Background for a masked heroine? [Project M]

[Maskripper]

Let's say a certain nutjob would make plans for a series with a masked heroine!
(for the almost certain possibility ...of finding gold bars in his closet ....or winning the lottery)

The other main actor would be a male detective (pretty much like Max Payne (the video game - not the movie)).
What job/background would you choose for the heroine?
I have most details about these characters, but not decided about her background.
I want a background which some useable skills for her night job, or which is connected somehow to it.
And she needs to be well-known ;-)
(so that an unmasking would be devastating)

My ideas so far:
1 - Soldier (who will use her combat skills as the vigilante she becomes due to a tragic loss in her life, perhaps well-known because of the media reports on that tragic loss and her heroism at her last war misson)
2 - well-known athlete (perhaps MMA? - fighting skills for her night job)
3 - famous actress (who uses her money to get her gadgets)
4 - district attorney (frustrated by her day job, she wants to punish the bad guys at night)

Ok, 4 was used on Arrow and is the background for the (female) manhunter from the comic series. But I like it.
3 could be something perhaps with a tragic event that starts her 2nd identity.

What do you think of those 4? Which one would you pick?
Do you have other ideas?
Feel welcome to post a reply !

This is only the beginning. I read a book about how to make a screenplay. I have already many scenes in my head and thought about how I want certain things to be in such a series.

[AvaHeinz]

Let's say a certain nutjob would make plans for a series with a masked heroine!
(for the almost certain possibility ...of finding gold bars in his closet ....or winning the lottery)

The other main actor would be a male detective (pretty much like Max Payne (the video game - not the movie)).
What job/background would you choose for the heroine?
I have most details about these characters, but not decided about her background.
I want a background which some useable skills for her night job, or which is connected somehow to it.
And she needs to be well-known ;-)
(so that an unmasking would be devastating)

My ideas so far:
1 - Soldier (who will use her combat skills as the vigilante she becomes due to a tragic loss in her life, perhaps well-known because of the media reports on that tragic loss and her heroism at her last war misson)
2 - well-known athlete (perhaps MMA? - fighting skills for her night job)
3 - famous actress (who uses her money to get her gadgets)
4 - district attorney (frustrated by her day job, she wants to punish the bad guys at night)

Ok, 4 was used on Arrow and is the background for the (female) manhunter from the comic series. But I like it.
3 could be something perhaps with a tragic event that starts her 2nd identity.

What do you think of those 4? Which one would you pick?
Do you have other ideas?
Feel welcome to post a reply !

This is only the beginning. I read a book about how to make a screenplay. I have already many scenes in my head and thought about how I want certain things to be in such a series.

Hi Mate

Some good idea here I must say, let me chip in my ideas

Soldiers

It's very hard to find a famous soldier, unless you win something like Medal of Honor or out here we called it Victoria Cross (I am an Australian) Most soldiers backstory fits into bad guys, because soldiers usually were portraited as ruthless and senseless. However, You can make it "Wolverine" style maybe put into element of PTSD into it and make it quite a sad story. Like the Heroine have seen many war in life and affected by the senseless killing, and she decided to patrol the night and find people who use violence and have them pay for it. I think this will work.

Athletes

Not too much co-relation between athletes and crime fighting superheroines. I mean what motivate the athlete to fight crimes? And being in a tragic scene, I cannot come up with many.

Outside the box, you can use the "Canned" formula, where she could have her loved one and family member killed by mob boss or some kind of criminal organisation, but that would have nothing to do with her athletes background, it would just be a coincident and she could literally be anyone and this will still works.

Actress

The same as Athletes, there are no normal or nominal relationship between Actress and Crime Fighting. Other than a Batman style backstory, it does not have an extra jazz with the profession she had. And by the way, the way you include this is the same path as batman. So basically this have been done.

Lawyers

Yes, this is probably the most obvious one, apart from Police Officer/Correctional Officer (I wonder why you did not include them?) Their backstory can be after seeing criminal off the hook over and over and over again, she basically just lost hope from the Justice System and decided to take revenge with her own hand. She could have had martial art training or some degree of firearms training. That would work.

If it was me who pick on my own production, I would choose the following in decrease in difficulty to write a screenplay

Lawyers -> Actress/Athletes -> Soldiers.

