Author Archive: Micah Weltsch

#10 – Patrick Sanders

Name: Patrick Sanders
Age: 25
Role: Vigilante Leader

Patrick  Sanders is dead. At least, that’s what all the papers say. When the orphanage he lived in went up in flames, those responsible wanted to hide evidence of the drug tests they were performing, and all the children were assumed dead. Patrick escaped with a few others, but records indicate he died years ago.

That’s all right, though, because Patrick is lucky. At first it just seems like he has an optimistic outlook on life. He says he’s lucky to be alive, he’s lucky to have his health, he’s lucky to have found a job that pays well enough to survive and won’t ask questions, he’s lucky the government hasn’t found him. But the truth is, Patrick is lucky. His power is mostly subconscious and works in small ways, affecting both himself and those around him. While his luck will never win millions in the lottery, it might get him enough off a scratch card to get him through a bad week. In a fight or a fall, it makes the difference between a broken arm and a broken neck. Now that Patrick has become aware of what he can do, it’s given him a remarkably positive outlook on life. He’s poor, has to live under the radar, and sometimes it seems like doesn’t have enough to get by — but it could always be worse. He knows how to make the most of what he has.

That’s not all. Thanks to experimental drugs given to the children at the orphanage, Patrick’s mind awoke further, transforming him into a full-blown telepath. Few telepaths exist in the world and those that are known are rarely trusted. Patrick’s kept his abilities a secret from most people.

All telepaths can read minds, communicate, and shield their minds, but each one has a quirk that is, as far as anyone knows, unique to that telepath. Patrick’s telepathy grants him supreme control over his emotions.

Now, that doesn’t mean he’s got no personality. Patrick is still a pretty normal guy in terms of feelings. What it means is he can cause his emotions to manifest physically. Anger, hate, fear, love, joy, all these and more, Patrick can conjure an avatar of those emotions to fight for him. He is seen here with his Avatar of Fury. He has mastery of several emotions, but it’s unknown how many avatars are lurking in his mind. The possibilities could be endless — after all, nobody knows if the extent of human emotion can be concretely measured.

There is one drawback. If Patrick experiences extreme emotion, an avatar can manifest spontaneously and it often takes on a mind of its own. Patrick’s telepathy shuts down when this happens until he can regain control of the wayward emotion. Fortunately, since these avatars are physical manifestations of Patrick’s psyche, they cannot deliberately harm him.

He’s the leader of my little superhero group. Though he’s not wealthy or powerful, he is a natural leader, thanks in part to his luck-manipulation and his telepathy.

Also a small note: Patrick suffers from severe pyrophobia. The orphanage where he lived burned down and Patrick was trapped inside. To this day, he is terrified of anything larger than a campfire. Even smaller flames make him nervous. Interestingly, his Avatar of Fear manifests as a creature of fire.

I’m not 100% satisfied with the Avatar, and I think Patrick looks younger than he is meant to. I envisioned him as a lanky, kind of nondescript fellow. He doesn’t wear a super-costume, but his avatars do most of the fighting for him anyway. I always envisioned his Avatar of Fury as this giant, armored tank being, but this is the first time I tried to actually design him. If I work with him again, I will probably do some more design options to come up with a more “furious” design.

I’ve started making so many connections between my superhero characters (both the ones I’ve posted and others to come) that my next webcomic project may end up being a superhero comic. Hmmm *rubs chin thoughtfully*

#8 – Skyhawk

Rory “Skyhawk” Campbell is an adrenaline junkie. He rafts, base-jumps, climbs, hikes, and parkours. Nature is his playground and his gymnasium. Who says you need to play organized sports or work out in a gym to get your exercise rush?

One day, Rory was climbing a tall cliff without gear. He loved tempting death. The more dangerous his sport, the more satisfying the rush. Suddenly, he slipped and fell. For a moment, he reveled in the fall, the rush of wind around him and the freedom of the open air. Then terror crept in as he realized he was about to die. Rory gritted his teeth and prepared for the inevitable.

Suddenly he realized he wasn’t falling down. He was falling up. The rushing wind lifted and tossed him on top of the cliff. He tumbled and picked himself up. Bruises and scrapes covered his body, but he was alive. Rory stood in stunned silence for a minute. Then he grinned. Talk about an adrenaline rush — there was no better way for a guy like him to discover he was a superhero.

Rory has the power to control the air and in the years since his power first appeared, he’s been pushing himself. He experiments to test his limits, see what he can do, and try to push himself beyond those limits. If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing thoroughly, and learning about his abilities is no exception. Rory can manipulate air currents within a mile of himself and can move several tons with concentrated blasts of wind. His powers have come with thrilling side effects, too. He no longer has to breathe because his lungs continually manufacture fresh air. He can also survive in high- and low-pressure environments and extreme hot and cold weather has no effect on him. He’s able to fly at high speeds and his mind has started working faster at simple tasks than most human minds are capable of.

Rory still pushes himself to see how far his powers go. With his mastery over the air, it’s possible his powers can develop into full-fledged weather control. After all, it’s the air currents that help bring in storms.

I will probably redo this one digitally some time down the road. I think it’ll look better that way.