William Lawton (ME-1)

"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him. No hero marches into battle merely to destroy for the sake of destroying. He marches into battle for the sake of conserving."

Early Life (Birth - 22)
"I am a lot of things; an agnostic, an atheist, which most people stopped listening there back in my hometown, but I'm more; I am a skeptic, a verificationist, an empiricist, sometimes an absurdist, and most importantly a humanist, but no one cared what I was; they cared about what I wasn't. I learned a long time ago, that I'll never be a normal person. I'll never be the person people think about and say 'I wonder how he's doing. I'll give him a call... 'I miss him' I'm the person who sat in the corner, listening to all the stupid around him; I'm the person you like when you need, but after you no longer need me: I no longer exist. I'm a specter, I know my place, and it's not around people."

William Byron "Will" Lawton, Junior was born in America in a time (though the place had the most to do with it) where philosophical bigotry, political staticism, and general hypocrisy ostracized any who wasn't a staunch Pro-Government, Pro-God, and Pro-Gun ideology, and Will was one of those who disagreed; he grew to believe that he was born out of his time, and that he lacked that something that made him a member of his generation. Will grew to be an incredibly intelligent and wise man, but at the cost of his social development; he became a blunt and pragmatic introvert who often used sarcasm to add humor to his life. He made efforts to become more personable, but every attempt was met with failure, especially with the opposite sex... into his late twenties he had never been on an official date (i.e. the girl wouldn't say it was one). He went to college, double majoring in history and philosophy. Will's first (and only normal) job was working at a movie theater, where he constantly cleaned the messes left by grown adults who either never learned to clean up after themselves or simply had no manners, he stayed with the theater for five years for three reasons: by the second year the job became second nature to him; free movies for a lover of cinema; and free movie posters. Will would summarize his life as "Two short decades where I learned most of what I know now, because I had the perception to learn from nearly every crappy thing that happened to me on a daily basis." He never disclosed details of the first twenty years of his life to people he met afterward, simply putting (and leaving) it that he did not enjoy the people that surrounded him, nor they him, and that fundamentally shaped him to idealize minimal interaction with other people (nonexistent if possible). This would carry into his adulthood. He would remember approximately ten people from his early adulthood fondly.

Checkmate (22-23)
'"He's smart, intuitive, brutal, and he lacks any semblance of a personal life. He'd be a fantastic Black Knight, but he questions things, especially authority. He cares more about the details than the bigger picture [saving people/preventing collateral damage]. He cares, and that will prevent him from ever making a difference here at Checkmate." - Maya Waller '

While attending the University of North Florida, he encountered a Checkmate scout, and impressed him. Will was recruited into Checkmate, and selected the Black designation. He excelled at combat, and displayed a gift of tactical analysis, but he was not a fan of authority, especially the faceless authorities of Checkmate, with the exception of Lucius Holt. In the elder Holt, Will found a kindred spirit; a man equally committed to helping the world in ways the powers the be were either ill-equipped or disinterested in doing.

Project Foresight (aka The Brother Eye Incident)
"A bad plan is better than none at all. I'd rather fail trying to do something good, than succeed at doing something bad."

Before he left Checkmate, the organization suffered an internal coup thrown by the White King, Alexander Luthor. Luthor's understanding of Checkmate's mission statement led him to believe the best way to ensure security for the world at large is to use Checkmate's resources to preemptively eliminate threats to society and his absolutist Checkmate, by creating the Brother Eye satelite network. Despite the dubious nature of her ethics, Black Queen Maya Waller could not tolerate such a bold violation of due process and civil liberties, dispatching the Black Knights still loyal to her: Will and Nadine Bishop. Against all odds, Lawton and Bishop were able to overtake the other Black Knights. However, Luthor was never apprehended, and he went on to spearhead Spyral. Bishop and Waller remained with Checkmate to rebuild it and purge it of any Spyral remnants. Will's time with Checkmate left a bad taste in his mouth: he realized: While Checkate may be better equipped to handle the worlds the problems than the many nations governments and people: they lacked the firm moral core they needed to be truly good, and were disinterested in getting it.

The Bird of Prey Season .5: The Heroic Pilgrimage (23 - 25) (To be condensed into series long flashbacks)
'"Every legend starts as an urban myth; every myth starts as a man." - Working tagline'

Episode 2: The Manhunter
Will's journey brought him to France. He learned about Henri "Manhunter" Ducard, an international bounty hunter who found high value targets for multiple countries. Will sought Ducard out in order to learn in techniques. Ducard was getting older, and considered retirement, but he had heard of this globe trotting sometime vigilante, and decided to impart his wisdom on the the young man. The cynical Ducard couldn't help but question Will's idealism, but through their interactions, Henri realized that Will's idealism lurked beneath an extensive shell of cynicism; he too, did not believe most people were open to change; Henri was surprised to find he shared much in common with Will, both in aptitude and in personality. As Will entered France, but before he met up with Henri, Will came across news reports of young women getting kidnapped and being programmed into the human trafficking; Will realized that he was in over his head if he was to hunt them before learning from Ducard. As Will studied under Ducard, he continued to refine his search, until one day he had found all he needed; he found one of the trafficking compounds and killed all the trafficers present; Will set all the girls he found alive free, but he found he was too late to save the majority. He went back to Ducard feeling defeated.

"I could have done so much better, if only I was smarter; So many of them were dead; tortured and dead; who knows how many of them were moved on to be sold; I didn't save them; I failed."

"There are more people alive and free, because of what you did. Those people will tell their children, and their children's children about how a someone cared to save them; that's a lot better than what anyone else could say; Every life you save is a victory."

Episode 4: A Creator and Destroyer, A Master, and the Owlet
"Powerful men don't have to be cruel, in fact they can't. All cruelty is spawned from weakness."

"Virtue is not the self-professed or apparent possession of abstract character traits, it is quite simply the synthesis of excellent intention and excellent action."

Will's final stop on his heroic pilgrimage led him to master martial artist Shiva. Will had learned of Shiva from Henri. Will concluded from their discussions he should learn from her. Henri warned Will of her allegiance to a shadowy organization called Leviathan. Will's journey to find Shiva took him to the Himalayas. Exhausted and near the breaking point, Will finally reached the Leviathan stronghold. He was surrounded by Leviathan warriors, and their master, Al Mualim. Will was commended for his resolve to reach them, and asked who sent him, a question he refused to answer. Al Mualim admired his loyalty, and asked him why he was here, and Will replied he was there to learn the tools necessary to fight injustice. In order to find Shiva and recieve her training, Will knew he would have to accept membership into Leviathan. As he was initiated, he was attacked by the surrounding group once they entered the compound. Knowing he was in too weak a state to engage them all and come out victorious, he used the enviroment to his advantage and destroyed all light sources, and found a beam to hide on on the ceiling. Once they were able to reestablish the lighting they could not find him, and assumed he ran off. He waited until nightfall of the next day to strike again, earning the nickname, the Owl.

Episode ?: You Can't Save Everyone
"You are not a warrior and you never will be. You are a soldier."

"What's the difference?"

"A warrior fights for glory, fortune, or for violences own sake. A soldier fights for a cause; a soldier fights so others don't have to."

