This is a new villain, sparked by one of Iron Will's contests (that I didn't win
). I may have to rework the bio a touch to fit him more squarely into my EXCAL verse, but this is how I posted him, in the form governed by the contest. Pic heavy.
“THISSSSSSSS ISSSS NOT WHAT I EXSSSSPECTED. YOU DO NOT LOOK LIKE AN ASSSSASSSSIN.”
“With all due respect, my dear Commander… isn’t that the point?”---
When George Herman “Babe” Campiti received word through his underground connections that an international enterprise was willing to pay insanely large contract fees for skilled persons in his profession, Campiti, aka “The Bambino,” felt he had no choice but to apply. While the organization in question, Cobra, had been riding high on its many recent successes in the ongoing Cobra Wars, Cobra Commander knew that he must take swift steps against the Joe organization in order to maintain the upper hand. Enter the Bambino.
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Raised by a prominent Mafioso family in New York City, George Campiti was sheltered from that “other” Family by his protective father, who went to great lengths to prevent George from following his same career path. Based upon outward appearance and perception, his father was successful. George used his keen intellect (and perhaps one or two pay-offs of school officials by his father) to gain admittance to Cornell University, where he studied to be an architect. To this day, he owns and operates his own small architecture firm, based out of Manhattan.
A day in the life of George Herman Campiti, judging by what his neighbors would tell you, is that he spends a short day at work, spends much time walking his dog, and he seems to like to travel, whether for work or for pleasure, as he is often gone for weeks at a time. Some neighbors might also notice that while George often favors to carry a cane, he seems remarkably fit for a man in his late 50s, and in fact rarely even limps.
In reality, George does own an architecture firm, but a new file has not been opened since approximately 1970. That’s when his real professional training began, as a hired assassin. George had secretly longed to follow in his father’s footsteps as a Mafioso Captain, but knew that while his father lived, he could not take such an overt career path. So instead, he continued with the facade of an architectural career, while secretly enlisting in the New York Don’s hit squad. As a mob assassin, George became known as the “Bambino” based upon his baby faced looks, but also with a subtle nod to his Ruthian given name. It was a common enough nickname that George’s father never suspected his son’s involvement.
The Bambino was trained to kill in nearly every way possible to imagine. But he soon found his affinity for bladed weapons, and realized that with his completely anonymous persona (even the mob bosses did not know his true identity), baby faced looks, and placid demeanor, he could often get closer to his target than any other hit man possibly could. “The Black Rose Murders” became a prominent New York Times headline, as a mob war erupted in NYC, and the casualties were many. The headlines were because each hit was left with a traditionally symbolic black rose draped across their body (this was especially poignant, in that the tradition was usually one of warning that a hit was pending, whereas the Bambino used it post-mortem to hammer home the notion that you’ll never see him coming). The Bambino was prolific in the hits he pulled off during his Mafioso years, and his mundane appearance, even as he aged and lost his baby faced looks, helped to maintain his remarkable level of efficiency.
The Bambino’s days as a mob hit man ended the moment he received a new contract, this one requesting a hit on mob captain Vincent Antonio Campiti, George’s father. George immediately went underground, and vanished from the face of the earth, as far as the mob is concerned. The Don, of course, had his throat slit in the middle of the night, and was found with a black rose draped across his chest. The attempted hit on Vincent Campiti never came to pass.
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Fast forward to the present. The Bambino has found work off and on over the years, but without the security of a set cover and regular anonymous work, he has had to take more chances than he prefers. His success rate is still remarkable, yet reliant upon his ability to blend in, and carry an entirely non-threatening guise to gain close access to his target. He then unleashes a blade from his coat sleeve to slice a throat, a sword from his cane to hack an unsuspecting mark, or in those rare times when he simply cannot get any closer, to fire one form of projectile or another from his multi-faceted umbrella disguised gun. While there has been work, it was not enough.
Now that he has applied to work for Cobra, his skills will be put to the test. His hits will still come when least expected, as finding his marks in areas where they are comfortable and have let their guard down is his modus operandi. For his part, Cobra Commander seems to finally recognize the benefit of having a real killer at his disposal, one who kills first and talks second, rather than vice versa. It has also been impressed upon the Commander that having at least one killer who is not a masked freak might actually open a few more opportunities to take out key leaders of the Joe team.
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Since becoming one of Cobra’s hired killers, the Bambino has one prominent claim to fame. He put the hit on Master Sgt. Conrad Hauser, aka Duke. There has been perhaps no greater event in the Cobra Wars which has more tightly sealed Cobra’s pending victory. And while those in the know fully understand who the assassin was, the Joe team has been left with no clue as to the perpetrator, other than the black rose draped across Duke’s dead body.
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“Vile Villainy”? The question must be asked, does a hired assassin truly qualify as having vile villainy? Certainly the taking of a human life would qualify, but who is the greater villain, the killer, or the person who directs the killer’s hand? The Bambino is a fine example of a man, who at least by outward appearances is simply doing a job. The rest of the time he is a good neighbor, a dog lover, is good to kids and loves his family. Not the typical profile of vile villainy. Yet, there is more to the story above.
Something weird happened along the way for George Herman Campiti. Sure killing was his profession, and he was good at it. But like most hit men he really did treat it like any other job. Except that after awhile he realized that he liked his job a little too much. So much so that he started to kill for the thrill of it, for the bloodlust. Most all successful hit men remain successful for the simple reason that they find their job distasteful, and long for opportunities for a real life. But George Herman Campiti, despite his outward appearances, loves his job, and has killed enough times beyond the scope of his “career” that he is now more killer than professional. It is a weird dynamic, in that his trademark for success is his gentile appearance, yet it is seemingly replaced by a rabid maniac thirsting for blood, with an actual physical transformation, once he becomes set to strike. Perhaps this persona was always a part of his make-up. In any event, it leaves no doubt that his heart is black, and that he is amongst the most vile villains known, or in this case not known, throughout the world.
The bling and the hair still fits what you guys are saying without detracting from my goal, though, so I dropped the ball there and can fix it pretty easily.