Star Brand

### **History**

The Star Brand is a zero-point energy collector, drawing power from the fabric of space-time itself. It is unlimited in potential, though the upper limits of the star-like tattoo of power are determined by the imagination of its wielder. A paradox, the Star Brand came into being when the universe was compressed into a single point of space for a mere microsecond. It has been wielded by several people in various realities.

It was wielded for years by the mysterious figure known only as "the Old Man", who had possess the brand since the middle ages.

On July 22, 1986, the Earth was bathed in a blinding flash of light. This "White Event" was triggered when the Old Man attempted to pass on the Star Brand onto an inanimate object, in this case an asteroid in order to get rid of the power. The brand released a huge amount of energy which bombarded the Earth. Realizing that that he would not be free of the Star Brand so easily, the Old Man came to Earth and gave the Brand to the first person he met, Ken Connell, a car mechanic from Pittsburgh.

Ken tried to use the Star Brand’s power to help others, but was often thwarted by the complexities of the real world. Though given a suit by the Old Man, but he found he rarely had the time to change in the face of a real emergency and supposedly it was as invulnerable as he, its invulnerability was exposed as an illusion. He later donned a spandex body suit and mask to openly fight terrorists, but this led to disaster. Though intelligent, he was self-involved and lacked the imagination and curiosity that would allow him to understand and wield the brand to its fullest potential. He eventually decided that he would be better off without his powers, and tried to fly into space and transfer the brand to a weight, saving just a small portion of its infinite power to bring him safely home. He did not fly far enough away from the Earth, and the resulting blast completely destroyed Pittsburgh, leaving only a mutative, radioactive pit. This later became known as the Black Event, and led to World War III when President Reagan assumed it to be an act of hostility by the Soviet Union.

While possessed of the Star Brand, Connell conceived a child with Debbie “The Duck” Fix. The child was born fully conscious of its power, growing at an accelerated rate physically and mentally through the influence of the Brand. Despite being painfully naive to the ways of the world, the Starchild was much more selfless and had a much more instinctual grasp of the power than his father ever did. After several attempts to better the world through direct usage of his power, the child retreated out into space to meditate onto how to best use the power. The child chose an elderly man who was less impulsive; deciding that the key to proper use of the Brand was to give it to someone was more wise and experienced in worldly matters. Jacob Burnley was a retired janitor and veteran of World War II, who only used his power after much consideration and put it to many new uses. In time he de-powered the power-hungry President of the United States Philip Nolan Voigt and attempted to rebuild Pittsburgh.

Eventually, the Star Child realized that the Brand was a cosmic anomaly which no good could come from, therefore should be locked away for all eternity. It learned that the original White Event actually created the Brand itself, sending its energies 500 years back in time, when the Old Man originally lived. In fact, it turned out that the Old Man, Ken Connell, and the Starchild were all the same being. The Starchild then replicated and manipulated the original event to make it happen in a safe temporal loop.

### **Timeloop**

When the Starchild realizes the Star Brand is too much power for anyone. It turns out that the Starchild, Ken, and Ken's opponent the Old Man are actually all the same being. It merges them all together, then manipulates reality to fix their temporal loop. Ken's essence is sent back in time to become the Old Man, the Old Man's essence is sent briefly back in time to become the Starchild at the moment of its birth, and the Starchild becomes Ken before he gained the Star Brand. Below is individual information about Ken, the Old Man and the Starchild.

#### Ken Connell

Ken was a car mechanic from Pittsburgh who received the Star Brand from the mysterious old man he meets in the woods while dirt-biking. Ken tries to use his powers to help others, but usually finds his efforts thwarted by the complexities of the real world, his own personal failings and his unwillingness to publicly reveal himself.

Later, Connell attempted to become a traditional superhero, donning a bodysuit and mask to openly thwart terrorists on several occasions. However, this superhero career was short-lived and led to disaster. Though intelligent, he was self-involved and lacked the imagination and curiosity that would allow him to understand and wield the brand to its fullest potential. However, things would change when he learned of what he thought was the origin of the Star Brand from the Old Man. After killing hundreds during a fight with the Old Man in a comic convention, he eventually decided that he would be better off without his powers, and unintentionally caused the destruction of all of Pittsburgh (the Black Event) when attempting to transfer the brand to a non-living object. Soon after, a now-mad Connell would be confronted by the Star Child, the Star Brand-powered newborn son of his, who took the Brand away from him. As well would the Witness, a spirit-like paranormal who witnessed Connell's actions, cause him to be killed by driving him off a cliff, although the Brand would later revive him. He would confront the Star Child, along with the Old Man and two other bearers. The Star Child realized that the Brand was a cosmic anomaly which no good could come from, therefore should be locked away for all eternity. It learned that the original White Event actually created the Brand itself, sending its energies 500 years back in time, when the Old Man originally lived. In fact, it turned out that the Old Man, Ken Connell, and the Starchild were all the same being. The Starchild then replicated and manipulated the original event to make it happen in a safe temporal loop.

#### Old Man

The Old Man was an older version of the wielder of the brand. Originally he claimed to be an alien warrior engaged in a cosmic struggle against conquerors who desperately wanted to steal his power for themselves. Later it was revealed that he was a centuries-old trader who had received the Star Brand from a blast from the sky and had been kept alive by its power. After his failure to get rid of the Star Brand by White Event|placing it on an asteroid in space, he returned to Earth and gave the brand to the first person he encountered, Ken Connell. Later regretting this decision, he attempted to trick Connell into giving the brand back to him, and failing that, resorted to terrorizing Connell on numerous occasions. After being defeated by Connell, he was revealed to be an older version of Connell himself who had been thrown 500 years into the past by the Star Child.

#### Star Child

The Star Child was the son of Ken Connell and his girlfriend Maddie Fix. Conceived while Connell wielded the Star Brand, he was born fully possessed and conscious of its power, growing at an extremely accelerated rate both physically and mentally due to its influence.

He was much more selfless than his father, and had a much more instinctual grasp of the Star Brand and how to use it, but was at first painfully ignorant of the ways of the world. After several naive attempts to improve the world through direct use of his power, he retreated to space to meditate for an extended time on how best to use his power. Eventually, he realized that the Star Brand was a cosmic anomaly and no good could come of its continued existence.

Soon after he formulated and enacted a plan to seal its power away forever by gathering all the bearers of the power and locking them in a loop of time. However, the Star Child neglected to isolate the power which had accidentally been transferred to pilot Jim Hanrahan.