Swap (from the Mizfits)

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for an overview of the projects and characters.

Swap (4)

Project: Comic

Known as: Swap

Real name: Calvin (Cal) Cooley

Group affiliation: MizFits

Physical description: Cal is a blond-haired, blue-eyed surfer dude. Skinny, but in good shape, with a number of surf-related tatoos. He’s young (18).

History: Unsurprisingly, Cal is from Cali (Huntington Beach, specifically). Cal was son of a single mom with humble means, Sally, who was very loving and fun (she named him “Calvin” for both the connection to California and the way it made his name similar to a president’s). They were poor, but happy as Cal inherited his mother’s sunny disposition. Still, Sally working two jobs sometimes limited their time together, so fortunately Cal was “adopted” at a young age by a local surf shop (especially by the owner, Jefferson Smith). In return for him doing small jobs around the shop (e.g., sweeping, taking out the garbage) the shop would often loan him an old board and Jefferson would give him free surf lessons. This worked out (dare I say it?) swimmingly for Sally who was happy to know that Cal had a safe place to go while she was busy.

The adoption became more formal when Sally was killed in a car accident when Cal was 14 (Jefferson became his guardian). While Cal was incredibly sad about losing his mother, he considers it a tribute to her to live an upbeat, optimistic life. He regularly talks to his shark tooth necklace as if it were his mother, as they found the tooth together during a walk on the beach. While some find it strange that he calls his shark tooth “mommy” and asks its opinion on things, most just find it charming.

Cal is not book smart (he quit high school as a sophomore). In fact, he also isn’t non-book smart. Really the guy is pretty dumb. But demeanor-wise he’s basically a puppy in human form so his lovability means he gets by in life pretty well. He is often funny, though this is usually in the form of a non-sequitur that may be driven by stupidity rather than cleverness.

He’s not heroic in the traditional sense (he doesn’t seek out evil and deliver justice; at least on purpose). However, he is very compassionate. It was not unusual for a wounded animal to be housed in the back of the surf shop while Cal nursed it back to health. He wants everyone to be happy and is good at reading people’s moods. He’ll take on the hardships of others when he can as he knows that he is just more emotionally resilient than most. He wouldn’t hesitate, for example, to switch places (literally) with someone about to get injured.

When Jefferson sold the surf shop when Cal was 18, Jefferson encouraged Cal to see the country. With some money from Jefferson, simple needs, and odd jobs Cal did pretty well. But he was drawn to the Mizfits as he needs family (what puppy doesn’t?). He spends the most time with the unemotional Boost (who never finds Cal overly annoying, as others can). He’s also very attracted to the repressed Nudge. These feelings are unrequited, which doesn’t overly bother Cal (after all, nothing really does).

Role in the narrative: A lot of the Mizfits have baggage, so Cal is here to be simple comic relief. His character is both cliché and passé, but I was hoping that the most familiar-feeling character might be the one most out of place on the Mizfits (again not that that would bother Cal). Also any team/family needs a little heart.

Abilities: Swap, when he chooses, can instantly change places with anyone with whom he makes eye contact. However just the bodies are swapped not clothes, things being held, etc. (note when Boost is around Swap/Cal has better luck with clothes and items going with him if he so chooses). This can be both highly useful (e.g., someone is holding a gun on him) and fairly ridiculous (e.g., swapping with an elderly woman walking her dogs). It’s not unusual for Swap to end up in baggy or too tight clothes, but fortunately he is quick at disrobing and pretty comfortable going naked.

Comedic potential abounds, but his power is also very useful when the Misfits get in a scrape. He can help less quick teammates (like InviciBill) get into the right places, and it can present quite a problem to a villain who relies on weapons/armor.

A few things to work out about his powers still (such what happens when he swaps with someone who wears very small boots, or what kind of range eye contact has).

Inspirations: A bit of Spicoli, and an obvious nod to Jericho from the Titans.