[OOC] Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

[Lord Wraith]

@Lord Wraith That's actually a good question, has Luthor been president yet?

@mattmanganon

Highly unlikely based on @Inkarnate's sheet.

[mattmanganon]

[Lord Wraith]

When did the IC get to 75 posts?

Good show all!

(I'll finish my prologue this week...)

[mickilennial]

Highly unlikely based on @Inkarnate's sheet.

@Lord Wraith

Survey says.... yeah, probably. This Lex has no such aspirations and given he's still very early into his Luthor-ing, yeah, he ain't and never has been.

[mattmanganon]

@Inkarnate I think we should get together and vote in Prez Rickard next.

[mickilennial]

@Inkarnate I think we should get together and vote in Prez Rickard next.

@mattmanganon

???

[mattmanganon]

@Inkarnate



The DC Universes greatest President.

[mickilennial]

No.

[mattmanganon]

[Lord Wraith]

@Inkarnate



The DC Universes greatest President.

@mattmanganon

Last time I saw this slogan, snarky robots nearly took over the world.

[Byrd Man]

That's also what Neville Chamberlain said just before WW2 kicked off. Not the best quote to use.

[HenryJonesJr]

Bit shorter of a post than I wanted to have up, but I'm hoping to have another by the end of the week to finish up my first chapter.

[Mao Mao]

And with that post, I am done with the first issue/chapter. Hope you guys liked it!

[Simple Unicycle]

Speaking of being done with chapters, that post is also the end of my own first chapter (or volume, like I listed in my post catalog).

[DocTachyon]

Speaking of being done with chapters, that post is also the end of my own first chapter (or volume, like I listed in my post catalog).

@Simple Unicycle

You kooky kids with your 'chapters'. Just be like me, and tell your whole story as one congealed, inseparable block of posts. Where does one arc end and the next begin? Who can say?!

[Simple Unicycle]

<Snipped quote by Simple Unicycle>

You kooky kids with your 'chapters'. Just be like me, and tell your whole story as one congealed, inseparable block of posts. Where does one arc end and the next begin? Who can say?!

@DocTachyon

Fuck you old man, I do as I please! *does a sick ollie over Doc*

[Sep]

That's probably the beefiest post I've done in a looooong time.

[Lord Wraith]

Hiya, having PMed the GM, here's a quick pass at Vixen:

Vixen

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A L

V I X E N

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^{_{M A R I J I W E M C C A B E ♦ W A S T E M A N A G E M E N T ♦ G O T H A M C I T Y ♦ I N D E P E N D E N T}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

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^{"It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it..."}

Vixen has always been a criminally underrated character in the comic book pages and that's something I desperately would like to fix. I plan to free her from the limitations of being perennially cast as a supporting member of the latest group of superheroes and instead I'd like to write a modern story, with all the moral ambiguity that entails, that will allow her to really shine as a solo hero. Dropping some of the more dated aspects of her history, I want to focus on a recently empowered superhero in Gotham City, who's trying to master her newfound powers while embarking upon an unfamiliar career as a vigilante. Propelled forward by her own conscience and the not-so-gentle urgings of the enigmatic Mr. Nancy, Mari seeks to do some good in a city that seems to be rapidly falling apart.

My version of Vixen is not a crime fighting super model with a tragic past involving the death of her mother at the hands of poachers and her father being murdered by her uncle as part of part of a plan to steal a magical totem. Instead, she is a fairly normal young woman, with two living parents, an annoying brother, bills to pay, a boring day job, a cat named Mr. Pebbles, and an apartment the size of closet that she shares with one roommate.

