INTERVIEWS. 8. Red Bodkin (Patreon)

"We are here now at the Aketon, the mobile aquatic base for the masked hero group the Quiverfull. It's worth noting for context, we believe, that this interview was arranged and agreed to well before the recent allegations against the Quiverfull's administrative organization, Toxophilite, LLC, and its Member-Manager John Templar, who was the field leader of the Quiverfull from 1980-2001 under the nom-de-masque Red Matrass. Mr. Templar is not currently present on the Aketon, which is not unusual, and he was never scheduled to be present for this discussion. We have reached out to Mr. Templar for comment, and at time of publication have not received one.

"Further, Red Bodkin--current field leader to the Quiverfull team--is only member of the team we've been promised access during this time, and he has not asked us to keep any topic off the table. Of course, he has also not been directly implicated in any of the recent accusations. 

"Since independent media organizations have never had access to the Aketon before, and this is an audio-only interview, we want to set the stage a bit for our listeners. The ship is roughly 600 feet long, displaces 21 tons, and is converted from a helicopter carrier bought second-hand from the United Kingdom at auction as a seaworthy but disarmed vessel. The ship has a crew that numbers in the hundreds, all officially part of the U.S. merchant marine and all paid by Toxophilite, LLC. This makes the Aketon and its crew officially separate from the Quiverfull team itself.

"There were two helicopters on its deck when we arrived, and there's clearly a waterline boat bay for smaller seafaring craft, but we don't have any specifications for how big it is or how many craft it can house. It's fair to assume the well-known hovercraft and helicopter the Quiverfull use as team transports are housed and maintenance somewhere inside the Aketon, but we have not seen either vehicle in our limited, guided tour of a few of the Aketon's decks.

"Now Red Bodkin is here with us, in full costume, so we'll begin to interview itself. Hello sir, thanks for allowing us this opportunity." 

"You're very welcome. I'm a huge fan of your work, and the whole team and I are honored you asked to speak with a member of the Quiverfull.

"Thank you, we always appreciate hearing that! So, it seems crass to go right to the toughest question this talk is likely to include, but it's on everyone's minds, and you did indicate no questions were off the table." 

"Absolutely. It's an unpleasant topic, to be sure, but part of the function of the Fourth Estate is to publicly hold people in positions of power accountable. I think that's a crucial part of freedom of the press, not just in the United States but worldwide. I think it's no accident, for example, that the Scandinavian nations have among the highest citizen satisfaction rates, and Norway, Denmark, and Sweden have some of the strongest free press laws in the world."

"And clearly we appreciate your position on that. But that does lead me to feel impelled to ask a precursor question--that was an extremely strong pro-press statement, but the Quiverfull and Toxophlite are famously among the most private of hero groups and support organizations. Do you see some discrepancy between your stated opinion and the high level of secrecy both those groups maintain?" 

"That's a fair question, but no, I don't see a discrepancy. We're an internationally acknowledged NGO hero team, and that makes us a target for everything from third-world dictators, international villains, and major terrorist groups to minions who evade capture and hate us for putting their bosses away for years. In the field, we know how to face those foes. But if our identities were exposed, or even worse if the identities of our support staff were, the families and neighbors that staff could be at risk. That's why we have such strict rules about under what circumstances a Quiverfull can act, and forbid Toxophilite staff from engaging in anything beyond their support duties and cases of clear self-defense. We must keep who we are as secret as possible, but we need to be ready to answer for what we do."

"Well, that does lead us directly into the questions casting a shadow over this interview, so let's get to it. Amélie Allard, who was formerly the Quiverfull member known as Pink Quarrel, has accused John Templar of sexual harassment and sexual assault, both in his role as Red Matrass and as manager of Toxophilite. She further states that Templar's predecessor in both roles--Richard Templar who was Red Broadhead in the 1960s and 70s and then Manager of Toxophilite until his son John took over--was also guilty of sexual assault, and that the entire Quiverfull organization has strong misogynistic and even sexually oppressive views towards women. How do you respond to those accusations?" 

"I don't."

"Excuse us?"

"I don't have any response. It's not my place to have a response. Neither myself not any current member of Quiverfull is named in the accusations. I have known John Templar my entire life, but the fact I know him is no proof he is innocent of these accusations. It's not the job of the Quiverfull to protect or give advice to the Toxophilite organization. Additionally, Ms. Allard's time in Quiverfull did not overlap with any current member. I was not here when she was, and she's not talking about anyone on the modern team, so it would be no more appropriate for me to opinine on this than any other criminal case or lawsuit that doesn't involve me."

