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Circus is an independent villain[3][4][5] in Brockton Bay, and a classic example of a Grab-Bag Cape.

Personality[]

Circus is described as a genderfluid cross-dresser by Wildbow.[1] This made it impossible for Tattletale to determine whether he was "a guy posing as a girl when in costume or a girl who poses as a guy when in plainclothes,"[6] because both suppositions were essentially correct.[1]

Circus' identity was further complicated by his trigger event, a multitrigger that involved facets linked to male and female personalities. As a result, Circus can reflect slightly different body language and skillsets between her civilian and cape identities. This might best be described as an 'alter ego,' and is not necessarily a secondary power but is instead a result of Circus' deeper connection to her passenger.[7]

She doesn't tend to speak in her cape identity.

Appearance[]

Circus appears to be a man while in civilian clothes, and an older teen/early-twenties girl while in costume.[8][6][4]

Circus' costume, makeup, and color scheme were different every time she went out, but the theme was always more or less the same.[4] On one occasion, she wore a costume and makeup of red and gold.[9] On another, she wore clown makeup and a jester’s cap, with a teal and orange skintight costume complete with coattails, and bells jangling from the tips of her cap, coattails, gloves and boots.[4]

Abilities and Powers[]

Circus' power granted her superhuman reflexes, balance and coordination,[10] enhanced aim,[6] spatial sense,[4][11] minor pyrokinesis,[4] and an extra-dimensional storage space, which she used to store a variety of items,[4] potentially including disguises.[8] She was considered a "grab-bag cape" give her wide spread of minor but related powers.[4][12]

Circus' aiming skills are sufficient to hit a horsefly out of the air by spitting,[6] place throwing knives only in nonlethal areas,[6][12][13] and hit her targets without line-of-sight.

Circus is highly practiced at effecting a quick change into costume aided by his pocket space,[14] and has general skills in escamotage.

Equipment[]

Circus makes good use of her pocket space, using a garish sledgehammer, accented with matching painted streamers, which she could make disappear after each hit, and reappear in a raised position or while spinning to speed up assaults.[4][13] She wielded throwing-knives, which benefited from her enhanced aim.[13][6][4] Furthermore, she carries disguises,[8] as previously mentioned, and road torches and similar for a base from which to summon massive fire-balls with her power.[14]

History[]

Background[]

Circus triggered as part of a cluster, given his mix of powers.[7]

Publicly, Circus was one of the more successful solo villains around Brockton Bay, working as a thief. Her powers made her both quick and versatile enough to win or slip away if she crossed paths with a hero. At some point, she was offered a position on the Undersiders and vehemently refused, apparently remaining independent.[4]

In reality, Coil had recruited Circus over a year and a half before the events of the story.[15]

Story Start[]

Fought Dauntless and Armsmaster when the Undersiders' backer revealed themselves.[16]

Post-Leviathan[]

Circus was seen in Coil's base, being kept in reserve for the fight against the Slaughterhouse Nine.

Post-Slaughterhouse Nine[]

She attacked the mayor debates with Coil, later being seen out of costume with Thomas Calvert. After Coil's Betrayal, he was found by Echidna while laying low. Alongside Uber and Leet, he was used to create the first wave of her clones.

Post-Echidna[]

He went missing shortly after Echidna was defeated.[11]

Timeskip[]

Joined Über and Leet as a trio, retaining the videogame theme. They briefly passed through Tijuana, Mexico, where they evaded authorities and caused property damage after detonating a device.[17] They eventually traveled to South America and tried to stay under the radar. However, after getting into trouble and crossing the wrong people, Leet was killed.[18]

Post-Timeskip[]

Circus entered a relationship with Über, but the relationship didn't work. They split up both as partners and as a team.[19]

Chapter Appearances[]

