Hero Personalities

The GFBR podcast that has given us so much information had a great segment about the heroes’ personalities that really got me thinking about what some of them were like. Chris actually had my exact same feelings towards Tachyon’s personality, and it’s the main reason I think she’s my favorite character: she’s just so confident and has a sense of humor about being a hero. I love the HP tracker art, because it really sums her up for me: she just does what she wants and still gets the job done, and doesn’t always take things seriously. I love her flavor texts, because they really show off how she feels when she’s moving fast and such.

I also really like Bunker, mainly because you can tell that he’s trying to be professional, but really just wants to shout “I’m in a giant robot suit and having a great time!”

I’m sorry if this sounds like a strange intro, but I have no idea how to really start this discussion, but I guess my main point is wondering how everyone else interprets the personalities of the different heroes. Any thoughts?

A podcast discussing the character’s personalities? I can use that. Where can I find it?

-CSR

Righ’ cheea.

Sweeeeeeet thankyousomuch!

-CSR

I try and imagine what they would be like/doing should they all be gathered in a non crime fighting setting. Lets say all these heroes get invited to Young Legacy’s Hawaii themed birthday party.

Fanatic I see standing ramrod straight in the corner in full armor holding her decorative party cup complete with umbrella as though its the handle of Absolution. Not saying much but straight face and flashing eyes just screaming condemnations on the frivolous party hat worn by Bunker, dressed in a festive Hawaiian shirt and very comfortable and casual. He left his suit parked outside. He chats amiably with everyone and happily compliments Haka on dressing so festively for the occasion.

Haka I see being a little confused by Bunker’s comments as he’s in the same outfit he wears every day. He sits awkwardly, taking up most of the couch, knees practically to his chin, wondering if he’s supposed to understand anything Tachyon is saying to him as she socially flits around the room conversing with Haka on the couch, Legacy and Ra by the kitchen counter as well as The Visionary and The Wraith standing by the fireplace hearth all at the same time.

Legacy is of course the perfect host. He’s like a happy smiling uncle, so glad to see all his family together as he gets his daughter’s cake ready. He pulls out the matches but not before Ra’s eyes blaze, he calls down the power’s of ancient Egypt, points a finger and all the candles burst into flame. Half melting the candles and the icing in the process. The Visionary simply shakes her head. She saw that coming. She tries to stay focused on what The Wraith is saying but can’t help seeing flashes of doom and destruction, and a vision of Absolute Zero getting a speeding ticket on his way to the party and receiving a larger fine for disrespecting an officer. That explains why he’s been sitting and brooding in the corner the whole party with no more then a grunt to anyone who addresses him. She returns her mind to the conversation.

The Wraith is well trained in proper social etiquette and is the perfect guest, complimenting Mrs. Parsons on her lovely roses. All the while her eyes scan the room for signs of illegal activity, possible enemies and the quickest escape route in case of an emergency. She carefully watches the new guy, Mr. Fixer. He hasn’t been around long enough to have The Wraith’s complete trust. But then…who does?

Mr. Fixer is at that moment under the kitchen sink working on a leak. Legacy told him to leave it be and enjoy the party but Mr. Fixer isn’t much of one for idle conversation.

Tempest stands by the fish bowl with a bit of a longing look on his face. He sighs, fixes his gills into a smile and tries to start a conversation with Fanatic.

Expatriatte just sends a card.

I pity the villain that crashes this party. I’m not even that crass as to crash a birthday party with that kind of firepower and I am a jerk.

Oh man, now I’m imagining Mr. Fixer being like Ron Swanson.

Ron Swanson in SOTM… my imagination is running wild…

I will say two things about the birthday party scenario.

First, I LOVE THIS.

Second,you’re pretty much spot on about everyone, other than Haka. He’s a lot more jovial than people give him credit for. He’s been around a long time, and has learned to be rather chill. He is a substitute teacher for a few kindergartens, as he loves talking to children, and they enjoy him as well. He’s one of the only people that can shame Legacy with a look of, “Well, that wasn’t very nice, was it?” The only things that can throw him into a rage are his friends being hurt or innocents in danger. He enjoys ABBA and his favorite musical is “Movin’ Out”.

He’s one of my favorite characters to play around with. He’s a much nicer person than almost anyone I know, but he’s also a centuries old warrior, wise in the ways of the world. I’ve always liked that his tagline is “The Savage” Haka, because it’s a tag line more about how he is perceived than what his personality is.

Sorry for rambling on like that! Give me the time and space, and I’ll write pages and pages on any/all of these characters!

No disrespect to Haka intended. I guess I’ll have to get to know him better.

We need to get you time and space!

Time and Space… I see what you did there.

I saw that too. Haka promo coming in Time and Space. >:(

Back on track, I find The Visionary a bit off. To me, The Visionary would be more like a strict mom. She says things like “I told you so.” and “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” because she sees some vision of the future and knows to some extent what the future holds (at least in her timeline).

For some reason, I see Tachyon being a bit cheeky. Maybe it’s her pose on her HP tracker. Maybe it’s because she has some cheeky flavor quotes “Dude you are not my nemesis” “I have a spare D-Cell”.

Alright, I was gone for a few hours, and this is what I missed? I feel so behind! But I actually kinda figured Haka to be a happy person, because in his HP tracker art, he’s just got the biggest smile on his face and just looks like he wants to make a clever quip or something. Some of the heroes just seem to have a sense of humor about what they’re doing, like I said earlier. Specifically, Tachyon, Bunker, Young Legacy, and Haka seem like the kind of heroes that can be serious and get the job done when it needs to be done, but afterwards (and maybe even during) they can just laugh and relax. And I don’t blame Bunker; if I had a giant robot weapon suit, my only thought would be “This is just a ton of fun!”

The other hero I think has probably the most interesting life is of course Young Legacy. Assuming she’s in late high school or college, I see her as not really fighting too much big crime (I imagine Legacy would probably be protective of his daughter, and just tell her to focus on school/university), but she still gets treated like a celebrity and makes a lot of friends. You know those people who are easy to talk to and care about everyone and will fix any problem, big or small, and don’t expect anything in return? I see her like that.

And I actually see Visionary as being more kind and passively sympathetic to the heroes, since in her bio, it mentions how the world has gone to hell, and in order to live, she goes back in time. But since this is a multiverse with multiple timelines, that future still exists, and the Freedom Six of the future are still stranded there. She probably knew the future versions of many of the heroes (And even knew if any of them die), so I feel like she’d be (awkwardly) trying to be friends with them.

Having seen Unity’s description I somehow see her and Mr. Fixer getting along. Kind of like Wolverine being the protector/friend of Jubilee (or Rogue in the movies).

Oooh! Mr. Fixer/Unity as Wolverine/Jubilee! I actually really like that a lot (especially since Unity seems a lot less annoying than Jubilee and Uncle Wolfy gets a little ‘eh’ whereas I think Mr. Fixer would avoid some of that).

“I’m the best there is at what I do. And what I do is hit people with auto tools.”

