Edited in a few notes for what I have in mind, as my concept for Teth continues to evolve in the post sketches I've made.
I wanted to have the Wizard to have died/passed the torch, but felt I needed a foil to serve as Teth's conscience - ideally someone connected to the Justice League, so I re-worked the character of Uncle Dudley/Uncle Marvel to fit that role and edited the sheet to note that inclusion.
I also scaled back Kahndaq from what I originally wrote, making it into a city-state rather than a kingdom with a capital and other cities. I think that better aligns it as a Camelot analog.
C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y
_________________________________________________________ Teth-Adam _________________________________________________________ Ancient Egyptian (Canaanite) | Earth’s Champion _________________________________________________________ Mount Justice | Rhode Island | USA
C H A R A C T E R N O T E S C H A R A C T E R N O T E S
M I S C E L L A N E O U S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ►S H A Z A M • The Stamina of Shu • The Speed of Horus • The Strength of Amun • The Wisdom of Zehuti • The Power of Aten • The Courage of Mehen
►F R E N E M I E S • Jebediah of Canaan (Shazam, d. 2010) • Freddy Freeman • Dudley H. Batson (Captain Marvel since 1970) • Elizabeth "Libby" Lawrence (Liberty Belle, d. 2006) • Dr. Thaddeus Sivana • The Demon Sabbac • Yurrd the Unknown (Famine) • Rogga of the Seven Atrocities (War) • Zorm the Desolate (Pestilence) • Azraeuz (Death)
►N O T E S • Kahndaq is a municipality in the Southern Sinai Peninsula, which includes Mt Sinai and Mt Horab. In the ancient world, it was a city-state that asserted its independence from Egypt's Old Kingdom. Historians refer to it as the Slave’s Kingdom owing to its storied origin. Today it is part of modern Egypt. The ruins of Kahndaq are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. • Theo Ramses Teth-Adam was the fabled boy-king of Kahndaq, whose existence is debated by modern Egyptologists. • Teth speaks 40 languages fluently. • As Teth and the Wizard are connected to the Rock of Eternity, they do not age. Their physical appearances are a manifestation. The Wizard’s weariness expressed as old age, Teth’s youth the result of being unable to let go of the trauma of his childhood. • Dudley "Uncle Dudley" Batson has been the costumed hero Captain Marvel since the 1970s, taking inspiration from the WW2 era hero. He was a reserve member of the Justice League until it disbanded. • Teth's Theme Song: Shaman's Harvest [In Chains] -
Thousands of years ago, the Council of Wizards protected the developing human societies from all manner of threats. Over the course of centuries, those battles took their toll on the Council, until Shazam was the last. It was only then that the man recalled the life he’d left behind, the family that he’d forgotten, and went in search of the tribe that he’d turned his back to many generations before. He discovered his people massacred, a single boy pulled from the fire to survive his family line, placed in shackles and cast into the turquoise mines of Ancient Egypt. When the spark of rebellion was ignited by the boy’s brash nature – courage or foolishness - he was to be executed, a child sacrifice to serve as a slave to the god Toth. The Wizard saved the boy from death, keeping their relation concealed as he allowed his powers to flow through the youth. Shazam’s purpose was to mold the boy into a proper champion who could protect humanity after him.
That was 5,000 years ago. Teth-Adam is still learning, and it’s been a rough road to get here.
Shazam gave the boy the power to overcome his demons. Instead, the child conquered his enemies. Leading a revolt, the city-state of Kahndaq in the ancient world was founded upon a turquoise mine as the slaves cast off their shackles and drove out their Egyptian masters. And, for a time, there existed a place of prosperity, knowledge, and peace that was unrivaled by any, a desert analog to the fabled Camelot. A classless society, where all men were free and equal to one another. But women were traded as property, not even second-class citizens. Order was maintained through a strict series of laws, with public executions carried out in the middle of each week. For hundreds of years, this jewel shone brighter than Egypt’s dynasties, until an usurper known as Ahk-Ton seized the throne of Kahndaq through an infernal pact known as the Crown of Sabbac. The Wizard Shazam intervened in the battle that unfolded, which laid waste to the palace and surrounding city. He broke Ahk-Ton’s crown and banished the demon Sabbac back to the flames of Hell, and then entombed Teth-Adam in the wreckage of his city to dwell over the choices that had ushered in the tragic rise and fall of Kahndaq.
That tomb was unearthed by a British archaeologist in 1928, but it wasn’t a boy who stumbled out of his prison – it was a young woman. Stripped of his (her) powers, Teth-Adam found that the only spell that he (she) was capable of casting was the name of Shazam. Adopting the identity of Mary Bromfield, he (she) would become a member of the Justice Society of America during the Allies European campaign in World War II. Unable to say the name Shazam, the red, gold, and white garbed hero became known as Captain Marvel, though the heroic actions of both herself and her companion Liberty Belle were often denigrated in comparison to their male counterparts - precisely the lesson about walking in the shoes of the oppressed that the Wizard had in mind for Teth.
