Armstrong
Armstrong is a recurring villain in Dispatch. He is a villain working for the Red Ring.
Biography
While Robert Robertson and Invisigal were having a conversation while out drinking with the rest of the Z-Team in The Sardine, Armstrong approached the pair, questioning what a superhero was doing in a villain bar. Believing Armstrong was addressing him, Robert stood up to reply, but was shoved out of the way by the goon, who clarified he was talking to Invisigal before grabbing the hero with his mechanical arms. The other bar patrons then stood up from their seats, revealing themselves to members of the Red Ring as a fight broke out between them and the Z-Team, which ended with Robert and Invisigal breaking Armstrong's biological arms.
Armstrong was seen again when Toxic confronted Robert at the SDN Torrance office. While Toxic demanded they hand over the Astral Pulse, Armstrong demanded that their arms be broken too, regardless if they hand over the Pulse or not. During the battle that followed, Armstrong managed to knock out Golem, but had his left mechanical arm chopped off by the combined efforts of Invisigal and Malevola before being knocked out. Coming to Armstrong and the other Red Ring goons restrained the Z-Team as Shroud forced Robert to come to the roof and hand over the Astral Pulse in exchange for Beef's life. Regardless of the decisions Robert made, Shroud was defeated, and Armstrong and the rest of the Red Ring were taken into custody.
Appearance
Armstrong is a Hispanic male with a bulky build covered in tattoos. He has a buzz cut and a beard covering his chin. He wears a white tank top and grey jeans.
His notable feature is his arms, which are freakishly short and thin, almost appearing vestigial. To (over)compensate for this, Armstrong has a pair of mechanical arms connected to his back.
Personality
Armstrong poses as a confident and intimidating individual with a particular grudge against Invisigal for becoming a hero after previously being a villain. His confidence and threatening presence prove to be hollow, however, as he was swiftly pushed back and cowed during the bar fight with the Z-Team.
During his second appearance, Armstrong has grown vengeful and desires to break the arms of the entire Z-Team as revenge for breaking his.
Equipment
- Mechanical arms: Armstrong has a pair of mechanical arms connected to his back, which he can control at will. These arms are strong enough lift adult humans without issue and knock out a sturdy construct like Golem. They were also sturdy enough to block multiple swings from Malevola's sword, though one of the arms was still severed by the same blade after it hit a weak spot.
Weaknesses
- Weak biological arms: Ironically, Armstrong's biological arms are absurdly thin and weak. While recounting breaking them, Invisigal noted how little effort it took, stating that the churos she was eating felt stronger than his arms were.
Trivia
- The 444 tattoo on Armstrong's collar is a neo-Nazi dog whistle, referring to the fourth letter of the alphabet, D; so the 444 stands for Deutschland den Deutschen (German for "Germany belongs to Germans only"). This suggests that Armstrong may have neo-Nazi ties despite being Hispanic.