Farley Claymore's Journal

So, when are you gonna come down and see my beryllium sphere?
NAME: Farley Alexander Claymore
NICKNAMES/ALIASES: None
AGE/DATE OF BIRTH: April 19th, 1898 – 35 years old

POWERS: None – at least as far as he knows…

HANDICAPS: Average human handicaps combined with a slight paranoia about people he doesn’t trust. After all, look what trusting Shiwan got him…

APPEARANCE: Farley is five feet nine inches tall, with an about average build, albeit a tiny bit on the pudgy side, with pale green eyes and dark brown curly hair that is occasionally mistaken for black in certain lights. However, he typically slicks it back as per the fashions of the time. Throughout the movie he wears a black double-breasted pinstripe suit (though the checkered handkerchief tends to undermine any class he attempts to fake), a white shirt with blue lines, a black and silver striped tie, a slightly gaudy ring on his left hand, and a wristwatch on his right. When he first appears in the city, he also is wearing a tan long coat.

PHYSICAL QUIRKS: Unusually expressive – when he really smiles, it can occasionally seem a bit disturbing…

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Is capable of putting things together and taking them apart with limited instruction, and can adapt technologies to his own stuff provided he knows how it’s supposed to work

RELATIVES: Thaddeus and Elizabeth Claymore (father and mother – deceased), Alexander Claymore (uncle), Maggie Carmichael nee Claymore (aunt-in-law… sort of)

OCCUPATION: Scientist and representative of the War Department

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree in physical science (mechanics) with a minor in Literature

TELL US SOMETHING WE DON'T KNOW: Farley is a closet bibliophile, a habit he picked up from his uncle. He especially loves Agatha Christie. He also carries around a stuffed penguin, a gift from his deceased parents, whenever he can get away with it. It’s a comfort thing.

Interestingly enough, the encounter with the Shadow left him with random knowledge of his secret identity, including knowledge about the years Lamont spent in Tibet as the infamous drug lord Ying Ko. He finds it oddly comforting, knowing that the great Shadow had been as bad as he was.

HISTORY: Farley Claymore was born on April 19th, 1898 to Thaddeus and Georgiana Claymore, who inspired in young Farley a curiosity about the world in general. However, the lives of his parents were cut short in a tragic accident in 1911 (The penguin was their last gift to him before they died), and care of the now thirteen-year old Farley went to his uncle, Alexander.

Achieving average grades in college, Farley spent most of his career working with several well-known scientists, the overall experience going a bit to his head. Then came the Great Depression, and Farley saw the fact that he’d survived with his job intact as a sign that he was obviously important enough to keep employed. Afterwards, he began copying work from the scientists the Department foisted him off on with the intent of using them in some unknown future creation. This all changed when he was assigned to one Dr. Reinhardt Lane. While the two worked on the self-sustaining generator, Farley was approached by Shiwan Khan, the descendant of Genghis Khan. Recognizing his desire for power, Shiwan drew Farley over to his side with the promise of a place at his side when he ruled the world. What he didn't anticipate was interference from the Shadow, whom Farley attempted to kill, but failed. Ironically, it was during the second attempt to end the Shadow's life when everything changed. Fearing the imminent possibility that the Shadow would kill him, Farley wound up slipping on his coat over the suit for what he thought would be the last time, walked down into the empty ballroom…

To make a long story short, the Shadow wasted no time in disabling him, quickly and without mercy, and used his powers to make him believe that the glass mural overlooking the lobby (three stories down) was the way out. Farley took off running…

And ended up running into someone in the City.

PERSONALITY: I'll be the first to admit that Farley Claymore isn't exactly a nice guy. He can be somewhat egotistical, annoying in the fact that he sometimes doesn't know when to back off, and can be intimidated by others, though he hides it under bravado when he needs to. Needless to say, the encounter with the Shadow inspires some much-needed humility in him. Initially scared almost to the point of insanity upon arrival, there are times when Farley wonders if he was brought to the city as punishment for his associating with Shiwan Khan (considering what could have happened to him otherwise). Furthermore, he prefers not to talk about his past, due to the fact that he's realized he has plenty to be ashamed of (the whole thing with Shiwan notwithstanding), and will probably only do so when people trust him not to do something similar. However, there are times when he's not sure whether someone is sincere about their intentions or whether they may have something in mind, which can make this pretty difficult due to the resulting wariness. In the meantime, the world of the future intrigues him, so he occasionally takes a few moments to investigate the object of the moment, whether it's a coffee-maker or a television. As for the penguin, it was a gift from his late parents, and although he doesn't exactly go into Leo Bloom fits of panic over it, he makes a point of keeping it on or near him at all times.

Unfortunately, he also tends to be wary of people, considering what happened with the last man he trusted…

MISC: Would like him to meet River at some point, maybe Dr. Horrible. Other than that, no clue.