Anubis' "How would you do it?" Thread.

[Zoken]

"Oh god," Michelle Wren wimpered. She backed into a corner facing twenty people, all of them with glowing golden eyes.

"Finally, we've got you all alone," growled the one who seemed to be in charge. "That's how I like my prey... all alone."

"What if they aren't alone?" came a voice from behind the pack. The pack turned to see a single guy, about 20, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was well built. His face was set.

"You think you can stop us?" growled a woman near the back, her teeth sharpening, face elongating.

"Not by myself," he said, almost jovially. "However you are a hell of a lot smaller than the pack we took out in Kansas."

"Connor's pack?" yelped a man in the middle of crowd.

"Yup," called another new comer. A black woman, the same age as the other outsiders. She was wearing a long brown coat and a stuffed book bag hanging on her hip. She pulled a book from the bag and gave a nod of her head to drop her glasses into place.

"They were extremely displeased," came a fairly cold voice walking from the shadows. He was extremely non-descript, almost unnatural average. He had empty eyes that almost attested to a lack of emotions.

"Step back," whispered a girl next to Michelle, gently pushing herself in front of Michelle.

"Who the hell are you?" growled the pack's Alpha.

"Just some punks who look out for the underdogs..." the first new comer replied. "no pun intended."

~*~

"What... what... what..." stammered Michelle two hours later. she'd been catatonic for almost the entire time.

"They were werewolves," Brock replied. "weak, stupid ones."

"But... but... but..." stammered Michelle again.

"Not possible?" asked Wilder wryly. "Welcome to the world between the cracks behind the curtains."

"huh?"

"B," Brock gently scolded her. "Don't confuse her more."

"I am Robyn," the girl who'd stood in front of Michelle said gently. "She is B. Wilder, he," she gestured the rather handsome man. "Is Brock, and he," she gestured to the abnormally normal boy, "Is Johnny. We're... outlaws of a sort."

"From who?" asked Michelle.

"IBAE," replied Wilder instantly.

"Eye-Bay?" Michelle asked.

Johnny stepped up and said his mechanical voice. "International Bureau for Anomolous Entities. If you have ever heard stories, myths, urban legends, or tabloid reports on it, IBAE supervises and conceals it."

"oh... why are you on the run from them?"

"We aren't registered," Brock replied. "Wilder technically doesn't need to, she's just a witch."

"A pretty good one," she retorted.

"A damn good one," Brock amended. "Johnny's a sentient android, Robyn's a Fae, and I'm a Magic-Hunter."

"Magic-Hunter?" asked Michelle, finding her hands not shaking as much.

"Genetic anomaly," He shrugged. "I can sense and see magic, and am a little stronger and more agile than normal." He shrugged with a smile. "Not to mention I've got a pin made, accidentally mind you, of philosopher's stone."

"That thing from the Harry Potter books?" Michelle asked in confusion. "Where am I?"

"Ether," Brock answered, ignoring the first question. "Our Occult bookstore. We find IBAE takes any commercialization of magic to be incredulous for ACTUAL magic, so..."

"Do you know why they were after you?" Wilder asked. "That was a rather large pack for a simple hunt."

Michelle shook her head.

"Well, you're a part of the super-natural world now," Brock said, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder as he rose. "You'll be safe here."

 

[Zoken]

No X Here...


Angelina tapped her way around the counter with her cane. She could hear someone down there. "Dante?" she called. "Is that you?"

"How do you always know," he asked, looking up at her from below the counter.

"You have that nice smokey aroma," she said gently. "What's broken now?"

"Water's not working," he replied heavily, scooting out from underneath.

They were in the lobby of a small community center in Chicago.

"Should you really be working on that?" she asked, a slight twinge of worry in her voice.

"I'll be fine," he smiled as he walked off.

Angelina tapped her way down the hallway. James Kent, she saw, was in the middle of a lecture on Romeo and Juliet. She nodded as he passed and he waved with his left hand, his only hand. She passed another room where a class on History was going on. The man teaching was handsome and blonde with perfect teeth. "Where is Prof. Klien?" she asked in slightly annoyed tone.

"I'm in the staff room," the blonde man said, slightly embarassed.

She made her way quickly down the hall to the small breakroom with two vending machines that didn't work. "Juda," She started.

The man she was adressing was deformed and mishappen with dark purple skin and large bulbous bulges all over his body. his eyes were mismatched in size and color. "Don't start with me today Angelina." he cut her off. "I don't want to hear it."

"I have been asking you for months to conduct your classes in person, not send your decoy to do it."

The purple man shuffled away from her, sitting down at a table in front of a cup of cold coffee. "Angelina you don't know what it's like," he replied weakly.

"They hell I don't," she snapped. "I've been blind my whole life. You think people don't stare or make jokes? You think there aren't those who don't wonder if it's because of some disease I contracted, or if I was in an accident?"

"But you don't look like me," he finally snapped back. "the fact that I can send my decoy out to do these things is... Oh great," he sighed, obviously trying to relax himself. "it's just been imitating me for the last few minutes."

"We'll talk about this..." she was cut off as she heard sirens from outside.

"The kids!" she gasped. She began running back to the lobby. as she went insects began to follow her, fluttering about her, flying just ahead of her. she no longer tapped the ground.

Angelina Girardi, James Kent, Dante Freis, and the handsome blonde man that had been teaching Prof. Klien's class all burst out the front at the same time. They saw, together, that it was SHIELD that had them surrounded.

A woman with red hair stepped forward. She was clad in a skin tight black body suit. "I am Natasha Romanoff," she said. "And you are harboring unregistered meta-humans."

"We run a community center and shelter for runaways. Some of whome are mutants, but we, like many others, refuse to compel them to turn themselves in," answered Angelina. A noticable buzz had built up.

"And don't you mean," asked the blonde. "that your name is, properly pronounced, Natalia Romanova?"

The Black Widow gave the man a dubious look, then turned her attention on the woman again. "Mutants are classified as meta-humans and must register under the meta-human registration act."

"We will not compel any of these children to submit themselves to a governement that has yet to protect them from their families." Angelina stood with a resolute expression. she gripped her cane firmly.

"So go to hell," Dante growled.

"Detain everyone, test them, release after blood tests," Natasha ordered.

"NO!" James yelled. he held his left hand out and seven balls of light flew from his sleeve. three began slamming into the SHIELD agents in front of them, while three began orbiting him. the seventh seemed to be dancing over everyone's head, occasionally slamming into a random SHEILD agent's head.

Dante popped something into his mouth and then expelled a long plume of flames among the agents. He was shot three times after this, but the only damage they noticed were the holes, which seemed to have flames licking out of them.

The blonde made some odd ushering moves, though he couldn't be seen ushering anyone. He then grew in size and sprouted an extra set of arms, and laid into the agents with the others.

Angelina lashed out with her cane with uncanny accuracy. it was as if she could see.

"Decoy!" shouted Angelina. "How are things going?"

"Ten minutes," the decoy replied.

The buzzing that had been growing finally reached a cressendo as a swarm of insects descended from the sky onto the agents.

"Paparazzi!" Dante, also called Inferno, hollored to his employer when he lost sight of her in the swarm.

"I'm alright Inferno," she assured him. "Oberon!" she called to James Kent. "Are you fairing alright?"

"Yes," he replied as another round of bullets bounced off the barrier formed by the three balls of light orbiting him.

"Decoy!" Paparazzi yelled again.

"Artisan, Binary, Fib, and Fatality are clear, pull out!" the decoy hollored.

A thicker cloud of insects descended and obscured the whole area. when they dissapaited only the agents were left. when they searched the building they found no one. In the following days they would find that the shelter had been run by five adult mutants, and sheltered four young mutants. Everyone else had been baselines.

 

[deemar325]

Forbush Man: Real Life

The story begins with an exhuberant Irving Forbush waking up, donning his "warrior's garb," greeting his less than friendly Aunt and Uncle, and leaving the house to finally acheive his dreams of Super Hero-dom: He was going to register with S.H.E.I.L.D. and the Commision on Superhuman Activities. When he's an official, registered super hero, then he can regain the hype he built up in his first appearance with hisn(very accidental) defeat of the Juggernaut, this time with the government's backing! Unfortunately, burocracy is a *****, and when he arrives at the registration office, he is told that, as he has no superhuman abilities and is in the possesion of no especially dangerous weaponry, then he doesn't technically have to register with either organization. However, the Registration Act does state that if he wants to be a freelance crime fighter and not go to jail, he has to aquire both a P.I. and Bounty Hunter's license from the State.

Irving returns home, not sadened as one would expect, but confident that he can pass both tests, get the licences, and get to adventuring lickety split. His aunt and uncle are, as usual, less than encouraging.

While studying for his tests, he continues working as a Janitor at the Marvel offices. And, as usual, all the editors make fun of him behind his back. But he doesn't care. He's Forbush Man, one of the few and proud to (accidentally) defeat the Juggernaut in unarmed combat.

