I have an idea for a young heroine with a family history related to the Five Dragons. She uses supernatural martial arts and is a homage to both chick action movies and kung fu of the '70s with a modern twist. However, I can't think of a superhero name that fits her, so I'm coming here for help.
Here's some details about that character. Note, if you have any suggestions backstory-wise I'm open to ideas.
[b]Name:[/b] Stephanie Yin
[b]Age:[/b] 21
[b]Nationality:[/b] Chinese-Korean-American
[b]Appearance:[/b] 5'4", she has black hair that's tied into a ponytail and a petite yet toned physique.
[b]Costume:[/b] A traditional Chinese-inspired look that takes on a modernized interpretation. It's a blue jacket with Oriental flower designs and an asymmetrical look. As in, the left has a long sleeve and the right doesn't have one at all. Beneath it is a black top with some midriff. She wears fingerless gloves on both hands. As for her bottom, she wears black shorts with a martial arts belt tied around it, and she wears light shoes with shin guards. The back of her outfit also has a symbol of a Chinese dragon.
[b]Powers and Abilities:[/b] She knows supernatural martial arts. Stephanie can summon chi energy and enhance her strikes and withstand enemy attacks. That, and she can blast energy using the chi at her opponents. She can also use the strength of said chi to make massive leaps into the air and land with ease. Outside of that, she's just a damned good martial artist and dangerous even without summoning her chi.
[b]Bio:[/b]
Stephanie Yin was born in Titan City to Chinese martial artist-turned-businessman Frank Yin and Korean-American shop owner Nadia Chae. Stephanie lived a sheltered life, but wanted something more. She wanted to learn martial arts, and as it turns out the Yin family had been known to be able to summon chi energy through rigorous training, her father having been a master before he turned to entrepreneurship. To have her doing activity, Frank agreed to have his brother Feng teach her the ways of the Yin family. It wasn't easy, but no one ever said it would be. After much trial and error, Stephanie learned the techniques and became capable of defending herself, but wasn't yet on the level of her family.
However, before the training could be completed, she learned a dark secret, one she didn't want to think was true. Frank Yin had secretly been involved with the Five Dragons. He used them to help continue his business in exchange for money. This happened one day when she looked into his "secret dealings" that she was forbidden to know, out of curiosity as to [i]why[/i] it was forbidden. The dealings on the computer became more than clear, and she ran away not wanting a part in this. But before that, she told her mother. Nadia was well-aware of his dealings and advised her to leave before she ends up dead. She did just that and never looked back.
Two years later, she did odd jobs to stay afloat, staying away from her family at all costs. Then she stumbled across a dojo on a night as she was traveling. The owner of the dojo was Shen Wei, a retired martial arts hero. After explaining her situation, he decided to take her in complete the training. In addition to the Yin family technique, she also learned the styles of the Shen family. Though she didn't master either, she did know well enough to create her own unique style based on the two that no one else knows. At age 20, she set out to become a superhero, hoping to make up for the misdeeds of her relatives through the actions of good.
It's been a year of on the field, and she knows there is much to learn.
----
So... any ideas?
If she doesn't wear a mask she could just use her name.
But for super hero names
Jade Dragon
Lotus (or something Lotus)
I just woke up so that's all my brain is doing for now.
"Let the past die. Kill it if you have to."
Hmmmm, blue jacket. With martial arts, one does not need the name of a fierce predator.
Sparrow.
Blue Heron.
Blue Lotus
That's all I have.
[img]https://s15.postimg.cc/z9bk1znkb/Black_Falcon_Sig_in_Progess.jpg[/img]
Sparrow sounds really good... except I've already decided on that name for another hero I've made inspired by Robin, so I don't think I'll be using that one here. The others sound good so far though.
Blue Lotus or Blue Dragon
not my video just one I lke ===> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6-SdIN0hsM
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change the costume to red,
[b]Red Ronin[/b]
[img]https://s15.postimg.cc/z9bk1znkb/Black_Falcon_Sig_in_Progess.jpg[/img]
Wrong country. Ronin are a Japanese thing not Chinese.
"Let the past die. Kill it if you have to."
