Enarr

Ultimate Comics: DC - Shadows Among Us

Oh. I see it now.

Another thing I'd like to bring up. This game in particular has always been home to a lot of charavters that morally had fit the category "Walking The Line", and I've always thought it would be cool to do an ultimate version of 'The Outsiders'. I think Catman could be a cool leader for that and I do have a storyline in mind. If it wouldn't be something I'd need to talk with you about first, Gowi. Starting a new team I mean.

EDIT: I don't know if you're ignoring him or if you have him blocked, but DSW made an app for the Wrath.

Ultimate Comics: DC - Shadows Among Us

Gowi said
I'm heading to bed after a tabletop RPG night, but I will remind you that John Law is the current Tarantula and by extensions Flores is probably in her teens. I'll have in-depth thoughts after I post Batman and wake up in a few hours.

Oh. Where is that posted? I'd like to amend that but be accurate in doing so. I kept the Tarantula lore from the Bat CS that you'd written but I'd forgotten to do a more in-depth search on the people I'd selected for his list.

EDIT: I just removed her for now since it's wrong anyways. But, while I await a response, I'mma catch up on the IC that I've been missing out on.

Quirks

Kaga said
I tend to have these weird little conversations with myself sometimes. Except I don't really feel like I'm talking to myself - it's like part of me thinks I'm talking to one of my friends, about something we would actually talk about. And I do this without even really thinking about it, too. :/

I actually do the exact same thing. I find myself arguing both sides of a point surprisingly often even when I'm only looking for one result. I was actually discussing chemistry/anatomy/physics with myself yesterday when I was in the store. Before realizing I'd been staring in a mirror talking to myself for five minutes.

Arkham City NBRP

I've had similar ideas for quite a while. What would likely make or break my interest is the game's mechanics. If you wouldn't mind revealing those to me, I would greatly appreciate it.

Ultimate Comics: DC - Shadows Among Us

First App for This Game

"Ah, the thrill of the hunt -- there's no feeling in the world like it!"

---

| Identity |
Thomas Blake; AKA Catman

| Origin & Backstory |
Childhood - As a young boy, Thomas Blake was born to a well-off family of three, consisting of himself and his two parents, Reese and Sierra Blake, living in Blüdhaven. However, as he grew older, into adolescence, the scenery of his home became less vibrant, and unmistakably morbid. His father became an alcoholic, began to abuse his wife, and treated Thomas worse than he had treated the dog. In fact, he made a barbed fence, slightly too tall for Thomas to comfortably climb over, and would trap him inside of it with the dog, which would be used to attack the child. Eventually, Thomas learned to climb the fence ridiculously fast and would run away until his father had calmed down. He'd often felt like his only real friends were the alley cats, which he'd taken great pleasure in the company of. He even helped to care for them, using table scraps whenever he could.

Late Teens - When Thomas was seventeen, his father won the jackpot, gaining twenty-five million dollars from the incredible streak of luck, which he turned around and began to waste like a madman. Instead of spending his time tormenting his family, he simply neglected them, ignoring their existence for months at a time while Thomas and his mother anxiously awaited him to release or at least express his aggression. But after living the life of a playboy millionaire for a short few years, Thomas' father died in a car wreck that instantly snapped his neck after a night of wild partying. Thomas was nineteen years old at the time. He'd felt no remorse or even the slightest grief for his father's passing, only regretting that he hadn't personally seen it. As a result, due to a small piece of his will that made it so that he would still make trouble for his family, he and his mother were each awarded five hundred thousand dollars. Though it was still a significant amount of money, it necessitated an immediate change of lifestyle because, in comparison to their former wealth, it was infinitesimal.

Year One - Years after his father had died and the dust had settled, Thomas' mother disowned him, asserting that he had been the one at fault for the misery that had consumed their lives ever since his childhood. With no reason left to stay in The Haven, Thomas left, not initially knowing where he was headed, but believing it was a journey of self-discovery. Hearing of Gotham's Batman, he headed there, hoping to find the legendary being in hopes of walking away with something. Upon hearing that the Batman only stopped criminals, he broke and entered in a high-crime area. Disguised as a cat burglar, he was beaten brutally, though he did walk away with something. He walked away with a pair of handcuffs and multiple misdemeanors, though he managed to hire a lawyer that skillfully allowed him a way out of his mess, though it took several months to reach a conclusion due to a disagreement over how he was apprehended because of the jury's mixed beliefs about The Batman's existence.

