Primadonna
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Primadonna | |
| Player: @Colossal Girl | |
| Origin: |
Mutant |
| Archetype: |
Blaster |
| Threat Level: |
50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: |
Gianna Leonora Marcello |
| Known Aliases: |
The sonic siren |
| Species: |
Human |
| Date of Birth: |
1981 (age 43) |
| Height: |
5'10" |
| Weight: |
125 lbs |
| Eye Color: |
Brown |
| Hair Color: |
Brown |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: |
Italian national; Naturalized American citizen |
| Occupation: |
Opera singer |
| Place of Birth: |
Florence, Italy |
| Base of Operations: |
Founder's Falls, Paragon City, RI |
| Marital Status: |
Single |
| Known Relatives: |
Ignazio Marcello (Father), Pietra Marcello (Mother), Leonora Faggini (Grandmother, deceased) |
| Additional Data | |
| Known Powers: |
Sonic Control, flight, limited mind and emotion control |
| Known Abilities: |
Classicly trained singer |
| [ Source ] | |
Primadonna (Gianna Marcello) is a hero and member of the Gods of the Golden Age. An opera singer by trade, Primadonna possesses a powerful sonic scream that can destroy objects and disable opponents.
Contents |
Character History
Gianna Marcello grew up in a family of artists. Her grandmother, Leonora, was a famous soprano, her mother, Pietra, an actress, and her father, Ignazio was a musical composer. Growing up in such an environment, it seemed only natural that Gianna herself would also seek to become an artist as well. Possessing a beautiful singing voice, Gianna attended operatic school as a child and would also sing in her family’s church choir during Sunday mass. By the time she was eleven, she performed with a local opera group, until her parents immigrated to America when she was twelve.
In the US, Gianna continued her opera career, finding the American opera circuit to be much less restrictive and traditional that in her native Italy. As she grew to adulthood, her tall, slender build and beautiful face, as well as her amazing singing talents made her a favorite performer with younger opera fans. When she was 21, she went to the Paragon Opera House, to give a performance of the Opera La Boheme. Two weeks before opening night, Gianna suddenly came down with a severe case of laryngitis and was barely able to speak. Production was postponed until Gianna had recovered, but her sickness persisted for over a week. Then, as quickly as it came, her laryngitis cleared up and had apparently left no permanent damage to her voice.
Production of the opera resumed and Gianna went back to practicing her lines. On the morning of the first rehearsal, a sound engineer asked Gianna to go up on stage and sing some high notes; so he could check the houses’ sound equipment. She did as he requested and, while singing a high C, her vocal chords projected a powerful concussive wave of energy that blasted a hole in the hoof of the opera house; injuring the engineer, as well as inflicting temporary hearing loss on two of the stage hands.
News of the accident at the opera house spread fast, particularly in the Founder’s Falls district where the opera house was located. Gianna sequestered herself to her hotel rooms, terrified to make even the slightest noise for fear she would cause more damage. Finally representatives from both Freedom Corps and GIFT (Genetic Investigation and Facilitation Team) came to help her. They offered to help her understand what was happening to her, and in addition teach her to use her abilities so to prevent another incident like what happened at the opera house. Gianna accepted their help.
It was determined that Gianna’s abilities were the result of a genetic mutation. Unlike most mutants, whose powers manifest at puberty, Gianna’s abilities appeared later in life in her twenties (which was still not too uncommon). The laryngitis she suffered weeks earlier was her body’s way of adapting her vocal chords to accommodate her new abilities. With time, Gianna discovered that her normal speaking voice was unaffected and that with training, she could still sing without producing the powerful sonic blasts she could project.
It was during her training, that Gianna had a sort of epiphany. She had, up until her powers awakened, been regarded as something of a diva; vain, obnoxious and a bit temperamental. But now, at the point in her life when she needed help the most, there were those who didn’t turn her away. These people from GIFT and Freedom Corps saw past her personality flaws and saw her for what she was; a scared young woman who needed help. The experience was very humbling for her and she made a decision to repay their kindness to her. She decided to use her new abilities to help in Paragon City’s war on crime.
Her manager freaked out, naturally; but his pleading to Gianna was ignored. The strong-willed woman made up her mind. She did promise however that she would continue her singing career, only that she would now work locally in Paragon City, since she was needed here most of all. She publicly came forward and admitted that she was in fact the one responsible for damaging the Paragon Opera House, and that she would use her new-found powers as a hero in Paragon City. To everyone’s surprise, her popularity with her fans actually began to rise. Many say it was her change in attitude and her newfound humility that swayed her fans to support her decision. Whatever it was, Gianna was happy with the decision she made; knowing it was the right thing to do.
Gianna Marcello took the name Primadonna as her heroic code name, and is easily recognized by both it and her real name. She also continues to perform at the newly rebuilt Paragon Opera House as a member of a local group of performers known as the Paragon Opera Society.
Affiliations
Primadonna is a member of the Gods of the Golden Age, as well as a member of the Paragon City Opera Society.
Personality
Primadonna has been described as an emotional hurricane at times by her friends and companions. She is normally very friendly and outgoing, but she can be arrogant and self-absorbed at times. This is most likely due to her lifestyle as an opera diva, and although her mutation has humbled her somewhat, some of that diva mentality creeps up now and again. Fortunately, her friends are there to bring her back down to earth when necessary.
Powers
Primadonna is a mutant who possesses powerful lungs, throat and vocal chords with which she can produce high decibel sonic blasts capable of shattering objects, projecting sonic force, and causing pain and unconsciousness. Primadonna can also concentrate her sonic powers at close range and strike an opponent with a concussive blast of sonic energy from her hands; though this method, Primadonna can easily fight opponents who are physically much stronger than she is. Primadonna can fly buy means of projecting sonic force behind her to generate thrust.
Primadonna is able to subtly influence and control others with her sonics as well as cause them to enter a trancelike hypnotic state. Primadonna has also developed the ability to influence human beings with a certain pitch of her voice, causing them to fall in love with her without regard to gender or sexual orientation.
Abilities
Primadonna is a celebrated opera singer and actress; having starred in literally hundreds of productions before coming to Paragon City. As a result of her mutation, Primadonna’s vocal chords have increased in both strength and flexibility, enabling her to produce higher notes for a longer duration without straining. Originally a soprano, Primadonna’s vocal range has actually increased slightly as a result of her new abilities. She is also a very good cook. As well as being fluent in Italian and English, Primadonna also speaks French, Spanish and German
Weaknesses and Limitations
Primadonna possesses little in the way of fighting skills. Her abilities, while powerful, do not lend themselves well to close-range combat.
Equipment
Primadonna wears a skin-tight bodysuit made of special materials blended with lycra, to provide some limited protection against the elements.
