Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Where is Eagle-Man?

All of my post-high school Eagle-Man stories had him in a place called Suburbia City. One thing that I always liked about the DC superheroes was the fictional cities (Gotham, Metropolis, Central City, Coast City, etc.) where the heroes lived. I'm thinking of keeping this idea, and most of the ideas from those stories the same, but once again, I want to get away from such an obvious jokey name. Too bad Cloverfield was taken (by a monster, but it sounds like a city). I want something with a name like that.

Suburbia City (as I'll refer to it until I come up with a better name) is a sprawling, mostly nondescript city with no agreed upon downtown. It has about five million people, and it's a lot like the L.A. suburbs where it just bleeds on and on without any significant change in geography. There are a few notable places though, mainly for the upperclass communities. Also, it's divided up into a lot of "towns" that are designated by ethnicity. There's a Mexico Town, for instance (although I think it would be funny if most of the people there are from some other Latin descent, and it was given its name by ignorant white people who can't be bothered to learn the difference.) I plan on keeping everything deliberately vague, that way I can make up neighborhoods as necessary.

The fun thing about Eagle-Man himself is that since he's so inhuman in appearance, he's able to go from one neighborhood to the next without standing out any more than he would in another. This also reminds me that one of his powers is the power of languages, as he can speak and understand every language that has ever been spoken. It's a fun power for him to have, and I might keep the joke that the only language that he can't understand is Swedish.

The one big difference is that Eagle-Man can't stay in Suburbia City. He's going to grow up there, and he might even need to return. However, Superman didn't stay in Smallville and Luke Skywalker didn't stay on Tatooine. He's going to go someplace a little more fancy, which brings me to Ilium.

I might actually keep this name. I'm still undecided as to a few things, as I've made it a part of the United States and I've made it its own country. I've had it be an island and I've had it on the coast of the United States (which coast? I deliberately leave that vague.) Perhaps I'll make it part of an acquisition from the U.S. after it lost its independence, ala Hawaii.

One thing that will definitely remain the same is that the city has a large tower that overlooks the ocean. Also, it will be a tourist destination and be rich in culture. Essentially, it will be the opposite of Suburbia City in every way. Too bad it has a name that hints at a certain doom.

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