Alright, so the idea here is that I like both concepts—both of which that aren’t what I typically expected. As a Spider-Man fan I think the best way to decide on who writes Spider-Man is on content. I can tell there is passion on both ends, so what I’m going to ask to make a final decision is direction and voice. So, write up your first post and a loose description of the plot arc you want to start with; once that’s done I’d like it to be PM’d to my inbox and after reading both I’ll decide the outcome.
In similar games The Watchmen are always a tricky group to incorporate and unfortunately I see myself agreeing with that. The Watchmen sort of existed as a pseudo-JSA and the characters were utilized and branded specifically for the cynical 1980s over the conflicted 1960s. That said, I know you want to utilize Rorschach with this in mind but I’m not sure how the incorporation will mesh well. But, then again, I’ve seen other characters work fundamentally despite having issues or sounding obtuse on paper. I guess what I’m saying is, I’ll look at the application when I get a greater feel for how you envision The Watchman universe singularizing in this setting and perhaps a bit more information on the concept.
I’m also going to put Kara aside, since I don’t feel comfortable with her being older than Dick frickin’ Grayson, so I might opt for a New York-area hero or perhaps dust off someone from Greece or California. Basically this is code for y’all to give thoughts of preferences on the select interested characters I have including:
I'd like to see Moon Knight, but the RP has enough edge at the moment I think. I'm part of the problem. *lowers head*
Green Arrow would be my choice, but only if he's got that charisma. Basically, not the one from arrow. D : >
My iteration is a mix of Arrow, my own ideas, and his comic book counterpart. Has plenty of grit, but overuses puns and punchlines. I have been meaning to come back to him.
I’m also going to put Kara aside, since I don’t feel comfortable with her being older than Dick frickin’ Grayson, ...
Or, you know, you could make Kara 11/12 and we could do our own version of Superman/Batman in which Robin heroically puts gum in her hair. For great justice.
Or, you know, you could make Kara 11/12 and we could do our own version of Superman/Batman in which Robin heroically puts gum in her hair. For great justice.
Except my Supergirl stories require her being a freshman in high school, lol.
I've got some ideas for Lex Luthor bouncing around in my head, I might write them up (though I don't know if I'd have any good reference posts to show).
@The Dow Dragon If you're hungry for collab, Ghost rider gets around a lot. He seems like he has a lot in common with Jonah. They both ride motorcycles, have really stylish coats, and love VENGEANCE. Seriously, I'd be surprised if they didn't encounter each other at some point.
Max Eisenhard, 39 (b. 1929) Revolutionary Mutant based in ASTEROID M Active since approximately FALL 1963
Magneto is not your run of the mill superpowered individual. Hero and villain are meaningless designations to him; just two sides of a rotten coin. To be either is to accept the status quo, of a human dominated society, one where non-mutants have a monopoly of the concepts of morality and justice. The same society that ultimately doesn't give a shit about mutants like him, ready to kill them all as soon those "freaks" dare to step out of their boundaries. Magneto refuses to play the games of the human masters, and accept either label. He is no hero, no villain, but a revolutionary against the racist world of late 60s America.
Compared to "Prime" Magneto, the most significant deviation I plan to happen is a slight change in his backstory, where his attempt to escape Auschwitz in 1944, while still succeeding, results in the immediate death of his companion and would-be future wife Magda, rather than her dying some time after leaving Magneto. This seemingly small change of the timeline actually throws a huge spanner in the works, significantly altering the rest of Magneto's backstory, his manifesto, and the founding/current lineup of his Brotherhood of Mutants. He still ends up as a militant mutant (which, I am taking to represent all superpowered individuals) nationalist, but he becomes more of a Huey Newton-styled* nationalist than anything else.
What that will entail is that, while Magneto will still be a hardliner on mutant nationalism, his politics will be significantly more evolved than just mutant-human relationships. Instead of just wanting to deal with the symptom of mutant oppression, Magneto's Brotherhood is attempting to strike at the power structures that enable oppression in itself. Viewing both the American and Soviet systems as hypocritical (although not equally so; America's unabashed capitalistic society being far more parasitic than the Soviet Union's failed attempt at revolutionary socialism), Magneto's ultimate goal is to destroy humanity's modes of power and to create a classless and raceless society where humans and mutants are equal.
