March, Part Five
We’re passing the half-way point now on my Pride Month trek with a Mutants & Masterminds lens. Our fifth stop brings us to the next stripe of the original Pride Flag’s rainbow: Green. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, this is me being nerdy, queer, and it starts back here.)
March Green (later, Silvanus)Among the colours of the original pride flag, green represented nature, and even before the fateful Pride Parade of 1978 would change his life forever, Henry Diamond loved plants. The son of a farmer and a teacher, Henry Diamond came to San Francisco to study ecology with the notion of perhaps someday being a park ranger or some other career that might let him enjoy the outdoors. After the wash of light that transformed Diamond and the other seven members of March, Diamond found himself in possession of great powers over the plant-life he’d always loved, starting with the ability to shift into a tough, oak-like form with thick thorns, which allowed him to step forward and get between those bent on violence and those who’d come to march for equality.
Diamond had been inspired by Chris Dickerson, a Black bodybuilder (who was also gay). and in many ways followed a similar path upon learning about the man while he was on the rise through his career. Though Diamond didn’t become a professional bodybuilder, he exercised seriously, and attempted to emulate the grace and beauty he saw in the sport, and even took dancing lessons like Dickerson, believing it key to the man’s presence and grace. Physically strong, attractive, and definitely imposing—though not especially tall—Diamond did his best to use his hard-won strength for others, as his mother had always counselled him, and when he was ready to come out as gay, Diamond joined the local queer neighbourhood watches, and trained in self-defence.
After becoming empowered, March Green was one of the two “heavy hitters” of March, alongside March Yellow, especially through the use of his ability to grow and control mobile plants (most often large, animated Oak trees). That said, March Green tended toward defensive moves, using his plant growth powers to protect innocents, block villainous avenues of escape, and often putting himself directly in harm’s way to ensure those smaller or weaker than him would be okay. His romance with March Turquoise—the slim and gentle radical faerie—started mere weeks after March were empowered, and the two made no effort to hide their relationship, which earned them a great deal of attention from March’s fans and detractors both. This shifted in the mid-80s when March Green and March Turquoise (then calling themselves Silvanus and Faerie) added a third man to their relationship—an unpowered, younger man, at that—and their polycule often became a heated topic, though the three never backed down from the scrutiny, and certainly never denied their relationship.
After the death of March Red/Zap in 1988, Henry Diamond took off the mask, the last of the March group to do so. He and his lovers continued to fight the violence and intolerance even after the very public breakdown with March Pink/Pride at the funeral, with Diamond key to limiting the destruction that day. Henry Diamond continued to be a unifying force in the group thereafter, up to his transformation after the battle with Father Light and his people, and the resulting tragedy in 1997.
March Green, 1978 (PL 8)
Identity: Henry Diamond (At first secret, eventually public)
Cis Male, 31, Height 1.67m, Weight 87kg, Hazel Eyes, Black Hair
Group Affiliation: March, Base of Operations: San Francisco
Attributes: Str 3/6*, Sta 3/6*, Agi 1, Dex 1, Fgt 2, Int 1, Awe 1, Pre 3 (30 points)
Powers: Oakform: including Plantlike: Immunity 3 (Starvation, Sleep, Suffocation), Enhanced Advantage (Diehard), Enhanced Attributes (Strength 3, Stamina 3), Protection 6, Move Action to Activate; linked to Thornskin: Damage 3 (piercing), Reaction (to being touched or struck), with AE: Spray Thorns (Ranged Damage 4 (piercing), Multiattack); Plant Control array with Plant Growth: Create Plants 6, Permanent, Moveable (3/rank); with AE: Tanglevines: Ranged Burst Area Affliction 5 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Damage; Hindered and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Immobilized), Extra Condition, Indirect 3, Limited Degree; and AE: Animate Plants: Summon 4 (Animated Plant, Controlled, General Type, Multiple Minions 1); Quick Change: Feature 1 (Transform into costume as a free action) (56 points)
Advantages: Attractive, Diehard*, Defensive Attack, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Interpose (6 points)
Skills: Athletics 4 (+7/+10*), Close Combat (Unarmed) 4 (+6), Expertise—Activism 4 (+5), Expertise—Botany 5 (+6), Persuasion 4 (+7), Ranged Combat (Spray Thorns) 5 (+6), Vehicles 4 (+5) (15 Points)
Offense:
Initiative +5
Spray Thorns +6 (Ranged, Damage 4, piercing, Multiattack)
Thornskin — (Close, Reaction Damage 3, Piercing, when touched)
Unarmed Attack +6 (Close, Damage 3/6* plus potential Thornskin, above)
Defense: Dodge 4, Parry 4, Fortitude 6/9*, Toughness 3/12*, Will 7 (13 Points)
*While in Oakform.
Power Point Totals: Attributes 30 + Powers 56 + Advantages 6 + Skills 15 + Defenses 13 = 120.
Complications: Motivation—Responsibility: March Green was raised by parents who drilled into him that strength was a tool used to protect others, and even before he had powers, Henry Diamond took that to heart, looking out for the little guy. Upon gaining his abilities, Henry’s instincts always shifted towards looking out for the innocent and others who need protection, and villains know the easiest way to distract March Green is to place someone else in danger. Prejudice: All the members of March are targeted as openly queer, and March Green faces both queer hatred and racism. Later in life, his openly polyamorous relationship provided further fodder for the bigotry of others. Weakness—Plantlike: March Green is vulnerable to effects deleterious to plants, especially fire and extreme heat, suffering one additional degree of effect on any failed checks against them in his regular form, and two while in his oakform.
