▸ THE INCREDIBOTS

Gracious Professionalism

I want to creare a comic on FIRST Tech Challenge core values.

Slice of LifeAmerican ComicsEnglish10 pagesJul 13, 2026

▸ CAST

CHARACTERS

Trent Voss

Incredibots team member (driver/builder)

13-year-old member of the Incredibots. Slicked hair, wears his old team jacket turned inside-out as a joke now. Confident and a little cocky, but a good teammate who backs up Mo when it counts.

Deshawn Carter

Incredibots lead builder

13-year-old mechanical whiz and team comic relief, always has a pun ready and duct tape in his back pocket. Treats every robot malfunction like a medical emergency, complete with dramatic gasps.

Priya Patel

Incredibots lead programmer

13-year-old coding genius with deadpan delivery, oversized glasses. Panics internally but sounds bored externally. Very smart, looks Indian.

Coach Ruiz

Incredibots mentor/coach

Warm, no-nonsense engineering teacher who coaches the Incredibots. Keeps a worn challenge coin engraved "Gracious Professionalism" in her lanyard pouch and produces it at exactly the wrong/right moments.

Maya "Mo" Chen

Incredibots team captain & drive-team driver

13-year-old FTC team captain, fiercely competitive, ponytail always coming undone, wears a hoodie covered in event pins. Secretly terrified of letting her team down, which is why winning matters so much to her.

Jake Bennett

protagonist

thirteen-year-old coding prodigy with oversized glasses and a root beer that never leaves his hand. He delivers every line — good news, bad news, robot-on-fire news — in the exact same bored monotone. Underneath that deadpan calm, he's quietly panicking about six different things at once, but you'd never know it from his face.

Alex Rivera

supporting

A teenager with a confident posture sitting in a modern, lightweight manual wheelchair. They have warm dark brown eyes, short cropped black hair, and light brown skin. They are wearing a bright blue short-sleeved robotics competition t-shirt with a gear logo on it, dark denim jeans, and gray sneakers. Their expression is friendly, curious, and engaged, with a bright smile. The setting is a brightly lit high school engineering workshop.

Student

minor

A young child, around 10 years old, with bright, wide blue eyes and messy curly light brown hair. They have a pale complexion with light freckles. They are holding onto two colorful forearm crutches. Wearing a striped green and yellow t-shirt, khaki cargo shorts, and blue sneakers. Their face is full of wonder, inspiration, and a wide, happy smile.

Casey Nolan

Volt Vipers team captain (rival team)

14-year-old rival team captain, slicked-back hair, shiny team jacket with a snake logo. Talks big about winning but secretly respects teams who play fair. He needs to wear Blue.

Seventh-grade boy

supporting

Sixth-grade girl

supporting

Announcer (V.O.)

minor

A professional male radio broadcaster in his late 40s, depicted inside a classic soundproof studio booth. He has neatly combed, short silver-gray hair, sharp blue eyes, and a light skin tone. He wears a dark charcoal grey suit vest over a crisp white button-down shirt with rolled-up sleeves, a loosened dark tie, and classic black-rimmed glasses. He is speaking directly into a vintage chrome studio microphone on an adjustable arm.

Volt Viper team member

supporting

Ampere

supporting

A custom-built competition robot with a boxy, gleaming aluminum chassis, exposed multi-colored wires, and visible gears. It stands about two feet tall when upright. Its right arm is a metallic manipulator limb that hangs at an unnatural, broken angle, wrapped in peeling silver duct tape at the shoulder joint. The robot's face is a simple rectangular sensor visor with a dim, flickering blue LED light. Its body is covered in small scratches and colorful team sponsor decals, giving it a well-loved, battle-tested appearance suitable for an American comic book style.

Judge

minor

A professional Hispanic woman in her late 40s with dark brown hair pulled back into a neat bun. She wears thin, wire-rimmed reading glasses, a navy blue polo shirt with a small championship badge embroidered on the left chest, and khaki slacks. She holds a silver metal clipboard and a black pen, looking over her spectacles with a keen, analytical yet friendly expression.

Red Team Member

minor

A teenage girl of South Asian descent with long dark hair tied up in a messy bun and round wire-rimmed glasses. She wears the matching red team t-shirt and has an intense, analytical expression while looking over code on a laptop. Her skin tone is light brown and her eyes are dark brown.

Red Team Captain

supporting

A teenage boy of Latino descent with short, wavy dark brown hair, warm brown eyes, and an olive complexion. He wears a red team t-shirt featuring a custom robotics logo, dark jeans, and safety glasses pushed up onto his forehead. His expression shifts from stressed confusion to profound relief and gratitude as he shakes hands with his rivals.

Red Team Members

minor

A tall teenage boy of Caucasian descent representing the red team's mechanical crew. He has short blonde hair, blue eyes, and a friendly, energetic smile. He wears the red team t-shirt with minor grease smudges, work pants, and heavy-duty protective gloves as he hands tools back and forth.

