reference material for Street Heroes

[JmOz]

OK, as some of you know, I am working on a book on Street Level Heroes. I have a list of reference material already, but I would like more. So I ask you for a list of references. I do not want to post mine as I do not want to influence what others say. So what would you look at for references for such a product?

[RexMundi]

Comic Books?

~Rex

[JmOz]

Movies, comics, tv series, books, websites. It is orientated towards super heroes, but the format is not as important as the genre

[RexMundi]

Ah....ok ..... let's roll out some great Street Level TV shows both young and old ....

Person of Interest (currently running)
Dark Justice (off Air)
NightMan (both TV show And Comic)
The Equalizer
The A-Team
Knight Rider
Chuck
Fringe
Burn Notice
The X-Files
Castle
The Mentalist
Human Target
Nikita
Supernatural
Break Out Kings
Flash Point
Birds of Prey (tv and Comic)
Pain Killer Jane
Alphas (yeah super powered but super lite)
Heroes
Tru Calling
11th Hour
Toss in Dark Angel, Moonlight and Forever Night for a bit of an urban power boost....
maybe slip in some The Master, and Kung Fu (both series) for some Martial Arts goodies...
Blood Ties and Prey ....
Threshold

Could go on for awhile there hell you end up with Viper, Airwolf, and Streethawk not to mention Manimal, Werewolf the TV Series, Friday the 13th The Series, Warehouse 13, The Incredible Hulk Spider-Man and Captain America, heh. Sure, some powers but power lite again .....
Leverage

Comics the list is longer but, I'd go with:

Batman (entire Bat Family), Secret Six, Daredevil, Captain America, the upcoming Winter Soldier, Moon Knight (pre Bendis), The Punisher, Battle Scars, the old Checkmate Comic, Brubaker's Incognito and Criminal Series....this list could get really long, heh. Especially if I go into DC's Golden Age... Bring on Wildcat, the rest don't measure up ...Except for The Phantom, Doc Savage, Tarzan, John Carter, and more then a few others heh......

Novels: Pendeltons Mack Bolan, Dale Brown's Tin Man, Could do the Entire "The Destroyer" series since Remo Williams is always fun, The Locator (now a TV Show albeit with a different name), Preston and Childs "The Relic" series. Sabberhagen's Dracula books (yeah I know supernatural but brilliant stuff), The Shadow, the Spider, Doc Savage, The Avenger, etc etc etc etc ....

There's a start before going into Technical stuff like Janes Book of Infantry weapons and the like.

~Rex

[DusterBoy]

I'll add my two cents.

MANTIS

Unique, in that it featured a black disabled superhero as the protagonist. From an article, Dr Miles Hawkins comes across as a street-level version of Tony Stark.

[RexMundi]

Heh, as much as I hated that show it's a Good Pick. So would the original pilot for Exo-Man from way back in the day.....



~Rex

[DusterBoy]

I think one of the worst things about that show was the way it was shot. The premise is actually a very good one and one that could be ripped whole-heartedly for a campaign. (And I don't see why MANTIS couldn't fit into the CU.)

And how rare is a black protagonist? Even today? 'S why I picked it. That and the fact that Hawkins in the MANTIS suit makes Conrad in the Exo-Man suit look like Mr Plod.

[wcw43921]

Well, I liked the original MANTIS pilot movie better than the TV series. I had the impression that the "suits" at the Fox network looked at the numbers and their demographic research and said, "This show needs more white people." Which is why the series got rid of the pathologist character played by Gina Torres and the reporter played by Bobby Hosea, and the two African characters who assisted Hawkins in his crimefighting, and replaced them with Hawkins' colleague (played by Cheers' Roger Rees) and this skateboarder guy. It seemed to me that the MANTIS character lost the Shadow-esque quality it had in the pilot with those changes.

