possesses a holographic interface that allows them to communicate over vast distances. He also gets Static a job as an intern at the New York branch of STAR Labs. Supporting characters Barraki Young - Curtis' girlfriend. Don "Jolly Jock" Cornelius - a mob leader, by faking the death of Hardware at the hands of Harm, Harm was left in control of Cornelius' mob sector in Dakota. Deacon "Phreaky Deak" Stuart - a hardcore computer hacker, a friend of Curtis Metcalf's; Deacon "Phreaky Deak" Stuart was first introduced in issue #5. Deathwish (Wilton Johnson) - a psychotic vigilante obsessed with sex related crimes. He was the victim of a brutal family raping of which only he survived. Deathwish was first introduced in issue #5 going up against Hardware; Deathwish appeared in Hardware six times and got his own 4-issue spin-off mini-series in December 1994. It was notable for its use of a pre-operative transsexual protagonist and the exclamation to close the third issue: "Screw art! Let's dance!" (the comic was penned by Maddie Blaustein). Edwin Alva, Sr. - owner of Alva Industries and is the leader of the Indigo Cell in the S.Y.S.T.E.M. organization. Harm (Nick Pugliese) - a super-human mob enforcer who is actually an undercover cop, introduced in issue #10. Reprise - a super-human hitman with the power to make duplicates of himself. Technique (Tiffany Evans) - a phenom, introduced in issue #9, who under Alva's orders became Technique to stop Hardware; in the resulting battle Technique beats up on Hardware badly, teaching him a lesson in humility. Transit - a teleporting superhuman villain. Skills and abilities Curtis Metcalf possesses no superhuman powers but has genius level intelligence, and is considered one of the most brilliant scientific minds on the planet. He has created breakthroughs in metallurgy, computer science, nanotechnology, and plasma weapons. Metcalf is also a good hand-to-hand combatant, having been trained by his father in the martial arts. Equipment Hardware version 2.0 armor All of Curtis Metcalf's superhuman abilities derive from a sophisticated suit of armor called Hardware Version 2.0. Perhaps his greatest invention, the suit successfully integrates cutting edge human technology with that of the incredibly advanced alien civilization, the Cooperative. The Hardware Version 2.0 suit consists of two layers, the basic armor and the external armor, which are described below. Basic armor The basic armor is a plasticized metal alloy of Curtis' own design. Using