Muse

Muse (101)

Project: Comic (The Creators)

Known as: Muse

Real name: Kira Cattrall

Group affiliation: The Creators

Physical description: Muse (Kira) is a young woman with blond hair. She has a warm, friendly face and a ready smile that draws people to her.

Personality: Muse has great personal magnetism. She is very good with people and is skilled with putting them at ease. People open up to her and rely on her advice (she is both intelligent and wise). She is quick-witted, funny, and can tell a great story. Living up to her name, Muse gets the most satisfaction from helping others achieve their potential.

History: If you ask Muse, she will modestly tell you her history is quite ordinary. She’ll make only vague references to family and hometown. It is obvious that she is well-educated, and she occasionally mentions a big-city university. Her gifts she portrays as a knack she has developed; which is a rather humble take on abilities that are clearly super-human.

Due to her avoidance of self-aggrandizement, many rumors and myths have emerged among her friends and fans (of course, are they all myths if some might be true?). Unsurprisingly, one of these proposed histories is that she is actually one of the muses from Greek mythology, immortal and living among us. Popular opinion is that she might be a daughter of Zeus, Melete (muse of contemplation and practice). One thing that keeps this myth alive is the fact she has never directly denied it. Instead, she usually brushes it off with a joke (“I’m in great shape for being thousands of years old, no?”).

Some believe that Muse started out as a humble teacher. She was so extraordinary at, and dedicated to, her job that the ancient goddess Seshat took notice. Seshat’s domains were wisdom and knowledge and she is believed to have created writing. So profound were Muse’s teachings in language and writing that Seshat was awoken and made Muse her avatar. Since then Muse’s skills as a teacher have become supernatural.

Others assert that Muse once worked for a blademaster. Ever a force behind the scenes, she helped the blademaster develop his skills and sharpen his blades. Legend has it that the blademaster could strike the whiskers from a man’s face without leaving a mark. Those who subscribe to this history believe the blademaster’s spirit stays with Muse, granting her fantastic powers.

The other possibilities are too numerous to detail here (a craftsperson and artist who became so skilled she could shape people; a gardener who came from another planet and was so gifted she became able to grow people much as she could grow plants; an animator who after a computer exploded gained the ability to “animate” people by inspiring them; one story even states that she was bitten by a radioactive community organizer to get her powers). It is possible that Muse’s true history will never be known; though the fact she has inspired such creativity from her devotees likely pleases her.

Currently, she is the leader of a group of “super-heroes” called The Creators. The Creators have super human abilities, but unlike other super hero teams they do not see their main mission to be fighting crime. Under Muse’s leadership, they aim to create solutions to the world’s problems. The environment, hunger, disease, poverty, inequality – there is no challenge The Creators won’t face. With Muse amplifying their full potential, The Creators might just save the world.

To quote “RENT”: the opposite of war isn’t peace – it’s creation.

Role in the narrative: Muse-type characters, almost by definition, tend to be supporting characters (muses, after all, inspire others to greater heights). This one would also be a protagonist (one of the reasons I gave her more symbiotic powers instead of only granting power to others; see below). In fiction, people love origin stories for villains – exploring what causes them to be extraordinarily evil. Equally interesting, in my opinion, is what causes people to be extraordinarily good. Selflessness is a primary component in any definition of good, and what is more selfless than dedicating yourself to helping others reach their full potential?

Abilities: Muse has supernatural abilities to enhance the skills of others. She can make musicians play better, cure writer’s block, help mathematicians solve equations, and so forth. If the person has unusual gifts, Muse’s impact is even greater (e.g., super-strong people can lift more, super-speedsters run faster, etc.). Her mere presence is enough to improve how well people do their tasks (was this widely known, artists would pay high sums to get her in the audience). In this way her powers overlap with those of Boost’s (character number 3). However, Muse’s abilities differ from those of Boost in many ways.

First, where Boost is like a battery and must “charge up” before enhancing others, Muse has no such limitation. In fact, the more Muse uses her power, the greater impact it has. Second, if the person is willing to work with Muse and practice, Muse’s supernatural improvements have greater effect and can become permanent (approximately three months of practice can achieve this result). Third, Muse gains power herself from helping others. After helping someone magnify his or her abilities, Muse gains the capacity to use that same ability once. For example, suppose she helped a coder become better at coding. In the future, whenever she liked she could become a master programmer for a period of time.

Muse has helped many, many people. As a result, she has a vast set of skills and superpowers she can call upon as the need arises, making her one of the most formidable and powerful people in the world.

Inspirations: “Kira” was the name of the muse in the classic film “Xanadu,” and the muse in the also classic film “Mannequin” was played by (Kim) Cattral. So the character’s name is an homage (so are her initials – see below). These are just two examples of fiction and pop culture featuring muses, and the fact that muses are featured so frequently strikes me as utterly apropos.  There are characters in comics who can enhance the ability of others and plenty that can copy the ability of others (e.g., Synch of the X-men). As far as I can think of (and after a quick web search), the ability to store skills that one helped others gain might be novel.

Mainly, though, this character was inspired by the person who inspired me to write these characters. Happy birthday, KC!