Ben Daimio
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| Ben Daimio | |
 Capt. Ben Daimio by Guy Davis |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Dark Horse Comics |
| First appearance | B.P.R.D.: The Dead #1 |
| Created by | Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, and Guy Davis |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Captain Benjamin "Ben" Daimio |
| Team affiliations | Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence U.S. Marines, Green Berets, Pentagon |
| Abilities | unknown; transformed into a monster under extreme stress |
Ben Daimio is a fictional character in the Dark Horse Comics universe. He works for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.
[edit] Background
As revealed in the second issue of B.P.R.D.: The Universal Machine, Captain Ben Daimio was the former leader of a squad of Marines assigned to a mission in the Bolivian jungle (numbered D16F8-4188) on June 10, 2001. The mission resulted in the deaths of Daimio and his entire squad. Daimio's corpse was recovered and scheduled for autopsy on June 13. However, he returned to life just prior to the procedure, cutting his way out of his body bag. After a brief period of recovery, Daimio was transferred to Pentagon Special Ops and began acting as an informal consultant to the B.P.R.D.
In 2004 - after Dr. Kate Corrigan and Abe Sapien requested leave during B.P.R.D.: The Dead - Daimio left the Pentagon and joined the B.P.R.D as Field Team Commander. He spearheaded the relocation of the Bureau from Fairfield, Connecticut to the mothballed Center for Defense Research and Development in the Colorado mountains - a secret facility he became aware of during his time in the Pentagon. The move was not without difficulties and Daimio's blunt attitude, callousness and preference for force over diplomacy caused friction within the team, particularly with Liz Sherman.
Daimio still displays serious facial trauma from the events that killed him in 2001, including a gaping tear in his left cheek and missing left ear. It is unknown whether he has refused reconstructive surgery, or if such surgery has proved impossible due to his unclear medical status.
After the events of The Dead, Daimio has begun undergoing medical treatments with an apparition he calls 'Chinaman'. These mysterious treatments seem linked to a bizarre, monkey-like specimen in a jar Daimio recovered that had once belonged to a WWII-era character known as The Crimson Lotus. The embalmed creature appears identical to one that appeared to Daimio just before his death in the jungle.
[edit] B.P.R.D.: The Universal Machine
According to his recollection of events in The Universal Machine, Daimio was leader of a squad of 8 US Marines on a rescue mission in Bolivia, in autumn, 2001. Daimio's team was sent to rescue nuns apparently captured by a fundamentalist group called the True Path. Members of his squad expressed concern for the strange nature of their mission. The concern was specifically that it was uncharacteristic of the True Path (known as a peaceful political group) to engage in violent activities.
The squad soon came upon a nun, kneeling at the river. However, it was a trap. Instead of a face, the nun had a jaguar's skull. The native jaguar cult responsible surrounded the team; although Daimio protested, the team opened fire and cut every man down after one of their squad was shot in the neck with a dart.
The team was immediately attacked by a shapeless entity that seemed to be part of the forest. Nearly every Marine was torn to pieces by the spectre. Eventually, the attack ceased, leaving Daimio alone with the last member of his squad, Private Ramirez. Daimio, in shock at the strange and violent nature of the attack, did not notice when Ramirez was replaced (and presumably killed) by the nun, who appeared to be an undead monster. She attacked Daimio, biting him and tearing off his left ear and much of the left side of his face.
Daimio managed to destroy the creature, and retreated into the jungle. In shock from loss of blood, he encountered visions of his dead teammates, a talking monkey, and a giant jaguar-like demigod. This beast, which had apparently been the focus of worship for the natives, told Daimio that his life was over and a new life was to begin. Ben Daimio collapsed and died from his injuries.
He awoke in a morgue three days later.
[edit] B.P.R.D.: Killing Ground
After years of faithful service to the Bureau, Daimio's loyalty was called into question by Johann Kraus. Kraus had discovered that Daimio's grandmother was The Crimson Lotus, a Nazi super-villain active during the second World War. Soon after this revelation, Daimio began to act erratically.
It appeared that Daimio was killed soon afterwards by a mysterious invader; the man launched a rocket at Daimio's room. However, Daimio emerged from the flames as a monstrous, jaguar-like creature. The creature twice attempted to kill Liz Sherman, but was thwarted first by Abe Sapien and Agent Devon, and then by Johann Kraus, whose ghostly spirit was in possession of a superhuman host at the time. However, before escaping, Daimio tore off the jaw of Kraus's host body, effectively killing it, but leaving Kraus's spirit unharmed.
The final issue reveals that Daimio was changed by the jaguar-spirit while he was in Bolivia, causing him to involuntarily transform into the jaguar-like creature at night. His treatments with the "Chinaman" were supposed to suppress this transformation, but eventually it became too strong and he could no longer contain it. It is also revealed that he caused all of the deaths inside B.P.R.D. headquarters during this mini-series, contrary to the initial belief that it was a rampaging wendigo. Daimio's current activities are unknown, but he was last seen in the Colorado wilderness, standing before the now released wendigo.
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