Line #38 ComicBook/JustImagineStanLeeCreatingTheDCUniverse


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15	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dl7fyluv4aitk6a.jpg]]
16	[[caption-width-right:350:Fighting crime to make Earth's space program flourish. [[note]]L-R: Franchise/TheFlash, Franchise/GreenLantern, Franchise/{{Batman}}, Franchise/{{Superman}}, Franchise/WonderWoman, ComicBook/{{Shazam}}.[[/note]]]]
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18	In 2001, Creator/StanLee was asked to re-write [[Franchise/TheDCU the DC Universe]] from the bottom up. Wait… Batman's the son of a cop? Superman's an AntiHero? Robin's a thief? How did all this happen?
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20	ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, ''Just Imagine…'' was a series started in 2001, when Stan Lee collaborated with Creator/DCComics to reimagine DC's biggest heroes from his own storytelling perspective. Origins are radically changed (as are the causes for their powers) while still keeping to the basic feel of the various characters.
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22	The characters rebooted include:
23	* Franchise/{{Batman}} and ComicBook/{{Robin}}
24	* Franchise/WonderWoman
25	* Franchise/GreenLantern
26	* Franchise/{{Superman}}
27	* Franchise/TheFlash
28	* ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}
29	* [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]]
30	* ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}
31	* [[Characters/TheSandmanSuperheroes The Sandman]]
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33	As of Creator/GrantMorrison's ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity'', this universe has been officially designated as Earth-6 in the DC Multiverse. The characters would go on to have cameos and guest appearances in other work that involved the multiverse.
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35	21 years after this continuity was established, a one-shot revisiting the ''Just Imagine'' universe titled ''Tales from Earth-6: A Celebration of Stan Lee'' was released, which had a multitude of authors writing new stories for Stan Lee's take on the DC heroes.
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37	----
38	!!Tropes featured in this work include:
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40	* AdaptationDyeJob: Superman is blond.
41	* AdaptationSpeciesChange: This continuity's version of Aquaman is a super-powered human rather than an Atlantean.
42	* AdaptationalSuperpowerChange:
43	** Instead of being able to breathe underwater, communicate telepathically to fish and having the durability to survive underwater pressure, this continuity's Aquaman is able to transform into living water as well as manipulate the water around him.
44	** Played straight with two of the three members of this continuity's Doom Patrol. Deathstroke can cause instant death with a touch rather than being a mercenary with superhuman strength and durability, while Parasite can fly and possess people rather than absorb energy from people while copying the powers of superhuman victims. Blockbuster is still a super-strong behemoth like his namesake in the standard DC universe.
45	* AdaptationalVillainy: This continuity's Doom Patrol is a villain team rather than a hero team (while the namesakes of the individual members Parasite, Deathstroke and Blockbuster were already villains).
46	* AdaptedOut: Martian Manhunter is the only one of the main Justice League roster who does not get a counterpart in this universe, presumably because a reinventing of him would've been more difficult to conceive than the other heroes' reimaginings.
47	* AlliterativeName: Many (but not all) characters have names that are alliterations in this continuity, including Superman (Salden)- Wayne Williams (Batman), Maria Mendoza (Wonder Woman), Mary Maxwell (The Flash), Leonard Lewis (Green Lantern), Robert Rogers (Captain Marvel), Ramon Raymond (Aquaman), and Joanie Jordan (Catwoman). [[SignatureStyle Not surprising considering this is Stan Lee we're talking about.]]
48	* AntiHero:
49	** Superman just wants to go back home, and he figures he can turn humanity's minds toward space exploration once they're free of the distractions of war and crime.
50	** Catwoman is vain and something of a kleptomaniac (much like the original!).
51	* AscendedFangirl: Mary/Flash was a big superhero comic book fan before getting her powers.
52	* BadassNormal: Batman, naturally, has no actual powers and relies on mastering physical combat.
53	* BeardnessProtectionProgram: Inverted. Batman got out of prison knowing that Handz would be after him, so he shaved his head bald and turned his goatee into a handlebar mustache.
54	* BigBad: Crisis turns out to be behind all the conflict and serves as the final threat faced by the heroes in the concluding ''Crisis'' one-shot.
55	* BadBoss: Lady Zakara, who runs STEALTH, practically kills her minions on a whim if one so much as even questions her as well as failure. When she does get her hands on time travel, she kills even more just to keep the secert to herself despite one trying to warn her of the effects of said time travel.
56	* BodyHorror: The aptly named Furgo the Flesh-Crawler can basically cause somebody's flesh to animate and begin moving independently under his command. Whilst he mostly uses it to terrify people into submission, he can also kill people by ''crushing them in their own skin''.
57	* CatGirl: Catwoman, natch. She can see in the dark, has cat-like reflexes and the ability to jump really far, and can change her fingers into elongated, claw-like talons.
58	* CityOfAdventure: It's actually ''not'' New York, or a DC equivalent, this time. In this universe, [[HollywoodCalifornia Los Angeles]] is the superhero capital of the world.
