In terms of who was the first character I created for The Mannamong, it’s either Kali or Tontorus, but I cannot remember. Either way, Tontorus would be the main focus of the titular species in question. Sometimes, he was written as the main protagonist in my early drafts. Overshadowing Kali in prominence due to the plot centering around him. It wasn’t until I started working on what would become the final version today, after graduating college, that I decided Kali would be the main lead. This was primarily due to the drastic change in Tonto’s characterization…
In the early script
Initially, I planned Tontorus to have amnesia. He wished to uncover his mysterious background and forgotten past, while other characters in the story were trying to capture or take advantage of him for their shadowy purposes. The first few villains I came up with were mysterious figures of high authority, both on the human and mannamong side, who knew who he was and what he was capable of. This led Kali to become protective of him and Tonto wanting to fully understand his history and identity.
Kali would’ve found him in a vacant park on a stormy day after school. Trying to hide him from her family and the public as they bonded. Their first encounter was mainly based on a fascination with each other. Wanting to learn more about the other’s life and their own kind. Tonto’s fuzzy memory would’ve been key to what brings the mannamong to earth, as he was a priority of interest. Not just because of who he was, but because of how he got to the human world. The mannamong didn’t want to be noticed by humans, and Tonto was a hazard to drawing attention because his fire powers were considered dangerous. As a result, he was hunted down by Scorch to take him away from Kali before his presence was known by humanity.
When I rewrote the comic after changing many old ideas (such as turning the mannamong into spirits to make it easier for Kali to be the only one to interact with them), I was wondering what Tonto’s past was going to be about. And how Kali and Tonto would uncover it. In the end, I couldn’t think of anything satisfying because of one overlooked detail that made me realize the story wasn’t interesting enough for me—Tontorus himself.
This was because I noticed how much of a blank slate he was as a character. Like Kali, he was reactionary to the plot unfolding before him. I realized it would’ve been hard for readers to connect with two main characters who hardly had much agency. His old personality was along the lines of being naive and gullible because of his amnesia. Often taking anything at face value that might be a clue to his past, even if it would lead to unwise decisions. Kali would’ve been the one to steer him away from those choices, acting as his moral compass against those who’d try to take advantage of him. This setup and relationship ended up not working well enough for me to find it exciting or memorable.
The change in Tontorus
So, like with Kali, I flipped the old idea around and experimented with the infamy approach. What if his past was laid out right from the get-go instead of it being a mystery? Explaining why other characters are after him. How would Kali react to it? Would she want to help him if he had a dark past that was created by his own actions? This led to an entire rework of his character—a runaway criminal with a dark past, hiding behind Kali as a shield.
Once I came up with the lore of the mannamong being spiritual guides to humanity, I took Tonto’s role a step further. Bringing Kali misery before they are properly introduced to each other by creating her intense fevers. This new form of conflict will be elaborated on further in a separate post. But the main takeaway from this was how this changed Tontorus into becoming a completely different character than I originally planned.
He was now a spiteful being, dragging this poor girl into his mess. This not only added a more engaging relationship between the two, but it made the introduction to the mannamong world and its characters more meaningful and memorable. He became a contradiction to Kali’s impression of them through his treatment of her.
Being more direct to his backstory brought up many ideas that made him stick out from the rest of the characters. Because now, he has very distinct relationships. Not just with Kali, but for humanity and the mannamong all together. His backstory has always been the lynchpin for this story, but it didn’t have as much of an impact until I decided to make him a rogue mannamong.
In the end, Tontorus became a character who had no past to becoming all about his past.
