Write a great story ... about a character you hate

[Smarty Jones]

I feel that people love to talk about characters they love and the stories and concepts that make them great to them. However, people love to talk about how they hate a character ... and that's it.

But let's imagine you know have the chance to write a story about the character you hate. Now, this is your change to make that character great. What would you change and most importantly how would others like the change (the latter question lends itself to responses)?

[Jack Zodiac]

Normally, I'd say I don't hate any characters in particular. I hate certain things about certain characters, but not usually the characters themselves. However, given recent events at Marvel, I've seriously grown to actually hate Tony Stark. And so, given the chance, I'd take out all of that on him in his own book.

I know it's been done before, but first, I'd completely bankrupt him. Not too long ago, someone was siphoning money out of Stark International, and he lost a good bit of cash, but a good bit's hardly a dent to a billionaire. I'd have him go completely broke. Maybe over the years he's accrued quite a bit of debt with certain projects and when time comes to pay them off, he's left quite broke by the fact that those projects generated no income. Or, maybe he personally funds something huge that completely blows up in his face, ruins him publicly, creating an opportunity for enemies to attack him at his weakest, leaving him with nothing but a mediocre financial status and his original Iron Man armor, or a variation of it being the only suit left after the financial and physical onslaught. And, in the aftermath of Civil War, a lot of his friends might not be so quick to lend a helping hand. Or maybe he'll be too ashamed to ask or take it.

Much poorer and spiritually broken, he is forced to start over. I'd like to build Tony Stark back up to a real hero from his roots. With what little money he has left, he rents a small warehouse where he personally (no more R&D department) designs, builds, and tests new inventions. Except, instead of building weapons and armor, he developes medical technology. A better mechanical heart for the average human being. Flawless devices capable of replacing failing organs. And, on the side, he further developes his remaining suit of armor, fighting crime on his own and on his own behalf, not with The Avengers or at the command of the government. With just one suit of armor, the risk of fighting is much greater, because being reckless (something he's been guilty of plenty recently) could result in being powerless.

In the end, maybe after a year or two of remembering what it was like to be a real hero and to help people, he rebuilds his industry and reclaims his friends and their trust. Basically, I want Tony Stark to have to face what a giant ass he's been and then change. :D

[Smarty Jones]

The character I really don't like right now is The Sentry. I don't like the implications of his retconned history, his massive power level explained by the incomprehensible science of a laboratory serum that "causes his molecules to move two seconds ahead of time" and the general lack of depth beyond "he's crazy." So I will have a four-issue miniseries uncovering the truth on who he is.

The miniseries starts with one of The Sentry's crazy dreams, but this is not one featuring The Void. It's a dream of an agonized face, aglow in a bright light. It's The Sentry's, save the face is younger. He's ... dying. The Sentry is wondering if it's another of The Void's tricks, but then he looks across the room and sees a demented figure saying ... "You never did understand" -- his.

The Sentry is determined to find out clues, and he finds a business card leading him to a bank. The teller can't understand his ramblings and then a young man with the last name McClary enters the lobby. Suddenly, The Sentry goes into a murderous rage and attacks the man before taking off like a rocket. The voice starts again, laughing at him ... until he screams frantically and falls into Hudson Bay.

S.H.I.E.L.D. discovers him, and Nick Fury takes a keen interest. He's read The Avengers file concerning how someone named The General hired Mastermind to plant memories into his mind, creating The Void. Fury doesn't buy the idea that a hero of this magnitude suddenly disappeared. A group of agents with telepathic powers led by Doc Samson start piecing together his mind, similar to what The White Queen did. They find out that those memories are false! There is no one named The General! Furthermore, The Sentry's last name isn't Reynolds, but Grayson!

During this time, The Sentry disappears from S.H.I.E.L.D. control and he's seen flying. He's remembering pieces of his life -- he's not on The Raft because he killed his wife, but because someone left him there in a strait-jacket, to be forgotten. More flashes of dying continue, then flashes of being in outer space ... and The Fantastic Four! A frantic Sentry finds Reed Richards and asks him what's going on. After being separated by The Thing, The Sentry says to Richards ... "I remember now, you're the one who killed me."

Naturally, The Sentry tears up the place and blasts off -- leaving The Fantastic four stunned. Mr. Fantastic fears the worst and contacts The Avengers. The Thing comments, "You know, it does seem like I've seen that fruitcake before." Shortly, it comes back to Mr. Fantastic ... and he remembers!

