Sticks

Sticks © Juke Box Productions AstroFacts Status: Active Origin: Astro City #23 Affiliation: Reflex 6 Powerchord Personal Data InfoDump Appearances (in Publication Order): Astro City #23, 24 Event Timeline 2015/04     Current Sticks is Lost in Thought Atop Astro Bank Tower. Sticks A talking gorilla that wants nothing more than to play drums, but finds the path to success laden with all manner of super-related dangers. History Sticks is a talking silverback gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), from the hidden civilization of Gorilla Mountain in Antarctica near the Dufek Masif. When he was young, Sticks fell in love with human music, building his own rudimentary drum kits in order to create and play the music he was so passionate about. Unfortunately, he was regularly caught with the drums and punished for it. Like all citizens of Gorilla Mountain, Sticks was a member of its Defense Force and engaged in military actions against the Mountain's enemies, most frequently and significantly the denizens of Dinosaur Mountain, inhabitants of the area in an alternate dimension. Eventually, Gorilla Mountain's forces overwhelmed invaders from Dinosaur Mountain, brutally slaughtering them all in a surprise attack. Memories of that engagement haunted Sticks for a considerable time. Growing weary of Gorilla Mountain and its oppression of his musical interests, Sticks decided to leave and join the world beyond his home. During one assignment in Gorilla Mountain's Sky Patrol forces, Sticks rigged his airskiff to "malfunction," using that ruse to escape into the clouds and beyond the reach of his people. Eventually, he made his way to Astro City, where he hoped to make a name for himself as a musician. But his adjustment to life in Astro City would be very much as Robert Frost would say, "an artist's quarrel with the world." Stick's initial audition as a drummer in Astro City was interrupted by the crash landing of an Ionix robo-drone into a nearby apartment building, which set the building on fire. While the First Family was fighting other drones in the area, Sticks leapt his way into the building, where he assisted in the evacuation of several residents who had been trapped in the fire. Following that rescue effort, Sticks was perceived as a potential new hero in the city (with at least one reporter asking whether he was a shape-changer with a "real," implicitly human, form). The music auditions, meanwhile, had been cancelled. However, several other up-and-coming musicians brought him to their space, where they quickly became friends and started a band together. Unfortunately, Sticks was quickly visited by the superhero team Reflex 6, whose members wanted to recruit him to their cause. When he turned down the offer, they provided Sticks with a contact card if he changed his mind. At a subsequent audition, Sticks was kidnapped by Scavenger-One and members of the Recovery Squad, who wanted to sell the gorilla as a slave laborer or minion to one of several possible clients, including the Contrabandit and the Talent Agency. Thanks to his training in the Gorilla Mountain Defense Force, Sticks was able to overcome his captors, alert Astro City authorities, and escape. For a brief time, Sticks decided to run with Reflex 6 in defense and protection of his newly adopted home. However, thoughts of his earlier involvement in Gorilla Mountain's Defense Force--and the violence, and dedication to that violence, needed for victory--led Sticks to quit the team and try once more to make a living as a musician with his human friends. Just as before, Sticks found it impossible to avoid entirely the threats facing a talking gorilla in a world of humans, and most of his bandmates noted their unease at the inevitability of super-powered dangers so long as they associated with Sticks. Unsure of what he should do, Sticks was visited briefly by Samaritan, who sought to help the gorilla pursue his dreams, whatever they were. Sticks, in the superhero guise of "Tuxedo Gorilla" (dressed in a gorilla-sized tuxedo and top hat and wielding a cane), Sticks announced to various news media that he was forming a band of musically inclined individuals with super powers and abilities. Reflex 6 and Honor Guard were on hand to provide security for those auditioning, lest they experience the same frustrating obstacles that Sticks had initially faced. Eventually, Sticks found his bandmates and, together, they formed the act Powerchord! Equipment As a member of Gorilla Mountain's Defense Force and Sky Patrol, Sticks used a jet-powered, hang glider-like airskiff and had a suit of armor. For weapons, he had access to energy blades and blaster weaponry (introduced to the society by Augustus Furst and Julius Furst.) As Tuxedo Gorilla, he wore a bulletproof tuxedo and shock-absorbing spats. His cane had a sensor array built into it, and his hat was equipped with independent-hover gyro-stabilizers programmed to return it to his head. Observations Due to his training as a member of Gorilla Mountain's defense forces, Sticks has an impressive set of skills; he is capable of using an unfamiliar firearm with only a brief examination, programming a ship's autopilot, and identifying and activating a full-spectrum radio beacon. He does not freeze in dangerous situations, and responds quickly and effectively to emergencies. Speculations, Theories Sticks may also be trained in tactics (both ground-based and aerial) and basic first aid for a resident of Gorilla Mountain. If he does have first aid training, it is unclear how much of it would be useful on the average resident of Astro City. Issues Of Interest