Looking back at the Quintessential Superheroine Saga to date (Nov. ’03), what I initially envisioned as a story trilogy encompassing 8-9 total installments has become somewhat more than an obsession. I’ve so enjoyed delving into comic-book-style details, thoughts and strategies of Inga, Emma, Looker, Maw and Diedre (as well as allies, antagonists and mentors) that the project has mushroomed to more than 120 single spaced pages over just the first two(1 ¾, really) adventures spanning six years! It occurs to me now that possibly some statueophile readers may not be quite as ‘into’ these characters as I am (translation: everybody else); and therefore it would probably be helpful to provide a condensation of character description and development, as well as an index guide to QQ transformations. This should offer hard-core ASFR readers means to ‘cut to the chase’, so to speak… -R.
NOTE: MM refers to “The Quint-Quarts versus Mademoiselle Mensa” adventure;
CC indicates
a superheroine is frozen, petrified, metalized, etc. within the
second
QQ episode/installment, “Colonel Chronos and the Time Bomb”;
POM will describe
transformations taking place in the final story of an originally-
envisioned
trilogy to be tentatively called, “Prisoners of Moonlight”;
HP refers to a CMQ-style 1 or 2-part prequel plot line called, “Hold, Please…”
Z is a possible one-part episode a la ‘Fun & Games’ entitled, “ZONKed!!”
So, for example: MM:III:33:diamond;would
cite Maw’s involuntary self-transformation
into a lewd crystal statue at Mademoiselle Mensa Part Three, page 33.
Ingeno-Lady (nick-named ‘Inga’) is the brainy and intrepid leader of the Quint-Quints. Her super powers stem from an extraordinary muta-cloned genetic emphasis on feminine ingenuity and designing skill. There's no gadgetry or system IL can’t disassemble and/or ultimately invent. Perhaps not as strikingly beautiful as some of her QQ teammates, Inga nonetheless has that girl-next-door charm and wholesome good looks which are aided by tip-top physical conditioning and a tallish (5’8”) frame. This muscular-yet-svelte balance is complemented by wavy raven shoulder-length locks (bangs a little too long that often fall down into piercing steel-blue eyes). DREAM CASTING: think Dana Delaney melds Mia Hamm and Jacklyn Smith at age 28. She wears the most-stereotypical of all the five costumes: a neck-to-toe green & yellow spandex affair smothering delectable curvatures.
One jagged lightning bolt across her ample chest is emblazoned over large QQ insignia. IL also sports swing-down futuristic visor-goggles with a heads-up displays (night vision, radar, tactical readout, GPS mapping, etc.) powered by a cold hydro-fusion jet backpack.
Inga carries four incapacitating weapons inside gauntlet sleeve tubes: an icy freeze ray, hypnotic-immobilizing gas, hyper-lariat pellets, and synaptically-disrupting taser darts.
She has three weaknesses: 1)being team leader is very stressful, and IL tends to “lose it” with her temper to make bad decisions at times; 2)she’s spent her entire cloned life in the design shop and laboratory, and hasn’t (so far) yet benefited from a skilled lover’s touch. This inexperience means both lack of perspective and potential for masculine entrapment; 3)power has gone to her head a little, so Inga can be headstrong and unreceptive to ideas.
Alter-Ego: once QQ’s move to Gotham, she takes a 'day-job' as NYU engineering prof.
(Genesis Donors: IL's DNA recombination is from Dr. Joyce 'Sisters' & Thomas Edison)
MM:II:27:stupefied; CC:IV:38:tetanized; CC:VII:70:robot; CC:VII:79:bronze;
Molecularly-Adjustable Woman (who simply goes by the abbreviation 'Maw") is cloned as eldest of all five superheroines, having (approximately) a 33-year-old build. However, expected wisdom does not accompany her age. In fact, this super strength brute-force-inclined lady definitely falls into the 'Big and Dumb' category. Maw enjoys showing off her taut tawny sculpted bod, a feat easily accomplished in QQ team costume: lady body-builder's neon blue micro-bikini. Red ankle boots and matching full-length cape (its gold QQ insignia throat clasp indicating her allegiance) provide cover to allow admittance to more formal occasions where too much well-defined cheesecake might prove politically incorrect. Central focus of Maw's appearance is its 5'10” powerfully-toned perfection from the neck down; yet this is not to say she isn't pretty- with warm brown eyes and page-boy style bleached blonde hair accenting adorable facial features, she'd undoubtedly be quite popular among California's "Muscle Beach" crowd. Being at the shallow end of the intellectual gene pool sometimes combines with her 'Swing First and Ask Questions Later' action-packed heroine philosophy, getting her into trouble. Mental and viewpoint differences with other QQ team members (Inga and Diedre, especially) make it hard to relate with colleagues at times, so Maw prefers to spend most of her 'down time' away from crime-fighting lifting weights or otherwise working out. She's fanatically dedicated to her role of point-guard protector for the quintet in a fight, with courageousness beyond question (DREAM CASTING: Combine Angels Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore on steroids!). Carrying no weapons, her principle super-powers spring from an astonishing ability to morph and manipulate her own proto-matter-laced cells into virtually any other material or elemental recombination. Fists become stone or metal to pack overwhelming punch, or her entire body reconstitutes into helium to produce flight and/or invisibility.
