Puppetman (Gregg Hartmann)
Created by:
Stephen Leigh
Politicians generally aren’t shy when it comes to feeding on other people’s misery, but this guy’s utilised his hidden Ace power to turn it into an art form. Say hello to the charismatic Senator Gregg Hartmann, the Wild Cards’ resident villain and psychic vampire extraordinaire. The only difference between him and Ti Malice is his suits fit him better.
Hartmann gets off on his telepathic ability to amplify or suppress the emotions in anyone he’s had physical contact with — and politicians just love shaking hands, don’t they? — and thus, is able to bring the worst out of everyone he meets while smiling at the camera and looking noble. Repressed loathing is no longer repressed, while the merely violent become murderous all of a sudden. This possible future president’s got a lot of skeletons in his closet. Still, he’s probably no worse than the rest of the candidates out there.
Positive attributes – None.
Negative character traits – Psychopath, sadist, megalomaniac, mentally unstable, totally self-centred, weak-willed, pathological liar.
In a nutshell – Master manipulator.
