Now that you have the character’s game statistics ready, it’s time to come up with some more details about their life. A character’s data includes things that generally don’t affect how they work in the game but reveal personal information about themselves and their history. These can have even bigger impacts upon their stories than their powers.

Remember that none of these details are carved in stone. That’s why you use a pencil to write them down—or why there’s a backspace key on your keyboard. Nothing about your character is permanent until you play that character in a game, and even then, things can change.

Feel free to write down your first ideas for your character. If you get a better idea as you go along, you can always rearrange the details so they fit the rest of the character like a glove—or maybe a mask.

Codename

This is the name the character is known by publicly—assuming it’s different from their real name. If it’s not, just put their real name down here.

The codename usually says something about the character’s powers or their relation to others. Sometimes both. For instance, characters with the name Spider-Man are male and have spider-related powers.

However, it’s entirely up to you. Captain Marvel’s name, for example, doesn’t say anything about their powers or gender. It’s more about who the character is to the world.

Sometimes, a character’s codename is a thinly veiled play on their real name. Professor X, for instance, is not just a nickname for Professor Charles Xavier. The X also refers to the X-Gene that all mutants carry.

Real Name

This is the character’s given name—or at least the one they’re known by to most people. Names can be complicated things, often encapsulating details about the character’s ancestry and the things or people their parents valued.

If you like, you can write down alternate names here too. These might include married names, well-used aliases and nicknames. Anything the character might answer to.

If the character has a secret identity, they usually keep this name private from those they encounter in their work as a super hero. They might share it with a few trusted friends and family, but the more people who know their secret, the likelier it is that it won’t remain a secret for long.

Sometimes, the character doesn’t even know their given name anymore, much like how the original Wolverine didn’t for many years.

Height

Put down whatever height you’d like here. A character does not need to tower over others to be a super hero. Just ask the famously short Wolverine (Logan).

If you want the character to be particularly tall or short, they might also need to have a trait or power that accounts for their difference in size. If you’re playing a young character, they might be naturally smaller than an adult, of course.

Weight

Put down whatever weight you’d like here. Super heroes tend to be physically fit, but their weight can vary a lot due to powers and other traits.

In this game, a character’s size is determined by their weight. Average size ranges from 100 to 400 pounds. If the character is smaller or bigger than that, they should have a trait or power that accounts for the difference.

Gender

This is entirely your call, as the character prefers to define it. Some characters with shape-shifting powers can change genders at will. In such cases, make a note of that, but put down here what their standard or preferred gender might be.

Eyes

Put down the color of the character’s eyes here. If there’s anything unusual about them, describe that here as well.

Hair

Describe the character’s hair. What color is it? Is it long or short? Straight, kinky, spiky, curly? Are they bald?

This can, of course, change throughout the game. Storm, for instance, is known for having worn her hair in many different ways.

Distinguishing Features

Here’s where you write down anything out of the ordinary about the character’s physique. This includes things like scars, tattoos and missing (or extra!) parts, or if they have a skin color outside the norm for humans, like green or blue.

Some features can be like a teaser for a story. How did they get that scar? What does that tattoo mean to them? Why is their skin white when most of their people are blue?

You don’t have to answer all those questions straightaway, but you should keep them in mind as you develop the character further.

Occupation

This is part of the character’s backstory, so put down the occupation you chose for them here.

Origin

This is the other part of the character’s backstory, the source of their powers. List their Origin here.

Teams

Is the character a member of any team or organization? Are they part of the Avengers? The Defenders? The Fantastic Four? The X-Men? S.H.I.E.L.D.? Maybe even an unwitting pawn of Hydra?

Note that some heroes are or have been members of many different teams. Lots of teams change their rosters frequently.

You might want to ask your Narrator about this to see what sorts of possibilities might be open to you. With their permission, the character could be part of just about anything. The character could even be part of an all-new team that you and your fellow players concoct.

Base

This is where the character hangs up their costume at the end of the day. In most cases, you can just list a city, but you can be as general or particular as you like, right down to a street address. Maybe they don’t have a permanent place they call home, in which case you can list their base as “mobile.”

Many Marvel heroes reside in New York City, but your character can live anywhere you like—and can be from anywhere too. Some characters have multiple bases they can crash at on any given day. Others have homes they go back to only infrequently, sometimes on other planets or even in other dimensions.

This information can, of course, change throughout play. If the character’s home is destroyed, for instance, they’re going to have to find a new one, after all.

History

This is a biography for the character, something that summarizes the story of their lives until the game begins. The amount of space on the sheet is enough for a good start, but if you need more, feel free to add a blank sheet and keep going.

Some people like to fill in as much about their history as possible, going generations back into their character’s ancestry. Others prefer to work with minimal details and make it up as they go. There’s no right way to handle this. Just do what you prefer.

You can also add to this part of the character sheet as you go, developing their history more and keeping track of what happens during their adventures. Or you can play it loose and trust your memory.

A good history concentrates on details that are intriguing or could become important during play. Feel free to ignore everything else.

If you like, you can write this part up as if it was the recap page of your favorite comic book, the part that tells you what’s happened up to this point. Give just enough detail about the character to catch everyone up and let them know where they are now.

Personality

The character profiles feature this section as a means of giving a player hints on how to play the character. Are they gruff or kind? Do they have an interesting accent or a particular attitude? These help players keep in tune with established characters that other players might already have extensive experience with.

When creating your own character, you can use this section for notes on how you expect the character to act. Remember that you can change things around to what you think works best. The words written here aren’t meant to restrict but to inspire.

Creating a Character the Marvel Way

Remember, this game is not just a super-hero game. It’s a Marvel game! That means your character should be in the tradition of all of Marvel’s characters. It’s not their flashy powers or their outlandish outfits that make them who they are—it’s the person behind the mask.

Spider-Man isn’t the same character without the losses Peter Parker experienced and the sense of responsibility they instilled in him. Iron Man is just a man in a fancy suit of power armor without Tony Stark’s ego, emotional issues and altruism. The Thing would only be a monster without the grumpy, determined and courageous man stuck inside his rocky skin!

Your character is not just a set of stats and a list of powers. Take time to explore their history and personality. Think about their daily lives, the people they hope to protect with their powers, the causes they are willing to fight for and their weaknesses or flaws. Give yourself and your fellow players a reason to identify with them and care about them so you can all cheer each other on together.

While you can have all sorts of spectacular battles in this game, this is not a tabletop combat game. It’s a role-playing game. Knowing the character and the role they hope to play in the world around them is sure to make your time playing the game even more fitting for the Marvel Multiverse.