Marvel Migration - Part 1

Marvel is supposed to be set in our world. While the events of DC Comics occur in fictional locales like Metropolis or Gotham, Marvel stories primarily take place in New York City. Because the Marvel offices were located in New York, Stan Lee decided it would be convenient to have all of his heroes live in the city he knows best. Consequently, fifty years later, 95% of superheroes, supervillains, and superhuman events are concentrated in New York City. For those of us in the rest of the world, this can seem a little unfair. If this continues, Marvel will have to schedule an event to explain why New York City is a magnet for supernatural events.

Marvel has announced that, following the upcoming Secret Wars event, the old Marvel universe will be gone and replaced with something new. At this time, its unclear what that means and the comic community is just hoping its planned better than the New 52. However, my hope is that they make an attempt to diversify their lineup by expanding into new areas of the country and the world at large. Personally, I've never been to New York City, but I'm already sick of it from comics and television. I'd love to read more stories that take place in diverse environments.

So I propose a Marvel Migration, a publishing initiative designed to connect with a wider world by moving their star characters outward. Imagine how much Chicago or Seattle or Las Vegas would appreciate their own local heroes. You could create direct marketing campaigns in each region, but the challenge is choosing the right hero for the right town.

NOTE: I left out some popular heroes for good reason Spider-Man and Daredevil are perfectly suited to New York City, Hulk and Namor are perpetual wanderers, and Avengers can gather anywhere they want. 

The Solo Heroes

Captain America - Washington, DC

This one is pretty obvious. Although Cap is from New York, he represents America and he should operate from our nation's capital. This would surround him by politics and the intelligence community. Whether its Steve, Sam, Bucky, or any combination of the three, it'd make us all feel safer knowing that Captain America is protecting our nation's capital. 

Iron Man - Detroit, MI

Why would America's richest man go to its poorest major city? To buy it.

Imagine if Tony Stark bought every piece of land he possibly could in Detroit and vowed to transform our nation's poorest city into the world's leader of industry. Now, can he do it?

With the help of Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, Bambi Arbogast, and all of his best and brightest, Tony micromanages his new city with the goal of creating a lasting utopia and an example to the world. As if that weren't difficult enough, his greatest enemies are determined to do everything possible to see that he fails.

Strangely, Wolverine is on a lot of Bulls merchandise.

Wolverine - Chicago, IL

While Logan fits in well both in New York and San Francisco, I think it would be fun to see him with his own city to protect, and I can think of no place better than Chicago. Its associations with organized crime, proximity with Canada, and population of angry hairy men make it the perfect fit.

Joined by his best sidekick and Chicago native, Kitty Pryde, Logan discovers evidence that the Weapon Plus program has reopened in the windy city and is selling "custom-made" superhumans for unique clientele through the black market. While Logan and Kitty can hurt their operation badly, the situation is rapidly spiraling out of control toward superhuman gang war.

Doctor Strange - Boston, MA

Doctor Strange is the perfect image of the mid-Atlantic New England sophisticate and there is no major city that fits that image better than historic Boston. The old world architecture lends an air of mystery and the rich (often violent) history of the town could serve as the basis for ghosts, witches, and demonic rituals.

I'd love to see a series where Doctor Strange really lives up to his names, so I'd create a story about a curse that affects the citizens in unique and unusual ways. Doctor Strange arrives to quarantine the area, treat the victims, and eliminate the disease. However, he soon realizes that there is a method to this madness and he needs to figure out what malevolent force is behind this before he loses the battle.

Thor - Seattle, WA

When it came to Thor, I immediately thought of the rainy city. Its like a halfway point between viking fishing villages and the splendorous spires of Asgard.

I imagine yet another reintroduction of Don Blake. Much like Watson in the BBC's Sherlock, Don Blake would be a military doctor who has returned from the Middle East with PTSD. He's opening up a new practice, but he's haunted by images of war, particularly the near death experience that injured his leg and requires him to walk with a cane. As his delusions become more realistic, he sees images of Loki and dreams that he is Thor, god of thunder. The memories of his battles on Earth and his battles on Asgard become inseparable. Eventually, he finds Mjolnir, disguised as a humble stick, and transforms into Thor, but he cannot return to Asgard and has no memory of its fate.

Dazzler - Las Vegas, NV

The mutant Dazzler is a successful pop singer and mutant who transforms sound into light. She practically is Las Vegas.

If Celine Deon can have her own stadium built in Vegas, Dazzler could easily become the regular act at a 5-star casino. Since she's a known superhero, its great publicity for the casino in two ways. Of course, once one casino gets a superhero, then the other casinos will want one. Soon, Daimon Hellstrom is performing stage magic down the block, a new Mr. Fixit is playing across town, and more are sure to follow. Pretty soon the town is overloaded with two bit heroes and villains, all of whom are trying to make a quick buck in the glamorous world of Sin City.

Nova - Miami, FL

For America's biggest party town, we need a young and energetic hero. When you include the amusement parks of Orlando, the space program at Cape Canaveral, and just the general inbred weirdness of the rest of the alligator-infested state of Florida, it is a perfect location for an off-beat hero like Nova.

Since Marvel's always looking to diversify racially, the largely Cuban population of Miami would create an interesting environment for the half-Mexican, Sam Alexander, the current Nova. This might just be the perfect place for him to go to college.

Ghost Rider - Phoenix, AZ

Like Hulk before him, Marvel's demonic biker belongs in the deserts of the American southwest. The imagery of biker culture is closely tied to the region, so it would strengthen the imagery (as demonstrated in the best moment from this awful film).

Arizona is also the site of a lot of discriminatory legislation and hostility regarding the Mexican immigrant population. This could be the basis for great storytelling with a message. Not to mention that the long highways of the national border are great for showing chases featuring illegal immigrants, border patrol, minutemen, and drug smugglers.

The Teams

X-Men - San Francisco, CA

Following the Decimation event when the population of mutants was temporarily reduced, the X-Men briefly relocated to San Francisco. And I loved it.

While the X-Men were constantly discriminated against in New York, San Francisco has a history of embracing diversity with open arms. This changed the dynamic of the X-Men drastically. Suddenly, they were working with their community against threats from the outside. They could still face broad discrimination outside of the city, but inside San Francisco, they were home.

Unfortunately, this lasted only about a year, but I'd love to see them return. The last time the X-Men were in town, San Francisco faced riots, military law, and invasion by Sentinels, so they might be a bit more hesitant about having them back. Then again, there are probably a lot of people in San Francisco who appreciate that kind of chaos. This is a home for those who are feared and different, and the X-Men have always seemed most at home when they are there.

I'm sorry, but when I searched "Fantastic Four"
and "Texas," this is the best that I got.

Fantastic Four - Austin, TX

When it came to the Fantastic Four, there were a lot of choices. Little known fact, the team first debuted in the fictional city of Central City, which was mapped at Stockton, CA. I thought their celebrity might be ideal in Los Angeles, then the space program in Houston came to mind. Whenever I think of Texas, I think of the strange liberal bastion of Austin, known for being the antithesis of the largely conservative state. What better place for a post-nuclear family?