Tournament Official

minor

A middle-aged Black man with short-cropped black hair graying slightly at the temples, a neat goatee, and dark skin. He wears a bright yellow event staff polo shirt, a black headset with a boom mic, and an official tournament badge on a lanyard around his neck. He has an organized, professional demeanor.

PAGE 1

PAGE 2

Panel 1:Big wide shot of the pit area. Ampere sits on a stand. One wheel spins loose and wobbly. Deshawn looks really scared. Priya looks at her laptop. Mo watches the clock. Trent taps his foot, arms crossed. Jake stands to the side, calm. Ampere should be the only robot on the page and be on the table in the middle of the screen.

“Deshawn Carter: The wheel is loose! Someone get the tape! Priya Patel: It's just a wheel, Deshawn. It just needs a screw. Trent Voss: Nine minutes, team! Let's move! Jake Bennett: The wheel is broken. I'm not worried. I'm very calm right now.”

Narrator:“Nine minutes till the match. No big deal.”

PAGE 3

Panel 1:Deshawn wraps tape around Ampere wheel. Priya reads code on her computer. Trent checks a bolt with a wrench. Jake leans on the table.

“Deshawn Carter: Done! Fixed! We are good to go in five, four— Trent Voss: Bolt's tight. The wheel should hold now. Priya Patel: Good means it might not fall apart. Good enough. Jake Bennett: I have no bolts to check. Just standing here.”

Panel 2:Coach Ruiz jogs up with a clipboard, checks the clock, gives Mo a fist bump.

“Coach Ruiz: Field's ready for you. Are you ready? Mo Chen: Yeah. We got this.”

Panel 3:Wide shot of the field. Ampere rolls out, squeaking really loud. Kids in the crowd cover their ears. Jake walks next to it, calm.

“Deshawn Carter: That's a good squeak! Our robot is happy! Priya Patel: It sounds like something is wrong, Deshawn. Jake Bennett: Sounds normal to me.”

Panel 4:Mo's hands are on the controls. Ampere picks game piece in the right spot. Trent drives next to her. Jake stands by the field, putting pieces in on time.

“Mo Chen: Yes! That's how we do it! Keep going! Trent Voss: Good shot! Keep it up! Jake Bennett: Piece is in. I did good.”

Panel 5:Buzzer sounds. The scoreboard shows the Incredibots on top. The team cheers. Deshawn slides across the pit floor. Jake claps two times, very quiet.

“Deshawn Carter: We won! And I did not break my knee from that slide! Priya Patel: Lucky for you. Jake Bennett: Good. We did good.”

PAGE 4

Panel 1:The team huddles around Priya's laptop. It shows the live rankings. The Incredibots sit in 2nd place. Deshawn does a happy little dance. Trent grins big. Jake stands behind them, no expression at all.

“Deshawn Carter: Second place?! We need to get a trophy shelf! Mo Chen: One at a time, Deshawn. But yeah. YES! Trent Voss: Second place! Let's keep it up! Jake Bennett: Second place. Wow.”

Panel 2:Close on the score sheet Mo picked up from the scoring table. Her finger stops on a line that says 'AUTO PARK BONUS.'

Narrator:“Wait. That doesn't look right.”

Panel 3:Small inset panel, like a flashback. It shows Ampere NOT parked in the scoring zone when the buzzer went off. A little screen nearby shows the replay.

“Mo Chen: We didn't park. The ref gave us ten points we didn't earn.”

Panel 4:Mo shows the sheet to Deshawn, Priya, Trent, and Jake. They all lean in close. Deshawn's smile fades into a funny wince.

“Deshawn Carter: Ten points is nothing! It's basically dust. Priya Patel: Dust that's keeping us in second place. Mo Chen: Guys. Without those ten points... we're fourth. Trent Voss: Whoa. That's a big drop. Jake Bennett: Fourth place? Oh no.”

PAGE 5

Panel 1:Deshawn paces back and forth by the toolbox, waving his hands, making his case like a tiny lawyer. Trent sits on a crate, arms crossed, listening. Jake watches like it's a tennis match.

“Deshawn Carter: Refs make mistakes all the time. We worked hard. I say we keep the points. Priya Patel: That's not a good reason to keep them. Trent Voss: Priya's kind of right. Jake Bennett: I just want to know what happens next.”

Panel 2:Priya sets down her drink. For once she looks unsure instead of bored.

“Priya Patel: Look, I don't love this. But if we tell the ref, we drop to fourth. We might not even make it.”

Panel 3:Close on Mo, staring at her own hands. She remembers all the late nights of practice. She feels torn.

Narrator:“We earned this. Didn't we?”

Panel 4:Coach Ruiz walks up with a tray of snacks. She quickly feels the tense mood. Jake takes a snack. Mo stands up, looking like she made a choice.

“Coach Ruiz: You guys okay? You look really worried. That's a tough question. What do you think is right? Mo Chen: The ref gave us ten points we didn't earn. I don't know if we should say something or just keep them.”

Panel 5:Mo looks at her team. Everyone watches her face.

“Mo Chen: If we didn't earn them, we shouldn't keep them. I'm going to tell the ref.”

