Marvel Universe trivia

[Superdragon]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

I remember way back in the comic books that there was a powerful weapon created by the Celestials called the Dreaming Celestial, which was a non-sentient Celestial body that could be inhabited by anyone with strong willpower.

 

The Deviant Warloard Ghaur inhabited it and used it against the Eternals of Earth. Uncertain as to what happened to it.

[Agent X]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

That's the Star of Capistan. Doc Strange has custody of it at the present time.

Or does he?

[Susano]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

And you just know someone is going to buy someone else off with Hostess Twinkies and Fruit Pies....

 

[Agent 13]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

And you just know someone is going to buy someone else off with Hostess Twinkies and Fruit Pies....

You leave me out of this.

[McCoy]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

Empowerment by a cosmic entity is possible in theory' date=' of course, but one would have to come up with a reason for any of them would want to grant that power to the Skull.[/quote']

Which is why I suggested Kubik. Exploring his past, he decides he owes the Skull. So he either (1) grants the Red Skull's wish for power or (2) gives the Skull power to teach him that power will not make him satisfied.

 

McCoy: I forgot about the Zodiac Key. It's been a long time since I've seen it in use - is it really that powerful? I rather thought that the Power Prism wasn't quite oomphy enough' date=' but if I knew everything I wouldn't ask for help. It's harder to justify the Skull getting aboard Galactus's ship, let alone being able to interface with his computers.[/quote']

*shrug* How powerful do you want it to be? If I were to bring the Zodiac key into a game I would say that it was a 45-60 pt. cosmic VPP on an OAF. The Power Prism was a parody of Green Lanter's ring, would a Power Ring be oomphy enough? Michael was mentioned more for completeness than anything else.

[Dr. Anomaly]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

How about the Phoenix Force? Or is it even still around? It's been a long time since I read any Marvel comics.

 

Or...maybe the Elder of the Universe known as the Gamemaster finds out in some way that Cap is going to be (or could be, with the right "crisis") the recipient of the Unipower, so he arranges for the Red Skull to get a massive power-up so he can watch the resulting "game" played out between UniCap and the Super Red Skull.

[Wanderer]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

During a dramatic battle with some other cosmic menace, several among the cosmically-powerful Avengers and other solo big-league heroes (e.g. Thor, Silver Surfer, (She-)Hulk, Jack of Hearts, WonderMan, Starfire, etc.) are left defeated and unconscious on the field of battle. The Red Skull has them picked up, genetic samples collected and power signatures analyzed) and the data are fed into a half-mystic/half-superscience power-duplicating and magnifying machine/ritual that gives him the power of all those cosmic heroes, enhanced. The selfsame cosmic crisis also causes Cap to be embodied with the unipower.

 

Red Skull spends some time adjusting to and training to his new powers so he shows up just after the original crisis has resolved. However, his new powers makes him more than a match for Cosmic Cap (and probably all of the Avengers Assembled). Until it is revealed that in order to successfully duplicate the heroes' powers, RS made a little deal with an even worse cosmic menace to earth/mankind/universe than a powered-up fascist warlord (e.g. Mephisto, Dormammu, Ultron, Set, Chton) for "a little favor of my choice" or an apparently-trivial feat, which, however, is now revealed to allow the worse menace to run rampant across Earth/Galaxy/Universe...

 

Alternatively, at the end of the fight, Cosmic Skull, in his arrogance, neglects to honor his part of the contract and his irate conterpart has him sucked into alternate Hellish dimension/apparently killed/enslaved... until a couple stories later, Cosmic Skull returns, as the newly-empressed right-hand minion of the other cosmic baddie and leading his new master's armies to conquest. of course, he is looking for a way to double-cross...

 

Moreover, the empowering ritual procedure used by the skull is imperfect and part of the power splits up and embues some random bystander or causes the long-suppressed good part of the RS psyche/soul to split up into a clone with cosmic powers. The net effect is that a novice cosmic hero, whose origin is closely related to the way RS used to empower himself, is created and plays a pivotal role into his defeat (Evil Defeats Itself and Cosmic Balance Will Be Maintained). If a player be willing to pick up the role, this is a good occasion to launch a new cosmic hero, with powers somewhat lesser but related and similar to Cosmic Skull, complete with angstful origin and background link to a major MU master villain.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

And the idea machine keeps on crankin'!

