The Impossibles

I've decided to shake things up a bit in a Superhero Reconstruction I'm doing and introduce a team of heroes who go rogue, currently called The Impossibles (Yeah, I know it's taken, but I'm working on it). Anyway, the group is basically what you get if the Fantastic Four were deconstructed, but not to the extent that Warren Ellis did in Planetary.

The idea is that The Impossibles were once a team of for-hire mercenaries who were employed by academic David Dawn for an expedition into parts unknown. While Dawn survived the trip, the rest of the team were exposed to mystic energies, forever changing them. At first, they plan to do what any group of newly altered, super-powered gunmen would do: Try to take over the world.

But Dawn, being the decent guy that he is manages to calm the group down and, in an effort to protect them from other and themselves, convinces them to become Superheroes instead, thus The Impossibles are born. Later on, the group do end up going rogue, but I'll talk about that later.

Here's the problem though, I've only managed to develop two of them. The other three are giving me some troubles. I just don't know what I can do. I have no ideas at all :| Would any of you guys like to help out?

Here are the characters I have developed thus far:

• Dr David Dawn: The archeologist who first hired the group for their ill-fated journey into a lost aztec city. Dawn was able to escape the effect the energies that transformed the other's unharmed, but is haunted by the guilt of having drastically changed the lives of five people. Though he's well aware the the other's are money hungry jerks, he tries to keep them busy and accepted through Super-heroics. He is recognised as the team's leader, but little does he expect that one of the other's, Mal, is planning a mutiny. Basically an expy of Dr. Magnus from DC's Metal Men, down to the Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe

• Malcolm "Mal" Sykes: Back when the majority of The Impossibles were mercenaries, Mal was the guy running the show. As the team's unofficial leader, he runs a tight ship with ruthless efficiency and respect. He's smart, opportunistic and manipulative, playing the other's to his game. When the group does go rogue, he becomes the leader. When he was exposed to the energies he was given a golden metallic skin which granted him Super-Strength and Nigh-Invulnerability. He's basically what you would get if you combined Reed Richards with The Thing.

edited 13th Oct '11 12:35:43 AM by AtomJames

How about a character who moves 100 times faster than normal? He (or she) isn't as smart as Reed Richards, but he learns so quickly he gets similar results, and he can put together a massive contraption in 1/100th the time. Downsides: he can only go about 10 minutes before having to sleep for 5; he has to throttle himself down to talk to others; he eats a lot, or he uses an enervating ray that is dangerous to others. And of course he ages 100 times faster.

I'm thinking maybe someone who has a kind of passive mental power to make people not notice. And only that. To make up for it, said person is an extremely skilled saboteur, martial artist, and gunman.

For the skies, perhaps someone who can transform into a living bolt of lightning? Not a thunder-bolt throwing demigod, but an actual bolt of high-powered electricity.

Finally, maybe someone who possesses the ability to manifest a giant of mental energy which can change its size and shape?

Maybe keep doing what you did with Mal and mix two superheroes together to form something new. Or take the normal powers of the FF and change them around enough so they're different. For instance, Sue Storm can turn invisible. Push it so she's invisible because she's incorporeal; she needs to possess other bodies to interact with the physical world, but the trade-off is she can't be harmed (sort of like Deadman). Johnny Storm can set himself on fire— push it so his body becomes molten lava. Or instead of fire, his body is made of earth or water ("Form of— an ice bucket!"). Something like that.

Ok, here another idea for one of The Impossibles;

Madison "Maddie" Conrad: The only female on the Impossible team, Maddie could easily be one of it's most dangerous members. A former Mossad agent, Maddie is the most effective members on the team. Cold, methodical and distant, Maddie serves as Mal's second in command on the field and continues to do so after they go rogue. When she was exposed to the energies, she gained the ability to fly and fire beam of energy, unfortunately when she uses these powers, it has an unfortunate effect on her body, her skin becoming translucent revealing her skeleton.

Following Ronka's advice, Maddie is one part Invisible Woman (albiet with a twist on her abilities) and The Human Torch.

edited 13th Oct '11 1:35:23 AM by AtomJames

Another idea for onr of The Impossibles...

