[quote=@AndyC]
Might as well get this one in......

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/5GojgAt.jpg[/img][/center]

[CENTER][COLOR=SLATEGRAY][B]C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T   P R O P O S A L[/B][/COLOR][h1][b][color=RoyalBlue]S U P E R M A N[/color][/b][/h1][hr]
[img]IMAGE/BANNER[/img][h3][sup][sub][color=RoyalBlue]Clark Joseph Kent/Kal-El of Krypton  ♦   Reporter, Daily Planet  ♦  Metropolis, Delaware, USA  ♦   Justice League[/color][/sub][/sup][/h3][img]IMAGE/BANNER[/img]
[/CENTER][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3][color=RoyalBlue]C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T:[/color][/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr]
[CENTER][sup][color=RoyalBlue]"By myself, sure, I can do a lot.  Together, though?  We can do anything."[/color][/sup][/CENTER]
[INDENT][INDENT][i]By now, most people in the world know the basic story of the Man of Steel and where he came from.  On the doomed planet of Krypton, the brilliant scientists Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van placed their infant son Kal into an experimental life-pod, and with him went the last desperate hopes of their world.  The pod would land somewhere on the planet Earth-- most likely somewhere in the Midwestern United States-- where a kindly couple (who has remained safely anonymous) raised him to do right by others and use his phenomenal gifts responsibly.  Kal would grow up to become Superman, champion of the oppressed and fighter for Truth, Justice, and the American Way.

In the years that he has patrolled the skies over Metropolis, Superman has toppled crime lords, foiled invasions from beyond the stars, outwitted malevolent tricksters from higher dimensions, even died and returned to life.  He has grown a small family of proteges, including his cousin Kara who once protected National City as Supergirl, his half-human clone who fights crime as Superboy, the genius inventor John Henry Irons who defends against high-tech threats as Steel, and even a super-powered dog he affectionately calls Krypto.  Superman has experienced soaring triumphs and heartbreaking tragedies, and he has never faltered in the line of duty, cementing his place as the standard by which all other heroes are measured.

That is the story the world knows, and it happens to be the truth, but not the whole truth.  Only a scant handful know that Clark Kent spent most of his childhood and teenage years struggling to fit in, that the idyllic rural town of Smallville, Kansas, never seemed to have a place for him.  Or that Clark was very nearly married right out of high school, or that he spent the better part of a decade wandering the world under dozens of aliases, or that he would spend most of his professional career fighting tooth-and-claw for bylines with a rival reporter who would in time become the great love of his life.  Even fewer know how hard he took the death of his adopted father, how the loss of his cousin haunts him, how many nights he has woken in a cold sweat thinking of his own demise at the hands of the monster Doomsday.  While the whole world watched his funeral, only the closest of his friends and family were there for his wedding to Lois Lane, and only two other members of the Justice League know about Lois and Clark's son Jon, who has begun to develop abilities of his own.

As a new chapter in the life of the Man of Tomorrow begins, Clark faces not just the threats of disasters and super-powered criminals, but the pressures of leadership, the challenges of fatherhood, and the simple strain of getting older.  In a world now full of costumed heroes and villains, it gets more and more difficult for him to keep up, and it may be impossible for Superman to stay on top for much longer. Still, Clark has determined to do what he was always done: clench his teeth, ball up his fists, and make the impossible happen.[/i][/indent][/indent]

[INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3][color=RoyalBlue]C H A R A C T E R   M O T I V A T I O N S   &   G O A L S:[/color][/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][INDENT][INDENT][i]I want this to be a very straightforward, back-to-basics approach to Superman.  While putting him later in life will hopefully make for some interesting character moments in down-time scenes and when bantering with other heroes, the goal in action is to get back to the core of the character and what he does best: action-adventure heroics.  Save the day, fight bad guys, and make people feel better as you do it.

I want to show Clark at the top of his game, with action that is intense and exciting to read, clever uses of his considerable powers, and interactions with the other heroes that are fun to play out.  He may not have the exuberance of youth anymore, but with age has come experience, discipline, and wisdom learned the hard way.  This is as close to a quintessential Superman as I believe I'm capable of writing.[/i][/indent][/indent]
[INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3][color=RoyalBlue]C H A R A C T E R   N O T E S:[/color][/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][INDENT][INDENT][i]Clark has been active long enough that he has encountered most if not all of his more notorious villains multiple times, and while his secret identity is hardly common knowledge, there are a relative handful who have sussed it out-- including Lex Luthor.

Kryptonite was successfully synthesized a few years ago in LexCorp labs and then distributed among criminal syndicates and rogue nations by the Legion of Doom, though the synthetic "K-2" is significantly less potent than pure Kryptonite, which is still exceedingly rare.

