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

[Bounce]

@Archangel89

Because I refuse to acknowledge any Zod that isn't Lor-Zod (even though Rebirth has screwed him up royally), I feel compelled to point out the Gods and Monsters version of Superman.

[NinaDivine]

@Archangel89

Because I refuse to acknowledge any Zod that isn't Lor-Zod (even though Rebirth has screwed him up royally), I feel compelled to point out the Gods and Monsters version of Superman.

@Bounce

@Archangel89 You could use Hyperion.

Or: Val-Zod, Lor-Zod, the other Lor-Zod, …

@NinaDivine

[Archangel89]

Reference

I'm struggling because I want to include a "Red Son" past and as much as I like Val Zod I don't think he'll work in my narrative. What do y'all think about this reference I have?

[Lord Wraith]

Reference

I'm struggling because I want to include a "Red Son" past and as much as I like Val Zod I don't think he'll work in my narrative. What do y'all think about this reference I have?

@Archangel89

I have to admit, I'm not overly excited about the idea of another 'Superman' in the game at the moment. But beyond that, I feel as though having the entirety of the 'Red Son' being in the past undermines its relevance. There's so much more you could do by actually playing out his switch in loyalties that would make the character feel more unique than just another version of Superman with a colourful backstory. Plus, it would actually flesh out the game's world more by having a character set explicitly in Russia rather than having another character stateside.

[Archangel89]

So instead of having him in the states just keep him in Russia and play out the whole Red Son angle...to be honest@Lord Wraith I hadn't thought of that. And that actually fixes my issues. And I think I'll use Dru-Zod and have him be somewhere between Lawful Neutral and Neutral Good

[Lord Wraith]

And I think I'll use Dru-Zod and have him be somewhere between Lawful Neutral and Neutral Good

@Archangel89

Alright, well you'll need to get permission from @IceHeart and @DocTachyon since they currently portray the two members of the House of El. With Dru-Zod being a primary antagonist to Clark, you'll definitely need them to sign off on the concept first. Anything Kryptonian related will need to go through IceHeart and Doc first.

On the administrative side of things, are you intending to drop Hellboy in order to apply for this concept? You weren't present through the entirety of Season One, having left and come back so I'm afraid you're not eligible for a second character at this point.

[Archangel89]

Oof I didn't think about the House El and Dru-Zod lol. I will definitely get back with them on that. As for Hellboy I know I havent been around for most of Season 1 and as much as I love the concept of him I made Hellboy is kinda a fringe character (says the guy going for a Red Son concept) that it made it hard for me. At least with Zod I can connect him to the rest of the world so yes I will be replacing him.

[Lord Wraith]

A N N O U N C E M E N T:

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RE: SEASON ONE CRISIS - MASS PANIC

Hey everyone,

With August rapidly approaching and our current Season not quite yet resolved, I wanted to break down the Crisis and bullet point a few crucial areas that could be focused on to expedite a conclusion. I know we've had a couple of issues where players have posted and caused other posts currently being written to be reworked so I'm hoping that by doing this, we can open up the OOC for discussion to promote players working together. To start, I compiled all of the posts directly relating to the Crisis together, you can find these below:

CRISIS LEAD-INS:

_{◼ Gods Among Us #1.01 - Scientific Marvel
◼ Gods Among Us #1.02 - The Specimen
◼ Gods Among Us #1.03 - Mass Panic}

NEW YORK CITY:

_{◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Wonder Woman
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Spider-Man
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Supergirl
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Blue Beetle
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Captain America and Arsenal
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Static
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - X-Men
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - X-Men
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Wonder Woman and Supergirl
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Spider-Man
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Blue Beetle
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Magik
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Wonder Woman
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Magik
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - X-Men
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Static
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Spider-Man
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Wonder Woman and Static
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Captain America and Arsenal
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Supergirl
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Spider-Man and Blue Beetle
◼ Gods Among Us #1.04 - The Needs of the Many
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Static
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Blue Beetle
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Wonder Woman
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Supergirl
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Blue Beetle
◼ Crisis Tie-In (New York) - Captain America and Arsenal}

STAR CITY:

_{◼ Crisis Tie-In (Star City) - Green Arrow
◼ Crisis Tie-In (Star City) - Valor
◼ Crisis Tie-In (Star City) - Valor
◼ Crisis Tie-In (Star City) - Green Arrow
◼ Crisis Tie-In (Star City) - Magik
◼ Crisis Tie-In (Star City) - Magik
◼ Crisis Tie-In (Star City) - Flash
◼ Crisis Tie-In (Star City) - Magik
◼ Crisis Tie-In (Star City) - Green Arrow and Magik
◼ Crisis Tie-In (Star City) - Green Arrow
◼ Crisis Tie-In (Star City) - Flash}

CONCLUSION:

_{◼ Gods Among Us #1.05 - Devastation and Reform}

At this point in time, the Crisis has advanced into its endgame with Stryfe directly engaging Spider-Man and Blue Beetle in New York while Magik has gone on the offence in Star City. However, there are still hostages within the Four Freedoms Plaza and numerous remaining Obelisks across the city. Stryfe upon seeing the heroes united efforts gave the order to detonate the Obelisks and they have been set on a timer. The remaining objectives are as follows:

◼ Defeat and apprehend Stryfe.

