Archive for November 1st, 2010

#1 – Blindsight

This is the first concept sketch for one of the three main characters of my new superhero title “Marginal Men”. I chose to participate here mainly to finally get myself to work on the story visually, and define the characters. This is the first one, although chronologically, he was invented second.

Tyson Reese grew up believing to be blind. Then, at 13 years old, he contracted a cataract, and darkened.

That was the day he first saw the sun rise.

Ty confided to his eye doctor, Dr. Helm, and together they found out that he had a unique mutation. Tyson had been born with a sort of active x-ray vision. His eyes were able to emit what Dr. Helm called “phased photons”, which could penetrate any matter, with one exception: if they went through matter that conventional photons – any form of light – were already passing through, there would be an interference, and Tysons’s vision could not see through.

That was why he had not been able to see: his vision was not able to pass his transparent pupil.

Tyson had to learn how to see completely anew, and realised the potential of his newfound power. Although he could not see like normal people (colour is still mostly a mystery to him), he understood that his vision was in most aspects far superior, after he had learned to control the depth of his vision.

Dr. Helm agreed to keep Tysons condition secret. He created a cover story about a new operation technique that had restored Tyson’s vision, and Tyson decided to use his power to heroic ends.

Since he could still not see through glass (mirrors appear black to him, windshields appear blackened out) he became a rescue firefighter, being able to see through thickest smoke effortlessly, in buildings where most of the windows had already burst from the heat. With a lot of protection from his captain who always suspected that something was odd about his eyes, but never doubted his heroic efforts and results, Tyson did ten years of service as a hero.

There was one problem though: he had to paint his gasmask black in order to be able to see and breathe. One day, he went into a burning building, trying to bring out a six-year-old boy, who had – by an odd coincidence – been terrorized by his alcoholic father with stories about the “bogeyman” who would come from burning hell and steal his face to replace his own, lost one.

The boy died, running from Tyson into the fire.

Tyson quit his job, devastated, altough he was cleared of any misconduct. But his heroic conviction still remained, and so he became a superhero, Blindsight, using his all-seeing eyes to follow criminals and find hidden evidence.

But when he tried to apply for membership in a renowned superhero group, he was sent away when they realized that he actually could not see through a common window, or tell how much milk was left inside a bottle without picking it up. They laughed about him, calling him “merely human” or a “limited power superhero”.

Frustrated, Blindsight began traveling the world and roaming the internet, searching for others like him: people with definitely superhuman powers, who were willing to use them for good. He founded what was to become known as “The Marginal Men”, a group of people caught between two worlds – not quite human, but not accepted as superhumans – and with “marginal” powers like himself.

Return tomorrow for: Xroma