Character Study of the Week: Adam Steiner
Who: Adam Steiner
What: Kommandant (Major), Nagalring Training Academy
Kommandant (Major), First Summerset Strikers
Leutnant-General, 14th Donegal Guards RCT
General of the Armies, Lyran Alliance
Archon, Lyran Commonwealth
When: 3024 - 3121
Weapon of Choice: 2N Axman
9Ma Awesome
7X Thunder Hawk
Unlike most characters Adam Steiner comes to us first through the medium of an animated cartoon, and is the most prominent major character from that cartoon to feature in the wider universe, edging out Franklin Sakemoto who side-lined himself, and Victor who only had a guest shot on the cartoon along with Galen.
This obvious uniqueness gives the character a very different start. For one thing it means we don’t get to see inside his head in the same way as a novel character, so everything we know about him must be vocally emoted, with a little blatant physical emoting as well. This can make a character seem very simplistic compared to novel characters who are permitted the time and space to cogitate matters in their head in a manner we are privy to.
This is an important factor as he starts out more in the same vein as a sourcebook character, shaped by events rather than shaping things. The invasion and its results are a foregone conclusion, only Adam’s part in it remains to be seen, and considerable liberty is taken with that in the cartoon, to jarring effect for those familiar with the existing canon.
Regardless Adam comes across as a very blunt, angry character until he starts appearing in novels, where he continues to be angry and blunt, but is also permitted to develop further as we learn his thoughts and feelings.
Not that he doesn’t have a right to be angry, his homeworld was invaded, left to the invaders due to how far behind the lines it was and his brother was . . . actually I’ve found nothing concrete on his brother beyond the man being taken by the Jade Falcons and is eventually mentioned as deceased but without any solid confirmation, in any case Adam has a fair reason to feel sore about things.
Such is the limitations of the media, quite aside from the obvious fact that cartoons are very different from novels, it also has to tell the story in a condensed manner, characters may develop but they do so in a somewhat disjointed manner, or they don’t do it at all.
Another difference is that everything must be explained, sometimes in great detail, simply because the audience has no other way of gathering this information. This has influenced Adam’s reign as one of his better qualities has been to explain his policies before enacting them, building consensus and support and feeling oddly realistic since this is what the character has always done.
One aspect of similarity between the two forms of media is in terms of BattleMechs.
Any cartoon like this has the added job of selling toys, and as a consequence Adam Steiner winds up piloting two of the most unique ‘Mechs in the Federated Commonwealth, where every unit is apparently made up of nothing but Maulers, Wolfhounds and jump capable Centurions.
In fact he appears to pilot the only Heavy ‘Mech in the entire Inner Sphere, a 2N Axman, and later a command variant of an Awesome, because he’s the main character and leader and it wouldn’t do to put him in a ‘Mech just anyone, like Victor Steiner-Davion, could run around in like a Mauler.
Joking aside the Axman is unique in the cartoon for a couple of reasons, first of all it saves on animation costs to have only a small stable of images to be drawn, or used in fantastic 90’s CGI. Secondly it makes him distinct, it’s the hero ‘Mech of the setting and the only choice for a hero character.
The same can be said of the Awesome, which is a modified 9M, removing all the secondary weaponry for a standard small laser, ECM and command gear. Which mean it’s a bigger toy and can have two characters, one of which would be unique to this toy while money is saved by churning out more Adam Steiner figures.
The Awesome also forms the basis of what Adam pilots during the Civil War, a Thunder Hawk, which is an Awesome taking to the next logical step, and a credible threat to even a Dire Wolf with a trio of head choppers and no compunction about using them.
Could he have piloted a Berserker, an upsized Axman of sorts, instead? Not to the same effect, the Thunder Hawk is, like both the Awesome and 2N Axman, a support design, and good for a command character to pilot, it is also more Lyran than the two he used in the cartoons, as is the Thunder Hawk.
However by its very name the Berserker is not a command ‘Mech, it’s not even the sort of ‘Mech to be used by a character who has preached unity, it’s supposed to be a devastating wild card, a lone wolf design even.
Finally it should be noted that the Gauntlet OmniMech was inspired by Adam, which makes it very fitting that it has a Bushwacker sort of vibe going on. It also is an unconventional medium design in an organisation that favours heavy and assault classes, meaning that even though he does not (to my knowledge) pilot one the Gauntlet further cements Adam’s character traits.