_{Currently Blue Beetle and Spider-Man are in direct conflict with Stryfe. Stryfe is using a suit that mimics metahuman abilities giving him a form of telekinesis, flight and limited telepathy that allows for control over the drones and communication with the members of the Metahuman Supremacy Front.}

◼ Disarm the Obelisks to prevent them from blowing.

_{The Obelisks are currently programmed to detonate in 'forty-five minutes'. A tech-based character could follow Ted Kord's lead and hack into the devices in order to cancel the command or directly break into the devices to disable them physically. Alternatively, characters like Supergirl, Wonder Woman or Flash might be fast enough to locate the devices and destroy them before the timer runs out. Characters such as Supergirl with enhanced senses or those with the technology could listen for and isolate the towers' frequency in order to locate them faster.}

◼ Disable Obelisks and their drones to free controlled civilians.

_{Ted Kord established that the Obelisks can't be disabled by hacking into them directly. This means that characters will have to find the Metahuman Supremacy Front's base of operations (New York: Four Freedoms Plaza, Star City: Stary City Public Library) and shut the towers down from there. If this is accomplished first, you would also be able to stop the towers from detonating.}

◼ Rescue hostages from Four Freedoms Plaza and Star City Public Library

_{In line with the above objective, when the Metahuman Supremacy Front teleported into the aforementioned locations, they took those inside as hostages. These hostages need to be freed and will require one or more heroes locating the MSF and liberating these individuals. In Star City, Magik has already located those inside the Star City Public Library, but no one has found the operatives inside the Four Freedoms Plaza.}

◼ Save Static

_{Lastly, someone save our poor boy from Dakota. Man is giving his life for a city he doesn't live in. Don't let him die!}

Please communicate the objective you wish to tackle in the OOC and try to work with others who want to pursue similar goals. We're all in this together, we've all helped build this world so instead of stepping on each other's toes, let's learn how to dance together. I love all of your individual stories, but there's something really special about seeing the cast work together on these larger events. Hopefully, this helps make that a little bit easier and if this works, from now on when we have larger events I'll be sure to post an objective list along with each GM Post.

[Mao Mao]

I'm planning on confronting Stryfe. So, if Spider-Man and Blue Beetle (@DocTachyon & @Hound55) wanna do something else, go ahead. Wondy will be able to handle him (hopefully). Plus, I have something plan that I wanna do.

[webboysurf]

Depending on my motivation early this week, Cap and/or Arsenal may be joining the fight at Four Freedoms Plaza. Just have to figure out how to tie off some loose ends.

[Retired]

I don't know if there's a need for more characters to join in who weren't already previously involved. The point is to wrap this up quickly and efficiently, and introducing more characters into the mix doesn't exactly lead to that. There's probably more than enough participants already involved who can resolve each of the objectives.

[Byrd Man]

For season two:

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

MARTIAN MANHUNTER

^{_{JOHN JONES/J'ONN J'ONZZ ♦ DETECTIVE♦ SEATTLE ♦}}

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

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^{"They beat him up until the teardrops start/But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart."
-- Elvis Costello}

J'onn J'onzz is an alien from the planet Ma'aleca'andra (Mars). As a young man J'onn served with the Ma'alec'andra Grand Army during the planet's war with the hive-mind like white Martians. J'onn was part of a special unit know as the Manhunters, committed to finding and bringing to justice the most heinous White Martians. In the final days of the war, a war that would end with a Green Martian victory, J'onn and his Manhunter unit were engaged in a firefight when a wormhole opened up on the battlefield and pulled J'onn into it.

He tore through time and emerged out the other side in a strange place with a strange looking creature watching him. It turned out the man was Dr. Saul Erdel, a scientist experimenting in quantum mechanics, and he was on the planet Earth. The year was 1946. The stress of seeing a full-fledged alien caused the elderly Dr. Erdel's heart to give out. The old man died before J'onn could figure out what was going on. Confused and not sure what to do, the Martian fled into the night.