 

superdragon, thanks for the Dreaming Celestial reference, but even at the time of Ghaur's plot I thought that any superheroes, solo or team, confronting a Celestial-level foe is a suicidal mismatch that stretches credibility. Celestials are usually depicted as transcendently powerful.

 

To those who mentioned the Star of Capistan, what exactly does it do? I've heard the name "Red Rajah" but never read anything with the character.

 

McCoy, Kubik is a perfectly reasonable idea. That sort of leaves a deus ex machina waiting in the wings to resolve things, though, and I'd prefer Cosmic Cap have to defeat the Skull himself. As to power level, Green Lantern's power ring would do quite nicely; it wasn't clear to me from past Dr. Spectrum appearances that the Power Prism was in that class, but it certainly could have been defined that way since. I was essentially looking for something in the weight class of "cosmic" heroes and villains, but below the "conceptual entity" level - like Thor, the Heralds of Galactus, Quasar and their ilk.

 

Dr. Anomaly: at its peak the Phoenix was shown to be at Galactus's level of power, but there were implications that the mental limitations of a human host could curtail that. It's at least justifiable. The Grandmaster certainly makes sense, but again, I'd like to avoid even the appearance of a DEM option.

 

Wanderer: nice plot synopsis! Not quite what I'm going for, but it would have made a solid crossover storyline.

 

Just to be clear, you're all demonstrating great creativity and MU knowledge. I'm not saying that any of your suggestions are bad or inferior just because they don't quite fit what I'm seeking. I really appreciate this input - you've all given me a lot to consider.

[Wanderer]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

If you prefer to root the story into Cap's and Red Skull's WWII roots, here's another idea:

 

In the last days of WWII, Nazi occultists performed a ritual that would dedicate all the collected lifeforce and souls of the German soldier casualties to (Evil Godlike Figure of Your Choice: Mephisto, Hela, Seth...) in exchange for concentrating the equivalent cosmic power into the "Last Warrior of the Reich". Due to last-minute disruption provided by Cap & the Invaders storming the ritual, its effects were apparently disrupted, instead only delayed to 60 years later, when the power gets embued into the Red Skull (as he is the last outstanding major figure to "fight" for and embody Nazi ideals) and it turns him into a major cosmic superhuman, at least the equal of several cosmic heroes/villains, such as Thor and Silver Surfer, combined, and more than a match for Unipower Cosmic Cap, even including help from the other Avengers. The key for Cap to defeat him is to realize his own role in creating the Skull's power source and to be able and overcome his own old '40s prejudices and realize that not all of the German soldiers that fought in WWII were approving and supporting Nazi atrocities - many were just trapped into fighting for an injust and doomed cause - and ask and give mutual forgiveness to the souls of dead German soldiers that have been suffering trapped in Hell till then: this will cause them to be released from their torment and the Red Skull to be pulled into Hell in their place.

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

Could combine some of the concepts...

 

Red Skull becomes aware of the Unipower. Research shows that it can be diverted (got into Spidey early due to interference). Skull has scientists re-create Doc Doom's Silver Surfer Siphon. Skull then sets up huge earth-shattering disaster (release enough red dust to kill everyone on Earth, launch nukes into planet's core, whatever). Unipower senses impending disaster and heads for Earth. Skull's equipment siphons it off...partially. The equipment designed for the Silver Surfer doesn't fully work on the Unipower - half goes to the Red Skull, half to its intended recipient - Captain America.

 

Or have the Red Skull set up to make a deal with one of the mystic menaces like Mephisto, Loki, Dormammu, etc. but successfully backstab them. I think the Red Skull would look pretty cool with the Flames of the Faltine about him, don't you?

[shaunclinton]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

Couldn't the skull absorb the mutant templates of Charles Xavier and Magneto, merging their energies into himself and taking the worst elements of their personalities to become...

 

The Red Onslaught!!!

 

He could then kidnap Franklin Richards and X-Man to absorb their power!!!

 

Sounds like a great summer comics event waiting to kick off!

[ShinDangaioh]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

Let's go really obscure here.

 

The Spellbinder bands. At the end of the mini-series, it was shown that prolonged use of the bands permanently empowers a being.

 

Then there is the insanity problem that those bands cause.(more like power without purpose drove them insane)

[DaBadGuy]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

How about this: The Red Skull contacts the Mad Thinker and "contracts" him to place the Skull's consciousness into the body of the Super Adaptoid. That gives the Skull the powers of several Avengers along with his own evil genius. After the Skull-Adaptoid thrashes the Avengers, the Unipower manifests in Captain America and he then mounts a furious comeback. Until the Skull-Adaptoid adapts the Unipower as well. Then the fun really starts.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

I guess I should describe the sort of story I was thinking about.

