AlHazred Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 What's your favorite superhero origin? Mine is from Dragon magazine issue #75 (July 1983), from the What's New? with Phil & Dixie comic strip: After his parents are murdered, an infant mutant is rocketed to Earth to escape the destruction of his home planet. He is found by a secret order of magicians led by the mysterious robot A-1. They train him in the physical/mental/sorcerous arts. In his 16th year, he is doused by chemicals, hit by lightning, bitten by a radioactive spider, bionically altered by a mad scientist, and given a weapon of great power by beneficent extraterrestrials from the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kraven Kor Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Honestly, Captain America's. At least, the one I know: Super Soldier Serum turns heart-of-gold weakling into Prime Grade-A Ass-kicker (who still has a heart of gold.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 My personal favorite is the Champions Universe's own Zodiac Working, executed by the late malevolent master magician Archimago. It provides a mysterious background, ready-made nemesis for the hero, and plenty of role-playing opportunities. Here's a summary from Champions Universe p. 65: "Perhaps the most dangerous of Archimago’s “relics” is the Zodiac Working, a spell of vast power he cast in 1979 that involved forcing twelve of the most powerful members of the Descending Hierarchy (the rulers of Hell) to mate with human women. His goal was to create a group of twelve followers with which he’d conquer the Multiverse. In one of their last missions together, the Fabulous Five thwarted the ritual, and for a time it seemed all was well. But it turns out that the effects of the Working may merely have been delayed, not stopped altogether. At least one supervillain, Frag, displays powers whose energies mystics can directly connect to the Working. It may be that other supervillains out there are part of a group of twelve waiting to form, or that the rest are still to be born...." In his Hero Games supplement The Ultimate Mystic, Dean Shomshak describes a superhero with this origin, called Pagan, who manages to control the evil impulses of his hellborn heritage, and fend off the efforts of his demonic father to seduce or compel him to his service, while using his supernatural powers to fight crime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 I never realized Mr. Magoo's first name was Archie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 I've always liked the stark simplicity of Captain Comet's origin. "Born a hundred thousand years too soon." There's the same somewhat-squicky eugenical subtext as the later Marvel mutant explosion, but Captain Comet is alienated and alone with his super-brain. The time of his people is coming --in a hundred thousand years. So, anyway, he fights crime. I gather that this has been retconned to make him the first of Neo Sapiens. As a teenager, I would have loved this. I'm not sure what I think of it, now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 A couple of my favorites: Iron Man: Billionaire playboy weaponsmith ends up on the wrong side of his own creation and is forced to invent a new technology to save his own life. He has a change of heart and realizes that he can also use that technology to fight the forces of evil. I love redemption stories. Beast: Born with physical gifts beyond the limits of normal human achievement, he uses his extensive knowledge of biochemistry to make himself even stronger, faster, and more agile. The fact that it turns him into a blue-furred monster hardly phases him at all. Captain Britain: Choose one of the following artifacts - the Sword of Might, or the Amulet of Right. Captain Britain proved he was worth of the title with his choice. And honestly, after the 90s, I'm pretty much a fan of any origin story other than "born a mutant". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 McCoy was phased, believe me. Used to run around in a back brace to stand up straight and used a mask of his old face to cover up the beast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Wow, there are so many good ones out there that it's hard to nail it down. Some that come quickly to mind... 1) Doctor Strange- An arrogant worldly man finds himself stripped of the surgical ability he thought placed him above the peons. He tries anything to get it back, only to find humility and then finally enlightment when he looks not just into the next world, but the needs of others first. I really love the message of Doctor Strange's redemption and rise to power. 2) Captain America- Sometimes, when terrible situations arise , good men step forward and are ready to die to help their family, their people, their nation, maybe even the world. This is heroism that happens everyday in the world, but it's so lost in the darkness of it all we don't see it. Sometimes when we do see it, we don't trust it (And with good reason). Steve Rogers is one of those guys, and he risked his life to do the right thing. It paid off for him, but while sometimes discouraged, he never lost sight of the WHY he stepped forward in the first place. (Come to think of it, that's probably why I loved Rom Space Knight) 3) Blue Devil- I'm speaking of his original 80s run. Oh my god, this origin just embraced the weirdness and indeed made it a regular thing. A holywood stuntman who's also a damn good inventor gets in a 'devil movie' until encountering a real demon! Gets blasted, magic and science make out and BAM...Baby Superhero ! A superhero who's in severe denial about it for the longest time. It's not a GREAT origin, but having seen all the classic origins, I just couldn't help but smile at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostDancer Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Booster Gold stole tech from a museum in the future, his home time, before time-traveling to the past, our time, to fight crime. Best is the original Captain Marvel - http://imgur.com/N3KeR,awdCy,iewTI,ftk4h,ZAHg2,A5Faj#1 - read all five pages of surreal wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alverant Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 I won't get into specifics characters, but overall I like origins where the hero(ine) takes an active part. It shows that they've done something to earn their powers, particularly if they were doing something noble like scientific research, saving a stranger, protecting their family, etc. Being a hero(ine) is about acting and not passively getting your powers like mutants who get their powers just by being born. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Samson Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 I like "altered humans", such as those who get their powers from exposure to radiation (Spiderman, Hulk), and of these I like the "self-made men" (Henry Pym, Doc Samson), as opposed to accidents, best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueCloud2k2 Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 I like the instances where the person gets their powers because they were chosen. Such as one Doctor Donald Blake. He was hiking in the mountains and found Mjolnir in a cave, and because he was worthy, was transformed into Thor. Or any of the green lanterns. Though the whole Hal-Jordan-possessed-by-Paralax thing still pi$$es me off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 One of my friends had a character with this origin fragment: "Convicted of a crime, he was too stupid to commit...." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kraven Kor Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Well, I my first HERO character, for a humorous one-shot, earned his powers be taking entirely too much LSD and becoming "Acid Boy" - who was basically tripping so hard that his hallucinations were (usually) real. Cosmic Power Pool, with an EGO roll activation on all slots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 I like Ned Frishman's from the first part of this episode... Bejabbers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Best is the original Captain Marvel - http://imgur.com/N3KeR,awdCy,iewTI,ftk4h,ZAHg2,A5Faj#1 - read all five pages of surreal wonder. Ah yes, the Big Red Cheese. They also made a nice Animated adaptation of his origin in "DC Showcase Superman/Shazam!:The Return of Black Adam" (you might find it on youtube), wich is also a crossover with Superman (while they are in a fight, this one is not against one another). Even the real-life story of the Comicsseries has something heroic, as he struggeled to be published against DC and Superman. And ultimatively just won DC over. But I think the first time I saw him was the JLU Episode, where he did fight with Superman. And gave him his "you used to be my hero" speech. I like Ned Frishman's from the first part of this episode... Bejabbers! You mean the origin of his Zipper About myself: I can only go by what I use myself. I tend to only build heroines. Grey Angel is a timetraveler. Last of her civilsiation (wich is now incapable to ever forming again). On the mission to prevent WW3. And 4. And the Terminator Style AI rebellion (but without WW3 the other two are also likely to go away). She was choosen as one out of 100. Not for speed, strenght, agility or intelligence (there were better). But because she had the greatest will. She is a mixup of Green Lantern, Captain America, Wonder Woman and some personal influences. White Blade one half last survivor of the Aldar Empire from stellar generation Prime. This part is motivated by bringing it's peoples adavanced Philosphy (The Way) back into the cosmos. Because that was the one that just worked out the best. It's main motivation is to teach the way, for wich it needs a host. That it get's drawn into the conflicts of the hosts is not really a problem, aftier all the first sentence of The Way is "Life leads to Conflict". One half a human woman seeking revenge against the person who murdered her Father. Almost died the first time she tried to actually do something despite all the training, but did find the other half. A mixup of the Jedi, the Tok'ra from Stargate, a failed Batman origin and some personal influences. Actually thinking about it almost uniformly those "personal influnces" are continuations/reimaginings of stories I had in Computergames. My origins are "What happened after the great story" or "what happened on the sideline of that epic story" to the games story. Prequels, Sequels, alternate Timelines, stuff that happened in paralell. They always tend to be somewhat removed from normal soceity at thier point of thier arrival and it is never a question that they are heroes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 What's your favorite superhero origin? Mine is from Dragon magazine issue #75 (July 1983), from the What's New? with Phil & Dixie comic strip: Reminds me of Grond's origin story. TV Tres even comments on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothere Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 Well considering how often I use it my favorite would have to be altered human. Got to enjoy the idea of one day \just minding your own business and suddenly gaining awesome abilities. Runner up would be someone who worked at it. Usually by building a machine. Better than altered in that the person made exactly what they wanted. But then again other than the Hulk, and occasionally the Thing, how many alters find what they got so bad they want to get rid of their powers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueCloud2k2 Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 I wonder if anyone has done a compilation of character origins.... and not in a satirical fashion like the Phil and Dixie comic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 I wonder if anyone has done a compilation of character origins.... and not in a satirical fashion like the Phil and Dixie comic. watchmojo.com has several videos on Youtube that explain Superhero/-villain origins for known characters. And you can propably find a Top 10 listing or two. Then there is also tvtropes. Since this is the internet, I think the chances are good to find at least partial listings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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