Elle Peterssen

Origin

Elle comes from a rich family living in New York City. Little is known of her past other than her affiliation with the theater. Her past is left purposefully vague as the reader explore what she know of her own life through her recollections. Although not revealed in any depth, it is revealed that at some point in her pat she met Dane Miller after he accidentally bumped into her in one of the city parks in New York City. She spilled something on herself and ruined her clothes but the two fell in love at first sight. Although he was poor she loved him anyway, despite the condescending attitude shown towards him by her family.

Creation

Elle is the main character in the series, Mind the Gap and appeared first in the prologue issue.

Character Evolution

Although only relatively recently introduced, as the series feature her as the main protagonist, she has undergone a fair amount of character development in a short amount of time. As based off of flashbacks dealing with her and Dane she was in the process of breaking away from her parent's domineering control and to break free into being who she wanted to be. She was still partially under their control as her ties to them still maintained her social standing, but her choice of boyfriend was seen as an affront to their attempts to manipulate her. After she has entered the Garden and met her guides she has learned to better focus her abilities. In addition, she has learned to be less of a victim and to persist through problems instead of giving up. It is revealed that she is an underachiever, after she takes control of ten year old Katie Lawrence it is revealed that Katie for instance knows all 50 states to Elle's knowledge of maybe 15 of them.

She explores many of her challenges through popular culture references including Pink Floyd, Marilyn Monroe and Red Riding Hood. For instance, the name of the second story arc "Wish You Were Here" is a famous Pink Floyd song.

Major Story Arcs

The series Mind the Gap revolves around the events of Elle's life after she has been attacked on a subway platform which subsequently sends her into a coma. In the real world her family and friends are left trying to solve the mystery of what has happened to her but in her comatose state she has entered the Garden, a metaphysical realm which collects the consciousnesses of those in comas. She must learn to navigate this area at the same time as try to discover who has put her there. As she journeys through the Garden she is joined by two guides, Bobby Plangman and Harold Crenshaw. She also finds out ways to communicate with the outside world.

Powers and Abilities

An otherwise normal person, Elle has shown the ability to inhabit other comatose individual's bodies after they have decided to pass on to the other side. She as of yet is unaware of how she accomplishes this. She is later shown to have developed this power in a new way as she can reach out and communicate with certain people as they dream, though her communication is vague in nature. As she progresses in her story she is better able to harness this power, so much so that she takes over the body of a small girl and uses it to call Jo. After talking with Crenshaw she also determines that she can manipulate the Garden in some ways into doing what she wants. After taking control of Katie Lawrence she finds a way to remain cognizant outside of the Garden. Afterwards even though Katie was brain dead, she regains some mental functions as her mind operates in synch with Elle's. It is not revealed as of yet how Elle accomplished this.

Due to her connection to the theater, she is presumably a skilled performer of some kind.