Friday, September 10, 2021

Flash-Over

Ever wonder why the name Spider-Man is hyphenated and Superman isn't? Me too, all the time. I have no idea why other than it just looks right when hyphenated and wrong otherwise, although perhaps that's because I've only ever seen it as Spider-Man and not Spiderman or Spider Man. 

As an aside, I am now obligated to post this:


So in a similar way, I feel like Flash-Over just plain looks better as a superhero name than does Flashover, even though the latter is the proper spelling of the thermal event wherein most of the directly exposed combustible material in an enclosed area simultaneously ignites due to a significant heat increase. 

Yes, I was watching a lot CSI: Crime Scene Investigation when I first made this character back in 2004. Sue me. 
Yes, she's wearing heels. She flies, so it doesn't matter how impractical they are. 
Rebekah Koenig was a scientist studying tissue and DNA samples of flame-based heroes in the hopes of understanding their biology. One night, a gang of Hellions attacked the lab, seeking to increase their flame powers with Rebekah's discoveries. They assaulted and poured chemicals over her, then callously set her on fire. Little did they know that previously that night, Rebekah had managed to isolate the "flame gene" and had replaced a hero's DNA with her own! The solution bonded to her, and while she was engulfed in flames, she was not harmed. Pity the same couldn't be said for the Hellions...

Rebekah the meek researcher is no more. Now a thrill-seeker, hot-tempered and vengeful, she has left the secluded life of research behind her. Taking her name from the event that transformed her, she now brings cleansing fire to the streets of Paragon City. In her Secret ID, she now works as an arson investigator and volunteer firefighter.

Flashie is my first blaster, and she is all fire, all the time (Fire Blast/ Fire Manipulation/ Flame Mastery). Fire draws an impressive amount of aggro with its area of effect attacks, making it one of the most dangerous power sets to the character. She compensates for this by being a cackling whirlwind of mad destruction, and fights are over very VERY quickly. She's completely nuts to play and the destruction she wreaks is quite cathartic.  

I absolutely love her costume. It's simple, it's straightforward, it's badass like a hot rod and it wouldn't look out of place in any comic book from the 1960s to today. 

In case you're wondering, the doohickeys on her arms and shoulders are thermal regulators. You don't want someone with a fiery temper and fire powers to literally set things on fire just because she's having a bad day, so they act as a heat sink to give her brain time to override her reactions. They also help control and direct her flames the way she wants, because otherwise she'd just be emitting plasma unidirectionally like the sun. She has smaller units for when she's in her secret ID (less need for magnetic direction means a smaller profile). They attach to her using rare-earth magnets and are controlled through a hardwired neural interface beneath her skin that links to her brain at the base of her skull. 

If any part of that doesn't make sense, just understand it's comic-book super-science and leave it at that. 

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