But if I rate with the best story telling element (Stuff I could write about) then

Soldiers -> Lawyers -> Actress/Athletes

Hope that help. And hope you can put it into your production some day

Ava
The Superhero Project

[tallyho]

You could have a soldier or whatever who achieves fame through an act NOT related to their profession - so they pull kids from a burning building etc or foil a bank robbery and so their heroism is reported and they are in the public eye. Then they get a taste for it and take up the mask.

[DonShip]

I think the MMA fighter as a secret super heroine is a new twist.

[Maskripper]

Lawyers

Yes, this is probably the most obvious one, apart from Police Officer/Correctional Officer (I wonder why you did not include them?) Their backstory can be after seeing criminal off the hook over and over and over again, she basically just lost hope from the Justice System and decided to take revenge with her own hand. She could have had martial art training or some degree of firearms training. That would work.

Thanks for your long answer!
Yeah, that would fit, but the male lead is already a detective and I don't want both of them to be a cop (like in the Black Scorpion movies/TV series). I want him to hunt her after her, and it shouldn't be his partner under her mask ;-)
And having no obvious connection between her day job and her night job as vigilante....could prove a good thing. Covering her secret identity would be easier that way.
I guess she will suffer a tragic loss/ or a trauma.... as a motivation to become a vigilante. It is by far the best reason in my opinion.
And I want a rather dark tone in that series.

[AvaHeinz]

Lawyers

Yes, this is probably the most obvious one, apart from Police Officer/Correctional Officer (I wonder why you did not include them?) Their backstory can be after seeing criminal off the hook over and over and over again, she basically just lost hope from the Justice System and decided to take revenge with her own hand. She could have had martial art training or some degree of firearms training. That would work.

Thanks for your long answer!
Yeah, that would fit, but the male lead is already a detective and I don't want both of them to be a cop (like in the Black Scorpion movies/TV series). I want him to hunt her after her, and it shouldn't be his partner under her mask ;-)
And having no obvious connection between her day job and her night job as vigilante....could prove a good thing. Covering her secret identity would be easier that way.
I guess she will suffer a tragic loss/ or a trauma.... as a motivation to become a vigilante. It is by far the best reason in my opinion.
And I want a rather dark tone in that series.

Hi Mate

As I said, the lawyer is probably the easiest, because the story literally fit.

One backstory could be the heroine's husband/partner/fiancé could be a cop and was killed in the line of duty, and she decided to take revenge with her own hand, and the cop that go after our heroine could be known to her, one suggestion is that she is the heroine's deceased husband partner, so basically he knows her, and she have to hide her identity under the mask otherwise it would have put the cop in an embarrassing position, and the cop have to go after the heroine simply because it was his job, not knowing she is his ex-partner wife/partner/fiancé

But the downsize for this route is the story is quite predictable and you probably cannot use it for long for a season, because you can only keep the identity as secret for some time and in the end it have got to go off, and if it's (The Identity) out, then there are nothing more to write about.

Hope that help

Ava
The Superhero Project

[shevek]

Why couldn't the motivation for being a heroine just be the thrill of it?
Maybe the secret identity is boring and unfulfilling, and she just wants to be an adrenalin junkie.
In her civilian form she feels dowdy and unloved, but in her heroine form she feels sexy and powerful (a la Silver Swan).
We did this in Heroineburgh with upcoming Episode 14, where an accountant dreams of being a Catwoman-style villainess.
She would still be worried about getting unmasked because she would lose her conservative job.

Either that or the secret identity gets a special thrill out of having an alter ego, kind of like Hannah Montana.
This could work well with a rock star secret identity - she leaves the stage, jumps into her vehicle and disappears into the night to chase bad guys.
Black Canary was a rock singer for a little while in the comics.

Or how about something unusual and off the wall...maybe she's a famous used car saleswoman who is known for her TV advertisements,
but in the basement of her car dealership she has a secret heroine lair like Gambi or Electra Base.

[theScribbler]

A young soldier at 18, honorably discharged at 22, is athletic and wins gold in swimming at the Olympics, becomes a celebrity, gets to do some cameos, is remarkably good, leads to roles on the CW and later more substantial roles, becomes a famous actress, dates lots of famous rich guys (actors, NFL, NBA, musicians, governors) but break ups happen ala Taylor Swift, and she's the 2 to 4-years younger step-sister of the detective.