More flashbacks, where The Sentry has memories of being in space. He remembers a robot called a "Sentry." And suddenly, a darkness overtakes him, swallowing him whole. A shivering Sentry is inside the darkness of his mind, and suddenly a being emerges ... The In-Betweener! He takes The Sentry through a journey into his mind and through space.

It turns out that The Sentry is really Robert Grayson, the Silver Age Marvel Boy who is the predecessor of Quasar. Born on Earth, he lived on Uranus with an Eternal colony for most of his life before coming back to visit his native planet. He tried to return to Uranus with medical supplies but banker Calvin McClary refused to let him borrow the money. When he returned to Uranus, the colony was wiped out. An enraged Marvel Boy tried to return to Earth to kill McClary. However, his spaceship passed through a band of cosmic radiation which placed him in suspended animation for several years.

When Marvel Boy finally awoke, The Fantastic Four tried to stop him. While in battle, he overloaded his quantum bands and seemingly was vaporized. In reality, he was absorbed in the bands and was reborn an insane man -- Robert Reynolds.

In The Sentry's mind, he became his biggest fantasy -- a superhero on Earth, where the planet saw him as the first superhero of the Age of Marvels. More importantly, The In-Betweener explains that The Void is simply the opposite manifestation of his powers -- in the form of the Darkforce. In fact, The Sentry is the duality of good and evil, light and dark, real and reality. For every second of his existence, he is channeling either the positive light from energy that fuels the quantum bands or the Darkforce.

By being tied to a character co-created in 1950 by Stan Lee, The Sentry now has a link to the start of Marvel Comics. No one remembers him because he lived most of his life on Uranus and he came back to Earth as Marvel Boy. It explains his insanity and his light-based powers. C.L.O.C. and The Watchtower are advanced technology from Uranus, courtesy of those Eternals.

However, the story leaves questions unanswered. Who found him and put him in The Raft? Who put those false memories in his brain? Mastermind only casts illusions, he needs help to do that inside someone's head. Mastermind is also dead -- shouldn't the illusions have stopped a long time ago?

[BillR]

Actually, I'm all for writers being put on books with characters they hate. It is fun to try and reinvent it to where you *like* the book. Writing characters who are your absolute favorites is much harder than ones you dislike or are apathetic to.

I really don't like Spider-Man, Iron Man, or the X-Men. Hmm...

[RMThompson]

This is a great excersize...

Since you didn't mention if we would be able to retcon anything, I will start as if I am taking over from NOW.

Since I don't READ Superman anymore, I really don't know whats happened ever since he died 10some odd years ago, and 4 people replaced him, so bear with me if some of this has been done.

But the thing I most inherently disliked about this character was the fact that he was always hiding himself as Clark Kent, for no reason.

Now I know some will say hey, Spider-Man and other do the same, but with Spider-Man, he has family, and also has more weaknesses than a rare alien mineral. Superman's family is far away, and hardly a target, and his powers mean it would be hard to sneak attack him.

So I would have Clark come forward. It would be a great story, even though one that has been done a LOT lately, to see Superman get sued for hurting someone.

Also, I would give Superman another weakness... not a real weakness like kryptonite or water or the dark... but something MENTAL.. like perhaps alcoholism. Something that gives him an edge. Something that makes the reader dislike him a little bit, and gives him a chance to redeem himself!

I would also make him much less buff... make him more normal looking...

Just an idea of mine, thats all. The whole big-strong-invincible-guy-who-never-does-wrong thing was great in the 40s... but he needs an update. BAD!

[CE_Rap]

Jean would be my pick.

As of her last major ressurection, she hasn't really been a viable character. Until i saw both Phoenix sagas on the cartoon, and read the dark phoenix saga from beginning to end years ago, i couldn't understand what was so special about her. That, and the cartoon show made her a weak, whiny priss before she got the Phoenix. She was the first female on the X-men, an easy chose for headmaster, Xavier's first student, and a mutant with vast potential even without the Phoenix Force. A potential, i might add, that she has expressed fear of, even more than the Phoenix Force [Uncanny X-men #300].

Then why is she always tied to Scott and the Force? IMO, people think she's boring otherwise, and even when she is dealing with both these issues, she is NEVER reinvented. She ends up being a goody-goody mommy figure with love issues---that's it.

