Joseph Konstantin

Joseph Konstantin (Birth Name: Ιωσήφ Κωνσταντίνος - Iosif Konstantinos, Full Current Name: Иосиф Констфнтин - Joseph Konstantin) is a Major Character in the Toxic Soviets Comic Series. A pragmatic man and travelling artist, Joseph entered the political stage after being approached and bribed by Faded Escobar to assist him in overthrowing Wilhelm from his position as acting Premier. Following the end of Faded’s rule, he serves as an Officer in the Committee for State Security (KGB).
== Backstory ==
Joseph was born in Chania, Crete as the Eldest son to parents Alexis Konstantinos and Eleni Konstantinou in a Greek Orthodox household of 6, where they owned a local Olive Oil business and were well-known amongst local communities. Growing up in rural Crete, Joseph would learn a multitude of skills, ranging from agriculture and olive oil production to handling firearms, hunting and shooting. Many skills and life lessons that he had learnt were taught to him by his Grandfather, Manolis Konstantinos, a former Colonel in the Greek Army who served under and supported the Greek Military Junta in the mid 20th century. From a very young age Joseph’s primary talent and interest was painting, something that he aspired to pursue as a side-job in the future alongside the management of the family business.
However, with a heavy Economic recession striking Greece and the rest of the World, his family’s business would face hardships that led to bankruptcy and eventually termination, something that occurred in multiple other local businesses throughout Crete and Greece as a whole. Joseph was forced to leave his Home and travel across Europe as an artist in order to make a living for himself and provide for his family financially. As a result of the Global Economic recession, many leftist revolutions began to spring up, with the revolution in Russia led by the Bolsheviks being the most successful one. Joseph, who had heard of the newly founded USSR’s economic success, would go on to travel there to test his luck.
Joseph migrated to the USSR on the 18th of July 2019, 4 days after Wilhelm had established the "Voronezh Regime" with himself as Acting Premier in Leon’s absence. Quite surprisingly for him, Joseph managed to draw in large crowds to view him and his work throughout his time in Moscow, quickly rising in popularity and success. It appeared that Joseph would settle in the USSR as a painter for a while before leaving for the rest of Europe, however his plans were halted after being approached by Faded Escobar, bringing the storyline to the events of Volume 3.
== Toxic Soviets Events ==
=== Volume 3: The Voronezh Regime ===
Joseph is introduced as a Charismatic young Painter, managing to draw large crowds to watch his works of art. While Faded is looking for a Vice Premier to assist him in his work, he comes across Joseph, who fits his qualifications: being popular and not yet involved in politics . Joseph is then scammed by Faded, who lies by saying he needs a license to paint in public, and although Joseph knows that Faded wants to bribe him, he accepts Faded’s offer of becoming his Deputy for a month in order to not risk being arrested and also to be rewarded monetarily. Joseph is then given the position of Vice Premier. 
Later on when Joseph attends the CC meeting, he is unfazed to the Chaos surrounding him and when the CC votes to remove Wilhelm from power, Joseph votes in favour. When the CC votes on Faded to replace him, he, alongside the rest of his new colleagues, is hesitant at first but is forced to raise his hand when reminded that Faded "saved his life", thus helping Faded get the majority vote. When discussing how to get rid of Wilhelm, Joseph proposes that the Militsiya should gang up on Wilhelm and arrest him, however the idea is denied by Faded due to it being openly illegal and too risky for when Leon comes back. 
The following day, Heydar’s plan is implemented, with him and Joseph carrying it out. Joseph is tasked to rally the people against Wilhelm alongside Heydar, however though he is skeptical of it and the risky consequences it can have, the plan greatly works in a surprising manner, with the People surrounding the Kremlin and demanding that Wilhelm resigns. With the beginning of Faded’s duel against Wilhelm, Joseph agrees with Heydar, stating that it was unexpected, and later on watches the events unfold in the crowd. However, with Faded winning against Wilhelm and with him announcing a party in the Kremlin, Joseph seems unfazed and indifferent, with him likely not attending. 