While walking home from work, he stops by the grocery store. There, he meets Erica, a nice girl, only a few years younger than him. The two get to talking, and find that they get along fairly well.

At home, he stays up late into the night studying. His Aunt comes in and ends up berating him for wasting his life on a stupid dream. He does, however, ignore her.

The next day, Erica is at the Marvel Offices, looking to see Irving (he had told her he worked there, but neglected to mention that he was the janitor). Embarrased, he tries to cover up for it, but that fails fairly quickly. She, however, doesn't mind, and asks if he wants to have lunch with her. He does so. They talk, and she ends up asking him out in not so many words. Being Irving, he says he'd love to, but he has to study. She asks him for what, and he explains the whole thing about him going for a Private Detective license.

Irving goes home, and ends up telling his aunt about Erica. She then, finally, goes off on him in full. An excerp (in script form):

Aunt: This is what I've been talking about. You meet a girl, finally, and you pass up a date for your stupid dream!

Irving: It is not stupid!

Aunt: It is stupid!

Irving: I defeated the Juggernaut.

Aunt: He tripped! You'd be dead right now if it weren't for you being so damn lucky. Irving, you're smart. You could do so much better for yourself. You cluld go back to college, get a decent job. And you could have a girlfriend from the sound of things. But you're ruining your life persuing something that you'll never get.

Irving remains silent for a few moments. The silence is broken when he says...

Irving: Do you know what happened to me this morning, when I woke up?

Aunt: No.

Irving: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And that's the problem. That's why I'm persuing something I'll never get. And I will get it.

Irving goes back upstairs to study.

The next day, he takes a sick day to go take his test. After doing what he thought was a satisfactory job, he returned home, called Erica, and asked her out on a date. As he was getting ready, though, he received a phone call.

An hour later, in Central Park, he met up with Erica. They had their date, walking through the park, eating at a crappy hot dog stand, and so on. finally, she can tell that he's depressed, and asks what's wrong. He tells her: He failed the test. She tries to comfort him, unsuccesfully, and finally drags him to one of the fountains in the park. There, she climbes in, and they both get sprayed by the little water jet thinkies. He comes in after her, and she tells him that, maybe, he should stop to enjoy his life instead of trying to get a new one. He's unsure, but she gives him something to think about: A kiss.

While he walks home, feeling very confused and depressed, he runs across a mugging. Rushing to intervene, he gets a drop on the mugger, hitting him over the head with a trash can lid. The mugger fires of a shoot blindly, and then turns and points his gun at Irving. Irving hesitates, obviously scared, but overcomes it in time time to tackle the man and pin him to the ground. He calls the police, keeping the man restrained until they arrive.

He then goes home, and imediately opens up the safe in his room, taking out all the money he'd been saving up. Excerp:

Irving's Aunt enters his room.

Aunt: What are you doing.

Irving: This is all the money I've been saving up from work.

Aunt: What are you going to spend it on?

Irving: I'm going back to college.

Aunt: Oh..oh Irving, that's wonderful.

Irving begins to count and sort the money.

Aunt: So, do you have any courses in mind.

Irving: Yep. Criminal Justice, and criminology.

Aunt: Criminal...

Irving: And when I'm done, I'm going to take that test again. And I'm going to pass it.

Aunt: Oh no...

Irving gets up on his bed and strikes a pose.

Irving: Or my name isn't Forbush Man!

Dude that is so freaking awesome I can't describe it, you found a way to make Forbushman a somewhat feasible comicbook character that could actually function in the main Marvel Universe! I dig really do, it's very Dan Slott. Hope ya got more to tell.

 

[deemar325]

Here comes another Batman story:

Batman: The Murder Dolls

A troubling new fad is sweeping through Gotham's youth: the Murder Dolls, custom-made dolls based off people you hate. Dolls you can maim, burn and piss on all for the cheap price of 9.95. The fad while disturbing seems harmless until an unexplainable bodycount starts to rise, the victims seem to just drop dead without a single physical wound. Their only link: a Murder Doll made in their likeliness. After a friend of Tim dies, Batman and Robin decides to get to the bottom of it.


Meanwhile in Switzerland, Nightwing sneaks into an exclusive Swiss Bank which caters to the most select of clients, including Nyssa Raatko, where he intends to hack the bank's Stand-alone system to get the dirt on Raatko's finances and operations. Unbeknowst to Dick, Josiah Power is overseeing a delicate transaction on Nyssa's behalf in the same Bank where the two face off, Power intending to maintain his primary client's financial privacy at all cost.

Back in Gotham, Batman tries to link the Murder Doll phenomena to the Mad Hatter, all the clues bearing Jervis Tetch's distinctive hallmark. However upon closer inspection the Dolls don't seem contain any tech that the Scrapyard's instruments can detect. Swallowing his pride, Bruce heads out for Wayne Manor as his alter ego Grey Hendricks to access the more precise equipment in the Batcave. After an awkward scene which sees Bruce grumbling "permission" from Nyssa over the use of Batcave, the Demon's Daughter savors the moment and "grants" her displaced enemy his wish. In the bowels of his old coven, Bruce runs the mysterious doll through some tests while Alfred serves him some tea. Bruce asks Alfred how are things in the Mansion with Nyssa around. Alfred expresses his disdain at the number of armed guards present on the grounds but he can't fault Nyssa with anything more than that. Seeing that Alfred is somewhat torn on the matter, Bruce decides not to push the issue. The tests reveal curious results: the dolls themselves revealed nothing but traces of certain person's DNA are found: Humphry Dumpler AKA Humpty Dumpty, a former inmate of Arkham known for his pechant for tearing things up then attempting to sew them back together. Bruce puts Robin on the search for Dumpler while he takes a street level approach to the investigation.

Like in most comic books, when two Superheroes with opposing beliefs encounter each other, they end up fighting. Should I strive to be different? Nah. Anyways, Power who catches Nightwing in the act of extracting key files from the Bank's mainframe demands him to stop to which Nightwing pretty much tells him to @#$% off in a typical Bat-wit manner. Of course, a cultured man with strong convictions to his practice and a big bad gay brother to boot, Power decides to stop Nightwing when the Boy Wonder tries to make a getaway. The fight is pretty one-sided with Josiah bulldozing through the bank trying to catch the nimble Nightwing whom he connects with a number of times. Power, who even Superman considers a powerful meta, breaks a number of Nightwing's ribs but Dick manages a getaway with a number of files in his possesion. Power stands in the midst of several angry Swiss bankers, contacting Nyssa with his Cell to inform her of the current developments.

With the aid of Oracle who tracks the supplier of the Dolls via the Web, Robin finds himself in an abandoned warehouse not too far out of the city. The Boy Wonder finds Humpty in a room, surrounded by pictures of women, men, children and thread. Lots and lots of thread, buttons and other sewing items, Humpty so busy making dolls he doesn't notice Robin's presence. Rather than resort to force, Robin decides to aks Humpty who he's making the dolls for, the disturbed craftsman simply replies: "The short Doctor". It doesn't take long for Robin to realise who Humpty means when he suddenly looks down at his stomach to see a creature burst out from his body. Shocked Robin falls to the ground shivering as the shadow of Dr.Psycho falls over him.

At Gotham Central, Batman meets with Gordon who hands him a number of autopsy files on the Murder Doll victims. The results are the same, no visible wounds but one report made by a more attentive doctor noted that two of the victims had a distinct number of ruptured veins in their cerebral lobes (hey I'm no brain surgeon). Death by Cerebral hemorrhaging, consistant with Strokes. But prior medical reports state that neither patient suffered from the the notable symptoms of Stroke. Gordon points out the possibility of Psionic attacks and Batman agrees. Bats receives a call from Oracle telling her about Robin's sudden silence and his last location. Worried, Batman sets off, mentally running through the names of every Psionic/Telepathic villain he's encountered hoping its truly not who he thinks it is.

Using his proto-Batmobile (the real one's in the Cave) Batman reaches the Warehouse where he finds Robin sobbing, screaming sorries and apoloogies over Stephanie, his father, Conner and Bart. A good hard slap from Batman forces Tim to his senses after which Tim confirms Batman's suspicions: Dr.Psycho is loose on Gotham. Tim recalls a conversation between Psycho and Humpty while he was struggling in his vertigo where Psycho mentions a "harvest". Batman, calls up his files on Psycho and realises what the liliputan nutjob is up to.

