[OOC] CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

[Hound55]

Ah... he did by Remender's run.

[Weird Tales]

I hope I can join this rp for season 2

[Hound55]

Should throw up an Interest Check for Season Two... Like a "Vacancies - Enquire Within" billboard sheet

[Lord Wraith]

<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>

Just sayin'

Your Thor looks quite similar to..

@Divine Darkness

Go away lol

[Sep]

<Snipped quote by Divine Darkness>

Go away lol

@Lord Wraith

'lol'

#RIPRespectForWraith

Never - Never

[Lord Wraith]

<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>

'lol'

#RIPRespectForWraith

Never - Never

@Sep

I type 'lol' all the time. And how else and I supposed to communicate I was kidding? An emoji like the rest of the millennials?

[Simple Unicycle]

<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>

'lol'

#RIPRespectForWraith

Never - Never

@Sep

LMFAOROFLCOPTER GIT REKT WRAITH

[Lord Wraith]

<Snipped quote by Sep>

LMFAOROFLCOPTER GIT REKT WRAITH

@Simple Unicycle

[Byrd Man]

<Snipped quote by Sep>

I type 'lol' all the time. And how else and I supposed to communicate I was kidding? An emoji like the rest of the millennials?

@Lord Wraith

Never use lol. Never let people know you're kidding. Always leave them confused and uncertain about if your intent was to amuse or insult.

[Lord Wraith]

<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>

Never use lol. Never let people know you're kidding. Always leave them confused and uncertain about if your intent was to amuse or insult.

@Byrd Man

It does work for you.

But I also consistently picture you like Marlon Brando in the Godfather.

[Byrd Man]

<Snipped quote by Byrd Man>

It does work for you.

But I also consistently picture you like Marlon Brando in the Godfather.

@Lord Wraith

[mickilennial]

Post-Season Awards

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Best Character _{@HenryJonesJr}

It's gotta be Spider-Woman. Henry wrote a great interpretation of a great character and applied it to the game's universe with little issue. Great villains, depth, momentum, build-up, and crossovers lended to one of my favorite characters in the game.

Best Character Development _{@Morden Man}

I've always been a fan of the Fantastic Four – especially Morden's New Frontier take on the characters. To see where these guys have come across two games and several arcs is amazing and I really do like the development they've had from starting in this game with the full intention of going back home and setting things right to their final thoughts on if they should go back or not. This'll become more exponentially interesting and dynamic as season two unfolds.

Best Season _{@Lord Wraith}

Ever since I started role-playing with Wraith in late 2013, I've seen how much he can struggle with his conceptualization and inspiration in the long term. Maybe it's part of this game's particular magic, but I feel like Wraith went the long mile with everything here and wrote one of his most complete and inspired runs in the last five years. I'm pretty impressed with what he's achieved and I'm actually quite curious where he'll be taking his Thor with Season 2.

Best Story Arc _{@Byrd Man}

I'm honest not that surprised that Byrd wrote a good “magical noir”. When I've had questions about noir-style writing or noir influences he's always had answers and it is pretty easy to see how he materializes the influences and puts them down to paper. His take on Constantine is one of the incarnations in this game that I never lost track of and probably one of the runs I read even when I had opted out of the game for a short time.

Best Story Structure _@Superboy

I knew SB would be pretty on-point when it came to him joining the game and posting consistently. He's a talented writer and a major part of the reasons why one of my roleplays hasn't fizzled out. He's great at structure, timing, and initiative – and his take on Blue Beetle in this game speaks volumes for reinforcing that belief. The Blue Beetle posts are imaginative and well orchestrated on what he wants to do and while Byrd probably does way more outlining and planning, I just think SB edges out a little considering how much of Beetle's well-structured storyline is done on the edge of the writer's pants.

Best Post _@Sep

“Yeah, I guess you might say that.”

Sep has had an excellent go at The Flash this season and there were a lot of posts that struck me as well orchestrated, interesting, and dynamic, but this particular one in the middle of the Silver Surfer's second appearance takes the cake for me. I particularly like how the depth of the scene points to a lot of questions – is Iris dreaming?, is it the speedforce manifesting?, what is the symbolism of what is going on? At the end of it, it's just a great read and it doesn't feel like it goes on any longer than it has to.