At the end of the War, Teth/Mary was tasked to stop the atomic bombing of Japan. Refusing, Teth/Mary instead allowed the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima to take place, as he/she believed it a strategically sound move on the part of the Allies. For this defiance, the Wizard summoned Teth-Adam to the Rock of Eternity, restoring him to his original form before casting him across the cosmos, to make his way back (literally and metaphorically) to being Earth’s champion.
Teth returned to find the world embroiled in war once again, this time from the sea as Atlantis invaded. With his youthful appearance, violent disposition, and brash manner, Teth-Adam clashed with the Justice League and instead found more of a kinship with the teenage titans that operated on the fringes of the League’s tolerance (or apathy, whichever may have been the case).
Today, he is a solitary figure who often sits atop Mount Justice and looks out over the world that has caused him so much grief. He’s supposed to be Earth’s champion. It’s a job he’s been training for since time immemorial, and he’s still got a lot to learn.
P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S )
Drawing inspiration from Justice League Beyond’s interpretation as Billy, Shazam, Black Adam, Mary Marvel, and Captain Marvel being 5 separate identities sharing 1 body, this is a reinterpretation that pitches Teth-Adam singularly in those roles. Typically, I focus on Billy Batson but my vision often chafes against the modern retelling of his personality. In this instance, I merge the idea of “Asshole Batson” with Black Adam, probably not at all from having watched the movie recently and I think it makes for a more compelling and interesting character than either Billy or Teth-Adam by themselves.
I’ve worked out a connection with Static with @Retired owing to their shared “titans” history. Other characters of the period are also welcome to work in connections.
In terms of plots, the first story out the gate will be a return to Kahndaq in a Mummy-esque Indiana Jones style adventure, then some vignette style stories to allow for some collaboration if anyone desires before I jump into a second Temple of Doom styled story.
The Brendan Frasier and Harrison Ford are strong in this one.
However, in this history of these games there has rarely been interest to make a sheet once the IC gets going...
I was in the middle of a move when this went up (and have been shamed by several people for not having applied even before I'd moved into the new house), but I wanted to wait until I'd sketched out a few different ideas on paper to make sure the idea I had wasn't just an idea that'd go nowhere.
Sheet incoming. Prepare your rejection letters now (I've been getting accustomed to them recently).
“...and in his remarks at the victory party celebrating his successful re-election, the Texas governor vowed to continue his policy of bussing mutants to so-called sanctuary cities.”
“Thank you, Dick. For more on this story, we go now live to Alexa Lujan.”
“Thank you, Larry, and good evening. I’m standing at a bus station in Ingleside – a small town only about a hundred and fifty miles from the Mexican border. Even here, away from the state capital of Austin or the sprawling Houston metro area, we can see the effects of the governor’s edict. Tonight, Ingleside is the first stop for a bus that will make several stops in the state before setting off for New York. No promised jobs, no promised housing. Just one very clear message: Get out.”
The backpack hit him in the chest.
In it were a few clothes. A change of underwear. Pajamas. Aside from it and the clothes on his back, he had five dollars in his wallet.
He was being put on the bus.
He was only twelve years old. “Mamá, no,” the boy begged, tears running down his face.
It was still the same face. The shape, at least. It had started about a year before, when they’d realized his eyes had turned green. Then it had been his hair. Finally, his skin had started to change. Now, even though he was the same, he was different.
He was green. A green face framed by green curls.
A hand grabbed him by the front of his shirt, shoving him back hard. It was his older brother. “That is no mother of yours!”
Hugging the backpack against his chest, the boy just continued to sob. Swallowing, feeling his throat tighten, a softer voice pleaded, “Mamá, no.”
He got no reply, at least from her. The woman simply turned her back him.
His father stepped forward, gesturing angrily toward the bus. “You are dead to this family!” With a second, flippant gesture, the man barked, “¡Descuéntate!"
With that, the man turned his back, guiding his wife back toward the car.
As his brother started to follow, he turned back to spit on the ground at the child’s feet.
Then, they left him.
He stood in that same spot for several minutes, trying to process the pain that gripped him. When he’d finally mustered the strength to move, the green-skinned boy slowly meandered his way to the bus.
As he boarded, he was met by downcast eyes. Misfits. Monsters. Outcasts. He threw himself into the empty seat that he came upon, burying his head into the backpack in his lap.
Underneath the Xavier Institute hoodie, he was wearing donations from the fire department that had rescued him – and also extinguished him on several different occasions – before Social Services had finally managed the connection over to the Institute.
Coming from California, the Goodwill t-shirt wasn’t cutting it with the colder New York weather, but it seemed the school anticipated supplying clothes to students.
He’d been handed a piece of paper with the number of the room he’d been assigned, and verbal directions to the boy’s dormitory that he’d managed with only one wrong turn.
Well, two wrong turns technically, but one had been a dead end and so that wrong turn had made itself known as soon as he’d made it. So that one shouldn’t count.