Killing and maiming their way through a number of hospital staff, Psycho and Humpty are opening up the morgue, looking for the bodies of the Murder Doll victims which Psycho allows Humpty to chop up. Batman and Robin arrive on the scene, where Batman sums up Psycho's motives: Ectoplasm. While Circe had restored and improved on his power, Psycho's old drawback had returned in which he needed Ectoplasm formed by the grey matter of his victims murdered by his Telepathic power to further fuel himself. The Murder Doll ploy had been a case of selective targetting in which the "customer" would send pictures and names of these hated persons which Psycho would then monitor and choose from depending on their weakness to his powers. Humpty was simply his deranged craftsman, promised bodies to cut up and sew back together once their endeavour had bore fruit. Psycho being...well...Psycho applauds Batman's analysis and proceeds to attack Batman on a mental level while ordering the axe-wielding Humpty to deal with Robin. The Psionic dampers Bruce wore under his cowl manages to barely shield his mind from Psycho's vicious onslaught but as he attempts to fight Psycho's mental assault, the crazy dwarf jumps him with a Scalpel, ready to "gut Wonder Woman's leather boy". Robin still weakened by Psycho's initial attack fends off Humpty but alas trips on a severed arm at Humpty's mercy when the lumbering axe-wielder gets Psycho hurled right at him while Batman proceeds to toss his cookies. Robin tosses a couple of smoke bombs to cover them while Bats and Robin give themselves some room. Clearing his mind, Batman formulates a plan to stop Psycho and tells Robin to clear the rest of the hospital. Robin reluctantly complies as Batman starts hitting the fire alarm and starts up the basement area's sprinkler systems. Psycho, ticked off at being tossed ala Mr.T kicks his way out of the pile of severed body parts and swears to make Batman choke on his own fingers before killing him with a dulled spoon. Noting the Sprinklers turned on already reads Batman's intentions, Bruce's Psionic dampeners barely able to shield his most important secrets. "Really Batman. Electrocution? I'd love to see you pull that off." Batman faces down Humpty and Psycho in a dark, corpse-ridden corridor, the sprinklers soaking the trio as Batman prepares his attack. Charging towards Psycho, Batman throws bolas towards Humpty, entangling him immediately when Psycho hits him again with and agonizing telepathic attack drawing blood from his nostrils. The attack forces Batman to his knees where he meets Psycho eye to eye (sort of), Psycho pulling out the Electrical Stun weapon from Batman's utility belt, the information of which pouch to take it from open to him like a book. He brandishes the weapon with a smile "I like the women in this position more," Psycho admits as he charges the weapon before Batman "But I'm flexible" he says as he proceeds to stab Batman with the weapon. Fighting the pain, Batman grabs onto to Psycho and forces him to the wet floor, hoping his suits insulation would hold, after a long agonising minute both Batman and Psycho scream in pain, Batman blacking out...

Bruce awakens in the Scrapyard, his tattered costume on his work desk, his body and mind racked with pain. Robin informs him that Psycho's now in GCPD custody and is being remanded to the JLA. Humpty's back in Arkham since his role in the whole matter was pretty much as Psycho's unwitting pawn. Noing his mentor's physical state, Robin advises Bruce to take it easy a little when the Scrapyard's computer informs them of a crime in progress: Firefly is robbing a Moxxon Chemical Lab. "Scratch that" Robin mumbles as he watches Batman don his cowl once more. "Let's get to work."

Man this is pretty good, very well structured story.

 

[sandwraith]

Thanks. Some guys might not like the idea of Batman tossing his cookies or Dr.Psycho, a certifiable Wonder Woman villain being in a Batman story but I wanted to save the Mad Hatter for later. I also disdain the overpowered Batman so I wanted him to have more weaknesses, pass out more and such.
Not happy about me ending another fight with an electricution ending though.

 

[The Question]

Dude that is so freaking awesome I can't describe it, you found a way to make Forbushman a somewhat feasible comicbook character that could actually function in the main Marvel Universe! I dig really do, it's very Dan Slott. Hope ya got more to tell.

Well, if I got my way, he'd end up being the Two Gun Kid's partner and would be a recurring supporting character in She-Hulk.

 

[Zoken]

Trying to continue my DCAU to Marvel... lets turn the concept around...

"Well, this has just been a wonderfully confusing day," Peter mumbled. He and Jessica were the only ones left in the room. Flash and Wonder Woman had gone out to explore New York, escorted by Luke and Jessica Drew. Dr. Strange was meditating on the problem of sending their friends home. Wong was preparing the extra-extra-large dinner they would need now that Wally was there. Jones was a bit put off by how much interest Wonder Woman seemed to show in her, despite Wally's insistance that she had feelings for someone back in their universe. Peter was trying to figure out if it were possible that some higher force was pulling the strings to do all of this... it wouldn't be the first time. As if in answer to his question a large vortex opened up.

"What the heeeeAAAAAHHHH!" Jessica Jones trailed off as she was pulled into the vortex. Peter did his best to root himself and webbed Jessica, but the pull was too great and he was pulled in behind Her. Dr. Strange and Wong entered just too late to stop them but early enough to witness it.

"This reaks of something controlling it," Strange surmised. "Something either very wise, or very immature and bored."

"One comforting, the other dangerous," Wong replied.

~*~

"I would just like to say, for the record," moaned Spider-Man. "Ouch."

"Where. Is. Q." growled a woman's voice somewhere near his head. He looked up to see a woman with a small crossbow aimed at him.

"You don't look friendly," he commented, almost passively.

"Where is Question?" she growled again. The Huntress had lost him once, she wasn't about to lose him again.

"Question, question..." Peter pondered. "I don't know a Question. I know an Answer, will that help?"

"Maybe I can get some answers out of him," menaced Shayera.

"Back of Big-Bird," said Jessica, standing slowly.

"Stay on your knees," the Huntress ordered, turning the crossbow on the strange woman.

"I don't kneel for my husband," Jessica snapped. as she stood at her full height, Huntress fired an arrow, which shattered against Jessica's skin. "That was a mistake," Jessica growled.

"I'll take here," Shayera commented, flying at the woman who'd come out of nowhere.

"Friends?" Peter asked as he looked at Huntress. His spider-sense flashed and he yelped, "Guess not," as he dodged a small spray of arrows from her crossbow. Another flash from his spider-sense and he twisted in mid-air to avoid a couple bullets.

"Watch where you're aiming those," snapped Huntress.

"Sorry," snapped Vigilante. "That feller's quicker 'n a turkey on day before thanksgivin'."

"Oh, great," Spider-Man added to their conversation. "I'm being attacked by Lady-Laceration and Captain-Cowboy."

"Consernit," Vigilante "cursed". "Hold still!"

"Right," Spider-Man drawled. "I'll do that for you." he webbed up both gun hands, rendering Vigilante's six-guns useless. Then he hit Huntress in the face. "You people REALLY need to learn how to play nice."

In the air over the teleportation platform where they'd been unceremoniously dumped, Shayera was having a surprisingly tough time against Jessica. It seemed their powers were fairly close in level. The biggest diference was Shayera's mace.

"Geeze, This thing's not suggestive at all is it," Jessica grunted as she and Shayera struggled for control of the mace.

"It isn't to people without dirty minds," Shayera grunted.

"Speaking of minds," Jessica growled. Without another word she unceremoniously slammed her own forehead into Shayera's. Hawk-Girl, a little stunned by this, lost her grip, which gave Jessica enough leverage to wrench it free then turn it on Shayera. With her third swing, Jessica sent Shayera plummeting to the ground.

On the ground, the tables had turned on Peter as more League members had joined the fray. Peter could take on two or three highly trained baselines easily, but he was being swarmed and all of these baselines were damn good at whatever they did. Not to mention several meta-humans were joining in.

"ENOUGH!" came a loud bellowing voice.

Everyone, even Jessica, turned to look at the one who had spoken. It was Dr. Fate.

"If we are finished with the gratuitous violence portion of the evening..." Fate intoned with dissapointment.

"She started it," Spider-Man said pointing at Huntress, who was mouthing furiously behind her web-gag.

"Yes, she did," Fate replied, obviously implying that this fact was inconsequential. "I assume you have nothing to do with the dissappearance of our allies."

"Flash and Wonder Woman?" asked Jessica, boguarding the mace, despite a limping Shayera's outstretched hand.

"Yes," Mr. Terrific answered. "And Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Question, and Supergirl."

"Just met Wally and Diane," Peter replied, standing up fully for the first time since he'd arrived.

"That is distressing," Dr. Fate replied. "My magics told me that they had all gone to the same reality. They must have been separated. But Wally and Diana are well?"

"Touring New York as we speak," Jessica said, finally handing the mace back to it's proper owner.

"Well, we'll have to try again when we can be better sure of our tracking spell," Fate mused. "I must go and see about crafting a better incantation."

~*~

"So those fake ID's?" Vic Sage asked the shady man.

"Normally, my customers don't ask to put the picture on themselves," the man said, clearly uncomfortable with the apparantly faceless man.

"I'll manage," Vic replied, snatching the small parcel from him and thrusting the money at him. he turned to walk off, then inclined his head to look down an alley. He continued walking calmly as if he'd noticed nothing. "Oops, I did it again," He started singing softly. "I played with your heart, got lost in the game." He sang the chorus through and then started it again as he leaned non-chalantly against a small wall next to an alley, a foot from a garbage can. He stood there singing for a bit, then suddenly grabbed the garbage can and swung it round the alley side catching a man off guard and knocking him unconcious.

the sleeze he'd been talking to before had taken notice and was coming over.