(Genesis Donors: Maw's tough-as-nails muta-cloned "Mom" is Leonna 'Ruddersly', and "Dad" is an unspecified WWF superstar… I'll admit I don't watch enough to know them!)
Secret Identity: She will pose as Helga the Swedish masseuse in a Gotham health club.
MM:I:16:granite; MM:III:33:diamond; CC:III:29:sand sculpture;
Empath Girl (who Professor Nils Johannson affectionately calls "Emma") has developed a strong-yet-inexplicable friendship bond with Maw. The duo seemingly couldn't be more opposite: teenage EG's diminutive 5'2" frame and dark delicately-stunning Asian Indian features (right down to the Hindu bhindi circle on her forehead) contrast sharply with her hulking muscle-bound white-blonde colleague's. And Emma is a sworn pacifist, exerting unique telepathic and telekinetic super-power weaponry only in a last-ditch team defense. Her principle roles on the Quintessential Quintet are of counselor, interpreter and healer. Biogenetic cloned empathic-restorative ability is granted to EG, whereby another victim's illness or injury can be extracted/absorbed into her own body, then released/dissipated (I saw this once on an old Star Trek OS episode, and thought it to be really cool!). Initially muta-cloned to psychically sense and interpret others' emotions, ideas and feelings from afar, her powers have grown (following exposure to CC's interfering theta waves) to now include outright telepathy and mental force projection, although such feats expend great energy. Compassionate and sympathetic to a fault, Emma's altruistic unselfish concern for humanity may one day prove to be her undoing. Perhaps this naivete and weakness is why 'Big Sis' Molecularly-Adjustable Woman keeps an extra-close eye on her teammate. The exotic olive-skinned knockout has coal black sparkling eyes and waist-length straight shimmery-jet-black hair. She sports leather thong sandals and an ankle-long saffron sari robe consistent with her spiritual-cum-mystical genetic history and background. Western culture might consider her appearance to be out in left field; yet Hindi ancestors would praise her striking delicate beauty: second only in appearance to supermodel-ish Looker.
(DREAM CASTING: Marina Sirtis mixed with Salma Hayek). Beneath her traditional outer garb EG is more modern: revealing skintight bicycle racer's black lycra shorts and white top (its mock turtleneck behind gold QQ insignia sari throat clasp completing the ensemble). Barely seventeen years old, demure Emma harbors two "schoolgirl crushes".
(Genesis Donors: EG is cloned from Dr. Ruth 'Eastheimer' and Rev.Mahatma Ghandi).
Everyday Disguise: volunteers as social worker in Gotham City battered woman's clinic.
MM:I:16:stupefied; CC:IV:40:tetanized; CC:VII:72:m-c; CC:VII:79:rose quartz;
Looker has no nick-name: her character title simply fits her perfectly. And speaking of feminine perfection, this 24-year-old with muta clone emphasis upon appearance comes about as close to it as is possibly imaginable. Think of the most elegantly-ravishing en vogue movie starlet or supermodel, add in one Miss Universe for poise and grace, and top it off with the exaggerated drop-dead gorgeous figure of a Playmate of the Month. Then you're getting close to the rarefied-air altitudes where Looker's proto-matter enhanced features abide. Not only can this superheroine stop Times Square traffic, she could get every single vehicle to follow her wriggling mini-skirted fanny (against crosstown traffic while running every red light) straight off the Brooklyn Bridge into the Hudson River!
