Here we go.
Character Name: Superman, The Man of Tomorrow
Alignment (Hero, Villain, Walking the Line): Hero
Character Speech Font and Color: Georgia, Dark Slate Blue
Powers and Abilities:
Superman is a Kryptonian, one of quite possibly the most physically advanced beings the universe has ever known. Clark's abilities develop slowly during his early life, but seem to continually grow more and more potent as he goes on. Like exercising a muscle, the more he uses an ability, the stronger it becomes, some improving only gradually, some scaling up dramatically after repeated use. While by all appearances they are the classic set of super-powers the character has had for over half a century, the exact origin of them is significantly different.
Kryptonians were a race that prided itself in its technology and ingenuity, and in order to survive and thrive on the unforgiving environment of Krypton, they had actually taken control of their species' evolution. Utilizing methods far beyond anything humans would consider to be any known form of genetic engineering or biotechnology, they shaped their own cellular structure to cope with their planet's crushing gravity (the fact that they had not evolved along those lines already suggesting that they may not have originally been from Krypton at all), transforming every cell in their bodies into microscopic fusion generators capable of manipulating the pull of gravity around them.
Since Clark has grown up on a planet where the environmental hazards are virtually nonexistent compared to Krypton, the energy created in his cells has built and built, and his gravity-manipulating abilities can produce several different effects. Superman can negate the pull of gravity around him, allowing him to fly, and by generating a field of anti-gravity that pushes away air molecules and makes him essentially frictionless, he can move at incredible speeds. This is also the source of his super-strength and invulnerability, as he can expand his gravitational field around any object he touches, increase the density and energy-output of his muscles, and generate a skin-tight aura of anti-gravity that reflects potential damage. These are all reflexive abilities, things that he can do at once without even really thinking, but with concentration, he can increase the potency of one power at the expense of others--so by willing himself to move faster, he makes himself more vulnerable, or by concentrating on his strength, he diminishes his speed or his flight, et cetera.
In addition, Superman's senses are greatly enhanced, particularly his eyes. Kryptonian eyes have evolved to contain an intricate series of focusing lenses, allowing him to see the entire electromagnetic spectrum, as well as focus his vision further than any telescope short of the Hubble, or as minute as an electron microscope, or a combination of both--seeing through the atomic structure of an object and 'zooming' past it to see another, giving him his famous 'X-Ray Vision.' Since his body is usually brimming with excess bio-energy, he can emit that energy through his eyes' lenses, giving off energy beams of all sorts of frequencies, most usefully in the form of incredibly intense X-Ray lasers that, when focused, can cut through inches of solid titanium.
The limits of his powers would start out rather low, approximately the same level as he was in the 90s animated series--not completely invulnerable but still very tough, not flying at relativistic speeds but still very fast. As the game progresses, Superman would grow into his powers, learning how to control them, focus them, and exercise them to make them more powerful. With this would also come a fair amount of uncertainty, as he finds himself taking a larger and larger role in the world, slowly but surely transitioning over time from protector of a single city to champion of an entire world.
Character Origin/Backstory:
Across the infinite gulfs of space and deep into the unthinkable reaches of time, there was a world. This world began as a savage planet, teeming with dangers of all kinds, until it became host to a people unlike any other. Its people worked wonders the likes of which the universe had never seen before or since, and the world became the shining jewel at the heart of a civilization that performed miracles across the universe.
Then, suddenly and inexplicably, they disappeared. The world and its people simply vanished, gone from time and space, leaving awe-inspiring ruins and incalculably powerful artifacts scattered across the cosmos as the only signs that they had existed at all. Still, their influence touched countless civilizations, and every race that ventured into the stars came to know of them.
The Shi'ar covet their empty ruins with almost religious fervor.
The people of Rann tell legends of them the way primitives tell myths of gods and monsters.
The Kree and the Skrulls have warred with each other for millennia over artifacts that were comparatively little more than children's trinkets.
The Daxamites boastfully claim to be lost descendants, a claim vehemently refuted by the Rigelians.
Even the Guardians of Oa, ancient and wise beyond all others, are known to affect a tone of reverence and awe when they speak the name of that long-lost world:
Krypton.
The ideal of that world has driven innumerable civilizations to greater heights and more cataclysmic falls than can ever be known, and its loss was as if a bright light in the universe had simply gone out.
However, the legacy of Krypton is more than just lost relics and half-believed legends. On an isolated, seemingly insignificant little world tucked away where the greater forces in the cosmos had not noticed, lives the last surviving member of a people that did the impossible. His destiny may come to affect the fate of worlds beyond his imagining, though he does not know that yet.
In his own mind, he's Clark Kent, an aspiring journalist from Kansas, raised by two loving foster parents, taught to always seek the truth, to see the good in people and to do whatever it takes to bring out the best in everyone.
Despite his friendly nature and unshakable faith in people, Clark grew up isolated from others, having to keep himself increasingly closed off from his classmates as he developed his powers. His only friends throughout school were fellow outcasts and rejects: the introverted science whiz-kid Lana Lang, and the debate team captain and closet homosexual Pete Ross. Clark bonded with both of them, knowing how hard it can be to be different, and how much it hurts to have to pretend to be someone you're not.