So I would reinvent her. The goal for this would be a limited series. It would go much longer than 4-5 issues, but has a definite ending far into the future. [Maybe an anniversary 25, or whatever it ends up taking, the point is, it would have a finish line.]. *note* to destroy all sense of over redundancy, Phoenix Endsong never happened.


"Scott awakens, prepared to set up the students for an obstacle course run. He puts on his visor, suits up, then heads out across the main courtyard. As he takes his first five steps into teh main courtyard, the phoenix memorial statue explodes. He flings back into teh front door, not even witnessing the rocket of fire that blazes skyward. Fire screams as it soars into the dark sky, seemingly engulfing the stars as it climbs higher. They explode brightly, yet are muted by the infinite vaccum of space. The fires impode and take shape.

Her eyelids flicker rapidly before pulling back, allowing her to observe her new surroundings. Her body, fully immolated, hovers gently. She watches the stars and the sun until finally, her eyes fall upon the earth. Her eyes widen, their green color returning. The fires spread outward from her body, and she garbs herself in the White Phoenix suit. She closes her eyes, thinks of her family and her fellow x-men. And with a soft breath, she whispers, 'Phoenix, let us begin.' "

I was kicking back this idea i had with a friend of mine. I proposed to him that there is almost no way Jean WON'T come back, but it's all in how you do it.
Her return should be her final union with the Phoenix. The Phoenix is the only way she could come back anyway so she would need that. The kicker is, instead of them being united as two beings in one shell, they would truly fuse. Meaning that Jean would be Jean with every once of the Phoenix's power. No more of this "Phoenix is trying to gain control," or the fear of falling into darkness. She would retain herself completely, and the Phoenix would just be her powers; no longer a sentient being that shares its powers.


Now your thinking "That's too much power," right? Of course, my friend said the same thing. The twist that i would do is that she would become a superior cosmic being; a la Thanos or Silver Surfer. Next, i would give her a book where her new mission is to restore the Phoenix fragments scattered across the many galaxies. She'd go through these adventures where she interacts with the other cosmic beings. She'd also meet and fight other beings from other galaxies who, like her, have united with shards and share some of the Phoenix force. Phoenix/Jean vs. Phoenix/Kree, or Phoenix/Brood Queen, something like that.

The other aspect is that these shards, the ones that have not bonded with another host, have manifested into sentient, individual beings. They share the thirst of the Phoenix and wish to fulfil it. Jean would have to face these powerful beings. Beings who, do to most of the Phoenix Force merging with Jean, share her image and likeness, but not her heart and soul.

As Jean travels further into deep space, she begins receiving ambient thoughts of the Phoenix Force in its previous exursions through out the galaxies. Jean learns that the Phoenix had achieved a sense of enlightenment, beyond emotions dealing with selfishness or gain. She learns that when she first called out for help, all those years ago in space, Jean allowed Phoenix to lose this. It gives her further resolve to find the rest of its fragmented shards.

Jean isn't just apart from X-men, she's ascended apart from the earth. And i think it's time. She's done all she can to contain Phoenix on earth. It's realistic, but it's also getting old. This way, she would be able to use her full potential unmolested, facing off with the most powerful individuals in several galaxies. Maybe Thanos finds and weilds the infinity gauntlet once more, and one of his infinity gems is a shard of the Phoenix in physical form that has been compressed unto itself billions of times over billions of light years.

That's the other pay off: we get to see what the ^@#$ Adam Warlock, Nova, and so on are doing in deep space. I used to love those adventures that dealt with those cosmic beings because their was far lass limitations as to what was possible. It made for really immeasurable battles. Of course she would have to interact with the Shi'ar, but not during the time that Xavier's team is there. I would not want her to interact with anyone from earth while she embarks on this journey. Having truly fused with the Phoenix Force, she makes it her personal responsibility to mend it, hoping that this will end its quixotic, seemingly unquenchable thirst for human sensation.

Jean teaming up with Silver Surfer and Adam Warlock. Jean taking on the ENTIRE SHI'AR STAR FLEET/EMPIRE, not to murder them, but to seek justice for her family. Jean conquering Thanos, acquiring the physical shard of the phoenix gaining more power. All of these things would be through out the series. For the big finale, Jean leads the cosmic beings against Galactus, for a shar of the Phoenix has even reached him!! Written well, that could be the sickest battle in Marvel history. The battle, the actual battle, would take about 3 isuues.

