Cooper MacBride had a troubled childhood.
As a young man, a hunting expedition gone wrong sparked his love for the darkness and his love for shooting. His fear of darkness turned into a desire to live within it, and everything that darkness represented...the unknown...the silence...the solitude. All things he never got at home. Cooper's father was loud and outgoing, the complete opposite of what Cooper was and the two often clashed throughout their lives.
MacBride left home very early, carrying a chip on his shoulder, a distaste for authority, and a desire to find other people who enjoyed doing what he loved. What he found was the Army.
Soon after joining up, Cooper already had a leadership position at Fort Benning, and became a Marksmanship Instructor. His clash with authority ailed him here and there, but for the most part, he loved what he did, but had a desire for something more. Teaching students to shoot was one thing...but being out in the jungle himself...nothing between him and his enemy but the glossy red surface of his starlight scope...that is what he really lived for.
His quest brought him to the Army Rangers, an obvious place for someone at Fort Benning, but the strict regimen didn't mesh with his personality. He thought of the SEALs and Delta Force as well, but he wasn't sure there was a place for him there. A random meeting between him and a former comrade from Fort Benning, Daniel LeClair brought Cooper's attention to a new antiterrorist force who was looking for a Night Spotter/Sniper. The most appealing part was that this organization was outside the normal scope of Washington...they had their own rules. MacBride instantly put in for the transfer, General Hawk liked what he saw, and Low Light was born.
Through the years, Low Light went on many operations, and met many comrades, yet after the Joe team's disbandment in 1994 things went a little sour. Low Light left the team and bounced around, never finding a place where he felt comfortable. His issues with authority, while not as prevalent on a team outside the scope of the normal military, were getting him into some trouble, and he couldn't find a place to stick. He muddled through as a black ops specialist, but was ecstatic to find out that the Joe team was being reinstated in the year 2000.
He immediately joined, and was accepted with open arms, but soon after joining, he was moved to the Law Enforcement division. When he asked about the move, he was told that the new Joe team wasn't quite large enough for a dedicated Sniper yet, so he was being used in a multifaceted way. As an Urban Trooper, or as a Night Spotter and Sniper if necessary. The Joe team continued to grow over the next few years, and Low Light held onto hope that he would eventually regain his position. But a disturbing thing happened. As the team grew, other troopers came in to fill in the sniper spot. Barrel Roll, while mainly a pilot and "high altitude" sniper was still an expert marksman. Low Light kind of took him under his wing, secretly hoping to work his way into the Sniper branch and be back in the jungles where he liked it. He knew the Barrel Roll had promise, but jungle ops weren't his specialty, and there still seemed to be a spot for Low Light there.
Then came Crosshair. Crosshair was recruited straight out of Basic for his amazing marksmanship and straight-laced behavior. He seemed to be born with the skill to shoot, and what he wasn't born with he learned very quickly. Low Light was beside himself...it seemed he no longer had a place.
Cooper MacBride, while always a loner, was afraid of confrontation, yet, he went straight to Duke to demand what the Joes' plans for him were. It turned out that the Joe hierarchy had heard of Low Light's troubles after the team disbanded, and thought him slightly unstable...not someone they wanted alone in the jungle with a high-powered weapon. Duke said the Joe team would always have a place for him, but he shouldn't expect to be their chief sniper ever again. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. Enraged, Low Light approached Crasher in the hallway shortly thereafter, and a scuffle ensued. Furious, Duke disciplined the experienced Joe member and ordered Law and Sure Fire to take him away.
Low Light was immediately put on suspension pending court martial, but didn't wait around to find out his fate. He escaped from custody just a week after being captured and immediately went underground, using his black opts contacts. Before long, Low Light met a fellow former military man who was in the same boat, and they became fast friends. This man's name was Thomas Stall, and Low Light was shocked to find out that his brother was Barrel Roll, the man Low Light had trained and saw as one of the Jose who sought to replace him. Their common antagonism drew them closer together, and they became a well known Mercenary duo, taking jobs for the highest bidder. Low Light was just where he wanted to be, in the jungles with his rifle, doing what he loved most. His first kill outside of the military was hard on him, but he stopped thinking of his victims as people...instead they were just targets. This made things easier, and as the two grew even closer, his new friend revealed that this mercenary job was not his only occupation. He also worked for Cobra under the name Black Out.
Low Light was instantly cautious about this new information...he grew distaste for the Joe team, but was still anti-Cobra...still, he went with his new friend to visit Cobra CLAWS Commander, one of Cobra's chief recruiters, and a very persuasive individual. The recruiter seemed to be saying everything MacBride wanted to hear, and that blew him away...he never thought of Cobra in the ways the recruiter was describing, and it almost seemed too good to be true. Cautious, but eager, Low Light joined up with the Cobra cause, selling his soul for good.
Oddly enough, this former G.I. Joe member seemed to flourish there...as a perk to being enlisted, he has been made the Field Commander of the Night Viper corps, yet still goes on regular field ops in any capacity, which he loves. His scorn for authority figures fits right in place, and after nearly his whole life, Low Light finally feels like he has a home.
As of yet, he hasn't been brought in direct conflict with his old comrades on the Joe team, and only time will tell how that first confrontation will turn out, and whether Low Light is indeed lost for good.
Probably the biggest challenge was creating the Night Viper "helmet". It took a LOT of dremeling, sanding and work, but I got it how I wanted it, and it even fit on his head. The Shipwreck head needed some altering as well...I sliced the ball joint off of the NV head before I dremeled the heck out of it, and epoxied Ship's head onto the ball joint to better fit into the NV torso.
Beyond trimming off the sound tab from the CLAWS rifle, the rest was just paint. This is the first custom I've done in a looong while, and loved playing with the paint wiping/paint washing...overall, I'm pretty happy with it, even though it doesn't really scream "Low Light" to me.