Reed Richards purchases a closed NASA facility just outside the city borders and starts retrofitting it as the new headquarters for Fantastic Four Inc., an exploratory and development company. Sue manages the book, Ben is in charge of security, and Johnny lives rent free, as always. Of course, their insatiable curiosity and colorful past has a way of bringing the adventures to them, even though they spend most of their time exploring the universe, as always.

New Warriors - San Diego, CA

As for Marvel's classic junior superhero team, San Diego is a great city for exploring adolescence, and as the home of Comic Con International, it just makes sense to stake a claim to it.

With youth teams, the first thing you have to ask is "Do they have a mentor?" An adult-sanctioned team like the original X-Men or New Mutants has a bit more legitimacy, but lacks the autonomy of an independent group. Since Runaways and Young Avengers have the independent youth team covered, I'd recommend the more traditional route.

I could see orphan and perennial sidekick Rick Jones volunteering to mentor a group of teenage superhumans with ambitions of being a hero. Jones might even choose San Diego because of the relatively low incidents of superhuman crime, but little does he know that a low-level crime boss had the same idea.

Next in Part 2!

We continue with teams, both national and international. No "Avengers West Coast." These are distinct teams with their own brands (even if I borrowed the name from some defunct titles).

11 Worst Things About X-Men: Days of Future Past

Well, the critics seem to love X-Men: Days of Future Past. Even the most critical of critics I know are praising this film for returning the dignity to the X-Men films. I gotta say, I don't see it. But then, I didn't think that the original films had much dignity to begin with. I'll get into that later...

For now, I'd like to share my personal top eleven worst things about X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Why eleven? Because there were eleven things that bothered me. What, do you think these numbers are arbitrary?

[NOTE: This is, of course, a review of the film and not the comic book story it is loosely based on. There will be plenty of spoilers.]

11. The B-Team and The B-Plot

In the opening of the movie, we see the X-Men battle a group of the future Sentinels (which seem to be based on Nimrod, but they don't call them that). There are three X-Men we recognize from previous films (Kitty, Colossus, and Iceman) and four we don't (Bishop, Blink, Sunspot, and Warpath). As the Sentinels attack, we watch the X-Men fight in unison and it looks pretty good, but eventually, they are overwhelmed and killed... but it doesn't matter because they have a temporal reset button.

Unfortunately, since this is the opening of a time travel movie and set in the far future, we already know that there are no consequences to these actions, so there is no tension. Furthermore, by using so many B-characters that have not been established in this universe, we have little reason to care when they die. In the original comic, it showed the death and desperation of characters we cared about.

The new X-Men lack any distinct personality traits and are used only as props. While Blink provides a visually interesting power which (admittedly) is very well-executed (though derivative to anyone who played Portal), her face paint makes her look like a cosplayer. Bishop's inclusion makes sense (given that he is actually from the future), but why was Sunspot included if they aren't even going to use his powers correctly?

The comic book Sunspot has super-strength. He is called "Sunspot" because his powers are fueled by solar energy. If they wanted someone who shoots fire, why not use the far more recognizable Sunfire? And Warpath is a character with no obvious powers who fights with a knife. With literally hundreds of characters to choose from, I can't image why they went with him.

10. Presidential Embarrassment

When writing historical fiction, it can be tricky to weave your story into actual history. Unless you're Quentin Tarantino, you have to try to maintain some discretion so that you don't make real history collide awkwardly with fantasy thereby creating a noticeable distraction. This film does just that in two major ways.

First, it tells us that Magneto was imprisoned for involvement in the Kennedy assassination. Xavier thinks he killed JFK, but Magneto claims that he saved him, replying that he was "one of us." The idea that a real historical figure is actually a mutant is stupid enough, but especially when applied to a figure as iconic and respected as Kennedy. It would be another thing if it were Houdini or Amelia Earhart or someone with an air of mystery about them, but the only mystery around Kennedy is his death... and that's not exactly something you can play with in a fun way.

Second, the film has a major role for President Richard Nixon who approves the Sentinel and is taken hostage at the end. Nixon is just as iconic as Kennedy (although not nearly as popular) and he has a very distinct appearance/voice that is difficult to accurately replicate. Its hard to take these scenes seriously when you don't see the president, but an actor playing the president.

9. Dwarfism is oddly unremarkable in the 1970s

While I'm happy for Peter Dinklage that he can get a role that has nothing to do with his size, am I the only one who found his casting to be a distraction?

As Bolivar Trask, he is dedicated to the extinction of mutants, but dwarfism itself is a mutation. I might be able to overlook this if the film gave him any motivation to fear this specific type of mutation, but aside from an anecdote about homo sapiens wiping out homo neanderthal, he has none. It is simply the same generalized bigotry we've seen in all of these films. If Trask had a tragic history, perhaps involving Magneto or Mystique, it would have been a lot more believable.

But the real distraction for me was how his dwarfism was never mentioned or even subtly acknowledged. In comparison, I was recently watching Injustice For All, a documentary featuring economist Robert Reich. Just under five foot tall, Reich doesn't have dwarfism, but his size is clearly an issue. He carries a box with him to podiums, he makes jokes about his height, and people are, perhaps, a little nicer to him than they would be to others.

Yet in this film, set forty years in the past, during the height of women's liberation and civil rights movements, there is absolutely no reaction from the white conservative patriarchy to a genius arms dealer who is less than four and a half feet tall? Is anyone going to mention the elephant in the room? I'm not saying it needs to effect the whole film, but just small touches like a look or an amused smirk when he enters the room would acknowledge that he faced some adversity. You could have him notice the exchange and make a point of embarrassing the individual... kind of like he does on Game of Thrones all the time.

8. Speedy Maximoff

I'd like to say I don't get Quicksilver's appeal, but I do. He's an off-the-wall character whose powers allow the filmmakers to do interesting things with timing and camera speed. In fact, the film could probably use more characters like him. Between his slo-mo kitchen fight scene and Blink's portals, we get to see the action play out in a much more visually interesting way than previous X-Men films.

However, he's also one of those characters who is very poorly thought out. His powers are shown constantly and the effect is like using a laser pointer with a cat. When we first see him, he's playing a game of ping-pong with himself. Its a neat little gimmick, but later, he is playing the arcade game Pong and listening to his music on what I presume is a portable 8-track player.

The problem here is that technology (and particularly 1970s technology) does not work at an accelerated pace. We see his Pong arcade game moving faster than our eyes can track and, in the popular kitchen scene, we hear his music at a normal tempo while bullets are flying at a snail's pace. This means that, in order for the sound to be consistent with visuals, his music would have to be playing at roughly 10,000 times the normal speed.

The film's interpretation of the character is like a modern day ADHD child who can't pay attention to one thing for very long. This is a very shallow look at the character and does not reflect his own personal reality. It is a voyeuristic look at his power, not a careful examination of character. This Quicksilver is like Bart Simpson with superspeed. He is a troublemaker who does whatever he wants because he has no impulse control, so he's constantly doing things and getting bored with them. Even this isn't fully thought out as he seems entirely satisfied with this lifestyle.