[Imagineer]

Jennifer Larson was just 13 when she landed the role of Dee, the precocious next-door-neighbor that joined the wholesome-but-shopworn family sitcom "Royal Court" in its fourth season on the GW Network. By the end of the season she'd doubled the show's ratings, t-shirts and mugs with her catchphrase "Dee-NIED!" were flying off the shelves, the showrunners were retooling the next season around her, the network was talking about renaming the show "Dee's Royal Court," and the rest of the cast hated her. The show lasted one more season before it imploded.

Producers were eager to keep a good thing going, but with traditional sitcoms waning in popularity, Jennifer's older brother and legal guardian held out against a continuation series; it was almost a year later when hotshot writer-producer JJ Adams pitched a high-school melodrama with Jennifer in the titular role. "Grace Under Pressure" struggled under confused fan expectations the first season, but exploded in its second season, perhaps more than coincidentally with its star's late-blooming physical transformation into a beautiful young woman and the newly-sexual tensions of the show's love triangle between student body president and lacrosse team captain Zak Newsome and the quiet transfer student and budding DJ Trevor Wood. "Dee-NIED!" tees gave way to sweatshirts and backpacks and smartphone cases with Grace's pensive gaze framed by Trevor's shy smile and Zak's trademark raised eyebrow and charismatic smirk. Critics rolled their eyes at the show, moreso when the GW Network reinvented itself around the young-beautiful-troubled formula and other networks tried (and mostly failed) with their own Grace-like shows. By the premiere of "Grace"'s fourth season, the 19-year-old actress was getting piles of pigeonholing scripts, swarms of paparazzi, legions of fans, every other magazine cover, and all sorts of ugly rumors -- the most pernicious being that she was romantically involved with her six-years-older brother / manager...

Then tragedy struck -- while on holiday break, Jennifer's brother Jason disappeared -- and evidence suggesting his brutal murder surfaced. It was only in the wake of this loss that Jennifer learned that both she and Jason had been receiving escalating threats from several "fans" going back years. The worst of them, and the lead suspect in Jason's demise, was a particularly-obsessed and maddeningly-untraceable fan whose love for her had been twisted, strained, and finally broken. Starting with the retooling and subsequent cancellation of "Royal Court" -- the fan had started as an admirer of the middle daughter on that show and begrudgingly transferred affections to Dee -- and tracing through multiple perceived narrative missteps in "Grace" including going to third base with Zak after a misunderstanding and hurt feelings with Trevor -- the obsessed fan blamed it all on Jason, and had grown to feel disgust for Jennifer for not seeing Jason for the controlling and undeserving sponge that he was.

Jennifer tried to soldier on but broke down on set shortly after filming resumed. The network agreed to cancel the rest of the season; JJ Adams met with her, offering to tailor the plot around anything that could help her work through her grief; they settled on killing off Trevor, but this made things worse -- both for Jennifer emotionally and for the show. "Grace Under Pressure" ended under a cloud of mixed emotions after a shortened fifth season, and everyone thought that the star of Jennifer Larson would never shine brightly again.

Everyone was wrong.

The comic book movie boom was well underway, and Omniversal Studios was desperate for a franchise. Tim Cross's The Pharaoh was DOA and killed any hope of the Omniversal Monsters being a thing, and the studio was in trouble. Meanwhile, the Amazing Cinematic Universe had pulled off three solo heroes and a team-up movie but had yet to attempt a female-led adventure, and across town there were talks of rebooting the PI Extended Universe after Dark versus Light had been critically eviscerated ("DvL arrives with dead batteries") and the long-in-gestation Amazonia crashed and burned opening weekend when pervy fanboys rejected the so-not-canon leather-jacket-and-pants costume and everyone else hated the awkwardly-jammed-in romance. Omniversal hoped to fill the void and was scrounging for compatible IP, when they discovered the most promising property, Lady Masque, lead heroine of an indie comics portfolio with a brief renaissance in the mid-90s to early-00s, had been bought up by a reclusive former child star who insisted on writing the screenplay, picking the director, picking the star, and having final cut.

