Any D-Listers You'd Like to Overhaul / Expand Upon?

[Ascended]

Just a random thought:

Let's say DC said to you "Pick someone nobody gives a damn about and update the hell out of it! You got a four issue miniseries to do whatever you want, but don't directly contradict canon. And it's gotta fit within the normal DCU, you can't just go reinventing the wheel by calling it an Elseworld."

Who do you pick? Why? Any idea about what you'd do, specifically, that you wanna share?

If "D-list" isn't specific enough, let's say it can't be anyone who is appearing regularly in a comic, never carried a solo title for more than thirty-ish issues, and no one who has ever been a lead or co-lead in larger media.

And four issues is all you get. DC won't invest more in the project under any circumstances.

Me, I'd pick Amazing Man. I've always thought that character was full of incredible potential. Great name and costume with a retro flair, great powers you don't see very often, and the family/legacy element opens up so many possibilities. You can pretty much point at any aspect of Amazing Man and immediately see three ways it's already cool and five more ways to make it even cooler.

I'd use the character to explore the everyday, "middle class" superhuman experience. The people who have telekinesis but don't fight (or commit) crime, but just like....work at the bank. We'd also look at what it actually takes to be a hero, the knowledge and resources required, the particular brand of crazy you have to be to take the law into your own hands and force your views of justice on the world, and the price that goes with it. More introspective and Vertigo-esque than your typical superhero comic, but still with enough superhero elements to (hopefully) satisfy the core DC readership.

My four issue mini would introduce a new member of the Everett/Clay clan who'd be our new Amazing Man. We'd learn that the WWII era Amazing Man was not the first member of the family to have powers and that their history stretches back more than two thousand years (without artificially increasing their importance to the world, that sorta thing needs to be earned). I'd expand on the powerset by introducing the other-dimensional realm of the periodic table, something sort of like the speed force, but with actual rules.

I'd also piggyback an update to the Power Company on this and have our new Amazing Man work there. But not as part of any security or bodyguard force.

Then the murder of the previous Amazing Man, Markus Clay, forces our new guy up against someone who's been radicalized by superhuman concerns. Obvious parallels to some real world stuff in there of course, with more than a dash of Robinson's Starman in there too.

[Riv86672]

^^^I'd read this.
And the (hopefully) follow up Power Company book.

Oh, and my contribution, a whole team of D-listers…:

The Nineties called.
They want their AWESOME back.

Chronos leads a No Star Cast of heroes (Argus, Gunfire, Anima, Aztek, Black Condor and Fate) thirty years into the far off future of 2022 to stop the terrifying Time Trapper from remaking the planet in his twisted image.

For this team, the only thing more dangerous than the bad guy is finding out too much about their own destinies, because let’s face it, none of them are really around any more.

Mind you, they’d all just disappear again after four issues, but it’d be nice to write these dated characters from a modern perspective, flesh them out in hindsight.

[Will Evans]

That girl Equinox who was on the Canada Justice League

[Riv86672]

That girl Equinox who was on the Canada Justice League

^^^I'm surprised DC’s never gotten anyone to cobble together their own version of Alpha Flight.

[Proto Man]

Oh, I would easily pick Amethyst. She's one of my favorite DC characters, but I think DC rarely gets her right. They have their own magical girl sitting right there and don't seem to properly know how to execute that, I guess maybe because that sort of thing is typically outside of DC's wheelhouse.

I appreciate the opportunities she was given like Sword of Sorcery and the Wonder Comics stories, but I had big problems with both. Sword of Sorcery wasn't the right tone in general, and I didn't like the design and several other things from Wonder Comics. I also think it's vitally important to get the character in front of the right sort of audience for that kind of genre. I don't know that your typical direct market audience would respond that well to her, but others REALLY would if you do it right, and fortunately, there are already lots of those people reading comics. If properly executed, I think she could be used as a good inroad to tapping into other, much coveted, audiences.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Night runner is mentored by the Eminence of Blades. Nightrunner was a new hero introduced in Batman Incorporated. This story serves as a year 2 style story for him. Since Eminence of Blades died recently we would focus on Bilal's reaction to his death and he ends being considered Eminence's successor whether he likes it or not.

