1. Identify a BIG problem with the comicverse of your choice. Provide reasoning for your selection. (ie too many telepaths!)
2. Structure a continuity wide "event" that would solve said problem. Reality waves and slaughterings are acceptable, but be creative. (ie Crisis on infinite Earths)
3. Build from scratch, or re-purpose a villain that works on several levels. How does ze threaten all levels of herowork? (ie Sheeda minions of all shapes and sizes)
Hmm. I'm not very up on the cosmic stuff -- I tend to drop most of that space-faring cosmic threats. The late=80s Silver Surfer stuff got really dire with the villains. Abstractions at the end of Space and Time!
Which of course brings to mind Neil Gaiman, who did some pretty good comics by doing the same thing, only opposite. Abstractions with goldfish and family trouble!
I wonder if that thought would take me anywhere.
OK, try this on for size:
BIG problem: Destruction gets bored with retirement/hits existential crisis and goes all nihilist/is hit by a bus and reborn in another form. Whatever. He's back in the saddle and decides to destroy Earth. Not just *boom* it's gone, but remove it from all possible levels of existence -- up to the New Gods/Apokolips crew, and down to whatever weird cities in bottles various folks hide in various places. For kicks, let's say Destruction is doing this because he really wants to render our reality down to create a new pigment for some Cosmic Painting. (Or were you asking for external problems, like "too many space-heroes, not enough magic ones" or "continuity has become a mess again"? Pick either of those. I really just want to see a, for want of a better word, continuity between the space cases and the magic users.)
Repurpose a villain: Cuddly bohemian Destruction reveals self as inhuman embodiment of fear, absence and loss.
Continuity-wide event: Bits of reality keep vanishing and mashing into one another, natural laws are being replaced by chaos, planets/years/systems of organization are vanishing. Needs a snappy name, yeah? Hmm.
Have it start out with Earth vanishing -- only those stuck in some metaphysical plane or distant planet are spared. The Missing Planet? I dunno.
This'd be an excuse to have the Golden and Silver Age Green Lanterns, Zatanna, Starman (or more likely Adam Strange), Swamp Thing and Martian Manhunter all, like, doing stuff together. Was Mera (Aquaman's wife) from an alternate dimension? I suppose Deadman would be valid, too.
Maybe do a little ABC poaching and have the heroes fighting Egyptian deities like Anubis and Set... and then realizing they're just pawns, enacting the Larger Plan. Heck, have a whole bunch of End Times myths being enacted, with the Norse pantheon from Sandman heading into Ragnarok, a final war between New Genesis & Apokalips, some Wonder Woman characters getting called up into some death-of-the-gods scenario. I like the idea of Hawkman/Hawkgirl (-woman, whatever she is now) doing some magic-cum-space action. I want to see crew members of the Haunted Tank hanging out with Matter-Eater Lad.
Oh, and the main rule would be No Superman. ONLY the Superboy from the far future of the Legion, and maybe a couple Super-relatives (like Power Girl). And no urban heroes, gritty or otherwise. No Batman, no Green Arrow, no Flash (well, maybe in the more interdimensional vein).
And the fun thing at the end would be that their reality has been altered to the point where they realize they're no longer three dimensional. They're three-dimensional constructs compressed into a two-dimensional medium -- simulations of "real" beings squashed flat into panels on a page.
Or have I been reading too much Grant Morrison for my own good?
Eh.
Back-to-thread-basics Challenge: I want someone to remake the Marvel Sandman and make him live up to his potential. Or did someone already do that and I've forgotten? |
)
