Franklin Bordeau

Franklin Bordeau (フランクリン=ボルドー, Furankurin Borudō) 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. He is Troupe member #7.

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
Complementing his appearance, Franklin is not "soft", as he never hesitates to kill, even reveling 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 a founding 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 that the 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 meet up on August 31 in Yorknew City, as per Chrollo's orders. The leader reveals they will steal all of the items in the underground auction. On the night of September 1, Franklin and other members of the Phantom Troupe infiltrate the underground auction. 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 to Chrollo that the items from the auction were missing. Chrollo orders them to attack the Mafia to lure a group of powerful Nen users called the Shadow Beasts, suspecting them to be involved. After the group lands in the Gordeau Desert Franklin, Machi, Feitan, Shizuku, Shalnark, Nobunaga watch from afar as Uvogin massacres a bunch of Mafia members. Uvogin kills four Shadows Beasts but receives some slight injuries. He is poisoned and leeches are implanted inside his body. After Shalnark tells the solution on taking out the leeches from his body, Franklin offers to steal beer for Uvogin.



The next day Gon and Killua get caught by the Phantom Troupe. Nobunaga insists on the two of them joining the the group. Before the Spiders attack the auction building, Franklin,who is teamed up with Shizuku, explains that Nobunaga wants Gon to join the troupe because the kid reminds him of Uvogin, and tells Shizuku more about their relationship. Later that night, Franklin and Shizuku break through a barricade held by both the police and the Mafia. Their car explodes, but they emerge undamaged and Franklin decimates his opponents. After the death of the Ten Dons at the hands of Illumi Zoldyck, the Phantom Troupe stage their deaths by using fake corpses and later steal all of the auction items and return to their hideout.

Chrollo decides it is 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. Franklin's prediction does not announce his death. When Hisoka's seems to imply he sold out Uvogin to the chain user, Franklin steps in to prevent Nobunaga from attacking him. However, the swordsman gets past him, only to be stopped by Chrollo. Through Kortopi's Gallery Fake, the Spiders discover that the chain user is at the Hotel Beitacle.

While Chrollo led a team to search for Kurapika, Franklin is one of the members who stay at the hideout. However, Chrollo is eventually captured by the chain user. As they wait for the others to come back, Bonolenov and Franklin, who have stayed back to guard Hisoka, hear a sudden noise. Hisoka goes to check, and the other two are surprised to see a kid, who immediately runs away. Franklin deters Bonolenov from giving chase, suspecting a trap. Unbeknownst to them, Hisoka has been replaced by Illumi Zoldyck. 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 debate occurs 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 could happen to the troupe is the death of their leader, given that so many Spiders rely on him. He states that if it is a trap, they can simply kill the members suspected of being manipulated and start over, which convinces Phinks and Feitan. When Pakunoda and the two kids leave, Franklin asks Phinks why he does not go after them, to which Phinks responds they will try to stop him. He threatens to kill Franklin too should Chrollo not come back, but Franklin simply smiles.

Pakunoda returns to their hideout without Chrollo and uses her Hatsu Memory Bomb to share her memories with Franklin, Machi, Shalnark, Nobunaga, Phinks and Feitan to reveal the identity of the chain user and his abilities.

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.

Succession Contest arc
Franklin, along with the rest of the Phantom Troupe, is aboard the Black Whale. He, Feitan, Phinks, and Nobunaga thrash three unruly passengers to gain seating at a table. When the three talk about the mafia families of Kakin, Franklin asks them which of them is the most powerful. When the passengers refuse to reveal that, Franklin asks them to summon the one who will collect kickbacks.



A few days later, the entire Phantom Troupe gather in the dining hall, where Chrollo hears the reports about their fruitless search for Hisoka. They conclude that Hisoka is not on Tier 5, though the upper tiers are controlled by two other Mafia families. A group from the Cha-R Family then interrupt their meeting, with the leader rudely asking them to move. After a brief exchange, the Spiders comply. Chrollo orders the Troupe to bring him Hisoka's head, after which they can celebrate. Then, they split up.

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.

Advanced 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.

Keen Intellect: Thanks to his ability to maintain his cool in dire situations, Franklin has proven to be a reliable decision maker and counselor for his fellow troupe members. His calm allowed him to pacify the group during Chrollo's absence, exposing the flaws in Shalnark's reasoning to show how much the troupe relied on their leader.

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. As a member of the Troupe, he is feared as a very powerful Nen user. He appears to have a large amount of aura, shooting hundreds of devastating bullets without growing tired. His Enhancement skills also appear to be quite high, as he came out of the explosion of a car completely unscathed.

Trivia

 * In the official databook, his name is "Fulunki".
 * Franklin is the only known Emitter in the Phantom Troupe.
 * Franklin's name and appearance are based off the protagonist of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and the monster created by him, respectively.
 * 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 shares the same Japanese voice actor of Leech in the 2011 anime, and Basho and Majitani in the 1999 anime adaptation.
 * The symbol on the back Franklin’s jacket looks identically similar to the Triforce from the Legend of Zelda franchise.

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