Steel Heads Later Partner
The Fanatic
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Little is known about Hassan, The Fanatic, except that he was a Muslim and came from somewhere in the middle east. As the Fanatic he had a magical sword that he said was the sword of Solomon and he partnered with Steel Head to battle Terrorism in the middle east. This was after Paladin had exposed Steel Head's secret I.D. forcing him to leave Birmingham for a few years. The fanatic was probably a friend of Josiah Lance's father.
He refers to his Multi-Target attack as his "Whirling Dervish Maneuver".

The Fanatic was created long before 911. It was still the 1980s and the Character was said to have fought the Russians with the Mujahedin.
During this period in his career, I actually started to like Steel Head, because his methods seemed more suited to a war on terror than to fighting crime.

Paladin's Girl Friend
Swan Song
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Kim Brockman was a troubled teen who's powers got her into bigger trouble. Unable to control her sonic blasts (at first) she caused massive property damage, and fled from the police; until K.I.P. (another superhero, who's name is short for Knowledge is Power) calmed her down and helped her use her powers for good. Now as Swansong she's a part time member of the Knights of Saint George and a part time partner to Paladin.

Swan Song originally appeared in my game back in the 80s. Though she was always around, the biggest role she ever played was as the Panther's girlfriend. All that changed when she became Paladin's girl friend in the second comic series. Up to then, she had not even been given a secret I.D. or background story. I had mentioned a few times that her real name was Terry, but when she appeared in the comic book, she was given my wife's name.

Paladin's Martial Arts Teacher
and a Ninja Assassin
The Shadow
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Billy Herring was recruited into the Shadow Dragon Society because of his great martial arts skills, but he was never considered a real ninja because he isn't Japanese. Regarded as expendable, he was sent on a number of suicide missions, but he succeeded and survived. The Shadow's greatest mission was to infiltrate the Knights of Saint George and kidnap Lady Dove for Vlaad the Slayer. He even fooled Lady Brain (the Telepath) with whom he had a close relationship, as Billy Herring. She has no Idea that He is the Shadow.
Shadow is no longer a member of the Shadow Dragon Society, because he finally failed a mission and refused to commit suicide. He doesn't talk about his past and we're not sure what the mission was. Originally from California, he moved to Alabama to hide out.
Big Brother Hired him to kill Steel Head. Instead he made an agreement with Steel Head to faked killing him, so he could get paid, then Steel Head tried to kill, Big Brother. Now Shadow is hiding in Florida hunted by Big Brother who wants his money back and by the Shadow Dragons who just want him dead, but this time he has $2,000,000. He might live happily ever after.

The shadow originally appeared in my comic book in his secret I.D. Billy Herring. He was Paladin's martial arts teacher and the one who first encouraged him to use his powers to fight crime. I planned all along for him to eventually appear as the Shadow, but I never got around to it. When Paladin first saw him in costume he thought "that can't be a real ninja. He's too tall".
Billy Herring is a real person. In the comics and game he's at least 10 years older than I am but in real life he's the same age. He really did teach me some martial arts moves, and he was the first person to teach me how to use a sword.

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THE LAST CRUSADER
someone accused me of being dangerously ignorant of history.

Johan Schwert was born in Lorrach, Baden-Wurttemberg in 1080.
Born to a minor noble family he trained to be a knight.
He was always a pious young man and when Pope Urban II called for the first Crusade (in 1095) He jumped at the opportunity to fight for God.
Joining the first Crusade, he received his knighthood, after the battle of Dorylaeum (in 1097). It was right after being knighted that he had his vision of the Holy Grail, and was promised that he would remain alive on Earth until Christ returns.

