wrestlinggeek

Taking a cue from the Amalgamated Champions thread above, here's an idea I've been toying with, based on DC's Tangent Comics; Every super shares a name with an existing comic-book character or organization (from any company). I'll start you off with a few examples:

Red Skull; a heroic martial artist who disguises himself with a distinctive red helmet in the shape of a human skull.

Dr. Strange; Dr. Victoria Strange, direct decendant of Dr. Frankenstein, carries on her ancestor's work. Her greatest achievemant so far is her Humanites, animal-human hybrids with super powers. She is still working toward an eventual goal she has dubbed the Ultra-Humanite.

Spider-Man; A mysterious entity with the power to control spiders. No one knows what he looks like, or even if there's actually a human under there, as he is constantly covered by thousands of spiders crawling over him.

Archie Andrews; Head of the local Irish Maffia.

The Shadow; A mysterious entity, resembling nothing so much as a human shadow. Hunts down and kills the city's worst criminals.

More to come, but what does everyone think? Oh, and feel free to contribute your own, but know that I'll probably steal them if I ever do get to run this. Borrow! I mean I'll borrow them!

Re: Amalgamated Champions

Thor-El; Last god of Krypton

With Krypton, the planet of the gods, about to be destroyed in the Ragnorok unleashed by General Loki, O-Din sneds his young son to Earth, along with Mjolnir, a techno-magic hammer containing all the power of the Kryptonian gods. After growing up in Kansas as Clark Blake, the boy discovers the hammer and his destiny. Operating out of his arctic Fortress of Valhalla, he protects Earth and the universe as Thor-El, god of Thunder.

Re: Genre-crossover nightmares

vs. Barney Calhoun (from Half-Life1/2/etc.)

All thuis reminds of me of a t-shirt i saw. Barney Rubble, with Barney the Dinosaur's head in one hand, and a claymore (the sharp, pointy kind, not the explodey kind) in the other. Underneath, it says There can be Only One.

Re: Top 10 Insupportable Premises in Comic Book Universes

Plus' date=' while I can see that happening in the Ultimate universe, because superheroes are brand new, in the Marvel and DC universe where masked crimefighters have been around for up to 90 years, depending on what current continuity says, I'd think there'd be something worked out as a reliable way for masked heroes to testify. After all, confidential informants and undercover officers do it.[/quote']

 

Actually, this has been shown in the DC Universe. It was a three-part crossover with Green Lantern, Flash, and Green Arrow. I can't remember the issue numbers or the title, but the story was that the three were on an Alaskan cruise together when Sonar and Polaris (IIRC) attacked the ship. The story was bookended by the courtroom scene, in which it wass established that superheroes in good standing (such as members of the JLA) were allowed to testify under their masked identities.

Re: "Neat" Pictures

i had what i thought was an inspiration... A steampunk cylon. So i googled for it, but found nothing satisfying. However, i did find something that imo is full of win:

 

 

 

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steampunk justice league!

 

i want!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Worst Hero Names (of your campaigns)

One of the NPC heroes we fought alongside in my last table top game was named The Tongue who's entire body mass was made up of a muscle with the density and strength of a giant tongue. He wasn't the most attractive character (his pores constantly excreting saliva) and we were forced to restrain the rather sophomoric jokes when we found out he was gay.

 

This was from the same GM who brought us Bovine Fury the all bovine villain group led by Veal Genius.

Somebody's been watching The Tick. Animated version.

Re: Public ID or Secret ID

Ok, I'm gonna sum up my feelings on this one. It depends on three factors:

1) The Character

2)The Campaign

3) The GM.

Re: Transformers meets Robotech

 

P.S.

Another awesome toy, is those Nerf Dart guns, they are just so much fun, yes, yes I am 36 years old and still play with Transformers and Nerf Dart guns that doesn't make me a bad person.

No, that just makes you a lucky person. Wish I had the extra money to spend on Transformers.

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

Hmm. You aren't invulnerable' date=' [i']really[/i] fast, or anything -- excessively human, so to speak, but still just your normal intelligence. (Sure, memory can count for a lot, but memory != brains.) You aren't faster than a speeding bullet, or even a jet fighter; no Hancock here. I ... don't know. Enjoy myself, yes; possibly work on becoming a batman-sort. (Eidetic memory CAN help with some stuff, I'll grant you.) But without an otherwise-extended lifespan, intelligence, or truly extra-ordinary ability (e.g. magnetics, mentallics, or whatever), you're just a one-man army -- killable with effort, but that's all.

From what I read in the original post, I would say you're practically invulnerable. You could be hurt or killed, but it wouldn't be practical to bring that much firepower to bear against one individual. Especially for anyone other than the government.

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

I would be unable to believe I was the only one, or that I would remain alone if I was. So after figuring out my powers and designing an appropriate costume/disguise, I would fly to the White House and tell the President that I was here, I was a good guy, and that I was going to help humanity whenever and wherever I could. Trying to stop me would just be a waste of everyone's time and energy, and I was definitely NOT a threat. I would then call a press conference to announce my presence to the world and call on other, like-minded individuals with power to join me. I would also warn any would-be supervillains (and I would have to believe they were out there) that I would do everything in my considerable power to shut them down. I would like to work with the legitimate governments of the world (especially the US and the UN), but would not work for any of them. Finally, I would look for a coalition of the world's scientists (both government and privately endowed), to help me figure out why I was able to do these things, whether I could somehow give similar powers to my loved ones, and if there was a way to find others with powers.