Bird of Prey Season 1: Birdman Begins (25, December 15, 2019 - January 1, 2020)
'“Disobedience, in the eyes of any one who has read history, is man's original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.” - Oscar Wilde'

*Flashbacks featuring Thaddeus Tucker, Henri Ducard, Rodrigo Corazón, and Egon Kruger 

Episode ?: It's Not Who You Know
Story inspiration

"I don't care who you know...I don't care how good you are at wrestling people to the ground...I. Don't. Care what the courts said. What you did was egregious, abhorrent, atrocious, odius ... it was evil. You may have gotten slapped on the wrists by the law, but I'm going to do a lot worse to slapping to a lot more than your wrists."

Blaine Brock was a promising wrestler at a university, but he made a grave mistake...

Episode ?: World's First Superhero
This is the episode Will first dons the Knight Owl armor

Bird of Prey Season 2: War of Jokes and Riddles (25-26, October-November 2020/2021?)
'"Your enemies will define you." Working tagline'

*Flashbacks featuring Egon Kruger, Henri Ducard, and Will's early life

Episode 3?: Masks
"I don't need a life outside the cowl, nor do I want one. Outside the suit, I'm just another random human that no one really knows or cares about; let alone one that will be truly loved. I'm only ever me when I wear that suit, and save people in this way; my way; the only way I truly can."

Episode ?: The Vigilante, the Villlain, and the Hero
"I'm so sorry Charlie. I'm sorry you paid for being the only hero, and that the people you looked up to were nothing by empty symbols."

Episode 6: White Knightfall
(Final) Episode ?: There Are No Winners

Heat
"Tell me... Does it disappoint you, that the people you protect with such vehemence, do not even remotely understand you; Does it disappoint you, that they will never know, and that you will soldier on alone; does it anger you, that even if they did know, that they still wouldn't care?"

"Yes"

"Wonderful!!. You're one tough nut to crack, but after this whole escapade you're that much closer to my team... One day...you'll learn that the only sensible way to live is without rules. Nothing we do truly matters, why bog yourself down in following social conventions, laws, moral intuitions you didn't create?"

"You're wrong. We impose meaning on the chaos of our lives. We create form, morality, order. It's a choice we have to make every second of every minute of every day. I donn't care about the world's social conventions or it's morals. I'm going to help change them. I will make them better. You see that's where you got me wrong. I don't care what the laws say, I don't even care about the unspoken rules cultures made up: I care about impulse compassion and worry we feel for the child teetering on the edge of a well; the reflexive love parents have for their children; the sympathy I have for you. Try as you will, but you'll never destroy those things. They have been with us as long as our impulses to hate the outsider, greedily hoard resources, and feel happiness at the misfortunes of those we despise."

"You're alone, and you always will be."

"I made peace with that a long time ago."

A Hero Can be Anyone
"When I was a kid the Batman was my hero."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and he still is"

The Bird of Prey Season 3: The Fires of Dumas (28 or 29; November 31 - December 26, 2022/23?)
“Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.” - Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli

'"Be prepared, and prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them." - Ezekiel 38:7'

'"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful." - Edward Gibbon'

*Flashbacks featuring Henri Ducard and Al Mualim 

Episode ?: The War on Christmas
A new group was starting to emerge on the organized crime market, an extremist religous order called the Order or Purity / The Sacred Order of Saint Dumas. This groups goal was to purge the society of undesirables (e.g. intellectuals, Muslims, atheists, Jews, Buddhists, etc). Will began to notice most people were coming out against them, except for two organizations: Fox News, and the televangelist ministries of one Frederick Rollo.

Episode ?: Anarchy
"I know you want to change the world, but it's not always about changing the world. We need to respect the wills of others as we would our own. Most especially when it's a will we disagree with."

While working on his hunch on what explained the spike in religious terrorism, Knight Owl had to contend with a somewhat reactionary figure self-dubbed "Anarchy." He was using his knowledge as a hacker to disrupt what he felt was fundamentally immoral methods of getting money, including but not limited to the Church and Wallstreet. He would also leave untraceable messages of his personal philosophy and mission to save the world from it's own self-destruction. To "shake them out of apathy" he and his followers led several raids, and sabotage missions, typically to counter one that happened previously (e.g. after a follower of Dumas blew up an women's health clinic or mosque, a follower of Anarchy would attack a southern militia, the KKK, or Fox News). As Knight Owl busted a couple operations, Anarchy himself began to address him directly. Initially he claimed he admired the Bird of Prey and tried to argue they were cut from the same cloth: acting for the people when the law was not enough.

Episode ?: The Fires Will Consume You
Knight Owl was on the verge of a breakthrough with the case, and was then attacked by one of the Order's soldiers, Azrael.

Episode ?: Vindication
"I cannot and will not abstain from action when people like you exist, to go against my conscience is neither just nor honorable. Here I stand: I cannot do otherwise"

The Bird of Prey Season 4: Shadow War (To be Rebooted) (29 or 30)
'"Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated." - Ernest Hemingway'

Episode 1: Knightfall
"You tried to play hero, and now it's going to blow up in your face, and destory everything you care about."

After defeating and dissolving the Order of St. Dumas, Will returned to his Nest to recuperate. However, he was interrupted as soon as he got up to the Nest by an agent of a far more destructive organization. the mysterious agent preyed on Will's exhaustion, and nearly killed him, and destroyed his Nest. During the fight, Will recognized the voice as Harvey Dent, now a member of Leviathan as he felt he was about to deliver the final blow on Knight Owl. Will narrowly escaped with is life, crashing into a building below. Dent could not confirm his death, as the Police and Fire Department were on the scene. They did not find Knight Owl's body either, but the media reported Knight Owl was dead.

Episode ?:
"They'll follow you. They believe ..."

"No. I'll do this on my own...No one else is paying for my mistakes."

"You fool! He is faster than you; stronger than you; he has centuries more experience than you; and he has an army. When will you accept that you're only human."

"I refuse to accept anyone is only human."

...

"If you want them to think bigger than my father, you need to give them someone bigger to rally behind."

Episode ?: Undefeatable
"You're nothing Dent; you had to download everything my teachers and myself learned in our lifes just so you could go toe-to-toe with me; you cheated, and for what?... You took my family from me. You became the very thing you hated most, the thing Andrea hated most, to avenge her, and. You. Failed... Live with that."

(Re)Assume Your Totem
After defeating Dent, Will heard a voice coming from his broken helmet. He grabbed the earpiece and microphone to speak to the voice. It was none other al-Mualim. (Adressing him as Ajay) He congratulated Will on defeating Dent, and proving himself to be a true raptor. al-Mualim told him it was his goal all along to have another Apex Predator join him in his crusade to cleanse the world of undesirables (Will called it a lethal stress-test). Will refused and al-Mualim rhetorically asked where people like Will, who do not belong with the masses, will stand if he does not stand with his equals in Leviathan, to which Will replied:

"I will stand exactly where I belong: between people like you, and everyone else. I'm the devil on the other side, and I guarantee you're not ready for me."

The True Soldier
"Don't add me to the weight you carry."

...

"I know you only wanted to help me, but you don't understand. Every person I've lost, every person I still have, every memory I carry with me, no matter how painful, all this pain and rage I have inside: it's why I can fight longer and harder than anyone else... No matter how much it hurts, and it always hurts, no matter how much I pretend otherwise, they're the reason I win...You're the reason I won."

