"I am Null, daughter of Bob. Slayer of Gods, Savior of Myridia, Lady Of Kicking Ass." Noriko Null, Beyond The Impossible #199
Noriko Null (/nɔriko nʌl/ IPA , 教子 ヌル in Japanese) is the main protagonist of the Beyond The Impossible series. Originally an ordinary girl living in New York City with her janitor father, she is chosen by the goddess Athena to become the world's smartest person and eventually one of the most important people in the universe.
Biography
Raised by her American father in New York City, Noriko discovers at 18 that her mother is Japanese businesswoman Leiko Tanaka. After refusing to accept a bribe to keep their relationship a secret, Noriko is contacted by the Greek goddess Athena, who chooses her as Earth's champion. Noriko receives access to all the information shared by the collective consciousness of the planet's population and an immense boost to her intelligence, making her the world's smartest person.[1]
Powers
Noriko's powers come from the Nexus, a Drylon device inside her head. A metallic object with the shape of the symbol for infinity, the Nexus is physically connected to her brain and has mutated it considerably, making it unrecognizable from a normal human brain.
Superhuman intelligence: Noriko’s brain is billions of times faster than a normal human’s, giving her enhanced pattern solving, information retrieval and logical structuring. She can even hold multiple lines of thought simultaneously.
Worldmind connection: Noriko has access to all human knowledge; she can retrieve any information or skill instantly if required. Knowledge has to be shared by about a thousand people to be accessible. [2]
Eye flash: Noriko’s eyes are connected directly to her brain’s power source, lighting up when she is accessing her superhuman intelligence or the worldmind. Sudden emotions, especially anger, can trigger the eye flash; it can also be activated consciously for intimidation. The more the brain is working, the brighter the flash. By overclocking her brain with random calculations, Noriko can increase the brightness to blinding levels; it can be sustained for a very brief time without damaging the eyes.[3]
Perfect memory: Noriko can remember with perfect detail everything she has witnessed or learned. Memories prior to her transformation are much less clear and detailed.
Self-powered brain: Noriko’s brain is powered independently from her body. [4] She doesn’t feel mental fatigue unless connecting to the worldmind for extended periods and requires very little sleep, averaging less than one hour per day, though she can go for several days without sleep if required. Her brain unique physiology gives her immunity to the intoxicating effects of alcohol. [5]
Connection to the Blood: thanks to her training with Torn, Noriko has limited access to the Blood, a universal energy field that connects all biological matter. She can use the connection to communicate with other Blood users and has limited control over weapons created witht Blood energy, although she can't create them on her own.
Soul resonance: Using her connection to the Blood, Noriko can overcharge the Nexus and boost its power considerably, provided that she has an external power source. This has a heavy impact on her body and is potentially lethal.
Weaknesses
Human body: Aside from her brain, Noriko's body is human, giving her the same vulnerabilities of a 90 pound teenage girl. Her lack of physical abilities also limits the usefulness of the knowledge of martial arts: she knows the right moves, but her body isn't really up to them.
Mental deterioration: Sustained used of Drylon technology has a debilitating effect on the sanity of the user. Anger management and the rise of alternate personalities are frequent occurrencies.
Nexus dependance: Noriko can't survive without the Nexus anymore. Should it be damaged or removed, she would die.
Electromagnetic pulse: Exposure to powerful localized magnetic fields can shut down the Nexus and make her unconscious. [6]
Overclocking: Noriko normally uses the Nexus well below its peak performance. Forcing it to operate at higher levels can overheat it, causing neurological damage and potentially causing her head to explode. [6]
Superiority and inferiority complex: Noriko is aware and proud of her intellect and her accomplishments. This can make her arrogant and reckless. At the same time, her insecurities about her human side and her self-worth can make her indecisive.
Inventions
WEAPONS
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COMMUNICATION
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |
MEDICAL
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OTHER
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VEHICLES |
Trivia
- As the main character of the series, Noriko has the highest number of appereances: 186 out of the first 200 issues
- Noriko is the only character known to have activated more than one Drylon Device: in addition to the Nexus, she has also activated the Heart Of The Universe [7]. She has also used after they were activated by someone else the Ghost Maker [8], the Core, the Master Portal and the Time Mover.
- Much to her annoyance, Noriko is the shortest character in the series with the exception of Hekate's child body
- She owns an exact copy of her regular outfit to wear every single day of the year and will complain vehemently if forced to wear anything else
- Her favorite foods are pizza and sushi, but she's reluctant to admit the latter to avoid stereotypes [9]
- She prefers using the metric system, since it's used by most of the world [4]
Defining episodes
- Beyond The Impossible #2, "The Vanguard": meets her mother and receives her powers
- Beyond The Impossible #32, "The day of the godless lightning": kills Demeter
- Beyond The Impossible #46, "Flashback, Part 1": learns her full origin
- Beyond The Impossible #76, "My sweet nineteen": turns 19 years old and cures AIDS
- Beyond The Impossible #83, "The abyss": becomes Abyss
- Beyond The Impossible #106, "God versus genius": kills Hephaestus
- Beyond The Impossible #134, "Void": becomes Void
- Beyond The Impossible #140, "Endgame": end of the war against Hermes and Eris
- Beyond The Impossible #143, "The Damocles umbrella": starts a relationship with Todd Slate
- Beyond The Impossible #158, "Fury": final confrontation with Abyss
- Beyond The Impossible #171, "Shadow of the moon": kills Selene
- Beyond The Impossible #190, "Justice": activates the Heart Of The Universe
- Beyond The Impossible #200, "The Throne Of The Universe": meets the Nine Gods
- Beyond The Impossible #220, "Breaking heaven": kills Tiamat
- Beyond The Impossible #235, "Execution": kills Phobos
Gallery
References
- ↑ Beyond The Impossible #2
- ↑ Beyond The Impossible #63: "We theorize she can access information only if enough people know it. We don’t know the exact number, but it’s probably around a thousand people"
- ↑ Beyond The Impossible #23
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Beyond The Impossible #34
- ↑ Beyond The Impossible #84
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Beyond The Impossible #60
- ↑ Beyond The Impossible #190
- ↑ Beyond The Impossible #106
- ↑ Beyond The Impossible #107