When all is said and done, when Galactus falls broken and defeated, Jean finally conquers the last piece of the Phoenix. She mends it, and it becomes whole. It understands the error of its ways, so to speak. It returns to its original role as symbol and giver of life across time and space. It thanks Jean, saying that it understands that what it felt was selfishness, jealousy, and hate. Through her journey, Jean has shown Phoenix what true love and devotion is. These are the things that make a hero, and Jean is a hero. It grants her renewed life, sends her to earth, and bids her a very fond fairwell before merging itself into the very fabric of time and space.........

AND THAT IS IT FOR THE PHOENIX!! Now, Jean's life and character can finally develop without having the Phoenix force. Her powers are already strong, and through Phoenix, she has acquired cosmic control and knowledge of her powers. She achieves a level that was once reserved for Xavier and exceeds it. No more holding back, no more whining to Scott or Xavier. She finally, finally becomes her own woman. When she returns, she finds that a six years have passed. The world is different, but she decides to worry about herself for the first time in her life. She sees the X-men and is overjoyed. She then tells them she needs time, and space.

She becomes a doctor, using her skills and her powers to heal her patients. For an extended amount of time, she would remain as a back ground or supporting character, helping all heroes whenever they may need help or healing, including teh Avengers, Fantastic Four, etc.

So, yeah, Jean's pretty much been crapped in terms of character development and growth. Her character really has a lot of potential and a lot of heart and soul. But it's true, it's very hard to define her without Scott or the Phoenix. This story would bring closure to both.

Holler if u feel me.

[DWEarhart]

Jason Todd

It could not have been a more perfect evening. Well, yes, it could have, if Bruce had let him do what needed to be done, but for the most part, things were smooth, and there was a new rain coming down. Not the rain that greeted him when he pulled and scratched through the mud, the night of his return, but a rain of fire, destruction, and what should have been insane clown parts all over Gotham. But, as always, as expected, as predictable as he is, Bruce failed to take the necessary measures, and more innocent people were dying, right now, because of it, as would thousands more.

Jason almost died again. The clown shot the barrel containing the C-4, igniting the truckload of explosives, but how Jason survived the epic blast, he didn’t know, and if the clown had survived, he really hoped not. Jason was beginning to think that he was damn near immortal, having come back once, missing death a second time, or that upon his re-existence, he may have gained some of these powers that seem to parade so rampantly in the world.

No, he knew. He was just damn lucky, though he’d chalk it up to being gifted, but just like Bruce, he’s too damn lucky, and like himself, Jason knew that Bruce made it out too.

There would come a time, however, when luck would run out, and he would have to know he was that good, just as good as the old man, good enough to walk among the gods, and fight in the stars…nah, Jason didn’t want to go that far. Controlling the city would do just fine. He didn’t need a space battle or a duel with a Minotaur to prove he was the best. Maintaining order in an anarchistic town would suffice, because anarchy had never met anything or anyone like, like…and at that moment, Jason stumbled. He stopped to linger in a puddle, staring at the face of a life that was rippling out of control, yet again.

He looked around. The explosion had shaken him up, but all he needed was a name, a street, a wind blowing in the right direction. The wind told him everything. He couldn’t feel one, so he ducked in the nearest alley, pressing his body in with the darkness, and giving his soul to the city, just like Bruce had taught him. The wind fully shifted, nothing blocking it, which meant no weirdo in a bat-suit swinging around, looking for him. But he’d wait a bit longer just to be sure. Bruce was not the type to give up, or slack off, explosion or no explosion. The man could have been caught in the midst of toxic radiation, and he’d still hesitate, wanting to secure the inkling in his stomach, and the desire in his head that the mission wasn’t complete, that he had missed something.

Damn that man. Damn his brilliance, damn his strength, and damn his resolve.

The wind came by again, blowing an empty bag through the city’s sad air. Jason looked to the skies, concentrating on the edges that cut through it, because in the empty space that looked all black and un-kept, that’s where Bruce would be. Normally, Jason would have been up for the fight, but his ears, while having stopped ringing, were still about as useful as a water balloons in a den of lions, so sight and touch were his best chances of making it back to the cache.

Or, the sewer hole that was at the end of the alley. Why couldn’t the explosion have knocked out his sense of smell instead?

