#12 “Reflexion” Carlos Mendoza

Universe/Storyline: The Band

Universe details: In the isolated city of Crescent where these characters live, superpowers spring from close encounters with death. Only people born in the city can gain these powers, and since this is a relatively new settlement, the first generation of people born there are just starting to show signs of super-fication. This means mostly kids and teens. Of the teens, Camille, Max, Amelia, Walter, and Rin decide to team up and form a band. They take it upon themselves to help other kids who are just getting powers/dealing with death. Eventually, when The Band realizes that everyone deserves to be informed about the city’s unique predicament, they try to reach every kid in the city at once by putting on a live concert.

Height: 5’ 7”

Body Type: Athletic, broad shouldered, but still kinda skinny. Could be a quarterback.

Hair: Black, short but voluminous.

Eyes: Dark brown.

Race: Latino

Age: 16

Attire: Average attire for his age. T-shirts and shorts, cross-trainers. He doesn’t stand out from the crowd.

Superpowers: Mimicry (subconscious, primary)- When Carlos is attacked, he has an instinctual defensive reaction to imitate the attack exactly as it’s coming to him. And when I say exactly, I mean, exactly. Carlos temporarily shape-shifts into his attacker and imitates their moves as if he were the mirror image of him/her. Anything that he is being attacked with is also temporarily copied. This reaction only goes on so long as Carlos feels threatened, and he can only reflect whoever is directly threatening him at the time. If multiple people attack him at once, those attacking are each countered by a reflection of themselves at the same time, in the same place. To an outside observer this might look like Carlos has surrounded himself with mirrors (but the reflections can move in 3D space).

Personality: Carlos has always wanted to be a leader. He is captain of the basketball team at Crescent High, and he wants to study law and eventually run for city government. Carlos always believed that an admirable government ran the city of Crescent, until he saw The Band’s first concert, and the overreaction of law enforcement to The Band’s ‘peaceful protest’ of the city’s law. The concert is followed by the ‘Powers Riots’, during which many confused and newly empowered teens run rampant in the city thinking they can do whatever they want. Carlos tries to help them, but his vision of an ideal social system has fallen to pieces in the chaos. Instead, Carlos decides to gather as many people that will follow into a group called the ‘New Powers’. Together they attempt a hostile takeover of the city in order to run it under their ideal version of the law. Among the New Powers are “Greenbeard” Greg Beardsley, “Liftoff” Laurie Simmons, and “Insomniac” Tyler Farillo. Carlos finds that he greatly enjoys leading these powerful people, though he’s not sure where they’re headed. Like most revolutionaries, he is not evil; he is only trying to create a better future for himself and his followers.

Power source/backstory:

1. Carlos was at The Band’s first concert, where overenthusiastic heroes killed a person disguised as a usually robotic police officer.

Theme Song: Take the Power Back- Rage Against the Machine

Category: 2011, Superhero