What Age?

[Certified]

While thinking about a new Champions game I find myself hung up early in development. As I’m trying to get a feel for everything I thought I would put the questions to the forum readers. I’m sure these have been asked before and hopefully it doesn’t come off as too pretentious to ask.

 

What is your favorite era of comics, Golden Age, Silver etc?

 

Is there a definitive title for you in this Age?

 

Is this your preferred feel for a Champions game and why?

[nexus]

Re: What Age?

 

Honestly, late Bronze and Iron. I just prefer the tone to be a little grittier in general thuogh it can get over the top quickly (every Age has its cliches and drek). The Ulitimates and Supreme Power are the examples that come to mind.

[Edsel]

Re: What Age?

 

Silver Age and early Bronze age, in order of preference:

1. The Invincible Iron Man
   
2. Captain America
   
3. Spiderman
   
4. Fantastic Four
   
5. The Avengers
   
6. X-Men
   
7. Thor
   

Yeah, I was pretty much into Marvel.

[Vondy]

Re: What Age?

 

Late Bronze and Steel.

[OddHat]

Re: What Age?

 

This question goes around a lot. I don't think in terms of comic book ages, but my campaigns are usually a mix of serious and light hearted themes and ideas. Some comedy, some tragedy, some sci fi, some mysticism, no winking at the audience.

 

Books inspire me as much as comics, but comics wise right now:

Tom Strong, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Astro City, Planetary. Maybe Hellblazer, Books of Magic, and Sandman here and there.

 

Older inspirations:

1970s and 1980s Avengers, Justice League, Defenders, Legion of Superheroes, Fantastic Four.

[Lord Mhoram]

Re: What Age?

 

Whatever Astro City, The teen titans and Green lantern are being considered - Gilded Iron, Neosilver?

[Killer Shrike]

Re: What Age?

 

Astro City pretty much sums it all up for me.

[Bloodstone]

Re: What Age?

 

Bronze. I grew up on Spider-man and the X-men so that's just what I happen to think of first when people mention super heroes.

 

Game wise, I think I could handle just about anything except high Silver, but I admit I've never actually played with anyone that wanted to simulate that age.

[Captain Liberty]

Re: What Age?

 

Golden Age. My current campaign (M&M, as it happens) is set in an alternate world in which some of the events of the Golden Age, like WWII, did not happen and now seem about to happen in 2007. I generally have to amend my campaigns to accomodate the Silver to Bronze Age sensibilities of most of my players.

 

Oh, and the emblematic comic book of the period is, of course, All Star Comics featuring the Justice Society of America

[Cancer]

Re: What Age?

 

Silver. I was a comic-reading kid in the Silver Age, then a 3-year hiatus, and then again very early in the Iron Age. But all that Iron Age superhero angst crap annoyed me because it got in the way of what comics were supposed to be about.

[Tech]

Re: What Age?

 

It's hard to answer since I'm not keeping track of what's Gold, Silver, etc. If someone wants to update me on what's what, I can post again.

[Cold Steel]

Re: What Age?

 

Lately i been drawn to the Silver Age. Something about a new team of superheroes coming back to the limelight after a long absence at the end of the Golden Age appeals to me.

[John Desmarais]

Re: What Age?

 

Retcon Golden Age. This is the Golden Age as portrayed in comics written long after the Golden Age had ended. The definitive titles (for me) were the Invaders and the All-Star Squadron books by Roy Thomas.

 

This is also my favorite style of Champions game - and it also seems to be the hardest to find other players who are interested in.

[Clonus]

Re: What Age?

 

It's hard to answer since I'm not keeping track of what's Gold' date=' Silver, etc. If someone wants to update me on what's what, I can post again.[/quote']

 

Gold: Gold represents the era starting with the introduction of Superman and Batman up until the introduction of the Barry Allen Flash. Benchmarks include:

 

Characters, hero and villain, can kill, but mostly indirectly in the case of heroes. You don't see heroes breaking the necks of enemy sentries, but you do see them blowing up Japanese dams or causing some criminal's plane to crash, No particular effort is made to save the lives of bad guys and certain heroes are remorseless and implacable killers.

 

Capes aren't universal but are widespread fashion.

 

Teenage sidekicks who are shorter, less capable versions of their patron are even more common than capes.

 

No particular training or powers are considered necessary to a superhero. As a result there are a large number of characters who are going into combat armed with nothing but a mask and an attitude, and a mob of mundane thugs are often a serious threat even to some characters who have powers.

 

Titles and colours are common in superhero names: Characters are named "Doctor" or "Captain", or "Mister", or the "Red", "Green" or "Blue" something. When you aren't named like that odds are good that your name ends in "Man", or "Lady" or "Girl". Or you're a sidekick in which case your name tends to be something nonthreatening and meaningless.

 

 

Nazis are common opponents. So are bald scientists. (Historically Japanese were also common opponents in the real Golden Age, but in nostalgia stories hearkening back to the GA the Japanese have largely been sidelined in favour of the more romantic Nazis.). Actual superpowered opponents, as opposed to bald scientists with a robot or a death ray, while not unknown, were less common than in later eras. Aliens from other parts of the solar system are also frequent opponents.

 

Common origins include: Accidental chemical exposure, visiting or being raised in a secret society which can train you to have powers, stumbling across a magical relic, consumption of a drug or serum which usually only requires one dose, designing a special weapon that can be held in one hand, just getting angry and putting on a costume.

 

Silver Age: The Silver Age began with the introduction of Barry Allen in 1956. (Seriously. In the next letter column there was a fan who wrote that if the World War II era was the golden age of comics, then the new Flash was the start of a silver age.). The Silver Age ends with the disintigration ofthe Comics Code.