The next day, with the news arriving that a Crime has occurred, Joseph visits the crime scene along with the rest of the CC officials. Faded talks to Joseph, commenting on Heydar behind his back as he deals with the Crime, however Joseph ignores and instead asks Faded why he even got involved in the plot. Later on, due to his artistic abilities, he is tasked with drawing the physical features of the suspect as described by the Victim, to which he agrees. Joseph’s drawing of the Criminal’s appearance influences the gathering of the 3 main suspects. 
=== Volume 4: Noreaga’s Dungeon ===
With Leon’s return, it is revealed that Joseph, instead of leaving as he was planning to do, remained in the USSR and was invited to join the KGB for his role in the crime case alongside Svoboda. There, Illya welcomes the new recruits and explains their duties as KGB and the concept of perms, which they will develop. Later, Leon reveals his plans of the Soviet subjugation of Eastern Europe to the CC, however after a suggestion by Heydar, he decides not to invade Poland, but send a diplomatic team accompanied by the KGB for negotiations. There, Joseph and Svoboda are called on by Illya to accompany the team on the upcoming mission.
The next day, the crew leaves for Poland with the exception of Svoboda, who showed up late. While in the helicopter while Heydar is panicking on what he’s going to say, Joseph cools him down and advices him to prepare his speech on paper, which helps relief Heydar. Joseph then discovers his perm by drawing a spider that spotted on the canvas and manifesting it in reality, much to his own and Heydar’s surprise. However, the helicopter suddenly ends up exploding mid-conversation, leaving the aircraft blown up and the cry in the middle of the Byelorussian wilderness. There, Heydar is furious at Grill and suspects he was behind the explosion and it escalates into a fight between them, with Joseph trying to cool Heydar down and prevent him from attacking Grill. Later at night, as the crew has made a fire and Grill attempts to fix the radio, Joseph notices a strange rumble coming from the ground, which shatters the surface and leaves the crew fallen inside of a cave in the mysterious sub-terranean wilderness.
Joseph suspects it to be some sort of military trap, but Grill doubts it by saying it’s a hunter’s trap instead, and the corpses are fresh. Suddenly, the crew is approached by a monstrous creature, Noreaga which aims to kill and eat them. Joseph attempts to shoot at it, but Grill stops him by instead throwing his torch in the beast’s eye and paving the way for their escape from the cage. They eventually land in a room, where Heydar complains about the situation and Joseph telling him that it wasn’t intended to happen. Heydar ends up making a sketch of the beast but shows Joseph his black mongol drawing, leaving Joseph confused, and Heydar then goes on to ask Joseph random questions to which he responds sarcastically. Later they hear Unverifieds speaking and quickly go into hiding, but Heydar leaves his journal behind and when they find it, they comment on the black mongol page, and Joseph internally curses at Heydar for leaving behind a trace of his book. Grill ends up taking on and killing the unverifieds, and after that the crew sit and relax for the night.
Meanwhile, Heydar is complaining about being hungry and Joseph responds sarcastically to his complaints, leaving Heydar angry to the point of getting his gun out, to which Joseph tells him to calm down and that he was kidding. Joseph then finds a letter by Grill’s mom and tells him that he doesn’t have to be embarrassed about it, with Grill replying that he isn’t embarrassed about anything and telling Joseph that there is nothing more precious than family in life, where Joseph comments by saying he misses his family in Crete. Later the crew puts on a long blanket to disguise themselves from the unverified, and they end up escaping to a strange yet captivating throne room, presumed to belong to an ancient Civilization. Heydar then finds Grill stealing the artefacts and writings from the walls, once again fuelling his suspicion that Grill was behind the explosion. Heydar angrily points a gun at Grill and confronts him, with Joseph trying to stop him from doing so. He spectated the infighting, and when angrily asked what he thinks by Heydar, he replies by saying he doesn’t want to get involved in the conflict.
They later get spotted by the unverified, and quickly run off as Grill slays the creature and they get followed by thousands of them. They eventually get cornered near a mountain, but are saved when a man named Felix reveals himself and goes on to slaughter, terrorize and genocide the unverified. Felix eventually spots the group and they introduce each other, as he then goes on to invite them in his cave. There, he tells them his story and Joseph comments by saying he did a stupid decision, but Felix replies by saying he didn’t regret it. They go to discuss the dungeon and escape from it, saying that escape is impossible, however Heydar takes it upon himself to draft up a plan and get them out of the place, where Joseph comments on Heydar getting nervous again if his plan fails. When they execute the plan, it proves to be a success and after battling the beast, they escape and re-enter the surface. Joseph, after being hugged alongside Heydar by Felix, looks at the hole and says that he will never be this unprepared for a mission again.
