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abilities - expanded
Jul. 26th, 2021 11:18 pmAsh was trained by a Russian assassin who's impossibly skilled himself. However, since it was only two years, his teacher is still considerably better. Still, he's very skilled and will be a problem for most normal humans. Characters from more fantastical series such as Final Fantasy will have no problem in straight combat and superheroes will have less difficulty. This isn't factoring in tactics and weaknesses since Ash is also extremely intelligent.
Below are some gifs which I find highlight some of his flashier moves.
Cut for blood. Click to expand
However, his skills aren't limited to fighting. He's also trained in assassination, tactics, and torture. Ash has spent much of his life being smaller than his opponent and often wins by using his brain just as much, if not more, than his brawn. For example, he makes good use of darkness, often knocking out the lights or cutting the power to give him an edge since he's good at fighting in the dark. Once, this is done to allow him to avoid a sniper, the next to survive a train full of men trying to kill him, and finally to kill off a group of men who were trying to capture him. Another example of the tactician in him is the use of a bedsheet to throw a very large man off-guard so he can take him down.
Thankfully, he only refers to his ability to torture; it isn't shown in series.
Two more things of note are that he's stronger he looks and seems to have a strong resistance to drugs and injuries. Like all things, his strength is human, but he's seen pulling a decent-sized man up the length of his body while keeping them both hanging from an elevator using only a single hand. It's done with no small amount of difficulty, but he manages. Finally, we see him capable of fighting even while injured, sometimes charging in spite of being shot. While he certainly can be drugged with effectiveness, it will take a large dose or a strong drug to keep him out.
Weapons
Like hand-to-hand combat, Ash is very proficient with weapons. He's seen to handle various guns with ease, and his shot is almost always accurate, missing only when injured. Examples of his aim include being able to knick the ear of a man he's aiming at, even with a gun that's not known for its precision. His choice of gun is the Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum with the barrel cut short (3.5"). Below is a list of guns we see Ash use or handle with some level of understanding. All credit goes to the Internet Movie Firearm Data Base for this information.
Pistols: Colt Government Model, Glock 17, Glock 19, Heckler & Koch USP, M1911A1, SIG-Sauer P250 Compact
Revolvers: Smith & Wesson Model 19, Smith & Wesson Model 27
Submachine Gums: Heckler & Koch MP7A1, Remington ACR
Rocket Launcher: M203A1 Grenade Launcher
Though it's not shown, it's very likely he's capable of using grenades and sniper rifles as well. Grenades are self-explanatory, but Ash is also capable of projecting where the shot was fired from when a sniper rifle kills someone in series and it's a staple of his teacher.
He's also capable of maintaining his guns.
In addition, he's capable of using a knife with some skill, switching it between two hands without problem. Overall dexterous, we see him spinning forks and such in his hand, indicating it's likely he can do the same with knives. He also bests his knife-wielding rival even while highly injured. At one point, he's seen throwing a knife with the same precision and skill.
Finally, we see him fighting with pipes in a way that suggests he's good even with blunt objects.
Below is a gif showing an example of his accuracy. Due to the violent nature of the clip, I'll put it behind a cut. While there are many gunfights in the series, it largely amounts to "and Ash shoots people".
Cut for blood. Click to expand
Intelligence
Canonically, Ash has an I.Q. of over 200. Probably, it's between 201-209 with the lower range most likely. While some of this is due to good education, he's also naturally intelligent and took well to studying. Ash enjoys spending time at the library and often reads books that explain things such as finance, business, science, and world events. Just as important as his natural competency is his skill in researching and putting his information on paper.
Since I'm no good at adding subtitles to gifs, have a quote:
I think this last problem is asking about the Fibonacci sequence. But in this case, after 3 should be 5. Yet this problem says 6. So I substituted a random number and a function of the form f(x) = A*e^Bx. So f(x) = 451796*e^0.480512x, which ... (the anime gives up, too)... Is it a typo or a new mathematical theory I've never heard of?"
Later, he also does a lot of research and is able to put together a possible chemical breakdown of Banana Fish.
Obviously, my IQ isn't in the 200s. I can look up guns and their parts all night long, but I'm not going to be an expert. I'll do my best to sound brainy when I need to sound brainy, but any inconsistency is just going to be the natural limitation of someone playing a genius. Ash could've added subtitles to those gifs.
