Willie Garvin

**Willie Garvin** was Modesty's confidant and right-hand man. He comes from a British comic strip featuring a fictional character called Modesty Blaise, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963.

## Biography

Willie Garvin was British and had a rather shady background. He was born in Whitechapel to an unwed mother who died young, leaving him in the care of his "auntie"—an aged and alcoholic prostitute—who "taught him how to duck." He was then put in an orphanage which he ran away from after crossing a bully known as Dicer and losing his virginity to a girl nicknamed "Annie the Bang". He served in the French Army and later lived in Thailand, where he learned his skills as a Thai boxer.

It is during his time as a Thai boxer in Saigon that he first meets Modesty Blaise, who runs a powerful (but moralistic) criminal organisation called The Network. Modesty sees Willie in one of his fights, and sees him getting arrested afterwards. Modesty buys him out of jail and tells him that she believes he is capable of being more of a man than he currently is. She tests him by having him collect money owed by a person in Hong Kong. This simple order gets so complicated that Willie actually has to break the man out of a prison in mainland China just to complete the mission. Modesty is astonished and impressed by Willie's ingenuity and so invites him to join The Network. Willie accepts and spends six months training with Modesty to the point where they trust each other as much as they trust themselves. Willie becomes Modesty's most trusted man in The Network, and stays on for six years until Modesty shuts the organisation down. Afterwards, the two remain close friends—Willie opening a restaurant in London called The Treadmill—and when M offers Modesty a chance to put her skills to work on behalf of British Intelligence, she easily recruits Willie to fight by her side.

During a caper to protect a trainload of innocent people, including some children, from a group of rebels, Willie suddenly kisses Modesty romantically (for the first and only time) and reveals to her that he is dying of a brain tumor. He orders Modesty to leave with the train, allowing him to die alone in battle against the rebels. Before she can react, Willie is shot dead by Mr. Big.

## Personality

Willie had a well-developed, if slightly dark, sense of humour, and often joked about his and Modesty's lifestyles. Very sociable, he had a number of female acquaintances from all social levels, and was often reminded of anecdotes of them in the most unusual situations. The one exception to his romantic conquests was Modesty Blaise; feeling that he owes her a debt greater than anything physical can offer, he refused to consider her in a romantic light and Modesty, in return, reciprocated by treating Willie as her one trusted friend. Willie rarely refered to Modesty Blaise by her name; his preferred nickname for her is "Princess". On occasion, he literally provided a shoulder for her to cry on.

 RP Appearances

* The Big Problem (Illusion Cameo)
* Untitled Fiona Akore's RP (Illusion Cameo)
* The Art Of Seduction (Illusion Cameo)
* No Man Left Behind (Illusion Cameo)
* Who Really Rules The World (Cameo)
* Untitled Anthony Vanguard's RP (Mentioned)