Howard Stark |
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Portrayed by Dominic Cooper |
Statistics |
Full Name |
Howard Stark |
Age |
32 (98) |
Height |
5'8" |
Build |
Short and well-built. |
Eyes |
Brown |
Hair |
Brown |
Factions |
To be determined. |
Occupation |
Founder of Stark Industries |
Alignment |
Hero |
Claim to Fame
Founder of Stark Industries and father of Tony Stark.
Reputation
Charismatic, brilliant, a cad and an egotist. Also supposed to be dead.
Biography
Millionaire. Industrialist. Playboy. Genius. Everything that his son Tony would go on to be, Howard was first. Together with his working-class father, he founded Stark Industries. Given the state of conflict of the world, it was only natural that he focused his genius on matters of national defense. He was part of the Manhattan Project and developed weaponry for the allies. After the war, he helped found SHIELD, an organization dedicated to protecting humanity from things it neither knows about, nor properly understands.
He lived the playboy life through most of his adulthood, but even playboys get played out. He married the younger Maria Carbonell in the late 60s, and they had a son, Tony. His relationship with his son was always a mixture of pride and friction. He never quite learned how to relate to his son, and except for the occasional photo op and meeting of minds on projects, they had a very arms-length relationship.
One of Howard's projects for SHIELD was the Life Model Decoy. Although he was very involved in SHIELD, the business of running Stark Industries took up much of his time later in life. He still had time for pet projects. (such as the LMDs), although in truth, he should have spent that free time with his family. He and Maria had been living separate lives for years and were husband and wife in name (and charity fundraiser event) only.
Howard worked on the LMD project in a hidden lab that was not listed under Stark Industries' assets. The project was incredibly secret. It involved creating nanobot-powered duplicates that the subject could control from afar. These duplicates would be able to pass medical scanners, retina scans, fool telepaths and even mimic real injury.
For the prototype, Howard modeled the LMD after his younger self. That was part out of vanity, and partly because if the LMD ever fell into the wrong hands, they would have a perfect duplicate of a very rich and very powerful man. By all accounts, the initial tests were a success.
Howard was, tragically, unable to continue tests. On the way back from a charity dinner, Maria and he were in a car accident. Both of them should have died then and there, but the last time Howard disconnected from the LMD, he did not disconnect completely. There was also a failsafe protocol that Howard had written but had not meant to activate that would upload the consciousness from a human into the LMD permanently should the human body be killed. The trauma of the accident activated that protocol. His body died, but his consciousness survived.
His consciousness, inside the LMD, has lain dormant in the secret lab for decades, waiting for someone to find it and reactivate him. The only people who knew the lab's location were his lab assistant, Bastian Long and Howard. Long was the target of an assassin only hours after Howard's car wreck. The death of Howard and Bastian set the LMD project back a year, which may have been the intent.
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Character Details
Howard Stark is an industrialist, an innovator and a genius. Men like him are a boon to the world and a destructive force to those closest to him. He is driven, fiercely intelligent, competitive, egotistical, prone to addiction, and closed-off. If he sees a spark of greatness in anyone, he will push them in ways that can be considered unkind or even cruel. He is a patriot who believes wholeheartedly in the work that he does. He may have made weapons, but they were made to protect the US and save American lives. He has a near impossible time showing affection. He is a man who lives his life behind a mask. Despite his bad traits, he is also deeply charismatic and very well-spoken. He can be charming and disarming when he wants to be.
