If that post was any indication, we're down to the final moments of this season.
Is everyone else done? And moreover, does anyone still have any montage posts to contribute? Because I have one I want to submit to Byrd, but I intend to do that tomorrow. If he's alright with it, let's just go ahead and make the deadline tomorrow for general submission.
And with that, Batman is finished - in more ways than one - for the season.
I'd like to greatly apologize to anyone and everyone who's been inconvenienced by such a stark delay towards the end of the season. I know that I was largely to blame, given the sheer amount of arcs that I had planned with other players that ended up taking alot longer to get through than I thought, but I sincerely hope that, now that we're at the end, you'll allow your frustrations to leave and continue looking forward to Season III.
Also, just a quick shoutout to Spike for his incredible work this season. His approach to Bane and Batman's rivalry was a slow burn, and necessarily so, so the amount of payoff that I feel we accomplished with this revisionist take on the Knightfall story - something that we've literally been planning since the end of the original UDC's first season - gives me an indescribable sense of joy.
Obviously, I won't be coming back next season as Bruce Wayne immediately, given how things are left. But even with my favorite character incapacitated, I still anticipate the road ahead and seeing how it affects things from here on out. The new season is coming next week, with an OOC thread on Monday and an IC that following Thursday. And, as mentioned, tomorrow will be the point of no return for this season's montage.
While I wait on the final pieces of the montage, figured I would go ahead and throw out the awards to give us a little something to do while we wait on the season to come to an official close.
Best Hero:Superman (Spike_x1) - You'd think that with all of the dark elements of the UDCU, a character as straight laced as Superman wouldn't nessecarily grab your attention. But I think that's actually the genius of the RPG - the tone enhances elements to turn what's good into great, and what's evil into worse. (Yes, I stole that line from Captain America, and?! ) With Superman, Spike could have done many different things with the character. But he wisely chose to instead honor the good natured strengths of the character rather than make him needlessly edgy or some such nonsense, bringing us a portrayal as true and blue of The Man of Steel as any other. And to see his power unleashed under the influence of Dr. Destiny was one of the highlights of the entire season. You can practically feel it as Clark looks over the damage to the ravaged Pokolistan and feels the deep regret his actions, even though it was never his fault. And that can only be attributed to Spike's love for the character.
Best Villain:Lex Luthor (Andy. C) - Seems kind of weird to be giving this to the archnemesis of my Best Hero pick, but I'll make the argument that Ultimate Luthor doesn't ever come across as a villain strictly for Superman. He comes across as a legitimate threat to the entire UDCU. Though always a schemer and rarely a fighter, Lex handles himself with a demeanor of absolute confidence, even in the prescence of the most dangerous people in the UDCU. You even get the feeling that, with all of them in the room together, there's an unspoken respect that they all feel for Luthor. And that isn't so easily awarded, but Andy's Lex makes you believe in the possibility that at the start of this season, he had both Superman against the ropes and Lois Lane fighting for her life by himself. There's no limit to what he could do with an army of supervillains now at his side, and of course, the new threat of an Ultimate Brainiac looming.
Best WTL:Edward Nygma (Byrd Man) - I believe it was during the final moments of our big Batman/GCPD showdown that I told him over IM's, "Wow. The line you just said would be totally out of character if it weren't Ultimate Nygma." That wasn't an insult towards him, that was just reinforcing the sheer magnitude of the character's development over the last two seasons. Gone is the flamboyant Riddler that we all know, and in steps a character so seedy, so full of himself and full of images that darkly mirror our worst traits, that it almost takes me aback to think of what all Nygma has managed to accomplish as a villain without actually being a villain. His appearances in Season Two were few and far between compared to his influential prescence in the first, but when he appeared, he went hard for a gut reaction. From the Bette Kane murder to beating down Batman, Nygma has been absolutely relentless in his quest to keep on top. I've nominated Byrd's Nygma for this award before. And you know what? If Byrd keeps this up, he may just stay there.
Best "Ultimized" Character:Ocean Master (trustyside-kick) - Okay, let's all admit something to ourselves. Ocean Master isn't generally regarded as the most frightening villain in the DCU. Hell, many wouldn't even put him on their top ten, or even top twenty list of DC villains in general. But maybe if Orm started off in the comics like trusty writes him, he'd be able to stand side by side with the likes of Luthor and The Joker as one of the most formidable menaces in the DCU. This guy doesn't just hurt people, he massacres people. Then taunts them in their face while he defiles innocents and incinerates God-like beings just for the sake of doing it. And that was only apart of trusty's first few posts. The reason he gets this spot is because of an awesome origin story that makes the fued with Aquaman all the more tragic, while keeping the basic element there. Very well done.
