The Main Characters of Highton Heroes

Hi everyone!

I’m nearing the end of my run evolving Highton Heroes season one episodes from first drafts to fourth drafts now. Only 2 episodes left! It’s been a long process but very rewarding as the narrative starts to really take shape and become more readable (and hopefully enjoyable!).

This week I wanted to deliver on my promise to talk about some of the characters from Highton Heroes. Not all of them mind you, just some of the big players from the first season.

It’s been interesting working through the screenplays for Highton Heroes compared to Nash. For both, I had all key characters and multiple minor ones planned out before I started actually screenwriting. But unlike Nash, the Highton Heroes character list has changed a lot as each screenplay comes together.

Over the course of rewrites, I added new characters to fill narrative gaps. I cut characters that contributed little and made some big characters less prominent in the story (and vice versa). I found it fascinating how ultimately, for me at least, the narrative dictates a character’s presence vs my own thoughts of who I originally thought was important.

Anyway, enough about that. On to a brief overview of some of Highton Heroes key players…

Ben Tully

Ben is nearly thirty with curly brown hair. While a scientist type, he is pretty well toned and combat trained. Ben is the recently elected Mayor of Highton after his Father, Gerald Tully, passed away. He grew up in his Father’s shadow with expectations to follow in his footsteps, his mother leaving Highton at a young age. When he met his wife Lucy at university, he abandoned his predetermined path to instead fulfill his own science and technology interests. When his Father fell terminally ill, Ben made amends and ran for Mayor of Highton out of respect. He did not expect to win and did not anticipate the responsibility and challenges that would be thrown his way when he did.

Lucy Tully

Lucy is in her late twenties. She is a little below average height with shortish black hair, usually in a ponytail. She acts stern but has a kind heart. Lucy was born in the Delvin faction to a family that never cared for her. Her impressive grades helped her leap into a new life away from her family at Delvin’s best training facility. Here she aced everything and eventually became a top Delvin agent. After hearing of Highton, she fled Delvin in the hopes of achieving something more. She went through all the necessary training to become a citizen. Delvin branded her a traitor for leaving and Highton citizens shunned her due to her origins. Life was lonely and difficult until she met Ben Tully, whom she later married. She now serves as Highton’s Assistant Mayor.

Ace Benning

Ace is in his mid-40s. He is a strong and burly man with military cut blonde hair. He currently serves as Highton’s Supreme Commander. Ace was born to a military centric family. Ace fell in love with military life as soon as he entered junior training. His parents did all they could to help him along his path. After completing secondary studies, he was accepted into a prestigious Highton training program that fast-tracked him to becoming a Shock Trooper. Over time he became bored and started trying out new combat roles. Eventually his experience earned him a Commander role. When his mentor and at-the-time Supreme Commander died, Ace was a natural choice to take over.

President Andrew Harvey

Harvey is in his early 50s. He is a tall and authoritative man with gingery brown hair, some grey poking through. Despite being born to a wealthy family, he was cast out at a young age. He went on to become a powerful self-made man who carefully navigated his way through politics to become Earth’s President (by making friends in influential places). Given Gerald Tully’s smooth running of Highton, Harvey isn’t ready for a less informed turbulent run by his son, Ben.

Corporal Rover

Rover is a genetically modified German Shepard who has enhanced intelligence. He always wears a white metal helmet to hide his implant scar. Almost human in nature, he can speak English with his booming voice and solve complex problems. Rover is 3 years old and currently serves as Lead Corporal of the Dog Soldier Division (DSD). He wears a special jetpack that also contains Energy Blasters, allowing him to be mobile and efficient in combat.

The Crazy Guy

The Crazy Guy has a permanently painted red and white splotchy face. His right hand is red and his left hand is white. He wears a cream suit complete with cream panama hat. He holds an unfounded desire for mayhem and destruction. The Crazy Guy is basically what his name suggests – insane. His mood is bipolar, and his actions are unpredictable. He has no issues causing harm to others and will likely laugh while doing so. Highton have no idea what his ultimate goal and intentions are. Despite all this, he is very intelligent and cunning. Before becoming The Crazy Guy, he was a former Highton Trooper which has given him intimate knowledge of Highton and its inner workings.

Goliath

Goliath is The Crazy Guy’s top henchman. After being sprayed with a special white paint, which burnt off his hair and permanently dyed his face, he was transformed into a mindless husk who takes any orders given to him by The Crazy Guy. Goliath has a hulking, muscly stature and a specially augmented arm that gives him super strength (with the one arm).

Thanks for taking the time to have a read some of these key players in Highton Heroes. Obviously, there’s more characters, and this is just the tip of the iceberg, but I think it’s enough to paint a picture of the kind of characters you’d follow during the journey in Highton Heroes.

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I’m hoping to one day revist this post after getting some drawings done up of the characters!

As always, any questions? I’m more than happy to answer in the comments or on my socials.

Til next time,

Dean.