| The manifestations of his
power did not sit well with his father. The career navy man was hoping
to achieve the rank of admiral before retirement, and knowledge that his
son was a mutant might well put a hold on his ambitions.
Over the years, as Jarod made
it through high school and learned some control over his ever-growing
powers, Eugene Mace distanced himself from his son. Having no siblings
and few friends, Jarod’s grades fell and he became moody and depressed.
He dropped out of college before without graduating and decided to move
away. Far away. He drifted south for a few weeks, finally ending in
Miami, Florida, where he found himself a position as bartender. After a
year or so of that he went back to school to try and get that degree.
Not long after Jarod’s stint in the Miami club scene began he
discovered the thrill of being a superhero. At first it was simple
things—stopping a carjacking, driving pushers from street corners and
the like. Through circumstances that were probably well within his
control he fell into a small plot by a new supervillain team to take
over the crime in the Miami area. Thanks to timely and relatively lucky
action on his part, Morningstar was instrumental in their defeat, and a
new era for the young mutant began. His part in the villains’ defeat
brought him to the attention of both the local media, which he loved,
and the local police, which he wasn’t so thrilled about.
Over the next few years Jarod worked at his secret identity, losing
one job over it but earning the good will of the city in general. He
even set aside his natural bias against authority to earn himself a
friend on the police force, one Wilson Biggs. Jarod escalated his
activities, taking on larger threats and working quite hard to ensure
that Miami remained relatively safe. With his popularity gaining Jarod
saw only a bright future ahead of him.
In the late 1990’s Morningstar was approached by an agent of PRIMUS.
They needed him to join a band of superheroes to combat a growing threat
to the country. The details of this encounter are still classified but
it is known that Jarod was one of three survivors, and that the
threat—rumors say it was foreign in origin—was beaten back. What is
known is that Jarod came out of that experience a more mature man, a
little less rebellious and a little more serious about his crimefighting.
Upon his return Jarod took a little time off from being Morningstar
to reevaluate his life. Still a popular bartender, Jarod decided he
wanted a little more. Over several months Jarod managed to bridge the
gap between his father and himself, much to his mother’s relief. They
were still not great friends, but neither were they the enemies they had
once been. Too, Jarod had finally managed to earn his Bachelor’s Degree
after many years of part-time and night school. He had a degree in
business, and decided to do something with it.
With some financial backing from his parents and a sizeable loan from
the bank, Jarod bought a failing club and worked to turn it around. He
hired Kelly Gage, an ex-girlfriend and his former manager, to run the
bar. “Player’s” was a comfortable place, not too big but still large
enough to hold a band and a small dance floor on weekends. He mostly
promoted it as a sports bar—they generally did the best business, after
all—but it was rapidly becoming known as a decent nightclub, as well. It
more than paid the bills. After the first year Jarod was already seeing
a decent profit. Now into it’s second year Jarod was seeing a healthy
return. It helped that more than a few off-duty law enforcement types
had made it a hang out. Jarod wasn’t so sure it was as coincidental as
it seemed, despite the protests of his friend Detective Biggs.
Even during this stressful time Jarod never fully gave up being
Morningstar. If a crime presented itself, or the city decided it needed
him, Morningstar was there. Too, PRIMUS still occasionally requested his
help on joint ventures. Between the Dade County Police and PRIMUS,
Morningstar managed to stay fairly active.
Despite his grumblings about retiring from the costumed world of
superheroes Jarod is quite aware of what a large part of his life
Morningstar really is. He doubts he’ll ever truly give up the mask.
There is still too much of him that enjoys the excitement, the adrenalin
rush, and the attention he garners as Miami’s favorite hero.
It should come as no surprise, then, that when a call goes out for
heroes around the country to lend their aid, Morningstar is there.
Quote (as Jarod Mace):
“No, I don’t make drinks with umbrellas in them. That’s why I hired
Kelly.”
Quote (as Morningstar):
“Nice costume, dude. They sell men’s clothes where you got that?”
Personality:
Once a free-spirited young man with boundless energy and an almost
tangible irreverence for authority, Jarod Mace is a more mature, more
even-tempered man than before. Always driven to prove himself Jarod has
long since given up trying to prove anything to anyone other than
himself. It’s a matter of being the best man he knows how to be, and
being Morningstar is part of that. He still loves a good time, still
very much enjoys being single, and still enjoys a good bar. The
difference is that often these things are attainable in his own club.
His drive to own a bar is due in part to his continued, if lessened,
dislike of authority figures. He just couldn’t see himself working for
anyone else any more. As Morningstar his approach to crime-fighting has
matured, as well. Where once he had no qualms about jumping into any
situation, confident that his powers and attitude would get him out.
While this was once true, his mission with PRIMUS changed that attitude.
Seeing death up close does that to a man. He is a more cautious hero,
now, but no less aggressive in his pursuit of justice.
His parents know his secret, of course, but only a few others besides
that. Detective Wilson Biggs of the Dade County Police Department, Agent
Samuel Fahey of PRIMUS, Kelly Gage and his friend, Jeff Welsh. If anyone
else has it figured out they certainly haven’t told him about it.
Appearance:
Jarod is a good-looking man in his early thirties, with brown hair
cut stylishly short and a goatee. He possesses the build of a man who
engages in regular exercise—toned without being hugely muscled. He wears
two earrings in his left ear and has a tattoo on his right
shoulder-blade. He frequently dresses in tee shirts or tank tops, jeans
or shorts, and only rarely wears button-down shirts and slacks. He
smiles often and views with world through sparkling blue eyes.
As Morningstar Jarod has kept the overall look from his first
appearance: custom motorcycle leathers over a black tee shirt emblazoned
with a yellow star symbol. He wears a stylish wraparound mask in the
style of Zorro, covering the top portion of his head, and completes the
outfit with black gloves and boots.
Powers:
Jarod’s powers stem from his mutant ability to process ambient solar
energy and convert it to a plasma-like state. He has learned to channel
these powers in a variety of ways, from blasts capable of shattering
steel to a superheated barrier capable of stopping small arms fire.
During any use of his powers a small aura of light surrounds him, giving
him an almost-eerie glow in the dark.
Jarod’s only real vulnerability seems to be magnetics. The average
magnet won’t harm him at all, but intense magnetic fields not only
hamper his body’s ability to process the energy but cause him physical
pain, as well. Never one for science, as near as Jarod can figure the
magnetic fields somehow disrupt his plasma-like energy much like a
tokamak, an instrument used by physicists to contain and restrict
plasma. He’s always thought about studying to find a way around it, but
really, just how often does one run into an intense magnetic field?
Besides that one time at the junkyard, that is, with the huge crane
magnet—but that’s a story for another time. |