Worm Chapter Appearances
Insinuation
1. Insinuation 2.1 Absent
2. Insinuation 2.2 Absent
3. Insinuation 2.3 Absent
4. Insinuation 2.4 Absent
5. Insinuation 2.5 Absent
6. Insinuation 2.6 Mentioned
7. Insinuation 2.7 Absent
8. Insinuation 2.8 Absent
9. Insinuation 2.9 Absent
x. Interlude 2 Mentioned
Tangle
1. Tangle 6.1 Absent
2. Tangle 6.2 Absent
3. Tangle 6.3 Absent
4. Tangle 6.4 Absent
5. Tangle 6.5 Absent
6. Tangle 6.6 Absent
7. Tangle 6.7 Debut
8. Tangle 6.8 Absent
9. Tangle 6.9 Absent
x. Interlude 6 Absent
Buzz
1. Buzz 7.1 Absent
2. Buzz 7.2 Absent
3. Buzz 7.3 Absent
4. Buzz 7.4 Absent
5. Buzz 7.5 Absent
6. Buzz 7.6 Absent
7. Buzz 7.7 Absent
8. Buzz 7.8 Absent
9. Buzz 7.9 Absent
10. Buzz 7.10 Absent
11. Buzz 7.11 Appears
12. Buzz 7.12 Absent
x. Interlude 7 Absent
Infestation
1. Infestation 11.1 Fantasy
2. Infestation 11.2 Absent
3. Infestation 11.3 Absent
4. Infestation 11.4 Absent
5. Infestation 11.5 Absent
6. Infestation 11.6 Absent
7. Infestation 11.7 Absent
8. Infestation 11.8 Absent
a. Interlude 11a Absent
b. Interlude 11b Absent
c. Interlude 11c Absent
d. Interlude 11d Absent
e. Interlude 11e Absent
f. Interlude 11f Absent
g. Interlude 11g Absent
h. Interlude 11h Absent
Snare
1. Snare 13.1 Appears
2. Snare 13.2 Absent
x. Interlude 13.5 (Donation Bonus) Absent
3. Snare 13.3 Absent
4. Snare 13.4 Absent
5. Snare 13.5 Absent
6. Snare 13.6 Absent
7. Snare 13.7 Absent
8. Snare 13.8 Absent
9. Snare 13.9 Absent
10. Snare 13.10 Absent
y. Interlude 13 Absent
Colony
1. Colony 15.1 Absent
x. Interlude 15.x Absent
2. Colony 15.2 Absent
3. Colony 15.3 Absent
y. Interlude 15.y Absent
4. Colony 15.4 Mentioned
5. Colony 15.5 Absent
6. Colony 15.6 Absent
7. Colony 15.7 Absent
z. Interlude 15.z Absent
8. Colony 15.8 Absent
9. Colony 15.9 Absent
10. Colony 15.10 Absent
i. Interlude 15 Absent
Monarch
1. Monarch 16.1 Absent
2. Monarch 16.2 Absent
x. Interlude 16.x Absent
3. Monarch 16.3 Absent
4. Monarch 16.4 Absent
5. Monarch 16.5 Absent
6. Monarch 16.6 Absent
y. Interlude 16.y Absent
7. Monarch 16.7 Absent
8. Monarch 16.8 Appears
9. Monarch 16.9 Mentioned
10. Monarch 16.10 Mentioned
z. Interlude 16.z Absent
11. Monarch 16.11 Absent
12. Monarch 16.12 Absent
13. Monarch 16.13 Absent
Queen
1. Queen 18.1 Absent
2. Queen 18.2 Absent
x. Interlude 18.x Absent
3. Queen 18.3 Absent
4. Queen 18.4 Absent
y. Interlude 18.y Absent
5. Queen 18.5 Mentioned
6. Queen 18.6 Mentioned
z. Interlude 18.z Absent
7. Queen 18.7 Appears
8. Queen 18.8 Appears
f. Interlude 18.f Absent
i. Interlude 18 Absent
Scourge
1. Scourge 19.1 Absent
2. Scourge 19.2 Absent
3. Scourge 19.3 Absent
x. Interlude 19.x Absent
4. Scourge 19.4 Absent
5. Scourge 19.5 Absent
6. Scourge 19.6 Absent
7. Scourge 19.7 Absent
y. Interlude 19.y Mentioned
z. Interlude 19.z Absent
Scarab
1. Scarab 25.1 Absent
2. Scarab 25.2 Absent
3. Scarab 25.3 Mentioned
4. Scarab 25.4 Absent
5. Scarab 25.5 Absent
6. Scarab 25.6 Absent
x. Interlude 25 Absent
Cockroaches
1. Cockroaches 28.1 Absent
2. Cockroaches 28.2 Absent
3. Cockroaches 28.3 Absent
4. Cockroaches 28.4 Absent
5. Cockroaches 28.5 Absent
6. Cockroaches 28.6 Mentioned
x. Interlude 28 Absent

