Indestructible characters

[chrisbishop]

I was thinking of a new game. One that doesn't call to give an exact answer to a question, but quite different. This game would actually require the participants to make a little research on their parts to come up with interesting information to provide on this space.

The aim of the game: Listing as many names as possible of heroes or characters who are famous for something they share in common with Captain Scarlet: their indestructibility.

The entry must contain the following information:

- The name of the character (obviously)
- Its origins (is it a mythological hero - and of which mythology - a character of legend, a super-hero, a TV or movie character...)
- A short biography (try to avoid copy/paste from websites please)
- The origin os his indestructibility.
- Comparisons to Captain Scarlet (if any)
- If possible, a good image.

Other participants may add more information about this character during the course of the game, ask questions, and argue if its name should be added or not to the list.

The information gathered during this game might eventually be used to create a brand new section to the website where these characters will be listed.

Ready to go? I shall start, to give an example.

Remember, you could present any argument if you believe a character should or should not be part of the list!

[chrisbishop]

HERACLES / HERCULES


Greek Mythology. The Romans called him HERCULES, and it's under this name that he is contemporary known.

Son of the Olympian Zeus, king of the gods, and of a mortal woman named Alcmene. Zeus took the appearance of her husband Amphitryon to approach her. Hera, the divine wife of Zeus, hated him, for obvious reasons, and she sent to Earth two serpents to kill him as he was still a baby. Heracles demonstrated his divine and extraordinary strength at this early age by killing the serpents instead. For all of his life, Hera pursued Heracle with her hatred (his name means 'Slave of Hera). It was through her intervention that Heracles was struck with madness and accidentally killed his wife and children, which caused him to become the servant of his cousin Eurystheus, who imposed on him a number of labours (known today as "Hercules' twelve labours') to atone for his sins. Quite aside from these labours, Heracles had many other exploits to his credit, and became known all over Greece as the greatest hero who ever lived.

Renowned for his strength, however, Heracles didn't have the reputation of being the cleverest of men, and he could be easily fooled by his enemies. He was also very impetuous and prompt to anger. However, he was courageous, had a big heart, was faithful to his friends, and would do anything to right the wrong he might have done.

It wasn't his strength or his divine origins that made Heracles indestructible. His invulnerability was an artificial one, and actually came from the pelt of the Nemean Lion, that he wore after killing the mounstruous beast during one of his labours. The Nemean Lion had an impenetrable skin, and so to kill it, Heracles used his great strength to suffocate it between his arms. He then wore the pelt as a trophy. Heracles' favourite weapons were a huge club - which he used proficiently with his great strength - and his bow and arrows.

Heracles didn't die under the sword of an enemy, but by treachery: to save his new wife Deianeira from being raped by the Centaur Nessus, he struck him from a distance with an arrow. The dying Centaur, lying to Deianeira, told her to soak his tunic into his blood and that wearing this would excite the love of her husband for her. Some times later, feeling as if Heracles' love for her was fading, Deianeira gave him the tunic and he felt himself burning as soon as he put it on. Unable to endure the pain, he immolated himself into a pyre. Zeus took his dying son to Olympus and made a god out of him.

[hazel]

Jack Harkness! (Torchwood, BBC Drama, Doctor Who spin-off)

Also known as Captain Jack, he's the leader of Torchwood 3, based in Cardiff and located under the Millennium Stadium.

He was born in the 51st century, and grew up in an area called the Boeshane Peninsula. Very little is known about his life, except that during an alien invasion of his homeworld, he lost his brother, Grey (now there's another connection with Scarlet...) and spent many years searching for him without success.

In due course, he became a Time Agent and con artist. He met the Doctor and Rose Tyler in London in 1941 and travelled with them for a while. It was while fighting off a massed attack by the Daleks on Satellite Five that he was killed, then accidentally regenerated by Rose as she invoked the power of the Bad Wolf. Unfortunately, not knowing how to handle such power properly, she overdid it. Jack not only returned to life - he returned to permanent life.

So far, he has survived, amongst other things:
- clinging to the outside of the TARDIS as it flies to the end of time;
- being buried alive on the site of what would, 1000 years later, become Cardiff;
- being blown literally to pieces in the destruction of the Torchwood Hub;
- being encased in concrete while regenerating from that explosion.



(All that, and gorgeous, too...) In appearance and accent, he's more reminiscent of New Scarlet than Old, but either way, I think he more than qualifies!

[Marion]

I would say that Cap'n Jack is closer to Scarlet than Heracles.
For a start, Heracles isn't indestructible. As Chris's biography shows, he was only made invulnerable by an artefact. Cap'n Jack - like Scarlet - is made indestructible by an alien power and that facility becomes an essential part of him.

