Revamp a Hero....

[Michael Watkins]

Trying another team (my favorite team)…

HEROES FOR HIRE REVAMP (90s ERA)

. nothing wrong with the Powerman/Iron Fist era; I’m not touching that
. my revamp picks up right at the end of the battle with Onslaught. A lot of the mainstream heroes have seemingly sacrificed themselves to end the threat. The rest of the superhuman community is left to pick up the pieces. The Thunderbolts are still in the process of punking the world. Natasha Romanoff has given up on reassembling the Avengers and reverted to type (covertly dealing with threats in brutal fashion).

. Enter Oracle Inc and COO Jim Hammond (see: Human Torch revamp). Hammond’s special project is to headhunt superhuman employees; meant to be champions of a new age. To reflect the new era, they play for pay.

. to give a quick rundown, Prince Namor sort of gave up on Oracle; at this point. It was purchased/repurposed by *drum roll* the Greek Gods. So Oracle Inc is now a holding of the Olympia Corporation. Zeus considers he and his to be the original champions. So this Heroes for Hire is sort of a vanity project. Hammond was kept on because of his own reputation of fighting the good fight for a long looong time. But he answers to Athena (to stick w/ the oracle motif).

. Iron Fist/Daniel Rand has already been working with Hammond and is an easy convert. Of course he has his own hidden agenda involving the merger of Kunlun and Midgard; realizing that Heroes for Hire isn’t going to be enough to truly defend Earth from all-comers. Danny’s a friendlier face and does a lot of the face-to-face meetings when they first start recruiting.

. She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters was already in place as legal counsel – she has little interest being part of the taskforce and is a lot costlier than the others. So, while she would have a lot of facetime, it would only be as a combatant in emergencies.

. Luke Cage’s side story with the Masters was interesting enough that I’d keep it; unchanged. This story is as much about the relationship between he and Danny being repaired, as it is about filling the Avengers’ void.

. Ant-Man/Scott Lang found himself in need of employment when the FF were “swallowed” up. Hammond, initially, hires him to monitor the team. After being forced to break his cover/aid the team, he accepted a more active role in the team. his daughter Cassie comes to live at Oracle’s apartments; while her mother/Cassie’s ex does some kind of job training.

. Spectrum/Monica Rambeau sees this as her time to become A-List. She’s well known in her hometown but wants more. This causes some conflict as she and Danny assume themselves to be team leader. Monica has the experience, the resume, and the power. But Danny’s got the Heroes for Hire cred.

. Black Knight/Dane Whitman’s a cynical guy being drug kicking and screaming into his destiny as the Lady of the Lake’s champion. Athena makes a deal with the Lady of the Lake; that the latter’s missions take priority over Dane’s paid gigs.

. Hercules – call it nepotism but part of establishing this team is to keep his son out of trouble. The latter has taken to excessive frivolity as a way of coping w/ the Avengers death/not dying in battle, with them. Once he gets his stuff together, he and Dane start partnering up on side missions. It’s this friendship that keeps Herc from hitting rock bottom. i’d want him to eventually be depicted more like he is in the most recent Dan Abnett book. I liked his look and modern adaptation to battle.

Tigra/Graciela ‘Greer’ Guevarra (see: Tigra Revamp) has a little personal crisis when her cat side begins to take over; post-Onslaught. It leads to her discovering her origins. It turns out that the Cat People actually hail from KunLun (hey, they had a wolf person!). she’s under the control of a supernatural force for a little bit and sent to end the Iron Fist. They work it out and all team up to fight Master Khan or some other Kunlunian mastermind type. She sticks around afterwards; Hammond’s a cat person and she needs a steady paycheck after her earlier freak-outs freaked out the police department where she was working. She’s quite happy to hang out with Monica and Jennifer.

They also occasionally hire freelancers when the mission requires it i.e. Jessica Drew (Tigra’s recommendation) and Shang Chi (Rand’s contact in Hong Kong). Their missions vary in scope. mainly I'd set them up to counter the evil business types; like ROXXON. I figure that the shortage of good-leaning heroes might lead to the shadier organizations to take advantage/escalate criminal financing. without the interference, organized crime groups wage full out war w/ one another. there wouldn't be much overlap between what they do and what the Thunderbolts get into. and they would rarely act as a traditional team. Dane would still be investigating the dragon of wallstreet. Iron Fist would be infiltrating an underground fight tournament. Ant-man would do a few missing persons cases. all of them would find themselves having to deal with the PR team and doing commercials. they force poor Tigra to cover up. Monica takes a few controversial personal stands. Hercules is the brawny man for a short time.