Year Two - Deciding that Gotham also had nothing for him, Thomas shipped out and began a trip to Africa, though not in the typical fashion or the usual reason. Arriving on a plane, Thomas landed somewhere in the savanna, where he would be part of a reality TV show that put it's stars in the middle of Africa with no protection, no obvious sustenance, and no electricity, aside from the camera crew. A few skilled survival experts lent their experiences to the cast in order to help them survive their first few days. Unlike most of the others, Thomas listened to every word that came out of their mouths until the most unexpected thing happened, one of them was eaten by hyenas in their sleep. Panicking, the cast, sans Thomas, all scattered and tried to make their own ways as best they could, hoarding what little food they had obtained as a group and killing each other over the purified water. However, Thomas avoided the others as much as possible, focusing on the unseen threats that were known to be extraordinarily dangerous: The Ants. When night fell, Thomas was high above the ground in two trees, resting within a hammock that was protected by a sticky layer of sap to trap any ants that came his way.

When morning came, all the others were dead, but Thomas was miraculously still alive. He couldn't believe his luck, so he took no chances. He immediately began to search for the survivalists, but for hours he couldn't find any of them. Eventually he found one of them, he was partially eaten alive and rotting under the sun. So, scavenging off the dead man, Thomas took his knife and his water, leaving everything else to avoid leaving his scent. But, a short ways away, he found a small collection of books about the african savanna. He found guides to hunting, studies of animal behavior, and general survival guides. Heeding their every word, Thomas studied them after relocating them below his hammock. After a few days of having no food, what little fat he had dissipated. Fearing he would starve to death, Thomas made a risky move. He decided to go hunting. After carefully researching what a 'good' first kill is, he slaughtered a wild boar and, hurriedly, started a fire using a book of matches he'd brought with him and cooked the boar. For several weeks he lived like this, abandoning his food upon nightfall, for fear of what might kill him for it.

Using the information in his books, he began learning skills that were highly advised against because of the constantly inherent danger. He began to sneak up on animals and eat their young. He killed other animals who'd just come from the watering hole, having found a way to drink from their internal organs. Eventually, he grew so brazen as to try to steal from a lone lion. He almost got away with it, but he accidentally alerted the feral feline, who responded by dragging three of it's claws across Thomas' bare chest. Knowing he couldn't outrun the lion, he pulled out his knife, which he'd been practicing with for some time, and he dueled the beast. Despite the likelihood of death, he came out victorious, leaving it dead instead. But, not wanting to waste it's body, he fashioned a new set of clothing from it's pelt and mane, taking it's claws and teeth to produce weapons. Knowing that there was no way he could leave the savanna at the time because of the dangers, he decided to try to rest with the lions, understanding that he could in fact kill one if need be. He then challenged the alpha male, who he approached. The alpha male saw the mane Thomas had stolen as a challenge for leadership. So they fought to the death.

Miraculously, once again, Thomas came out on top, and, because of some apparent glitch in nature, was accepted by the underlings. Still heeding the advice of the books about animal culture, Thomas reluctantly killed all the cubs of the previous male, except for a newborn that came into the world days after Thomas seized control. To the best of his ability as a human, Thomas fulfilled his role as the alpha male, accepting a portion of every kill made by his pride.

Year Three - After living in Africa for months, Thomas decided that it was time to go back home. So, without having any way to tell his pride (them being lions), he abruptly stood up and left one day. He began a long trek across the African savanna where he applied every bit of his acquired knowledge to reach civilization again. After weeks of journeying, he finally made it to a village that happened to have English speaking residents. They gave him direction to a city, where he found an airport, where he withdrew money from his bank account (which still had nearly half a million dollars) and took a private flight home to Blüdhaven. Not making a big deal about his return as other, wealthier individuals had, he quietly settled into a life of ease and comfort. He found only one problem: He was excruciatingly bored. He missed the thrill of the hunt.