Best Antagonist _{@HenryJonesJr}

This was a tough call to make with great antagonists being featured throughout the game, but I really enjoyed Black Tarantula's appearance from start to finish. It gave a Spider-Woman villain with grit while setting up greater things for Gwen's corner of the universe.

Best Supporting Cast _{@Eddie Brock}

When Eddie came to me what my plans were for a few villains and Diana Prince in particular I was very curious to where he was taking Captain America's team of motley heroes and black ops agents. Despite not getting more done with his arcs as he would've liked, he really nailed every single member of Team 7 and it was always a treat to read them.

Best World-building _{@Master Bruce}

While no doubt not as much world-building got done as he'd have liked. There are few locations in Ultimate One Universe's first season that feel dynamic and whole. I've always liked Bruce's work in scene-setting, NPC development, and linking everything all together. UOU's Gotham has a feel to it that I can sink my teeth into.

Best Crossover _{@Master Bruce @AndyC}

There were a lot of solid crossovers throughout the season with characters like The Flash, The Punisher, and the Fantastic Four but I think my love for the World's Finest and a really solid Toyman Arc. It has all of the best making of a great Superman and Batman crossover down to a tongue-in-cheek “Because I'm Batman” reference that is done in a tasteful and artful way.

The John Lees Memorial MVP Award _{@Byrd Man}

There is no question in my mind that the MVP Award should go to either Byrd or Morden – not just because of their consistent IC work, but because of their efforts behind the scenes and in understanding of the player pool to get the most out of everyone; including myself. I'm giving it to Byrd for the sole reason he was the one who [despite busting my balls] helped me the most when it came to spit-balling ideas and even coming back to the game for a final glimpse at Bekka even though I staggered with her in August. His no nonsense attitude, playful jabs, and dedication really is a credit to the game and I hope he can continue to keep me focused and involved in season two.

[HenryJonesJr]

Best Character @Byrd Man's John Constantine. A joy to read from day 1, Byrd knocked this one out of the park. Consistently high quality, consistently entertaining, and consistently consistent.

Best Character Development @Morden Man's Fantastic Four. The concept alone was great, but that wouldn't have meant anything without Morden's ability to really sell the New Frontier F4's trauma. I just want these folks to be happy...even if they're now up against Darkseid again. Or another Darkseid. Who knows where this is all going.

Best Season @Lord Wraith's Thor. I'm not much of a fan of Thor. I've often seen him as a Superman without what makes Superman fun. But Wraith, through great writing and a strong supporting cast, made him one of the best characters in the game.

Best Antagonist @Master Bruce@Byrd Man@Morden Man The Silver Surfer. The Surfer only showed up a few times, but when he did he felt rightfully terrifying, the way a servant of Darkseid should. Add in the tragic story of Miracle Man, and you've got a winner.

Best Supporting Cast @Master Bruce's Gotham. I mean, it's not much of a surprise. But Jessica Jones, Scott Lang, the Five Families, Oracle, Kate Kane, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, and the rest are all so well written, and none of it feels like a stretch.

Best World-building @Master Bruce's world of Batman. Goes with the above, but Gotham really feels like a living, breathing place.

Best Concept @DocTachyon's Ghost Rider. I don't know anything about Vigilante outside his sparse appearances on the JL cartoon, and I kind of hate Ghost Rider. But he combined them to make something super fun. So bravo on that.

[AndyC]

Best Character @HenryJonesJr's Spider-Gwen. If there's one thing I absolutely loathe about modern geek culture, it's the obsession with getting rid of established classic characters and replacing them with race- or gender-swapped proxies. I think it's generally done less out of love for a character and more to push politics I don't support, I think it causes more problems in the fandoms than it solves, and I think it brings out the worst in people on both sides of the argument. Fucking hate it. So for Henry to lean into my absolute biggest pet peeve, relegate my favorite character in all of fiction to sidekick duty, and still win me over and make Spider-Gwen a character I genuinely look forward to reading, is a major testament to his capability as a writer to really bring a character to life.