Down in the muck, the thought of Bludhaven surrounded by the green explosion, it was just too beautiful, and the irony was still apparent to Jason. He wasn’t sure if he was the first person to ever smile during their entire route in a sewer. Poor Dick. Poor Bludhaven. Poor rat that died in its own feces, and was being eaten by other rats.

Jason didn’t know that rats were cannibals. He wondered if the young ate the old, or vice versa, if there was a purpose in their minds, or some ritual that humans had yet to decipher about their culture, or even if they had not been cannibals to begin with. Perhaps the pressure of Gotham had gotten to them as well, like all the other vermin in the city, capitalizing off of the weak.

And what about immortals? What of their culture? Jason couldn’t deny, he liked the idea of immortality, especially having experienced the Lazarus Pit, in his last minutes in the care of Ras A Ghul. The man was insane, but he had some good ideas, and the sweetest daughter. What was that kiss about at the end anyway? Jason would have thought more of it, if he hadn’t recalled Thalia thrusting him off a hundred foot cliff right after the kiss. Yes, off the cliff, and into his new life.

What life?

She donated the resources, he chose his new identity. The Red Hood. If anything could scare a clown, it had to be a ghost. The Joker’s own ghost.

The building was empty. None of the motion sensors had been tripped, the infrared cameras didn’t catch anything larger than a mouse, and really, since the building was still standing after he had booby-trapped all of the windows and doors, with circuit censored explosives, no one had gone in or out. He was glad that he had left a backup remote taped to the fire escape.

Tonight was a night of ghosts, new and old, indeed. The Joker faced his, Batman faced his greatest failure, come back to haunt him, and even some new ones were being created as Jason sat there, thinking, wondering; wondering how it felt for Bruce to lose another partner, another Robin.

Jason stared beyond the wall of the safe-house, and into that realm between the cracks in the floor, and the clouds in the sky, and thought, and sat, and stood, and paced, and pounded his fist on the table. How did Bruce feel when he replaced Jason, with this other Robin? How would Bruce feel when Jason replaced the first Robin?

He ran to the nearest window, and in the horizon, the green glow was settling beneath the city lights, skyscraper walls, and beyond that was Bruce, searching for a dead memory. Nightwing was dead. Long live Nightwing.

[Smarty Jones]

TRIATHLON/TRIUNE

For the past six months, Delroy Garrett has been receiving checks from The Taylor Foundation. On the third day of the month, he receives a check for $10,000. Garrett signed on for a special assignment by Dwyane Taylor, who told Garrett he would contact him within 30 days to give him full disclosure.

Little did Garrett know that Taylor was the superhero Night Thrasher of The New Warriors; but before Taylor could speak to Garrett, The New Warriors died during their fight with Nitro in "Civil War 1." Garrett heads to the foundation to speak to someone. Eventually, he is introduced to the new chair of the board of directors -- Silhouette, Night Thrasher's ex-girlfriend

Silhouette, who became the chair less than one month ago, was obviously too overwhelmed by her new responsibilities to know the situation existed. After doing some research, she found out why Night Thrasher hired Garrett. She discovered that her brother Midnight's Fire has joined with the Cult of Kali, the group that trained The Shroud. The cult is looking for certain artifacts the Kree left on the planet centuries ago. Another group involved is the Priests of Parma, the group that raised Mantis. Garrett was hired to become basically Taylor's superhero version of Indiana Jones.

Triathlon (now called Triune) accepts the offer but in his first adventure the cocky hero realizes that he is in over his head. Silhouette agrees, and then she names five people who can be called when a particular mission requires it -- herself; her boyfriend and Night Thrasher's half-brother Bandit; Rage (who was adopted by Night Thrasher); and two new characters. Because of their commitments, they can't be there for every mission but that doesn't preclude Triune from using more than one person at a time. Rarely will all six be in one adventure; the typical adventure will have from one to three operatives with Triune, though some will be solo operations.

The focus character would be Triune, as I would come up with subtle ways to show how impressive his powers are supposed to be. Even though it will have a unit, the treatment will be more in the manner of the "Mission: Impossible" TV series, with Triune playing the Jim Phelps role where he would select the appropriate person or people for the assignment. Their adventures would take them across the world and in a lot of James Bond, "Jonny Quest," "Raiders of The Lost Ark"-type situations. I wouldn't use Triune & Co. in a classic superhero role but more of an action/adventure story. The villains would more in the vein of, say, "G.I. Joe" -- colorful and dynamic, but not possessing outrageous superhuman abilities.

