Concept art by Caitlyn Neilson - Click to enlarge
Sketch
Background: Zach McClain never knew his parents, and grew up on the streets of Brooklyn. His earliest memories are from an orphanage, which he escaped from at a very young age. Early in life he didn't like to be told what to do, but liked doing things his way. From the homeless kids around him, Zach learned great resourcefulness and what it meant to survive. Rather than becoming a thief like the others, however, Zach found that he had a gift with creating pencil drawings. He watched local salesmen sell pieces of art to tourists and he picked up the trade. In no time he was able to use his art and smooth way with people to make a living, while still sleeping in an abandoned building. Soon he was selling his art at Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Brooklyn Museum, Coney Island, and so forth, making his way around on his prized possession, his skate board. The homeless boy made a name for himself, and his friends called him "Sketch."
Eventually, Zach was found by the police and placed in the foster program. From his foster families, he picked up tastes in classic rock music, video gaming and other things. However, he didn't want to settle into any of those families. He eventually ran away again, longing for his own life and freedom. As he grew older, he began to look up everything he could about his past, parents. He found evidence suggesting that his parents had moved to California, and stowed away on a tour bus heading West.
At a gas station, the bus driver discovered Zach in the storage compartments of his bus and left him behind. However, before the bus could get very far, it was caught in an epic meteor shower. Green glowing meteorites crashed onto the road and plain. The largest of them all crashed just in front of the bus, shattered into small pieces, and created a large crater. The bus dove into the crater and was buried in the cosmic debris. Zach instinctively ran for the buried bus, and with his own hands, dug it out of the glowing hot rock. He made it to the back hatch and the passengers were free. In the rescue, his hands had fused with space rock, causing him to black out in pain.
When Rennek and Alloy (the newly formed "Renegades") heard of the meteor shower, they rushed to the scene. Rennek soon found Zach and rushed him to the nearest hospital in Compass City. Zach recovered, but extremely dense meteor fragments had fused themselves into the palms of his hands. After a police investigation revealed the boy's identity, Rene begged her parents to adopt him.
It wasn't long before Zach was surprised with green mush being produced by his hands. Aquila Anderson discovered that it was a new unstable compound, created from the meteor fragments in contact with his hands and the air. Zach couldn't have been more stoked about it. He found that he could make anything he wanted out of the mush he dubbed "pite" (by compounding "putty" and "meteorite"). He was eager to join Rene and Alloy in their super hero activities, living life on the edge.
Zach enjoys his life with the Anderson family, who treat him better than anyone he had ever known. He no longer has to worry about money, and thoroughly enjoys being a care free kid. He never lost the mannerisms of a slick rock star, and feels like he is living the dream life. Although his time with the Renegades and the Anderson family is what he wants, he is still plagued at times with the mystery of who his parents are, and where they are...
Appearance: Although the Andersons tried to dress Zach up in new clothes, he often resorts to his own personal style. A blue hooded jacket and black skater pants suit him fine, and he hardly will wear anything else. Every thing on him is over-sized a little, as he links things baggy (but not overly so). His large white tennis shoes and skate board go with him nearly every where, along with his shades.
Zach's eyes are emerald green, and his short hair is blonde. He has white-tan skin. He is average shaped and as tall as a usual 10 year old. He is often smiling and hamming things up as he used to do in Brooklyn with tourists.
Super Hero Uniform: When Rene first learned that Sketch wanted to fight as a super hero, she designed many uniforms for him. However, Zach is too cool for bright colors and capes, so he wears street clothes. He did compromise a little by wearing a hoodie with a green "S" on it, but he drew the line there.
Most Distinguishing Characteristics: Shades hardly every leave Zach's face. He is also rarely seen not making jokes, acting cool or creating something out of his green pite. The pite can have the consistency of transparent jello, the roughness of stones, the rigidness of metal and just about any other phase under the sun, according to what he wants to create.
