14 – Impact by Beausephus

CHARACTER NAME:  Impact

DATE OF CREATION:  1992

CONCEPT: Taking a page from the design of X-O MANOWAR and the “organic” spin on the armored superhero, IMPACT is a military created armored hero who is surgically fused with an an alien life form.  The armor is not sleek and shiny but knobby and more organic, but is formed by elements of the alien bursting through IMPACT’s skin and encasing him in a techno-organic alien/hi-tech hybrid armor.

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IMPACT started in the early nineties blatantly ripping off elements of the David Micheline/M.D. Bright run on Iron Man.  Later the design was greatly informed by a young Joe Quesada’s take on the Valiant Comics character, X-O Manowar’s liquid/alien armor.  But when every other character had shiny metal on their bodies, I wanted Impact to rflect the opposite – a more organic, “natural” design.  Instead of sleek I wanted the armor to look like  a barnacle or a crustacean’s exo-skeleton.  Then, I wanted the “armor” to be almost alive, fusing with a human host to create a dynamic new entity.  Like, X-O Manowar, however, the “armor” sheathes itself around the human host but instead of it being a cool liquid metal style CGI special effect, the armor explodes in sheets of liquid and shards out of the host’s body, literally erupting in a spray of blood and science fiction.

So, Impact is a military weapon created by the fusing of prototype technology and an alien life form that is implanted into various soldiers.  Because the transformation process is so strenuous on the human body a host can only survive a limited number of these painful metamorphoses into the Impact weapon.  However, the host cannot function normally when encased in the armor for long periods of time.  So every host has a limited time as the impact weapon leaving gateways to numerous story-lines and character arcs.

The Impact Weapon System, as it is referred to by official shadowed military/government types, is essentially a tool of force and agression.  The “armor” can morph based on need at every transformation process, allowing multiple variations of appearance and tactical need.  In all of its forms the armor is exceptionally durable and and resilient to physical damage and gravitational effects.  The Impact armor is not capable of flight or super strength, but it’s resistance to gravity and the surgical improvements necessary for the host to move and survive inside the armor allow for a degree of enhanced strength and enhanced speed and agility.  The armor is alos capable of absorbing physical impacts by means of a insulating fluid that literally expands with each physical attack.  Every so often the fluid must be ejected from the armor.  The host can harness this expulsion process as a high velocity plasma stream, directing it as an offensive weapon at specific targets.  This method, however, literally bursts forth from the armor leaving the host vulnerable for a few moments until the armors seals the gaping holes in its “husk”.  The liquid plasma stream is, of course, highly explosive.

Impact went through many variations of the armored hero until I had the idea to take the concept in a different direction.  Impact is not the name of the character but the armor and the person inside the armor is a constant variable in the possible story lines.  I like the fact that different hosts, used for various missions, result in a constant series of stories all beneath the overall arc of the manipulations and machinations of the people actually responsibile for the armor.

Thanks for checking out my stuff.

-Beausephus

Category: 2011, Scifi, Superhero