Consequences of a Superhero

 

Hello everyone. Tom's here, creator of Gaia. Last week I talked about the use of Greek Mythology in my comic book series. Today I want to talk about the consequences of a Superhero. Namely the consequences that my main protagonist, Tori Jacobs, AKA Gaia, takes on when she decides to become a crime fighter.

First off let's look at Tori's motivation for becoming a crime fighter. On her sixteenth birthday she accidentally causes a vicious earthquake to shake the Wyandotte Plaza while cruising down the street in her brand new Ford Mustang. This act kills ten people and injures countless others who were at the plaza at the scene of the event. Tori feels a great amount of guilt in the fact that it was her, accident or not, that caused the earthquake and even killed a few people.

It haunts her dreams and keeps her awake at night. As it would many of us if we were in the same situation. Of course she feels guilty and doesn't know what to do. Besides the obvious. Using her powers to help people. Now one of the things Tori has in common with Peter Parker is that she's poor. She doesn't design her own costume as much as she picks out a few household items and makes a costume out of it. Mainly a bicycle helmet, goggles, gloves, elbow pads, backpack, running shoes, shirt, jeans, and a bulletproof vest. It's a bit more practical than spandex and it shows that she realizes the dangers of the task she's about to take on.

One of Tori's weaknesses is that she can't fight. She doesn't know anything about law enforcement or apprehending a crook. She relies solely on her abilities to overwhelm her enemies and tie them up so the police can take it from there. Tori respects the law, and tries to help the police whenever she can by doing things they can't do themselves. When it comes to the superpowered enemies that appear later in the story, she's the one they're going to turn to. When it comes to just busting regular thugs some police would prefer if she just left it alone.

The consequences are that it will take a toll on her body. That it's dangerous and she isn't bulletproof. She can get hurt or even killed when dealing with dangerous people who want to cause bodily harm to her. Tori thinks it's worth the risk though to make up for the fact that she accidentally killed people in that earthquake. Of course her parents and friends become worried at her decision, but are ultimately supported by her decision. Tori doesn't have a mentor, or any other superheroes to show her the way. In this universe she's currently the only superhero in existence. Meaning she's going to pave the way for other heroes to come. If they come. That's a lot of pressure to set the standard for something that, in this universe, has only been in fiction.

Tori has to toggle a regular life with schoolwork and friendships with a crime fighting career dealing with thugs and superpowered criminals. Tori knows that she needs to start small, and gradually take on more responsibility as she goes along. At the end of the day Tori wants to protect her hometown from any threat that comes its way. Natural or unnatural.