Project CBRunway 2: Challenge 1 Voting Thread

[mattbib]

Welcome to the runway!

Not only did all fifteen registered designers participate, but we now have a sixteenth participating in this season of Project CBRunway.

PLEASE VOTE for the entry you feel best completes the challenge. Voting should not be based solely on art ability. Ultimately, however, voting is completely subjective. Participants may vote for themselves. The designer with the least amount of votes may be eliminated.

CHALLENGE 1: ANIMAL INSTINCT

For your first challenge you must create and design an original comic book character wearing an animal-themed costume. This character may be male or female, hero or villain, powered or unpowered. Remember, you are designing a costume, not a mutated character. The costume may consist of natural or synthetic materials. This costume should reflect the name and concept of your character.


In addition to the standard requirements of the written description, you should include a short synopsis on your character and also address functionality, construction, and durability.

Please vote using the poll, then feel free to make comments or ask questions about this challenge or these designs within this thread.

[mattbib]

The Gazelle
Given Name: Fawn Doe
With a name like that destiny cannot have been far behind, though as quick as she moves most things wind up very far behind her. Adopted at age 5 by a famous celebrity American family, born in Kenya Fawn was an exceptionally fast runner. Her birth parents were killed in a hail of Gun fire during a coup gone wrong, she survived by moving with all the speed her legs could muster. The would be overlord called himself the Lion of Truth. While fawn was growing up in the US her adoptive parents noticed her talentsand she was a state champion Track and Field star throughout high school and got a track scholarship to a big Ivy League school. The whole time she knew she was holding back, and though many people suggested the Olympics, she chose to go a different path. People thought she was just humble, but she was planning revenge, and wanted to stay as low profile as possible(which is hard enough with world famous parents.) Along with track she also studied Gymnastics and the Kali martial arts, focusing on stick fighting. In her training she heard the proverb:

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
The moral: It doesn’t matter if you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be running.

She put that together with her parents death and realized she must be the "Gazelle" if the one who ruined her life/family was the "Lion."

The Costume
Keeping it simple with the theme of athletics and the fur of the gazelle, I figured a modified tan colored velour track suit would be appropriate. Along the side of her arms and legs is a pattern of three stripes, the outer two stripes are a dark brown with the central stripe being white, to mimic te color scheme of an actual gazelle. Underneath the jacket she wears a track tank top that has white as it's primary design color and the dark brown for accents and details, the fabric is a Lycra/Spandex blend. She wears a belt with a golden buckle that is round and has the profile of a gazelle's head as it's emblem design. This belt has holsters/sheaths for two Gazelle antlers modified for use as Kali sticks, her primary offensive weapons. She wears her hair in two long seperate french braids, when she's running at upper speeds they resemble antlers, standing still they just lie down resting over her shoulders in front. Her mask is made from a vynil mold(?) covered in suede with a pattern that mimics that of a gazelle's head with a tan shape that comes to a point in the center with a black pattern around the eyes, forming lines that reach the top and the bottom of the mask. And for fun, her shoes are Adidas Gazelles (or based on their design.), tan with the same striping pattern as her top and pants.

[mattbib]

Name: Ibex
Self-declared ruler of Abkhazia, a region in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia.

The Abkhazian people have been an ethnic minority in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia for centuries. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Abkhazani people saw an opportunity to become their own nation, and a civil war began in 1992. The Abkhazani rebels were led by a costumed individual known as Ibex. The Ibex is a mountain gazelle native to the region, and was sometimes revered in ancient Abkhazan folklore. The man known as Ibex was instrumental in turning the tide of the battle against the newly formed Georgian government. He is incredibly strong, able to lift 2-3 tons, highly resistant to small arms fire, able to leap nearly 100’ in a standing jump, and is a highly intelligent and creative strategist. In 1993, Georgia declared Abkhazia an autonomous region, and Ibex became the ruler of the country, though he leaves most of the daily business and political affairs to trusted individuals. He polices the country most nights, fighting arms smugglers, criminals, and the occasional super villain. His real name and how he got his powers are unknown to the public, though some in the Georgian government would pay a great deal of money for the information.

