How to Write an X-Men: Developing Powers Scene

Part 1

A. Have they already harmed anyone by accident? Have they harm themselves or expose themselves to society before getting help from a power helper?

I. What were they doing when they figured out they had powers and how did these powers affect their ordinary life in an instant?

II. How strong are these powers initially and how hard are they to control? Did the character have to act or be a certain way in order for the powers not to come out?

III. Did a villain or a government or an enemy discover that this character has powers and is now out to get them, does the character even know that they are out to be captured?

B. How did they get their powers?

I. What incident happened that made them get their powers and how long have they had it for?

II. Maybe it was not an incident but they created their powers on purpose or they were given the powers. If so, who, what, when, where, why, and how?

III. How about if their powers were transferred from one X-Men to another?

C. How did they find the person that can help them with their powers: did the person come to them or did they go to the person?

I. Someone could have told them more to go to. They could have found the guru and their dream. Maybe they already knew where to go, almost like it was instinct.

II. How do they address the person and where do they go to for the training? How does the place look and who else is there training?

III. What does the guru do in order to put the character at ease? What do they say?

Part 2

A. How kind or how ruthless are they to the X-Men? Are they sweet or are they “let’s get to the point” type of attitude?

I. Are the ancient, are they new, are they a combination? Are they ruthless techniques, are they kind? Are they quick are they slow? What level do they give the character to train on right away? Such as level 1 or level 2 if they feel like the character is already ready?

II. Now we’re talking about the teacher themselves and how ruthless are they? Do they inspire or do they use tough love for training? Are they one way when they train and another way when they are not training? Does the character feel weird around the teacher? Can the teacher be completely trusted?

B. How much experience do they have teaching X-Men and how does their Dojo look? Is it surrounded by Awards and prestigious items? What about souvenirs from be other X-Men they taught?

I. What stories and legends are told about the teacher? Are they well- known in the superhero world? What proof is there of the teacher being great through human experience and testimony?

II. Describe the inside of their Dojo, of their classroom, or their facility. Do they boast about their accomplishments with plaques and rewards and awards, or do they have a clean wall. Maybe they can’t even decorate because they’re in the hidden place and it’s only temporary for training.

III. How about souvenirs and pictures from other X-Men? Do other X-Men walk in on their training, at all? How about if the teacher shows his own skills and power? Maybe the teacher is a formal former X-Men.

C. What warm-ups do they make the X-Men do and how humiliating are they, if at all? In other words, are they trying to shape the X-Men into a humble being?

I. Pretty much described the before and after. How hard are they struggling, and show how the character is becoming more and more humble. Also, show how their powers are becoming more contained and easily controlled.

II. Do they make the X-Men do anything dangerous or anything that will require help out of the ordinary? Is it through training warmups that the character is exposed to the deeper levels of the X-Men World such as the gears, gadgets and tools and outfits and costumes?

III. Or you can make the warm-up seem so easy that the character will think it’s a piece of cake but then make their training so hard that the character thinks it’s ridiculous… or vice versa make the warm-up so hard that the character doesn’t think they could get through the training, however make the training so easy that the character questions why they have to do that warm up in the first place.

Part 3

A. How well can they control it now?

I. Can they fly, can they shoot laser beams, can they disappear, teleport?

II. Let’s say they could already do all those things or you don’t want to give them even more powers, then maybe make their powers even more intense. Ex: they can fly higher, or they are so much more stronger, or they shoot out different colored laser beams or the laser beings are 10 times more powerful.

III. Talk about the control. If they could fly before maybe they couldn’t help but fly into objects and people, now they know how to keep straight in the air; they don’t wobble and fall over, they can keep their balance in the air. How about if they were very strong? Now they know how to pick up the right things or they know what to avoid. In other words they know what is okay to pick up or to touch ( non-hazardous things, nothing with electricity.) Let’s say they want to stop someone/ a villain from running away so instead of choosing what they did before they know what to choose now. For example: a mountain boulder or a truck can probably kill someone but by throwing something else lighter like a filled trash can it can knock them out.

