Howie K

Howie K is a net.hero Kiwi created by Lalo Martins.
Alter Ego:	Kiwi Kiwii Kiwi
Aliases:	The Fighting Kiwi, the Master of Kiwi-Fu
Primary Writer:	Lalo Martins
Status:	Member of the New Misfits
Usability:	Not Reserved

History

Originally a member of Kid Kiwi's Kommandos, Howie has been living in the LNHQ for years. He's spent much of his downtime around Ordinary Lady and her friends. Eventually, as Kid Kiwi became less and less active, a number of birds who had distinctive personalities (see Harris the Kiwi) officially left the Kommandos, becoming LNH members in their own right.

Infinite April would bring Howie an opportunity to improve his skills even more, when Ordinary Lady edited WikiBoy into a martial arts master and ordered him to instruct the whole LNH.

   "Most learned a bit, many forgot everything the next day due to exhaustion, a few were too boneheaded to learn anything at all, and only a handful learned enough to really make a difference. I think I can safely say, I was the best student of all..."

—Howie, 58.5 #12

A few weeks later, after he had informally joined the New Misfits, Mother Time fired a "devolutionary" beam at his friend, Locked Room. Howie jumped in front of the ray, which changed him into a humanoid form. (The implications this has for kiwi cladistics are astounding.)

Howie is 16 in kiwi years.

A version of him also exists on Earth-20, a member of a group of young net.heroes on the run from the law.

Powers and Abilities

Has no powers. He doesn't fly, he doesn't talk to birds. However, he's an extremely capable martial artist, having synthesized the many martial arts he's mastered into his own style, which he calls "kiwi-fu".

Personality

Loyalty is the keyword with this bird; there is nothing more important than his friends, and looking out for them. He's still shaken by the loss of his best friend, Mary Smith; since then, he has been taking his responsibility towards his friends in a fight even more seriously. The fact that the New Misfits still keep dropping like flies isn't helping...

Appearance

Howie is a humanoid bird, about a meter tall, with green, spotted plumage, of very thin feathers, that look a lot like spiky hair. (The LNH Kiwi, or "Apteryx Descrii", is deep green with black spots, as opposed to most other species, which are brown, with or without black spots.) His eyes are all-black, he has black whiskers (not quite as long as a cat, but roughly the same shape), and a long, thin beak. His wing-like arms are barely enough to reach each other, and his feet look like those of a parrot.

Since the New Misfits got new outfits from Paraddox, he's been wearing a sharp, black three-piece suit, a lead-gray shirt, deep green tie, belt, and cuff-links, and a light-gray trenchcoat full of hidden weapons. During a harder-than-usual battle, he'll take off the coat and jacket and wear a martial-artist-style black band on his head.

Relationships

Howie is best friends with Whatever (believed dead). After her "death", he developed a strong, brotherly bond with Mary's other best friend, Locked Room... who also died. He still has deep respect for Ordinary Lady, whom he considers his master in the martial arts.

Appearances

• LNH Comics Presents #498 (Infinite Leadership Crisis Part 463)
• 58.5 #9-13, 17-18, 20-25, 41, 43-45, 47-48
• LNH Comics Presents #510