Best Character Development:Dick Grayson (Andy C.) - It's very hard to put your own stamp on a character who's already gone through several different posters. With Byrd, it was set up that Dick was a bitter young man with a mind for revenge. With GL, Dick's embitterment was turned towards vigilantism and he became increasingly hostile. He was almost a precursor to Jason Todd, in some respects. So for Andy to come in and do what he did with the character takes major skill, because with his Dick, you don't find yourself wishing he'd be better than he is - you feel sorry for him. He wants to do good, he wants to be a good person. He was just caught up in a very personal conflict. The sympathetic nature of his character is a stark contrast to the Dick Grayson of the DCU, and through Andy's development, Dick became even more of his own character in this universe. I can actually see this kid becoming an asset to Batman on the battlefield, rather than a liability. And amazingly, when you'd yourself ridiculing the idea of Robin in a world like this, the development in this RPG totally makes it work.
Best Solo Arc:Ultimate Suicide Squad (Byrd Man) - Truth be told, I was never really big into the SS. I knew of their existence and loved the concept of supervillains working for the government, but nothing about the books ever really gauged my interest. But for Byrd, I knew that military covert ops and shady characters abound were like his bread and butter, so I payed close attention whenever he began what became one of my favorite reads of the game so far. Here's an arc where superheroes and supervillains are practically stripped out of the equation, yet Byrd does such a great job of weaving them into the fold, aswell. It's so perfectly balanced with the action and deceipt you expect from any good spy movie, yet that hardboiled edge of it all is what really hooks you in. Rick Flag as a protagonist is a man who doesn't read as if he's sure about the team, but his assertion as leader is compelling and frighteningly natural, considering it's essentially a band of superpowered psychopaths. I'm hooked, and if it were a book, I'd be eagerly anticipating the next issue.
Best Multi-PC Story Arc:Ultimate Dr. Destiny (Spike x1, Byrd) - Think about the concept for a moment. A villain that no one has ever seen or met with the power to distort the dreams of anyone they want. They turn their attention towards a group of superheroes. The superheroes, suffering nightmare induced lapses in their morality, go on a rampage and become the worst part of themselves. That alone is enough to make up a compelling graphic novel or a critically acclaimed story arc, and we luckily got it with the second Justice League outing. Though to credit it all to the concept would be an injustice, because what made this arc fun to participate in - and very fun to read - was it's interactions. The continued development of the League became stronger, easily surpassing last season's initial meet. And that's ultimately what the arc was meant to display - our heroes in their most vulnerable of moments. Kudos to everyone involved, and can't wait to see what the third season has in store for the League.
The foreman hands me my paycheck and walks off to give the rest of my coworkers their weekly pay. I stuff the check into my back pocket and remove my hardhat. Working construction isn't the most desirable job, but it's the only job I can get. That snake Faraday wiped me from the system. My trial, guilty verdict, and years in jail were all wiped away. Only problem is that I have a big gap in my history. Nobody wants to hire a guy who used to be in the Army and then fell off the face of the Earth for six years.
I walk off the job site and head down the street towards the small apartment I now call home. A glance into a shop window tells me that my shadow is back once again. For a week now a man has been following me. He follows me to and from work, even if I manage to lose him. With each passing day he gets a bit bolder and follows closer. Right now, he's twenty yards behind me. I turn a corner and duck into a doorway, melding into the shadows waiting for him to pass. My watcher, dressed in a black suit and tie with a black glove on his hand, stops at the doorway and turns to me.
"Sergeant Turner. I was beginning to think you liked me following you."
"Who the hell are you?" I growl, bending down into an offensive stance and preparing my body to lash out. "Why have you been following me. Who sent you?"
"I did."
A middle-aged black woman comes up from behind and looks at me.
"Ben, my name is Amanda Waller, Sarge and I are from the government. We want to talk to you."
"About what?"
"The Suicide Squad."
"Never heard of it."
Waller's face turns to stone and her eyes lock on mine. "I know you think you're doing your duty by keeping you mouth shut, but you need to get something straight: I already know about the squad. I founded it four years ago. It's my baby, my pride and joy. I can name off all the members we've had and all those that have fallen in the line of duty, Rick Flag included. I don't have time to play games, Sergeant, so get your ass in gear and follow us. Understood?"