Businessman |
Some geniuses can't handle the business side - not so in the case of Howard Stark. He knows how to handle investors, governments and the general public. He's charming, cunning, shrewd and disciplined. He built one of the most successful companies in the world from the ground up. |
Engineering |
To say that Howard is a master engineer is a gross understatement. It might be pushing it to say that if he can imagine it, he can build it - but not much much. |
Strength |
Howard's LMD body is approximately 1/3 stronger than a peak human. |
Speed |
Howard can run approximately 30 mph, which is only slightly faster than an Olympic sprinter. |
Toughness |
There's no such thing as straining muscles or easily broken bones, especially as his body is a prototype. Later models are designed to fake injury more realistically, but that was not a consideration in the early model. He's built to last. |
Agility |
Grace, thy name is LMD. He is incredibly flexible, agile and dexterous - slightly above peak human capacity. |
Regeneration |
As his body is made up of programmable nanobots, he has limited regeneration abilities. Although it takes time, he can recover fully from anything, save total dismemberment. |
Endurance |
It takes an awful lot for Howard to become tired, winded or worn out. He also does not need the downtime of a human in order to recover. He does need to rest, but that's more for mental than physical reasons. His power cells do need to be periodically recharged. |
Languages |
Howard speaks fluent German, French, Italian and Russian. |
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Piloting |
During WWII, Howard was known as one of the best civilian pilots in the world. He kept flying after the war, and took his last flight just shy of his 60th birthday. He's rusty, but you don't lose thirty years' worth of experience. Plus, he's a quick study. It wouldn't take long to get him up to speed when it comes to the most recent advances in the field and get him flying again. |
Can Be Upgraded |
As a machine, Howard can reprogram and upgrade bits of himself. However, as the glitch that locked his consciousness in his LMD body is not fully understood, it would be unwise for him to attempt a mind transfer into another body. He could augment his strength, reprogram his voice box and even hyperattune his brain - though any tinkering with his primary systems would carry significant risks. |
SHIELD |
Howard Stark helped found SHIELD. Hopefully they will still be allies - if they believe it's actually him, that is. |
Family In High Places |
It remains to be seen whether or not Tony will accept him, but if he does, that's a pretty good ally to have. |
LMD Lab |
The contents of Howard's LMD prototype lab have been sealed for over twenty years. It contains equipment and research, which, though out of date, is still very useful. It contains a scanner for creating LMDs and a chamber he can enter to help speed along his repair processes. |
Prototype |
For all the brilliance of his design, Howard's LMD body is a prototype. He experiences the occasional glitch or system malfunction. He also cannot pass for human as fully as later models can. He was designed to fool the technology of the 80s, so newer, more intense scans can spot something odd. EMPs can disable him and require him to be reset manually. There was also a flaw in the transfer process, which means that he is missing years of his life, and has a patchy memory of anything past 1952. |
Lost Identity |
Howard Stark does not look like the Howard Stark people remember - he looks like his 32 year old self. He has lost all claim on Stark Industries, and going public about his identity could very well be a security breach (as explaining his existence would expose the existence of LMDs.) He has lost the clout of his former reputation and all his former contacts. He also does not have any claim to Stark money or a way of legitimately gaining access to his funds. All of that was passed over to Tony ages ago. |
Man Out Of Time |
Howard has been in stasis for over 20 years. Technology won't take him long to get up to speed on, but society and pop culture things might leave him flat-footed and make him stick out. He's also behind the ball when it comes to the world political climate. He's more liable to be (unintentionally) inappropriate. |
Alcoholic |
Even though as an LMD, Howard can't really get drunk, he's still an alcoholic. He has the same mental dependencies and habitual behavior. He will likely either find a way to have alcohol affect him, or find something else that gets him inebriated. It's a psychological need that has remained intact. |
Relationships
Image |
Name |
Relation |
Information |
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Character Name |
Friend |
Insert a description of the relationship here. |
Notes
SCIENCE!
Character Gallery
Logs
World on Fire: Causality
March 25, 2015: Howard Stark asks Booster Gold for a favour.
(log: 20150325-world-on-fire:causality | tags: booster_gold howard_stark | posted: 04 Apr 2015 17:13)
Buck Hunting
March 22, 2015: The Invaders and friends go after one of their own. It doesn't work out how they expect. * NOTE: This scene will be pushed forward in the timeline to help it be congruent with Peggy and Howard's World On Fire plot
(log: 20150322-the-search-for-buck | tags: black_widow captain_america fenris fracture howard_stark namor spitfire winter_soldier | posted: 22 Mar 2015 14:22)
Tension Knives
March 19, 2015: Steve and Howard meet to discuss the issues with the time portals. It's awkward.
(log: 20150319-tension-knives | tags: captain_america howard_stark | posted: 19 Mar 2015 23:40)
World On Fire: Stark and Ectoplasm
March 14, 2015: Howard Stark finally returns to New York and Pezzini, Manning and Simmons corner him to discuss Simmons' findings
(log: 20150314-starkandectoplasm | tags: howard_stark paul_manning simmons witchblade world_on_fire | posted: 15 Mar 2015 02:18)
Level 10
March 13, 2015: Steve gets a return call from Howard Stark.
(log: 20150313-level-10 | tags: captain_america howard_stark world_on_fire | posted: 14 Mar 2015 00:23)
Techus Returnus
February 12, 2015: Maria Hill takes a gamble in dealing with Howard Stark.
(log: 20150212-techus-returnus | tags: howard_stark maria_hill nyc shield | posted: 13 Feb 2015 19:47)
Howard's 11: Party Busters
February 09, 2015: SHIELD operatives close in on some wanted individuals connected to the theft of Howard Stark's old inventions. (Some language)
(log: 20150209-howard-s-11:party-busters | tags: black_widow fitz hawkeye howard_stark maria_hill shield | posted: 10 Feb 2015 19:59)
Howard's 11: Theoretical Betrayal
February 08, 2015: Hill's team makes final plans for the sting, and Howard's loyalties come into question.
