Ultimate One Universe - Genesis: Sign-Up/OOC Thread

[Morden Man]

Morden, I've read a few Matt Murdock runs in my time, but I can honestly say that yours is one of the most compelling.

Agreed, it's really great stuff.

I'll have Supes and Sue posts tomorrow, most likely.

Thanks a lot.

There's a lot of great work going on all around in this game, working alongside you guys is all the incentive I need to step my game up.

 

[Eddie Brock]

On my way back home from that weekend trip. Probably going to get to work on another Cap post later tonight, assuming jet lag and tiredness don't knock me off my feet as soon as I get in.

 

[Misfit]

If you don't write that post, I'll knock you off you're feet as soon as you get in. Just kiddin' (or am I..?).

 

[Morden Man]

So glad this RPG finally has its Nick Fury. (Feel free to use that in a future post, EB)

 

[Carnage27]

SHIELD will be popping up in Superman's world soon as well.

 

[Morden Man]

Feel free to use that picture also.

 

[Saved]

SHIELD makes an appearance in my post tonight as well...
EDIT Post tonight. Got side tracked last night.

 

[Eddie Brock]

With Master Bruce announcing his indefinite hiatus from the RPGs today, I suppose I'll get the ball rolling on this...

Ultimate One Universe
Character Application

Character Name: Peter Benjamin Parker / The Amazing Spider-Man

Alignment (Hero, Villain, Walking the Line): Hero

Character Speech Font and Color: Blue Tahoma for Peter / Bold Blue Tahoma for Spider-Man

Powers and Abilities: On his own, Peter is an exceptionally gifted student. He has a passion and a thirst for learning unlike that of his peers. In particular, Peter is fascinated by science. Engineering and chemistry are his two greatest strengths, though he enjoys reading and learning about all fields of science.

After the spider bite, Peter gains a number of amazing powers. Increased muscle density grants him the proportional strength of a spider, allowing him to lift up to ten tons with relative ease. The strength in his legs allows him to make superhuman leaps of up to three stories in a single bound. Moreover, Peter is incredibly durable - able to withstand extraordinary amounts of damage without sustaining serious injury. An increased metabolism ensures that when Peter does get hurt, he heals quicker than the average person. This also gives him extreme stamina, allowing him to exert himself for long periods of time without fatigue.

Incredibly, Peter is able to adhere to - and subsequently climb - sheer surfaces, an ability made possible by thousands of microscopic hairs (or "scopulae") on his hands and feet. These hairs create an attracting force on the subatomic level with whatever surface Peter touches, thus allowing him to support his own body weight while climbing. Peter is also helped by an enhanced sense of equilibrium, granting him near perfect balance on most surfaces.

An early warning alert system that Peter casually calls his "Spider-Sense" seems to combine hyper-awareness of Peter's surroundings, including heightened sensitivity to micro changes in air density, with an almost psychic sixth sense bordering on precognition. This, combined with Peter's enhanced reflexes and agility, makes him particularly adept at avoiding attacks and danger.

In addition to these incredible natural abilities, Peter reasoned that every spider should have a web. Using wrist-mounted nozzles of his own design, Peter shoots a modified web-like adhesive with a tensile strength comparable to steel. Peter uses his webs in a variety of ways, from disarming and disabling criminals to swinging like a pendulum as a mode of transportation.

Character Origin/Backstory: Peter Benjamin Parker was born to Richard and Mary Parker in upstate New York. Richard was a doctor, a general practitioner at a small practice in the area. Mary was an elementary school teacher. Even from an early age, Peter demonstrated an insatiable curiosity about the world around him - a precursor to his later interest in science. The Parkers were, by any definition, a happy family. Then, disaster struck. On their way back from a night on the town, Richard and Mary's car was struck by a drunk driver, and they were both killed.

Peter, only six years old at the time, came under the care of Richard's older brother, Ben, and his wife, May. Growing up in their little house in Forest Hills, New York, Peter grew to view his aunt and uncle as parental figures in their own right. Ben and May, unable to have a child of their own, loved and raised Peter as though he was their own son. Unfortunate as the circumstances may have been, Peter was lucky enough to move from one happy household to another.

As Peter grew older, it became increasingly clear that he was intellectually gifted. Ben and May did all they could to promote Peter's interest in science, even allowing him to convert the shed in the backyard into his own personal workshop. There, Peter invented and tinkered with countless school projects and science fair entries. Unfortunately, the Parkers could not afford to send Peter to some prestigious private school, so Peter instead attended PS 108, Midtown High School in Queens.