Based on our info for this new Ambuscade guy, I’m gonna guess he and Spite get along. I’m assuming they both got their genetic-mutation drugs from the same place (Pike?), both are fond of keeping their faces covered with similar masks, but mainly, they’ve got an insatiable need to hunt people. Imagine what they could do if they worked together. But I’m guessing at some point they may have had a hunting competition or something. Of course, they’d scale the competition, what with Ambuscade hunting heroes and Spite hunting people.

I’m curious how all the Citizens interact with each other. They all obviously have their own cliques, and some citizens are obviously more equal than other citizens, but are the cliques more antagonistic or dismissive towards each other? How quickly would they turn on each other if Dawn was removed from the picture?

That’s a very good question Ryushikaze, that makes me also wonder the same thing. And their names, is that their real names or are they names Citizen Dawn gave to them?

I imagine them much like the minions of The Monarch, honestly. Comic book geeks in their spare time, with a few middling skills of their own. Lots of infighting, but at the end of the day, they’re just… there.

They’re names they take for themselves when they’re initiated as Citizens. As for power dynamic, if Dawn were removed there would certainly be a vacuum that several would attempt to fill, resulting in more than a little infighting, but as they are currently, they’re kept under tight rein by Citizen Dawn.

The Monarch’s minions are a better analogy for the Blade Battalion, who is literally a segment of a faceless army of disposable soldiers. The Citizens are more akin to an elite squad of elevated superhumans.

I see, now time from a special deck for the citizens of what if Citizen Dawn would fall. Actually it would be cool to have a “What if” scenerio from a bunch of characters.

I personally liken them to Magneto’s Brotherhood with some obvious Soviet Propaganda mixed in.
Also, there used to be a Citizen Arm, but citizen Anvil forced him out because he was trying to chum up to Hammer a bit too much.

You’re actually not entirely wrong. We went through a LOT of names for Citizens. Like a LOT.

I mourn the loss of Citizen Peanut, Citizen Butter, and Citizen Jelly. They will be missed.

I can’t start to imagine what Citizen Jelly’s power will be…

I don’t think you’re ready for Citizen Jelly.

Not even joking - Citizens Peanut Butter and Jelly were names that passed between us. This went on for about 3 hours.

How about Citizen Ham and Citizen Cheese? Citizen Peace, Citizen Love, and Citizen Rock 'n Roll?

I believe you mean Citizen Rock and Citizen Roll. Which, due to the twisted paths my mind takes, makes me wonder: what about Citizen Sears and Citizen Roebuck?

No I mean Citizin Rock 'n Roll, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense with Peace, Love, and Rock 'n Roll.

I believe Citizen Rock and Citizen Roll to be the founders of the City that Citizen Dawn now inhabits.

Actually, I think you mean the foundation.

Probably couldn’t get them off the roof of your mouth…

Sadly, that clique broke up when Citizen Sex and Citizen Drugs showed up. Although Citizen Understanding was there to pick up the slack.

As this is about the relationship between the Citizens, I’d like to mention that Citizen Ebony and Citizen Ivory get along very well. They even live together. In perfect harmony.

I have helped create a monster, and I love it.

Also, I almost feel like we need two special decks for this- Sunset of the Citizens and Dregs of the Dawn, one for the Citizens without Dawn’s unifying presence, lots more damage to heros, but they’re also dealing damage to other citizens, and one for the drummed out citizens.

I really wanted a Citizen Kane and a Citizen Able.

Rosebud…

At end of Villain Turn, Citizen Kane reveals that it was a sled.

That would be citizens Sex, Drugs, Rock, and Roll

OMG SPOILER WARNING!!!

Citizen Kane
Interests: Bobsledding and fratricide

In introducing this game there is always enough in the gameplay to explain I rarely get to introduce the story and personality behind the characters which is such a fun part of what makes sentinels an experience and not just a game. So here I’m asking you how you would describe each heroes personality in no more than three words. So for example with mr. Fixer I don’t want “martial arts expert” that describes how he plays, what his specialties are…I want “silent reserved shy” or whatever you think his personality is like.

So what do you think…how do you describe the heroes personality in three words or less?

So just let it be known that Unity has (in my opinion) the best personality of the heroes, making her my new favorite.

Haka in 3 words - Jovial strong bear

Absolute Zero: Sarcastic, reluctant ally.

I find Zero really interesting - both in terms of gameplay and storyline. I’ve heard Christopher say he’s kind of a d-bag, which mostly appears to be true, but is understandable given what he’s been through before and after his transformation. He seems to have a keen sense of irony, so I’m sure it wouldn’t be lost on him that his name’s Frost and he’s ‘the cold guy’. He spent two years in a cryo chamber before he even tried the suit on, so he isn’t initially up for a fight - but if he’s on your team (and you get his setup right) he’s pretty useful to have around, for sure.

I would have put him as “Snarky, reckless berserker.”

He’s pretty reluctant to fight; he would rather sit at home, and in fact tried to, but he has to fight villains to keep the suit.

When the fight starts, he would rather just get it over with, which explains why his style is basically just rushing in and hitting everything, not caring if he gets hurt – and in fact sometimes goes out of his way to – while constantly reminding his team mates that he really doesn’t care what’s going on.

Having played as Zero again, I now definitely agree with that assessment.

Now knowing that Haka is actually a kindergarden teacher in his free time really makes him one of the most likeable heroes. He's a warrior who's around 400 years old, and what does he do with his time? Help teach kids. That's a real hero.

What do we think about Nightmist and THE ARGENT ADEPT* (*spoken in booming voice)?

While I think their decks are among the most interesting, their personalities seem kind of.. flat? I can't really get a good feel for them, but their personality basicly seems to be *just* their power. Every line of flavor text they utter is Serious, like they're too cool to be cool. Sort of makes me dislike playing with them, despite the awesome decks. Perhaps they just have had less opportunities to shine, but I'd have liked them to be more pronounced from the start. Or perhaps it's intentional, and arcane and divine powers just make you Serious Business. But at least Fanatic has her.. fanaticism and Ra his megalomania to make them stand out.

I think Nighmist has the same problem as a well known comics occult investigator : people around her tend to suffer and even die. She tries to protect them, but her powers are dangerous, and demons always near - and they spare no one. Sometimes, to protect humanity, she has to make sacrifices... She may be more used to dark endings than the other heroes. And of course, the unstability of her body can be an obstacle to building a romantic relationship. I think she would like to stay away from people, to protect them, but can't help having friends and romantic involvements - but it always end in a very bad way. She probably feels very guilty about it.

AA is an interesting case - I see a "happy go-lucky" nightlife guy who suddenly found himself with a big responsability on his shoulders. He is very serious about it, but in his free time, he may well need to unwind and be a party man. His looks, voice and civilian life probably mean he has a lot of girl (or boy) friends around, and his out-of-costume stories may be about his lovers, his old friends and all the things he did "when he was young" - and how he tries to "fix" some of it now that he has acquired more wisdom. I think heroes that work with him may find he has a very different behavior on the battlefield and in his civilian life.