The comic character is more of an angry cynic known for aggressively confronting both friends and enemies. Peter David famously explained this behavior in an issue of X-Factor by comparing his reality to being stuck behind someone who doesn't know how to use the ATM when you are in a hurry. This helps us to understand that his agitation is based in impatience thereby turning an annoying trait into a sympathetic one.

In the film, Quicksilver briefly mentions that his mother "knew a guy" who had magnetic powers, alluding to the fact that Magneto is his father, but the opportunity to have that mean something is entirely wasted. Their relationship is completely irrelevant to the film, even though he is only there to rescue Magneto. After he performs that task, he is written out of the film, even though he proved himself incredibly useful and has no reason not to join our heroes.

We only see him once more with his twin sister, Wanda, in a brief cameo, but in this universe, she is apparently ten years younger. A strangely arbitrary change.

7. Futurism of Days Past

While X-Men: First Class adhered fairly closely to the technology of their era (Cerebro aside), Days of Future Past seems to have given up on that entirely. The Sentinels just don't make sense in the 1970s and their design looks incredibly out of place. In a time when your most basic computer was the size of a room, can we really forgo logic enough to design humanoid robots with heavy artillery, flight capability, and mutant detection without an ounce of metal?

I understand that it is a comic book movie and you can take some leaps with technology, but when you are telling a story set in the past, you have greater limitations. Compare this to Captain America: The Winter Soldier when they reveal Arnim Zola's consciousness uploaded to dozens of old tape-and-reel computers. Although clearly beyond the capabilities of the time, there is an attempt made to show them using the tools available to them. These Sentinel designs would look great in a modern era X-Men film, but they seem too clean and polished during the heyday of the Chevy Cadillac.

Worst of all, we never really get any good scenes with them. When they are finally revealed at the end, they just seem to provide crowd control as the X-Men face Magneto. Wolverine briefly fights one, but they end up being about as capable and threatening as Stormtroopers.

6. Doesn't connect with The Wolverine

Looking more like Droopy the Dog every year...

Despite the fact that Bryan Singer directed the stinger sequence in The Wolverine, it does not fit with the follow up film which he also directed.

The Wolverine is set in the present day (or the "not too distant future" if you go by the caption in X-Men). As Logan walks through the airport, we see Trask Industries advertizing on the monitors implying that the Sentinel program is just beginning. Yet Days of Future Past features the Sentinel program beginning forty years ago. You might say that Trask Industries has been around all this time, but if so, why weren't they relevant until this moment? Is something about to happen? If so, we never get an explanation

Also, in the previous film, Wolverine's claws are made of bone, not metal, because his metal claws were cut off in the climax of the film. In Days of Future Past, we see a future Wolverine with metal claws. So what happened to give him his metal claws back? Did he go back to Weapon X? Did Magneto do it? You can make something up to explain what happened in the intervening years, but why should you have to when its obviously just laziness? Seeing as Wolverine doesn't even use his claws in the future (except when he accidentally cuts Kitty), there is literally no reason for this arbitrary change. It can't be to "fix" the character, because the resolution of the movie essentially reboots continuity anyway.

I need you, Logan. I'm not the box office draw that you are.

Also, in the end of The Wolverine, we see Logan accompanied by Yukio, who in these films possesses precognition. They leave together suggesting that their adventures are only beginning, yet she isn't even mentioned in Days of Future Past. Since Yukio was not a mutant in the comics, I had assumed that her new abilities in The Wolverine would be used as part of the plot in Days of Future Past. Perhaps Xavier would project Wolverine's consciousness through Yukio's mind which, existing outside of linear time, could send it into the past. Obviously, I was reading too much into it.

So why did Xavier and Magneto to put aside their differences at just this moment, and why did they need Wolverine? The new film does not answer this question because it isn't until years later that the Sentinels destroy the world and they formulate a plan requiring Wolverine. We even see the plan being formed at the beginning of the Days of Future Past, so the stinger scene in The Wolverine had absolutely nothing to do with this film.

5. X-Men: The Missing Film?

About half way into the movie, I started wondering if I somehow missed a film somewhere in this franchise.

Mystique and friends

At the end of X-Men: First Class, Xavier is paralyzed, but rather optimistically looking forward to teaching his X-Men. In Future Past, he is a broken, depressed man who has lost all hope in humanity because most of his students were killed. In First Class, Magneto had just defeated the Hellfire Club and turned it into the Brotherhood of Mutants. He was rallying his troops to fight. In Future Past, he is in prison for attempted assassination, half the Brotherhood is dead, and Mystique has come to hate him for some reason that's never fully explained.

When added to the inconsistency in The Wolverine stinger, it honestly feels like there was a whole other movie that they never made. Maybe the movie was written much longer and they cut out the first half, but honestly, it just feels like a cheap way to dismiss all of the films Bryan Singer didn't make.

4. Days of Matrix/Inception

On a completely aesthetic note, I found the future depicted in Days of Future Past to be boring and derivative. Like the first X-Men film, the influence of The Matrix is shocking blatant. The drop ships house dozens of Sentinels that look like "squiddies" when in flight. The sky appears to have been permanently blotted out by a thick cloud. We get some brief looks at concentration camps, but most of the action takes place in a secluded Buddhist temple that looks like the cheap set it is. It actually plays out a lot like the end of The Matrix when our hero is another space-time while the others must simply wait and protect him against the inevitable robotic onslaught.

In short, we don't really see the future, much less feel what its like. We are simply given exposition that informs us that this is their last stand. It would be much more interesting if they traveled through the war torn environment and through one of the concentration camps. We could see the characters reacting to the plight of others, particularly Magneto who spent his childhood in such a camp, and then, we see their plan go into effect more like a heist than a mutant Alamo.

With the projected consciousness, juxtaposition of relative time, and the hopeless slaughter of our heroes, it really feels like a rip off of the endings to The Matrix and Inception, two of the most popular sci-fi movies of the past two decades.

3. Professor X's magic walking serum

Much of this movie's plot hinges around this cheap plot device used to impede our heroes. Xavier now takes an injection which has two very convenient effects: it enables him to walk (despite having a shattered spine) and it inhibits his telepathic abilities. This allows them to shoot the character without his wheelchair, but also keeps him from having a really easy way to resolve the story.

Again, this is the kind of convenient science that breaks my suspension of disbelief. I know Hank is a genius, but he just happened to develop a drug that can restore someone's ability to walk and inhibits telepathic abilities. This is just way too convenient for the crippled telepath who wants to be rid of his telepathy.

And why does he want to be rid of his telepathy? Well, he's just sick of hearing other people's thoughts. It's too hard. There is no real precedent for this behavior in the character as we know him, but we have to believe it based on events that happened between movies that is provided in exposition (refer back to #5).

2. Kitty Pryde's unexplained power

Kitty Pryde possess the mutant ability to move through solid objects. Its called phasing. She can also phase other objects, if she is in physical contact with them. This is established in all three of the original movies and is completely consistent with the comic book character. In Days of Future Past, not only does she have that ability, but she can project someone's consciousness back in time.

