Lady Blackhawk

Zinda Blake (Scenesys ID: 817)
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Profile
Full Name:	Zinda Blake
Gender:	Female
Species:	Human
Theme:	DC (FC)
Occupation:	Pilot / Adventurer
Citizenship:	American
Residence:	Metropolis
Education:	Bachelors at University of Alabama
Status:	Dropped
Groups:	{{{Groups}}}
Other Information
Apparent Age:	{{{PAge}}}	Actual Age:	{{{AAge}}}
Date of Birth	11 July 1920	Actor:	Kirsten Storms
Height:	170.18 cm	Weight:	53 kg
Hair Color:	Blonde	Eye Color:	Blue
Theme Song:	"Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins

Profile

The last surviving Black hawk, the highest scoring female ace of all time. She was featured on recruitment posters, magazine covers and even painted on Combat aircraft the world over. Then in the twilight hours of the war, she vanished over the pacific without a trace. Until now, that is.

Sheet

Description

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Zinda Blake has been called an awful lot of things, but nobody ever accused her of being "too subtle" and it shows. Skin as white as alabaster, a complexion as clear as crystal. She's a younger thing then, clearly in her twenties and gifted with a lean athletic build. Her proportions are straight out of some kind of fourties pin up, and well thats no joke. Bright blue eyes, and the sort've smile that could melt steel beams. That long curly blonde hair of hers left in lazy sausage links, the package is decidedly classical then. The outfit of course, doesn't help dissuade from that opinion. A short black pleated skirt that doesn't get anywhere near her knees, calf high boots trimmed with neat brass rivets. A tight black T-shirt, and a beat up charcoal grey flight jacket with that distinctive bright orange liner and all.

History

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The Blake family was once upon a time best known for it's Bourbon, and was for a time one of the wealthiest families in Alabama. Abraham (Abe) Blake was born to wealth and privilege, though Abe himself was perhaps best known for his gambling habit. However when World War one kicked off, he used his family's influence to swing himself juicy posting. Whilst he might have become an aviator initially if only to get chicks, Abe fell in love with the flying more than anything. He'd go on to serve with distinction, by the end of the war he'd made Ace. Peacetime life however was hard on Abe, robbed of any adventure he eventually found himself headlining aerial circus acts across the US. It's there he met Annabelle Lisowski, a Polish Immigrant and wing walker. The couple married after just a few months, and by 1920 their daughter Zinda was born.

Prohibition came later that same year, and officially at least it put "Blake Bourbon" out of business. The family resorted to bootlegging just to stay afloat, and of course Abe was hardly opposed to flying booze to wherever it needed to go. Zinda's childhood was a whirlwind of cross country trips, and flights to clandestine landing strips on her father's lap. When other girls were playing with dolls, Zinda was building scale models and helping her father wrench in the hangar. By 33' The family had enough booze money saved up to purchase Granville Aviation. By day she had the best tutors money could by, and then she'd slip down to the factory to help build aircraft.

By 1936 not all was roses for Zinda, if only because she was stonewalled in her attempts to score her official ticket. Technically speaking "Zinda Blake" never got her pilot's license before the war, but "Blake Zinder" did. Even with her ticket, she was never taken seriously on account of both her age and her gender. So it was in stolen family hardware she entered the 1937 Bendix air race, and won. The victory was enough to open her entry into next year's race, but still she was up against a united front. She couldn't find sponsors, most major air races wouldn't permit her entry.

1937 was declared a fluke, and for 1938 she was placed in the unlimited class. There it was felt her machine would fail to compete, and her skills would come up short. Putting an end to all this nonsense, which had caused already a slow increase in women's attendance in flight schools nationwide. However her chances in 38' were lukewarm at best, her airplane was already borderline obsolete by 37' and the course for 38 was nearly double the distance. So she set to work, working with a limited budget with a looming deadline. The resulting "clipped Wing Killer", was considered unflyable at the time. With the deletion of most of the safety gear, much of it's structural reinforcement, the reduction of wingspan and control surfaces, and the addition of fuel tanks basically everywhere they fit? Competitors and race organizers alike begged her not to compete, She was going to get herself killed.

When Zinda finally landed she had to be pulled out of the cockpit, and would go on to spend another week in the hospital for smoke inhalation, burns and a partially dislocated shoulder. However she had the 38' trophy in her room to keep her company, and finally sponsorships started popping up. Only war was looming on the horizon, and air racing was getting kind of stale really. So she flew to England to enlist, if only because it's what her father had done and well War seemed like a whole lot of fun. The Brits turned her down, as did the Free French, and the Polish Squadrons. She heard about the US entrance into the war in the lobby of a hotel in Stalingrad, after the Russians too had turned her down. She was going to miss the war at this rate.