At Midtown, Peter was quite the loner. His best friend and fellow science geek, Robbie Baldwin, had gone away to Brentwood Academy in nearby Gotham. To make matters worse, Peter's love of science and general social awkwardness made him an easy target for bullies like Eugene "Flash" Thompson. For the first few years, Peter did his best just to try and be invisible. For the most part, he was successful.

During his junior year, Peter's chemistry teacher, Raymond Warren, approached Peter with an opportunity to attend a live science demonstration at STAR Labs in downtown Manhattan. Peter was thrilled, of course, and accepted the offer with great pleasure. He could hardly believe his luck as the fateful day came. Completely awestruck by what he was witnessing, Peter was oblivious to a small spider which had crawled onto his hand.

In the course of the demonstration, the common spider had been exposed to unknown energies and irradiated. Irritable and near death, the spider bit Peter before falling to the floor and dying. Peter began to feel ill almost immediately and excused himself from the demonstration. Stumbling home, Peter collapsed into bed with a fever. He fell asleep that night amidst cold sweats and tremors. Yet amazingly, when Peter awoke the next morning, he felt fine. More than fine, actually. He felt healthier than ever!

Over the course of the next week, Peter began to discover strange changes in his life. His muscle definition had improved literally overnight. He was stronger than ever before, quicker and more flexible, too. Shockingly, he found his hands and feet were able to adhere to any surface. He also began to feel a strange buzzing sensation at the base of his skull whenever he was presented with a threat of physical harm. Realizing that these changes were not natural, Peter eventually reasoned that the spider bite at STAR Labs must've done something to his body.

Once Peter learned the extent of his newfound abilities, he became excited about the possibilities they presented. One day, after enduring more abuse from Flash Thompson, Peter decided to strike back. He fought Flash, defeating and embarrassing him easily. He even broke a bone in Flash's wrist, albeit unintentionally. That landed Peter in detention for the first time in his life. Ben tried to sit Peter down and talk to him about power and responsibility, but Peter wasn't having any of it. He felt too good to sit through some lecture.

Not long after, Peter saw a flyer for a wrestling competition with a $1000 payout to the winner. Figuring that his superhuman strength made him a lock for the money, Peter put together a makeshift costume from a red bodysuit and an old blue hoodie and entered the competition. He easily tore through the amateur competition, qualifying for the final round: a matchup with current undefeated champion Joseph "Crusher" Hogan. Peter toyed with Hogan, putting on a good show, before eventually pinning him in under a minute.

The video of this mysterious "Spider-Man" defeating Crusher Hogan quickly went viral. The wrestling promoter, Maxie Shiffman, put out a call for the anonymous fighter to return for a rematch. When Peter showed up for the fight, Maxie offered him a contract to keep fighting for the organization. Peter accepted his money happily, embracing this Spider-Man identity complete with a new costume provided by his employers. He quickly rose to the top, defeating every fighter pit against him.

Then, one night, Spider-Man was scheduled to face a new challenger: a Russian strongman named Sergei Kravinoff - nicknamed "Kraven the Hunter." It was clear from the beginning of the fight that Kraven was a step above Peter's usual competition. Partway through the fight, Kraven produced a Bowie knife and tried to kill Spider-Man, claiming that he was an "abomination" that must be put down. Peter managed to subdue the madman, but the damage had been done. Seeing Spider-Man as a "liability," Maxie terminated Peter's contract and denied him his last paycheck.

Furious, Peter stormed out, paying little attention to a robbery occurring across the street. The store appeared to be closed, anyway, so it wasn't like anyone was going to be hurt. Besides, since when was it Peter's responsibility to deal with every little problem in the world? Despite making eye contact with one of the unmasked robbers, Peter neglected to call the police and simply trudged home, still fuming over the night's events.

When Peter got home, he found his neighbor, Captain George Stacy, consoling a distraught Aunt May. Stacy pulled Peter aside to explain the situation: Ben Parker was shot and killed while out picking up a few things from the store. Peter was dumbstruck by the news. He didn't know what to say or do or think - that is, until he heard a call coming through on Captain Stacy's radio. The police had located the suspects in Ben's shooting, and they had cornered them in an abandoned warehouse. Acting on instinct, Peter threw on his Spider-Man costume and raced to the scene.

Slipping past the police barricade, Peter stormed into the warehouse. He confronted a pair of masked thugs, dispatching them easily and leaving them battered and bruised. Peter stalked through the shadows of the warehouse in pursuit of the group's leader. Finally, he cornered him. That's when Peter received his second shock of the night. When the police searchlight flashed across the man's face, Peter realized that it was the same robber from earlier, the man he could've stopped.

Heartbroken and distraught, it was all Peter could do to disarm the man and leave him unconscious with the rest of his group. Peter raced out into the night, wracked with guilt over his role in Uncle Ben's death. As he sat in his bedroom that night, his mind went back to Ben's last lesson about power and responsibility.