59	* CompositeCharacter: Franchise/GreenLantern in this telling looks like a mixture between Alan Scott (whose powers are based in mysticism) and Hal Jordan (strength of character and enormous courage).
60	* CorporateSponsoredSuperhero: Lois Lane constantly tries to convince Salden to become this. He seems indifferent to the idea.
61	* TheDarkSide: The purple side anyway. Reverend Darrk and his cult worship it and use the darkness to their own ends.
62	* DisposableLoveInterest: Steve Trevor for Wonder Woman.
63	* DisposableWoman: Superman's wife Lyella, and possibly Cathy for Green Lantern.
64	* DisproportionateRetribution: Handz has Wanye framed for robbery simply because he tried to fight him, despite 1) Handz pretty much made his point by nearly crushing Wanye's hands and 2) this came after Wanye had ''saved Handz' girlfriend from a drive-by attempt''.
65	* DistaffCounterpart: Flash is female in this 'verse. There are female Flashes in the regular DC 'verse as well (Iris West and Jesse Quick), who may be inspirations for this character.
66	* ElementalPowers: Aquaman is made of water. He's basically a heroic version of the Marvel villain Hydroman.
67	* EverythingsBetterWithRainbows: The Flash's costume has ribbons of all seven colors attached at the back which makes her streak a rainbow.
68	* EvilMakesYouMonstrous: After Guitez fuses with the dark entity, requiring Maria to kill him via ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice.
69	* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Robin/Hawkman.]]
70	* FreudianExcuse: Parasite was abused as a child.
71	* GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke: This is how Mary/Flash gets her powers. It's also stated that genetic engineering is needed to survive time travel.
72	* GrandFinale: The ''Crisis'' one-shot serves as the conclusion of the series, as it has all of the heroes of the ''Just Imagine'' universe banding together to defend the world from Crisis.
73	* {{Handwave}}: By his own admission, Stan admitted in a commentary bubble that Salden/Superman's picking up on speaking English really quickly due to its extreme simplicity compared to Kryptonian is this.
74	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The Doom Patrol falls to their own attempts to fight -- Blockbuster is electrocuted by a loose wire caused by his fight with Batman and Wonder Woman, Parasite ascends to Heaven when she attempts to control Green Lantern and encounters Yggdrasil instead and Deathstroke is killed when he grabs himself trying to grab the faster Flash.
75	* IncompetenceInc: This doesn't even ''begin'' to describe STEALTH. Their boss, Lady Zakara, constantly kills her henchmen at the slightest provocation and tries to kill her own [[TheDragon Dragon]] even after he proved loyal and effective, ignores warnings from her men about the dangers of TimeTravel, and her men keep working for her despite all of this. In fact, by the end of the book, the Flash barely had to do anything to defeat them, because they did a pretty good job at destroying themselves.
76	* InNameOnly: This trope is a deliberate unifying premise in the series. Unlike {{Elseworld}}s, which is a re-imagining of a DC character that usually retains most of the core elements, this series attaches the existing names to completely different characters with different powers, costumes, origins, appearances, and personalities. Usually, the only common element is that they're metahumans (or vigilantes) in a modern setting.
77	* JumpedAtTheCall: Catwoman and Flash are easily the most enthusiastic of the superheroes to fight crime.
78	* KidAppealCharacter: Flash, by virtue of being the character to [[JumpedAtTheCall jump to the call]], having the most optimistic personality, and being the youngest of the cast.
79	* LineOfSightName: Superman names himself Clark Kent by seeing the words spelled out on a van and a street sign, respectively.
80	* LukeIAmYourFather: When Maria/Wonder Woman learns that her father is Guitez's puppet.
81	* MadeOfIron: Zorgal of STEALTH. Zakara blows him up for no reason and he manages to survive unscathed. When the Flash tries to fight him head on, her punches barely do anything, and it takes having to actually electrocute him to stop him.
82	* {{Mayincatec}}: Maria/Wonder Woman's culture can be summed up as this.
83	* MythologyGag:
84	** A book about reinvented DC heroes appropriately has a villain named [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis]].
85	** ''Secret Files and Origins'' features a panel of Superman lifting a car that directly copies the cover to the first issue of ''Action Comics'', Superman's debut.
86	* NormalFishInATinyPond: On Krypton, all police officers are [[SuperCop genetically engineered]] to be super-strong and durable, except Superman. That's right; on Krypton, Superman was TheTeamNormal!
87	* NotHisSled:
88	** At the end of Wonder Woman's one-shot, a man named Carter and a woman named Saunders find a pair of hawk totems believed to grant powers to whoever drops them on the floor. They choose not to do anything with the amulets and pass their chance at becoming the ''Just Imagine'' universe's Hawkman and Hawkwoman.
89	** Robin's one-shot has Batman offer to be partners near the end. Robin turns him down.
