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The Invisible Man (9)

Project: Television mini-series (“Wells”)

Known as: The Invisible Man

Real name: Unknown (called “Griffin”)

Group affiliation: None

Physical description: Before he made his deal, Griffin was a dirty, scraggly young man. Rotted teeth, (presumably) dark, greasy hair, with a skeletal frame from too many missed meals. After his dealwell, who knows?

History: The man who would eventually be known as Griffin was born to a farming family in England in the mid-1800s. From the beginning he was a horrid child. The lying began very nearly after he learned to speak. He could be overly ingratiating to his parents, only to turn on a dime and belittle them viciously. The only thing that brought him joy was the suffering of others (even a simple story of someone tripping and falling made him titter creepily). Animals began disappearing, and one day his father found one of the family’s mousers mutilated and reshaped in a deliberate way. When a neighbor’s barn burned down, his parents became frightened of him.

His parents tried various forms of punishment and religious intervention but reached a point where for the good of their community and themselves “Griffin” had to go. At age 11 they took him to London and abandoned him. They cursed themselves for a lacking the courage to kill him and waited for the day that he would return to the farm and enact his revenge. Fortunately for them the day never came, as the boy turned out to be a natural for the life of a street urchin. London at the time had a great deal of suffering for him to enjoy and his skills as a liar and manipulator served him well. He was gifted at using weaker children to take the bigger risks in thieving and skullduggery, and as he had no qualms about abandoning them to their fates he avoided any major attention from the law.

This was his existence for many years until he met a sort of kindred spirit. Creatures from other planes of existence were very rare at that time in London but there was at least one who had disguised himself as an old man- Mr. Scratch. Mr. Scratch had been sealed from his home dimension by a rival and found himself trapped on our plane. It was a wretched existence as he was near immortal but unable to return home.

Beyond immortality, his people possessed one notable power. His people had been visiting the earth plane as their magics were such that they could empower humans with tremendous gifts, but with a substantial limitation. You see, they were the source of the belief that one could sell one’s soul for power. This conclusion was drawn from the fact that those handful of people so empowered (evil witches and the like) seemed devoid of souls evil incarnate. Thus the conclusion that these individuals had earned their power through trading their souls.

In truth these devils’ ability to empower humans was gated by the conscious and empathy of the person. It is these qualities that bind a person most strongly to humanity. These devils lack the power to change humanity, only a human. So those they could affect most profoundly were those humans who were truly disconnected from humanity lacking a conscious and empathy.

Fortunately, these types of people are relatively rare. Furthermore, beings of magical power on Earth cared little for the “devils” and banished the devils on sight if they could. In fact, Mr. Scratch had run afoul of Wells on a few occasions (including a few imprisonments of Scratch yet devils are hard to keep). The rival’s seal also prevented Wells from banishing Scratch, and part of Well’s motivation for seeking more magic was to overcome this limitation. Wells felt it was inevitable that Scratch would one day find a truly evil person and, through that person, cause misery and mischief.

Scratch indeed found such a person in the young (now) man. In fact, an unparalleled candidate. Though Scratch could have transformed the man into something akin to a god, Scratch’s needs at that moment were simpler. He knew of a place that housed and protected a menagerie of the last few magical creatures in England, including a griffin. It is well known that no one can hold a griffin anywhere against its will, so Scratch knew the blood of such a creature could allow him to return home. Scratch himself lacked the means to get past the guardians undetected, but he could empower the young man to do so.

And so Scratch and the man reached a pact. Scratch would change the man so no one could perceive him. Not “invisible” per se, but magically prevented from being registered by the minds of others. This would allow the man to pass the guardians and wait for an opportunity to bleed the poor, old griffin. If the man delivered the blood to Scratch, Scratch would make the change permanent.

The man, for his part, could imagine no better gift. He could indulge his every impulse with no chance of consequences. So he completed his part of the bargain (little knowing that Scratch could not have undone the change if he wanted to).

Scratch did indeed return home. But not before he wrote a final letter to Wells exalting his victory. Never learning the man’s name, Scratch further twisted the knife by naming him “Griffin” in the letter. Wells knew his enemy was now beyond his reach, but not before his enemy had made one of the evilest men in history completely undetectable.

Wells made “The Invisible Man” the first science fiction story he wrote to begin to bind magic and science. He opted for this being his first experiment reasoning that if his spellwork failed it might still have some consequence to Griffin.

And it did. Mystically bound to Wells, Griffin came forward in time with Wells. Now Wells has loosed an unseen evil on 2018.

Role in the narrative/abilities: Griffin gets the whole thing started. Though surprised by his change in circumstances, he soon reverts to form and kills someone on the street by impulse. This ends up a case Morgan is investigating. It’s a bizarre one, though eyewitnesses claim the victim suddenly died with no explanation, but a traffic camera grainy images of the perpetrator. Griffin’s powers, you see, affect the mind/perception. So in modern times he can be captured digitally.

Furthermore, Griffin’s abilities have a limited range he has to be a certain distance from you in order for you to be affected. In times past, this made him completely undetectable (if he is too far away, you couldn’t detected him due to your sensory limits; if he was close enough for your senses, his power prevents your mind from perceiving him).