Johan fought in most of the Crusades, and in continual battles in between.
Durring the 3rd Crusade, he joined the Teutonic Knights and afterward traveled to Prussia to fight against the pagans along the Baltic coast.
He missed the 4th Crusade entirely, which was probably for the best anyway.
He left Prussia in 1213 and lead a small mission to Egypt to rescue children, taken into slavery after the Children's Crusade.
Then he joined the 5th, and 6th Crusades. He was Captured again when Jerusalem fell in 1243, But escaped in time to join the 8th Crusade.
He was captured and ransomed along with King Louis IX, and became his lifelong friend. When Acre fell in 1291 he went to Rome to try to Appeal for a new Crusade, but found the political situation impossible. Forced to give up on freeing the Holy Land he instead focused his efforts on fighting Pirates in the Mediterranean and rescuing Christians from slavery, in Muslim lands.
In 1346 King Philip VI requested Johan's help in Fighting the English.
He fought alongside the French for quite some time, but in 1378 He left France in protest over the French king's support for the anti-pope in Avignon.
Johan went to Rome to pledge his support to the true Pope.
While he was away the French suffered their terrible defeat at Agincourt.
In 1417 the Schism ended, and Pope Martin V Sent Johan to France to be reconciled with the Dauphin.
Johan was at the French court when Joan of Arc came and he instantly fell in love with her.
Unable to woo her, because of their situation, he stood by her side, as a defender.
When she was captured by the Burgundians he was taken with her, but he was not handed over to the English. He learned of her Death after he was ransomed by the French. Devastated, he left France wanting to make a fresh start, somewhere else.
By 1453 he was in Constantinople and witness the fall of the city to the Turks. Afterward he Continued to fight a loosing battle, slowing the advance of the Turks in the Balkans.
During this time, he met Vlaad the Impaler, Whom he would later meet again.
Considering the Balkans lost, unless help could be found, Johan journeyed to Spain, to ask for help from Ferdinand and Isabella.
But before he could meet with the King and Queen, a case of mistaken Identity lead to his arrest by the Spanish inquisition. He was interrogated by Torquemada.
When he was released, he was convinced by Christopher Columbus to join him in a Journey around the world. He accompanied Columbus on all 4 of his Journeys and stayed at his side when he died in 1506.
After Columbus died Johan returned to the Balkans and learned that Vlaad the Impaler had returned again. This time, to his extreme horror, Johan discovered that Vlaad had become a vampire.
Rallying the locals, Johan lead a peasant army to attack Dracula's Castle and put an end to his reign of terror.
The people tried to make him their prince but a new ruler was imposed on them by the Hungarians.
In 1515 Johan returned to his native Germany for the first time in several hundred years.
He stayed in a monastery near his birthplace and wrote his memoirs, while studying theology and philosophy. He also wrote a lot of poetry including a number of love poems, in memory of Joan of Arc. Johan's influence, through his writing, spread across southern Germany so that, when the Protestant Reformation began, he played a major role in keeping those lands Catholic.
When the protestant revolts turned violent Johan again took up his sword to defend the Faith. He set about rescuing priests and religious from violent mobs and protestant rulers. He even rescued a group of priests and the Holy Grail from England, and became a friend of Emperor Charles VI.
In 1538 Johan was captured by John Calvin and burned at the stake. When the ropes binding him to the stake finally burned through, he broke free and walked away. The sight of him burnt and burning as he walked was so horrifying that no one stood in his way.
In 1541 Johan left Europe with St. Francis Xavier on a missionary journey. He traveled around Asia for several years afterward, working with the Jesuits and eventually ending up in China.
But in 1570 Pope Pious V made an urgent plea for him to return to Europe to help with the crisis of a growing Turkish naval threat. Johan joined Don Juan of Austria in his famous victory at Lepanto. He continued to work with Don Juan until 1581 when the Jesuits made another attempt to reach China and he was called to join them.
During this stay in China he studied kung fu with Shaolin monks.
After the Shaolin temple was destroyed, by the Manchu (Qing) army in 1647, Johan returned to Europe, where he became a permanent guest of the Emperor of Austria.
While staying there he fought to enforce the laws, uphold justice and defend the people from supernatural threats, acting very much like a modern superhero. He stayed there until the French Revolution.