Chris describes Heracles as not the cleverest of men, who could be easily fooled by his enemies, whereas Scarlet isn’t easily fooled. We see him work out several ‘puzzles’ in the course of the episodes and foil Mysteron plots when he does so.
However, Chris goes on to say that Heracles was ‘also very impetuous and prompt to anger. However, he was courageous, had a big heart, was faithful to his friends, and would do anything to right the wrong he might have done’ and I would say that could easily apply to Scarlet.

I can’t really say much about the character of Cap’n Jack as I have never seen ‘Torchwood’ but from the few ‘Dr Who’ episodes I saw him in, I would say he was devious, not very trustworthy and incredibly egotistical.
He is rather pretty though – if you like that sort of thing - certainly prettier than Chris's picture of Heracles...

[chrisbishop]

Perfect, Marion! That's exactly the kind of entries this thread needs!

In regard to Heracles: the myths don't say if the invulnerability of the lion's pelt extends to all of its wearer's body or only to the parts it covers. Seeing as Heracles is always shown practically naked, with the pelt on his back, over his shoulder on across his arm, we might suppose that indeed the pelt protects him completely. I do agree that Heracles' indestructibility, due to an artefact, might make Heracles' entry into our list somewhere dubious.

And now, another addition to our list. And just to show that entries can come from various source, I'm chosing a character from a Japanese manga series:

MANJI

From the Japanese manga "BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL". The hero of the title.

An very efficient samurai, Manji killed the hatamoto he was serving when he found out he was a corrupted tyran who enforced his law on the local populace by brutal force. Subsequently, the now rogue Manji saw himself condemned by this murder, and the authority sent after him a 100 samurais, whom he killed one after the other. Amongst them, was his sister's husband. His sister having witnessed the murder, she became mad with grief. Feeling responsible, Manji will then settle down to take care of her, but when she is killed afterwards, he would return to his violent ways.

At some point during this time, Manji met Yaobikuni, a 800 year old nun who rendered him immortal by making him ingest sacred worms, that, once in the blood stream, would heal all of the host's wounds, even the most fatal, reattache any cut limbs. and will stop ageing, freezing the host at the age he had at the time of 'infection'. While the worms would heal all wounds subsited from that moment on, they will not heal injuries received before (such as Manji's right eye, that he lost previous to ingesting the worms).

Although invincible, Manji doesn't like his condition - which gives him an unfair advantage in battle - and eventually yearns to die. He comes to an understanding with Yaobikuni that she would remove the sacred worms from his body, when he would have killed a thousand evil men, to atone for his past sins.

Basically a good guy, Manji has a sense of justice and honour that is his own. While it seems that he does his very best to right the wrongs - especially those of his own doing - it seems that each of his gestures and each of his decisions makes things worst for him and those around him. It is unknown if, ultimately, he will see his wish granted, as the series is still ongoing in Japan (although it is said to have reached its last story arc).

[Carrie]

WOLVERINE

This comic book character was created by Marvel back in 1974/75, and joined the X-Men franchise in the re-booted series as one of a a number of international mutants to join the existing five-person team under Professor Charles Xavier.

Introduced as a bit of a mystery man, nothing much was known of him in the early years except that he answered to the name of Logan, was born in Canada, and his primary mutant power was an accelerated healing process (healing factor) which allowed him to regenerate tissue and bone after minor injury.
He was a prickly, defensive character who often butted heads with Cyclops, the leader of the X-Men.

Over time it was apparent that Wolverine was older than he looked, and this massively slow age-ing process was also attributed to this healing factor. He remembers being a samurai in Japan and meeting the Super-hero Captain America in WW2.

In the comic-series 'Origins' it was revealed that he was born James Howlett, the surviving second son of a wealthy land-owning family in Alberta in the 1800's.

Over time, Wolverine's abilities became enhanced so that he was able to recover from serious injuries in a matter of days or even hours. Bullets would pop out of his flesh, (new X-Men) and he was even able to withstand the effects of being close to the centre of an atomic explosion in one storyline.
The impression was that he was practically invulnerable, and it was postulated that the only way to kill him would be to cut off his head and remove it from the body, a theory that was never attempted as a plot-line, as presumably the writers didn't dare engage the wrath of the fanboys, (or the Marvel Universe accountants!) as he was and is one of the most enduring and popular characters.

