Othello is a discreet member of the Ambassadors.
Appearance
Othello wears an elegent black suit and an expressionless black-and-white mask.[1][5]
Abilities and Powers
Othello possesses a 'mirror self' or 'imaginary friend' that travels in another world, and only has limited interactions with reality.[6] It must move around to gather intelligence, its passage does not disturb anything in the normal world as someone who is invisible or even intangible might.[4] However it can not walk through walls or similar as it occupies it's own mirror world that reflects wherever Othello is.[6]
He can shunt himself into the mirror world, bringing his other self in from that world at the same time — producing an effect that could be mistaken for teleportation.[6] He can control the nature of the interactions between his 'mirror self' and the world, allowing it to attack while remaining otherwise invisible and intangible, making shallow cuts and similar to targets. This ability required concentration.[2]
The sensory input he receives from his companion is resistant to Imp's power,[3] and may apply to other similar powers as well.
History
Background
Like all Ambassadors, he was recruited by Accord as a normal human, albeit an already accomplished one or one that had the potential to be.[7] After passing all the tests and conditions that Accord gave him,[8] he was awarded a vial that gave him his powers.[9]
Post-Echidna
Othello was one of only two Ambassadors to survive a confrontation with the Slaughterhouse Nine.[10] He accompanied Accord to Brockton Bay.[9]
He participated in a battle against the Teeth alongside the Undersiders and other Ambassadors, old and new.[2]
He was present for a tense meeting between the Ambassadors and the Undersiders during Skitter's Surrender.[11]
Fanart Gallery
Trivia
- Derives his name from the Shakespearean tragedy of the same name. Which Shakespeare adapted from Cinthio's short story Un Capitano Moro.
- In the play Othello is a Moorish (read: dark-skinned) general of Venice betrayed by his junior officer Iago, who is light-skinned. Iago spends much of the story sneaking around behind the scenes, gather information and causing trouble between the other characters.
- His costume also suggests a nod to the Othello variant of the go-like game Reversi (named for the play). The game involves capturing lines of two-sided pieces by flanking them with a pair of one's own pieces, at which point they are flipped to one's own color, with skilled players being able to execute chain reactions in which newly captured pieces capture additional pieces themselves. This echoes the mechanics of Othello's power in which his two aspects rapidly flank and swap to subvert, confuse, and outmaneuver foes.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Othello – A member of the Ambassadors, a man in a black and white suit and mask. Described as a Stranger-class cape. - Cast (spoiler free)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Othello, for his part, was standing by, his hands in his pockets, his two-tone mask expressionless.
Which wasn’t to say he wasn’t contributing. Hemorrhagia was enduring an assault from an invisible, immaterial foe. I could feel him, feel the movement against my bugs, but the bugs didn’t settle on him, simply passed through. He was only partially there, focusing on allowing certain aspects of himself, his weapon, to affect our world.
Shallow cuts appeared on Hemorrhagia’s face, chest and arms as she tried ineffectually to shield herself, and those same cuts exploded violently as she used her power to draw her blood from her body and turn it into hard, physical, cutting weapons. More blood congealed into broad scabs that protected her and reduced the damage of the continuous slashes.
[...]
Our two Strangers were doing much of the work in dealing with the back line. That left us to deal with Butcher. - Excerpt from Imago 21.6 - ↑ 3.0 3.1 “Talk,” he said, after too many long minutes of silence.
“We can take them, sir,” Othello said. “Any one group, we could handle, but not two groups at once.”
“I agree,” Accord said. “Do you think you could handle them if things went sour?”
“With little trouble, sir. The only ones I’d wonder about are Tattletale, Imp, Valefor and Fourteen,” Othello replied.
“Imp and Valefor… your stranger powers against theirs makes for a troublesome fight. Imp is the one I would worry about first. Unpredictable, impossible to track.”
“I’m suspicious my power cancels hers out, sir. My other self saw her get close to Butcher. I think she had a weapon.” - Excerpt from Interlude 20.y - ↑ 4.0 4.1 “Othello’s a stranger,” Tattletale said. “I’d think he has an imaginary friend who can mess around with us, but I didn’t see any sign of anyone invisible walking around.”
“Isn’t that the point?” Regent asked.
“No dust or glass being disturbed, none of that. I might think his ‘friend’ is invisible and intangible, but then what’s the point? Accord tends to have people with good powers. - Excerpt from Imago 21.1 - ↑ Othello – Another of Accord’s ambassadors, Othello wears a black suit and a mask divided between Alabaster and Jet. He is described as having ‘an imaginary friend’ in terms of his power, with no details beyond that. - Cast (in depth)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 “And Othello?” I asked.
"He has a mirror self,” she said. “Who walks in a world very similar to this one. This self has a limited ability to affect our world, and can’t be affected by us. Othello can push himself into that other world to bring his other self into ours, and vice versa. One leaves, the other enters. It looks very much like teleportation or invisibility. It isn’t.” - Excerpt from Imago 21.4 - ↑ Citrine lifted the file folder, opened it and handed me a set of pages, neatly stapled.
The entire thing was high-resolution, complete with a picture and lines of text in labeled boxes. Much of it was neatly censored with black bars. A young man, in his mid twenties, his hair immaculate, parted to one side, wearing a high quality business suit. ‘Kurt’, last name censored. Date of birth censored. Age twenty-five.
The next page was more details. Personality tests, psychiatric tests, GPA in middle school and high school, post-secondary education, work history. ‘Kurt’ had ascended to the role of head chef at a record pace, returned to school to get a four year education in three years, then started working for Accord.
‘Pam’. Contract lawyer for a major firm, made partner at age twenty-eight, stepped down to work for Accord.
‘Shaw’, ‘Laird’, and ‘Kyesha’ followed the same pattern.
“They are going through the vetting process as we speak. Experienced members of Accord’s businesses, on board with his plans, and loyal,” Citrine said.
[...]
“Cauldron,” I said. “Accord’s using Cauldron to empower his employees.” - Excerpt from Imago 21.4 - ↑ The five employees arrived right on time. Satisfactory. He opened the door to his room and invited them in. Three men, two women, immaculate, all in proper business attire.
His vetting process was strict, and each step up the ladder required both his invitation and the employee’s acceptance. Each step required them to prove their worth, to face progressively more stress and heavier workloads, and to hold themselves up to his increasingly exacting standards of perfection.
It might have made for reality television, if it weren’t for the blood that was shed along the way. Theirs and others.
“You are being promoted,” he said. “After tomorrow, you will be my ambassadors, my representatives to the rest of the world.”
The displays of emotion were well hidden, but they were there. They were pleased.
“That is all.”
Wordless, the five marched out of his room. - Excerpt on Interlude 20.y - ↑ 9.0 9.1 “Fighting us? You have only two underlings that survived the attack in Boston. As strong as they are, you’re not equipped to fight. You’ll join us because it’s the fastest route to get what you really want.” - Excerpt from Interlude 20.y
- ↑ Interlude 19.x
- ↑ Interlude 21.y
| Leader | Accord † |
|---|---|
| Members | Citrine • Codex • Jacklight • Ligeia • Lizardtail • Othello |