This sets up some interesting mysteries and possibilities for creepiness. You might think you could use your phone camera to detect Griffin yet if he is close enough your mind will fail to perceive his image on the camera (even though the camera is still displaying it). If you were in a building with security cameras, you could watch him on those cameras until he got close to you (at which point, for you, he would just vanish though he would appear on the recording if it were reviewed later with him out of range).

Again, as I conceive the story, you would not get any of these details right away. Instead Morgan would be reviewing the evidence, including the pictures of the crime scene. Griffin would move close to her, and his image would vanish from the picture. When she shares this with others, he is again out of range and in the picture. It will be Morgan’s first evidence that something truly strange is going on and would ultimately lead her to Wells (in some way I haven’t figured out maybe Wells reads a “cop goes crazy” story).

Remember he is undetectable and your mind is working to make it so. Thus if he picks something up, you might perceive the item as not having moved or vanishing (a floating thing would give you a sense that he is in a specific place). So he doesn’t have to go around naked, and he won’t be found by a trick like footprints in the snow (as he was in HG Wells’ original story).

Another detail. There is one thing about Griffin that is detectable his voice. So he can talk to people (and mostly does so to be cruel). The listener can’t localize the sound of his voice it seems to come from all around. He still sometimes titters uncontrollably if something amuses him (such as the misfortune of someone else). If this was done on TV in a skillful way (more skill than I have) I think it would be pretty unnerving.

BTW, Griffin would be a primary antagonist in the series. Evil dude doing horrible things, and hard to catch. About the worst thing that could happen to justice-minded Morgan.

Inspirations: Man did H G Wells have a fabulous idea with the Invisible Man. He has become a staple of horror (what is creepier than something you can’t see meaning you harm? Wells created a scifi ghost story). In the story, Griffin (a doctor who studies optics and the refractive index of things) is a doctor who creates a formula to turn things invisible. In his excitement, he turns himself invisible before he has created a cure (oops!). Griffin was never a good person, but he goes quite bonkers when incurably invisible.

I liked that Griffin was not a great person to start with (in many versions, including the famous Universal film, he was made more sympathetic). Though from time to time any number of us might have wanted to be invisible for a brief period of time, my invisible man is happy to be undetectable by anyone permanently. In my mind, it would take a pretty twisted soul to want that (there is an episode of Black Mirror where a man is punished by being rendered “invisible” to everyone else).

Following my theme, my invisible man has supernatural origins. I like to think that some of the original readers of Wells’ work found the whole thing plausible (“good golly that could happen!”). But it is all pretty silly science today (e.g., people don’t have a single refractive index; if the invisible man successfully bent light around him he himself would be unable to see, etc.). Plus as noted above I think there are some interesting plot twists it enables.

Final note this one kind of got away from me as a 100 day project. I hadn’t even really thought of the specifics of Scratch when I started writing this (I should have made him a separate character profile). Also I’m struggling to limit myself to a character profile when the concepts I like about this have to do with plot. The result above is that I gave both too much detail and not enough.

Austin Police badge image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Police_Department

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.

Morgan Fayd (8)

Project: Television mini-series (“Wells”)

Known as: No aliases

Real name: Detective Morgan Fayd

Group affiliation: None

Physical description: Morgan is of indeterminate ancestry. She has light brown skin and dark hair with piercing light blue eyes. She is of average height but above average weight all muscle (working out helps her think and she thinks a lot). She dresses very practically (sneakers, jeans).

History: Morgan grew up with her mother in Austin, TX. Her mother appeared to be of Middle Eastern decent but was mysterious about her own origins. Morgan never knew any of her family except for her mother and her mother said there was no family alive to know. Furthermore, Morgan’s mother told Morgan that Morgan had been conceived during a dream. Not an immaculate conception per se, but a dream so real that it had a physical result. Once Morgan was old enough to understand that most people’s perception of reality didn’t quite align with her mother’s, she was comfortable believing her mother is lovably crazy. Although Morgan occasionally tried to convince her mother that some of her mother’s memories or perceptions could not be real, Morgan mostly adopted a “of course, mother” attitude.

Perhaps in reaction to having a parent most people found odd, Morgan was very careful to create a very grounded, sedate persona for herself. Even as a child many found her to be more serious than most. Eventually this mask seeped into her bones. She was never quick to laugh at a joke nor showed an interest in frivolous things.

Still, she was popular as she was a star athlete (in multiple sports). Also her peers had few complaints about Morgan as she was assiduously fair and unemotional in her interactions with others. While she did not hold grudges, she was a big proponent of justice and fairness and was never shy about giving direct feedback about misbehavior.

To the surprise of no one, she went into law enforcement. Her dedication, talent, and intelligence caused he to rise through the ranks quickly to detective. While better-than-average at solving mysteries, she was not a Sherlock Holms type that found the joy in solving the puzzle. Rather, satisfaction for her was getting justice for victims (solving the crime just happened to be a necessary part of that). Very capable of solving complex cases, her tenacity was her greatest asset.

She always had a limited social life mostly because she was not fun in the traditional sense and is a workaholic. Most assume that she is in a romantic relationship with her police partner (Gavin Berns), which is not the case. Rather they spend so much time together because Morgan is such a stronger personality than Gavin that he is caught up in the slipstream of her dedication to work.