Costume: The head of the Ibex, with its long, curving horns, looks very cool and I knew I wanted to incorporate that into the costume. Not only does he wear a stuffed head, the piping on the costume (on the chest, arms, legs, and belt) all matches it. The boots have 3 metal plates in a hoof pattern to add to the design. The costume’s material is made from the skin of a mystical Ibex that grants the wearer greatly enhanced physical prowess. Ibex are known as excellent jumpers and climbers, and the costume grants similar abilities. There are a variety of Ibex found in Asia and Africa, but their horns tend to have slightly different shapes depending upon the species. I used the variety found in the Caucasus Mountains as my model. That Ibex also tends to have a sort of beard that curls down from the cheeks, so I gave him a similar mustache.

[mattbib]

Cricket

Real name: Evereth Traeger.
History: Evereth Traeger is the son of a united states senator and grew uo a boy genius. By age 12 he had a master's degree in engineering and physics. Then tragedy struck. Evereth was caught in a car accident that cost his parents their lives and irreparably broke Evereth's back. Faced with lifelong paralysis Evereth designed a suit to allow himself to walk again.

And then he upgraded the suit ..

Powers

Cricket's powers are all contained in the Cricket powersuit. Most of the powers the suit conveys relies on the anti-grav technology Evereth developed. While it does not allow him to completely nullify the effects of gravity it does allow him to emulate superstrength. cling to walls and ceilings and leap enormous distances.

The suit allows the following feats:

Leaping: Jump over a house and from skyscaper to skyscaper with ease
Wallcrawling: Climb walls and ceilings
Increased abilities: Strength, reflexes and agility. Cricket surprised Spiderman when he was able to match his blows for quite some time.
Body Armor: The suit provides protection from normal bullets, heavy blows, electrical overloads and light acids and is made of a kevlar fiber overlayed with light but sturdy polymer plating.
Sensory input: Cricket can see into ultraviolet, use sonar and pick up scents. his antennae can pick up sound from miles away.
Sensory Protection: Cricket's senses are protected by the suit's sensors which will temporarily shut down if overloaded.
Cyberlink: the suit's large helmet houses a computer Evereth can use to crack into systems, search the internet or look up information.

Skills: Cricket is skilled in martial arts and athletics but he requires the suit to apply these skills. Evereth also has a master's degree in engineering and physics and his particular field of interest is antigravity.

[mattbib]

LE SKUNKE

.CHERIENE FRANCOIS
Spoiled heiress Cheriene Francois lived the life. She graced the covers of Vogue and People alike, dressed in the latest fashions with the cutest dogs. Huge sunglasses, ash blonde hair, and a matching rib cage had her on every edition of E! News and every tabloid in the nation. Heiress to some incredibly successful invention, money grew on trees as Francois got every little thing her cold, cold heart waned for.

Everything but superpowers.

It wasn't long before the sudden explosion in superhumans kicked Paris, Lindsay, and Cheriene off every magazine and gossip station around the world. Super babes and wonderful women took over as Hollywood's new it girls. Much to her distress, any developments in Cheriene's life would be on page thirty-four, next to the Obituaries (if even).

Naturally, she turned to daddy-dearest.

"I want to be a god."

Those were her words, and the glare in her steely blue eyes was enough for her father to arrange it. A shot of botox, some teeth bleaching, and a brand new genome promised victory for the soon-to-be has-been. Her nip/tuck specialist gave her the blessing of powers: Cheriene would give off an alluring pheromone, relaxing and rendering opponents incompetant.

Connections would get her in contact with Armani Exchange, who would gladly design and create her very own costume. She became PERFEMME.

When the time came for her first mission, she found all but failure.

Her 'peers' ridiculed the princess, accusing her of pulling a PR stunt rather than fighting for the public's good. Pursed lips and running mascara would send her back to Daddy, away from the bullies and uglies that were these alleged 'superheroes'.

Little did she expect, however, that Daddy wasn't so well off after all. Cue drama, legal battles, and shady district attorneys as the Francois family name dried up in the cold, corporate world.

Such drama was overwhelming for the blonde. She was used to battles with eating disorders or other young adult girls, but this tragic downfall was disheartening.

