FANFIC SITE CHALLENGE: Jason McDonald
This time around, I thought I’d challenge myself by creating a site whose characters I’m not the most familiar with. Since Marvel is my preferred beast, I thought I’d try a stab at picking writers for some DC titles.
My DC site would be a modest one with individualized cut-off points from the main continuity - with three important notes. Kyle Rayner is the Green Lantern, not Hal Jordan. Wally West is the Flash, not Bart Allen or Jay Garrick. And Identity Crisis hasn’t happened…or at least hasn’t happened yet in some form. So no Infinite Crisis. I don’t know…the DC Universe got very depressing after Sue Dibny was raped by Dr. Light, then shot and blown up by the Atom’s wife. Can’t imagine why.
We’d also have a Wildstorm/Vertigo imprint on the site for such titles such as Transmetropolitan and Wildcats. Titles that go beyond the typical action/adventure of the normal DC fare and delve into the darker regions of that universe. Hell, Legends of the Dark Knight could fall into this category, paving way for some R-rated titles from the Batman universe.
Anyway, these are my picks for series writers. Writers that could really knock their respective series out of the proverbial ballpark with some engaging, creative, fun-as-all-get-out stories.
Without further adieu, welcome to DC: Dark Corners!
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Batman – by Meriades Rai
Read his Batman stories at Marvel Omega and you’ll see that Meriades Rai simply, hands-down, GETS IT when it comes to the Batman and his foes. He can write really twisted, sociopathic, homicidal people and make you understand why they do what they do. That’s good for…oh, just about Batman’s entire rogues gallery. He really captures Batman’s psyche, and ingeniously renders the loneliness and isolation in doing what he does to keep Gotham safe. So this pick, is an obvious no-brainer.
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight – by Dino Pollard
Whereas Meriades Rai’s Batman series is more of a psychological examination of the Dark Knight and ‘why he does what he does’, this series would be the ‘what he does’ part. In fine Dino “gritty-as-all-get-the-!$%!-out”-style!
Dino seems to be really good at really violent, street-level crime stories, (Wolverine at Altered Visions.) and that’s exactly what this beast would be about.
Self-contained stories about the Batman, in any era, going up against weapons dealers on the streets, mysterious serial killers, or against the deadliest of the Rogues like Bane or Killer Croc. Less of a focus on the disturbing psychology and more of a focus on the collateral damage and fallout of Batman’s world.
I think Dino could really knock this series out of the ballpark. And with a guy like Dino on the job, he could make foes like Harley Quinn, Firefly and even Bat-Mite seem undeniably dangerous.
Robin – by John Bush
John Bush is excellent at comedic characters and scenarios. His three-issue stint on Spider-Man for Altered Visions is a testament to the playfulness he brings to his stories. Unlike his brooding partner, Tim Drake is a much lighter-hearted hero by comparison, both in his take-down of criminals and in his internal monologues. I would definitely enjoy John injecting his own style of energy into Drake’s character, his interactions with his friends, schoolmates and his dad.
Nightwing – by Jason McDonald
Okay, I can tell you I’d have some fuuuun on this series. Dick Grayson was orphaned as a child and taken in by Bruce Wayne, who felt sympathy for a boy whose parents were killed just as his once were. Bruce took Dick’s acrobatic abilities and trained him to be his protégé, Robin the Boy Wonder. But Dick eventually grew up, and has now gone out to forge his own identity. Using his skills as an acrobat along with his witty charm, he patrols the streets as Nightwing!
Dick’s been through some dark corners in his life - be it breaking away from his mentor, his rocky off-and-on relationship with Barbara Gordon, or his insane trials through the dark city of Bludhaven. Through it all, he maintains his optimism and his quirky sense of humor. He is something of a show-off, a real performer, because he’s been doing that since he was a kid and because he genuinely enjoys being in the spotlight, even if he’s wearing a mask.
He is not the Batman, and yet you can see him against a similar backdrop. Because of that, this ‘Nightwing’ would probably take place in Gotham City, since I always kinda felt Bludhaven was a poor man’s Gotham. Plus, I think it’s been thoroughly destroyed in the comics anyway, so there you go. His relationship with Oracle (Barbara) would be a big part of the series, and it’s possible that he’d cross paths with Batman and Robin from time to time. But with friends like the Titans and enemies like the Joker or the Royal Flush Gang or Mr. Zsasz running around, there’s always someone for Dick to help.