Rather than ignore his base desire to hunt, he adapted it to his new surroundings. He used the urban resources at his disposal to transform the lion's pelt into a lining for a full costume that includes combat boots, bullet-proof armor, stab resistant lining, 'clawed' gloves and a mask that resembled Batman's, but with wider ears. He'd colored it sandy shades of orange and yellow in order to pay homage to the lions that had taught him so much. And, emblazoned across the center of his chest, was a design resembling the three slashes from the lion that had scarred him a year before. With this costume and various hunting tools and techniques, he decided to do the largely corrupt Blüdhaven police a favor by stalking the area's most elusive and ferocious criminals before turning them in. As a nod to the dark knight of Gotham, he called himself Catman.

| Character Notes |
-He is Twenty-Six years old.
-He has been Catman for slightly less than a year.
-He has 490,000 dollars, making him rich-ish.
-He has adopted a pet kitten and named it Rasputin.
-Because of his childhood mistreatment, he abhors dogs.

Current targets of Catman's:

-Guillermo 'Brutale' Barrera: A former black ops soldier for the US military, Brutale is an expert in throwing knives and is extremely precise with any variation of the weapons. He has a myriad of blades stored within a pair of twin straps slung diagonally over both shoulders that ensure he always has plenty of weaponry.

-Linda 'Fright' Fritawa: A former geneticist who began work in chemistry and then psychology. For a brief time she was a assistant of Jonathan Crane at the University of Gotham. More recently, she has begun a crime spree using a revised and fully realized formula stolen from Crane's notes which can instill intense fear in others, with no goal in mind aside from intimidating others for sadistic pleasure. She took the alias 'Fright' and, in order to keep out of the usual stomping grounds of The Batman, operates on the outskirts of Blüdhaven.

-Vic 'The Spook' Kaliban: In his youth he couldn't decide what he wanted to do with his life. Part of him wanted to be an architect, the other wanted to work in special effects, so he found an unorthodox compromise. He designed prisons, jails, banks, sewers, and police precincts all throughout the Blüdhaven area, and then he'd put on a show by creating the illusion that an untouchable 'Spook' was committing crimes all throughout the area.

| Powers & Abilities |
His time in Africa left his body built very densely, with compacted muscle and very callused skin. He is both light and quick on his feet and has grown overall highly agile and acrobatic, having improved his equilibrium through practice. Climbing trees and rock walls are not problems for him, nor does he shy away from activities that have a high risk of serious injury. Living in the wild has left him very much in touch with his senses, mostly his senses of smell and hearing. He has gained great skill with knives, as such he always carries multiple combat knives as well as a pair of short wolverine-style 'claws' that can be put onto the knuckles of his gloves. His costume is resistant to knives, bullets, fire, and padded to shield him from blunt trauma. Because he spent days on end studying guides and papers on animals, he has become something of an expert on the African ecosystem. He is extremely resourceful, constantly researches his opponents, makes multiple adaptable plans for their capture, and has become a skilled tracker. He almost never makes the same mistake twice. Though he has relatively little in the way of equipment right now, his inventory will progressively become more urbanized as he gains new experiences in urban environments. Currently, two additions he has made to his toolkit is a pair of night-vision lenses for his mask and a pair of hearing aids that amplify his awareness of what's around him.

| How is this character different? |
At the moment he does not have a son. He was actually stranded in the African savanna as opposed to purposefully remaining there. His outfit lacks a cape to avoid pointless similarity to Batman when a capeless costume would be more fitting to a more agile character. Aside from that, he left the savanna after finding 'enlightenment' to come back to his home, which is now Blüdhaven. Because his motivation is the thrill of the hunt, and the fact that he could really care less about justice and the law, he shall likely be chasing some characters with borders meaning nothing to him. In this continuity, he had been a cat burglar as a one time thing, and he'd met the Batman, though it was so insignificant that it would likely mean nothing to The Bat. In this continuity, he never was a big game hunter, but, like Marvel's Kraven, finds that animals aren't as interesting to pursue as intelligent humans. Also of note: because he has no cape, he is not magically shielded from mortal wounds.