Magneto's manifesto has certainly tempered his views of humans, who are in many ways just as much as a victim as mutants are. However, that doesn't necessarily means he trusts or even likes non-mutants, and in fact still harbors a seething grudge against his traditional oppressors. Merely, this Magneto does not advocate that mutants are better than humans and thus deserve to rule over them in the same way humans presently to mutants. Magneto realizes the hypocrisy in that line of thought, and instead prefers to either force equality, or barring that, create a mutant version of Israel away from human society.
In their fateful attempt to escape from Auschwitz during the Sonderkommando riot, a prison guard finds Magneto and Magda attempting to jump the walls. He fires his gun, lethally wounding Magda. Magneto successfully carries her to a nearby forest, but she succumbs to blood loss and he is forced to leave her body. With Magda dead in 1944, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch simply never exist. They're never born, and thus their role in founding the Brotherhood is butterflied away. Magneto also, instead of heading to Romania, goes straight to the advancing Red Army, where he seeks to join the Red Army for revenge. When his powers manifest at basic training, it does not summon a mob which tries to kill him (nor is there a baby daughter for the mob to burn alive). This delays Magneto's turn against human society, and is even initially sympathetic to his adopted homeland of the Soviet Union. However, Magneto's powers attracts the attention of the NKVD**, who presses him into their service. He would never actually see combat.
It is with his time in the Soviet military police where he meets fellow NKVD conscript Piotr "Colossus" Rasputin, at the time only a teenager, yet still massively dwarfed the adult Magneto. His powers manifested saving his younger sister from being run over by a tractor on his collective farm. Despite the age difference, the two become close friends as partners. While officially recognized for their service, the two become increasingly disillusioned as they face discrimination by various officials due to their mutant status. Despite performing much more dangerous jobs, and being more successful to boot, they constantly get passed for promotions in favor for non-mutants.
However, Stalin's death in 1953 was the breaking point for the two. As handpicked members of the ex-NKVD, they were seen as potential loyalists of Beria. When Beria's faction lost the power struggle to Khrushchev's faction, Magneto and Colossus were feared to potentially attempt to restore Beria (the two actually couldn't care either way), and thus agent Black Widow was sent to take them out. The two elected to just flee the Soviet Union altogether, as fighting it out would just mean more would follow suit.
The two would first seek asylum in West Berlin, where they met with the mutant assassin, Mystique. The three bonded over screwed over by humans, in which the two refugees are shocked to learn through her stories that mutants are treated even worse in the west. Mystique parts ways to continue contract killing, while Colossus and Magneto move country to country, as permanent refugees.
After ten years of this arrangement, the pair couldn't take running anymore. No matter where they went, they were treated like garbage. Neither of them found any point in living any longer, so mind as well go down in a blaze of glory. Almost on a whim while in the Sunshine State, Magneto proposed to attack Cape Citadel, a missile base in Florida. Colossus was taken aback; In all likelihood they would be killed in this suicide attack, but they would have finally done something to stick it to the man. With nothing to lose, he agreed, and the two would soon forever change the relationship between humans and mutants.
To their shock, the military was completely helpless in fending off a combined attack of two dedicated mutants. They were able to perform massive damage on the facility before the newly formed X-Men forced them away in their very first mission. The two successfully escaped to the city-state of Santo Marco, on the coastline of South America.*** They attracted the attention of fellow refugee Jason "Mastermind" Wyngarde, a French mutant who fled Europe and became a carnie. He too resented the way humans forced him to become a wretched piece of entertainment to humanity, and was emboldened by Magneto and Colossus's attack. Mystique also dropped everything to find Magneto again, who was similarly inspired like Mastermind. Thus, in a dusty old bar in South America, the Brotherhood of Mutants was formed, with Magneto unanimously appointed the leader. Their first attack? Take over this wretched city they were in.
The Santo Marco Incident, as it was to be later called, made the attack on Cape Citadel look like child's play. Using Mastermind's ability to create illusions, and Mystique's shapeshifting, the four were able to successfully stage a coup, even faking the Prime Minister handing the four the key to the city. Once again, the X-Men were successfully called and forced them to flee after a fight, but the Brotherhood of Mutants became an overnight sensation in the media. If they could take over an entire South American nation that easily, what would be next?
The creation of Asteroid M, the base of operations for the Brotherhood, was the next follow-up. Magneto pulled an asteroid into low orbit, creating a mobile base of operations far in the sky. Shooting it down was a risky endevour, threatening to crash onto the surface and cause untold damage. Therefore, the Brotherhood secured itself a fortress suitable to show off its intended global reach.