Question kneeled beside the Punisher, going through the man's pockets. "I don't normally attack first," he spoke to the unconsious man. "I usually leave such behavior to my girlfriend. However with the firearms in your hands, and the stylized skull on your torso, I thought the odds of you being on the side of angels was slim to none."

"You-you just took out the Punisher!" yelped the sleeze.

"The who now?" asked the Question curiously.

However before any sort of answer could be supplied, the unconcious man before them vanished in a dazzling array of light.

 

[sandwraith]

I swear, if it weren't for my National Service next year I think I should be mailing my stuff to DC. Continuing from my Batman anthology comes another arc which is a little more about Nyssa than Batman. Gonna make of use of the little-known new character that that doof Winick churned out for God knows what reason. Might as well make use of her as well: Fright. Some might notice that I'm using alot of otherwise unknown Batvillains but I figure its better to use already created villains than creating a "new, innovative, "mysterious" being who can into Batman's mind" like say >COUGH< Hush>COUGH< which make older villains look like crap in comparison. Not for me my friends. Not for me. So here goes:

Batman: Demoness' Scars
Pt.1


In a dark alley in the bowels of Opal City, a red clad woman meets a unseen man. The stranger chides Fright for dressing in a garb so conspicuous but Fright brushes off the comment, stating that the costume comes with the service. The stranger explains to Fright that due to certain circumstances between the Scarecrow and the organization he works for, his superiors have asked him to seek out a free-agent of similar abilities for the task at hand. The stranger hands Fright a manila envelop. "Work your magic. Nothing too fancy, nothing too complicated. Run into Batman at your own peril. Make sure nothing gets traced back to us and you'll be a lot more richer than when you started Dr.Friitawa." Friitawa opens the envelop and pulls out a black and white picture of Nyssa Raatko and smiles: "It's Fright my friend. Fright."

Gotham. Its a hot summer night and with some reservations, Bruce attends a baseball game between the Gotham Knights and Star City Streaks at the insistence of his neighbor Marianne Diaz whose son is a baseball freak. Ironically enough, the evening's game is highlighted by the ceremonial first pitch of Gotham's new rising star: Nyssa Raatko.Dressed in the Knghts' jersey for good PR Nyssa howver being more European-Russian than American is unfamiliar to the America's favorite past time and while watching the players warm up on the field has her scrawny Middle-Eastern aide Hassan explain the game to her:

Nyssa: So...the objective of the game is to strike the thrown ball with the bat...and then...?

Hassan: The bat wielder knowns as a "batter" then attempts to make a home run by running pass the "bases" before the opposing can catch the ball thus the team gets a home run...or so it says here.

Nyssa:...And Americans prefer THIS over football?

After which Nyssa is invited down to the field for the first pitch. Taking the ball from the hands of the Knights' manager, Nyssa holds it unfamiliarly looking across at the Catcher Jose Mendes while the millions of Baseball fans including Bruce watches with mild interest. More familiar with throwing weapons such as spiked Ninja balls and throwing knives thanks to her League training, Nyssa throws the ball at a shocking 70 mph nailing the unsuspecting Mendes on the head to the shock of EVERYONE in the stadium. EMTs drag Mendes off the field on a stretcher as Nyssa is booed by Knights' fans. Embarrassed Nyssa walks up the rafters to the VIP booth while discussing Damage Control with Hassan before Bruce catches her eye, much to her delight.

Nyssa: Well now...what do we have here? Never figured you for the baseball type.

Bruce/Grey: Likewise I'm sure.

Marianne: Grey, you two know each other?

Nyssa: Grey? Oh yes. Me and Grey go way back. Friend of my father.

Looks at Marianne and Carlos and smiles.

Nyssa: I see you're doing pretty well 'Grey'. She looks like a keeper (winks and Marianne who returns her a dispassionate look). Well I best be off. Money to make, better world to build.

As Nyssa walks away Bruce responds: "Nice bean". The remark draws a curious glance from Nyssa before sighing as she walks away contemplating how much money she needs to throw at this to avoid the media storm.

Next morning, Grey prepares to head out to the local gym to look for a job for his new persona. The gym's owner Jeff Baker, a retired African-American boxer in his late 60s runs a tight ship and tells Bruce/Grey the criteria for the job:
1. You gotta be clean
2. You need to know what you're doing
3. You keep drugs outta my gym.
Bruce accepts the conditions given with ease and becomes the gym's boxing instructor/personal trainer claiming a semi-pro fight background. Ramon, an amateur boxer who frequents Baker's Sweatbox himself decides to put Bruce to the test by provoking him verbally. Bruce notes the watchful eye of most of the gym's regulars and knows that their opinion of him depends on how he reacts. He decides to let Ramon have his fight and puts on a pair of gloves, making a mental note to hold back as much as possible. To his suprise the kid has got the right moves and footwork, knowing where and when to throw a punch/jab but nothing he couldn't handle in 6 seconds. For Ramon's sake he ends it in 7 knocking him out cold with one punch for all the gym to see. Respect in all its forms have to be earned. Sometimes it takes knocking the snot out of another guy to get it.

Wayne Enterprises building, Gotham. Nyssa prepares to compose herself for a press conference on the new direction of Wayne Enterprises in ushering in a "New Gotham" and a better world. With Hassan, Josiah Power, Lucius Fox and Ubu (referred to by Nyssa as 'Bob' to differentiate him from all the other Ubus) at her sides, Nyssa greets the Gotham public at the steps of Wayn Enterprises and begins with a formal apology to Jose Mendes while cracking a joke to go pro. The crowd's laugh is cut short when several explosions rock the streets a strange gas being released from the sewers. Panic and confusion ensue while Ubu and Power keep Nyssa back as she orders her guards to mobilize in anticipation of an attack. Shots of locations where Nyssa's men are waiting, depicting them shivering in fear, unrespondent to Nyssa's commands. Ubu suddenly falls to his knees, his mind seeing a giant version of Ra's calling him a traitor while Josiah sees the Power Company die horrible deaths before him, unknowingly going into his rock/stone form in panic. Nyssa, seemingly unaffected by the fear gas watches in anger as the engineer of the attack shows herself, Fright walking across a street of screaming journalists and guards with a satisfied smile on her face.

Fright: Fear is a facinating thing isn't it Ms.Raatko? Paralysing. Mystifying. Wholly and indescribably...

Nyssa: ...Right sure. Whatever. Nothing the Scarecrow hasn't mentioned before. Just so you know, I'll see you dead for this.

Fright's 'claws' pop out from her fingers.

Fright: Promises promises...

Back at Leigh Corner, Bruce heads for the Scrapyard before he is stopped by Ramon who looks both pissed yet at the same time...humbled.

Ramon: Hey old timer!

Bruce:...

Ramon: Hey! Hey Grey!

Bruce turns around to face Ramon.

Bruce: What is it?

Ramon: Where do you get off showing me up like that in front my homeboys man?!

Bruce: I've got no idea what you mean. You wanted to see what this "crazy old gringo" had and I showed it to you. Don't blame me if you got a whole lot more than you bargained for.

Ramon:...So...You're pro right?

Bruce:...Something like that.

Ramon: Yeah, Mrs.Diaz said you're one of them Fight Club types. Says you look like #$%^ every night.

Bruce: Mrs.Diaz tells you everything huh?

Ramon: Hey I do her groceries for her.

Bruce:...What do you want kid? I know you ain't here to make nice. I know that you ain't here to fight. What do you want?

Ramon:...I've never been knocked out like that before.

Bruce: Bull****.

Ramon: No man. Its true. I've been beaten to a pulp lots of times both in and outta the ring but I've never been knocked out cold before. Not with one punch. At least that much I know.

Bruce: There a point to all this?

Ramon: Geez ese take it easy. What you gotta bingo game to run off to?

Bruce:...

Ramon: I...I wanna go pro. Be in real fights. Make it big, make the big bucks you know. I mean...I think I'm pretty good but...

Bruce: School not working out for you?

Ramon: The @%^%'s school gotta to do with it?

Bruce: Kid, I see where you're going with this but I'm gonna make it very clear to you: I don't train dropouts.

Ramon: @#$% man who said anything about training? Who said anything about dropping out? I just thought...maybe you could like...I dunno, teach me a little stuff.

Bruce: What's your grade average?

Ramon: Look man what's that got to do with...

Bruce: What's your grade average?

Ramon:...about a 2.4.

Bruce: You go to St.George right?

Ramon: Yeah.

Bruce: Bring your grade average up to about 3.4 and then we'll talk.

Ramon: The @#$^? Look man do you really think I need your help? Know what? Screw this and screw you man. What the Hell was I thinking?

Ramon storms off, just in time for Bruce to see the Bat-Signal come alive in dusk sky.

Bruce: They're coming out early these days...

 

[Zoken]

another of my original Drama's

I Swear I'm Straight

It all started in middleschool. It annoys me to this day. I guess I was never what one would consider "macho". I tried out for the football team once, and got denied. Remember, this was Middle school. They virtually HAVE to take you if you try out in middel school these days. I was always close friend with girls, though they never considered dating me. I'd talk to them about their boyfriends. Man, most of the girls I was friends with back then had crappy taste in men. Thinking back, it was Brittany Whells who started it.