As she returned to the super hero business for a cheap shot at victory, Cheriene's defusing of a hostage bank situation proved momentarily spectacular! She had successfully relaxed the terrorists, and they slumped over within moments. What she didn't realize, however, was that the hostages, too, began to pass out. Her last super activity was quickly shut down: using her powers for the first time, she realized that her pheromones were not relaxing, but rather, TOXIC. Panicking at her mistake, Cheriene's output continued as the entire building succumbed to her noxious powers.

Failure, yet again!

She would turn to the dark side, now, for it's allure was as powerful as her intented powers. The people hated Cheriene Francois, and they despised Perfemme. Only as LE SKUNKE would they fear and respect her once and for all.

.THE COSTUME
First and foremost, Le Skunke is a villain. Iconic skunks such as Pepe le Pew or Flower were cute, loveable, and totally adorable. Their noxious gases were ignored, and instead their defining traits were charming features. Admittedly, in real life a skunk's movements are adorable, but as a villain I didn't want Cheriene to be glamorous, but instead, alluring.

As Francois' gases secrete continuously from her pores, there is no reason for fancy gauntlets, helmets, or energy regulators. A sleek and simple design, renovated forcefully after A|X's initial creation, allowed enough room for her pores while avoiding an entirely useless costume.

A one peice dress made of synthetic fabrics, woven with kevlar, adorns the majority of her body, providing room for ample cleavage. A cowl pulls over her head, fitting tightly around her face while leaving her nose and mouth revealed. Slender goggles protect her identity as well as maintain Cheriene's trendy life style. Thigh high boots of a similar material allow the fashionista to rock her heels while maintaining an image.

Atop it all rests a mane of wild hair, shaped into a mohawk as it runs down her back. The dark, stylized hair hits the ground and more, filled with streams of ivory hair much like the skunk's trademarked stripe.

Gloves and unmentionables of a similar fabric are placed stylistically, adding a touch of passion that a simple black and white scheme lacks. The clear blue is beautiful, yet intriguing, with a slight cold, cool style to it.

Ultimately a villain, Cheriene's namesake is clearly depicted and understood. Whether through her iconic and thus immediately recognizeable costume, or that skunk of white hair in the sea of black, Le Skunke is as misunderstood and feared as the creature whom she follows.

.INSPIRATION
My thought process is actually quite a funny story. For those of you in New York, you'll know that we had QUITE the weather this Wednesday with the sky weeping wave upon wave of rain. You might also know that on Wednesdays, the Bronx Zoo's admission price is FREE. Six kids, spring break, and a LOT of free time sent us on our way.

Twas an awful day in terms of weather, but the indoor exhibitions were nice. There was one animal in particular that caught my attention with one whip of his furry tail: THE SKUNK. Scurrying across the artificial floor like Pepe le Pew, I smiled. There was the one animal in the ENTIRE zoo that drew a smile on my face. Sure, monkeys slinging turd (lol Ampersand!) and bears being lazy is cute, but LORD was this curious little skunk adorable. It took me a moment to realize I was behind a glass wall, and that was that. A cool day at the Zoo. (Followed by a showing of Talladega Nights, but that was lame!)

Alright, so the next day I signed on and came to the NEF, finding the first challenge! Interestingly enough, it was curiously...simple. Yet challenging. My trip to the zoo slipped my mind, as did any episode of Planet Earth I may have seen.

Initially, I though of the jelly fish. An Anna-Wintour hair style and maybe some tentacle things would be hot! But alas, no, I wanted to avoid the cliches. I wanted to rise above the typical Ursula-tentacles and Hercules-lion cape. And as I skimmed down Wikipedia's list of "animals", there it was.

The skunk.

Memories harkened back to the yonder days of Wednesday (lolol) as I remembered my immediate reaction to the skunk. I've never seen one in real real life. I've never been sprayed by one. But, ultimately, I'm terrified by them. By instinct, that day at the zoo, I had recoiled in fear.

That was what I wanted. Le Skunke.

Pepe Le Pew, Penelope Pussycat, and Bambi's FLOWER in my mind, I drew and sketched out several designs. After consideration and playing with the cowl and mohawk, I knew LE SKUNKE would not be a hero, but a villain. Just your average one-arc-two-bit-dime-store-failure.

