What's an interesting backstory to my character?

December 10, 2008 4:20 PM

Flex your creative muscle and help me design a superhero!

Growing up my father used to always tell me, half in jest, about this great superhero he came up with. I have a friend who works as an artist for Marvel Comics, and I thought it would be great as part of a Christmas gift to have him draw a sketch of this guy, and flesh out his back story a little. Of course, this first thing he asked me was “what does he look like?” I had no idea. And really, I don't know anything about him other than his name and his superpower.

His name is Random Chance. Whenever danger is present (sort of like a spider sense I guess) his body manifests a random superpower that may or may not be useful in the current situation. It could be something traditional, like flying, heat vision, or super strength. Or, equally likely, it could be something stupid, like making things sticky by looking at them, or rapidly growing out his body hair. The point is he has to rely on his wit and creativity to apply this power in a way that will get him out of trouble. So above all else he’s an intelligence based hero.

I’m terrible at this stuff, so I humbly ask you to fill in the details. Just what does he look like? What’s his alter ego? What’s his origin story? What are his personality quirks? Does he have any notable relationships? How about his archenemy, etc? Anything you guys can come up with would certainly help piece him together. Thanks!

posted by nimkip to grab bag (22 comments total)

does it have to be a "he" ?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:39 PM on December 10, 2008

Not to burst your bubble, but that sounds a lot like Dial H for Hero, so I'd avoid any similar characteristics.
posted by benzenedream at 4:39 PM on December 10, 2008

He's devastatingly handsome. That's all I know about the dude.
posted by Grlnxtdr at 4:53 PM on December 10, 2008

I LOVE THIS. And, seeing as it's been my lifelong dream to be a comic book writer/artist one day, hopefully I can be of use.

Just what does he look like? I wish I wasn't at work, I'd sketch something up and scan it in. If I were writing the character, I think I'd pen him as a comic book reading, indie music listening college kid. Somewhere around 5'7 or 5'8, a little stocky, not athletic but not The Comic Book guy from the Simpsons. Short, dark hair that's tangled and unkept, glasses, a few freckles. Socially awkward but funny. Extensive knowledge of indie music and independent films, a reader... to try and sum it up in a few words, a hipster, I guess. Always wearing t-shirts from Threadless and a pair of jeans. Considering his power, you don't need him to be ripped and he wouldn't need to train. What good would it be? One minute his power might be super-strength. The next, it could be shooting lasers from his eyes. I think visually I'm thinking of a mix between Peter Patrelli and Hiro Nakamura. Or a chubby Peter Parker.

What’s his alter ego? 20 year old record store clerk. or he works in a comic book store. Lives alone. His name is, um, Sebastion (or Bastion) Auryn. Sebastion or Elliott or Diego. Shy, quiet, somewhat of a loner. Maybe has, like, one really good friend who knows his secret. Plus, of course, a girl he secretly pines after but has never even spoken to. Not because he's worried that she'll figure out his secret or that he's worried about putting her in danger by getting involved with her so much as that he's just, again, painfully shy and afraid of rejection. I imagine his powers are almost an afterthought to him because...

What’s his origin story?.. he just developed his powers, or just discovered them. Perhaps on his way home one night from closing up shop at the record store/comic shop, he gets mugged by a particularly ruthless gang of guys. Taking his wallet isn't sufficient. They push him, knock his glasses to the ground and step on them. One of them takes a swing and WHAM! At that moment, his power manifests for the first time. His skin turns as hard as diamond, and the thugs fist breaks against his face. Confused and angry, the other thugs swarm him, but after a few more hits, they run away, nursing bruised and broken appendages. Not understanding what happened, Sebastion runs home. By time he gets there, however, the power has faded, leaving him normal again. He calls his friend over and tells him the story. He asks his friend to take a swing at him to see what happens and this time WHAM... his friend passes out into a deep sleep before the swing connects, and he slumps to the floor. Over the course of a few issues, the power could be developed and explored. As to the how and why he came to have these powers, well, that's got to stay a mystery. At least for awhile.

What are his personality quirks? Shy. Quiet. A bit of a defeatist, not confident in himself at all. Sarcastic and funny when you get past his defenses.