"So," she asked me at the lunch table one day. "Bruce, when are you coming out?"

the three other girls sitting with us and I stopped eating quiet suddenly. "What do you mean?" I asked in a mystified voice. Surely she didn't think...

"It's okay," she said comfortingly, patting my hand in a platonic way. "I figured it out. You're gay."

"No, I'm not!" I objected.

"You don't have to hide it," Amanda encouraged from the other side of me. "We won't judge you."

"I'm not gay," I almost yelled. I looked around and noticed that other people had started listening.

"Sure," Brittany drawled, with a sort of knowing nodd. "You're secret's safe with me."

My secret was about as safe with her as their virginities were. Over the next week the story permiated the school and everyone believed it. I still hung out with the girls, though every time it was brought up I vehemently denied it. In high school they started treating me like some fashionable accessory; their gay friend. They'd ask me all sorts of questions about colors and fashions, and what not. While I was well enough versed to answer them intelligably, it wasn't like I railed on these topics.

Eventually I broke ties with them, and this lead to the most lonely times in my life. I considered suicide a few times during that year. It was during my sophomore year, the latter half, that I met the two people who made me want to live again. I'd like to say they broke the rumors and I fell in love with one of them, but that isn't the case.

Dan was as flaming as they came, but I soon realized that he was just goofing on people, intentionally making them uncomfortable. He was a nice guy who, like me, just wasn't into sports. Unlike me, he actually was gay.

Meredith, or Merry as I came to call her, was midly butch. her hair was cut so that it hung around her ears. It was black, but had been died blonde a while ago so the stark contrast was showing at her roots. She had a very slender and feminine form that she liked showing off. She had several peircings in her ears, face, and she claimed other places. She was lesbian, and quite proud of it.

They sat down one day out of the blue.

"Hey, Honey," Dan greeted as he sat across from me.

At first I thought he was trying to annoy me with this, as a lot of the guys did. they always mocked me when their girlfriends I hung out with weren't around, then when I stopped hanging with the girls, they stopped restraining themselves. "I'm not gay," I growled in annoyance.

"Yeah, because you're so my type, it breaks my heart," he said sarcastically. "I know you're not gay, hon," he replied.

"You do?" I asked as Merry sat down.

"Gaydar," he replied.

at my confusion, Merry gave Dan a light slap on the back of his head. "Don't be a dick," she chuckled at him. She turned back to me and said, "Look, if you were gay, you would have given up denying it a long time ago."

"So you two believe I'm not gay," I asked them tentatively.

"Yeah," they replied in unison.

"however," Dan added seriously. "We do find how insulted you act by the accusation offensive."

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but thought luckily blocked the path of my words. they were right. I'd always told myself I didn't hate homosexuals, but here I was acting as if this were some big insult.

"I can see you being insulted because they are constantly wrong, but believe themselves to be right," Merry supplied. "Got to be annoying. and that they're labeling you can't be fun." She gave me a warm smile.

From that day on the three of us were friends. I never got a single date in high school. The three of us managed to go to the same college. Merry and Dan were in the drama program, Dan as an Actor, Merry as a techie. I went with advertising. We remained close friends. It took a while for Merry to open up to me at first, afraid that I would only want to hear about her dates in the perverse way that most hetero guys do. The fact of the matter was that, at first, she was right. I did my best to remind myself that I should just be thinking romantically, like I did for the girls before. Eventually she felt comfortable enough to come to me with her romantic issues like the popular girls had done before her.

In college I began to realize how lucky I was. I'd thought my life was crap for a long time, then Merry dated Sarah. Sarah's parents had dissowned her for being a lesbian. My father had been slightly dissapointed in how non-macho I was, but neither he nor my mother ever showed me anything but unconditional love. Even when they asked if I was gay (an embarassing conversation to be sure), they made it clear that they would always love me. Sarah and Merry eventually broke up as Sarah was a bit too needy, though she made sure to stay friends with the girl, as we all did.

Dan brought into the group Mike, who was on the football team and deep in the closet. He was the epitome of the all American boy. Macho, not dumb, but not exceptionally smart, athletic, and highly concerned with his car. That car, one of the new Chargers, was the first time I ever thought a machine was breath taking. Dan was unimpressed. Mike remained close with us when Dan broke up with him for being closeted.

 

[Zoken]

My Father's Son

I'm not going to give you an excerp, but... It's tough to describe.

I want to do two stories interlaced. One about a boy growing up in the late cold-war era. infant to toddler in the late 60's, child to teenager in the seventies, coming of age in the 80's. The other story would actually be about the first protagonist's son; infant to toddler in the late 80's, kid to teenager in the 90's, coming of age in the 21st century. They story would be about the differences in the two generations and how things are different and the same. It would be done in two chapter intevals showing big events or turning points in the first boy's life, then it's analogue in the son's. I know it would end with The father being there for the birth of his son in one chapter, and then the son sharing his first beer with the father.

One of the comparisons I want to make is a chapter about the first teen having feelings for a black girl and not acting on them because of how he knows his friends would act. The Second teen would have feelings for an Afgahni girl (Parents imigrated when she was very young), the teen however would be more willing to take a chance.

 

[deemar325]

Well, if I got my way, he'd end up being the Two Gun Kid's partner and would be a recurring supporting character in She-Hulk.

He'd fit right in.

 

[Zoken]

*Holds up kitten* Read or Bobo gets it... *Menaces kitten with a rubber-chicken*

 

[deemar325]

I hate cats

 

[Zoken]

*Grabs a ring tailed Lemur* Bet you didn't think Crackers was here today... Don't make me pull out my sporks. I can get ver unpleasent on this thing.

 

[Zoken]

Okay, an idea for a Hero: Riddi'kiks, the High God of Vahl. a mixture of Superman and Darksied. He came to the world centuries ago, was raised by a poor farming family that taught him about responsiblity, honor, honesty, truth, and justice. he grew to be a great hero, fighting at first only physical threats, but as he grew he became frustrated with those who threated the integrity of the world through political process. Thusly he begins to execute the corrupt and the cruel from all walks of life. he never attacks the innocent, and ignores those who insult him. He is more powerful than any thing else on that world, and is powerful enough to back up the claim of godhood. he comes to earth after hearing that there are champions on the world powerful enough to fend of extremely powerful beings in the universe.

 

[Zoken]

Lovers

Tale as old as time: Boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, girl dissappears leaving boy with nothing but an antique greek sword.

Kyle Rent fell head over heels for a girl who he only knew the first name of: Angeline. For two weeks they were inseperable, but then she claimed she had to leave. She left him a sword and told him that so long as his loved for her remained true, the sword would protect him. She told him that they could never see eachother again, that he would actually do best to forget him.

Kyle couldn't forget her. He was prepared to do a Romeo over her when his building caught on fire. as he approached the blaze, with the sword in his hand he, for reasons he doesn't understand, swung the sword: An icy wind snuffed out the blaze. Such events continue, and so long as he wields the sword, and his heart remains Angeline's he is undefeatable. And so he searches, and as he searches he realizes that the realm of magic may hold the answers to his questions.

Meanwhile, on The Lost Isle of the Amazons, the queen, Hippolyta VI, has died. Her daughter, who has spent the last year wandering Man's world, has been recalled and instated as queen, however there is one problem: Queen Angeline is pregnant with the child of a man.

 

[sandwraith]

Something to pitch to Marvel, maybe as an Amazing Fantasy character:

Sergeant Azan:
Hairi Azan is the most UnAmerican person in his own mind. A Bronx-born Arab American son of a Palestinian fish-monger, Hairi was raised amongst other immigrant families and identified with his own race and faith for most of his life. When his father was deported after a nasty scuffle, Hairi made it a point to put himself through college per his father's wishes. Shortly after his high school education, Hairi's Arab-American mother passed away thus leaving Hairi to raise himself. Managing a place in Empire State University, Hairi took up Particle Physics where he studied under the attractive and mysterious professor: Dr. Kara Heinlein whom eventually takes Hairi as her aide. One night, after aiding Dr.Heinlein, Hairi heads back to his dorm only to remember that he left his notes back at the lab. Heading back, Hairi witnesses Dr.Heinlein struggling against a couple of drunk would-be rapists prompting Hairi to act only to get himself stabbed 4 times. The offenders run off, leaving Hairi choking on his own blood. As his consciousness slips away, he sees Dr.Heinlein standing over him saying that he's proven his worth...