An intelligent, talking spider, that may or may not be the legendary trickster Anansi, a direct connection to the morphogenetic field of Earth that allows her to draw upon the abilities of various animals, and a burgeoning talent for changing her shape are really the most extraordinary things in her otherwise unremarkable life. Which is to say, Mari's life is currently a giant mess of superpowered chaos and mixed feelings.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

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I'd like to start off small by focusing on Mari's early adventures, rather than playing her as an established and well-connected heroine. To begin with, Mari will simply be trying to establish herself as a proper crime fighter. As a freshly minted superhero, she will still be struggling to master her abilities and going through all the growing pains associated with suddenly realizing that you have superhuman powers. For the first season, I'd like to work on building a solid foundation for Mari to develop in scale as a superhero, eventually allowing her to shift from a friendly neighborhood shapeshifter protecting a couple of city blocks from mundane criminals to someone who can affect greater change and face more powerful villains. I'd also really love to have her engage with some other characters, perhaps as a way for her to pick up some tricks of the trade or at least share the troubles that she'll no doubt be carrying with her as a result of her newfound hobby.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

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Supporting Cast:

Anansi – a legendary trickster straight out of Ghanaian folklore. Sometimes a man, sometimes a spider, and sometimes something in between, Mr. Nancy, as Mari knows him, appears at the worst of times to dole out unwelcome advice, razor-sharp quips, and long, educational stories in equal measure. He has named Mari as his charge and claims to be the source of her strange new powers. Mari remains undecided on whether he is real or if she's simply rapidly losing her mind.

Daniel McCabe - Mari's father. A first generation immigrant from Ghana. Daniel speaks with a formal British accent, the product of a post-colonial university education in Accra. He is a bookish account with the gift of gab and a heart of gold (for an accountant). He's never given up hope that Mari will one day follow in his footsteps, picking up the calculator and the pen to defeat the perils of improper tax declarations and corporate overspending.

Anna McCabe (née Li) - Mari's mother, a florist with a green thumb and a pair of always sharp gardening sheers. She is fiercely devoted to her family and the string of misfit pets that she has adopted over the years. Fond of cooking all manner of vegetarian dishes, she has passed on her culinary and horticultural talents to Mari.

Thomas McCabe - Mari's annoyingly successful older brother. Mari calls him a sellout whenever possible. It only seems fair given that he's sold his soul to a pharmaceutical start-up that hardly seems to be operating above the board. Hematologists should strive to do so much more...

S A M P L E P O S T:

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Once Upon A Gotham Night

"I'm talking to a spider."

"Not just any spider kiddo," The spider riding on her shoulder replied in a low whisper, his voice heavy with barely contained laughter. She'd missed the joke.

"Clearly," Mari irreverently mused as she pondered what form of fatal psychosis she was currently suffering from. Holding her hands in front of her, she stared with wonder at the claws that had replaced her finger nails. She was no psychiatrist, but she was fairly certain you had to be all kinds of crazy to think that you had razor-sharp, feline claws. Talking spiders were a whole other ballgame, but one she didn't want to think about at the moment. The spider, Mr. Nancy, as he called himself, had promised her that she could definitely, probably, cut through steel with her claws. Provided she hit hard enough. As long as she believed. The souped up reflexes that made her feel like she'd just ingested an ungodly amount of Speed were supposed to help. At least in theory. Mari hated the pompous spider already. At least some of the time. She had to admit the cat eyes were pretty cool, she'd always wanted to be able to see in the dark.

"Check yourself, before you wreck yourself, Mari," Nancy teased. "I'm the one that is going to help you make something of yourself. Oh, the chance that I have given you! The power, the unlimited power! You owe me. Be grateful!"

"I don't owe you shit, bug eyes," Mari hissed back, "You're the one that got me into this mess. You're the one who's going to get me killed."

She Flattened herself against the wall of the alley and she fought off the urge to throw up. The smell of several weeks worth of rotting garbage burned her eyes and a puddle of ominous fluid threatened her shoes. Someone had forgotten to bribe the local trash racket. It was a personal tragedy for Mari, given her temporarily enhanced sense of smell. Mr. Nancy had called it a minor problem, a side effect of her inability to fully control her abilities. He'd told her that he expected her to do better next time. He'd alluded to bear claws, shark teeth, and wings. Mari had no idea what he meant. But it felt impossible to refuse him or to shut him out. The spider had a way with words and there was a strange power in the stories that he told her. She could almost feel the webs that he wove in the shadows and the silk strings that pulled at her limbs.

"I can't have my chosen servant wasting her powers. You've got to prove yourself worthy of my gifts. You have to earn my advice."

