Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The Evolution of Captain Satellite, Part 2

Captain Satellite - 1980s by ~celamowari on deviantART

In the second installment of this irregularly-scheduled (i.e., whenever I feel like it) series, we get to Captain Satellite himself. Or should I say "Captain Satallite?"

(By the way, much of this is cobbled together from the description I wrote on deviantArt back in 2007 when I originally uploaded this drawing. Word to the wise and all that.)

This might be the first piece of Captain Satellite artwork. Certainly, it is the oldest surviving example of the character. I'm not sure when it's from - possibly as early as 1983, possibly as late as 1985. My memory is that I thought of the guy during Sixth Grade recess one day. Who knows if that's right anymore?

As you can see, the Captain looked a bit different when originally conceived. I gradually discarded elements of the outfit, like the visible boot jets and wave pattern eyes. However, that old style satellite chest emblem hung around for years. I'm pretty sure I only dropped it because it was hard to draw it at a smaller size, and much of my art was downright miniscule doodles. But really, nothing was cast in stone about the Captain in those days. Heck, at this stage in development, I imagined his suit was yellow rather than the white that's become so entrenched.

What's even more fascinating (well, to me) is the fact that Captain Satellite was originally a VILLAIN! I pictured him as an adversary for the various superheroes I was playing around with at the time. Later, I had a change of heart and "killed off" the villainous Captain Satellite and replaced him with a second Captain who was a superhero. As time went by, Captain Satellite's villainous origins were forgotten entirely and the superhero version became the only version. That version was the one who evolved into the Captain Satellite we know today.

There was really nothing particularly special about either incarnation of Captain Satellite in those days. He had no secret identity or special hook that I recall. He was just another super character in a veritable army that sprang out of my head. Cap's advantage was that he had a name that fascinated me and a look that I rather liked. I'm sure that's why he got filed away for future reference in later years.

Of course, it took awhile to learn how to spell "satellite" properly.

More on this subject one of these fine days. At least, I don't think I've exhausted the possibilities just yet.

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