#19 “Searchlight”

Universe/Storyline: The Beacon

To read a sketchy comic introduction to The Beacon featuring some horribly drawn stick figures, feel free to visit this photobucket album.

Searchlight is a registered government hero working for the I.P.P. His job is to track down and tag heroes who do freelance and other unregistered work, so the I.P.P. can keep tabs on them. In general this type of work is considered illegal if not sanctioned by the I.P.P., but putting a superhero in jail doesn’t bode well for the new government agency’s publicity. Plus, most of these guys could break out of jail in the blink of an eye.

 

So instead, the I.P.P. sends Searchlight to keep an eye on them. Searchlight’s powers are such that he always knows where superheroes are, so that makes them easier to follow, with only one small problem—Searchlight can’t distinguish one superhero on his radar from another until he physically touches them. That’s where The Beacon comes in handy—calling the superheroes down from the sky so Searchlight can touch them.

 

Searchlight is not really a fan of his work. He finds it amoral to track people without their consent. He only works for the I.P.P. out of a sense of obligation. Because he has powers, he feels like he has to use them. Searchlight is the same age as The Beacon, and likewise just out of college, but he had this job all set up and waiting for him.

 

He doesn’t maintain a very professional candor, preferring instead to rebel when possible while still keeping his highly paying job and Secret Identity. He rebels in small ways: with his appearance (he dyes his hair black with red highlights only visible in just the right light and spikes it with gel, leaving a small braid that hangs down in the front), and with his behavior. In many ways he is still a boy rather than a man, a stark contrast to The Beacon who acts well beyond her years.

Category: 2011, Superhero