Character Contest 30: Gadgeteer
First entry was “bloke.” I didn’t do a convincing job with the left arm, but that’s more the point of this retrospective. To re-visit designs, review progress, and accept mistakes.
bloke:
Close-up:
Backstory:
Eric Sawyer failed auditions to be in retro-80s cover bands. Instead, he ended up as a roadie on the nostalgia circuit. Eric didn’t like life off-stage. He decided to become the superhero “bloke.”
Using his knowledge of pyrotechnics and sound engineering, Eric designed the ultimate crime-fighting keytar. It so rocks! By playing certain notes, bloke is able to generate blinding flashes, stunning booms, and cutting lasers. Eric is constantly “tuning” the keytar. Someday, he hopes it will have as many bitchin’ powers as gnarly songs on his iPod.
Unbeknownst to Eric, he is also a telekinetic late-bloomer. He has never had proper ESP training. So far, he has been able to subconsciously generate defensive force fields. There are no visible effects, so Eric thinks that it has been dumb luck that bullets and bats have not put an end to his career.
Though Eric’s alter ego is bloke, he is not a full-time superhero. He only suits up when he’s “in the mood”, or there’s an opportunity for major publicity. Eric actually hopes to get out of pizza delivery and back into the music scene.
Unfortunately, Eric really isn’t that great of a musician. And several artists and record companies have threatened to sue him for copyright infringement.