It is never explained how she has this ability. She has never had this ability in the comics. There are many characters with psychic or time travel powers that would make more sense, or they could have come up with an original character. Yet, for reasons I cannot fathom, this very critical element to the plot is completely and totally unaddressed.

This is the equivalent of Superman turning back time by spinning around the world. Even at its most basic, her power has absolutely no applications that might remotely connect to projecting consciousness through time.

1. Magneto reprograms Sentinels

Near the end of the film, we see Magneto fly behind a truck carrying Sentinels. We've been told that the Sentinels are entirely made of plastic, and therefore immune to his powers. Magneto pulls a few feet of railroad from the track, strips it for wire, then proceeds to intertwine this wire into the Sentinels thereby demonstrating that they are under Magneto's control.

Now, these films have shown Magneto doing a lot of stupid things with his powers, like lifting the Golden Gate Bridge to use as a method of transporting a small group of people... or slowly pushing a bullet into a guy that doesn't have the sense (or laws of motion) to get out of the way. But we are supposed to believe that he can reprogram advanced robots by just looking at them and weaving metal into their parts?

Is it supposed to be like a puppet, where Magneto is actually exerting his force over their own? If so, they don't move or act with the sort of stilted hesitation you would expect. It seems more like Magneto somehow actually rewrote their software to follow his commands. And he did that with wire? Just by looking at them? He doesn't need to know programming or a keyboard to input new commands. He just sticks his hands up their asses and they perform for him.

Its almost as bad as when he designed a machine to turn humans into mutants, but it can only run on his own power and it would kill him. Just because its a comic movie is no reason to be blatantly stupid.

10 Recommendations for Marvel's Leading Superheroines

Its no secret that women are underrepresented in comics. While there are many great female characters in supporting roles and team books (even in lead roles), there are far fewer capable of supporting their own titles.

In a team book or as a supporting character, you only need to help advance the story, playing a small role in an overall team dynamic. However, a lead character needs compelling personal motivation and a personality well-rounded enough to keep readers coming back for more. It also doesn't hurt to have a place to call home, some friends, and a personal life. These are important details that are either missing or poorly developed when most supporting superheroes begin their own ongoing series.

To survive competitively as an ongoing title, these women will need to create the proper context to showcase the most compelling aspects of their character. It isn't easy to do. Regardless of gender, creating the proper context for your characters is a sublime art that sometimes takes years to develop, and that's time you don't have in the modern marketplace.

However, I think Marvel can create successful ongoing female lead titles if they just find the right character and build the proper context for them. Below are some of my recommendations:

Captain Marvel

Potential: Highly recognizable, great costume, military background, diverse connections throughout the Marvel universe

Problems: Lacking strong motivation, generic power set, history of victimization and dependency

Enemies & Allies: Kree, Mystique, Rogue, Mar-Vell, Wolverine, Starjammers, Avengers

Recommendations: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes cast Carol Danvers as both superhero and agent of SWORD, similar to Captain America's arrangement with SHIELD. I think that makes sense with both her powers and background. Also, placing her in the role of Earth's first line of defense against alien threats to Earth gives her a unique place in the Marvel universe. Working with SWORD would give her an interesting supporting cast that could consist of aliens (like Mantis) or other unusual creatures (Vision), offering the advantages of both a team book and a solo series. I would build up to a conflict with a Kree to connect to Carol's origins and explore their culture in more detail. Although Carol has a history of victimization and dependency caused mostly by poorly executed stories, this could be a source of strength in the story if you are willing to explore her self-destructive nature and fears of inadequacy or abandonment.

Spider-Woman

Potential: Strong motivation and origin story, espionage

Problems: Un-spider-like powers, no actual connection to Spider-Man is confusing, bad costume

Enemies & Allies: HYDRA, SHIELD, Lindsay McCabe

Recommendations: Experimented on by her father and given to HYDRA as a superhuman spy, Jessica Drew works best with her back against the wall. Created by deceit and manipulation, she should live in the shadowy, fugitive world of superhuman espionage. Contacted by SHIELD to act as a freelance, unofficial agent, she works with minimal support to investigate superhuman experimentation and terrorist organizations, sent to investigate superhuman threats before they can become Avengers level catastrophes. However, the deeper she gets into her work, the more she suspects that she might not be working for SHIELD at all.

Storm

Potential: Highly recognizable and respected, interesting powers, African, thief, claustrophobic

Problems: Lacking strong motivation, has little identity outside of the X-Men

Enemies & Allies: Shadow King, Forge, Yukio, Black Panther, Morlocks, Adversary, X-Men

Recommendations: Ororo has a lot to draw on through the death of her parents, her days as a thief, being worshipped as a goddess, joining the X-Men, claiming leadership of the Morlocks before their slaughter, and marrying the Black Panther. Unfortunately, her nobility and lack of relateability are impediments to supporting her own title. I would team her up with Yukio, the free spirited Japanese thief who ignited Storm's original mohawk phase. For her arch villain, it only makes sense to use the Shadow King, the first villain in her life who essentially enslaved her. He could attack her where she is most sensitive, through Forge, Black Panther, and the Morlocks, drawing Storm through some of her most painful memories while simultaneously informing the reader to her backstory (while avoiding the context of the X-Men). Considering how adrift the character has been and the bad decisions she has made (namely marrying Black Panther), it would make sense if she lost her confidence and needed time away from the X-Men and the Shadow King took advantage of this moment to get back at her. I would also relocate Storm to the X-Men's briefly used Australian base to call back to her original mohawk days, include the mutant teleporter Gateway as a spiritual guide, and just to evoke that Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome iconography. Maybe Storm could even become an Australian national hero.

Rogue

Potential: Interesting power, highly popular, dark and mysterious past

Problems: Power is no longer out of control, phonetically reading her accent can become tedious

Enemies & Allies: Mystique, Gambit, Brotherhood of Mutants, Magneto, X-Men

Recommendations: Rogue has long been a victim of circumstance who has learned to redeem herself through the X-Men, even leading her own team on several occasions. We know that she was raised by Mystique and Destiny, and that her power first manifested when she kissed a boy, but we've been given very little insight into that experience. It would be interesting to know what it was really like for her growing up with two mommies who were also international terrorists training her to be the same. When she was first introduced, Rogue had no reservations about using her power, so it would be fun to see that Rogue... one who is constantly borrowing a piece of other people's individuality. I would like to see a story that brings Rogue into a confrontation with a victim of her terrorist activities, perhaps someone seeking revenge. This could convince Rogue to personally atone for some of the mistakes she has made and, at the same time, find a new direction in life. Just avoid bringing Gambit into the story; that sleezeball brings her down to a Twilight level of insipidness.