[Michael Watkins]

THUNDERBOLTS MEMBERS:

.Helmut Zemo – I’d make him a lot younger (chronologically). I liked him being a military man in Captain America Civil War. But I’d just add that to his regular comic book origin; but shifted later in the timeline. Heinrich, like several of the higher ranked members of marvel’s nazi party, have stuck around by routinely injecting some kind of serum with preservative properties. But it would have its drawbacks. Helmut’s father would actually be wearing that hood because an encounter with Captain America resulted in him missing his annual injection. So he would be a bit corpse-like underneath. This ongoing deterioration would have left Heinrich, a surprisingly doting father, a bit of a bipolar mad man. Helmut would be the offspring of Heinrich’s 5th wife. And she would have filled his head with a lot of revisionist history about his family line; leading to the later revenge scheme. My version would be a brilliant military strategist; when not letting his personal vendetta getting in the way. Taken from the movie, he’d also be a student of history and very good at research; even becoming knowledgeable about some of Marvel’s most rare mystical artifacts. I’d also remove the creation of Vermin from his resume. I never understood it. Maybe Heinrich created Vermin. He would have still gotten played by Heike, though. And, of course, his later universe saving heel turn would stay. I liked that playing hero for such a long time actually started to change him. But his chaotically neutral stance is also cool. It makes him less predictable.

.Karla Sofen – if I were to change anything, it’d be to make her more ambitious. She wouldn’t have just been a pupil of Doctor Faustus. She would have long graduated into becoming a master of manipulation & have run a villain gang or two of her own; before becoming a T-Bolt. She would stick with that version of heroism only because it serves her interests; having no desire to be imprisoned again. She’d be very very good at finding weaknesses in other to exploit. I like that snippet from her handbook bio that indicates that she knows how to drive someone nuts by making small changes to the tone of her voice. It’d be cool to see a “hero” use that against someone.

. Norbert Ebersol – just for convenience sake, I’d say that he (like Mentallo) was a former employee of S.H.I.E.L.D but was deemed to be too arrogant and morally ambigious to keep around. Maybe he was recruited during one of the more corrupt era of the agency. At any rate, he’d be one of the most formidable engineer/tinkerers in the marvel universe; a bonafide super genius. But his specialty is stealing the inventions of others/tweaking existing designs; too lazy to really do his own research. He and Josten would be Helmut’s first recruits.

. Melissa Gold – still a runaway from an abusive home – I’d tweak her involvement with the Grapplers a bit – she wouldn’t be a wrestler (although they would have certainly trained her/showed her the ropes) - but the reason for her seemingly out of place vocal chord augmentation w/o strength augmentation would be due to her role as a non-combatant wrestling sidekick (paul bearer or sensational sherri). She was all outside of ring antics and promos. I want her to be the least likely to rise to greatness as a heroine (while being the one who does the most w/ reformation). Otherwise, the powerset is the same.

. Abe Jenkins – I don’t have any real ideas for Abe. Beetle was my first favorite villain (because of the Sinister Syndicate). I enjoyed his struggle w/ living up to his team’s expectations and saving his own rear. In a lot of ways, he’s a lot like Michael Keaton’s version of the Vulture; working class guy w/ big dreams but no opportunity. Hmmm, maybe he would have originally have been part of Vulture’s gang but wanted to pursue his own path (using some of the stolen tech to make his first Beetle armor). Then the Justin Hammer stuff, Sinister Syndicate, and almost giving up before Zemo makes him an offer.

. Erik Josten – not much needs to change – like I did with Zemo, I’d move his origin further down the timeline; making him a loyal mercenary who served Heinrich Zemo (later in that man’s life) – the loyalty would extend to Heinrich’s son (plus he really wouldn’t know what to do w/ himself when not hunching) – his ability to grow would just be a unforeseen result of the original ionic enhancement; activated by Erik’s own subconscious desire to be seen as a “big man” – he’d really be a guy with no compass; a hero or a villain depending entirely on who is better at giving orders

. Jolt - I don't like her. but I can't think of anything to do with her. so she stays. I might make her a latent Inhuman, though; just for convenience sake.

