Joey Kasaras

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> "I don’t want to live in a world where self-defense leads to more violence, to death and killing"
> —Joey to  Steve Eckleson in  Stupendous Man™: Origin and Other Nonsense
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## Stupendous Man

* Joey Kasaras
* Stupendous Man™

## Name

### Alias

Joey Kasaras
Joseph Yarrick Kasaras

## Professional Status

### Occupation

Future University Student
Martial Artist
Martial Arts Instructor

### Allegiance

 Gerald Spring's Dojo
The Comets
Earth
The Human Race

### Affiliations

 Grand International Martial Arts Tournament
Allen High School

## Personal Status

### Relatives

Jason Billius Kasaras (father)
Haven Margaret Kasaras née Jacobs (mother)
 Jonathan Shmuel Kasaras
Jeffrey Elye Kasaras

### Mentors

 Gerald Spring
 Kyle Nightingale
Abraham Lincoln

### Students

Kevin Benny Lewellis
Carlos Santiago Rodriguez
Peter McGorben
Sue Ellen Wright
Ben Stranton (Comet trainee)

## Fighting Status

### Rank

#2

### Specialty

Ken Oppu

Stupendous Man™ is the titular hero in the comic book series Stupendous Man™ and Super City. Born as Joey Kasaras, Stupendous Man™ received his powers from his master Gerald (Gary) Spring moments before he died. He is a trained martial artist and his DNA has been altered to Stupendous levels. His unwavering resolve and determination has saved his friends lives many times. He is the current master of the Shoputar Studio located in Allen, Texas.

## Concept and Creation

Stupendous Man was created based on Ryu from Street Fighter, from the experiences of author Joey Fredrickson growing up playing Street Fighter Ex 3. In initial character designs, Joey was blonde and short, and he grew more similar to Ryu as time went on. The hair and face is based off of Ryu's appearance in the anime Street Fighter 2: V. Joey was created as a way to bridge western and eastern media. For Stupendous Man and the costume, inspiration was taken from Spider-man and Super-man. Joey wanted to develop a character who was snarky like Spider-man, whose problems were relationship based rather than just plain superheroing. The powerset and costume lean heavily on Super-man's design, except Stupendous Man isn't quite as strong, and he has limits. He doesn't have a weakness like Kryptonite, because a weakness like that is a writing crutch. His "weaknesses" focus on moral limits instead. Super-man's greatest foe, Lex Luthor, heavily inspired David Obamashu. He's a ruthless and intelligent man with the power and resources to do what he wants. It is more satisfying to have a physically powerless villain overpower the hero instead of beating the tar out of them. The two were created as foils. Joey was never intended to be a dumb/idiot antagonist, but instead was created to reflect the attitude and disposition an actual 18-year-old would have. So Joey was created to be brash, overconfident, and reckless. In the initial stages of development, Stupendous Man was serious, while the entire situation regarding the story was meant to be ridiculous. However, no one seemed to realize that the overly serious attitude he had was supposed to be funny. He brooded like Bat-man, while Giant Monsters breathed fire on buildings, Evil masterminds laughed maniacally, and the powers were unbelievable. This had to change for the current draft, so expressions were added to highlight just how dramatic Joey is (to the point of it being a parody). On the eastern side, the biggest influence besides Street Fighter was Dragon Ball. Giant beams are cool, so Joey's powerset had to include that. Similarly, Super City always had the giant monster aesthetic, so that obviously takes inspiration from Godzilla. The creator enjoyed the small vs large dynamic, a titan against a single man. Also, it's a pretty ridiculous concept to have giant monsters in the first place, which plays into the parody aspect. Joey and Stupendous Man also took a page out of Gintama, where Gintama seamlessly combines parody with raw emotional moments. Finally, the biggest inspiration from eastern media comes from the large arcs that Japanese manga are known to have. One of the reasons Spider-man is appealing in the west is because of the long arcing stories. Stupendous Man, as a result, is built on a large overarching story.

