Jan 08 2008
Superhero and Supervillain Naming Conventions
I'm a former assistant editor with advice about how to write novels, comic books and graphic novels. Most of my content applies to fiction-writing in general, but I also provide articles specifically about superhero stories.
This article presents six tips about what works and what doesn’t when you’re naming your superheroes and villains. Find out why Mischief-Man is much worse than Mayhem.
1. Especially if you’re writing for an older audience, [Adjective] [Noun] probably isn’t the most name for a superhero, particularly if the noun is Man (or Woman or Girl or Boy or Lad). It’s outdated. If you want to create Strong-Man anyway, I suggest removing the hyphen (Strongman). The hyphen looks bad and forces an awkward-looking second capital letter. Readers Hate Seeing Lots of Capitalized-Words And Hyphen-Phrases.
2. In the modern era, the most effective names are usually nouns or [Title] [Noun], like Dr. Octopus. Compare Dr. Octopus to “Octopus-Man” or Venom to anything you could do with “venomous.” Nouns are usually more evocative and feel less goofy than adjectives.
3. Please stay away from animal names. It worked for Dr. Octopus and Batman, but it’s a tired convention that rarely works.
4. It’s still remotely acceptable to do [Rank] [Noun]. Captain America is the best example, but Superhero Nation has Captain Carnage (who’s wacky) and Major Bogey (who’s sober). However, [Rank] [Adjective], like Captain Stupendous, is usually awful. Please note that names with ranks often feel goofy, particularly when you do puns with “Major” and “General.”
5. The name’s most important role is to develop the character. Let’s say your character’s key trait is being noble or moral. If you named him Moral-Man, readers would hate that. On the other hand, Luke Skywalker worked quite well. For more tips on making emotionally effective names, please see this article.
6. How do people refer to your hero in casual conversation? “Hey, Mr. Fantastic!” sounds awkward. “Hey, Richard” sounds much more natural, but that only works if everybody knows what your hero’s first name is. If your character’s identity isn’t public, you still have options. For example, the character might be referred to by his rank. “Hey, Cap’n!” beats calling him Captain America all the time, although it’s not as natural as a first name. Alternatively, the character might make up a fake name for casual conversation. “I’m Captain Carnage, but you can call me Jim.” That will confuse some readers, but not too many if his actual name is something similar to Jim (like Jamal).
7. Finally, I recommend a name that makes strong use of sounds. B, M, F, and R sound firm but not menacing. K, V, X and H sound harsh. A, O, S, L, and U sound smooth and lofty. Finally, readers usually prefer names that string stressed syllables, like Superman, Carnage and Spiderman.
Another helpful article. I never gave much thought to number 7. But I did notice that V X B F seem strong and SL seems ‘sneaky’ or stealthy.
I got a character named Mr. Amazing. Who is the ‘typical hero. Everyone loves him but then he starts getting drunk and screw everything up (then his name becomes a joke) which I think is funny. And then the public starts calling him Mr. Not-so-Amazing.
Another one is an elemental, Iceboy. (Obviously, Iceman is taken). The simple fact that he is a bearded, alcohol drinking, cigar smoking, manly type of man makes it funny and adds some irony. His excuse as to why he never changed his name to Iceman is that he has too much other stuff to worry about changing his name.
Another one I like is Crazy Eddie. Who doesn’t have many powers, but he is the typical bum/homeless looking person. His name is Eddie, but everyone calls him Crazy Eddie behind his back but to his face they call him just Eddie.
What do you think about …let’s say my ICE character’s real name was Ivan Carl Edwards. What do you think about stuff like that? I did something similar to that with a short about vampires, I took the first letter of each name and came up with the title. (I really suck at naming my work and characters). The names are Viktor, Amanda, Micheal and Piotr to give you the title of VAMP. Would that be good, bad, cliche?
They did advise against acronyms to let you know.