90	* OncePerEpisode: Every issue features Reverend Darrk in what would be {{Foreshadowing}} had they been actual series instead of one-shots.
91	* PetTheDog: When Parasite takes over Green Lantern, she accidentally contacts Yggdrasil and it notices the harm and the pain she dealt with. He offers to free her from all of that and ascend to heaven. She happily accepts.
92	* PracticallyJoker: Batman's story in the ''Tales from Earth-6'' one-shot has him fighting a villain called the Choker, who is a very obvious imitation of the Joker, right down to having purple clothes, pale skin, green hair and stated to have the given name of [[Film/Batman1989 Jack]].
93	* PrisonsAreGymnasiums: Part of Batman's backstory; after being framed for a crime he didn't commit, the skinny Wayne Williams started exercising strenuously until he had nearly doubled in size. He also spent a lot of time in the prison library, [[GeniusBruiser training his mind to match his body]]... Which, ironically, makes him at least partly similar to ComicBook/{{Bane}}.
94	* ProfessorGuineaPig: Aquaman injects himself with his formula to test if it will help him breathe underwater.
95	* PromotedToLoveInterest: Inverted with Lois Lane in this 'verse. In every other incarnation of Superman's story, she's consistently shown as the Man of Steel's primary love interest, but here she's simply his agent who cares more for the money his superhuman abilities can bring.
96	* ProWrestlingIsReal: Batman is a massively popular pro-wrestler by day, and though the theatrics of wrestling are at the forefront, the "theater" part isn't.
97	* RaceLift: Batman and Steve Trevor are black, Robin's Hispanic, and Wonder Woman is Peruvian and gets her powers from {{Mayincatec}} mythology. Whilst she never gets empowered in the comic, Dinah Drake is also African-American.
98	* ReligionOfEvil: The Church of Eternal Empowerment, led by Reverend Darrk. The not-so-good Rev. is basically an {{Expy}} of Brother Blood.
99	* SelfDisposingVillain: Zakara who the Flash barely meets for ten seconds before she drops dead due to aftereffects of time traveling causing her to [[RapidAging rapidly age]]. One of her henchmen did ''try'' to warn her but she stupidly kept brushing aside their concerns.
100	* SelfMadeMan: Whereas Bruce Wayne was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Wayne Williams is this.
101	* ShoutOut:
102	** An early sketch for Darrk looks like [[Franchise/StarWars Emperor Palpatine]]. He also Vader-chokes a subordinate at one point.
103	** Each source from the LineOfSightName mentioned above had two names. Salden (Superman) chose Clark Kent, but another possible combination could be [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker]]. Like Peter, he also uses his powers in professional fights to get some money.
104	%%* TheStarscream: Adam Strange.
105	* StealthPun: Dinah Drake, whose counterpart in the normal DC universe is the superheroine Black Canary, is a ''black'' woman with a pet ''canary''.
106	* StupidEvil: [[ArcVillain Lady Zakara]] randomly kills her own men at the slightest provocation or failure, then tries to kill [[TheDragon Zorgul]] ''even though he has been effective and completely loyal so far'', and refuses to [[TooDumbToLive listen to a warning from one of her men until it's too late]] despite him insisting ''multiple times''. Zorgul himself somehow buys it when she tells him his attempted murder was an accident. And the {{Mooks}} as a whole still accept to follow Zakara despite her proving several times [[BadBoss she is the worst boss ever]].
107	* TooDumbToLive: Lady Andrea Zakara from ''The Flash'' issue. Let's see, she blatantly ignores her own minions trying to warn her about the prolonged use of her time travel device, ''[[BadBoss kills]]'' said minion for trying to warn her for a ''third time in a row'', then she '''''uses said unstable device for a long time''''' and [[KarmicDeath then she promptly suffers from]] RapidAging.
108	* UngratefulBastard: Handz, the main villain of Batman's origins, practically antagonizes Wayne just because he ''saved his girlfriend from a drive-by attempt''. Seriously.
109	* UranusIsShowing: In the ''Secret Files and Origins'' one-shot, Superman gets pissed off at being asked if he came from Uranus before Lois Lane explains to him that that's the name of a planet.
110	* WeaksauceWeakness:
111	** Shazam keeps saying "Shazam" and is BroughtDownToNormal each time.
112	** Green Lantern is vulnerable to the color purple, which just happens to be the color of the energy he's fighting.
113	** Anything Deathstroke [[TouchOfDeath touches dies]], including himself.
114	* WolverineClaws: Catwoman has the ability to extend her fingers into elongated, razor-sharp talons. Much like how Aquaman resembles a heroic counterpart to Marvel's [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Hydroman]], they make her look like a non-deformed version of [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} Lady Deathstrike]].
115	* XtremeKoolLetterz: Handz, the gangster that kicks off Batman's origin story.
116	* YouKilledMyFather: Batman says this to the gangster responsible for his father's death.

Context ComicBook / JustImagineStanLeeCreatingTheDCUniverse