| Mechanic | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Real Name | J. Robert Belew |
| Aliases | Mechanic |
| Gender | Male |
| Class | Ace |
| Wild Card Traits | Technopathy, regeneration |
| Social Information | |
| Citizenship | Citizen of the united States, deceased |
| Occupation | Mercenary, former intelligence operative |
| Allies | Captain Trips, Carnifex, Popinjay, Lord Tsung |
| Origin | |
| First Appearance | Turn of the Cards |
| Final Appearance | Black Trump |
| Creator | Victor Milán |
The Mechanic is a fictional character in the Wild Cards series of books.
History[]
J. Robert Belew was born in 1935. He was one of the first aces to suspect the existence of the Card Sharks, largely due to the botched Iranian hostage rescue mission in 1980. President Jimmy Carter commissioned him to lead a team consisting of Sergeant First Class Paul "Dive Bomb" Chung, Harvey "Librarian" Melmoth, Amy "Damsel" Mears, Jay Ackroyd, Joann "Lady Black" Jefferson, and a young Billy Ray, whom Belew would later dub Carnifex, to rescue the American hostages. It was noted that the government had far more powerful aces at its disposal if they had truly wanted to rescue the hostages.
Chung, Melmoth, and Mears did not survive the failed mission and Belew himself became disillusioned with the government that had set him up to fail. It is not known precisely when Belew became a rogue asset, but at some point he left government service and began pursuing his own agenda. He did not visibly reappear upon the world stage until the public discrediting and persecution of former ace hero Captain Trips aka Mark Meadows.
Posing as a government agent, Belew attached himself to Mistral and "helped" her in her mission to assist the DEA in capturing Meadows. In reality, Belew had ulterior motives and no intention of letting Meadows be captured.
Wild Card Traits[]
When one of the Mechanic's extremities is cut off, and the bleeding stump is placed against an object, he can project his consciousness into the object and control it as though it were an extension of his own body. After he discards an object he is controlling his body starts to regenerate the damaged area. If he cut his hand off to merge with a machine, it would take several weeks for it to grow back.
Appearance[]
Belew appears to be a Caucasian male in late middle age with graying brown hair. He is of medium height and stocky, but in good shape for his age. Due to his regenerative abilities Belew not only appears younger than one might expect he is also much quicker and more agile due to the regeneration of cartilage and connective tissues that would have otherwise already worn away in a man his age. He wears his hair close cropped and is rather fond of his bushy, but well maintained "walrus" mustache.
Personality[]
Belew is a self-amused, good natured individual with a cold core of steel. He is fond of quoting Classical literature and great philosophers from a variety of cultures when the moment seems appropriate. One can never quite tell what Belew knows or if he is telling the truth, but he generally seems to safeguard the best interests of his friends and wild carders in general.
Trivia[]
- Is able to speak English, French, Cantonese Chinese, and Farsi.
Selected Reading[]
- Wild Cards Volume XV: Black Trump