Psylocke

Potential: Ninja, highly popular, interesting power, diverse connections

Problems: Convoluted backstory, lacking distinct personality

Enemies & Allies: Kwannon, Spiral, Captain Britain, Slaymaster, Jaime Braddock, Archangel, X-Men, the Hand

Recommendations: With a backstory as complex as Psylocke's, I think the best approach is to embrace the absurdity as a motivating factor in the story. I was always a fan of the original version of Betsy, so I would bring back her bodyswapped Caucasian counterpart Kwannon (particularly because she was blind at the end and a blind psychic is a cool idea). It could be the work of her omnipotent and insane brother, Jaime. The unnerving part is that Kwannon (who insists on being called "Betsy") has revealed to Psylocke that their original minds are re-establishing themselves. Kwannon has forgotten most of her martial arts skills and Betsy is forgetting details of her childhood in England. The difference is that, due to Kwannon's tragic background, they would both rather be Betsy. [Naturally, this could get confusing fast, so you would have to resolve the name issues quickly. Maybe call them Betsy and Liz...]

Black Cat

Potential: Thief, great look, popular, strong backstory

Problems: Lacking strong motivation, frequently plummetting neckline

Enemies & Allies: Spider-Man, Kingpin

Recommendations: Thieves can be difficult characters to write in a superhero books because they are either anti-heroes or Robin Hood-type altruists. As a hero, Black Cat would be fairly generic, but if someone like the Kingpin were to blackmail Black Cat, she could return to the life of crime by stealing from SHIELD, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers, thereby sinning in a manner that cannot be easily forgiven. The trick is finding the right McGuffin. Perhaps someone she loves is taken hostage or there is special information she can't get anywhere else. It should be something that drives her. If she is burning her bridges in the superhero community, she will be a fugitive, but that is just the threat. We also need a goal.

Domino

Potential: Great look, simple but compelling powers, great for heavy action

Problems: Lack of identity outside of X-Force and Cable

Enemies & Allies: Cable, X-Force, Copycat, Deadpool, Mutant Liberation Front

Recommendations: With luck powers, Domino seems like a good character to explore fate and freewill, particularly since her ex-boyfriend is a time traveler from the future. Perhaps Domino is told of a horrific fate that's destined to occur and with her luck powers, she is uniquely skilled to prevent it... even though she is told that is impossible. Since Peter David's X-Factor is almost over, if Layla Miller is still available, she could play the oracle who is trying to use Domino to avert the Days of the Future Past timeline. It might start off with some very practical attacks on anti-mutant hate groups and mutant terrorists, but Layla begins to ask Domino to do hurt innocent people without clear consequences based on what will happen in the future. Essentially, they are trying to knock down the dominos before fate can get there first.

Valkyrie

Potential: Great look, strong iconography

Problems: Generic mythological entity

Enemies & Allies: Thor, Asgard, Defenders

Recommendations: Simply put, Valkyrie is Brunnhilde of the Ring of the Nibelung cast into the world of Thor. It would be fun to take the traditional silver age Thor backstory of being cast in mortal form and use it with Valkyrie. Without a mortal counterpart, Valkyrie doesn't have much to ground her, but if average woman Barbara Norris were to suddenly discover that she was a Valkyrie, drawn inexorably toward death, it could be a very interesting series. Although initially resisting the macabre pull of the dead, she comes to have sympathy for the deceased and takes pride in both comforting the dead and avenging those who deserve it. At the same time, the reason for her resurrection into the mortal world is a mystery to her and, though she is certain it is the work of the gods, she does not know if they are friend or foe.

Songbird 

Potential: Great costume, compelling backstory

Problems: Unrecognizable, powers are somewhat confusing

Enemies & Allies: Thunderbolts, Moonstone, Baron Zemo, Genis-Vell

Recommendations: Of all the reformed criminals of the Thunderbolts, Songbird has always been the one who showed the most potential of being a true hero and she seemed destined to become an Avengers. However, the story of the Thunderbolts has always been a tragic one and their downfall has repeatedly taken her down too. It would be interesting to see her at her lowest, confined to a superhuman prison ("Jailbird" or "Why The Caged Bird Sings") while Baron Zemo and Moonstone run free. Although initially she had intended to serve her time, she soon realizes that she has a life sentence and no one cares about her time as a hero... except the other inmates. Realizing that redemption can only come from within, Melissa decides to break out of prison and with the help of her old teammate, the Fixer, she sets out to bring Baron Zemo and Moonstone to justice.

Magik

Potential: Powerful magic user, tragic backstory, dark alternate personality, popular

Problems: Complicated backstory

Enemies & Allies: Belasco, Colossus, Storm, Kitty Pryde, N'Astirh, Madelyne Pryor, Darkchylde (herself)

Recommendations: Illyana has always struggled between her kind nature and the horrors she experienced in the demon realm of Limbo. Struggling to be the hero Magik, she has often succumbed to her dark side by transforming into her demonic counterpart, Darkchylde. Although she has tried to find a home with her brother in the X-Men, she keeps bringing the evil of Limbo back to her to threaten her friends and family. It would make sense for her to leave them all to learn how to control herself and overcome the pain of her childhood. Provided he is not otherwise engaged, I would have Illyana study at the foot of Doctor Stephen Strange. Not only is he the foremost expert in magic, but he is also a doctor and she is in desperate need of healing. He could guide her on a journey through the mystic realms that could considerably develop this side of the Marvel universe.


Honorable Mentions

These characters didn't make it to the list because I honestly couldn't think of a solo series concept that they could support. Usually its an issue of poor motivation or lacking the right context for their character, but in the right hands and with the right concept, I believe these characters could all lead their own successful title:

Black Widow, Hellcat, Phoenix, Jewel, She-Hulk, Wasp, Elektra, Mystique, X-23, Shadowcat, Banshee, Echo, Emma Frost, Crystal, Tigra, Daughters of the Dragon, Firestar, Dazzler, Namora, Jubilee, Shanna the She-Devil, Rescue, White Tiger, Mockingbird, Mantis, Monica Rambeau, Scarlet Witch, Polaris, Sersi, Moonstar, Clea, Surge, Blink, Diamondback, Snowbird, Spitfire, Nomad, and even Squirrel Girl.

Top 5 Things I Like and Top 4 Things I Hate About X-Men: First Class

So X-Men: First Class is finally coming out. It feels like it was just yesterday that I was watching this film come together. Conversely, it seems like an eternity that I've been dreading it.

In all honesty, I'm conflicted. It's almost as if it were worse, it would be better, but because it has the potential to be really good, all I'm going to see is wasted potential. At least with the Catwoman movie (one of the few comic movies I haven't seen), you could tell just by seeing her in the costume that it would suck.

Now, none of my friends are X-Men fans like I am, so they are very excited by the trailers, which in all fairness are excellent, but I'm still not sold and I have good reasons for this. So without further ado, these are the top five things I like and the top four things I loath before ever having seen the film.

LIKE:

Set in the sixties

I think the idea of setting a comic movie as a period piece is an awesome idea, particularly if that period is the same period when the characters debuted. X-Men #1 came out in September 1963. If the film starts at that precise time, I'll get a giddy little thrill out of it (based on this image, I guess not... but so close!). More than that, I hope it references to the context of the time more than the actual comics ever did. The comics were written by old men who were writing fairly conservatively because of the comics code and aiming at a prepubescent audience, so it never really explored the Vietnam War, civil rights, or the hippy movement in the way this movie could. Hopefully they'll do this effectively and not just with a few forced jokes that fall flat.

