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RadCap

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Ok - I couldnt sleep so I played around a bit more. This is still rough - but its better than the previous one. This has a better feel for what Im thinking about:

rm1.jpg

Concerning the comments:

Im glad you all are as amused as I am by this concept.

Not a hat. I told you the hair was a mess. ;)

Rational man should not have a mask. A rational man has nothing to hide.

He does have abs - and a chest. His armor has it built in (similar to movie batman, but more greek in style). You just don't see it from every angle. He won't always wear his cape toga style though, so you will see his abs if you are really that interested. ;)

As the new image suggests, his look will be somewhat futuristic (again, the other pic was more for color etc). But I want the character to reflect the classical origins of logic as well. So that is the reason for the stylized ancient greek look.

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Anyway - what do you think?  On the right track?

I LIKE it!

The concept was good, but the graphics blow me away.

I can see it now: TV spots, comic strips, school books, comic books, teeshirts, action figures, lunch boxes, movie rights!

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Betsy and CF -

It is getting to be a pretty cool concept, eh? heheh

Charles -

Right now Im just working on the individual conceptual elements. But, if you are serious, further along in the process, investment capital would certainly be welcome. :confused:

--

Oh - fyi - Im working on the first set of villians: "Concensus" and "The Mob". (I considered what Ash suggested, and generally agreed. However, "Concensus" is going to be a woman, not a boy. And I am rendering "The Mob" in three of his different states. So the next image will be a depiction of essentially 4 different entities.)

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While I agree with Betsy and CF and love the concept and images so far, you should keep in mind that there probably isn't much chance of a large financial return on this, at least for a while. Your market would probably consist mainly of Objectivists, so I think it's a bit early to start thinking about movie rights and TV shows (except perhaps the brief, Schoolhouse Rock-style shorts you mentioned at first). Probably the best format at first would be comic books, like a monthly issue for a year or two (or longer, depending on how many ideas you can come up with). But if you succeed in bringing this out in any format, I will certainly buy, read, watch, or otherwise support it!

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Ok - so things are proceeding a bit further. I have finished the rough renderings of "Consensus" and "The Mob" (though their backstories still need to be fleshed out some and/or changed).

First "Concensus":

consensus.jpg

"Consensus" is a pollster who became obsessed with her work. She toiled for years in order to create more and more exacting polling technology - searching for the ultimate means of determining the desires of the masses. Driven by this obsession, she tried on herself an unstable and experimental techinque designed to 'read minds' (by intercepting and interpreting the electical impulses of the brain). While successful, the massive input overwhelmed her own brain functions. But instead of never using the process again, she responded to it like a drug - craving the ideas of others more and more instead of her own. Now she is essentially addicted to the process - virtually unable to think or act on her own. Instead she is driven to understand and fulfill the will and whims of the majority.

As to her look, because "Concensus" is bound by the dictates of the will of the majority, she wears clothes which are full of buckles, bindings, and other fasteners - all suggesting the restraint under which she places herself. (And all those buckles are golden because the consensus is her 'gold' standard - it is her moral center, her standard of truth). And she always wears predominantly brown clothing (being a middle of the road, acceptable by all color). In addition, "Consensus" wears gold tinted glasses, technically to give her a constant HUD projection of polls etc. However, as the saying goes "the eyes are the window to the soul". And she has given hers up, so all we see when we look at her is a relfection of those around her (except on those occassions when she does reasert herself - ie esssentially comes out her stupor. But those instances are rare). Finally, since some may disagree with the majority, she is often left fighting to subdue that minority. As such, she carries numerous weapons on her person. Two are the most obvious - her hip weapons. These contain various projectile ammunition (heat seeking bullets, etc). And on her back she carries what she calls her "Big Stick" - an energy weapon of great power.