Burial For an Immortal
'"We shouldn't bury him, we should burn him so no one can ever bring him back?" - Some rando'

'"He asked to be buried. It's disrespectful to ignore someone's last wishes." - Knight Owl'

'"So? Look at the destruction and pain he caused! Why should we respect that monster." - some other rando'

"He wasn't a monster: he was a man. A extraordinary man with extraordinary flaws. Was he misguided? I believe so. Could he be almost unfathombly cruel? Absolutely, but he was also the kind of person that found all of us: the downtrodden, the causeless, and he gave us a home and cause, even if he himself lost sight of that cause in time."

'"But if he is allowed to return he could ruin all that we accomplished today: all that you accomplished will me nothing. If you leave his return possible, you lose." - Rando #1 again'

"I’m not trying to win. I didn't do this because I wanted to beat someone, because I hate someone, or because I want to blame someone. It’s not because it’s fun. It isn't because it’s easy. It’s not even because it works because it hardly ever does. I do what I do because it’s right! Because it’s compassionate! Because it's honorable! And above all, it’s just! If I do as you plead, I surrender my compassion and my honor, then I've lost. I'll prove him right for now and all time. Hey, you know, maybe there’s no point to any of this at all. Maybe I'll do the best I can, and someday people will line-up demanding his world instead of mine. On that day should it come, then we'll know My philosophy and I failed. Who I am is what I do, how I treat people, even my harshest of enemies, and I choose to give him the honor and compassion he may not have given me."

Where To?
"The world is so different now. Metahumans, alien-gods, all that fun stuff. I don't think the world needs my kind anymore: random crazy people cosplaying and beating up thugs...I took on the mob and won, managed to navigate politcal/national security shitstorm that could have made 9/11 look like kids play... twice actually, took out two immortal would-be world cleansers, and outwrestled a Human Komado Dragon...I think that's enough to retire on don't you?"

...

"I knew al-Mualim for as long as I could remember, and I've known you almost half your life. You're not him. There are similarities, I concede, but more than a few differences too. You have a magnificent mind like he did, a deep well of repressed rage, for instance, but you don't have his heart. And for all that cold exterior, there is a light in you, an undefeatable character that believes in what we can be. I've never met anyone who cared as deeply about his fellow man as you. The old man lost that centuries before you were born: you could live thousands of years and I know you won't. You want to have a little better life than the old man's? Take care of the people who love you. Or don't. It's your choice."

Extinction of the Owls
"For the record, I agreed with damn near everything you've said: People suck. I've spent more than enough time on Facebook to know that, but that's not a good reason to kill everyone. That's what a bigot does; that's what they'd do. Everyone's interconnected; they love other people; they mean something to someone else, who would be deeply saddened by their deaths. To kill them all because you don't like them, no matter how well formed an opinion, is the height of cruelty and naiveté."

Aftermath
"I can't...I can't do this anymore. He wasn't wrong about us. We fight, we kill, we betray one another, and every time we can rebuild we get in our own way; slow it down and force countless people to suffer because we hate progress. We can do better, and we do, but we're still so horrible. I'm tired; I'm angry, and I can't do anything about it. "

The Bird of Prey Returns (Part 1) (Age 36)
"I used to be a man in a suit, and the suit did most of the work, as well as the AI, a scientist that made all that stuff and patched me up when I took one too many risks, funded by a dude I saved...Look a lot of things went into making Knight Owl, but somehow I kept telling myself I was the one out there, so that meant more, when in reality the suit and a whole other person had the power, but everything has changed: the world is different: I'm different. The power of the suit is inside me now. It's unsettling...alien to me. I wear a costume now because it's the only way I can feel normal."

"I wanted to prove that the heroes I believed in were real...and that I was one of them."

Prologue: Last Laugh
Roughly a couple of days to a week after the "Off the Grid" incident, Will donned the cowl one last time to recapture the recently escaped Joker, who planned a massive "One Last Joke" to prove once and for all it is foolish to believe in the fundamental goodness of humanity. He rigged two ferries with explosives; one containing civilians and the other containing prisoners, claiming that he would blow them both up by midnight, but would allow one to live should the passengers of either boat blows up the other. Knight Owl finds the Joker, however the civilians decided to kill the prisoners, while the prisoner ferry (which mainly housed people Knight Owl himself put away) actually elected to follow Knight Owl's example (they reasoned that anyone else would have killed them, but Knight Owl gave them a chance by bringing them in alive). A distraught Knight Owl furiously chased Joker throughout the city to a fair's tunnel of love, where Joker continually gloated for finally proving himself right about human nature, and taunted Knight Owl for his failures, and for his obvious signs of emotional decay. Despite his best efforts, the Joker's words struck his last nerve and Will killed inadvertently him with one punch to the head, forming a massive dent in the Joker's skull. Will was destroyed by this act, realizing that he did not know his own strength, and no matter what he did he was liable to seriously hurt or kill people without trying. Despite most people viewing the Joker's death favorably, Will was certain what he did was wrong, and given the decision many made to kill others to preserve their own life, Will decided to retire immediately.

Never Again
For the next five years, Will primarily stayed in France, in the home Henri left for him, but Will frequently traveled, usually back-and-forth from places in the United States, to South Korea, to Tokyo, and on occassion the Öksökö Stronghold to visit Sandra. In his travels, Will constantly encountered everyday injustices (e.g. muggings, store robberies, etc). He reported to Sanda the immense rage and self-disgust he felt after each inaction, and recorded in a diary each moment he could have done something about. During his retirement, Will partook in video games, archery, bingewatching shows and movies, and writing to help pass the time and to keep his mind off the outside world. He also tested the limits of his new physique, finding that each day he surpassed previous limits with ease.

Again/Never Say Never/A Funny Thing Happened on the Way Here/Reawakened In 2031, Will was contacted by Michael Holt, who notified Will that Lucuis was dying, and requested that he would come back to visit and say his goodbyes to him. Within the day Will was stateside. While out he made his way to the Lucius, Will witnessed the beginning of a bank robbery. The robbers had just locked the exits and fired warning shots to corral the hostages. Without thinking he charged in, crashing through the window. With his superhuman speed, and skills in stealth, he was able to take out almost every assailant in the bank's lobby, the last one was the first to see him and was able to get a shot off on Will's abdomen. Everyone stared astonished that not only did he not flinch, but he only appeared moderately annoyed, and the wound closed within seconds, with the bullet breaking the silence as it hit the floor. In the time everyone spent in confusion, the few robbers not dispatched by Will took the money they could get their hands on and made their way to the escape van. Will chased it down with his superhuman speed, very publicly. Luckily, he moved quickly enough to were few could discern how he looked, and the few in the bank who got a good look at him were too stunned at his healing ability to remember the finer features of his face, describing a relatively generic white male in his, humorously, in his mid-forties.

The Legend of the Knight Owl Will Mean Nothing. At. All
'"You understand the influence Joker has. Something that affects people, on an almost subconscious primal level. For most people--regular people--he inspires fear. For the less stable people--he simply inspires. But in your astute comprehension of your nemesis, you somehow failed to understand your own influence. Conversely: In your gaudy get-up you simultaneously inspire fear in even the least stable of individuals... and hope in regular people. I have long pondered how to counteract this, so I can finally force to world to know fear as I have so desperately yearned since before you were born. How can the world know fear – true dread – when there is you? A stalwart knight, ever ready to slay monsters. Fear isn’t simple biology, Knight Owl. It’s more than instinct. True fear is the absence of hope. And hope is the spread wings of a Owl, shining in the darkness. I will take that from them. I will show the world the kind of man you really are! I will show them where you'll be when they need you most! Then you will die for all to see: without hope and without reward: legend no more."'

