marvel – By the Brooke

A few days ago, I got together an extensive list of Super Powers to aid in people’s character creation. In a similar vein, I wanted to create a post with a few tips and tricks one might employ when making a gifted vigilante or superhero sort of character.

Though one thing to keep in mind when developing the areas below for your character, that each thing is generally connected to create a cohesive and believable MC. For example, the outfit/armor of your hero may tie into their power and/or their backstory. Or vice versa. All of the elements of a super hero character- the clothes, the powers, the backstory, everything, are generally connected in some way.

The Clothes/Suit

There are a few things to consider when creating your character’ super suit. First, how does it tie into the hero’s identity? Generally, it can tie in a few different ways…

It ties into their powers

It’s design and overall style could harken to the hero’s powers. Like Mr. Lightning bolt man having a lightning bolt on the chest of his suit. This is pretty common with most superheroes though it doesn’t have to be the case.

Another way it can tie into the character’s power can be done by functionality. Think about The Incredibles and how each person’s suit is designed to match their powers. For example, Violet’s suit disappears along with her. In general, the functionality of the armor or suit of your hero should definitely be taken into account, especially where their skills are concerned. We don’t want Inferno Man’s costume going up in flames constantly, now do we?

It ties into their backstory

Sometimes, a character’s outfit can harken back to their roots. Where they came from. Got a hero who was once a pick-pocket living on the streets? Maybe give him some slightly tattered street clothes. This can be done with many characters though generally this outfit is changed out for a new, more suitable (and generally more stylish) super suit later.

It ties into their position with a group or team

This isn’t always the case as there tend to be a lot solo heroes out there, but if you plan on putting your character on a team with other individuals, maybe consider if they have a uniform? Or a symbol of sorts that appears on all of their suits?

The Powers

Figuring out powers for you character can be the most fun part of character creation (and often is the first place I start when make super hero OC’s), BUT sometimes if I’m starting with a backstory, I can get stuck. Generally powers tie into the character’s backstory but this can also be left up to speculation.

Below are a couple things to consider when picking out your character’s power if you haven’t already done so.

A Weakness

Overall, it’s a good idea to give you character a weakness of sort or some clear limits of what they can do once you’ve picked out their power. Every well designed power should come with its own “rules”.

Their superhero name

If they have one, tying it back to their super powers is the common choice. You can get really creative here. Animals or creatures of sort are often used as names. Colors are often employed as well. Or you can just go for an alias for your OC. It’s all up to you.

The Backstory

The backstory, when done well, should cover a few elements. The origins of their powers/skills, their relationship with their support system (and often, how they lost that support system. Backstories generally involve the death or a romantic partner or family member), and what led them to the life they now lead.

The Team

This is an optional element, but deciding whether your hero works solo or with a group is vital to the story. If you do choose to drop your hero into a group, you need to develop the other characters and figure out whether they’re other fighters like your MC or if they’re more of a support crew. You also need to consider whether or not they work under an umbrella organization or if they operate under their own terms.

The Tech

Technology in super hero media and stories tend to be a little more advanced or bizarre than that of the real world. It’s a good idea to flesh out exactly where technology is at in your story and time period as this often plays a role in the storyline of most super hero tales.

The Villain

And finally, we get to the second most important element of the story. There are tons of different avenues you can take with the Villain. You can make him sympathetic, have personal ties with the hero or another “good” character to complicate things, give him all sorts of cool gear…the possibilities are endless. But, in all this fun, don’t forget the MAIN AND IMPORTANT THING TO DO WHEN MAKING A VILLAIN FOR YOUR STORY-

Make it make sense as to why your hero is opposing the villain. Hero development and Villain development are tightly linked as this is where you should start considering MOTIVES. And motives, are often what give SPICE to a hero’s tale. Because these motives can be shockingly different or similar in some cases. But at some point, the villain and hero are going to need to butt heads. And it needs to make sense to the reader as to WHY.

And I think that’ll do it! There’s much more to say on this topic but there’s a brief overview of what I personally find important when developing a Super Hero OC. Good luck on creating your supers!

