Reinvention Ideas For DC/Marvel Characters

Deep below the ruins of Uplistsikhe lies the once great hero Amirani, buried in chains for his foolish defiance of the great god Ghmerti. Wasting away but unable to die, Amirani waited patiently. Ghmerti was not without mercy. Amirani's internal clocked counted down the days, though he saw no light, till the fateful hours where he could be freed, should any mortal show the courage and ability to do so. For all of Amirani's insolence he had fought valiantly for the sake of men. Ghmerti thus believed he was owed that much, but every year the mortals failed, and every year the mortals who even tried to free him were fewer in number. Amirani never lost faith, but his mother Dali was starting to. Amirani's entire mortal family had now perished and she could not break her son's bonds. As the fateful time drew near she approached Hyacinthus this year. He too had once been a mortal hero. He had fallen prey to far more petty gods. He now walked free again from even more dreadful imprisonment. Perhaps he would sympathize, perhaps he could help...

The time had arrived, the grounds split open, chains holding Amirani thrust him into the sky, suspending him above Uplistskhe. He beamed down at first, eager for the annual ritual to resume, but Amirani saw no friends, no family, no would be heroes, not even any tourists. Gathered around him among the sacred ruins were Devi of the unclean variety. A particularly large, three headed brute, Chakomua, looked up to greet Amirani. Amirani had thought he had all the time in the world to kill the monster, and even bound he had figured the bastard would die of old age or disease by now, but even as Amirani's mortal family expired Chakomua continued to evade death and enjoy a healthy life. At his command the devi parted to reveal the mutilated remains of men who would have freed Amirani this year, along with the bound forms of his mother Dali and another god he did not recognize. These two the Devi could not kill, but they could force them to watch alongside Amirani as they proceeded to butcher the people of the land Amirani cared so much about.

The tourists who had come to see the annual attempt to free Amirani were already fleeing, not that the Devi had any intention of letting them get far, but to the unclean one's surprise there was one boy running toward them. He approached quite quickly. Clearly another of these would be heroes, but he was just an unarmed youth in blue and yellow tights, nothing to take seriously. He fought valiantly at first but he quickly weakened and the devi overwhelmed the teenager. Presenting him to Chakomua, he was given the offer to speak his last words. The boy was bruised, bleeding, his throat swollen, but his words brought lighting and thunder quaked through Uplistsikhe, shattering the sacred architecture, toppling many of the unclean giants, and most worryingly for the devi, breaking the chains of the three gods. Almost instantly Amirani's body started to recover...

Freddy Freeman awoke with a splitting headache and foggy vision. As his sight cleared he seemed to see Uplistsikhe standing as it had before, and there was no trace of the giants, as if his prior endeavor had been a dream. Next feeling came back into his neck, arms, back... he was off of the ground, cradled by Dali herself! Approaching were Amirani and Hyacinthus from a group of mounds... presumably these gods could restore building but could not revive the dead. Amirani was thankful for being freed and complimentary of Freeman's power, but couldn't help but notice that it suddenly seemed to get weaker and now seems to be entirely gone. Freddy explained the nature of Shazam, particularly that he had to share with others who could draw from the same source at any time. To Dali, that would not do.

In gratitude for freeing her and her son she arranged a ritual. For the traits gifted to Freddy to now be his to call on alone. The skill of Shavkhan the smith, Speed of Hyacinthus rival of Zephyrus and lover to the god of light, Courage of Amirani the hero who stood up even to Ghmerti, Strength of Zaden whose influence extends throughout the Earth, Power of Armazi who rules sky and sea, Stamina of Mamber who lords over the most persistent predators. From now on Captain Marvel Junior will draw from his own well, and he will speak his own name without drawback.

Edited by IndirectActiveTransport on Apr 14th 2024 at 4:00:55 AM

Get rid of your status quos. You might be the face of comics but the Boys and Invincible are stealing your spotlight due to them having permanent consequences which allow their characters to grow.