Blackbird

As a fan, I'm glad they have the Blackbird and I'm glad that it looks just the way it does in the comics. I guess they had this in the previous movies, so it shouldn't come as any surprise, but it would be easy for them to throw on another fin, give it a paint job, add bright neon lights and other things to make a more marketable toy. Thank god this isn't being directed by George Lucas...

Xavier & Magneto together

One of the most compelling things about the X-Men is the relationship between Xavier and Magneto. They are both larger than life, heroic men passionately dedicated to the future and protecting those, like themselves, who have been unfairly discriminated against. Yet while Xavier favors education, patience, and tolerance, Magneto favors decisive action, demanding change... The thing is that neither of them are wrong. In fact, I have a close friend who could very well be the Magneto to my Xavier, if we were in similar circumstance. I'm glad that the movie will be exploring this, although based on the previews I've seen, I expect to be disappointed. More on that later...

The Hellfire Club

The X-Men universe is one of the most expansive franchises of all time, right up there with Star Wars and Star Trek. So far, the movies have done a poor job reflecting this, but in this film, they are introducing The Hellfire Club. This organization gets their name from a true historical society dating back to the foundation of our country and an earlier with history in England, Ireland, and the United States. They are just another society for rich hedonists where they scoff at conventional morality (or in fact, any morality) with quasi-satanic rituals and self-indulgence. They are pretty much the same in the comics, but they also plot to expand their power, often by inviting or coercing mutants. Where Xavier and Magneto represent two sides of a moral dilemma, the Hellfire Club represent complete selfishness and social Darwinism. I'm curious to see where they take that...

Beast

It's also nice that my favorite X-Man will be in this film, played by a young person rather than the stuffy Kelsey Grammar. They are including the pre-fur version of the Beast with his creepy hand-feet and that's just wonderful. Unfortunately, they are also including his transformation into the furry version of the character... which seems like they might be trying to do too much. I'm also not convinced they got the character right, as the Beast I came to know and love is much more jovial and exuberant.

HATE:

The rest of the X-Men cast

When I heard that they were doing X-Men: First Class, I got excited that this might be a somewhat faithful interpretation of the original X-Men, since that is what the comic, X-Men: First Class, was about. This would mean seeing Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, and Angel. When I found out that Magneto would be working with Xavier, I had hopes that his children, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, would be involved. Instead, we get the most hodge-podge lineup of second and third stringers I have ever seen.


Aside from Beast, we have a young Mystique, Banshee, Havok, Darwin, and Angel (who is not the classic Angel, but a new version of the character who barely was in the comics). Since this is most definitely a prequel to the previous movies, I will guess that Havok has been recast as Cyclops' father rather than his brother. While these are all characters from the comics, two of them are incredibly new and not even remotely popular while the others are... again, second string. Will Banshee join Magneto? Do I care?

Azazel

Speaking of unpopular characters who were forced into this film, let's talk about Azazel. Azazel appeared in the seven issue storyarc called The Draco and he has not appeared again since. This story was written by the "winner" of my worst X-Men writer ever award and he won largely based on this particular story. In the comics, it has long been established that Nightcrawler's mother is Mystique. Although ignored in X2, this will likely be established in X-Men: First Class. Originally, Mystique had sex with a random German lord and when she gave birth to a deformed mutant baby, she had to flee and abandon the boy to be raised by gypsies. In "The Draco," Nightcrawler meets his real father, Azazel, a demonic mutant who has lived since biblical times and is confused with the actual devil because he acts like it. The story was so despised that no one has ever mentioned it again... until this movie.

Professor X has hair

In the comic books, Professor Xavier's hair started falling out at puberty when his powers developed as though the power of his mind was killing his hair follicles. I always liked this idea because it reinforced that mutants aren't just gifted with powers, they often come at the cost of being a social outcast. Sure, early male pattern baldness doesn't seem that traumatic nowadays with kids shaving their heads intentionally, but for a twelve year old in a New England boarding school in the 1940s or 1950s, it would be hell. It seems like a small thing, but I'm mystified that they would change it and I'd really like to know why. Did Professor Xavier have to look younger? Did he have to look sexier? I don't understand...

Magneto still seems too one-sided

Although this is supposed to be a movie about seeing the relationship between Xavier and Magneto develop and fall apart, I can't help but feel that what we are going to get is... well, you remember the Star Wars prequels? You remember how they kept having moments when you would see Anakin act whiny or selfish or angry and it was supposed to be like a flash of evil... like a glimpse into his destiny as Darth Vader? It set this tone that Anakin could have been good, but he had evil DNA.

Hollywood, I know you want me to subscribe to this idea of absolute good and evil... but I have a brain. I think about things. I also have compassion and I'm open-minded enough to realize that when someone disagrees with me... they probably aren't evil, but they look at things in a different way. For example, I see homosexuality as diversity which enriches our lives while others see it as a weakness and a perversion of the natural order of things. I'm not right and they aren't wrong; it is just a different viewpoint. These viewpoints are somewhat incompatible and cause us to fight in a public forum over specific issues like gay marriage and why it should or should not be recognized.

Magneto shouldn't be evil. He isn't Doctor Doom or Lex Luthor or the Joker. He's a divisive figure representing an extreme and frightening ideology, but he isn't wrong. The tragedy of Magneto is that his vision is incompatible with Xavier's. They are both men of conscience and conviction who passionately care about making the world a better place, but they disagree about how to do that and it is their methods, not their goals, which are ultimately incompatible. It is the age old battle between idealistic pacifism and pragmatic militarism... and the line between them is razor thin. The tragedy is that they are so close to being friends and allies, but just different enough to be mortal enemies. If you paint Magneto as a stock villain, you will lose all of that tension... as they did in the previous X-Men films.

Top 11 Dream Assignments

I can't help it. Try though I might to be an independent writer with my own creations and maintaining some sort of dignity, I spend a lot of time thinking about how I'd write other people's comic books, usually Marvel or DC. Often it isn't even characters I like or read. They are often comics I would avoid, but that's part of the challenge.

Like they say in theater, there are no small parts, only small actors. Writers have a similar expression. There are no bad characters, only bad interpretations. From the right angle, almost anything is interesting.

So without further ado... here are my top eleven dream assignments, in no particular order. Why eleven? Because I had one more than ten.

Superman: The Early Years

This is a concept I'm working on right now. This is about Clark Kent's first days in Metropolis. It's about moving from a small, happy town where everyone knew everyone to the big, exciting city where no one knows anyone. It is before Clark learns how to fly, before he knows he's an alien, before the costume.

This is a story where I hope to illustrate that Superman aren't two different personas, but the same person seen through different circumstances. When he is saving a bus full of people, it is easy for him to look heroic. The powers make this easy for him. When he is interviewing for a job or trying to help someone with relationship problems, he is very weak and ineffectual... or at least he feels that way, and acts that way... and hence people under estimate him, especially Lois. When she enters a room, everyone shuts up; when Clark enters a room, no one notices.