But Jennifer Larson didn't need them to make her movie. Her brother Jason had been a shrewd negotiator and shrewder investor; she financed it herself. Early scorn for the crazy woman's vanity project gradually turned to eager anticipation as wild rumors, positive buzz, and blurry telephoto images leaked from the shoot. Jennifer Larson was more fit and more beautiful than ever. Jennifer Larson's script was sharp and acting was sharper. Jennifer Larson did all her own stunts. Jennifer Larson had billionaire wizard Evan Tusk as technical consultant. The hoverbike Lady Masque rode was a working practical effect. The costume actually did the comics justice.

Omniversal signed on as distributor. "Lady Masque" was a massive hit -- and despite the twist ending that had the titular character sacrifice herself to save the world and spark the creation of a half-dozen heroines, everyone expected Jennifer to star in a sequel. But she again defied expectations, retiring as an actress to become an executive producer. Rumors that her whirlwind romance with Tusk was responsible gained traction when they announced their engagement.

Pressure to star in the sequel lessened when the cast of "Masques" was announced -- a who's who of A-listers and next-big-things, with Tim Cross as the new villain, Thatin, founder of the shadowy Scientocracy.

But the question still came up on those occasions when Jennifer would appear to launch her new charity, at her husband's side for his new wireless power grid venture, at the Met Gala... and each time she would graciously answer, "I loved what I did, but that part of my life is over. I can do more good in the real world."

Her brother's disappearance remained unsolved.

[Maskripper]

Why couldn't the motivation for being a heroine just be the thrill of it?
Maybe the secret identity is boring and unfulfilling, and she just wants to be an adrenalin junkie.
In her civilian form she feels dowdy and unloved, but in her heroine form she feels sexy and powerful (a la Silver Swan).

Yeah, that would work for sure. But in my vision this woman becomes a vigilante out of passion. It fits better to her character.
Ok, a classic "tragic/traumatic trigger event" was used very often....but I like it. Will need to develop a good one.

---------------

Jennifer Larson was just 13 when she landed the role of Dee, the precocious next-door-neighbor that joined the wholesome-but-shopworn family sitcom "Royal Court" in its fourth season on the GW Network. By the end of the season she'd doubled the show's ratings, t-shirts and mugs with her catchphrase "Dee-NIED!" were flying off the shelves, the showrunners were retooling the next season around her, the network was talking about renaming the show "Dee's Royal Court," and the rest of the cast hated her. The show lasted one more season before it imploded.
...............
....................
But the question still came up on those occasions when Jennifer would appear to launch her new charity, at her husband's side for his new wireless power grid venture, at the Met Gala... and each time she would graciously answer, "I loved what I did, but that part of my life is over. I can do more good in the real world."

Her brother's disappearance remained unsolved.

Wow! What a post! Thanks for that story :-)
But have I missed the part where she becomes the masked crime fighter for real? Or does she becomes that right after your last lines?

------------------------

Glad that some foiks took the time and actually used their keyboard in fron tof them....(yes, in my world you are ...mostly... sitting in front of a desktop-PC or Laptop when you browse the internet )

Thanks to all the replies so far!
Keep em coming!

[bat123]

I just found this post i am already working on a series called night shadow series where two women have been shot and killed by thugs but one lives and with this new life she study’s meditation and the art of fighting and also has a friend who hacks the police radio to see what crime is going on so she suits up and takes the fight to the streets. what do you think so far i got lots more to do but it’s going to be great.

[shevek]

I just found this post i am already working on a series called night shadow series where two women have been shot and killed by thugs but one lives and with this new life she study’s meditation and the art of fighting and also has a friend who hacks the police radio to see what crime is going on so she suits up and takes the fight to the streets. what do you think so far i got lots more to do but it’s going to be great.