B. Have they discovered a new power other than the power they already knew they had? Is that power dangerous… can this power draw a thin line between them being a superhero and a villain?

I. In other words, what keeps them in check. Let’s say they can fly to the sky AND they can fly to outer space without suffocating and exploding. Who’s to tell them right and wrong? They’re nearly a god they could fly to the moon!

II. And what if they combined those new powers altogether and used them at the same time will they become indestructible? Does the teacher tell them how powerful they are, yet remind them of how they must stay good?

III. Can shooting laser beams out of their eyes be considered a villain power? Can growing blue skin be considered evil-worthy? And who’s to say?

C. If they are training with other X-Men can they use their powers along with them too? Are both their powers combined unstoppable?

I. Maybe describe some characters training together and how they begin to work as a team. They can use their powers against one another or against a makeshift enemy.

II. How strong are their powers together and does it complement each other? Does the teacher tell them how he has “never seen anyone with such a great power connection before”?
    

Part 4

A. Are their powers holding up and do they become so afraid that they cannot fight and they end up getting close to death?

I. The teacher could know a few himself and will bring them men to attack the X-Men. It’s possible that he had the most prisoners. He could also know their location or when they will start to do their dirty deeds and so they will devise a plan to capture them. It’ll be their first mission as new X-Men.

II. When they finally battle, how strong are they together? Is it like they were in training or is it, worse is it better? Are they becoming weak at all and how do they restore their energy?

III. Are they victorious very easily or are they close to death? Does the teacher himself have to come in to help the novice X-Men?

B. Did they become so advanced with their powers that they can do it with their eyes closed? How has this shape their personality and how has this humbled them?

I. You can easily write a month or two or a year go by in your scene and it’ll be fine. You can describe how intensely they have been training after the first battle (whether they won it or not). You can give a quick overview of how they kept that and their forefront of their mind to continue training.

II. Has the character met any new X-Men or trained with any new X-Men? Are they close friends and pals? Do they all like each other? How is the trust between the characters and are they battling villains as a team yet or by themselves?

III. Has the character changed at all in terms of personality, and what about confidence and thinking? What does he/she do now that they wouldn’t have done before?

C. What does the teacher tell them after the battle and what do they remind him/her about being a hero? Add in some inspirational quotes for not only your hero but also the reader.

I. Let’s say the character has come back from their 30th battle. If they won, that’s great, what does the teacher tell them? If they lost, how sad, what does the teacher tell them?

II. What about their peers, their fellow X-Men? What about the villain, itself?

III. Lastly, what does the X-Men tell him or herself through thought or out loud, possibly in the mirror?
    
 

Part 5

A. What are their responsibility as an X-Men and what do they need to leave behind from their old life?

I. How do they say goodbye to these things? How do they say goodbye to certain people?

II. Who is the ultimate villain that the X-Men will fight? Is the character ready and how long does it take for them to prepare? How long will they have?

III. Who else is joining the team and are they hunting down the next X-Men? Or does this character plan on going solo?

B. What keeps them good, what keeps them motivated, and what keeps their eyes looking forward and never in the past? What happens if they have a break and how are they able to cope?

I. Does the other X-Men come to console them? Or do they pretend like they don’t care in order to look stronger?

II. Do they find a love interest in the group or an ordinary human? Does their grandfather or their parents or someone close to them keep them good? How about themselves or possibly even the teacher? It could even be a villain that keeps them good because they wanted to defeat the villain so much.

III. Do they ever get benched by the teacher or by their fellow X-Men from fighting alongside them? What must they do earn the respect of their friends again?
    

C. End with a foreseen enemy or villain who will attack soon? Add in the reason they’re attacking and their goal for attacking. Maybe have the X-Men say something that will provoke courage among all of them.

I. Maybe the villain attacks their home or even the dojo/classroom? Maybe the villain captures their loved one which is the first personal threat against the new character.

II. The character can give an awesome speech about his fears and about how they must remain strong for the civilians. He could talk about his past and how he was given the powers but let it be brief, especially if the reader already knows how all this happened.
    
III. You could end it with the villain having a leg up on the hero. Ending it with a cliffhanger like this always entices the reader to want to know more.