Nothingman (Pearl Jam)

NAME/ORIGIN

Character name
 Nothingman
Song/Album
 "Nothingman"/ Vitology
Act
 Pearl Jam
Writer
 Jeff Ament
Release Date
 1994


ABILITIES

Powers
-Split into two people (like a cell), but only two
"Once divided, nothing left to subtract"
-Flight
"He's flown away"
-Travel to the future when in flight
"Future's above"
-Travel to the past when underwater
"In the past, he's slow and sinking"
-Catch lightning, presumably other bolts of electricity
"Caught a bolt of lightning/ Cursed the day he let it go,"
-Cause temporary paralysis
"One day, she stiffened"
-Cross dimension; give others this ability (or bring them with)
"One day she... took the other side"
-Force others to recall memories
"He who forgets will be destined to remember"
Skills
Escape, or help another escape (but not both), a trap, jail cell, etc.
"From... a shared prison cell/ One just escapes, one's left inside."
Attributes
-Tends to lie or exaggerate
"She once believed in every story he had to tell"
Vulnerabilities
-Requires others to feed him
"She won't feed him"
-May not be able to interact with the physical universe
Formidability
Very high
Attractiveness
Maybe high at first, but low once proven a liar
Source
N/A (The Sun?)
Goals
To gain, or regain, substance


POSSESSIONS

Weapons
N/A
Amulets
N/A
Objects
N/A
Clothing
N/A
Vehicles
N/A (can fly, even in space)
Dwelling
N/A
Milieu
N/A


BIOGRAPHY

Gender
Male
Age
N/A
Physique
Has form, but is without substance
"Nothingman... coulda been something"
Ethnicity
N/A
Origin
N/A
Ancestry
N/A
Profession
N/A
Education
N/A
SES
N/A
Relationships
"Walks on his own"
Pets
N/A


PERSONALITY

Morality
Amoral
Intro/extrovert
Introvert
Intelligence
High
Emotions
May be emotionless
Sanity
Is somewhat obsessive/compulsive; has "thoughts he can't help thinking"
Enemies
N/A
Narrative Function
Antagonist
Other Notes
Nothingman is an extremely powerful entity. Under certain conditions, he can travel through time, and he can not only cross into other dimensions but take others with him. By making time stop just around certain things, he can paralyze people, and freeze or "catch" lightning bolts. He can even set it up so that a certain memory will come forward at a certain time in your future.
But all of this is just so he can regain his physical form. Since he has none, he can't pick up food to feed himself, yet still must pull energy from some source, so he needs to be fed. To have this happen, he has evolved various powers and become a good storyteller; but, since he lies so often, we may never know which of his stories, including those of his origin, are true.
His ability to become two people in interesting, as his his limited ability regarding escape. It could happen that he is trapped by himself, so he splits into two; one escapes, and then rescues the other.
Since he "could have been something," perhaps he possibility still exists. Elton John sang that "it's lonely out in space." Imagine how lonely it must be to be made of space. Of... nothing.



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