The next morning Hairi wakes up in his dorm, his stab wounds gone, healthy as ever. Confused, Hairi confronts Dr.Heinlein over the previous night and Henlein explains that Hairi is now her walking masterpiece of Negative Physics. Heinlein reveals herself to be the former Kree scientist: Dr.Minerva (RE: Operation: Galactic Storm), an evolution obsessesed survivor of the Nega-bomb which wiped out half the Kree. Minerva explains to the still confused Hairi that he carries within him: a biological Nega-Engine, the fruit of her labors to recreate the properties of Captain Mar-Vell's Nega-bands. After some convincing, Hairi agrees to allow Minerva to observe his new abilities: Hairi's Nega-Engine is able to convert any carbon-based inorganics by touch or Nega-osmosis into pure, unrefined Nega energy which he can channel into force beams of varying strength, shield his anatomy from harm and amp up his strength to a certain degree. However he cannot fly, nor does he have the Cosmic Awareness which both Mar-Vell and Genis-Vell were blessed/cursed with. Also he cannot contain the Nega-energy he holds forever thus he constantly emits harmless Nega-energy the same way the Hulk emits Gamma energy. Minerva began calling her "creation": Alpharius, a name that Hairi shuns. Fearing persecution from the then Mutant-hating rings, Hairi explicitly states he wants nothing more to do with Minerva or his 'power', dropping out of ESU and considered moving to Syria to live with his father. His application for Syrian citizenship was turned down and with no other options left to him, Hairi decides to try becoming a Police officer.

To his surprise, Hairi makes it out of the academy with ease and is posted to a precint in the Bronx as a beat cop. Later he meets his first love and wife, Anya &#272;iki&#263;, a Bosnian survivor of Srebrenica who migrated to America to study art. The two instantly fell in love and were wed shortly after and would have a son together: Mirza "Hairiovi&#263;" (which is similar to Mirza Hairison or Hairi-son. The Bosniak equivalent of "Bin Hairi" which is "Son of Hairi" just FYI). While things are finally looking up for Hairi when word of him making detective draws near, 9-11 happens, casting a dark perception over Arabs and Muslims alike. Talks of Hairi's promotion suddenly ceases, cops who have been helping out at Ground Zero (which Hairi is not allowed to go near) give him menacing stares, some openly calling him a terrorist. Hairi swallows as much of it as he can till after a long day out on patrol, Hairi returns to the precint to find a bloodied Pig's head in his locker and confronts a gaggle of laughing cops who witness Hairi's shock. Angered, Hairi gets into a major fight with several of his fellow officers till the fight is broken up. Later, Hairi is reprimanded by the precint's captain, Robert Hollister, a second generation African-American cop who gives words that Hairi would go on to live by: "Boy I was a cop in a time where being black was synonymous with being a drug dealer or a gang-banger. I took every piece of crap *******s like them could throw at me for over a decade. In the precint I was a ******, on the street I was an Uncle Tom but all that doesn't matter. What matters. What matters is the job. If you don't got the heart for this then put you badge on my desk and get your ass out of my precint right now. If you think you can tough it out then be prepared to put up with this crap for a long, long time. Now I know what happend, I'm not happy about it but I'm going to have to let it slide but I don't want this to happen again". Hairi apologizes to his Captain only to be told this"I don't want to hear an apology Azan. If you want to tell me something then tell me that when you walk out this office you'll be the best damn cop that you can be". Hairi finally gets his Detective rank but immediately gets shoved into the Punisher Task Force replacing Detective Soap who pretty much tells Hairi he's reached rock bottom, undeterred, Hairi tries to salvage what left of his career he has however with the heat of PATRIOT and the War on Terror breathing down his throat, Hairi knows that his current situation would cause problems for his wife and 11 year old son Mirza. Discussing it with Anya, the two agree that a divorce would best for both Anya and Mirza (who look more Caucasian) while Hairi tries to put his life back together. As head of the PTF (Punisher Task Force), Hairi gathers a group of pariah cops much like himself to clamp down on Frank Castle's vigilante activities. With a non-existant budget to work with, Hairi was forced to rely on basic police work alongside his full-time partner: Bernadette Keller and managed to foil a number of the Punisher's operations, cracking down on several of Castle's weapon caches and being a major pain in Castle's ass. Later Hairi and Keller would go on to arrest a psychotic killer 'Shiv', a move that would prove a grave error for Hairi Azan.

 

[Harlekin]

HOW I WOULD DO IT: THE MARVEL UNIVERSE - PART I, THE AVENGERS

One of the most asked questions on any messageboard about comics is: If you were Editor-In-Chief, how would you alter the Marvel/DC Comics/Other titles? Well, this is it, my version of the grander Marvel Universe, divided in a couple of parts, based on publishing lines and franchises. The first line that I would retool would be the Avengers franchise, so here we go:

Mighty Avengers
Written by: Kurt Busiek
Illustrated by: Frank Cho

I'd keep the team line-up the same, but I'd switch out Bendis for someone I think understands the characters a lot better. With Busiek on writing, there'd also be a chance for Hank Pym to have a better supporting role in this title than he has currently, where everyone either thinks he's an ******* for creating Ultron or think he's an ******* just for being alive. I like Cho's over the top cheesecakey art, and it vibes nicely with the old school superheroes feel this title should evoke. Although a complete return to that old Avengers style has largely become impossible (and not necessarily wanted either), this could come closest to that.

Secret Avengers
Written by: John Ostrander
Illustrated by: Leinil Francis Yu

As you may have noticed, I've taken Bendis off the Avengers titles altogether. I don't think he's a very good fit for this part of the Marvel universe, and his decompressed style hampers things greatly. This team too, I'd largely keep the same, although I'd replace Dr. Strange with Hercules. I'd change the name to Secret Avengers, since A) I think New Avengers sounds a bit stupid B) they're not very new anymore. Keep Yu on art to give this team its underground feel. I'd work in that they're essentially on the run from the law a bit more into the title, as the team tries to keep doing their heroing. If anyone can write this kind of title, it's John Ostrander, who also already has experience in writing characters like Luke Cage and Iron Fist.

Avengers: Coast to Coast
Written by: Changes per issue
Illustrated by: Changes per issue

Similar to the old X-Men Unlimited title, this would be an anthology series, detailing the lives of former Avengers. This title could be used as a prologue to arcs in Mighty and Secret Avengers, where old characters are reintroduced, giving a clear picture of the Avengers landscape. It could delve into the motivations of certain characters more clearly, such as why a certain character joined either the pro-reg or anti-reg movement. The coast to coast name is a reference to the eighties/nineties East Coast and West Coast teams.

Young Avengers
Written by: Allan Heinberg and Zeb Wells
Illustrated by: Jim Cheung

Obviously, this title can't make it with just one writer. The solution? Get a co-writer to fill in the gaps. It would require some teamwork between the writers, but it would mean that this title could get back on the shelves. I don't have a particular fondness for this comic, but I recognize both the need from the fans for this kind of title, and it's potential. I'd try to work in a little expansion of the team, especially with Cassandra Lang officially leaving (she'd be good as a supporting character though). Of course, Jim Cheung fits this title like a glove, so I'd bring him back too.

The Warriors
Written by: Fabian Nicieaza
Illustrated by: Mark Bagley

The New Warriors are dead, but the Warriors live on. Let me be frank here, I don't really like the new New Warriors title. It's basically a group of depowered wannabe X-Men working on a supposed legacy that doesn't really ring true to the New Warriors. So I'd bring back the old creative team, and have them assemble a new team, with some old faces, by good old Donyell Taylor (formerly Bandit), brother and now successor to the late Night Trasher. Old school superheroics mixed in with a quest to clear a name that never needed to be besmirched, kind of resembling the movie of the same name.

That's the Avengers franchise. All of the characters either have Avenger ties or the titles simply has Avengers in its titles. This would mean I'd cancel Avengers: The Initiative, a title that, although I like Dan Slott, I feel is rather redundant.

 

[deemar325]

HOW I WOULD DO IT: THE MARVEL UNIVERSE - PART I, THE AVENGERS

One of the most asked questions on any messageboard about comics is: If you were Editor-In-Chief, how would you alter the Marvel/DC Comics/Other titles? Well, this is it, my version of the grander Marvel Universe, divided in a couple of parts, based on publishing lines and franchises. The first line that I would retool would be the Avengers franchise, so here we go:

Mighty Avengers
Written by: Kurt Busiek
Illustrated by: Frank Cho

I'd keep the team line-up the same, but I'd switch out Bendis for someone I think understands the characters a lot better. With Busiek on writing, there'd also be a chance for Hank Pym to have a better supporting role in this title than he has currently, where everyone either thinks he's an ******* for creating Ultron or think he's an ******* just for being alive. I like Cho's over the top cheesecakey art, and it vibes nicely with the old school superheroes feel this title should evoke. Although a complete return to that old Avengers style has largely become impossible (and not necessarily wanted either), this could come closest to that.

I dig your idea for the Mighty team whole heartily!

Secret Avengers
Written by: John Ostrander
Illustrated by: Leinil Francis Yu

As you may have noticed, I've taken Bendis off the Avengers titles altogether. I don't think he's a very good fit for this part of the Marvel universe, and his decompressed style hampers things greatly. This team too, I'd largely keep the same, although I'd replace Dr. Strange with Hercules. I'd change the name to Secret Avengers, since A) I think New Avengers sounds a bit stupid B) they're not very new anymore. Keep Yu on art to give this team its underground feel. I'd work in that they're essentially on the run from the law a bit more into the title, as the team tries to keep doing their heroing. If anyone can write this kind of title, it's John Ostrander, who also already has experience in writing characters like Luke Cage and Iron Fist.