Iceboy doesn’t change his name to Iceman because he’s been too busy with other stuff. If you play that scene right, that line should be absolutely hilarious. For example, you could use the line straight-up by having him deliver it in a context that suggests that he really has been busy (he says “I’ve been busy” as his costume is torn and face is bloodied after an intense fight). Alternatively, you could play it more ironically by having him say he’s been busy as he tries to set a new beer-drinking record at a local bar.
I’m not so fond of the acronym based names. At best, they seem like weak in-jokes. At worst, they’ll make readers scowl– how contrived would it be for someone who comes up with ice-based powers to have been randomly born with the initials I.C.E.?
I think Mr. Amazing is OK if you want the name to feel slightly cheesy. But the Mr. Not-So-Amazing isn’t a very funny play on his name. Off the top of my head, it might be better for the public to start calling him Mr. Amusing if he’s turned into a bad joke. Sports fans razz bad teams with these kinds of names all the time. For example, Toronto’s Raptors are so bad that they’re known as the Craptors. The St. Louis Rams are the Lambs, etc.
There’s a part in my book where Alex is reading a book (it was tv until I made you-know-what-changes.) and the book is about a two heroes who are blatant parodies of my two favorite superheroes: Batman and Iron Man, as well as their archenemies, Joker and Mandarin. Here are the names I have for them:
Batman = Blacknight (also has a wolfhound named Ace)
Iron Man = Commander Titanium
Joker = Madcap
The Mandarin = (hehe) The Mandolin (classic play on words)
Is this parody an appropriate in-joke, and do these names work?
I have a few questions that may help. Does a parody of superheroes fit into your story very well? Is your story a comedy? Will the parody sequence somehow advance your plot or develop your characters? Will the parody feel congruent with your world? Do you have some plan for actually parodying these heroes besides just changing the name? If you answered yes to most of those, I think it may be worth a try.
However, a “parody” where the author just imports a preexisting hero and changes the name is neither funny nor interesting (see Soon I Will Be Invincible). You need some kind of carciature or twist to make it funny.
Excellent point. I’ll make Commander Titanium an arrogant smart-alec and I’ll make Blacknight an asocial sarcastic jerk. Madcap will come up with schemes that make absolutely no sense (even under psychosis) and seem to have no discernable goal, And The Mandolin will be a failed megalomaniac with a crappy gimick. Good parodies you think?
I’d say Blackknight and particularly Madcap have the most potential for a comic scene with little setup, if you’re willing to push the envelope. Batman and Joker are already so asocial and crazy, respectively, that you’d have to take it pretty far. Arrogant smart-alecks can be funny, but I think they take more setup.
Another parodic angle that I think has a lot of potential is that superheroes tend to have luridly tragic pasts. Pretty much everyone’s had at least their parents murdered, or is an alcoholic, or was captured and tortured by Afghan terrorists, or gets his sidekick murdered after the fans demanded it, and has totally dysfunctional relationships (particularly with women), or whatever. And that’s just Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark! Don’t even get me started on Peter “Six Armed” Parker, heh.
So I think there’s quite a lot of material you can draw on here. Superhero stories are pretty parody-friendly. That said, I’m not entirely sure how the superhero parody would fit into your story. Would it develop an important character or advance the plot? If it doesn’t, it may feel like the chapter in Soon I Will Be Invincible that tried to poke fun of The Chronicles of Narnia. It was hilarious, but it was so far removed from the plot and the style of the rest of the book that it felt like a distraction as I was reading it.
Blacknight has one K. If you think it needs two that’s fine, but I think it won’t be so easy to stumble over if it only has one. Also, Uppose I also made Blacknght overly brooding (he talks to himself), and melodramatic (mentally narrates his own moves, a la Grim Avenger from Hercules). I could also throw a hint of Superman into Commander Titanium (make him a bit a bit more idealistic and morally superior). As for the point of it all, it provides a comedic Gotcha! moment (you thought it was real didn’t you? Psych! it’s a book! HA!) and maybe I could have Alex try implementing one of Blacknight’s strategies and failing, or mentally comparing Blacknight’s relationship with Commander Titanium with his relationship with Edmond (Black Knight vs. White Knight, Dark Character vs. Idealist).
