Samuel Brave

"*See? Invincible!*"
—Brave's catchphrase[src]

**Samuel Augustus Brave** is the eponymous protagonist of the *Brave* series, a seasoned treasure hunter and the latest in a long line of explorers and adventurers. On his many globe-trotting adventures, he has foiled both local and international plots that seek to use lost treasures to either finance or outright commit their criminal activities.

Years after his father, John Brave, disappeared in search of the Treasure of Amaro Pargo, Brave reunited with his old associate Claude Boos to find the treasure, only to come face to face with rival treasure hunter Salvador Jones and cross paths with Cuban journalist Eva de Castro.

## Biography

### Early Life & Background

Samuel Augustus Brave was born somewhere in Central America to famous British explorer John Brave and his professional partner Abigail Hunt. His father's family, the Braves, were an English clan that included many accomplished adventurers; the key to their success, a genetic mutation that prevents muscle exhaustion, was inherited by the newborn Samuel.

Brave was subsequently brought to London to be raised by John and his wife Margaret, who agreed to raise the boy as long as Abigail disappeared and never contacted John again. Brave was thus raised in the Brave household alongside his half-brothers, elder Alistair and younger James, and treated by Margaret as one of her own.

When Brave was just 14, his elder brother Alistair was killed in a climbing accident in the Swiss Alps. Overwhelmed by grief, John Brave disappeared to search for the legendary Treasure of Amaro Pargo, leaving Brave a note detailing his true parentage. Overwhelmed by his parents' betrayal, Brave ran away from home and fled to continental Europe, where he was forced to beg and steal to survive.

While living on the streets of Paris, Brave befriended another wandering youth, a Swedish runaway named Lars. Together they travelled across western Europe, picking up language and fighting skills along the way, while broadening their shared interest in ancient history. At 16, fearing the authorities were onto them, they fled to Italy and then to North Africa, still recovering from centuries of colonial rule. When both boys approached 18, they agreed to find a higher purpose and found one in the French Foreign Legion.

#### Legion Years

Brave and Lars enlisted in the Legion in 1973; in accordance with Legion tradition they took on French aliases, Brave's being "Francois Vaillant". They volunteered for the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment and became accomplished troopers. Due to their knowledge of the region, the pair were most often deployed in North and West Africa to aid against rebellions and terrorists. At some point during his service, Brave replaced his service MAC 50 with a Beretta 92.

##### Kolwezi

In May 1978, during the war known as Shaba II, the Front for the National Liberation of the Congo (FLNC) conquered the city of Kolwezi, Zaire. Airborne French and Belgian troops, including Brave, Lars and the rest of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment led by Colonel Philippe Erulin, dropped into Kolwezi on 19 May and engaged the rebels in the streets. By the evening most of the city had been recaptured and a rebel counterattack was smashed by the Legion.

On the early morning of 20 May, Brave's unit was ambushed by rebel mortars and snipers. Brave, shielded from a grenade by one of his fellows, charged into the open to rescue wounded Legionaires, including Lars and the unit's steward, Desmond. Brave was wounded in the arm but kept up the fighting, and the rebels were eventually repelled. Lars sustained heavy injuries, forcing doctors to put him in a coma. Traumatised by the lives he'd been unable to save, Brave handed in his discharge papers and formally left the Legion after five years of service.

#### Going East

Believing Lars would never awake from his coma, Brave left Africa and returned to the life of a nomad; by now he was thoroughly sick of Europe and headed east, taking his Beretta 92 with him. By the end of 1978 he had crossed the Iron Curtain and entered the Caucasuses, specifically the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), where he had his first taste of treasure hunting: a Soviet oil mogul had mysteriously perished, leaving behind a cache of money he had hidden away.

In the midst of his search, Brave met a young Soviet trooper named Anna Semenov, daughter of the Russian colonel Boris Semenov. during an altercation outside a bar. The pair secretly conspired to take the money for themselves and would spend the rest of 1979 deeply in love. Brave had proposed by Christmas and met her father, who intensely disapproved of their union. By the end of '79, troubled by the thought of having to live in the USSR for the rest of his life, Brave left Anna in the night, leaving only a note and the money that they had recovered. While Brave headed east, his former father-in-law-to-be used the money to start the Motherland Brigade.

### Search for the *Mar*

By mid-1980, Brave had settled in Indonesia, a land of opportunity where he thrived. He was drawn to the place by the story of the *Flor de la Mar*, a sunken ship carrying the most valuable treasure horde in history, and he vowed to never leave Indonesia until he found it.

### Fortune of Dragons

In 1985, Brave received the shock of his life when his old friend Lars, last seen trapped in a coma, turned up alive and well and invited him for coffee in Monte Carlo. Lars revealed that he had spent nearly a month unconscious, and since then has worked in Africa as an "archeology consultant". Having caught up on Brave's reputation, Lars invited his old friend to join him in search of the Kruger Gold, a vast fortune supposedly hidden in eastern South Africa during the Second Boer War.

## Characteristics

### Personality

Brave is an expert combatant, free runner and historian with a deep knowledge of Spanish, British and Indian history. His two years in the French Foreign Legion, combined with his years of travelling, have made him an expert fighter known for surviving many situations by the skin of his teeth. A cunning and charming rogue, he trusts few aside from Claude and has little qualms killing those who stand in his way. He is cocky, crass, calm and collected, with a callous and somewhat sadistic disregard for his adversaries. He is as heroic and adventurous as the pulp magazines that inspired him.

### Abilities

Brave is known for his athleticism and climbing ability, something he honed in the Foreign Legion. He can climb extensively without getting tired, later explained to be because of genetic disorder where his body rapidly flushes lactic acid from his body, meaning his muscles rarely exhaust (this is a trait present in many Braves, including his father John and half-brother Alistair). Throughout the series Brave swims for miles in rough seas; free-climbs buildings and cliffs; manoeuvres around a moving train; and hikes through dense jungle and across difficult terrain.

## Relationships

### Allies

* Brave Family
	+ John Brave - father
	+ Maggie Brave - adoptive mother
	+ Alistair Brave - older brother
	+ James Brave - younger brother
* Claude Boos - partner, mentor
* Eva de Rojas - journalist, love interest
* Desmond - valet
* USS *Lubbock, Texas*
	+ Randy Pitt
	+ Bill
* South Africa
	+ Blessing Makwetu - love interest
* Lars - best friend

### Enemies

* Apostles
	+ Franz Schulz
* Motherland Brigade
	+ Anna Semenov - former fiance, situational ally
	+ Boris Semenov

## Appearances

* *Treasure of the Seven Cities*
* *Tears of the Moon*