Anansi

Scene #1 (Rows 1-8) Page 1

Intro narration:

As the sun sets in the west, Ny’ame, the sky god (Character 1) peers through the clouds to observe the people of earth. Flashback panels, as Ny’ame reflects to an ancient time when gods ruled the earth. Close up shot to Anansi, the spider god. Callback shot to Ny’ame, standing in front of a spider-like statue; Ny’ame is standing on the celestial clouds, looking down on earth.

Scene #2 (Rows 4-9) Page 2

Turning his sights to Africa, Ny’ame notices a young orphan in Ghana stealing food from the marketplace. Local police spot the young thief and begin to pursue. As the boy runs off with the food, he manages to elude the police and retreats to an underground passageway where he gives the food to other orphan children, who are either too sick or too weak to fend for themselves. The police soon pick up the boy’s trail and are closing in. Realizing that he may soon be caught, the boy heads in the opposite direction to lead police away from the other children. Intrigued by this, Ny’ame, the sky god continues to observe the scene, as he is impressed by the boy’s natural athletic, acrobatic abilities.

Scene #3 (Rows 1-8) Page 3

Still in pursuit of the boy, the police are closing in, as they chase him through the underground passageway. The boy trips while running and freefalls down through a shaft where he blacks out. Long shot of the boy falling.

When he comes to, he is standing face to face with Ny’ame, the sky god. Initially terrified by the sky god’s imposing figure and unsure of where he is, the boy is terrified and in shock. Ny’ame smiles and welcomes the boy into the Celestial Kingdom.

“Am I Dead? Where am I? Who are you? What do you want?”

Smiling he replies: “You are not dead. This is my kingdom and I am Ny’ame, the all seeing god of the skies…what do I want? To offer you a gift.”

“What do you mean?”

“What if I told you, I could give you a gift and you would never have to steal again, would never go hungry again, and I could give you abilities far beyond your wildest dreams? Would you accept this gift?”

The boy smirks in disbelief.

Scene #4 (Rows 1-8) Page 4

Ny’ame looks sternly at the boy. The boy contemplates.

“Why would you offer this “gift” to me?”

“Because I have seen your worth”

The boy looks away, then looks up.

“Yes”… “I accept your gift!”

The boy’s eyes start glowing. Ny’ame’s eyes glow. He starts chanting:

“Power of Ashanti… Power of Anansi… these powers I grant thee”

The boy becomes encased in a spider’s web. Ny’ame continues his chant

“The powers of the spider god…

peak human physical stamina,

enhanced reflexes

enhanced agility

superior vision

Long jumping

Strong silk to build webs

Heightened senses

Superior intellect

Sticktoitiveness…”

The boy interrupts, “Doesn’t someone already have all these?”

Ny’ame smiles, “Not like this!”

Still encased, the boy begins to transform, becoming the new Anansi.

The boy emerges from the web like cocoon as Ny’ame gives him the mask

of Ashanti.

“With this gift may come a curse, as enemies of the ancient spider god may be a challenge. But remember, your mind is your greatest weapon.”

Scene 5 (5 panels) Page 5

Anansi is transported back to earth where he finds himself in New York City. Surprised and confused, he soon realizes he has superhuman abilities and very little memory of the boy he once was. He tests his spiderlike capabilities and spends the day using his new abilities to help less fortunate people. People soon start to capture pictures and videos of the new man spider making his way around the city. This comes to the attention of business mogul Ty Garfield.

Scene 6 Page 6

Ty Garfield invites Anansi to his office to offer him a proposition. Anansi refuses insisting he only wants to help the little guys. This infuriates the businessman and he lunges at him. He begins to transform (into a tiger), and Anansi realizes he is one the enemies he was warned about.

Scene 7 Page 7

Being physically smaller than the tiger, Anansi realizes that he has to outsmart the tiger to win. He lures him to the roof of the building and spins a web to the top of the tower. As the tiger tries to follow, he becomes entangled in the sticky web. This infuriates the tiger even more, but the more he struggles, the more entagled he becomes. Anansi eventually spins a final web around the tiger, trapping him for good.

“This isn’t over spider”

“No. It’s only begun tiger”

Scene 8 Page 8

Anansi leaves the tiger trapped on the roof as he swings away.