The Guardian(James Harper)(1459)

**James Jacob "Jim" Harper** was the street-level vigilante **the Guardian**. In his civilian life, he was a rookie cop in the Metropolis Police Department, walking his beat in Suicide Slum.

## Character Info

### Affiliation

Avengers,Justice League,Howling Commando's

## History

Jim Harper was orphaned at an early age. He had one sister, Mary, and two brothers. Between them, his siblings had at least three grandchildren: "Famous Bobby", Roy Harper and Jamie Harper.

### Youth

Harper grew up on the streets. In the wake of the Great Depression, he had to fend for himself on the tough streets of Metropolis in what is called Suicide Slums. Together with his best friend Leo, they took to petty theft to get food. One day, he was picked out by a man calling himself Nat Milligan, who offered him a way out of the slums. Milligan wanted to make Harper a world class athlete, and the boy trained under him for years. Milligan wanted the boy to make money as a champion.

Against his mentor's wishes, Jim returned to Suicide Slum to see how Leo had faired. But his old friend had never broken away from the wrong side of the law. Now a member of organized crime, Leo had to lay low after he killed a rival boss in New Jersey. At their reunion, Leo was himself murdered in a drive-by in retaliation. Not wanting the slum to make any more victims, Jim gave up his future in sports and broke off his ties with Milligan. He decided to join the police as the only adult who had ever treated him well was the local patrolman.

### Early career(1938-1942)

As a cop, Jim Harper learned to see Suicide Slum from a different angle. Not a beat would go by without someone throwing bricks or tomatoes at him, but he shrugged it all off. One night, after clocking off, hoodlums ambushed him in an alley. This proved the last straw. He needed to take action. Stumbling into a closed costume store, he picked a suit that allowed him both comfort and protection, and dutifully paid for it.

He had recognized one of the hoodlums' voice as a regular patron of a nearby pool hall. He busted the scene, and recognized that one of the goons had a bill in his wallet that matched one in the ransom of the Johnson kidnapping. He tied them all up and left before the police arrived. He decided to keep the costume just in case.

The next day, he stopped a group of newsies from robbing a grocer. He attended their trial, and stepped in to speak on their behalf. Fearing a stint in reform school would only worsen their situation, he bartered with the judge for leniency. He would get custody of the boys for a couple of months, in which he wanted to bring them on the straight and narrow. The boys wouldn't have it, and ran away from him as soon as they were free.

He met the boys again when they were performing tricks on the main street. What he didn't know was they were sent by their underground contact to gather a crowd at the scene, to allow cover for a robbery. Not wanting to hurt bystanders, he refrained from shooting. He did pick up the name of the boys' contact: Frankie the Fence. Donning his costume, he went to the newsies' dive and confronted Frankie. Guardian trailed Frankie to the harbor, and the boys trailed Guardian. Frankie eventually stopped at a lighthouse to see his boss, Chips Carder. When Guardian arrived, he was ambushed. Quick thinking from Guardian after he spotted the newsies led to the arrival of the Coast Guard; Carder was shot and the rest arrested. It marked the first time the Guardian and the Newsboy Legion worked together, and though Harper tried desperately to pretend otherwise, the boys suspected it was him underneath the helmet from the start.

### World War II

Harper was Drafted into WWII and he had to put his Police duties on hold and his fledging hero identity also on hold. Harper was A survivor of Omaha Beach and an infantry commander renowned for his skill, Harper was listed KIA after a German science facility he and his squad attacked exploded.

In reality Harper was discovered by The Howling Commando's and Captain America, whom rescued the injuried soldier. the SSR took Harper in and saved his life, during this time period, the SSR and the United States of America were continuing to try and recreate the SSS that gave Roger's his abilities. having recently been successful in creating a modified version of it on Isaiah Bradley the Serum was given to Harper and another soldier named Steve Trevor, it worked with both of them, with at the time no ill side effects. Harper and Trevor were sent out as normal Soldiers within the Howling Commando's structure lead by Captain America himself.

When Roger's was declared dead in Mid June of 1945 Harper and Trevor were "drafted" in his place both given Captain America suits and both assigned to diffrent War zones, Roger's identity at the time was secret and both replacements were told to not reveal their identities to no one.

In an undisclosed European location in 1945, Harper led four other soldiers out of a foxhole to surprise enemies that were bombarding them.

