Phillip Johnson

Joseph Reynolds, 2002.

It’s not quite 6 pages. There are only 3, but they have 12 panels each. I’m sure I could spread that out to six pages.

This character is related to Anne and Hank from my PBI#2 script. Please see that first for a little more perspective into the family. Below are links to headshots of Phillip and Anne and the other script. Phillip does wear spandex. The suit is totally blue except for two black stripes about 8” wide starting under his arms and running down to his feet, a big black dot on his chest, and a black cape. There is an attached hood that covers half of his face. Phillip Johnson goes only by the name Phillip. He’s a typical superhero, although lately he’s been getting stronger.

http://www.geocities.com/josephrey/three.html

http://www.geocities.com/josephrey/ohyeah.htm

Also, the scenes may be a little vague at times. Since I will probably be the one doing the drawings (if at all), I will leave out everything that is not strictly important. You will not see very detailed descriptions of POV’s. I’m leaving it open to interpretation so that I don’t get hung up on the details while writing it and that you don’t while reading it.

PAGE 1, 12 panels.

Panel 1: There are two upper middle aged psychologists (Dr. Monroe, with glasses, and Dr. Balsa, without) sitting at a large boardroom table opposite six upper crust United States Government officials. One of the psychologists is sliding file folders across the table to the six men in black suits, military uniforms, etc. Next to the table, closer to the psychologists but facing towards the suits, are a TV and VCR on a pushcart. There are a few video tapes near the psychologists.

GENERAL 1: Let’s have it, doctors.

MONROE: Yes, of course.

Panel 2: Close-up of a hand stopping one of the incoming folders. The folder reads: CASEFILE: PHILLIP JOHNSON aka PHILLIP. RE: ABILITIES. There is a headshot of Phillip paper clipped to the folder. See above link.

MONROE (o.p.): Phillip is an extraordinary subject. His subconscious is much deeper than we could have imagined…

BALSA (o.p.): But we’ll get to that later.

Panel 3: Any POV will do.

BALSA: There is no known age for Phillip, but going by his family history estimates have him at between 35 and 28 years old.

MONROE: The family history is sketchy at best, but marvelously interesting.

Panel 4: Same POV will do.

BALSA: He was born to Hank and Elizabeth Johnson. Mother deceased. He has a 36-year-old sister named Anne. She has two 10-year-old children, William and Paul. Her husband is deceased…

MONROE: His death is what lead us to Phillip’s family.

BALSA: …Phillip also has a 27-year-old brother named William who has been residing at a government facility for the mentally unbalanced for the last seven years.

Panel 5: Any POV will do.

SUIT 1: About the same time of Phillip’s first appearances?

BALSA: Yes.

MONROE: The reason that you came to us is because Phillip is getting stronger. You want to know why.

Panel 6: Any POV will do.

MONROE: Well, as of late, it SEEMS that his powers are almost limitless. With each new challenge he grows stronger.

BALSA: The rise in his abilities is directly correlated to the rise in difficulty of his confrontations.

Panel 7: Same POV will do.

GENERAL 2: Please spit it out, gentlemen.

MONROE: We believe that Phillip is simply the most powerful telekinetic on the planet.

BALSA: The only thing is, he doesn’t know it.

Panel 8: Any POV will do.

MONROE: He was gracious enough to let us speak with him several times.

BALSA: We believe that his subconscious is almost a mind of its own. Basically, it protects him the only way it knows how.

Panel 9: Any POV will do.

MONROE: When he was young he survived several incidents that would have killed anyone else. Playing with friends, he fell from the roof of a nine-story building with no ill effects. While sleeping over a friend’s house there was a fire. Everyone was killed but Phillip whose clothes were completely burned from his body.

BALSA: There was one time when he did get hurt. While riding his bike he was struck from behind by a car. He was in the hospital over a month. We believe that since he did not expect the car to hit him, his subconscious was not prepared to receive the blow.

Panel 10: Any POV will do, but Monroe is walking to the TV with a video tape in his hand.