Snip off Wolverine and I with ya, I can't stand him now.

Avengers: Coast to Coast
Written by: Changes per issue
Illustrated by: Changes per issue

Similar to the old X-Men Unlimited title, this would be an anthology series, detailing the lives of former Avengers. This title could be used as a prologue to arcs in Mighty and Secret Avengers, where old characters are reintroduced, giving a clear picture of the Avengers landscape. It could delve into the motivations of certain characters more clearly, such as why a certain character joined either the pro-reg or anti-reg movement. The coast to coast name is a reference to the eighties/nineties East Coast and West Coast teams.

Meh, we got the Avengers: Initiative now.

Young Avengers
Written by: Allan Heinberg and Zeb Wells
Illustrated by: Jim Cheung

Obviously, this title can't make it with just one writer. The solution? Get a co-writer to fill in the gaps. It would require some teamwork between the writers, but it would mean that this title could get back on the shelves. I don't have a particular fondness for this comic, but I recognize both the need from the fans for this kind of title, and it's potential. I'd try to work in a little expansion of the team, especially with Cassandra Lang officially leaving (she'd be good as a supporting character though). Of course, Jim Cheung fits this title like a glove, so I'd bring him back too.

Agree, no issue.

The Warriors
Written by: Fabian Nicieaza
Illustrated by: Mark Bagley

The New Warriors are dead, but the Warriors live on. Let me be frank here, I don't really like the new New Warriors title. It's basically a group of depowered wannabe X-Men working on a supposed legacy that doesn't really ring true to the New Warriors. So I'd bring back the old creative team, and have them assemble a new team, with some old faces, by good old Donyell Taylor (formerly Bandit), brother and now successor to the late Night Trasher. Old school superheroics mixed in with a quest to clear a name that never needed to be besmirched, kind of resembling the movie of the same name.

Kinda what I would do.

That's the Avengers franchise. All of the characters either have Avenger ties or the titles simply has Avengers in its titles. This would mean I'd cancel Avengers: The Initiative, a title that, although I like Dan Slott, I feel is rather redundant.

Overall I'd buy your books.

 

[deemar325]

another of my original Drama's

I Swear I'm Straight

It all started in middleschool. It annoys me to this day. I guess I was never what one would consider "macho". I tried out for the football team once, and got denied. Remember, this was Middle school. They virtually HAVE to take you if you try out in middel school these days. I was always close friend with girls, though they never considered dating me. I'd talk to them about their boyfriends. Man, most of the girls I was friends with back then had crappy taste in men. Thinking back, it was Brittany Whells who started it.

"So," she asked me at the lunch table one day. "Bruce, when are you coming out?"

the three other girls sitting with us and I stopped eating quiet suddenly. "What do you mean?" I asked in a mystified voice. Surely she didn't think...

"It's okay," she said comfortingly, patting my hand in a platonic way. "I figured it out. You're gay."

"No, I'm not!" I objected.

"You don't have to hide it," Amanda encouraged from the other side of me. "We won't judge you."

"I'm not gay," I almost yelled. I looked around and noticed that other people had started listening.

"Sure," Brittany drawled, with a sort of knowing nodd. "You're secret's safe with me."

My secret was about as safe with her as their virginities were. Over the next week the story permiated the school and everyone believed it. I still hung out with the girls, though every time it was brought up I vehemently denied it. In high school they started treating me like some fashionable accessory; their gay friend. They'd ask me all sorts of questions about colors and fashions, and what not. While I was well enough versed to answer them intelligably, it wasn't like I railed on these topics.

Eventually I broke ties with them, and this lead to the most lonely times in my life. I considered suicide a few times during that year. It was during my sophomore year, the latter half, that I met the two people who made me want to live again. I'd like to say they broke the rumors and I fell in love with one of them, but that isn't the case.

Dan was as flaming as they came, but I soon realized that he was just goofing on people, intentionally making them uncomfortable. He was a nice guy who, like me, just wasn't into sports. Unlike me, he actually was gay.

Meredith, or Merry as I came to call her, was midly butch. her hair was cut so that it hung around her ears. It was black, but had been died blonde a while ago so the stark contrast was showing at her roots. She had a very slender and feminine form that she liked showing off. She had several peircings in her ears, face, and she claimed other places. She was lesbian, and quite proud of it.

They sat down one day out of the blue.

"Hey, Honey," Dan greeted as he sat across from me.

At first I thought he was trying to annoy me with this, as a lot of the guys did. they always mocked me when their girlfriends I hung out with weren't around, then when I stopped hanging with the girls, they stopped restraining themselves. "I'm not gay," I growled in annoyance.

"Yeah, because you're so my type, it breaks my heart," he said sarcastically. "I know you're not gay, hon," he replied.

"You do?" I asked as Merry sat down.

"Gaydar," he replied.

at my confusion, Merry gave Dan a light slap on the back of his head. "Don't be a dick," she chuckled at him. She turned back to me and said, "Look, if you were gay, you would have given up denying it a long time ago."

"So you two believe I'm not gay," I asked them tentatively.

"Yeah," they replied in unison.

"however," Dan added seriously. "We do find how insulted you act by the accusation offensive."

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but thought luckily blocked the path of my words. they were right. I'd always told myself I didn't hate homosexuals, but here I was acting as if this were some big insult.

"I can see you being insulted because they are constantly wrong, but believe themselves to be right," Merry supplied. "Got to be annoying. and that they're labeling you can't be fun." She gave me a warm smile.

From that day on the three of us were friends. I never got a single date in high school. The three of us managed to go to the same college. Merry and Dan were in the drama program, Dan as an Actor, Merry as a techie. I went with advertising. We remained close friends. It took a while for Merry to open up to me at first, afraid that I would only want to hear about her dates in the perverse way that most hetero guys do. The fact of the matter was that, at first, she was right. I did my best to remind myself that I should just be thinking romantically, like I did for the girls before. Eventually she felt comfortable enough to come to me with her romantic issues like the popular girls had done before her.

In college I began to realize how lucky I was. I'd thought my life was crap for a long time, then Merry dated Sarah. Sarah's parents had dissowned her for being a lesbian. My father had been slightly dissapointed in how non-macho I was, but neither he nor my mother ever showed me anything but unconditional love. Even when they asked if I was gay (an embarassing conversation to be sure), they made it clear that they would always love me. Sarah and Merry eventually broke up as Sarah was a bit too needy, though she made sure to stay friends with the girl, as we all did.

Dan brought into the group Mike, who was on the football team and deep in the closet. He was the epitome of the all American boy. Macho, not dumb, but not exceptionally smart, athletic, and highly concerned with his car. That car, one of the new Chargers, was the first time I ever thought a machine was breath taking. Dan was unimpressed. Mike remained close with us when Dan broke up with him for being closeted.

Heh, funny not my cup o tea.

 

[deemar325]

Heres what I'd do as EIC for Marvel as it stand now.



Amazing Spider-man

Creative team
Writers: Dan Slott/Robert Kirkman
Artists: Corey Walker/Stuart Immonen

Editorial mandates
*No clones or anything related to the Clone Saga!
*Find a way to invalidate Sin'sPast that works within continuity.
*For the first year focus on creating new Villians, and when I say villians. I mean oldschool Super Villians! Gimme bad guys with a theme, a costume, a gimmick!
*Bring back da funny! Lets stay away from "Grim&Gritty" this ain't DKR!
*No decompression! If you can't tell a complete story in four issues or less it ain't gonna get printed!
*Aunt May stays dead.
*MJ is a skrull sorry! Peter is single ready to mingle!

Publishing schedule
*Creative team will get a eight issue head start before we solicit anything, 8 issues in the can ready to go.
*Each artist does four issues consecutively then switch-off, this allows the Corey or Stuart time to either get a head start on the next four issues or if they choose to ( I.E. one is quick enough.) work on creator owned stuff.
*Both writers collaborate on the overall storyline, but hands off the actual writing chores every four months.



New Warriors

Creative team
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Steve Skroce

Team Roster
Mastermind Excello
Arana
Gravity
Vegas
The Hood
Machine Teen
Scorpion
Black Goliath II


Editorial mandates
*Team will be based in a city that is not NewYork or L.A., gotta open up the landscape. Maybe Miami?
*Create new supervillians oldschool! Establish a arch-villian right away!
*Respect the past, but don't be beholden to it.
*Must find a way to redeem the NW name and get Robbie Baldwin to being Speedball again (He's not gonna be on the team though, I got other ideas for him!)
*In the plot the NWs main goal is to redeem the name New Warriors and stick it to Tony Stark.

Publishing schedule
*Creative team will get a six issue head start, will not solicit until we got six in the can ready to go!


