Name: Condor Joe (Kondoru no Jou)
AKA: Joe Asakura; Giorgio Asakura (Gatchaman) Jason (BotP) Dirk Daring (G-Force) Joe Thax (Eagle Riders)
Nationality: Sicilian (poss. some Japanese heritage)
Age: 18
Birthdate: November 15 (speculated)
Blood Type: Unknown
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 134 lbs. (do you believe it? I don't)
Occupation: Independent stock car racer. Second in command of the Science Ninja Team (designation G-2). Lives in a trailer towed behind his car as he travels from race to race.
Info: Giuseppe Asakura was an important figure in the Galactor Syndicate, as the boss of B. C. Island, an important Galactor recruitment and training facility. Giuseppe's wife, Katarina, may have also been active in the Syndicate, or she may have been closer to the traditional "mob wife" who was not personally involved in the dirty work performed by those under Giuseppe's command. Whatever the circumstances, the Asakuras wanted out of the Syndicate in the worst way. Unfortunately, that's just what they got.
Giuseppe and/or Katarina contacted the International Science Organization, which was as much concerned with global security as technological advancement. One of their most important operatives, Dr. Kozaburo Nambu, was dispatched to B.C. Island for a rendezvous with the Asakuras-- presumably to exchange information about the Galactor Syndicate for the family's safety. Unfortunately, an assassin from the Devil Star got to the Asakuras first. Giuseppe and Katarina were gunned down; their eight-year-old son, Giorgio (or "George", if you insist), confronted the assassin, but was unable to pull the trigger of his father's gun before she threw a rose-bomb at him. The bomb exploded, and the assassin fled, believing her mission completed. Nambu arrived shortly thereafter and discovered that although the Asakuras were dead, their son, though injured, was alive. He forged a death certificate for "Giorgio Asakura" and secreted the boy off B.C. Island.
Ten years later, when Galactor began acting openly, the Science Ninja Team appeared to fight them. The second in command of the Science Ninja came to be known only as "Condor Joe". Raised and trained with the other Science Ninja, Joe burned more than any of them with a deep desire for revenge for the deaths of his parents. He had no idea that Giuseppe and Katarina had been associated with the Syndicate in any way--he only knew that a Galactor had killed his mother and father, and he held every member of Galactor personally responsible for the murders, most of all their enigmatic leader, Berg Katze.
In his private life, kept carefully separate from his identity as a Science Ninja, Joe Asakura is a popular and successful race-car driver. He lives in an Airstreamish trailer which he hauls behind his car between races.
I either got these screengrabs from Carolyn Kaufman's Gatchaman site, or from elsewhere on the Web and I can't remember right now. If you see anything here that's exclusively yours, please let me know if you want it removed. ^^;;
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