Harper during his Service sank a U-Boat containing a valuable shipment of Alien Tech that was being given to the Germans by their Chitauri allies, during this incident Harper discovered where their secret base was and lead his Squad of Howling Commando's to attack

Herr Kleiser a Chitauri and his robotic army fought off the Commando's but at the cost of his base and his life but not before eliminating Harper's Squad and nearly ending Harper's life as well.

The Serum in his body kept Harper alive healing his wounds, and eventually he recovered.

### Post War Life

His post-war exploits, if there were any, went unrecorded. In 1950, he attended the rally in Washington, D.C. where all costumed superheroes were to appear by Presidential decree to show their loyalty. During the rally, Joan Dale (Miss America) publicly exposed Tex Thompson as being the Ultra-Humanite and attempted to also expose Dynaman as being Adolf Hitler in Daniel Dunbar's body when the Ultra-Humanite had Robert Crane (Robotman) silence her by murdering her in public. Rex Tyler (Hourman) took over for Joan Dale in the exposure of both Thompson and Dunbar, causing Dynaman to show his true colors and to attack the various superheroes present. During this situation Harper used it as a way to fake his death and disappear.

His last known contact with anyone from the "Hero" community was Agent Nick Fury, as he was injected with the Infinity Serum as his own Super Soldier Serum was having ill side effects that would kill him in just a few months.

Harper Disappeared from Public Life for the next 55 years.

## Powers and Abilities

**Super-Soldier Serum Treatment:** Harperhas underwent extensive experimental hormonal treatments.

* **Superhuman Strength:** Harper's physical strength is enhanced to superhuman levels. He is strong enough to lift at least 2-5 tons and much more if he pushes
* **Enhanced Speed:** is capable of running and moving at speeds beyond the finest human athlete. He is able to run at speeds between 60 mph and 80 mph, enabling him to run fast enough to expedite "eight or nine blocks" within seconds.
* **Enhanced Agility:** agility, balance, flexibility, dexterity, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of even an Olympic gold medalist.

* **Enhanced Reflexes:** reflexes border on superhuman level. His reaction speed is 40 kph, which makes it possible for him to dodge gunfire, even at short range, from multiple gunmen at the same time.
* **Enhanced Stamina:** body eliminates the excessive build-up of fatigue-inducing lactic acid in his muscles and his musculature generates considerably less fatigue toxins than the muscles of an ordinary human being, granting him superhuman levels of stamina in all physical activities. He can physically exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before fatigue toxins begins to impair him. This kind of physiology grants him phenomenal endurance. He can even hold his breath underwater for 3 minutes.
* **Enhanced Durability:** bones and muscles were far denser and harder than normal, meaning he could withstand great impacts
* **Regenerative Healing Factor:** capable of healing injuries faster than the average person.
	+ **Contaminant Immunity:** is seemingly immune to all Earthly diseases, infections, and disorders, and has never been shown to become ill after receiving the Super-Soldier Serum. He's impervious to gas attacks, poisons, and nerve-toxins of any kind and completely resistant to diseases like anthrax, smallpox, HIV and was even able to beat the Vampire infection

### Abilities

**Weapons Proficiency:** often used firearms in desperate times or situations where he and teammates were outnumbered, and would wield additional weapons to ensure victory. He had used staffs, bludgeons, and was adept with swords. He likely received training with different kinds of weapons during his wartime for undercover infiltration missions in the event of not being able to use his shield.

**Master Marksman:** often seen that he could throw most if not all projectile weaponry with great aim and was well versed in the use of firearms his masterful sharpshooter sniper.

**Advanced Military Operator:** Harper was well-versed in all Armed force disciplines including intelligence gathering, escape arts, assassination, demolition, survival tactics, hunting, swimming, mountaineering, march or drill skills, map making, map reading, decoding cipher and other secret code messages, reading and making wood craft signs and other secret code languages, disguising, interrogation, computers, explosives, communication systems, vehicles and electronic appliances used in armed forces.

**Multilingual:** Rogers was fluent in English, German, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, and other different languages.

**Expert Vehicular Driver:** He was proficient in driving cars, motorcycles, trucks, jets, tankers, helicopters, motorboats, submarines, army planes (including a Tornado IDS), and some types of trains and utility vehicle