Trivia[]

  • Circus was the protagonist of several early stories that eventually became Worm, including drafts such as Versus Dragon[20] and Circus and the Elite.[21][22]
  • The name Circus brings to mind the traveling entertainment shows that operated from the late 1800s to the early 2000s. The abstract name choice works for covering the grab-bag spectrum of powers that Circus possesses.[23]
    • Clones of Circus created by Echidna are given the name Carnie. The word carnie is an informal term, sometimes derogatory, used in North America for a traveling carnival employee.

Fanart Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Circus is best described as a genderfluid cross-dresser and both of Tattletale’s suppositions are thus correct, which is why her power can’t give her a definitive answer. In being unsure and not knowing, Tattletale was probably closer in labeling Circus than anyone Circus has met. Circus is pleased on a level (being someone that defies/plays with their own gender identity to the point that it confounds someone like Tattletale), and thus takes it as something of a compliment.

    Tattletale uses the word ‘poser’ because Circus -is- posing (or crossdressing). In a number of the snippets I wrote about Circus (and with Circus as a main character), Circus veers between being male and female and switching to the other gender (or being ambiguous) to confound attempts at figuring out the secret identity. This casual mention is something of a nod to the snippets (and not the first or last in the story). - Comment by Wildbow on Monarch 16.10
  2. pendia: 4. What would Circus's hammer space be classified as?
    Wildbow: 4. Stranger - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit
  3. Comment by Wildbow on Spacebattles
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 Tangle 6.7
  5. The 'few dozen' is too many, a throwaway line that didn't work as I built the setting. You could say there's maybe two dozen unaffiliated capes who could interfere, if you include New Wave's members, Über, Leet, Circus, Trainwreck, Parian, etc, and a number of others who might've scrammed around the time of Arc 8, but yeah. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Excerpt from Monarch 16.10
  7. 7.0 7.1 Circus isn't trans. Circus is just a complicated identity, and gender is a notable factor in that. Things got complicated further because the multitrigger involved facets which linked to male personalities and female personalities and Circus could tap into that to legitimately confound questions of identity.

    In weaverdice terms, Circus has the 'alter ego' power perk. Multiple personalities except not quite. She can reflect slightly different body language and skillsets between Civilian and Cape identities, and even one approach to cape identity and another. Mild comparisons can be drawn to Sy shifting mindsets in Twig. Not nearly so dramatic, not a secondary power, just a facet of Circus' particular breadth and depth.