That's just for starters

 

[The Question]

The Questiuon presents:

How I would handle The Zodiac: After his many failed foreys into organized crime and terrorism, Jake Fury (yes, the brother of Nick Fury) begins to plan very long term. He forms a new Zodiac, this time based on the Chinese Zodiac, to serve not as a gang of theives, crime syndicate, or group of terrorts/extortionists, but to serve as a secret society that will, over time and with much planning and deceit, gain political, social, and religious power in the world. It's basically Marvels'equivalent of the Illuminati. The members are:

Rat: Jake Fury

Ox: Wilson Fisk

Tiger: Crossbones

Rabit: Emma Frost

Dragon: The Mandarin

Snake: The Abomination

Horse: Taskmaster

Sheep: Puppet Master

Monkey: Arcade

Rooster: Count Nefaria

Dog: Magneto

Pig: Absorbing Man

I'd play these guys up as THE villain team of the Marvel Universe. They'd have their fingers in everything, and they'd be secretly pulling the strings of people from Tony Stark to The President, often without them even knowing it. By the time people caught on to them, they'd be so well secure that after the big event, they'd still be there and only slightly inconvenienced. Of course, not everyone there has purely malicious goals. While she is atracted to power, Emma does think that she can use the organization to do good, and Magneto feels that the only way he'll ever acheive a better world at this point is to sink to this level. Taskmaster simply joined for money and power and found out very quickly that he was a tad out of his depth.

 

[Harlekin]

HOW I WOULD DO IT: THE MARVEL UNIVERSE - PART 2, THE X-MEN

One of the most asked questions on any messageboard about comics is: If you were Editor-In-Chief, how would you alter the Marvel/DC Comics/Other titles? Well, this is it, my version of the grander Marvel Universe, divided in a couple of parts, based on publishing lines and franchises. The second line that I would retool would be the X-Men franchise, so here we go:

Uncanny X-Men
Written by: Steven T. Seagle (dialogue etc.) and Chris Claremont (story in-put)
Illustrated by: Carlos Pacheco

I'm a traditionalist in some ways, so I'd want the Uncanny X-Men title to be the flagship title. As such I'd try and make it the best title possible and let's be honest, most of the X-Men's best stories are the work of one man: Chris Claremont. But I wouldn't let him write necessarily. I'd put Claremont in charge of plot and give him some overall story in-put. His writing style may be outdated, but his ideas are still often fresh and significant. I'd leave the writing off dialogue and such up to other established X-Men writer Steven T. Seagle. Yes, the writer of the late 90s X-Men. He wrote classic superheroes, and his stories were just plain fun. To keep in with that classic superhero feel, bring in Carlos Pacheco, an artist of quite a stature, and whose worked with both Claremont and Seagle before.

X-Men
Written by: Mike Carey
Illustrated by: Salvador Larroca

Mike Carey has proven himself on this title, so I wouldn't change much about the title, except take Bachalo and Ramos from the title. Their art is stylized, but it often devolves into being unreadable. Therefore, a crisp and cleaner artist like Larroca would suit the title better, and he can show some artistic range with darker pieces. I'd like to see the Larroca return to his X-Treme X-Men style, but his art is great either way.

Astonishing X-Men
Written by: Joe Casey
Illustrated by: John Cassaday

Yes, the person I'd pick to succeed Whedon on AXM would be Joe Casey. His run on Uncanny X-Men from a few years ago was not accepted well at first, but then he hit his stride. Sadly, he got taken off the title to be replaced by Chuck Austen. Now, I'd give him another chance. He already knows the characters, and he's capable of writing superhero comics with an edge to them without trying too hard to be mature. Astonishing won't sell as well as it will with Warren Ellis, but I think this is a much better creative turn.

X-Factor
Written by: Peter David
Illustrated by: Pablo Raimondi

The same. Just keep it the same. Wouldn't change a thing.

Excalibur
Written by: Frank Tieri (dialogue etc.) and Chris Claremont (story in-put)
Illustrated by: Michael Ryan

Similar to the plan with Uncanny X-Men, I'd have Claremont take a backseat, but still basically have control. I choose Tieri because he seemed to have been well-received by fans, so that's mostly business-inspired. I'd get Michael Ryan back on the title and I'd definitely ditch the "new". Beyond that, I'd leave creative control in the hands of Tieri and Claremont.

Exiles: One Last Time
Written by: Judd Winick, Tony Bedard and Chris Claremont
Illustrated by: Paul Pelletier

Yep, one last time. In a final four-issue arc, the Exiles are getting cancelled. The three most prominent writers get their chance to wrap up the Exiles story. Ever since Winick definitely left the title, it's being going straight downhill into mediocrity. It's time to end this title. It's nothing like the title I originally loved, and it's lost all kind of direction. Time to cut the chord.

New X-Men: Student Body
Written by: Nunzio DeFilippis/Christina Weir and Craig Kyle/Chris Yost
Illustrated by: Michael Ryan

New X-Men is getting cancelled too. Not out of any particular vendetta, but beyond the fact that I'm not a fan of the title's current direction, I think the young team approach has run its course with the X-Men. Why? Because there doesn't seem to be a point. Only one character will make it onto the X-Men later on, if lucky, and it's time to stop creating these eternally young characters if they're not going to be allowed to grow. This mini-series is going to be put them into limbo, with force, so that when these characters are revisited, we can make some necessary changes. For one, they can be aged. We miss out on some of the character development, but I'd rather have these characters show up from time to time and actually have them grow than them to get stale as main characters.

And that's the X-Men franchise.

 

[The Question]

How The Question would breath some life into Marvel's non American characters (by country!) First stop, Ireland:


Ireland only really has three heroes: Siryn, Banshee, and Shamrock. Syrin and Banshee are almost never there, and let's face it, Shamrock kind of sucks. So, they need a little tune up, I'd say.

Shamrock: Her father was an IRA trained guerilla, and it's been shown that he wanted his kids to follow in hif footsteps. So, it stands to reason that he would have taught them everything he knew. As such, she'd probably be one of the few hairdressers who knows how to whip up a car bomb in under twenty minutes with supplies bought at a hardware store. Once her leg's healed up, she'd go back to vigilanteing because she's fully capable of it, powers or no. Naturally, she'd have some trouble, learning to not rely on her powers, and would have to compensate. Her costume would get an overhaul, to be a bit more practical sans good luck powers. Obviously, it would be a bit more armored 'round the torso, and would have pockets for holding several weapons. I know it's a bit of a cliche, but I would give her an overcoat simply for the sake of carrying weapons in. Her weapons of choice would be two 45. hand guns, each one with three sets of bullets: Regular, rubber, and tranquelizer. As her training is that of guerilla warfare, her specialty is stealth and surprise atacks, and will usually snipe at criminals with tranquelizers and tie them up once the drugs have taken effect. She's also the leader of a team called The Sroicheadh (Gaelic for "safeguards"), who all dress in the same costume. The idea is to give the impression that it's all the work of one person.

Black Tom: He gets picked up by Interpol, and is given the choice to head up a covert ops team for the European Union, or go to jail. Obviously, he chooses the spy work. The team is akin to DC's Suicide Squad, and takes on the missions that the governments of Europe like to pretend don't happen. Haven't quite figured out the roster, but it'll be a mix of pre-established villains and new guys.

Siryn: Is contracted by the Irish Defense Force to form a super hero team, for the sake of good public relations and national defense. The members are:

Captain Ireland: The U.S. has Captain America, England has Captain Britain, so the Irish felt justified in having a Captain Ireland. Like Captain America, he has an enhanced phisiology and is a master combatant. Carries an adimantium staff as opposed to a shield. Rides around in the "Ireland Jet," a small personal jet with VTOL capabilities. He actually resents his code name and costume, and he feels it's just cheap publicity.

Cúchulainn: A mysterious figure recruited by the government in secret. He's meant to be a counterpart to Thor, although one thing that is certain is that he isn't the Irish Folk Hero who's name he uses. All that is known is that he carries a spear, is indestructible, heals very, very quickly, and has a monsterous rage and an almost sociopathic aditude in combat.

The Lilliputians: A small squadron of soldiers equipt with Pym Particles.

Cúchulainn: The real Cúchulainn is a player in this. Resurected by the magicks of a group of teenagers who didn't really know what they were doing, he found himself forced to aclimate to the modern day. Disgusted with the modern world's lack of respect for it's heritage, especially in Ireland, where barely 40% of it's people can speak the Irish language better than a tourist, and possessing the aditude of a Dark Ages Irish warlord (as he is one), he becomes the leader of a particularly militant group of Irish Nationalists. Serves as the primary antagonist to Siryn's team, and is a sort of Magneto to their X-Men. Has tried and failed to kill the other Cúchulainn on several occasions.

 

[Harlekin]

If the English have a Captain Britain than the last thing an Irishman would do (and especially the prime minister of Ireland) is call its national hero Captain Ireland.

You've also got two Cúchulainns there.

Otherwise, some nice ideas.