I look at Waller, and then to Sarge, whoever he is.
"What other choice do I have?"
"Smart boy. I like it. Follow us to our car. Once we get there, tell us everything you can about your last mission."
********
"...and we were running away from the base when the bomb hit it. Blew the camp all to hell. When we got back, I tried to confront Faraday on what Flag told me. He denied it, threatened me with more jail time and death if I didn't shut up. Nightshade was still unconscious when they released me, I had no idea who to talk to and what I could even say."
I fidget in the backseat of the car with Waller next to me. Sarge is in the driver's seat, driving down I-10.
"What was your involvement with the mission planning?"
"Flag asked me for advice every now and then, but it was mostly up to him and Faraday."
"What do you know about African Petroleum?"
"I assume it's an oil company. I saw the name plastered all over the camp we went into."
"Well, Flag was right. Faraday lied to you all about your mission. You weren't going into an Islamic extremist training camp, it was a housing facility for AP's security teams. A few klicks away from the camp is an oil field. That particular oil field is being sought out by a rival oil company. Strausburg Energy Solutions."
Waller passes me a photo, it's grainy. A security camera snapshot of a man walking through an airport terminal.
"That photo was taken the day you were released from prison. That's Farday, boarding a flight out of the country. The passport he used was under the fake name of Robert Kanigher. When he went AWOL, people began to take notice...I began to take notice. Sarge and I came down to Louisiana and didn't like what we found. The squad's team leader was KIA, and Ops Control up and left. Something didn't feel right, so we went digging. Sarge and I combed through Faraday's encrypted files and conducted interviews with your teammates still in jail. Faraday's legit ID and his assumed name were added to watch lists and we began to search for any info we could regarding both names."
Waller takes the photo from my hand and replaces it with a printout of a bank statement.
"This is a Swiss bank account set up with Faraday's false name. As you can see, it's flush with 6.5 million dollars. For the past six months there have been deposits into the account with each deposit a little over a mil."
Waller hands me another sheet. This one with dates on it.
"Each of those deposits occurred within 72 hours of a completed mission the Suicide Squad carried out. Some of my buddies in the CIA tracked the deposits to a corresponding Swiss bank account owned by a shell company that links to Strausburg Energy Solutions. Faraday was on their payroll. Each mission you pulled? You were doing it for SES. Each and every mission correlates with keeping up with SES' agenda."
Waller ticks off names on her fingers.
"Cortez, the drug dealer you killed, he owned a piece of land off the coast of Costa Rica that SES wanted to drill oil on. With his death, the property went into arrears and SES bought it up for a fraction of what it cost. Farook, the Egyptian president you saved, well his first act in office was to allow SES rights to manage and distribute across the globe, all the oil produced in Egypt. The group of pirates in Haiti were fishermen who blocked SES' rights to offshore drilling. The man you killed in Manila, a former SES employee who was committing corporate sabotage."
I look straight ahead, stunned...I don't know what to say. Faraday was a jerk...but I didn't think he could do this...
"...Why are you telling me all this?" Is all I can muster to say.
"I want you back on the team, this time as a willing volunteer. I stepped away from my project, and the Suicide Squad suffered for it. No more. From this moment on, Sarge Steel and I are now doing Operations Control for the team. We're going to hunt Faraday down and make him pay for betraying his country..but I need a field leader."
"I think you're looking in the wrong area. I'm just a noncom."
"I know that, Sergeant. But it's for one mission only. The most important one, one we need to undertake before tracking down Faraday."
She takes the other pieces of paper from my hand and passes me another picture. It's an aerial photo, zoomed in and blown up several times over. It's of a camp somewhere in the desert.
"This picture was taken three weeks ago by a UAV. It's a prison facility the Nigerian rebels are using. See the man in the middle?"
She points to the overhead shot of a man, walking between two armed soldiers. I can't make out much, but I can make out enough. He's a white man...with red hair.
"No..."
"Yes," Waller says with a twinkle in her eyes. "Took me time to confirm it, but Rick Flag is alive and he's rotting in a Nigerian prison. I need someone to get him out of there. I need to warn you, though, this mission is extremely dangerous. A suicide mission."
MVP:MST3K_4ever - Because dammit, he needs to be commended. This is one of those "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" sort of scenearios where you know that he's always there, always writing a post in one of his three characters that's practically always kept regular, but never quite gets the respect he deserves. Well, that time is now, because I believe he's actually the second highest poster in the IC thread for the season. If it weren't for Byrd's unflappable manner of always dishing out content, he'd be #1, and that's quite a feat to accomplish in a season of over 1,000 posts. MST, for your work with the characters and your tremendous passion outside the games, you're saluted.