Over the years J'onn traveled the world, using his powers and abilities to help as many people as possible while trying to discover a way home. Any hopes and dreams he had were crushed when NASA's probes and rovers on the surface of Mars reported that the planet was a dead one, and had been dead for a long time. The wormhole Erdel had opened sent J'onn through time as well as space. Mars and his family were long gone. Acting now as John Jones, a private investigator in Seattle, J'onn still grasps with being the last Martian and trying to find his true place in his adopted homeworld.

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:

---

In the greater expanse of the mystery genre, the PI character often works best as a detached outsider to society. J'onn, a literal alien, is the perfect encapsulation of that spirit. I have an overarching story in mind that involves feds, crime, and the realization that J'onn isn't the only alien on the planet.

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

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Cameron Chase -- Field agent of the Department of Extra-normal Operations.
Theo Neil -- Seattle PD detective and John's former partner.
The Firefly -- Unknown serial arsonist operating in Seattle.
Martin Malvo -- Chase's partner.

S A M P L E P O S T:

---

Seattle, Washington

~Did I turn off the stove?~

~She knows about me and her sister. I don't know how, but she does!~

~Kill! Kill! Kill!~

~I'm going to kill myself today.~

~Man, I've got to pee.~

This is my life. Even walking down the street in the earthly guise of a middle-aged man I cannot help but be bombarded with the thoughts of the rest of the world. These are just what lies on the surface, the loudest in the churning cauldron of free-flowing thought that is the human mind. These innocent monologues, repulsive ideas, and mundane observations all swirl together in a loud cacophony that now register as little more than background noise to me.

I had the collar of my jacket turned up against the low drizzle that morning. The thoughts of others filled my ears, but I had them tuned out with my mind focused on the upcoming meeting. The day before I had received an email from someone wanting to meet at a specific location. I was suspicious, but also curious. I would know well in advance if I was walking into a trap, and if I was then god help the people trying to trap me.

The diner the customer picked for the meeting was a typical greasy spoon. There were beginning to be fewer and fewer of those in Seattle as gentrification ran roughshod over the city and outlying suburbs. I sat at the counter for a minute and perused the menu before something caught my eye just as the waitress walked up.

"What'll it be, hun?"

"It says here you offer an Oreo milkshake."

"Sure do. Is that what you want?"

"Yes," I said with a smile. "Yes, please."

She went off the fix the shake while I turned around to look through the diner. Someone was watching me and thinking about me. I found the owner of the eyes and thoughts in the corner. A teenaged girl with curly red hair locked eyes with me and instantly turned away. In the brief moment our eyes met I felt a wave of thoughts and emotions flood through her. Crippling sadness, uncertainty, loneliness. Feelings I could identify with very well.

"Did you email me?" I asked her as I approached the booth.

"Yes," she said softly. "I read about you on the internet at the library. You were a detective?"

"Yes. Yes, I was. Seattle PD, LAPD before that. I'm a private one now. Mind if I sit?"

"You can..."

The waitress brought me my milkshake and I offered some to the girl, only for her to turn it down.

"So, what do you need help with?"

"It's... my sister... she's gone missing... I'm... I'm all alone now, I have nobody left. Will you help me? I don't have any money, Mr. Jones... please?"

More thoughts and emotions, almost too sad to comprehend. Visions of a pretty young woman with blonde curly hair, visions of hypodermic needles, razor blades, men with gold teeth and switch blades. Way too much violence for a girl this age to have seen. And now she's all alone.

"First things first, tell when you last saw your sister."

P O S T C A T A L O G:

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TBA

[Bounce]

@NinaDivine

Sorry, I had completely missed that you’d linked that one. When I moused over, I thought it was the Beyond version (or Gods and Monsters). I didn’t mean to offend in any case.

[IceHeart]

At the moment I think Supergirl's prime objective will be trying to stop all the obelisks from taking out chunks of the city. She could also potentially help Static I suppose, but since he's knocked out cold, unless the remains of the tower fall down on top of him, I think he'll be fine...as he bleeds from his nose, unconscious, on the ground.

Sorry mate but the big explosive Obelisks are a little higher on the priority list right now.

[Hound55]

[NinaDivine]

@NinaDivine

Sorry, I had completely missed that you’d linked that one. When I moused over, I thought it was the Beyond version (or Gods and Monsters). I didn’t mean to offend in any case.

@Bounce

Wasn't offended :P

[Hound55]

Depending on my motivation early this week, Cap and/or Arsenal may be joining the fight at Four Freedoms Plaza. Just have to figure out how to tie off some loose ends.

@webboysurf

Catch you there...

[Mao Mao]

Just a heads up, I'm pretty much done with my post but I won't be able to post it until later on the day.

[Lord Wraith]

@Byrd Man the Martian Manhunter is approved.

[Dead Cruiser]

Might take another crack at this to jump in at the second season. First idea is for a male Starfire, sort of like a teenage Vegeta. The other idea is just Midnighter. Any preference between the two?