Joseph (Joe) Platypus

Joseph (Joe) Platypus

Joe was always a goof-off growing up. Cute but hyperactive, he was never easy for his parents or his teachers to handle. For a kid like this, you might think that going through puberty, even as weird as it was for him, wouldn't make a big mark on his psyche. What could be better for the class-clown's persona than growing a big round head and bubbly eyes?

But the name-calling and the talking behind his back really ate away at his already failing self-confidence, and eventually the class-clown became the class drop-out.

At age 17, Joe decided to go off on his own, looking for a line of work where he could avoid the public eye and just be his own man. He got some lousy low-paying jobs for a little while and managed to save up enough money to buy a one-way plane ticket to the other side of the world.

Joe made his home in the Philippines, were he devoted himself to fishing and living off the land as well as he could. Sure, he was a complete outsider in the fishing village - both because of his big round head and the color of his skin, but the people accepted him warmly into their community. Maybe they did make fun of him, but not as far as he could tell. This was one of the benefits of not knowing the language.

It would be two years before he met his new friends, Bob and Will, and his life would change forever. Though he lacked the superior technical intelligence and fighting skills of the other two commandos, he felt an affinity with them because of their common appearance. He decided he wanted to be a part of whatever journey they decided to take together.