Does he have any notable relationships? Best friend and the unrequited love interest. Plus, you know, a few regulars at his work (record store/comic shop) that serve as comic relief and can be used to further develop the story and the main character. As the story progresses, his quirks change as he becomes more confident, not into the almost predictable 'power corrupts' way either. He just starts to realize that he's special, and that maybe helps to start breaking apart the negative self image he has.

How about his archenemy, etc? At least in the beginning, I'd say that he is his own worst enemy. With an idea this good, you could spend more than a few issues just developing the story, the characters, and the powers. Inevitably, his powers would come to the attention of someone he definately doesn't want it to. Maybe he sees a crime being committed and he intervenes, leaving wounded thugs or hitmen to wander off to The Boss to tell them about the guy who teleported them into a Walmart in the middle of the night half a continent away or who turned a henchman into a butterfly. His nemises could be someone who, somehow, has their power tied directly to his, an explanation of which, when developed, could easily become the answer to the aforementioned how and why he came to posess these powers. What if, when Random Chance's power is suddenly the ability to read peoples minds, the Nemesis has the power to erase peoples minds? When Random can summon balls of flame, Nemesis can freeze his enemies in ice. Twins, seperated at birth, infused with the yin and yang of some ancient magic.


Anyways, YEAH! If you have a friend and Marvel and you like ANY of these ideas, I've got about ten thousand more AND I can draw. If you need any, you know, composition or sketches or anything, let me know. ;) Good luck!
posted by Bageena at 5:01 PM on December 10, 2008 [2 favorites]

At the risk of overthinking this plate of beans, you're going to want to ask yourself which era this character belongs to, 'cause the style of superhero costume/origin can vary greatly.

• Golden/Silver Age: Brightly-colored, skintight spandex with a chest emblem, possibly a cape. He/she's a scientist/journalist/career professional of some kind, motivated by a desire to do good.
• 80's/90's: Cargo pockets & a trenchcoat. Possibly lots of chromed cyberstuff. He/she is driven by a dark past/dark secret/dark obsession.
• Contemporary*: Streetwear (jeans/tshirts, etc.) with Golden Age flourishes, glowing things. He/she is a plucky teen who has his/her life turned upside down by unexpected powers and must now navigate a world that's more complex that he/she expected.

*it's been a while since I read any superhero comix, so I may be way off-base here.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that your father would be more into a Golden/Silver Age hero, so howzabout...

[Character] was a mild-mannered Statistics/Theoretical Physics professor at the Greater Metropolitan University. One night, while working on a paper linking the Unified Field Theory to String Theory, he/she stumbled upon the fundamental truth that the universe is based not upon structured particle interactions, but purely random ones. This intuitive leap brought [Character] into closer phase with the underpinnings of the Universe itself, granting [Character] amazing powers. Sadly, the powers, like the Universe, are random and capricious. THus was born... RANDOM CHANCE!

As with a good number of older heros & villains, the character's civilian name should be a variation of the hero name. A male might be Randall Chance, or Chauncy.

The costume could be any color, but should probably incorporate a dice motif.
posted by lekvar at 5:08 PM on December 10, 2008 [2 favorites]

I'd read that comic.

Late teen, early twentysomething. Bitter at the world, bitter about his own super powers that he has no real control over. He is hunted by a mysterious cavalcade of villians who are all after the secret of his stupendous powers. After growing sick of constantly having to defend himself, his life in absolute tatters due to all the interruptions to his everyday routine, he gets proactive, dons a costume/disguise and begins to hunt down his tormentors, and also the origins of his powers.

I'm thinking something similar to Rorschach, effectively a guy in a coat with a mask on. Perhaps he'd also have some sort of back-up gadgetry/gun, in case his powers ever fail him.

Good luck, and if you post it online please send me a link to it.
posted by robotot at 5:54 PM on December 10, 2008

When I was a kid dreaming up superheroes, they always kinda looked like me. Just saying.
posted by Hildago at 5:56 PM on December 10, 2008

Could he be working at a casino or a lottery place? It'd explain his name. Maybe he found a charmed slots machine coin, or some magic dice.

