What IS Nu-Perspective you ask? Well, it's a bi-weekly column I started with my writing collaborator Fabian Wood with the purpose of revamping and updating different underdeveloped, underutilized and all-but-forgotten Nubian (black) comic book and pop culture characters.
With this repost, you get the same full bio, art and our storyline
concept, but also some behind the scenes thoughts on how and why Fabian
and I went about doing what we did.
Today's character comes from last month’s theme of "Caribbean Characters" where we gave you MASQUERADE, from the brilliant Milestone Universe line. Masquerade is of Jamaican descent and is also notable as the first transgender character in comics.
Today's character comes from last month’s theme of "Caribbean Characters" where we gave you MASQUERADE, from the brilliant Milestone Universe line. Masquerade is of Jamaican descent and is also notable as the first transgender character in comics.
Real Name: Unknown
Current Alias: Masquerade
Identity: Secret
Occupation: N/A
Place of Birth: Paris
Island, Dakota City
Nationality: Jamaican
Base of Operations: Dakota
City
Affiliations: Paris Bloods
(formerly); Blood Syndicate (formerly)
First Appearance: Blood
Syndicate #1 (1993)
Original Creators: Dwayne
McDuffie, Ivan Velez Jr & Denys Cowen
Story: The being “Masquerade” was exposed to the
mutagenic mist of the Big Bang incident, becoming a “Bang Baby”. Long
abandoning her original name and identity, Masquerade preferred the form of an
African-America male, and considers themselves to be transgender. Originally
part of the infamous super-powered Dakota gang known as the Blood Syndicate,
Masquerade betrayed them on two separate occasions. The second time, he/she was
shown mercy by former team-mate Wise Son, and allowed to go free. Now hopping
from identity to identity, Masquerade seeks penance by avenging wrongs as a
solo vigilante. An urban wraith moving seamlessly in and out of people’s lives,
someone who is both anyone and no one at the same time.
Powers/Abilities: Masquerade’s unstable molecular
structure allows him/her extensive shape-shifting
properties to imitate or morph into any person or creature at will. With
animals, there is a relatively narrow range of deviation with regards to weight
and mass, preventing him/her from becoming as large as an elephant or as small
as an insect. Experimentation by The System further amplified this power,
allowing Masquerade to transform into inanimate objects as well and even
fictional or imaginary beings. It must be noted that Masquerade still has
concealed vital organs when impersonating inanimate objects. This
experimentation also allowed him/her to imitate the abilities of super-powered
beings, however the only way Masquerade can mimic their powers is through
consuming blood or flesh of the desired individual. Those powers can only then
manifest once in the form of that person. Due to extensive experience with
his/her powers, Masquerade is a master of deception and impersonation.
Paraphernalia: None
Q&A with Fabian and Shawn
What do
you like most about the character? Fabian: There is a certain psychological uneasiness
when it comes to shapeshifters in general and their inherent untrustworthiness, despite
their best intentions. I think it made fertile ground to explore for him/her.
What
made you choose this character? The fact Masquerade was the first transgendered
comic book meta-human made the character stand out as someone worth
highlighting. Like most other Milestone characters, Masquerade perished with
the imprint.
Did the
character pose a challenge to update and if so what was the hardest part of the
redesign? I would say coming up with a “base” look was the greatest challenge
for Shawn. I could write around that :P , but visually, what would be his/her
default look. Story-wise, I think conveying Masquerade’s own duplicitousness
was important, and conveying him/her as a pariah of his/her own making with a
struggling sense of (transitory) morality really makes her more multifaceted. Also,
grounding her powers was also a challenge as we’ve come to expect a level of
pseudo-science with our comic book characters.
Is
there something in particular you want to point out? Is Masquerade really
Nubian? His/her true name and original identity are unknown and he/she is a
shapeshifter. Maybe this is a cheat? :P
NP
Fine Print: Nu-Perspective is a column focused on revamps and updates of various
underdeveloped, underutilized and all-but-forgotten Nubian (black)
characters specifically. We aim to showcase these chosen characters in
fresh, contemporary and exciting ways both visually and story-wise to
show just how awesome they can truly be. All characters are copyrights
and trademarks of the respective publishers and creators. This column is
used solely for artistic enjoyment.
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