Writing the martial arts aspect would just be oodles of fun, too, of course!
Green Lantern – by David Ellis
The thing I always loved about Green Lantern, the Kyle Rayner version, is that he is a man with the largest and most interesting imagination known to man. Not only that, but he has a ring that can make his imagination come to life. Now, put two and two together, and you should have just about the best possible Green Lantern to ever wear the ring. His imagination is LIMITLESS by comparison to others like Hal and Guy and John, who would never utilize stuff as creative as Japanese kamikaze jets as weapons. Hands down, this is someone who could put the power ring to its absolute best use.
However, the problem comes in with the fact that he’s an every-man character. His occupation was an artist before he became a Lantern, not a fighter pilot like Hal. His confidence in himself (especially since many artists are their own worst critics) as well as his willpower to use the ring are not limitless. And since the strength of the ring comes not the size of an imagination, but from the confidence (therefore, willpower) to use the ring, he becomes tempered by that simple contingency.
Granted, years of experience since then have improved his confidence and tempered his skill, but he just doesn’t have the experience or courage of a guy like Hal, who was doing insane things as a fighter pilot even before Abin Sur tapped him to be the Lantern. (Fighter pilots are pretty much automatically braver than 90% of the rest of the civilian population as a job requirement for the simple fact that he’s piloting a plane thousands of feet above the Earth and engaging in battle. That’s superhero written all over him.)
Kyle’s universal character flaw (Because, c’mon, how confident would you be fighting a slew of evil alien monsters with just the ring on your finger? Yeah. ‘Not very’. I mean, unless you happen to be a fighter pilot.) has been his driving point for a long time, and his battle to overcome it was always what drew me to the series. He’s a normal guy trying to be super-human.
David Ellis is great at characterization. He could do some serious justice to Kyle Rayner’s character.
Supergirl - by Rena Paradox
I’d like to see her tackle a series involving this young survivor of Krypton’s destruction. I I think she’d have a blast exploring this young lady’s powers and personality. Not only that, but to see the kinds of rogues that Rena could come up with to challenge the Girl of Steel - both physically and mentally. After all, she was once tempted by the lure of Darkseid. Who knows what other foes await her?
Though, I'm curious as to which version Rena might pick to write. The Peter David version that was an angel cast in a human form, or the recent resurrection of Superman’s cousin from Krypton. In either case, it would make for an interesting series. And Rena’s full of ideas so I’d love to see her bring this character to life.
JLA – by Derrick Ferguson
Just because his Avengers over at Altered Visions kicks ass, I’d like to see him tackle the likes of Superman, Batman, Jonn J’onnz, Kyle Rayner, Wonder Woman, and whomever else he decides to have on the team.
In Avengers, Derrick has kept the bombastic, larger-than-legend characters of Thor as well as the other Asgardians (His dialogue with Thor as well as the descriptions of Asgard must be read to be believed!) while still keeping great character moments with Bruce Banner, and Tony Stark heartfelt enough to relate to.
I’d love to see how he handles the locales of Themiscyra, Oa, Krypton (flashback), Mars, and even Gotham City, since those places can be so incredible and vibrant, if handled by a creative enough scribe. And I think Derrick’s more than up for the challenge. Not only that, but I think he’d have enough to say about Bruce Wayne’s eternal duality, Clark Kent’s integrity, Kyle’s ingenuity, and the subtle emotions within Jonn J’onnz’s barricade of characteristic solitude to keep us all enthused for a long, long time.
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Transmetropolitan – by Chris Munn
Chris Munn…he can write some seriously twisted shit. He’s got the sci-fi elements down in his issue of Ghost Rider 2099 over at 2099UGR. He’s also got visceral mob violence all over his LUV + H8 series. So combine that hyper sci-fi edge, with the dark comedy in LUV + H8, and you’d have some seriously messed up Spider Jerusalem stories. THAT would be something to behold. Naturally, this would be part of the Vertigo line-up.
