Aquamaria
Context
Aquamaria was part of Milestone Comics’ Blood Syndicate. This book was part of the Milestone launch in 1993.
Part of the Milestone brand was to have more super-heroes who aren’t wealthy White men. Thus, Blood Syndicate members gained their abilities due to an experimental gas used in the streets of a minorities-majority American city, Dakota. This type of superhuman is colloquially called “Bang Babies”.
Background
- Real Name: Maria Molina.
- Marital Status: Single.
- Known Relatives: Numerous family members in the Paris Island area, in particular an unnamed aunt.
- Group Affiliation: The Blood Syndicate.
- Base Of Operations: Paris Island, Dakota City, midwestern US.
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Powers and Abilities
Aquamaria’s entire body is composed of water, which she can control. This liquid form can survive trauma as great as being vaporized and recondensed.
Aquamaria can also control water outside of her body, liquid or frozen. And she can move quickly through other bodies of water.
Maria only speaks Spanish. But in Dakota City, her lack of English skills isn’t much of a hindrance.
History
Aquamaria is a Bang Baby, a gang member who received superhuman powers in the wake of the Big Bang. The Big Bang was supposed to be a rumble between all of the major gangs of Paris Island to settle their turf wars, once and for all. The Dakota City Police Department learned of the impending showdown. They developed a special tear gas that also contained a radioactive marker.
Their plan was to use the gas to break up the Big Bang. They would then trace the gang members down the next day by tracing the radioactive “tags.” Instead, most of those exposed to the tear gas died. The handful of surviving gang members that lived had all developed superhuman abilities.
One of the Bang Babies, Rolando Texador, took the name Tech-9 after his favorite type of pistol. Texador gathered his fellow survivors together with a proposal. Tech-9 wanted to form a new gang, the Blood Syndicate, with the aim of achieving substantive positive social change.
They took over an abandoned door factory, which they simply dubbed The Factory. Operating from The Factory, the Blood Syndicate smashed crack houses throughout Paris Island, trying to rid the neighborhood of the dealers while taking the money captured in these operations to fund their activities.
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Flowing in
In the course of their work they would acquire new members, and put an end to many threats in Paris Island. One of those new members was Aquamaria, who first met the Syndicate while they battled their greatest enemy, the Demon Fox. She was inspired by their work to clean up their neighborhood, and joined them.
After numerous battles, the Blood Syndicate finally defeated the Demon Fox at the cost of Syndicate member Kwai’s life. After this final battle, Aquamaria and the rest of the Blood Syndicate disbanded and went back to their separate lives.
In the wake of the original Syndicate’s disbanding, former Syndicate member-turned-criminal Holocaust began forming a new Blood Syndicate that was more sympathetic to his schemes. He recruited several villainous Bang Babies as well as some former members of the first Syndicate. He then arranged a confrontation with Icon to remove that hero as an obstacle to his plans.
Syndicate gone bad
This became Holocaust’s ultimate undoing. Icon had brought Hardware, Static, and Rocket as backup. One of Holocaust’s new recruits was an undercover federal agent. And all of the members of the previous Syndicate who had joined had only done so to uncover Holocaust’s plots and partners.
With the rest of the original Blood Syndicate also arriving to support their friends, Holocaust’s crew was quickly subdued and taken into custody.
In a last ditch dominance play, Holocaust challenged Wise Son to a one-on-one duel for leadership of the Blood Syndicate. Wise Son agreed and capably battered Holocaust. Frustrated, Holocaust grappled Wise Son and pushed his powers to the limit. The conflagration consumed Holocaust, leaving naught but a skeleton behind, while leaving Wise Son unharmed.
Having earned the Blood Syndicate’s respect anew, Wise Son took leadership of the reformed team with a promise to focus on fighting for justice.
Milestone Forever
One result of the Final Crisis series was the integration of the Milestone Universe into the mainstream DCU. The cataclysmic events therein destroyed the universe in which Milestone took place.
However, the powerful psychic Dharma was able to harness the power of Rift, the powerful being behind the original Milestone/DC crossover, to save his universe’s inhabitants. The two realities have been merged as if they were always one. Dharma altered “histories and memories of both, but only enough to smooth out any inconsistencies.”
The only people currently aware of the transition are Icon, Superman, and Dharma. Icon and Superman have agreed to keep the secret and help Dharma when necessary to complete the interweaving of realities.
This process was hindered by Starbreaker’s attempt to steal Dharma’s powers and is thus on-going. Dharma stated that it would be months, if not years, before it was complete. This was likely also a metatextual statement on the incorporation of the Milestone characters into DC Comics’ mainstream titles.
As of this writing (February 2010) it is unclear what alterations to the Blood Syndicate’s history may have occurred as a result of the merging.
Description
Aquamaria is a mass of water that can take any shape. She usually adopts the shape of her original body, a teenaged girl.
Personality
Aquamaria is a Good Samaritan, dedicated to helping others.
She is also a very private person, tending to speak rarely and keep to herself and her family.
Quotes
(While leaping into a small water tower) “Voy a vivir aya — ‘my house’.”
DC Universe History
The Big Bang and the Blood Syndicate can dropped whole cloth into any urban area where gang activity plays a major role. Aquamaria can be used individually as a low-level metahuman patrolling the waterways of any coastal town.
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Aquamaria
| Dex: 04 | Str: 02 | Bod: 03 | Motivation: Unwanted Power |
| Int: 05 | Wil: 04 | Min: 04 | Occupation: Gang Member |
| Inf: 03 | Aur: 06 | Spi: 05 | Resources {or Wealth}: 006 |
| Init: 012 | HP: 040 |
Powers:
Fluid Form: 06, Ice Control: 10, Invulnerability: 06, Swimming: 08, Water Control: 15, Water Freedom: 09
Bonuses and Limitations:
- All Powers are Contingent Upon Fluid Form (-1FC each).
- Fluid Form is Always On, Physical OV/RV is 10/09 (15/09 underwater), Effective STR is 0 (-1FC).
- Underwater Initiative is 017 due to Water Freedom.
Advantages:
Area Knowledge (Paris Island, Dakota Riverfront, James River), Expansive headquarters (The Factory, though the Blood Syndicate may have a new base of operations after its disbanding and subsequent reformation), Language (Spanish).
Connections:
Blood Syndicate (High).
Drawbacks:
Fatal Vulnerability (being separated from water for more than 16 hour (14 APs)), Miscellaneous (Aquamaria does not speak English, though this is a minor Drawback given the number of Spanish-speaking people in the Paris Island area).
Source of Character: Milestone Imprint, DC Comics.
Helper(s): David J Oakes, The Milestone Rave (defunct).