Background:

Michael D. Echanis was born sometime in the fall of 1988 and as it was not recorded at the time has chosen the 8th of September as his date of birth. For the first four years of his life Michael lived off the grid in the Rocky Mountains under the care of his uncle and mother. When he was four years old they moved to Junction City, Kansas where he was enrolled in school. This was also the first time he officially appeared on any kind of formal records.

From an earlier age and throughout his adult life Michael received training directly from his uncle in Hwarang-do. He was raised to believe strongly in the 5 governing tenants of the Hwarang-do philosophy. These are Loyalty to Ones Country, Loyalty to Ones Parents and Teachers, Trust and Brotherhood among Friends, Courage Never to Retreat in the Face of the Enemy and Justice Never to take a life without cause. The teaching of these principles were heavily coloured by his uncles own experiences and the difficulties he had had throughout his life with these priniciples, particularly the area of where these fundamental principles had been betrayed by the person they should be applied to. He was also convinced from an early age that his abilities came from his teachings of Hwarang-Do, he was convinced to try to keep these powers secret and that too many people knowing of his abilities would be dangerous.

Michael attended the St Xavier high school in Junction City and it was here that he first met his arch rival in seemingly all things, Joseph Clayton Webb. The other thing that he gained at this time that he would carry through the rest of his life was the nickname Doc due to his beginning initials, M.D. He and Joseph competed throughout the whole of high school in both sports and academia. Their rivalry was truly cemented when in his graduating year Michael’s girlfriend dumped him to start dating Joe. From that point on their rivalry became truly fierce.

In 2006 Michael graduated high school and went on to attend West Point Military Academy. Less than a week in to his education, he discovered that Joe was also attending the Point, while trying out for the Black Knight Football team. The two of them embarked on an aggressively fierce rivalry throughout their stay, often breaking each other’s records. The two of them found themselves in the Commandants office on a regular basis and both were almost expelled on more than one occasion for violation of the Cadet Honour Code. Both of them were narrowly saved by the great potential shown in their achievements.

Upon graduating West Point in 2010, placed just three ranks lower than Joe in the class standings, he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the 75th Ranger Regiment and was sent to Fort Benning to take command of his Platoon. Two months later his unit shipped out for Iraq.

Michael served in on the front lines for the next six years serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria and even taking part in Operation Neptune’s Spear. He attained the rank of 1st Lieutenant, and even held the rank of Brevet Captain for a short time. During this time he was awarded both the Silver Star and Purple Heart. He managed to convince his fellow soldiers that his abilities came from hard training in an ancient martial art and luck. It was after the action for which he was awarded the Silver Star, during which he was badly wounded that he was transferred to serve in the JAG Corp, to see out the remainder of his service before being honourably discharged due to wounds sustained during combat, as a normal man would not have been able to return to combat duty after the wounds sustained.

During his service he and Joe continued to cross paths as Joe had joined the 109th Military Intelligence Brigade, and was often assigned to the 75th as an Intel operative. The last Michael had heard he had attained the Rank of Major and had left the military in 2018.

Civilian life did not suit Michael well and he soon found himself completing an application form to join the international law enforcement agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D. He completed basic training and followed that up with a specialisation in Tactical Command. He served a short six month field assessment under a senior field agent before being assigned to the Bifrost.

Personality:

Michael has a fierce sense of duty, honour and loyalty. He was raised to believe in respecting others and in being the best and giving your best in anything worth doing. However this was also tinged with the proviso that people had to be worthy of that respect and that even loyalty is earned to a degree. If you want your people to be loyal to you, you have to be loyal to them. He has an excellent memory and is capable of memorising and absorbing a great deal of information in a short space of time.

He can be disciplined at times but is considered something of a wild card when it comes to actual operations, which often caused conflicts with his senior officers when he served in the army. Oddly during his time with the JAG Corp this maverick style turned out to be a distinct asset.

Michael has also from time to time been seen to have a ruthless streak unrivalled by any member of his family, even by those that share is bloodline but refuse to recognise him.
When not being a leader he can be a fun and easy going person and sometimes reckless, it is almost like he has been trained to be the polar opposite of his natural inclinations. Generally his learning wins out over his instincts but not all the time.

Michael is passionate about the art of Hwarang-Do and looks to further explore his knowledge of this art.