Morgan’s salt-of-the-earth, steady existence is about to be challenged. She is about to begin to investigate a case that involves an invisible man.

Role in the narrative: Morgan is our protagonist. When the series begins, she will seem like an archetypal cop in an archetypal procedural. Slowly, some odd things will begin to occur in Austin (stay weird!) which she first tries to explain in grounded ways. Inevitably, she’ll conclude that some truly supernatural things are going down, which will lead her to Wells.

The beings she has to interact with and bring to justice will challenge her worldview. Not as much as the discovery that she herself might not be exactly what she appears (what, you thought her mysterious family background was an accident? 😉 ). She is also the classic proxy for the viewer learning about the world beyond what she understands.

Abilities: No known supernatural abilities (yet). Still she is a remarkable person. She is smart, dedicated, and gifted. She is a marksperson and butt-kicker, and a brilliant detective. She is tenacious to a fault, with a clear view of justice.

Inspirations: A grim, workaholic cop driven by justice? While I’m clear in these inspiration sections that I know I’m not reinventing the wheel with most of these characters, this one has been seen a million times before. The only deviation is that she’s not driven by some horrible event or trauma. We will see over time it is simply her nature/destiny (remember, mysterious past). I like her, though (it is easy to like heroes).

Black hole image – https://phys.org/news/2018-01-black-holes.html

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.

Note: I’ll return to the world of Mizfits at some point (they need villains, after all). But, the time constraints on the 100 days project means I might have to jump around a bit to where the creative juices are flowing freely (e.g., I need to think about Mizfits villains more). So, hoping over to Wells for a bit.

Wells (8)

Project: Television mini-series (graphic novel?)

Known as: Wells

Real name: Helios Gandalf Wells

Group affiliation: None

Physical description: Wells is of average height and above average weight. He looks every bit of the late nineteenth century Englishman that he is. He has a big, bushy mustache, a full head of wavy hair, and can usually be found wearing a period-appropriate suit with many accessories in various pockets (watch, spectacles, pipe, etc.).

History: The late 1800s was not an ideal time to be a practical, gentleman magician. The rules of magic had begun to change with the barrier between England and the Fae growing ever stronger. Meanwhile, marvels of science such as steam and air ships were on the rise (at times literally). Magical creatures and people becoming rarer, though persecution (witch trials), hunting, and the general waning of magic. The most powerful wizard in England was a shadow of his forebears.

That wizard was Helios Gandalf Wells. Of tremendous magical pedigree, Wells possessed Fae blood and some of the most formidable magic-users in his family tree. He was knowledgeable of spells and artifacts, and as a gentleman with means consistently increased his magical collection.

Yet as functional of a spigot as he was, the water of magic simply didn’t flow the way it once did. Wells had many theories as to why, but chief among them was the rise of science and technology. Seeking save magic, and perhaps realize his true power, Wells sought to mix magic and science (becoming the first “technowizard”). His hope was that if he could position magic and science as complimentary, the former would not need to decline with the rise of the latter.

Wells had some mixed success creating devices that mimicked the principles of science but were powered by magic. He had a pocket watch, for example, whose gears cast a spell of time tracking, rather than tracking time mechanically. Yet these small successes did little to ebb the general decline of magic.

Belief and narrative had always been cornerstones of magic, so Wells sought to bind magic and science together with the telling of stories. Wells knew of several remaining magical creatures and magic users, and he used their stories and abilities to inspire stories of fantastic science. Beyond just written stories, these were magical writings that bound the magic of these beings within their pages (without their permission, unfortunately). If his spells were effective, those reading his stories would believe that science could create magic. He aimed to retell tales that once drove magic with a sheen of science; essentially “hiding” magic as science.

Thus he was one of the inventors of science fiction. Yet his tales of voyages to space, invasion of aliens, and invisible men were retellings of fantastic voyages, attacks of magical monsters, and heroes of mythic power. Readers were having spells cast upon them without their knowledge, and he hoped that their belief in the magic of science would restore magic.

Unfortunately, while his works were extremely popular, they did not produce the desired effect. He became more desperate and decided that his explorations of time might provide a new solution. His thinking was straightforward while science was beholden to time, magic may not be. His hope was to open a portal to the past when magic was a tremendous force and create a stream of magical power to his current time.

His experiments, however, had an unexpected outcome. He found himself transported to 2018, hundreds of years into his future. He had thought magic was limited in his own time and found it nearly non-existent in his new time. This all but removed his ability to undo his spell. Additionally, he found not only magic changed but science as well, as many theories of his day had long since been disproven.

Now his future is uncertain. His personal magic is enough for him to get by, but whether he can somehow meld it with the technology of today is unclear. Will he ever get home, or perhaps will he change the world of 2018? Neither is known.

However, one thing is known. Some of the entities he wrote about in his magical stories were bound to him as a result. Caught up in his time travel, they too have arrived in 2018. Not all of them have had their powers reduced in the same way as Wells and not all of them are nice.

Role in the narrative: Wells’ story establishes the setting and drives the adventure. Though I am introducing him first, he is not the true protagonist nor hero of the story (that would be Detective Morgan Fayd). In fact, who Wells is and what happened to bring the fantastic into 2018 might be a mystery drawn out over the course of the first season or early issues.

