Young Avengers

[CaptainManbeard]

My idea for this is to rework the Avengers as a group of teenage superheroes who get in over their heads and have to grow into their new heroic roles. To start, this version of the Marvel Universe is largely identical to our real world, with the exception of some old media of Captain America and other heroes in the 1940s. Notions of magic, aliens, and superpowers are largely considered fictional by the public, and all our starter characters are normal humans at the beginning of the RP.

For the sake of simplicity, I'm taking mutants, mutates, inhumans, and other types of powered beings and uniting them under the banner trigger of Terrigenesis. So our starter characters are just normal teenagers living their lives in New York City, and they're among those ready to celebrate on July 4th, 2023. However, when the fireworks start to go off that night, a sudden blue fog envelopes the crowd in a wave. People begin to panic, thinking they have been poisoned as they hack their lungs out. Unbeknownst to them at the time, a renegade scientist placed several Terrigen Crystals in with the explosives, hoping to see what would happen since his superiors refused to authorize human testing. And that's how our starter characters get their powers. Feel free to rework any Marvel character to fit within this joint origin story.

The goal for our heroes in the short-term would be to learn about their powers and try to uncover what happened, but the long-term objective will be to stop the scientists and their team of villains from detonating a Terrigen Bomb in Times Square during the Ball Drop on New Year's Eve. After that we can roll into heavily modified sagas centering around mainstay enemies like HYDRA, Ultron, and Thanos. I'd love to hear your character ideas.

For me, I'm going to be playing four guys to start: Donald and Owen Blake, two brothers from London spending the Summer in America; Bruce Banner, a young genius years ahead of his time; and Lucas Bishop, a skilled athlete who aspires to one day become a Navy SEAL.

After their first Terrigen encounter, Donald is able to channel lightning and becomes Thor; Owen can cast illusions as Loki; Bruce morphs into various forms of the Hulk; and Lucas absorbs and redirects energy in the form of red plasma. Over the course of the first saga, Owen gradually becomes a villain and ends up a major antagonist. Feel free to create multiple characters yourselves to have some as heroes and some as villains. PM me if you have any questions.

[Crimson Flame]

So if I wanted to be Spider Man, would I have to be Peter Parker, or could it be an OC?

[role model]

I am interested. And I have never played a woman character but I want to rp Black Widow.

[CaptainManbeard]

So if I wanted to be Spider Man, would I have to be Peter Parker, or could it be an OC?

@Crimson Flame

Yeah, that's fine. You could say the Terrigen gives him spider-like powers. There could be a spider in the tree above him in Central Park that drops down and bites him just before the fog rolls in or something.

I am interested. And I have never played a woman character but I want to rp Black Widow.

@role model

Since she is usually portrayed as a normal human, you have a blank canvas to create her powerset. I would recommend a dexterity-based mutation similar to Spider-Man, and in fact you could have her be near Crimson Flame's character and so they both get spider-like abilities and take spider-like names.

[role model]

I thought I would keep it simple. Marvel.com says she is only human like you said but I figured make her superhuman traits with precision aim and for a boss power either invisibility or telepathy. I don't know what she uses but after some research I would update her weapons and gadgets.

[CaptainManbeard]

I thought I would keep it simple. Marvel.com says she is only human like you said but I figured make her superhuman traits with precision aim and for a boss power either invisibility or telepathy. I don't know what she uses but after some research I would update her weapons and gadgets.

@role model

Invisibility would probably suit her better than telepathy. You could deck her out similar to a Rogue in D&D.

[RenegadeRunaway]

I would love to throw my hat into this. I’d love to take on Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.

[Crimson Flame]

I’ll definitely be doing Spider Man. Maybe some other character as well. Not sure about that though.

[MelodicElement]

Intrested for sure. Thinking about rping as Marcus Milton (Hyperion).

[Red7VII]

I'm sorta interested, but more importantly, I wanted to give kudos to the awesome screen name! I love it!

[September]

This sounds so cool! I would love to join if you'd have me. I'm assuming we would be able to turn to the dark side eventually in the story right?

[CaptainManbeard]

I would love to throw my hat into this. I’d love to take on Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.

@RenegadeRunaway

Sure! Welcome!

Intrested for sure. Thinking about rping as Marcus Milton (Hyperion).

@MelodicElement

Okay, sounds good!

I'm sorta interested, but more importantly, I wanted to give kudos to the awesome screen name! I love it!