Re: Genre-crossover nightmares

Disney World of Warcraft

Would make the Seven Dwarves a lot cooler.

Re: Genre-crossover nightmares

The Good, The Bad, and the Thing

Clint Eastwood teams with Ben Grimm.

Re: Reimagining the Superhero

If you think about it, Marvel's Ultimates is this. They look like traditional superheroes, but they act more like super-soldiers, are are officially, in continuity, a super anti-terrorism unit.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

All these robots are making me think of an old computer game called "One Must Fall 2097". Has anyone besides me heard of it? Because I'd love to see some of those 'bots rendered with this utility.

I used to know a guy in college who had it. I played it a few times.

Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers...

And at the end of the story' date=' the narrator mentions that the legal system immediately got off its butt and figured out fixes so the courts would work again.[/quote']

I didn't want to give away everything . But even knowing what happens, seeing how the guy does it is very entertaining. At least, that's what I thought the second and third time I read it.

Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers...

There was a storyline in Astro City where a mobster's lawyer used precedent from cases involving superhumans to defend him. The mobster got off scott free, but was later killed by the Blue Ghost. Good read (as Astro City always is).

Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers...

Among other things, I see corporate-sponsored superteams. Some solo heroes might end up looking like NASCAR drivers (sort of like Captain Amazing in Mystery Men). But many companies would sponsor teams on their own. "We'll provide you with a costume, a headquarters, training, and support staff. All we ask in return is that you wear our corporate logo on your uniform and don't turn villain. Welcome to Team Nike."

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

Um' date=' no. Sauron from Tolkein was not a dinosaur. Sauron from X-men, however, as already pointed out, was a dinosaur (or whatever he was) and actually looked a lot like the picture.[/quote']

 

As Spider-Man said: "He's a mutant who sucks out your powers,or your life-force or something. Something to do with sucking. And when her gets too much, he turns into a dinosaur. I mean, mutant or dinosaur would be enough, but this guy's both which,really, is just showing off."

Re: Hero System Good Idea/Bad Idea...

Sorry' date=' but I disagree with the Bad Idea.[/quote']

Yeah. Done right, they can both be good ideas.

 

Good Idea: Liscening your team to have a comic made based on your adventures.

 

Bad Idea: Letting Rob Liefeld do the art, or Joe Quessada get near it in any way, shape, or form.

Re: Yes, this is a remake.

And here I thought he'd be called Red Bull. (But then he'd probably need wings.)

No, Red Bull gives you wings. A villain who forcibly grafts cybernetic wings onto unwilling victims. Weird concept.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

Duster Boy, very cool. I may have tosteal..er, I mean borrow the Dominator for my game.

Re: Confedrate Comics

I also don't think slavery would still be around in 1976. And from waht I read in the original post, it isn't in the campaign setting either. Seems to me like the heroes would be fighting the good fight against villains from all walks of life, be they white, black, Southern, Northern, or whatever. As for the original topic:

White Lightning: White Lightning is a down-home Southern boy with the power to generate and control electricity. He can even surround his body with a glowing electrical aura (which, since people can't see through it, means he could look like anyone under it. Might be fun to make him a black kid who calls himself White Lightning). The name is an alternative name to that great old Southern Favorite moonshime. Come to think of it, giving him a sister with light-based powers named Moonshine could be fun, too.

Re: Champion's Universe or your own

Nine times out of ten, I create my own universe. Of course, there are often homages to other sources, but I never import anything directly without filing off the serial numbers and switching out some parts. Other times, I will run a game in an established setting (usually DC or Marvel comics or the CU), but always with my own twist. Such as when I ran the Justce League game set in the Batman Beyond continuity (which I started befor they JLU showed up in that show). My current campaign is definitly my own creation,along with that of my players. I'm currently running a mini-campaign set in the Victorian age. The PCs are Victorian-age superheroes, and help to create the background which will be used for later characters. After this we will move to the Pulp age (1920s), the Golden Age ('40s), Silver Age ('60s), Bronze Age ('80s), and finally the ongoing campaign in the Modern Age.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

That was Earth-7, the female used the name Superwoman, and the title was "Tangent: Superman's Reign."

 

I'm waiting on my local library to get Volume 2 of the collection.

Nope, completely different story. This was a one-shot, printed back in 1997 (I think), and it was a direct tie-in with the original Crisis on Infinite Earths. It involved Barry Allen traveling to Earth D during the Crisis and meeting that world's Flash and Justice Alliance of America.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

Here's another one I did:

 

 

Essentially, it's just an interpretation of Supergirl as a black woman and with a different costume.

Did you read the Crisis tie-in that took place on Earth D? It featured (among other things) a black Superman and Supergirl who were husband and wife, instead of cousins.