Abilities: Wells is a wizard. However, where the most powerful spells in history tended to draw upon external sources of magic, Wells is limited to his own personal magical reserves. So no summoning of lightning bolts, no transformations, and no teleporting. Instead, he can do interesting but unimpressive feats such as making his watch glow in the dark, make small objects move without touching them, and the like. Nothing that the observer wouldn’t think was a trick or not have some mundane explanation.

This means he is substantially less powerful than the beings he has brought with him (as virtually all of them have greater magical reserves than him or have ways of tapping power in modern times). His greatest asset is his knowledge, as he is easily the most knowledgeable person in the field of magic in 2018.

Inspirations: Hopefully one inspiration is fairly obvious ;-). H. G. Wells was one of the most prolific and influential writers in history (and all-around impressive individual). Steampunk has always been a fun drama, and I love retro-futurism. Seeing how people of the past envisioned the future is always interesting both because of how often they were right and how charming their ideas were when they were wrong (I also love the fiction of the 1950ies in this regard). Of course, being public domain, this will hardly be the first retelling of Wells’ work.

I’m heavily influenced by comics, and a major theme of the Silver Age of comics was companies using scifi origins (DC rebooted a number of classic characters with a scifi origin where they once had a mystical one; see Green Lantern, Hawkman, etc.). It always tickled me that this seemed to be in the interest of “realism” but in retrospect was just fantasy in a new form (e.g., getting spider powers from a radioactive spider bite somehow seems more likely than them being bequeath by a spider god).  With the characters of Wells, I’m doing the reverse (retelling scifi stories/characters as secretly being mystical ones). Likely I will be unable to come up with all my influences here (a bit of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norris in the return of magic; or even the old cartoon the Visionaries in terms of ages of magic/science).

Original puzzle image is from https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office_2010-word/creating-a-jigsaw-diagram-in-ms-word/e34a674c-0413-43bd-a7b9-3e917d0d2145 (I added the lettering).

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.

Puzzle (7)

Project: Comic

Known as: Puzzle

Real name: Darshita Khatri

Group affiliation: MizFits

Physical description: Darshita is a striking woman of Indian decent, with long black hair. She is in her thirties, and while saris are reserved for formal occasions her modern style is heavily influenced by traditional Indian styles.

History: Darshita was born in New Delhi but her family migrated to the United States when she was 2 years old. She only remembers life in the US, but Hindi was spoken around the home and her parents continued to follow some Indian traditions. Her family identified as Hindu but was not known for being particularly devout. Darshita did enjoy stories of gods and avatars (not knowing one day she would live among modern gods).

Darshita was always a bright child that worked hard and did well in school. However, every so often she would show absolutely staggering intuition. She would see novel answers to problems and be unable to explain how she arrived at the solution. In childhood these flashes were unpredictable. A few of them lead to her to invent useful items for use around the household. Her father sought to protect her from unwanted attention by patenting her ideas as his own. Of course, this was a bit of a rationalization, as he enjoyed the attention and wealth that came from being the second coming of Ron Popeil.

Her family’s sudden success and her father’s behavior about her ideas left Darshita conflicted. Though not devout Hindus, it was still hard to jibe the materialism she saw in her family with the tenants of their faith. Furthermore, she felt more exploited than protected by her father, and ultimately decided to stop sharing when she had her flashes of intuition (her flashes always came with a clear feeling of “rightness” so she never mistook a natural idea for a true flash). Her father was hard-working and at that point had built up his business such that he had other ways of finding new ideas, so Darshita ceasing to provide IP was not too profound of a problem. Soon enough Darshita’s flashes of intuition were seen by her family as a few moments of luck.

Darshita continued to keep her gifts a secret. Yet often times her intuitions gave her a sense of what was to come, and how to prevent tragedy. Those she helped never knew: asking a fellow student a question prevented them from crossing the street at the wrong time; the right word prevented a fight; and so forth. Acting on her flashes would keep her busy, and hiding her secret made it all very lonely.

In adulthood, it was easy for her to turn wealth from her family into staggering independent wealth (usually through well-timed silent partnerships in key businesses; she had to avoid the stock market for fear that her gifts would make others believe she was inside trading). She had begun to view her flashes as a burden and found that they occurred less frequently when she interacted with others less. Fewer flashes meant she felt less obliged to fix things, and she began to become a wealthy recluse.

When the “All Saint’s Anarchy” event occurred, however, it nearly destroyed her. All her flashes in the past showed both problem and solution. Right before the event, she had a flash of intuition where she knew a moment was coming where the world made no sense. She could intuit countless problems, but no solutions. She feared for her sanity before she mercifully passed out.

The other members of the Mizfits have always believed that this was the event that drove her to bring them all together. That the glimpse of absolute chaos drove her to be an agent of order and ended her isolationist ways.

They are close, but the reality is a bit more personal. People developing powers, demons and monsters becoming real, etc. did indeed create chaos. But during times of chaos, those who can see how things fit together have unprecedented opportunity to shape the world. However, Darshita’s first flash after the All Saint’s Anarchy event was to see how the pieces were falling into place to make her a true villain. Her efforts to avoid responsibility meant she was avoiding humanity including her own. She was on a road to view people as pieces to be placed, and herself as a goddess placing them. To avoid this future, she would need to reconnect with the world.