From that night on, Peter made a vow to himself not to use his powers selfishly or irresponsibility. He realized that his powers, like his intellect, were a gift to be used for the betterment of others. And so, with his costume and name already settled, Peter took to his workshop and began crafting the tools he would need for the road ahead...

What Makes This Version "Ultimate": Well, I really want to take advantage of the fresh slate of continuity and bring Spider-Man back to his roots. I want to distill the Webhead down to his essence, taking the best of his various incarnations and presenting my vision of the quintessential Spider-Man. His origin, as you can see, is largely unchanged - though I did incorporate some clever ideas put forth by MB - but it's in his supporting cast (particularly his villains) that you'll see the most changes. Wherever possible, I want to seamlessly blend Marvel and DC into Spider-Man's story as though he was always written that way.

What can you bring to the RPG: Well, as anyone who knows me can attest (and as, I hope, the depth of this application can show), Spider-Man is such an important character to me. He and his supporting cast are like childhood friends of mine, and I think I'm most comfortable as a writer when I get to play in his world. I believe that comfort shows itself in the quality of posts that I produce when playing Spidey or any of his amazing friends. (Eh? Eh? Okay, I'll see myself out.)

Sample Post (provide a short post of at least 3 paragraphs and 1 line of dialogue for your character):

Most teenagers spend their weeknights watching TV, playing Xbox, and updating their Facebook statuses. Me? I put on my nicest set of long johns, trespass in a bar frequented by lowlifes, and pick fights with absurdly named criminals. Tonight, it's the Enforcers. There's the hulking behemoth, Ox; the James Cagney impersonator, Fancy Dan; and their whip-wielding ringleader, Montana. As you can imagine, they're not your typical band of crooks. The Enforcers work for some enigmatic, up-and-coming crimelord who goes by the equally uncreative name of The Big Man. Apparently, my attempts to track down this Big Man have landed me on his radar - enough so that he's dispatched his goons to deal with me.

My built-in sixth sense for danger, Spider-Sense, erupts like an angry beehive. If I were to try and explain the sensation, it feels like concentrated vibration at the base of my skull. And when it's ringing the alarm this urgently, there's nothing I can do but react on pure instinct. I jump into the air not a moment too soon as Fancy Dan takes his aim and pulls the triggers on his pistols, unleashing a torrent of flying lead. Automatic pistols? Wonderful. In mid-air, I fire both of my web-shooters, clogging up Fancy Dan's guns with the sticky fluid. "Sorry, pal, but I'm not a big fan of guns," I remark, "and I can't risk a stray bullet hitting anyone in here, even if they are all thugs."

Suddenly, the snapping end of Montana's whip is at my neck, hitting me before sound and Spider-Sense alike. I'm knocked out of the air into the waiting arms of Ox. "You knocked me down," he grunts as he starts applying pressure. "Nobody knocks me down!"

It feels like my ribcage is about to cave in. Barely able to breathe, I reply, "First... time... for everything... right?" I throw my head back as sharply as I can, and it connects with Ox's chin. The shock of the sudden collision dazes us both, but it also causes Ox to loosen his grip just enough. I squirm free, delivering a hard elbow to Ox's kidney. At this, Ox loses his grip on me completely, and I front-flip out of his "loving" arms.

Abandoning his clogged pistols, Fancy Dan takes a run at me. It's clear that he's received some kind of martial arts training. His strikes move with lightning speed, and it takes all of my enhanced reflexes to avoid them. The ones which do land, however, are expertly placed, targeting pressure points and weak spots on my body. As I try to recover from the weakening blows, Fancy Dan delivers a quick roundhouse kick, knocking me backwards. The sudden tightening of a whip around my throat lets me know that Montana's taking another turn.

While I struggle to break free of Montana's whip, Ox lumbers forward to take his hacks. He leans into me with every ounce of his considerable strength. With my hands clutching at my neck, my body is left entirely open for punishment. Ox wastes no time taking advantage of this. After the fourth or fifth body shot, I begin to feel numb. A combination of the whip at my throat and the body shots from Ox leaves me only vaguely aware of the shockwaves rocking my core over and over again. I realize the need to act fast. I won't be able to maintain consciousness much longer at this rate. My fingers snap to my palm, firing a blast of webbing over my shoulder and into Montana's eyes. As my neck comes free of the cowboy's whip, I dropkick Ox in the solar plexus. This time, the beast of a man falls all the way down, smacking his head on the side of a table as he falls. "The bigger they are," I gasp, rubbing my neck where I had been strangled.

