Character Creation Contest #101: Expect the Unexpected

Hey howdy hey! Haven't heard of me? I'm Uncanny X-Factor, and I partnered with Frisch on the centennial CCC. He asked me to make the new one, so I gladly obliged.

For this one, let's see a character who defies their original intent. For example, Silver Surfer is a two-fer in that, not only is he not eaten like the whole of his planet should have been, but he becomes a world-destroyer and ends up saving ours anyway. So a should-be hero becomes a villain, supposed super-patriot becomes an anarchist, solar powers but is nocturnal by nature, you decide.

So I'm thinking the start of my school year, September 1st as the date of completion. Sound good? Yes? Excellent.

Pin please? @EGoD

@uncanny_xfactor: So, would Scarlet Spider be a good choice for this one? All the power, none of the Responsibility being the tag line even though he was ostensibly a clone of Peter Parker originally. Would that work?

@ZZoMBiE13: Bingo! Preferably not a clone, maybe like a secondary mantle wielder, but that's certainly the spirit of the contest.

This is Doctor Z.

To meet the criteria of contradiction, I've created a doctor who has been infected with whatever zombie virus you'd like best. Romero Chemical X, if you will. But unlike most zombies, he retains his mind. Further, with his life as a doctor behind him, he attempts to keep his oath to do no harm. However a zombie gotta eat, right? So he feeds only on villains and purveyors of human misery. A thug beating up a homeless dude? He'll make a good snack.

I realize this is similar to iZombie's character Liv in a few ways, but I think the lack of any superpower or need to eat brains for clairvoyant visions separates them enough. And if not, well if not then vote for another persons entry. I won't take it personally. ;)

Cheers!

@ZZoMBiE13 with the only entry and a deadline that has come and gone, I think it's safe to say you are the winner of this contest.

@egod: In case there's any doubt in any way, I second that. Congratulations, @ZZoMBiE13, and thank you for entering.

The question now becomes, should we continue this contest? If only I entered this one, what would be the likelihood of anyone entering a new one were I to make it? Any guidance?

@ZZoMBiE13: I actually wanted to make an entry for this, but the theme was a little too vague and I kept overthinking the concept. Even the examples given, Surfer and Cap, you wouldn't get how they fit the theme unless you were familiar with their backstories. As far as I know, it all comes down to the art in the end so I kept trying to figure out how to show the character paradox through the design alone.

A more visual-centric theme would be more appealing to me and probably others as well. That's my two cents on it, at least.

@gunmetalgrey: I don't really have an idea for a new contest anyway. Nor do I have a lot of time to run one at the moment if I'm perfectly honest. If you have something you think would make for an interesting contest topic, I'd be happy to defer the duties of hosting the next contest to you. If not, and we decide to go on with this contest, I can of course come up with something and will honor the system we have in place (winner hosts next), but I'm open to suggestions or anything else if you (or another user) has an idea that can engage with our community here.

@ZZoMBiE13: That's a tempting offer, but I'd like to feel like I've earned it.

As for suggestions, like I said, I think it would be easier for people to get into a topic that would provide its own visual cues, like maybe a character from a certain era, or maybe from a certain place. You could go for specific character tropes, the simplest examples would be the job classes you find in your typical rpg. You could also base it on genres, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, western, steampunk, etc.

These are the kinds of topics I would personally go for. Once you've got that down, one of the mods could probably take over hosting duties.

@ZZoMBiE13:If you (or anyone for that matter) doesn't have the time to host the next contest, I have no problem starting up the next one on your (or their) behalf. Since you've already said you didn't have the time, I will start up the next contest for you.

Not all subjects go off as expected. I do agree with @gunmetalgrey that I spent way too much time over thinking this particular concept.

I don't see a need to retire this contest at the moment, it is fairly popular and one of the contests that most people did say they wanted to see continue.

@ZZoMBiE13@gunmetalgrey@EGoD: I suppose I should apologize for making what was apparently a very complicated contest. While I don't love zombies, I thought the sole entry nailed the concept I was going for in my head.

@uncanny_xfactor: I don't think it was complicated, for me it was just over thinking the idea so much that I couldn't put something down.