Cooper

Born in the 2030s, at some point during his adulthood, Cooper served in the United States Marine Corps around the beginning of the Sino-American War, in 2067. Being deployed to the frontlines against the Chinese incursion into Alaska, he witnessed first-hand how close the American territory came to falling into enemy hands, an outcome staved off only by the deployment of West Tek's T-45 power armor. While he believes the power armor was instrumental in holding the line and buying the United States time, Cooper also experienced the first-generation armor's numerous design flaws, of which included a vulnerability in the chestplate welding that resulted in many of his comrades losing their lives to enemy weaponry that penetrated the weak spot.

Following his honorable discharge from the military and return to his home state of California, Cooper entered into a career in acting at Hollywood in Los Angeles. Over the subsequent decade, he established himself as a high-profile actor with a penchant for Western movies such as A Man and His Dog (where he co-starred with the canine actor Roosevelt, whom he eventually adopted as his pet). and The Man from Deadhorse.

At one point, while finishing principal photography on The Man from Deadhorse at California Crest Studios, Cooper expressed misgivings about his sheriff character's actions in the climax, in particular, having the sheriff execute the outlaw (played by Jorge) while he pleaded for his life rather than arresting him. When he tried to take the issue up with the supposed script writer Bob, he found out that the studio had fired Bob due to his alleged communist beliefs. The film director, Emil Dale, asked Howard to follow the revised script and make the movie as the studio wanted: a new western for a "new America." Against his concerns, Cooper ultimately shot the scene as requested, and the movie went on to perform spectacularly.

Plagued by the knowledge that his ex-wife Barb was essentially planning the nuclear annihilation of mankind for Vault-Tec so they could use their “Vaults” to experiment on the remaining American populations, Cooper gave the information to the woman known as Muldaver, whom was considered a “communist” by most political and societal standards for refusing to bow to an unrealistic ideal the government had when it came to war–most notably, the evil Vault-Tec was capable of. Muldaver leaked the information, completely ruining Vault-Tec’s reputation and Barb, learning of Cooper's aid in her ploy, Barb divorced him, leaving them to share custody of their young daughter, Janey.

Following their messy and very publicized divorce, Cooper struggled to regain a foothold in some acting arenas… Whereas in others, he was offered dozens of leading roles in new films, regaining his position as “America's favorite heartthrob cowboy”. Even beginning a career in rather “film noir” type shows and movies, as well as cop-themed media as well. Rumors had it they wanted him to play the Silver Shroud in the upcoming tv show! Those people believed Cooper to be a true American hero, saving them all from certain doom at the whim of an overzealous, sociopathic company.

After the divorce, Cooper moved out and purchased a ranch in Bakersfield, naming it after his star steed, Sugarfoot. The ranch itself is a tourist attraction, summer camp for kids, and horse rehab (another possible publicity stunt, some reporters claimed…) and Cooper lives in a house almost half a mile down the road, often taking the time to visit people at the ranch.