[Pól Rua]

TRIATHLON/TRIUNE


Nice. Very 'Doc Savage'. The well-funded adventure hero and his team of assistants.
I'd buy that in a heartbeat.

[Elegance Liberty]

Oh jeez. The only character that comes to mind is either Emma Frost or Scott Summers/Cyclops.

And given my limited knowledge about recent X-Men happenings, it'd be hard for me to come up with something for either one of them.

I'll get back to ya' on this though, 'cause this is a VERY good topic idea.

[JLarson]

Spider-Man hears a cry for help, swings down to help a young person being kidnapped, and gets shot in the head by the mugger. BAM BAM BAM.

Never recovers, hangs on for a few days in a hospital, tells Matt Murdock what he remembers about the guy who shot him (so he can help the kid) and dies. Tragic, dying doing the right thing. The good fight goes on without him.

The end.

I'd buy it.

[Dan Apodaca]

TRIUNE

That name kinda stinks. Interesting story proposal, though.

[Smarty Jones]

"That name kinda stinks. Interesting story proposal, though."

Triune is named after Triathlon's religious faith, The Triune Understanding. I honestly think that is better than naming a black former track-and-field athlete (who was disgraced for steroids use) the stereotypical "Triathlon."

[Dan Apodaca]

Triune is named after Triathlon's religious faith, The Triune Understanding. I honestly think that is better than naming a black former track-and-field athlete (who was disgraced for steroids use) the stereotypical "Triathlon."

I know where the name comes from. I honestly think it's also stupid-sounding. I don't know why you feel the need to explain why you don't like "Traithlon", though. That one's stupid, too.

Maybe something without the 'Tri'.

[Smarty Jones]

"I know where the name comes from. I honestly think it's also stupid-sounding. I don't know why you feel the need to explain why you don't like 'Traithlon,' though. That one's stupid, too.

Maybe something without the 'Tri.'"

Considering that he is basically an updated version of The 3-D Man, it's something that likely will be part of any name to identify the character.

One of the new members I will add is an updated version of another obscure character -- The Human Fly. This Human Fly has a devil-may-care attitude; because of his invulnerabilty and dense skin, he does extreme experiences like skydiving without a parachute and diving for pirate's treasure in the Atlantic Ocean without gear. Also, he's an escape artist a la Mister Miracle and has a spacecraft-type plane.

The final member will be called Stalker. He's an expert in weapons, reconnaisance, strategic planning and communications and a master of disguise. Stalker uses the disguise masks similar to the old "Mission: Impossible" TV episodes, that disintegrate once they are no longer in use.

BTW, do you have a story you want to share with us?

[Dan Apodaca]

BTW, do you have a story you want to share with us?

Nope. I have no interest in writing about characters I hate, unless it's a paying gig.

My theory is that you don't actually hate Triathlon. You really love him, deep down, and hate what was done with him. You're kind of obsessed with him.

[Tommy]

Right now I do not like Sally Field.

"Who?" you ask. Well she is the reporter in Generation M and Civil War Front Line.

"Why?" you ask. Well she is the worst Mary Sue in a book I am currently reading. She is an unpleasant, sanctimonious, bitch who always happens to be right and who everyone in the universe is interested in.

First off I would have her loose her job. The Advocate (or whatever the hell it is named) goes out of business for being the crappy independent paper it probably is.

Then now that she is good and fired I would have everyone in the universe ignore her.

Finally I would get her in the Daily Bugle and have her discover she was wrong about many man things.

[Reptisaurus!]

Finally I would get her in the Daily Bugle and have her discover she was wrong about many man things.

Some of them ARE uncircumsised! I....I...I never knew!

*Runs away, sobbing.*

Yeah... so.

Thor.

Lemme think.

My first response is to turn Thor into the fourties Captain Marvel, who he's an obvious rip-off of with added pomposity and minus the humor and charm.

But, nah. That's not really true to the character, and some really together people DO like him.

Unlike, say, Carnage fans.

So. I'd probably go historical fiction. Have some Vikings travel to America, shipwreck on the beach, bump into a buncha Native Americans... And then a gaggle of Native American folkloric monsters. Our Vikings skeedaddle and hide as best they can, until One of 'em finds the enchanted walking stick.

