| Mackie Messer | |
| |
| Biographical Information | |
| Real Name | Detlev Mackintosh |
| Aliases | Mackie Messer, Mack the Knife |
| Gender | Male |
| Class | Ace |
| Wild Card Traits | Phasing |
| Social Information | |
| Place of Birth | Hamburg, Germany |
| Citizenship | Citizen of Germany, deceased |
| Occupation | Criminal, terrorist, assassin |
| Affiliations | Red Army Fraction |
| Allies | Gregg Hartmann |
| Origin | |
| First Appearance | Aces Abroad |
| Creator | Victor Milán |
Mackie Messer is a fictional character from the Wild Cards series of books.
History[]
Mackie's mother was a Scots prostitute. His father was a high officer in the Bundeswehr, or so his mother always claimed. Actually he was an American deserter from 'Nam. Mackie grew up on the streets of Hamburg, sporadically schooled, usually in trouble. He went to Berlin in late 1980s and hooked up with the revived Red Army Fraction terrorist group. He met Gregg Hartmann when the senator was kidnapped by the RAF and Gimli's Jokers for a Just Society. It was there, also, that he became a Hartmann puppet and was maneuvered into going berserk and killing his fellow terrorists to free Hartmann.
Mackie's devotion to Hartmann saw him following the politician to the 1988 Democratic Convention where he attacked several people, committing a murder in the process. After severing the hand of Dr. Tachyon in a botched assassination attempt, he also fought Carnifex, and was responsible for the severe injuries that left Carnifex with numerous scars and a mismatched jaw. An altercation with Demise saw both aces killing one another in a horrific contest of power.
The late Mackie's jacket eventually came into the possession of George G. Battle during the war against the Rox. Battle tricked the ace Cameo into wearing Mackie's jacket by implying that it was actually Black Eagle's jacket. Cameo channeled Mackie, who promptly took control of Cameo's body. Cameo was rescued by her teammate Carnifex, who destroyed Mackie's jacket while fighting the Mackie persona.
Wild Card Traits[]
Mackie can make the molecules of his body resonate to change their phase and interpenetrate other materials. He can walk through walls, and he can also make his hands vibrate very rapidly so that they can cut through any known substance. (Against a very hard substance, he would have to cut more slowly.) His hands can cut through anything physical.
Appearance[]
Mackie is a nervous, pallid little hunchback with straw-colored hair, a long thin nose, sunken cheeks, and a thin-lipped mouth. He's prone to facial tics and his skin has a dry-parchment quality that makes him look older than he really is. He is usually very poorly dressed in stained, worn, jeans and a scruffy black leather jacket.
Personality[]
Mackie is an authentic psychopath. He hates his real first name (which is German slang for homosexual). He has a morbid hatred of homosexuals, predicated on his fear that he might be one, and he hates women as well. He also hates Jews, bums, jokers, and anyone who's better off than he is (which is almost everyone). Only fear and pain turn him on. His hunchback has nothing to do with the wild card. It is the result of a birth defect and causes him constant pain. He fancies himself a Marxist, but actually knows little about politics. He loved working for the terrorists because he loves to kill, personally and up close. He loves and will do anything in the world for Senator Hartmann.
Trivia[]
- "Mack the Knife" is the title of a song in the Threepenny Opera, 1928.
Selected Reading[]
- Wild Cards Volume IV: Aces Abroad
- Wild Cards Volume VI: Ace in the Hole