Welcome back! It's time to finish up our character profiles, and this time it's all about the inner workings. This is where the third dimension appears, where your character goes from a face on a paper to a living, breathing person. 

As a reminder, we are looking at these traits as they apply to our friendly neighborhood web-slinger, Peter Parker. 

PSYCHOLOGICAL

1. Sex Life / Moral Standards: Peter's sexual naivete is primarily a response to his crippling shyness and social ineptitude. As far as moral standards, Peter's foundation is clearly stated in Uncle Ben's famous quote: With great power comes great responsibility. Whether Peter lives up to that tenet hinges on his personal life, and whether or not a symbiant has latched onto him. For the most part, Peter is a moral, good person. He cares for his family and friends, and he wants to see the best in people, even the villains he faces down.

2. Personal Premise / Ambition: Peter Parker isn't Tony Stark. He had no ambitions of being a super billionaire. He just wanted to be a good person, be good at his job, be good with his family. Super powers gave him the ability to up that goal. He wants to be a hero for all those troubled souls in New York, their champion when they need one the most. 

3. Frustrations: As he starts his career in crime fighting, Peter has a few key frustrations. Namely, the city doesn't seem to appreciate what he's doing, in no small part due to the libelous allegations thrown out by the Daily Bugle's editor, J. Jonah Jameson. Peter is also frustrated in maintaining his secret identity, struggling with part-time work, and failing to impress the various ladies in his life. 

4. Temperament: Peter is surprisingly cool under pressure. He is well-known for making sharp quips in the heat of battle, and takes new villains and monsters in stride. At the same time, he is just a kid. He gets awe-struck by the older heroes, amazed by his own abilities, and scared when the challenge turns deadly. 

5. Attitude Towards Life: Peter lost his Uncle in a stupid, pointless mugging. Yet when he confronted the killer, Peter let him live. Life is sacred, something to be protected. Even the worst villains Peter faces are met with non-lethal force. 

6. Complexes: Perpetual shyness, low self-esteem, a level of snark that borders on military-grade.

7. Extrovert / Introvert: As Peter, he is quite introverted. As Spider-Man, much the opposite. 

8. Abilities (Languages, Talents, etc): Advanced mechanical engineering, acrobatics, web-slinging, wall-crawling, improvised fighting, spider-sense. Also, he apparently has a hidden talent as a fashion-designer.

9. Qualities (Imagination, Judgement, Taste, etc): Creative problem-solving, wild imagination.

10. I.Q.: Depending on who you ask, as high as 270.

 

Looking back at the past week and a half, can you see how Peter came to life with each answered question? We now have a well-rounded character. This is someone we can see going to school, getting into trouble, fighting off the Green Goblin. We've taken an idea and given it life, and that is just the best part of writing. 

Finish your characters and get ready, because next week is going to be hell!