[Michael Watkins]

Quick Hits:

Iron Heart - I would just swap Riri Williams for Lila Rhodes. I could believe her reverse engineering an iron man armor. she's worked on the War Machine suit, before. and I think there'd be a lot of tension between she and A.I. backed-up Tony. I think that she'd have more legitimacy; not having come out of nowhere. borrowing from her uncle's powerset, maybe her m.o is to incorporate other tech she encounters into her armor.



Falcon/Joaquin Torres - I'm a Spencer fan. but a lot about this character felt like a misstep to me. in fairness, the bad stuff was visual. they could introduce him in his mutated form; an unwilling test subject of Karl Malus. but I'd say that they make an effort to reverse the mutation after the initial adventure. but the damage would have extensive enough that the most they could do was make his eyes more normal looking and return his arms and legs to normal. the wings would stay, of course. I'm sorry but he looks like a joke character. that story was goofy enough with Capwolf running around. but, if you're going to introduce an illegal immigrant character, don't also make him look like some kind of garbage pail kid. if Sam needs the name back, they could always make Joaquin the brand new El Aguila (that guy retired, irrc).

Nick Fury jr - I'm pretty sure that I already did this revamp in this thread. but I have two options on this one.
Option A: take off the "jr" and have the actual Ultimate Universe Fury sneak into the main reality but be behind the scenes for good while; learning how best to operate in the new world

Option B: introduce Marcus as one of 616-Fury's kids, showing that he has gotten SHIELD level training from adolescence, and (highly important imo) don't change his appearance. just have him look like Marcus Johnson instead of the much older Samuel L Jackson. hell, make him look like Tripp or Mac; if synergy is that important. better to fail as a new character than as a pale imitation of an existing character. Marcus Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I'd remove 'Cheese' from the story altogether. or just have Coulson be on Marcus' security detail; on behalf of Nick. to me, Phil only works as the movie character. so just introduce him as that character and incorporate him into the story of the brand new character of Marcus Johnson (w/ no attempt to make him movie Nick Fury).

Demolition-Man: I would just have made him a soldier with a good heart but PTSD who coped by idolizing superheroes; enter the Power Broker. strength augmentation didn't solve his emotional problems. so he got into his share of fights with the good guys. there's not much wrong w/ his story. but I like where he is currently. the homeless sewer dweller stuff wasn't exactly my cup of tea. I can deal with him toggling between living on the streets and being in treatment centers when we don't see him, though.



Sabra - I wish that she'd be used more. but I get why she isn't. she has the perfect powerset. and her redesigned costume for the Union Jack series was cool, if functional. the codename is a little on the nose (not to mention a hummus). if they could find a better one, that'd be nice. otherwise, I'd prefer that she be a free agent. Israel can't really be relying on one lone superheroine. Sabra would make a great Avenger. I could see she and Quicksilver having a good passive aggressive relationship.

[Huntsman Spider]

Lila Rhodes would have gone over so much better, I agree with you on that, though there would be the small matter of explaining her to the people who didn't read Rhodey's (short-lived) Iron Patriot series. That aside, we could at least get her reacting to Rhodey's death and having that build up to her carrying on as the new Iron-fill-in-the-blank, and A.I. Tony mentoring her would make more sense as his way of making up for what happened to his best friend and the less-than-constructive manner in which he dealt with his grief. I could take or leave Riri, but if I were to take her, I'd reinvent her as a friend of Lila's whom she met at a camp for young geniuses, with Lila being Riri's emotional anchor after the death of Riri's last friend and having an affectionate rivalry. I'd even throw in Kiri Oshiro from Secret Wars: Armor Wars as a mutual friend of theirs with her own connections to Iron Man lore, only instead of Rumiko Fujikawa's daughter, she's Rumiko's cousin or niece. Then I'd have them all meet Toni Ho from Roberto da Costa's A.I.M. to bridge as many connections to Iron Man's lore and legacy as possible, and they'd ultimately wind up being supervised by either Toni herself, Pepper Potts/Rescue, or maybe both a la the Birds of Prey over at DC, but with armor. Of course, someone would come up with a clever name for them all, probably something like the Iron Lady Legion.