So while the Mizfits think Puzzle is here for them, in truth she needs them even more.

Role in the narrative: Puzzle practically IS the narrative. Team books are all about throwing characters together who might not even be friends under other circumstances. She brings them together, helps them realize their true power is in unity, and gives them purpose. My biggest fear is that, were I to ever write this, she wouldn’t be a multi-dimensional person.

Abilities: Her code/nickname (Puzzle) comes from the fact that her gift is to see how things fit together. Her conscious mind is impressive, but her unconscious mind is phenomenal. It is constantly processing stimuli, events, probabilities and so forth. The result is that every so often her unconscious mind puts things together such that it arrives at a non-obvious, but inevitable conclusion. In these moments, her conscious mind gets a flash of intuition. She cannot always explain the conclusion as a result, but she knows it is right.

This flash can take many forms. One is an inventiveness she sees how elements can come together to create something new and powerful. This is how she brought the Mizfits together she sees how they work together (InvinciBill’s invulnerability with Break’s strength; how Boost can reduce the Mizfit’s many limitations; how Swap can help get team mates into the proper positions, etc.). If they are in conflict with super powered villains and Puzzle has one of her flashes, the Mizfits are nearly invincible (she’ll see exactly what they need to do in order to win). This is crucial as without her the team is hardly a combat juggernaut.

These flashes can also take the form of a sort of premonition. She will foresee events unfolding, even sometimes when she doesn’t remember when she has seen the people involved (she has it’s just her unconscious kept track). These are not prophesy she can work to change the outcomes she sees (and often does). Occasionally, she “stays in the flash” where she sees everything around her in perfect clarity and can set off Rube Goldberg-type chains of events to get a desired outcome.

The thing she can’t control perfectly is when these flashes come. She can increase or decrease their likelihood by embracing or avoiding stimuli. Quietly meditating in complete isolation for days on end tends to greatly reduce the likelihood, while watching multiple news streams for hours increases the same. If she overthinks a problem this reduces flashes, while clearing her mind helps.

By the way Darshita is indeed CRAZY good at puzzles. She can tell when pieces are missing when the box is opened. She can put them together just based upon the shapes no image necessary. She can even see how they can go together in ways the puzzle maker didn’t intend (including making 3-D shapes out of 2-D puzzles).

Also by the way woe to the telepath that ever takes a trip into Puzzle’s mind.

Inspirations: Given this is a group book I’m wouldn’t follow the monomyth too closely, but Puzzle fills the wise mentor role (the hero role some as well, I suppose). It makes me sad that she may have to follow this pattern and that I’d have to eventually remove her from the Mizfits (her power is just too formidable for a long narrative). I have ideas for her ending and they are most noble, so maybe it is just as well that I will likely never actually write the Mizfits (so Puzzle can stay alive indefinitely in my imagination).

I remember a character from OSC’s Alvin Maker series that saw how things go together so likely my thoughts around her abilities. I’d also like to challenge myself a bit to write characters with different backgrounds than myself. I love the idea of someone with concepts like Dharma in her mind having to deal with seeing the world more clearly than others. I’m also toying with making her an avatar but haven’t studied Hinduism enough yet to know if that would be disrespectful (I certainly wouldn’t intend it that way).

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.

Break (6)

Project: Comic

Known as: Break

Real name: Sophia Sanchez

Group affiliation: MizFits

Physical description: Sophia is petite (5′) and thin, with olive skin and long dark hair. She is in her forties and has a beauty mark on her right cheek.

History: Sophia was born in New Jersey to a large and active family and had a happy childhood. She was always very social, popular, and community-focused (she used her homecoming queen acceptance speech to promote her bottle drive). She was religious and was sometimes called “Saint Sophie” behind her back. Not that she was perfect she was vain at times, and sometimes judgmental, but overall, she was (and is) a good, compassionate person. She also was quite adventurous, and enjoyed the outdoors.

She had a successful college career with a focus in business. Her freshman year she met and fell in love with a fellow student, Steven, who she loved deeply. They were married a year later. Tragically, a few months before graduation she lost Steven to pancreatic cancer. She spent a year in mourning before finishing her degree. She never lacked for suitors after that but continued to mourn Steven and found that no one really measured up.

Other than the effect on romantic relationships, Steven’s death did not cause Sophia to isolate herself. Quite the opposite she added curing cancer to her list of causes and remained very active in her community and church. She became a successful pharmaceutical sales rep and was quite comfortable financially but was mild in her indulgences.

Like many people, her special abilities came from the “All Saints’ Anarchy” event. This changed her life in profound ways. She became too much of a danger to others to continue with her community events or job. After causing family injuries and property destruction she accepted Puzzle’s offer to live with the Mizfits full time.

This was a blow to her, but she is too driven to change the world in positive ways to let it define her. She is the most heroic of the Mizfits and is often the catalyst for them to act (the other Mizfits can be a little isolationist).

Role in the narrative: As just noted, the Mizfits need someone (in addition to Puzzle) to help drive them to actually act. Though most of the Mizfits are well meaning, many of them are also insular. They follow Puzzle because they are so confident that they will succeed as a result, but Break inspires them (Puzzle and Break have an easy co-leadership of the Mizfits).