When the revolutionaries in France began to take over, Johan went to France and worked to protect nobles and clergy who were being victimized.
He even met the Scarlet Pimpernel and worked with him to save some people from the guillotine.
When Napoleon came to power Johan left France to avoid being caught up in a vast political struggle, in which he really had no interest.
He went to Rome, to seek comfort at the seat of the Church, but there he was plagued with news of anticlerical violence. When Napoleon came to be crowned Emperor, the Pope sent Johan to America.
Johan wasn't happy about coming to a protestant country and, even worse, a land with no king. Even today Johan is very critical and suspicious of democracy.
In America he went about doing missionary work among the Indians and eventually became involved in the Underground railroad.
He joined the union army during the Civil War. He was granted Honorary American citizenship after serving in the war. After the war he moved to Virginia to help with reconstruction, He has lived there ever since.
World War I was a particularly frustrating experience for Johan. He was never certain which side was right and didn't fight in the war at all.
After the war he often traveled to Germany, to help the poor, but as the Nazis started gained popularity he began to feel less welcome.
During WWII Johan joined the French resistance, before America entered the war.
When he learned about the death camps in Germany he went to try to rescue people.
After a few successful missions he returned to America to tell People about what was going on, hoping that America would enter the war, but almost as soon as he arrived at his home he was greeted with news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
He went to his home in Virginia to rest a little. He was planning to return to Germany, but that's when a group of Nazi Super villains lead by Der EisenMeister (the Iron Master) launched an attack on the United States.
Landing in Norfolk Virginia they planned to make their way up the Chesapeake Bay to Washington D.C. but they were stopped by Johan and a newly formed superhero team The Knights of Saint George.
The Knights of Saint George seemed like the perfect way for someone like Johan to serve the modern world. He created a costume based on the what he wore in the Crusades and called himself The Last Crusader.
He and his team went on several missions together in Europe but in 1944 he was captured in Germany.
When his captors realized who he was he was given a special distinction and was even taken to meet Hitler in person.
Hitler had given himself super powers and was eager to test himself against so famous an adversary, Especially since there could be no shame if he lost against a fellow German of such fame as a warrior. Johan beat Hitler in an arena match but after the battle he was taken to Auschwitz and buried alive. By the time Johan managed to dig himself out, the war was over and he found himself in Soviet occupied Poland.
The Russians took him prisoner and eager to test the metal of their own super agents decided to put him in their own arena in hopes of proving that their technology could defeat religion.
Their plan was to have him fight several of their Heroes until one of them finally beat him then, use the film of his defeat in their propaganda, but word that he was there was leaked to the United States and, after a few matches, The Knights of Saint George came to rescue him. None of the Soviet Super Agents had managed to beat him.
Last Crusader uses his fame to promote various charitable causes but he only gives money to the Church.
He is loudly opposed to abortion, and supports Israel, but has no interest in politics. He doesn't vote because he doesn't believe in democracy and he often argues with Defender about it.
Johan is in love with Lady Dove, but wont admit it, even to himself, because she has a strong resemblance to Joan of Arc, which makes him very confused about his feelings.

Say it's Awful
Say It's Awesome
Say "who gives a crap?"

Say, Say, Say What You Want,
But Don't Play Games With My Affection.
Take, Take, Take What You Need,
But Don't Leave Me With No Direction.

All Alone, I Sit Home By The Phone,
Waiting For You, Baby.
Through The Years,
How Can You Stand To Hear,
My Pleading For You Dear?
You Know I'm Crying Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh.

Most of this stuff was originally written for my pen and paper games.
It's just online that I don't like teaming.
In fact the only online groups I've ever made a habit of teaming with included a friend that I know in person, and have played pen and paper games with.

I actually considered turning the Last Crusader story into a novel but I could never think of an ending.

I Thought that was what I was doing by posting them here.
What do I need to do?