=== Volume 5: Operation Fallen Eagle ===
Joseph appears following the immediate aftermath of the 4th Volume, where alongside Heydar, Grill and Felix, he was rescued by the KGB. In the helicopter, Joseph raises his concern over the helicopter crash incident, which leads to a discussion on what caused it and what will happen afterward. With Leon deciding to head to Poland and carry on with the mission, off-screen instructions are given to the KGB, including Joseph, about their roles in the plan to kidnap the Polish Royal Family and establish Soviet control over the nation from within, to which he and the rest of the squad comply by.
The helicopter eventually lands near the Polish palace in Warsaw, where it is spotted by Polish Guards who threaten the Soviets to come out the helicopter and state their business. After the arrival of the Queen and negotiations to invite the Soviet delegation to dinner, Joseph, the KGB and the Soviet Officials walk towards the palace, where Leon nods to the KGB on the start of the plan.
Throughout the events of the dinner, Joseph, Svoboda and a squad of KGB agents go on to initiate the plan and hijack the Polish palace’s communication systems from within, while simultaneously placing explosives all throughout the building, cooperating with the agents’ acts during the dinner scene and preparing the ambush that would take place later on. Joseph’s role appears to be primarily centred around the infiltration of the radio system and the false messages sent to the fake soviet communication device, which ends up fooling Franz and secures the absence of the palace’s security. 
With the mission falling in place and with Franz being outnumbered by the Soviets, the palace blows up to bits as KGB agents who were hiding in nearby trees and bushes come out to ambush the Polish forces. In a taunt, Joseph shows Franz the fake communication device and the way it worked, which goes on to shock both him and the rest of the Polish Nobility. Joseph is next seen tying Franz with a rope in order to load up the trucks with the Polish prisoners, much to Franz’s own rage and racist remarks. With Heydar now also shocked on the events of the mission, Joseph reveals to Heydar that everything that took place was done with the intent of capturing the Polish royal family. With Heydar asking him why he didn’t know, Joseph responds that there is likely a good reason behind it, and thus Heydar goes on to lash out to Leon for not informing him of the mission’s true intent. In the end, with Faded running away and capturing the Queen, Joseph loads all prisoners in the trucks and goes on to leave alongside Svoboda, Leon and the rest of the government while a squad of agents remained to hunt down Faded and Anne.
== Personality ==
Joseph is careful, pragmatic and law abiding. He dislikes taking risks that he deems irrational, and instead prefers safety, stability and objective applications to problems. He prefers to follow the law, as he believes the risk taken to oppose it generally outweighs the reward. Joseph is mostly calculative and realistic, considering all possible results of something, such as when he was skeptical about the coup and Faded’s plot. 
In his temperament, Joseph is honest and calm, not showing extreme reactions and speaking straightforwardly and often sarcastically to the remarks of others. He's not very ambitious, but will do the best he can to support those he cares about, like his family in Crete.
== Relationships ==
=== Heydar ===
Following their shared experiences, Joseph and Heydar go on to create a bond of friendship, despite them not thinking much of each at first and despite Joseph’s awareness on Heydar’s volatile nature. Joseph’s pragmatic character often makes him a voice of reason to Heydar’s emotional and often impulsive reactions during conflicts, while Heydar’s brashness often puts Joseph in situations that provide him with long-term knowledge, valuable lessons and much needed experiences that he likely would’ve never gained on his own accord.
=== Faded ===
Joseph is generally distrustful of Faded and is quick to realize that he’s attempting to scam him. Though he eventually strikes a deal with him out of a fear of being punished for "not having a license for public painting“ and gets bribed with money, Joseph’s distrust towards him remains present all throughout the events of the 3rd Volume. While Faded views Joseph as another move in his game of furthering his power and popularity, Joseph views Faded as an odd, eccentric man who got him involved in a useless game.
