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Could the Infinity Train have saved Mr. Marvelous (Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass)? Reason for being on the Infinity Train: Severe self-worth issues, depression, inability to be responsible, breaking into people's houses to pretend he lives there, erecting buff shirtless statues of himself everywhere

The train would save him

The train would make him much worse

He would somehow force his way off the train

He would take over the train

He would die on the train

He would not get worse or better but never leave the train

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Voting ended onJul 10, 2024

#jimmy and the pulsating mass #jatpm #mr marvelous #could infinity train have saved them poll #could infinity train have saved them

So I came up with another book earlier this year, and with everything that happened, it sort of fell to the wayside. Besides, the story’s evolved. So, sit on down, suspend your disbelief, and hear me out!

The Title: Reputation, a book set in my Abilities Universe. Another book about superheroes in wheelchairs (aka: superabilities + disabilities).

The Setting: Some City, Somewhere

The Characters:

Jack Trade: A pan man in his 30s who becomes paralyzed in the prologue. Purple undercut. Piercings. Tattoos. Hipster glasses. Secondhand grungy clothes. One-room apartment where he sleeps on a tattered couch. You get the idea. When he was a teenager, he traveled to Ace City and begged the Institute (i/e: Juniper and Ryder) to give him superabilities. His ability is an eidetic memory which is horrible, because he remembers all of the bad things, is rarely able to focus on the positives, and is still gaslighted into doubting what happened. He was bullied all throughout high school and has spent two decades working odd jobs, stealing to survive, and being labeled as a supervillain.

Cattie Cradle: A thirteen-year-old girl who lives in the pediatric oncology ward. (She has lung cancer + asthma.) She’s never been to school and rarely leaves the hospital. Cynical. Self-sacrificing. Bald. She’s gained a reputation for being a nag/bossy, but really, she just wants to make sure that the other children survive. She hates Marvin Martindale (she’s a disabled child; she can tell when people aren’t authentic) and thinks Jack Trade is the greatest thing since sliced gauze.

Hari Harsh: A pediatric oncologist who has a reputation for only seeing the patients as statistics and dollars. In actuality, he knows everything about them and genuinely cares about every one. Jack’s been in love with him since high school and has never once considered that Hari might return his affections. Hari spends ¾ of the book subtly supporting Jack and Cattie while openly denying that he knows who Mr. Marvelous is, but that whoever he is, he’s certainly a superhero and certainly someone worthy of love.

Rhonda Wright: A nurse who isn’t as ‘popular’ as the other clique of nurses, which means that Cattie and Jack both like/help her

Veronica Heard: An influencer/reporter who’s “married” to Marvin. She used to be the popular girl in school who bullied Jack. With that in mind, during her introductory scene, Jack tells her that she’s always welcome to stay at his apartment (he can go sleep at the shelter) if she needs to get away from...well...if she needs to get away. Her kind words are what inspire a museum break-in.

Tally Teleport: A seventeen-year-old queer girl with the ability to teleport. She saves Jack, one day, and takes him to an inclusive cafe where she happily stims while eating rainbow cake. Her friends all reveal that Mr. Marvelous once told them that they couldn’t be superheroes. Luckily, Mr. Marvelous is different these days...

Marvin Martindale: Fuck Marvin Martindale. He’s just the worst. Felix-levels of assholery. Juniper’s-father-levels. He bullied Jack in high school, he used his parents’ money to become a superhero, he does whatever he wants with no repercussions, and, of course, he’s a downright ableist asshole. He’s tried to build up the reputation as the greatest superhero in Some City, and has no idea that the people who know him hate him. But if he’s not their hero, then who is?

The Plot:

The story opens with a quick prologue in which Jack falls from a building, as one does, receiving no help from Mr. Marvelous. Jack is paralyzed as a result. Six months later, Mr. Marvelous shows up at the pediatric oncology ward for a publicity stunt. Jack and Cattie meet when he tries to steal ibuprofen from the nurse’s station. (“I’m not doing anything wrong!” “You’re stealing medicine from sick children!” “...You got me, there.”) They briefly connect over their hatred of Mr. Marvelous before the ‘superhero’ defeats the ‘supervillain’. By ‘defeats’, I mean that he attacks an unarmed man in front of a bunch of crying kids; Jack leaves as soon as Hari shows up. Mr. Marvelous boasts to a seething Cattie. And he boasts on the news that night. And he boasts during his spontaneous parade. And he boasts right up until he crashes the dangerous new gadget that he was haphazardly flying.

Jack and Cattie both end up visiting his hospital room at the same time. (Well, technically, Jack sees Cattie in line and pulls her to the front by telling the hospital staff that he’s Marvin’s best friend). Marvin immediately begins lamenting about how being disabled means that his superhero days are over (he’d be friends with Book One Felix) and won’t listen to their arguments. Cattie screams that, if he gives up now, he’ll be letting down every disabled child.

A few days later, Mr. Marvelous wheels onto the ward, albeit in a different costume. All of the children freak out. Even Cattie is ecstatic. Confused but ecstatic. When the superhero asks the nurses for ibuprofen, Cattie understands, following him up onto the roof. Jack removes the white ski mask and admits that he stole the costume from the Mr. Marvelous wing in the local museum. He’s prepared to return it, but she has an idea…

What follows is the two committing identity fraud but in the most adorable way possible. Cattie uses crayons to color the white ski mask. Jack works on cleaning and decorating the wheelchair. Since everyone knows that medical tape is the most durable of all materials, they find a way to fasten tape dispensers near his brakes, allowing him to swing the chair from building to building. (The wheelchair itself literally becomes a swing; he can hold onto the tape and do a massive crunch to keep from falling...usually. This is the part where you suspend your disbeliefs; it’s a superhero book!).

The main crux of the story is Jack ‘pretending’ to be a superhero. Since he has the confidence of a scared turtle, he’s constantly thinking that he’s messing everything up, when he’s helping more people than Marvin Martindale ever did. And, of course, as more people become aware of his true identity, including Veronica, Rhonda, Tally, and a fully-supportive Hari (yes, queer shenanigans ensue), we get the signature found-family tropes. I love those tropes. I love these characters. In fact, the only one who doesn’t seem to love this disabled queer superhero...is Marvin Martindale. But, surely, an entitled ableist bigot wouldn’t snap and launch the dramatic climax of the story, right? ...Right?

And that’s Reputation!

Thoughts?