"But, as you say, you do know Mr. Templar. Surely you have an opinion on his character, on whether or not he could be a sexual assailant?"

"First, I'm not sure I do have an opinion. I mean, as someone who holds the honor of the Quiverfull in high regard, I certainly hope it's not true. But, by the same token, Ms. Allard is an alumnus of our team as well. I don't know her personally, but I do know what it takes to be a Quiverfull, and I find it highly unlikely she'd make false claims. And statistically, women very rarely do so.

"Beyond that--I wasn't present for any of the conduct in question. It's not the kind of clear and present threat Quiverfull is sworn to fight against, so I have no special insight or expertise with it. What I do know is that time and time again, we have seen that men in positions of power and respect, who are highly regarded and trusted by people who know them well, turn out to be sexual harassers or abusers. Often they have supporters, who say 'this man could never do such things.' But clearly, someone can both act in a way that makes it unthinkable to their close associates they'd engage in sexual abuse, and still do it."

"One of the things we all learned from Anthem is that being a costumed hero is part of a social contract. We are given leeway to fight threats that other guardians of public safety aren't effective against. But that leeway is not carte blanche to interfere with every aspect of society. If I had proof, or even probative evidence, of the guilt or innocence of any of the people or organizations Ms. Allard has accused, I'd be duty-bound to provide it. Lacking that, I feel similarly duty-bound not to try to sway either public opinion or the course of legal proceedings with a statement that would ultimately be nothing more than my opinion. A masked hero must strive toward the causes of peace and justice. Me spouting off about this serious, contentious issue without hard evidence would not, in my opinion, aid either cause."

(Anthem, circa 1992. Art by Jacob Blackmon)

"You seem to have given this a great deal of thought."

"I absolutely have. It's a serious issue, and I knew it would come up in this interview. I've lost sleep over it. In one of your interviews, Anthem Lass said she rarely had the luxury to do anything but what she thought was best. Now, I do not pretend to have the experience, wisdom, or global impact she does. But I do understand what she is saying. 'Doing what you think is right' sounds easy, but it means you have to be sure what that is."

"Do the other members of Quiverfull share your feelings on the press, and these serious allegations?"

"I've not gotten permission from all the other team members to speak on their behalf for this issue. We're individuals, and have individual opinions. Any member of Quiverfull who feels they want to make or release a statement to the press is free to do so independently."

"We've reached out to the listed contact information for each member, and have not heard back from any of them."

"I don't know for certain why that is, but I suspect they are all waiting to see how this interview goes before making their own statements. And, I suspect they are all considering this issue as deeply as I have, which may just take time."

"All right, let's move on from that subject for now. The Quiverfull is one of the best-supported international heroes teams, but is considered a third-tier, or perhaps low second-tier, supers group. You famously have never had any Big Boomers, NextGen, or other parahumans on your team, and are rumored to only allow family members to join..."

"That's not true. While numerous members of Quiverfull have been members of a specific set of families, it's absolutely not a requirement."

"Which members aren't part of these specific families?"

"That question falls into the realm of personal details we don't release to the public. It may seem innocuous, but when living in a world of criminal super-geniuses, evil sentient algorithms, malcontent oracles, and tyrannical hacker-kings, every bit of personal data is a potential risk. We can't control all of it, but we do control what we can."

"Is that why Quiverfull costumes reputedly all have various levels of lifts in them, to hide your true heights?" 

"I can neither confirm nor deny those rumors, but yes."

"While we're on the subject of costumes, since your group's inception in the 1950s, you have always had color-coded costumes and Mask names. The field leader is always Red, for example."

"There are a few brief exceptions to that, such as when Gray Bolt led the team for a year before I joined, but that's generally accurate."

"And until the 1980s, any dark-skinned member had a Black Mask name, any Asian member had a Yellow Mask name, and any Caucasian woman had a Pink Mask name. What does that say about Quiverfull's social positions?"