Hmm. I think the peril is that it may feel like a head-fake to your readers. If the story presents itself as a real-world superhero story, but isn’t really that kind of story, it might attract the wrong kind of readers. It’s very risky to switch audiences mid-book.
The superhero tangent might work, though, if it shows something about the main character’s sense of heroicness. Starting out, he has these wildly romantic dreams of being a hero, without any sense of what it will actually take for him to save the day. In actuality, it may take intense work, moral compromise, or sacrificing something/someone he loves to be the hero. What do you think?
Drawing an analogy between Blacknight/Titanium and the dark-character/idealist also seems worthwhile. That has a lot of potential, I think.
Also, what do you think about tweaking his name to Black Knight?
Also, I found your Hercules clip pretty hilarious. It made good use of the Grim Avenger’s self-narration to create funny situations.
GRIM AVENGER: “My reputation precedes me.”
HERCULES: “Yeah, by about six seconds.”
Finally, I loved that the Grim Avenger referred to himself as the Sentinel of Sanity. Haha.
Thanks, I think their Batman/Superman parody worked very well. I believe the name tweak will work. As for Alex, he not so much romantic as he is slightly arrogant and a bit melodramatic. (One girl rejects him and he thinks he’s the Dark Knight.) I don’t think his brooding/depressive period will last too long though. When he in it however, his already hot temper can become outright meanness and vengefulness which he misconstrues as “justice”.
Blacknight is a Marvel character, so I don’t know how you’re going to develop him but if readers see your Blacknight I would try to make him as unique as possible.
Thanks, but why twice?
Hi, *insert awkward introduction in which I state my name is Tom, I have created several superhero characters, but now I need some help here*
I created three teenage superheroes to work as a team, but I pretty much ran out of originality in terms of names after I named the leader. Now I really have a problem with one of the names. I called the girl ‘Mighty Girl’. I know, I really wasn’t very creative. Her powers are super-strength and flight (I know, so original), and I really couldn’t think of any interesting, original names for a hero with those powers. I desperately want to change the name, but like I said, I can’t think of anything original.
In case you were wondering, this isn’t for a novel, actually it’s for a TV series, but the advice on this site (great site by the way) is still applicable for this.
Can anyone help me?
What are the other two names? That’ll help me get the style right.
Maybe Blackhawk, as they fly and can carry heavy objects. Just a suggestion.
I could also be of help with the two other names. Please share.
Well the leader has telepathy and telekinesis, and he’s called Psykid, (even though he’s a teenager, not a kid, artistic license). The other boy can control fire and ice, and is called Elemental Boy, it’s a mouthful, but it’s a decent name in my opinion (it can be shortened to E.B.), which leaves Mighty Girl as a pretty bland name.
I’d be wary of using things like ‘boy’ and ‘kid’ in superhero names, it just feels a bit cheesy to me. For the psychic, what about something like . . . um ‘Minder’? (I just drew a total blank there and threw out the first name I thought of.) Elemental Boy also feels a little cheesy and bland. Since fire and ice are pretty conflicting powers, how about something that plays on that?
I’m stumped for the girl, though. Probably something to do with birds, as R.B. suggested.
Tom!
Perhaps I’m meddling in conventions out of my basic understanding, but I can’t seem to avoid putting my two cents on this one… I enjoy messing with words.
If you’re still looking for alternate names I’ve brainstormed a few (although perhaps not quite what you were looking). Just putting these out there:
Names
I’m not quite sure what your elasticity on nomenclature is, but for the girl, how about:
LATIN (to make something feminine, add an “a” at the end, like in Spanish, or an “i” for aesthetic reasons)
Invalesco – to strengthen
Vis Vires – (pl.) force, power/Vis – violence
Fuga – flight, escape/Fugo – to put to flight
GREEK (the “u” changes to “y” in English)
Dunamis – power, strength
Kratos – power, rule
Lithos – stone (as in strength)
Gune – woman (found in words like gynecologist)
Neos – new, young
MY MIXES (feel free to use or change, or only use the words from above, or completely disregard):
Invalesci/Invalesca, Fuga, Dunami/Dynami, Krata, Litha, Visgyne, Fugo… Vis Girl, Krata Girl… any derivative word with the suffix Girl… *brain out of steam.
