Father was big on appearances. Alycia, in reaction, not so much. Though she understands the value of disguise and camouflage and sending a message through visuals, and all of that. She just doesn’t see the need for it … the rest of the time
This gave me an idea and I quickly put together something during my lunch break. Like with the office warrior before, probably not a final design but might help zero in something we like.
This isn’t even Clark Kenting. Literally just throwing together the bare minimum to make sure she isn’t recognized and calling it a day. Everything else is literally just her street clothes.
For those without public identities, power rings, super-speed, or other magic conveniences, swapping into super-hero togs has always been a challenge, usually answered by “wearing my costume under my clothes,” a solution better suited to an era of neck-to-toe clothing and spandex uniforms.
Depending on how all of this works out, I see actually three different costume modes for Alycia –
1. Prepared engagement: Going out on patrol, responding to a call, etc. This will be her normal costume and mask, whatever that looks like. In terms of gadgets, weaponry, tech, protection, not to mention messaging, this will probably be something more than just her street clothes and a mask (but, see next).
2. Ad hoc engagement: Fish the mask/bandanna/shades out of the purse courier bag along with whatever tech she normally carries that she isn’t actually already wearing, and have at. That “bare minimum”.
3. Alycia out socially: It occurs to me that there’s probably something of value in having some sort of public disguise (or more than one) so that someone (esp. in Halcyon) doesn’t start screaming and pointing when she shows up in a coffee shop.
There’s plenty of room (and comic book precedent) for shenanigan around the above: someone with strong resources and biometric observations will be able to figure out who Charade is; nobody will necessarily realize that the gal in the cargo pants and black t-shirt who was standing in line at the liquor store is the figure in cargo pants, black t-shirt, and a mask who broke both arms and one leg of the guy who chose the wrong moment to rob the place. I.e., it’s the obligatory needful nod to disguising that can be exploited for dramatic purpose as need be.
someone with strong resources and biometric observations will be able to figure out who Charade is
I imagine Parker is using her increased budget and normal personality to respectively entice and intimidate 1337 into handling cameras so nobody can get Alycia’s ID that way most of the time.
I don’t recall seeing it one way or another, but does the public actually know Alycia by face? She was able to pass for a month at Jason’s warehouse without fellow employees twigging, and of anybody they probably have the most familiarity with the Quill family’s supporting cast. She might be on the FBI’s most wanted list or something, but that picture quickly got pulled down as part of this process. So it sounds like she’s okay socially, unless she goes from being obviously mundane to obviously heroic in a scene with observant bystanders.
I don’t recall seeing it one way or another, but does the public actually know Alycia by face? She was able to pass for a month at Jason’s warehouse without fellow employees twigging, and of anybody they probably have the most familiarity with the Quill family’s supporting cast. She might be on the FBI’s most wanted list or something, but that picture quickly got pulled down as part of this process. So it sounds like she’s okay socially, unless she goes from being obviously mundane to obviously heroic in a scene with observant bystanders.
Well, that’s an interesting question – I had thought it likely (esp. when she announced her public vendetta), but it ain’t necessarily so. There are almost certainly intel and security photos from afar and from odd angles and the like, but the best ones may not be unclassified, and not necessarily in any public domain.
So, yeah, the citizenry may not be likely to start screaming and pointing, but there are parties out there, in law enforcement and the other side, that know what she looks like, or have descriptions of her.
Not for nothing, the actual “Reformed” figure isn’t necessarily a bad starting point, pulling in some elements you’ve suggested, Mike.
It has that harlequin-ish thing we’ve played with for "Charade, simple lines for mobility (but torso and leg protection, at least), the fur collar you keep coming back to (perhaps not the natural choice for North Carolina, but …) – swap around some weapons, add a smirking mask, and it’s got something to say for it.
Afraid I’m going to have to use this as a childhood portrait of Charlotte’s dad, or something.
Palmer, Senior: My boy wants his… ahh… pet squirrel in the portrait. Are you able to do that? Portrait Artist: I can… draw the black-eyed demon familiar that’s clinging to his jacket, wearing a poorly-fit squirrel body as a disguise… Palmer, Senior: Yeah that’s fair.
Still working on something with Charade, but figured I’d challenge myself and also remind myself that simplicity can sometimes be more difficult than it looks. To that end, I equipped myself with a ballpoint pen (or at least the Photoshop equivalent) and made some very simplistic sketches of whoever showed up on the wiki Random Page.
Jason’s on there twice by virtue of the fact that Dave has said “armored up” several times when mentioning the nanites and I wanted try something with that.
I won’t name the rest (though it should be mostly obvious) but I wanted to see if they lined with what everyone’s else mental images (especially since I took some liberties with a couple).
When I think of Jason armoring up, it’s literally something between the Black Knight (color scheme-wise) and Iron Man Stealth Armor (again, the color scheme). But I have no aesthetic problem with the above.
(As the nanobots are an extension of Jason’s brain, aside from some core automatic functions, I can easily imagine that Jason’s armoring up under different circumstances really varies with his mood, his perception of the threat, the image he (un)consciously wants to project, etc.)
She looks a bit more casual in sweatshirt and crocs.
See the crocs just seemed like sensible shoes for someone who presumably has feet made of metal. The sweater is just because a) I was going to do something fairly quirky for all the Gardner Academy teachers and b) one of my coworkers worn almost that exact outfit the other day and it looked pretty good so I’ve been wanting to draw it since then.
I both love and cannot identify the last person. Looks like a robot arm…
Nope. Can’t place it.
Honestly, my first thought was “Oh, they already have a wiki page. Wait, it’s Bill. Of course they already have a wiki page.” That’s not a slight, by the way. Bill, you have may more discipline when it comes to keeping that project up to date and I commend you for all the hard work that’s gone into it.
Honestly, my first thought was “Oh, they already have a wiki page. Wait, it’s Bill. Of course they already have a wiki page.” That’s not a slight, by the way. Bill, you have may more discipline when it comes to keeping that project up to date and I commend you for all the hard work that’s gone into it.
And every piece like this that comes out of that hard work vindicates doing it.
