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Hey everyone,
I, like many people, got all worked up over the total disjointedness of Countdown and Final Crisis. I found that seeming total disregard for what had happened in Countdown and DotNG was seriously affecting how I read and my enjoyment of FC. Even though Countdown and DotNG were mediocre at best, they were meant to lead into FC and I found the fact that they didn't really jarring. So, I thought last night - Why don't I just come up with a new version of Countdown? Make a continuity that works for me, one I actually like so FC reads better for me.
So here goes...
Countdown - the Fool remix
Instead of starting with that naff chess board scene (its actually a good idea really badly done), we begin with Darkseid in his throne room surveying his armies from a balcony. Desaad enters to tell his master that his latest round of torture-divinations are all in aggreement with Darkseid's plan. This will be ragnarok, the end of the 4th world. All will die for Darkseid!
Darkseid has discovered the secret of the 52. He will destroy the pathetic gods of New Genesis, then he will destroy new earth. Collapsing the multiverse and placing him at the centre of all creation.
Darkseid commences cosmic godwar! and proceeds to devestate New Genesis with his army of parademons.
Darkseid's actions also challenges the Monitors. Destroying new earth will also destroy them. He will usurp their place in the cosmos. Darkseid rises to their dimension and challenges Solomon. Their conflict is played out as comic chess. Darkseid summons Morticoccus to the board and begins moving it toward the piece representing New Earth.
In minscule scale against this, Captain Atom, in the Monarch suit, is witness to this though not to its full content. His ability to shift dimensions had him follow darkseid to this place. He now knows both sides are embarking on an endgame. His solution? An army to end all armies. Capable of taking down not only Darkseid but also the Monitors.
War in Heaven. Darkseid contacts the antimonitor, who is assembling the sinestro corps, and states now is the time to attack. Insert Sinestro corps war here.
Karate kid, carrying the morticoccus virus, begins his search for a cure. He goes to the JSA/Doctor Midnight who find traces of a modified omac virus along side morticoccus. Karate kid is placed in a high secruity infection control unit.
Lightray escapes from the front line and heads to earth to attempt to deliver a warning of Darkseid's terrible plan. He is chased and mortally wounded on route (possibly by sinestro corp members?).
The first person to find him is Jimmy Olsen. Lighray only has time to say 'Darkseid is winning, he's coming to destroy the earth!'. No deicide issue as Oa is currently having its arse pounded by yellow ring barers. Lightray's body vanishes. No one believes Jimmy, despite extensive property damage. (No witnesses, no body)
Another Monitor (with a name better than 'bob') becomes aware of Solomon's gambit and attempts to intervene. Realising that Solomon will happily sacrifice all life on new earth to maintain the multiverse. He must move quickly and try not to bring attention to his role in the game. He tries to find anomalies, people who won't show up on the game board due to their unique natures. Jason Todd, the man who should be dead, Donna Troy, the woman with the incomprehensible history and Kyle Rayner the man reality failed to erase. To this he gives them the Forerunner - from the Monitor engineered world of super assassin/bodyguards. With these operatives Notbob would be able to undermine the game, and possibly save the lives of everyone on New Earth. Their first mission, find the one man who may be able to stop Morticoccus, the great disaster and Darkseid's plan to eradicate all life on earth before blowing it up - Ray Palmer.
Truncated search for Ray Palmer. Involving being chased by and conflict with Dark Angel. Notbob does not accompany them on the mission (he'd show up on the game board) but gives them a multiversal transport device that allows for world hopping.
Meanwhile Monarch begins assembling his superarmy. He begins to realise that if Darkseid can pull off this game, then maybe he can too. Instead of Darkseid at the centre of creation, it could be him!
Ray Palmer is found on eath 51. He is collating information on the morticoccus after the death of his counterpart in this world.
Karate Kid escapes containment with the help of Una (Triplcate girl). They try to hurt down the remains of brother eye, hoping it will hold some clue to curing the virus.
They find the remains and KK's presence reactivates the Brother Eye module.
On the game board reality, Solomon moves KK, una and Bother Eye to Apokolpis. He states 'Check'.
Darkseid realises he is being attacked on two fronts. One side is Solomon with brother eye, but he also sees the plan to defeat morticoccus. He turns to the Monarch piece on the board stating 'and you thought I couldn't see you'.
Monarch attacks earth 51 with his full superarmy. He wants to secure Ray Palmer for himself (unwittingly doing the bidding of Darkseid).
Nix Utoan attempts to intervene at this point, but is hindered secretly by Solomon. In the conflict, Monarch's armour is ruptured and Earth 51 is decimated. Ray, Donna, Kyle and Jason narrowly escape, Notbob sending them to Apokolpis to try and stop Morticoccis. Whether Monarch and his army are indeed dead is unclear (which it should be in proper countdown as it was a vast waste of multiversal characters).
Nix Utoan views his devastated world in the Orrey. He copies New Earth and applies the template to Earth 51. Making it the same as New Earth in every way, minus Donna, Kyle and Jason who weren't present in that universe during the transfer.
Karate Kid and Una arrive on Apokolpis. The Brother Eye module has hit the jackpot and immmediately begins assimilating the entire planet at a very rapid pace. This decimates the parademon legions and most of the apokolitian new gods.
Ray, Donna, Kyle and Jason find KK and Una as Brother Eye completes its assimilation. They quickly decide to get everyone off the planet and back to Earth where they can get the cure into KK.
Darkseid, now above his assimilated world looks Brother Eye in its giant red eye which has replaced one on the firepits on the surface. Brother Eye sends wave after wave of omaced parademons to destroy their former master. The omega effect makes short work of them all.
He states
"I am Darkseid. I will not be defeated by a mere machine"
Then plunging fists first toward the giant eye, omega effect blazing he yells
"DIE FOR DARKSEID!"
Darkseid explodes through the giant red eye and simulatenously every fire pit on Apokolips erupts. Brother eye is defeated. A tiny brother eye probe escapes however, using a great portion of its remaining power it follows KK to earth.
Ray, Donna, Kyle and Jason with Una and KK arrive on earth desperate to get treatment for KK. No one recognises them leading to confusion however this is resolved quickly when the threat is explained.
KK is isolated for treatment, but its too late. Morticoccus breaks free and begins devestating the facility. Ray tells them that they have to leave now, but Una refuses.
On the game board reality Darkseid announces 'Checkmate'.
The heroes of earth will be destroyed and new earth will be defenceless when he comes to claim it. Solomon laughs, and reveals his ruse. Its earth 51. Solomon then reveals his final chess piece - Orion.
In their escape from doomed earth 51 (which plays out to Kamandi as per usual, the brother eye module acts as protector to the last 2 humans, it doesn't have the power to attempt another dimensional shift) all Ray and co were able to do was reverse their last jump, they find themselves back on a deserted Apokolips.
Cue Orion and Darkseid final fight. Massive destruction, keeping Ray and co on the run and unable to jump away.
Leading to the climatic moment where Orion finally defeats Darkseid, destroying his physical form.
For a moment there is victory. Then Orion, wounded from the fight, turns to the heroes present and says 'something is very wrong'. Apokolips starts shaking violently. Our heroes make their escape, vanishing (and apparently taking Orion with them).
They appear on New Earth in Metropolis. Orion is not with them. They sorta realise that they just helped save earth (and the multiverse), but at a pretty terrible cost which no one but them is aware of.
oh, and Mary Marvel goes BAD! LOL!
all pieces are in the right spots now. And this made a very pretty comic in my head last night.
What about you? Here take these cosmic crayons and scribble over countdown with something better.
Happy to move this to creation if people want it moved. |
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