In the "birth day party" situation, I see Nightmist sipping some punch in a corner, always happy to chatter, but not trying to begin conversations, while AA is mixing drink at the counter, telling wild stories about his "youth" and defying Haka to an improvized poetry contest with the words "morning", "chocolate" and "catapult" - all the while keeping an ear to the "background music" for potential need of... The ARGENT ADEPT !

(I do so love the party scenario, it really works great)

what you describe matches my own thoughts from when I read the background stories. I just wish we would see carefree Drake and caring Nightmist on some of the cards, even if only indirectly. They feel so serious now :)

We might get more quotes from them on the next set...

Lol, that should be the promo environment for the next kickstarter.  "Sentinel Cocktail Party".

It would probably have a decent number of things to help the heroes, but I can see accidents and attempts by bad guys to take them all out in one fell swoop being part of it as well.

The quotes and art would be STELLAR.

I know this is most likely entirely incorrect, but my friends and I have constructed in our minds that Nightmist is the hero who the others see as the "weird, unintentionally silly, slightly annoying" friend. And this whole idea came from one card: "Enlightenment" in NM's deck. We all just found the image of NM grabbing AA's face to be hilarious. We filled in AA's dialogue: "Nightmist... What are you doing? Please let go of me." I know, of course, this is totally just a construct of our imaginations, but we keep to this idea just for the laughs. And we have dubbed the act of grabbing someone else's face as "Nightmisting".

AA is a bit tougher to decide for me. Essentially, I honestly just see him as being a normal, everyman sort of character. Serious when things need to get done, but mostly laid back.

Unity, of course, we've discussed elsewhere, and her personality is just painted over every single card in her deck. And she is wonderful.

I would be interested in seeing the kind of interaction Ra and Fanatic may have in their duo series... Their first meeting probably was memorable !

Fanatic : Who are you ?

Ra :  I am Ra, god of the sun.

Fanatic : There is only One God !

Ra : Well, I said "god", not "God", but the difference may be lost in translation. Could you put this sword down ?

Later...

Fanatic : So that's what you do ? Put people on fire ?

Ra : Among other things.

Fanatic : I think I may have uses for you. *grin*

Fanatic and Ra really are the heroes I have the hardest time getting right, socially.  Flavor text shows them both to be very serious/melodramatic, as befits mystical supers, but that's not great for differentiating them.  They're also the two heroes who responded to the appearance of their nemeses by going and brooding (three days for Fanatic, and years for Ra), which I simply find hard to cast in a positive light.  It's a shame, too, since I love the mechanics for both, and their themes are quite cool.  Mostly,  play Ra as something of a dangerous loner, only half-willing to co-operate with mortal heroes at all (similar to, but less of a jerk than, Ultimate Thor); meanwhile, Fanatic is incredibly dedicated and genuine, but the other heroes sometimes worry about her - the name "Fanatic" just doesn't set a positive tone.  Imperfect ideas both.

Argent Adept amuses me, since he's a bit of a joke among my group.  This is likely to change once we actually get Infernal Relics (his mechanics sound awesome), but right now, he just seems like a straightforward everyman hero with everyman sauce that we didn't have much to go on... except that a running joke of ours (in honor of the truly terrible Desmond Miles from Assassin's Creed) is to call lackluster protagonists "out of work bartenders"... and it turns out that poor Adept fits that description literally.

Like so many, my favorites are the incredibly energetic Tachyon, the tough-but-enthused Bunker, and the awkward impending doom of Visionary.  The latter is especially priceless when Legacy saves her life.

As an aside: do we have anything to indicate that Ra sometimes puts Blake back in control of his body, as per old-timey Thor/Captain Marvel/Miracleman/etc?

I believe Blake gets control of his body once it's nighttime. Ya know, because the Sun goes away at night, and he's the god of the Sun (even though actually the sun is on all the time so we don't freeze instantly). As for Ra, I don't think he's that unwilling to cooperate, and he does have some moments of humor (mainly with Fanatic), so I think he's more like Indiana Jones or Drake if they were also the god of the Sun… or something.

I personally like Absolute Zero. He's so angry! And his life sucks!

Oh, I agree that there are no canon  ind icators that Ra  is  in any way standoff ish towards other heroes (except that t ime that he lost a f ight, and therefore abandoned everyone for years, but that was more about self-conf idence than co-operat ion, most l ikely) - I'd just been go ing that route s ince  it's a neat theme to explore, and gave h im a more d ist inct feel.  Also, because he was a total k ill-stealer  in the f irst game of Sent inels I ever played, tak ing out Voss just one turn before poor Tempest would have had the honor.  I had forgotten about h is little Monty Python quote, though - that m ight have potent ial.

Absolute Zero I really d idn't l ike at f irst (personal ity-w ise - I have always been fasc inated by h is gameplay), but,  if you w ill pardon the express ion, I've been warm ing to h im lately.  It  is a l ittle unfortunate that h is or ig in makes Tachyon look l ike such a jerk, but them's the breaks.

I always saw Fanatic as kinda like, an absolutely crazy zealot "kill the sinners" sort of crimefighter.  Not someone who hangs out with other heroes at all, and if they happen to cross paths, it ends with her totally impaling some crook and Legacy or someone being all "What have you done?" as she flies off.  They'd probably see her as a dangerous lunatic.  I might be way off base, but man, her cards are all like stabbing people and dropping them from the sky and bringing about the end of days.  Kinda seems like she's straight up killing murderers and dirtbags.

I guess my point is, if my version of Fanatic showed up at this party, the heroes would probably be trying to get a straight jacket on her while she screamed about their heresy before she got to do much hanging out.

To add to the conversation on Fanatic's personality, she doesn't call herself "Fanatic". That's her hero name, sure, and it's definitely the name of her comic book, but she never refers to herself as that. Imagine the sort of person it would take to call themselves "Fanatic". She isn't that person. She calls herself "Angel of the Lord", "The Lord's Agent", and even "Judgement", but not Fanatic. That is what other people call her.

Just to weigh in a bit here.

http://sotm.wikidot.com/heroes:fanatic

wikied

<< >>

*follows christopher around like a lost puppy with a wiki notebook*

Interesting.

However, that also doesn't speak very highly for how people percieve her, does it?  I mean, if the other heroes don't respect her enough to call her the codenames she would take for herself, but instead refer to herconsistently with an insult, that's harsh stuff.  Especially if even her allies among the Prime Wardens do so.

As an aside, my mind is utterly blown at the realization that Fanatic actually has a comic book of the same name.  Almost nobody gets that - Sentinel Comics seems much more fond of poetically titled comics like "Stranger in a Strange Land" or "Immigrant's Song".  Go Fanatic.

One more note, on the subject of heroes killing people: I suspect that Sentinel Comics (modern-day ones, at least) are more in the vein of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the like, in that excuses are found to keep named characters around, but heroes do still kill sometimes, especially non-humans and violent mooks.  After all, when people yell at Absolute Zero for sadistically impaling a sentient creature, he mocks them, and manages to stay in the world's most prestigious super-team.