Next we have "The Mob." While they may disagree with each other - and even fight amongst themselves sometimes - "Consensus" can often be found in the company of - and leading - "The Mob."

mob.jpg

"The Mob" is just the average t-shirt and leather jacket wearing punk (albeit a slightly futuristic leather jacket - heh). However, the more people who follow his ideas, the bigger and more powerful he grows. As he transforms from this punk, into a thug and finally into "The Mob", his skin actually changes its color, becoming a sickly pinkish-red as his body becomes an ugly mass of muscles. Oh - and of course his head does not grow to keep the proportion with the rest of his oversized body. He isn't using what is contained inside, so it remains the same.

Well that's it for the moment. Pretty busy for the rest of the week. Hopefully this should hold you for a little while though. :)

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Your punk looks more like how I imagined 'Awesomely Built Man' the hero.

Wouldn't most punks be weeds anyway?

It's not as if you can go to a gym and just pump iron without your brain in gear and just gain loads of size and strength.

Or has Mr Punk been messing about inside the Incredible Hulk's lab?

Sorry to be Mr Picky but there you are.

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Consensus is too pretty, in my opinion.

Yes, I think making her a bit fatter would help. And while we're at it, her face could be squarer and her hair shorter. Just tune in to CNN when they're interviewing a feminist and you've got your model! :)

The idea with the buckles is brilliant, and so is the design of The Mob!

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I think the look chosen for Consensus is perfect, after all shouldn't she adhere to society's beauty standards? A super villain with lots of plastic surgery, perfect. This way she is more fun to look at, and a bit more sinister, it shows how far she'll go to fit in.

I think this is a fabulous idea and it just keeps getting better and better. This is something my 10 year old nephews would love! Keep up the good work!

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Concensus, and the details of her history, are excellent. I don't think she necessarily needs to be unattractive. Being attractive could be part of how she tries to draw others in.

How about, for The Mob, you have a hideous monster that sort of springs up out of gatherings of the "right kind" of people? You could draw him/it with faces all over his body, make him a patchwork of ugliness and grime, legs and arms sticking out all over. The ugliness of it would be key. It needn't even resemble an individual person, just a big jumble of bodies, perhaps even without a head, or any evident center of awareness, since it has no consciousness and communicating with it is impossible. Of course, the essence of The Mob is brute force, so I can understand your representation. Yours is also a lot easier to draw, I'm sure. :)

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In the case of "Consensus," the vessel is not the issue - it is the contents therein. That is what distinghishes her from "The Mob," For him the issue is completely the vessel. In other words, he is the body, she is the soul of the same false idea. As such, they require different manifestations of that idea.

The look of" Consensus" reflects the replacement of her soul with the souls of others. Thus the bindings, the coloring, the eyes etc.. The look of "The Mob" reflects the replacement of soul with muscle. Thus the complete physical transformation (save essentially his head).

Concerning the comments about "Consensus" needing to look fatter, plainer or uglier - as janie pointed out, that would not conform to the societal norm. (Whether her looks are the result of nature or something else can be addressed if necessary.) However, so long as she is not really outside the acceptable norms, her looks are not an issue.

And concerning "The Mob" - he is not a hero. Nor does his original form have the dimensions of a hero. He is a short, averagely develped individual, whose physique literally transforms itself into an ugly mass of muscle (Each of his stages is shown to scale with "Consensus", who is shorter than "Rational Man". So you can see, his origins are pretty humble). While I have yet to determine what originally triggered this transformation, it could have its roots in wanting to 'bulk up' more. How this went horribly wrong, and how it is connected to the ideas of others is something which still needs to be 'fleshed out' (pun intended of course. heh).

Additionally, while the suggestion of multiple faces for "The Mob" is interesting, his concept must ultimately relate back to the logical fallacies. In both cases, an individual believes himself or herself to be right because they accept the truth of numbers. And it is 'truth' which empowers them as 'individuals'. (Manifesting himself in a crowd however is definitely on the right track. That is where such a twisted individual would draw his power. How, though, is something I still have to consider more.)