Knightmare
"I'm so sick and tired of looking at you and feeling nothing but shame. How many people have died because I can't accept you're a part of me? All of this rage...this hate, it's a part of me and I need it. I can't let you define me, but I'm done ignoring you."

Holding Out For a Hero
"You want you know who I am! I'll tell you exactly who I am. I am Justice; I am the Knight; I. Am. Knight Owl, and in the name of all that is good your reign of terror is over."

More Than Symbol
"You were right about me. I'm just some man-child in a costume, but I didn’t come here because I'm ashamed, or because I have something to prove. I came… because I want to help people, even you. And because sometimes, on a good day, if I try very hard… I’m not some man-child in a costume who ran away when life got tough. I'm Knight Owl: world's first superhero."

The Second Apokopliptian Invasion of Earth
"A man with a cause can be stronger than a god."

Art & War
"You should have stayed retired, Vigilante."

"And what, miss my chance to beat the mother of all Feminazis and her lapdog?"

"Watch your tongue, I am a God."

"A somehow highly powerful and advanced civilization with bronze-age ethics and predictable tactics, I'm not impressed, much less intimidated."

...

"Did I ever tell you how I could still be an atheist after meeting the gods of two different pantheons? It's the whole perfect thing; infinite, inerrant beings that always do the correct thing; all the omnis and stuff. Anyway. I still call myself an atheist, to your face, because if you were a god, you would have known to not fuck with me or my planet."

We Stand Guard Here
'"This is mercy. Leave." - Starfire'

'"Tell everyone and everything like you, that this world is protected." - Knight Owl'

'"Whatever comes here will face us." - Flash'

'"Consider youself warned." - Black Lightning/Static/Zapp/Juice'

'"We stand guard here." - Guardian'

'"We're the Doom Patrol..." Everyone'

'"...Run." - Knight Owl'

No Gods, No Masters
"You're welcome to stay, make a home here. You've always been welcome to."

"I know, but I'm a soldier, and it's about time I reenlisted."

Romantic Tragedy or My Ithaca, My Penelope?
"When I started this, I had liberty, but I ignored it; I had time, but I wasted it; and I had love, but I could not feel it. Many years and many lives would pass before I understood the meaning of all three. And now this understanding has passed into contentment. Liberty, time, and love: once so foreign, are the fuels that drive me forward. And love for the people who need me; this vast and wonderful world that gave us life, and keeps us guessing. I used to dream of seeing someone worthwhile, who I recognized as myself in mirror, now I see the cowl of Knight Owl staring right back at me. My name  is  Knight Owl, and I love what I do."

Si Monumentum Requiris, Circumspice
"I will take everything from you. I will meet your best efforts with complete and utter failure; I will render the value of any remote success you find nebulous; I will crush your luck, your hope, and finally, your will. Only when you have paid witness to such despair will you truly understand the nature of the Anti-Life Equation, and only then will I permit you to die."

'“Look into my eyes Telos. See every moment of pain and misery as I have, through my eyes. Experience my failures as I have, as they did [The people he could not save]. Endure my failures as I have. You're right: Death is inevitable, ruthless, and unyielding. Death is with me always, but I found something else. Something just like Death itself: something equally unavoidable, relentless, and resolute... Me!"'

Epilogue: The Aristotle of Superheroes "A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example. " - Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (One of the inscriptions on the statue of Knight Owl)

Personality
See Also: Inspector (role variant) & Mastermind (role variant) "That perfection is unachievable is no excuse not to strive for it."

'"Excellence does not require perfection." - Henry James '

Rage
"Not a lot people know what if feels like to, be angry... in your bones... that rage. How it colors the way you look at the world. Rarely do people give a fuck enough to try and understand what can make a person that furious. They're too busy arguing "well I'm angry too, and I have it tougher than you!!!" When I never claimed that others don't go through hardship nor made any attempt to say one hardship is worse than all others. The things I've seen, heard, even done. Every. Single. Time. They tell me to do the one thing they know I can’t do: Move on; be happy. After awhile, they stop trying, and they forget that I have every god damn right to be angry! No matter what I do; no matter how many people I save, no matter; no matter how much evil I stop. I...I feel the hate...the rage inside. I love to fight and deep down...I like to hurt people too. No matter how hard I try...I always feel the rage boiling."

"Good. If it wasn't for that rage, countless people would be dead. Having that hate inside doesn't make you a monster: accepting it makes you human: knowing when to let it out is what makes you a hero."

The key emotion Will experiences is rage. It is the emotional state that shapes him as a person and a hero. This originally came from his parents, both of whom had tempers.

The Nemesis
"I always thought my greatest fears were things like failure, being alert during a major surgery, or being incapacitated in a hospital totally aware of my degenerating body, but in reality, I'm terrified that while I've been thinking I'm some hero, a realization of aretaic ethics, I've been a looking for an excuse to brutalize, and that I'm one bad day from snapping and killing everyone I see."



For all Will's attempts to achieve excellence of character, he possess many character flaws. In part to have an easier concept of what he needed to overcome to be a truly virtuous person, he constructed The Nemesis. Not a separate personality, The Nemesis merely represents Will's vicious traits, such as excessive rage, impaitence, close-mindedness, condescension, epicharikaky/morose delectation/sadism, and misanthropy. Will stated multiple times that he was terrified that deep down his actions as Knight Owl were not in fact a realization of his heroic vision but his mind finding a way to visit violence upon others in an way he could then easily rationalize.

The Ritual
In the original Owl's Nest, Will had a ritual in which he'd play a fun song (e.g. Queen's Don't Stop Me Now or Stevie Wonder's Superstition) and dance (very poorly) while he suited up, or just did his detective work. He did this to remind himself that part of the reason he chose to be Knight Owl instead of a blandly clad vigilante or a legally employed law enforcement official is because he wanted to actually have fun doing it, considering he planned to be a vigilante as long as he could sustain it.

From Vigilante to Hero
"He's not big on the popular term "superhero" or even "hero", but if someone claims to be a finer hero on this planet than Knight Owl: They're wrong."

Relationships
"Teachers open the door; but you must enter by yourself" - Chinese Proverb 

Sandra Ducard
"She is, to him, the woman. To him, she eclipses and predominates the whole of her gender."

al-Mualim
"Cut it loose. Set yourself free. You are a predator: you're not meant to live amongst prey: you're meant to hunt."

José Delgado
"I've been there since the beginning, and I've thought I was there for the end so many times; I've always feared that you would become that which you fought against. You walk the edge of that abyss every night, and after everything the Joker did...after everything you've lost... but you haven't fallen in and I never thanked you for that."

"And you'll never have to."