"You want me to prove myself? To a spider? Couldn't you just have asked me to catch a fly? That seems like something a spider would want to see."

"I'm not a spider. I shouldn't have to keep telling you that. Besides, I have bigger, juicier prey in mind for you, my young friend."

"Did you forget the part where drug dealers have guns, lots of guns?"

"You want help? Then let me tell you a story-"

Mari groaned, wishing for a swift death. It had only been a week, but she was already tired of the chatty spider and what he saw as valuable advice.

"Once upon a time in Gotham, a man, a man far more mundane than you, dressed up like a bat, a giant bat, and fought crime one punch at a time as a nocturnal detective. Now how is that for a story?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say Nancy," Mari replied with an unapologetic roll of her eyes. "Next you're going to tell me that's there's a long-lost civilization in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean."

"Well, since you mentioned it..."

"Nancy, just tell me what you want."

"I want you to do the right thing."

"You want me to punch a drug dealer in his stupid face?"

"I want you to punch several drug dealers in their stupid faces."

"Hey Nancy."

"Yeah?"

"Fuck you."

"That's the spirit, Mari. Channel that rage. Now go! There's your chance! Your only chance!" Nancy shouted as the street lights flickered, then suddenly died along with power to most of the city block.

P O S T C A T L O G:

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A list linking to your IC posts as they're created. This can be used for a reference guide to your character or to summarize completed arcs and stories.

@Moskau Spieluhr

Is there any chance you'd be willing to place Mari in another city such as Hub City or Dakota? Other than that we have no issues with the sheet or character and rather like it.

Prince T'Challa of Wakanda

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A L

The Black Panther

^{_{T'Challa ♦ Crowned Prince of Wakanda ♦ On the Road ♦ Wakanda}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

^{"You call me stupid for wearing this suit. I'm not the one looking to fight the man chosen to weild unimaginable power by a god."}

T'Challa is young, arrogant and full of self-confidence. A fighter who has been groomed from birth to become the new king of the most advanced civilization on earth. In this continuity, Hunter is not his adoptive brother, but Step-brother, being Ramonda's son from her first marriage and is (Currently) on good terms with him. His Powers come from the goddess Bast, who grants him the powers of the Black Panther. Bast has also given him the duty of protecting not only her children, the children of Wakanda, but the rest of the planet as well. King T'Chaka, however, has forbidden T'Challa from assembling outsiders to be his knights. As such, T'Challa has gone off by himself, without permission. Not only is he now trying to track down the most powerful beings in the world, but he's also on the run from Wakanda's police who have been charged with bringing him home. The leader of the re-capture squad is his childhood best friend, M'Baku. He has had an obsession with the outside world for as long as he can remember, his first introduction to it being an Aretha Franklin album that Wakandan comm-systems managed to pick up and download.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

T'Challa is smart and he is wise, but he is also naive. He doesn't believe in the isolationism that the past kings and queens have instigated. One of his main goals is to end the isolation. This is for several reasons, but one of the main reasons is because he wants to be recognized as a great leader of the world, and for Wakanda to be recognized as the greatest nation in the world. His first step on this road is to bring outsiders into his court. He wants to create a group of knights that will protect not only Wakanda, but the world at large.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

This version of T'Challa is going to be highly arrogant and full of himself. He will always know best, he will always assume that everyone who disagree's with him is simply wrong, he will never back down, never surrender and never admit a mistake... Until that mistake costs him something he couldn't bare to part with. T'Challa is also going to be founding the Agents of Wakanda, whether this leads to founding the Avengers or Justice League, or if they later get assimilated into one of those groups is up in the air.

Here is also a list of other characters that will be making appearances during the course of the RP:

Jessica Drew

Born in England, Jessica Drew was the daughter of Jonathan Drew, a Brilliant Geneticist that worked on controversial studies of evolution, genetics and cell regeneration. When she was a year old, her parents moved to a small estate on the outskirts of Wundagore Mountain. Within weeks, her father found large amounts of uranium in their property, which gave them the financial resources to build a research facility that could further their research incalculably.