For the telepath leader (in case you were open to other suggestions), how about:
LATIN
Demens (Dementis) – out of one’s mind (as in he’s in other people’s minds)
Recito – to read aloud
Specto – to look at (a mind)
Inviso – to inspect
Potestas – power, authority
GREEK
Phren – heart, mind
Akuo – I hear (found in the English word “acoustics”)
Gignoskein – to know
MY MIXES:
Specto Recite, Invisus, Fren/Phren, Acoustique, Acoustic… or use one of the words up there by themselves… or not.
Wow. Getting that out felt good. I apologize if it wasn’t even near the mark. Good luck on your naming schemes!
Wow, those are awesome! I might use one of those.
Alright! I had hoped I’d at least gotten your creative juices flowing! Anyone else need bizzare, yet seemingly original superhero name ideas? I’d like to offer something back to this incredible site… and I do like words…
Dforce- im creating a guy who has been genetically engineered in the form of splicing his genes with a silverback gorilla for strength and a cheetah for speed and quickness…you got any ideas?? thanx
Just so it is known, any names I throw out here will probably be Latin/Greek/Spanish influenced… if you’re looking for another language then, by all means ask…
Chi.Rho,
I shall try and work something up!
kool…thanks!
Chi.Rho,
Here’s what I managed to bring together. If anything, let these names give you ideas at the very least.
Scientific names
Cheetah: Acinonyx jubatus
Gorilla: ~ hominid (Gorilla gorilla, actually)
LATIN
Celer – quick, swift, rapid
Cito – rapidly
Festinatio – to hasten
Humanus – pertaining to man
Bestia – a beast, animal
Scelero – to pollute with guilt (as in gene pollution)
Cognatus – related by blood
Cruentus – to stain with blood
GREEK
Herpeton – creeping animal (sort of misleading the people about his speed)
Tachys – swift
Aner – man/Andro/Andri – male human
Geron – old man (full grown gorillas are the strongest, right?)
SPANISH
Sangre – blood
Velocidad – velocity/Veloz – swift
Rencor – grudge, hate; rancor
Rápido – quick
Plata – silver
SUGGESTIONS:
Celerar, Festinan, Anherpeton, Anergeron, Geraner, Tageron, Acigeron, Bestius, Sangros… drat… most of these sound too out there for someone spliced (at least to me, they do)… perhaps just picking a word from up there would suit the character best? Anyway, have at them, and good luck.
Oh! Make sure you take a second look at B. Mac’s tips for naming characters, too! It would help if character traits (personal ones, not power-based ones) were also added to your description… powers are fine, but they don’t really tell much about the actual person or which name they would prefer (remember, your characters are people too!). Which name would they like more?
Thanx man…i really appreciate that…you got some good stuff for real…thanx!!
… sweet… I’m helping…
I like sangre…the character is part of a group of metahuman children who were forced to become child soldiers for this evil dictator…and then the four of them plan an escape and then..there is more but i gotta flesh it out. But for the character im talking about i want him to be sorta introverted, borderline mean…he had to watch the dictator kill his sister and then he was forced to pay allegiance to him. So he is out for blood. By fire and sword, mercilessly. what do you think..does tha make sense?
Sure it makes sense (to me at least; can’t speak for everyone).
So some traits I have to work with are rebellious, quiet, and aggressive, right? I may need some time to get you more names (by tomorrow evening I should have a few).
kool
Here you are, good sir.
LATIN
Quies Quietis – quiet, rest, peace
Silens – silent, still
Silentium – silence
Infesus – hostile, aggressive
Pertinax – persistent, stubborn, mean, firm
Saevio – to rage, be furious
GREEK
Arkeo – to ward off, to defend (as in he’s aggressive enough to do it)
MIXES
Quies Silens, Arkyo, Arcao, Sokra (palindrome of Arkos ~ Arkeo), Infeso, … uh… honestly, I think any of those words could be used all their own.
