Hoodie

* Civilian
* Hoodie

*"I realized that weakness, or not being invulnerable, is what makes me a hero. There's no bravery without fear. Courage is the mastery of fear, not the absence of fear. But sometimes bravery isn't enough; sometimes the world requires us to be bold... and I stand for peace, freedom and courage in the face of all who threaten the world."*
—Jake Woods
**Hoodie**, known to the pubic as **Jake Woods**, is an android superhero and leader of the first Essentials. Crafted by Oswald Garrington in the future to defend against the looming alien threat, he traveled back in time, impressed Earth's mightiest heroes, and joined their ranks, becoming leader, to learn of humanity and heroism. His powers make him a powerful ally, and a fearsome foe, but his thirst for knowledge and his unquenchable inner light make him a loyal friend. He's learned of love, and of tragedy, but he never tires in his quest for justice.

Taking the name **Jake Woods** for his civilian alter-ego, Jake built himself a life and pursued multiple adventures with his new team, who were now his new friends. Shortly after impersonating a human, he met and fell in love with another pretend human, Amber Litus, who would later marry him.

After what seems like a final encounter with his archenemy, Hoodie vanished off the face of the Earth. This resulted in the disbandment of the original roster of the Essentials, each going their own separate ways, all except for Solar Flare who began to lead an expedition to find his best friend. Solar Flare eventually succeeded, and brought him back to Earth to save Emerald City once more, and afterwards leading his own mission to reunite his team.

## Biography

### Early Life

#### Construction

Project Mandroid X was the tenth in a series of anthropomorphic pseudo-entities with combat capabilities designed by Doctor Keith Fulton, except this model was constructed by Doctor Oswald Garrington, onboard the spacecraft known as the *Journey* in secret. Garrington sought for the latest android to be not only deployed for combat, but to be a symbol of protecting the weak as opposed to Fulton's other machines of war. Programming the android with several forms of martial arts and equipping it with a high-tech arsenal, Garrington also intended for his brainchild to be self-awareness and simulate humans' ability to understand complex emotions and a capacity for empathy.

Upon completion, Mandroid X accompanied Garrington back to Earth. It resided in Garrington's lab inside an EPF base, where it would train and participate in other tests to examine his energy output.

#### Arrival on Earth

The android would soon take on the name **Jake Woods** and male gender programming. He was allowed to walk amongst humans in Emerald City, but was expected to report his experiences daily so Garrington could keep track of his progress.

#### Marriage

Jake would soon marry his girlfriend, Amber Litus, as she fell in love with him for standing up against her abusive ex-boyfriend Bobby, who had subsequently impregnated her months before.

Amber eventually gave birth to Jake's step-daughter, Taylor.

### Vanishing

After an extreme street battle with Proto, Emerald City's very own hooded hero disappeared in an explosion of light. The cause of the fight is currently unknown. According to witnesses, Hoodie, with help from the Essentials began fighting Proto around midnight that night. The sky took on a deep crimson color as the ensuing battle created the most destruction Emerald City had seen since Jake first arrived.

Several trucks were caught in the fray, spilling their contents into the street. Power outages swept nearly twenty city blocks, between 52nd street and Miller Avenue. Five of these blocks still remain without power. All of the buildings in the area were evacuated by the ECPD, with additional help from the Essentials.

### Return

#### Final Bout

*"Heroes are made by the times."*
—Jake Woods
On the night of March 29, 2017, Solar Flare found Jake and told him of the chaos caused by their old friend. This led Hoodie to return to Earth, to Emerald City, for a final battle.

The battle ensued...

#### New Adventures

After the final battle, Hoodie and Solar Flare left to find the rest of the original Essentials, the majority of them scattered across the world.

## Personality

Jake's primary programming is to help people, and he values all forms of life. He has gladly defended humanity against enemy forces alongside the Essentials, as he aimed to be an icon of hope and chivalry. He is calm, calculating and logical in his approach to fighting crime.

He originally did not understand the nuances of human conversation, and frequently came off as monotone and blunt, although this was not his intention. When he temporarily transferred his consciousness to a human body, he experienced organic emotions for the first time. He maintained his desire to protect life, although he struggled with the paradox of being both logical and empathetic.

Once Jake found balance within himself and returned to his android body, his understanding of emotions had greatly improved and as such became a better leader.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

