Name: Alessandro (Alex) Valerio a.k.a Divine Angel
Type: Superhuman
Sex: Male
Group Affiliation: None at the moment...possibly later on with The Divinity
Hero: His cost has yet to be designed
Height/Weight: 6' 1"/308 lbs.
Hair/Eye Color: Blonde (Wavy, Curly...Not shoulder-length, yet almost)/Blue
Demeanor: Quiet, Soft-spoken...however, when his anger is directed towards someone, no mercy is spent
Attitude: Boy-Scout...he cares a lot for the weak (physical, wealth, health)
Played By: Scott Speedman
The Setting: 2003, Rome, The Vatican City
The Catholic Church is corrupt. It's evil reaches as high as the Pope and as low as the Priests. The Church is engaged in clandestine activity (guerrilla warfare, terrorism) across the globe, sparking civil conflicts in the process. It's goal: global domination and ultimate Christendom. Furthermore, it is a growing player in the Underworld, beginning in Italy and extending into Eastern Europe, South and Latin America and slowly in North America. It also has a secret base in Antarctica.
There have been rumblings of these activities among congregationists, but it has been dismissed as hearsay. Church-goers do not even suspect a thing.
Behind the scenes, the Pope is forever in consultation with the Red Order (more on this later), a secret organization known only to the Pope and a select number of archbishops. The Red Order consults with the Pope and his clique and tries to influence them on matters most important to them.
The Story:
Part I:
Millenia after the Creation
God knew that some of his creations would succumb to the forbidden fruit. To evil. He often shared his worries with his right hand, the archangel Gabriel. Gabriel is the angel of mercy, of vision, of consolation, and most importantly, he is the angel of the Power of God. At God's request, Gabriel consented to leave, temporarily, his place as an archangel and assume the form of an adult superhuman in his response to God's "calling". The "calling" would occur at any moment, and Gabriel would have to be ready. However, Gabriel faced a danger. Should his human form die, Gabriel's essence would die with it as well, roaming the heavens simply as a spirit. However, the vessel would be protected. He was given the gifts of super-strength, leap, the consummation of fire, and vision (these will be explained later).
Like God knew that he would need a vessel to answer his "calling", He knew that someone would tamper with his plan. Someone wicked enough and who had the power to initiate a "calling". Secretly, God arranged for a group of saints, called The Divinity, to follow Gabriel's vessel in his quest. The Divinity was to guide the vessel. Their secrecy was known only to God, not even to Gabriel.
At a random moment in time, God was playing one of many games of chess with his counterpart, the Devil. It was the Devil's turn to win this time. Upon victory, for a split second, God was rendered the thoughtless. However, this was enough time for the Devil to tamper with God's "calling". The vessel would remain alive, he decided, but he would not have any memories or knowledge of his quest. The Devil liked playing games, and the vessel was a big prize for him. After the split second, God knew that some devilry had passed. What, he could not know.
Part II:
Alex was brought to Earth, in 2003, amid a storm of lightning, wind and thunder. He appeared in Prague. The Devil's tampering also affected the landing place of Alex. Unbeknownst to him, Alex has a cryptic tattoo of the Divinity intersecting with the Vatican on his back.
Upon Alex's "birth", 100 people around the world were imbued with the spirits of the saints of the Divinity. Instantaneously, their minds were filled with the thoughts and convictions of these saints. They knew their quest and it was up to them whether to answer it or not. The only thing known to them about the vessel, was his name, Alessandro Valerio, and his appearance.
The Red Order was made aware of Alex's appearance. He now posed a problem to them and their plans. Instantaneously, followers of the Red Order around the world were called upon to find, and terminate, Alex. However, that was not enough. The Devil did not have faith in the followers. The leaders were too preoccupied with fullfilling his goal of global evil. Thus, he had conceived of an equal to rival Alex, whose sole purpose was the termination of the archangel Gabriel's vessel. This rival, Adriano (Adrian), was to appear soon after Alex appeared.
The Devil gave Adrian the gifts of super-strength, leap, and the ability to create fire. Adrian appeared in Rome. In consultation with the Red Order's contacts, Adrian sets on his quest to destroy Alex. However, Alex's whereabouts are unknown.
Villain: Adriano (Adrian)
Height/Weight: 6'5"/336 lbs.
Hair/Eye Color: Both are dark, depending on the lighting, the colors range from dark brown to black.
Demeanor: Quiet, yet sometimes likes to smirk devilishyly before a kill.
Attitude: He has no remorse is the emodiment of pure evil. He does not ask any questions, although he likes to play mind games with his victims.
Adrian is the opposite of Alex. His sole purpose in life is to take it away. That is not to say that he goes out willingly killing people. The Devil's plans is to have people following him, not sole power. Adrian's purpose is to defeat Alex, only then will the Devil decide what to do with him.
He is played by: Viggo Mortensen
Powers:
Both Alex and Adrian have superstrength. They are obviously not as strong as Superman, but approach the strength of Aquaman. They heaviest weight they can lift is two tonnes, roughly the weight of a car. That is not to say that they are bullet proof or impenetrable. They are susceptible to wounds.