Renee Montaya, Anarky and Traci 13 team up to stop a mystical crisis in Hub City. Traci 13 is our POV character as she has to decide which of the other two characters has the best way of dealing with the threat.

Karate Kid becomes Batman of the 30th century. Karate Kid would travel to Planet Gotham. There is a new Batman around and Karate Kid is sent to investigate and recruit them. He also goes because he has a guess on who it is but it's not someone he would want to meet again.

[Kaijudo]

My pitch for a Nightshade series is just basically to do giant James Bond movies with DC's magical universe as a backdrop.

[ducklord]

I will continue to pound this table until my knuckles bleed: Extrano. He's a flamboyantly gay space witch, for god's sake.

With four issues, I'd:

- Plunk him down in a small midwestern town that turns out to be a nexus for cosmic weirdness (I'd use Blue Valley if Stargirl has moved out).
- Give him a big rambling house that is spacehaunted and bigger on the inside.
- Give him a companion/secretary/aide-da-camp who's an early 40something Christian housewife who's already experiencing empty nest syndrome.
- Have him confront local weirdnesses like a college fraternity whose pledges are possesed by a corn god, or a flea market that is much bigger and stranger than it seems.
- Give him a a Baba Yaga drum with a distincive Kirby-esque design to ride around on for short trips.
- Hint at the return of Janwillem Kroef, a character whose origin doesn't really work with the sliding time scale.
- Establish that, although a small midwestern town, its population is far more inviting than Extrano first expected.

It's possible that I've put too much thought into this.

[krazijoe]

Vibe, Gypsy...

[WonderScott]

I love the Amazing Man idea - I’d read it! A few of mine:

Catman - A fantastic character from Secret Six and I like his antihero/antivillain status. Thomas Blake would be a worldwide adventurer looking to reclaim his wealth and status in Gotham. (And not entirely just through nefarious means.) Throw in his bisexuality and let the adventures begin. I’d be interested to see Thomas Blake and Catman operate in Gotham as another shade of a Batman analogue - especially his interactions with the Batfamily and Batvillains. Never underestimate the “new” Thomas Blake. Catch it all in the miniseries: Catman Returns.

Flamebird - I’ve always loved Bette and she’s the most maligned Bat character. Like the legendary Phoenix, Bette Kane is about to rise from the ashes with new goals, a new costume and nothing to prove to anyone but herself. An adventure and mystery in Europe shines a light on Bette and proves she’s in no Shadow of the Bat. Catch it all in the miniseries The Flamebird Rises.

Onyx Adams - Similar to Bette, Onyx has a lot of potential and I love her ties to Green Arrow, Batman and the League of Shadows/Assassins. When several of her former assassin-y associates from the League of Shadows go missing, Onyx finds herself the target of a mysterious foe and her former organization: The League of Shadows. Catch it all in the miniseries Onyx: Semi-Precious Lives.

Extraño - Such a great character that I’d like to take back to his queer and flamboyant roots. The rules of magic are esoteric and immutable, but Extraño the Extravagant is more than used to bending and breaking the rules. When Extraño’s study of magic reveals a secret that stretches back to the first human magicians, can he understand this new layer of magic before the secret keepers catch up with him? Catch it all in the miniseries Extraño: Fortune Favors the Fabulous.

[OBrianTallent]

I will continue to pound this table until my knuckles bleed: Extrano. He's a flamboyantly gay space witch, for god's sake.

