Don’t forget to read part one of this series first!

Yesterday was rife with technical details, so let’s move on and properly introduce the Breakfast at Timpani’s cast. Our main group of five heroes was the following:

	Faded Glory was a costumed hero who served in World War II and the Korean War. After a drunken bender, he reawakened just in time to fight in the Vietnam War…Conflict…whatever. His exploits were covered up by way of the comic book Tales of Faded Glory; whenever news leaked out, people just assumed it was fake footage or a publicity stunt. After retiring in the mid-1980s, Faded Glory grew annoyed with modern society and its lack of patriotism. He continued to fight the good fight in Midsize City, though he often spent more time trying to get his new friends in gear. After retirement, he worked as a security guard. He also had a daughter named Lisa (secretly the heroine American Princess). In case you hadn’t noticed, “Fade” was our Captain America homage, and his current appearance was based on Ed Harris and Clint Eastwood.
	Social Butterfly was so named when she sprouted a pair of wings while dancing the night away at a local club on her twenty-first birthday. Embarrassment nonwithstanding, she was a huge hit, and remained the life of the party. For powers, she obviously had flight, plus a “map-sense” that enables her to instantly recall any location. Social Butterfly’s creation for the team was a no-brainer: we needed a flyer!
	Just-Like Mike has all the athletic prowess of a popular sports icon (without the endorsement contracts)…except that he can’t play baseball to save his life. This is a constant source of amusement for his friends. He carries a flaming basketball for a weapon.
	She-Devil was exiled from Hell because she couldn’t pay the rent, and now she spends her time on Earth, having defected to the good side. A bombshell in her own right, she is the primary object of affection for Chick Magnet; she’s also resistant to his powers, being a demon and all. In addition to fighting the forces of evil, she has started a letter-writing campaign to get all of the CW’s vampire shows canceled. She-Devil has the usual array of demonic powers (flame blasts, teleportation, summoning spells), and her design was heavily influenced by Coop‘s devil women.
	Chick Magnet is a real ladies’ man, even though he doesn’t look it. He’s a self-described player who can exercise limited telepathic control over women (with the aforementioned exception of She-Devil). His ability to sway women in his favor has earned him quite a reputation. He continually hits on She-Devil (much to the consternation of Social Butterfly, who has a huge crush on him). His arch-nemesis is the Feminazi. Yes, Chick Magnet could be interpreted as a date rapist, but we made sure not to go too far over the line.

As for villains, the first few story arcs featured:

	The Mysterious Leader, your typical “big boss” who oversaw such villainous organizations as S.E.X. (the Society for Evil Exploits) and D.R.U.G.S. (I don’t recall if we thought up a meaning for that one). His black costume and question mark emblem was based on the classic “unknown person” image used in newscasts for decades.
	Feminazi, a radical feminist who commanded a group of misandrists. I realize that “feminazi” is a term coined by insufferable blowhard Rush Limbaugh, but there’s a reason for that. In-universe, our character actually took her name from that asshole pundit as a way to fight back and make the term her own, the same way many real world ethnic groups have adapted slurs in the same fashion.
	General Kwang was a flag officer in the Martian Armed Forces. A decorated Assault Trooper, Kwang had turned his fortunate status as an Immune into a play for power. When the republic of Mars was decimated by the cold virus during their war with Venus, Kwang assembled a force of Immunes to capture control of the planet. A coalition of Susceptibles was on the verge of removing Kwang from power, having finally recovered from the cold plague. The outbreak of new infections solidified his hold on power for the time being, propelling the red planet into a new conflict and driving Kwang to seek a new, final solution on earth.
	The Free Agents, genetically engineered super-jocks used by the Mysterious Leader to take over professional football and secure lucrative endorsement contracts.

There were loads of supporting characters, too, some of whom only appeared once or twice (often as the butt of jokes). Not only that, Breakfast at Timpani’s included many cameo appearances from real life people. For example, the staff of the Inkblot Comic Book Museum was based on the folks who worked at Buried Under Comics (one of whom was Moon Freight 3 creator Luke Foster). Other cameos included Dina Simmons, the model for George Pérez‘s creator-owned comic Crimson Plague, and John and I showed up ourselves a few times.

Fictional characters from outside of the Breakfast at Timpani’s universe appeared as well. Ail Man, the star of an eponymous comic strip created by Ryo-Ohki way back in our high school days, showed up as a disgruntled patron of the diner and later was seen on a poster. Breakfast at Timpani’s even had a brief crossover of sorts with another webcomic, because hey, that’s what superheroes do!

As for the actual story arcs, Breakfast at Timpani’s began with the theft of some comics — including the rare Tales of Faded Glory #1 — from Inkblot, which spurs Faded Glory to action and sets up his meeting with the rest of the heroes. From there, the story segued into General Kwang’s plans for interplanetary conquest. Then, the Mysterious Leader created the Free Agents as part of a vast plan to make tons of money and take over various industries.

Breakfast at Timpani’s was off to a great start when it launched in early 2001, and everything seemed peachy.

Next…the thunderclouds on the horizon start to move in.