Cracking open the door, the dark-haired California boy poked his head in. “Hola,” he uttered nervously, as his eyes landed upon the figure in the room.
It was a boy who looked to be his age.
...and was green? Like, completely green.
The shock of the other boy’s appearance brought home the reality that Toro was in an institute. A place for freaks.
Monsters, just like him.
After an uncomfortable silence, the boy simply said, “I guess we’re gonna be roommates.”
The green-skinned kid just motioned to the other bed in the room, which didn’t even have linen on it. Just an empty mattress, with a few articles that the green kid started clearing away.
As he did, the green kid casually popped the question. “¿Hablas español?”
“Caló, si.”
“Cool,” the green kid uttered, as he straightened back up and turned back to face the newcomer. “Me llamó Des.”
“Me llamó Toro.”
The name drop seemed to take Des by surprise. “Toro?” the green-skinned kid echoed back, before giving voice to his skepticism. "¿Neta?"
Hands stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie, the California boy just gave a shrug in answer.
It was after that he realized that Des seemed like he was trying to peer behind Toro. "¿Mande?"
“Where’s your stuff?” the other boy asked, innocently.
Again, the California boy just kept his hands inside the pouch-pocket on the front of the hoodie, giving a shrug as he said, “This is it.”
The clothes on his back.
All that he had.
“Oh,” Des uttered, as realization set in.
There was another uncomfortable silence, as both boys seemed fascinated by the floor at their feet. Then, finally, “I... kinda showed up the same way.”
As Toro glanced back up, he found Des trying to give him an awkward smile as he offered, “Is there anything you need? I could show you where to find everything.”
Anything he needed?
How about his life back. Did Des know where to find that?
Drawing in a deep breath, Toro swallowed as he found the word he needed.
"...know that you have the support of faculty and your fellow classmates. You belong as part of this community. You don't need to hide your true self any longer.”
The boy sat toward the front of the auditorium’s bleachers, part of the class that was both the youngest and, as befitted that reality, also the smallest in stature.
This wasn’t his regular school.
He wasn’t even sure it was a school at all. Was it a prison? A punishment? A wellspring of emotion threatened to choke him. A pain laid across his chest like an unfathomable weight. The blue eyes that darted around the unfamiliar surroundings seemed on the verge of either panic or tears.
”You don't need to be constantly afraid of not fitting in anymore. And most importantly, you can feel safe here.”
A spark of anger shot through the boy. Intensely, he stared across at where a bald, white güey – the headmaster or some shit – was talking.
He called it a dream.
And Toro?
Toro called it a lie. He didn’t feel safe. None of them were. Crossing his arms, the boy grabbed onto his shoulders as he hunched over, hugging himself tightly as he tried to breath through the myriad of thick emotions.
Everything had been fine. Everything had been normal. Then the fire had come. Quietly, like a thief in the night. Toro had gone to bed like any other day in his life. Looking back, now it all seemed like that had been the dream.
…and he’d woken up to the nightmare. He’d woken up aflame. Surrounded by fire. On fire.
He could feel it still, inside of him. Waiting for a spark to set it free.
He wasn’t safe. He was a monster.
As people broke out in applause for the ojete in the wheelchair, the boy just flipped the hood of the sweater he wore up over his head to try and hide the tears that had started running down his face.
He wanted his old school. He wanted to go back to California. He wanted his life back..
I am interested in what @Bounce brings to the table with his character.
First up is a short story that will just frame why each of the kids (Toro, Fauna, Carter, and Rubbermaid to start) are at the Institute. In the case of Fauna, the story is going to be that the Texas governor is among several Wideawake America Movement associated politicians bussing mutants to so-called "Sanctuary Cities" and Fauna was literally put on a bus by his family to get rid of him. (Obviously this is very close to the nose for real-life politics and if @Retired or anyone would like me to nix that, just let me know). Apart from establishing the cast, the story will focus on the kids' belief that the X-Mansion is haunted.
The second story will be a field trip, where the kids travel to recruit Abigail for the Institute, owing to her town in Scotland being accepting of her and it viewed as a safe experience. If there's no issue with it, I may make use of Moira MacTaggart and Muir Island for the story, introducing Plague (the Pestilence horseman from the Fall of the Mutants storyline) as an antagonist.
Third up will be a trip to Cosco when delivery services to the Institute are temporarily suspended due to political backlash over companies outted on social media for supporting mutants (obviously @Mao Mao can turn this off), leading to the discovery of some Morlocks and introducing the kids to Anole, who should be my final new cast member for the team, and will use either Purifiers or Friends of Humanity as the antagonist.
On the far horizon, I want to do something with Carter and the Shadow King (the plot in the comics that was dropped along with the character of Carter when the writer departed the series), but I'd probably need another telepath along for that ride.
PapaOso,
Eviledd1984,
DocTachyon,
anothered,
GubGar,
Alby47,
Simple Unicycle,
pollo,
Knight 7,
Hound55
