Okay, the last blog dealt with who Eagle-Man was in terms of his origins. What I'm going to explore this time is who he is as a person, and exactly what his powers are.
In every incarnation of Eagle-Man his real name was Mac Truck. I later revealed that "Mac" was short for Macarthur. I want to get away from the jokey sorts of names, so I need to make some changes. Still, I like the fact that his first name is Macarthur, as it's an allusion to an American hero, and a controversial one at that. That last name has got to go though, and as of right now, I haven't a clue. Macarthur Macgregor? Too Scottish. Macarthur Smith? Macarthur Johnson? Hmmm...I'll get back to this instead of wasting my time on it now.
How old is he? Well, I figure that he first becomes Eagle-Man when he's nineteen and he has his many adventures through his early twenties. Beyond that, I'm not so sure, but I have vague ideas of who he is in his thirties and his "twilight" years.
As for who he is as a person, he basically has my personality, or at least, my voice. When he makes his change into his Eagle-Man persona, his inner voice tends to become his actual voice, as the shield of anonymity makes him feel less self-conscious about saying and doing what he really feels. This, of course, reveals both the strengths and weaknesses of his character.
He grew up in a middle-class environment and he's worked a number of jobs - jobs which happen to correspond with jobs that I've had. I'm not sure if he's going to eventually wind up as a teacher, but that idea seems to work for me, especially considering that part of his whole saga is that Eagle-Man "disappears" for some time, and a double life as a teacher would account for that.
As for his love life, the old stories gave him a girlfriend named Mopey. Again, getting away from the jokey names, she's now called Monica, which is quite fitting as a possible origin of the name is Latin for "to advise." She often acts as his moral compass. I'll write more about her later, but for now let's just say that she's a composite of various women that I've known throughout my life. Kirsti came into my life when Mopey/Monica was well established already, so her influence will be minimal, but it will be there.
For the new stories, I want to give him more women problems. This is where his personal life will take a detour from my own. As I mentioned before, I'm happily married, and while I like living that, I don't really want to write about a happily married hero. I'll base his problems loosely on ones that I've had, but I'll also take some cues from various friends of mine and whatever happens to pop into my head.
The old stories had him growing up with his mother and his stepfather. I'm probably going to keep this one. This is very different from what my own life was like, and his stepfather is in no way based on my own dad. It's just important that his real dad remains a mystery, but those who know their heroic cycle can pretty much figure out who/what his real father must be. As for his mother, I haven't written enough about her, so I'm not so sure about her just yet.
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