The Brotherhood laid dormant afterwards, engaging in small raids of opportunity, but nothing to the scale of the Santo Marco Incident. Professor Xavier, seeing in Magneto nothing better than those he decries, dedicated his X-Men to stopping the Brotherhood, wherever they go. Meanwhile, Magneto engaged in modest recruiting over the years, acquiring a few new members to his lineup. The year is 1968, and Magneto's machinations are almost complete. Phase II of his war on humanity is about to commence, and it is going to be loud
*Huey Newton is the historical founder of the Black Panthers party. He admired Malcom X, and in many ways he continued where Malcom left off after his break with the Nation of Islam and subsequent assassination, towards a more socialist interpretation of black nationalism. Since Magneto is already been explicitly confirmed to be based off of Malcom X, I think its very likely Magneto could have easily adopted a more Black Panthers styled Brotherhood had he been exposed to that kind of worldview. **Would be renamed the MVD post-war. ***Santo Marco is a fictitious country in South America that was where the Brotherhood, indeed, had their first attack. Due to reasons that will be more obvious in the notes section, I'd like to place Santo Marco in the Brazillian-Argentinian border coastline
Piotr "Colossus" Rasputin: A mutant from the Soviet Union; his main power is the ability to turn himself into organic steel. He is Magneto's closest friend and undisputed second in the Brotherhood, having worked together as comrades-in-arms for nearly twenty years by the start of the RP. Colossus's natural tendency to pacifism and gentleness in many ways helps reign in Magneto's rage, as the Russian is the only one who can tell Magneto no. At the same point, Magneto also is a radicalizing factor on Colossus, who inspires his innate sense of justice to continue fighting for the mutant cause.
He is ultimately sympathetic to Xavier and the X-Men, and admits in, different circumstances, he might have even joined them himself. However, he finds that Xavier is blind towards the discrimination mutants face, and that shelling out for the human won't improve the lot mutants have. He wishes Xavier would call off his crusade and join forces with the Brotherhood, but knows that that will never happen.
Raven "Mystique" Darkhölme: A fellow German mutant, she too had an unfortunate run-in with the Nazis due to her lesbian relationship with Irene "Destiny" Adler, a relationship they claim that dates to 1900. Raven ended up learning how to kill by joining the Resistance, and would use her developed skills as a mercenary assassin once the Third Reich was defeated. Her natural blue skin clearly gives away her mutant identity, an issue which would be more of her problem if her power wasn't the ability to shapeshift.
Mystique is the biological father of Nightcrawler, in which she assumed a male persona in order to impregnate Destiny*. However, the war started soon after, and the couple decided it would be best if they gave the baby to someone other than themselves.
Jason "Mastermind" Wyngarde**: Mastermind is a Franco-Alsatian mutant, with the ability to manipulate the five senses to create illusions. Much like Magneto, Mastermind's abilities developed late in his life. He was, in fact, a member of the 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division, a fighting unit raised by the Nazis comprised of French citizens. Jason was envious of the Nazis, in which he believed the propaganda that they were the Aryan masterrace. He fought on the Eastern Front to prove his worth, and was even one of the defenders of the Führerbunker during the Battle of Berlin. His powers manifested for the first time as he tried to flee the collapsing Nazi regime. Like many Nazis, he ultimately fled to Argentina, where he was forced to become a carnival attraction in order to pay the bills. He views mutants as being the actual master race, and that working as a carnie was absolutely beneath him as such. Magneto represented his chance to escape that life, and to finally claim his spot as the dominator
Noting his boss being a Holocaust survivor, Mastermind doesn't volunteer to Magneto his entire past, and Magneto to his credit has never cared enough to pry further than what Mastermind has told him. Mastermind's loyalty to Magneto is questionable; he is definitely a mutant supremacist, and (privately) disagrees with Magneto's manifesto. Instead, Mastermind wants to take over the world and purge the humans, and have the mutants inherit the planet. However, despite being a Jew, Mastermind respects Magneto's strength, and is more than content to follow him while he shows said strength.
Namor "The Sub-Mariner" McKenzie***: A half Altantian, half human warrior, Namor the Sub-Mariner was the first non-founding member to join the Brotherhood, and perhaps the most famous member outside of Magneto himself. Despite being half-human, Namor has expressed a deep hatred of humanity for damaging the oceans with its pollution and overfishing. To the disapproval of the Atlantian king, who would perfer a more peaceful coexistence with the surface, he has fought a one-man war against especially the United States, raiding ships and coastal cities that threatened the ocean. He temporarily made peace with the United States during World War 2, finding that the Nazis and Japanese were even worse than the Americans, but resumed to attacking them shortly after the war ended.