So I’m not a huge movie buff. I have a set of my favorite Disney movies I watch on repeat and a few retro films thrown into the mix that I watch when I feel sick but I do very little to keep up with the film industry and what they’re coming out with, mostly because I haven’t seen a movie really “catch my eye” in a long time. Disney’s golden age of film making has seemed to have halted with them largely pushing remakes in the last couple of years. But that all brings me to this statement:

I have never really seen a Marvel movie.

Ahem.

Unlessss you count that time I watched Infinity War while third wheeling on one of my sister’s dates (please, never again. ) So it’s no wonder I watched it my internal monologue went something like this:

“Welp, that person died. By the music, I’m assuming that was significant.”

“Aaaaah yes, I remember seeing memes about this.”

“Welp, I hope that wasn’t an important plot point because I have no clue what they are talking about.”

“People are crying? Should I cry? Do I look heartless?”

“Disney is gonna make BANK from all these possible action figures like daaasng.”

So I had a friend who was kind enough to help remedy that. So began the saga of me watching the Marvel Movies in chronological order.

Starting with a movie I had heard quite a lot about:

Good ol’ Captain America staring the living embodiment of American pride and patriotisms in the 1930’s and 40’s and costarring his loveable sidekick buddy who you feel like he makes great team with except if you were to probably average the amount of time these two interacted in the movie, it would probably come out to maybe 7 minutes (Please don’t come at me, I really liked this movie actually).

Spoilers ahead! (obviously but I feel like I should preface as such anyways. Though I am very very late to this party so I would be kind of surprised if you hadn’t already seen this movie but who am I to judge?!)

So, first thoughts, I totally love the time period it’s set in. World war 2 movies are pretty cool in general. I realize the market is coming more and more saturated with World War 2 movies and people are getting sick of them but I honestly cannot get enough of them. I mean, The hair? The clothes? The impending doom looming over everyone’s heads? The bold lipstick?

Okay, in all seriousness I think I love movies set in this time period so much because they are just LOADED with heavy story material and while I do love the aesthetical flare of this time period, I think it has more to do with the fact that this was a very real and dangerous time that people lived in and there were very real sacrifices people made. Seeing movies set in these time periods remind me of that and while they make for an amazing “good vs. evil” struggle that we love to watch, I think what really get me is the emotional weight these stories can often hold set in this very dark time.

Now moving right along, this movie had great music. I mean, not Lord of the Rings kind of iconic scores but I did really enjoy the overall track. There really isn’t much else I have to say on this.

Now, on to the writing-

I thought it was really cool how they made Steve a righteous character/hero without making him too cookie cutter. I think that’s really hard to do sometimes.

Peggy was fabulous and fun to watch because I think it’s always nice to see at least one character sort of have their act together. You can’t help but respect the character’s hustle.

The Bucky-Steve friendship was a very enjoyable dynamic to watch. Too bad it was terminated part way through (in this particular movie) but understandable as it did propel the plot forward and contribute to Steve’s character arch.

Red skull was kind of a corny villain or maybe it was the fact that he looked like a sun-dried tomato, but MAN HE WAS UGLY but still fun to watch nonetheless. Corny is a little fun sometimes.

Overall, really enjoyable but I have one question:

If his shield is vibration proof, then how does it bounce off of stuff? Or maybe it’s just a case of movie physics and I’m just asking too trivial of a question.

Overall really interesting and a nice twist on the super hero genre style movie.

Favorite scenes were as followed:

1. When Steve is reminiscing of all the places he got beat up while in the car with Peggy Carter. I think one reason this character gets so much love is Marvel also seemed to emphasize a loveably awkward side to his character that is admittedly fun to watch.

2. Steve throwing himself on the grenade. It’s a little bit different “right of passage” then most movies do for their main character. I simplistic scene that lasted like 5 second but told a lot about the characters present while establishing what makes this Main character different.

3. Peggy shooting his shield when she is mad at him with a dead pan face. Iconic and so very funny.

4. Final scene where he’s about to crash land and he’s talking to Peggy over the intercom. May have shed a 1/4 of a tear but don’t tell anyone, my reputation would be ruined.

5. Him blowing up his motorcycle nonchalantly

Also, why did no one tell me Steve can draw really well??? Don’t know why that stuck out to me but monkeys are hard to draw. I don’t know why, but I just think it’s cool when they accentuate character talents beyond just being “the chosen one”.

Aaaaand that’s it I think! Those are all my imminent thoughts upon watching Marvel’s Captain America!