[mattbib]

Qilin
The Unicorn boy

History
Charlie Wu, half Chinese, half German, was one of the top engineers for the Chinese branch of Stark Industries. Specializing in defensive weaponry and armor, Wu was working on the production of a special armor made from artificial spider webbing. While at his lab one night, Wu came face to face with a gang of ninja thieves, who were attempting to steal the chemicals, formulas, and machinery designs from Wu's project. As the ninja advanced, Wu felt his life dreams melt away. As the ninja were about to finish Wu, he was saved by a blur of white hair. In only a moment, all of the ninja were unconscious on the floor. Wu looked around and then towards the doorway. There, standing majestically, was a magnificent unicorn. Unsure of what he saw, Wu approached the unicorn.
All of a sudden, Wu heard a loud scream and nearly fell over at the unicorn leapt clear over him. Wu turned and saw one of the ninja had regained consciousness. The unicorn squared off his with attacker. A second later, the ninja attacked and the unicorn followed suit. Unfortunately, Wu watched as both delivered fatal blows to one another. Wu screamed in agony. As the unicorn fell to the ground, it motioned towards Wu. Wu, sobbing, walked over. As he knelt down, the unicorn's horn generated a flash of light. Wu covered his eyes. When he opened them, Wu frantically looked around his lab as no one else was there. The ninja had disappeared, as had the unicorn. Distraught, Wu almost didn't notice the unicorn's horn laying on the floor at his feet. Picking it up he felt the warm energy of the unicorn's power flow through him, and at once he knew what he had to do.
Quickly digging through his spider-web armor prototypes and other gadgets, Wu took everything and built a memorial to his savior, a costume. Donning his costume, Wu swore he would seek vengeance on those who had destroyed the beautiful creature. Taking the name of the Chinese unicorn (Qilin), Wu patrolled the nights and the streets searching for clues and for justice!

Costume
Being an engineer, Charlie Wu had access to state-of-the-art technology, much which he invented himself. Each part of his costume has been designed from several technologies.

Bodysuit:
-layer of artificial spider-webbing armor:
The armor is extremely light weight, flexible, and extremely durable.
-outer layer of cloth
This cloth has been blessed and enchanted by being in contact with the unicorn's horn, making it resistant to magic.

Hair:
-Made entirely of thin nanofibers
These fibers are miniature fuel cells, housing enough energy to continually power the suit. They are solar active as well, acting as solar panels and continually recharging themselves.

"Hooves":
-gloves
Made from a mixture of kevlar and artificial spider webbing, which allow for flexibility, durability, and that extra power when delivering punches and such
-boots
Also a kevlar/spider-webbing mix, plus anti-gravity technology allows for levitation/limited flight

Horn:
The horn is an authentic unicorn horn that Wu has enhanced with mechanics
-Outer layer
The outer layer is composed entirely of the actual horn. It has magical properties, such as the ability to fire concussive blasts.
-Inner layer
Inside, Wu has hollowed out a section of the horn and integrated neurotechnology, which allows it to hook directly into his brain for greater control. Also, he can redirect the concussive blast ability of the horn into his hoof gloves, so they fire from his hands.

Inspiration

The inspiration for this costume was solely accidental. I was thinking about mythological creatures, and the only "well-known" non-humaniod creatures I could think of, besides the dragon, was the unicorn. I originally was planning on using the dragon as my template, but after contemplating, I felt the unicorn would be more fun to work with.
His codename, Qilin, was inspired by the chinese version of the unicorn, because I felt "The Unicorn" was a bit too blatant. Because of this, I had to make the originally all German Charlie VanShaftt, into a half german, half chinese Charlie Wu.
Qilin's actual first name, Charlie, was inspired by the unicorn of cyberspace fame, Charlie the Unicorn. If you haven't heard of him I suggest you go to youtube.com and search for "Charlie the Unicorn". You should be pleasantly surprised.

[mattbib]

The Mysterious Ms. Manatee

The following statement is best if you imagine it being read by Stan Lee...

Origin: Behold! The manatee! Its grace and beauty-- surely it does not look like a garbage bag with fins! Nay, the noble sea cow is...um...

hmm....

well, never mind. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that Myrna Teagues , daughter of famed (albeit slightly crazy-- you're only eccentric if you're rich) marine biologist, Professor Manuel Teagues wants as little to do with her buzzkill dad as possible. She just wants to focus on having fun and climbing the high school social ladder.

