Author notes

PLAYING WITH FIRE, Page 12

alschroeder

on April 11, 2013

As the last one spotlighted Thunderous, this one sheds some light on Sage.
 The vehicle is suspicously like the latest Batmobile in BATMAN BEGINS.  Guilty. Let me explain….
 I thought the latest Batmobile was ridiculous, and that Bruce Wayne would never drive such an armored eyesore, on the urban streets of Gotham.  He needed something more like a racing car. It's not like he used the Batmobile a lot outside of Gotham.
But what was wrong for Bruce Wayne's alter ego was just right for Sage.  He frequently goes in odd parts of the world, where the terrain is uncertain. The vehicle could easily be carried by an air transport. I tried several designs for the vehicle, and kept on coming back to something somewhat similar to the latest Batmobile. So….
Sage is a little bit Batman, a little bit Midnighter, a little bit Brainiac Five, a little bit Mr. Terrific, and a little bit Vandal Savage. As for who's smarter—Sage or Mindmistress…MM's smarter, but Sage has accress to more information, directly. He can interface with information streams almost as easily as Vicki, MM's A.I., helper, foil, and best friend.  He's also much more driven, ruthless and determined.
Next installment we meet Saigon, who will be very important to Flickerflame. And I'm NOT referring to the city.