[KOSLOX]

Rocket Racer should basically be a mashup of Usain Bolt, Blur from Supreme Power, and Booster Gold.

He'd be a former trackstar who's career has been waning. Roxxon develops a formula which works only with his physiology which they give him in exchange for being their corporate mascot and branded superhero designed to fix Roxxon's image. As a trade off he would secretly perform unsavory tasks for Roxxon under the threat of black mail (they would leak evidence of his crimes) and stop giving him the serum.

[Michael Watkins]

Lila Rhodes would have gone over so much better, I agree with you on that, though there would be the small matter of explaining her to the people who didn't read Rhodey's (short-lived) Iron Patriot series.

sure. but, comparatively, that's not even a concern. she's listed as his niece in the handbook & on marvel's site. CBR would have the opportunity to put out a "Who Is Lila Rhodes" article. plus, "Rhodes" is in the name; not too hard to piece together. I didn't purchase a single issue of that last Iron Patriot book. I ran across Lila while looking through Rhodey's "friends list" on comicvine. I started reading her bio and immediately thought that they bungled it by not making her the new Iron legacy character.

That aside, we could at least get her reacting to Rhodey's death and having that build up to her carrying on as the new Iron-fill-in-the-blank, and A.I. Tony mentoring her would make more sense as his way of making up for what happened to his best friend and the less-than-constructive manner in which he dealt with his grief.

right. there's a built-in platform for this in both character's histories. just seeing Lila would have an affect on Tony.

I could take or leave Riri, but if I were to take her, I'd reinvent her as a friend of Lila's whom she met at a camp for young geniuses, with Lila being Riri's emotional anchor after the death of Riri's last friend and having an affectionate rivalry.

that could work. you don't see a lot of that nowadays. she could use a supporting cast.

[Michael Watkins]

Rocket Racer should basically be a mashup of Usain Bolt, Blur from Supreme Power, and Booster Gold.

He'd be a former trackstar who's career has been waning. Roxxon develops a formula which works only with his physiology which the gift him in exchange for being their corporate mascot designed to fix Roxxon's image, but they would control the key to his power. They would him perform unsavory tasks to keep him in the spotlight and running at full speed.

it's certainly an upgrade from his current story. but, given that you chose Roxxon, I might suggest that they initially make him into the new Bluestreak (he was a similarly-outfitted villain) but he, eventually, breaks away from them/takes own his own identity. just to be different, I'd bypass the serum and go with some kind of overall cybernetic enhancement to his legs (and maybe they increase his lung capacity, as well). either would work but the "Rocket" part of Rocket Racer makes me think tech-based (as opposed to chemical-based) speed. or maybe they show him the designs for Bluestreak and he tells him that he prefers 'Red.' i just want them to reference Bluestreak because of the Roxxon connection. I like your idea, though.

[Michael Watkins]

EXTENDED PYM LEGACY (JANET)

. I’d set up Paladin as sort of her answer “Catwoman” or “Black Cat.” She knows that he’s taken some dirty jobs but enjoy the thrill of being with a globe-trotting mercenary. That’s not to say that they would occasionally be on opposite sides of an altercation. He would screw her over, if necessary (and vice versa).

. Scott Lang would often assist her in tracking down leads; going where a wealthy celebrity would draw too much attention. Other than defending Hercules in the hospital during the Siege of Avengers mansion, Jan and Scott never really had much time to interact. I’d fix that in my revamp. They are from different worlds. And I certainly don’t intend for there to be a romantic connection. But they are connected through Pym. I think it’d be interesting to see an Ant-Man work for the Wasp; kind of a reversal of the trope.

. Jan’s primary archnemesis would be Kashmir Venemma; a wealthy businesswoman with a highly unconventional business model involving the exploitation of several dimensions, an alliance with her own dopplegangers, and numerous illegal activities. Despite having a similar upbringing, she would only know Jan; in passing before the grudge gets real. I picked Kashmir because she’s also been A.I.M-affiliated. Plus she operates in a “hive” of Kashmir Venemmas; across multiple realities. I like the idea of Wasp having to worry about taking down one villainess; only to have a worse version fill the void.