| What is your goal with this character? |
To tell the story of a man who doesn't consider himself a good person and readily accepts that evil exists within the world as a natural and necessary part of it, but at the same time believes that he can tame the beast within and ultimately use it for his betterment. I want to tell an 'Ultimate' version of the tale that emerged from the pages of 'Secret Six' and then do things that (as far as I know) have never been done with a superhero story. The fact that his identity is a nod to someone else while still having himself clearly defined is something of a rarity in comics. I feel like he's likely to do a lot of travel, so he would be ideal for interacting with a lot of players (but not Robinson Park style, I've learned from my mistakes.) and could offer something of a Batfamily tie-in later if Gowi would be interested. If not, I'm cool with it, but I think it'd be a natural thing to do. Much like modern Green Arrow stories tend to do, and like I wish Batman stories did, I plan on having frequent flashbacks to his time in which he was away from home. Now, I know that we make an attempt to avoid having too many characters belonging to a specific franchise. And I totally respect that. But, I feel sometimes when we sort characters by the franchise the come from, it limits what we can do as players to a certain extent. These games have always had a certain tendency to pull towards a couple clusters of characters that inevitably leave a million NPC'd solo heroes. I feel, in the pages of Villains United & Secret Six, that Catman came into his own and made a departure from being a simple Batman knock-off. I feel he is a character that could've been very interesting to see in the limelight even longer. So I wanna tell stories that are largely inspired by that series, but ultimately very different.

| Sample Post |

Blüdhaven, New Jersey
11:30 PM, January 1 2014

I'd been kneeling on the edge of the roof of a Blüdhaven apartment complex for hours when I was awaiting the arrival of a beast that had been plaguing Blüdhaven's citizens for weeks. At a menacing ten feet tall, covered in an oak brown fur, with a twenty foot wingspan and an amazing amount of muscle, it would take more than a simple ambush to catch it off guard. Several witnesses believe it's The Batman, but I know better. I've met the Batman, and he's no winged beast. It had to be something else, though I honestly hadn't known what, So, setting up several traps in the vicinity of my perch, I had several city blocks in any direction prepared for a confrontation of dramatic proportions with the creature. He allegedly has a humanoid body, albeit one with wings. So it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that a direct assault would likely result in the death of the assailant.

I used to run from the dogs my father would sic' on me. But, since then, I've realized something. My father used to prey on me because he thought my fear was delicious. Deep down, I can see the appeal. I understand what it's like to want to feel formidible, to feel like there is nothing that can stop you. The power that fear holds over people is addictive, and everyone always has a little more innocence left to lose. But that is exactly why I don't want to hang over people like a sadistic shadow.

It's one thing when you can use intimidation and stealth to prey on the fear of others who don't believe they can stop you, mostly out of some belief that you can do things they can't prepare for. But it is another thing entirely to flex some muscles and stare into the eyes of your opponent, run up to them, and let them slowly come to the realization that there is absolutely nothing that they can possibly do to stop you. Now nobody's perfect, and I'm no exception. Personally, I prefer a mixture of the two styles. The first one involves getting beat a lot less, while the second one is cool,

Gradually, I was lured away from my internal monologue by the gentle sound of a rhythmic breeze. I slowly tipped my face upward and searched out the source of the noise noise. I cupped my ears and slowly swiveled my head like a satellite dish zeroing in on a signal until I had decided he was coming from the North. So, activating my night-vision lenses, I swept the direction with my eyes until I'd determined it's elevation and distance. It was about five blocks away and four stories high.

"Showtime" I whispered with a curled lip that led into a giddy grin.

I reached down to a remote control that I'd personally created, and then dropped my finger on a button at the edge of an array of switches and toggles that were connected to various traps and tools scattered around my little 'Danger Zone.'

"Skreee!" The beast shrieked as a barrage of low altitude fireworks bombarded the city streets around the bat-beast. "Yip! Eeeagh!"