Best Hero: Batman (MB) - Honestly, it's not surprising at all, but the guy just knows the character. He's written a Batman that's one of the best I've seen on the boards, rivaled by wieg's run in OU.
Best Villain: Lex Luthro (Andy) Manipulative, and always an engaging read, Andy has taken a villain I've never really been overly fond of and turned him into one I enjoy.
Best WTL: Edward Nygma (Byrd) A character that is so vastly different than how I've always seen the Riddler, yet has so many small, familiar traits that I can't help but be in awe. Personally, and not to take away anything from anyone else, I find Nygma to be the most compelling character in the game right now.
Best "Ultimized" Character: Edward Nygma (Byrd) for basically the same reasons as above.
Best Character Development: Dick Grayson (Andy) Really great stuff this season, Andy. It's been great to see the trials and tribulations of the character as he rides the emotional roller coaster.
Best Solo Arc: Ultimate Suicide Squad (Byrd) MB basically said all I have to say here.
Best Multi-PC Story Arc: The JL versus Doctor Destiny. Great work by all involved.
Best Post: Honestly, this is such a hard one to do in every game. I'll have to come back to this.
MVP: MSTK. He's ALWAYS posting, without the necessity of Byrd's nagging that gets everyone else going. For that alone he deserves the award.
1st off thank you to everyone for the nice things youve posted. I am only as good as those that I am playing with. All of you make me raise my game and I am truly honored to be playing with so many amazing and creative players. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this RPG and the other RPGs as well.
Best Hero: (SpikeX-1) Superman. The character of Superman is the most well known in Comic Book history and Spike has taken this character and made him into something familiar and yet new at the same time. I read his posts and I can hear Christopher Reeve, Danny Dark, or Tim Daly saying those lines, but yet its always uniquely his own. Its very easy to slip into almost a parody of the character because of his persona of being the over-grown boy scout but Spike never does that and gives him an air of (for lack of a better term) reality.
Best Villain: (Andy C) Lex Luthor. For me at times its been difficult to follow Lex through the years. One minute hes the mad scientist the next he is the power hungry business man and then hes something else and so on and so on. Yet Andy C has managed to take those two very differing personas and meld them together. I look at his version of Lex and think that hes an evil Steve Jobs.
Best WTL: (Byrd Man) Detective Edward Nygma. Never in million years did I think that Edward Nygma would work as a detective I was wrong on EVERY level! Edward one minute shows that hes a good cop the next he is helping set up Batman to get the crap beat out of him this is the very definition of walking the line.
Best "Ultimized" Character: (MB). Batman. We all know the story but MB has really made it unique. I love the fact that he served in the military, and that while Batman has a dark personality this one has a dark side that could eventually destroy him. Watching MB play this character with such unparalleled deftness after all these years has just been a joy to watch.
Best Character Development: (Byrd Man) The Flash. This season The Flash has shown he is more than just a guy who runs fast and has an even faster mouth. This season when the Justice League needed him to be a leader he stepped up in a BIG way! I would say that he is on par now with the Trinity of the Justice League he is now a true hero and I am really looking forward to seeing where the character goes next.
Best Solo Arc: (Andy C) Lexs adventure around the world. This was so interesting to ready because I wanted to know where he was going next who was he going to meet next and it set up the foundation for Season 3 VERY nicely.
Best Multi-PC Story Arc: The Justice League vs. Dr. Destiny. It took everyone to make that Arc work. Everyone brought the best out of each other and it didnt lag it worked on SO many levels.
Best Post: The Montage. It functions as a very effective teaser for Season 3 while yet honoring the work we did this season. Everyone makes that post work!
MVP: Byrd Man. Always on top of things but never abusive, has very interesting characters and has kept this RPG a float many times. In a message board where thereve been so many good concepts for RPGS come and go and die out before their time Byrd is the driving force behind this one.
MVP: Byrd Man. Always on top of things but never abusive, has very interesting characters and has kept this RPG a float many times. In a message board where thereve been so many good concepts for RPGS come and go and die out before their time Byrd is the driving force behind this one.
Best Hero: Bart Allen, the Flash (Byrd Man). My love of Byrd's speedster has made its way into how I write my own character. Striking just the right balance between hero and college student, Byrd's version of Bart Allen is always a welcome read.
