*OOC* Character Info Post

[mary_s_phillips]

Character Information

Character Name: Mary 'Stormer' Phillips

Series/Fandom:  Jem and the Holograms

Source pages:  Jem Wiki page, List of Jem characters, List of Jem episodes

This post is still a work in progress. Comments and criticism welcome, and much needed.


Character History:

Stormer's history prior to the cartoon is rather elusive. We don't know things about her childhood at all, except that she has a big brother, Craig, and that's basically it. There is a house in Los Angeles which Stormer and Craig both appear in - so this is probably the Phillips home and therefore Stormer's roots are most likely in Los Angeles itself.

We never see parents for Stormer and Craig. The possibilities are either that they've passed on, or that Stormer or Craig did something so terrible that the pair of them were disowned. I tend to go with the first assumption - that Craig and Stormer are orphaned. However, the girl was brought up with good values. Her family probably wasn't rich in terms of Pizzazz and the endless Gabor millions, but I suspect she came from a comfortably off Californian family who were fairly close-knit and which taught her various good things growing up.

Not much more can be said about Stormer's background, but I strongly suspect she knew Roxy in some capacity before the band took off. I might be wrong, but there's just that bond between them, even early on. Craig's constant traveling within Europe is possibly the reason also that Stormer has such a keen interest in everything English - it's her who points out the Tinkerbillys at the club "direct from London", it is her who admits she loves Jetta's accent and it is her who sparks off the visit to Wessex by declaring that she'd "love to go to England". Who knows, maybe there's some English in Stormer's roots also, which would explain why Craig is always overseas.

One other, rather touching remark Stormer makes in 'Bands Break Up' also hints that her childhood, even though probably a loving one, was not always an easy one. She confesses to Kimber "You gave me something else no one ever did. Sincere friendship." Perhaps this is indication that Stormer's natural reticence and shyness, which makes itself apparent on more than one occasion, has impeded her when making friends. (It also indicates that the Misfits' tough love friendship policy is sometimes not enough for her, and she needs an outlet to confide in and vent her feelings to.) Her wistful expression too when Jerrica welcomes Kimber back into the fold indicates that maybe something was still missing, even in Stormer's rather more positively portrayed background. I think family is important to Stormer and she misses having Craig so far away.

Character Personality:

This is where things become a bit blurry. Stormer's personality is hard to make out, and this can be largely laid at the door of the different perceptions of her as portrayed by the series writers. Some tackled her as a Misfit, others understood her subtle differences from the others. Either way it creates a semi schizophrenic baby Misfit at times.

Stormer is the Misfit who is portrayed as having the 'good heart', but she's never quite strong enough to stand out against the wilder ideas of Pizzazz, Roxy or Jetta, except when none of them are around to see it. She has a conscience (She won't let Jem be framed for theft in 'Truly Outrageous/Frame Up', nor will she allow Aja and one of the jazz players to get hurt in 'The Jazz Singer' due to her own actions).

She isn't quite sure how to handle the situation in 'Island of Deception' where the Misfits and the Holograms are forced to work together - it seems that she'd very much like to be friends but she's afraid to show herself to be too amiable to the 'enemy' whilst Pizzazz and Roxy are around

Stormer is a girl who has potential but doesn't believe in her own ability, and she gets dragged into things she isn't prepared for.
Having said that, Stormer has a mischievous side to her, too. Although she finds the idea of a video on friendship and goodwill 'nice' and occasionally asks whether they should 'really be doing this', she is still entertained by certain of her colleagues' pranks, and joins in with Roxy in 'The Beginning/Truly Outrageous' when the Misfits are tossing Jem's junk out of the back of the van. In classic Misfit style, she can be wicked, too.

She looks up to Pizzazz and Roxy in a confused kind of way - its fairly clear she's the youngest and she wants to be like them only knows she never totally will be. It's as the series progresses that more of the 'nice' Stormer shows itself, especially in 'The Band Breaks Up'. I think this is mainly because by then she's realized that she matters to the band in her own right and she feels more secure and less pressured to be something she's not. Stormer when she's being wicked and when she isn't... has a good sense of how to survive with the band, and she's a very clever character in her own way, if intimidated some by her companions. It's also important to mention that she has a good strong obstinate streak in there too.

In a way, too, she's the ultimate Misfit of them all. Why? Because she's the misfit among the misfits themselves! Of all of them, she has the potentially good background, "normal" morals and outlook, and she's often a little bit out of her depth in the mischief making stakes. So, as well as being the sweetheart Misfit, she's also the MISFIT misfit.

Powers: None. Stormer is completely human.