Penumbra

## Doctor Penelope Numan Braxton/Penumbra

**Doctor Penelope Numan Braxton**, also known as "**Penumbra**", is a character in Villainous that first appeared at the end of the eleventh episode of the Orientation Videos for Villains miniseries, "Q&A Black Hat Organization replies." Later she appeared as a main character in Villainous' pilot episode, "The Dreadful Dawn" and the cameo appearances in Season 1's episode, "The Heedeous Heart".

## Appearance

Before the incident (see Background), Penelope had tanned skin and black hair that reached her hips. Her eyes were black as well, and she wore red eye shadow and a black lipstick. She's pictured wearing a white shirt, black tie with two red stripes at the bottom of it, and a red skirt. Also In one photo she appears to have two bracelets on her right hand–one has white with beads and the other one has a green ribbon–as well as two bags–a white wristlet with a leaf pattern that says "ecofriend", and a green purse or a possible backpack with a handle.

After the incident, her skin turned ghostly pale. She lost her hair, and in its place is a strange smoke-like substance covered her head. Through this substance, a strange lightning bolt symbol can be seen at back of her head, possibly like a mark or a tattoo. Her eyes turned gray and her pupils turned blue. She coordinates purple eyeshadow with her new look, but she still wears black lipstick. Now she has a stereotypical "Mad Scientist" white coat with black buttons and purple gloves.

## Background

Penelope Numan Braxton was born on December 28, 1981. Nothing's known about her childhood, but she was most likely a genius, given that in 1997, when she was only 15, she was already attending Atreno University.

In June 10, 1997, Penelope published her first doctoral thesis titled "Development and Application of a Plasma Surface Ultraviolet Radiation Reflector Adapted to the Protection of Continental Glaciers," supervised by Professor Jared H. Judd. Her first thesis was likely unsuccessful as 6 years later, on June 10, 2003 (age 21), she published the same thesis for second time, now supervised by Professor Abby H. Judd. It's unknown if Jared Judd and Abby Judd are related. This thesis was most likely a success, as she is shown to have earned the title "Doctor."

At some point in 2000 (age 18), Penelope started working for Shi-Bo Inc., whose CEO at the time was Doctor Minato Pappeto. In a picture taken in October 27, 2003, Penelope can be seen with Minato's son, Doctor Yukito Pappeto. They were likely friends who studied together. During these years, she started working on a project mentioned in her thesis, "The Environmental Glacier Protector Cloud."

On May 25, 2005 (age 23), Penelope presented her project to the world at Shi-Bo's science fair at the Atreno University. During the demonstration, however, the device suffered an unknown malfunction that caused it to explode, releasing a strange purple/violet toxic cloud which spread across a percentage of North Atreno. It was finally controlled by one of Atreno's special divisions along with local authorities, but by this point it had affected 20% of Atreno's population, including Penelope herself, who was standing right next to device when it explode. This condition became known as "Numbra Disorder." Sufferers of this disorder were called "Numbras." Penelope adopted her villainous identity "Penumbra" and started researching how to cover the sun so it wouldn't burn her alive.

A month after the incident, in June 21, 2005, Penelope's contract with Shi-Bo Inc. was terminated after 5 years, due the fact that company was unable to release the ownership of Penelope's work and investigations without compromising themselves.

Two months after the incident, in July 22, 2005, Penelope "Penumbra" tried again to cover the sun. Although it's unknown how this ended, she was most likely defeated by Sunblast.

Three months after the incident, August 12, 2005, Penelope was ordered to pay the city 24 million dollars compensation for her machine's accident and the subsequent development of Numbra disorder in 20% of the population.

On May 3, 2007 (age 25), Penelope, who by this time had lived with her condition for over 2 years, was summoned to court for various crimes she committed as Penumbra. From the crimes described in the two court documents, it can be assumed that, out of desperation, Penumbra tried to cure her condition by any means necessary, no matter the cost.