The primary comparison to Captain Scarlet is obviously his extraordinary power of recuperation after traumatic injury.
However, the characters do share some other traits.
They are both able to do without long periods of sleep and resist the effects of drugs and intoxicants, as well as most diseases.
In addition, both Logan and Scarlet are capable, leaders with strong moral codes, but share a rebellious and impetuous streak that often gets them into trouble with authority figures.





ps: NICE GAME COLONEL CHRIS!!!

[chrisbishop]

I thought you would like. And I hoped you would come with the Wolverine entry, Carrie .

Shall we go on?

I shall make further research for other invulnerable characters, while waiting for others to add their own entries into the game.

[chrisbishop]

CLAIRE BENNET, THE INDESTRUCTIBLE CHEERLEADER

From the TV Series "Heroes", created by Tim Kring. The role was portrayed by actress Hayden Panettiere.

A character from the entire four run of the series, and also featured in the comic books that spawned from it, Claire Bennet had been the central focus of the first season, and remained important throughout, until the very last scene of the series.

The adopted daughter of Compagny's agent Noah Bennet, who's main work is to chase, tag, capture and on occasions kill people with special habilities, cheerleader Claire Bennet is fifteen years old at the start of the series when she discovers she is indestructible and has the power to regenate herself from any wounds, and sets to 'test' herself to learn of the limits of her habilities. The first time we see her, she throws herself from a tall building, filmed by her best friend, Zach, and then puts herself together in front of the camera.

Because of this incredible power, Claire became the unknowing prey of Sylar, a power-hungry vilain who steals habilities from other people by cutting off their skull and accessing their brains (whatever he does with the said brain is not revealed exactly, although it is revealed in a later season that he doesn't eat them). While Noah Bennet desperately searched for the killer in order to save his daughter, other people with habilities, spurred by another main protagonist of the series, Hiro Nakamura, a time and space traveller, band together with the same aim in mind, when a future self of Hiro came to them with the message "Save the Cheerleader, save the world". The first season of "Heroes" relates their efforts and their eventual success.

Through the course of the series, we learn of Claire's origins (she's the natural daughter of senator Nathan Petrelli and Meredith Gordon, other people with abilities), and of her character. Her regenerative powers are extensive, and she would survive exposure to deadly nuclear radiations, falling from great heights, bullet wounds, fire, cuts, etc. In one episode, she would test her habilities by cutting off one toe, which will regrow under her astonished eyes. In season three, she will survive an encounter with Sylar, who will succeed in cutting her skull open, but as he puts it back after taking her power, she would heal completely, only to discover that she now doesn't feel pain from any wounds (Which she did before that), a fact that disturbs her, because, as she said, the pain served to remind her that she was still human.

Claire's habilities to heal could be transfer from her blood to other individual, such as for her adoptive father, Noah Bennet, who had been killed by a bullet through the head (proving that the said person doesn't need to have habilities, as Noah has none.) However, in the case of Hiro Nakamura's tumor, this would not help at all, as his regenerative habilities will only serve to make the tumor grow. It was also revealed in season 3 that Claire has a capacity to resist the effect of alcohol, not becoming drunk by ingesting great quantity of it.

Claire as a weak spot, however, which seems to be the same as any people with powers: if she was to be wounded at the base of the skull (though a bullet or any other object entering that spot), she will apparently die. However, il her particular case, should that object be removed, she will revive and heal from her wound.

Although inhabited with good intentions, and basically good, Claire will remain a naive teenager. She has a high standard of justice, and often see the world in black and white - as young people often do - and would rebel against injustice. Quick to lose her temper, and prompt to act, not always thinking things through, she will often find herself in sticky situations. She's immensely loyal to her loved ones and friends, though, and will often put her life on the line to heroically save a life, knowing that she would eventually heal from any harm that will come to her.

As the "Heroes" series ends, the character has made some growing up, but still remains as naive as it was in the beginning. Claire will have the last word in the last seconds of the series, with a gesture that will obviously have deep impacts on the 'Heroes' world. Sadly, however, as the series has been cancelled, we will never get to see what these impacts would be, unless this was to be revealed in another media.

[Carrie]

SUPERMAN

Superman is a fictional character, created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster in 1932.
He became the property of DC Comics, and first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938 and has since become a world-wide cultural icon, with numerous appearances on radio, television, movies and video-games over the last 72 years. He effectively spawned the entire super-hero genre.