Life seemed perfect until little Jessica's 4th birthday, when she became ill, poisoned by the exposure to the Uranium that was so plentiful in their land. Her father, currently working on the regenerative and immunological properties of spider blood, seeing his little girl on her death bed, injected Jessica with an untested serum made with the blood of several endangered species of spiders, in the hopes of stopping the tissue damage and immunizing the girl from the Uranium's effects on her body.

He then sealed her in a genetic accelerator created by Herbert Wyndham (A fellow Scientist) to speed the process, but it worked at a very slow rate. forcing her to remain in stasis for decades, her aging greatly slowing. She awoke with no memories of her past, to a world in which both her parents had disappeared mysteriously, and possessing powers that made everyone around her scared and resentful. She spent a lot of time on the streets, but remained behind in the area, Jessica eventually found work as a barmaid in a nearby village. She also experienced her first romance, which ended when it turned out that he was a demon attempting to consume her soul. Moments before she was consumed, she was saved by a man who shot the demon. She was able to finish it off with her Venom Blast. Turns out that the man had been following shadowing her, a member of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. She was brought back to one of the Bureau's safe-houses and transported to America.

The BPRD took Jessica in and trainer her as one of their own. She was never a part of the main division in Connecticut, instead being a part of the Los Angeles division and only rarely got to meet some of the other "Freaks". She was tutored and given a full education. It was during one of her few missions with the other Freaks that she was able to regain her memories. During her first run in with her would-be arch-enemy Morgana La Fey, that she was mind-controlled by the witch, a mind-control that was broken by Abe Sapien. Abe was also able to delve deeper into her mind and unlock her memories. After this, she left the agency, saying that she would help them whenever they need it, but she needed to go and uncover the truth behind her past.

The Incredible Hulk

Robert Bruce Banner is the son of Dr. Brian Banner, a brilliant atomic physicist, and Rebecca Banner, a kind, loving woman. Although his mother deeply loved him, and he, her, Brian dispised their child, jealous of the love Rebecca showed their son over him, his terrible alcoholism not helping the matter in any way. Further, Brian was terribly hateful of mutants and believed that his son might be one. Soon, he turned to drugs, which drove his mind into the state that forced him to murder Rebecca, resulting in his incarceration in a mental hospital. Bruce a child prodigy, was raised by his aunt, Mrs. Drake, and she took him to counselling, unfortunately, not a very good councilor, who taught him to suppress his great pain and rage over his insane father's actions.

After graduating from Science High School, Bruce studied nuclear physics in Navajo, New Mexico, at Desert State University as the star student of Professor Herbert Josiah Weller. He also studied, for a time, at Pennsylvania State University, but ultimately moved on and earned his doctorate in nuclear physics at the California Institute of Technology, where he met Betty Ross, a friend he would keep throughout most of his life, although, after graduation, she moved to New York to work for Oscorp. Eventually, as an adult and a genius in nuclear physics, Bruce went to work at a United States Defense Department nuclear research facility at Desert Base, New Mexico. There Bruce met legendary Air Marshal, Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, the officer in command of the base, father of Betty. Banner and Betty remained in contact with each other over the internet, and she became Bruce's lead consultant when he was commissioned to work on a super soldier-formula, the same one used in the creation of Captain America, Giving the same power that turned the sickly weakling, into the most famous Nazi-slaying patriot that ever lived.

After years of failed attempts, sleeping only when physically impossible not to, he finally made a breakthrough on a crippled dog, repairing its limbs... The day he was informed that their funding had been cut... Determined to prove that he had cracked it, he tested the device on himself... A mistake nobody would EVER forget... Official records show that Doctor Banner's formula addled his mind, drove him insane, saying that he gunned down multiple officers before running... This wasn't entirely untrue, his mind was addled and he did almost kill multiple officers, most of them would spend months in hospital, learning to walk again, but none died... He transformed into a giant gray monster and escaped, destroyed everything in his way. Walls, jeeps, tanks, nothing even slowed him as he smashed his way out.

Since going on the run, he has got in contact with a woman going by the name "Mrs Green" who is helping him work on an antidote for his condition. He contacts her by the pseudonym "Mr Grey" They have agreed to not meet until he has created a cure. Until then, he is going to continue to run, carrying the monster wherever he goes.

