Comic Competition

Write Brothers and UcreateComics are sponsoring the Write Brothers Become Extraordinary Competition and I have officially entered. The overview and guidelines can be found on the competition page I just linked to, but here is some info from the site:

The Challenge
You are being asked to to create a scenario comprised of 4 characters and the superpowers that you ascribe to them. The time and setting for your scenario is up to you. Give us up to a two paragraph synopsis of the storyline.

Synopsis of SUITZ
A man arrives at 4 different doors in the same town. He delivers a simple package. A black box with a strange icon on it. Whoever receives it finds there is no way to open it – but once the icon is touched, the box dissolves, embedding itself into the person touching it. The unsuspecting holder of the box blacks out and wakes up with no memory of what has happened. Over the next 72 hours, each box recipient starts to manifest superhuman powers and transform into a costumed hero – or villain.

SUITZ is a morality tale about power, corruption, failure, and redemption... the human condition. In the background, someone is watching, monitoring, and controlling the SUITZ and its players who controls the delivery men and their super powered black boxes.

That should give you a pretty good idea of the parameters I had to work within. So, without further ado, here is my submission:

City: Seaport, MA (fictional major coastal city)
Time: Present Day

Synopsis: Seaport has always been home to both tenacious law enforcement agencies and ruthless organized crime families, but the struggle for control between these foes has never been greater. The city has reached critical mass and its fate has been put in the hands of four major players in the war for supremacy, courtesy of SUITZ. Will good triumph over evil, or will Mickey’s thirst for revenge overpower his desire to do what’s right? Could a man like Big Sal, destined for a life of crime since birth, see his new ability as a chance to change sides and fight for the good guys? What will Agent Starkey do with her newly acquired powers, other than try to make the Seaport PD look bad? So many questions, but one answer is certain; Seamus Mullally will remain a brutal killer with his eyes on the prize. Only now, he has the ultimate weapon.

To make things interesting, SUITZ has added a twist; our four “enhanced” characters may find themselves powerless against each other in battle or able to combine powers to work together. They could even involuntarily swap powers with an ally or a foe. All bets are off in the epic war for the City of Seaport!

Character 1: Mickey Sullivan. He’s 44 years old, tall, sturdily built, and comes from a long line of Irish Seaport cops. Detective Sullivan heads up the Organized Crime unit of the Seaport PD and has a personal stake in the cause; his father was assassinated by mob hit men when Mickey was a boy because he wouldn’t take a pay-off to look the other way. His sole mission in life is to put every member of the Mafia family responsible for the murder behind bars, starting with the son of ailing Don Companetti, Big Sal.

Power after touching SUITZ glyph: Able to morph into and/or take control of any living organism (bringing undercover police work to a whole new level) with limited regenerative powers based on the strength of his host.

Character 2: Salvatore “Big Sal” Companetti, aged 38. At 5’9” and 268 pounds, it’s not hard to see where this first generation Italian American mobster gets his nickname. With his father’s health failing, Big Sal has been forced to step up his role in the Companetti family’s illicit activities, making him a primary target for the Seaport PD, local FBI agents, and the rival O’Connor crime organization. No one knows his inner struggle; Big Sal desperately wants to be on the right side of the law but is deathly afraid of disappointing the family…and ending up in a landfill.

Power after touching SUITZ glyph: Possesses Jedi-like mind control and agility with superhuman resilience to injury.

Character 3: Agent Jill Starkey. She’s a 29 year-old glory hound who cares more about getting press and promotions than actually saving Seaport. Jill spent her childhood on the west coast immersed in gymnastics and has the diminutive stature of a true competitor. However, what she lacks in size she makes up for in brains, graduating at the top of her class from an Ivy League university and acing the FBI academy. In the war for the city, the only side Agent Starkey is on is her own.

Power after touching SUITZ glyph: The ability to see the recent future and move at hypersonic speed to get her to the scene of the crime before it happens, giving her the jump on the bad guys, her fellow agents, and the Seaport PD.

Character 4: Seamus Mullally, aged 31. This heartless hit man of the O’Connor crime family had already made a name for himself in Seaport by the time his was 19; by 24 he stopped counting his victims, as math was never his best subject. Not the sharpest knife in the draw when it comes to most things, Seamus is practically a genius at taking out his quarry. He has to be, because at 5’7” and 156 pounds, he can’t count on brute force to get the job done. With each murder, Seamus is trying to bring himself one step closer to the top of the O’Connor food chain.

Power after touching SUITZ glyph: Can manipulate matter to make almost anything a lethal weapon, from a playing card to the sidewalk under his feet. Also comes in handy when he needs to hide or escape before and/or after a hit.