"Awesome Man" started out as an ironic nickname given to the tripfag of the same name but eventually became the name given to a character created by said tripfag. Starting out as a crappy little MSPaint doodle, it evolved into a fully fleshed out character and story that gained attention from /co/ for awhile and turned into an ongoing project between Awesome Man, Poison Dart, and Ladybug's creators.
Michael Eberhardt was twenty-three when he decided to become the masked vigilante he felt his hometown, Green City, desperately needed. Though the city was famed during the 1960s for being home to the beloved masked heroine, Mama Bear, it had gone largely without any sort of heroic presence since her retirement in 1971. Since then, the city fell victim to corrupt police, mob activity, and even super-villainous presences which only grew worse over the years. Working as an advice columnist and community journalist for his local paper, Michael was made aware of just how much the people in his city suffered due to these ever-increasing problems. From scared children to desperate adults, their plight weighed heavily on his heart.
His costume, a repurposed mish-mash of a SWAT uniform, military surplus and stuntman equipment, originally began as a sort of dedicated cosplay project born from his love of comics. Originally planned as a tribute to the Justice Coalition, it eventually turned into his own design which would complement the creation of his own comic series: The Midnite Vanguard.
One fateful night he would revisit the outfit out of a mixture of boredom and lament after another long day of harsh realities and sad stories. Before he could change out of the costume, his phone rang; it was a call from the wife of his great uncle. She was terrified, asking if he or his grandfather could come pick up her and the children she was babysitting and allow them to stay at their home for the night. She explained that his uncle, the landlord of the apartment complex they lived in, was under pressure from the local gangs to sign away the property for reasons never quite explained. The thugs only grew more aggressive by the day until finally their actions became violent on the night of this phone call.
Michael agreed to come and get them, but was then forced to listen to the thugs break into her home and begin assaulting them.
Catching a look at himself in the mirror in his room, he knew the police would never respond in time, if at all. That was the night "The Midnite Vanguard" came into existence, a new masked hero dedicated to returning peace and justice to Green City no matter the cost. He would hastily make his way to the apartment complex, finding the main building engulfed in flames.
After a dramatic rescue of his uncle's wife and the three children she was looking after, he found a crowd of tenants outside of the burning building all waiting to find out what happened to the bizarre masked man who took down the thugs and then ran into the building. Greeted by awe and cheers, he returned one of the young girls to her parents after carrying her out in his arms and reviving her through CPR needed after nearly suffocating to death.
The girl's father would then tell him that he would never forget what he did for his family, vowing to do his best to protect his daughter, Azadeh, and spread the story of his bravery to the best of his abilities. Unaware that another tenant had asked the name of the masked hero, Michael responds "That's awesome, man." Immediately, the crowd murmurs about their new hero... "Awesome Man".
Though he has tried for years, insisting his name is actually "The Midnite Vanguard", the name "Awesome Man" stuck with the public and media.
Though he starts out untrained and prone to vicious beatings from the thugs he takes on, he would grow in strength, skill and heart during his career as a hero. Since he has been a masked hero for nearly three years by the time The Lovely Ladybug and Poison Dart appear on the scene, he takes a quick liking to them as fellow young heroes.
Team Up[]
Team up
At some point The Lovely Ladybug, and Poison Dart join the group known as the "West Coast Justice Coalition", a part of the larger Justice Coalition. Though Awesome Man joins them and assists on a majority of their missions and actions, he is not officially recognized as a member of their group or the Justice Coalition due to conflicts of interests and opinion. He is not well liked by the Justice Coalition due to their widely unknown and/or ignored prejudice towards non-meta, non-magical or non-high tech heroes. Realizing this, as well as the fact that they worry too much about public image and marketing, Awesome Man holds no love for the Justice Coalition.
Random Facts[]
Not long after beginning his career as Vanguard, he learns that the grandparents that raised him were, in reality, masks themselves. His grandmother was the famed pro-wrestling themed superheroine, Mama Bear while his grandfather was the destructive explosives expert villain known as BlastZone.
Neither he or his grandmother realize that they are in fact meta-humans, each of them with a very minorly enhanced endurance and durability that simply makes it appear as if they can taking a beating better than anyone else but not quite to the point where it seems inhuman.
He stands at Six feet and Seven inches tall, towering over his two female comrades.
Most of his gadgets are repurposed and altered devices such as a grappling gun, smoke pellets and even knuckle-bracers with a built in taser.
Though not traditionally trained in any martial arts at first, the way he fights can be seen as a combination of street brawling, aikido and grappling.
More accurate costume, wrong body shape
The emblem on his chest is supposed to be a stylized blue and purple "V" highlighed over an "M" to stand for Midnite Vanguard. This is not reflected in most artwork.
Possesses a very rare and incredibly valuable poster of Skathi, the Justice Coalition's own giantess, sporting a rather skimpy bikini on a frozen beach.
Theme Song[]
He goes around the world fighting crime, according to his Awesome Plan.
If he saw criminals trying to lie, hurting other people and making them cry, he would haul them off to jail in his Awesome Van.