I think Sokra has a pretty harsh sound that could go with his aggressiveness. I also liked Sangre from the list above.
Just my two cents.
Okay, I’ve got a character… no, make that two characters who desperately need new superhero names.
Darryl Pope – he falls. With style. Literally, his superpower is the ability to have perfect control over his descent to the ground. He can control lateral distance covered, acceleration/decceleration, or positioning of his body. Literally, hovering in the air for him is jumping up and then never coming back down. By himself, he can do as much as he wants, but involving other bodies/people puts more and more of a strain on his power.
Oh, and whenever he puts his faith/trust into others, their superpowers suddenly become more potent/powerful. But he doesn’t know that yet.
Naming Ideas (so far): Drifter, Freefall, Glide, Stratos, Dropzone, Stuntman, Upsurge*, Apex* …
* = names keeping in mind his secondary power
Allison Parker – she’s an allergenkinetic… That is, she is able to use her mind to manipulate things she is allergic to. It’s sort of a survival instinct for her body – she’s allergic to a LOT of things, so being able to automatically shove allergens away with her mind (that is, without touching them directly) is really useful. The trouble is, those are the only things that she can manipulate… or so she thinks.
The truth is, Allison has the potential to become a truly powerful psychokinetic heroine, but she is unconsciously limiting herself to manipulating her own allergens. What’s a girl to do…?
Naming Idea (so far): Lady Allergen, …
…Help?
I like Freefall (or Downfall if you prefer), Glide/Glider and Drifter/Drift. I think that Dropzone is a bit too cheesy and Stuntman seems more in line with a different theme of character. I’d recommend naming him based on the powers he knows about at the beginning. Otherwise, you’d probably have to give him an interim super-name and it’d be awkward.
Allison’s powers are a bit corny, which is not bad but might make it tricky to use her powers to inspire her name. Unless this is a farce like The Tick, I think that a name like Lady Allergen will probably be too corny. You might try using her origin story or a theme instead to inspire her name. For example, Raven and Captain America are two names that are more thematic than power-based.
The truth is, Allison was originally from a team of superheroes that I created as “jokes” – the hero who powers up from friendship speeches, a drug-addicted mentor to the rookies, the superhero mime, etc., etc. So yes, her powers would seem a bit silly.
Furthermore, as far as origin stories go… Well, that’s like trying to give an X-man a superhero name based on their origin story.
In Allison’s world, meta-humans aren’t all that uncommon, but people with more than one superpower (and/or the courage to face evil, blah blah blah…) can apprentice themselves to an existing superhero and move into the business that way. Or, as Allison did, they can form a smaller team of rookie superheroes and take care of a small, localized area until they gain a few archnemeses and start to gain public acclaim.
Now, in a world where superherodom is a career path, and not just a calling in life, Allison needs a serious name to reflect who she is, what she can do, not to mention her intent to protect innocence and justice and all that jazz. But for the life of me, I can’t come up with any decent ideas… I came here hoping that someone might have some fresh input to get my creative juices flowing again.
Theme-related words for ideas: Atopy, Immunogen, Type-I reaction, histamine, anti-histamine, antibodies, etc…
Interestingly enough, some delving into Wikipedia turned up this interesting number:
“Genetic basis
Allergic diseases are strongly familial: identical twins are likely to have the same allergic diseases about 70% of the time; the same allergy occurs about 40% of the time in non-identical twins. Allergic parents are more likely to have allergic children, and their allergies are likely to be more severe than those from non-allergic parents. Some allergies, however, are not consistent along genealogies; parents who are allergic to peanuts may have children who are allergic to ragweed. It seems that the likelihood of developing allergies is inherited and related to an irregularity in the immune system, but the specific allergen is not.
