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The Dandy Lion is the culmination of my life's work. It's a flower powered phenomenon born of a thousand sleepless nights, intense Ritalin abuse, and a long sublimated interest in botany.
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| ― Mark Chase [1] | ||
Mark Chase, president of Dandy Lion Worldwide Industries.
Mark Chase is the founder, president and CEO of Dandy Lion Worldwide Industries and the creator of the futuristic and ecofriendly car, the Dandy Lion SX.
When automobile specialist Bernard Slaybeck informs him that the car has a potentially fatal flaw, Chase disguises himself as a crash test dummy and kills him. He tries to cover up the murder and the defect, but is eventually exposed by Ned, Charlotte "Chuck" Charles and Emerson Cod and sentenced to life in prison.
Biography[]
Starting his company[]
Mark Chase was the first person to envision the Dandy Lion SX, which he saw as a stylish, futuristic, fuel-efficient and eco-friendly car that he believed would become extremely popular and make him extremely rich. To achieve this goal, he founded Dandy Lion Worldwide Industries. Chase was obsessed with achieving success; he rarely slept and developed an addiction to Ritalin. But, thanks to his obsessive nature, the company began to thrive. [1]
The Dandy Lion SX.
But Chase and his company entered a new level of success when, through an intense interest in botany, Chase discovered a fuel that could be derived from dandelion weed. Whether this was Chase's achievement alone or whether he was assisted by the "science guys" he employs is unclear, but the discovery led to the design of the Dandy Lion SX, the environmentally-friendly and fuel-efficient car that Chase, and many others, believed would be an enormous success once unveiled. [1]
Under the leadership of Chase, millions of dollars were invested into the car, which put his company at risk of going bankrupt if it were not as successful as expected. The future looked bright, however, as Chase was courting national investors, bringing dealers from as far as Japan to look at the car, during which time Chase's fluency in the Japanese language came in hand. Thanks to the product and Chase's enthusiasm and winning personality, investors reacted positively to the car, leaving the company's many competitors angry and generating some fears of sabotage. [1]
Discovery of car defect[]
Bernard Slaybeck discussing the Dandy Lion SX defect with Mark Chase.
However, during crash and safety tests of the Dandy Lion SX, automotive safety specialist Bernard Slaybeck discovered a fatal problem with the car. He informed Mark Chase that if the car were driven more than 70 MPH with the headlights on and the sear warmer set to low, the short circuit in radio would cause a cataclysmic chain reaction that would blow up the car and the people inside it. [1]
Chase ordered Bernard to keep the flaw a secret, work to repair it and to dispose of the crash test dummies, in order to conceal the test data recorded by their computer hard drives. Bernard agreed at first, dumping the dummies in an outside ditch, but after further rests, he insisted that Chase delay the launch date of the car. Realizing reports of a dangerous flaw could harm sales, and that it would be cheaper to release the unsafe car than to delay the launch, Chase instead tried to bribe Bernard, but he rejected the money offer and threatened to go public with the information. [1]
Murder and cover-up[]
Faced with the prospect of losing his car and fortune, the already obsessive Chase snapped. He donned one of the outfits from his crash test dummies and shot Bernard with a stun gun, then placed his unconscious body into a Dandy Lion SX test car and rammed it against the wall, killing Bernard. Chase took the body to the street and created the appearance that he had been killed in a hit-and-run automobile accident. His careful attention to detail and gift for planning served him well in faking the crime scene, and the authorities were fooled. [1]
Mark Chase dons the crash test dummy mask for the first time.
This murder first gave Chase the idea to replace the crash test dummies, which could electronically collect data, with dead bodies, thus concealing the evidence of the car's fatal defect. At least two dozen cadavers were eventually brought to the Dandy Lion Worldwide Industries headquarters for use in these tests. It is unclear whether they were murdered by Chase for use in the test, but as Ned discovered by bringing two of the subjects (Rick Page and Beth) back to life, they were not familiar with the company and had allowed their bodies to used in experiments to test automobile safety, so it is possible that they were simply supplied to the company, not murdered. [1]
Investigation and capture[]
Mark Chase and his company came to the attention of Ned, Chuck and Emerson Cod, who brought Bernard Slaybeck back to life in order to find the man who hit him and collect a reward. Slaybeck told them he was "killed by a crash test dummy," and through further investigations they eventually discovered that dead bodies were now being to test the Dandy Lion SX instead of dummies, and they learned of the car's fatal defect. [1]
Mark Chase, disguised as a crash test dummy, armed with a stun gun.
Disguised once again as a crash test dummy, Chase ambushed the trio at the dummy dumping ground. He shot them with his stun gun and brought them back to the Dandy Lion Worldwide Industries headquarters, where he placed them in a test car and attempted to kill them the same way he had Bernard. They managed to escape by driving the test car out of the facility, and Chase pursued them in his Hummer, attempting to get them to exceed 70 MPH so they would explode. Instead, he drove them off the road and into the woods. [1]
Unfortunately for Chase, this captured the attention of a nearby police car, however, and Chase was pulled over after his Hummer ran out of gas. He was arrested and the secrets of Bernard's murder and the Dandy Lion SX's defects were eventually discovered. As a result, Chase was sentenced to life in prison, the Dandy Lion SX was discontinued and the Dandy Lion Worldwide Industries company was shut down. His prisoner number was 2504867, and he was dubbed by the press as the "Dandy Liar." [1]
Personality and traits[]
David Chase is obsessed with success and fortune. While this initially served as an asset, allowing him to found the successful Dandy Lion Worldwide Industries and design the potentially revolutionary Dandy Lion SX, his obsession eventually blossomed into full-fledged madness, leading him to commit homicide and attempt to cover-up a defect that had the potential to kill millions. Chase is also addicted to Methylphenidate, as the result of what he called an "intense Ritalin abuse." [1]
Before his eventual downfall, however, Chase hides his imbalances through an impressive mask of competence and politeness. He comes across during his business deals as personable and intelligent, which is especially helpful when he pitches his product to potential Japanese dealers, as is his fluency with the Japanese language. [1]
Chase is also a great leader and visionary, despite his insanity and obsessive nature. His vision for the Dandy Lion SX came before a renewed national interest in environmental efforts, and if not for his more negative qualities, Chase might have revolutionized transportation and American industry. He also has a careful attention to detail and gift for planning, which not only served him as a CEO but, as the Narrator points out, in creating the appearance of Bernard Slaybeck's hit-and-run automobile accident. [1]
Chase has what he describes as a "long sublimated interest in botany," which helped him eventually discover the fuel derived from dandelion weed. It is unlikely that he cares as deeply about the environment as he indicates, however, since he drives a Hummer, a gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle that contrasts sharply with the eco-friendly Dandy Lion SX. [1]
As a leader, Chase is a micromanager, as demonstrated by his insistence on instructing the flower girl models personally rather than delegating that position to a marketing professional. Chase is also a clean freak, as demonstrated by his eagerness to prevent the Japanese investors from touching and smudging the car, and the placement of his victims in plastic wrap to prevent blood from getting on his cars. [1]