I'm not sure Fanatic would be all aboard the let's kill sinners train. She's not an evangelical preacher who's trying to cleanse the world of non-believers. I think people call her Fanatic because in a world of doubt and skepticism, she unconditionally believes in a higher power. It's true that she has the angelic wings and the powers to back up her claims, but in the world of Sentinels, some people probably believe she's just a genetic experiment or something like that. Also, other heroes might not mean it as an insult. A lot of them probably think that she came up with the name herself. Also, she was raised in a convent, and even though she criticized them for inaction, their values and teachings still would've heavily influenced her. I think it would take a lot for her to just up and murder someone.

I'm not sure Fanatic would be all aboard the let's kill sinners train. She's not an evangelical preacher who's trying to cleanse the world of non-believers. I think people call her Fanatic because in a world of doubt and skepticism, she unconditionally believes in a higher power. It's true that she has the angelic wings and the powers to back up her claims, but in the world of Sentinels, some people probably believe she's just a genetic experiment or something like that. Also, other heroes might not mean it as an insult. A lot of them probably think that she came up with the name herself. Also, she was raised in a convent, and even though she criticized them for inaction, their values and teachings still would've heavily influenced her. I think it would take a lot for her to just up and murder someone.

That's all possible, I'm just sayin', there's a card where by my best interpretation she's killing some guy in a suit and tie by dropping him from the sky onto someone else, and a few where she's stabbing people with a sword.  Even if we're talking Marvel-like, that's pretty extreme as a matter of course.  And the lady does use a sword, which, you know, usually deadly, though that can and has been ignored for plenty of comic heroes, so it's not a deal-breaker.  Plus a lot of her quotes sound pretty uncompromising.

I could very well be way off on my interpretation, and if I'm told otherwise I'm not going to argue, it's just the impression I got.  Her name wasn't really a factor, though it's good to know that "Fanatic" doesn't come from her, because even a fanatic doesn't call -herself- one, it has only negative connotations.  That always struck me as odd until now.

The only cards that have her doing stuff to non demons or villains are Brutal Censure and Final Dive. In Brutal Censure, it's unclear whether or not she's killing the priest or forcing him to see the error of his ways, whatever errors he may have caused. The quote for Final Dive suggests she may be trying to kill the guy, but she also may just be trying to intimidate him in order to force repentence or get information. I agree that Fanatic would be a hard hero to get along with, but I think it's because she's very passionate and has very black and white views on morality.

Well you can't really discount cards where she's attacking villains, that's the whole point.  I never claimed she's just killing random people, but that she's the kind of hero who might very well kill a criminal if her views decide he deserves it, which is something most heroes don't do.  Stabbing  Apostate  in the chest probably counts.  I mean, that's enough that in almost any superhero comic, even a Marvel themed one, your average hero would be all like "Woah, you have to stop that."  Same reason most Marvel heroes don't like the Punisher much.  Of course, context matters, so if it's a "We exhausted all other options" kind of thing, it's less of a big deal, but the cards don't give much context.

Plus, I think the effects of Final Dive kind of bear out the "killing a guy" idea–dude 1 (guy she's carrying) is destroyed and the dude 2 (guy she dropped him on) takes damage.  I'm sure the guy in the suit did something wrong, but probably not something most heroes would see as wrong enough to get dropped from the sky on someone.

I mean, it's subjective, at least until someone who made the game clarifies things.  This is just how I'm interpreting the things I see on the card.  It's an interesting way to look at the character, for my money.  Adds some conflict with the other good guys.  Even if she's not as kinda crazy as I like to think she is, I'm pretty sure she'd have a lot of arguments with the rest of them on exactly what they should and shouldn't be doing, crimefighting-wise.

I think it's important to remember that her encounter with Apostate really caused her to question herself. In the artwork for Zealous offense, she is not redeemer Fanatic yet, and so this confrontation could be occuring during her biggest crisis of faith. I can agree that she's probably edgier than some of the other heroes, but if she liberally murdered people, even villains, I would think other heroes would try to bring her down. I just don't see the majority of other Sentinels heroes putting up with that, and I don't think she partakes in actions that would justify her being a villain card herself. Instead of Punisher, I like to think of her more like Ultimate Thor.

Superheroes have the uncanny gift to use lethal weapons non-lethaly - or rather, comics physics include a lot of "this is only lethal if the story asks for it" laws. If Fanatic's use of a sword and habit of droping misbehavers from the sky was enough to make her a "killer", then what about Ra who burns his ennemies alive, or Expatriette's guns... Or Bunker's. Guns have a tendancy to be more lethal than swords.

Who knows ? Maybe Fanatic doesn't drop anyone from heights - she just threaten them to do it, and once they cower with fear, launches them at another ennemy (HP=0 or "destroyed" may mean "knocked over", "unconscious", etc). Brutal Censure could very well be like the "fire of truth" or whatever the name was, of Ghost Rider : reveal to the "sinner" the truth of his ways and brutalize him by awakening his inner guilt...

Though with the really "truly evil", I doubt she would hesitate to use extreme means. But I think she is not the kind of girl to kill without a very, very good reason. Or the other heroes would not help her - but fight her, just like they will fight Iron Legacy.

And remember - a lot of her powers and abilities are all about sacrificing herself, not about sacrificing the life of others. But I am sure she can severely "scare the bejesus out of them sinners", pardon the slang.

FInal Dive always makes me think of the end of Dogma, with Affleck's character flying over the church carrying people around and just...droppin' 'em.

Hehe, yeah, it is a bit like that. In fact, I think that's what it reminds me of, too. I'm pretty sure it reminds me of something, anyway. His name's Bartleby, btw ;).

I remembered the name, but I was too lazy to double-check the spelling.

Well, Expatriette at least must kill people.  She's the token 90's antihero - there must be dozens of issues of assorted comics where she guns down rooms full of pointy-footed people on thin pretexts.  Like Cable, I imagine she's scaled this back in the past decade, but still.

Ra and Bunker don't neccessarily use weapons any deadlier than a sword or a long drop, but it's about how you use it.  We never see either of them using, or even threatening to use, their powers on normal-looking humans.  That makes a big difference - escalation of threat.  It's like how we all accept that Superman can turn his mountain-smashing fists on a normal human with great enough control that there's no risk of turning people to pulp, but if he switched to using his laser eyes, we'd question it - that's a deadly-looking attack, and so tends to be reserved for superhumanly tough foes, or nonliving targets.

But, again, I don't know that either Cable or Superman is the right point of reference, because Absolute Zero impales a man!  He stone cold kills someone while at least one of his teammates watches, and he's still so much a member of the high-profile super-team which blackmailed an invalid into risking his life alongside them (Freedom!), their name remains changed to reflect his status among them.

When did Absolute Zero implae a normal person? If you're talking about Frostbound Drain, the guy in the art is just really cold, but doesn't look like he'll die from whatever AZ did to him. The current art for impale is Omnitron, and I think the art for the original edition was either an alien or a robot being spiked, which is still kind of dark, but not the same as killing an innocent civilian. It's hard to say about Ex-Patriette, for the most part, it looks like she fights metahumans, and her outlook on life is certainly a pessimistic one, but that doesn't mean she's necessarily murdered people in cold blood.