(It should be noted that @Sep managed to pull off this same feat as well with Iris, so I guess take that as an honorable mention)

Best Character Development @Lord Wraith's Thor. The best stories are often ones that take a while to tell, and Donald Blake's gradual but inevitable transformation into the God of Thunder has been a real treat to watch.

Best Season @Byrd Man's John Constantine. I'll be honest, when this game was first announced, I'd be lying if I said I thought we'd all be here by season's end-- we old Hypesters are notorious for dropping out as soon as we start to lose momentum. But if there's one guy who never let his momentum drop from the word 'go,' it was Byrd, plowing through the season like the goddamn Juggernaut with a fantastic set of punchy and entertaining magic-noir stories.

Best Antagonist Some really fun villains all around, including Black Tarantula, Silver Surfer, and even Victor Creel of all people, but if I've gotta pick one, it's gonna be @Master Bruce's take on the Riddler, Edward 'Nashton.' It shouldn't really be any surprise that MB did a good job with a Gotham character, but to take a character that so often either gets dismissed as a second-rate gag villain or cranked up to ridiculous levels to drive home that he's not the Joker you guys, and make him a cunning and truly menacing threat to the Batman even while ostensibly working on the side of the law, is no mean feat.

Best Supporting Cast Again, lots of great picks to choose from, but I think I'm gonna have to go with @Eddie Brock's Avengers. It would've been really easy to lean on having just, say, Bucky or Falcon or Black Widow palling around with Cap, but his fantastic revision of Diana Prince in a setting where someone else has already claimed the Wonder Woman mantle is pretty damn stellar.

Best World-building There really isn't any other choice but @Master Bruce's Gotham City. There was some great work all around from everyone, but the level of depth and detail that went into creating this version of Gotham and the people in it is just kinda staggering.

Best Concept This was a very, very close call, but I'm gonna give my vote to @DocTachyon's Vigilante/Ghost Rider, with @Morden Man's Fantastic Four as a very close second. When we do these universe-crossover games, there's always someone who wants to mix and match origins, and it's usually pretty obvious stuff. What if Bruce Wayne was Daredevil, what if Captain America led the Justice Society, what if Dick Grayson got bitten by the radioactive spider, etc. So to take two characters I would have never, in a million years, have thought of combining-- one of whom being a DC D-lister who I don't think anyone's ever given a damn about, the other a Marvel side character who has coasted by his entire existence solely on looking cool-- and to turn them into a well-rounded and extremely fun character is something really special. Anyone can take two concepts that are similar on the surface and mash them together into something that should be a crowd-pleaser, but Doc was able to spin straw into goddamn gold.

[HenryJonesJr]

I would also like to announce that until the Virginia Tech/Notre Dame game is over this Saturday night, @Eddie Brock is my mortal enemy.

#GoHokies

[Byrd Man]

I would also like to announce that until the Virginia Tech/Notre Dame game is over this Saturday night, @Eddie Brock is my mortal enemy.

#GoHokies

@HenryJonesJr

One of the few times I'd pay money to see the physical manifestation of the two teams fight. A turkey vs. a drunken Irishman (aka regular Irishman.)

[Eddie Brock]

BEST HERO: Thor - @Lord Wraith

Just ask Barbara Norris, amirite? But seriously, there are a few real heavy-hitters out there, and it's no easy task to make them feel suitably epic. Luckily, Wraith is more than up to the job. It's not often that I enjoy flashbacks as much as present action, but Asgard and the Nine Realms through Wraith's eyes are always a fascinating read. And it was great to see Thor mashing up (and throwing down) with folks in crossovers and the second MME.

BEST VILLAIN: The Toyman - @AndyC

Back during the midseason awards, I nominated Andy for "Best Story" on the basis of his compelling vision of Toyman. Since that time, we've gotten a lot more "screentime" and backstory on Ultimate Winslow Schott, and... wow. What a depraved fuck. I think this was an excellent Year One/Season One Big Bad for Superman, giving him a chance to flex both his literal and journalistic muscles in bringing him down.

