Wake App

[i_superman]

Personal Information
Name: Aya
Age: OVER 9000 18
Personal Journal: disposableninja
Email / AIM / MSN / Plurk: disposable_ninja [at] hotmail [dot] com / AIM: Anryuu Nata
Current Character(s): Nash Latkje, Death, Edward Elric, Wheatley, Bart Allen

Character Information
Character Name: Giant; The Iron Giant
Fandom: The Iron Giant
Source: Wiki-link

Character History:
     It came from outer space, crash landing in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Maine.

     America of 1957 was a simmering pot of anxiety that was just waiting for things to boil over. Relations with Russia were more than a little tense, and with the Cold War at its peak, it was difficult to ignore the possible reality of the war being brought to home turf, especially when the Russians had gotten a jumpstart on Americans in the race to space.

     But this unlikely visitor was hardly aware of the events he was coming to stumble upon with his untimely and unexpected visit to Earth. He was damaged during his arrival, and as a result, he could not recall his purpose in coming to that planet, or if there had been one at all. What he did know was that he needed to find a source to fuel himself, but it seemed at least that this new world had plenty of what he required- metal.

     And so it was that around the vicinity of Rockwell, Maine, strange things started happening. Huge chunks of metal started to go missing, pieces appearing to be bitten clean out of tractors and cars. Of course no one knew how to explain it. But a 50 foot robot with a taste for scrap wasn't bound to stay secret for long. It was by chance that he was first discovered by a small boy by name of Hogarth Hughes. The boy had gone to investigate what had happened to their television antennae, venturing out into the woods near which their house was located, and eventually coming upon thier localized power plant. It was there that he witnessed the robot's attempt to feed. After doing some considerable damage to the structure itself, it was accidentally caught up in power cables and could have potentially shorted out for good had not Hogarth rushed in to shut the power off. The giant crashed to the ground, but the boy found it was far from deactivated. He immediately retreated back into the woods where he was found and picked up by his mother.

     It was the following day that Hogarth ventured into the woods again, armed with a camera to gain proof of the monstrous robot he had seen. Hoping to entice it with a piece of metal, he ended up with a closer encounter than he'd expected as the robot came upon him. It wasn't too long before Hogarth's fear vanished as he realized that the giant had seen what he had done to save it, having brought along the very switch to the power plant that the boy had pulled. Eager to have a giant robot of his own, the boy took it upon himself to start teaching it about Earth. He taught it how to speak english, taught him what things were. Unfortunately there were a few things the giant did not understand right off the back, and when you had a hulking metal being following you home like a lost puppy, questions were bound to come up.

     Much like a pet, Hogarth had to help Giant (as he began to call the huge metal man) determine right from wrong. That included eating things that weren't people's property. Things had become near disastrous when Giant attempted to eat some train tracks, a panicky Hogarth trying to desperately make him fix it before the nearing train arrived. Despite the repairs being made, the robot failed to move in time, and the train collided with him. Although in pieces, he proved capable of repairing himself as all his loose bits automatically were drawn back to him, and so Hogarth was able to get the robot to hide in the empty barn near his house while he pulled himself together. Later the boy educated Giant further by way of comic books. Having found out the robot couldn't remember anything about himself, Hogarth insisted that it didn't matter because he believed Giant was a good guy, just like Superman. This made an impression on the robot, continually reinforced by the boy that he could be what he wanted to be and that no one could make him do otherwise.

     Between talk of a giant metal man, the mysterious outage at the power plant and giant chunks being taken out of metal structures, it had drawn the attention of an agent of the U.S. government by name of Kent Mansley. Determined to get to the bottom of things, he discovered that the boy Hogarth was hiding something that he believed a potential threat to the country. With Russia's having gotten Sputnik in space, developing some sort of super robot weapon to destroy them was not far from one's imagination. Mansley did everything in his power to get an army over to take care of the potential menace.

     Meanwhile, Hogarth was doing his best to keep Giant out of view of the public. He found the best place to hide his robot pal was in the junkyard, which doubled as a veritable plethora of scraps for his eating enjoyment. Said junkyard also happened to belong to the town's resident beatnik and brief acquaintance of the boy by name of Dean McCoppin. Since Dean was cool, Hogarth let him in on the giant robot secret, which was extremely helpful when the U.S. Army came knocking in search of the supposed super weapon. Giant was conveniently disguised as one of Dean's artworks made from scrap, which served to convince the commanding officer that Mansley's ravings had pointlessly brought them over.

[I'll be pulling Giant from around this point.]