Punisher's whole theme is taking revenge on those who have broken the law. Most of the other Superheroes do their best to avoid him. I think of Ex-Patriette a little more like a lower budget Nick Fury. She has no powers, but she grew up around super powered humans, and so she knows how they think and how to fight them. I'm not against heroes being darker, and I certainly believe heroes have dark moments depending on whatever's happening in the storyline.

I have the original release, rather than the Enhanced Edition, and I had always thought that the being getting torn in half on Impale was a Thorathian.  Looking again, however, there are wires sticking out, so maybe Zero's acts are less heinous than I believed.

And what you're describing is exactly how I think ExPatriette is likely being portrayed in the "present day" of Sentinel Comics, off of which the game is based.  What I meant is that she seems a lot like Cable, sans time travel, and so like him and many antiheroes like him, was probably much darker and more murderous when she was introduced, in an era when lots of "heroes" gunned down large numbers of human mooks.

I could see justification for AZ's violent action in the original impale if there is a full scale alien invasion and innocent people are dying left and right. I like the idea of Ex-Patriette maybe being darker before she started interacting with the other heroes. I think spending time with Fixer and Wraith could allow her to start prioritizing justice over revenge. It could definitely be an interesting arc for her and still allow her to be labelled as a hero.

Just to confirm, the original Impale card did feature a robot, not a human.

Playing my first game in a while today, I noticed this:

"The team was killed by an angry human with wings and a sword.  It was awful!" - Gene-bound soldier, Freedom Five #536 (from Sanctifying Strike)

So, Fanatic kills humanoid alienswho are intelligent enough to speak and to feel upset about it.

Also, I seem to have forgotten to mention ealier that Expatriette shoots a human between the eyes in her bio.  So, that's two heroes with confirmed kills, even if Absolute Zero remains unknown - and Fanatic is even on a team with noted nicest guy in the setting Haka.

Ironic

Even the good superheroes probably kill minions in the fight against justice, and so I would count killing Voss's minions as something that puts her too close on the darkside. With Ex-Pat the person she kills is an evil meta-human which would fall under a similar category as Voss. It's like Watching James Bond shoot and kill a bunch of nameless Specter mooks. They may have been real people with families and backstories, but in the context of the superhero story, they are the clear evil doers and an audience is not really meant to sympathize with them.

That's exactly what I am discussing here, actually.  There are many genres which work exactly as you describe, but the overwhelming majority of superhero stories aren't among them.  One might say this is because a being with such godlike power who kills people is much scarier than a mere man like Bond doing the same, or more cynically, argue that it is because the superhero genre relies on recurring villains more heavily than almost any other - either way, most superheroes from mainstream comics would refuse to kill a proven psychotic murderer if the latter handed them a gun and threatened to kill a hostage every minute the hero stalled.  That's the convention.

What cases like Fanatic, Expatriette and possibly Absolute Zero indicate is that Sentinel Comics may work on different rules than Marvel and DC do - a question which I find interesting.

Ironic

Reoccuring villains tend not to die in superhero stories, but death is something that is very much a large part of the superhero mythos that most characters have dabbled in at some point or another. In Secret Origins, the animated Justice League movie, the heroes do kill a bunch of aliens that are invading the Earth that are intelligent and sentient, but there's no strong moral ambiguity. That is because these creatures aren't humanized and the audience is given no reason to sympathize. This is why I used the James Bond story as an example. If they don't have to, most heroes don't kill, but if the situation is dire enough they can be pushed to do so. There's nothing wrong with heroes entering moral grey areas, but if they do it too often, in situations where other teammates would not approve, they will start being treated like the vigilante that needs to be brought down and wouldn't be able to work with a team.

Debateable.

However, as I specifically noted, these aliens were humanized, since we saw one of them show emotional distress at the event after the fact.

We don't know how humanized these aliens were. For all we know, they were just revelling about how many kittens they had been eating before receiving news about what Fanatic had done.

On a different note, I really do find it interesting that the good guys in any franchise, be it in comics, or movies, or tv shows, or anything, are allowed to kill countless minions and such, but they are never allowed to kill the big bad. Take the new GI Joe movie, for example: though they kill a whole bunch of Kobra soldiers, they only ever imprisoned the big bads. Same with Fanatic here: why don't they kill Voss or Dawn or whoever, when obviously they are okay with killing?

It's hard to guess without knowing intimate story details. With Voss, it's possible that he really is just able to run away right before he would be killed, or someone out there really wants to try him for war crimes. We know Omnitron gets destroyed at some point, since it comes back as Cosmic. As for Dawn, she might just be impossible to kill, or too valuable to kill.

...What if the human with wings that killed that minion team was Apostate?

Not that I have any problem with the heroes killing baddies... since they are all made up and all. 

General rule of supervillains seems to be that no matter how many times you beat them up, they always come back for another go. With Voss, it could be that he's always got an escape plan handy or is simply too tough to beat up and decisively be put down in one engagement, and that he quite frankly has a lot of reserve troops he's ready to throw at the heroes. Omnitron is never fully defeated until all of his components are gone; it could be that he had a remote server or something handy to jump off to right before going offline so he could quietly rebuild himself and try again. Baron Blade...yeah, good luck imprisoning a mad scientist with a plan. So forth and so on. 

And while the heroes don't (always) kill fellow human targets, robots or alien invaders seem to be fair game to anyone...though Fanatic and Expatriette certainly don't seem the types to ask too many questions in that respect before going full out.

It’s quite interesting thinking about what each of them does in their ‘off’ time as well -

Legacy: Spends time with the family, probably some low-key inspirational stuff when he sees something dodgy going on (like stopping a mugging, then convincing the attackers to hand themselves in and join a neighborhood watch scheme or something)

Bunker: Army stuff, testing the suit more, and hanging out with friends (probably other army-types).

Fanatic: Probably doesn’t have much of a ‘normal’ life, those wings would make it hard to blend in. Praying, patrolling, I can imagine her having a ‘home neighborhood’ where all the locals look after and revere her, as a guardian angel (and also where she gets food and somewhere to sleep from). She doesn’t seem to have any cover identity or anything, so she doesn’t have to spend time doing ‘normal’ stuff. The lack of any normal life would also contribute to her seeming a bit unbalanced compared to some of the other heroes, because she doesn’t have anything ‘regular’ to ground her, it’s all hero-ing, all the time. (interestingly, only her, Tempest and Absolute Zero are obviously different, everyone else can take off their suit and be normal-looking and maintain a normal life)

Haka: Kindergarten, meeting random people and talking to them. I can imagine him doing street performances as well - just starts belting out songs of legendary deeds and stuff. Travels the world, seeing stuff, meeting people.

Absolute Zero: In his cryo-chamber. Probably spends a lot of time on the internet/watching TV, because there’s nothing else to do.

Tachyon: Catching up on scientific journals, spending time with her wife. Evenw ith super-speed, ends up taking work home because there’s always something that needs doing.

Mister Fixer: Fixing stuff and training. He lives in a crappy part of turn, so has to deal with low-level thugs every so often, but has a low enough profile that they’re never scared off permanently.