Before I have a moment to catch my breath, Fancy Dan is on top of me again. This time, however, his skill and quickness no longer come as a surprise. It's much easier for me to dodge his attacks now that I know what I'm up against. After nimbly ducking away from a flurry of strikes, I aim my wrists at Fancy Dan's feet and web them to the floor. "You remember those pop-up punching bags with the clowns drawn on them?" I ask. I rear back and deliver a hard right cross to Fancy Dan's cheekbone, causing the pinstriped goon to bend backwards as far as his webbed feet allow. Terror fills his eyes as the elasticity of the webbing springs him back upright towards my waiting fist. The second punch relieves him of consciousness. "Nighty night."

Over by the bar, Montana claws futilely at the webbing which covers his eyes. I step up to him and perform a standing backflip. My foot connects with his chin, sending him sprawling backwards against the bar. I'm about to feel pretty proud of myself when that familiar buzzing returns. I'm just quick enough to avoid being eviscerated. In the midst of the fray, the owner of the bar - Frank Oliver - has retrieved his shotgun. No longer in the mood for warnings or threats, Oliver pumps the shotgun and lines up his next shot. As I dodge, the ensuing scatter shot shatters a plate glass window at the front of the pub. "Gentlemen, I thank you for your cooperation," I announce to my fallen adversaries with an exaggerated bow. I backflip through the shattered window while Oliver reloads.

Somewhere in the distance, approaching sirens signal that the police have learned of the skirmish. Though I hate to leave such a big lead as the Enforcers, I hate the prospect of answering to the police - or to Oliver - even more. Firing a strand of webbing at the nearest ledge, I pull myself into the air and begin swinging home. If I hurry, I might even make it back by curfew. Then, maybe I won't have to dodge any awkward questions from Aunt May...​

 

[Eddie Brock]

Long overdue Flash post tonight. I got myself in the mood all day by doing fan casting (go check it out!). Pinky promise.

 

[Carnage27]

So it's been 36 hours-ish, and no one else seems to be interested in Spider-man.

If that's the case and no one's planning to add another app, consider yourself approved, Eddie.

Also, it seems that every time I think I'm doing my best work, Modern Man gets a post up and I feel wholly inadequate.

 

[Eddie Brock]

Also, it seems that every time I think I'm doing my best work, Modern Man gets a post up and I feel wholly inadequate.

To be fair, he is kinda cheating... what with having his whole season written out and all.

But seriously, Morden... Dr. Charles McNider? You brilliant, cheeky bastard.

 

[Morden Man]

If you're not cheating, you're not trying!

In all honesty I was (and still am) thinking of picking up a second character seeing some of the work that you guys have been doing. Daredevil's almost entirely self-contained and will be for some time, so it would be fun to take the complete opposite approach and pick up a character that's already active and capable of interacting with you guys.

I just need to figure out who the hell that might be.

 

[Misfit]

Hey, guys. I'll be on a month long hiatus for reasons I'll explain later. For now, ciao.

 

[Carnage27]

Anyone heard from Sentarous? Waiting on that Huntress post!

Also...everyone else POOOOOOOOOOOOST.

 

[Eddie Brock]

It's another busy weekend for me, but that just gives me plenty of time to think and plan before I sit down this week and actually write.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Postings will be up tonight.

 

[Misfit]

Actually, I'll take a rain check on that hiatus, but posting will be slow

 

[Saved]

My laptop broke thursday night and i havent been home home since then. Im going to take it to get fixed tomorrow so i should have my posts up in the next day. Sorry for the delay. Its a new laptop so idek why its failed me.

 

[Sentarous]

Anyone heard from Sentarous? Waiting on that Huntress post!

I'm back from my Dragon Age: Inquisition coma so I'll be working on posts all 'round.

 

[Eddie Brock]

Post coming tonight. By the way, are we following the recent convention of Metropolis and Gotham being in Delaware and New Jersey, respectively?

 

[Carnage27]

I'm back from my Dragon Age: Inquisition coma so I'll be working on posts all 'round.

Oh hey me too.

Post coming tonight. By the way, are we following the recent convention of Metropolis and Gotham being in Delaware and New Jersey, respectively?

Yup.

 

[Eddie Brock]

Captain America post is on the docket. Traveling, Thanksgiving, and now work have just gotten in the way of me actually sitting down to write it.

 

[Morden Man]

Bloody Americans with your make-believe holidays.

 

[Sentarous]

In the process of writing, will keep you guys in the know.

 

[Eddie Brock]

Bloody Americans with your make-believe holidays.

Pfft. You're just jealous that you don't have a holiday dedicated to stuffing your face with awesome food, drinking yourself into a stupor, and watching sports.