His constant war against the surface made him a liability to Atlantis, a fact further compounded by the arrival of Aquaman. While Namor is physically stronger than Aquaman, the latter outstrips him in terms of his mastery of an extremely similar powerset, and his lack of a burning hatred of the surface made him far more popular with the court. Aquaman would replace Namor as Atlantis' protector, and eventually would be outright exiled. It is some time after his exile where he was first approached by Magneto, who offered him a place in the Brotherhood. In return, he promised, he would include Atlantis in his revolution, and perhaps even install him as the leader of Atlantis.
Lani "Lorelei" Ubana: A mutant from Savage Land, a primitive island off the coast of Antarctica with an inexplicably tropic climate****. Magneto and Namor initially stopped on the island to pick up rare pieces of Atlantian technology that washed ashore. There, they encountered a strange tribal woman who was seen standing near and worshiping the artifact the two was looking to retrieve. In a minor scuffle in an attempt to grab it, Lorelei sung at the pair, attempting to disarm them. It didn't faze Magneto, due to his helmet, but Namor was entrapped by her voice and was mind controlled to walk away. Seeing the potential usefulness of the woman, Magneto decided to simply take her with the artifact, and raised her as almost a surrogate daughter.
Yoshida "Sunfire" Shirō*****: The newest recruit of the Brotherhood, Sunfire was born to a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing; the radiation from the attack being considered the reason for his mutation. She would die in her infancy, leaving Sunfire a resentment against the United States for what they did to his mother. His Uncle Tomo, perhaps inspired by tales of Namor, or perhaps just still a true believer in the old ways of Bushido, urges Sunfire to avenge his mother (and Tomo's sister) by using his powers to weaponize sunlight to wage a guerilla war against the United States's occupation of the Ryukyu Islands. He killed at least dozens of American servicemembers before attracting the attention of the Brotherhood, who felt his clear hatred of America would be a great starting point for an eventual radicalization to their mutant nationalism. When hearing their plans to attack America, Sunfire readily agreed to join, becoming the most recent member to the Brotherhood.
There is some concern among the founding members (sans Mastermind) that he might be a bit too murder happy for the Brotherhood. Given how recent his acquisition is, it is too early to tell for sure whether he is actually loyal to the Brotherhood ajd its manifesto, or if he is using them as an excuse to carry his grudge to greater targets than what he previously had before
*Yes, this was Nightcrawler's original planned backstory, believe it or not. Censors at the time forced this change; America was evidently not ready for lesbian insemination. I like it enough that I wanted to keep it **I pretty much made all of his backstory up, since he has none. He was a founding member of the Brotherhood, but was killed off early enough that he wasn't ever all that fleshed out. I decided to make him an ex-Nazi due to his personality and potential for drama. ***Yes, Magneto actually did try to recruit Namor to the Brotherhood in the 60s. He initially accepted, but had a change of heart given that Magneto was a bit too crazy for him. Given Magneto's more tempered disposition, I imagine the alliance will be more permanent in this canon ****Silver Age. Not even once. (BTW, I did alter her backstory a tad, because her actual backstory would involve my version of Magneto to act severely out of character) ****Name given in Asian order of surname/personal name.
The only other game I have been on this forum is in Allen's World Warriors, located here. If need be, I can get you some other writing examples, though!
So quick question for @Gowi should Magneto be accepted as he is:
For someone wanting to play Wanda or her kids, or potentially Pietro, what's the limit on doing that, since they basically don't exist in this universe? Would I be allowed to pretty much House of M that shit via alternate reality Wanda?
I just wanna prepare for the worst, 'cause I've been semi-planning on taking either Billy or Wanda to begin with. Wanda's gonna be involved regardless because finding out who his real mother is, then finding her is core to a lot of versions of Wiccan. This version would likely not be an exception, even if I change a lot of aspects of him. Anyway, I juggled the ideas between Daredevil and them before ultimately deciding on Matt and potentially bringing Billy or Wanda in later. Or when I have time, as I do in the coming days.
I really do not wanna use the Age of Ultron method for bring Wanda and Pietro in 'cause that's gross.
My plan to integrate the Watchmen in this universe:
1938 - Hooded Justice attacks his first criminal, sparking the first wave of costumed vigilantism by non-powered humans.
1939 - The Minutemen are formed alongside a Justice Society in its infancy. The original lineup of members are Captain Metropolis, Hooded Justice, Silk Spectre, Nite Owl, Silhouette, Dollar Bill, Mothman, and the Comedian.