## Appearance

Joey has brown, Earthtone hair, light blue eyes, tanned skin, and a muscular frame. He stands at 6' 2" lbs and weighs 205lbs. He typically spikes the front of his hair.
Stupendous Man has a dark blue color mask and, navy pants (made from the bottom part of a Judo Gi), and sturdy dark blue work gloves. He has a weighted silver cape across his shoulders that is held together by detachable yellow clips. On the center of his chest is an inverted triangle with the symbol of Shoputar in the middle, inlaid in yellow and gold. The symbol itself looks like a combination of the letter S and a lightning bolt. The triangle has a red background. His mask has custom made goggles, which protect his eyes into from the wind when he flies. He has arm bands and shin protectors, made with steel. The blackish part on the armbands are tungsten, which he incorporated after experiencing intense heat. His boots are made of steel as well (which he bends easily when he moves due to his Stupendous Strength), but inside is layered with leather, carpet, and polyethylene.

## Personality

Of the four Comets, Joey has always been the most serious one. He's sober by nature as a result of him being outside so much growing up. He has a deep appreciation for nature, specifically with the wind. It is this inclination that allowed him to connect to Lir before Jonathan or his other friends. He has a bit of a sarcastic streak, and he's known to make biting remarks to people he finds stupid. He's proud of his fighting ability, to the point of overconfidence. Of course, with Stupendous Powers, it's no wonder that he's a little cocky. He's extroverted by nature, and he's not afraid to speak his mind ever.

## Biography

### Early Life

Joey is the second child of five. He was born in the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Allen, Texas on Saturday, June 6th, 1998, weighing 8lb 6oz. He is the oldest son and second child of Jason Bilius Kasaras and Haven Margaret Kasaras (née Jacobs). He suffered from a Vitamin D deficiency and was required to get at least 3 hours of sunlight a day (which eventually led to infusions). He got involved in reading comic books at a young age, as his father was an avid collector of comic books. At age 8, after following three kids to a basketball court where they were beating up his younger brother Jonathan, Joey met his future master Gerald Spring. Master Spring taught him how to tap into Lir, which is the energy that comes from the life of the Earth itself. His brother Jonathan (alias Detective) joined him in learning Shoputar, the martial arts that Master Spring teaches. They met their two other best friends, Kylie Kiwanis (alias Sunrise), and Steve Eckleson (alias Black Stallion). The four friends became heroes together, forming a group known as the Comets, based on Master Spring's alias the Silver Comet.

### Super City

Monday, June 13th - Joey arrives in Obamashu where he meets Hiroshi Sato and accuses him of covering up last year's giant monster attack. He wanders for for hours before crossing paths with Bernard Charles and Kiedo Komanche. He defeats them both and retires for the night. He dreams of events past, including the giant lizard attack, an unknown person dressed in a skull mask, Abraham Lincoln threatening him, Angela comforting him, and Ben Stranton jumping off a roof. When he awakes, he goes to the Department of International Affairs and speaks with David Obamashu. He learns that Obamashu is at least in part, responsible for kidnapping Angela. Joey finds out Angela's location and runs into Bernard again. He quickly hides in the nearby bathroom while Bernard visits Obamashu. Bernard threatens Obamashu to take him back to New Zealand. Joey transforms into Stupendous Man and flies in and saves Obamashu. Stupendous Man then threatens Obamashu that after he rescues Angela, he will return for Obamashu.