BEST SUPPORTING CAST: Gotham - @Master Bruce

Yes, that's right. Get your "Play him off" music ready because if there's one thing we know about our venerated GM, it's that he can really get going once he's started. Fortunately, this penchant for verbosity allowed Bruce to fill his stories with vignettes and subplots all over Gotham City. At times, it felt like Bruce was playing five or six characters at once. That's either the mark of a skilled worldbuilder or a clever loophole-finder getting around the one-character limit. (But who am I to talk?)

BEST CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: Batman - @Master Bruce

Ah, fuck. I didn't really give this bastard two solo awards, did I? As if his ego needed more stroking... Well, much as I told myself I would spread out the awards where I could, I just couldn't deny him this one. Ultimate Batman started out his usual curmudgeonly self, unable to accept help from anyone, and eventually grew to trust Oracle and even Superman. If that's not character growth, I don't know what is. Makes me wonder how Bruce would handle a young, idealistic copycat protege... perhaps one with whom he already has an existing relationship...

BEST CROSSOVER: Johnny Storm's Day Out - @Morden Man & @HenryJonesJr

What can I say? I have a soft spot for more banal crossovers. Any opportunity for two characters to just chat and bond. Johnny Storm and Spider-Man have an iconic friendship. Every time they get together in the comics, it's a good time. So, it was great to see that the same is very much true of our Johnny and Spidey. The interaction was played pitch perfectly on both sides, particularly with Johnny making the excited (and incorrect) deduction that Mary Jane Watson was Spider-Woman.

BEST STORY: "Hooray for Hollywood" - @Byrd Man

Choosing a favorite Constantine arc was a tough task, but I have to concur with Bruce on this one. Of everything Byrd produced this season, I feel this arc shines the brightest, highlighting both Constantine's brand of dark, twisted magic and the wonderfully evocative setting of Los Angeles. Shoutout to the Lucifer cameo, too. Can never have enough of that bastard.

BEST SEASON: Fantastic Four - @Morden Man

To say that Morden Man has accomplished a lot this season would be an understatement. He did so much worldbuilding for not just one universe but basically two, and he found a way to write four separate characters (plus some pretty significant guest stars) without anyone feeling overshadowed or slighted. With Darkseid on the way, I suspect we'll be seeing a lot more of the Ultimate Fantastic Four, and I couldn't be more excited.

BREAKOUT CHARACTER: Blue Beetle - @Superboy

Sometimes, it's hard to remember that Superboy hasn't been with us from the very beginning; he has so effortlessly ingrained himself in the DNA of this game. And I think the same is true of Blue Beetle. Superboy's been chipping away, putting together quality solo work, and with Jaime's introduction to the world in the second MME, I think we're seeing the fruits of that labor. Definitely a character to watch in Season Two.

MVP: @Sep

If the RPG was a body, Master Bruce would be the brain, Byrd Man would be the liver, I would be the appendix, Lord Wraith would be the genitals, and Sep would be the heart. Consistent posting, participation in multiple crossovers including both MMEs, and highly active in the OOC. How many times has Sep initiated conversation to get the thread talking? There's a lot of ways to be valuable, and Sep has covered them all.

[Divine Darkness]

I would also like to announce that until the Virginia Tech/Notre Dame game is over this Saturday night, @Eddie Brock is my mortal enemy.

#GoHokies

@HenryJonesJr

Oh my god, are you from Virginia?! Or did you go to Tech?

---

.... If there's one thing I absolutely loathe about modern geek culture, it's the obsession with getting rid of established classic characters and replacing them with race- or gender-swapped proxies. I think it's generally done less out of love for a character and more to push politics I don't support, I think it causes more problems in the fandoms than it solves, and I think it brings out the worst in people on both sides of the argument. Fucking hate it. ....

@AndyC

Well, damn.
I'm planning on doing the same thing....

[HenryJonesJr]

<Snipped quote by HenryJonesJr>
Oh my god, are you from Virginia?! Or did you go to Tech?

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<Snipped quote by AndyC>

Well, damn.
I'm planning on doing the same thing....

@Divine Darkness

I went to Tech. I'm from Philadelphia

[Lord Wraith]

A long time ago I almost went to Liberty Universe in Lynchburg. Was enrolled and everything but I backed at last minute due to the cost.