The risk of allergic sensitization and the development of allergies varies with age, with young children most at risk. Several studies have shown that IgE levels are highest in childhood and fall rapidly between the ages of 10 and 30 years. The peak prevalence of hay fever is highest in children and young adults and the incidence of asthma is highest in children under 10. Overall, boys have a higher risk of developing allergy than girls, although for some diseases, namely asthma in young adults, females are more likely to be affected. Sex differences tend to decrease in adulthood. Ethnicity may play a role in some allergies, however racial factors have been difficult to separate from environmental influences and changes due to migration. Interestingly, it has been suggested that different genetic loci are responsible for asthma, specifically, in people of Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, and African origins.”
I see a lot of similarities between genetic inheritance of allergies and genetic inheritance of superpowers… This could become a new origin story for a world of superheroes.
What about Immuna for the girl? It’s not great, I know, but that’s about the best I can come up with. Since you’re finding it so hard to come up with her name, why don’t you pick one based on her personality/motivations?
I like Freefall best for the other guy.
@Holliequ:
That sounds like a good idea… I’ll go and try that.
hey i have i few idea’s for names for my hero Rampart, Barricade and Barrier what do you think.
Rampart appeared in three issues of GI Joe, as recently as 2005. Barricade appeared in seven issues of Transformers, including several in 2008. I couldn’t find anything for Barrier. I kind of like Barrier.
I’m guessing he has some sort of shielding power. I like Barrier but can I suggest Blockade. It feels stronger than Barrier if you ask me. Berrier is still good though so go with whatever.
I like the sound of Blockade yeah my hero can create force fields around him and can fire them aswell.
Thanks for the suggestion
I’m certain Blockade is a character, but according to Wikipedia it isn’t so I must be wrong.
Good thing it’s not taken, it’s a good name.
He’s a minor character that appeared in Young Justice and Superboy as recently as 2000.
Could i still use the name then or should i go back to the drawing board?
Your call, I think. If your editor is worried, you might be asked to do a new one later, but it wouldn’t affect your odds of getting published.
I’ve been going through some names and Barrier seems to be my best bet how dose everyone think it sounds?
Sounds good.
“Allison Parker – she’s an allergenkinetic… That is, she is able to use her mind to manipulate things she is allergic to. It’s sort of a survival instinct for her body – she’s allergic to a LOT of things, so being able to automatically shove allergens away with her mind (that is, without touching them directly) is really useful. The trouble is, those are the only things that she can manipulate… or so she thinks.
The truth is, Allison has the potential to become a truly powerful psychokinetic heroine, but she is unconsciously limiting herself to manipulating her own allergens. What’s a girl to do…?
Naming Idea (so far): Lady Allergen, …”
Would Anna Phalaxis (pun on anaphalaxis, as in anapalaxic reaction) be too corny?
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I need a superhero/codename for a character:
Michelle “Don’t Call Me Jean Gray” Thompson – has telekinesis, telepathy, and pyrokinesis. Think Carrie meets Firestarter meets Matt Parkman. Unlike Jean Gray, her hair is brown.
Hi, I’m new here. I have names for the three main characters in what’s going to (hopefully) be a superhero novel, but I don’t really think the names are that great. The basis of “what makes a superhero” is not that typical, in the universe I created.
(In it, superheros are typically non-human creatures, pretty much the exact opposite of a zombie: They need Necros to survive. (Zombies need Prana.) They’re truly alive, cannot be controlled by necromancers, retain all the dexterity and speed of a human and look about the same as they did before changing. Zombies that retain souls are also known to become heroes, but are more likely to become villains. All superbeings and zombies have increased strength, not like “lift three tons” strength, but capable of things that would usually take a bodybuilder. They also have heat vision, enhanced sense of smell and high sensitivity to salt.)
