Saved the baddest of the bad for last. Number 10:
Keyser Söze, for those that don't know, is a fictional character from the movie The Usual Suspects. Söze's past is unknown, but his criminal career began in Turkey as a low-level drug dealer. The legend of Keyser Söze was truly born when rival smugglers working for the Hungarian mob invaded his house while he was away, raping his wife and holding his children hostage. When Söze returned they killed one of the children to show him they meant business. They then threatened to kill his wife and remaining children if he did not surrender his business to them. Rather than give in to their demands and also to prevent his family from having to live with the memory of what had happened, he showed these men of will what will really is. He guns down his own family and kills all but one of the Hungarians, whom he spares knowing that the survivor would tell the mafia what had transpired.
Söze then goes after the mob, killing dozens of people, including the mobsters' families, friends, and even people who owe them money, as well as destroying their homes and businesses. He then goes "underground", never again doing business in person and remaining invisible even to his henchmen, who almost never know whom they are working for. One of the most famous lines from the movie: "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn't exist."
Söze's ruthlessness was legendary, having enemies and disloyal henchmen brutally murdered, along with everyone they held dear, just for the slightest infraction. In contrast, he seemed to have a very twisted sense of honor; if someone unknowingly stole from him he would offer them the chance to redeem themselves by giving them a high-risk assignment. If they survived it, their transgression was forgiven. Over the years his legend had become "a spook story that criminals tell their kids at night."

The purpose of creating this series was just a way to shake off some of the laziness and get customizing. The theme "Badasses" was interesting enough to find characters to fit this bill. Researching them, and coming up with design concepts were a lot of fun too, and gained a bunch of new skills from this experience for future customs. Glad to be done, one mountain climbed, looking forward to the next peak. Thanks for checking it out!

Oct 5th/08