47 is a human clone, bred at an abandoned asylum in Romania, and genetically engineered to maintain peak physicality and intelligence and be easy to control. He was created from the DNA of five different men—scientist Dr. Otto Ort-Meyer, Triad crime boss Lee Hong, drug lord Pablo Belisario Ochoa, mercenary Frantz Fuchs, and gunrunner Arkadij Jegorov (aka Boris Ivanovich Deruzka)—who served in the same French Foreign Legion in Vietnam. Ort-Meyer, deemed insane by his former peers for his radical theories, had concluded that the perfect human could be created through cloning and genetic recombination. The five men formed an organization called the "Five Fathers", and each donated their DNA so that Ort-Meyer could create the clones. In exchange for research funding, Ort-Meyer provided his associates with donor organs harvested from clone bodies, significantly extending their longevity. Unbeknowst to them, however, Ort-Meyer's ultimate goal was to create an army of flawless and unquestioningly obedient superhumans, which he would keep for himself.