Fanatic's Character Progression

General GTG Sentinel Comics Lore
1

So I was looking at Fanatic's character cards earlier and it really struck me how much progression just the front three images show.

Initially Fanatic plays the character of an avenging angel, she looks innocent but a quick glance through her deck shows the destructive power she wields and how unforgiving she wields it, Final Dive even shows her throwing what appears to be an ordinary human from a great height, and Wrathful Retribution shows her wielding destructive power that villains like Baron Blade would love to get their hands on.  Cards like Zealous Offence and Sanctifying strike show the force she puts into her attacks and there's a reason that Brutal Censure is almost a direct parallel to Ghost Rider's Redemption Stare, it's also worth noting that Fanatic is everyone elses name for her, according to Christopher she doesn't refer to herself as that at all.

Then Fanatic encounters Apostate and he drops the bombshell that she and he are the same and Fanatic vanishes.  When she returns as Redeemer Fanatic she's wearing armor which includes a metal plate over her eyes.  This both gives her the image of an Angel of Justice (Justice is blind) but also completes the image of Fanatic going into her shell, yes she might be considering her actions more and trying to distance herself from Apostate, but the image can also be read as Fanatic blinding herself to the truth and hiding herself away from the uncomfortable reality that Apostate could be right.  It's also noticable that this armor, although apparently made for her, is clearly not made with her image of herself in mind, you can still see where the 'paint' from the cross on her pauldron has ran.

Prime Wardens Fanatic though is where she's come to terms with what Apostate said and has progressed to acceptance that she used to go too far, if any form where Helena refers to herself as Fanatic this would be it, with half the mask gone as well as most of her armor and the fact she wields the broken Absolution once more shows she's no longer hiding away and she's ready to confront the truth.  Carrying Absolution in it's broken form could also be an indictation that she is seeking absolution for her past actions and is unwilling to attempt to repair it until she feels she's attained it.  A point of note is that the incap art for Prime Warden Fanatic is the only incap art where she hasn't given up and is still fighting on.

Just something to think on.

2

Fanatic's Progression by Character Cards:

Awesome to Meh to OMG GREATEST HERO EVER!

Just kidding.

I do love Fanatic's progression as a hero, and I can't wait to see what she is like in Tactics.

3

Do we know that she survives until Tactics? If anyone's likely to go down in flames fighting the Final Big Bad, I'd put my money on it being her. 

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You can see her fighting alongside Ra on one of his cards in Tactics.

5

I could sit her all day discussing various choices in each character's artwork but keeping the subject on Fanatic lets discuss Absolution a little, first point is that outside of her deck it's rare to see Fanatic without Absolution in hand, Critical Multiplier from Parse's deck even shows the moment that Apostate used Condemnation to break Absolution.

From this it's clear that Absolution means a lot to Fanatic, the destruction of the blade probably only added weight to Apostate's claims that he and Fanatic were the same, Absolution is the core of Fanatic's unwavering faith and it's destruction was probably the key element of why Fanatic even considered the possibility that Apostate was telling the truth.  So why is it that such an iconic piece of Fanatic's life and motivation is missing from her first two character cards.

Starting with Fanatic the Redeemer the obvious reason is that it was broken in her previous battle, but another reason is that this Fanatic seeks redemption, not absolution, she wanted to save herself from the evil that Apostate said she was and to regain the conviction she had lost to Apostate's claims.

In her original character card, before she met Apostate, the Absolution she sought using the blade was other peoples, she believed herself to be a pure uncorruptable being, incapable of needing forgiveness as she was incapable of sin.  It was this cornerstone of believe that Apostate assaulted by destroying Absolution and revealing the 'truth' that they were both the same.

By the time of Prime Wardens Fanatic she has accepted her past sins and come to understand that redemption isn't what she wants or needs.  For the first time since she took up Absolution she has a team that needs her, for the first time the opinions of others aren't falling on deaf ears.  She knows that she isn't incapable of sin so she seeks absolution from her team and herself for her past actions carrying the broken blade to show that she seeks absolution not for others, but for herself.

6

I thought it was Truth that broke Absolution, not Apostate.

https://greaterthangames.com/forum/topic/fanatics-broken-absolution-5719

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I don't agree with this part. People of intense faith are often even more susceptible to doubt. I'm more likely to believe that Fanatic's bravado is a defense mechanism. She wants to believe that she's doing the right thing and on the right path, but isn't always sure. It is not uncommon for people who are insecure to try and hide their insecurities with false bravado.