Cool, Bat123! I am sure there are lots of other variations on the same theme, but a early version of this kind of story is the 1980s comic book series from First Comics called Whisper. I forget all the details but it was about a woman named Alexis Devin whose best friend was killed, and she became a ninja-style vigilante called Whisper who wore a tight and sexy black and purple costume. She did not hesitate to kill to achieve her aims. She was no Mary Sue - she suffered plenty of setbacks, being beaten and bloodied, etc. The other thing I remember about that series were the constant references to new wave, postpunk and industrial music, like Cabaret Voltaire and Pere Ubu (this inspired the episode naming convention of Heroineburgh Season One). I had a letter to the editor published in one of their issues. She was probably unmasked too at some point but I don't remember.

whisper.jpg (85.48 KiB) Viewed 2628 times

Maskripper:

Another angle you could look at for unmasking is that of a famous scientist. We have quite a few "STEM" heroines in the Heroineburgh roster. Maybe she is a star researcher, well known in the scientific community, or even has a Nobel Prize. She is well respected, and is famous for having a brilliant, cold and highly logical scientific mind. But secretly she has a passion - she has been using whatever NanoPhysics Mechanism she has invented to give herself amazing powers. And when she takes off her glasses, she lets her hair out of the businesslike bun and fall beautifully around her shoulders, and removes her lab coat to reveal a tight and shiny costume which makes her feel powerful and passionate. And perhaps the mask removal could be doubly perilous: 1) the nanotech she has invented is contained in the mask, and removing it renders her helpless, plus 2) if her identity is revealed as a vigilante, she would lose her prestigious position at the university and become an outcast. Maybe this will inspire you - Arctica is our version of Killer Frost but with a costume more like Emma Frost.

[hagarb]

Cool. I suggested something similar. A scientist who’s research is based on biohacking.

[Maskripper]

....! I am sure there are lots of other variations on the same theme, but a early version of this kind of story is the 1980s comic book series from First Comics called Whisper. I forget all the details but it was about a woman named Alexis Devin whose best friend was killed, and she became a ninja-style vigilante called Whisper who wore a tight and sexy black and purple costume. ....


Maskripper:

Another angle you could look at for unmasking is that of a famous scientist. We have quite a few "STEM" heroines in the Heroineburgh roster. Maybe she is a star researcher, well known in the scientific community, or even has a Nobel Prize. She is well respected, and is famous for having a brilliant, cold and highly logical scientific mind. But secretly she has a passion - she has been using whatever NanoPhysics Mechanism she has invented to give herself amazing powers. And when she takes off her glasses, she lets her hair out of the businesslike bun and fall beautifully around her shoulders, and removes her lab coat to reveal a tight and shiny costume which makes her feel powerful and passionate. And perhaps the mask removal could be doubly perilous: 1) the nanotech she has invented is contained in the mask, and removing it renders her helpless, plus 2) if her identity is revealed as a vigilante, she would lose her prestigious position at the university and become an outcast. Maybe this will inspire you - Arctica is our version of Killer Frost but with a costume more like Emma Frost.

DAMN! Now I NEED that Whisper comic series. But it seems very hard to get...
Sounds verrrrrrry interesting! Thanks for mentioning it! Great "side effect" of this thread here

And regarding the scientist aproach: Hmh, a good idea...but with too much fantasy elements for my series. Gadgets...yes......but no Sci-fi gadgets, no fantasy stuff....pure "realism" (as "realistic" a series about a masked vigilante...can be).

[shevek]

....! I am sure there are lots of other variations on the same theme, but a early version of this kind of story is the 1980s comic book series from First Comics called Whisper. I forget all the details but it was about a woman named Alexis Devin whose best friend was killed, and she became a ninja-style vigilante called Whisper who wore a tight and sexy black and purple costume. ....

DAMN! Now I NEED that Whisper comic series. But it seems very hard to get...
Sounds verrrrrrry interesting! Thanks for mentioning it! Great "side effect" of this thread here

And regarding the scientist aproach: Hmh, a good idea...but with too much fantasy elements for my series. Gadgets...yes......but no Sci-fi gadgets, no fantasy stuff....pure "realism" (as "realistic" a series about a masked vigilante...can be).

Yes, the Whisper series is long out of print. Here's the series as listed on Comicvine: https://comicvine.gamespot.com/whisper/4050-3710/
There's an unmasking of the unconscious heroine on the cover of issue 31!

I also just found out that before Whisper was picked up by First Comics in 1986 (where it ran for 3 years), it was originally a two-issue miniseries
on a small indie called Capital Comics. Those two issues can be seen online at The Comics Archive That Shall Not Be Named...although the regular 37-issue run is nowhere to be found there, quite strange.