Unfortunately for her, old Prof. Teagues forces her to try out his latest invention-- a suit to aid in studying manatees' social structures (or something equally boring). His daughter is forced to test the suit (the Prof. would've done so, but he didn't want to look silly). As she reluctantly tests the suit, she discovers that maybe those pudgy manatees her dad's so fond of aren't so bad, but when she surfaces, she finds that her dad's being dad-napped by a man dressed even more absurdly than she is! A villainous fiend who calles himself The Outboard Motor!!! *shudder* Using the suit, Myrna goes off to her dopey father's rescue.

Powers: Powers?!! She's dressed like a friggin' manatee-- huh? Oh... well, I suppose she has some powers... lemmee think...

Her oven mitt gloves each have special capabilities. Her right glove fires off powerful tranquilizer darts, used to sedate manatees for study. The darts are powerful and strong enough to pierce a manatee's thick hide. The left glove tags its target with a tracking microchip. Usually used for manatee research, of course.

Her helmet is quite sturdy and allows for comfortable underwater breathing. Airtanks are hidden under her bulky protective manatee camoflague suit.

There's also a special "turbo" motor with a semi-short charge which allows the wearer to escape damage-- it's a bit difficult to control, but that's why the helmet's so sturdy! Also, it makes the user look like they're being propelled by farts.

Hidden in the folds of the manatee costume are a few extra gadgets.

Fold 1: Sea grass shooter- a switch releases a spring loaded supply of the sea grass manatees love so. It can be used to entangle enemies or to feed hungry sea cows.

Fold 2: Switch to activate aforementioned turbo boost.

Fold 3: Another switch is hidden here which turns on lights hidden on the suit for night research. Another press of the switch casts a mermaid image (Manuel Teagues is a lonely, disturbed man).

Fold 4: A water-tight pocket to hold rations or a radio or something, if need be.

Suit Inspiration: The manatees are among my favorite animals. They have no real defenses or offenses, however, so it could only work with a "joke" superhero or heroine. I thought 'goofier is better' when it came to the suit. Myrna's supposed to be the "Clueless" stereotype of a high school gal-- all flash, no substance, so it makes a nifty contrast to dump her into such an unflattering outfit with ungainly and embarrassing "powers." The main purpose was to help the user blend in with a group of manatees for extended study-- so it had to help the wearer look like a big ungainly manatee, meaning the legs needed to be sorta camoflagued. The funny thing is, manatees are said to be naturally curious, so they'd probably swim up to the wearer even if they weren't in the suit... but don't tell the Professor or Myrna that.

[mattbib]

Name: Bengal

Master of many martial arts and weapons, Bengal prowls the moonlit city rooftops every night in hopes of catching predators of innocence and all that is good. Serving as both the judge and the executioner, in Bengal's eyes, the corrupt and predatory animals of the night can only answer for their sins to another animal.

A fan of Eskrima, Bengal’s weapon of choice is the nunchaku. He has studied these weapons for years and finds their crushing blows and uncompromising space most effective for his war on crime. After choosing his path, Bengal decided to dramatize his fighting philosophy with the symbol of the tiger. In this sleek, streamlined outfit, Bengal is able to use his agility, flexibility, and vast knowledge of the martial arts without hindrance; hard, fast, and merciless- perfect for his symbol.

Costume: I decided that I wanted to make the costume as self-contained as possible. No capes, no buccaneer boots, and no huge utility belt, etc. I also didn’t want to go overboard with the Bengal Tiger theme; I didn’t want ears, huge claws, a tail, or anything like that. To make sure Bengal can use all of his knowledge of martial arts to the best of his ability, I made his costume very streamlined and very flexible. Not having any superpowers, I also wanted as little resistance as possible for either dealing crushing blows, or leaping across rooftops. The costume’s main purpose is to act as an intimidating symbol, but the absolute secondary priority is function. The costume is made with durable, yet stretchable fibers and a thin Kevlar-like vest worn underneath in case of stray bullets. Also, the utility belt has several optional attachments and additional compartments that can be added later when desired.