## Powers

Stupendous Man™ is 1000 times stronger, faster, and dexterous than the strongest of men.
As a master of martial arts, Joey studies the Kanassan fighting style, Shoputar, which focuses on finding balance within itself (the word sho means state and putar means balance, meaning Shoputar translates to state of balance). There are four forms of Shoputar, Bukko, Poken, Lirkata, and Dato Senku. Joey is proficient only in Bukko (which translates as vitality), and Lirkata (which translates as earthly energy techniques). Because of his upbringing and his constant desire to stay outside, he has a hard time focusing on himself, which is what Poken (which translates to Inner Energy Fire or Chi/Qi) focuses on. Master Spring nor any other practitioner has been able to master Dato Senku (form of perfection), which requires possession of a different power than either Lir (Yang Qi) or Po (Yin Qi). A person who tries to use Dato Senku without possession of this "perfect" energy will die utilizing the techniques, which is how both Master Spring and Steve died.
As mentioned, Po has a near one-to-one relationship with the concept of Yin Qi. It requires concentration, inner peace, and balance to learn. Lir, on the other hand, is Yang Qi, or the ability to feel everything around the earth. A person gathers Lir by grounding to the Earth and cloaking it around them (represented by the background electrical charge) surrounding a person. A typical person only has 0.01 Lir surrounding him. As Lir can be represented as electrical charge, Master Spring developed a unit that represents a person's ability to manifest Lir (which was his own specialty), where 1 Lir is equal to 1 Coulomb of electrical charge.
Stupendous Man's DNA has been Stupendously modified, causing a chain reaction to his body, utilizing all the potential the DNA has while reducing redundancies. He received this boost just before his master died, signifying Stupendous Man taking the position of the new Master of their Martial Arts Studio. As the DNA has reduced redundancies (With only 13,627 nucleotide differences from the 3.2 billion nucleotides that DNA contains). As a result, this causes his cells to run more efficiently, gather more ATP, and enhanced his all his senses. It also changed the amount of voltage needed for an alpha motor neuron to activate (from 80mV to 120V for activation potential). This, along with training, heightened his electrical potential, allowing him to gather more Lir.
With the results of his training and increased potential, Joey learned that he could fly using the Shoputar technique Lir Kudoh (lit: Outer Energy Flight). As there are no currently living masters of Lirkata besides Joey, he is the only one who can utilize this specific technique, which requires Lir that only someone whose cells have been Stupendously charged can gather.

* Max Punch: 2,000,000 PSI
* Max Pushing Force: 173890 N
* Max Running Speed: 33,000 MPH
* Max Long Distance Speed: 1200 MPH
* Max Flying Speed: 120,000 MPH
* Max Energy: 100 Lir

## Abilities

### Martial Arts

#### Shoputar

The Kanassan martial art Shoputar has four forms or styles. Below is the list of techniques Joey has mastered in each form. Each form has five succession techniques. Mastering each succession technique would be the equivalent of obtaining a higher belt (obi) from a martial art such as Ju Jutsu, Karate, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, or Kung Fu. As the series progresses, each technique he uses will be listed here.

##### Bukko (translation: Vitality)

Bukko focuses on four different stances that are designed to flow and shift into each other. Each stance has a succession move that must be mastered before receiving certification of that stance. Furthermore, there is a final succession technique for the form before a student can move on to any of the three other forms.

###### Heishin (translation: Middle Stance)

This stance is made by taking a horse stance (legs spread to shoulders, slightly squatting) with one hand up to protect the face, and the other hand back. It is used for mid distance ranges, typically protecting the user while simultaneously giving them a free hand to gather Lir/Po/or the third energy that Dato Senku uses.

###### Nashu (translation: Shoulder Stance)

This stance is similar to a boxing stance, with feet constantly moving and hands kept close to the face and head. It is used for close distance ranges, to attack an enemy with a series of punches and kicks. The concept behind Nashu is to use centripetal force to create damage, so swings, crosses, haymakers, changeups, and roundhouse kicks are utilized.

###### Wushi (translation: Forward Stance)

This stance is used to keep enemies at bay, with arms and hands focused forward, the subject poised on the balls of their feet, ready to flee or change into another attack. Similar to Ki-Aikido, this stance is used for defence and deflection, turning an opponent's attack against them. This form has only one single offensive attack, which is used as a counter, and signifies mastery of the stance. The focus of this form is the target of the subject, and the subject projects an imaginary circle around their target, which determines what their opponent's range is. It is used best in connection with other stances.

