There were a few different factors that went into this character. First, I used online phrase generators to look for words that inspired me. From the phrases that came up, plus the references to mythology in Ink-stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors, I was able to hone in on water, mythical creatures and dreams/fantasy.

I spent a lot of time actually developing a human character whose origin was connected to the Lochness monster, but it ended up sounding kind of like the plot to Disney’s Moana so I trashed it. I wanted to think bigger. From a list of water deities, I came across Ceto, a primordial sea goddess in Greek mythology. I fell in love with the idea of an ancient spirit or essence, whose existence dates back to before time began, being reborn or banished into the waters of Earth and forced to inhabit a physical form.

Her physical appearance was influenced by my interpretation of the goddess and Watchmen‘s Dr. Manhattan. Since she doesn’t come from Earth, I didn’t want her looking normal enough to pass as a human. My favorite feature of hers is the gray skin tone.

Ceto rules the seas in all universes, not just ours. Her powers while on Earth include, but are not limited to- insane water manipulation, teleportation, and she obviously has an army of sea animals at her disposal (including the Lochness monster). I’ve yet to decided whether she will use these abilities to help or hurt humankind.

You can read Ceto’s introduction here.

My spy character, Roderick Rush, is inspired by several other spies from literature, television, and film along with a lot of my own invention. In large part, I based him and part of his backstory on Jason Bourne. Although I’ve never been as big of a fan of the Bourne novels or movies as some people, I’ve always liked them and they have come to define the modern spy genre. Although he starts with no idea as to his own real identity, Bourne still has amazing intellectual and physical capabilities that make him the perfect spy.

Although not strictly a spy, the influences that Sherlock Holmes has had on the spy genre (including on Jason Bourne) are ubiquitous. Genius-level intellect, unparalleled powers of deduction, and even martial arts skills (in baritsu in the original novels) are all traits that have grown even more popular in the spy genre today.

James Bond, of course, had a big influence when coming up with my spy. I generally prefer the more “dirty martini” or “stale beer” approaches to the spy genre, as TV Tropes puts it, so I tend to gravitate more toward the Daniel Craig films or some of the Sean Connery films, which in my mind tended to be less flashy (following the trends overall) than in the 80s and 90s.

Last but not least, I wanted to add in influence from a variety of the more noir types of classic cloak-and-dagger genre. That includes some great classic works like A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler or neo-noir espionage works like Valkyrie.

Needless to say, I have a big appreciation for how independently-minded Holmes, Bourne, and the new iteration of Bond have been in their respective works. I’ve never been hugely into the spy genre, mostly because to me, a lot of literature and films out there are too one-note and bland. Jack Ryan comes to mind for me (no offense). I wanted to come up with a spy that fit what I thought would be the most interesting. If I were casting him in a movie, I would ideally cast someone like Miles Teller or Brenton Thwaites. A young spy still figuring out his allegiances whose talent (predictably) isolates him from others, who doesn’t fit the cookie-cutter mold of the dashing, 40-something year-old, jaded yet charming spy would be the most compelling to me. Hopefully Roderick Rush will come across like that.

The most difficult part of creating a character whether it’s a spy or even just a character in Skyrim is the name. Neil Roberts was a real person, but he was not a spy. Roberts was a Navy SEAL like my bio suggests but that’s about as far as the similarities go. Roberts was KIA on a hilltop in 2002 in Afghanistan during the Battle of Takur Ghar. A book was written about all the men involved and the mission they fought for. The book, named Robert’s Ridge, is also the unofficial name of the battle, is named after Neil Roberts.

The most influence that played in the making of my character was from Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. Jack Ryan was featured in the Hunt for Red October, the movie we analyzed. He is also featured in many others including my favorite, Patriot Games.  From Ryan’s character the most influence he had was Robert’s involvement in the CIA. The CIA is the most basic and probably the easiest spy agency to make a character for as there is a lot of info and books out there about them. One such book is The Master of Disguise  by Tony Mendez, a former CIA operative that was active from 1963 to 1990 that goes into great detail into what he did for his job and his activities.

If anyone had looked at the dossier they would have recognized the photo of the man. He is no one else other than the King of Cool, Steve McQueen. Why him? Besides his nickname, he drives arguably the coolest mustang probably ever made, a 1968 Mustang GT Fastback in Highland Green.  McQueen in the movie Bullitt wears a black turtleneck very much similar to the one that Archer wears in the animated TV series.

I would love my character Roberts to be much like Jason Bourne, a kick ass secret operative that eludes capture from anyone and everyone.  I’m not sure if it is possible but that would be best for both of us. Roberts however will not be anything like Rambo. He will be discreet, professional, and not have PTSD that tortures Rambo the way it did in the First Blood, shooting up a small town and starting a manhunt.

His character is still being built, and it mostly depends on which way this course assignments go that dictate what features and experiences he gains and or has.

The primary inspiration for Agent Bongo was not necessarily one specific character, but Archer as a whole series. I also drew from one of my favorite shows, The Office. I wanted to incorporate elements of a human resources department into the background of the character. It wouldn’t be too difficult to illustrate how those might be annoying to a secret agent. I took it a step further by making him a double agent, so that he’s actually making fun of most aspects of the role he’s given at the agency. I wanted the dossier to come across as a stereotypical PR person, particularly the motto. Visually, I didn’t necessarily want the character to stand out. I wanted him to seem like a run of the mill office worker with a hidden agenda. Oh, the irony of Agent Bongo – stuck in the past – doing everything to sabotage the cutting-edge agency with a PR department.

When introducing the character, my first thought was that I could include parts of the hiring process into a blog post. An interview seemed like the perfect medium to illustrate how unpredictable hiring can be. So I decided to roll with the craziness of an agency of that nature going for a PR guy. I would really like to continue to explore diary posts from Agent Bongo, and potentially tie that into my own persona on the blog. It would provide two separate perspectives and an antagonist.

My main inspiration for the silly gimick of my character (that he disguises as a milk man) was a character in a video game called Psychonaughts. The character’s name was Lloyd. Lloyd was a conspiracy theorist looking for “the milk man.” The concept was so original that is always stuck with me. It also turned out that Lloyd was “the milk man” he was searching for the whole time, a psychotic mad man with moletof cocktails of milk. However, psychotic explosions are not fitting for a spy, so subterfuge would be needed. I guess the thing I wanted to avoid most in the spy archetype was the James Bond esk “get the girls” mentality. Personally I feel that a cover position like a milk man will help accomplish that just fine.

http://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/explaining-the-spy/

I thought this writing assignment would be a good idea for me to do considering people who read about my secret agent, ManBearPig, are probably going to be at least somewhat confused. Originally I got the idea for naming my character Al Gore and having his agent name be ManBearPig from SouthPark. Although it is not spy related I thought it was too good to pass up so I decided to make that the base and then go from there. I loved james bond as a kid and although the new movies arent that great in my opinion I wanted to incorporate him and his attitude into my character. Sleek, handsome, athletic, smart, and dangerous are all attributes that my character and james bond share in common. Another person that I pulled from who also happens to be in the james bond world is that of “M” who is in charge of all the missions that they go on and all of the thins that they do. ManBearPig is the leader of his organization of agents, so he plays both roles.