My theory on why Apostate was able to mess with Fanatic's head was because he could see through all that. He could see Fanatic's insecurities and played on those in a way no one ever had. Whereas most of the people around Fanatic weren't able to see through her fascade, Apostate could.

My personal theory is that Prime Wardens Fanatic represents Fanatic coming to terms with herself and realizing that she can trust people and show them who she really is.

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Fanatic took up arms because she could see evil in the world and believed that it must be fought.

In a world of gray a True Beleiver is often out of place and harmful.

In a world where there is identifiable evil Fanatic has a place.

She is the weapon of justice, opposing evil with amazing clarity and zeal.

Then Apostate comes along and makes her question who she even is, she thought she was saved from death as a child and given powers because God chose her to fight against evil, but what if she was born evil, what if her desire to fight evil is just a convenient target for the desires inside her to harm others and destroy.

That is shattering.  Then she returns with blinders.

That can go multiple ways, but I think we are seeing her realize that she must control what is inside her, that she can't trust herself to ascribe good and evil and then act like she once did.  Her actions are more calculated, her fight a long road to redemption, not a brutal, lightning fast assault.

PW Fanatic I think she has learned to trust others, and rely on their judgement to help her balance her inner fire and her doubt.  She wants to crush evil, but she doesn't trust herself to make that judgement alone, but now she has friends to help her both in making those judgements and in the actual fights against evil.

In all of her forms Fanatic has a death-wish vibe going on, which I love.  Originally she seems like the Living Weapon, she doesn't care if she lives or dies, only cares about the goal.

In Redeemer she questions her cause and is far less likely to be in those circumstances, but she is also much better at sacrificing with out removing herself from the game.

In PW Fanatic she is using her health for her team, if someone is going down it is going to be her, she fights for her friends.

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The PW Fanatic represents a middle ground for Fanatic, where both Redeemer and original are extreme ends of her personality.

Original Fanatic is a zealot, and its this zealotry that primarily drives her. It's in large part due to her unwaivering belief in her purpose and who she thinks she is. She is punishing evil because it is her holy duty to do so.

Redeemer Fanatic represents Vengeance. After her faith was shattered by Apostate, Fanatic comes back more resolute than ever, but her driving motivation is to gain back what she has lost. There is doubt within her now and that doubt creates anger and a need to take it out on those she feels deserving of her wrath. She is punishing evil because it was evil that shattered her faith.

PW Fanatic represents a middle ground and a more centered Fanatic (the art is a mix of both original and redeemer). She has learned a great deal from her encounter with Apostate, the Shattering of Absolution, and most importantly working alongside with the Prime Wardens. With their guidance she can be more tempered and focused. She is less about punishing evil and more focused on the protection of innocent.

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Christopher told me at Kantcon a few years ago that Fanatic puffs up and uses a lot of bravado about her faith with people in public but in private suffers from intense doubt and grief over that doubt.  I think you're definitely on the right path.

Fanatic is no straw-man religious zealot.  She's a fully realized, three-dimensional character with a faith beyond mere fanaticism.

11

All of this is awesome, but the mention of Final Dive needs addressing I think. Base Fanatic has always come across as harsh and uncompromising, perhaps even brutal, and most of it is because of Final Dive. While speculating on if Guise appeared in the art as his human photographer self I made a connection that I want to repost.

 

Since his bio states he was a low level freelance photographer I doubt he's the cameraman, but he could easily be the guy in hostage situation, who I just realized is the same guy on Fantic's Final Dive.

We know art, text, and card effect don't always sync up, at least not how we might think, and final dive always seemed odd. Why would fanatic be attacking this random civilian? Because she wasn't attacking him. Why is it projectile damage instead of melee (which makes more sense for a full body smash of someone being thrown at someone else)?

Looking at Hostage we have Wraith, AMbuscade, and the guy in the coat. Final Dive is Fanatic, furisously going up, and the same guy without a coat. Picture the scene, Ambuscade (who we know used to be a famous french actor) is looking to cause problems. A Freelance photographer recognizes him, gets into trouble for snapping a pic, and ends up as the perfect bait to draw the heroes into Ambuscade's game. Wraith can't act while the hostage is in danger, but cheap guy, cheap coat. He falls, luckily Fanatic is nearby and rescues the hostage. Meanwhile, without his shield Ambuscade is now a target, hitting the hight hp villain with the Wraith's projectiles while "destroying" a target that was causing a problem by removing it from the field of battle. All while taking the "Final Dive" of falling off a roof to the streets.

 

This sort of interpretation, where Fanatic was saving the guy who was plummeting to his death, makes more sense. She's still a soldier in a war against evil, but she is rescuing the civilian not killing him.