=== Leon ===
With his promotion to the KGB, Joseph serves under Leon and thus swears loyalty to him as a member of his intelligence agency. Though they have not talked on a personal level, with their interactions only being KGB-related orders and missions to execute, they both have a great deal of respect for each other, with Leon respecting Joseph’s successful KGB work and Joseph respecting Leon’s leadership. They also have quite similar personalities, as both of them are pragmatic thinkers who act logically and put the achievement of a greater goal over an action’s moral consequences.
=== Grill ===
Though Joseph is initially distrustful of him, something which he doesn’t express in order to be better safe than sorry, he later goes on to develop a relation of mutual respect with Grill after seeing his work in successfully helping the crew fight off the monsters in the dungeon and helping with their escape from there. Grill and Joseph also share a common bond in their support towards their families, in which Grill talks to Joseph on the importance that family holds and that it’s nothing to be ashamed about. 
=== Svoboda ===
Though Joseph and Svoboda have presumably not interacted on a personal level, they both have a great deal of respect for each other as KGB colleagues, as they cooperation to execute the orders of their superiors. Joseph and Svoboda, both being new recruits, align with Leon and execute his plans of achieving a greater good for the USSR, as seen with the operation in Poland.
=== Illya ===
Joseph and Illya’s relations are mostly strictly related to business, with Illya being his boss and Joseph being subordinate to him. Joseph respects Illya as an authority figure and for his role, and presumably Illya, following the KGB operation in Poland, gains increased respect for Joseph and his work, though there have not been official or revealed interactions indicating that specifically.
== Abilities ==
=== Perm ===
Joseph’s perm gives him the ability to draw an already existing being or object and impact it through drawing over or in any way altering the drawing, thus manifesting it into reality. This perm is one of the most powerful revealed ones in the series, as it has the ability to deal great damage to opponents through photorealistic drawings, however it requires a lot of training and it has some drawbacks. The perm requires a long distance attack while simultaneously being able to view and capture the opponent in order to create a realistic drawing of him and thus deal damage. This means that it can’t be used in 1v1 combat and that it would require high drawing speed, precise accuracy and cooperation with others so they can deal direct combat damage to enemy while Joseph draws from a distance. Joseph, as a member of the KGB, frequently trains and works on the development of his perm so it can be used to advance the state and nation’s goals in its expansion of power.
=== Intelligence ===
Joseph is shown to be a very intelligent, logical and reasonable character. He always thinks through situations based on factual information and objective problem-solving, he rarely panics on situations, instead keeping his cool and thinking through problems logically. This makes him a very intelligent character who is able to use his pragmatic character to advance himself while being dutiful and effective in the completion of tasks and orders. Joseph often serves as a voice of reason, as seen with Heydar, where he offers him sound advice whenever his panicking and realistic thinking to prevent him from risking his life and impulsively putting himself in unfortunate situations. This shows Joseph’s analytical nature in his political navigation, as he chooses to avoid conflicts in favour of stability. Joseph is also quick to spot scams and bribes, as he acknowledges Faded is an eccentric politician that attempts to bribe him, but takes the deal to avoid the risk of actual punishment. His intelligence also shows as a KGB officer and in his role in the Polish operation (info in the next section).
=== Espionage and KGB abilities ===
Joseph proves to be a skilled spy and efficient officer in the KGB. In Volume 5, Joseph successfully manages to hijack the Polish communication systems to prevent the mobilisation and communication with the Polish army while spreading misinformation to Franz, who believes in the false narrative that the JGB is presenting through their communication systems when in actuality they are planning something much larger. This shows that he is successful in espionage and, despite just being a painter, he is a quick learner who is effective in the completion of new tasks and provides important skills for the KGB. As a member of the KGB, it is presumed that Joseph is skilled at combat, as he has received specialized training and military fighting lessons, as well as physical exercise, speed and endurance skills. This also links to a good use of guns and firearms, and besides KGB training, Joseph already had prior experience with weapons in Crete, as he was taught by his grandfather. 
=== Drawing ===
Though not a mental or physical ability, Joseph possesses extraordinary drawing skills, managing to draw in large crowds to watch him paint and being able to create photorealistic, precise and accurate drawings of people and objects, a necessary skill for his perm, which requires advanced drawing skills. Presumably, if Joseph had not been approached by Faded and thus involved himself in politics, he would’ve continued to garner a following in Moscow and would then move on to other cities and countries to further his career, where he would likely find success judging by his ability to draw in large crowds.