"That they fell woefully short of where they should have been for the first 35 or so years of Quiverfull's existence. Without diminishing any of the contributions of those Quiverfull members, their assigned Mask names were clearly racist, misogynistic, patronizing, and wrongheaded. While I do not personally believe any of those names were assigned with malice, and some of those trends were commonplace among other Masked teams, that doesn't matter. Those names, as absolutes based on ethnicity or gender, belittled the brave heroes who worked under those titles, and failed to advance the causes of peace and justice. I absolutely will not defend them, or the people that established that unwritten rules. And, as you noted, the practice stopped in the late 1980s. No one who was part of those Mask names is still involved in Quiverfull or its support organization in any capacity."

"Do you think Quiverfull owes women and at least some ethnic minorities an apology?"

"I unequivocally do, and if it was in my power to unilaterally make such an apology in the name of the group, I would."

"Why is it not in your power? Are there people within Quiverfull who disagree with the group making such an apology?"

"There's no one I am aware of who disagrees with the idea. There's a great deal of debate about the proper framing, timing, and matching action to go with it. And since that's getting into internal Quiverfull discussions, that's all I will say on the subject."

"So if decision makers within Quiverfull can't agree on exactly how to say sorry, you make no apology at all?" 

"As I noted, I won't be saying anything else on that topic."

"Okay, let's change topics. Your group takes its name from the Bible?"

"Correct, Psalm 127:3-5 in the King James version."

"And you require members to be Christians? Specifically, members in good standing of the Heritage Church of Christ the Begotten?"

"No. I am myself a member of the HCCB, and many members throughout our history have been, but it's not a requirement."

"So why have there been numerous leaked emails about Quiverfull members engaging in actions violating the HCCB Seventeen Precepts?"

"While we do not require anyone to be of any specific faith to be a member of Quiverfull, we do have a code of conduct. That code includes, but it not limited to, the 17 Core Precepts of the Begotten Heritage Church. As for the leaked emails, I'll note that neither Quiverfull nor Toxophilite has even verified those as fully or even partially legitimate, none of them allege any illegal conduct, and we have numerous enemies who use misinformation campaigns to weaken our public and international support. Painting us as a religious extremist group is just another of those efforts."

"But you are composed primarily of people from just a few families, many of which are devout HCCB members, your group name has biblical origins, and your code of conduct includes a specific church's core Precepts?"" 

"... Yes. That's all accurate."

"Can you see how that might lead people to take accusations of your group being on a religious crusade seriously, if not those that you are extremists?"

"I hope we'll be judged first by our actions, second by our words, and only third by our outward signals."

"Isn't that line from 'A Life Begotten,' by the founder of the HCCB? You're quoting a self-identified religiously inspired text to defend against claims of being essentially the armed branch of that same church?"

"As I said, I am a HCCB member myself. So, yes, I often draw on the wisdom of Life Begotten. It would be duplicitous of me to avoid quoting that volume where appropriate just to seem less religious, and it's not proof of anything about the Quiverfull itself."

"Proof? No. But in our experience, where there is this much smoke, there's a fire. And, as for being judged on your actions? How would you judge the Quiverfull if Ms. Allard's accusations where proven to be true?"

"That... would be very difficult for me."

"Would you leave the Quiverfull?"

"I... ... I can't say for sure what I would do in that hypothetical, because it would depend on a lot of factors. But I would absolutely want to be convinced that any elements that condoned or ignored that behavior were removed, those who committed crimes prosecuted, and strong protections put in place to ensure it never happened again."

"And if you were not satisfied? Would you consider leaving Quiverfull and operating independently, as Payback has, or joining another group, as Silver Swallowtail has?"

"Even if I decided to operate independently, I would not want to follow Payback's example. I think she's one collateral death away from being a full-scale villain. As for any other option... I trained to be in the Quiverfull my whole life. If I decided I could not do that, I suspect I'd turn to something other than Masked heroism to serve the causes of peace and justice. And right now, I have no idea what those might be."

(And here, the interview was interrupted by an attack on the Aketon by agents of TOXIN, an armed paramilitary criminal group with longstanding grudges against the Quiverfull. Their apparent goal was to kill us, the interviewer and crew, to cause Quiverfull to lose citizen's' confidence worldwide. No one on the news staff was injured, but for security reasons we have agreed not to publish any of the sounds or voices we recorded during that attack. On a personal note, our thanks to Red Bodkin and Green Incendiary for their selfless defense of us, without which we would certainly now be dead.)