You have introduced successful new characters as the years have gone by. Keep doing that while allowing your company’s legacies to grow old and pass the torch.

Reposting me and my bestie's Legion of Superheroes pitch from the DC thread here and expanding a bit.

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Premise: Basically taking the core concept of the Legion and putting them in their own little Black Label universe, specifically reimagining the book as a transhumanist science-fiction horror/mystery setting in the vein of stuff like Eclipse Phase, Alien, Event Horizon, The Expanse, and the works of Johnathan Hickman.

Setting: In the 30th century, the solar system is a Used Feudal Future in which all of the planets, moons, dwarf planets, asteroids, and Kuiper belt have been colonized and are now ruled over by the United Planets, the controlling polity of Earth struggling to maintain their grip over a fracturing system coming off a war with an a fleet of Khund Invading Refugees. The solar system is inhabited by humans, uplifted animals, robots, and various species of aliens descended from refugee ships, failed invasions, and exiles ranging from asylum-seeking activists to hardened criminals; poor interactions with prior contacts, technological limitations, and general political instability means that Sol is now a very insular society that isn't expanding any time soon, but still bears the marks of contact with wider universe.

Several years ago, one Dr. Londo - a geneticist, corrupt businessman, and Jim Jones-esque cult leader of a group dedicated to human evolution - cracked a holy grail code and perfected the creation of transhumans. He created a "legion" of such transhumans, some by altering test subjects, others by creating them wholesale, all of them possessing incredible yet often terrifying powers. Eventually, Londo's cult was shut down by the government while preparing a coup, and the existing transhumans, viewed by many of the public as victims, were given amnesty and citizenship... after they were used as living WM Ds to defeat the Khunds. Furthermore, the technology and scientific research that Londo created was taken by the governing bodies and is now leading to the creation of yet more transhumans. These beings are now a growing but small minority and subculture amid the United Planets' already diverse population, struggling to find their place within it.

Factions:

• The Legion of Superheroes: The protagonists, obviously. A crew of heroes/adventurers/activists from all across the system dedicated to defending the innocent, punishing the guilty, and helping wherever they can. Funded by R.J. Brande, a well-intentioned magnate, and inspired by ancient legends about a "Superboy" who saved the planet eons ago, they only seek to do good and find meaning for themselves in the chaotic universe, but are a Dysfunction Junction increasingly divided on how to do that and struggle to deal with growing distrust and pressure from the United Planets government.

• Light Speed Vanguard/Legion of Supervillains: Originally a small-time crime syndicate run by Tarik the Mute and recruiting disaffected transhumans in the Kuiper Belt, the LSV slowly grows into a radical terrorist organization embracing the ideal of Dr. Londo, seeking to bring down the United Planets government and to force all of humanity to begin "ascending".

• The United Planets: The ruling government, led by President Wazzo and a council of planetary governors, guild leaders, and nobles, all operating from Earth.

• Science Police: The ruthless CIA-esque top enforcers of the United Planets.

• Heroes Of Lallor: Rebels from the asteroid state of Lallor who have modified themselves gruesomely and desire independence from the United Planets and an end to the dictatorial power ruling their home.

• Mike Carter and Skeets: A bumbling janitor and his Robot Buddy who stumble into a conspiracy one night at work.

• The White Triangle: The conspiracy in question, a anti-nonhuman group plotting to take over the United Planets through the construction of a mysterious doomsday device known as "Validus".

• Computo: A seed AI that merges with a small moon and becomes a recurring threat to the solar system, aided by it's army of drones and it's "son", a cyborg nicknamed Brainiac created from the corpse of a young colonist.

• Khunds: The remnants of an invading fleet of exiles, now coexisting uneasily in United Planet space. Divided between those who want peace and those who want to restart the Earthwar against all reason.

• Mordru: A trouble-making evil mage and regular thorn in the side of the Legion who is really trying to prepare the system for...

