Prime Empyrean
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While scientifically the Sun is a fairly common G Class star, I am beginning to understand that our Sun's magical potency, as a symbol of life and of all that is good, is every bit as great as it's power as one of the universe's natural fusion reactors.
-Excerpt from John's journal
Contents
History
Origin
Astronaut Mission Specialist Captain John Phoenix was selected for "Project Sun Sentinel"--a joint NASA/Stargazer project to send a manned research mission to the outer corona of the Sun. The plan was to make a manned mission possible using UNTIL teleportation and shielding technology to travel the vast distance and for protection from the harsh environment. After the successful experimental deployment and return of two unmanned test probes, it was deemed safe enough to progress to the next phase--sending the first man to the Sun!
Unbeknownst to UNTIL or NASA, XXX took advantage of the opportunity to hide a device containing genetically altered XXX suspended in specially modified XXX gel on the outer hull of the capsule. The device was designed to carefully expose the gel to the plasma and energy of the Sun so that XXX could use the solar-charged gel in an attempt to create solar powers for their XXX Project. But they were wrong to think that they could control XXX.
The moment the probe passed through the portal the secret device activated, and the XXX used the solar energy it absorbed to attack, exploding the device like a bomb. All that was known back on Earth was that there had been and explosion upon reaching the outer corona of the Sun, and all contact with the probe had been lost. The project was terminated, and John was presumed dead.
One year later, while investigating a recent impact crater, scientists were shocked to find the unconscious body of a man buried deep within it's center. The man was eventually identified as John Phoenix--though both his hair and eyes were now pure white. After extensive examination by the scientists at PRIMUS, it was determined that his body had been altered down to the quantum level. He had become, in effect, like a human Sun.
Once John had fully recovered, he donned a costume and took his hero name from the name of the project that had given him his powers. He became--THE SUN SENTINEL!
Belt of Helios
Though deep below the Earth, John could feel the warmth and power of the Sun filling his body as he donned the artifact, and he emerged from the passage far more powerful than before. As a man of science, John had little understanding of the mystical forces now at his command. Upon learning that John had recieved the lost Belt of Heliso, the Trismegistus Council sought him out and offered to help him learn the ways of magic, since it's Sun-based magic is particularly potent verses the dark forces against which they fight.
Strength Level
John is normally able to lift (press) approximately 25 tons above his head. However, he is able to temporarily boost his body's energy output, giving himself up to twice his normal physical strength.
Known Superhuman Powers
Do you truly believe that the bestial rage in your heart is so much as a spark compared to the seething fury of the Sun itself?
-John speaking to Black Fang during the Vibora Apocalypse
The accident that gave John his powers altered him down to the quantum level, making him in many ways like a human Sun. He has a "solar metabolism" (based upon a biological form of hydrogen fusion) and a plasma-based physiology that gives him a variety of superhuman physical attributes and powers. John possesses superhuman strength, stamina, durability, reaction time, and regeneration. He can maintain maximum physical exertion for days, withstand up to high-caliber gunfire without significant injury, catch a bullet in his hand, and completely recover within hours from injuries that would be lethal to a normal human.
Due to his metabolism and physiology, John's physical needs are minimal. He only needs to breathe enough to replace the hydrogen used by his metabolism (less than one breath per hour in Earth's atmosphere), only needs to eat enough to replace any lost bodily mass, and he no longer seems to age appreciably--perhaps aging at a similar rate to that of the Sun itself. His altered physiology renders him immune to normal terrestrial diseases and poisons. However, his body is still mostly organic in function, and so he does need occasional sleep, and he can be injured or rendered unconscious by sufficient force.
His body's power output is equivalent to that of a miniature star, allowing him to generate every form of energy emitted by a star, such as heat, light, radio waves, charged particles, magnetic fields, plasma, etc. John's body can generate high-energy plasma and powerful magnetic fields that he can use to control the plasma for a variety of effects. He can surround his fists with explosive plasma to deliver a devastating "Solar Punch", project "Solar Flares" of fiery and/or explosive plasma, and can explode plasma outward from his body in all directions as a "Nova Burst".
John can create plasma shields to protect himself and others, and can surround himself in a "corona" that ignites the surrounding air and deflects or partially absorbs any forces or energy directed towards him. His corona allows him to fly by using the buoyancy of its low-density plasma combined with plasma jets for lift and thrust. John also has what he calls his "Solar Sight", which is the ability to both see and project from his eyes all or any part of the entire spectrum of radiant or particle energy given off by the Sun. Using, this, he can actively "scan" to derive tremendous amounts of visual information and emit eye beams of intense, highly focused solar energy.
John has has some degree of quantum-level control over both his body, as well as nearby matter and energy. He can consciously accelerate his hydrogen metabolism to further increase his available energy, strength, speed and regeneration (though this increases how quickly he exhausts his body's hydrogen stores) and he can even draw energy from his environment or his opponents to weaken them and/or to replenish his own energy stores. In the case of extreme physical injury, John can shift his body into a semi-plasmic state to repair any damage to his body.
John is capable of escaping Earth's atmosphere under his own power, and once in space where gravity and friction are virtually nil he can achieve near-light speeds. His innate physical durability combined with the added protection of his corona allows John to survive unaided in space, and his altered physiology allows his lungs to extract enough hydrogen from the interplanetary and interstellar media and planetary atmospheres to sustain his metabolism.
Abilities
John Phoenix is a former fighter pilot and Astronaut with a PhD in Astrobiology, and he has begun the formal study of magic under the Trismegistus Council.
Weapons
John is the current wearer of The Belt of Helios: Titan God of the Sun. In the past, the Belt was always entrusted to users of white magic to use as a source to draw upon the strength and power of the Sun God to aid them in their fight against the forces of darkness. However, due to their mutually solar nature, John's powers and the magic of the artifact respond to one another in a unique way. His powers and the magic of the belt interweave with one another, effectively making all of his powers quasi-magical in nature. This affords him magical protection and lends great magical potency to his powers--as well as granting all allies who are bathed in the light of his powers the blessing of Helios--healing them even in the midst of battle.
