An idea so stupid it's great!

[stealthwise]

I was reading about Marvel's Exiles title the other day and it sounded really interesting, at least to me. I was a fan of Sliders when it was on the air (for the first half dozen or so seasons, anyways), and I like the idea that you can take a character like Havoc, or Blink, or whoever, and shuffle them into different dimensions, rather than just killing them off so that no one else can bring them back. Yeah, I know that death is completely reversible in superhero comics now, but it feels ridiculous to have to shoehorn a story in to explain why someone's come back. It's just a complete cliche.

However, my idea revolves around taking some of the DCU characters that just got shanked and having them basically explore the "underside" of the DCU. Not heaven or hell, or even alternate dimensions, but basically the cracks of the DCU that get ignored. Far-reaching quadrants of the galaxy and other planets, those ethereal realms that are don't fit into what we would generally recognize as the traditional afterlife, and yeah, even other universes, especially "abandoned" ones like the world of Preacher or Transmetropolitan.

My cast would consist of revamped characters (in terms of power and ability, not their actual personalities) that have been killed recently for no real reason. Guys like Ted Kord, Stephanie Brown, (Jason Todd WOULD have been perfect for this idea), Alex Dewitt, even Jack Drake or Captain Boomerang. Hell, you could go REALLY obscure and pick and choose basically any dead character that has a distinct personality or cool gimmick and let 'em fly.

Their mission? To find out where the dead people of the DCU actually go. We all have seen scenes in Spectre, Green Arrow, etc, where there the heroes/villains "souls" are supposed to go, but there are too many levels to DC's afterlife, not even including the huge mess that resulted from Lucifer/Sandman's version of hell. I'd love to see a series with distinct personalities that will probably never be used again could come back and have a goal that doesn't tie directly into the DCU.

Make sense? Good idea? Retarded one? Who would be good to bring back?

[Larry Dixon]

Cheers to that. I'd buy it. Or write it. It's similar to something I'd been mulling over a while myself. DCU would lend itself very well to it... and give some lost third-tier characters a fighting chance for a comeback. From the dead.

[stealthwise]

It just seems like there are so many minor characters with built-in fanbases that could "return" in a way that's not obtrusive to DC's overall plans.

Hell, TC's gone on several (usually well-written) rants about how DC's pissed all over the old JLI and he refuses to buy most of their titles. HEAT ranted and raved for years, and regardless of what actual impact they might have had upon the return of Hal Jordan, the character was around in various incarnations for years after they changed him into Parallax. Barry Allen's had some of his best stories after he's died.

[PatrickG]

It's actually similar to an idea I had for a revamp of a DCU property that hasn't had a title in fifteen years.

Also, I've been a big proponent of ideas like this and pitched a couple of similar ideas.

One was an ALL-STAR SQUADRON revamp and another was a vehicle for the Steel, Atom, the Metal Men and some new people.

[Cam63]

I'd like a fight scene set in a brewery.

...Failing that, a vineyard.

[Cam63]

How about a still in a cellar/ backyard shed ?

[stealthwise]

I'd like a fight scene set in a brewery.

...Failing that, a vineyard.

That'd be great! Hell, I'd write an "anti-decompression" arc that consists of basically six issues of one battle, broken up by flashback segments that show how the characters got to where they are prior to the fight.