Morgan Blackhand

"It used to think that being a 'Solo' meant something. You were a breed apart, a lone hunter in the depths of nighted city streets. Now, every gonk with a big gun and a chipped-in attitude thinks he's a Solo."

- Morgan Blackhand

A pragmatic Solo with an anodized black-chrome cyberlimb arm. Generally considered to be a "Solo's Solo", with years of experience and ops under his belt.

Morgan Blackhand was Mike Pondsmith's own Solo player-character in Cyberpunk 2020.

Character Traits
According to Mike Pondsmith, Morgan Blackhand is defined by the fact that he is a pragmatist. Blackhand survives because he is street-smart and is constantly looking out for his own best interest.

According to his description in Solo of Fortune 2, Blackhand's reputation as a top Solo is partly due to the fact that he is able to capture targets alive, rather than simply killing them.

In the Cyberpunk 2020 Core Rulebook Morgan is noted to have skill as a Techie, as not to have to rely on others to repair his tech, and has some training in martial arts.

Morgan's handling of incidents, like the attempted kidnapping of Kerry Eurodyne last year, show the touch of the master. It is interesting to note that all five of the kidnappers were captured by Morgan (alone),and turned over to Federal Authorities. They were bruised, battered and beaten, but alive. Any Solo can kill, but only a master like Blackhand can eliminate a threat and embarrass the group's sponsors. Still,embarrassing a huge company like DMS can't make it any easier on your career. It is possible that Morgan's profile may make him less employ-able soon.

Materials
Morgan Blackhand was first mentioned by Mike Pondsmith in the Cyberpunk 2020 referee guide Listen Up, You Primitive Screwheads. In this book, Pondsmith discusses his playstyle and uses Blackhand as an example.

A profile on Morgan Blackhand appears in the Cyberpunk source book ''Solo of Fortune 2. ''He is listed as one of the top 10 Solos-for-hire.

Blackhand's Street Weapons 2020, is a source book for Cyberpunk 2020 that, in-universe, was written by Morgan Blackhand.

Quotes
"After I got out of the Army, I had this problem. I was good at what I did, but no one was hiring. I mean, what do you do when you're a highly trained killer with a background in demolitions? Read the wanted ads?

''After a few months on the Street, I got into a dustdown with a local booster lord. I flatlined him and went back to my drink. Within ten minutes, the recruiter from Millitech came up to me and dropped a business card...''

''Now I'm a company man. The Pay's good, the Work steady, and they pay for my spare parts. So far, I'm still alive.''

So far, so good."

-Morgan Blackhand, Cyberpunk 2020 Core Rulebook

"A lot of battles get won before the first shot is fired. When your eyes meet his, and he knows you're willing to pay the price in blood. His blood, your blood- it doesn't matter to you. You're committed."

-Morgan Blackhand, The Enforcer's Handbook