 

Heroes may no longer try to kill "living" beings. Villains may try, but their attempts are doomed to be foiled at every turn. This restriction does not apply to any kind of machine no matter how self-willed it may be. Mind control is used quite casually and thoughtlessly even by supposed good guys.

 

At this point, the idea that super-powered heroes might be regarded with fear and mistrust by the general public is introduced. The teenaged side-kick goes out of style to be replaced with a larger number of teams of teenagers or teenage solo heroes. Supervillains become much more common as opponents, and mundane opponents become no more than nuisances and distractions used by their supervillainous leaders to take the hero offguard. Supervillains, while powered, are rarely an equal match for the heroes, so they need the advantage of surprise

 

The government is trustworthy. The Communists are wicked. And where-ever you turn, there are apes posing a threat to the public or you personally.

 

The most powerful characters are _extremely_ powerful, capable of moving, destroying and creating planets. Interstellar travel is routine for many characters.

 

Common origins include: Being an alien. Stumbling across alien technology. Building a circuitry-laden suit. Accidental exposure to radiation. Note that characters from the Golden Age persisted into the Silver Age or were brought back during it.

 

The Bronze Age: The Bronze Age begins with the collapse of the Comics Code (Which started almost immediately before the introduction of Barry Allen). Villains are now more successful in their efforts to kill people. Government is less trustworthy. Communists are less evil. Killer vigilantes begin to emerge as anti-heroes. Some heroes fall victim to drug abuse, or engage in sex. The most powerful characters are cut down to size or and many characters run into more opponents who can face them as equals. '

 

The personhood of thinking machines is more recognised and the morality of using mind control for convenience's sake is more questioned.

 

The Bronze Age also sees the introduction of massive company-wide crossovers.

 

Common origins include: Being magically cursed. Genetic engineering. Being mechanically built or getting cybernetic implants. Deliberate exposure to radiation. Recieving training in oriental martial arts (which are now regarded as superior to western hand to hand forms)

 

Iron Age: The Iron Age began with with characters like Wolverine and Punisher getting their own comics and the Watchmen series.

 

Multiple examples of killer anti-heroes become leads rather than guest stars or supporting characters and even characters who aren't generally killers become more inclined to make exceptions. The bickering of the previous era's superteams is replaced by outright paranoia as their own members become a far greater threat to each other than the "supervillains". Governments are reliably evil. Power levels increase from the Bronze Age but become less reliable. Characters are more likely to find their power failing, changing unpredictably or turning on them.

 

Common origins include: Getting your hands on really big guns, knowing magic, being exposed to overlaps from other universes and nanotechnology.

[Tech]

Re: What Age?

 

Thanks Clonus. I'd have to say the campaign I'm in is primarily Silver with a little of Gold and a touch of Bronze.

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: What Age?

 

Retcon Golden Age. This is the Golden Age as portrayed in comics written long after the Golden Age had ended. The definitive titles (for me) were the Invaders and the All-Star Squadron books by Roy Thomas.

 

This is also my favorite style of Champions game - and it also seems to be the hardest to find other players who are interested in.

 

Hearty second to that. I love the setting of the 1930's and 40's, but with Bronze Age tone - make minorities and the Axis (esp. the Japanese) real people and not caricatures and go to town.

 

I like "Bronze Age" tone and feel for things, plus Steel or whatever they call it - which is basically just Bronze without Disco.

 

Take the post-pulp adventure sensibilities of Golden Age, toss in some of the wonder and crazy stuff from Silver Age, mix in a dose of "realism" and consequences, stir with reasonable continuity. Tah dah, Bronze Campaign Cake!

[Captain Liberty]

Re: What Age?

 

Despite my gray hairs, I wasn't old enough to read comics during the Golden Age (except right at the end), so having had the alternative of Retcon Golden Age waved in front of me, I'll join the line under that one. The callous disregard for people of non-white ethnicity is one of my major turn-offs for that period, so I prefer the retconned versions.

 

That said, perhaps I should change my favorite group from the JSA to the All-Star Squadron.

[Plex]

Re: What Age?

 

I would have to say that my favorite is the Bronze Age, though I also really like some of the Iron Age, and whatever Age is going on today for some things. I started reading comics in the late 70's, but really got into them in the early to mid 80's. In the hey day I was picking up most everything that DC was putting out for Superhero and then including what became their Vertigo Line. Those were some amazing comics that I still go back and read. I was also picking up a lot of the Marvel titles then. (I had a lot of disposable income and the prices were not as bad as they are now.) There were also quite a few independents that I was picking up through these years too.

 

By the mid 90's though, I was completely burnt out with all the junk that was coming out and just stopped getting everything. I just started getting back into comics a few years ago. Most of what I pick up today is DC- JSA, JLA, LSH, Flash, Shadowpact, Jack of Fables, Fables, Justice, Brave and the Bold. From Marvel I'm getting Moon Knight and waiting for the new Thor to come out. (Though when a new Dr strange come out, I always get that.) The only independent I get is Fall of Cthulhu.

 

The Bronze Age isn't quite as dark to me as some that are out now. I want my heroes to be better than the villains they fight. I don't mind having flaws in my heroes, I just want them to be able to rise above them when the time comes.

[MitchellS]

Re: What Age?

 

I'm a bronze age guy. '75 to '95 or so was my comic era. There's a balance point between too silly and too serious. The bronze age covered that well for me.

[McCoy]

Re: What Age?

 

Anything except Iron.

 

Favorite for gaming Silver to bronze.

[Theron]

Re: What Age?

 

If I'm GMing, Bronze.

If my old GM Gorillaboss is GMing, Silver (it's his thing)