With four issues, I'd:

- Plunk him down in a small midwestern town that turns out to be a nexus for cosmic weirdness (I'd use Blue Valley if Stargirl has moved out).
- Give him a big rambling house that is spacehaunted and bigger on the inside.
- Give him a companion/secretary/aide-da-camp who's an early 40something Christian housewife who's already experiencing empty nest syndrome.
- Have him confront local weirdnesses like a college fraternity whose pledges are possesed by a corn god, or a flea market that is much bigger and stranger than it seems.
- Give him a a Baba Yaga drum with a distincive Kirby-esque design to ride around on for short trips.
- Hint at the return of Janwillem Kroef, a character whose origin doesn't really work with the sliding time scale.
- Establish that, although a small midwestern town, its population is far more inviting than Extrano first expected.

It's possible that I've put too much thought into this.

That could be so much fun, but it would need far more than four issues!! Like maybe 74 or 104...but not just four.

[ducklord]

Extraño - Such a great character that I’d like to take back to his queer and flamboyant roots. The rules of magic are esoteric and immutable, but Extraño the Extravagant is more than used to bending and breaking the rules. When Extraño’s study of magic reveals a secret that stretches back to the first human magicians, can he understand this new layer of magic before the secret keepers catch up with him? Catch it all in the miniseries Extraño: Fortune Favors the Fabulous.

"Fortune Favors the Fabulous" is a great miniseries title.

I'd like someone to write this who isn't me. Although it's got narrative hooks for days, I fear that my provincial upbringing would make it difficult to get the voice of a flamboyantly gay Peruvian anywhere in the ballpark of "right."

[Riv86672]

I will continue to pound this table until my knuckles bleed: Extrano. He's a flamboyantly gay space witch, for god's sake.

With four issues, I'd:

- Plunk him down in a small midwestern town that turns out to be a nexus for cosmic weirdness (I'd use Blue Valley if Stargirl has moved out).
- Give him a big rambling house that is spacehaunted and bigger on the inside.
- Give him a companion/secretary/aide-da-camp who's an early 40something Christian housewife who's already experiencing empty nest syndrome.
- Have him confront local weirdnesses like a college fraternity whose pledges are possesed by a corn god, or a flea market that is much bigger and stranger than it seems.
- Give him a a Baba Yaga drum with a distincive Kirby-esque design to ride around on for short trips.
- Hint at the return of Janwillem Kroef, a character whose origin doesn't really work with the sliding time scale.
- Establish that, although a small midwestern town, its population is far more inviting than Extrano first expected.

It's possible that I've put too much thought into this.

You sir, are on. POINT.

[j9ac9k]

John Chan, the Man Called CLAW

I've posted this before, so apologies to anyone who's seen this but there's a new thread so:
-- Introduced in "Primal Force" John Chan is a Hong Kong native who is the modern iteration of "Claw, the Unconquered." I'd ditch the old-school armor, modernize him with an anime/Highlander inspired look, mixed with some body horror mystical drama and flesh out his backstory and the mythos of his demon hand. He could be DC's Ghost Rider in that way where he's a flawed and angry human constantly at war with this demonic aspect of himself, while kicking demonic or mystical ass along the way.

[j9ac9k]

Me, I'd pick Amazing Man...

Good pick! Here's my take:

The Amazing Man
- I would relaunch the Markus Clay version of the character. Tweak his powers to be less like the Absorbing Man. Once he touches something, its stored in his mind and he can bring it forth anytime at will. His body will also respond to attack or danger reflexively to adapt to whatever dangerous situation he's in. (He's not a metamorph - his body doesn't change shape, just what his body is made out of)
- Along with the tweaked powers come his persona. It's about resilience. He can take what comes and withstand it and keep going. He's essentially a hard worker who wants to honor his legacy and protect people.
- Stepping up: AM finds himself on a larger stage, facing bigger foes and realizes he can't just focus on New Orleans if he really wants to make a difference. He will get roped into conversations about what it means to be "a black hero" though he just wants to be "a hero," but that conversation just never goes away and he'll struggle to find a way to address it ...(especially considering how his grandfather was a social activist, so that's another aspect of carrying legacy to be explored)