Oh - and don't forget here, I have alot of other characters to create yet. So leave me some defining physical characteristics for them, eh? heheh

As it stands, I do not intend to create other heroes at the moment. Since the focus is first on Logic, the hero will be Rational Man. However, if things do expand beyond that afterwards, I do have a few ideas for some other heroes who would protect AisA City. The one that exists in my mind clearest so far is "Lady Liberty" - defender of rights against their usurpers and violators.

Whether she is a defender of economics specifically, in addition to being a defender of the proper politics, is still up in the air. However, I see her in a rich green outfit, with small touches of gold - including her symbol - either a handshake or the $, depending on how wide is her field of pursuit turns out to be. But I like the dual symbolism in the colors - green and gold. Both the colors in the Statue of Liberty and that of money.

Speaking of superheroes of the political realm, there could be a man who thinks he is a hero becauuse he imitates one of the political heros (maybe "Lady Liberty"). But because he has no foundation to base his actions for liberty, he not only ends up destroying liberties, but also sullies the name of the true heroes because he acts in the name of liberty (jeez - I wonder what that reminds me of - LOL)

And, if things are really successful, it would be quite interesting to develop an expansion of the series to address the Virtues of objectivism. While I haven't determined what this hero's name might be, his nickname could be "The Man of Virtue" (ala Superman's "The Man of Steel"). And you could have an entire book devoted to him championing one virtue in response to the villian who embodies its opposing vice. (Or instead of one hero, there could be a a group of them, working together - sort of like a "Virtue League" similar to the "Justice League" which had Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc. - and which, besides addressing the individual virtues, would demonstrate how all the virtues are interconnected and interdependent.)

So - I guess you could say I am not without a few ideas here - and there are plenty more characterizations to come. :)

(Please note - any comment which addressses contrary ideas should not be construed as attacks on anyone simply because they are expressing different notions about these characters. I really appreciate both the enthusiasm and interest in them all. I am simply trying to demonstrate that some thought has indeed been given to them, and that those thoughts have been fairly well considered in most cases. Please though - continue to provide such suggestions and feedback. They are indeed inspiring and, as Ash can attest, may still lead to individual changes.)

PS - *I* never suggested The Scotsman, let alone made him a villian, so get miffed at someone else. :P

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I like the "Virtue League" idea, rather than just having one "Man of Virtue." Then you can keep it tied in with Rational Man, as he would be the leader of the league, embodying the primary virtue of...well, rationality.

I'd love to see the hero you come up with who embodies the virtue of pride! (The Proud Man?) The same goes for all of the other cardinal virtues, actually. Honest Man to the rescue!

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Concerning the comments about "Consensus" needing to look fatter, plainer or uglier - as janie pointed out, that would not conform to the societal norm.

Well, that could easily be addressed by making the ugly, "feminist-style" looks the societal norm!

But even if you don't make her ugly, I would suggest that Lady Liberty be noticeably prettier than she is, for the simple reason that men (and boys) tend to sympathize and identify with and ... well, be attracted to, the women with the best looks. :)

Speaking of superheroes of the political realm, there could be a man who thinks he is a hero becauuse he imitates one of the political heros (maybe "Lady Liberty"). But because he has no foundation to base his actions for liberty, he not only ends up destroying liberties, but also sullies the name of the true heroes because he acts in the name of liberty (jeez - I wonder what that reminds me of - LOL)

Hmm ... could it be something that rhymes with "vegetarian" by any chance? ;)

I think it's an excellent idea!

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Heheh - since you all are stuck on the looks of "Consensus" you have made the choice for me of the next character I will render: "Red Herring". Now *she* will have killer looks, and she uses them, like everything else, to distract you.

(BTW - I have a distinct notion for the look of AisA City - and its population. Ugly is definitely not going to be the societal norm - ie the people, the billboards, and all advertising will NOT depict ugly people as the standard.)

As to the "Virtue League", I too am drawn to it more than the other option. :)

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