###### Taki (translation: Thrust)

Originally developed as a sword stance to stab enemies, Taki focuses on powerful movements of the leg, followed by a charge that forms a single attack. Based on the principle of striking once for victory, it is the most powerful and least defensive stance. The subject leans forward with one leg, the other resting back just slightly, with a slight bent. One arm is kept high and the other kept low (it used to be that the longs swords of the Kanassan people would rest between the high hand and low hand). If an attack fails, the subject must immediately transition into a different stance, most commonly Wushi, to prevent devastating counter measures. This stance is used at distances longer than the Heishin stance, and is most commonly imbued with one of the three energies, propelling the subject forward at Stupendous speeds and then striking the subject with a burst of Stupendous energy.

After mastering the four different stances there are 310 different techniques that utilize the different forms together. However, there are 27 different transitions that must be mastered before proceeding to the final succession technique, grouped into nine categories of three transitions each.

##### Poken (translation: Inner Energy Fire)

As Master Spring was not adept at Poken, Joey too, cannot utilize any of its techniques. However, there are several counter techniques he knows to block Po users.

##### Lirkata (translation: Outer Energy/Earthly Energy Technique)

Lirkata focuses on becoming one with the world around you. It can only be gathered by grounding to earth physically. However, a warrior continue using Lir after grounding has occured, but are then limited to the amount of Lir they cloaked themselves in. As Lir is the inverse of Po, attacks filled with Lir get stronger with distance but will destabilize at the same time (think of a snowball rolling down a hill). As the energy obtained comes from the Earth and is separate from it, Lir attacks naturally aim back downward as they progress through the distance and will, over time, be absorbed back into the Earth without any harm done.

##### Dato Senku

Joey has not tapped into the third power required to use Dato Senku, but he knows how to perform the basic stances and gather Lir needed to overcome this problem. However, as this third power requires much more Lir than the body can hold, using any of these techniques would kill him. Both Gary Spring and Steve Eckleson died utilizing Dato Senku, saving many lives in the process.

#### Ju Jutsu

As Shoputar does not have any grappling aspects, Master Gerald Spring taught all his students Jujutsu to combat any enemy that came to close. Before he started his studio, Gary Spring received a black belt in Hakkō-ryū Jujutsu.

Joey Kasaras has been training since he was eight and has a brown belt level of skill.

His list of techniques mastered include:

1. Shodan-Gi
2. Nidan-Gi
3. Sandan-Gi
4. Yondan-Gi

#### Kick Boxing

Joey learned a little bit of kickboxing from Angela, who was forced to learn it when she moved to New York to live with her sister.

#### Muay Thai

Joey spent a summer learning Muay Thai as part of Gary Spring's challenge for him to discover his own fighting to be less predictable. As a result, Joey is proficient in elbow and knee strikes.

### Intellect

Before Joey received his powers, his IQ hovered around 120. With the boost of his reaction speed, his IQ increased as a result. He can process information 1000 times faster than most humans.

## Trivia

* His favorite food is Pulled Pork Sandwiches (homemade, dry rub, with a homemade sweet based barbecue sauce). Preferably with a side of (smooth) mashed potatoes, and a side of seven layered macaroni and cheese.
* His favorite dessert is Pecan Pie
* He prefers water over any other drink (although he does enjoy apple cider)
* His favorite fruit is the honey crisp apple (his mom used to take him and his siblings to a apple farm every year to help pick)
* His favorite video game is Super Smash Bros. Melee (he and Steve commonly played on a team against Kylie and Jonathan)
* He grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (commonly referred to as Mormons)
* He graduated as one of 26 valedictorians in his class (Allen High School is tremendously large)
* While he graduated as a valedictorian, his common sense is well below average
* He has a terrible sense of direction (He will typically fly high in the sky and physically look to where he's flying to get to it)
* He has eaten 90,000 calories in a single hour before
* He has slept for over three days straight
* Joey and Stupendous Man have two different theme songs
* Joey's theme song is "I'm Still Standing" by Elton John
* Stupendous Man's theme song is "Thunderstruck" by ACDC