The highest that they can leap is three stories. However, they are able to leap from wall to wall, e.g. in an alley, where the distance (maximum 2 metres) is small.
Alex's power of vision enables him to see people's futures. He must be in visible distance, that is face-to-face, from that person in order to see. He cannot change anything about it save warning the person.
Alex has the power to extinguish fire by absorbing it. The size of the fire has an effect on how fast he can extinguish it. He has to put his mind into the action. For example, he won't walk into a room full of candles and automatically they flicker out. He has to consciously reach out with his hand and absorb the energy of the fire. Consequently, the flames extinguish. Generally-speaking, he can consume 1 square-centimeter of fire per second. That is with his full concentration. For example, if he is in battle, he cannot consume it that fast. The consummation depends on the stress of the battle.
The energy that Alex consumes dissipates wihtin his body. His cellular structure allows him to process it. However, the more fire he consumes, the slower his reaction-time is. At this young stage in his existence, his body cannot process the energy fast enough that he can continue at peak performance.
Adrian has fire creation. It spontaneously comes out of his hands. As he emits fire, his pupils flicker with an orange glow. However, it drains his energy levels. He cannot manipulate existing fires. He can just create his own fire. It is done easier when there are flammable materials close by. The rapidity and intesity of the fire depends on the flammability of the material. E.g. wood would take longer to ignite than petroleum.
I DO NOT WANT TO GIVE AWAY TOO MUCH ABOUT ALEX OR ADRIAN OR THE DIVINITY AND THE RED ORDER...THE FIRST ISSUE (HEHEHE) WILL EXPLAIN A LOT...ESSENTIALLY, THEIR PURPOSES ARE HERE
Games I've played:LABN
Where I live: Montreal, Quebec
What my hobbies are: reading comics, playing risk/heroclix, watching movies, reading, drawing, lounges, boxing/kickboxing
What comics I like: basically any of the bat titles, especially detective comics and nightwing; daredevil, aquaman, superman and action comics; sleeper; the flash; uncanny
[/b]
- Login to post comments
Post to Twitter
Divine Angel
This is a very interesting idea. I like what you've given us, and that you don't want to reveal too much at the outset.
Divine Angel
Wow...It detailed, its internally consistant and it has plenty of hooks for other characters. I am starting to like him although I think I will have to give it another read-through.
At first glance I like it. I'll vote after the second reading
Divine Angel
The only problem I could think of is that people might be offended by the fact that you say the Catholic Church is corrupt (not that I disagree, I'm just saying).
Other than that, I'd say your fine.
Divine Angel
I want to make sure I understand exactly what it is you've unleashed here:
You are a human vessel chosen to house the spiritual essence of an Archangel (Gabriel in this case) but who has forgotten what his quest is becasue of the Devil.
You are protected by a cadre of 100 prophets who have seen a vision secretly sent by God that they need to protect this man. But they do not know his name or his whereabouts.
Simultaneously with his arrival on Earth a secret evil cult of Devil worshippers within the Church(!)--who have some (or total) dominance over the Pope(!!)--also recieve knowledge of the man and his mission but do not know his name or appearance.
The man is opposed by a demon in human flesh with similar powers who appeared "shortly after" the man somewhere else. He knows everything as of the moment of his appearance but is on his own more or less from there.
----
As I am writing this "bumper-sticker" version I am finding that there are some things about it that are a little over the top. My own religious convictions aside (its a story not dogma, I don't care about the shaky theology...its just a game)
I see a broad story arc with lots of conflict and angst and pain. Why is it neccessary that Alex have no memory of his quest? There are so many secrets to keep him occupied it seems a little excessive. He doesn't know about the Divinity, he doesn't know about the Red Order. And he certainly doesn't know about Adrian.
Being human would more or less prevent him from being omniscient. So he won't know anything more than his mission and a sort of grand overview (that is subject to change).
Why does the Entire Church need to be corrupt in order to have a small sept within the church that is perpetrating evil? It happens all the time. Massive organization gets a few bad apples that band together to reate a lot of chaos. All you have to do is look at this little child-mosestation fiasco to see how a small bit of complacency among a few people can casue big problems. But don't write off the ENTIRE CHURCH as worthless.
I imagine a church that is diseased (as opposed to dead and corrupted). It has a sickness that has taken over and is slowly killing the Church from within. There are certainly people within the Church who are aware of the problem (and who may even be called by the Divinity) and are fighting from within to save the Church. Nuns, priests, cardinals, and bishops all working together to contain the infection and eventually liberate the Pope and free the Church.
The Church has existed in one form or another for 2000 years. Its not about to be defeated by evil from within now. No, I have no problem with the Red Order and I have no problem with them having sway over the Pope. They can commit unspeakable evil in the name of the Church...but the Church as an institution isn't corrupted...yet. Not as long as there is some hope that within the Church there are forces that are fighting against this evil.
From here on its all nitpicks...no serious objections just me spouting off....
Your origin starts with God and the Devil playing a game. Chess it would seem. God "slips up" and allows the Devil to take adavantage and "God has no idea." Let me describe the same scene from a different POV.