Bob
Call her Bob and confuse everyone.
Be Well!
Fireheart
Slappy Mcpunchface
not my video just one I lke ===> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6-SdIN0hsM
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[URL=http://s105.photobucket.com/user/fireheart5150/media/My%20Characters/Robin.jpg.html][IMG]http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/fireheart5150/My%20Characters/th_Robin.jpg[/IMG][/URL] (<-- Clickable) This is Robin. Yes, European Robins are blue.
Be Well!
Fireheart
[b]Thorn Flower[/b]
Note that a name of "thorn flower" is not explicitly a "rose" (nor does it smell as sweet) ... but it does carry all sorts of connotations of both danger and beauty (which is pretty much the core of Chinese martial arts, really). It also carries a warning of "handle with care" in the name's very essence, secondarily implying that this is a woman you don't really want to be playing around with, because she's serious work. At the same time, the name itself doesn't really give you anything to go on betraying what her powers are, how they work, what she can do with them or even why she ought to be feared (beyond sheer reputation alone). So it's a name that is both revealing AND concealing at the same time. It is something that can have MULTIPLE interpretations (meaning you're not locked into a single unique flower pattern motif!) and is something that feels like it ought to be whispered about in hushed respectful tones by her adversaries. Those who are disrespectful and/or are derisive of her name will get to find out first hand why that was a Bad Idea™.
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[i]Verbogeny is one of many pleasurettes afforded a creatific thinkerizer.[/i][/center]
that may be true but America is a melting pot where all cultures blend. Besides martial artists are pretty generic these days.
I like the name. If no one wants it, I will make a blue eyed Midwestern gal with that name.
[img]https://s15.postimg.cc/z9bk1znkb/Black_Falcon_Sig_in_Progess.jpg[/img]
I think traditional martial artists are the easiest to find a name for... Just take a colour or an element from Chinese elemental wheel and then slap an animal name on it. Failing that you could probably just add an adnoun instead of a colour like "Striking Dragon" or "Burning Lotus"
not my video just one I lke ===> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6-SdIN0hsM
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Heck since she uses chi and Iron Fist uses Chi you could probably go with Iron something, like Iron lotus or Iron dragon.
not my video just one I lke ===> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6-SdIN0hsM
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The Sixth Dragon.
I would suggest going through some asian plant names either use the latin or common name that you think suites the character.
I think Blue Lotus fits-it seems innocuous and innocent enough and doesn’t betray her abilities, but with reputation and seeing her skill, villains will come to fear it just the same as they would Anthem or Rottweiler
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Rottweiler is the Bradford Boxer now due to copyright issues
not my video just one I lke ===> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6-SdIN0hsM
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The Blue Lotus is an Egyptian flower, so I would stay away from that confusion. There are a few East Asian blue flowers, though. One is named after its resemblance to female genitalia. I would stay away from naming your hero Clitoria, but that's the name if you want to use it. Truth is stranger than fiction sometimes!
Another blue flower from Korea is known as the duckfoot herb. Again, not an atractive option.
But I did find one that is from east asia and is blue and that sounds pretty good as a hero name in both its latin and common names:
[indent][i]Dianella[/i] (the diminutive form of [i]Diana[/i] Goddess of the Hunt), also known as [i]Flax Lilly[/i] Has pale blue flowers and bears curious blue berries.[/indent]
Another route you could take is a nod to her mixed heritage. Currently in Korea, there is a boom of children of Korean and other Asian backgrounds. They are called Kosians. This is typically a pejorative term, and would be a good name the members of the 5 dragons use for her when they confront her. "So, you're that Kosian we've been hearing about" Used enough, that could be an interesting street-moniker she ends up adopting for herself.
I hope that these ideas can provide some inspiration.
[hr]I like to take your ideas and supersize them. This isn't criticism, it is flattery. I come with nothing but good will and a spirit of team-building. If you take what I write any other way, that is probably just because I wasn't very clear.
I'd probably avoid Red Ronin because ronin specifically refers to Japanese culture. Stephanie is mixed Chinese/Korean, both of which having famously poor relationships with Japan.
But otherwise I'm liking the names I'm seeing so far.
