Thursday, April 25, 2013

Supervillainy A-To-Z: N is for Non Sequitur

This next villain continues the two name motif but is otherwise a bit unusual.

Note if you will that the usual has been voyeurs of cosmic catastrophe, lovelorn androids and poltergeist patriots in boo inducing battle dress. It's all relative I suppose.

I will do my best of course to make this character clear but the course may not be obvious and it may be unsurprising if we go a bit off course in the course of this description.

Above all else never forget, twin peapods the blue bee triumphs galloping turnip south out the window.


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NON SEQUITUR
 

  
True Identity: None known. Or Unknown. Probably just none.
 
Description/Appearance: If there is one thing that can be said about Non Sequitur, is it that it most assuredly looks like itself. At least, it looks like itself more than anyone else does. By the way...Fish.
 
This being appears as a jet black silhouette, approximately 6 feet tall but perhaps a little taller and weighs, well, as much or as little as it wants. Visually it is a slim humanoid of a somewhat androgynous nature. It is always surrounded by a grayish glow of some kind but most assuredly the kind that glows gray.
 
Its most distinct features are the two tails from the back of its head resembling a jester's cap (complete with bells but the spheres at the end of these do not jingle), a long, beak-like nose which may be a mask and what appears to be a high collared, short length coat or jacket in an ever changing pattern of shifting colors.
 
It does not resemble a T-Rex. In my opinion.
 
Origin and Background: Like many aspects of the entity called Non Sequitur, very little is known about its origin and history and even less is understood.

It first appeared in the service of Endgame, attempting to delay the newly formed Crusaders Vanguard from thwarting a plan to destroy the Earth before it even cooled in space in the distant past. After the Crusaders escaped it's trap it seemed content to disappear.

During its next appearance it materialized in a battle between the Crusaders and another team of heroes from a parallel Earth. Instead of involving itself in that fight, Non Sequitur chose to mess with the portal that brought the alternate Earth superteam to our Earth and revealed Endgame to be behind the whole thing. The two groups of superheroes teamed up and stopped Endgame's plot. Once again, Non Sequitur vanished.

Although listed as a hostile entity by both I.N.S.I.G.H.T. and the Vanguard Project, Non Sequitur has been little more than an annoyance in the majority of its appearances and down right helpful during a few of them. It has also turned New York City into a deadly funhouse and tried to kill Excelsior at least once. So, sure, bad guy. Girl. Both. Entity. Bad entity. Baaad.

According to research by Mr. Twilight and CyberMan, Non Sequitur's home dimension is one with laws so different from our own that when we encounter it, our brains do the best they can with trying to comprehend it but don't even come close to getting it right. Its appearance, abilities and even action may not be what they seem.

Powers and Abilities: Non Sequitur is a being from a dimension with physics completely unlike those we have come to understand. As a result, it can perform numerous feats that defy our understanding of logic, scientific laws and even the supernormal.

First, the entity can slip in and out of our dimension and into other dimensions at will. It uses this mostly to teleport but it does so in a way that can alter its speed, position, trajectory, etc. It can also warp space, causing other people to be sent into another reality when it opens a dimensional rift for itself.

Non Sequitur can manipulate its own mass, density and dimensional relations in order to become a two dimensional, flattened out shadow, grow taller, pass through walls, weight a hundred tons and many other strange effects.

While in a pocket dimension of its own creation (which it often transports to with its dimensional travel), Non Sequitur can create powerful illusions that are all too real to the visitors who encounter them. Only a powerful psionic, mage or similar extra-dimensional entity can dismiss the inhabitants of this realm as unreal and therefore unable to harm them.

Personality and Motivations: You got me. Seriously. After years of research, no one is one hundred percent certain why Non Sequitur does what it does. There are theories however...

Many believe the entity to simply be trying to amuse itself. In its various appearances it show a whimsical, almost jovial, nature and may have no greater motivation than having fun with the denizens of our particular realm of space-time.

Another theory that is quite popular is that Non Sequitur is some kind of representative of a high power of neutrality. It is therefore aiding in the fight against evil or hindering the forces of good as it sees fit to maintain some cosmic balance.

As Non Sequitur speaks only in twisting riddles and non-linear sentences, getting an answer on its true nature is about as likely as getting a horse to up the long boredom.

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Non Sequitur was created for Villains & Vigilantes, another invention of my Junior High School days. It was later used quite a bit for Champions under the name 'Madcap'. I later changed it back to Non Sequitur and gave it an eerier appearance and atmosphere.

The character is inspired by some rather odd sources. Many, its a version of Mister Mxyzptlk combined with the kind of characters seen more often in Marvel's cosmic crew (the Grandmaster, The InBetweener, etc.). My best point of reference for this character who be Equinox, the awesome character who appeared on The Brave and The Bold animated cartoon.

Non Sequitur for ICONS:


 


 
 
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I have some news about next month's theme if you are at all interested.
 
In honor of (or perhaps despite - we have not seen it yet and can not say for certain) the release of Star Trek: Into Darkness, I will once again be focusing the majority of May's posts on gaming in the Star Trek universe.
 
I've had a real itch for it of late and can't wait to discuss it with all of you. See, I like you so much I want to tell you about my itches. That's love.
 
AD
Barking Alien





 


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