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.

[Sutekh]

That girl Equinox who was on the Canada Justice League

Ooh, yes, I was eager to learn what her seasonal-varying powers were! My own theory was that she could always fly, and generated heat/fire blasts during the summer, cold/ice blasts during the winter, some sort of decay/corrosion power during the autumn, and some sort of plant growth/healing/water based power for the spring, but who knows what the creator actually had planned!

And yes also to loving to see a good storyline for Amazing Man!

[married guy]

^^^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.

Hell yeah!
I'd definitely read this book!!
Loved Chronos, Argus and Aztek in particular. (Whenever I see Gunfire, I immediately think of the Hitman #1000000 issue. Brilliant stuff.)

[bat39]

I'd go with Bette Kane. I loved the reinvention of the character on CW's Batwoman and one of my few disappointments at that show's ending was not getting to see her evolve into a superhero.

In my mini, Bette moves to a new city. She's become a doctor now (like on the show) and she's set up a network of clinics to help underprivileged communities. She's moved on from her superhero life a long time ago and found another way to help people, but she still occasionally yearns for it, and low-key resents the fact that she's mostly forgotten now despite the fact that she was one of the earliest Gotham heroes apart from Batman and the first Robin (maybe in a meta way she'll be pissed a little with people for thinking Barbara was the first Batgirl when it was actually her!)

But some villain or criminal or conspiracy targets her clinics and she decides to investigate, putting her Flamebird suit on and being dragged back into the world of suits and capes.

I'd have Nightwing and Batwoman guest-star, delving into Bette's histories with both of them...but it'd 90% be her show.

[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)

[InfamousBG]

Catman is a big one for me. Very interesting character.

[mathew101281]

Fire
Ice
Red Tornado
Terra 2

Elemental Forces

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

City Boy is forced to go to Titans Academy in order to commute a prison sentence. Nightwing recruits him after their teamup in Lazarus Planet but City Boy has old crimes that catch up to him.

Risk teams up with Black Lightning in order to investigate the murder of his brother. We lean into Risk coming from a poor white background to lean into current political issues.

Orpheus returns from the dead but doesn't know why. He suspects Onyx has something to do with it and tracks her down.

Kole and Gnark work a day job at Harper Security.

The Guardian gets an offer to train with the Shield clan and decides to keep an eye on them.

Tye Longshadow starts as Dr. Palmer's new TA at Ivy University while figuring out how to manage his new responsibility as the Apache Chief.

Flying Fox's grandchild works for the Canadian government as an occult specialist. They get roped into a cold case by Irun Monroe.

Matt Price from Titans Academy learns he was Fury's grandson and takes up the name Wonder Boy after bonding with the maternal side of his family.

Boy Thunder gets involved in the modern day DCU and runs afoul of Superman and the Titans.

[Agent Z]

Primal Force

4000 years ago, beings from another realm invaded Earth with the intent of stealing it's life force. All that stood between them was the Primal Force, a group of humans empowered by nature to defend Earth. In present day, the invaders remain among humanity, taking advantage of human conflict and environmental degradation to complete their original goal.

Mari MacCabe/Vixen: Empowered by the Akan god Anansi, Mari is a Ghanian animal rights activist with the power to mimic any animal ability in existence.

Dominic Mndawe/Freedom Beast: A South African photojournalist covering the actions of a shady company.

Susan Linden-Thorne/Black Orchid: A mysterious woman with plant-like powers and features.

Miiyahbin Marten/Equinox: A 16-year-old Cree girl with powers representing the four seasons.

Zoraida the Elf: An elf posing as a human named Diane Dorst, Zoraida is the only member of the team who has known about the threat from the beginning.

Ya'Wara: A Shaman from the Tapirape tribe.

Buddy Baker/Animal Man: A man with a connection to a force called "the Red".

[Incognito]

Vibe has not been seen for a very long time. So I would pitch a mini series with him.

I would have Vibe to be more similar to his CW counterpart. He will be working at Terrifitech as an intern in Central City, and time to time he would see The Flash pop by. Having retired as a superhero few years ago (which could explain his long absence) to focus on his studies and working on both his career and life, he helped The Flash against a science-terrorist group who was hired by a mysterious benefactor to steal a programmable matter device by stealthily using his powers, Flash notices Cisco's metahuman abilities and remembers him as Vibe, he tries to persuade him to use his powers for good but he insist of staying retired as he is done in the world of superherorics. Mr. Terrific traced the terrorist group whereabouts and it seems that they just phased out of existence like they were ghosts he quickly realised that they are not from this reality.

The science-terrorist group was revealed to be employed by Lex Luthor of Earth 13 who wants to use this form of science to fight The League of Shadows believing that programmable matter is the key to get rid of Super Demon. Giving himself no other choice and not wanting the device to be used in the wrong hands he reluctantly dons his costume and teams up with both the fastest man alive and one of the smartest men alive in a trip to the multiverse.