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Description
GADGET REVAMP OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION

Police work isn’t as easy as it used to be..

In the past, it was possible for police officers to arrest criminals using only their bare hands.

But over the past few years, new kinds of criminals, ones with superhuman abilities, have sprung up.  Offenders that can melt bullets with heat vision, or knock down police stations with one punch.

This is not only a major problem, but an opportunity for superhumans in the law enforcement field.  State and local governments will pay big money for superhero services.

Why, even people without superpowers can make money at this–provided they live long enough....

CHARACTERS–HEROES

Origin: Rebecca Cunningham was paying her way through business school by working as an archeological assistant to Egyptologist (mainly-he would do digs in other parts of the world) Richard Cunningham.  One day her husband was excavating a lost temple of the ancient Egyptian goddess of divine wrath, Sekhmet, when some demons attacked her husband and dragged him  into some tunnels underneath the temple. Rebecca pursued the demons, and actually tried to fight them off to save Richard. The goddess Sekhmet was so impressed by Becky's willingness to save others--and Becky's great temper--that she bestowed some of her power on Becky. Becky immediately transformed into a huge, powerful monster, smashed the demons, and changed back to normal.

Becky eventually married Richard, even though Becky now had the power to become a powerful monster whenever someone near her was in very great danger, or she became very angry--the last didn't happen very often, because she and Richard loved each other very much. Becky traveled all over the world with her husband, eventually earned her MBA, and gained experience secretly fighting supervillains.  She also gave birth to a daughter, Molly.

Becky needed a job in a hurry, and took the first one that came up--a job with "crazy inventor" Gadget Hackwrench. Gadget found out Becky's secret during a particularly dangerous mission, and she and Peg decided to make Becky a team member, and even gave Becky a codename, Werewitch, which Becky doesn't like.

Height: 5 feet normal, 7 feet changed

Weight: 120 normal, 1000  changed

Eyes: Brown normal, glowing red changed

Hair: Striped brown normal, same--but wilder--changed

Abilities: Whenever Becky gets extremely angry, or if Becky or another person near her is in a dangerous situation that only Becky's other self can overcome--Rebecca Cunningham transforms into a giant creature that looks like a cross between a werewolf and a bear, clearly female, and is as strong as Spider-Man–she can throw cars at people.

Becky keeps her own personality when she becomes Werewitch, but now she is freer to do those things she could not normally do when she was a little, physically weak bear woman.  If you've ever seen Becky in Talespin, you'll notice that whenever bad guys threaten her, she can't do much but struggle and maybe get in a lucky punch.

As Werewitch, she could tear the Iron Eagle apart with her bare hands.

Becky loves the feeling of great strength and power her changes give her, but she doesn't like turning into a giant, ugly monster. She's glad she eventually changes back, when the danger is over, or when she calms down. Gadget is glad too--Gadget can barely control her....

Origin: Gadget is the daughter of an Air Force test pilot who also worked in US intelligence. Gadget grew up as an Air Force brat, and moved with her father and Australian intelligence agent Monterey Jack from base to base all over the world. Gadget's mother divorced her father for some unknown reason, and Gadget never talks about her.

Gadget showed an almost supernatural aptitude for mathematics, science, and technology at an early age. She went to California Institute of Technology shortly before her father's death, obtaining a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master's in Aerospace very quickly.

Gadget also wanted to honor her father by using her abilities to do good, and decided that she could do that by battling "paranormal" menaces, such as supervillains, monsters, and other things that the average police department is not equipped to handle. Gadget left her aerospace engineering job to get a criminal justice degree.  She also took some martial arts classes to add to the fighting skills she learned from Geegaw and Monty; she's good enough to hold her own in a fight, but not enough to fight really big opponents without weapons.

Gadget's big break came when she invented an airplane that takes in air and breaks it down for fuel.  She gets money from licensing the patent for this car to automakers around the world.  She's rich enough to start a superhero company, but nowhere near as rich as, say, Scrooge McDuck.  If her company went out of business, though, she’d be penniless.