Born Kal-El, of the planet Krypton, the only son of scientist Jor-El and his wife Lara, he was sent as a baby in a rocket ship to Earth when it became apparent that their home world was about to explode. The ship crash-landed in the Mid-western United States and the ship was discovered by a childless farm-owning couple, Jonathan and Martha Kent, who adopted the baby they found within, calling him Clark.
The yellow sun of the Earth’s solar system bestowed amazing powers to the native Kryptonian; the ability to fly, super-strength, near-invulnerability, super-speed, and various vision-related abilities such as X-ray, infra-red, telescopic and micro-vision.

The most obvious trait Superman shares with Captain Scarlet is his invulnerability. However, as Scarlet’s Achilles heel is high-voltage electricity, Superman’s is Green Kryptonite, debris from his home planet that was turned radioactive by the explosion that destroyed it.
Perhaps in both cases, the writers felt that an indestructible hero held little in the way of tension for the readers and viewers, so the ‘possibility’ of death brought about by these ‘weaknesses’ gave an edge to the storylines.

Superman believed, (at least for a while, before he discovered his cousin Kara Zor-El, - Supergirl) that he was alone, the sole survivor of his world. This is akin to Scarlet, the only indestructible human on Earth, who alone escaped the power of the Mysterons. This internal conflict brings a rich pathos to both characters.

Both Superman and Scarlet share a physical resemblance, being black-haired and square-jawed, and both share a strong moral compass that steers them through the murky waters of life.

[chrisbishop]

BALDER (A.K.A. BALDR, BALDUR)


This one should have been obvious, as I wrote a story in which Scarlet became him!

Source: Norse Mythology.

Balder was the god of Light, Joy and Truth. Son of Odin and Frigga, he was married to the goddess Nanna. It was said that in the house of Balder, no lies could enter - which probably didn't suit very well with Loki, the god of Mischief and Fire. However, aside from Loki, everybody loved Balder - gods, humans and other creatures alike.

Both Balder and his mother Frigga had the same dream - about his death, which should bring about the beginning of Ragnarok - the end of the gods and the end of time. Dreams were considered prophetic amongst the Norse gods, and so, Frigga sought to protect her son. So she required an oath of all living creatures and objects that never they will harm her son. The only thing which didn't make that vow was mistletoe (other versions mention yew) and as it seemed like such an insignificant plant, Frigga didn't bother with it.

From this day forward, Balder became invulnerable, nothing and no-one now willing to hurt him. This curious power of his brought about a new game amongst the gods who then amused themselves by throwing all kind of objects to Balder. None would touch and injure him, and would simply bounce of his person.

However, the jealous Loki had discovered of Balder's vulnerability to mistletoe, and so created an arrow made of it. He gave the arrow to Hodur, Balder's blind brother, and told him that he should also be joining in the gods' new pasttime. Unaware that the arrow would hurt his brother, Hodur bent his bow and released the shaft. Guided by Loki's magic, the arrow pierced Balder's heart and he dropped dead to the floor.

The gods knew then that Ragnarok would be among them, if they could not find a way to bring Balder back. The goddess of Death, Hela, ruler of Hel, told them that if all things and creatures on earth and in the sky should cry for Balder's death, she would release him. Messengers were sent all around, and soon, everyone and everything was crying for Balder. Only the giantess Thokk refused to cry, and so Balder stayed in Hel. It was discovered later on that the giantess was Loki in disguise and punished him for his mischief.

Balder's body, according to the gods' tradition, was born on a pyre and his wife, Nanna, died of of broken heart. Hodur was put to death by the god Vali, despite his obvious ignorance of the consequences his gesture would have on his brother.

it is said that, after Ragnarok would come to pass, both Balder and Hodur, innocent victims of an hiddeous crime, would come back from the dead and rule a new world, a Golden Age for both gods and men.

Comparison to Scarlet: While Balder was alive, Ragnarok - the end of the world - will not pass. In that view, it would seem that Balder was the only hope of the world against the end of time - just as Scarlet might sometimes seem like the only hope of Spectrum against the Mysterons, who seek the end of the planet Earth. He was also, the god of Light, Joy and Truth. In his official biography Scarlet was said to be a someone "full of fun and bursting with energy" - a fact that isn't obvious in the TV series itself, however. A theory about Scarlet's power is that his body is not unlike a solar battery and that he accumulate sunrays that would heal his wounds. Lastly, in view of the story of his death, where he lets the others gods throw dangerous and pointy things at him, it would seem that Balder is a rather reckless person - something that he definitely have in common with Captain Scarlet!

[Marion]

Kenny McCormick - from South Park. Kenny also has a super-hero alter ego called Mysterion.

[chrisbishop]

KENNETH "KENNY" MCCORMICK (A.K.A. MYSTERION)

All right. Here's what I found about the character.

