"The Supervillain and Me"

Danielle Banas, a Pittsburgh native, earned a degree in communication from Robert Morris University. After years spent dreaming up characters instead of paying attention in class, Banas joined the storytelling platform Wattpad, where her work has received millions of views online. When she isn’t writing, she can be found loudly singing show tunes, spouting off Walt Disney World trivia, and snuggling with her puppy.

Banas applied the Page 69 Test to ​The Supervillain and Me, her debut novel, and reported the following:

From page 69:

When I was a kid, my dad decided it would be a good idea to sign me up for a summer soccer camp. Sports, he said, would help me get stronger. They would enhance my fragile human body and protect me from danger. As the crime rates in Morriston skyrocketed, so did my dad’s determination. Soccer was followed by boxing, which was followed by fencing. (I put my foot down pretty firm on that one.) I failed to see how sweating all day would help me fight evil, so I quit athletics and allowed my interests to gravitate toward performing instead. This switch was not beneficial to my safety, as I discovered later that evening. Because I hated sports, I had zero muscles to protect myself against the supervillain who came knocking just after midnight.

But I did have a steak knife.

“Holy shit!” Iron Phantom ducked as the knife whizzed over his right shoulder, the tip embedding in the wall. “And again with the throwing.”

“I have more than one tonight.” I pulled the second knife out of my pocket as I stood my ground on the opposite side of my bed. I didn’t plan on throwing knife number two, but if he tried anything funny, then it just might slip....

Iron Phantom yanked the blade out of the wall, a bit of plaster breaking away with it. Dammit. Now we were even.

So first off, I really love this little knife throwing scene! It’s something that wasn’t added until a later draft, and I’m not sure how I managed to go on without it for so long. It’s representative of probably the first 50% of the book. My protagonist, Abby, spends a large chunk of time being very distrustful of the new supervillain in town, Iron Phantom. And she certainly has a good reason to be wary – even though he tries to convince her that he isn’t evil, he still burned down a building. Not only that, but he keeps showing up out of nowhere, begging her to help him uncover a growing mystery in their city. As a character, I really like Iron Phantom. He’s brave and smart and super snarky, but if he showed up unannounced at my house I would probably throw a knife at him too. He means well (most of the time) but he’s kind of creepy.

Visit Danielle Banas's website.

Coffee with a Canine: Danielle Banas & Cooper.

My Book, The Movie: The Supervillain and Me.

--Marshal Zeringue