Here's my first concept entry:
Michael Bloom
Character concept: The Sculptor, ex-super and semi-retired artist
Powers - Sculptor can reshape nearly any sort of matter with a thought. Particularly strong materials (steel to high end alloys) tend to lose some of their structural integrity in the process, but softer materials remain unchanged. Can react quickly enough to block incoming attacks with surrounding materials. Can also shape the ground under his feet in a wave motion to move quickly.
Brief history -
Michael Bloom was born in the middle-class suburbs of Chicago, 1948. As a child, he had a talent for art and a keen interest in comics and superheroes - particularly those of the WWII era. In his late teens, Michael was drawn in to the hippy movement...but mostly by association with his fellow art students at Northwestern University.
In the summer of 1967, following his freshman year of college, Michael became one of the relatively small number of people who acquired super powers from the God Seed comet. As with many recipients of super powers, Michael's seemed to stem from his personality and interests - in his case, sculpture and the shaping of materials. While it fulfilled one of his greatest childhood fantasies, Michael was now at a point in his life where he wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his gift.
Then the government decided for him. His draft number came up and it didn't take the military long to determine that he was a super. He was placed into Project Starlight, the Army's metahuman development program, and eventually assigned to a small squad of supers designated to help counter a similar program that the Soviets operated. While Starlight tried to operate in the shadows, a few public clashes exposed the group Michael operated with...making him something of an unwilling celebrity.
Five years later, Michael was finally discharged from the Army. Starlight had mixed successes and Michael's powers were not deemed critical enough to warrant forcing him into extended service.
Michael spent some time in San Francisco and New York through the rest of the 1970's, mostly trying to make a name for himself in the art business. His unique talents granted him some measure of success. At the same time, he found that he missed the business of using his powers for heroic deeds...more than he thought he would after leaving the Army. Following the weak passage of the comet in 1967, however, there was little call for public super heroes.
The comet passage of 1980 changed Michael's life dramatically. He was living back in the Chicago area, newly married and operating a successful art studio. The relatively close pass of the God Seed that year produced a bumper crop of new supers, including many quite powerful ones. Perhaps reflecting a changing culture, there was a disproportionately high number of new supers who chose to use their powers for selfish ends. Michael was talked into joining forces with several other Chicago area supers to deal with threats to the public.
Glassman, CodeX, Ice Queen, and Kid Dino rounded out the core of the Chicago based team. For five years, the team banded together when the city needed them, and they enjoyed a string of successes in putting down mis-guided metahumans. In 1986, one particular villain rose above the rest - killing Glassman, CodeX, and Ice Queen in an epic battle over the streets of downtown Chicago. Kid Dino and Sculptor were eventually able to catch and put away this villain, but the loss of much of the team led to a collapse of the group. (Leaving villain open-ended for possible development...)
Hero work no longer held any interest for Michael, so he put his efforts into art and raising a family. Things remained quiet until the winter of 2003. Unbeknownst to Michael, the villain who had slaughtered his old teammates had been broken from prison. This villain (presumably) invaded Michael's house and brutally murdered his wife and two teenage children while Michael was out of town doing an art exhibition.
Michael knew it was his nemesis, and he also knew that this person had deliberately struck in such a way as to cause him the most suffering possible. He has spent the last couple years in a state of semi-depression, half-heartedly trying to track down his old nemesis for vengeance...and finding the trial growing colder by the day.
Story ideas:
This character is best set up for a rematch with his old nemesis. Presumably, his nemesis is somehow tied into a plot involving the comet's approach. Either Michael gets a break in his search or someone comes to him for help and he's only too willing to agree when he learns who is behind this someone's problem.
*****
As an aside, I was also going to work up the briefly mentioned character Kid Dino as a possible character for this game.