Toonman Archvillain: Night Sovereign (Patreon)

Hey Guys! So now that we've finished up on RWP characters for a bit, we're getting back to some Toonman characters. Starting with a specific character that was actually first introduced in issue 0 of Zener: Master of the Mind! It's the Night Sovereign!!

ORIGIN

Considered by Marty Mason to be one of the few successes in his long career as an animator, the supervillain Night Sovereign had been created by Marty for the new Solman animated series in the 90s. While Marty had further plans to develop Night Sovereign’s character, the Producers and Studio Directors instead made Night Sovereign a throw-away villain, ultimately tossed aside after a few episodes and left as a small footnote in the Solman franchise, despite the cult following the character had acquired. Night Sovereign lived on as all Toons did in Toontopia, and it was there he spent his day in seclusion further observing the relationship between humans and cartoons. Night Sovereign immediately came to sympathize with the toons who had less than favorable views about their human creators, and he soon developed a strong, burning resentment towards humans for their seemingly disregard for his people and longing to fulfill his potential as a supervillain that he believed the humans had taken from him.

When the cartoon devil was set free, Night Sovereign’s curiosity led him to discover the involvement and fate of the one who freed her- Tom Foolery, who had been banished through the 4th wall into the human world. Realizing it was possible to literally break through the barrier that separated their worlds, Night Sovereign used his own machinations to cross over into the human world, where he intended to fulfill his potential as a supervillain as well as seek retribution for his fellow cartoons at the hands of humans. Naturally, he encountered Tom Foolery, now Toonman, and the heroes of Earth, and in their battle to stop him Night Sovereign discovered that his rather animated, villainous schemes left devastating dangers, consequences and death in real life. He could now be the true villain he always wanted to be, and has since made his mark as a mass-murdering villain out to make conquer humans in poetic vengeance for how they’ve treated the lives of the cartoons they created.

What’s more, Night Sovereign’s arrival revealed the unintended consequences and fate that befalls all of Toontopia as a result of Toonman’s deal. Tom Foolery now makes it his mission to find a way to return to Toontopia and set things right. He only hopes he is not too late.

Powers/Abilities

• Maniacal, mass-murdering cartoon with enhanced strength, speed, agility, durability and healing granted to him upon his creation.
• Able to summon and lead armies of “nightlings”- creatures of darkness that take the form of supernatural monsters, ghosts and demons.
• Able to craft convoluted yet incredible dangerous doomsday devices that defy all science and magic.
• Channels “Nightning”, an electrical force of darkness that ironically comes from absorbing sunlight, Night Sovereign’s main weakness.
• Self-labeled pure evil and liberator of poetic vengeance for his fellow Toons.

Fun Fact: Night Sovereign was actually a one-shot character created by our editor-in-chief and writer for Zener, Web Bleynat, specifically just for issue 0 of Zener. But we ended up like the character so much that we decided to keep him on board and build him up. The Choice to specifically make him a Toonman villain was made by Toonman creator, Alex Dawe, who had been wanting to give Toonman a major cartoon villain for the Animated Ace for a while now. After building up on Web's idea, we now have one of the most anticipated villains by the NRG team! 

Don't worry, I'm sure at some point Night Sovereign will face Zener too. ;) 

Toonman: The Animated Ace © NRG Comics

Design by Web Bleynat

Art by the incredible Nic011 https://www.deviantart.com/nic011