@RedVII

Haha, thanks! Usually I go by "Captain Manbeard" or "The Magnificent Manbeard" on various sites. It's a nickname based around my ability to grow a kickass beard:

This sounds so cool! I would love to join if you'd have me. I'm assuming we would be able to turn to the dark side eventually in the story right?

@September

Sure! What characters did you have in mind?

[role model]

You got me beat CM. I got a three going on but you're rocking a 8 or 9

[September]

@CaptainManbeard Awesome! I love your cat also 🥺
I was thinking maybe Hela?

[RenegadeRunaway]

So, how exactly will characters like Loki, Thor, and Hela work? That’s a minor issue I have with the story being that they all got their powers at the same time, in the same place. Will characters like that, whose backstories form the basis for their powers and concept and whatnot, just take the name and powers and otherwise be a normal person?

[CaptainManbeard]

So, how exactly will characters like Loki, Thor, and Hela work? That’s a minor issue I have with the story being that they all got their powers at the same time, in the same place. Will characters like that, whose backstories form the basis for their powers and concept and whatnot, just take the name and powers and otherwise be a normal person?

@RenegadeRunaway

Since this world is initially very similar to our real world, gods like the Asgardians don't exist in the same way they do in other Marvel universes. My idea for Donny and Owen was for them to take the names Thor and Loki from Norse mythology, so yes, they would be normal humans who were then mutated by the Terrigen, but their powers and personalities would develop to be similar to their MCU counterparts. I will also likely use younger versions of Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleson as the faces for Donny and Owen. Once Owen gets a little older and goes full-on supervillain, he will be virtually indistinguishable from Loki in the first Avengers film in personality and appearance. I will also probably use Khary Payton for Bishop and Matt Damon for David Bruce Banner.

[CaptainManbeard]

So far, it looks like we have potentially seven interested writers total, including myself. I'll give it a few more days to see if there is any further interest and then I'll post the main thread and the character sheet layout.

[King Kindred]

I'm interested as well. Just not sure who I'll be yet.

[Raistlin Majere]

I'll express my interest in this, yet not promising commitment.

I have to admit I'm anxious about trying to hang in the Advanced section. I could probably write two paragraphs per post, but I'm not sure how often I could do more than maybe three.

[CaptainManbeard]

I'm interested as well. Just not sure who I'll be yet.

@King Kindred

Love the Nightwing avatar! Let me know when you think of who you might want to play :D.

I'll express my interest in this, yet not promising commitment.

I have to admit I'm anxious about trying to hang in the Advanced section. I could probably write two paragraphs per post, but I'm not sure how often I could do more than maybe three.

@Raistlin Majere

Dragonlance avatar, nice! After Raistlin gave up the red robes for the black :D. I understand how it may seem intimidating to RP here in the Advanced section. I can't speak for other GMs, but for me, I put much more value in the quality of writing than the length of it. Some people can write a dozen paragraphs and it's complete shit and full of errors, while others can take a solid two paragraphs and produce something that rivals professionally published work. I'll give an example below of one of my past writings for RPs:

The skies above were a cloudy grey as the wind lightly rustled the green treetops. The forest stretched out in every direction, the moisture in the air hinting at a coming rainstorm. An average afternoon in the Pacific Northwest during February; gloom was the norm.

In a clearing amongst the wooded hills sat a small lake, where a mountain of a man knelt over the shore, washing his face. He wore dark jeans and black leather boots, but was naked from the waist up, his other clothing draped over a nearby tree branch. His skin flowed taut over his rippling muscles, dark brown hair cascaded in flowing locks over his firm shoulders, and a short beard masked his face. His body was covered in tribal tattoos and his eyes shone a bizarre golden brown.

The man had been hunting for the source of a strange power reading in the area, but thus far he had come up empty-handed. But that was about to change, as he suddenly felt a strong Mana aura burst to life.

"There it is!" he yelled out, jumping to his feet. His nostrils flared as he called upon his superhuman senses to pick up a scent, followed by his eyes lighting up from golden brown to a metallic yellow. He then smiled and took off running through the trees towards the source, displaying speed and dexterity far beyond any mortal man.

A few minutes later, he came upon a hunting cabin in the woods, where he was sure this monster must be hiding. That was his job, after all -- hunting down nightmarish beasts around the world and exterminating them. He snuck around the side of the cabin, slipped in through a back window, and then stepped into the main room prepared for a fight. Instead, he found a young woman curled up in the corner. The Mana aura was clearly hers. Dumbfounded, the man just stood there, staring at her.