The nunchaku are made from titanium for durability and lightweight. Since Bengal tries to travel as lightly as possible, I decided to make the nunchaku double as a grappling hook, thus adding to their practicality/functionality. When not using the ‘chuks, Bengal is also known to use throwing daggers, shurikens, and other weapons that compensate for what the nunchaku lacks in long-distance attacks.

[mattbib]

G. Penguin

Real name: Darcy Hampton.

History:

Darcy is a young woman just entering her twenties. Throughout her life she has been told she was cute. After discovering her powers, she constructed a suit with the help of her college bud who also happens to be her best friend. The suit followed her love – that of penguins and swimming!

Darcy now saves those in need or criminals in and around the Great Lakes of the U.S.A.

G. Penguin stands for Girl Penguin but G. Penguin sounds cooler to Darcy.

Powers:

Darcy powers are that of incurable cuteness that she can radiate in an aura. Only those of the strongest willpower can repel the urge to not hurt her in any way. She uses this power to save hostages and defuse violent situations without anyone needing to resort to violence. She can also use this power to calm panicking people that are in stressful situations by having them focus on her.

The costume:

With the help of her friend best Brad who is in college studying to become an engineer, Darcy has constructed a super-hero costume to help her in her work.

Darcy’s visor helps diffuse sunlight to help keep her vision clear and to keep from being blinded.

The costume further provides extra warmth with a small lining keeping Darcy warm from the sometimes frigid waters of the Great Lakes.

The costume is further padded to provide moderate protection from some bludgeoning attacks such as a human fist.

The penguin outfit also has bludgeoning ‘flippers’ attached to the forearms in case Darcy has to defend herself in hand to hand combat.

The front white part of the costume is made of fibers that are slick to the touch. This allows Darcy to slide along the ground like a toboggan with ease when the need arises.

The shoes of the costume have claws for extra grip on slick surfaces. The shoes do not allow for wall-crawling but only extra grip.

Hidden on the inside of each of the forearm flippers are small underwater breathing apparatuses that hold enough oxygen for 2 minutes of normal breathing.

For purely aesthetic reasons, Darcy had tuxedo like ‘tails’ added to the costume to keep in the spirit of being a penguin.

As a last resort, Darcy has two ‘egg’s in her costume. These are small hand thrown missiles that contain a wet gel that produce a putrid odor strong enough to make most people wretch and their eyes burn and become tear filled.

The costume is made up of layered materials. A combination of latex and rubber, the suit has a layer of thermo fabric that retains the heat of the suit wearer. There is also a layer of fine chainmail mesh combined with padding to resist physical damage. The forearm flippers are constructed of lightweight, super harden plastic. The ‘feet’ are constructed of the same material as the suit just molded in a different shape. The talons on the feet are made of the same plastic as the forearm flippers.

Inspiration: I wanted to do something other than a serious animal character because there are so many of those already. But who knows, maybe G will see print some day.

[mattbib]

Peregrina

Real name is Joanna Epper-Herrera

All is known about the woman who goes by Peregrina is that she was born in Orange County, CA to Mexican parents, was married to a Hollywood stuntman that was doing shady business with some high-ranking government officials, and after her husband misteriously disappeared, she got "recruited" into a highly-classified millitary project only known as Codename Calidus.

Most of the info about the suit is in the attached pic, but it is rumored that in flight she can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour.

Basically I wanted to do a highly functional design (as functional as you can get while going by the "rules" of comic book pseudo-science) that hopefully captures the "essence" of the Peregrine Falcon after which it's designed.
I used the basic color-scheme of the most common Peregrine falcon, which are grays, blacks, and yellows, and I added the red to the thermal filaments to add some color that would offset the drabness of the grays.

I covered her entire body cuz with the speeds she would reach, her costume needs to cover 100 % of her in order to protect her from friction, and also because I didn't want to have the character be a typically "sexy" long-haired comic book gal, in fact, underneath the mask, Joanna has a buzz cut.