I also want to play up the idea that Superman is a great person simply because he cares about the people around him and has such small town values. He won't let the big, intimidating city desensitize and dehumanize him. He will obstinately behave as though he were still in a small town, introducing himself to everyone he meets by name and becoming genuinely interested in their problems.

Too often Superman is portrayed as saintly or Christ-ly while Clark Kent is portrayed as a clownish disguise, but I want to try to make both of them more human and relateable. Try to appeal to our better nature.

X-Men: Chapter One

Another concept going back to the original days. Again, I want to draw out the original themes of the X-Men with a focus on characterization. If you read the original comics, it is easy to miss the strongest elements of the story due to a lot of hackneyed writing (sorry, Stan. Much love).

I'd like to focus on the relationships of the characters, particularly how Scott became the leader of the X-Men and the original love triangle between Scott, Jean, and Warren. This love triangle is often forgotten due to the more popular Scott/Jean/Logan love triangle, but I think the symbolism is brilliant. Scott is self-repressed and has poor self-esteem, conflicted by his desire for love and his fear that he will destroy it. Jean's telekinesis manifests almost like a poltergeist symbolizing her own insecurities and an unwillingness to accept her own power. When presented with an actual angel (who is also rich and beautiful), she leaps into a relationship, but soon questions if that is actually what she wants. Warren, on the other hand, simply wants the best and most beautiful, but this too is wrapped up in his own insecurity and the feeling that he must prove himself to his father.

Although I'd like to do a faithful interpretation of the original comics, I would like to add a few more characters, particularly Moira MacTaggert as a foil for Xavier and female role model as well as Storm, since it might be fun to see her character before she grows into adulthood. I'd like to retell classic tales like the first meeting with the Brotherhood of Mutants, the discovery of the Savage Land, and the invention of the Sentinels all as very contemporary science fiction stories.

Batman & Robin

If you read a Batman comic, you get the distinct impression that Bruce Wayne has no life. He seems to spend the majority of his time in the Batcave investigating crimes. Occasionally, he will attend a social function and play the part of the billionaire playboy, but like the clownish Clark Kent, it often feels like an act. I've often thought that if Bruce Wayne was serious about stopping crime, he would use his business empire rather than his fists. Money is the greatest superpower, after all.

This story would focus on the day-to-day lives of Bruce Wayne and Tim (Robin) Drake. In Bruce Wayne's story, we would find Bruce realizing that Wayne Industries does not have the sterling reputation he believed when he is forced to confront their history military weapons development, unethical drug testing, and sweatshop labor. As he struggles to reform the company's business practices, he starts to realize that he is being strategically attacked by an unknown enemy.

In Tim Drake's story, we follow his life in high school as he makes friends and begins to carve out his own territory in Gotham. He sets up the "Bird's Nest," his own treehouse version of the Batcave, hidden in a broadcasting tour. He falls for a charming, blind redhead destined to be a new Batgirl and fights off an invasion from an evil parallel version of himself. The goal would be to focus more on the relationships of the characters, their day-to-day life, and broad adventures rather than the brooding, serious crime dramas we normally get.

Fantastic Four

I have a strange fascination with the Fantastic Four. There are a couple marvelous characters, but mainly the tone is somewhere between Leave It To Beaver and The Brady Bunch. It's incredibly white and incredibly wholesome. But despite this, the eccentric genius of Mr. Fantastic is extremely compelling as is his counterpoint in the friendly, grounded, but often brooding character of the Thing. Furthermore, you get the sense that the Fantastic Four is nothing but a private scientific research agency whose scientific accomplishments never amount to any actual change or progress.

When I look at the Fantastic Four, I see Reed Richards creating the kind of technology we see in Star Trek and I want to see the social progress that comes with it. In my Fantastic Four, the team would be refocused as a scientific institute for study, exploration, and most importantly development. I think they've gone a little more in this direction with the Future Foundation (see pic above), but I think this can be expanded dramatically.

The Fantastic Four would be less of a team and more of a brand name for academics, brainstorming, exploration, and practical scientific application. Rather than being the story of a small family unit exploring the cosmos, it would be the story of a small family unit running a complex, state of the art organization with hundreds of employees ranging from scientist and students to lawyers and military personnel... all of whom are not only exploring but colonizing the cosmos. Sue would run the business, Reed would head the think tank, Ben would command the troops, and Johnny... well, Johnny would finally have to face how directionless his life is.

The first story would be about building a gateway for intergalactic travel through the Negative Zone. Trouble abounds from monsters in that dimension and greedy investors who want to use the gateway for exploitative purposes.

Alpha Flight: Socializing Superheroes

I always found Alpha Flight to be a funny concept: Canada's Avengers (particularly because Canada has a much lower crime rate than the US). Or the nefarious government agency overseeing Alpha Flight, Department H, as if Canada could compare with the US when it comes to shadowy, invasive black ops.

The problems of Canada simply don't compare to the problems of the US... and that is all to their credit, yet it makes it difficult to take seriously when the US is so much more dangerous. But that alone is a very interesting idea. A team of superheroes, sponsored by a government without any militaristic or tyrannical intentions, overstaffed, marvelous benefits and very little in the way of actual threats to deal with. Sure, the problems may not be as epic, but they can be weird, twisted and personal. Because the team is government run, you can have a cast of dozens spread across the provinces and focus more on their interpersonal relationships.

I also think it would be fun to have a guest appearance by Spider-Man early on to make relentless Canadian jokes all while being unnerved by the general cleanliness and politeness of Toronto.

Wonder Woman

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have an obsession with Wonder Woman. She's the most recognizable female superhero, extremely popular, but she has never had a quality comic. Her fans may disagree, but its hard to argue when there has never been a Wonder Woman comic that is anywhere near as popular as the character herself.

I've made some detailed descriptions of how I'd revamp Wonder Woman, but mostly what she needs is a secret identity to contrast her heroic personality, a city to call her own, a good supporting cast, and a villain makeover.

In my interpretation, Wonder Woman has her life redrawn by the mythic Greek Fates and is reborn as Diana Prince, a psychology professor at the University of Opal City. She has dreams of being Wonder Woman, but psychoanalyzes it as fantasy based on a perceived hopelessness about her job and life. She gradually realizes who she is, but both her Gods and her home are gone. Eventually, she realizes that there is a chance that all of them, like her, were reborn in another form and seeks to restore them. This would mythologize WW stories of the past so they would still be canon, but the story and all characters would be recast in a modern contemporary "wish fulfillment scenario."

Her supporting cast would be constructed from students, colleagues, and existing DC characters. Enemies and allies would also be reborn. The big villain of the series would be Vandal Savage, the immortal warlord, in the attempt to create a true arch-nemesis who contrasts Diana properly. The stories would largely revolve around gender, control, and alternative lifestyles, thereby playing into the prominent themes of the original stories and avoiding the familiar elements of Greek myth that (for me) weigh Wonder Woman down and make the comic less approachable.

