Excelsius
28 years (Excelsius)
Brown (Excelsius)
Once a mere actor in the 70s, HENRY HART found his fame in the role of a snowy superhero. However, when his television series Excelsius! was cancelled after only two seasons, the industry moved on without him. That would've been the end of Hart and his character, if not for one fateful night decades later.
Walking home in the heat of summer, he was caught in the midst of an unexplainable storm and buried up to his neck in snow. When he awoke, he discovered that he could hear voices across the world calling for Excelsius. Not only that, but he could answer them!
To outward appearances, Henry Hart remains the elderly actor who merely portrayed a cult-classic hero, but when someone in need calls out the name, he transforms into his icy alter-ego – a character frozen in time. He is the Subzero Hero – he is EXCELSIUS!
History
Coming soon!
Personality
At first glance, Excelsius comes across like a walking, talking cartoon. Since the original character was rather campy, Henry does his best to recreate it by hamming up his delivery. He's the type to say, "Greetings!" or "Stand back, citizen!" without an ounce of irony. However, this is just a performance. Henry knows that people don't talk, act, or sound like that – not even superheroes. He believes that the character he represents should be larger than life though, so when he's wearing his costume, he wants to embody a paragon of virtue. He's guiltiest of putting on this performance around strangers; get to know him, and he sheds some of the "straight out of a comic-book" persona.
One thing consistent between man and mask is an unwavering belief in second chances: bad-guys don't exist, only bad decisions. Given the opportunity, he'd try to guide even the worst of criminals onto a better path. If he needs to fight - and he'd rather talk - he'll use his powers for self-defense and immobilizing his opponent. Beating people up doesn't help anyone, so he avoids it whenever he can. His greatest weapon is the power of heart. He wants to help everyone, which can get frustrating for those who don't want his help.
He's still awe-struck at working closely with actual superheroes, and exhilarated now that he's able to enter the fray. He'd be embarrassed to admit, but he's also a glory hound. He'd love to get back his fifteen minutes of fame, and he thinks that if he can help other people while putting his name back out there, he can relive his faded stardom.
Powers & Abilities
- Say My Name - In both of his identities, Henry can hear anyone who cries out for Excelsius in a time of need. He can even distinguish the urgency between different voices to know who's in greater danger. He can use this not only to know when to take on his alter-ego, but to instantly travel to whoever called his name and appear before them as the Subzero Hero. This allows him to travel across the world at impossible speeds and help wherever he's needed.
- Hero Form - While Henry Hart and Excelsius are in effect the same person, they have different capabilities and traits. Henry is more-or-less an average human, but when he transforms into Excelsius, he becomes the character as he appeared in 1972.
- Excelsius' primary superpower is cryokinesis, or the ability to manipulate ice and cold. He has the ability to drop the temperature, freeze things, and control anything that's frozen or ice-covered. His ability to form ice or snow depends on the amount of moisture available. While he doesn't need to physically touch an object to manipulate its temperature, his powers become more difficult to use and control over long distances. Because he can manipulate temperatures, he has natural immunity to the cold.
- Additionally, Excelsius has some superhuman durability - not enough to be bulletproof, but to take more punches than an ordinary person could, and to recover faster as well.
- Stage Combat - For many of his roles, Henry had to learn safe techniques to simulate combat both on-screen and on-stage. While it's not the same as, say, MMA training, it does give him some experience to rely on when he's fighting. It also helps him know how to control his movements, which comes in handy to avoid injuring anyone in a fight.
- It's Called "Acting" - Henry can put on a performance - in fact, he does so as Excelsius! If he needs to distract, disguise, or disorient his opponents, he can fall back on some of the acting and improv techniques he's learned.
Weaknesses
- Only Human - As Henry Hart, he doesn't have access to Excelsius' powers. He's an average man in his late 70s, and like most people on the street, is more likely to be a victim of crime than a fighter of it. While that might not stop him from trying, he'd need to be much more strategic about how he helps people. If anyone had a grudge to level against either of his identities, Henry would be the one to go after.
- Excelsius, Who? - Since his ability to transform into Excelsius depends on other people calling out the name, it'd help if more people knew him. While the TV show Excelsius! still has a devoted fandom, it was never a mainstream success. Even among those who know the character, word has only begun to spread that he might appear if you say his name. This means that his ability to become Excelsius is sporadic, and any time he returns to his normal identity, he can't guarantee when he'll be back in action or where he'll appear. It also means that even as Henry himself may be in danger, he can't help himself by switching into hero form whenever he wants to.
- Blue Tights, Green Hero - He only gained his powers in the past year, and started fighting crime in even less time than that. He has a lot to learn in every sense about being a superhero. Most of his experience comes from studying real heroes to prepare for his role as one on TV. It comes in handy as a stopgap, but the difference between fiction and reality can sometimes hit like a sack of bricks. The sort of clever solutions he came up with on TV made use of several writers collaborating over a series of weeks: he doesn't have those same resources now that he's on the streets with real-time problems.
Excelsius! (TV Show)
Excelsius! was a TV show which ran for two seasons from 1972-1973. It starred Henry Hart as Dirk Winterfield/Excelsius, a man who acquired the ability to manipulate ice and cold during a failed expedition in Antarctica. In the show, Excelsius used his abilities to fight crime and help the citizens of Harbor City. It was cancelled for low viewership, but has since gained a cult following.
RP Hooks
- As Seen on TV - You may have seen or heard of Excelsius!, the TV show he starred in during the 1970s. The character even appeared in a scattering of PSAs up through the 80s. More recently, Henry has been promoting a small, but dedicated fan club in Paragon City to raise his alter-ego's profile. You may have spotted one of their posters: "Need a hero? Go subzero! Say 'Excelsius' when you're in danger for heroic assistance."
- Around the City - Excelsius has been popping up all around Paragon City recently, with a slight focus on Kings Row. Your character may have seen him rescuing citizens, fighting fires, or trying to convince gang-members to give up the life of crime.
- Arctic Aura - Anyone who sees or gets close to Excelsius would notice that the air around him is colder, and snowflakes sometimes fall around him. Although he's no magic user himself, those with mystical abilities can sense that his powers have some arcane connections. He lacks any extraordinary defenses against telepathy, but somehow it's even cold in his head - be careful of brain freeze!
Trivia
- The character of Excelsius is inspired by: Adam West, Stan Lee, Mighty Thor (Marvel), Captain America (Marvel), and Shazam (DC), with some additional influence from Bert (Mary Poppins) and Don Quixote.
- The name "Excelsius" is a pun! It's a riff on Celsius, and the Latin word "excelsior," or "higher" (also used as Stan Lee's catchphrase: "Excelsior!"). Did I base his powers entirely off of a pun? Yes, yes I did.
- Although Henry is a C-list celebrity in North America, he's a hit in Lithuania. He had a supporting role in the hospital-set soap opera, Broken Heart Surgery, which had dedicated translations to eight languages, including Lithuanian and Russian. He's never visited, but he still gets fan-mail!
- Excelsius! introduced a lot of ridiculous ice-themed concepts, some of which only lasted for one episode. They included Excelsius' headquarters (the Igloo), motorcycle (the Icecycle), phone (the Cold-Caller), medical kit (the Ice-Pack), fighting moves (the Popsicle Kick, Ice-Block, Cold Shoulder), sidekick (Kid Kelvin), and dog (Snowflake).
Comments
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