Boost (from the Mizfits)

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Boost (3)

Project: Comic

Known as: Boost

Real name: Milo Wun

Group affiliation: MizFits

Physical description: Boost is still young (14 years old) and is the epitome of nondescript. He has dark brown, straight hair, dark brown eyes, and a pale complexion. The shape of his eyes suggest at least some Asian ancestry (perhaps Japanese). His cloths are usually very simple, and also shades of light brown. It’s almost like he has indoor camouflage and is likely to blend in to beige walls. Combined with his quiet nature this makes it hard for people to notice him and harder for people to remember him. Which serves him well in his thieving.

History: Boost knows very little of his own history, having been abandoned at a fire station as a baby. His name is a combination of the name of the firefighter who found him (Ben Milo) and the squad (Squad 1 in the Brooklyn area; in a bout of Ellis-island-like racism, they spelled “One” as “Wun” as they thought he was at least part “Asian”; mildly in their defense, they thought he’d get a new name when adopted). As he was physically healthy, most thought he wouldn’t have trouble being adopted. However, he was a most unusual baby, and never cried. This and other unusual behaviors suggested that he might have (rather severe) developmental disabilities. This unfortunately limited the interest of potential parents, and he spent most of his early years in hospitals of one form or another.

His caregivers found him to be a most unusual mix of strengths and weaknesses. Physically, he was advanced; walking early and having scary good fine motor skills at an usually early age. Yet he spoke rarely and showed emotion even less frequently. Testing would later show he was above-average in most categories, and exceptional in some.

Role in the narrative: Ah, the foundling cliché for a reason. In Campbell’s monomyth the hero is always a foundling. This enables an extraordinary person to be raised/part of the common people and sets up a journey of self-discovery. In my case, it might be laziness I haven’t decided yet if Boost is an alien or human, from common stock or extraordinary. So, he’s a foundling to give me some narrative flexibility down the road. Of course, the accident with Random also caused a lot of the unusual abilities and weird things around their version of New York (and thus generated a lot of the situations the Mizfits needs to resolve).

Abilities and limitations: Boost’s extraordinary power is the ability to increase the powers of others. He can make super-strong individuals even stronger, fast people faster, etc. This can help people without “super powers” as well, amplifying their gifts (e.g., a ballet troupe will could have their best performance of their lives with Boost in the audience). The main limitation is that for him to have any noticeable effects he needs to charge up, like a battery. So, if he tries to enhance abilities on a daily basis, the result might be subliminal. On the other hand, after not using his power for a month the recipient will receive quite a, well, boost.

Note that when he used his power on Random to create what is now referred to as the Last Halloween or “All Saints’ Anarchy,” it was the first time he had used his power. So functionally he had a lifetime’s “charge” and thus it is unlikely he could ever enhance anyone’s abilities to the same degree again (which is likely for the best).

His thieving abilities are actually as, if not more, impressive than his “power.” He is a virtuoso pickpocket, and his size, flexibility, climbing skills and fearlessness means he has a different definition of inaccessible than most (he’s quite comfortable in ducts, sewers, gaps between walls, and the like). His patience is off the charts, and he has escaped from more than one situation by finding a tight hiding spot and staying there well beyond anyone would have expected. Few realize how observant he is, or how impressive his memory is. This means he is constantly “casing” every place he goes noting entries and exits, hiding spots, security cameras, the people and their routines, etc. (and able to recall with near perfection later). He’s great with traditional locks and safes, and his only real limitation is he is not that great at countering electronic security measures. The good news here is that he is on a team with at least three geniuses, and follows instructions well, so with a little preparation only the most advanced systems pose a barrier to him.

It is worth noting that his EQ is particularly low (understanding emotions in others is a bit tricky when he feels so few himself). He will virtually never be able to talk himself out of a situation, and his team mates have to be careful how they ask him questions or give him instructions as he can be surprisingly literal at times.

Inspirations: Boost has that duality that comics creators love so much (and that I’ll be using for a lot of my characters). He’s quiet, unemotional, nondescript nearly non-extraordinary in every way, but his power is to make others more extraordinary. Of course, the ability to increase other’s powers is nothing new a think more than one Marvel mutant can do it, and I think of a series of novels by Weis and Hickman where characters who amplified the magical abilities of others was crucial to the plot.  The “beat of his own drummer” character is also common, and if I think I had the skill as a writer I would love for him to be a hero in spite of (because of?) his emotional disabilities. Finally, I like the double meaning of his name “Boost” (to steal, to increase) which may or may not have been used before.