MONROE: He naturally does not want to get hurt. We don’t know if he’ll ever die.

BALSA: Unless he wants to.

MONROE: What’s strange is that his physical body is getting larger as he becomes ‘stronger.’ Strange in that his body is not what makes him powerful. So, why is he so huge?

Panel 11: Same POV. Monroe is inserting the tape.

BALSA: Since he does not believe that he is telekinetic, perhaps he is enlarging himself to make himself feel more secure.

MONROE: He’s even growing in height. I think he must be about 6’7 now.

Panel 12: Same POV. Monroe is turning on the TV.

BALSA: Unfortunately, Phillip only possesses an average intelligence. He has some trouble trying to understand what we are saying to him or just flat out refuses to accept our interpretations.

PAGE 2, 12 panels.

Panel 1: The TV screen fills the panel. On it, Phillip is decked out in his tights looking ripped. He’s

struggling to lift a burning tanker truck.

MONROE (o.p): Here he is four years ago.

BALSA (o.p): Even some of your government creations can move one of those.

Panel 2: Same POV of TV. Different scene, now Phillip is tossing a similar burning truck away from a

baby carriage with no effort.

MONROE (o.p): This footage was taken last year.

BALSA (o.p): Why he didn’t just move the baby carriage we’ll never know. It’s almost as if he has to constantly prove himself TO himself.

Panel 3: Same POV of TV. Phillip is flying.

MONROE (o.p): He also has the ability to fly.

BALSA (o.p): Levitation is commonly associated with psychokinesis.

GENERAL 1 (o.p): What about his family, do they show any signs of power?

Panel 4: Back to a POV of the room. Monroe is changing tapes.

MONROE: Like we said before, the death of Anne’s husband is what lead us to the Johnson’s. The coroner reported the cause of death as inconclusive.

BALSA: The information was given to an FBI agent by a police officer of a small town where Phillip was often sighted.

Panel 5: Same POV of TV again. New tape. Anne is sitting at a picnic table in a park with Dr. Monroe.

Dr. Balsa from the opposite side of the table is filming them. You do not see Balsa, but only hear

his voice. Monroe is wearing a pair of flip down sunglasses and buttoned shirt. Anne is in her circa 1950

‘housewife’ dress and is looking glum.

MONROE: Anne, what can you tell us about Phillip?

ANNE: He didn’t kill my husband.

Panel 6: Same POV of TV. Monroe flips up his sunglasses. Anne looks bored.

MONROE: Wha? How did--

ANNE: I figured that’s why you wanted to talk to me.

MONROE: Ah, yes. Partly.

Panel 7: Same POV of TV. Anne looks VERY bored. Maybe even a headache is coming on.

ANNE: What else?

MONROE: Well then, could you tell us HOW your husband died?

ANNE: He just stopped…living.

BALSA (o.p.): JUST stopped?

Panel 8: Same POV of TV. Anne looks into the camera.

MONROE: Your other brother William checked himself into the hospital. Why?

ANNE: He needed time to think.

BALSA (o.p.): About what?

ANNE: Things to come.

Panel 9: Back to a POV of the room. Monroe is changing tapes again. Balsa is reaching into his jacket

pocket.

MONROE: From that point on we don’t remember anything. Anne was gone and the camera was turned off when we came to.

BALSA: We also found this.

Panel 10: Close-up of Balsa’s hand. In it is a pale-yellowish ball about the size of a golf ball.

SUIT 1: What is that?

MONROE: We don’t know. I found it under the table where Anne was sitting.

BALSA: It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. It appears to be neither organic nor inorganic.

Panel 11: POV of the psychologists. Monroe (now smiling) is still standing at the TV and Balsa is sitting at the table. Balsa is holding the ball in his fingertips at head level and staring at it.

MONROE: Watch this.

Panel 12: Same POV. Balsa removes his hand but the ball remains floating in the air.

SUIT 3 (o.p.): It floats?!

MONROE: No. It’s falling, but very slowly.

BALSA: It’s quite solid, but appears to be only slightly heavier than air.

PAGE 3, 12 panels.

