art by Rodolfo Migliari

Kenneth Weismeyer never discovered a love for comic books—it was born with him. His father taught him to read from the classic adventures of the silver age, and soon he was bagging and boarding and trolling a paper route to pay for his weekly addiction. He dubbed himself “Norrin” after his favorite comic book hero, also an outcast, and took to broadcasting his proud geekhood with stickers, T-shirts and hats.

 Norrin’s middle-class upbringing outside Pittsburgh was frustratingly uneventful. The son of a steelworker and a dog trainer, Norrin dreamed of a bigger future—a calling that would cast him into the role of hero. For a short time he thought he was the target of a secret hoax where he was transplanted to another dimension and everyone around him was an alien performing as his acquaintance. And then there was a month-long excavation in the woods behind his house, where he was sure evil aliens had begun burrowing to the Earth’s core.

Older, wiser, but no less a comic fan, Norrin attended Freese College hoping to raise his grades and transfer to USC for film school. He’d put the dreams of adventure behind him, until his fellow students housed in the science building were infused with superpowers upon the explosion of the Ax-Cell-Erator. Finally answering the call of duty, Norrin has taken his self-imposed mantle of leadership very seriously. He has constructed a suit of armor and various comic-inspired weapons, planning to strike fear in the heart of villains everywhere... but one of his first moves was to break his own nose with his grappling hook launcher. He hopes to somehow gain the respect of his hostile teammates, who simply won’t take their calling seriously, and his unrequited love, Annalee.

art by Rodolfo Migliari

Annalee Rogers was a fun-loving girl until her parents’ very ugly divorce during her junior year of high school, when she became introverted and introspective. The constant counseling hasn’t helped—in fact, it has hasn’t served any purpose other than to make her parents feel like they can wash their hands of guilt. Annalee wasn’t against the idea of therapy, she just thought the people her parents hired were low-grade putzes who couldn’t really understand her.

 As high school progressed and her friends became involved in dramatic and toxic relationships that routinely shattered their emotions and paralyzed their intellect, she became more interested in the subject of counseling and decided to pursue psychology at college. And, again, as soon as she arrived, she was stunned and confused by the way the other kids constructed their own emotional and social roadblocks. And yet, she was still unable to divorce herself from what she considered stupid, childish conventions—like crushes on cute frat guys.

 When the Ax-Cell-Erator exploded, Annalee became The Puppeteer. She is able to jump into people’s minds for a few minutes at a time—far longer if they’re unconscious—and sift through their memories or even control their bodies. Her own body is a completely defenseless shell while she’s using her powers, though, and any damage she inflicts on her host body also appears on her own. She’s voice of reason on the Freshmen team, and has just begun a journey of discovery that will take her to an understanding of the human condition that no one has ever experienced.

art by Rodolfo Migliari

Liam Adams had never left his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania’s Amish Country before he came to Freese College. He led a very insulated life with his large family, and was quite fulfilled. Then, one night, Liam had a vision. He’s unsure whether he was asleep or awake, but a great light outside his window called to him, and he was instilled with a great sensation that he had to explore beyond his hometown. The next morning, he decided that God had compelled him to go forward. Frightened and unsure, and not even completely confident in this vision, he forged ahead, and talked his parents into allowing him to go to an “English” college.

Liam is very naïve, even by Amish standards, but he knows this about himself and tries to keep quiet so he can observe rather than seem foolish. But the outrageous and often confusing machines of the outside world overwhelm and amuse him to no end.  

Overweight since he was very young due to a medical condition, Liam was considering his weight when the Ax-Cell-Erator exploded. Soon after, he discovered he could make the ground shake with a roll of his ample belly. But what purpose would this serve in God’s eyes? How would he be judged? How can he use this ability to serve God? Liam continues to struggle with these questions as he internalizes his guilt over Paula’s injury, which he did nothing to stop out of fear for hurting Rob and the Frat Guys. More than any of the other Freshmen, Liam is alone and confused, and hoping to find a direction for himself and his new powers.

art by Leonard Kirk

Charles Levy became interested in animal protection and environmental activism when he was in sixth grade. His parents, respected Philadelphia lawyers, believed in encouraging their sons’ interests and supported him in every way possible. The entire family went vegetarian, and Mr. Levy funded trips to Washington so Charles could participate in important protests. Charles even spoke in front of congress when he was only 12 years old, urging greater legislation for animal rights. This is a young man who takes himself and his work very seriously.

