Russell Tavaroff

"I just can't shake the suspicion that I'm the same cog in a different machine. First Jacob Kane's, now yours. What's the difference? What's in this... for me?"

—Russell Tavaroff to Black Mask^[src]

Russell Tavaroff is a corrupt former high-ranking agent of Crows Security and a former member of the False Face Society.

Biography[]

Early life[]

At some point, Russell joined Crows Security.

Russell had been winning the Crows poker tournament for two years straight.^[1]

Lead investigator[]

In order to free Angelique Martin from jail, Black Mask had three Crows killed by False Face Society members,^[2] essentially declaring war on the Crows and drawing the attention of Russell.

Russell was having a meeting with Commander Jacob Kane about the incident when Sophie entered the office and told of her failure during her undercover infiltration mission. Commander Kane removed Sophie from the case and gave command to Russell, though Sophie believed that Russell's tactics were not suitable for the mission.

The next evening, Russell ordered the Crows to chase a speeding car that was suspected of being involved in a theft.

Later, Russell and the Crows investigated a warehouse where Batwoman, Sophie, and Black Mask fought; watching security footage, Russell noticed that Batwoman was hit so hard, her mouth was bleeding. Russell went to the puddle of blood and collected a sample.^[3]

Russell gave the DNA sample to the Crows' DNA lab to have it analyzed; he bragged about the fact that soon he will have an identity for Batwoman if she is in the criminal database. Russell checked the computer often for updates. Ultimately, after Russell gathered a few of the Crows to show them the secret identity of Batwoman, the computer revealed that she is not in the database; Sophie then teased Russell for having a party needlessly.^[4]

The next evening, Russell led a squad of Crows to a location where Batwoman was fighting a group of gang members; he and the Crows surrounded her with weapons drawn. Russell told her to surrender, but Batwoman gave a speech about how she was not the enemy and how the Crows were disrupting her operation to learn the identity of Black Mask. Suddenly, Batwoman escaped using a variant of a Grappling gun.^[5]

Guns blazing[]

Two days later, Sophie Moore coming straight from jail, had a meeting with the Crows about the cannibals running through Gotham. Sophie's research showed that the cannibals were focused to a four block radius, but that section was outside of the Crows territory. Agent Tavaroff protested with doing the job, citing the boundary and that Commander Kane had not given the order; then he insulted Sophie telling her to take a break "to get the stink of jail" off her. The agent now had his squadron laughing and smirking. Sophie sternly reminded Agent Tavaroff that she was second-in-command and that he was to follow her directive to protect the citizens.

Russell and his squadron went to a church that was the epicenter of the cannibal attacks; they started shooting everyone they saw. When Sophie asked why she heard gunfire on his radio, Russell said the cannibals were beyond saving, so he was eliminating the problem.

Later, Russell saw two people arguing by a car; the one closer to the car said that the other was trying to rob him of the vehicle. The second man said that the former was a liar and a known car thief, citing that he had a picture of the attempted theft. As the second man reached into his vest to retrieve his phone, Russell yelled, "Gun!" and shot the man in his chest.^[6]

Going rogue and facing Batwoman[]

Shortly after the shooting, Russell was immediately brought in for questioning by the Crows Security higher-ups. After falsely explaining that he shot in response to seeing a gun, he was commended by one of the higher-ups, though Commander Kane asked for his body cam footage before telling Tavaroff to bring in Agent Miller, who was also present at the scene.

As the news of the shooting caused protests across Gotham, Batwoman's investigation led her to Russell through Eli, leading to a fight. Russell narrowly escaped Batwoman after his fellow Crows agents hit her with a car and provided him an easy getaway.

Later, a pressured commander Kane brought Russell in for further questioning in his office, where Russell attacked Kane in hopes to oust him as commander. Keeping him confined to a room with plans to force him to overdose on Snakebite, Russell was thwarted by the returning Batwoman, who was able to take down Russell and his fellow Crows, and free commander Kane.

Russell was later sent to Blackgate Penitentiary as Commander Kane announced his plans to end the Crows after the incident.^[7]

Out on bail[]

Days later, Russell was out on bail. As Russell left the courthouse, Dana Dewitt commented on the news about the protests that were occurring because of him.