That's when she heard about the Blackhawks, and their activities in North Africa. They were an NGA, so surely they didn't have a rule against a woman joining right? So she made her way to Cairo, "borrowed" a beat up Ford Trimotor and headed into the desert. Only it wasn't the Blackhawks she ran into first, it was the Luftwaffe. Ordered down by a flight of 109s, she played along. A few of the pilots had heard of her racing exploits in America, and she's a woman so obviously she's no threat. So they had her for dinner, and they brought out the drinks. At which point Zinda abandoned her role as a civilian, and got to work.

She drank half the base under the table, and then in the early morning hours snuck out of the mess tent. She snagged an armful of maps on her way, and "borrowed" a parked ME-109. Making good her escape in the predawn darkness, she used a lighter to plot a course to a patch of desert where the most 109s had gone down. Sure enough she didn't have long before she was intercepted by a flight of XF5s, with a white handkerchief held out the window to signal her surrender she was escorted to a remote airfield. Unfortunately Blackhawk himself wasn't sold on the idea, but with half the team down with busted hardware he didn't turn her away.

Her spirits rallied by the prospect of having a shot, she spent the rest of the day and most of the night proving her mechanical expertise. It wasn't enough to get the whole squadron back in the air, so by the next morning she'd painted the captured 109 in Blackhawk colors and pressed for a chance at a tryout. From there she was granted provisional status, using her 109 to run recon flights and eventually seeing combat. Within a week of seeing her first combat, Zinda had four kills to her name and all doubts of her ability were erased. February of 1940, Zinda Blake put on the uniform for the first time and became "Lady Blackhawk" for the first time.

As the war went on, slowly the thrill of aerial combat began to fade. Underslept, underfed, and bouncing between drunk and adrenaline withdrawals. She flew over mass graves, over masses of men drowning as burning ships sank beneath the waves. The howl of allied pilots as they were snuffed out, by 42' She'd stopped reading the newspapers. She stopped writing letters home, then she stopped reading those her parents sent. Gradually she disconnected herself from everything outside of the Blackhawks, but she never stopped flying. She developed steadily from a great pilot, into a true ace. The squadron gradually became family, her fellow pilots like brothers and she their sister. Enthusiasm became grim determination, and so came that legendary cool of hers.

Even by 45' with the end of the war looming, there was no talk of retirement from anyone. Just quiet professional discussions about air bases in China, and the Red menace they all knew was coming. With the end of the war so close, she was drafted for a recon run over a chain of islands south of Tokyo, looking for evidence of mine laying. Mission complete, she radioed back she'd spotted a pair of zeroes and was engaging. 8:27AM September 1st, 1945 Lady Blackhawk herself goes missing. There was an exhaustive search performed, and though records revealed two zeroes were missing only the wreckage of one could be located. There were rumors of her capture, that she'd defected to the russians, been abducted by aliens, had fled and retired to obscurity somewhere. No trace of Zinda was to be found however.

77 years passed, and there had been books, comic books, even a few movies about her. Her home town of Randolph Alabama even erected a statue of her, albeit with a longer skirt for obvious reasons. The Blackhawks got old, ceased military operations in the late 50s and started flying freight. Granting Zinda 1/8th share should she or her descendants ever come forward. Then at 8:28AM September 1st, 2022 Zinda came back. The JSDF intercept ended in a near furball, until a USAF F-22 could get on scene and talk her down. There was a brief explosion of publicity whilst she was in Japan, before she was able to slip back into America under relative obscurity. Culture shock was real, but she had a veritable cornucopia of lovely new aircraft to keep herself occupied with.

Since her return she's been somewhat adrift, flying freight isn't really her thing. Air racing is pretty much extinct, proper wars are muddy ugly things without the dignity of a proper air war. She went to college, got her Bachelors in Aerospace engineering. Spent some time getting her A&P certifications back, finally got a proper pilot's license under her legal name for the first time. Bought a house, bought some airplanes but for the most part Zinda's been somewhat adrift.

