[CENTER][i][color=#708090]Look! Up in the sky![/color][/i] [i][color=#708090]It's a bird![/color][/i] [i][color=#708090]It's a plane![/color][/i] [i][color=#708090]It's...[/color][/i] [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][color=#3d85c6][b]S U P E R M A N[/b][/color][/h1][hr] [img]https://i.imgur.com/bnjPeRj.png[/img][h3][sup][sub][color=LightBlue][b]CLARK JOSEPH KENT (KAL-EL)[/b] [color=1E90FF]♦[/color] [b]INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST[/b] [color=1E90FF]♦[/color] [b]METROPOLIS, DELAWARE, U.S.A.[/b] [color=1E90FF]♦[/color] [b]THE DAILY PLANET STAFF, THE JUSTICE LEAGUE[/b][/color][/sub][/sup][/h3] [/CENTER][COLOR=1E90FF][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][CENTER] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [sup][b][color=3d85c6]"I've fought for the same things, even when they don't seem fashionable. It's a neverending battle, but we [i]can't[/i] quit."[/color][/b][/sup][/CENTER] [i][color=9fc5e8][b]Five years ago,[/b] an experimental craft said to be able to sustain an atmospheric breach with leisure was launched by LexCorp CEO and famed astrobiologist, Lex Luthor, during a worldwide press conference. When the shuttle began to break down and malfunction, however, the crew aboard the S.S. Lena seemed fated for certain doom. While the gallery of reporters watched the scene play out in horror, including The Daily Planet's own Lois Lane, a rookie journalist that was assigned to shadow her stepped out of view and pulled apart his shirt to reveal a uniform beneath - with a symbol, alien in origin, that unmistakably looked like the letter S. Within minutes, cameras broadcast the shuttle's miraculous rescue for all the world to see as the being who had caught it - with his bare hands, no less, while suspending his own personal gravity to fly through the air - gently landed and placed the craft a mere mile from the launch site, fully intact and with all crew unharmed. That was the day that the world was introduced to a man that would later announce himself as a friend to humanity, a champion of the people that would fight for those who could not fight for themselves. His name was Kal-El of Krypton, but the public latched onto another name that The Daily Planet had coined - [b]Superman.[/b] In the time since The Man Of Steel's first dramatic appearance, Superman and his mild-mannered alter-ego Clark Kent have only looked to further that initial mission of peace. Whether that means saving a village full of people from a raging fire half the world away, writing an exposé on the troubled conditions of the less fortunate for The Daily Planet's online edition, or simply standing between the citizens of Metropolis and a ravaged byproduct of science and mutation gone horribly awry - making such enemies as The Ultra-Humanite, The Atomic Skull, The Silver Banshee, and the alien-tech equipped terrorist outfit known as Intergang - Superman has become a beacon of hope for some and a figurehead of justice where traditional systems have failed. But others, such as Lex Luthor and SHIELD's Nick Fury, regularly treat Superman's presence as a potential threat rather than a potential ally. [/color][/i] [i][color=#9fc5e8]While Clark started off confident that he could eventually win his skeptics over, it's become clear that for as long as Superman remains active, others will fear him and even attempt to best him, putting the city of Metropolis and even the world itself in considerable danger. That's why it took little convincing on his part to begin working with others, coordinating a response team in the event of a worldwide catastrophe - one that soon arose in the form of Starro, The Conqueror. Calling themselves The Justice League, Superman has taken on the task of acting as the defacto public face of a group that otherwise shields their true identities and hidden homelands. Whether facing ongoing threats to humanity and intervening to lend a hand in public crises, or simply trying to rebuff the often skeptical Lex Luthor's latest claim about his true intent, Superman continues to defend Earth's citizens in the name of truth and justice.[/color][/i] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [COLOR=1E90FF][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]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:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT][i]This seems pretty self-explanatory. Superman is one of the key foundations of the superhero myth, if not [b][u]the[/u][/b] foundation of it, and I've always loved the character. The reason I'm taking him on in this game is because I think the set-up provides a unique opportunity to see Superman on the frontlines of something he's rarely had to ever face in the comics: heroes with opposing ideologies. While DC and Marvel's heroes are at their very core fighting for the same things, they're very different groups of people. Superman represents the best of his type of hero, but he's a far cry from characters like Spider-Man and The Avengers, and I think that presents an interesting moral conflict. I hope to set up parts of his mythology that seem obvious, such as his more prominent enemies beyond Luthor and his extended super-family, but through the context of a truly shared universe, where costumed heroes are alot more of a commonality. I also want to establish real, tangible dynamics with characters like Nick Fury, Captain America, The Fantastic Four, and others he wouldn't ordinarily get much time with.