After several years--probably not enough--Gadget teamed up with two other partners, Peg Sparrowhawk and Rebecca Cunningham,  and opened a superhero firm that handled strange menaces for local law enforcement agencies on a contract basis.

Height: 5'3"

Weight: 120 lbs.

Eyes: Piercing blue

Hair: Light brown

Species: Grasshopper mouse--predatory but omnivorous.  Prefers to eat meat.  She is also able to "howl"--that is, squeak really loud.

Strength Level: Surprisingly stronger than she looks, but she couldn't beat Batman in a fight.

Abilities: Gadget has an IQ of around 200, with the ability to perform complex calculations and draw up complex plans for inventions--in her head. She often works too quickly and is a little sloppy, which leads to malfunctions.

Gadget can operate just about any vehicle, especially airplanes.

Gadget has taken classes in forensics and basic police skills.

Gadget knows how to set up her own business and is a surprisingly good negotiator.

Gadget's tail can pick most locks.

Weapons: Gadget's main weapons are derived from plungers.  She has small plunger launchers on her hands that shoot plungers that have tazers sticking out of the center--they attach to people, then shock them!  The plungers can also be used to climb walls--when they're attached to grappling lines.

Another weapon Gadget likes to use is a collapsible bo staff with electrified ends.  Good for when you run out of plungers.

Gadget also has a universal scanner/information computer on her left forearm.  This device scans Gadget's environment and gives her information about the layout of an area, possible threats, and can identify opponents using a crime file database.  The computer is also connected to the Internet and online databases for quick question answering.

Gadget's goggles are hooked up to a heads-up display which is hooked up to the scanner.  The display also works well with any vehicles she drives.

Gadget wears a tool belt which contains her most-used tools, like a hand-held laser that can cut through steel, flashlight, lockpicks for locks her tail can't unlock, plastic explosives, potato chips, handcuffs, screwdrivers, gas masks, a portable mini-crime lab, and a cell phone.  Other tools are hidden in pockets scattered around her jumpsuit, which contains body armor panels and is fire-resistant.

Vehicles: One of them is an armored riot van called the "Gadgetmobile."  Gadget uses this to get to the scene.  It contains a portable crime lab, batons and other riot gear, guns for shooting non-living opponents, and bazookas for shooting big opponents.

Another vehicle is a small VTOL plane Gadget uses to travel to other parts of the world. It contains the same things the Gadgetmobile has, and also includes a microfridge and a coffee maker.

Limitations: Gadget tends to be so focused on what she is doing that she loses track of her surroundings--not good when you're fighting supervillains.  She does, however, learn from her mistakes.

Gadget is something of a neat freak, she is also something of a packrat: she keeps all kinds of junk around, arranged alphabetically and by size.

Gadget has trouble dealing with people, she might have Asperger's.  She has learned, however, that some people are not to be trusted.

Gadget often makes problems worse, either by saying something unintentionally, or by trying to solve problems outside of science/crimefighting.  This is especially bad when she tries to help people with their personal problems.

Margaret Mead “Peg” Sparrowhawk comes from a famous military family.  She spent most of her career in Army intelligence, where she became friends with Gadget’s father.  Geegaw got Peg to promise to help Gadget if Geegaw wasn’t around to help her.

Peg later married Pete, had two kids, and settled down to life as a real estate agent.  Then two things happened: She divorced Pete, and her property was destroyed by a careless superhero.  Peg sued the hero team and won a big settlement.  She was approached by Gadget, who suggested they pool their money to start a superhero business.

Peg tries to steer Gadget towards being more competent, and even though they fight a lot, they  are good partners and friends.

CHARACTERS–VILLAINS

Gadget and her partners will face a combination of old and new villains.  Established villains from Disney comics will include the Phantom Blot, Drusilla, the Beagle Boys, and Darkwing Duck’s Fearsome Five.  Drusilla, the Blot, and the FF run competing worldwide criminal organizations.  The Beagles often hire themselves out as henchmen, when they're not trying to rob Scrooge's money bin.