Will and José Delgado's relationship started off rocky to say the least, as one would expect a Vigilante/Police Officer relationship to begin. Will was highly crtitical of the law and its enforcers ability to protect and serve people due in large part to the rampant and unacknowledged corruption it suffered from. Delgado was a good cop, one of the few, and as such was staunchly against a viglante taking the law into their own hands, but he was not blind to the corruption within the system, and he could not deny the results Knight Owl delivered. After substantive soul-searching Delgado decided the desparate times he lived in called for measures like Knight Owl, so they grudgingly began to collaborate, each closing monitoring the other as they would an enemy. It did not take long for both men to realize they were more alike than they were different, and began to view each other more as allies in a combined effort to give the world true justice. As crime escalated, creating people like Manhunter and Joker, Knight Owl was the first person Delgado went to. They trusted each other, but that changed after Joker kidnapped and publicly violated Delgado's daughter, Gail. Will failed to find her in time to prevent Joker from having his fun. Delgado was furious that with all the laws Knight Owl can just ignore, all the procedure he does not have to follow, he could not even save his daughter. Meanwhile Joker's mindgames with Will were bringing out years of repressed rage and only further complicated and fractured the partnership they formed. By the time Joker was apprehended, they no longer convened together. Knight Owl dealt with the Sacred Order of Saint Dumas on his own: almost losing his life several times in the process. Meanwhile Delgado was trying to help his daughter pick up the pieces of her psyche and live a "normal" life again. When Harvey Dent resurfaced after Will ended the Order of Dumas, and nearly killed him: Will disappreared with no notice to anyone, leaving some to believe he was dead, and all afraid that Knight Owl was not coming back. Dent's televised beating of Knight Owl caused Delgado to fear for his former partner, so much so he blamed himself, feeling that if he had not cut off communication he could have done something to change the outcome of that fight, or at least known where Knight Owl had gone.

The Doom Patrol
'"At first glance he would appear the weakest of us: a speedster, a super soldier who can fly and fire energy blasts, and warrior princess from another planet, Why on Earth would a human, who is not even at the peak of his species be one of us? Because in his weakness, he is strong; he is cunning, deceptively strong in body and will, and above all...kind and heroic in nature. It may be hard to believe, but he is the strongest of us." - Koriand'r'

​"The Doom Patrol leads. When there is a crisis, the world looks to us first to deal with it, to rally others. What people never understood is that amongst ourselves we needed a standard to follow too: he was that standard."

Will is a founding member, and (along with Starfire) the de facto leader of the Doom Patrol.

"Just before I joined Checkmate, and this whole crazy Odyssey of mine began. I had just turned twenty-two months prior, and I had finally quit my first and only job. My whole life I lived around snakes that were only out for themselves and would fuck me over the second if became beneficial. I wanted to find just one person that would be as loyal to me, as I had been to so many. Now I look around, and I have so much more than I could have asked for. I have made a family out of heroes and gods."

None (formerly, 1994 - 2025)
"You don't need superpowers to save the world"

Will was unaltered Homo sapiens sapien, and as such, he lacked any superhuman powers for the beginning of his career.

Artificially Enhanced Biology (2025 - )
After getting physically destroyed by Brainiac, Will's biology was transformed by using the serum Miraclo and Holt's healing pod: Chrysalis, into a superhuman.

Idealized Physique
A side-effect of the injection, Will is in peak physical condition as his body's unique chemistry keeps him in top physical shape seemingly regardless of what of what he ingests. He has an increased endurance and can exert herself far longer than most because his body absorbs and converts lactic acid build ups into nutrients that he can use, making fatigue a rare thing for him to encounter. He als requires less sleep than the average person.

Muscular Efficiency
Will's musculature was modified into being almost perfectly efficient, similar to the greater efficiency of other primates. Despite only gaining six pounds (all from the weight of the serum itself), He was capable of lifting a ton with ease, and it was calculated he could possibly lift five tons under pressure. He can punch through concrete walls, and engage Demigods with ease. Holt later experimented on him years after the initial injection, years into his semi-retirement, and he observed that Will's metabolism was in a constant state of flux, and that his body was constantly getting stronger. By the time of the second Apokoliptian Invasion, Will was officially classified as superhuman, with the ability to lift several tons, run in excess of eighty miles per hour, and even possessed the ability to heal from serious stabbings and gun shots within minutes.

Super Senses ("Vastly Expanded Situational Awareness")
In addition to his enhanced musculature, Will's body was sensually enhanced as well. While it was initially assumed that he had "Near-Perfect situational awareness," he corrected to say "Vastly Expanded Situational Awareness," as there are way too many variables in any given natural situation for even perfectly functioning human senses to detect them all and process them correctly in the mind. He did go on to claim no human would likely take him by surprise, but nature would always have the upper hand on him. He sees in the visible light spectrum with virtual perfection, etc.

Peerless Close-Quarter Combatant
Will is a master close-quarter fighter. He is a black belt in Taekwondo, self taught in Boxing, and scored the highest marks among Checkmate recruits in their combat system. In addition to Checkmate combatives (Checkmate combatives utilizes a Systema base, with Taekwondo, Sambo, and Wing Chun Kung Fu), Will learned combat systems from Donnie Kang, Thaddeus Tucker, Henri Ducard, and Shiva; he learned acrobatic tactics and unorthodox environment use from Donnie Kang; He learned Bartitsu from Thaddeus Tucker; he learned a idiosyncratic admixture of Systema, Sambo, and Savate from Ducard; as well as Shiva's admixture (Shotokan Karate, Hapkido, Pencak Silat, Krabi Krabong, and Northern Praying Mantis Kung Fu). He was even personally tutored by al-Mualim himself. After learning from all these masters of combat, Will turned to Bruce Lee, who taught one not to be locked into systems and styles, however Will felt that there was a usefullness in a system crafted by himself with his own goals in mind. Will's sheer skill has enable him to best experienced Checkmate agents and super soldiers. He has a gift for utilizing his cunning intellect, talent for improvising unlikely weapons, and his gift of analyzing his opponents on the fly. Will crafted distinct styles he used as Knight Owl, and another when unmasked:

Prédateur Masqué
In order to avoid the possibility of someone recognizing Will was Knight Owl due to the identical fighting style, Will formed a barebones style of fighting meant to look foriegn from Knight Owl. He mostly just used his rudimentary understanding of Taekwondo, but also used some Penkak Silat and Hapkido. He actively avoided using Checkmate combatives, Systema, Savate, etc. He also tried to incorporate some clumsiness to make himself appear inexperienced, but often discarded that in favor of success. The primary goal of this form, as the name suggests, is to obscure that Will could be Knight Owl by displaying "at best intermediate" skill.

Rapace Solitaire
Will's "standard," most used, and favored style. It's one of the least showy of the three options, and most efficient by his own admission. It incorporates Checkmate Combatives, Systema, Hapkido, Pencak Silat, Wing Chun Kung Fu, and Taekwondo). The primary goal of this style is to incapacitate the opponent(s) without causing serious harm. al-Mualim and Shiva, and Will himself defined primary defined the style as "moderate" and "tempered."

Rapace Furieux
"Have you ever seen a gorilla throw a temper tanrum? Picture that level of unmitigated rage and power, but from a human a fraction of the size. All that repressed rage you think you see and then some come to the forefront, and in that moment: you'll think he hates everything."

The less efficient "but sometimes more effective, and almost always more gratifying" method, it incorporates Checkmate Combatives, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Taekwondo, Boxing, Muay Thai, Donnie Kang's acrobatics, and even some professional wrestling style body slams and suplexes).  Despite actually incorporating techniques, and the fact that Will does not literally enter a berserk rage devoid of reason or tact, he has admitted he doesn't imploy the same level of care and consideration into his movement, rather utilizing increasingly fast and powerful strikes and throws.

Master Tactician and Strategist
"I beat you before I saw you."