### In Villainous

Penumbra made her first appearance in the series at the end of the Villainous Orientation Video called Q&A Black Hat Organization replies. The video was published in 2019 and takes place in the real time, making Penumbra 37 years old. In a live news clip, Penumbra attempts to use her latest invention– the Plasma UV Refractor –to cover the sun once again. However, her invention is swiftly destroyed by Sunblast.

In The Dreadful Dawn, we see Sunblast brutally beat her after destroying her invention. This leads her to contact the services of Black Hat Organization, and task Dr. Flug, 5.0.5 and Demencia to defeat the hero. When Sunblast is defeated, Penumbra thanks the organization for their services, and takes the jar containing Sunblast (who had been replaced with a lightbulb after Demencia ate him), and leaves on a plane, where she reveals to "Sunblast" her plans for him, but when hears no response.

Some time later, she was captured and brainwashed by Miss Heed, in order to perfect her mind-controlling perfume.

## Relationships

### Sunblast

Sunblast was her archenemy, who became her friend after living in her house and coming to understand the condition of the Numbras.

### Curie

A white lab rat that serves as her pet. She rescued her from a laboratory that experimented on animals and treats the rodent with love and affection.

### Richard Numan

She shows to have a good relationship with her father, having spent both 2019 and 2020's New Year's Eves with him. He is also affected by the Numbra Disorder, but shows no signs of resentment towards his daughter.

### Dr. Flug

After running into Flug at the Mad Science Expo 2019, they become good friends, demonstrated once a Hatbot delivered the shrunken Sunblast to her doorstep (likely Flug's doing) and in a videocall where they celebrated Flug's birthday.

## Powers and Abilities

* **Super-Human Endurance:** Due the incident from May 25, Penumbra gained some level of super-human abilities. She can survive a beating from Sunblast, although she didn't walk away unscathed.
* **Shadow Manipulation:** After the incident, her hair became a shadow-like substance that she can use for attacks, shaping it as she pleases.
* **Genius Intellect:** She is a brilliant scientist who has created many complex machines, some of which she sold to other villains during and after 2020's Mad Science Expo.

## Weaknesses

* **Sunlight:** Due the incident on May 25, Penumbra became vulnerable to sunlight. Exposure to sunlight is extremely painful and could possibly prove fatal in high amounts. Her condition is so intense that her hands can be burned even through gloves and she need to walk with umbrella in order to not be burned alive.

## Episode appearances

### Orientation Videos for Villains

* "Q&A Black Hat Organization replies" (cameo)

## Trivia

* According the Merriam-Webster website, the word Penumbra can refer to:
	1. A space of partial illumination (as in an eclipse) between the perfect shadow on all sides and the full light
	2. A shaded region surrounding the dark central portion of a sunspot
	3. A surrounding or adjoining region in which something exists in a lesser degree**:** fringe
		+ Penumbra and the other Numbras are forced to live on the fringes of society, possibly tying into this third meaning.
* At the end of The Dreadful Dawn in Spanish version, after bulb turned off, Penumbra (still thinking it was Sunblast) said he fell asleep. This quote is not present in the English dub.
* In Spanish version, when Flug meets her, he is startled by her appearance and calls her "la llorona" an urban myth of Latin America. Penumbra misunderstands and thinks he calls her a crybaby. In the English dub, Flug calls Penumbra a "poor thing," which she says she isn't.
* Though she is categorized as a villain in by the 80% of Atreno population, the 20% that gained the same condition as her (Numbra disorder) are supportive of her efforts.
* Like 5.0.5., Penumbra's zodiac sign is Capricorn.
* According to a P.E.A.C.E. file posted on Twitter:
	+ Penumbra is 41 years old.
	+ She is 1,78m, or 5,8 feet tall.

## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/CajaCN/status/1584766411930423296
2. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/the\_numbrax/
3. ↑  (19) AkumuHoshi no Twitter: "#Villanos #Villainous ¿Estos son todos los archivos que le han sacado a P.E.A.C.E? https://t.co/xoq1SijOFV" / Twitter