Also, in being a cartoon, it requires certain moral tones to be played up, in this case cooperation, working together, the downsides of discrimination, all very basic stuff for a kid’s cartoon.
While the cartoon may be considered canon, a little creativity means that within the setting the Battletech cartoon is a poorly received piece of moral boosting propaganda with a basis in part not just on Adam’s journey to Somerset, but also his attack on Barcelona, which occurred with a significantly greater force built around that sorry lance he started with.
Convenient, but also for the better, in the cartoon his trip from Tharkad to Somerset didn’t so much meander as it seemed to be following a White Rabbit, going from world to world in a pattern that seemingly followed the advancing invasion more than be an indirect route to his goal.
Since he started out as a cartoon character Adam Steiner carries some baggage most others don’t. For one thing a cartoon protagonist has to be several things, obviously he has to be somewhat simplistic, not just because the intended audience is young but because the medium doesn’t have the length in each episode necessary to fully flesh out ethical and military complexities, and personalities must be equally blunt as a result.
He also has to be a natural leader, able to motivate and inspire a diverse range of people to provide a diverse pallet of characters. This is not unusual in novels, however a cartoon needs more of a twist and makes it a commandeered international crew with all the seething undercurrents that provides as internal tension.
It’s not lazy but it is a shortcut, a novel can take time to flesh out internal conflicts so that even if it is a group with a similar background it makes sense for them to clash with each other. Making it an international band of ‘volunteers’ means that the audience doesn’t have to think about why they’re angry with each other, they know full well, and can concentrate on other events.
And of course it’s up to heroic Adam to smooth these things over, be the level headed, skilled leader and hero of the show.
These traits make him an excellent candidate as a Civil War Leader as well. Keep in mind that within and without the setting this was a period that is viewed as Steiners vs Davions, and the list of Davion bouncing around for the Allies is immense. There are a considerable number of Steiners as well, but none have the same prominence as the Steiner-Davion family or even Jackson Davion.
More importantly there has to be someone on the Loyalist side of things who is “heroic”. And not just good, honest, no-war-crimes-or-kitten-kicking-on-my-watch good, there has to be someone protagonist level good, and they need to be a Steiner.
Equally important is that he needs to be militarily brilliant. Not simply competent, but as much of an innovator and forward thinker as Victor in order to provide an equivalent challenge or threat.
If by now you’ve noticed that I keep comparing Adam to Victor there is a reason. Victor has become the major protagonist of the setting by virtue of being heavily used, a matter explored in his article. However Victor is strictly print media, and while he easily dominates there is only one character that could be said to dominate the Audio Visual realm.
So Adam is brushed off, he’s the only person on the Loyalist side who has been a protagonist, trended towards the paragon end of the morality scale, and thus comes damned close to killing Victor.
This also means that he’s perfect for what follows: the Jade Falcon Incursion and Operation: Audacity, he has the presence within the fiction, the in universe reputation and political sway, and in the end comes to his own conclusions about where Katherine’s priorities lie, swinging him further towards the ‘good’ side of the conflict.
All of which leads into, both in setting and from a reader perspective, to his next promotions, General of the Armies and then Archon.
With Peter on the throne no one else who fought on the Loyalist side would be as trusted by the new Archon, and it had to be someone on the Loyalist because none of the Allies were trusted by most Lyrans.
And with his name forward in the fiction so much it is easier for the reader to accept this, and then his ascendency to Archon. With the Jihad killing so many Steiners the line of succession boils down to who is physically and politically close enough to the throne to sit on it, otherwise it is going to look like a sudden Steiner has fallen out of the woodwork. Peter signing off on it as one of his last acts is more of a formality.
Basically from neither an in-setting or fiction point of view can you just pull a Steiner out of the hat and plonk them in the chair.
Is this all there is to Adam Steiner, cartoon leader for one season and useful side character thereafter?
It undersells the character considerably but is essentially the case, he was created for the cartoon and served that purpose as best he could, and once he existed a further use was found for him.
None of this makes Adam Steiner a bad or poorly used character, if anything it marks the sort of efficiency that makes use of a pre-established character to fulfil the greater needs of the setting.
To call it recycling is also somewhat insulting towards the fiction, there was need for such a character during the Civil War and this cartoon character fit the bill.
Coming up next week: Jerome Blake.