    Tattletale doesn't ask questions in the same sense Contessa does. She just picks up on the noise and sometimes does so with a particular focus in mind. So she looked at this individual through the lens of who it was and their relation to Coil, Über and Leet, and connected to Circus, and other details about the confounding identity and the interplay formed around that central tether. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Circus' hammerspace can hold onto a set of civilian clothes. They go looking for an older teen/early-twenties girl, sweeping the building floor by floor, letting citizens evacuate as each floor gets cleared, and a young man walks free, no sweat. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit
  9. The man who had opened the door for us inclined his head in the direction we were to go. We traversed the metal walkway, and passed more of Coil’s soldiers. I saw one squad of six below us was gearing up, pulling on masks and checking their guns. Five seconds later, we passed Circus on the walkway, in a costume and makeup of red and gold. Oblivious to us or our passing, she was leaning against a wall by a stack of cardboard boxes, standing intimately close to a young soldier with close-cropped red hair and an ugly scar running down one side of his neck. - Excerpt from Buzz 7.11
  10. Circus – A cat burglar, she sports an array of powers including enhanced balance and coordination, a pocket dimension she can use to deposit items and limited pyrokinesis. - Cast (spoiler free)
  11. 11.0 11.1 Circus (Missing) – A burglar with a varied powerset. Has enhanced balance, spatial sense, a mild pyrokinesis requiring existing flame to work with and the ability to insert or withdraw objects from thin air. Disappeared after working with Coil. - Cast (in depth)
  12. 12.0 12.1 I was looking at it the wrong way. Circus. She had been part of the plan from the beginning, and he’d hired her for an explicit reason. Her powers included her personal pocket dimension for storing items. I couldn’t think of how that might be used. She had minor pyrokinesis, but that didn’t apply here, either. She also had an enhanced sense of balance and enhanced coordination.

    The balance wasn’t a major thing here. But the coordination? The way she’d been able to casually target Piggot as she tossed the throwing knives over one shoulder? If I had to guess, Circus’ knives had only killed the people Coil wanted dead. The others would have been hit in nonvital areas. Her enhanced hand-eye coordination would have given her the accuracy needed to ensure the knives hit where she wanted them to hit. - Excerpt from Monarch 16.9
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 Monarch 16.8
  14. 14.0 14.1 Partial text of Circus and the Elite
  15. Circus and Chariot were hired nearly a year and a half ago, their actions and development in the public eye carefully orchestrated. - Excerpt from Monarch 16.10
  16. Tangle 6.7
  17. Since the opening of the Tijuana PRT, there have been three incidents involving capes; the forcefield labyrinth, a raid by an American gang, and a trio of capes with a video game theme evading authorities and causing some property damage with the detonation of a device. - Tijuana PRT Struggles, Announces Split, PHO Sunday
  18. Quest Premise: In South America, Über, Circus and Leet are making their way through the city after having left Brockton Bay. It’s a situation as simple as flying under the radar, playing nice, and being cool, calm and efficient, so as not to stir up trouble with the locals.
    Spoiler: Leet is bad at this.
    Spoiler: Things get worse when his luggage is looted, and his laptop with notes on what inventions are mostly okay for him to make is taken, along with the reality hacker.
    Spoiler: Leet dies. - Leet Quest
  19. Mr. Calle answered for Glenn. “Attempted murder. Bit of a loose cannon, but not so loose they’d stick him in the Birdcage. Shacked up with Circus for a while, but it didn’t take. Relationship-wise or as a partnership. They stood to lose more than they could ever gain if he got loose again, so they made it a secure facility. He hasn’t escaped.” - Excerpt from Cockroaches 28.6
  20. Comment by Wildbow on Prey 14.8
  21. Comment by Wildbow on Interlude 20.y
  22. Comment by Wildbow on Prey 14.8
  23. “A few of the multi-triggers I’m aware of tend to have more… I’m not sure what the word is. Esoteric or abstract names. The one villain in my town was Circus. The solution to a disparate set of powers is to just create something more out there that has its own identity, and then fit your powers to match, instead of trying to fit your identity to a random set of powers.” - Shade 4.2

Site Navigation[]

Grab-Bag Capes
Subway Cluster FlechetteMarch Homer 
Mall Cluster Snag PrecipiceCradle *Love LostColt
Smugglers Cluster Goddess Tori Heflin Megan • Jace  • Ysmine • Bill 
The Stable Oxfair • Ramfair • Foulcock • Foulpig
The Graeae Dino • Enyo • Pephredo
Unknown Clusters CircusGraceHoydenIxnayJotunMouse Protector ParisRavager Watch
Coil's Organization
Leader Coil Tattletale
Members Dinah Alcott ChariotCreepLeahPitterTrainwreck The Travelers The Undersiders
Associates Accord Circus Faultline’s CrewLeet Über 
Über and Leet
Members Leet Über
Associates Circus
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