The Illusionist will be another supervillain in the Dasher comic series with the ability to cast illusions to the surrounding crowd. I started with developing his suit design first before I went into designing the character.
The suit he wears under his red overcoat is designed to protect him from seeing his own illusions being projected onto him by accident. I plan for his suit to be his greatest strength and weakness.
Bio:
Fletcher was brought up by a struggling family that lived on government benefits. They didn’t have enough money to support themselves. Fletcher's' father worked as a taxi driver, and his mother couldn’t work. Fletcher’s loving mother and father did everything they could to keep themselves from becoming homeless and support their son. The money given to them by the government was only enough to keep a roof over their heads and to bring food to their table. As Fletcher grew up, he practiced his magic tricks as his hobby, which became his calling to become a public magician for Blackpool.
Fletcher began his life as a street performer to entertain the public. He started his life as a magician in his early twenties to watch the public smile at him during his performances. Over time, he realized what he wanted was to crave attention to make himself known as better than every magician in the world. He had little money paid to him by the same government that supported his parents during his childhood, but it was only enough to help him live in a small apartment complex. Despite all his years as a self-employed street magician, Fletcher had asked for a role at the Blackpool circus time and time again but was continuously let down.
The day after he was given powers from “the shock,” he had trouble controlling his ability to cast illusions without effecting himself. His newfound powers prevented Fletcher from going out publicly to continue his performances. The first time he accidentally uses them on himself, he saw another version of himself mocking the real Fletcher, who does not have a better lifestyle. He was scared to death by how his illusions had affected him. One day, he met with Professor Conway in a café to ask for help managing his powers so he wouldn’t risk harming himself or others. Thanks to Professor Conway’s assistance in developing a suit to shield him from his illusions, he realizes his opportunity to prove himself to the circus. Unfortunately, his chances backfired when his powers did the opposite of what he intended. Fletcher's illusions scared the crowd and the performers on stage into fleeing the circus when he made everyone see their worst fears. He was immediately fired for his stunt and would never return to perform again.
His life was over at the point he couldn’t work as a self-employed magician anymore. Over time, he lived homeless on the streets as a failed magician, just as homeless as his parents were. He felt hopeless and let down by the public after everything he had done for them. He eventually realized that he could use his illusions to get away with robbing the banks of Blackpool so he could continue to survive on his own without getting caught. Despite being let down by the circus, he continues his life as a magician who steals from the rich and keeps the money for himself. Because of his illusions, the police could not find or catch Fletcher, as his newfound home was shielded from view thanks to his powers. He gave up his name, Fletcher Smith so that he would be remembered as the Illusionist.
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