Personality

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At the bottom of it all, Zinda has a warriors heart. As Lady Blackhawk the flying ace, Shes cool, collected and utterly ruthless when necessary. Shes been shot, stabbed, tortured, brainwashed and killed more men than anyone should ever have to. As Zinda shes a hard drinking party girl,bubbly, kind and considerate. What ties that all together is a profound appreciation for just how fleeting and delicate life can be. It should be protected at all costs certainly, and enjoyed to its fullest otherwise. So she does indeed tend to give out somewhat accidental "Mother hen vibes", it's not her fault nobody knows how to cook worth a damn anymore.

Abilities

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BLAKE SPECIAL 003
The 003 is a cleansheet advanced propeller fighter aircraft, put together shortly after Zinda's return to keep herself busy. There were no shortage of aviation engineers and even a few companies who were eager to lend a hand with some of the more technologically intensive bits, but the majority is Zinda's work. Constructed primarily from carbon composite, aircraft aluminum, titanium and powered by an Inverted supercharged and turbocharged V-12 driving a contrarotating propeller through an infinitely variable gearbox. For a prop driven plane the 003 is quite fast, capable of nearly six hundred miles an hour at altitude and capable of almost nine thousand feet a minute in a climb. It's G rated well in excess of what a human skeleton can survive, and lacks any digitized flight control scheme save for engine management. The result is an aircraft which is borderline uncontrollable by anyone but Zinda, and more than able to keep up with a pilot of her caliber.

It's war load is fully removable, and fairly light by WW2 standards. A pair of fifty cals in the wings, and a rail gun mounted centerline firing through the propeller hub. There are hard points for additional bombs, drop tanks and missiles when necessary. The resulting Ferry range is around 1900 miles, or 450 on internal fuel only. There is space for a passenger behind the cockpit, but it's pretty cramped and intended primarily for important luggage like booze and smokes. Painted in the distinctive blue and Red of the Blackhawks, it might be a fearsome prop plane but it's hardly subtle.

Skills

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ACE PILOT
If it flies, Zinda can fly it. She's been around aviation her entire life, and has the accolades to prove it. Certified to fly virtually every type of aircraft in circulation, a national championship air racer, aerobatic pilot and of course fighter pilot. Her stick and rudder skills were legendary to begin with, and were honed to a razor's edge during five years of full scale global warfare. WW2's confirmed deadliest female ace, and one of the top aces overall of the war. From biplanes to stealth fighters, if it flies she's dangerous.

A&P
Zinda's family business was aircraft, and she spent most of her free time in the factory helping out. She was a certified A&P before the war, played mechanic throughout the war and got recertified when she returned. She builds aircraft from scratch for fun, so wrenching on the odd car or fixing the coffee maker is no problem. Whilst she's no wizard with most of the advanced aeronautical systems in aircraft today, she's more than able to work her way through the problem given enough time.

BRAWLER
Zinda's never been trained by mysterious kung-fu masters from far away lands, and she has no idea what to do with a sword. She was shown how to box during the war, but beyond some basic instruction she's had mostly on the job training. She knows to keep her hands up, has a pretty amazing right hook and can zing a bottle of booze with remarkable accuracy. She's more than able to lay out your typical thugs, but against well trained opponents she tends to run out of skill fairly early. Not that she's above using a pair of brass knucks to level the playing field a little of course.

MARKSMANSHIP
She was raised in rural Alabama, so yes of course she knows how to shoot a gun. Her skill with a pistol, or even a pair of them at the same time is downright exceptional. Like most great fighter pilots she's downright surgical with a shotgun, more than able to bust clays or fast moving enemies when the need presents itself. She's quite familiar with battle rifles, automatic weapons and even heavier man portable things like flame throwers and rocket launchers.

STRATEGY
Zora's understanding of strategy is largely confined to air combat, but it's quite in depth. Even in an age of guided missiles and stealth technology, the basics elementals of fighter strategy remain. She understands on a visceral level how to conduct air combat in both the tactical and the strategic sense. Whilst that does translate somewhat to broader ground wars, it becomes more simplistic as the area of expertise diverges of course.

Resources

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BLACKHAWK AIRCRAFT
In addition to a hangar full of old busted planes, and one hotrod Zinda's been busy buying aircraft for the Blackhawks. Most of that is surplus fighter aircraft, which is more than enough for the usual low intensity work the Blackhawks specialize in. Theres also a 737 Freighter gutted to carry her Blake Special, a pair of PC-24 and a smattering of helicopters. All in all it's mostly out of date, but it's likely enough to get a new Blackhawks air wing started.

