#risingtalk

YVETTE DIANDRA / VOL 1          She doesn’t use her powers often, a clean and tidy life that comes at the expense of control. She’ll say it’s because her powers are messy. The truth is she’s never been terrified of anything like she is of herself.

PLANET X / CHARACTER PARALLELS.

normally, i do not explicitly draw inspiration from popular media characters -- it's more of a vague process, something i notice long after the fact and not at the beginning. however, when i made guzmán, i knew i wanted to write a villain, and since i was writing a superpowered being, i naturally looked at comic books: some iconic villains from the xmen franchise, watchmen -- to round it up, i looked at some morally gray characters from film, because while i want guzman to be evil, and cheerfully so, i also want him to be complex. i want him to be a character you can enjoy reading, even if you consider his actions despicable. or i want him to be a character you can hate, while acknowledging there's layers to what he does.

MAGNETO [MARVEL COMICS]. obviously i'll look at the quintessential antagonist from the x men franchise. notice how i say antagonist, and not villain. i honestly think magneto was right had good reasons to do the things he did. like magneto, i want guzmán to be considered at his best a well intentioned extremist. he genuinely believes mutants are superior and humans have caused too much damage upon mutantkind, because they're afraid they will be left behind as evolution marches on. and like magneto, once he discovered his power, he spent several years of his life studying anything under the sun to help him master it, especially the field of mathematics. he's crafted himself into a dark messiah, convinced the ends justify his means -- a determinator who will stop at nothing until he sees his vision materialized.

APOCALYPSE [MARVEL COMICS] but then there's the side of guzman that's... let's say... a little off his rocker. you may consider his ideas to be rooted in conspiracy given his kind of troubled upbringing. andreas believes mutantkind's rightful place is above humans, yes, but also has an unquestionable god complex. while he playfully may accept being referred to as evil, truthfully he considers himself above such human terms. what he does really enjoy is conflict, constant and unpredictable, and it's in such environment that he thrives: where he can manipulate others into doing his bidding and orchestrate mayhem and uncertainty, in order to portray himself as a much better option -- a fixed point in an ever-shifting landscape, so to speak. 

OZYMANDIAS [WATCHMEN] while apocalypse and magneto are very essential inspirations, i only draw bits and pieces from ozymandias, most notably his affably evil manner of carrying himself, and the prodigious intelligence -- which, although not to ozymandias' level, it's characterized by his ability for great, extensive analysis of the situations that present themselves to him, since there's no way for guzman to reliably use his mutation other than to seriously think about each step he takes with it. he's crazy prepared for most eventualities that may occur, and he has back up plans after back up plans worth of information going on in that brain of his at all times. guzman is a knight templar, and he would kill a few if it meant he would get to save several, and that's pretty much the basis for his problem-solving processes. like ozymandias, he's chasing after a better world -- but is committing atrocity after atrocity in the name of it. 

at his worst, guzman can only be considered someone whose ego and ruthlessness can only be detrimental to his surroundings and the people with whom he associates. 

KINGS COLLECTIVE / we’re the renowned crew wearing the crown

Just a few things remain as beacons: poetry, and you, and solitude. 

Cain Douglas/ IO

the king’s collective: hydra