God and the Devil are playing chess. God has lost many pieces but they are all smaller pieces that the Devil captured becasue he could not neccessarily becasue of their strategic value. The Devil sees a chance to take a power piece: A Knight. Knights represent Archangels in this celestial chess game. He sets up the capture and the knight escapes. Again and again the knight escapes. Suddenly the knight is wide open. An easy capture. He takes it. It was a set-up becasue God moves a pawn into the last row and requests a queen. A queen represents a Saint in this game. But the devil plays him rotten and puts the captured knight back on the board instead of a queen.
God knows he cheats. God knew that when he started the game. But even if he DOES cheat, God plays better chess. Besides, God still controls his original queen.
by viewing this setup as a massive chessgame what you have is:
White Player: GOD
Knight: Alex
Queen: Unknown Saint
Bishops (2): The Divinity
Rooks(2): The Churches that are uncorrupted (not neccesarily Catholic ones...Methodists, for example)
King: This is the prize and has no avatar. It represents a goal. In this case the mission.
Pawns (few maybe 1 or 2): These are innocents that are caught in the struggle
Red Player: The Devil
Knight: Adrian
Knight: Unknown Demon
Bishops(2): The Red Order
Rook: The Pope.
King: This is the prize and cannot be captured only trapped (foiled)
Pawns ( 8 ): All sinners swept unknowingly into the struggle
You would do well to think of this as a game and count the pieces as they drop or are captured. Set up a board and play around with some moves and ideas. I will tell you that two rooks, two bishops, a knight and a queen whill whomp the pants off two knights, 2 bishops and a rook. Especially with a shitload of pawns. The pawns just get in the way.
Just my observations. thought I'd share.
Divine Angel
first off...i am a Catholic myself and not a Catholic basher...this is in no way meant to be of offense to anyone, rather, it is a story of good versus evil where the hero is clearly good and not gray (as is almost the norm nowadays)...in order to tell a story, someone has to be vilified, just because the Pope is included does not mean that the actual Pope is a villain in real life (check out the Godfather III...the Vatican was way deep in the Mafia)
Divine Angel
Yes I knew that and there are good popes and bad popes. There are good priests and bad priests. And there are villains in your plotline that do not require the need to condemn the entire institution of the church to tell the story. Thats all I'm sayin' Not mad about it and not saying it has to be my way. Not offended or even a little miffed. It just seemed excessive to me.
Divine Angel
it seems this has sparked some backlash...the reason i am choosing Catholicism and not any other faith is because i am most comfortable working within that mythology and because of my love for the Vatican...please, this is not portraying the Church in a bad light (how is it any different when a government or people is painted as secretive or villain?)
1) The reason I chose Alex not to have any memories is:
a) for my own story purposes...this is as much a personal quest as it is God's quest
b) the fact that Adrian has an advantage demonstrates, in my opinion, the struggle of good over evil
c) no memory = supporting character
d) without divulging too much information, there are plans in store for him...if he had his memory, his quest would be simple and done with in no time
e) there is this much, like it was said, he has a tattoo on his back depicting his quest...eventually he will discover the meaning of it
f) the vessel (the hope, the Power of God) is at a disadvantage, much like the Church is in this story
2) Alex does not know about the Divinity because if he did, the Devil would have known about the group and thus tampered with them as well
3) The Divinity does know Alex's name and appearance, as does the Red Order...his whereabouts are a different story...because Alex is a spiritual superhuman , he is trackable, although difficult
4) Alessandro and Adriano are spiritual superhumans...they are not humans per se, but they are not superentities like Superman either...their powers were described
5) Not the "entire Church" knows about the Red Order or of its activity...whatever little rumbling among the clergy there was, was quieted and dispelled as hearsay by the Pope
b) furthermore, the corruptness is to demonstrate the power of the Devil in gaining global domination and the world at his feet...in all honesty, i do not want to divulge his ultimate quest and how this domination fits in his quest
c) as it was said, only the Pope and a select number of archbishops know about the Red Order
6) Despite the Church's existence, there comes a time when one's will is questioned and challenged...this is a desperate time for the Church where its very foundations could crumble...this is where God's "calling" comes into effect...if the Church was sound, then there would be no need for Alessandro
7) No, the Red Order did not appear simultaneoulsy as Alessandro...simultaneously to Alessandro's arrival, they WERE MADE AWARE of his arrival
8) Yes, the Divinity took effect once Alessandro arrived...
9) Shortly (not simultaneously) Adriano appeared
Divine Angel
Sorry, one more thing...the hundred random people forming the Divinity did not see a vision from God...God had trained saints specifically for this purpose...the arrival of Alessandro triggered the imbuing of these saint's spirits into these random people, thus, they know what is expected of them...it is up to them whether to answer their "calling" or not
Divine Angel
All good answers...Sounds like you have sound reasons for choosing this particular presentation. I had already approved it as a "keeper" this just confirms it was a good choice.
Divine Angel
I personally like the idea (and I dont usually like religious mumbo jumbo)