Back on topic--RexMundi's list is quite comprehensive; Good Job. If there were anything I could add, it would be more Golden Age comics and characters--most of the stories I've read had heroes of varying power levels fighting thieves, racketeers, and other "common criminals." Yes, there were supervillains, but there weren't a whole lot, to my recollection, that were as powerful as the heroes. The Joker, The Penguin, The Red Skull--while they were unmatched for evil and cunning, they were basically guys in masks and costumes--no powers. (One I particularly remember was The Hag, an ugly old gangster who went up against The Human Torch. She only lasted one appearance--killed by her own hand grenade.)

One Golden Age "street super" worth a mention is the quintessential comic cop--Dick Tracy. His Rogues' Gallery rivals Batman's for colorful looks and evil minds. I'd pay good money for a Batman/Dick Tracy crossover.

Hope that helps.

[RexMundi]

Oh I could go one for Hours really if I wanted to tap my Golden Age and even more Pulp Knowledge, heh..... If you look at the Line Up for the All Star Squadron for example Most of it's members were Street Level Heroes, and most of those without evenminor powers. You would end up starting somewhere Around the Atom (Al Pratt, DC comics), and ending up around oh, with Marvel's Zara of the Jungle .....

So I kept the list brief, heh....

~Rex

[RexMundi]

There were two other pilots that came out about the same time as Exo Man that for the life of me I can't remember the names of. ONE, was a scientist working on Cloning, that made a zillion clones of himself in the process of trying to hide it all from the government. The other was a guy that got electocuted/struck by lightning and had to get a recharge in a weird tube/coffin looking thing but otherwise, had electrical powers. I remember that one specifically because of the watch thingie he wore to keep track of his charge. Both of those shows were actually rather well done. Eventually I'll remember the name for them. Both have Highlights on Youtube though I've found them before.....

The thing to keep in mind for a Street Level heroes Game is, that these heroes primarily Deal with Crime on the Streets. The Heroes being powered or not, almost always are dealing with the mafia, the Yakuza, the Teletubies or some such thing. They're not really dealing with Galactus or Kang or Darkseid. Now they may have their own arch enemy at the to of the food chain in a costume or not (IN a costume if the Hero is costumed, Not if the Hero is not usually), but mostly, big nasty hordes of mooks...

My Street Level stuff is still rather point heavy. I like my players to be able to pull off Wildcat, and basically have a Heavy Weight Boxer in a Cat Suit that's not gonna get killed by 10 guys with sticks and guns. My own setting I'd really like to find a pile of folks to play in but alas, have not had any luck, is built around that kinda thought. Sure you got guys with powers, even some with a LOT, but most of the guys could be side to side with Wildcat and The Atom, or Daredevil and the Punisher. Normal Crime is still a real threat, Much like it was for guys like The Bat-man back in the day (or, The Spider, or The Black Bat, etc etc etc).....So I guess what I'm saying here at near midnight on the third day with no real sleep is that Street Level or Street Heroes is more an Attitude and or Flavor (Like Pulp), then a specific Point Cap and or "Genre Time" .... I can think of some Street Heroes, without a doubt Street Heroes, that would have to be built on more points then a passable Superman if you wanted to represent them perfectly.

Either way, lot of potential source material. If folks need to make a judgement call as to what's Street and What's not....just ask yourself, What Would Wildcat Do?

745751-batmanwildcat3pg18_1__super.jpg

~Rex

[kahuna's bro]

the tv serires the master anotheris raven starring jeffery meek

[DusterBoy]

If folks need to make a judgement call as to what's Street and What's not....just ask yourself, What Would Wildcat Do?

Kick a whole shedload or arse, probably.

[kahuna's bro]

second the motion
here's another steet level refgerence the american ninja movie series

[RexMundi]

Heh, I almost kicked myself for not mentioning the Master but I went back to look at my Post and there it was. I Should kick myself for not mentioning American Ninja, and or Any of the bazillion Martial Arts TV shows and Movies I got sitting on the shelf. Excellent mention.

Now, I just need my Wildcat TV Show.

~Rex....or Monster Hunter International. One can hope.

[DusterBoy]

Another suggestion:

Point Man

with Jack Scalia. I caught the movie on VHS many years ago. Good source material I think.