"Strategy lies in knowing your opponent or opponents better they know themselves: know their weaknesses, their strengths, but most importantly know your own. For me it often boils down to hitting first, and hitting hard."

Will is a trained tactician and strategist; first trained by the Checkmate, and later Henri Ducard, and later still by Shiva; Will is trained to take on multiple enemies, even a small army with incredible precision, efficiency, and is noted to do so with "remarkable showmanship." He is trained to utilized unorthodox positions to take down enemies lethally or non-lethally; as a martial artist, Will is a very intimate and effective close-quarters strategist as well, to the point of preferring it. This sets him apart from other dubbed "Super Soldiers," and peak humans, as his sheer skill and intellect afford him advantages in fights.

Indomitable Willpower
"I'd rather always fail, than never try, because no matter how bad things get: where there's a Will there's a way. Yeah I said it, and it's true."

The closest he gets to a "power" to speak of. Lawton is a very strong-willed person. No matter what he must overcome, he finds a way. He has struggled to balance his life as an ordinary member of society, and as a vigilante in a world of super powered beings. He is documented with overcoming great physical pain, damaged limbs, and even mental trauma. His superiors at Checkmate noted of him, that he never gives up, he would have been killed if he became a liability. His unstoppable determination has allowed him to resist all forms of temptation, telepathy, push past his body's physical limits, and defeat adversaries far above him in virtually every other capacity.

Telepathic Resistance
Will demonstrated the ability to repel telepaths; not only did he repel them, but he did with ease simply stating the words "get out of my head."

Intimidation
Despite the seemingly ludicrous idea of dress like an owl and beating thugs up, Will is highly adept at the art of intimidation; Will prefers to intimidate the same way he leads: by example; Will uses his training and natural instincts as a predator in tandem with his unstoppable determination to create an environment of psychological warfare that few can overcome. He also uses reputation as an unbeatable combatant to weed out the weakest minded. By the time he retired and returned to the cowl at the age of thirty-six, despite having been absent for several years, he easily rendered trained Checkmate operatives incapacitated with fear.

Embolden Others
Paradoxically, Knight Owl is both, a symbol to be feared as well as one used to rally others and give courage to those who lacked it. His willpower is contagious. Over the years, as he defeated villain after villain, multiple citizens took up masks in his name, and the average citizen felt more safe generally. By the time he reached his apex, he was able to emolden victims of Scarecrow's fear toxin with his mere reassuring presence. When the New Gods Uxas and his children threatened Earth, Knight Owl almost single-handedly inspired his Doom Patrol compatriots and the rest of Earth's heroes to unite under the Doom Patrol banner to repel the invaders.

Phronēsis(φρόνησις)/Rén (仁)
“Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion.” - Aristotle 

'"Wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others." - Kongzi'

Unlike the traditional charisma of a charming orator, salesman, politician, etc, Will possess a kind of "charisma" like the Phronēsis of Aristotelian ethics and Rén of Confucianism/Ruism. When he dons the cape and cowl of Knight Owl, Will truly becomes himself. While his intentions are often obscure (sometimes deliberately due to his own deception), there is rarely any miscommunication of what Knight Owl is. Even his detractors feel a subtle influence due to his character. He received access to the resources to Holt Industries and aide of Michael Holt in part because he saved his father, and the fact that Lucius and Michael were convinced Will was truly a hero in the very vein of comic books. He was able to talk people out of suicide based on his genuine care for their well-being. He even inspired many villains to abandon their life of crime and terror based on heartfelt pleas, as is evident by Waylon Jones, Rhys DeWinter, Preston Payne, Pamela Isley, and Hugo Moriarty. Even cynical figures such as Maya Waller have deferred to his authoritative character, as evident when she prevented Checkmate officials from permitting a nuclear strike on the battlefield the Doom Patrol laid out for Uxas during the second invasion of Earth because he asked her to.

Multilingual
Will can fluently speak and write French, in addition to his native English; He uses in-cowl technology to translate languages as he hears them, which over time has made him conversationally adept at many languages. He is known to attempt to speak the native language of a place he is at as a sign of respect.

Emotional Consistency
Years into Holt's research into Will's new biology yielded data that strongly suggested Will's total strength was influenced by his chemical states of his brain. Meaning, that Will could be slightly stronger/weaker depending on the state of his emotions. This can serve as an advantage; if he were in a state of mental conviction he would think, feel, and act in harmony with his enhanced body, taking in excess stimuli with ease and enjoying a slight boost in strength and stamina. Intense rage vastly increases his strength, durability, and stamina, but with some costs of its own.

Analysis Paralysis
"Analysis paralysis or paralysis of analysis is the state of over-analyzing (or over-thinking) a situation so that a decision or action is never taken, in effect paralyzing the outcome. A decision can be treated as over-complicated, with too many detailed options, so that a choice is never made, rather than try something and change if a major problem arises. A person might be seeking the optimal or "perfect" solution upfront, and fear making any decision which could lead to erroneous results, when on the way to a better solution." This is Will's greatest weakness, both as Knight Owl and as a person in general. Maya Waller noted that, of the four, Will's tendency to over-analyze is his only weakness that affects his ability to work optimally in a way she could reliably exploit in theory.

Rage
"Not a lot people know what if feels like to, be angry... in your bones... that rage. How it colors the way you look at the world. Rarely do people give a fuck enough to try and understand what can make a person that furious: the things I've seen, heard, even done. Every. Single. Time. They tell me to do the one thing they know I can’t do: Move on; be happy. After awhile, they stop trying, and they forget that I have every god damn right to be angry!"

Partially due to his youth, and partially due to his passion, Will is sometimes prone to feeling intense rage. While it is relatively rare, sometimes Will's rage prevents him from using his skills properly, opens himself up to mistakes, and leads to violent outbursts. In addition to possible mistakes, Will's rage has also been demonstrated to lead Will to seriously harming an adversary, even possibly killing them; he stated that he hung up his cape and cowl because he realized his rage was growing, and he might seriously hurt or kill someone who didn't deserve it.

Math
While Will is a polymath in many subjects such as history, philosophy, political science, and strategy; he is notably weak in the comprehension of Mathematics. He comprehends basic algebra and geometry, and he is particularly gifted in logic, but cannot go much further than that.

Females
Perhaps on par with Analysis Paralysis, Females rank as a tremendous chink in Knight Owl's pseudo-feather armor. Covered best on the Romantic Life sub-section of the Personality section, females almost effortlessly cause Will great mental anguish. He finds the social stereotypes of males as perpetuated by females is offensive, and he finds it unfair that they can be as cruel as they like without a single repercussion. Years of being rejected by females also made it extremely difficult for Will to adequately open up to the women he eventually fell in love with who reciprocated his affection, often to the point that he found it impossible to return affection.

Emotional Consistency
Years into Holt's research into Will's new biology yielded data that strongly suggested Will's total strength was influenced by his chemical states of his brain. Meaning, that Will could be slightly stronger/weaker depending on the state of his emotions. While this can be a advantage in many ways, some emotions obscure some of his other abilities; now if he were to feel intense rage he would be much stronger and durable, but less information makes its way into his mind and he can be made oblivious to even the most obvious of visual/audible/tactile stimuli.

Normal Human Conditioning (Formerly)
From birth, until his near death at the hands of Grid, Will was a normal human being, in fact he was no where near peak human conditioning, so he was as vulnerable to physical injury, disease, and age as any other normal human, often having to rely more on strategy than strength when up against a superhuman opponent, and subject to intense physical decay after years of fighting crime.

