Originally Posted by Nique (Post 813929)

I'm looking for some input on a charecter I'm trying to develop. I'm not entirely sure what direction this will take in the future (ideally a comic book) if any but the concept just came to me a while back and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it so I'm putting some stuff on paper. The 'theme' of my concept which will also tie into the charecter's name is 'Nomen Nescio', or "I do not know the name". It is a latin phrase which indicates a person who is unknown in some way (obviously).

So this is kind of in the same vein as Brian's book except maybe not as comical - It's a Superhero story, inspired by characters like Superman and Captain Marvel, among others. What I'm shooting for is kind of a merge between the core concepts of the two big guys, which is to say meeting Marvel's charecter driven (and often more realistic) approach with DC's Iconic incorruptible heroes.

I've yet to work out all of the specific details, but I know my main charecter pretty well. He is a 'Paragon' type of hero, so once I develop his powers he will have some basics (Flight, Strength) and then some unique abilities, but be I just want him well-rounded.

The main thing with his powers I want to focus on though, is that he isn't a god... In fact, although he invariably presents an image of invulnerability to everyone else, he is quite physically vulnerable. I don't know yet if this means he can be hurt or if his powers are just so limited that he can't actually always win/ save the day as he expects himself to.

By way of backstory;

The main charecter (we'll call him 'Nathan' for now) has a fairly average life. Nathan grows up in a healthy, if somewhat boring environment. Nathan has some very close friends has an adolescent and is in a lower-middle class family. Staying true to the archetypes I wish to emulate, Nathan is extraordinarily passionate about the value of life, and justice. Things in his life change though, slowly, with the sudden arrival of strange powers. Nathan will at first treat these powers lightly - Even attempts to show them off to his friends. The powers will not be strong enough at this point to cause any real concern and will remain hidden from Nathan's family and any parents hearing of them will ignore them as mere stories.

Nathan's friends will distance themselves from him as his powers become stronger and more noticeable, and what he was at first excited about now pushes a wedge between Nathan and the people he cares about. Nathan makes concerted efforts to hide his abilities and people mostly forget. Unable to re-connect with anyone, He continues to remain basically friendless and has distanced himself from his family who know nothing about his abilities.

Fast-forward a few years - Nathan is grown and living in an apartment by himself. His personnel life continues to be lonely, despite his desire to socialize and connect with someone. Once friendly and outgoing, Nathan has become more shy and introverted, and teeters on the edge of deep depression, despite staying active. (It is worth noting that with most superhero origins, this process in inverted - they typically become more self-confident and outgoing as a result of their powers).

At this point in his life, Nathan has been practicing his abilities in secret. He had always thought he might use his abilities to help others, although not sure exactly how. (I am considering making Nathan a firefighter, as this seems like a logical choice for someone in his position) In any case, he begins to feel that the only way he can break out of his shell in some way is to use his powers publicly, and he hasn't been afforded the opportunity to use his powers in any meaningful way yet.

So he goes the whole 9 yards - secret identity, costume, cape, maybe even a mask. In this universe, Nathan is the only (or first) Super-powered individual. Any suspicion regarding him is quickly alleviated due to his good-nature and he makes a point to get to know people while playing his alter-ego. Although his civilian life is still much as it was, Nathan becomes much happier and finds satisfaction in helping people instead of wallowing in self-pity. He considers it his duty to serve and protect.

There are still some issues that will pretty much be ongoing themes for this charecter - Nathan very much feels that he lacks an identity of his own -hence 'Nomen Nescio' and his 'Superhero' name will reflect this. This is partially due to the natural 'duality' that comes with a secret identity, and also because of how isolated he feels. There is also the fact that Nathan does not know where his powers come from, and thus is unable to answer any questions about them. Of course, I don't want to turn him into a total emo-bag, but Nathan is on a journey of self-discovery, and the transition from civilian to super-hero is not without it's troubles.

Also, as I said earlier, his powers are fairly limited in comparison to, say, Superman. So Nathan has to struggle with his limitations - Much like Vash (of Trigun) freaks out when he can't stop someone from dieing, Nathan's selflessness does cause him to overextend himself and feel extremely disappointed when he faces a challenge that is too big for him to handle, and this does bring out a darkness in him - the guilt, depression, the self-depreciation, and the anger will sometimes bubble over into his super-hero persona.

---

So that's my idea. It started out as more of a charecter study than anything, and although the powers and costume and all are the fun part, I'm really interested in the psyche of this guy... I'm basically giving him the ideals of Superman but all the emotional problems of a pre-radioactive spider Peter Parker. I like the idea of this guy trying to stop himself from being selfish and too introverted by going in the polar opposite direction, but then he still has to deal with those feelings at times... I feel like that is a very real problem for a lot of people - not wanting to get so depressed that their sadness is all they can focus on, but not able to completely alleviate those feelings either. So, you know, rather than give this guy dead parents or some huge tragic planet-blown up issues, I could bring him down to earth a bit and imagine what is it really like for an average guy with extraordinary power?

So I'm interested in some feedback. Is this overdone? Is 'reinventing superheroes' passe' now? I'd like to think I have a nice mix of new and old, although it is a bit bland at the moment.

Originally Posted by Fifthfiend (Post 814055)

No wait.

Forget the moustache.

You want a character that says "Superman, but he has to live in the world and deal with shit like the rest of us jerks"?

Back hair.

Mother-fucking back hair.

Go on, tell me I'm wrong.