The Alchemist

No... just because it has the word "Alchemist" in it does not mean I'm ripping off Full Metal Alchemist (You may laugh, but I've already been accused of doing so.)

Done for this contest: Design a "Fat" Superhero!- [link]

This is Jackie, the Chemisty Major with a minor in the History of Mideval Medicine. She is an ordinary human. She has no powers, no magic...just brains.

On one ordinary afternoon, Jackie was alone in her dormroom, reading various documents on her laptop, just for the fun of it (because that's the kind of party girl she is). One too many clicks on the "related topics" tab, and she wandered onto the age-old, instantly-entrancing subject of alchemy. While most scholars had dismissed the idea of the practice, they were not Jackie the chemist.

Within the next sleepless weeks, she had cracked it. Though it was no magic trick like the history books had implied, she had uncovered a basic form of Alchemy that relied on an extensive memorization of complex chemical reactions.

Immediately needing to tell someone about her discovery, Jackie let her roommate in on the secret. Kay, always the dreamer, instantly planted the idea of crimefighting into her down-to-earth roommate's head. While Jackie had never intended to go along with this far-fetched plan, fate had a different idea.

Late night lab sessions were common in Jackie's life, but never had she planned on them ever becoming eventful. One night, walking back to her dorm with her supplies slung under her arm, Jackie noticed that one of her classmates was being harrassed by a group of Seniors who obviously had more than a few drinks in their systems. When the news story surfaced the next day about the student who wouldn't have escaped her attackers, had it not been for them being struck down suddenly and mysteriously with scarring-chemical burns, Jackie's role as a hero was sealed.

The next day, Kay and Jackie created the masked enigma that soon became The Alchemist.

_{Fun fact... the sketchy/painterly style drawing on the left is Kay's concept sketch.}




Okay, story done with, now it's design-explaining time.

The bird mask, as explained to me by one of my fellow art students, was born of the Black Plague doctors. [EDIT] It appears I misinterpreted as to what kind of bird mask my schoolmate was indicating. As justifi-cation pointed out, she is wearing a Venitian Carnival mask, not a Plague mask. [/EDIT] Around her waist, the belt holds vials of every element one can possibly bottle (aka, no gasses). In the pouch around her neck, sits her own invention: foil wrapped coins that, when touched together produce smoke, and when friction is applied, produce fire.

The Amulet around her neck is an artifact she found on one of her Alchemy-related knowledge hunts, but I can't reveal what it does lest I actually turn this into a comic...because I'll be honest, I've never been so tempted.


Also contemplating giving her PCOS or Diabetes in the comic. It would not only be a tangible reason for her weight, but it would also add another layer of relatability.