Nightmist: Between occult investigation, does regular PI stuff to pay the bills. Also looking for a way to control or remove her curse. Few friends, but lots of contacts.

Expatriette: Training, ensuring she has enough ammo and supplies for combat.

The Wraith: pretty much entirely ‘real identity’ stuff - being a CEO requires people to know you exist and being around for meetings and stuff.

Thoughts?

This all sounds pretty okay to me. I can see the Argent learing more about his instruments and music in general, but maybe he bartends part-time. Omni-X probaly just plugs himself into satellites and things so that he can keep constant surveilance over the whole planet and quickly alert the others if there is a crisis. CR probably chews tobacco or sleeps. I think what the scholar does in his spare time is pretty evident from his cards, cough, houseboat.

I still really want to know whether the Legacies have a secret identity.  I mean, they'd have to, right?  Otherwise their perfect little family would spend all its time in some kind of souped-up Witness Protection?  But Baron Blade's bio just casually mentions how he has agrudge on the Parsons family, and everything talks about the celebrity status of the Legacies... I'm just not sure.  In either case, I think that Paul's most-important off-duty action is clear: calmly and politely refusing to endorse politial statements (and the occasional energy drink).  Followed by rebuilding the kitchen after Pauline decided to show off again.

I don't think Zero has much ability to watch TV/go online.  Cathode tubes and plasma screens tend not to last too well at impossibly low temperatures, after all, and if really had access to all the entertainment that modern technology could provide, would he really have decided to risk death just to get a change of scenery?  The chamber sure looks bleak whenever we see the interior.  II suppose it might have a window showing a TV or a computer or something, but wth signals unable to penetrate the chamber, so that choosing a show/movie would be a pain, and something like typing would be nearly impossible.

Nothing will dissuade me from the beliefthat Omnitron-X has really goofy hobbies.  I mean, it's a robot who gained emotons to better kill humanity, and was seduced by them so completely that it didn't just change sides, it went back in time to paradox out its past actions.  That shows dedication, sure, but also a classic Omnitroney sense of being totally over-the-top.  So, I picture O-X going to movies, or even restaurants with hilariously bad human costumes, being spotted, and running home.  When Bunker asks how a superintelligent robot made that mistake (instead of using a hologram), O-X reples that it knew it would be spotted, but wanted to see how real human emotions reacted to this ("I would have shown more curiosity in ther poston," it admits).  I picture t watching Star Trek: The Next Generation marathons with Unity and Tachyon, and complaining endlessly about how unrealistic Data is - robots trying to gain emotions are nothing like that in real life.  Eventually, Unity has to make some tiny replica space ships attack it to shut it up.  I have no real basis for this - my copy of Shattered Tmelines hasn't arrived yet - but it's the Omnitron-X I have pictured since the reveal, and the one I will play.

Ironic

I do like this interpretation of O-X. I still think he does things like monitor world satellites for signs of trouble, but I do like the idea of stranger in a strange land element to his stories.

Oh, I agree that Omnitron-X would do all the usual "be a robot, do surveilance" stuff, but that's not really "free time", is it?  An AI might be able to run work and hobby processes at the same time, but they're very different acts.

All I am trying to say is that, homan or no, Omnitron-X does have free time.  Well, that and that it's not just Crying Robot #32579.  I like the idea of a robot who does interesting things with its emotions, instead of angsting all the time like some wind-controling Justice League members I could name.

Ironic

I completely agree with you, I wasn't trying to disagree. I was especially fond of the wearing obviously fake human skin suggestion. It reminded me of the Ninja Turtles in their trenchcoats and hats.

That is exactly what I was going for - though done intentionally in this case.

(Omnitron-X's favorite Ninja Turtles movie is the third one, a fact which Bunker claims as evidence that O-X might still be evil after all.)

Apparently, Chrono-Ranger is also willing to kill humans - seing as how he's Cowboy Cable, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised

One thing I finally realised from looking at Shattered Timelines flavour text is that Ra is a particular version of the straight man, the sane man in a world gone mad. Which is pretty amusing, given that he's the God of the Sun.

So about this time a year ago in this thread I tried to image all the heroes together in a non-crime fighting setting. It turned into Young Legacy’s Hawaiian Birthday party. The Sentinels family has grown since that time and it seemed a good time to take another look. After all, birthdays come but once a year.

I imagine that...

Growing up a Parsons, and knowing her own destiny from a young age, Pauline has always felt more grown up then her father wants her to be.  She always felt closer to her dad’s many superhero friends then the girls at school. So it is that another year has passed and she again has chosen to invite those super friends to her birthday party. This year the whole gang gathers for a poolside barbeque.

Unity and Mr. Fixer are behind the garage. She has created a sparring partner out of Legacy’s metal recycling and is trying to get a hit on Mr. Fixer, who deftly avoids a single touch by the automaton. Unity wishes she had Swiftbot instead of Legacy’s old Tuna cans.

Legacy stands by the barbeque grill. Spatula in hand, wearing his Kiss the Hero apron so as not to dirty the white of his Legacy suit. That’s more to appease Mrs. Parsons then worry about the suit.  Its seen more dangerous challenges then burger grease. But Legacy always does what he can to show his love and support for his wife, knowing the stress she feels whenever a call comes in and that while Pauline will follow in his footsteps, there is a part of his life she will only ever see from the sidelines.

Wraith stands nearby, unconsciously checking the propane tank and fuel line in case of tampering. It could serve as a perfect tool. Multiple heroes, a faulty gas line to blame, the perfect set up for a devious villains mind. But no. Everything is fine.

Bunker is dressed down, he only wears his suit to “formal” Freedom Five events. With a nod to Tachyon he casually lays a trap for Absolute Zero. Could you please help me carry the burgers to the table? I know Wraith is standing there but I’m asking you Ryan. Well thank you very much. As they cross to the barbeque, Legacy, also in on the trap turns and clamps a hand down on Absolute Zero’s shoulder. Absolute Zero can’t move, the trap is laid.

“Photo 5!” Tachyon shouts from the camera tripod nearby. Click. Tachyon presses the button and takes her place next to Bunker, no need for a delayed photo timer.

Laughter booms behind the Five. They turn to see Haka, sporting a bright yellow shirt, and Tempest riding his back behind them. Photobomb! All but one join in the laughter. Absolute Zero just rolls his eyes and returns to sulk in his pool chair.

Fanatic and Ra are on the other side of the pool deep in discussion on blasphemy and the relationships of lesser and higher deity. Her grip tightens on the handle of her sheathed Absolution. His grip tightens on the handle of his staff. But just before Armageddon is unleashed a wave of water washes over them. Splash! Fanatic gapes at this unseen onslaught. Ra begins to steam.  Tempest breaks the surface with a grin. Getting a toss from Haka is so much better than the diving board.

Not noticing the burning retribution behind him Tempest waves to the group laughing at the barbeque. Fanatic launches into the air, grabs him by the shoulders, and begins to rise. Ra holds a fireball just below Tempest’s feet. Hot hot hot, let me down. Ra gives way into a hearty laugh, clears the fireball and tells Fanatic to bring him down. Not appeased quite as quickly as her friend, Fanatic opts to let go rather higher off the ground then Tempest would have liked, landing rather solidly in the grass.

