My vote’s for Yin-Yang. It’s a little cliche, but it emphasizes the duality/wholeness theme of the character(s) very well.
I know we haven’t talked much about talents and skills, but I think a good idea would be to make them pathetic fighters… the idea behind this being that the guy, being a ‘people person’, tends to talk his way out of fights, and the girl, being obviously withdrawn, is simply so nonthreatening the no one bothers attacking her.
Of course, both of them have combat capabilities for their powers, which they may take advantage of. They just have no actual physical skill, prowess, or talent. I think this glaring and obvious flaw (especially considering the heroic aspirations) helps ensure a balance in the concept.
i think it would be interesting to have the guy be kinda geeky, since he’s used to relying on his ability to talk people out of things. Have him be about 5’4” or so, and skinny, etc. Then, have the girl be like 6’0” and heavier (not fat, just big boned, etc.). She could be taught to fight, but isn’t yet. I dunno.
Good points, Luke. I like the idea of mixing it up and playing against the gender stereotypes.
So let’s look at what we potentially have so far.
Character Names: René and Renée (Open to other suggestions)
Superhero Name: ?
Gender: Twins who share the same body and morph back and forth between genders.
Sexual Orientation: Open
Power: René, the male, can control people’s emotions and can muster short, powerful energy bursts by draining the emotional energy of his enemies; Renée, the female, can control technology and tap into anything electrical or computer-based and can muster short, powerful bursts of electrical energy by draining power from machines.
Backstory: I like the idea of one of the twins being born, then the other didn’t manifest until later on. That would also lend credence to Luke’s suggestion that the girl is more on the shy side and reserved. If she had been the twin that appeared later, the boy would have already been more outgoing.
Description of Appearance: ?
Relevance to Pride High story or characters: There are existing twins in Pride High, a couple of homophobes named Smash and Crash (Paul and Cas). René and Renée might make good adversaries for them.
As a name, how about we play on Luke’s suggestion. E-Moticon? Or E-Motive? Or something like that?
Good stuff, everyone!
CHANCE
As to the character names, how about Andrew and Jennifer or Andy and Jenny. Their hero name could be Androgeny…
true. it could be that they are completely bi/omni/whatever. they just like who the like kind of thing. chance is right, since they share bodies and what not, maybe they don’t even know!
Since they share a body, perhaps they don’t even understand the concept of being attracted to only one gender. Might also be interesting for one to be left-handed, one right-handed, but when combining powers, they become truly ambidexterous.
I’m really torn on whether I like “Androgyny” or not. I loves me some puns, but this just seems a bit over-the-top. Then again, we’re talking about Pride High. Subtlety isn’t part of the curriculum. It’s definitely a fun one to consider.
The left/right-handed thing sounds cool, but I’m not sure about “combining” powers. Wasn’t the point that they can’t, actually being two separate people?
Personally, it might be kinda neat to have a third “combined” form, but I really think that’s just going to get confusing. If we went that route, I’d vote for two separate twins who can combine, rather than one person who switches.
I think omnisexuality might be more likely than just not understanding how things work, though. Having more-than-usual understanding and desire would seem more plausible.
You’re right, the combining powers might not work, depending on how the character’s “change” works. Is it that they are two completely separate beings who switch places using the same physical space, or is it two people who actually inhabit the same body, changing it’s form as one becomes dominant? (This seems more like what people are describing.) Can the separate personalities communicate with each other, or do they simply “know” what the other knows automatically? Might be more interesting if they didn’t…
It could also be interesting if each persona has different skills and talents (not just superhero skills), with the skills being the opposite of gender stereotypes.
I was originally thinking that they combine together like y’all mention, though there is a previous mutant in the Avengers I think who the twins do that, but i dunno if that’d be a problem or not.
I know that one version of M from Generation X was actually two little girls who combined… and gained ridiculous amounts of superpowers in the process.
I don’t think what we’re going for here is too much like that. Using similar powers and themes isn’t treading on any copyrights. I mean, the most common power-set in comics is super strength, invulnerability, and unaided flight. With the exception of Captain Marvel back in the 40s, DC doesn’t sue people for using it.
there’s another besides M. just don’t remember who…. i need to look at my old comics. i remember them from when many of the Avengers (Sersi, Dark Knight, Crystal, and a few others) we kidnapped, and they needed to get people to free them… at least I believe so.