Best Villain: Bane (Spike_x1). Can anyone imagine UDC without Bane? Hell, do you find yourself reading a Bane post and cheering for the villain? I do. And UDC definitely wouldn't be the same RPG without this character.
Best WTL: Dick Grayson (Andy C.). Andy's handling of this character is amazing, especially as he shows us the character at a crossroads in his development. We've seen Dick grow a tremendous amount in this past season and I look forward to what's in store for the next.
Best "Ultimized" Character: Rhiannon "Ray" Palmer, the Atom (MST3K 4ever). I think I say this every time, but I can't think of a more ultimatization - or a better one - than what MST3K has done with the Atom.
Best Character Development: Bruce Wayne, the Batman (MB). MB's character definitely has the cards stacked against him. Byrd's Nygma. Spike's Bane. Started off the season with Harvey Dent and Selina Kyle. Andy's Dick Grayson out to get revenge. And MB consistently has his character stand out in that crowd. Whether he's writing Bruce at a cocktail event or in the Batcave with a shot of vodka, MB perfectly captures what it is to be the Batman.
Best Solo Arc: Suicide Squad (Byrd Man). Byrd's SS run was clearly well thought out and well executed. As always, he is a master of his craft.
Best Multi-PC Story Arc: Dr. Destiny vs. the Justice League(Spike_x1, Byrd Man, MB, Andy C., MST3K 4ever, et al). Does anything really need to be said other than "'nuff said'?"
Best Post:MB's Batman realizing that there is an imposter in Gotham City. [link]
MVP: Spike_x1. I can't imagine this RPG without him. Whether its Superman, Dr. Destiny, Bane, or even him NPCing Lois Lane... he just leaves a huge footprint on this RPG and is definitely one of those writers that sets the bar for others to follow.
Best Hero: Batman (Master Bruce). As always, MB's portrayal of the Dark Knight is phenomenal, and the level of detail and nuance he puts into Bruce Wayne and all of the aspects of his life is beyond compare.
Best Villain: Bane (Spike_x1). Once again, Spike shows us that in the right hands, Bane is one bad mother. UDC's Bane is not just physically dominant, but a genuine mastermind as well, and always a hoot to read.
Best WTL: Edward Nygma (Byrd Man). Nygma is just a delightfully horrible person, and the only reason he's not in the running for Best Villain is that he occasionally brings in people worse than him.
Best "Ultimized" Character: Superboy (Bounce). Lor-Zod's development never ceases to be entertaining, even if I do hope to one day have Lex Luthor smack the taste out of his mouth with a Kryptonite pimp-hand.
Best Character Development: The Flash (Byrd Man). I'm a sucker for the "jokester with an inferiority complex finally grows a pair and steals the show" story, and Byrd pulled it off nicely.
Best Solo Arc: The Suicide Squad (Byrd Man). What can I say? Byrd Man is a master when it comes to playing with himself.
Best Multi-PC Story Arc: JLA vs. Doctor Destiny. Great arc that included a bunch of people, saw some pretty nifty character work from everyone, featured a very well-done ultimized villain, and will hopefully have consequences that reach into Season 3 and beyond. And hey! We managed to run a Justice League arc that didn't grind to a halt! High fives all around!
Best Post: I can never pick out a 'Best Post,' because I have terrible long-term memory and they all kind of run together.
MVP: Gonna have to echo MB and Carnage and go with MST. The guy is just an absolute workhorse, who's always cranking out material even when everyone else is at a lull.
Thanks so much for the nominations, guys! I think this is the first time Ultimate Superman has ever been nominated for Best Hero, so I must finally be doing something right!
No "Best Fight" category?
I'm really proud of this season and all the hard work that we've each put into it, and I should have my nominations up tomorrow.
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) With Superman, Spike could have done many different things with the character. But he wisely chose to instead honor the good natured strengths of the character rather than make him needlessly edgy or some such nonsense, bringing us a portrayal as true and blue of The Man of Steel as any other. And to see his power unleashed under the influence of Dr. Destiny was one of the highlights of the entire season. You can practically feel it as Clark looks over the damage to the ravaged Pokolistan and feels the deep regret his actions, even though it was never his fault. And that can only be attributed to Spike's love for the character.
I'm really proud of this season and all the hard work that we've each put into it, and I should have my nominations up tomorrow.No "Best Fight" category?
DKDetectiveElementary, Dear Robin (he/him)
Hunter RiderRonin
Lily Adler#forthecontent! 📹 (she/her)