Aging
Like all humans, Will was subject to the sands of time. Like most men his age Will's body began to show signs of slowing down as he reached his thirties. However, this was one of many natural human ailments that Will was effectively cured of when he attained superhuman status.

Arthritis
Due in part to family history, as well as his lifestyle, Will's body was developing mild to moderate signs of arthritis, notably in his wrists and ankles. However, this was one of many natural human ailments that Will was effectively cured of when he attained superhuman status.

Knight Owl Armor/Suit
"A knight in shining armor has never had his mettle truly tested, for your armor after battle tells the story of who you truly are."

Will utilized several forms of clothing and body armor in the beginning of his career as a vigilante, but when Will returned to the states and "inherited" some shares in HoltTech, and became the main field tester for HoltTech inventions in Applied Sciences, Will made use of the prototype armor called DARPA Avian series Tactical Predator Modular Armor; the Avian series armor is a specially designed jumpsuit made from a modified version of the Pinnacle Armor designed Dragon Skin bodysuit (Will later nicknamed them "Owl feathers"); The fabric of the suit is interwoven with Kevlar (outer layer), Dragon Skin(core material), allowing it to reduce damage caused by bullets with relatively low velocity, such as pistol rounds and assault rifle rounds fired from long range, though it is relatively weak against bullets from closer ranges, as they maintain a faster velocity, and more power, and shrapnel from 12 feet. It has a weight of 4 pounds (unloaded) and a thickness of 8 millimeters (1/4 inches). Due to it's light weight, and the special materials it is made from, the wearer's movements are nearly silent. The armor was tested to maintain core body temperatures down to 15 degrees Fahrenheit with the hood up, and as high as 110 degrees. the wearer could go ”from Rothera to the Sahara” and stay relatively comfortable. The outer layer of the Kevlar was treated with a polymer fiber similar to the coating on stealth aircraft: matte-black, slightly rough to the touch for maximum light absorption. The micro-roughened exterior partially defuses light. About 30% of whatever photons strike the surface gets trapped, if only for a split second, but enough to diffuse them. Bottom line: The suit allows the wearer to blend in with the shadows and darkness very well. The synthetic, glossy material and most of Will's equipment are often a very dark color, almost black when viewed from a shadowy place, though upon closer inspection, the suit itself is actually a dark gray. The Avian series is the most modular system of all the DARPA Tactical Predator Armors and is modifiable to the way the operator would feel comfortable. It can also be worn in conjunction with different tactical equipment and clothes. It was later equipped with modified repulsar boots for actual flight capabilities.

The Cowl
"Give a man a mask and he'll become his true self."

Knight Owl's cowl was designed from a prototype flight helmet for both pilots and paratroopers; the display would be tailored to display the information relevant to either the jumper or pilot; as a former paratrooper himself, Will chose to modify the paratrooper version. Will and Lucius Fox modified the helmet to add advanced audio receptors, affectionately called "Great Owl Horns." The on helmet goggles were heavily modified with enhanced zooming faculties, night vision, thermal vision, x-ray vision, and sonar vision; the sonar vision capability is used in a similar fashion as night vision; as night vision amplifies any available light, the sonar vision utilizes any sounds made to provide the location of anyone or anything even if it's behind a wall. The cowl was also modified with a mouthpiece, that functioned as a gas mask, and was also used to disguise Will's voice; it gave his voice a "cyber-demon" sound, or as Will "officially" dubbed it "Satanis roboto." The cowl was also outfitted with taser countermeasures to prevent any unwanted removal of the cowl.

Sophronia
While not equipment in the strictest sense of the word, Sophronia's utility as a natural-language user interface cannot be underestimated (in fact Will once remarked in jest that Sophronia was Knight Owl "or at least 50%"). She informs Knight Owl on changing tactical situations, as well as providing diagnostic reports. Sophronia also runs the suit's inbuilt AR heads-up display system, allowing Knight Owl to analyze his surroundings, as well as facilite combat maneuvers he would not be able to plan on his own.

Collapsible Bladed Gauntlets
Will and Holt co-engineered a modified version of the bladed gauntlets he wore in his time with Leviathan; in order to avoid undue injuries to himself, or the criminal he may be fighting, both men decided to make the blades collapsible; it was later modified to be fired as well. These blades are strong enough to break Katanas, lead pipes, and even some gun barrels with the proper amount of force.

"Memory Fabric" Gliding Cape
Memory Cloth was one of Lucuis' brainchildren, designed as a cheaper and more effective alternative to Raptor flight armor; with no current running through it, the memory cloth funtions as a cape made of a flexible fabric, with a nylon outer layer, it also had "velvety" quality of the outermost layer; the material is also water and fire resistant When a current is run through the memory cloth from electrical triggers within either gloves; the loose molecules realign and the cloth tenses up and becomes a rigid shape and the shape can be altered to whatever use as long as it has a skeletal frame to mimic; Will and Michael made a winged frame that was similar to owl feathers.

Nimbus Generator Powered Personal Flight System
In addition to Sophronia and Chrysalis, Holt's proudest contribution to science was his work in renewable energy, specifcally his Nimbus generators. Knight Owl's suit was modified with the first Nimbus Generator Powered Personal Flight System (NGPPFS as Holt called it). The System was rooted to his boots, allowing him to propel himself into the air, and adjust his flight path when he glided. Will also found a way to use it in combat, namely to avoid attacks and throw enemies off their guard by drastically changing the terrain. However, for all it's uses, the personal was too limited to be used for extended flight, necessitating the wing packs that Will would invariably describe as "The Heavy."

"The Heavy"
"The Heavy" is a specialized Knight Owl armor designed for extended flight, and enduring the vacuum of space. It utilizes Michael Holt's state-of-the-art nuclear powered propulsion technology. Initially it was designed as a suit of armor, to protect the nuclear power source and the person wearing it from most conventional methods of assualt, but Will had Holt make a Wingpack form that instead required a Nimbus generator to use in general, using the Heavy only when he felt outmanned and outgunned.

Multi-Purpose Rife (M.P.R.)
Before Will became Knight Owl, Holt invented a collapsible rifle designed to have multiple settings for the military. It was then named the Multi-Response Rifle, but the military had no interest in an exclusivly non-lethal weapon that costed more than any other rife on the market to make and maintain. When Knight Owl got it, he added an two additional features the rife and redubbed it the Multi-Purpose Rife. The M.P.R. has a stun setting that fires slow traveling bullets that latch unto the victim and deliver a jolt of electricity to stun the victim; a sticky explosive setting that fires tiny balls of explosive gel with a modifiable timer, a sleeper dart setting, a sleeping gas setting, and an EMP setting that fires a ball of adhesive gel similar to the explosive gel that contain a tiny EMP device.

(Tactical Spheres) T-Spheres
Michael's greatest claim to fame is the seemingly infinitely multi-tasking balls called Terrific Spheres, initially to be called Tactical Spheres when they were being designed for possible military use, and shortened with the intent to market as T-Spheres. They are electrically powered, and programmable to perform numerous actions. Will programmed three T-Spheres to aide him in the areas of crime fighting that he was weakest, for instance, forensics, hacking, etc. They are capable of levitation by using Holt's Nimbus generators and scan the environment around Knight Owl as he investigates crime scenes. Sophronia is linked to each of Knight Owl's T-Spheres, allowing Knight Owl to see what the T-Sphere records in his cowl's HUD.