New villains may include: Megavolt’s daughter, the Hurdy-Gurdy Man (a genius who was so distraught over his sister’s senseless death that he decided to eliminate all order and reason in the world–he will be Gadget’s Joker), and possibly a character based on Jack Parsons; this character performed a magic spell that opened a gateway to another dimension and allowed the energy that superheroes use for their powers to enter the world.

SETTING

Our heroes operate out of Cape Suzette, which is located on an island off the coast of Cailfonia.  Air pirates such as Don Karnage will be a problem.

SUPERHEROING

Small superhero companies work for local governments and law enforcement agencies that can’t afford to hire their own full-time superheroes; they may start out as consultants, but need a sheriff’s deputy license to legally arrest people.  They like first responders such as EMTs or firefighters.  Superhero companies have to spend a lot of money on special equipment, so there is a big need to succeed....

EPISODE IDEAS

"By Law"--Gadget and Peg are required by law to portray all the cliche plots that you usually see in cartoons: episodes where the characters go to the beach, or the characters pretend to be ghosts, or where one character saves the life of another character, and the other character becomes the first character's slave.  They do this with all the enthusiasm you'd expect from just going through the motions.

"Gadget's Coffee Problem"--Gadget loves to drink coffee!  She drinks several pots--not cups--every day!  And her hyperactivity gets on everyone's nerves!  Until she loses the ability to sleep, and has to go cold turkey for a week before she can sleep again!

"Meeting Sekhmet"--Gadget, Peg, and Becky visit the home of the Egyptian gods because Sekhmet, the goddess who gave Becky her powers, is having a performance review from the other gods.  Mirage decides to cause trouble by having Becky fight monsters from Egyptian mythology.

"My Duty as a Talking Animal"--It's Gadget's duty to help people with their personal problems, and who has more personal problems that divorced mom Peg?  Gadget moves in and tries to help, but since she doesn't understand people, there are even more problems....

Description
GADGET REVAMP OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION

Police work isn’t as easy as it used to be..

In the past, it was possible for police officers to arrest criminals using only their bare hands.

But over the past few years, new kinds of criminals, ones with superhuman abilities, have sprung up.  Offenders that can melt bullets with heat vision, or knock down police stations with one punch.

This is not only a major problem, but an opportunity for superhumans in the law enforcement field.  State and local governments will pay big money for superhero services.

Why, even people without superpowers can make money at this–provided they live long enough....

CHARACTERS–HEROES

Origin: Rebecca Cunningham was paying her way through business school by working as an archeological assistant to Egyptologist (mainly-he would do digs in other parts of the world) Richard Cunningham.  One day her husband was excavating a lost temple of the ancient Egyptian goddess of divine wrath, Sekhmet, when some demons attacked her husband and dragged him  into some tunnels underneath the temple. Rebecca pursued the demons, and actually tried to fight them off to save Richard. The goddess Sekhmet was so impressed by Becky's willingness to save others--and Becky's great temper--that she bestowed some of her power on Becky. Becky immediately transformed into a huge, powerful monster, smashed the demons, and changed back to normal.

Becky eventually married Richard, even though Becky now had the power to become a powerful monster whenever someone near her was in very great danger, or she became very angry--the last didn't happen very often, because she and Richard loved each other very much. Becky traveled all over the world with her husband, eventually earned her MBA, and gained experience secretly fighting supervillains.  She also gave birth to a daughter, Molly.

Becky needed a job in a hurry, and took the first one that came up--a job with "crazy inventor" Gadget Hackwrench. Gadget found out Becky's secret during a particularly dangerous mission, and she and Peg decided to make Becky a team member, and even gave Becky a codename, Werewitch, which Becky doesn't like.