BAM! Now I'd do a Johnny Thunder/Thunderbolt type of relationship here, instead of the (obvious rip-off) magic lightning grants lowly mortal powers of a God schtick that the old Thor comics had.

So, instead of BECOMING Thor, the stick SUMMONS Thor, 'cept he's blind and deaf (but still plenty arrogant) and needs his new Viking buddies to direct him.

Also, Thor would never REALLY show up on panel. Like, we'd never get a sense of exactly what he looks like. We'd see raging currents of elemental force with something that looks like a guy in there somewhere, but we wouldn't know exactly what he looks like.

And then Thor would go off and whup some monster arse, and end up fighting the Aztec Gods to put an end to human sacrafice. I'd have Thor elude to Asgard, and it would be the same Asgard we know from the previous issues of Thor, but, again, we'd never see it on panel. Loki would probably show up, but he'd always be in a different form.

[theflyingfrogunderdog]

I'll write about a character i don't hate, but is a favorite, but i do hate what has been done with the character in the years since the original character development was established. I think Adam Warlock is a character with great potential, but has gone in a wrong direction over the years. Here's what i would do to make Warlock a character i personally would enjoy reading every month in a new ongoing series.

The Power of Warlock #1:

Adam Warlock having retreated within his cocoon in the last few years due to a profund depression that has come over him, has come to hate his convoluted life. He wants to return to simpler times as a savior of a world, but without a god connotation, and so, he emerges from his cocoon once again as he was before he ever met the Magus. This is the "born again" Adam Warlock, but instead of becoming a Magus, he becomes a more evolved genetic marvel with skin that now glows like a golden Silver Surfer. Warlock has grown physically stronger and his body has become a natural battery that can absorb and release cosmic energy. Having found himself in a new and intriguing sense of physical being, Warlock begins to look for a planet that has no superheroes and is in need of his powers, which will be the theme of many more stories to come as Warlock once again searches the cosmos in his orginal costume complete with the cheezy Captain Marvel lightning bolt. It's back to basics for Warlock, who soon meets a threat that feeds on emotion. This empathic space fungus that can assume any shape or form causes Warlock to remember his origin and the subsequent killing of his creators. In the emotional state of uncertainty, Warlock ponders what right he has to serve and protect any planet, especially since he deserted Counter Earth years ago and it's already been proven that he's not incapable of becoming a Magus. Warlock soul searches within the fungus inspired emotions that make him face his inner demons like never before, but in the end, he will be a more well adjusted superhero as a result. No running to the cocoon and escaping into insanity this time. This is a stronger Adam Warlock, both emotionally and physically.

p.s. I'm not familiar with Warlock and the Infinity Watch, so if i missed something about Warlock's history, please feel free to correct my story. :)

[theflyingfrogunderdog]

p.s. i edited my story, but maybe it still sucks, but it can't be any worse than the last Warlock series, but maybe i say but too much? :D

[Kid Lantern]

God I hate daredevil. I mean words cannot describe. Perhaps beacuse I was introduced to him by the movies?


bah! have him turn into a devil-dare (or something lie that) like spiderman, have him beacome a freak, the pretentous git. have him hounded through the streets destroy him completely.

make him bitter and less goody too shoes...

[stealthwise]

I hate Gambit. With a passion. Then BKV had to go and make him actually likeable in his Ultimate X-Men run. Bastard.

Who else do I hate? Hmm, I can't stand Aquaman either, but I'll be damned if I could think of anything decent for him.

Here we go anyways...

I'd take Arthur Curry/whoever and have him actually become a global hero. The oceans cover something like two-thirds of the Earth's surface, so I'd give him a ton of adventures all over the place. China, India, Africa. Sort of like Busiek's Aquaconan (from what I hear) only not so much grim and gritty. More all-ages, kind of like Tintin meets Doctor Doolittle. Cameron Stewart would be a killer artist for what I'd have in mind.

[Radical]

I haven't cared much for DC in general since the whole Identity Crisis thing, what with the heroes having done things like brainwash/lobotomize Dr. Light. I mean, he's a rapist, but that's still too extreme for people claiming to be "heroes". And then there's Wonder Woman committing murder, and Batman creating OMAC, etc.

Basically, I'd either have them realize what dicks they're being, or reveal it all to have been some conspiracy involving mind control.