Break and InvinciBill are also the great love story of the Mizfits. Bill’s abilities mean that he can be around Break without concern of harm. This has led them to get to know each other more than they might have had neither of them developed abilities. Bill is smitten with her because her positivity and desire to make things better seems to epitomize in many ways the potential he sees in people. Plus, she is outgoing and adventurous, and introduces him to wonder beyond his books (he never thought he’d enjoy hiking until Break took him). Bill is insecure about her affection for him, however, as he believes she is “forced” to like him because he is the only person who is safe around her.

Of course, the super-intelligent Bill is an idiot in this instance. Break is drawn to Bill because he is the most extraordinary person she has ever met. No one will ever replace Steven for her, but after she read Bill’s poetry she found she had enough love in her heart for two “loves of her life.” Bill is an adventure for her she discovers new layers to him regularly. She is not at all insecure about their budding relationship, and instead sees it as one of the blessings of her abilities.

Abilities: Break is ridiculously strong. Tear steel in her bare hands, throw a car a mile kind of strong. This is both her power and her curse, as she cannot fully control her strength. To quote JLU: she lives in a world of cardboard. Thinks she tries to pick up are crushed, doors she tries to open are yanked off their hinges, and she avoids hugging anyone (except Bill). Eating is a messy affair. She has to navigate the world with extreme caution. Her living quarters have been adjusted accordingly (e.g., titanium comb), and she lives there with only a little care.

She is not, however, extraordinarily resistant to harm (e.g., she is not bulletproof). This means that Bill is often her partner in any sort of action the Mizfits encounter (he provides the defense, her the offense).

Inspirations: Battlechasers had a super-strong young girl, and likely inspired the whole “the strongest person on the team is the smallest one as well.” Comics like to portray super-strong characters as big/muscular, but it’s not like their musculature can explain their strength (what would Superman look like if you tried to illustrate his strength by the size of his muscles?). Seriously, is it any more sensible for a large man than a petite woman being able to throw a dump truck? I just am enamored of the image of a petite woman being the most powerful force on the field.

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.

InvinciBill (5)

Project: Comic

Known as: InvinciBill

Real name: William Gazer

Group affiliation: MizFits

Physical description: Bill is quite tall (6’4″), very thin, and not athletic. He has dark skin and is professor in his fifties and looks the part: tweed jackets, receding salt-and-pepper hair, and round eye glasses.

History: Bill was born to two successful Boston attorneys and has never wanted for much in his life (at least financially). This enabled him to pursue his many intellectual interests and gifts. Bill was a prodigy and minor celebrity. A Mensa member at age 3, concert cellist at age 6, a national spelling bee champion his paintings were exhibited in a major gallery by age 10. He was the most gifted person of his generation, and his parents had the means and supportive attitude to try to help him reach his full potential.

Of course, there are trade-offs in life. It was pointless to send Bill to public or even esteemed private schools. He was home-schooled by a series of private tutors (many of whom ended up learning quite a bit from Bill) and was attending college courses by his teen years. This meant he rarely interacted with his age peers and when he did he had trouble connecting with them. He was not athletically gifted and rarely could find time for such pursuits even if he had been interested. While admired by many for his abilities there was also jealousy and resentment (turns out not every Harvard professor enjoys being corrected by a 15-year-old) compounded by being a person of color.

Despite having a small group of nontraditional friends, Bill has lived an amazing life as a professional student. He has earned several formal degrees along the way but tended to follow his passions (it did not trouble him to leave courses mid-semester if the right opportunity presented itself). He has had jobs as a teacher or professor several times but was uninterested in career. His interests never tended towards the applied engineering, business and the like (in truth, he was a tad squeamish about biology, medicine and the like). Rather, he was most at home in the humanities.

Those who don’t understand him find Bill to be aloof and inscrutable (due to his limited social skills and general tendency to operate at a higher level). In reality, he is a beautiful soul. He is enamored of the human mind, and the beauty it can produce. He is happiest when he gets a new perspective, experiences new art, or is impressed by another’s thinking. Despite not always being treated the best by other people, he believes in humanity and its potential (this is key in our main Mizfits romance more on that tomorrow).

Bill was thrown for a loop when the “All Saints’ Anarchy” event gave him the power of invulnerability. He feels a responsibility to help the Mizfits with this ability, but it constantly puts him in situations where he does not feel confident that he knows what to do (an unusual sensation for him). Also his power leads him to have to behave in undignified ways (e.g., throwing himself in the gears to stop a machine). Finally, he has the same reflexes as the rest of us, so despite being immune from harm he flinches and covers his head like any of us would.

Don’t mistake any of his hesitancy in some situations for cowardice; after all, he consistently puts himself in situations where he is very uncomfortable.

Role in the narrative: The duality theme of the Mizfits shows itself again: a complete intellectual gets a physical power. Just gives a great opportunity for a character to get new perspectives.

On a team with many intelligent characters (e.g., Nudge and Random are in the genius range; Boost and Puzzle have outstanding if narrow intellectual capabilities), Bill is next-level smart. He could go toe-to-toe with most humanities professors on the planet, with only the most exceptional being able to exceed him (even then, if he dedicated himself to a single topic, he could become a world expert in short order). Music, Art, Literature, History, Philosophy, Religion, Anthropology he either literally or functionally has PhDs in each.