One heroine has the extra power of earth manipulation, but it’s highly volatile. Right now I’m calling her Terrastrike. The only superhero I created that I think has a half-decent name, Naga, can take on the form of an etheral snake for a few minutes at a time, or a physical one for slightly longer periods. He has to rest about fifteen minute minimum between spurts of taking on either snake form. I’m welcome to new names for him, too, but I think Naga is pretty good. The biggest name problem is the main villain, though: He’s a necromancer and can control most true zombies. The only thing I can think of is Carrion, but that makes me think of two well-established villains, despite having no relation whatsoever: The Vulture and Carnage. So he really needs a better name, and giving Terrastrike an new one definitely wouldn’t hurt.
Hola NewAgeZombi! Welcome to SN, I’d love to help!
For Naga, you could try Serpent(ine), Slither, Or a type of snake, for something more abstract, Coil or Kundalini
.
For Terrastrike, how about Faultline, since she’s volatile?
For Carrion, The name Charon keeps coming to mind. I like Charon for a darker feel. And in mythology he dealed a lot with the dead.
What do you think?
I, personally, like Terrastrike.
However, Serpentine/Serpent is too… Eh. It’s one step better than something like Snake Boy, but… I don’t know, that might just be my opinion.
The thing about using the fact that Terrastrike’s power is volatile is that any elemental or weather-related power is volatile in the universe I made, so it’s not really a distinguishing feature.
Charon would be a real good name, and the villian’s messed up enough in the head to think her really is Charon. I’ll keep my eye out for a better name, but I thing Charon is a winner.
I agree Marissa when it comes to the name Serpent(ine). Coil or slither would be doable, I suppose, but Kundalini is a wee bit too abstract for my tastes. And there’s reason behind calling him Naga: Nagas were depicted as both good and evil, and that’s a very good summing up of the general opinion of superheros in the universe I’m creating.
I also came up with the final main hero, whom I’m currently calling Probe. Her powers allow her to “see” inside openings like keyholes and unlock or unscrew things, or produce small incorpreal projectiles that can cause extreme pain without causing physical injury.
I don’t think Probe is the best name for your character. Through no fault of your own, people will always (without fail) think about aliens. =/
Marissa has a point. How about something like Tumbler or Keymaster?
I aready knew the name had to be scrapped. I just needed something to call her for the time being. I think Tumbler would work just fine.
In my novel, there is a government/police employed team of independent operatives called Specialized Crime Fighters, or SCFs; known to the laity as superheroes. Since they’re all basically non-powered glorified police officers, I gave them all super bland names and codenamed each one after a bird (Falcon, Rook, Eagle, Hawk, etc). I was also doing NaNoWriMo and just gave them the first names I could think of. What do you guys think of this? I know my bird names kind of suck, but I can’t think of anything else. The names kind of have to be literal and technical, but since they don’t have powers I didn’t really have anything to base their names on. I’m kind of stuck on this issue now.
I think one of the potential problems with themed names is that it might be hard to remember which is which. (In particular, I’d have trouble distinguishing Hawk from Eagle). Perhaps you could expand the theme a bit? For example, maybe you could take names from a broader range of animals than just birds. I think it’d be easier to distinguish Eagle from Orca, for example, particularly if Orca’s powers are remotely connected to water or ice.
Ah, makes sense, B. Mac. I just grabbed the first names I could wrap my head around, and now I’m grappling for better ones. Today I was toying with the idea of just giving them their regular names. The main superhero, the one in the story the most, would just be Captain Beckwith. Long story, but he has no secret identity and his superhero-dom is his job, so it would make sense to just use his real title.
Do each of them specialize in something particular? If so, you could base your names around that. Bull could be a demolition specialist, Weasel could be recon/stealth, Gopher is the research expert, etc.
Just a suggestion.
Good idea, RB! I think I could definitely use that when I start my rewrites.
What do you think about the names Stronghold, Black Diamond, Aquarius, and Cortex
I really like Cortex. Black Diamond and Stronghold sound okay, Aquarius less so.
Just out of curiosity, what could be changed to make them better and/or what is wrong with them
I don’t feel that Diamond is a terribly interesting noun. It doesn’t have much personality or say very much about the character. There are some cases where a word like Black might be effective (I think it is in “Black Widow” and “the Dark Wanderer”), but I don’t think it adds enough to Diamond. For one thing, “Onyx” conveys both the rarity/value and darkness of a black diamond in fewer words. (Plus, I like the sound/rhythm better, for what that’s worth).
