Oh yeah, I do take a few cues from the old comics, but mostly only character names and personalities that didn't quite work for characters that already existed.

I actually placed a restriction on this AU to not use stuff from the Archie Comics, despite them having a lot of my favorite characters. Nothing from IDW yet either, though I may partially lift it once we get into the main arc. Not sure yet. Only thing I do know, as much as I love 'em, is no Freedom Fighters. They just don't work in this AU.