[mattbib]

SNEEU-MAN

Real name: Charles Antha

History: It's 1942, and Charles was fleeing from justice- He decided to take an 'oppertunity' to work on a harvesting/fishing ship (Desperate for a crew) to get away from justice. The ship took weeks to reach the coldest continent, Antartica! There he found the crew he was with, was sent there to kill the whales for their skin and oil trade. They killed walruses and seals for their fur and terrorised the native tribes. On his first night he saved an eskimo from being beaten to death, but this resulted in his crew and captain hunting him like a dog. He hid in the caverns of ice, and there decided to exploit the foreigners' fear for the Yeti! So he made his own yeti-suit using old bones and a dead polar bear carcass. Hi made the Ice Caverns his home, and from there planned and executed plans to rid the Arctic of poachers, and protecting the innocent natives.

Powers:
NONE. BUT the purpose of the bear head and skin is to keep him warm, but at the same time to make him look two heads bigger than the average human. Doing so he intimdates them instantly on a continent filled with night for 9 months of the year. He buckles sharpened bones to his wrists. This he uses to grip to glasures, and tilt the advantage in his favour in hand to hand combat.
He has a utility belt with all the basics he needs to make fire, set traps, and prepare food.

Inspiration:
I decided to exploit the fact that they don't state that it's a living or extinct animal, or just maybe....one that never existed! Thought it would be funky to add some of my home language into the name!

[mattbib]

THE FINN

Real Name: Hector Kua

History: Hector Kua is an average man obsessed with machinery. As a child he would modify motorcycles and cars as much as he could. He was once a welder at a construction company, but in his early 20s he decided to turn to a life of crime and started working on a costume that would suit this lifestyle.

The costume:
The costume's main features are the shark heads located at the fore arms. These heads, along with Finn's helmet, are made of titanium alloy. They are used primarily for attacking and breaking or destroying objects. The jaws are rigged to clutches that are controlled within the heads by applying pressure. Depending on how much pressure is applied, these jaws can reach biting pressure of up to 800 lb per square inch. They consist of thin layers of titanium that slide into each other when not in use, thereby making the heads 'disappear.' The 'fins' on the shark heads are blades that collapse to the side rather than retract when not in use. The 'eyes' on the heads serve as small recording cameras.

The black soles on his feet snap out into flippers when Finn is in the water. The chest armor also acts as an air filter, taking in and pushing out seawater through the slits and filtering out air that makes its way to the helmet.

The helmet has a special visor that closes when Finn is submerged. The helmet also sports three blade fins, but these are not retractable. Their purpose is to:
1. defend Finn against opponents who would try to grab him by the head
2. act as somewhat of a rudder under water.
He also has special contact lenses that make it easy to see at night or in murky waters. They also give him a mysterious appearance and make it harder to be identified.

The pouches on his belt contain pills such as painkillers. When submerged, the slots on the side of his belt expand to cover the pouches.

Last but not least, the body suit keeps him warm to certain depths.

Hector often practices in his basement with his costume on, as using it properly requires a certain degree of balance, speed and physical strength. Wielding the heads, especially, can prove very frustrating if one is not used to it.

[mattbib]

Madame Kestrel

I decided to go for a Silver Age feel to my design. I wanted something retro and kinda silly fun. I don't know exactly what happened to the scanned drawing, it shrank something fierce. I apologize for the lower quality.

Madame Kestrel is Vanessa Fitzroy, an inventor and adventurer. She decided to try her hand at superheroics when her brother Alexander turned to a life of supercrime.

Vanessa styled her identity after the kestrel- a species of falcon. Kestrels are mostly brown and silver with some red. Kestrels hover and swoomp down on their prey, a fact that appealed to Vanessa's sense of the dramatic.

Vanessa spent a lot of time inventing her Madame Kestrel costume.

The body stocking- a shade or two darker than her skin tone, in keeping with the Silver Age theme- is actually a fine armor mesh.

The open tunic and shorts are made of a special fabric that imrpoves her aerodynamics. The fabric also flashes in bright light- blinding Madame Kestrel's prey.

The wings and tail are made of Kestrelium, a fine metal invented by Vanessa. It has the texture of fabric but when Vanessa turns her magneto rocket packs on the fabric stiffens into the wing configuarion you see in the drawing.

The magneto rocket packs are Vanessa's finest invention. They enable her to fly, hover and dive. The magento rockets are controlled by elements built into Vanessa's gloves.