 Although Charles has an entire greenhouse full of gorgeous, beloved plants at home in Manayunk, Pennsylvania, he chose to bring only his favorite with him to school: his Ficus Tree, which he calls Susie. He regularly speaks to Susie—a ritual recommended by an herbalist mentor of Chares’, who supposes that plants can feel positive and negative reinforcements from our voices through the reverberations—and has come to think of her as the ear of his life’s journal. The Ax-Cell-Erator exploded as he was whispering to her, and, when he awoke, he could hear her—and every other plant—talking.

 Charles wasn’t prepared for the surprisingly abrasive and negative disposition of most plants. Embittered from being displaced and potted, as well as humanity’s disregard for the planet’s air quality, they’re very eager to tell our race’s first plant whisperer what they think of us. As a result, Charles finds himself under constant attack. He’s also hungry, since now most of his food can beg for mercy. And he’s tired, because Susie spends all night with rampaging emotions as she repeatedly declares her love for him, but worries that he’s cheating with other plants. Who knows what the future holds for Charles and his tenuous love affair with a Ficus tree…

art by Joseph Michael Linsner

Jacques Lalleaux (The Squirrel)

Jacques Lalleaux was raised by a fashion designer mother and jeweler father in the south of France. Raised as elite society from infancy, Jacques has never wanted anything in his life. With an interest in pursuing new sexual conquests in America (he’s either had every woman in France or has determined them to be unworthy), Jacques arrived at Freese College and expected to rule the school. At first, everything went according to plan. Jacques bedded his orientation leader in the woman’s bathroom of the Physical Therapy building, and then, later that night, a waitress at the local pizza shop. And the stewardess from his flight, also a conquest, was leaving messages on his cell phone. 

But the explosion of the Ax-Cell-Erator was ill-timed for Jacques, since it came just at a moment when he was frightened by a squirrel just outside the dorm room window. Since that event, Jacques has been compulsively hoarding acorns, whenever he can get them before the wily squirrels on the Freese campus. His hair has transformed, no matter how much gel he puts into it. And lately he’s seen other squirrels staring at him… 

After the explosion, Jacques struck up a new relationship. He fell madly in love with Paula Pophouse, despite a complete lack of physical attraction. Since Paula’s injury in the battle with the frat guys broke her spell, however, Jacques has realized that Paula used her powers on him and forced him to love her. Now Jacques is trying to come to grips with his humiliating transformation and the realization that his emotions have been manipulated at the deepest level.

art by Joseph Michael Linsner

Raised by a wealthy family in New Hampshire, Paula Pophouse was expected to be an upwardly mobile socialite. But when her contractor father passed away unexpectedly, everything changed, and Paula was left in the care of her shallow mother, who was ill-prepared for a close, caring relationship with a troubled young girl.

 Paula lost herself in romance novels and movies, becoming obsessive about classic and modern Hollywood couples and dreaming of one day finding her knight in shining armor. But she constantly struggled with her self-image, losing herself to her own superficial perceptions of how people are supposed to look. Paula battled eating binges and daily workouts and dug her self-esteem a very early grave.

 As The Seductress, Paula is able to make anyone fall in love with her. It’s her lifelong wish come true, but it’s also far too easy a power to abuse for such a young, impressionable girl with an unquenchable, lifelong thirst for affection. She has enraptured Jacques—at first, it was revenge for his suggestion that she call herself “Beer Goggles.”  But now she’s falling madly in love with him, despite her fear that this relationship will end terribly if anyone finds out what she’s done.

art by Rodolfo Migliari

Elwood Johns was a math genius from a long line of math geniuses. His father and mother, both MIT graduates, work in the pharmaceutical research industry. His brother is in Budapest studying ancient cultures on a semester-long break from Harvard. Elwood, more interested in the aerospace industry, hoped to work for NASA. He was also passionate about finance and Wall Street, voraciously reading books on the subject.