Argent Adept is also laughing deeply at the scene. He is carrying a tray of drinks from the house out to the party. He offers one to Nightmist who thanks him with a smile. Chrono-Ranger and ExPatriette hardly pay attention to the drinks put into their hands. They are debating the unwelcome recoil effect on distance shots. ExPatriette draws Prejudice to demonstrate a technique. Chrono-Ranger takes a sip, spits it out and glares at the drink in his hand. Pink lemonade. He forgot whose home he was at.

Nightmist asks Visionary how how young Vanessa is doing. Things are generally well but Visionary is concerned by some headaches and nightmares Vanessa has been experiencing. She is seeing bizarre things you wouldn’t believe. Nighmist arches her eyebrow. Try me.

Argent Adept works his way around the pool. The Scholar happily takes a cup. You serve a fine lemonade my friend.He is laying back in a pool lounge, a plate of burgers balanced on his stomach. Argent Adept turns to offer the next chair a drink but stops awkwardly.  Omnitron-X sits there, totally still, and stares at him, eye lens catching the sun. Er, sorry, how are you enjoying the party? He moves on with a backward glance at the robot.

Back at the grill, Wraith’s wrist communicator beeps. Its headquarters calling.  The Pike Industrial Plant...yes...yes...into the sewer...right...right...yes...got it...and another? Baron Blades Mobile Defense Platform was seen approaching Megalopolis airspace...anything else...okay...thanks Aminia.

Wraith looks at Legacy. Trouble in Rook City, possibly Plague Rat. And Baron Blade is moving in on Megalopolis.

Wraith immediately finds herself surrounded by the other heroes. Legacy, Tachyon, Bunker, Argent Adept, Visionary, Omnitron-X, Absolute Zero, Nightmist, Haka, Fixer, Unity, Tempest, Young Legacy, Ra, and Fanatic all look on waiting for details.

Legacy takes charge. Wraith, Rook City is your home turf. Take five with you...Expatriette...er...Chrono-Ranger...hmm.  The two heroes in question are nowhere to be seen. Well Wraith, take three more and go after them.  Wraith signals Nightmist, Haka, and Mr. Fixer. The rest of you...we’re heading to Megalopolis.

The yard is soon empty, except for one old man in a bathrobe snoring on a pool lounge.

Fantastic.  I still don't know that anyone has quite captured my interpretation of Fanatic and Ra, but I don't know that I have a terribly clear interpretation to begin with!  I especially liked the bits about the photo, and your character pairings were a lot of fun.

Another fine scene!  My only complaint is that I can't picture Unity (the closest thing Pauline would have to a peer among the heroes) spending all her time hiding rather than making Cake Golems for the birthday girl.

Ironic

P.S. Well, that, and Omnitron-X not getting to run tests on that delicious lemonade.

This is great. I do think Unity and Fixer would be in front of the garage instead of behind, but maybe Legacy disapproves of such usage for his recycling. I'm also nit sure if AA would be as awkward with omnitron-x, he's a professional bartender it would take a lot more than a blank stare to throw him off his game.

Also, I suddenly want The Scholar to say something to throw both Ra nd Fanatic off and take them down a peg, they seem too serious for his taste

By the way, I'm a writer whose been told to critique things all semester, so I apoligize, I just can't help myself

I loved the freedom team trapping AZ in a group photo.

Yeah, trolling Frost never gets old, and the Haka/Tempest photobomb just makes it better.

AZ strikes me as the kind of person who only pretends to hate it. It's easy to let a tragic past be your shield against the world, but just like Wolverine has a strange but fatherly soft-spot for mutant girls (OR NOT SO FATHERLY, ULTIMATE UNIVERSE I'M LOOKING AT YOU AND JUDGING), I think ultimately AZ goes along with the heroing not because he's being blackmailed or anything, but because all those much more happy-go-lucky people he works with remind him every so slightly of good times. But someone like that needs to have the frivolity introduced casually- ergo practical jokes that he can groan about but secretly enjoy.

It's a valid and cool take on the character, even if it isn't mine.

(At least, not at first.  Being around the Freedom Friends will certainly push him in that direction over time... as it did Wolverine, come to think on it.)

Ironic

I agree as well. I think Absolute Zero is the Eyeore of the group; he's usually down all the time,  but sometimes he gets a broken baloon and a pot to put it in, and he starts feeling alright, at least until his house gets blown down.

And the Scholar is Pooh.

After the assored Sentinels of the Multiverse rush off to stop the forces of evil, The Scholar ruins the Parsons' vegetable patch, and steals all their honey.  "For crucial alchemical research," reads the note left behind.

I'm always wondering about Ra's personality, and I keep thinking how much of his personality is Blake Washington Jr. and how much is the god what resides in his soul. Some of the cards have him acting like the king of the gods should (Wrathful Gaze, Inferno, Flame Spike), while some have him playing more like he was Nathan Drake or something (Adaptive Plating Subroutine, Inconcieveable Obstruction). Do Ra and Blake talk to each other like the two halves of Firestorm, or are they completly fused? I think having Ra talk to himself would be interesting to be sure, but there is no evidence that backs it. Maybe it's like the Avatar (of Last Airbender fame) where he can channel the Ra to get memories of past staff-wielders? I don't know. Could be interesting.

Ra is the designated Tsukkomi.

is Fantaic the Boke, then? I don't think she'd take a paper fan to the head very well…

I'm fairly sure that's the premise of the Baptism by Fire comics, though Ra might have dispensed with the paper fan for reasons of health and safety. 

Please tell me someone else got the Irony of the Argent Adebt's initials...

He's called AA, he was a bartender...

Yeah, I got it. I think he'd be a great sponser too! 

I KNOW WHAT I AM GOING TO DRAW TONIGHT

Taking up the discussion from earlier about which heroes have killed, and the perception of their actions...

"The team was killed by an angry human with wings and a sword. It was awful!" - Gene-bound soldier, Freedom Five #536 (from Sanctifying Strike)

So, Fanatic kills humanoid alienswho are intelligent enough to speak and to feel upset about it. 

While this does demonstrate the sentience/emotions of Voss' minions, I would argue that any of them that get killed while stopping Voss don't really "count" against a hero's "good guy rating".  After all, you have to remember that Voss' whole schtick is that he invades planet's, enslaves the populace, and genetically twists them to his own nefarious purposes before moving on to the next target.  Killing his minions is no different than killing enemy soldiers on the battlefield.  Sometimes, the enemy (who is likely just as "human" as you, with hopes/dreams/family/etc.) has to die in order to protect a higher justice, even if the one who is really to blame temporarily remains safe.