• The Time Trapper: The Big Bad. A horrific and incomprehensible Eldritch Abomination of alien origin that nears Sol and seemingly seeks to corrupt and destroy everything in it's path. Already it is sending advance agents and psionically recruiting followers; when the being itself arrives, every living thing in the system will be needed to stop it.

Legionaries:

• The Ranzz Twins: A pair of young siblings abducted from their garden world home and given gruesome cybernetic implants by Londo that permit them to control electricity.

• Saturn Girl: A powerful psychic and one of the pride and joys of Londo's transhumans. Unfortunately, her powers and trauma have left her with... issues.

• Cosmic Boy: One of the leaders of the Legion and among the most powerful of Londo's transhumans, whose arms have been replaced with cybernetic "gauntlets" designed with magnetic/ferromantic abilities.

• Wildfire: Believes himself to be Drake Burroughs and to have his classic origin as an Energy Being inhabiting a containment suit. Is actually an anti-energy-powered robot with copies of the real Burroughs' memories dumped into his brain module as a twisted experiment by Londo.

• Dawnstar: A woman engineered by Londo to have bird-like traits such as wings, claws, and more, making her look like a harpy. Abrasive and self-hating, she wishes to be made human again.

• Gates: The same old alien communist we all know and love. Views the Legion as a bunch of filthy squares working for the government at first, but comes to be a true believer in the cause despite himself.

• Blokk: A big lovable living comet/silicon-based lifeform and the muscle of the Legion.

• Timber Wolf: The first transhuman created by Londo, the man's own son altered into a horrific man-wolf monster. Unsurprisingly, he has a lot of issues, even comparison to the rest of the Legion.

• Phantom Girl: A woman capable of turning intangible and phasing through objects after an accident with an experimental "phantom drive". Secretly the daughter of the United Planet's president, as well as losing touch with her humanity (as many transhumans are).

• Triplicate Girl: A master-hacker with the ability to create digital "copies" of herself that help her interface with machines. The process has very bad effects on her mind.

• Bouncing Boy: A chubby pilot with invulnerability and no other abilities, given his nickname as a cruel joke about how he just "bounces" when falling from heights. He grows over-time into a vital Legion member as a tech specialist and strategist instead of a combatant.

• Karate Kid: A master martial artist struggling to maintain his relevance in a world where superpowers are becoming the norm, though his lack of powers or alterations ironically lead to him being the Only Sane Man.

• Chameleon: A shapeshifting alien and the adoptive son of R.J. Brande, the Legion's financier. Overeager and desperate to please his father.

• Shadow Lass: A shadowy Humanoid Abomination "offshoot" of the Time Trapper who does a Heel–Face Turn and tries to defend Sol from her master. She claims to have formerly been a native of Talok VIII who was ritualistically sacrificed to the Time Trapper as a Deal with the Devil to try and get the monster to leave them alone.

• Quislet: The AI who runs the Legion's ship.

Other Supers:

• Starman: The schizophrenic son of a pair of astronomers who is driven even more insane and given horrifying powers after being the first human to make contact with the Time Trapper.

• Kid Psycho: A kid whose parents subject him to a slapdash "enhancement" from a Back-Alley Doctor in hopes of making him "one of those famous transhumans", resulting in him becoming a powerful psychic being slowly killed by his implants.

• Quanto: A mysterious being of living light that opposes the Time Trapper. Eldritch and frightening, but seemingly on mankind's side.

• Mano: Another man altered by the Time Trapper, leaving him a horrible wraith encased in an astronaut suit that kills anything he touches, his first victims being his neighbors on his home colony.

• Validus: A Genetic Abomination crafted by the White Triangle and a "Operation: Paper Clip"-ed Londo as their ultimate weapon. Made using eggs from Saturn Girl harvested from her during her time in Londo's cult, making her it's biological mother.

• Emerald Empress: A technophile who comes into possession of a mysterious Artifact of Doom known as the Emerald Eye and, possibly under it's influence, becomes a terrorist and member of the LSV, alongside her goons Persuader and Tharok.

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This is all we have thought up right now.