 And then Elwood took his first alcoholic drink of his life, right at the pivotal moment when the Ax-Cell-Erator exploded. Now, whenever Elwood is under the influence, he produces toxic burps. Upon inhaling these ditties of doom, anyone in Elwood’s vicinity becomes as intoxicated as well. His power is even more fearsome when he’s hung over, because nothing stops an opponent dead faster than the immediate compulsion to retch. Elwood’s personal goal has swiftly gone from working for NASA to going an entire 24 hours without throwing up. In fact, he’s failing every single class he’s taking.

 With the help of Paula, Elwood has assembled his “coat of a thousand highs,” which contains all the armament he’ll need for even the most massive of battles: Flasks, cans of beers and enough joints to resurrect Miami Vice. Elwood truly is a walking machine of intoxication… but how in the world can you maintain your academic pursuits and prepare for a future in NASA when you’re always hung over from being a superhero?

Jersey Girl Renee Bellochio is a natural-born Italian spitfire, the kind of girl who will brush you back on a softball field, cook up some bomb-ass sausage and peppers and then empty a can of aqua-net into her already-rigid 'do.

Renee comes from a family of Jersey gangsters and she desperately wants to rise above them and become a movie star. After scoring surprisingly high on her SATs, (doubly impressive because she was dealing with the aftereffects of her second abortion), Renee was accepted into Freese College.

Renee shares tandem telekinesis with her sometimes-boyfriend, Brady. When they're touching, she can pull objects toward her.

Renee and Brady

art by Leonard Kirk

When he turned 14, Brady Lee moved in with his grandmother in New Jersey. He started taking the bus to the local upper-class, snotty junior high school, where he met another outcast, the trash-talking, mafia princess, hurricane slut Renee Bellochio. It was love at first sight, and the two have been inseparable ever since. As a result, Brady has suffered two broken noses, three venereal diseases, two wrecked motorcycles and one trashed science project.

 Unable to escape his obsession with this girl, Brady followed Renee to Freese College even though he wasn’t enrolled. They had been fighting even more than usual, and Brady gets a pit in his stomach whenever she’s out of his sight because she’s so prone to cheating on him. The conflict continued once they got to school, but a brief tryst in the girls’ dorm room closet during the explosion of the Ax-Cell-Erator led to Renee and Brady sharing telekinetic powers.

When they’re in contact, Renee has the ability to psychically pull things toward them, while Brady can push objects away. They must work together to manipulate objects with any degree of precision, but their constant bickering hardly lends itself to cooperation. The situation is bound to reach a boiling point eventually, but for now the entire Freshmen team is trying to handle their volatility.

art by Leonard Kirk

Captured at the age of three by a pet store with a special request from D.W. Freese College, the Beaver has spent most of his life in captivity while dreaming of freedom and building dams. He has become institutionalized—comfortable with his school sweatshirt and cushy accommodations, but is still determined to make his mark on the world of dam building.

 Before ending up in the Boughl Science Building on the fateful night of the Ax-Cell-Erator’s explosion, the Beaver had been captured from his cage in Freese College’s athletic department and kept in the Alpha Chi Rho Frat House for six days, sustaining on a strange diet of cupcakes, Ramen Noodles, pizza and beer. He expected the worst when he was left in Paula’s closet, and his fears were realized when she started screaming the moment she saw him. As he himself put it later, he was wishing he could convey to each of the kids the “astounding profundity of [their] bankrupt intelligence” when the Ax-Cell-Erator exploded, providing him with off-the-charts intelligence and a snooty English accent that matches his will to insult the students at every opportunity.

The Beaver’s first and foremost love, building dams, is always present in his thoughts and dialogue. But now the Beaver leads the Freshmen (or, as he calls them, “the mongoloids”) and provides them with an intelligent point of view that is often dismissive but rarely emotional.