I’ve had this game on my mind a lot again recently. And so I wanted to share with you another one of the characters that I had put together for Gamer Nation Con 007. A few weeks back I introduced you to Myrmidon, the leader of the team. Today you’ll meet one of the more “normal” Agents of A.E.G.I.S. – Amanda Lawson, better known to her teammates as Atalanta.
Amanda was born into money, but she never let it define her. She determined at an early age that she was going to push herself as hard as she could in every aspect of her life, looking for passions that she could fully pour herself into. It wasn’t long before she discovered the world of fitness and after graduating from college at a very young age, secured the capital to open up her own gym.
One night while she was heading home from work she stumbled upon an attempted mugging. Without thinking, she leapt into action and subdued the attacker, and she fell in love with the adrenaline rush that those heroics provided her. With that in mind, she attempted to join the Agents of A.E.G.I.S. program, but quickly washed out even despite her years of training.
But she didn’t let that discourage her. She spent the next 18 months of her life redoubling her efforts – training her body and her mind as far as she could push them, all while continuing to run and expand her business. And when she went back to A.E.G.I.S. Labs after those 18 months, she passed the entrance exams with flying colors. She even managed to hold her own in a sparring match against the hero Myrmidon for a few minutes before she was beaten. Recognizing her potential, A.E.G.I.S. brought Amanda into an even more strenuous program, a challenge that she relished the entire time. When it was done, she was recognized officially as an Agent of A.E.G.I.S. despite having no powers of her own (and was secretly thrilled that she was placed under Myrmidon’s command, having developed an intense crush on the young man during her training).
While she has no “actual” super powers, Amanda does possess a nearly inhuman drive and determination to reach the goals that she sets for herself. It’s by those abilities alone that she was able to push herself to reach the levels of training that she has and the reason that she was able to join the Agents of A.E.G.I.S. program in the first place. On top of her athletic prowess, she is incredibly intelligent and a skilled investigator.
But while this drive and determination is admirable, she also uses it as a mask to cover up the fact that she is constantly seeking approval from the other heroes and struggling to find an identity of her own. In point of fact, her hero name was something of a childish attempt to show Myrmidon that she too was interested in Greek myth rather than any sort of reflection of her own identity. When that day comes that Amanda becomes truly comfortable with her place on a team of superheroes and develops a strong identity of her own, she will truly become a force to be reckoned with and a name the criminals of Paradigm City will fear.
Ben Erickson
