Esquire

The Van Durans colonized South Africa, growing rich from the brutal exploitation of those who mined their gold and diamonds. With the end of apartheid, the family was finally held accountable for its greed, bigotry, and violence. Only the youngest, Kevin Van Duran III, and his perfidious namesake grandfather (an infamous big-game hunter) escaped justice, absconding from a safari with the family fortune in tow.
Through bribery and guile, the Van Durans secured a sanctuary on Han Island and there proceeded to indulge in pleasures only billionaires can afford. Young Kevin thor­oughly embraced the decadence in which he was raised, gaining the “Esquire” sobriquet to distinguish him from the hedonistic grandfather he idolized. With the elder’s passing, the younger Van Duran inherited the land and lucre, as well as the paradoxical ennui of having his every whim fulfilled.
After joylessly stalking and slaying his third black rhinoc­eros, a frustrated Esquire recalled his grandfather’s favor­ite fiction, The Most Dangerous Game. The Van Durans had long regarded almost everyone outside their family as animals, and once inspired, his descent into hunting and killing offending minions and forgotten derelicts was easy and instant.
With the new millennium, the then-young and handsome Van Duran left Han Island, seeking to expand his influence (and secretly, his brutal pastime) to Freedom City. Cunning manipulation, good looks, and riches quickly made him a media darling, hailed for his role as the benevolent reno­vator of city slums (which was in reality a charade). His ce­lebrity and barbarity continued until a decade ago, when his bloody secrets were exposed by Freedom’s resident costumed heroes. Van Duran’s remaining sway over the media and legal system was spent avoiding prison, and he returned to Han Island embittered and disgraced.
Though older and no longer boyishly handsome, Esquire has fanatically and dramatically improved his lethal abili­ties, stalking elite soldiers, SHADOW operatives, AEGIS agents, and UNISON infiltrators. Now more dangerous than ever and craving more challenging game, Esquire plots to test his skills against costumed super-beings.

Physical Description

Apparel & Accessories

Esquire is one of the world’s richest men, with access to nearly unlimited resources. Foremost amongst these is ownership of Han Island, a disputed territory claimed by six stymied Asian powers, rendering it effectively under Esquire’s law alone. A product of his grandfather’s nature and nurture, Esquire is a highly skilled businessman, athlete, hand-to-hand combatant, tracker, and hunter— one particularly lethal with longarms. His trademark is a high-tech rifle with gimmick ammunition, capable of pro­ducing a variety of dangerous effects. He prefers to use his gimmick rounds to frustrate and toy with opponents, then bladed rounds for the coup de grace.

Mental characteristics

Intellectual Characteristics

Ever smiling, confident, and suave, Esquire exudes a so­phisticated, slightly jaded personal charisma befitting his upbringing and playboy lifestyle. He maintains this charm even as he recounts the sociopathic revelry and excitement of his manhunts. As a well-born plutocrat, he considers himself naturally superior to literally everyone else, whom he regards as either servant or prey. While he professes respect for those who provide him a challeng­ing hunt, like everyone else they exist only for his amuse­ment…as taxidermy figures in his trophy room.

Social

Contacts & Relations

The highly paid guards, technicians, servants, and other skilled personnel on Han Island are quite loyal to Esquire, lest they become his prey. By masterfully playing the six countries who claim the island off one another and dis­pensing illicit favors (monetary, and making dissidents disappear into his trophy room), he wields considerable influence over affairs in the region, with some govern­ments considering him a valuable ally.
Anyone is potential prey to Esquire, but he feels personal­ly challenged by sharpshooters whose skill rivals his own, drawing his interest most keenly to heroes like Bowman.

Species

Human

Esquire in his younger days.