 

There would be two main plotlines. One would focus on Captain America dealing with the implications of possessing the Unipower: how it would affect his understanding of other beings with great superhuman abilities; how other heroes, villains and the public would react to his new status. That would ideally unfold in Cap's own series.

 

The other plotline would be a foreshadowing in several comics titles, of a shadowy figure building a major criminal force: taking over organizations like AIM and Hydra, recruiting other powerful supervillains as henchmen and operatives, perhaps forming alliances with major villains with their own power bases, or at least truces. This figure would not be revealed, but would demonstrably have enough power to overwhelm or intimidate any opposition. Clues might be dropped to let readers guess the mastermind's identity, but in the storyline it would be Captain America who finally recognizes the pattern of his old nemesis, although not the new level of threat he represents.

 

The two plotlines would come together in a major crossover event that would have Captain America and likely the other Avengers, plus other heroes, confront the Cosmic Skull and his organization, when the mastermind's identity is revealed. Most of the other heroes would deal with the Red Skull's minions, leaving Cosmic Cap to confront the empowered Skull in the climactic battle.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

Wanderer, your occult empowering idea is very clever and poetic. Definitely worth thinking about.

 

Supreme Serpent, Red Skull as ruler of the Dark Dimension was an image that intrigued me too. It would take some doing to justify, but it is possible. That kinda feels like more of a Doctor Strange-focussed storyline than a Cap one, though.

 

shaunclinton:

 

ShinDangaioh: could you tell me more about the Spellbinder bands? I'm not up on that reference.

 

DaBadGuy: Super-Adaptoid has potential. The Skull could take it while its template of superbeings is blank and powerless, then start seeking out the most powerful supers he can find to steal powers from. That would allow for plenty of foreshadowing scenes. And the S-A gets its power from a fragment of the Cosmic Cube, so the classic Skull plot connection can still be worked in. Worth considering!

[GaryB]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

You could always give him a dose of Wizard's Techno-virus. That would make things interesting.

[casualplayer]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

Well, that makes a world of difference.

 

I would start off with the Red Skull commissioning a new Hatemonger from Arnim Zola. Zola has perfected his cloning process and now his clones regain their complete former memories. Adolph Hitler, resurrected as Hatemonger several times before, had a passion for occult lore and mystic artifacts, and the Red Skull wants the location of one of these caches. Specifically he wants the one that contains the Drachen, a prototype of the Demolisher (Destroyer?) also forged by Odin but even less controllable. The stirring of the Red Drachen impels the Uniforce to empower Captain America, but until he puts the pieces together he doesn't know why he was gifted.

 

This could be all sorts of fun:

 

You could use Doughboy, always a crowd pleaser and a huge clue that Zola is involved.

 

Hatemonger not wanting to relinquish the info and Red Skull "coaxing" the information from him. Imagine having to save Hitler from the Red Skull.

 

If Thor is still alive, it makes an easy way to involve him, or any Asgardian for that matter. Quasar will probably notice Captain Ameriverse's new stature and/or the Red Drachen. Spider-Man will likely crap his pants if the Drachen stirs.

 

Maybe the cache is in Latveria?

 

Helmut Zemo may have to involve himself in the Nazi reunion.

 

 

One of two things will happen, and I know which way I would go, if Captain America were to receive the Uniforce. He will have to have quite the session of introspection, and either be demoralized or reinvigorated. He will really be able to bring his message to the world with this new found power.

 

As long as you keep the mutants excluded this could be groovy.

[ShinDangaioh]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

 

ShinDangaioh: could you tell me more about the Spellbinder bands? I'm not up on that reference.

The Spellbinder mini-series was just that. A mini-series. A four issue miniseries.

 

The order band had the power of order. The chaos band had the power of chaos. There were a couple other items like a flight cape and a crown. But the bands were the main thing. The bands were once used to disperse(not send back, basically spread the atoms out) a demon mage and then later pull him back together(he was still alive)

 

It has been a while, since I read that mini-series

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: Marvel Universe trivia

 

Red Skull gets ahold of Rom's Neutralizer, and his scientists manage to reverse the energy flows, imbuing the Skull with all the power of the banished Dire Wraiths while leaving the Wraiths themselves trapped helplessly in Limbo.