With Black Diamond, I would recommend getting a better noun and/or finding an adjective that modifies it in a more interesting/surprising way.
Stronghold is serviceable but strikes me as a kind of generic tough guy name. As far as that goes, it works. Personally, I’d prefer something along the lines of Aegis, Citadel, Garrison or Alcazar.
Aquarius… I don’t think it says anything about the character except his element. It’s better than Aquaman, but not much. What’s his personality like?
I was choosing names that would make since with their powers. Black Diamond is literaly a black diamond that looks like human. He has that little brother annoiance but can be dark if he wants to. Stronghold is the strong and silent type when he is not in costume and is a little more open when in costume. Aquarius is a blantant optomistic and kind of a hooser
Hmm, what’s a hooser? (Not a resident of Indiana, I assume).
A redneck mixed with white trash. They come from a small town in the midwest, where they are hoosers
(I think I posted something similar to this on my review forum, but repetition is the best way to get something noticed.)
I cannot, for the life of me, think of a superhero name for my main character.
She is Mickey Demora, age 17, Hispanic. She has extraordinary agility (imagine a super-powered free runner or someone who practices parkour) and minor regenerative abilities. (as in, cuts, scrapes, etc. can be quickly healed, but lost limbs can’t be healed at all) She fights using nonlethal weapons like staffs. Personality-wise, she’s very aggressive and over-confident.
Help me! This has been the one thing that has been keeping me from writing, for some reason.
What’s the mood of the story like? What are some of the important things she does that other characters wouldn’t do?
The mood isn’t hilarious, but it’s not super-dark, either. The best way I can describe it is a light atmosphere in a dark, dirty, modern world.
While other characters would run if they thought they weren’t going to win a fight, Mickey would keep fighting, because there’s still a small chance she could overcome her opponent. She’s the only one that would even think about bystanders during a fight, making sure they’re far away to avoid shrapnel, stray bullets, and the like. Most importantly, she uses her abilities for the good of society as a whole, not for a group or individual.
… “Good of society as a whole” sounded a lot less cliche when I thought it.
Names aren’t too hard. Just keep thinking until you find something that works. Here’s a few I think might work. Ripcord, Viper, Backlash, Breakdown, Gale, Parkour, The Freerunner, Blur or Throwdown. That’s all I can think of at the moment though I’m not sure about their availability. Viper, is taken by Marvel. Not sure about the rest.
Thank you for the suggestions, NicKenny. Names have always been ridiculously hard for me, and when I need to think of a name that embodies the main character and doesn’t sound cliche…
Does anybody have a particular method for figuring out a superhero alias?
I spend a lot of time on google, wiki, thesaurus. I tend to concentrate on the person’s power, as opposed to his or her personality. I don’t really think my method is the best . . . in fact, it tends to be quite time-consuming. I usually only bother with it when I’m looking for an excuse to procrastinate. If I’m serious about writing though, I just put in some kind of placeholder until something stands out to me in the story.
I tend to focus on identity/theme and personality rather than powers. I feel that the character’s personality and other distinguishing traits are usually more interesting than the details of his powers. For example, if you had to come up with five things that made Captain America interesting, would his shield make the list? I don’t think it says as much about him as his (originally) uniquely American persona.
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When I need a “super” name, I usually use a word from the dictionary or combine dictionary words because I find real words easiest to remember and because I think it fits the mood of my work better. I’m working with government agents, so I think something like Sandstorm probably sounds more believable as a call-sign than something more distinctly superheroic like Aqualad.
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I also using exotic first names combined with generic surnames and vice versa. Hex Abrams. Jonah Bedlam. Gain (Agent) Orange. Jim (Major) Bogey. Shiva (Doctor)Darpa, weapons designer extraordinaire. Villainous scientist Jacob Mallow (pronounced “malo,” like Spanish for “bad/evil”)