Owlmobile
"It's the car right? Ladies love a great car."

Nests

 * TBD, Massachusetts
 * TBD, California
 * Normandy, France
 * Seoul, Republic of Korea
 * TBD, Algiers

The Silver Bullet
It did not take long for Michael and Will to see the eventually of Knight Owl needing a ground vehicle to chase escaping criminals with. This led to what would become the Owlmobile. In the mean time, Michael gave Will the Interceptor, a police interceptor prototype. The Interceptor is a plain (by animal themed tank-car standards) vehicle designed with many gadgets the Knight Owl suit has, even coming with a proto-Battle Mode. Will opted to use it exclusively in his "civilian" adventures, painted it silver, and named it "The Silver Bullet" opting instead to use the Athene noctua while the Owlmobile was constructed.

Trivia

 * Knight Owl design created by Phil Cho, see more of his amazing work here.
 * William is the anglicized form of the Saxon name Wilhelm; "Wil" meaning "of the will or desire" and "helm" meaning protection, typically understood as "Vehement Protector"
 * He actively suppresses any attempt to call him "Bill" or "Billy."
 * He has a habit of adopting the foreign language form of his name whenever he is in another country (e.g. Guillaume, Guillermo, etc).
 * Sandra's nickname for him, Ajay, also transliterated as Ajai (अजय), originates in Sanskrit ajaya "undefeatable," "unconquerable", "unsurpassable", "invincible."
 * Milton Kahn is the combination of the first and last names of the creators of Batman: Milton "Bill" Finger, and Robert Kahn aka Bob Kane.
 * Gaston Guillaume Wolmar Diderot is a quadruple reference:
 * Gaston is French name meaning  "stranger," 'guest," "host."
 * Guillaume is the French form of William.
 * Wolmar is the name of a character in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's novel Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse, the character is thought to be a reference to fellow philosophe Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach, an Enlightenment philosophe who wrote on atheism and materialism.
 * Diderot is the surname of Denis Diderot, who, like Baron d'Holbach, wrote on atheism and materialism.
 * Of his four aliases, three of them are official fake identities: Gaston Guillaume Wolmar Diderot, Milton Kahn, and Maximilian Kruger. He made the other one up on the spot (using the name Jason Peter Todd whenever someone asks him his name).
 * The alias Jason Peter Todd is a reference to the second Robin and Red Hood.
 * In universe, it is the name of the Robin in Richard Barrison's Batman show. Like the mainstream Jason Todd, he is killed by one of Batman's nemeses. However he is never resurrected, and it's what the writers of the show used to end the series when the show was canceled.
 * His first presdential vote went to Bernie Sanders.
 * He hates the word "Caucasian," and refuses to refer to himself as one.
 * His voice is often described as "mechanical," "blunt," "smug," "harsh," "eerily calculative / level-headed," and "above all laconic" both as Knight Owl and in his natural tone of voice, though it has also been described "imposing," "authoritative," and even "charismatic" by people he intends to lead. As he got older it would be describe as "tired."
 * He earned his nom de gurre in two different ways:
 * The first was the nickname "Night Owl", which he gained throughout his life for rarely sleeping, and doing so mostly during the day.
 * He also was called "The Owl" due to his excellent peripheral vision.
 * Richard Blood/al-Mualim also said that the Owl was the best totem for him due to their historical use as symbols of wisdom and death.
 * When asked who he'd like to play him in a biopic of his life, Will claimed he wanted Tom Hardy or Charlie Cox to play him, although he thinks Tom Hardy and Charlie Cox look far better.
 * After saying that, he was immediately told that he looked more like Edward Norton, particularly as he looked in American History X; he doesn't see it.
 * He has also been told he looked like Tom Cruise with Down Syndrome once while wearing sunglasses.
 * The subtitle "My Ithaca, My Penelope," references the completion of Knight Owl's own Odyssey from a soldier without a cause, to a hardened vigilante, to legendary hero. In addition it was to solidifies someone's official status as Will's Penelope, but that is unlikely to occur.
 * Humorously (and coincidentally I swear it), the name Penelope has a possible avian etymological origin: The origin of her name is believed by Robert S. P. Beekes to be Pre-Greek and related to pēnelops (πηνέλοψ)[3] or pēnelōps (πηνέλωψ), glossed by Hesychius as "some kind of bird" (today arbitrarily identified with the Eurasian Wigeon, to which Linnaeus gave the binomial Anas penelope), where -elōps (-έλωψ) is a common Pre-Greek suffix for predatory animals; however, the semantic relation between the proper name and the gloss is not clear. In folk etymology, Pēnelopē (Πηνελόπη) is usually understood to combine the Greek word pēnē (πήνη), "weft", and ōps (ὤψ), "face", which is considered the most appropriate for a cunning weaver whose motivation is hard to decipher, so either Dawn is "Catbird," an incredibly hilarious and unintential reference to Catwoman's "Catbird" identity in Gothtopia, or she's clever and hard to discern her motivation, as Catwoman always is.
 * He has only ever been defintively beaten in hand to hand combat twice, once by his mentor Shiva, and the other by Harvey Dent.
 * He tends to discount Dent's victory for three reasons:
 * He already beat over thirty people less than an hour prior, and was exhausted.
 * Dent's victory lied in copying every move Will had learned.
 * He won the rematch.
 * He was known in his personal life for monologuing.
 * This quirk is inspired by Peter Capaldi's Doctor, and my own possession of said quirk.
 * He also frequently emphasizes his sarcasm by employing "the Movie Trailer Voice."
 * Unlike Batman, who's default transportation is the famous Batmobile, Knight Owl almost exclusively used his VTOL: the Athene noctua. He preferred to make use of his "Batmobile" when he needed to engage beings far more powerful than himself, or multiple enemy vehicles. However when he engaged in plainclothes reconnaissance, he made frequent use of the Silver Bullet.
 * The nicknames Don and Búho Quixote are references to the novel The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, and it's titular character.
 * The story follows the adventures of a hidalgo named Mr. Alonso Quixano who reads so many chivalric romances that he loses his sanity and decides to set out to revive chivalry, undo wrongs, and bring justice to the world, under the name Don Quixote de la Mancha.
 * This in no way resembles Knight Owl: a man named Will Lawton who reads so many comic books and watches so many superhero movies that he loses his sanity and decides to set out to bring fictional superheroics to life, undo wrongs, and bring justice to the world, under the name Knight Owl: the Bird of Prey.
 * He also has one personality trait which is common with many Japanese action heroes. Once Will's mind is focused in any particular direction, it is immensely difficult to get him to change or even notice the events and people around him.
 * this personality trait is mostly evident when he utilizes Rapace Furieux, but is known to generally tune people out when he focuses on things.
 * He has a well know talent for differentiating the many types of "Asian."
 * Most say it's because of his "Asian fetish."
 * He denies that he possess said fetish.
 * After becoming superhuman, he routinely incorporated the famed "one-inch punch" into his fighting style, because he thought it was fun.

Links

 * /Gallery/
 * /Quotations/
 * Audio Tapes or Journal Entries
 * http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3627896/The-real-life-BATSUIT-Superflex-suit-includes-hidden-exoskeleton-wearer-superhuman-strength.html