Jeb Stuart

James Ewell Brown Stuart, the legendary Confederate commander. Everyone knows the story. Born in Laurel Hill, Patrick County, Virginia on the 6th of February 1833 and was later enrolled at West Point military academy. Commissioned in 1854 second lieutenant of cavalry. He later married Flora Cooke the daughter of Colonel Philip St George Cooke. The couple had two children Jeb Stuart, Jr. and Virginia Stuart. The name Jeb would be carried down the generations of his decedents. At the outbreak of the Civil War, J.E.B fought in the Battle of Bull Run. He was put in command of the Confederate Cavalry under General Robert E. Lee but was fatally wounded in 1864 at Yellow Tavern, Virginia, during the Battle of Richmond.

What many people don't know is that Lee may have died, but his soul didn't pass. He continued to fight for America, even after his body was destroyed. During the many wars since, American tank-crews have reported that, in times of dire need, they would hear the sounds of bugles, before a ghostly apparition took control of their tank and began to use it with super-human accuracy, the hull bouncing shells that should have penetrated, the gun piercing armour that it never should have and the vehicle moving at speeds it just isn't capable of. Most recently, a single M3-Lee has been reported on the boarder of Kasnia, hunting down attempted Kasnian incursions into the surrounding countries. Kasnian jets have hit the tank with everything they can and it hasn't made so much as a dent.

Mogo

Nobody knows anything about this mysterious man, except that, one day, he crash-landed on Earth with a magical ring. All he knows is that his name is Mogo and that he is a Green Lantern... Whatever the hell those are... And he knows the following words:

"In Brightest Day,
In Blackest Night.
No Evil Shall Escape My Sight
Let Those Who Worship Evil's Might,
Beware My Power, Green Lantern's Light!"

S A M P L E P O S T:

M'Baku was just finishing up his rounds patrolling the royal palace. It was a dull job, but it allowed him to stay close to T'Challa. Also, the women of the Jabari were... Too savage for his liking, the palace women were much more amorous. As soon as he finished this shift, he would track down T'Challa and they would go get a date. After all, having the crowned prince as a wing-man had gotten him some action before. Walking into one of the Palace's hangars for their fleet of jet-fighters. He heard some clanging and a pained seeth. "Who goes there?" he called. "Come out with your hands up. Sabotaging the King's fleet is a VERY serious crime, but trying to fight one of his royal guards, gets you killed." He heard some quiet shuffling and readied his Vibranium spear. Seeing something move near one of the fighters, he approached it. Lunging out, ready to strike, he found the jet abandoned, but the cockpit was open. "Dammit..." He put his wrist to his lips.

"Wait, my friend." Came a voice from the shadows. "Please do not call the other guards." M'Baku looked around, before seeing a pair of glowing, purple eyes.

"T'Challa?" he asked. "What in the name of Bast are you doing here?" He then laughed "Is this one of those idea's for a joke, Because last time we did this, i was in the infirmary for a month."

"Look, M'Baku, how was i supposed to know you weren't going to catch that spear? But, we're not going over it again. I need to leave." T'Challa said, approaching from out of the shadows and allowing the mask to retreat from his face.

"Yes, you do." M'Baku laughed, putting his arm over T'Challa's shoulder. "There is a dance over with the Sakhme Tribe. Lots of very-" He guestured a shapely figure with his hands whilst winking "Girls. I say, we go over there, have some fun and try to escape before getting torn limb-from-limb by VERY angry fathers." He laughed. T'Challa put his finger on his chin and looked up for a moment.

"How shapely are we tal-No..." He shook his head and shook M'Baku's hands off of him. "M'Baku, when i said i needed to go... I meant..." M'Baku stopped and looked at him. His smile quickly fading.

"Oh no... No. NO! You are NOT doing this AGAIN!" He roared. "King T'Chaka has forbade it. You will bring ruin to Wakanda. We have survived by keeping with the old traditions. By making sure we are out of sight and out of mind. How many times must we tell you this?" He yelled.