One of the four protagonists of the long-running comedy TV series "South Park", Kenny McCormick was a third, then a fourth grader from South Park Elementary School, in South Park Colorado. The character is mostly shown throughout the series by wearing a thick red/orange parka which covers him from head to toes, and which muffles his voice when he speaks. Like his three friends Kyle, Stan and Cartman, Kenny is foulmouthed, and speaks even more profanities than the others do (although it is not obvious, as you can barely make out what he actually says). Kenny is the poor kid of the gang, but also, the most knowledgeable (especially in regard to questions of sex, as his friends often defers to him for answers in that area - for whatever reason).

One of the running gags of the first five seasons of the series, was to have Kenny killed, in about every episode. He often died in the most graphic and gruesome way, and always, in each of the following episode, he would reappear, without anyone ever remembering what had happened to him. In these first years, no real explanation had been given for this.

At the end of season five, the creators of the series, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, decided to kill Kenny, supposedly permanently, and disposed of the character in the episode "Kenny Dies", giving him a terminal muscular disease. For most of season six, Kenny remained dead, but he eventually reappeared in the season's finale and since then, had remained one of the star of the show.

In the thirteen and fourteen seasons of the series, in a series of episode that was inspired by various super-heroes movies, the South Park gang took on the role of super-heroes. In one of these episodes, it was revealed that the hero "Mysterion" was Kenny McCormick. As Mysterion, Kenny speaks with a deep voice, a la Batman (or the Mysterons?), and displays a genuine heroic attitude (a trait he also showed in earlier episodes). He revealed that his super-powers was to revive, whenever he is killed, and wake up in his bed, everyone having forgotten what had happened to him - except for himself.

In these episodes, it is also revealed that his parents once were involved with a Cthulhu's worshipping cult (they were only there for the free beer) and that this is because of this involvement that Kenny is stuck with his strange powers. Each time that Kenny would be killed, his mother would give birth to a new baby Kenny and would put him in bed...

The South Park's episodes, in which Mysterion appears are "The Coon" (13th season), "Coon 2: Hindsight", "Mysterion Rises" and "Coon VS Coon and Friends" (All three from the 14th season).

For those who are not familiar with the world of South Park: the series is generally a hoot, but can be seen as offending for some. It is aimed at an adult audience, despite the fact that the protagonists are children.

[Carrie]

With the ‘Avengers Assemble’ movie showing in theatres right now, it’s timely to include this indestructible character in our list:

THE INCREDIBLE HULK

Created by Marvel Comics, this comic-book super-hero, or perhaps more appropriately, ‘anti-super-hero’ first appeared in 1962, and became the embodiment of the human race’s ambivalence about the perils of the ‘atomic age’.

Robert ‘Bruce’ Banner was an atomic scientist who was supervising the trial of an experimental gamma bomb designed for the US military when things went horribly wrong. Banner ran to the aid of a teenager who had stumbled into the test facility and pushed him into a trench, saving the boy’s life when the bomb went off, however, he was irradiated by a massive dose of gamma radiation which altered his genetic structure, turning him into a shambling, powerful and often violent monster.

The ‘Hulk’ as he became known, possessed little of Banner’s memory and intelligence, and was quick to anger and fury when aroused, behaving like a petulant child with superhuman capabilities. Early storylines revolved around his capture by General Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross, whose daughter, Betty, was emotionally attached to his alter-ego Bruce Banner and tried to stop her father’s crusade against the Hulk.

For the first few issues of his life, the Hulk's skin colour was grey (due to colour printing issues on the comic!!!) so was changed to green, in some cases quite virulent! Over the years he became paler green, dark grey, and even red. His persona over the years ranged from childlike to genius, depending on how much conscious control the Banner persona part of his character retained during the 'change'.

One thing remained constant, however, his incredible, almost limitless physical strength, as typified by the slogan - ‘The madder Hulk gets, the stronger he gets!’
He is also infinitely resistant to most forms of injury and damage, a capacity which he shares with Captain Scarlet. The extent of his invulnerability varied with individual writer’s interpretations, but over the years he has withstood: the equivalent of solar temperatures, nuclear explosions, and planet shattering impacts, not to mention being blasted by Galactus and his body ripped and torn to pieces by giant cockroaches!
Also, like Scarlet, he displays many regenerative and adaptive healing abilities, due to an incredibly fast healing mechanism that makes him seem invulnerable. He is even able to grow tissues to allow him to breath underwater, and survive in space without the need for breathing apparatus.
The Incredible Hulk even survived the 2003 movie.....

So, all in all, I believe he's a worthy addition to the List.