James Wu (Earth-5180)

"Crime is not an option. You wouldn't know that."

- - Armory to Ms. Marvel

James "Jimmy" Wu is a former weapons designer of Powers Technology who was hired following the accidental death of one of his engineers. Unable to pay the bills and feed his family, Wu built his own set of armor, becoming the criminal known as Armory, and a frequent enemy of Ms. Marvel.

Early Life
Jimmy Wu was born in New York City but moved to Jersey City, New Jersey, after he was unable to find a proper career in his hometown. At his new home he married Lorraine Tate and had two children. His talent as an engineer attracted the attention of Donald Menken, the CEO of Powers Technology, who wanted him to be their all-new lead designer for weapons.

Powers Technology
"You can't fire me! I have a family, it was not my fault! We all have our problems, Mr. Wu, but you don't see me throwing all of them in your face, do you?"

- - Jimmy Wu and Chloe Powers Wu gladly accepted, and soon started his work on the company. He was praised for being inventive and friendly with his co-workers, a trait that Menken believed he could exploit. However, the time came when Chloe Powers assumed control of the company after Donald's sudden passing. One of her first moves as new CEO was to downplay the weapons division, as she was willing to change Powers Technology into a new direction, but decided to keep Jimmy.

At one point, an accident occurred where one of Wu's co-workers fell into a smelting machine and was burned alive. The case was not disclosed to the general public, with Chloe's lawyer, Dmitri Smerdyakov, stating this would be 'terrible for the company'. Chloe then decided to fire Jimmy for bad conduct, and ordered him to pack his material at his room. When he got home, he ommited the occured, and desperate to find a job, resorted to a man called István Hegedesh, a member of the Ten Rings, to produce illegal sonic weapons the terrorist cell devised.

Life of Crime
"I didn't want to do this, girl, but I had no other choice..."

- - Armory to Ms. Marvel

Without any alternatives, Wu had to resort to a life of crime. For three weeks, he isolated himself at his room and developed a suit of armor he based on the designs of Iron Man and Steel, alongside design parts he stole from Powers Technology and Chitauri soldiers. After stealing from an apparel company, he was able to fool the JCPD as he left no identifiable trace of his crimes, but was nonetheless confronted by Jersey City's local vigilante Ms. Marvel.

Armory's superior technology allowed him to gain the upper hand against the teenage hero, which granted him time to escape. His confrontation with Ms. Marvel was recorded by a woman who uploaded it to YouTube, gaining millions of views in two weeks. Wu's actions caused him to be nicknamed "Armory" by the general public.

For the following weeks, Wu kept upgrading his armor in secrecy at his house's garage, which led to Lorraine become suspicious of him. Donning his suit again, Armory sought broke in into the Powers Technology Building to find their weapons' deposits, and was again pursued by Ms. Marvel. Knowing she would appear again, Armory used an electromagnetic discharge to hit Marvel, which made her immobile duo to her elastic Metahuman abilities. At the battle, she though he would finish her, but he simply fled with the money he stole and escaped once more.

Arrest
Arriving at his house and planning to deliver the weapons package to Hegedesh, Jimmy stumbled upon his wife, who proclaimed she discovered of his illegal activities. He apologized to her, and begged forgiveness for not telling of his firing. The trio was interrupted by István, who shouted at Wu for wanting the weapons he was promised. Lorraine was shocked and hid behind James, who was without his armor. Ms. Marvel appeared and easily dispatched of the terrorist, proceeding to say she discovered about Armory's identity after connecting the dots of his firing and the suit being stolen. He gave himself up for apprehension to Ms. Marvel, who sent him to the JCPD.

Personality
Jimmy Wu is an intelligent, resourceful, and taciturn man who loves his family above all else. A brilliant engineer, he fells extreme pressure when a situation isn't under his ultimate control, which ultimately led to him becoming a criminal instead of attempting to talk with his wife. Although he became a costumed criminal, he still had his older morals, as showcased by him not hurting any innocents when stealing, as well as not hurting Ms. Marvel herself when she had already lost twice. He ultimately changed his mind about what he had become, and chose to give himself in for the police.

Abilities

 * Expert Engineer: Wu has a great knowledge about engineering and construction, showcased with the weapons he designed for Powers Technology and his own suit of armor.

Equipment

 * Armory Suit: A suit he built from scratch using stolen parts, as well as Powers Technology designs.
 * Electromagnetic Discharge: An advanced weapon worn by Armor at his purse which he uses to unleash a mini-fazed EMP that can disable Ms. Marvel for some minutes.
 * Eli-Pads: Small thrusters which gave Armor the ability to travel at fast speeds while thrusting.