And when it gets turned up to 'maximum' (i.e., clothes start to come off), she's a physical embodiment of Homer's Siren serenade: men either melt as putty in her hands or go mad. Yet the amorphous nature of Nils Johannson's genetic cellular matrix allows Looker to alter her appearance into any other human (or nearly-human) form at will, so maintaining flawless and undetectable disguises for up to several hours at a stretch. She has even worked to develop certain attitudes and appearances of extreme ugliness and revulsion: summoning forth on her command a surprising weapon eliciting vomiting from enemies. Such talents make L a natural infiltrator and advance-scout into opposing criminal gangs.
This breathtaking statuesque (5'11¾ ”) lady knows full well meaning of the phrase: "If you've got it, flaunt it": her QQ costume no more than a dazzling emerald-green sequined cocktail mini dress with matching 3-inch heels and mantle coverup (concealing holsters for an epee-like dagger and bola weaponry). The fit and form of this outfit seems spray- painted over extraordinary hourglass curves, as Looker knows distraction can buy her a precious key few seconds jump on male adversaries. Proud lioness-like ethereal facial features have two outstanding points: silky-smooth mid-length strawberry blond tresses which catch the glinting mid-day sunlight among highlights like illuminated gold; and hazel eyes that affix everything they touch with the stereotypical supermodels' haughty glare. Given the way men react to her striking appearance, Looker has great difficulty struggling against vanity and arrogance. Spends most her free time doing hair and nails.
DREAM CASTING: Charlize Theron meets Vanessa Williams by way of Shauna Sand.
(Genesis Donors: Looker's sexy DNA recombination is from Kathy 'England' and Fabio).
Undercover: isn't yet convinced she should work for a living…maybe a TV soap actress?
MM:I:16:frozen in ice; MM:III:29:stupefied; CC:III:29:mannequin;
Dura-Damsel was the add-on heroine character who filled an obvious gap in QQ team talent with respect to speed and quickness. She’s somewhat of a cross between The Flash and Wonder Woman… and her dazzling costume reflects this. Its top half is a skintight sparkly red hooded cowl with a silver lightning bolt diagonally crossing her QQ emblem (near-exact match to Ingeno-Lady’s) atop hypnotizing chest curves. Bushy chocolate hair ringlets are gathered into a loose ponytail and run through an open hole in her hood atop the skull pate. These then cascade as a flowing mane across her shoulders down onto a waist-length yellow cape. Deidre (or Deedee as she likes to be called informally) sports a deliberately bit-too-short electric blue miniskirt with lower portions of frilly, almost ‘see-thru’, white lace panties peeking out as villainous distraction. Thigh-high shiny leather boots (which match her formal ballroom gown-length yellow gloves) create a tantalizing gap of caramel skin between boot tops and hemline: luscious long an defined runner’s thighs. Adjectives most often used to describe this super-athletic QQ are ‘cheetah’ and ‘gazelle’: consistent with her African muta-cloned DNA heritage. Ultra-high metabolism contributes to her lean and lanky (5’9”) physical appearance, yet she has a gorgeous face with regal bearing: pronounced forehead, high cheekbones and penetrating green eyes. DD speaks with an intoxicating South-African Boer’s lilting sing-song. Two very key weaknesses exist in Dura-Damsel’s persona: 1)being newest of the QQ’s, she feels a bit disconnected and unaccepted by her teammates. Maw has an especially difficult time dealing with her… Deedee’s natural tendencies toward solutions involving speed and patience grate against Maw’s aggressive style. Such frictions and differences make our 5th superheroine tentative and uncertain (so far) in battle; 2) bio-construction flaws in her proto-matter crystalline matrix cell structure link her super-speed “flashing” abilities to an ever-heightening libido. DD finds it increasingly harder to forego erotic opportunities (male and female) as they come along. She has unique strengths too. Her muta-cloning exaggerating female patient endurance lets her take on otherwise brain-numbing tedious tasks. Diedre is also essentially impervious to pain. Weapons include both a high-tech boomerang and lasso (with truth serum interior reservoir) held by holsters on thin utility belt about her slender waist. DREAM CASTING: 30% Marion Jones, 70% Tyra Banks.
(Genesis Donors: Deedee’s “Mom” is Martha ‘Stalwart’ and “Dad” is Nelson Mandela; yet somehow there’s a bit of a Kenyan marathoner thrown into her DNA melting pot).
Secret Identity: DD employs patient endurance & speed skills as Gotham postal worker.
CC:III:29:shellacked; CC:IV:38:tetanized; CC:VII:85:m-c;