Height: 5 feet normal, 7 feet changed

Weight: 120 normal, 1000  changed

Eyes: Brown normal, glowing red changed

Hair: Striped brown normal, same--but wilder--changed

Abilities: Whenever Becky gets extremely angry, or if Becky or another person near her is in a dangerous situation that only Becky's other self can overcome--Rebecca Cunningham transforms into a giant creature that looks like a cross between a werewolf and a bear, clearly female, and is as strong as Spider-Man–she can throw cars at people.

Becky keeps her own personality when she becomes Werewitch, but now she is freer to do those things she could not normally do when she was a little, physically weak bear woman.  If you've ever seen Becky in Talespin, you'll notice that whenever bad guys threaten her, she can't do much but struggle and maybe get in a lucky punch.

As Werewitch, she could tear the Iron Eagle apart with her bare hands.

Becky loves the feeling of great strength and power her changes give her, but she doesn't like turning into a giant, ugly monster. She's glad she eventually changes back, when the danger is over, or when she calms down. Gadget is glad too--Gadget can barely control her....

Origin: Gadget is the daughter of an Air Force test pilot who also worked in US intelligence. Gadget grew up as an Air Force brat, and moved with her father and Australian intelligence agent Monterey Jack from base to base all over the world. Gadget's mother divorced her father for some unknown reason, and Gadget never talks about her.

Gadget showed an almost supernatural aptitude for mathematics, science, and technology at an early age. She went to California Institute of Technology shortly before her father's death, obtaining a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master's in Aerospace very quickly.

Gadget also wanted to honor her father by using her abilities to do good, and decided that she could do that by battling "paranormal" menaces, such as supervillains, monsters, and other things that the average police department is not equipped to handle. Gadget left her aerospace engineering job to get a criminal justice degree.  She also took some martial arts classes to add to the fighting skills she learned from Geegaw and Monty; she's good enough to hold her own in a fight, but not enough to fight really big opponents without weapons.

Gadget's big break came when she invented an airplane that takes in air and breaks it down for fuel.  She gets money from licensing the patent for this car to automakers around the world.  She's rich enough to start a superhero company, but nowhere near as rich as, say, Scrooge McDuck.  If her company went out of business, though, she’d be penniless.

After several years--probably not enough--Gadget teamed up with two other partners, Peg Sparrowhawk and Rebecca Cunningham,  and opened a superhero firm that handled strange menaces for local law enforcement agencies on a contract basis.

Height: 5'3"

Weight: 120 lbs.

Eyes: Piercing blue

Hair: Light brown

Species: Grasshopper mouse--predatory but omnivorous.  Prefers to eat meat.  She is also able to "howl"--that is, squeak really loud.

Strength Level: Surprisingly stronger than she looks, but she couldn't beat Batman in a fight.

Abilities: Gadget has an IQ of around 200, with the ability to perform complex calculations and draw up complex plans for inventions--in her head. She often works too quickly and is a little sloppy, which leads to malfunctions.

Gadget can operate just about any vehicle, especially airplanes.

Gadget has taken classes in forensics and basic police skills.

Gadget knows how to set up her own business and is a surprisingly good negotiator.

Gadget's tail can pick most locks.

Weapons: Gadget's main weapons are derived from plungers.  She has small plunger launchers on her hands that shoot plungers that have tazers sticking out of the center--they attach to people, then shock them!  The plungers can also be used to climb walls--when they're attached to grappling lines.

Another weapon Gadget likes to use is a collapsible bo staff with electrified ends.  Good for when you run out of plungers.

Gadget also has a universal scanner/information computer on her left forearm.  This device scans Gadget's environment and gives her information about the layout of an area, possible threats, and can identify opponents using a crime file database.  The computer is also connected to the Internet and online databases for quick question answering.

Gadget's goggles are hooked up to a heads-up display which is hooked up to the scanner.  The display also works well with any vehicles she drives.

Gadget wears a tool belt which contains her most-used tools, like a hand-held laser that can cut through steel, flashlight, lockpicks for locks her tail can't unlock, plastic explosives, potato chips, handcuffs, screwdrivers, gas masks, a portable mini-crime lab, and a cell phone.  Other tools are hidden in pockets scattered around her jumpsuit, which contains body armor panels and is fire-resistant.