Lewis "Lou" Geller: A rather ordinary soldier, Lou was joined Mal's mercenary team when money was scarce. Prior to the teams exposure, he was the team's most reliable and tech-savvy member , if not it's greediest. After the team was exposed to the energies, Lou gained amazing mental abilities, namely the ability to influence the minds of others around him but at the price of his appearance. Though I said that Mal was one part The Thing and another part Reed Richards, I think that Lou is probably a closer anologue to Mr Fantastic, since his powers are basically an inversion of Richard's. Similar to Randal Downing's in Planetary.

Again thoughts are appreciated.

Honestly, I think that flight paired with energy blasts are a bit boring. Plus, are you trying to mix the Fantastic Four and The Four or are you trying to make vague allusions to both Four's powersets?

I'm hoping to make vague allusions to both teams, while playing around with them. The Thing expy being beautiful rather than grotesque, Mr Fantastic able to "stretch his mind", etc

Well then, while I'm busy deconstructing Superman and Captain America, you're reconstructing the Fantastic Four.

Hm.

Let's see... somebody with Alex Mercer's power skill-set, roughly, but with less squick? Sounds like it could be cool...

Ok, I've gone back and reworked the group, looking at characters like The Apollo Eleven from Astro City and DC's Metal Men for some inspiration. Overall this new team is basically an amalgamation of the teams listed above, the Fantastic Four, The Four from Planetary and The Ultimates. The one idea that I really want to get across is that these people are, for less of a better term, freaks.

• Dr. David "Doc" Dawn: The archeologist who first hired the group for their ill-fated journey into a lost aztec city. Dawn was able to escape the effect the energies that transformed the other's unharmed, but is haunted by the guilt of having drastically changed the lives of five people. Though he's well aware the the other's are money hungry jerks, he tries to keep them busy and accepted through Super-heroics. He is recognised as the team's leader, but little does he expect that one of the other's, Mal, is planning a mutiny. Basically an expy of Dr. Magnus from DC's Metal Men, down to the Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe

• Malcolm "Mal" Sykes/The Idol: The unofficial leader of the team and the guy who is really pulling the strings, after waiting years to amass a fortune with their Superheroics and Media/Commercial Empire, he starts a mutiny against "Doc" Dawn. His golden metallic skin grants him super-strength and nigh invulnerability, but at this cost of his sense of touch. Manipulative and opportunistic, Mal plays everyone around him. Essentially a counterpart to the Fantastic Four's Thing, but with elements of Reed Richards in regards to his position within the team. Other influences include DC's Metamorpho and Gold from Metal Men. Steeljack found his way in there too.

• Madison "Maddie" Beachly/Aqua-Maiden: One of the most dangerous members on the team, she serves as Mal's second in command and, after the mutiny, his primary enforcer. She possesses the ability to change the state of water in the immediate vicinity, an ability which she utilizes to it's maximum potential, throwing scalding hot steam into an opponents face, freezing enemies from the inside out etc. A consummate killer, it is revealed after the mutiny that she held back during her time as a super-hero under Mal's orders. Like the others, her powers came at the cost of her appearance; her body is made almost entirely out of water, her control over it able to create a "solidish"construct similar to her old one. She is essentially the Human Torch Counterpart of the team (albiet with a twist in her abilities) with some elements of Sue Storm. Influences also include The Ultimates Black Widow, Kim Suskind, Hyrdo-Man and, of course, Katara from {{Avatar: The Legend of Aang}}

• Lewis "Lou" Gellar/Mr Improbable: The team's resident tech expert. The mystic energies that transformed the team endowed him with mental abilities beyond those of normal men, including the ability to influence the actions of others around him, "stretching his mind", so to speak. These abilities came at the cost of his appearance and he now resemblance something similar to the stereotypical Little Green Man in Science Fiction. Visually based on LGM from Astro City's Apollo Eleven and {{The Inhuman's}} Karnak. Serves as the Mr Fantastic Counterpart on the team due to his position as the team's engineer and scientist. His powers are similar to Randall Downing's of The Four, himself an expy of Mr Fantastic.

• Peter "Pete" Caffey/The Unseen Man: The eldest member of the team and its resident espionage expert. While exploring a lost aztec city, mystic energies changed him and the others. Now, Pete is completely invisible, save for moments when the lighting is just right enough to expose bits and pieces of his anatomy, like his skull or lungs. He is obviously based on The Invisible Woman, though with elements of Elijah Snow thrown in there too.

How's that?

Can Maddie reform herself after high-power impacts?

Hmmm. I like this a lot better now.

Although some notes on their personalities might be nice.

edited 17th Oct '11 3:20:17 PM by Kraken