BLACKHAWK FREIGHT
The core business concern of the old Blackhawks evolved into Blackhawk Freight, a large multinational Freight airline. The Corporate side generally is not thrilled that Zinda is back, or that her skirt is dramatically shorter than was previously believed. Zinda likewise doesn't much like the airline being run by a bunch of businessmen who aren't even pilots. Whilst the pilots who work for Blackhawk, and many in management think the world of Zinda corporate is more than eager to pay her to stay away. She maintains access to their fleet of aircraft, and supply lines for parts and equipment. Generally this just means she can collect fairly fat paychecks, and get a discount on more "conventional" aircraft purchases.

BLACKHAWK ISLAND
The island was kept somewhat operational as a matter of contract well after the Blackhawks stopped flying sorties, though it took Zinda's return to get it in shape oncemore. Above ground the Island looks just as derelict as it has for many years, and it's still absent from the majority of flight charts in ciculation. The Runway has been repaired and strenghtened to cope with modern aircraft, the control tower was brought back online and the radar replaced with more modern kit. The hangars, generators and living quarters were all moved below ground with aircraft access via a large elevator. The Island is in international waters, and remains outside of US authority.

FAME
The Lady Blackhawk is rightly, famous in some circles even today. She was a contemporary of the original Black Canary, knew the original Spy smasher. Her image graced recruiting posters, and tales of her exploits made their way into comic books and movies. She broke barriers for women in Aviation, and she had the concrete accomplishments necessary to back up all that praise. She's been painted on American combat aircraft since the second world war, and even now is happy to drop by officer's clubs and military dive bars when invited. As a result more than a few pilots both former and retired, are quite willing to extend her a favor now and then. Even a hot tip if they think she needs it. A modern fighter jet of her very own, or free roam of a military base? No. Free hangar space, help finding spare parts or a free drink? Certainly.

PETTING ZOO

The Blackhawks kept buying combat aircraft well into the early years of the cold war, and were eager buyers of surplused combat aircraft from the second world war. The result is a collection of aircraft in varying states of disrepair which spans aproximately 1939-1950. Zinda continues to "adopt" discarded surplus aircraft to this day of course, resulting in an impressive collection of vintage air power. The majority of these are far from operational, but they are complete and ready to be restored when she has the money and time.

Weaknesses

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COCKY
Like any good fighter Pilot, Zinda knows she can win this no matter the odds. That sense of boundless self confidence is probably legit when she's in the cockpit, but there really isn't an off switch. Superhuman, Mutant, enormous terror beast? Yeah if she thinks it needs fighting, she's liable to wade right in there and get to swinging or shooting. No matter how obvious it should be that she's overmatched, that the odds aren't in her favor and that it's hopeless? She's likely to keep going until the bloody end, never doubting that somehow, someway she'll catch it on the river card. That sort of swagger also tends to come off as either arrogant or downright stupid, and really it's as essential as air to her being.

OLDSKOOL
She's done an admirable job really, but she's still only somewhat computer literate. She can get online and surf the web, she knows how to run diagnostics on an aircraft or work a modern cockpit. However still pecks at the keyboard, is occasionally baffled by her smartphone and has absolutely no grasp of programming. She misses pop culture references left and right, finds much of modern slang baffling, and some social conventions still don't sit right with her. To a hacker she's an easy target, but thankfully her relative discomfort with modern conveniences does limit just how destructive they might be.