Narratively he’s useful to drop in literary quotes, and if the plot ever backs one in the corner Bill could come up with something. I love smart characters (even though they are hard to write being smarter than I am). Plus, I think he’ll be good for the team. Random, despite him being so traditional, really admires Bill (he’s read more books than she has). So does Nudge (and the sisters get along better when he is around). And, we’ll meet his love interest tomorrow.

Abilities: Bill cannot be harmed in any way. Impact, heat, cold, gasses, etc. simply cannot damage him. He has no need to eat any longer, and only sleeps if he wants to. Note he is not super strong, nor dense. If he gets hit by a wrecking ball, it will send him flying, and he might flip over a few times, but he will be unharmed. He also doesn’t feel pain (his tactile sense “turns off” beyond a certain level of stimulation). His power is a complete mystery, as a medical examination reveals nothing unusual about him. Still he is unbreakable (in the above “gears” situation, the metal of the gears would give way before Bill’s flesh did).

Inspirations: It seems there are plenty of people named “Bill” on the internet who already use this as a nickname (including a cancer fighter big props to a real hero). However, likely the name was inspired by Kirkman (who both writes “Invincible” and uses names like “Dupli-kate”). Plenty of invulnerable characters abound (many of you may have thought about Unbreakable), but I’ll give a nod to Diamond Lil from Alpha Flight as a more obscure one (Byrne essentially reused the concept in Next Men).

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.

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.

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.

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.

Random

Project: Comic

Known as: Random

Real name: Carolina Kowal (often goes by “Lina”)

Group affiliation: MizFits

Physical description: Random is exactly like her twin sister (Cassidy/Nudge), at least in every way she can’t change (e.g., a little shorter than average, quite thin, sharp, well-defined features). In every other way, she is a sharp contrast. Her hair is usually one or more colors not found in nature (pink, purple, green), and is usually cut asymmetrically (often with a closely-cropped side with a charming phrase shaved in like “Screw you”). Her fashion style, at first glance, looks like Goth. However, she usually incorporates something unexpected (like a brightly-colored cashmere scarf). Her shoes are often different colors from one another. In short, she is non-traditional/non-conformist (yet somehow it all comes together and works).

History: Random grew up in suburban Short Hills, New Jersey, and she’d be happy to tell you all about it. Of course, it will be a lecture on how modern suburban America is a blight on the human soul, sucking away all creativity and individualism until all that is left is empty automatons mindlessly going through the motions. She was a downright disruptive student, and most of her teachers dreaded her constant challenges (of course, most of them also realized she was smarter than them). With some effort, she was a solid C student (the effort on her part was the work she put in not to get better grades). She has always been a huge bookworm (point of pride usually true, paper books), and her self-education would put most college curriculum to shame.

For the most part, people have always disappointed Random. Less at a personal level (although she’s been let down more than a few times there, as well), but more as a species. It always seemed to her that no one lived up to the ideals she read about in her philosophy books, nor could any lives measure up to the heroics she read about in her fiction books. She has the spirit of an activist but sees too much hypocrisy and ulterior motives in most movements to ever join. And that is only considering the interesting, extraordinary people.  The vast majority of humanity to her are banal, stupid, selfish animals not even worth her time to insult. She is one of the youngest curmudgeons around. Of course, her power also causes her to largely isolate herself when possible.

Yet she does have a tremendous soft spot for those she sees as disadvantaged and disenfranchised. As victims of the system she hates, at least their shortcomings seem understandable and forgivable. For someone who believes she doesn’t like people, she does help the less fortunate (in secret whenever possible; and she favors helping those she discovers on her own, vs. formally volunteering somewhere). She sees them as kindred spirits (which is interesting for a person who has a wealth of mental, physical, and familial advantages).

It probably goes without saying for anyone who has also read about Nudge that Random and her twin sister do not get along at all. Nudge is the ultimate disappointment to Random somewhat smart enough to see the flaws in the system but embraces it anyway. The feeling is mutual, as there is no one in the world Nudge wanted to prove she was better than then her sister. Random always did the one thing that was worse to Nudge than beating Nudge in competition: Random wouldn’t even compete. Of course, Random knew this drove her sister nuts, and reveled in it.

Random ultimately thought she had found her niche. She worked at a used bookstore (inventory and paperwork; she avoided customers). The pay was pretty low, but the older man who owned the store let her crash on a cot in the office and read whatever she wanted. The man, Ezra, though Random was a complete pain in the ass but secretly loved her like a daughter (both feelings were also mutual).

That changed when Random, never particularly adverse to breaking the law, impulsively did something she shouldn’t have with people she shouldn’t have been with. One of those people was her future team mate Boost, and their abilities interacted in such a way that fundamentally changed the city of New York, with some tragic consequences.

Random finds herself with the MizFits for fairly simple reasons. First, the events with Boost made it clear that the humanity she was so disappointed in unfortunately included her. She now finds that she may have to embrace her personal kryptonite: responsibility. Second, the MizFits’ leader, Abia (Puzzle) may just be the truly admirable person Random didn’t know she was searching for. Perhaps there is even hope that Random will connect with her equally-humbled sister, but she doubts it.