*"Most powerful is he who controls his own power."*
—Jake Woods
* **Android Physiology:** Jake is a unique futuristic android outfitted with cutting-edge technology and a wide array of powers.
	+ **Enhanced Strength:** Jake is an inhumanly strong android, as he can lift incredibly heavy objects which even the strongest humans are incapable of accomplishing. He can easily pick up fully grown men, bench press cars, and strike with superhuman amounts of force. One of Jake's signature moves is sending men flying by pushing them with one hand. He can also contend with his superhumanly strong best friend, Solar Flare, as he regularly caught his punches in their sparring matches.
	+ **Enhanced Durability:** Jake's robotic body is extremely durable and resilient to damage and pressure to the point of his structural integrity being bulletproof. He can withstand tremendous amounts of physical punishment, such as tank shells, high levels of g-force and energy weapons. He is only prone to being damaged by certain individuals, such as Solar Flare's super-powerful techniques.
	+ **Enhanced Speed:** Jake can travel and fight at superhuman speeds, able to keep up with Solar Flare in a fight, although he is not as fast as his speedster teammate, Rapid.
	+ **Enhanced Stamina:** As an android, Jake does not require rest or nourishment, as he is able to maintain his activities without stopping for extended periods of time.
	+ **Enhanced Reflexes:** Jake's reaction time is extremely fast due to his advanced computer processing. He can dodge and catch bullets, and react to superhumanly fast opponents in battle.
	+ **Flight:** Jake is capable of taking flight at supersonic speeds.
	+ **Concussion Beams:** Jake can project highly concussive red blasts of energy from his hands, appearing as electrical plasma. The severity of these blasts can be willfully adjusted as Jake has been shown to both stun and kill.
	+ **Laser Beam Emission:** Jake can shoot 200-petawatt lasers from his wrists, which can cut through metal.
	+ **Sound Beam Emission:** Jake's forearms contain built-in self-perpetuating oscillation frequency generators that unleash powerful sonic shockwaves. The sonic vibro-cannons produce an intense, focused field that causes visible ripples in the air. He can knock back his enemies, overload their auditory sense and his cannons can serve as a form of non-lethal anti-personnel weapon, capable of crowd control.
	+ **Light Beam Emission:** Jake's fingertips can blast photon beams.
	+ **Claw Retraction:** Jake's fingertips can become extremely sharp points, mimicking a predator's claws.
	+ **Omnilingualism:** As he was designed to connect with all beings, Jake was programmed with the ability to speak and understand thousands of languages, including those of extraterrestrial origin.
	+ **Psychic Immunity:** As an inorganic being, Jake is immune to telepathic invasion.

### Abilities

* **Genius-Level Intelligence:** Jake's advanced AI programming is designed to learn, adapt, and evolve. As such, he can learn with inhuman speed and download data directly to his mind. He likes to joke that he has the wisdom of a logic droid.
	+ **Master Tactician:** Jake, as the leader of the Essentials, is a master strategist. He is able to formulate battle strategies and his brilliant tactical sense allows him to alter any strategy to fit the changing need of the situation. His programing makes him an accomplished logistics specialist, able to assess tactical situations and implement necessary equipment and personnel, as well as being proficient at designing operations.
	+ **Master Engineer:** Jake, along with his friends Peter and Cole, sharpened each others' mechanical skills over time. Hence, Jake was able to help in the construction of many Essentials gadgets, including armored suits and custom weapons.
* **Master Combatant:** Jake is a formidable and experienced hand-to-hand combatant and swordsman. His combat capabilities are enhanced by his artificial intelligence and fighting styles downloaded into his mental database, including Boxing, Karate, Judo, Hung Gar Kung Fu, HEMA and Action Shooting. This allowed Jake to go toe-to-toe with the extremely powerful Solar Flare, the supreme martial artists Tech Commander and Blue Ninja, as well as battle a myriad of villains. In an alternate reality, Jake and Peter end up fighting until their deaths. As the Iron Soldier, Jake relied on his fighting skills due to being deprived of his weapons systems.
	+ **Sword Mastery:** Jake is a master swordsman, as his double-edged Mermaid Blade is his preferred weapon of choice. He is able to cut down numerous armed mercenaries in mere seconds. He can also effectively wield the Firestone Blade. He has given lessons in swordsmanship to his teammates.
* **Expert Marksman:** Jake can accurately shoot his various lasers and other weapons.

## Techniques

* **Hung Gar:** Jake downloaded a Southern style of Kung Fu known for its strong stances and its rooting to the ground. He generates power by strong stepping, using low stances and strong transitions from left to right. The hard power comes from the movements of a tiger, and the soft power from a crane.

## Equipment

### Attire

* **Hood**
* **Armor**

### Weaponry and Gadgets

* **Mermaid Blade:** A mystical blade bestowed unto him by his wife, Amber Litus. Jake has also referred to this as the **Uber Blade**.
* **Heavy Pulse Rifle**
* **Thermite Grenades**
* **Firestone Blade**

## Relationships

* Patrick Blaylock/Proto - Brother, Enemy
* Amber Woods - Wife
* Taylor Woods - Step-Daughter

Allies* EPF
* Essentials
	+ Peter Blake/Solar Flare - Best Friend
	+ Cole Grant/Tech Commander - Best Friend
	+ Alex Garrington/Blue Ninja - Close Friend
	+ Dash Forman/Rapid - Close Friend
* Tentaclor
* Laser Beam
* Ian Murphy/Terrorbyte

## Trivia

* Jake's original hoodie was purple with a golden star on the chest.
* To help him through metal detectors at airports, Jake carries a medical certificate with him stating he is a war veteran who has metal implants in his head.
* Jake's favorite films include *Blade Runner* and *The Terminator* series.