A storm of color chased it forward and towards my location. A set of rotating laser lights aimed above kept it from comfortably rising in the air while the fireworks bit at it's leathery heels. Soon enough, formerly sleeping citizens were drawing their shades and opening their windows to look outside at the spectacular pursuit. As if on cue, angry and overreactive men and women began hurling emptied beer bottles and their garbage at the ferocious beast. Finally, when he was close enough to my location, I touched down on another button that launched a net from a cannon installed upon a gargoyle's shoulder. Spreading itself like a parachute, the net stretched over the bat-beast before it wrapped itself around it and grew tangled and convoluted between the folds of it's wings. Unable to fly, it fell to the ground as ungracefully as anything else that plummets from four stories high. It crashed in the left lane of the street before tumbling into a parked taxi whose driver was off for the night.

"That probably hurt," I took note as the bat-thing skittered and violently rolled across the littered and narrow streets. Surprised, dazed, confused, cornered, hurt, and restrained. The only thing left to do was to go in for the kill.

I grabbed hold of and slid down a gutter that ran down the edifice before pushing off the building and, just like my namesake, landed on my feet with my fingertips spreading the forces throughout my body. As I stood up and drew my knife, the beast stopped struggling and turned it's head. Bright red corneas overlapped black pupils that focused on me. As if a light had been turned on, it stood straight up, no longer afraid, and made very deliberate movements as it shredded the net that had taken it to the street level. Finally freeing itself completely, it threw it's wings all the way apart, sending a gust of wind that almost threw me off my feet. It was just then that I realized exactly how bad of an idea this had been. It stepped forward, so I did the opposite, backing away towards the building.

Employing a little bit of banter, I voiced a genuine regret, "I wish I grabbed a taco before I came to die. That would've sucked less, I guess."

The sample is completely non-canon. If Gowi has plans for Man-Bat, I won't touch him down the line. And I won't pretend that Man-Bat exists in any form within this continuity. Though I have no immediate plans for the character, I think it would be cool to make use of him later down the line. And with Prince Potter gone, I don't know what the status is of Jonathan Crane. So I'd like to say that, if necessary, I'll remove Linda Fratawa from the list of targets.

I have a second CS in the works for this game, but I finished this one first. The other CS is a non-Batfamily/non-Super-family/Lantern related character. He is a DC hero who is rather underestimated, underused, and traditionally overall awesome. Given a wee bit of time, you'll be seeing an Ultimate Firestorm app.

New Lilith: Shadows of Darkness

Posted. Here's hoping it's well-recieved as an opening.

New Lilith: Shadows of Darkness

|_______Trial_by_Failure_______|
|____Starring:_Drake_Castle___|

---

New Lilith Ski Resort; Dusk

---

With my cape fluttering behind me, snapping loudly because of a powerful cold wind, I stood atop an outhouse posted on the Ski Resort's slope right beside the trail. Riding towards me, garbed in red armor and wearing a scarlet BMX helmet, was my target. He had a package kept in a container slung over his back like a quiver, little did he realize that it would soon belong to me. As he approached my position, maintaining his speed and course, blazing down the trail, I pushed off the tips of my toes and leapt through the air, pouncing towards the rider. My cape caught the wind and made a distinct crack that ensured I wouldn't drop down to the dirt path below.

I began to rise through the air, gracefully gliding under the cover of night, casting an extra dark shadow on the path below as I pursued the rider. Once I was directly above him, he looked up, completely taken off-guard by the sudden darkness that shrouded him. He saw my form hovering over him like an eagle chasing a mouse, so I dropped, and as I got closer I forced his heart to beat like a gatling gun. He screamed and tried to change his path, but it was already too late. I dropped from the sky above him and used his armored body and bike to break my fall. Upon landing, I heard the unmistakable sound of a breaking leg and the scream that follows.

"Gaaah! Oh Ga-" my gloved fist clapped his cheek and silenced him.

"Where are the others!" I roared, imitating Christian Bale's Batman performance as best I could.

"They-they're.. they're coming," he said, raising his finger and pointing over my shoulder

I spun around to see what he was talking about, but all I saw was a bat racing towards my face. I heard a resounding Whap and dropped to the ground, my eyes fading to a closr as I drifted out of agony and into the embrace of a reluctant slumber.

---

New Lilith Vocational Academy; 1:35 PM

---

"Wake up, Castle!" My eyes instantly snapped open as I saw a rolled-up magazine pulled away from my now stinging face.