[/i][/indent][/indent] [COLOR=1E90FF][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT][i]As of right now, Superman's allies consist of Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, Ron Troupe, Steve Lombard, Cat Grant, and the rest of the staff at The Daily Planet, which is simultaneously one of the last dinosaurs of newsprint and one of the most popular online publications to exist, serving as a testament to old-school journalism and facts in the face of it's rivals' clickbait and misinformation. Whenever he needs a hand with something scientific, he consults Dr. Leo Quintum of S.T.A.R. Labs. Jonathan and Martha Kent are still alive and well, living on the family farm in Smallville... along with a recently acquired addition. A blonde teenage girl, found by Superman a year earlier. After discovering her while trapped in a crashed escape pod, and wearing his kryptonian symbol, Clark took it upon himself to see that she remained protected until he could know where she came from. She is unable to speak any known Earth language, but Clark has entrusted his adoptive parents to teach the girl the basics of life on Earth, as they did with him. And of course, he trusts the members of The Justice League. They're all aware of his dual identity as Clark Kent, a secret that he willingly gave up when the decision was made to make the group a permanent fixture. Though the two members of the League that he considers his closest friends are Batman and Wonder Woman, having teamed up with them both multiple times before the Justice League's formation. As far as his enemies go, Lex Luthor still remains his most vocal critic - though in the five years that they've fought eachother verbally, it's never resulted in a true altercation. And even if he's been suspected of utilizing illegal means to further his empire, Luthor utilizes the law and his public image to his advantage, making him virtually untouchable. Beyond Lex, Superman has battled only a few members of his rogue's gallery, with more to come as the game progresses. [/i][/indent][/indent] [COLOR=1E90FF][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]S A M P L E P O S T:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT][HIDER=And as Mild-Mannered Journalist, Clark Kent...][color=#e69138]"Brake. Brake. [b]Brake. Brake![/b]"[/color] [color=#ffffff]Jimmy braces himself for certain doom from the back seat of Lois' car as we enter onto the freeway. Normally, I might try and stifle a laugh at his worry, but I happen to agree with the sentiment whenever I volunteer to sit in this particular passenger's seat. To say that my colleague is... well, an erratic driver is to say that The Atomic Skull's head is on fire. It's just one of those things that you don't have to really say so much as experience. And Jim and I are both having to experience a level of swerving and speeding that threatens to get us pulled over before we even get a chance to make it to the conference. Lois merely sneers at him in the rear-view mirror, shrugging off his panicked wailing as her foot hesitantly pumps the brake. A few of the cars honk behind us at this sudden change in trajectory, and Lois narrowly avoids [i]another[/i] collision, but I think Jimmy is more than a little relieved when he sees the speedometer actually fall to the legal limit. [/color] [color=#8e7cc3]"Fine, Olsen, you can stop shouting in my ear. [i]Couple of girls[/i]..."[/color] [color=#ffffff]I adjust my glasses, smiling at Jim as he loosens his death-like grip of the seatbelt and giving him a shrug. While I'm sure that he was just being overly protective about his equipment - which, to be fair, [i]did[/i] cost him the equivalent of a fortune on his salary - there was enough worry in his voice to suggest otherwise. Me being me, of course, I was never actually worried about us. Even a severe accident wouldn't have even left me with so much as a scratch, and I'd have thrown myself in the way of any potential impact that would have threatened to harm Lois or Jim. I was just concerned for the other pedestrians on the road. [/color] [color=#3d85c6]"Really, Lois. It's not like it's a matter of life and death that we get there early."[/color] [color=#ffffff]Lois scoffs at this assumption. To her, [i]every[/i] potential story is a matter of the gravest importance. Nevermind the danger, of course, which is why she's as renowned as she is. It's also led to more than a few close calls, which I'm astonished has never seemed to give her pause.[/color] [color=#8e7cc3]"It's worse than that, Kansas. It's a matter of my [i]career[/i]. You heard Perry in the newsroom, this story is guaranteed to give The Planet's physical edition a boost in quarterly sales. Not to mention inch me ever closer to that Pulitzer, which is totally not the more important part."[/color] [color=#ffffff]I raise an eyebrow at that. [/color] [color=#3d85c6]"But you don't even [i]like[/i] Luthor."[/color] [color=#8e7cc3]"Well, yeah. I'm as much a fan of him as I am of venerial disease, but that didn't stop me from covering that outbreak in Suicide Slums a few months ago."[/color] [color=#ffffff]Heh. Point taken, I guess.[/color] [color=#e69138]"Besides, Mr. Kent, Lex Luthor's public appearances are getting rarer and rarer these days. The fact that he's even holding a press conference at S.T.A.R. Labs and is pointedly [i]not[/i] out to smear the big guy, this time, makes it a huge get."