NuPerspective Black History Month: Day 16- DEBRII

What's up peeps. In celebration of Black History Month we're re-releasing all of last year's Nu-Perspective revamped characters each day.

With these reposts 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(go to the bottom).

Today's character comes from last year September where it was all about one of my all time favorite teams- The New Warriors. We previously revamped Night Thrasher, and next up is DEBRII! 

Original Debrii appearance. Art by Skottie Young

Debrii debuted at a terrible time in New Warriors continuity, when they were on a reality show(ugh), but she's a great character with tons of potential. Check our update below

Nu-Perspective revamp by Shawn Alleyne

Real Name: Deborah Fields

Current Alias: Debrii

Identity: Public

Occupation: Adventurer

Place of Birth: New York City

Base of Operations: New Warriors headquarters

Affiliations: New Warriors; Secret Avengers; The Initiative; Counter Force

First Appearance: New Warriors Vol 3 #4 2005

Original Creators: Zeb Wells, Skottie Young

Story: Handpicked for the New Warriors reality-TV show to be the snarky, abrasive personality, young Debrii’s life became one of infamy following the tragic Stamford incident that demonized Deborah and her team. Her subsequent journey was filled with many highs and lows, with more lows than highs, eventually even leading to her living in Paris working as the snarky judge of a TV talent competition show. However, the call of a hero never left her, and she returned to the States helping her superhuman community where she could. When the original Night Thrasher, along with Aegis and Rage – all presumed dead – approached her to help rebrand and reform the New Warriors, her zeal to do good and be the person she dreamed of becoming was rekindled even more. But Debrii might soon find herself at odds with other super-powered teens that make up the S.H.I.E.L.D. funded Secret Warriors, who don’t want a repeat of Stamford history on American soil. 

Powers/Abilities: Debrii is able to move masses of huge objects in her immediate vicinity at will, and is capable of manipulating many such objects at one time. She can use any "debris" around her to defend herself from attacks, or to attack her enemies. She can also break objects down to create multiple projectiles. Debrii was originally considered a “low-level telekinetic”, and it was suggested she could only telekinetically move objects she could otherwise physically lift. However, the truth is that Debrii is in fact a more powerful telekinetic than others as it requires greater skill to control multiple objects at once. While she cannot control organic matter, she can levitate herself and others by manipulating her clothing and other items (though she cannot really fly).

Paraphernalia: None

Q&A with Shawn

Debrii costume design and pose sketches

What do you like most about the character? - This is messed up to say, but there wasn't much I liked about the previous incarnation of Debrii. The creators seemed liked they just didn't give a fuck.

What made you choose this character?- I like how bad she is. Characters like Debrii are tailor made for Nu-Perspective. Not much is known about this character, but that’s why she was so exciting to work on.

Did the character pose a challenge to update and if so what was the hardest part of the redesign?- The biggest challenge came in the form of updating her costume and making her look legit, but keeping that urban street swag.

In regards to the story aspect of the update, what was your main inspiration for the direction? - Not make her so sucky and upgrade her powers.

In hindsight is there anything you would do differently now? - Nah, this came out exactly how I wanted. The hardest part was coming up with a pose.

Is there something in particular you want to point out? - Fabian wanted me to keep the fro but I had to switch it up. 

NP

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.

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.