Panel 1: POV of the whole room again. The ball is still floating.

GENERAL 2: How does this affect Phillip?

MONROE: It affects him entirely!

BALSA: Yes, we should know what Phillip might be capable of. Apparently some members of the family have certain abilities, but they may not necessarily be the SAME abilities.

Panel 2: POV of the whole room again. The ball is floating a bit lower.

MONROE: Anne may be telepathic. She may have guessed what I was going to ask her, OR she may have read my mind.

BALSA: This ball might be the result of her using her powers.

SUIT 2: Does Phillip ‘export’ anything from his body?

Panel 3: POV of the whole room again. The ball is floating a bit lower still. Balsa has his open hand an inch or two below it.

MONROE: Not that we know of. Perhaps there are physical manifestations whenever the power is used. Phillip gets bigger while Anne pops these out.

BALSA: I don’t think the manifestations are completely necessary. Anne’s might be from early childhood. Perhaps she created the balls to play with and now they are a side effect of her using the power.

Panel 4: POV of the whole room again. Balsa has closed his hand around the ball.

MONROE: Their father Hank is well known in the town. Although he is extremely thin, he is apparently in the strongest man at the local gym. He might be inadvertently using the power. If he is, there is no evidence of it except that he can bench press more than even the biggest gym members.

BALSA: He also suffers from Alzheimer’s and all conversations we had with him were fruitless.

Panel 5: Any POV will do.

GENERAL 1: What about the other brother? William?

MONROE: We DID go see William as well. The guards permitted us to view him through a little window in the door of his room, but would not let us enter. William ignored us when we tried to talk to him through the intercom.

BALSA: He was conscious. I could see him looking AT me. He was sitting on his bed in a heavy straightjacket chained to the wall. When I began to think about my shorts riding up I swear he smiled for a moment.

Panel 6: Any POV will do. Monroe is pushing PLAY on the VCR.

MONROE: Getting back to Phillip. We don’t know why or exactly when he suddenly thought of himself as a ‘superhero.’

BALSA: Like we said before, he’s of average intelligence. Perhaps a superhero was the only conclusion he could come up with.

MONROE: He seems to be happy with it. Well, actually. Maybe not.

Panel 7: POV of the TV. Shot of Phillip on the roof of a skyscraper. He is sitting on the parapet staring at

his feet with the city behind him.

MONROE (o.p.): This shot is from a security camera. When I met Anne I noticed a few similarities between her and Phillip. They almost have the same attitude but Phillip covers it with a macho-istic bravado. We could see that he deeply cares about the people that he rescues.

BALSA (o.p.): I think he cares a little too much. He can’t save everyone and that is beginning to take its toll on Phillip. Any bravado is there to make others feel safe and at ease, perhaps it’s for himself too.

Panel 8: Same POV. Phillip is still sitting with head down.

MONROE (o.p.): Just as his ability level has increased, so has his recklessness. He has begun to seek out new confrontations and we don’t know why.

BALSA (o.p.): It seems that each time he allows himself to be beaten to the point of death before suddenly standing up and defeating his opponent. Almost as if he grew tired of the fight.

Panel 9: Same POV. Phillip stands up and looks over his shoulder towards the city.

MONROE (o.p.): Perhaps he is testing himself. He wants to see how much abuse he can take.

BALSA (o.p.): I think it’s something else. Something darker.

Panel 10: Same POV. Phillip has turned around and has on foot on the parapet.

MONROE (o.p.): Yes, while I don’t WANT to agree I’m going to have to. Phillip may not wish to be a superhero anymore.

BALSA (o.p.): At the same time, he just can’t stop helping those in need. It would be selfish for him to quit.

Panel 11: Same POV. Phillip has both feet on the parapet.

MONROE (o.p.): He’s looking for a loophole.

BALSA (o.p.): He’s looking to die.

Panel 12: Same POV. Phillip is floating away.

No dialog.

Phillip Johnson

Joseph Reynolds, 2002.

No, guys, this isn’t the ending; it’s only the beginning. ;)