Logs

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Title	Date	Scene Summary
Two Birds in Hand	December 7th, 2020	Dinah hires a pilot for her band
It's a Beautiful Morning for Flying	November 19th, 2020	Zinda and Power Girl hang out.
Ladyhawk	November 15th, 2020	Zinda and Steve meet up for coffee
Going for a Ride	November 13th, 2020	Zinda picks up Sandy
Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world...	October 25th, 2020	A couple of pilots reconnect in a bar after the War.
Just a Quick Stop	September 22nd, 2020	Zinda, Sandy, and June head to an upstate crook's farmhouse to get some info. It goes mostly well.
Please Fasten Your Seatbelts	September 21st, 2020	Zinda meets June to fly her out to the latest infiltration mission.
Just another night in the ER	September 11th, 2020	Zinda meets Sandy in the E.R.
Just a Little Engine Trouble	September 7th, 2020	Joseph helps a lady in distress
A Bird In The Hand=The first step in building Birds of Prey	August 18th, 2020	And the Birds are born!
Wait, We're Headed Where	March 13th, 2019	Steve is treated to some good ol' fashioned Southern food and hospitality at Zinda's event in Alabama.
Just hangin'	March 10th, 2019	Some bullies get more than they bargain for.
Three Ladies at a Bar Fight	February 19th, 2019	Summary needed
School Night	February 18th, 2019	Summary needed
Frequent Flier miles	February 16th, 2019	Summary needed
Factory Follies	February 15th, 2019	Summary needed
Air mail in Jersey	February 15th, 2019	Summary needed
Flying Into Danger	June 7th, 2018	1940something. Zinda's flight wing is shot down. She escapes. The precious cargo is lost on an uncharted volcanic island in the South Pacific. Part 1 of 2.
Test flight, Cranston One	May 10th, 2018	Thanks to a timely intervention by Power Girl, the first test flight of the prototype aircraft goes off without any more than a minor hitch.
War Heroes	April 19th, 2018	Cap and Zinda run into each other at a VA hospital and pay their respects to veterans.
On Patrol	March 22nd, 2018	Hal spots an antique. Plane, that is.
Welcome to Blackhawk Island	March 12th, 2018	Zinda shows Natasha around the refurbished island base.
Keep them Flying	March 3rd, 2018	Flyboy of a different Ilk Kyle Rayner is hustling for Freelance work and meets up with Zinda Blake and explains her significance to art history, and how she perfectly matches up with the mathematical definition of beauty.
Tidepool: Old wings still beat air	February 11th, 2018	Lady Blackhawk takes to the skies and reaches out to her friends on the airshow circuits - people who know how to fly a cold stick - to enlist them into helping patch up CMS' transport problems, improving its ability to keep the commerce flowing.
A WHAT walked into the bar	February 10th, 2018	Zinda meets a space raccoon in a bar. No, really.
AtatatatatatatFOOOOM!	January 31st, 2018	Zinda shows Alex her aeroplane.
The Rescue	January 5th, 2018	Zinda and Spoiler meet in a Gotham alley
Power Girl Would Have Appreciated The Compliment If She Got The Reference	December 21st, 2017	Summary needed
Do You Know What You're Doing	December 13th, 2017	Are the Blackhawks going into business soon?
Negotiations over drinks	December 12th, 2017	Natasha and Zinda come to very agreeable terms. In exchange for Zinda's support for a renewed takeover bid of Blackhawk Freight, Natasha will support Zinda's efforts to rebuild the original Blackhawks. In the meantime, the CEO of Cranston Multinational Shipping obtains the services of an excellent personal pilot and test pilot...
A Couple of Antiques	December 9th, 2017	Summary needed
Log	September 1st, 2017	Summary needed
Log 2024	August 16th, 2017	Summary needed
Log 1797	August 3rd, 2017	Summary needed
Once Upon a time in Mexico	July 27th, 2017	Summary needed
Of Monsters	July 26th, 2017	Summary needed
Log	July 25th, 2017	Summary needed
Log	July 13th, 2017	Summary needed
What's The Plan	July 11th, 2017	Summary needed
Downtime	July 10th, 2017	Summary needed
Log	July 9th, 2017	Summary needed
The Maroon Berets.	July 4th, 2017	The Blackhawks go to find about their new job, and get into more than what they bargained for. Grace debuts as a potential recruit into the team.
All About The Guy With Dad-Vibes or Holy Ares, Batman!	July 2nd, 2017	Summary needed
Of Gods and Birds.	July 2nd, 2017	Summary needed
Log	June 27th, 2017	Summary needed
Log	June 27th, 2017	Summary needed
Three Birds and a God go Into a Bar	June 25th, 2017	Summary needed
Log	June 23rd, 2017	Summary needed
The Godsend Bar, Happy Hour	June 21st, 2017	Summary needed
Log	June 20th, 2017	Summary needed
Log	June 20th, 2017	Summary needed
The Family Resemblance Is In The Eyepatch	June 19th, 2017	Summary needed
Log	June 19th, 2017	Summary needed
Log	June 16th, 2017	Summary needed
Log	June 16th, 2017	Summary needed
Return to Black Hawk Island	June 15th, 2017	Summary needed
Beaches of Brazil	June 15th, 2017	Summary needed
The making of a Blackhawk	June 15th, 2017	Summary needed
Log	June 14th, 2017	Summary needed
Going to See a Man about a Plane	June 14th, 2017	Summary needed
Lady Blackhawk and the Little Bird	June 12th, 2017	Summary needed
Log	June 4th, 2017	Summary needed
An Estimation, of GLORY!	June 1st, 2017	Summary needed

Cutscenes

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Gallery

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