"But it's different this time." T'Challa said, in a hushed tone. "And please, yell louder, i think some people in Canada didn't quite hear you." They stared each other down for a second. "I have had a vision..." M'Baku rolled his eyes.

"Did this vision have some assistance of the Priests ceremonial wine?" He asked. T'Challa's hands flexed and his lip scrunched up for a second, clearly not willing to lie to his friend about the situation, whilst still realizing that he was going to sound crazy.

"Anyway, Bast appeared before me. She said that the time for isolation is over. That there are great threats to the world on the horizon and that we will need to rally and lead the world out of the coming darkness. That if we do not, first, the rest of the world falls, then we do so as well."

"No, first the rest of the world falls, then we stay out of everyone's way and don't fall too."

"But M'Baku-" T'Challa began, before M'Baku began to beat his fists on his chest, rearing up high. "I do not want to fight you, my friend... But i have a mission from the goddess herself. The short sightedness of the priests and Father will not be enough to stop me." M'Baku approached him.

"This is your last chance, T'Challa. Come with me to the dance and we forget this ever happened. Or..." He grabbed his own head and twisted a snap out of it, before twisting the other way.

"Or what?" T'Challa laughed. "We both know i'm way stronger than you."

"Only a little." M'Baku replied.

"Try, you can bench 300lbs and i can bench press this jet?" He replied.

"Irrelevant, i need to stop you." M'Baku stated, without missing a beat in the conversation.

"Alright, counter proposal?" T'Challa asked "I lay you out with a simple hip-toss and i take the jet. Either way, i'm going to lay your out before i take that jet and leave." M'Baku stared him dead in the eyes, for a minute there, they wrestled with just their stares.

"Oh, alright." M'Baku sighed. "Just make it quick, the others will be along soon." T'Challa nodded, before hugging his friend.

"I owe you another one, my brother." He said.

"I hope, for everyone's sake, that you are right about this." M'Baku laughed.

"One day, we will be sitting in the throne room, laughing about this." T'Challa sighed.

"I'd better not be your damn court jester." M'Baku replied.

"Oh, nothing so un-dignified. I hear that, in the old Europe, the most powerful man was the one who wiped the king's bottom for him." He then delivered a swift chop to M'Baku's neck and his friend went out-cold. He then grabbed the spear and began making gashes in the walls and the floors, as well as several crates. He then threw the spear off into another part of the hangar, before climbing up, into the jet. The engines roared to life. "Alright, please open, mr bay-doors." He said, pressing his clearance in to the computer. The doors opened and the jet blasted away.

P O S T C A T L O G:

A list linking to your IC posts as they're created. This can be used for a reference guide to your character or to summarize completed arcs and stories.

@mattmanganon

There's an awful lot going on in this sheet and the short answer is 'No', we won't accept the proposal as is. This for a number of reasons, first off you've created a JLA/Avengers level team containing both a Green Lantern and a Hulk. The idea behind Team Sheets is generally to portray a group traditionally associated together in the comics that works best as a team such as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men or the Guardians of the Galaxy. Teams where having multiple players would slow down posting progress or otherwise hinder the end result. The team you've created here doesn't do that but rather takes away from prospective players by taking on several franchises.

Black Panther himself is a rather large character who has more than enough supporting cast there should have been no need to bring in such outside choices. Hulk likewise is also an A-List character and Jessica Drew is popular enough in her own right. A Green Lantern as well is definitely a stand-alone concept, the only supporting cast member that is potentially okay to be used as such is that of Jeb Stuart. Basically, the majority of your cast could stand alone as a concept so it would make more sense to choose one and refine it rather than cram every idea you have into one sheet.

From the sample and proposal, you have a strong Black Panther concept but I feel like you've diluted it with all of these extra characters and add ons. The GM Team and I would rather see you focus on Black Panther and Wakanda than the idea of the Knights/Agents of Wakanda.

[Hound55]

I've got my next post pretty much done, bar the coding edits. But I'm down to mobile data at the moment as the internet is out at home until I have the time to make calls and get it fixed.

[mickilennial]

Next Supergirl post will introduce where Lex was at before Kara's debut. Expect it up by Friday.