Later, Russell went to a poker tournament where only law-enforcement agents were allowed entry; he was surprised when he saw Luke Fox there and called him a stalker.

Though Russell cheated during a poker hand, he still lost to Luke, who won not only Russell's money, but also the money that Russell borrowed to cover the bet. Russell watched as Luke left the table and tipped the dealer.

Angry and embarrassed, Russell went outside and started to beat Luke up until the fight was stopped by John Diggle.^[1]

Joining the False Face Society and incarceration[]

Russell was among the former Crows agents that joined the False Face Society for money.^[8] When Russell stated that he would just be a "cog" in someone's device, Black Mask offered to make him a "machine" instead. Using Bane's Venom and the Snakebite, Black Mask experimented on him which didn't work at first, causing Black Mask to have his body disposed. He regained conscious in Mary Hamilton's clinic and pursued her for the Snakebite that was taken off him before being defeated by Batwing.

After Russell's involvement with the False Face Society was exposed to the public, he was sent back to Blackgate.^[9]

Personality[]

Russell Tavaroff is a selfish individual, that only cares about himself and his reputation. He has little regard to the chain of command within the Crows, evident as when he insulted Sophie Moore when she gave him a direct order as an acting commander, and even though he complied in the end, he disregarded her orders of using non-lethal force. Another example was, that when he was called out by Jacob Kane to answer for his actions, he assaulted him and attempted to kill him by injecting him with an overdose of Snakebite. Thanks to Batwoman's intervention, he was arrested and rightly incarcerated.

Russell was also somewhat of a racist, and had a "shoot first, ask questions later" -way of thinking. When he intercepted Eli and Luke Fox with a car theft, he instantly pulled out a gun on Luke when he went for his pocket to show him photographic evidence on his phone. Whether Russell actually thought it was a gun, is unclear, but he nevertheless had the evidence of the incident doctored to save his own skin. He was also more inclined to believe Eli that Luke was the thief, only because Luke was black.

Powers and abilities[]

Powers[]

• Meta-human physiology: Due to being injected with both Venom and Snakebite, Russell possesses meta-human attributes, such as superhuman strength and durability.
  • Superhuman strength: Russell is much stronger than normal humans and most other meta-humans. For example, he is able to throw around other people with only one arm and was able to overturn a dumpster.
  • Superhuman durability: Russell is far more durable than normal humans and most other meta-humans.

Abilities[]

• Peak of human physical condition: As a former member of Crows Security, Russell is likely in peak condition, given most of their agents are ex-Navy SEALs or Green Berets.^[10]
• Expert hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: As a former Crows agent, Russell is a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist.
• Expert marksman: As a former Crows agent, Russell is highly skilled in the use of firearms. He shot Luke Fox several times without missing. He was also able to gun down several individuals drugged by the imperfect Snakebite.
• Expert tactician/Manipulator/Leader: Russell is a skilled planner and deceiver. Russell was able to lead other Crows agents and coordinate their activities in the field. He was able to fool the Crows Security higher-ups into believing that Luke Fox was with armed a gun and had committed armed robbery.
  • Expert investigator: Russell is an experienced investigator; he was able to notice Batwoman's blood stain on a wall in security footage and collect it in an attempt to discover her true identity.^[5]
• Stealth: As a Crows agent, Russell is trained in stealth tactics and able to get the drop on Batwoman.

Equipment[]

• Venom/Snakebite delivery system: Russell wears a tank and tubes on his person that fed a Venom/Snakebite mix into his system.

Former equipment[]

• Handgun: Like all members of the Crows, Russell carried a handgun as his sidearm.
• Submachine gun: As a member of the Crows, Russell used a submachine gun in the field.

Appearances[]

Batwoman[]

Behind the scenes[]

• In the DC comics, Menace is a former friend of Luke Fox who became his enemy after exposure to the Venom offshoot "Snakebite". He debuted in Batwing #25 (January, 2014).
• Russell's actor, Jesse Hutch, previously portrayed a Crows agent in "Take Your Choice". However, that agent is not the same character as Russell, as he was killed by Alice. He also played officer Daily on Arrow.

References[]