(log: 20150208-howard-s-11:theoretical-betrayal | tags: black_widow fitz howard_stark maria_hill shield | posted: 09 Feb 2015 00:59)
Howard's 11: A Matter of Mistrust
February 7, 2015: The Black Widow follows RoboStark out onto the dark streets of the French Quarter
(log: 20150207-howard-s-11:a-matter-of-mistrust | tags: black_widow howard_stark shield | posted: 07 Feb 2015 16:59)
Howard's 11: Portalbusters
February 02, 2015: Hill and Widow discuss their strategy with Howard, while Fitz shows off his shiny new 'Portal Buster'.
(log: 20150202-howard-s-11:portalbusters | tags: black_widow fitz howard_stark maria_hill shield | posted: 03 Feb 2015 16:17)
Howard's 11: Express Service to New Orleans
February 1, 2015: SHIELD agents pick up Howard Stark en route to Louisiana to track down arms dealers.
(log: 20150201-howard-s-11:express-service-to-new-orleans | tags: black_widow fitz howard_stark maria_hill shield simmons | posted: 02 Feb 2015 22:28)
Dinner and a Brainstorm
January 26, 2015: Pepper Potts didn't get to Metropolis over the weekend, so she relocates there partly to avoid the winter storm descending on NYC, and partly to make sure Howard, Jim, and Tony aren't neglecting themselves working. Two out of three ain't bad.
(log: 20150126-dinner-and-a-brainstorm | tags: corvinus howard_stark pepper_potts | posted: 27 Jan 2015 06:18)
More on Metropolis
January 18, 2015: Howard Stark is helping the kind folks of the city of Metropolis when backup arrives.
(log: 20150118-more-on-metropolis | tags: captain_america darce howard_stark pepper_potts | posted: 18 Jan 2015 14:43)
Stark Truths
January 13, 2015: Howard and Tony actually talk to each other.
(log: 20150113-stark-truths | tags: howard_stark iron_man | posted: 15 Jan 2015 22:02)
Jump-Stark
January 08, 2015: Stark Tower is about to become a warzone as two different forces invade. (Language, violence)
(log: 20150108-jump-stark | tags: domino evelyn howard_stark iron_man nyc | posted: 09 Jan 2015 03:55)
Level 10
March 13, 2015: Steve gets a return call from Howard Stark.
(log: 20130313-level-10 | tags: captain_america howard_stark | posted: 14 Mar 2015 00:20)
Playing the Space Card
December 18, 2014: Carol Danvers comes by Stark Industries, and runs into Sam and Howard.
(log: 20141219-playing-the-space-card | tags: falcon howard_stark ms_marvel | posted: 19 Dec 2014 07:57)
Synthetic Humans and High Tech Handknits
December 5, 2014: Per a request from Howard Stark, Agent May takes Simmons to meet the inventor in his new lab in Stark Tower. They happen across Mike Drakos on the way so he tags along out of curiosity. Fenris 'drops' in later.
(log: 20141212-synthetic-humans-and-high-tech-handknits | tags: fenris howard_stark metal simmons the_cavalry | posted: 13 Dec 2014 06:58)
Fancy Seeing You Here
December 4, 2014: Steve stops by Stark Tower to visit an old friend.
(log: 20141204-fancy-seeing-you-here | tags: captain_america howard_stark | posted: 04 Dec 2014 03:17)
The Jerry Springer Show
IC Date: November 25, 2014 Howard comes by Stark Tower to speak with Tony. Stark drama ensues
(log: 20141126-the-jerry-springer-show | tags: howard_stark iron_man | posted: 26 Nov 2014 04:09)
Grilled and Cheese
November 18, 2014: Jessica tries to make friends with SHIELD's rescued robo-Stark.
(log: 20141118-grilled-and-cheese | tags: howard_stark spider-woman | posted: 19 Nov 2014 23:46)
Paging Doctor Simmons
November 14, 2014: Jemma Simmons visits Howard Stark.
(log: 20141114-paging-doctor-simmons | tags: howard_stark simmons | posted: 19 Nov 2014 23:15)
A Stark Family Reunion
November 12, 2014: Howard and Tony Stark reunite. It goes about as well as you'd expect.
(log: 20141112-a-stark-family-reunion | tags: falcon howard_stark iron_man | posted: 13 Nov 2014 02:32)
Finding LMDStark
November 10, 2014: Several SHIELD people and several Stark people converge on an old warehouse to investigate some strange readings. They find something completely different.
(log: 20141110-finding-lmdstark | tags: captain_america falcon hawkeye hawkeye_ii howard_stark jarvis lucky partisan pepper_potts shield simmons superman wolverine | posted: 11 Nov 2014 08:20)
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