Vehicles: One of them is an armored riot van called the "Gadgetmobile."  Gadget uses this to get to the scene.  It contains a portable crime lab, batons and other riot gear, guns for shooting non-living opponents, and bazookas for shooting big opponents.

Another vehicle is a small VTOL plane Gadget uses to travel to other parts of the world. It contains the same things the Gadgetmobile has, and also includes a microfridge and a coffee maker.

Limitations: Gadget tends to be so focused on what she is doing that she loses track of her surroundings--not good when you're fighting supervillains.  She does, however, learn from her mistakes.

Gadget is something of a neat freak, she is also something of a packrat: she keeps all kinds of junk around, arranged alphabetically and by size.

Gadget has trouble dealing with people, she might have Asperger's.  She has learned, however, that some people are not to be trusted.

Gadget often makes problems worse, either by saying something unintentionally, or by trying to solve problems outside of science/crimefighting.  This is especially bad when she tries to help people with their personal problems.

Margaret Mead “Peg” Sparrowhawk comes from a famous military family.  She spent most of her career in Army intelligence, where she became friends with Gadget’s father.  Geegaw got Peg to promise to help Gadget if Geegaw wasn’t around to help her.

Peg later married Pete, had two kids, and settled down to life as a real estate agent.  Then two things happened: She divorced Pete, and her property was destroyed by a careless superhero.  Peg sued the hero team and won a big settlement.  She was approached by Gadget, who suggested they pool their money to start a superhero business.

Peg tries to steer Gadget towards being more competent, and even though they fight a lot, they  are good partners and friends.

CHARACTERS–VILLAINS

Gadget and her partners will face a combination of old and new villains.  Established villains from Disney comics will include the Phantom Blot, Drusilla, the Beagle Boys, and Darkwing Duck’s Fearsome Five.  Drusilla, the Blot, and the FF run competing worldwide criminal organizations.  The Beagles often hire themselves out as henchmen, when they're not trying to rob Scrooge's money bin.

New villains may include: Megavolt’s daughter, the Hurdy-Gurdy Man (a genius who was so distraught over his sister’s senseless death that he decided to eliminate all order and reason in the world–he will be Gadget’s Joker), and possibly a character based on Jack Parsons; this character performed a magic spell that opened a gateway to another dimension and allowed the energy that superheroes use for their powers to enter the world.

SETTING

Our heroes operate out of Cape Suzette, which is located on an island off the coast of Cailfonia.  Air pirates such as Don Karnage will be a problem.

SUPERHEROING

Small superhero companies work for local governments and law enforcement agencies that can’t afford to hire their own full-time superheroes; they may start out as consultants, but need a sheriff’s deputy license to legally arrest people.  They like first responders such as EMTs or firefighters.  Superhero companies have to spend a lot of money on special equipment, so there is a big need to succeed....

EPISODE IDEAS

"By Law"--Gadget and Peg are required by law to portray all the cliche plots that you usually see in cartoons: episodes where the characters go to the beach, or the characters pretend to be ghosts, or where one character saves the life of another character, and the other character becomes the first character's slave.  They do this with all the enthusiasm you'd expect from just going through the motions.

"Gadget's Coffee Problem"--Gadget loves to drink coffee!  She drinks several pots--not cups--every day!  And her hyperactivity gets on everyone's nerves!  Until she loses the ability to sleep, and has to go cold turkey for a week before she can sleep again!

"Meeting Sekhmet"--Gadget, Peg, and Becky visit the home of the Egyptian gods because Sekhmet, the goddess who gave Becky her powers, is having a performance review from the other gods.  Mirage decides to cause trouble by having Becky fight monsters from Egyptian mythology.

"My Duty as a Talking Animal"--It's Gadget's duty to help people with their personal problems, and who has more personal problems that divorced mom Peg?  Gadget moves in and tries to help, but since she doesn't understand people, there are even more problems....