Doctor Strange

Another character who has always interested me, but his stories have always disappointed. Marvel isn't very good at developing a cohesive magical world, at least not as good as DC. It is very hard to figure out what Dr. Strange can or cannot do, so you don't really get a sense of peril. He's also burdened by a bland, emotionally flat cast consisting of himself and his loyal manservant, Wong.

I'd like to add some depth to his story by making him a caretaker for all things magical, particularly people who have been adversely effected by magic. As a doctor, healing the sick and troubled should be his first priority, but with as serious a character as the good doctor, you have to have some characters who are more emotional to contrast with.

I would start by including new characters who have a vague relationship to magic who could benefit from Strange's help. First on this list is Scarlet Witch who was recently written to have unchecked magic potential without the wisdom to utilize it. This would be a good contrast to the always wise and controlled doctor. Next would be Juggernaut, a character whose magic-based powers have always been an awkward fit in the X-Men. Since Juggernaut receives his powers from Cyttorak and Dr. Strange is often evoking the same source, he may be able to provide help that Professor Xavier never could. Finally, I would also want to add Hawkeye, since his bow-wielding skills would be much better suited to the fantasy environment, and his brash attitude would also be a necessary contrast to the doctor.

The story would center largely over Strange's attempt to expand his services to those in need as well as a search for his lost child by his wife, Clea.

Avengers

Although I am not an Avengers fan, I'm attracted to the idea of writing for the best of the best. The problem I've always had with the Avengers is that their roster has always seemed awkward and their threats are usually hackneyed superhero fair. Just another megalomaniac, alien, or vague entity...

My Avengers would incorporate classic elements with the Invaders (the original Marvel superhero team) and new members, characters who deserve wider recognition and fit within the team dynamic. This would include Captain America, Iron Man, Namor, Human Torch, Black Panther, Vision, Storm, Scarlet Witch, Longshot, and Valkyrie.

The story would focus largely around Doctor Doom forming an alliance with other nations to bring about a third world war. His first target is the Avengers and he hits their every weak spot, targeting them individually and dividing them by their separate interests, and by placing a spy in their roster to hit them at their weakest.

Another story would be about the robot Vision evolving beyond a simple machine, detaching from biological concepts like gender, and becoming akin to a technological Hindu god. As he finds other AI striving for their own sense of identity, he becomes a reluctant messiah figure only to find his counterpart in his "father," Ultron, as he seeks to conquer the world for AI. This would lead directly into my next idea.

X-Men: The Third Race

With the X-Men, I often think about how I would write two books at once, since there are far more X-Men characters than one book can handle. This title would focus on the X-Men in San Francisco as a mutant rights and relations agency. The team would consist of Cyclops, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Sentinel Omega, Emma Frost, and Multiple Man.

The first story revolves around a set of terrorist bombings committed by robots disguised as people. While tracking down the culprits, the X-Men find that there is a revolution taking place by AI which is objecting to the way they are being used - usually for military, dangerous labor, or even sexual purposes. The X-Men have to decide whether to support or stop this revolution. This becomes complicated when they realize that there are Sentinels who have joined the movement. Eventually, this revolution becomes their own race of sorts and which conflicts with mutants as both races are poised to usurp the planet from the human race.

Uncanny X-Men: The New School

The other X-Men title I'd like to write is a throwback to the original idea of the X-Men as a school. We've seen enough of Xavier running the school, Cyclops and Emma Frost were no good at it, so I'd like to see a new headmaster and headmistress. My choice would be Storm and Beast. Storm has the evolved sensibilities and wisdom that made Xavier so effective while Beast has intellect and humor well suited to the job. Add to them the combination of Kitty Pryde and Colossus as student advisers and you have a team of classic members comprising an actual school.

As for the students themselves, you would need a class that actually feels deserving of the X-Men title, so I would go with a few new creations and a couple members from previous classes like X-23, Hellion, Penance, Pixie, Surge, Mercury, Petra, or Prodigy. I'd like to create a new telepath character for this series, since telepaths seem to be a necessary part of the X-Men.

For the story, I'd like to focus on recreating a classic feel but without relying on overexposed villains, so the first story arc would focus on the character who took Professor Xavier's legs coming back to destroy his dream.

WildStorm Revival

Finally, the last major property I would like to work on is the WildStorm line currently owned by DC. This was my favorite comic franchise before DC drove it into the ground and I would love to have a chance to streamline it with a series of interlocking stories introducing the history of the world.

The story would begin with two alien races, the Kherubim and Daemonites, crashing to Earth thousands of years ago and continuing their war on our isolated planet. Although they wage their war largely in secret, the manipulations of the alien races alters the natural development of our species. Through civilization, war, and religion, the human race become unknowing pawns in an alien conflict. We follow a lone Kherubim warrior, Zannah, as she fights the war through the millennia, often creating or destroying empires in her hubris. For this reason, she deservingly earns the nickname "Zealot."

The Kherubim/Daemonite war comes to the forefront during World War II when advances in communication, record keeping, and intelligence reveal the Daemonite influence on the Third Reich. In response, the Allied forces form their own team of superhuman operatives including Jenny Sparks (the foul-mouthed Brit with powers of electricity), Marc Slayton (an assassin who can disappear in a puff of smoke), and John Colt (a genetically engineered soldier based on a long-dead Kherubim warrior).

Flash forward the 1970s, an Kherubim scout probe bonds to a Russian cosmonaut over Earth's atmosphere and lands in war-torn Cambodia. The event is referred to as a "wild storm" due to the cosmic energy fluctuations in the atmosphere. The American black ops company known as International Operations send their foremost wetworks group, Team 7, to investigate. They are the best soldiers the nation has to offer and they are only used in the worst circumstance. Upon retrieving the woman/probe, they find themselves gifted by incredible telepathic powers, driving many insane, and causing the others to question their loyalties.

In the late 80s, children who were in utero during the "wild storm" are born with powers, most of which do not manifest outside of extreme stress. These potentials are found and recruited by the United Nation's StormWatch program, enlisted to deal with superhuman phenomena. They are this world's premiere superhuman response team.

In the late nineties, the hidden children of Team 7 are found and recruited by International Operation and enlisted in the Gen13 program to find out how their parent's exposure has manifested in them. This leads to the rescue of the alien probe called Void.

Uniting with the remaining Kherubim on Earth, Void prepares for the coming of the Kherubim which they quickly realize is not the beginning of a renaissance, but possibly the beginning of an invasion.

The idea would be to streamline WildStorm continuity to include storylines that were previously in continuity while creating a fresh jumping point for original content. Ideally, I'd want this series to continue in real time (e.g. characters age a year for every year of publication), but of course, this decision would not be up to me.

So that's it! Of course, there are other ideas I've had for stories, but these are the big ones. There are actually fewer than I thought and I think this exercise has helped me focus my ambitions a bit. Next, I'll do rough outlines of all of the original projects I would still like to work on. Until then, your comments and criticism are always welcome.