Franklin Bordeau

Franklin (フランクリン, Furankurin) is one of the members of the Phantom Troupe, an infamous gang of thieves with class A bounties. He ranks fourth in physical power among the Troupe.

Appearance
Franklin has the appearance of a hulking, Frankensteinian monster, complete with scars and sewn-up wounds that ravage his face. His brown hair is short and messy. He has long ears that reaches his chest with a pair of golden earrings on it. His attire consist of a blue jumpsuit, covered in a white jacket with black stripes at the edges and brown shoes.

Personality
Complimenting his appearance, Franklin is not "soft", as he never hesitates to kill, even revelling in combat, and is never hesitant when in difficult situations. He is quick tempered when challenged, to the point of engaging into a fight with a fellow Troupe member. He often teams up with Shizuku. Apart from Chrollo himself, Franklin seems to be the only one who can compose the Troupe altogether; when Phinks, Feitan, Machi, and Pakunoda are arguing whether to pursue the Chain-user or not, Franklin calms them down and proposes a plan that would ensure the Phantom Troupe's survival. His loyalty to the Troupe is unquestionable, as he is willing to kill some members and start to rebuild the Spiders.

Background


Franklin is an original member of the Phantom Troupe that hail from Meteor City. It is a junkyard city inhabited by outcasts that refuse to be part of society. People who live there do not exist in any official records, and the existence of the city itself is known to very few people. It is also stated in manga and anime that original members of the Phantom Troupe had something to do with the bad blood between the Mafia and those from Meteor City. Why the Troupe left the city is a mystery. Later, the group was joined by more members, in accordance with Chrollo's idea of a group comprising of exactly thirteen members, including himself.

Yorknew City arc
Franklin and the other members of the Phantom Troupe have been ordered by their leader Chrollo to meet up on August 31 in Yorknew City. They receive an order from Chrollo that the troupe will steal all of the auction items in the underground auction. During the night of September 1 Franklin and other members of the Phantom Troupe infiltrate the underground auction being held that night. He and Feitan show up to the stage where the bidding is held and hundreds of guests gather around the hall. Franklin lets loose a bunch of bullets right after Feitan finishes his short speech and kills everyone in the hall.



After the massacre Franklin and the others escape using a hot air balloon and report the situation to Chrollo telling him that the items from the auction were missing. Chrollo gives them an order to attack the mafia to lure a group of powerful nen users called the Shadow Beasts. After the group lands at the Gordeau Desert Franklin, Machi, Feitan, Shizuku, Shalnark, Nobunaga watch from afar as Uvogin kills a bunch of Mafia members. Uvogin destroys the four Shadows Beasts but receives some slight injuries on which he was poisoned and leeches roam inside his body. After Shalnark tells the solution on taking out the leeches from his body, Franklin suggests that he will be the one who will buy the liquors for Uvogin.



After Gon and Killua get caught by the Phantom Troupe and the two kids have been persuaded by Nobunaga to join them. Before the Phantom Troupe attacks the mafia headquarters in Yorknew City ordered by Chrollo, Franklin,who is teamed up with Shizuku, explains the reason on why Nobunaga wants Gon to join the troupe, as Gon reminds Nobunaga of Uvogin and tells Shizuku more about Uvogin. Later that night the Phantom Troupe kills thousands of Mafia members to avenge Uvogin's death. After the death of the Ten Dons at the hands of Illumi Zoldyck, the Phantom Troupe fake their deaths by using fake corpses and later steal all of the auction items.

After their successful mission Franklin along with the others are back to their hideout, Chrollo decides it's time for the Phantom Troupe to leave the city but Nobunaga insists that they go after Kurapika. Chrollo, knowing that Nobunaga won't stop his vendetta against Kurapika, writes down prophetic predictions for him and other members. Feitan and Phinks however aren't given any prophecies because Phinks doesn't know his blood type while Feitan doesn't know his birthday. Hisoka then uses his Texture Surprise to alter his predictions, manipulating the Troupe into staying in Yorknew City. Later, they discover that Kurapika is in Hotel Beitacle thanks to the fake scarlet eyes that they sold to Kurapika the night before.

While Chrollo led a team to search for Kurapika, Franklin is one of the members who are ordered to stay at their hideout. After the events where Chrollo is kidnapped and members of the troupe argue, Pakunoda who returns from Ringon Airport after she spoke with Kurapika is taking Gon and Killua to exchange hostages with him in spite of Phinks' suggestion to kill the two kids before she goes to the airport that angered both Phinks and Feitan. While a heated discussion is occurring between two sides of the troupe Gon breaks through the chain wrapped around him and makes Phinks realize the things that Pakunoda is doing for the sake of their boss. Franklin enters the scene and explains to Phinks that they should let Pakunoda go with the two boys as the worst thing that will ever happen to the troupe is the death of their leader, which convinces both Phinks and Feitan.

Pakunoda returns to their hideout without Chrollo. Pakunoda then uses her Nen ability and shoots the original members in their foreheads in order to share her memories with them and reveals the identity of who the chain user is, Franklin who is among the original members sees Pakunoda's memories.

Greed Island arc


Franklin and other members of the Phantom Troupe enter Greed Island to search for the Nen exorcist and successfully locate Abengane and ask Hisoka to persuade him to remove Kurapika's Judgement Chain from around Chrollo's heart.

Abilities & Powers
Due to Franklin being born in Meteor City, his existence is not recorded in any database, which makes obtaining information about him nearly impossible. Franklin seems to prefer to fight with his Nen bullets in combat, their number, speed and power usually being enough to overpower his opponent.

Enhanced Strength: Ranking fourth in arm-wrestling among the Troupe, Franklin's strength is very likely to be tremendous.

Adequate Speed and Reflexes: Despite his bulky appearance, Franklin has significant speed. After he unleashed his deafening howl, Uvogin stated that for people like him covering his ears before the sound reached was no business at all.

Enhanced Stamina: Franklin is able to shoot thousands of very powerful and fast Nen bullets without growing tired.

Enhanced Durability: In the 1999 anime, bullets where seen bouncing off his body without leaving injuries. Its sturdiness, however, is inferior to Uvogin's. If it is enforced with Ten or Ren is unclear. However, in the 2011 anime, after his fight with Nobunaga he sported some bruises.

Keen intellect: Throughout the story, Franklin has provided wise suggestions more than once, sometimes proving himself even smarter than Shalnark. This ability stems from the absolute control he has over his emotions, which allows him to keep his cool in every situation, no matter how desperate.

Adequate Hand to Hand Combatant: Franklin is able to engage in close combat as well, as demonstrated during his playful bout with Nobunaga.

Nen
Franklin is an Emitter. He was shown using Nen only twice, and both times when unleashing his devastating Double Machine Gun. Since he's a member of the Phantom Troupe, his proficiency in this field is definitely astounding.

Trivia

 * In the official databook, his name is "Fulunki".
 * Franklin's appearance is slightly altered in Nippon Animation's adaptation. Franklin's stretched earlobes are given sleeves and his stitches are changed into piercings.
 * Franklin is the only known Emitter in the Phantom Troupe.
 * Franklin shares the same voice actor of Leech in the 2011 anime and Basho & Majitani in the 1999 anime adaption.
 * Franklin's name and appearance are obviously based off the protagonist of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and the monster created by him, respectively.