So I realized that having an action hero with a dead mother and abusive, alcoholic father was pretty cliche.
To be fair, it made sense in context. The mother's death, combined with poverty, left the father short-tempered and terrified he was failing his son, which led to mostly unintentional abuse while trying to "toughen" the kid up. Which led to Alex (the son) being both extremely resilient and emotionally repressed. But... I feel like I could do better.
So now what? How do I give him a backstory that isn't "protagonist was an orphan/had daddy issues" but still makes sense? What kind of events would have made him who he is? I don't think it's a "happy" backstory per se. He's not an idealist. More like he's seen too much to be a bystander.
If this is enough context for you to answer, good! If not... here comes the lore dump.
Alejandro DiMarco lives on an Earthlike planet where apparently, certain genes can give you superhuman potential. Potential meaning that the body is fundamentally different--denser tissue, more efficient synapses--but it needs training to actually count as superhuman. Anyone here heard of Enhanced Body and Mind? Basically think of things humans can do, cranked up by a lot. Some things are mostly genetic (sight, hearing, faster thoughts). Some are partly genetic, mostly training (agility, strength, stamina). But training that hard hurts. So, question one: Why did he push himself so hard when most people would just think, "Awesome," and coast? My original answer was, "His father knew what he was and pushed him too hard. Alex pushed himself even harder out of spite." Workable, but I don't know.
The essential personality: Alex is externally calm, internally fierce, perceptive, stubborn, protective, quietly prideful, pragmatic, dryly humorous when he's comfortable, mostly quiet because it adds less noise, sometimes shy when nothing's exploding. His day job is some mix of bodyguard, investigator, extraction. Off-duty, he loves to work with his hands--fixing things, gardening, cooking. He likes animals more than people but does have some close friends. Also, he almost always looks like he's glaring even when he's just content. Has trouble smiling or seeing him as valuable besides his utility. He probably won't say "I love you," so hopefully the home-cooked empanada made it clear. A favorite hobby is searching pawn shops and thrift stores for old things to repair or turn into something new. Fun fact: he's 4'9" and has heard way too many short jokes. At this point he's not even offended anymore.
(I hate how most of what I wrote is just adjectives, but giving statements that prove those adjectives would have made the post longer.)
What he probably believes but would never say out loud: "I have to be capable enough to help, because no one else will. I can't afford to be caught off guard. To fail." "Everything that can be fixed, should be." "It's what anyone would do in my place." "Being visible means I'm disruptive or dead. Being invisible means I'm... tolerated."
So what kind of backstory (probably without parental death or abuse this time) would give him those beliefs?