15 – The Man of the Moon
… continued from Character #14, Maximilian Mote…
… the MAN of the MOON!
The appearance of a super powered generation capable of miraculous feats increased the levels of distrust already present between nations. In the United States, this paranoia fueled a number of space programs to establish satellite-based monitoring of global superhuman movement. The destruction of one satellite over the U.S.S.R. at the hands of the Soviet Super Star pushed the scope of America’s off world activities to once again visit the moon with the goal of establishing a monitoring system out of the reach of current super human abilities. What the astronauts found on the moon when they stepped off their landing vehicle was unexpected to say the least.
Partially buried in a crater was the prone form of a pale gray skinned man dressed in 18th century clothing. After a moment of silent disbelief and upon orders from home, the astronauts loaded their anachronistic find onto their escape vehicle for departure back to Earth.
A silvery sheen at the edge of burial crater caught the eye of one of the astronauts as they boarded the craft. Upon inspection he began to free a tall silvery staff. The staff shone and as the astronaut turned triumphantly to show what he uncovered to his peers a massive tentacle emerged from the lunar soil and dragged him under the surface as the staff sparked with ethereal energy. The shocked astronauts aboard the escape vehicle were pushed aside as the body they found stood and dove after their disappearing compatriot unaided by any breathing apparatus. Moments later the strange man burst forth from the ground, staff in one hand and a critically injured astronaut in the other. With a mouthed “Good day, gentlemen,†the stranger collapsed.
Back on Earth, the strange gray man regained consciousness and related his story in a perfect 18th century English accent. The man called himself the Man of the Moon and indicated that he was once a sailor by the name of Joseph Williams working for a small American business whose ship was destroyed at sea when returning to the recently founded country from a trading venture in France. Adrift in the Atlantic on flotsam he was rescued in the middle of a night, lit by the full moon in a cloudless sky, by the previous Man of the Moon who had been protecting Earth from threats from beyond from his look out post on the dark side of the moon. In return for his rescue, Williams was trained as the next defender of our planet, as the previous guardian was growing tired after manning the solitary position for nearly a millennium. Williams did his job and protected our planet from many extraterrestrial menaces but has no recollection as to how he ended up in the condition in which he was found or what attacked the astronaut on the surface of the moon.
Through force of will alone summoned his staff to his side even though it was housed miles away at another facility and offered his services to his homeland. The Man of the Moon has become a media darling and sought after interviewee by talk shows and historians alike. The Man of the Moon has decided to spend time on Earth reacquainting himself with his home world, all the while keeping an eye on the skies.
The Man of the Moon is by far the most powerful extra-normal being on Earth capable of bending gravity to his will. He can personally channel his power into feats of strength and flight and, with the aid of staff, extend his powers outward and control gravity around him on scales that can affect global tides, though this exertion greatly drains him. Williams’ physiology has been greatly altered. His pale gray skin is invulnerably to all known forms of harm and has stopped his aging giving him the appearance of 30-year old even though he is over 260 years old! The Man of the Moon can exist unaided in environments of extreme pressure and in the vacuum of space for indefinite amounts of time as he no longer needs to eat, breathe or sleep.
The Man of the Moon was not the only addition to America’s super human stable. The fateful lunar mission also spawned…
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This guy’s pretty cool. He looks really slick with that coat and that mask.