there was already a competitor in town. Not to mention the sheer number of capes around that still associated the uniform with a bad taste in their mouths, because Maria Hill could never even vacation in a dimension without that particular brand of dramatics. Oh, the capes existed in force, along with the inevitable rallying against the powers-that-be, as did the inevitable number of self-proclaimed villains and ‘evil masterminds’ that went hand in hand with that particular brand of vigilante. Homey, really. It was only a pity she’d missed Stark.