1940-1945 - Nelson Gardner takes the Super Soldier Serum alongside Steve Rogers. Both test subjects are a success, and as Captain America leads the crusade against HYDRA in Europe, the Minutemen fight domestic threats within the United States.
1946 - The war has ended, and the Minutemen have no more enemies to fight. Captain Metropolis' inflated ego has driven many of his teammates away from him. One by one, the Minutemen go to walk their separate paths, while Captain Metropolis remains an agent for the government.
1960 - Captain Metropolis is assassinated by a HYDRA agent in Canada. In the same year, Dan Dreiberg showcases his arsenal to a retired Hollis Mason, and is granted the title of Nite Owl II.
1964 - Rorschach kills his first criminal in New York, but is severely injured by Dreiberg on patrol, being mistaken for the criminal in question. Because of this, the two never team up.
Apologies if my writing isn't up to scratch, I'm a little busy IRL.
@Gowi This was what I was working on before a timer was put on the Spiderman application, the Midnighter to @Jacobite's Apollo.
Midnighter (no real name on records) is one of the premiere results of Henry Bendix's soldier program, an initiative sponsored at the highest level of secrecy by the American Government to combat the Soviet threat. He was, in his own words, "trained by the world's biggest bastard to be an even bigger bastard" and the training took. A combination of rigorous physical therapy, cutting edge cybernetic augmentation with a generous helping of cruelty forged him into a killer without remorse, morals or parallel. Midnighter's augmentations allow him to detect the powers of other meta-humans and give him the ability to plot out and predict several thousand ways a confrontation will likely play out, while his gene-therapy increased his physical qualities (strength, speed, endurance, reaction time) to beyond peak human ability.
Mental and emotional conditioning on Midnighter have so far proved less effective than hoped, in that he is loyal to his superiors but has maintained both a personality and an admittedly dark sense of humour. He is, thus far, one of the only survivors of the Bendix's ministrations, and has been by far the more prolific in his work than the others, even though he has only been active in the field for five years. Midnighter's mission record is glowing, showing an unprecedented number of confirmed kills on Soviet-Supers and an unmarred success record. Most handlers, however, report a certain irreverent attitude toward to the chain of command and a willingness to go where his initiative takes him when given any leeway. He is currently active on the East Coast, working to uncover a sleeper cell.
Basically, my take on Midnighter is that he's the embodiment of the lengths America will go to to win the Cold War, a living weapon aimed at the Soviets. He's similar to Captain America, in that he's a Super-human created to combat an ideological enemy but the grimmer, more muddied tone of the Cold War is reflected in that Midnighter is not a symbol of American power or responsibility. He acts in the shadows, removing those who are suspected of Communist leanings, known collaborators and those whose actions are against the interests of his masters. He is amoral, viewing his actions as removed from him on a moral level, but takes glee in the use of his abilities for destruction.
The main arc I want to explore is Midnighter's development from living weapon who distances himself from any responsibility for his actions to more of a person who takes account of what he does. This would include separating from those who currently hold his reins. Possible other plots would be Henry Bendix going rogue, meaning Midnighter and Apollo would have to hunt him down and, of course, the developing relationship between Midnighter and Apollo. I'm interested in interacting with any other characters who are part of the Cold War on either side, particularly more espionage themed heroes.
Differences From the Canon; It's pretty faithful, though I've defined his powers a little more than is normal. The other changes are to fit the time of the RP and make his creator, Henry Bendix, to be working for the US Government against the Soviet threat rather than for his own ends.
Henry Bendix
One of the world's smartest but least moral men, Henry Bendix was born in rural America and was raised to praise the Red, White and Blue. As a boy, he was polite, studious and shy, wanting only to be left alone to learn. As he matured, he shed almost all semblance of the child he'd been, keeping only a love for the culture that had raised him. How he expressed this love was a willingness to go to any length, cross any line and do any deed to protect the West from the insidious threat of Communism. His experiments in bio-engineering, cybernetic-augmentation and mental conditioning have produced incredible results and have no doubt saved America from the Red Threat more than once, but the cost in human life and moral high-ground has been, if anything, even greater.
Agent Ellis
Midnighter's current handler, Ellis is your archetypal no-nonsense spook. He doesn't appreciate being made to work with something a maverick but can't deny the asset's effectiveness, particularly on those occasions when subtlety is not required. As a matter of course, all of Bendix's creations are fitted with a killswitch (if you built a human killing machine, wouldn't you install and off button?) and Agent Ellis is the current holder of Midnighter's.