However, I know for a fact that New Dimension Comics (the folks who run the fabulous local Three Rivers Comicon) have a stack of Whisper back issues that I looked through about a year ago, and I bought the one issue that had my letter in it. They're probably still there. If you really want a bunch of physical copies of this comic I would be happy to arrange to buy them for you and send them. It's kind of a pain in the ass to travel out to that store but I could possibly make a day trip out of it if you wanted to acquire most of the full Whisper run. Send me a PM and let me know, then I'll make a call to New Dimension.

I didn't realize that fantasy elements were a limitation on your idea (I deal with superheroines, so my only limitation is Arthur C Clarkean - I avoid 'magic' and only stick to science that is 'advanced enough to look like magic'). I know this has been done with a male hero like Black Lightning, but how about a female high school principal - she's a sexy cougar who cares deeply for her students by day, but solves their extracurricular problems by night (maybe she stops a student's abusive father...or prevents a student from getting jumped into a gang...or saves some students from a joyriding accident etc. Kind of in the vein of the Mighty Isis TV show.) Who's to say she might also have an affair with an 18-year-old senior stallion from the football team - she feels sorry for his terrible home life, but then falls for his glistening muscles. She would also be afraid to be unmasked because she would be disgraced with the school district. Just spitballing here.

whisperunmasked.jpg (31.9 KiB) Viewed 2584 times

[Maskripper]

Yes, the Whisper series is long out of print. Here's the series as listed on Comicvine: https://comicvine.gamespot.com/whisper/4050-3710/
There's an unmasking of the unconscious heroine on the cover of issue 31!

I also just found out that before Whisper was picked up by First Comics in 1986 (where it ran for 3 years), it was originally a two-issue miniseries
on a small indie called Capital Comics. Those two issues can be seen online at The Comics Archive That Shall Not Be Named...although the regular 37-issue run is nowhere to be found there, quite strange.

However, I know for a fact that New Dimension Comics (the folks who run the fabulous local Three Rivers Comicon) have a stack of Whisper back issues that I looked through about a year ago, and I bought the one issue that had my letter in it. They're probably still there. If you really want a bunch of physical copies of this comic I would be happy to arrange to buy them for you and send them. It's kind of a pain in the ass to travel out to that store but I could possibly make a day trip out of it if you wanted to acquire most of the full Whisper run. Send me a PM and let me know, then I'll make a call to New Dimension.

I didn't realize that fantasy elements were a limitation on your idea (I deal with superheroines, so my only limitation is Arthur C Clarkean - I avoid 'magic' and only stick to science that is 'advanced enough to look like magic'). I know this has been done with a male hero like Black Lightning, but how about a female high school principal - she's a sexy cougar who cares deeply for her students by day, but solves their extracurricular problems by night (maybe she stops a student's abusive father...or prevents a student from getting jumped into a gang...or saves some students from a joyriding accident etc. Kind of in the vein of the Mighty Isis TV show.) Who's to say she might also have an affair with an 18-year-old senior stallion from the football team - she feels sorry for his terrible home life, but then falls for his glistening muscles. She would also be afraid to be unmasked because she would be disgraced with the school district. Just spitballing here.

Yeah, saw the listing on comicvine too in my research of how to get my hands on that comic series.
Thanks for the kind offer! Well, if there is no "other way" with ...this comic series...I will try to get physical copies of it.
But getting it from the US would cost quite a lot (the comics + postage from the US (which is very expenisve in comparison) + taxes))
It seems pretty difficult to the the whole thing on a more or less cheap price...found an offer here in germany but it has only half of the comics. Of course I want to have every issue
Well, I will keep researching how to get the whole thing ...as cheap as possible.
---
And yeah, I only want a "normal" heroine like Batgirl...not some superheroine like Supergirl. No powers, no super gadgets. Just a lot of hard training and some "normal" gadgets/weapons.
-
That idea with the high school principal sounds ...interesting and somehow sexy. Would offer some possibilities...

Perhaps I even mix the things.
She was a decorated soldier with great combat skills. After her last traumatic combat mission she resigned and became an MMA fighter at day and a vigilante at night.
(to help the people in a rotten town with a highly corrupt police - the male lead would be one of the few exceptions).