Kara Zor-El was Supergirl for about three years, before she died heroically in a "Crisis" event that threatened the universe.  Her death haunts Clark in much the same way that the loss of Jason Todd haunts Bruce, and is why he is not only uncomfortable with Conner's career as Superboy, but reluctant to let anyone know about Jon's existence, let alone his powers.[/i][/indent][/indent]
[INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3][color=RoyalBlue]S A M P L E   P O S T:[/color][/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][hider]It had only taken a few seconds for me to chase down Metallo's projectiles, but apparently that's all he needed. I hear what's going on before I see it: the twisting and groaning of a colossal metal structure. Whatever Corben's doing, he's bringing down a whole building around him.

I race towards the sound, and focus my vision on--

[color=RoyalBlue][i]Oh boy, here we go...[/i][/color]

[img]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/nowhereman716/Comics/metallo.jpg[/img]

[h2][color=LimeGreen]"LET'S SEE YOU TRY AND STOP ME [i]NOW[/i], BOY SCOUT!"[/color][/h2]

Metallo's absorbed a skyscraper's worth of steel, adding it to his own frame. All of his upgrades since we last fought have made him deadlier than ever...or so he thinks.

Really, all he's done is given me a great big target.

I fly towards the monstrous cyborg, slow enough for him to keep his attention on me instead of swinging wildly and causing more damage, but fast enough that he can't focus his attacks...or worse, use his Kryptonite.

[color=RoyalBlue]"Metallo,"[/color] I say to him, [color=RoyalBlue]"you're just never going to learn, are you?"[/color]

He swings his massive claws at me. I easily dive out of the way.

[color=RoyalBlue]"You've got so much power, so much potential, and all you do with it is try and hurt people. And if all you know about 'power' is destruction, then you don't deserve any of it."[/color]

[h2][color=LimeGreen]"SPARE ME THE LECTURE, BLUE!  IF YOU WANNA TALK, MAKE YOUR WORDS COUNT, BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA BE YOUR LAST!"[/color][/h2]

Metallo swings again, and while I could avoid it just as easily as before, he's getting dangerously close to hitting another building. Rather than risk him harming the people inside, I take the full force of Metallo's swipe...before tearing his arm off.

Corben reels back, more from surprise than pain. His kind always seems caught off-guard when I actually start fighting to win. Underestimating me is a mistake that too many of my enemies make.

[h2][color=LimeGreen]"AAAAAAAAHHHH!  I--....I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!"[/color][/h2]

[color=RoyalBlue]"No, you won't,"[/color] I say, still holding a schoolbus-sized chunk of what used to be his arm.  It's not a boast or a taunt, just a fact.  Corben is too much of a danger to everyone around him, and it's well past time to shut him down today.

Metallo's chest plate begins to open up, and his eyes begin to give off a sickly green glow. He's going to try and use the Kryptonite that powers his reactor to poison me.

Too bad for him, he's not going to get that chance.

As he's about to unsheathe the deadly green rock, I hurl the huge piece of debris towards him like an over-sized javelin. The makeshift weapon finds its mark, slamming straight into his chest and covering up the Kryptonite. Metallo staggers back, and I let loose a long burst of heat vision to fuse the metal shut.

With his most powerful weapon taken away from him, I move in for the finish.

[color=RoyalBlue]"In the end, Corben, you're just a schoolyard bully, who doesn't like it when people start hitting back. And believe me, ...I can hit a [i]lot[/i] harder than you."[/color]

With that, I swing for the fences.

The shockwave shatters glass for several blocks in all directions, and reverberates throughout Metallo's body. The head has all but caved in, and the rest of the enormous frame begins to buckle and come apart as he falls backwards.

I swoop underneath him, quickly grabbing the few stragglers who haven't cleared the streets yet, and get them to a safe distance before speeding back towards Metallo. If he hits the pavement all in one piece, the impact will bring down the surrounding buildings and kill God knows how many people.

I pick up speed, aiming for a critical location. I find my target, and punch straight through Metallo's body at several times the speed of sound. The resulting explosion rains down debris into the streets, but small enough that it won't cause any serious damage.

I bank hard left and turn around, heading back towards the disaster area to put out the fires and make sure Corben survived. Sure enough, there's enough of Metallo's original frame left to keep him alive, but he's in no condition to keep fighting.

[color=RoyalBlue]"We're done here, Corben. All that's left now is to clean up the mess you've made."[/color]

[INDENT][INDENT][/indent][/indent][/hider]
[INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]P O S T   C A T A L O G:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][INDENT][INDENT][i]A list linking to your IC posts as they're created. This can be used for a reference guide to your character or to summarize completed arcs and stories.[/i][/indent][/indent]
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[img]https://i.imgur.com/7MTvIip_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium[/img]