At eighteen, Clark learned the truth about himself. He had begun developing his abilities at an early age, exhibiting incredible strength and speed, able to see things no one else could see. While at first he thought he was a mutant, when they believed he was ready to know the truth, the Kents told Clark of how they found him, alone in the middle of a field, amidst the wreckage of what they could only assume was some kind of spacecraft. Stunned by the revelation that he was not even human, Clark ran away from home, spending the next chapter of his life on the move, trying to find his place in a world where he clearly did not belong.
Seven years passed as Clark traveled the world, working as a freelance journalist, helping people whenever and wherever he could, though it often drove people away when they learned what he could do. He thought of the examples set during the 1940s by Captain America and the JSA, as well as the writings of Charles Xavier, and began to believe that he could use his powers in a way that would benefit humanity, without instilling fear or distrust in them. Still, he doubted himself, put those thoughts aside......until he made a discovery that would spur him into action.
What Makes This Version "Ultimate":
Well, the way his powers work is different, and a fair amount of the details in his origin are different as well, though I don't want to give away a lot of the details in that because they end up being pretty intrinsic to some of the stories I want to tell. But the city of Metropolis, the villains he faces, the history of Krypton, all of that has been tweaked and reimagined-- those big blocks of text in the spoiler tags are just a couple of molecules on the tip of an iceberg the size of freaking Hoth.
What can you bring to the RPG:
At the
Pacific Rim panel at this year's Comic-Con, Guillermo Del Toro said that when dealing with large-scale projects, you can either "get lazy, or get crazy." And I fully intend to get all kinds of crazy up in here.
Sample Post (provide a short post of at least 3 paragraphs and 1 line of dialogue for your character):
"I've been telling Perry this for months now, but he won't run the story without evidence. These things can't just be coincidence!"
"Well, I mean, he does have a point, Lois. If you make accusations like that but don't have the proof to back it up--"
"I know, I know, it's compromising my journalistic integrity."
"Not to mention it's libel."
"Yes, thank you, Jimmy, I'm aware of that."
It's called the Singularity. An event that has implications so profound and far-reaching that life before said event bears almost no resemblance to life after it. It can be a historical event, like the signing of the Magna Carta or the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It can be the introduction of new technology, like the Internet or the atomic bomb. Whatever the exact nature, it's a change that is irreversible. Like the gravitational singularity at the heart of a black hole, it's a point of no return.
"Look, for what it's worth, I believe you. I mean, I've seen a few things over the last couple of years that back up your story. That's why I came here."
"Then if you believe what I'm telling you, you'll know that there's no way I can tie any of these things to him-- the Symkarian bombings, the Olmec Dawn in South America, the alleged Cadmus labs in the third world-- because he's got the connections to make the proof disappear. So you came right to his doorstep?"
"Well, sure, I mean......if it's all connected like you're saying, then why not just go right to the heart of it?"
"Hah. Well, maybe you're not as spineless as I thought, farm boy."
Seven years ago, I had a singularity event in my own life, when my Pa told me the truth about how they found me. It shook me so hard, I ran away from it. For seven long years, I've been traveling the world, tucked away in corners where nobody would look for me, hoping that the truth would never catch up with me. I've listened to and told the stories of thousands of people, hoping that nobody asks me about mine. I've been trying to pretend that it didn't happen, that it didn't change my entire world forever, that I'm still meek and awkward old Clark Kent, the bookworm and misfit who had to hide the things he could do.
For seven long years, I've been running and hiding from the truth.
Until I saw some things that made me turn around. Things that made me realize that maybe the truth about me isn't something to fear, that I can do more, that I
have to do more, to help people than I've ever even thought.
"Guys? We might wanna wrap up Crazy Conspiracy Chat for a bit. I just got a police bulletin-- there's some kind of attempted hijacking going on at STAR Labs."
"Well, don't just sit there, let's go! You've got enough memory in your camera this time, right?"
"One time, one time, I mess up...."
Seven years of running has led me here, to Metropolis. The City of Tomorrow, they call it. The media hub of the Western Hemisphere, home of the entertainment empire of Morgan Edge and of the
Daily Planet, the last true free press in the modern world. Heart of the Mannheim Syndicate, the largest and most extensive organized crime family on the planet. And the most technologically advanced city in the world, compliments of Lex Luthor.
If I'm going to do this, then it has to be here.
"You guys go on ahead, I, um....I think I left my phone in the bathroom."
"Well, if it's gonna gonna be a second, we'll just--"
"The story waits for no man, Jimmy! Now come on! Move! Vite! Andale! Schnell!"
I've read all of the old stories. Steve Rogers and the Justice Society of America. Men who could do incredible things, and toppled the forces of evil. Men who, in their time, were inspirations to the world. A lot of people are going to think that I'm following in their footsteps. And in a lot of ways, I am.
But the things I've learned over the last seven years.......the things I have in mind.........this is going to be something else entirely.
"Well.........here goes nothing."
The Singularity. The event that changes everything.
My world was changed forever when I found out who I really am.
Today, though...........
......
everyone finds out who I really am.
