Danny Black is a member of the SAS.
He is not a spy. He is a soldier. More specifically he is, at the time we first meet him, a new member to one of the most elite special operations organization ever, the British Special Air Squadron. He is proud as he can be to wear the patch of the SAS and he would have not been amused if one were to think of him as a spook. He was a soldier. He was SAS.
Black is 23 years old when the first recorded adventure begins. We learn early on that his father, a member of the Parachute Regiment had been severely wounded and his mother killed just a few minutes after his birth by an IRA member. We also learn that his older brother has major issues with drugs and is just out of prison as a result. These things might have proven a dangerous distraction to young Black but it seemed to help him focus on his missions, perhaps to block other things.
When he focuses, though, he is a force all on his own and it is for that reason he is in the compendium. MI6 learns just as the Army had that Black is extremely sharp, highly intelligent, and steadfastly determined. Since he has proven several times before we meet him and will continue to do so over the several adventures we have that he can and does work well with a team but he also can operate all by himself just as well. This means that when the Intelligence community needs a trained killer able to do so in the toughest of conditions all on his own and be able to find his way home again, they just need to look to Danny Black.
It is interesting, and fun to read, that Black is a man MI6 likes to have carry out their black-ops but his opinion of spooks in general and MI6 in specifics is not a very good one. It makes for enjoyable dialogue.
Good Line:
- "Bravery is always a gamble. You never know how it will turn out."