[/color] [color=#8e7cc3]"See? Jimmy gets it."[/color] [color=#ffffff]I try not to have much of a reaction to the 'big guy' part of that statement, but I can't help but wonder if that's truly the case. Neither I nor Lois believe, entirely, that this won't devolve into yet another attempt to appeal to the public that I'm public enemy number one, the doom of all that exists for simply existing with a level of power that he believes to have remained unchecked, among the many grievances that he's made about me over the years. LexCorp's marketing campaigns have even bled into his obvious bias, with his scientific breakthroughs and technological advancement projects offering to make [i]any[/i] man a Man Of Tomorrow. An endeavor that I wholeheartedly wish him well in, as I have to admit that Luthor's still a genius when it comes right down to it. [/color] [color=#ffffff]That doesn't mean I trust him to do the right thing with any of that, of course. But I'm trying to be optimistic. Luthor and I have been at odds since the beginning, with his assertions that I'm some kind of ticking clock waiting to go off feeding a media frenzy about my true intentions. Whenever I make those intentions clear, it only seems to double his efforts to prove to the world that I'm some sort of fraud. It's a waste of his talent, not to mention a tactic to try and absolve himself of any sort of wrongdoing with those experiments of his. But Lois, Perry, and the rest of the bullpen at The Daily Planet have been digging into him since before I even got the job. It's clear to anyone that he's complicit in something unsavory, probably even more than a few things. But no one, not even his so-called and self-appointed 'arch nemesis' has been able to get their hands on definitive proof. [/color] [color=#3d85c6]"I guess I just don't see the big deal. We could easily get a pull-quote from Luthor over the phone about whatever he's announcing. He's never exactly been shy about freely giving out his opinions on... well, much of anything."[/color] [color=#ffffff]Lois side-eyes me as if I just committed some incredible act of blaspheme.[/color] [color=#8e7cc3]"That's a defeatist attitude, Smallville. It'll sink your career faster than the Hindenburg. Barring the fact that Lex generally likes to make a spectacle out of [i]any[/i] public display of his raging ego, any rando from some rag like The Times, The Gazette, or The Bugle could always dial him up for a pull-quote. It takes a real journalist to get any of his statements on the record while being able to look his pompous gaze in the eye. To show him that he may think that he's on some big freaking pedestal, but he's not above the law and he's definitely not above the press."[/color] [color=#e69138]"That, and he called Superman a '[i]parasitic alien feeding off of the gullible minds of the public[/i]'."[/color] [color=#8e7cc3]"That, t---"[/color] [color=#ffffff]Lois stops herself, glaring even angrier into the rear-view mirror. [/color] [color=#8e7cc3]"And just [b]what[/b] are you implying?! That I'm only out to... to get some sort of [b]retaliation[/b] on Luthor because he insulted my... I mean, [i]our[/i] meal ticket to [b]any[/b] major disaster headlines?! That I'm doing this out of some... some sort of protective [i]fit[/i] over some childish [b]crush[/b]?! Is [b]that[/b] what you're implying, [b]Olsen[/b]?!"[/color] [color=#ffffff]Jimmy sinks lower into his seat than I would have thought possible. I also elect to remain silent. I may be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and all the rest that's been said many times over, but I wouldn't dare try and correct or insinuate anything that might set Lois Lane's infamous temper off. Any man that would is asking for a death sentence. Or at the very least, a verbal assault. [/color] [sup][color=#e69138]"N... No, ma'am."[/color][/sup] [color=#8e7cc3]"Yeah, I didn't think you were."[/color] [color=#ffffff]Mercifully, just as the tension reaches it's fever pitch, I spot the unmistakable silhouette of S.T.A.R. Labs' massive facility encroaching on us. Within the next exit, we should only be a few blocks away from the entrance to the parking garage. Hopefully it's not packed, or the volume of Lois' tirade might go up a few notches. Which is tolerable when you're human, but considerably less so when you have advanced hearing that allows you to hone in on sounds that are half a world away. Not that I'm able to speak up about that. [/color] [color=#3d85c6]"Look, all I'm saying is, maybe temper your expectations. Luthor could simply be there to announce one of his company's latest gadgets. An advancement in surveillance tech, or something. Maybe don't expect to get something tangible to work with if you're going after Luthor for [i]whatever[/i] he said about... you know who."[/color] [color=#ffffff]Lois smirks, pulling onto the ramp fast enough to give Jimmy another anxiety attack. [/color] [color=#8e7cc3]"You do journalism your way, Kansas, and I'll do it mine. And we'll see who Perry gives the byline to this time. Loser buys dinner for the three of us. Deal?"[/color] [color=#ffffff]I sigh to myself. [/color][color=#3d85c6]"Do I have a choice?"[/color] [color=#8e7cc3]"Nope!"[/color][/HIDER][/indent][/indent] [COLOR=1E90FF][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]P O S T C A T A L O G:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][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]