Role in the narrative: There is the mystery of what happened with Boost. Redemption, especially when it may not be clear to the character that they need it, is a traditionally handy driver of story/pathos. Also, Random and Nudge are a pretty obvious dynamic of opposed identicalness. Both have worked really hard to distinguish themselves from one another, but this has ironically shown exactly how much they are alike. They both see themselves as independent but are ruled by society (Nudge in a conformist way; Random equally so in a non-conformist way). The share similar strengths (intelligence, their powers) and weaknesses (viewing themselves as separate/superior to others). And both can’t stand, but secretly really need, the other. Finally, a character that encourages unusual things to happen can be awfully convenient to a story-teller.

Abilities: Reality is a bit more squishy when Random is around. Unusual, improbable things tend to happen when she is around. If you flip a coin 10 times around Random, it’s not unusual for it to come up heads every time or tails every time. She cannot, however, predict or influence whether it would be heads or tails. In fact, if she really tries to influence the outcome, things are likely to get still more random (e.g., the coin lands on its edge).

There is a sort of Murphy’s law corollary to Random’s powers. Not that the outcomes are more likely to be “bad,” it’s that her powers are more likely to manifest in situations with lots of things happening. So, she tends to avoid events with active crowds, and the fact she prefers books to electronic alternatives may not be surprising. Spills, falls, flat tires, and more are more common around Random, so even when people don’t notice the “bad luck” (people tend to attribute the good luck around her to themselves), people are often vaguely uneasy around Random. Random has developed little control over her power but can “amp up” the effects a little if she concentrates.

Since she has no control, on the balance her abilities have been more curse than gift (she buys winning lottery tickets, and loses them). If Random and Nudge could ever find a way to work together, the results would be impressive. Nudge can affect things with intent, while Random’s ability could enable Nudge to do more than small things. However, this means that Random will have to give up control to Nudge, and Nudge will have to rely on Random (so, don’t hold your breath).

Additionally, Random is probably smarter than her sister, but lacks the discipline to be in as good of shape. She is a walking encyclopedia of facts, and has some skills in minor larceny (lock picking, minor grifts, etc.).

Inspirations: As noted for Nudge: Twins have obviously been used for narrative purposes many times, but likely Caramon And Raistlin influence me here. Reality-altering or “luck” powers are also obviously not new (e.g., Domino). There is a bit of Tyrion in Random’s curmudgeon-ness with her sympathy for the outsiders. The narrative convenience of having characters who cause unlikely things to happen is influenced by the Wheel of Time.

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.

Nudge (1)

Project: Comic

Known as: Nudge

Real name: Cassidy Kowal

Group affiliation: MizFits

Physical description: Nudge is a little shorter than average, and quite thin. She has blond hair and blue eyes, with sharp, well-defined features. Her style could be best defined as “serious.” She usually has her hair pulled back in a perfect bun, and most often can be seen in a business suit in a conservative color.

History: Nudge grew up in suburban Short Hills, New Jersey, not that she’d ever tell you that. Though in many ways her childhood was idyllic, with a loving family, Nudge always saw her destiny was to be someone important and successful, a stand-out in her personal excellence. So she especially hated that she was born with an identical twin (“Random” who we will meet tomorrow). She believed that the world was less likely to see her as a true stand-out, when I duplicate of her was so often standing right next to her. To make matters worse, when the twins uncovered their special abilities, it turned out that they were (quite literally) more powerful as a duo, than as individuals.

Nudge therefore learned to control her abilities, to suppress them (her success would not come from her extraordinary gifts). A straight-A student with every extra-circular an Ivy-league school could dream of, and soon found herself with a law degree from a prestigious school, a high-powered job, and all of her dreams coming true. Political success seemed right around the corner, when it all came crashing down. Embroiled in a scandal, she soon found herself disbarred and without a career.

So now she is with the MizFits, in part because she has nowhere else to go, and in part because the MizFits leader, Puzzle, is so persuasive. This, of course, reunites her with her sister, to the displeasure of both.

Role in the narrative: Nudge will help us examine our need as humans to stand out, while at the same time knowing that we are most powerful when we work together. She will drive story as we will be revealing the details of her scandal over time. Is she really guilty, or a victim (which pride would never let her admit)? At her core, is she selfish or insecure? Her and Random will help us explore the nature of family and sisterhood.

Abilities: Nudge can change reality, which seems awesome, but she can only do it a tiny bit. This basically means she can make things that would have gone one way instead go the way she wants, but on a small scale. In Roulette, she can’t make any number come up, but she might be able to nudge the ball one number to the left or to the right. You don’t want to coin flip with her, as her chosen side comes up an unusual amount of times just not every time. Statistically, her power is certifiable. It’s just that it is usually small and undramatic. Now, were she to somehow partner with someone who made rules that drive reality as we know it a little more lax, they could be powerful indeed.

Nudge is very smart, and her drive has made her good at many things (she is quite an athlete in addition to her mental prowess).

Inspirations: Twins have obviously been used for narrative purposes many times, but likely Caramon And Raistlin influence me here. Reality-altering or “luck” powers are also obviously not new (e.g., Domino).