     Hogarth and his newfound friends were able to enjoy a little peace after the imminent threat of the army had gone, and the junkyard had become a new playground for him and the Giant. It was during one of their games that the boy accidentally triggers something in the robot. The previously harmless Giant suddenly proved himself capable of severe destruction, nearly annihalating Hogarth had not Dean jumped in to save him. He chased Giant off, the poor robot feeling terrible for what he'd done and feeling the need to prove otherwise of himself. Dean in the meantime came to realize that the robot had only been reacting to Hogarth's toy gun, assuming that it had activated some sort of self-defense mechanism.

     Back in town, Giant experienced the shortest stint of a hero in history as he saved a couple of boys from falling off of a building. While briefly hailed as a hero by the citizens of Rockwell, the army, having seen that Mansley had been telling the truth about a giant metal menace, made a beeline for the robot and attacked. Hogarth ran to help his friend, and both retreated, still under fire from the army. Finally Giant was brought down, and seeing an unconscious Hogarth on the ground not far from him, believed the boy to be dead. Upset and once again brought on the offensive by the firepower of the military units, Giant transformed into a walking weapon as they had feared, obliterating their defenses with power that far surpassed their own.

     Mansley was convinced that they needed to bring out the big guns, pushing Lt. General Rogard who was acting commanding officer to have their submarine, the USS Nautilus (haha) ready its ultimate weapon- a nuclear missile. The original plan had been to lure the giant robot out to the ocean where they could deploy the missile. Giant, however, managed to disengage his weapons systems once he saw that Hogarth was still alive, and Dean made to explain to Rogard that the robot was only reacting because of the weapons being turned upon him. Mansley would have none of it, thoroughly convinced that Giant was the enemy. He ordered the Nautilus to fire, only realizing too late that the target made to fire upon was standing in the middle of the city, right where they were. Restrained to keep Mansley from leaving, the people of Rockwell prepared for the worst, and Giant was given the terrible news. It was then that he decided to take it upon himself to save everyone, to be a hero. After telling Hogarth to stay and not to follow him, just as the boy had told him once before, Giant took off into the skies to meet the missile head on before it could come back into the stratosphere.

     He was Superman.

     The explosion was spectacular, but of the Iron Giant, there was no trace.

     It wasn't until much later on that Hogarth received a box from Lt. General Rogard that contained a screw, the one piece that they'd found of the mysterious robot from space. Later that night, it began to move, and an optimistic Hogarth let it out of his window to go and join the rest of the parts making the long trip up to the Northern hemisphere where the Giant awaited...


Character Personality:
     When he first arrived on Earth, Giant didn't seem to have much of a personality. He operated by necessity, strictly for benefit of himself without thinking about possible reprecussions. It wasn't until he met Hogarth that his perspective of the world changed dramatically. Here was a boy who had saved his life, even though he knew nothing about him nor where he had come from. Here was a boy who looked past what might appear to be a monster of a robot to see the potential good inside.

     The Giant learns much by copying. It doesn't seem to take him too long to have a basic understanding of the english language. He mimics Hogarth just as most small children would, and when introduced to new things, he doesn't consider that it would be a bad thing to accidentally reveal himself to the general populace, eagerly barreling towards something new. He's a curious thing and likes exploring. He also appears to be somewhat of a perfectionist when Hogarth tries to get him to fix the railroad track, lingering much longer than he probably should have just to make sure that the rails were perfectly aligned. He doesn't know bad from good, just like a little kid. The concept seems foreign to him until introduced by Hogarth.

     It was through Hogarth that the Giant developed. Childlike in innocence caused by amnesia and generally naive about the workings of the strange new world, it was easy for the robot to become so trusting of someone who had helped him out. The boy didn't seem to mean him any harm, and was genuinely invested in wanting to make sure that he wouldn't be one to mistakenly cause harm to others. Being an avid reader of comics and a fan of science fiction, Hogarth could have easily been convinced that the Giant was an enemy to Earth, bent on destruction. He would have been right.

     Though unknown as to the Giant's origins, he was built as a weapon, capable of decimating planets. Here he was given something of a fresh start, a chance to be something other than a weapon as so impressed by his little child-friend. Guns are bad. Weapons kill. You choose who you want to be. You're a good guy.

     Death made a strong impression upon the robot. Dead things didn't come back, and it made him sad. Hurting others could potentially kill them. But Hogarth said that while it was bad to kill, it wasn't bad to die, and good things had a soul, which wouldn't die. He believed the Giant had a soul because he had feelings, and it was definitely something new to think about. Once Giant realized he could have possibly killed his first and only friend, he was afraid of what he was, and of what he could become. He became more distraught as his shifts back towards his original programming became more frequent whenever triggered by seeing a weapon, but Hogarth believed in him and helped to ground him in deciding what he was.