. secondary rogues would include Whirlwind (her stalker) and her childhood friend/sometime suitor, Sterling Stuyvescent; who has gotten in over his head with some shadier types (think Marvel Eyes Wide Shut).

------
(SCOTT)

. since his pre-Cassie life is mostly unexplored... I'd establish that Scott, in his youth, had several encounters with law enforcement; the kind that follow you in life. but it'd mostly be thrillseeking and taking the easy way out (altering high school test scores to impress a girl who may or may not later be revealed to be Rita Demara). anyways, he cleans himself up and lies his rear off to date and marry his now-ex wife. their idyllic suburban lifestyle is secretly being funded by illegal activity; Scott targets the wealthy. but it's the more selfless VistaCorp job that lands him in prison. Cassie's ex isn't implicated and comes from wealth. so she, logically, gets custody of Cassie.

. one big difference between Hank-Ant-Man and Lang-Ant-Man is that the latter has a lot of weird relationships with supervillains. he'd be one of the only costumed heroes to not immediately be thrown out of the Bar with No Name. The Ghost would have a begrudging respect for Lang because of his anti-corporate leanings but also consider him to be a sell-out, as Ant-Man. he would have lent Whiplash a sympathetic ear after the villain's divorce. depending on his mood, he might even look the other way; if the crime is of a non-violent nature. this playing both sides of the line will get him into trouble. a lot of the villains that he encounters assume that he is Hank Pym; which can work for or against him, depending on the situation.

. as part of his undercover work, he would sometimes masquerade as a costumed villain; using the moniker, The Terrible Termite. besides being a cinemaphile, he's also fond of doing impressions.

[KOSLOX]

it's certainly an upgrade from his current story. but, given that you chose Roxxon, I might suggest that they initially make him into the new Bluestreak (he was a similarly-outfitted villain) but he, eventually, breaks away from them/takes own his own identity. just to be different, I'd bypass the serum and go with some kind of overall cybernetic enhancement to his legs (and maybe they increase his lung capacity, as well). either would work but the "Rocket" part of Rocket Racer makes me think tech-based (as opposed to chemical-based) speed. or maybe they show him the designs for Bluestreak and he tells him that he prefers 'Red.' i just want them to reference Bluestreak because of the Roxxon connection. I like your idea, though.

Maybe "Rocket" was his nickname as a runner and they could do a scene where a bunch of marketing guys kick it around in a focus group. They decided "Rocket Racer" sells more action figures. I liked the serum idea because it sort of reflect the use of PEDs, maybe he was trying to obtain them to "reignite" his running career and that's how Roxxon first got their claws in.

[Michael Watkins]

Maybe "Rocket" was his nickname as a runner and they could do a scene where a bunch of marketing guys kick it around in a focus group. They decided "Rocket Racer" sells more action figures. I liked the serum idea because it sort of reflect the use of PEDs, maybe he was trying to obtain them to "reignite" his running career and that's how Roxxon first got their claws in.

fair enough. it was similar enough to Triathlon's story that it bugged me. I still like the revamp.

[KOSLOX]

fair enough. it was similar enough to Triathlon's story that it bugged me. I still like the revamp.

Lol. I've only read Triathalon's appearance in Avenger's Initiative so I had no idea about his origin story, but now that I've looked, yeah that's very very similar.

So I'm good with tossing the serum/PEDs angle, but I still like the idea of a bunch of marketing guys coming up with Rocket Racer because they think they can sell more toys.

[Michael Watkins]

Lol. I've only read Triathalon's appearance in Avenger's Initiative so I had no idea about his origin story, but now that I've looked, yeah that's very very similar.

So I'm good with tossing the serum/PEDs angle, but I still like the idea of a bunch of marketing guys coming up with Rocket Racer because they think they can sell more toys.

yeah, that definitely works. I'd keep the "rocket" as his athlete nickname, as well. it could inform their decision to name him that. I like the idea of a corporate sponsored character, though. it's why I liked Supreme Power's take on Blur.

