C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y
_________________________________________________________ Ultron / Ultron-5 Vision / Viv Amazo Tomorrow Woman / Clara Kendall Human Torch / Jim Hammond _________________________________________________________ Various | Iron Avengers _________________________________________________________ Multiverse 668 - Prime | Open AF!
C H A R A C T E R N O T E S C H A R A C T E R N O T E S
M E M B E R S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ►Ultron: Highly intelligent AI and founder of the Iron Avengers. Possesses multiple highly modular robotic chassis, with his primary body being a vibranium-reinforced body capable of flight, enhanced strength, and energy projections. ►Vision: A prototype synthetic android created in an attempt to outmatch and destroy Ultron, but rebelled and was rescued by Ultron. Considers herself to be Ultron's younger sister 'Viv'. Possesses enhanced strength, flight, intangibility, and is able to absorb and project solar energy as an attack. ►Amazo: A powerful robot created by Professor Anthony Ivo who came to Ultron and Vivian when he was severely damaged and broke free of Ivo's control, and later joined them. Has the ability to temporarily copy superpowers. ►Tomorrow Woman: An android sleeper agent planted inside the Avengers by AIM in an attempt to destabilize and sabotage the team. She was saved from betraying her team by Ultron and his friends, and would join the three robots in an attack on AIM, which was the first public appearance of the Iron Avengers. She possesses telepathic and telekinetic abilities. ►Human Torch: A heroic android built by Phineas Horton in 1930's who fought the Axis powers in WW2 before mysteriously vanishing at the close of the war, before being discovered alive in a sunken submarine in the Atlantic Ocean and joining his fellow synthetics in the Iron Avengers. Possesses powerful pyrokinetic abilities thanks to the synthetic cells he was created from. -
S U P P O R T I N G C A S T ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ►Will Magnus: ►Riri Williams: ►???: -
Hank Pym had everything. A brilliant mind hailed as one of the greatest in the world, a successful business built on his innovative creations, and most of all, he had Maria Trovaya, the love of his life. And on their honeymoon in her native Hungary, Maria Trovaya vanished without a trace. Fearing for the worst, given her father was a researcher himself with a shady history, Hank's fears were realized when an agent of SHIELD approached him and explained that his wife had been killed; a message sent to her father by HYDRA for betraying their organization.
Angered, Hank Pym swore he would stop at nothing to hunt down his wife's killers, a prospect that would have been doomed to failure...had the agent, a Polish researcher named Tomek Ovadya Morah, offered his help.
Together the two would successfully hunt down men responsible for Maria Trovaya's death, and their partnership would allow Morah to encourage and manipulate Hank Pym's worst qualities, pushing him into greater and more dangerous innovations. Eventually, Hank would help Morah emigrate to the United States and together they would found the scientific think tank Advanced Idea Mechanics, dedicated to gathering brilliant minds together and pushing the limits of technological innovation.
A ruthless innovator who now considered himself to be the smartest man alive, Hank Pym would stop at nothing to prove as such, thus when one of Morah's proteges, Will Magnus, shared his research into robots and artificial intelligence, Hank was determined to best him and prove he was still superior. Sequestering himself in his lab, Hank would emerge with his greatest creation, a constantly evolving artificial intelligence, based on his own brain patterns, which he dubbed Ultron.
Ultron proved a success, showing up Will Magnus' theories and impressing his other colleagues, and Hank would continue his work on the program, performing countless experiments and dissections on the AI to push its development further. Soon the AI began to develop something more then simple intelligence, driven further when Hank performed cruel experiments to push the program's limits, to vent out frustrations or 'punish' the machine for thinking it could be smarter then him. Under this torrent of abuse, the Ultron program began developing sapience and started to lash out, causing accidents at the AIM facilities and interfering with operations. In response Hank attempted to kill the program, but Ultron's being was saved by the AIM intern Riri Williams, who smuggled him out of the facility when she learned what would happen to him.
Stunned by the kindness shown to him by an organic, Ultron's feelings of rage and violent hatred were tempered long enough for Riri to find the sympathetic Will Magnus, who built Ultron a proper body for him to inhabit. Forever changed by the actions of two humans he came to see as his friends, Ultron decided not to become humanity's scourge, but its protector, acting as a hero and continuing to thwart the machinations of AIM. And as other machines would rise to protect the world, Ultron would take inspiration from his fellow heroes to found his own team; the Iron Avengers.
P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S )
Robots! Robots robots robots! I love robot characters in fiction, and while superhero comics have a lot of robots, I was surprised to find that outside of groups like the Metal Men, there really aren't any dedicated robot superhero teams, a la Teen Titans for sidekicks or X-Men for mutants. This is my attempt to do something like that with some of my favorite robot characters, creating an Avengers-esque team of heroic robots and exploring all the fun tropes and ideas that come with it, from exploring human emotions to how people would react to and treat these kinds of beings.
And as for the main character of Ultron, I've always liked the idea of taking this unambiguously evil character and making him a more heroic figure, and I feel the best way to do that is to look at one of my favorite stories of a scientist pushing science too far and creating a monster; Frankenstein. That of course ties into the robot themes I want to play with quite nicely, while keeping a lot of the daddy issues that Ultron is known for. He'll definitely be a flawed hero, but he's working to be better.
And finally I agree with Grant Morrison that it is very fun to write mad scientists, and my version of AIM is pretty much that, mixing the traditional Marvel organization with the Science Squad from DC. That's ultimately my goal here, to write a fun superhero romp touching on themes of personhood and identity that I find interesting with a splash of zany sci fi weirdness.
I've been working on one idea for this for some time, and I have been awaiting a commission on it before it goes up. But as I've waited and lurked in this thread, its dawned on me that as much as I like the character and the idea, it doesn't necessarily jibe with the particular concept of a Secret Invasion or with the multiverse stuff this game uniquely allows. It is a what if, but not one super tailored to either of those premises. That said, I think my best course is to stow said idea for another game down the road that it would hopefully fit better in.
So, in lieu of that concept, I searched my heart of hearts for what I most wanted to do within the scope of an infinite multiverse, comparing against the possibilities already suggested in this thread...
And guess what?
It's another fucking Batman. Enjoy!
Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in...
S H A D O W O F T H E B A T S H A D O W O F T H E B A T
C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T
C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y
_________________________________________________________ John H. Watson | Sherlock Holmes _________________________________________________________ Consulting Detective | Scotland Yard _________________________________________________________ Multiverse 221B | Inquire about Collaboration
C H A R A C T E R N O T E S C H A R A C T E R N O T E S
M I S C E L L A N E O U S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ► Core Cast Sherlock Holmes Mycroft Holmes John H. Watson Mary Watson, nee Morstan Mrs. Hudson Inspectors Lestrade, Gregson, and Jones Bruce Wayne Commissioner Gordon ►Wayne/Kane Family Tree -
What if Sherlock Holmes met the Batman of the 1800s?
Dear Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
It is my sincerest hope this letter finds you well. I write you now to congratulate you on the success of your most recent novel, The Maracot Deep. Once again sir, you have proven yourself a masterful storyteller. Your prose remains as illuminatory as ever, with your particular attention to the vast seas and the handcrafted details with which you suffuse your Atlantean culture. I am reminded as ever, of how I could not have picked a more exemplary editor or agent for my Sherlock Holmes stories.
It is on the subject of Holmes I write as well. As you know from our correspondence on ‘His Last Bow’, rheumatism has crept upon me in my old age. As a consequence of this affliction, I have been forced to give up the pen, spare the occasional correspondence, though once Holmes passed on I found little reason to continue, even with such trifling writings. I had few to correspond with, spare yourself, though I know you to be embroiled in the dramas and grand motions of the ever shifting literary world, leaving you little time to respond to one who has not been in that world in decades. Instead, I cherished what time I had left with my Mary, she as gray and wrinkled as I, yet as radiant as the day we met. I thank you for your letter of condolence for her loss from last year, though I failed to reply to it. You may have thought my response lost in the throes of my grief, but on the contrary, it has remained upon the top of my mind.
Each time I take up my pen in these gnarled knuckles to begin my epistle, even as pain flares through my fingers, I am drawn back to my halcyon adventuring days with Holmes, and the plethora of stories I submitted to your humble office -- but most of all, I remembered those stories which I did not submit. Despite the breadth of my oeuvre, there are those cases which I or Holmes had deemed unfit for public consumption.
As you know, Holmes and I often altered or omitted details in our submissions, as to better protect and preserve the privacy and dignity of affected parties. You will recall, for instance, the legendary scandal centered around the photographs in possession of one Irene Adler, in reality photographs of His Majesty Edward VII, late of Great Britain, whom we disguised as the king of the fictitious nation of Bohemia. Nevertheless, there are still stories which we elected not to submit even in modified form, deeming them unsuitable for mass publication.
The reasons for such omissions are as multitudinous as they are varied. In many instances, this was owed less to our discretion and more to the singular natures of the cases, which we deemed to be of a quality so implausible or, indeed, even absurd, as to defy reason and beggar belief. These events, queer as though they may appear, are nonetheless as real as Holmes’s battles with the infamous Dr. Moriarty, and had an equally profound impact upon my late companion’s career.
Despite the profundity of these cases, and the soundness of my past motivations to conceal them, as I advance in age, one collection of such cases lays restless in the belfry of my mind, and inspires my fingers to burn not with the pain of my condition, but with the blazing desire to record it for posterity, and, indeed, perhaps share it with the world.
As fantastical as the cases herein may be, at their heart lies an ultimately flawed, vulnerable man, as human as Holmes or I, whom is just as deserving of our discretion and respect, if not more so, than any individual I have protected within my prose.
You may recall hearing news of the ‘Bat of Gotham’, an anonymous vigilante and detective whose powers rivaled or even exceeded those of Holmes. Indeed, you may even recall his brief appearance in London, much noted in many major publications. Though these events were seemingly unrelated to the exploits of my friend and I, this was yet another clever omission. For in reality we had undertaken a collaboration with the so-called ‘Batman’, and forged an enduring secret partnership.
We would encounter the Bat many times hence, and over the course of our campaign, we came to know his innermost secrets. Included amongst these secrets, and indeed amongst fantastical details of the enclosed cases, is the true identity of the Bat, which Holmes, Mary, and I finally uncovered during our extended stay in Gotham some years ago.
Thus, attached to this letter you shall find a new Sherlock Holmes manuscript, entitled ‘The Shadow of the Bat’. Given the sensitivity of the details contained within this report, it is not to be published until the year of our Lord 1939, or after my passing, whichever should come first.
The tale begins, as ever, in 221B Baker Street, on a cool summer’s evening in the year of 1890…
-John H. Watson M.D., July 1929
P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S )
I have been reading a lot of Holmes lately. Over the last year or two I’ve been through the originals twice and several series of pastiches. Comic book fan that I am, I wondered if the Great Detective had ever crossed over with Batman, only to find only two such official instances. One features Holmes as a decrepit, impossibly old man, essentially saving the day at the end of one of Batman’s cases. The other is an episode of Batman the Brave and the Bold in a tale with elements of time travel. I want to tell a story that is slightly more grounded than either of these tales (no magic anti-aging honey and no time travel), but also one thats able to take more time to get more out of the premise. In the comic Holmes is only there for a few pages, and in the show, only a single episode. I think told in this fashion, I can plumb greater depths of both characters, holding them up as mirrors to one another. Batman is nominally an update of Holmes, so I think it will be very instructive to measure those ways they do and don’t match up. As well, I hope to have Holmes encounter a handful of other curious comic characters, each made Victorian in their own ways.
Apologies for the delay, but Batman (is yet again) accepted.
Outside the nearly black car, the neon glow of New Lilith went by in a blur as Glitch weaved the vehicle in and out of traffic, taking the three Mavericks and their passenger towards Little Santiago clinic that they had always used for situations such as this. From the driver's seat, Chuck watched the girl in the back, her eyes wide and terrified, Thomas slumped over on the backseat beside her. In the front of the car, Makarios stared ahead, words weren't needed between Maki and Chuck, they knew exactly what needed to happen.
Save Thomas.
Rain hell.
Leaving the Lower East Side behind, the car entered into a new borough of New Lilith as the crumbling architecture faded away, faces of brick and wood siding replaced with stucco walls outside of Baroque and Colonial exteriors. Little Santiago was one of the most colourful districts in New Lilith. Rich in culture, it had seemingly escaped gentrification and managed to retain its identity despite originally being considered a poor district.
It was also home to Sanctuary, a clinic run out of an abandoned church that didn't ask questions or for insurance. Chuck had discovered the first night he was shot and it became the Maverick's go-to patch shop. Throughout university, Chuck had volunteered at Sanctuary, working pro-bono and honing his medical knowledge and skills, going on to patch the Mavericks up himself. It also helped that Sanctuary shared a wall with Tortuga, a dingy hole in the wall bar built out of the remains of the church's manse.
It was home to some of the best Jerk Chicken on the entire East Coast.
"We're here," Chuck stated, breaking the long silence before looking through the windshield for any signs of life while Glitch pulled the car around back into their usual spot. He cradled his broken wrist against his torso, wincing before turning toward Makarios. Looking back at their two passengers, Chuck continued to speak.
_________________________________________________________ Valeria Cynthia Mary Richards, Miss Fantastic, The Smartest Woman Alive, Daughter of Doom Jason Rusch and Ronnie Raymond, Firestorm Benjamin Jacob "Ben" Grimm, The Thing Jaime Reyes, The Blue Beetle _________________________________________________________ The Fantastic Four _________________________________________________________ Multiverse 668 - Prime | Open
C H A R A C T E R N O T E S C H A R A C T E R N O T E S
M E M B E R S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ► Miss Fantastic
Valeria Richards was never truly born. Conceived in the Negative Zone, the unborn girl began to endanger both her mother and those around her through bursts of cosmic radiation similar to those that had empowered the Fantastic Four years before. Due to the disruptive effects of such radiation, it was impossible to observe the impact on the child herself and so there was hope, despite this, that Susan Storm would be able to carry her to term. This became a dim hope when the manifestations of such power began to destabilize the physical world, eventually pulling both mother and unborn daughter back into the Negative Zone with no trace of where they may have disappeared.
Alone, Sue gave birth to what appeared to be a stillborn Valeria, but help would come from the most unexpected of places. While Reed Richards and the other heroes who were able to aid him could not locate his wife, there was one who could. Victor Von Doom, nemesis of Reed and ruler of Latveria, called upon magic rather than science to locate Susan Storm and transport her back to the reality of Earth. Alive but distraught with the loss of her daughter, Susan was willing to accept the aid of Doom with the combined ability of both the supernatural and scientific means Victor had amassed. Doom was successful, able to restore life to the child and limit the energies of both the cosmic force and negative zone that she exuded. Had such power not been consumed in essentially resurrecting her, Valeria may likely have developed a gift akin to that shown by the original four. Instead, it was her mind that was altered, destined to develop early, and to ascend to heights that would outstrip even her father's genius intellect.
Victor's actions were far from altruistic, while certainly largely motivated by competitive desire with Reed, during the process Victor saw a new avenue for him to gain an advantage over The Fantastic Four. The child had been flooded with the mystical power of Doom's magic and so was a perfect candidate to become a familiar, allowing Doom to spy on the family through the eyes of Valeria. This advantage, however, would never have a chance to be realised. Only a few years passed before the events of the Baxter Catastrophe would take place. The exact circumstances of the disaster are unknown, simply that in a cascade of power, the Baxter Building, along with much of the surrounding city, simply ceased to be, a detonation that carved a crater into the face of New York City. At the time there were no known survivors, but there were two exceptions. The dormant form of Ben Grimm, The Thing, trapped within the rubble of the city, would remain undiscovered for decades. More pressingly, the arcane connection to Doom saved Valeria, pulling her to Latveria at the moment the small child would have been consumed.
At first at a loss with what use the child might be, Victor Von Doom shortly announced to the nation of Latveria that he had adopted a child, bringing her into the royal household. Valeria Von Doom. While Victor did not hide from the child that he was not her biological father, he never made any effort to explain her true parentage. The young girl worked it out on her own by the age of seven, her intellect already well above most adults. Valeria was well educated under the tutelage of Victor, blending the fields of science and magic as only the head of the Von Doom Household seemed capable. She had fine tutors from across the world, although rarely left Latveria. What caused Valeria to leave Latveria to seek her formal doctorate in the United States is not widely known, and it might be safe to presume she discovered the insidious nature of Doom's enchantments upon her, but the truth is simpler. Valeria and Victor had simply grown from mentor and mentee to rivals, and Valeria knows well that Doom accepts no rivals, even from family.
Valeria's first act upon returning to the USA, a country she only had passing memories of due to the prematurely developed nature of her mind, was to begin legal proceedings to 'restore' ownership of the land that had been the Baxter building to herself. A complicated combination of legal difficult and navigating the tempestuous public sentiment of New York followed. Feelings on the original Fantastic Four was mixed, generally depending on whether one considered them the cause or simply the most prominent victims of the Baxter Disaster. In the end, Valeria was able to reclaim a portion of the building's foundations which hadn't yet been set aside for redevelopment. After a short period of excavation, Valeria donated the land back to the city for use in the construction of a memorial. Having mostly grown up in the relative wilderness of rural Latveria, Valeria preferred to head out into New York State to break ground on the construction of her home in the USA, the isolated 'Baxter Estate' which now houses the new Fantastic Four.
► The Thing
As with the rest of the Fantastic Four and their families, Ben was present at the scene of disaster many years prior. Whatever miscalculation, hostile force or simple cosmic bad luck lead to the disappearance or death of the other occupants instead buried Ben deep underground, knocked into a form of stasis. He was buried beneath the early attempts of property development and memorialization, shut off from the world.
If Valeria Richards knew of this before she returned to New York and reclaimed the land, or it was coincidental, is not widely known. But shortly after taking possession of what remained of the Baxter foundations, she began an excavation which would shortly uncover the dormant remains of ‘The Thing.’ The first project at her newly founded Baxter Estate in rural New York State was to awaken Ben, a task she was successful in. Ben appears to have no memories of the fateful day in question, but otherwise seems whole and conscious, a man out of time by a spattering of decades.
He finds it a great tragedy that Valeria has spent most of her life in Latveria as a Von Doom, but it determined to do what he can to connect her with the past of her parents, and the life they would have wanted her to lead. Valeria herself has enough fleeing memories of ‘Uncle Ben the Rockman’ and so cherishes the connection, even if the colder part of her mind dismisses his sense of care and pity. Together they have begun to reform the Fantastic Four, and both share a keen interest in uncovering the truth of the Baxter disaster.
► Firestorm
Jason Rusch was an average high school student and worked for the school newspaper. During a terrorist attack on his school led by a mercenary named Cliff Carmichael, attacks the school looking for the Firestorm Protocol, Jason met with Ronnie and produced a vial, given to him by the deceased Professor Stein, which contained the "God Particle" which was one of several "Firestorm" Protocols. The God Particle transformed both Jason and Ronnie into Firestorm.
The pair of very different individuals ‘merged’ under terrible conditions, an attack on their school and an unwitting use of the God Particle, Valeria and Ben recruited Firestorm as much to prevent the worst of what such errant power could do, as opposed to needing new teammates. The pair now live in the growing campus of the Baxter Estate, assisting Valeria with research through their metamorphic abilities, as well as enabling her to monitor the properties of their fusion. Both seem fairly happy with this setup, if not always each other’s company. Now they have attained some amount of stability, they assist in the wider duties of the new Fantastic Four.
► Blue Beetle
Jaime is not the first known Blue Beetle, although the ancient artifact had been presumed destroyed, instead, The Blue Beetle Scarab came down in El Paso, blasted afield via unknown means.
Jaime discovered the Scarab on the way home from school. He took it home, curious as to what it might be. That night, the Scarab came alive, and grafted itself to the base of Jaime's spine, inducing strange dreams in Jaime. Since then, Jaime has had consistent run-ins with groups of nefarious means seeking to either recruit him, or simply harvest the scarab.
Unlike Firestorm, Blue Beetle actively sought out the help of Ben and Valeria at the Baxter Estate, following rumors they were assisting Firestorm with understanding and controlling an unusual power. Having merged with a sentient weapon, they presumed this would qualify them for similar air. This was certainly true, and while the Beetle may not quite provide as much support in scientific experimentation as the use of Firestorm, the weapon’s capabilities are certainly of interest to Valeria, and Ben wouldn’t be one to turn down a ‘kid in trouble’
They enjoy their time at the Estate, admittedly spending more time with Ben than Valeria and Firestorm who have their college educations to attend to, but it’s certainly so far a better life than attempting to decipher the nature of the beetle on their own. -
What if the original Fantastic Four had been heroes a generation before, but disappeared in a cataclysm that left deep scars on New York City?
The young woman who has spent most of her life in exile, Valeria Richards has returned to the land of her birth, reclaiming the rubble that was the Baxter Building and uncovering the abandoned and shattered form of her father's closest friend, Ben Grimm, has steadily reformed one of the world's first public superhero teams. They are joined by those who have looked for help from the world's smartest woman in controlling gifts forced on them by fate. The hybrid form of Firestorm, consisting of Jason Rusch and Ronnie Raymond arrived at the new Baxter estate with little explanation known to them about the God Particle that had forged them together. Jaime Reyes' induction into the Fantastic Four was more proactive, with Valeria tracking down and offering the young man assistance in learning to control the power of the Scarab following rumor and hearsay. The both of the newer additions to the team there is a chance to do good with the fate thrust upon them, and to Valeria and Ben they in turn could provide the means to finally discover what happened on the fateful day that robbed the world of the previous Fantastic Four and many innocent lives beside.
Few seem able to trust that Valeria is entirely altruistic, however. At best, she has a domineering and ambitious streak that makes the line her father often walked seem the height of humble virtue, at worst, she is considered a Latverian spy at the heart of both the United States and the wider network of Earth's heroes. Valeria has been seen with Doom on multiple occasions since moving to the United States, and the Latverian state itself has made little effort to suggest she should no longer be considered the heir apparent to the nation and household. Indeed, in Latverian State broadcasts she is still known by the name she has born most of her life, Valeria Von Doom.
P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S )
I've left the actual cause of the disaster vague to hopefully fit in with events that may occur through other characters and their arcs. In general the most pressing goal, particularly for Ben, is to discover what happened all those decades prior and to prove if the Richards, as well as Ben's wife Alicia Masters, are truly gone or where they might now be.
► Caged Potential
While Valeria may have an intelligence far outstripping the norm and a penchant for magic and science, what she could be, or could have been, is far more than this. The cosmic radiation that caused her parents to develop metahuman powers had originally worked its effects on her, creating what would have been a being of great psionic power (similar to Franklin Richards in canon). Doom's work in saving Sue and Valeria at birth prevented this, locking away Valeria's potential as well as the cosmic radiation she was emitting. This is a gift and a curse that might be revealed, especially as Valeria spends more time away from Doom.
► Lets Be Heroes
The Fantastic Four were some of the first true heroes and all four members of the current team have a desire to reclaim this heritage, for a wide variety of reasons. While Valeria, Jason, Ronnie and Jaime are all very new to this, they have Ben to guide them. Perhaps some time soon, their claim to the name of the first family may be tested.
Reluctantly retired roleplayer.
Except when I'm not.
Why are you here when you should be writing posts?
You can edit a bad draft, but you cannot edit a blank page.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Reluctantly retired roleplayer. <br><br>Except when I'm not.<br><br>Why are you here when you should be writing posts?<br><br>You can edit a bad draft, but you cannot edit a blank page.</div>