     Becoming quite protective of Hogarth, when he thought that the boy had died, Giant completely gave into his offensive programming and went on a rampage, attacking all who dared attack him. Being that he was able to override this once he saw that Hogarth was alive and well, Giant proved to be capable of being in control of himself as an individual rather than someone's weapon of chaos. He wanted to help others, and to be a hero. His chance was given, and it was something only he knew he could do. Giant is willing to sacrifice himself for others because that's what good guys do.


Powers and Abilities:
     The Giant is in himself, a walking weapon. Although cut from the film, deleted scenes show that he is capable of "dreaming," and that he can transmit these dreams through signals which can be picked up on things like televisions. There are possibly many more of his type, designed specifically to conquer and destroy worlds.

     When Giant goes on the defensive, his eyes glow red- usually in reaction to seeing a gun or other weapon. His eyes can shoot some type of electric or laser beam that makes swiss cheese out of metal. Both is arms convert into energy cannons, his right one capable of firing blasts and the left discharges some energy ball that engulfs and completely obliterates its target. His right arm has another weapon that resembles a spinning disc, and when put into use, two arms with spikes pop up and tap at it, kind of like a record player, except it emits electric blasts with each stroke. It makes short work of vehicles. He has three loose-flowing armlike appendages that pop up, each built with blasters. When he completely goes into offensive mode, his head tucks down and his chest opens up to reveal a massive cannon. When charged and fired... let's just say you don't want to be caught anywhere near it or its radius. From its misfire in the movie, it could possibly have easily taken out a city.

     His method of flight is pretty rudimentary, based on rocket propulsion from his feet, although he also has a couple of smaller thrusters in his back as well. He is capable of flying high up into the atmosphere, and given that he crashed through it in the first place, one can surmise that he is able to withstand extremely high temperatures.

     He is capable of self-repair that automatically activates if he's broken into pieces. Durable is an understatement as he's taken direct hits from rockets, gun and cannon-fire, and even a nuclear missle. When he breaks, his body parts home in towards wherever his head is, each part capable of independent movement. Giant quite literally pulls himself together.

Samples
Network:

[A massive glowing...eye? peers closely at the screen, eventually pulling back to reveal the metal head of what appears to be a robot. It tilts its head to the side, then pokes at the screen with a big finger.]

...tee...vee...?

[It tilts its head to the other side, watching for another minute or two before its eyes seem to lid, just enough to convey disappointment.]

Bro-ken...

[Almost seeming to headshake, the large robot looks from side to side then, observing its surroundings.]

I broken..? This...not Rockwell.


Third Person:
     He remembered bad things. Terrible things. The world was burning. Things would end. Then they would move on.

     To repeat.

     To destroy.

     "NO."

     A large metal fist crunched into the piled car chassi in emphasis. Glowing eyes rounded out, and the iron man awoke from his slumber. At first he looked around almost lost, processing his surroundings as though for the first time. Slowly he unfolded himself from where he had laid, head towering high over the piles of junk and scrap. It was a different junkpile, not the one with Dean and the things he called 'art.'

     He remembered. There had been a voice, somewhere. And when he had opened his eyes, nothing looked familiar. It was almost like when he'd first arrived on earth, except this time he felt much differently about the situation. Oddly enough, he was...scared.

     This was a strange city. It didn't look nearly as neat as Rockwell. It was much bigger, and people told him that it wasn't part of that world, whatever that meant. The people here were nice. Helpful. He liked that. But there was still a lot he didn't understand. He was just beginning to think he kind of understood one place, but now he had to start all over again.

     There was no Hogarth here. It made him sad. He hadn't been apart from him long, but the Giant missed the boy. For all the people that were here and seemingly unafraid of him, he still felt alone, somehow. He didn't know how to describe it, and he wasn't sure what it was that bothered him so, but he wished that feeling would go away.

     Things crunched under hand and foot as the Giant made to stand. He looked out towards the rest of the city that sprawled out beyond, where the woods were so far from the sea, and the skies that hung out over the west were always an eerie red tinge. And yet for all that it was a city, it was so very quiet. He hardly saw any people, although at least he wouldn't accidentally find them under foot. Lifting his glowing gaze to the night sky, the Giant looked at the distant moon- no, scratch that, moons. One looked kind of funny though. Not the same moons. Not the same sky.

     "Not home..."