C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A LW O N D E R G I R L
G A B R I E L A R I V E R O ♦ F E M A L E ♦ 17 ♦ G U A T E M A L A
C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:
"What kind of power is rain?"
Many years ago, the Pantheon of Mayan Gods was alive with the same fire and power as that of the Olympians.
One such member was Chaac; the God of Rain and Thunder. During the earliest days of mankind, people starved beneath the beating heat of the sun. That was until Chaac discovered a golden boulder deep within the mountains, and after breaking it in two with his mighty axe, he found maize, the crop that would change the Mayan people forever. Chaac was worshipped for bringing Maize to the world, however this soon went to his head. He began an affair with the wife of the Sun God, Kinich Ahau, his brother. After the affair’s discovery, in an act of regret, Chaac struck the sky with his axe, releasing his tears of regret in the form of rain. Since then, Chaac turned his attention solely on helping mankind.
Even after the fall of the Mayan Civilization, the Mayan Gods lived on, watching over humanity. Despite the hardships they saw, they agreed to not get involved in the struggles of mankind. Chaac however, couldn't just sit by and do nothing. He needed a champion.
Gabriela "Gabi" Rivero Gabi was born and raised in Guatemala City to a loving mother and father. Her family were fairly well off, with her father working as a professor at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, an expert on Mayan Mythology. Gabi often found herself falling asleep to the stories of the Mayan Gods, however, as she grew older her attention turned away from the stories of old as she grew to love the new gods of the world; the Justice League.
Her whole world was shifted however as Guatemala City was devastated by a tropical storm. The sewage system had collapsed during the storm, causing a sinkhole to appear which had swallowed Gabi's entire street. She was one of the only survivors, the death of her parents leaving her alone and broken.
During the aftermath of the catastrophe, Gabi struggled to get by, moving from one odd job to another. She soon found herself roped into working odd jobs for the local gang, who had been exploiting the victims of the storm for some time. One such job had taken her out into the jungle, where they managed an illegal logging operation.
It was here that Gabi's life turned around. Voices called to her through the folliage, and after some exploration, the teenager found herself at the foot of a Mayan temple, hidden for centuries in the darkness of trees. The pure sight of it was breath-taking, compelling Gabi, lumber axe still in hand, to explore it further.
Inside was something that surprised her even further; a golden boulder. As soon as she saw it, her father's stories rushed back to her. She raised her axe above her head and with a powerful swing broke the rock in two.
She felt the power flowing through her immediately. She was stronger.
Stumbling back into camp sometime later, and contemplating what had happened to her, Gabi looking over the struggling workers around her. They were like her. Stuck in this life as a result of the actions of others. Exploited for the needs of the rich. Before she had been powerless to help herself or anyone else here in her situation, but now, she wasn't powerless any longer.
After her takedown of the gang, Gabi soon returned to Guatemala City, axe in hand, intent on helping all those that needed her. Her exploits grew larger and more influential, with the media soon dubbing her as Guatemala's very own Wonder Girl.
Gabi has been blessed by the God of Rain himself, giving her a number of abilities. These include;
Weather Manipulation:
Due to Chaac being the God of Rain, Gabi is able to manipulate the weather, calling upon rain or even thunderstorms at will.
Rain Rejuvenation:
When in contact with rainwater, Gabi finds herself rejuvenated, gaining a disproportionate amount of superhuman clarity, strength, speed, agility, and endurance.
Axe of Chaac:
Possibly one of Gabi's most useful attributes is her axe. While it had originated as a simple lumber axe, after being blessed by Chaac, the Axe now resembles that of Chaac's very own weapon. Firstly, it is one of the most powerful weapons ever made, with the ability to cut through any earthly material. The weapon can also be used to help Gabi to direct her weather manipulation, much like a wand for example. However, if someone else was to use the axe, it would function just like any other axe. This is because the axe's properties aren't confined to that specific axe, instead to Gabi herself. Upon picking up another random axe, that weapon would then become the Axe of Chaac, with the old one returning to just a regular blade.
Godly Metamorphosis:
As Gabi makes use of her Godly powers, her body gradually begins to take the form of Chaac himself, the change starting from her axe hand. So far at its worse, her metamorphosis hasn't spread no more than halfway up her arm, with her body haven't begun to be coated with dark blue scales, reminiscent of Chaac's.
Multilingual:
Gabi is able to instantly communicate in any earthly dialect.
C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:
I love mythology and dealing with Godly Pantheons, with the Percy Jackson being one of my favourite book series to this day. As such, I loved the idea of bringing an entirely new pantheon into the mix, especially given DC's connection to Greek Mythology to Wonder Woman. This idea was also influenced by the new Wonder Woman in comics, who makes use of Brazilian mythology. While that character is a bit more connected to Wonder Woman, I like however they used the same name but moved away from Greek Mythology onto another, which is what I wanted to do here.
Fundamentally, Gabi constantly strives to do good, despite the cost. She comes across as tough and aggressive, although unbeknownst to most, this is merely her attempting to disguise the pain of losing her family. This pain also comes in the form of her constantly questioning and arguing with Chaac, whom as she learns more about, becomes the source of blame for her parent's death, due to it being a storm that killed them.
What better way for her to deal with this emotional trauma than chucking her into a team of other struggling superheroes?
C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:
Gabi, despite being known as Wonder Girl, currently has no relationship with Wonder Woman herself, or really any of her mythos. However, with such a name, she bounds to receive some unwanted attention..
R E L A T I O N S H I P S: