Master Bruce

Rogue Continuum [CLOSED PENDING REBOOT]

| Character Identity |
Bruce Wayne, "The Batman"

| Age |
51

| Character Differences |
Unlike the Batman that's been considered the norm since 1968, roughly, this is a version of The Caped Crusader that embodies the positive sides of wearing the cowl. While the murders of his parents were a driving force, Bruce was never weighed down or scarred by the trauma - rather, he healed from it by channeling the altruistic drive to help others do the same. As such, while he is fairly stoic, he isn't needlessly grim or even above a joke or two and has experience working well with others. What truly motivates him is the need to cure crime at it's source, not bandage it with mere violence.

| Brief World Background |
Earth 3919 - Brave New Gotham
In this DC universe, there are no metahumans. No one possesses superhuman powers or alien heritage, even godliness. In the place of heroes like Superman, Wonder Woman and The Flash are human, hard-working public citizens that fulfill crucial roles of their society, such as a Clark Kent whose neverending battle is to help maintain the world's journalistic integrity, a Barry Allen that pioneers new sciences in the world of criminology, and the foreign ambassador for peace in the Middle East, Princess Diana Themysciria.

| Brief Character Background |
The exception to the rule of law was once Gotham City, which had been largely overrun by an economic downturn since the early 30's. The impoverished state of the city led to rampant street crime, leading to the inevitable and fatal mugging of the Waynes. But after spending two decades abroad to learn how to become a master detective and capable manhunter, Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham fuelled by the need to restore the good. Utilizing his vast fortune, Bruce worked closely with Police Commissioner James Gordon to begin a company that would make crimefighting a business model rather than a mere byproduct of unlawful vigilantism.

Of their efforts became Knightquest, the first public global enterprise developed to helping the needy, rehabilitating the sick, working with the justice system to enact fair punishment within the word of law, and on occasion - when an extreme threat arises, such as the domestic riddle-themed terrorist Edward Nigma or the homicidal clown-garbed fiend Jack Napier - send in Wayne's own highly trained strike team known as The Gotham Knights to assist the GCPD in their capture.

As a result of Wayne's public adventures as the appropriately named "Batman", the animal Wayne leaned into as Knightquest's symbol to evoke both fear and the Chinese belief in the animal's healing properties, Gotham now rests at ease with a dramatically reduced crime rate thanks to the tireless efforts of Wayne and his compatriots - such as field commander Richard Grayson, hacker Barbara Gordon, strategist Timothy Drake, extractor Selina Kyle, and infiltrator Cassandra Cain, among other agents to wear Knightquest's Bat-insignia.

As Wayne was about to speak at what would be his surprise retirement, handing the Batman suit and gadgetry over to Grayson, Wayne vanished without a trace. While his allies scoured the globe looking for him, none could imagine that he'd become the captive an interdimensional alien's amusement...

Rogue Continuum [CLOSED PENDING REBOOT]

Teddy Roosevelt was robbed!

Other than that, I'm very excited to take on a new iteration of Bats in this weird, whacky adventure.

And I'm quite surprised that for as many Spider-people that applied, you chose none. That's bold. ...or foolish, depending on who goes after you in your sleep.

Can't wait to mix it up with team-mates who outclass me in every way!

Rogue Continuum [CLOSED PENDING REBOOT]

After giving it some thought following some helpful feedback by @Retired, I've decided to rescind my previous two (well, three) concepts and stick with one end-all, be-all pitch. Presenting...

Primary Character Concept

| Character Identity |
Bruce Wayne, "The Batman"

| Age |
51

| Character Differences |
Unlike the Batman that's been considered the norm since 1968, roughly, this is a version of The Caped Crusader that embodies the positive sides of wearing the cowl. While the murders of his parents were a driving force, Bruce was never weighed down or scarred by the trauma - rather, he healed from it by channeling the altruistic drive to help others do the same. As such, while he is fairly stoic, he isn't needlessly grim or even above a joke or two and has experience working well with others. What truly motivates him is the need to cure crime at it's source, not bandage it with mere violence.

| Brief World Background |
Earth 3919 - Brave New Gotham
In this DC universe, there are no metahumans. No one possesses superhuman powers or alien heritage, even godliness. In the place of heroes like Superman, Wonder Woman and The Flash are human, hard-working public citizens that fulfill crucial roles of their society, such as a Clark Kent whose neverending battle is to help maintain the world's journalistic integrity, a Barry Allen that pioneers new sciences in the world of criminology, and the foreign ambassador for peace in the Middle East, Princess Diana Themysciria.

| Brief Character Background |
The exception to the rule of law was once Gotham City, which had been largely overrun by an economic downturn since the early 30's. The impoverished state of the city led to rampant street crime, leading to the inevitable and fatal mugging of the Waynes. But after spending two decades abroad to learn how to become a master detective and capable manhunter, Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham fuelled by the need to restore the good. Utilizing his vast fortune, Bruce worked closely with Police Commissioner James Gordon to begin a company that would make crimefighting a business model rather than a mere byproduct of unlawful vigilantism.

Of their efforts became Knightquest, the first public global enterprise developed to helping the needy, rehabilitating the sick, working with the justice system to enact fair punishment within the word of law, and on occasion - when an extreme threat arises, such as the domestic riddle-themed terrorist Edward Nigma or the homicidal clown-garbed fiend Jack Napier - send in Wayne's own highly trained strike team known as The Gotham Knights to assist the GCPD in their capture.

As a result of Wayne's public adventures as the appropriately named "Batman", the animal Wayne leaned into as Knightquest's symbol to evoke both fear and the Chinese belief in the animal's healing properties, Gotham now rests at ease with a dramatically reduced crime rate thanks to the tireless efforts of Wayne and his compatriots - such as field commander Richard Grayson, hacker Barbara Gordon, strategist Timothy Drake, extractor Selina Kyle, and infiltrator Cassandra Cain, among other agents to wear Knightquest's Bat-insignia.

As Wayne was about to speak at what would be his surprise retirement, handing the Batman suit and gadgetry over to Grayson, Wayne vanished without a trace. While his allies scoured the globe looking for him, none could imagine that he'd become the captive an interdimensional alien's amusement...

Rogue Continuum [CLOSED PENDING REBOOT]

To those who have expressed interest thus far, and any who come along next, what alternate worlds or concepts would you like to see? Whether it just be a character you like/think is underutilized and would like to see be the focus of a reality the group visits, or a story arc from the comics you felt didn't end properly and would want to see revisited, or something from our real-world history you think would create a unique reality had it gone a different way, etc.

While I have dozens of alternate realities already plotted out, I am interested and open to including others suggested here.

@Retired

I think a world that truly, utterly utilized a One Universe approach where the characters had to be drastically different and changed by one another's existence would be interesting. Imagine if Kal-El's rocket landed to Earth at a time when HYDRA was still functioning, or if Thor's hammer were found by Barry Allen instead of Donald Blake. Or if Spider-Man were created by a spider who was an avatar of The Red, making him less of an enhanced human and more of a monster in the vein of Swamp Thing. A world full of fun stuff like that, where the dynamics are completely shifted for everyone.

Another possibility is a DC or Marvel future where the grandchildren of each hero inherit the mantles, like a giant legacy Earth in the vein of MC2. There's a ton of rife potential there if you set it far enough ahead for most of the heroes to be dead or out of action.

Another idea I had is a DC Universe where each hero is a supernatural creature. So Superman would be a horrible monstrosity from space, Batman would be a vampire, Wonder Woman would be an undead Themyiscarian witch, The Flash would be an interdimensional demon, and so on...

None of them are wildly original ideas, but I like simple concept alterations as much as I like massive universe shattering ideas.

Rogue Continuum [CLOSED PENDING REBOOT]

Scrapped Wolverine as my secondary. Updated with a new, fully completed secondary.

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

I swear to God, I will never get used to the overly complicated formatting of this site...

It's fixed now.

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A L

S T E V E R O G E R S

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^{_{♦ ...S T E V E N G R A N T R O G E R S...♦...V E T E R A N / R E T I R E E / L I V I N G L E G E N D...♦...
...W H E A T O N , N E W J E R S E Y... ♦ ...( F O R M E R L Y ) S . H . I . E . L . D ... ♦}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

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_{"The price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay."}

At this point, the foundation of who this version of Steve is wholly belongs to @webboysurf's fantastic work all throughout last season. I only want to build on what he's established and use it to push Captain America forward. At the end of season one, especially, he had to do alot of things that would completely break a lesser man. Murdering two villains fits that bill. While not broken, Steve is definitely lingering into this season with some considerable scars. Even a man of action needs some time to re-evaluate and figure out his place when things go that dark for him, and Steve's intent is to learn from what he considers to be compromises in order to discover if there's a better way. It'll be a road that'll last all season, and I'm not content to put him back in the stars and stripes immediately. He'll have to earn that, but I hope that in the journey there, I can help build Steve Rogers into the Captain America of today rather than keep him as the Captain America of yesteryear.

Previously...

As webboysurf established, Captain America's initial premise for the game is relatively unchanged. He was the same skinny kid from Brooklyn who wanted to take the fight to the Nazis and HYDRA, got drafted for an experiment, was turned into a living legend and a symbol for freedom that would help define World War II, and never made it home - awaking in the present day instead. However, the journey that webb took him on last season was one that struck to the core of Captain America - he took Steve's old-fashioned sense of hope, paired it up with the cynicism of today, and found that Cap couldn't overcome the odds to be what the world needed of him. He was drafted as a spy for Nick Fury and Director Mace's S.H.I.E.L.D. and served for three years, became entangled in a plot by the vengeful son of Baron Zemo, reunited with his old ally Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, and most importantly, grew to love Agent Sharon Carter before tragically losing her to Zemo's vengeance - thus prompting him to end the villain's life. The season concluded with Cap outed to the world by his own government after putting an end to the terrorist Stryfe, permanently, in order to spare Diana of being goaded into murdering him herself. Due to the public nature of Stryfe's execution, S.H.I.E.L.D. was forced to cut ties with Captain America, and in exchange for leniency, Steve was forced to retire his shield at the behest of the very nation he swore to protect decades prior.

After the series of events that disillusioned him with both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the world that he once thought he knew, but learned he never really did, Steve Rogers left New York three months ago and retreated west. He now lives in partial isolation, taking up residency in the small town that was once home to his training camp in 1942. The locals don't ever really recognize him, and if they do, they keep it to themselves as he spends his days repairing an old house that belonged to a dear friend, and spends his nights catching up on every significant world event that transpired between 1945 and 2019 to observe, learn from, and form his own conclusions on modern society as it took shape without the bias of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files to blanket everything under the global peacekeeping organization's version of events.

But while Cap remains benched and unauthorized for field duty, Nick Fury and his Commandos have been struggling to balance the fallout of the Metahuman Supremacy Front's attack on New York and shutting down the machinations of the newly reformed HYDRA as they operate under the command of The Red Skull, seizing power away from Baron Zemo's personal vendetta to set a course for destruction on a worldwide stage. And while Fury himself may not think much of turning away a liability like Captain Rogers, there are those on the team - some likely, some very unlikely - who feel as though the fight with HYDRA only ends when Captain America returns.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

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Captain America is one of the highest echelon of characters in comics, not because of how long he's been around, but because of how writers have shaped him over the nearly 80 years of his existence. He's one of the few characters that I'd consider it an honor to play. My motivation beyond that is whenever webboysurf indicated that he'd be retiring the role, I went back and read his stuff out of curiosity. Rather than finding myself bogged down by another person's continuity, however, I really found myself envisioning his next chapter as the stories played out - to the point that as his run wrapped up the first season, everything fell into place organically to tell my story entirely unaltered. Now I just have to carry it out while trying to keep true to the established character, weaving both webb's continuity and the larger mythos of Cap's history together into a tapestry of my own.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

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Supporting Cast - Present Day

Director Nicholas Joseph Fury: The legend of Vietnam and the Gulf War, Fury recently relinquished command of the elite squadron known as The Howling Commandos, forced to become it's watchful eye rather than an activate field combatant. Inhumanly capable despite his age, his hard-won stoicism allows him to order a legion of agents worldwide to carry out Black Ops missions that would leave most others with cold feet.

The Ultimates
Following Captain America's dismissal by the United States government, The Howling Commandos were deemed unfit for military action under their current moniker. With Fury accepting the responsibility as Director of SHIELD following the assassination of Director Jeffrey Mace by the now-considered-rogue agent Roy Harper, he has secretly set up a contingency to carry on the fight against the forces of HYDRA and any other extremist organizations that cross SHIELD's path. They are...

Commander Hill: The stern and doubly blunt field leader of the team, appointed to report between the various organizations S.H.I.E.L.D. has aligned with in order to dissuade their fears that Fury's appointment as Director is ill-advised, Maria Hill is often the first to criticize the Colonel's assignments for The Ultimates. She operates between the black and white politics of the public and the gray area of secret operations that her division is forced to carry out on a regular basis. Unlike a majority of S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives, she's openly loyal to the United States and it's leaders over Fury's cloak-and-dagger politics, as her position grants her the freedom to operate with impunity should the need arise. Trying to navigate who she can trust after the debacle that she sees the Captain America program as following the events in New York, Hill's goal is to ensure old dogs like Nick Fury can still fall in line - or if they can't, that they can be put away before another National Security incident falls into SHIELD's lap.

Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff: Once of the world's most formidable assassins, the Russian-turned-US intelligence operative is now at the forefront of a deadly war between S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA that has somehow turned more ruthless since the death of Heinrich Zemo. While her loyalty is unwavering, she now finds herself questioning to whom she remains loyal - Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., Maria Hill and the United States government, or Captain Rogers himself.

Falcon/Sam Wilson: Newly recruited from the United States Airforce after an impressive career of paramilitary operations, Wilson has been outfitted by S.H.I.E.L.D. with a pair of adamantium wings connected to a flightpack. Unlike the more cynical members of the team, Wilson's optimism and patriotism represent most of what the Commandos lost when Cap was forced to retire - just with a more modern flair that Rogers could never hope to match. His grandfather was the successor to the shield after World War II.

Agent 19/Christopher Chance: A master infiltrator with a gift for impersonation, Chance was often assigned by S.H.I.E.L.D. to protect high profile diplomats as 'The Human Target' before the formation of The Ultimates. Fury recruited him to the team personally to impersonate select high-ranking members of worldwide terrorist organizations, gathering intelligence on HYDRA's activities in the wake of their reformation.

Nightshade/Eve Eden: The Ultimates' ace in the hole, Eve Eden has been a secret asset to S.H.I.E.L.D. for years as a powerful metahuman who can unlock portals to different dimensions, allowing her to take on the form of shadows in order to infiltrate enemy strongholds. Whenever the Howling Commandos were tracking Heinrich Zemo, Nightshade was the operative that kept the team a step ahead of HYDRA, unbeknownst to anyone except Fury. After spending years as apart of seize and rescue operations, her infiltration of HYDRA graduated her to Black Ops.

Supporting Cast - 1944-1945

James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes: Steve's best friend since childhood, and one of the people that foremost inspired his decision to relentlessly pursue enlistment in World War II. Bucky joined Cap's Howling Commandos whenever war criminal Baron Zemo took control of the Nazi's rogue science division, HYDRA. Whenever Steve went under, Bucky perservered after the war before being killed in a final stand against Johann Schmidt, The Red Skull, in 1946.

Margaret 'Peggy' Carter: Steve's first love, a member of British intelligence drafted into the SSR under General Chester Phillips in the early 40's, just as a frail Steve Rogers would undergo the proceedure that transformed him into Captain America. After leading an impressively long career in the military, co-founding S.H.I.E.L.D. among other accomplishments, Peggy died in 2014, just before Steve could reunite with her in the present.

Timothy 'Dum Dum' Dugan: The second to accept Steve's offer to join The Howling Commandos. Known for his signature bowler hat, his pristinely kept mustache, and his unparalleled skills as a marksman.

Gabe Jones: An African-American soldier who, after leading his own battalion at the height of segregation, inspired Steve to ask him to join the Commandos for his valor. Jones proved himself to be more than capable of strategic prowess, helping Cap and the others to scout and pinpoint opportune locations to attack.

Jim Morita: A Japanese-American soldier who enlisted to end the conflict and free his family from their fate as prisoners of domestic internment camps. Rescued himself from one of HYDRA's facilities, Morita pledged to aid Captain America at all costs. He served as the group's pilot, expertly maneuvering through some of the worst land-to-air fire in history.

James M. 'Union Jack' Falsworth: A British veteran of the conflict during World War I, Falsworth took up arms once again after being inspired by his government to aid in relieving Nazi-occupied France. Hideously scarred from a grenade in battle, Union Jack partially gained his notoriety for wearing a mask emblazoned with the British flag into battle.

Spitfire/Jacqueline Falsworth: The daughter of James Falsworth, trained since a very young age in combat by her father. An explosives' expert that rivaled even Union Jack's penchant for demolitions, Spitfire earned her moniker for lighting an entire troop of Nazi stormtroopers ablaze in a single mission. She was engaged to Bucky Barnes during the war.

Enemies

The Red Skull/Johann Schmidt
Baron Helmut Zemo (Deceased)
Baron Heinrich Zemo (Deceased)
Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker
Viper/Ophelia Sarkissian
Count Vertigo/Werner Zytle
Kobra/Jeffrey Burr
Dr. Arnim Zola
Crossbones/Brock Rumlow
Dr. Faustus/Johann Fennhoff
Constrictor/Frank Payne
Per Degaton (1940's)
Master Man (1940's)

And finally, the most important member of Steve's supporting cast...

Nomad: Steve's dog, a German Shepherd rescue who Rogers found wandering the road between New York and Jersey. He likes bacon cheeseburgers.

S A M P L E P O S T:

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Normandy, June 1944 - D-Day

The humidity of a hard-fought battle finally gives way to the smell of gunpowder. Corpses of both allies and enemies line the sands of the beach. Distant gunfire and bombs pop off, filling the air with a metaphorical symphony of cataclysm. For the soldiers that stand, the hope is that it's the cataclysm of German forces and their stranglehold on the area. For those that want to go home, see their families again, and put aside the ever-looming threat of a violent end in service of a greater sacrifice. But for the man standing on the hill, just overlooking the parameter that leads directly from Omaha Beach into the Nazi-occupied city of Bayeux, the hope is that his men come back with good - hell, any news about the subsequent strike against Erwin Rommell's forces. Commanding the 107th battalion, the figure clutching at the hunk of metal strapped to his wrist had ordered that his personal strike team go ahead without him as he personally dispatched six enemy tanks that were flanking every direction. And yet Captain America's primary concern, amongst the dead and barely living, was that he hadn't made a grave error in sending these hundreds of an overall twenty-four thousand man operation directly into Hitler's clutches.

"Come on, Buck.", he silently whispered. "Don't do this to us. Not today, not now."

Five agonizing minutes went by without so much as a shot, signaling a change of course in the battle. Placing his battle-worn helmet atop his leather cowl, the Captain had finally ran out of patience. Of the many still stationed to watch the coast, Rogers counted fifteen who weren't visibly damaged or cut apart by enemy minutes. He'd need more to truly be able to breach the Nazi's wall and get into Bayeux to find his Howling Commandos - or what was left of them, at least - before it was too late, but he didn't see waiting as a viable option anymore. The wounded were being treated to, as were the dead. His job on this front of the war was finished. Now it seemed that a rescue op was in order. In an effortless motion, he removed the shield clinging onto his gauntlet and placed it on the satchel attached to his back. For the men below, it was an awe-inspiring sight. Even with the colors muted from a bright red, white, and blue into a virtually maroon, gray, and black uniform, Captain America still looked uncharacteristically fictional among the very grim reality that surrounded him. Like something out of the pictures or the pulps had sprung forth into their reality.

"Corporal?"

Turning his head as an armed soldier approached his six.

"Tell the others to gear up and prep for a run. We're going after the missing."

The color from the soldier's face nearly cascaded out of existence. But over the past few months, the man had grown to know better than to question a direct order from the man who was almost assuredly going to drive his fist through Hitler's jaw.

"Consider it done, sir."

Emptying the magazine from his side-arm, Captain Rogers removed another clip and placed it into the chamber. He had already practically spent every ounce of his super-soldier serum given strength and agility to take out those tanks, and yet any hesitation to head back into battle never appeared in his mind. But even he knew that there was a chance that this could be their last stand. His enhancements gave him a clear edge, but he wasn't invincible - at least, literally speaking. He could never tell that to the men who stood even less of a chance surviving the through the day.

"We charge for the city walls in..."

A deafening explosion knocked several of the soldiers off of their feet, as Captain America found himself interrupted. He turned, shield raised, to the North and braced for something to hit. An enemy band of troops sent to scout for survivors. German planes looking to incinerate the shores. At this rate, Rogers was half-expecting some metal monstrosity straight out of the adventure books he read as a child to emerge, with big claws and a beam from outer space.

Instead, he lowered the shield upon hearing his own troops begin to cheer. Cap looked again to the North, watching as a German tower crumbled onto itself like a sandcastle on the very beach beneath his feet. Brick and dust shot out of the side of it followed by a gust of fire. Steve could hardly believe his eyes, but the grin on his face was no less visible.

"THEY DID IT!", one of them cried. "SON OF A GUN, THEY ACTUALLY KICKED THAT GERMAN'S TAIL!"

This was the sign that Bucky had told him they'd give upon victory. They were alive.

How many, of course, was yet to be determined. But they were alive.

And that meant that they were going to see another fight, bringing the War even closer to the finish line.

"At ease, soldiers!", Cap shouted, looking over his shoulder. "Lieutenant Barnes and his fleet have done the hard work. Now it's up to use to clean up the mess. So let's make sure that bastard Rommell never sees the light of day!"

The soldiers gave an even louder cheer, raising their guns as they ran forth to join Captain America while he marched ahead.

He felt a hand clasp onto his shoulder, forcing him to stop.

"Captain?"

Steve spun around, seeing a familiar face greet him. But he felt the pit of his stomach immediately turn, and the hairs of the back of his neck stand on end. The figure that stood infront of him was familiar, sure, but it was one that didn't belong. The face of a blonde, hazel-eyed woman that smiled back him. A person that had never been alive in the year 1944. And one that he would never see again after 2019.

"God..."

Cap removed his helmet, his eyes widened in fear.

"Sharon?"

Sharon Carter evaporated just as quickly as she appeared, torn apart yet again by Zemo's horrid machine. Steve reached out, realizing that he had failed to grab onto her a second time. His heart stopped, and he immediately became aware of his surroundings. He wasn't in 1944, and this wasn't D-Day. As he looked back at the soldiers heading into battle, they began to evaporate too. Leaving him alone with their ghosts.

"You shouldn't have let them die."

Sharon's voice was no longer tangible as human. It was all around him. In the skies above him, in the sands. Even the seas seemed to bellow out with disgust, as Steve dropped his shield into the mud. He dropped to his knees, closing his eyes and realizing that he was hyperventilating.

"You shouldn't have let me die."

It felt as if his asthma was back. Only a thousand times worse, as though his lungs were made of lead.

"But that's all that Captain America ever was, wasn't it?"

"No..."

Steve clutched at both sides of his head, Sharon's voice becoming illuminated even further by the sudden return of the ambience of a destructive conflict.

"A harbinger of death, painted up as a symbol."

The Captain fell onto his side, trying his best to block out the voice.

"Stop..."

But it wouldn't leave.

"Please... stop..."

It would never leave.

"You failed us all."

P O S T C A T A L O G:

---

N/A

Rogue Continuum [CLOSED PENDING REBOOT]

But, noted. Also, given he is both more modeled after his pulp iterations but still exists in a modern world, what sort of gadgetry does he operate with? I don't need a full layout at the moment, just a rough idea of the sort of equipment quality this Batman is used to. I'm imagining more simple batarangs and grappling hooks over sonar grenades and infrared vision.

@Retired

The OG Batman largely used batarangs, rope, smoke pellets (practically his go-to, in those days) and the occasional firearm, so you're not far off. I think the biggest difference for nessescity is that he'd still have some kind of super-computer, frag/flash grenades, and The Batmobile, which would be militarized... all of which he'd probably lose anyway as an abductee. But he's definitely way more reliant on basic cunning than high-tech prowess.

Rogue Continuum [CLOSED PENDING REBOOT]

I am curious, though, when you say he has adopted the guise of a young billionaire, do you mean he is simply behaving as the playboy, heir apparent everyone expects him to be, as is normal for the character, or that he has crafted himself a new identity? I assume the former and you're going the typical route, albeit more extreme, but I'm just checking.

@Retired

The former is correct. His imitation of a "sane" person is to act the fool who relishes in his wealth and attention from the press. If he were ever outed, I imagine it'd be like discovering one of the Kardashians were secretly Jeffrey Dahmer all along.

Rogue Continuum [CLOSED PENDING REBOOT]

Spiders aren't the only animals out there, ya know.

Primary Concept

| Character Identity | The Batman / Bruce Wayne

| Age | 31

| Character Differences | In 1939, Batman was created to be less a superhero and more of a pulp hero who dished out vigilante justice wherever it was needed. He didn't hold life as sacred as his contemporary reimagining, he had no qualms with using firearms, he had no supporting cast to ground him (not even a faithful butler), and his enemies were often of the scientific and supernatural variety - his rogues' gallery being far off from introduction. This Batman is an attempt to boil those traits down to how they'd appear in 2019, with a version of The Dark Knight who operates alone as an enemy of the law, primarily due to the fact that he has taken it upon himself to act as a selective judge, jury, and executioner.

| Brief World Background | Earth 940 - Society Earth

A DC Universe that exists in a cynical America of 2019, where the criminal element is more ruthless than most. A group of self-imposed heroes have descended onto the populace to try and forcefully restore the distant memory of order. The first metahumans were not heroes, but the creations of illegal genetic tampering, igniting a brutal conflict between the nations of Khandaq and Bialya that would only be resolved with the arrival of the socially conscious champion of the oppressed, Superman, and the warrior-born mystic of Paradise Island, Wonder Woman. As the world became quickly aware of the fact that an age of gods and monsters were upon them, rogue geneticist turned terrorist Lex Luthor came out of hiding to elicit chaos in a bid to prove himself superior to the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman, aswell as the bearer of the emerald flame, Green Lantern, and the master of speed who'd modeled himself after the diety Mercury, The Flash. Thus, the age of the supervillain began. Those who stand outside of Luthor's war against the metas, such as Batman, Aquaman, Doctor Fate, Hawkman, and The Spectre, loom over their corners of the US with a territorial ownership, inspiring both admiration and fear from the public.

| Brief Character Background | Witnessing the murder of his parents, Bruce Wayne became psychologically scarred by the trauma and was soon placed into the Arkham Institute to cope with his growing disillusionment from reality. From the walls of the Asylum, he felt as though he could take an objective stance as Gotham City descended into a breeding ground for serial killers, cultists, gangsters, flamboyant opportunists, and elaborately themed madmen. Deciding to adopt the guise of a bored, but importantly sane young billionaire in the making whose only interest in life was high-octane racing and supermodels, Wayne was released from Arkham by the age of 20 - and promptly vanished for the East. When he returned seven years later, he had mastered every form of urban combat and guirella warfare, combining his skills to become a one-man war on crime. Adopting a fearsome avatar of a bat to inspire fear in his enemies, Wayne announced his intentions to all of Gotham with a gruesome message: the decapitated head of the "vampire" occultist known as The Monk, strapped to a giant floodlight atop of GCPD. Commissioner Gordon has since made it his mission to arrest The Batman before his madness inspires even more heinous acts of vigilante justice. Only the young mechanic and weaponsmith Dick Grayson, known as "Robin" by his clientele, knows of Wayne's true identity and mission.

Finally cornered by the GCPD after a five-year reign of terror against the underworld, having been lured into a trap by planted evidence tying a routine robbery to the vicious Joker Card Killer, Batman was about to break his vow of never harming the innocent in a desperate bid to escape Gordon's men. But someone else got to him first - someone with a more cosmic intent for one of the multiverse's Darkest Knights.

Secondary Character Concept

| Character Identity | Superman / Clark Kent - Last Son Of Earth

| Age | 52

| Character Differences | Whereas Superman is normally a paragon of hope and idealism with a grand, awe-inspiring love for life, this version has had to live with the deaths of both friend and foe as the result of an ultimate conquest of the galaxy by Brainiac that he couldn't stop. So while preserving some of that perseverance has been essential to Superman's survival in this new, tolitarian universe where the defenseless are turned into automatons, the spark of idealism that once made everyone look, up in the sky is now weighed down by tremendous guilt. He's not angry, he's someone who can barely keep it together and extremely fearful of how things could get even worse.

In terms of his powerset, I think it'd be fair to say that while he was once as powerful as his normal DCU counterpart, his levels of solar radiation intake have dwindled to the point that he's a shell of what he was. He's still able to do more than the average man, but he's able to suffer pain and bleed. And his ability to fly is, unfortunately, completely gone.

| Brief Character Background |
Earth 252 - The Brain Interactive Cosmos
A DC Universe. Once, the city of Metropolis was a thriving haven of all of Earth's greatest accomplishments, with science and technology pioneered to make it a true City Of Tomorrow. This is where a young Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for The Daily Planet, first took to the skies as The Man Of Steel. And for fifteen years, he was Earth's greatest champion. He fought tirelessly to protect Metropolis and the world from threats like General Zod, Bizarro, and his undeniably greatest enemy, Lex Luthor. But he also loved, striking up a grand romance with fellow reporter Lois Lane until they eventually married. And he even died, coming to blows with the horrific alien Doomsday... before rising again, stronger than ever.

Then the day of Brainiac's conquest came. Upon returning from a routine rescue mission with the Justice League of America over the Pacific Ocean, Superman suddenly heard a distress beacon emminating from space. Answering the call, Krypton's last son was shocked to discover a shuttle carrying sleeper agents of Brainiac. Overpowering him, the hive-mind drones mercilessly tortured him as the cold Coluan taunted him with the knowledge that he had devised a way to strip Superman of his powers - by capturing the Sun itself, encasing it in a bottle like so many other stars and planets. Forcing a weakened Clark to watch as his loved ones, from Lois Lane to Ma and Pa Kent, Perry White and Jimmy Olsen, Kara Zor-El and Kon-El, and even The Flash and Wonder Woman all to the devastating effects of the Sun's removal from the galaxy.

Thrown back to Earth as a final humiliation, Clark was forced to flee for one of the many small metahuman camps for those who could withstand the horrible environmental changes inflicted on the ruined planet. Ever since, he has traveled the world with a small band of freedom fighters looking to oppose Brainiac's growing legion. Even without a majority of his powers, a disheveled Superman continued to help whomever was left before they could be captured. It was during one of these ill-fated rescue missions, in which successors to the Batman, Steel, Wonder Woman, Hawkman and Aquaman mantles were all slain by Brainiac's legion, that Kal-El was ripped away from his Earth by another malevolent force.