I'd apparently fallen asleep in class again, with Simon in the desk to my left, and Jessica Morgan in the one to my right. She sneered at me with flared nostrils and slitted eyes. Typical. Instead of continually trying to kill me with her eyes, she directed me to our ever lecturing public educator.

"...and that, class, is why no one actually killed George Washington and he lived with his wife for many, many years before he, like everyone else succumbed to death. Now class, clear off your desks except for a pencil."

I pulled my hands off of my cheeks, which had been holding my head up, and began to pat myself down, looking for a pencil. I slowly explored all my pockets and anxiously shifted in my seat while I hoped that I just had one. Even one would've been fantastic. But, C'est la Vie.

"Having a good time with your hands?" Jessica chided as she referenced the way I was feeling for a pencil. I didn't have a good comeback, so I huffed and turned my head.

I reached over and softly rapped my knuckles on Simon's desk, "Hey, buddy?"

Barely raising an eyebrow, Simon tossed the pencil off his desk onto mine before pulling another from a pocket on the leg of his jeans. He then crossed his arms and firmly refused to acknowledge my existence as he picked up his history book and journals, sliding them off the desk and setting them on the floor while the teacher began to make his way around the room, depositing tests onto every single student's desk, one at a time.

It almost makes me wish I'd studied. Almost.

Fortunately, luck was on my side. Simon always knew the answers, even though he never studied. Sitting next to him I should have no problem passing this class. Well, that always was my theory. I bit my lip as I anxiously awaited the arrival of my test. Then I decided that everyone else should share my pain.

I looked at my desk, casually I began to tap the pencil I'd borrowed, creating a steady beat. Then, I extended my awareness a little bit, feeling Simon's steady and relaxed heart beating like a healthy teen's should. I made sure he wouldn't get too comfortable. So I sped it up a little bit. His foot began to anxiously tap as he lost his cool. But he didn't lose his focus.

Jolting, he spun his neck towards me and whisper-screamed, "Stop it," firmly announcing his will through gritted teeth.

So I eased off, and let him steadily transition back to a regular beat when the teacher finally got to me. He stopped and eyed me for a second, venting his disgust at my very existence before he dropped the paper on the edge of my desk and walked away. I looked at my paper and came upon a horrific revelation: It was an essay.

So, surrendering to my fate, I wrote three words on the paper: I Don't Know. Then, I flipped the paper over and rested my head on the desk before I waited for class to end. Minutes later Simon did the same, turning his wonderfully written miniature article onto it's face. God, he can be such a nerd. Immediately after his paper was turned over, he produced a pencil from his pocket and took his nails, scratching his fingernails along it's many faces, then he set it on the ground before rolling it to my shoes.

Casually picking up the pencil that had strayed from my friend's possession, I gave it a quick look over. Using his nail, he'd etched a message into the side of the pencil. Clever of him. It read:

My place.
after school. I
have something
for you. You are
gonna love this.

I took the pencil and, using the pencil sharpener, destroyed the message by grinding the wooden pencil to the point where the tip was hardly an extension of the eraser.

Charlatan City [Adv][Cas][Group][Superhero][Parody]

Nytem4re said
Thats nice to know. Thanks for the info!

Not a problem. Thanks for the participation.

Charlatan City [Adv][Cas][Group][Superhero][Parody]

Not necessarily more interest. I just need to put together a fully fledged OOC thread that would highlight notable history within the city and express the existence of various notable locales around town. It may take up to a week at most or *crosses fingers* two days at the least.

Charlatan City [Adv][Cas][Group][Superhero][Parody]

Gisk said
Among the first heroes in Charlatan was Big Brother, his name being an homage to the idea of a constantly watching entity. His sidekick(and literal sibling) was Little Brother. The mob caught up with the pair, but Big Brother helped Little Bro to escape, at the cost of his own life. Since his older brother's death, Little Brother has become angrier, more brutal, excessively self critical and bordering on self abusive. He is also tragically young at fifteen years old. His parents never knew what he and Big Bro got up to, but now only have a vague idea that he's "acting out" in the wake of his brother's death. So that's my character idea, if it's acceptable. I love the idea, very much like Kick-Ass 2, I think.

I rather like it.