The Dragon
Sapphire
The Sapphire Dragon
[url=http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Janis_thorn]Janis Thorn[/url]
... for those who appreciate their Doctor Who history.
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[i]Verbogeny is one of many pleasurettes afforded a creatific thinkerizer.[/i][/center]
Hm. Stephanie Yin, with an assymmetric costume. The other side of Yin is Yang; the other side of Stephanie, meaning crown, could be peon. [b]Peon Yang[/b]. It would be hard to know if she's Chinese, South Korean, or even from that capital city in between with the funny name. If she ever goes Rogue she'd be set.
[size=14]"The illusion which exalts us is dearer to us than ten thousand truths." - Pushkin[/size]
[size=14] "One piece of flair is all I need." - Sister Silicon[/size]
I've decided that Stephanie Yin will be one of those odd superheroes without a codename. The inspiration came from Colleen Wing of Marvel Comics, as the name just stands on its own. The justification in-story is that she's already known for being a runaway, which means her identity is public. She wants the Five Dragons to know exactly who is causing them trouble.
Does that sound good?
Codenames are camouflage, or simply shorthand. There's no reason a codename is required. There is no reason to deny a codename, either, it's your choice. Practically everyone knew that Marcus Cole was Statesman.
Many of my characters didn't wear a mask, they used codenames simply as a mental switch to separate their 'job' from their personal selves. Peregrine Smythe was 'Perfect Perry', but when he's out to a show with a date he's not there to be 'Perfect', even if the date calls him 'Perry'.
Be Well!
Fireheart
A lot of my characters are pretty intent on keeping their civilian identities a secret. Then again, I've developed a LOT of headcannon about super hero fame and villains being able to track down family.
I mean, if the intent is to invoke Colleen Wing, then absolutely yes... using the same name format would create the right associations in people's minds.
Though among comic book readers, a street-level martial arts hero with the name 'Stephanie' is going to remind people of Stephanie Brown (Spoiler, Batgirl), from DC. If you're fine with that, then that's fine... use what makes you happy, after all! But that's the comic character many other people might think of first, not Colleen Wing.
Also, Colleen Wing and Misty Knight are collectively "the Daughters of the Dragon", even if that's a duo or team name rather than a single one. Thus even if she's widely known as Stephanie Yin, even if you use that as the actual avatar/character name, you could still come up with some kind of martial arts moniker or title. Even if it's something used by her enemies. Could be something that comes up in RP or whatever. This isn't just consistent with '70s Western interpretations of martial arts, that kind of thing is common for the Chinese wuxia or xianxia genre.
Colleen was a factor when I chose Shandora Ward's name, too (also a street-kid (orphan) martial artist.) She wasn't interested in hiding who she was and did want the hellions and skulls to recognize here. I did later add an informal codename to her bio (and even rerolled her on another server as a good martial arts 'stalker' at the end): "Misosazai" - the nickname she was given by her mother during training (much like "grasshopper" of Kung Fu lore)
Misosazai is the Japanese word for a Wren- known in Japanese lore as a small, inconspicuous-looking bird known that's incredibly fast, loud, and cocky. Adopting the codename is both in memory of her mother and a personal reminder not to get too cocky or flashy as her fame/notoriety grew. It wasn't always a reminder of humility, though- she'd leave a few curves of graffiti that made the silhouette of a small bird as her 'calling card' to make sure her adversaries knew who was battling them.
Fox Lily
I think avoiding codenames is fine if you choose to do so, but sometimes they get hung on you (see Kosian above). I have a character called Jennie Frost by the media, but everyone knows that she is Jennifer Pembrose, head of a family-owned multi-billion dollar corporation. The gained the name because she passively absorbs kinetic energy from the environment around her leaving a light layer of frost.
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There's also the fact that some codenames are actually honorific titles (like Iron Fist, or the "Doctor" in Doctor Strange).
Personally, I really like the suggestion of Iron Lotus. "Stephanie Yin, the Iron Lotus" sounds really cool. But if you don't like it, I will happily steal it for one of my alts! :D
Characters:
* Kestrel
* Zero Break
* All-Star