CHARACTER PROFILE (This character is for canon divergent scenarios!)
FULL BIRTH NAME: Bayan Badawi
ALIAS: Saber
MARVEL PHASE: 4 and ongoing
CURRENT AGE: 33 years
GENDER: Cisgender Female
GENDER IDENTITY: Female
SPECIES: Human Avatar
ETHNICITY: Caucasian
HERITAGE: Half-Jordanian, Half-Egyptian
NATIONALITY: American, Jordanian, Egyptian
HOME DIMENSION: Earth-616
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Bayan is an avatar for the Egyptian Goddess Bastet, so she has the ability to turn into a cat and has cat-like abilities. She also has a connection to cats and can summon them to make them do her bidding.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Heterosexual
OCCUPATION: Clinical Therapist
PLACE OF BIRTH: Irbid, Jordan
PLACE OF RESIDENCE: Cairo, Egypt
MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good
APPEARANCE: Bayan is described as having long brunette hair with ringlets. She has light tan skin with a small amount of light freckles on her face and is of average height. She is also slightly above average weight. The color of her eyes is dark brown.
LOVE INTEREST: Marc Spector/Steven Grant
PORTRAYER FOR LIVE ACTION: Yasmine Sabri
CHARACTER ARC SUMMARY: Bayan Badawi was born in Irbid, Jordan to an Egyptian mother and a Jordanian father. She had a twin brother named Odion who she was very close with. When Bayan was six years old, her mother got into a car accident and suffered from severe brain damage. Her mother’s struggle with mental illness is what motivated her to become a clinical therapist. Bayan’s father became distant from his children after his wife’s death because he struggled with depression, but he did his best to care for his children. A few days after their mother’s death, Bayan and Odion found an abused cat wandering around their neighborhood and took it in. Cats became a very important and symbolic part of Bayan’s life.
When Bayan turned eighteen years old, she went to college because she wanted to get a degree, and her brother stayed home to care for their father. This led to an estrangement between Bayan and Odion because he thought that she should stay to help him take care of their father. While Bayan was away at college, her father passed away, and her brother blamed her for it, even though he secretly felt guilty for their father’s death. Years passed. Bayan received a scholarship to Queen Mary University of London and moved there to obtain her degree in psychology. After obtaining her degree, she began a successful career in London as a clinical therapist, but she never formed any meaningful connections with her patients, or anyone in general, and cats became her only family. She was lonely. She had no friends and no love life. Until her favorite cat, Rajah, ran away and wandered into a gift shop where a man named Steven Grant worked. The connection between Bayan and Steven was instantaneous. She found him charming and became greatly interested in Egyptian mythology because of him. Rajah took a liking to Steven as well. Bayan and Steven developed a friendship that turned romantic and they went on several dates.
Things seemed to be looking up. Because of this, she decided to reach out to her brother and check on him, only for him not to answer. After several days of him not answering, she grew worried about him and decided that she would visit him. She traveled to America with her cat and checked into a pet-friendly hotel so that she could prepare to surprise her brother next day. In the middle of the night, she woke up to her cat literally speaking to her, telling her that she would be the perfect avatar for Bastet, the Egyptian Goddess of protection, pleasure, and good health. Thinking that she was going crazy, Bayan showed up at her brother’s doorstep asking to be checked into a mental institution. Bayan explained the entire situation to Odion, who thought that she was crazy, but took her in to take care of her because he was concerned.
Thinking that her mental health was going to get in the way of her love life, she broke up with Steven before she could get him involved in any drama, which broke his heart. Despite how difficult Bayan tried to have a normal life, Bastet kept speaking to her. Bayan was eventually approached by a man named Arthur Harrow, who was, apparently, Steven’s friend from the gift shop, and explained to her that she was truly an avatar of Bastet and was needed to represent Bastet on the council. When Bayan refused, she was attacked, but saved by a woman named Layla El Fouly. When Bayan was being attacked, Steven’s alter, Marc, revealed himself as Moon Knight and defended her.
PERSONALITY AND CHARACTER ANALYSIS: Bayan Badawi is a kind soul with a tender heart who has the ability to empathize with people on a deep level. She does not wear her heart on her sleeve but she has a great skill for dealing with people. She is very good at de-escelating conflict and making peace, even if she cannot find peace within herself.
She is very protective of people whom she cares about and will do whatever it takes to keep them safe. Though she is open to new relationships and wants to help people, she can sometimes be closed off. Her core personality traits are her empathy, her loyalty to her loved ones, and her strength.