[Huntsman Spider]

sure. but, comparatively, that's not even a concern. she's listed as his niece in the handbook & on marvel's site. CBR would have the opportunity to put out a "Who Is Lila Rhodes" article. plus, "Rhodes" is in the name; not too hard to piece together. I didn't purchase a single issue of that last Iron Patriot book. I ran across Lila while looking through Rhodey's "friends list" on comicvine. I started reading her bio and immediately thought that they bungled it by not making her the new Iron legacy character.



right. there's a built-in platform for this in both character's histories. just seeing Lila would have an affect on Tony.



that could work. you don't see a lot of that nowadays. she could use a supporting cast.

Thanks for the feedback, and I also like how you fleshed out your takes on Janet van Dyne and Scott Lang. Scott being the guy who straddles the fence between superhero and super-villain, at least when it comes to the lower-level villains who are mostly petty crooks and not big-time would-be world conquerors/destroyers or psychotics obsessed with revenge against a particular superhero, is an interesting touch to his character and probably would alienate him from the more "straight arrow" heroes, given the sense of black-and-white morality many of them tend to have. Besides that, I like your idea of Janet having a nemesis of her own along with a potential Batman/Catwoman (or Spider-Man/Black Cat) romance with Paladin and a working relationship with Scott. Oh, and your and Things Fall Apart's bouncing ideas back and forth for reinventing Rocket Racer? That's pretty cool, too, and I say that as someone who was introduced to Rocket Racer through the 90s Spider-Man animated series.

[Michael Watkins]

Thanks for the feedback, and I also like how you fleshed out your takes on Janet van Dyne and Scott Lang. Scott being the guy who straddles the fence between superhero and super-villain, at least when it comes to the lower-level villains who are mostly petty crooks and not big-time would-be world conquerors/destroyers or psychotics obsessed with revenge against a particular superhero, is an interesting touch to his character and probably would alienate him from the more "straight arrow" heroes, given the sense of black-and-white morality many of them tend to have.

I wanted to set up the later move to Miami and hiring Grizzly, Machinesmith, and others. I feel that he's more likely to cut the less violent ones a break because of his own past misdeeds. Marvel Miami is probably a much shadier place than in the real world. Slug seems to operate without any competition, for starters. and it's rare that you're going to run into Man-Thing. so Scott has to adapt to that environment and leverage his own criminal record to make contacts within the criminal underworld. that said, he'd be familiar enough with the game to not fully trust any of them. he'd also doublecross a few villains along the way. I noticed that stuff like this seems to happen quite frequently among what I term the working class villains. yet, they continue to work with one another. Boomerang sold out his team religiously. but they were still all hanging out, at the end of Superior Foes. I think Scott would take advantage of that loophole. but, like you said, it'd be the less hardcore types. he wouldn't be cavorting with someone like Grim Reaper or one of the assassin types.

Besides that, I like your idea of Janet having a nemesis of her own along with a potential Batman/Catwoman (or Spider-Man/Black Cat) romance with Paladin and a working relationship with Scott. Oh, and your and Things Fall Apart's bouncing ideas back and forth for reinventing Rocket Racer? That's pretty cool, too, and I say that as someone who was introduced to Rocket Racer through the 90s Spider-Man animated series.

I seem to remember liking the animated series version. I'd have to rewatch. he seems like someone who might do better in live-action. but you and ThingsFallApart are doing some good work on the revamps.

[Huntsman Spider]

I wanted to set up the later move to Miami and hiring Grizzly, Machinesmith, and others. I feel that he's more likely to cut the less violent ones a break because of his own past misdeeds. Marvel Miami is probably a much shadier place than in the real world. Slug seems to operate without any competition, for starters. and it's rare that you're going to run into Man-Thing. so Scott has to adapt to that environment and leverage his own criminal record to make contacts within the criminal underworld. that said, he'd be familiar enough with the game to not fully trust any of them. he'd also doublecross a few villains along the way. I noticed that stuff like this seems to happen quite frequently among what I term the working class villains. yet, they continue to work with one another. Boomerang sold out his team religiously. but they were still all hanging out, at the end of Superior Foes. I think Scott would take advantage of that loophole. but, like you said, it'd be the less hardcore types. he wouldn't be cavorting with someone like Grim Reaper or one of the assassin types.



I seem to remember liking the animated series version. I'd have to rewatch. he seems like someone who might do better in live-action. but you and ThingsFallApart are doing some good work on the revamps.

Hmm, thanks. So are you.