Apparently, Chrono-Ranger is also willing to kill humans - seing as how he's Cowboy Cable, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised

 I don't know from Cable, but Jim Brooks seems to me like a time-traveling John Wayne.  His bio says he was one of the fastest guns in the West, protecting Silver Gulch until a Time Portal transported him to the Final Wasteland (Duh duh duhhh duhnnn!  Duh duh duhn duhn duhnnn!).  So while he probably doesn't hesitate much at dropping any dangerous criminals (read: super-powered villains, anyone armed and endangering innocents), he also comes from a culture on the fringe of society, where the strong preyed upon the weak unless someone like him was there to stop them.  Secondly, he is busy hunting down all the weird monsters from history to prevent the horrible future that he ended up in, so he doesn't have a lot of time to waste on "normals" that won't even be around later on.  Thirdly, he is, technically, a member of law enforcement. (His office may have expired, since he's from 1883, but he WAS the Sheriff before he disappeared.)  Sometimes, the cops have to shoot criminals to protect innocents. 

Also, I seem to have forgotten to mention ealier that Expatriette shoots a human between the eyes in her bio.

Said "human" was a telekinetic that was using his powers to rob an armored car (with some help from his gang of thugs).  Right between the eyes may be a little on the "dark" side, but he was definitely no innocent bystander.  And he definitely won't be killing or torturing anyone anymore.

P.S. - Does everyone else sing/hum that song everytime they mention that environment?  You know which one I'm talking about.

I actually spoke with Christopher at Kantcon about Fanatic's personality.  Apparently she projects a lot of pomp and righteousness when she is in public, displaying no doubt that she is sent to do the work of the Heavens and strike down any evil that opposes her.  However, she actually has a lot of doubts about her cause and whether she really is in the right or not, and feels a great deal of shame because of it.  So, while she may have a grandiose and hyperconfident demeanor when out hero-ing and reacting to the public, she is just as unsure of life, the universe, and everything as we are.

EDIT:  Yes we do, Scholars Aide.

...

IT'S THE FINAL WASTELAAAAAAAAAND!!!

Interesting…  This adds another layer to Fanatic that I didn't necessarily think of.  She is probably my favorite in terms of deck mechanics although I've struggled defining her personality.

Is her doubt based on whether or not the cause is right, or whether it is her cause?  Does she doubt her calling or what she is called to?

I could see this going several ways:  One she doubts herself, whether or not she has lived up to her calling, and tortured by her perceived failures.  Two she actually has doubts as to whether her cause is right, like maybe she isn't serving who she thinks she is.  Three could be the classic how can god allow evil trap, especially with her nemesis being so similar to her, you have to ask why he even exists.

It sounds like doubt over whether anything she believes is right.  The same doubt lots of people experience with faith, philosophy, or ethics.  I think what Christopher was talking about is that she has doubts about her cause, and she is ashamed because she feels she shouldn't have any at all considering all that has happened to her.  His focus wasn't so much on what her doubts were as much as the fact that she doubts her cause and is ashamed that she holds these doubts.

The shame is probably a key aspect here. That is a pretty heavy thing to deal with. Its bad enough to have doubts about something you believe in, but to burden yourself with shame on top of that…it makes sense that when she finally does go into battle that all of her shame and doubts would lead to her being even more vocal and zelous, to the point of brinking on anger, not just anger at whatever evil shes fighting, but anger at herself. 

Thats probably why Apostate beat her in their first encounter.  A few choice words about how she's killed in anger, and how she's even worse because she's convinced herself that its "right" when she does it...anything to widen the cracks, knock her off balance, sow doubt, and bring that shame to the surrface.

 Maybe the "Redeemer" angle is as much about her OWN redemption from the evils she has caused as the redemption of her enemies...

Oh hell yes. I would think it most certainly is I would agree. 

That much, I always thought was the case.

After all, the "Redeem" ability gives her clarity (cards), and strength (HP).

I like it, she's gone too far to go back, she's seen too much to ever really turn away, but she still has doubts.  I really want to get Redeemer Fanatic now.

Redeemer Fanatic is definitely one of my favorite characters. 

And the character card art... so awesome

My friend and forumite, TeslaRoyale, exclusively plays Redeemer whenever he plays Fanatic's deck because he loves the artwork.

It's an excellent piece, though it always felt a little backwards to me.

Assuming Redeemer Fanatic is being less... well, Fanatical than the vanilla version (which seems to be the implication), isn't it just a little odd that she now has more sexied-up costume, is blindfolded (usually a symbol for more "blind faith," rather than less), and instead of a cross on a cloth tabbard, has a cross painted in blood?  If anything, that sounds more like the design for Brutal Ninties Fanatic than the more neutral art from the classic version.

Ironic

I think that part of her self redemption was in part to eliminate all her self doubts. The only way to move forward, for her at least, was to shed all doubt and shame and become fully commited to her goal. 

I think redeemer Fanatic is much more confident in her faith, hence the armor. I think the blindfold might be more symbolic of her not being swayed anymore by those like Apostate. Maybe you can call it her being more "bind faith" like I guess. But she will no longer be torn or distracted from her righteous path by others

Or herself, as the case may be.

Fun fact: today as I was walking across the parking lot to my local Workforce Center for my weekly Job Club, my mind drifted into picturing a scene and some dialogue with Ra in a more humanizing personality.  I forget the exact details, but it was something about him chiding other heroes for making too stereotypical an assumption about him.  While he has a certain mythic grandeur to him, I also imagine him being a bit snarky and world-wise about it, as is proper for someone who all but openly ruled one of the world's earliest civilizations.  It was some sort of "you don't think I always do X, do you?" kind of moment, and I could swear it was with Legacy, though that now doesn't seem right to me.

On the flipside, it's interesting to think of what sort of a life Dr. Blake Washington has, if he basically only exists at night anymore.  How does he ever get to archaeological conferences and such?  Does he have to persuade Ra to let him "drive" for a while, and give up monitoring the skies for dire omens?  Definitely a neat character to consider.

I see Absolute Zero as a guy that since he can't actually get close to people anymore chooses to be a jerk to them to keep them away, sort of a coping mechanism to avoid getting emotionally hurt. However I think it's worked too well and he's forgotten that he's not just a jerk. It happens. Becoming the Mask and all that.

Nightmist I get a heavy Harry Dresden vibe from. Kinda snarky and fun to be around even if a bit cynical at times. I would love to party with her and Expatriette, but then again, I like the strong women.

I so wish for one more look into Pauline's birthday parties. It's been a while since our last one, and we now have more characters and even more info to go off of...

Just my take, but my impression is that Nightmist doesn't see herself as a superhero at all.  This is largely based on the fact that she doesn't wear a costume, just a suit and trenchcoat or a little black dress in her Dark Watch variant.  So at a party with other superheroes, she'd probably be thinking 'what I am doing here?'  The other heroes probably see her as kind of the weird, frightening one, and she probably sees herself as the only sane person and they're all weirdos. 

I also see her as someone with tremendous personal fortitude.  She's the person who never complains, even though life really craps on her when you think about it.  She's quiet, doesn't have many friends (I don't get the impression she's even particularly close to the rest of Dark Watch).  I think Lillian is probably the only person other than her father whom she ever gets really close to.  So I think the reason that her card text seems so serious is that her personality is the quiet, sad, lonely one whose sadness and loneliness other people don't see.