Maybe he's a Maths student that got too involved in his assignment. haha.
posted by divabat at 6:15 PM on December 10, 2008

lekvar for the win. I love Bageena's hero (and I'd probably read that comic), but for a Dad? Silver Age style is right on the money. As for looks, Hidalgo has a point. Just give the artist a photo of your Dad as a young man and say, "Make him into a superhero."
posted by Rock Steady at 6:18 PM on December 10, 2008

Is there any possible way you can work Arm Fall Off Boy's unique skillset into this?
posted by jacquilynne at 6:21 PM on December 10, 2008

This previous AskMe thread might help.
posted by trip and a half at 6:32 PM on December 10, 2008

Ack. I meant to link to the thread itself rather than my answer to it.
posted by trip and a half at 6:37 PM on December 10, 2008

Why can't it be an old person? There aren't enough octegenarian superheroes. I think it would be legitimately interesting to see a old guy or gal, in their twilight years, maybe even in a nursing home, dealing with all the tedium and loneliness and discomfort that old age can bring. Maybe even throw in a bit of senility, Alzheimer's, whatever. And they used to be a superhero when they were a strapping young thing, fighting crime, everybody loved them, but all that crime-fighting and being a hero didn't leave much room for holding down a job or spending much time with the family, so there they are, penniless, unloved, forgotten by the public they served so well for so long, dying slowly in some awful home, and perhaps they've even completely forgotten that they were a hero, once upon a time. And they (and the other residents) get bullied by the nurses, or by young punks whenever they go on a day trip to the mall, and one day, well, they're being pushed around or whatever by some roughs, and suddenly it all comes back in a flash! They have magical powers! Blammo! And they go back to their old ways, but in a much reduced fashion. Nursing Home Hero! But, aha, a twist! One of the other residents is their ARCH-NEMESIS, who had NEVER forgotten, but didn't realise it was them! WHATEVER WILL HAPPEN NEXT? ZIMMER FRAME SMACKDOWN!
posted by turgid dahlia at 7:17 PM on December 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

The key to comics really is the writing more than the awesome powers. Don't forget the interesting details like having to mend/replace clothes when awesome, but inconvenient, powers erupt.
posted by explosion at 7:31 PM on December 10, 2008

turgid dahlia, I once had an idea for an elderly superhero.... it needed a lot of fleshing out, but I thought a cool superhero name would be Senior Citizen.
posted by Bageena at 7:47 PM on December 10, 2008

MeFistopheles: the MetaFilter super mod. He can sense snarky comments as they are typed and delete them with his mind from seven infernal planes away...
posted by wfrgms at 7:49 PM on December 10, 2008

When Jessamyn, Mathowie and Cortex hold up their magic rings they morph together to become MeFistopheles.
posted by robotot at 8:27 PM on December 10, 2008

Building on the others: Use your dad as inspiration. What does your dad like to do? What does he secretly want to do? Make him Random Chance.
posted by divabat at 8:40 PM on December 10, 2008

I'm not a big comic book fan, but that's better than a lot of stuff I saw at ComicCon this year. I'd sooo read it. As others have said, Golden Age is the way to go.

Also, be sure to put in a kid/sidekick that looks a little like you. There aren't enough superheros with kids. Superheros are usually these solitary figures without families. No need to have Random Chance drive the carpool, but it would be awesome to see you in the comic too.
posted by 26.2 at 10:57 PM on December 10, 2008

Heh, this reminds me of the Bigtime series by Jennifer Estep. A female narrator has a similar power there. (And also, elderly superheroes.)
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:00 AM on December 11, 2008

I also want to say that I really like a lot of Lekvar's ideas. I especially love the idea of having someone draw your dad as the hero (and to have you as a sidekick).

Here are a couple of ideas that I had:
Archenemy: You could have a villain whose power is to mimic the power of whatever hero he is near. That would create some interesting fights between him and Random Chance.

You could also have a villain whose power is luck. So then the fights would always be about whether luck can beat random chance.
posted by bove at 10:39 AM on December 11, 2008

A follow-up on my previous idea - I intentionally put some Grant Morrison-esq Silver Age reimagining elements in the origin idea, so in keeping with that... his costume manifests itself when his powers do, as a function of the powers. So the costume itself is random, appropriate to the powers that manifest. For the sake of visual identity, storytelling and good sequential artistry, there should be at least one element that doesn't change, like the emblem.
posted by lekvar at 1:43 PM on December 11, 2008