[mattbib]

Red Eyes, The Rainforest Guardian
aka Eddie Ortega

History: Eduardo Ortega Jr., "Eddie" to most people was born in Costa Rica. His parents, Maria and Eddie Sr. were wildlife conservationists and biologists. A brilliant child,Eddie grew up learning about the environment, especially the rainforests, which was his parents' primary focus. Eddie grew to love the various animals, plants, and things he found in his young exploratory days. Especially the Red-Eyed Tree Frog. Eddie was fascinated by these "little guardians" as he called them. He called them the "eyes of the forest", and he would sneak out late at night when they were up to observe them. This was a consulation for Eddie, seeing as he was a small boy who was picked on a lot for not only his size, but his intelligence by bullies.

Eventually, Eddie went to college abroad in the US. Eddie doubled in engineering and zoology.

During his sophmore year, Eddie decided that he would create a suit that reflected his favorite animal, the Red-Eyed Tree Frog. He set his mind to work and created a truly unique costume that would try and mimic some of the Red-Eyes characteristics. He used the suit to teach younger students about the rainforest and the importance of conservation. On a visit back home, Eddie and his parents were faced with several corporations doing illegal damage to the rainforests.His parents work was being undone. Eddie saw the corporations the same as some of the bullies that used to pick on him when he was younger. He vowed that he would stop these "bullies" from destroying the homes of his friends. Doning his suit, he set out to stop these corporations, as well as others who would cause damage to the rainforests and other environments. He became "Red Eyes, the Rainforest Guardian".

The Costume: Designed of course after the Red Eyed Tree Frog, it is a traditional spandex costume made of synthetic fibers, with several inside nanotechnology bits.

The Goggles on the headpiece are special bright red lenses that can flash or emit a bright colored light that leaves opponents stunned and also leaves behind a "ghost image" just like the real tree frog does with predators. In addition, the lenses allow for nocturnal vision.The headpiece itself has cushioning around the inside to protect the cabeza (head) in case of any hits or falls.

The gloves and the boots have a teflon quality that allows him to stick to various surfaces like a tree frog.

The gloves, as you will notice have little suction cups as well to give that extra...."stickage" ;)

The belt has several buttons that can create camouflage (mostly in dark areas, green or brown), which can cause the wearer to be briefly invisible, one of the buttons on the belt releases springs in the boots that allow the wearer to be able to leap several feet in the air.
The suit is also compatible in water.

The colors reflect a tradtional Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Powers/Abilities: Eddie has no natural powers other than that of his suit. However, Eddie did take gymnastics in highschool, and has quite a few acrobatic experiences, although nothing professional, due to climbing trees. Eddie is also a genius, and is always thinking of the next invention in his quest to stop environmental crimes.

[mattbib]

Salamander

Name: Patrick Daw

History: At the age of nineteen Patrick Daw received a preserved lump of molten lave from Pompeii,a gift from his archeologist Uncle.He found that when he held the rock in both hands it generated intense heat and curiosity lead him to break the rock open wherein he discovered two "firestones",mystical gems that can control the element of fire.
After a few months learning to control the power of the gems safely Patrick whipped up a costume and became the crimefighting Salamander!

Powers: The "firestones" he found and built into his costume allow Patrick to generate,control and manipulate fire.He can utilize it offensively as fireballs or in a flamethrower like wave or alternatively use it for defense by superheating the air around him creating a nigh-impenetrable barrier.
By focusing the power of the "firestones" through his body Patrick can also propel himself into the air to a height of thirty feet or so.
When in close proximity to the stones Patrick is unaffected by extremes in temperature.

Costume: First and foremost Patrick wants his identity to remain secret
so his family and friends will remain safe so he has a mask that encompasses the whole of his head,similar to Spider-Man's.

The baubles on the back of his hands are the "firestones" from which he derives his powers.They're very durable so there's no need for them to be overly protected or concealed.

The costume itself is based on the Salamander (click under mythology") and I tried to give it a lizard-like feel.

It has goggle eye pieces for protecting his eyes from the harsh flare of his flames and the smoke it could potentially generate.

The costume itself is covered in patches of rough scales similar in texture to sand paper which allow Salamander an extra little advantadge in fist fights.

I chose warm colours to accentuate the fire aspect of the character.