PAGE 6

Panel 1:Splash. Mo stands alone at the scorekeeper's table, score sheet held out, the whole gym seeming to go quiet around her. Behind her, Deshawn, Priya, Trent, and Jake watch from the pit rail. A few feet away, Casey Nolan of the Volt Vipers leans against a railing, smirking, expecting drama. The head referee looks up from his own clipboard, surprised.

“Mo Chen: Sir? Match 14, Incredibots. We got ten points we didn't earn. Our robot didn't cross the line in time. Please fix it. Coach Ruiz: There it is. Casey Nolan: No way she's really doing this.”

Narrator:“Nobody makes you walk up to a table and hand back points you didn't earn. Nobody, except you.”

PAGE 7

Panel 1:Wide shot of the scoreboard flickering as the correction goes through — Incredibots' name slides down from 2nd to 4th place in the overall rankings while the crowd murmurs and a few phones come up to record the moment.

Narrator:“The number changed. So did the way people were looking at them.”

Panel 2:The team trudges back toward the pit, shoulders low. Deshawn attempts a joke that lands with a thud, then tries again. Jake trails behind, expression unreadable as ever.

“Deshawn Carter: On the bright side, fourth place still starts with F. F for... Fantastic? Did I land that? Priya Patel: No. You did not. Jake Bennett: F for fine. That's me. I'm fine.”

Panel 3:Priya spins her chair to face Mo, holding up the screen like bad news. Jake leans over the back of the chair, reading the same numbers upside down.

“Priya Patel: Fourth seed almost never gets picked in the first round. We might be watching elims from the bleachers. Mo Chen: Cool. Love that for us. Jake Bennett: I've already picked out a good bleacher. Row three.”

PAGE 8

Panel 1:Splash. Alliance Selection stage. Casey Nolan stands at the microphone as the #1 seed, the whole gym leaning forward, expecting her to call the #2-ranked powerhouse team. Instead she points straight at the Incredibots' pit. Deshawn drops an entire bag of chips. Priya's drink tips over, forgotten. Mo just stares, frozen.

“Casey Nolan: Incredibots. Team 26336.”

Narrator:“Everyone in that gym thought they knew what was about to happen. Everyone was wrong.”

Panel 2:Close on Casey as she steps down from the podium toward the stunned Incredibots, hands still in her jacket pockets, actually looking a little embarrassed to be sincere out loud. Jake stands at the edge of the group, watching the whole thing with the same flat expression.

“Casey Nolan: My robot gets too hot. I need a partner who won't panic when stuff breaks. You gave back ten points in front of the whole gym and didn't even flinch. That's who I want next to me. Mo Chen: I flinched a LOT, actually. Deshawn Carter: Excuse me, I need a moment to process my emotions. Jake Bennett: Didn't look like it from up there. So I respect that.”

PAGE 9

Panel 1:Combined pit area: Deshawn and Casey work together, setting up their machines next to each other. Deshawn tapes a small fan to Casey's machine while Casey Nolan watches.

“Deshawn Carter: Relax, it's just a cooling fan. I fix things all the time. Casey Nolan: If that fan falls off during a match, I'm blaming you personally.”

Panel 2:Priya sits hunched over two laptops, cables crossing between them, getting both code files ready for their team match. Jake sits between them on an overturned crate, watching everything.

“Priya Patel: If your machine messes up during the match, mine will be there to help. Jake Bennett: Got it. No pressure.”

Panel 3:On the field, the machines move in sync during the match. Jake stands at the human player station, calmly feeding in the next piece at exactly the right time. Casey drives next to Mo and Trent's controls.

“Mo Chen: Handoff in three, two— Trent Voss: Got it. We're good. Casey Nolan: Don't jinx it, Voss. Jake Bennett: Piece incoming. Everything is going perfect.”

Panel 4:Buzzer sounds. The scoreboard flashes 'INCREDIBOTS / VOLT VIPERS ALLIANCE — MATCH WINNER.' Both teams erupt from their stations. Jake claps two times and smiles just a little bit.

“Deshawn Carter: WE DID IT. THE FAN WORKED. I AM THE BEST BUILDER EVER. Casey Nolan: Okay, fine. The fan worked. Don't let it go to your head. Jake Bennett: We won. This is nice.”

Panel 5:Awards ceremony. An official hands Mo a plaque. Coach Ruiz beams from the crowd. Jake stands beside her, clapping his two claps.

“Coach Ruiz: I knew it. Doing the right thing pays off.”

Narrator:“Turns out giving back those ten points was the best move they could have made.”

Panel 6:Final panel: the whole crew — Mo, Deshawn, Priya, Coach Ruiz, Trent, Jake, and Casey Nolan — crammed together for a group photo. Deshawn is mid-blink, ruining the shot on purpose. Jake smiles at the camera, which he never does.

“Deshawn Carter: Say 'Cheese!' Trent Voss: Just take the picture. Casey Nolan: I can't believe I'm in an Incredibots photo. This is wild. Jake Bennett: Cheese.”