Wildcats – by Chris Munn and Dino Pollard
They’ve are already kicked some major ass on this series, and I’d like to see even more! The Wildcats have outgrown their superhero roots and are now a more covert crew of crime fighters on the fringes of media perception. The Wildcats, ever since finding out their ages-long war against the Daemonites has been over for several hundred years, and that their homeworld of Khera is now an elitist hellhole, have been without a mission, and without a home.
Under Joe Casey, the Wildcats became a more pulp-ish, darker epic. They’ve faced super-human serial killers and insane madman granted vast powers by alien experiments. They’ve been exposed to and uncovered some of the darker areas of the Wildstorm universe, and they should continue to go down that route. Less of the world-spanning epic battles, and more down-to-earth, visceral fights as they have been in this dark series.
I should have done this a while ago, but I didn’t get around to it. And after reading Jason McDonald’s solid response to this challenge, I felt I should pitch in as well. The site I would create is an Image/Wildstorm site. And it would be an “Ultimate” version, starting off from square one. Because let’s face it, a lot of these Image properties, when first created, were nothing more than cheap knock-offs of existing characters. So let’s get our writers to flex their imagination a bit and have them reimagine these characters (puns intended).
He’s the editor-in-chief of Strange Tales, the best home for comic-based horror fanfic. Look at Munn’s writing credits—Ghost Rider, Thunderbolts, X-Men—the man is at his best when he’s writing nasty individuals doing nasty things. Hell wanted Al Simmons to lead their army, so obviously he can’t be the most heroic character. Munn would take that aspect of the character and run with it, interchanging between Simmons both pre- and post-death.
If there’s one thing Meri can write, it’s horror. If there’s another thing Meri can write, it’s gritty street drama. If there’s a third thing Meri can write, it’s strong, female protagonists. Check out Batman, Brother Voodoo, Femmes Fatale, or better yet, for a bit of all three, Ghost Rider. He’d be the perfect fit for Detective Sara Pezzini, elevating her above her “bad girl” roots.
Okay, I’ll give in. Barry’s a big fan of the superhero incarnation of the WildC.A.T.S, so let’s go with that version, featuring the team as key players in the ongoing war between Khera and Daemon.
If you ever ask Derrick and Tom for their feelings on the X-Men, they’ll tell you how they don’t buy the idea that mutants would be hated and feared in a universe where the Avengers and Fantastic Four are praised, and they’ll talk about how they would see the X-Men as media darlings. Sounds kind of like Youngblood, doesn’t it?
GEN13 – Ryan Krupienski
A controversial team of teenagers who possess incredible powers? Sounds like Ryan’s short-lived Ultimate X-Men series from the now-defunct Ultimate Marvel. Resurrect some of those concepts and apply them to Gen13 and I think we’ve got a winner.
Anyone who’s read Doctor Strange knows that Raz is great at what’s best described as “whatthefuckery.” Meaning half the time, you don’t know what’s going on in his work, but you know it’s brilliant. The short-lived Automatic Kafka was very similar to that, and Raz would absolutely shine on this title.
I know Pierce would probably rather do StormWatch, but too bad. My article, my rules. You’ve got a group of mutants who were enhanced with cybernetics by a corporation—those are the makings of a potentially great cyberpunk series, something which Pierce’s work draws a lot of influence from (just see Octane Shiv from the Frontier days).
If there’s one thing I know about Cory and Brad, it’s that they are damn funny bastards who can write action like no one else. Put them on a book like The Savage Dragon and watch them cut loose.
And last but not least, I should probably assign something for myself. Going by what others have said on my work, it seems I get the best response when I take on gritty and/or horror properties. When you’re talking a mob hitman who’s been blessed (or damned) with vast power, that seems like something I could really have fun with.
That’s all I’ve got for now. Borrowing a name from a group that never got off the ground, I would call this site ReImage.
Dino Pollard is the Submissions Editor for Marvel Omega, where he writes New Warriors, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Ultimate X-Men in addition to co-writing Avengers with Derrick Ferguson, Thunderbolts with Curt Fernlund, and Captain America with Tony Thornley. He’s the writer on Wolverine at Altered Visions, Blade at Strange Tales, and X-Force at Marvel 2000. He also co-writes Wildcats with Chris Munn, co-writes World’s Finest with Stephen Crosby and is also the new writer on both JLA and Outsiders, all at JLU: 2001.