Team Interaction: Zach brings a light mood and humorous tone to the Renegades. He sometimes is a little too care-free and careless, but he also has the capacity to really be where he is needed and pull off a mission well. He is the most social of all the members, and eats up media attention like a rock star. He looks up to Rennek and Alloy a lot, but still has a great deal of immaturity, rarely giving them the credit and respect they deserve. He tries to outshine them in every battle and event, confident that he is the coolest of the three. If Zach had a choice, he would spend much more time with Alloy, as he admires his fighting skills and hard-core attitude. He will give Rennek credit sometimes, as she often surprises him with how well she wields her powers. He will rarely argue with the others, but simply does not follow their instruction when he disagrees.
Personality: Zach is light minded and embodies a kid being a kid. He is constantly cracking jokes and getting a laugh, using the resourceful and social skills he developed from his early childhood. He is usually in a good mood, but can be very selfish at times. Zach can also be impulsive and self-serving when feeling constrained. At his best, Zach loves showing off his powers working with his team to save the day. He is fun to be around, and can be the life of a party. He is also very creative, and often experiments with new shapes and compositions of pite.
Habits, Mannerisms, Favorites and Hobbies: Zach can be found jamming out to classic rock, trying new skate boarding tricks, hanging out with is friends, and playing video games. He spends less and less time drawing because that doesn't get him enough attention, and he also watches a lot of TV. Zach is mostly motivated to improve his level of enjoyment of life. However, he also has a brotherly regard for the average person, with seeds of common sympathy coming from his roots depending on friends on the streets of Brooklyn. Zach is going to school, but he often shirks homework (much to the worry of his adoptive parents.)
Zach is often found not taking things seriously enough, and sometimes leaves his fellow Renegades wondering where he is or why his head isn't in the game. But he takes their scolding lightly, as he is convinced that he is still the coolest super hero around.
Style of Speech: Zach sounds immature, and has a thick New-Yorker accent. He uses the term "Mad" in place of "Very, extreme, much," and so forth. He talks like a teenager with attitude, but has an innocent and honest side which is very apparent. He likes getting right to the point, after going through a little sarcasm and humor.
Ruled by Emotion or Logic: Zach is not very logical at all. He loves having a good time, he wants those around him to have a good time, and he sees no problem with enjoying a good laugh most of the time, even at others' expense. Under his care-free facade, however, Zach is very resourceful and a good problem solver, but often lacks the maturity to really focus his skills.
What They Care About / Don't Care About: Since he is still only 10 years old, Zach is pretty self centered, and an ordinary kid in many ways. He cares a lot about having fun, and could care less about larger world issues or even social dynamics around him. If he feels great, then everything is fine. It takes a lot for Zach to loose his nonchalant and adventurous attitude. Adult or even regular teen-age concerns still are not major issues in his mind. He loves the heroics of crime-fighting for the fun of it, and everything else comes second.
Powers, Skills, Strengths / Weaknesses: Because of the fused space-matter in his hands, Sketch creates a "pite" compound which can be fashioned into any kind of weapon or tool. These objects are set with specific chemical properties which eventually wear off as the pite evaporates and dissolves into the air. Zach is very creative with what he makes out of the pite and can surprise his team mates with the variety of things he forms. Zach is also very funny, and good at lifting the mood or helping the others keep a light mood while in challenging missions. Zach is also street smart, and not very gullible due to his early life on the streets. Zach's greatest weaknesses are his apathy and immaturity.
Greatest Fear: Zach will do almost anything to prevent loosing his current family. The Andersons, and Alloy, mean everything to him. Belonging to them enable him to keep his gaurd down and be a kid. He wants to keep this life style. His greatest fear would be to loose his powers, his life, and his family, going back to the streets to fight for survival.
How they act when they are feeling good: Zach makes fun of people, situations, and is generally not serious. He also is in the mood to play video games, hang out with friends, try new things on his skate board, and beat up bad guys.
How they act when they are feeling bad: When stressed or out of his element, Zach can be very argumentative, and start fights. This is very rare, however, as it takes a great deal to push Zach out of his regular attitude.
Additional ideas: Sketch is a pretty simple character, and should be treated as a comic relief. It is also important that Sketch never broods about his past, or mopes about his lack of opportunities in his early life. He lives in the moment, and rarely makes a big deal of anything else. Most people who know him have no idea about his past.
For more information about Sketch, please visit her basic profile on our page, “The Comic Book.”
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