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).

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.

Doctor Persephone and the Agents of Undermind

Doctor Persephone and the Agents of Undermind is a psychological adventure story taking place in both the physical and mental worlds. The agents are psychics who are engaged in a war of psychic colonization against Overmind, a secret organization who is effecting the world's psyche in ways both broad and toxic as well as specific and controlled.

Doctor Persephone is the leader of this group, but whether or not he is part of anything larger is anyone's guess. He is, by far, their most powerful adept. His most obvious characteristic is his flamboyant personality. He has a very intellectual demeanor which suits his British accent. He also has a tendency towards androgyny and sexual ambiguity (although never flirting with subordinates). Whenever anyone questions his identity, he simply replies that he has "a fondness for pretty things" and leaves it at that. These effeminate characteristics can lead people to underestimate him, but he has a brilliantly tactical mind, a fierce fighting ability, and sublime understanding of consciousness.

In truth, Persephone doesn't even know who he is... or at least, was. He calls himself an amalgamated construct or patchwork personality. As far as he has been able to figure out, the mind which previously ran his body was shattered beyond recognition (presumably in Overmind experiments). Somehow, the shattered remains of a few dozen people were essentially dumped in his head.

After a few months of wildly schizophrenic behavior (where he was still demonstrating psychic ability), he learned how to reconcile his contradictory personality elements in a single persona. He has studied meditation with Buddhist monks and astral projection with Australian aborigines. In creating his entire identity from separate pieces, he has a far superior understanding of what consciousness is and how it works. His work with experts on mental exploration has really helped him more to return to the realm of the mundane rather than to escape it.

He now seeks out psychic adepts of a very certain sort. While Overmind seeks the most powerful minds, Persephone seeks the most creative minds. He seeks those who can harness the abstract and yet give live to it. He also seeks out those with an aversion to authority and tendency toward anarchy.

Fighting a war for mental real estate, Persephone has liberated some of the Overmind experiments including a group of triplets he calls the Wired Systers. They are connected to eachother and then to a computer. Consequently, they look somewhat like they are lounging in a hookah bar while tripping on shrooms, but this is only because their consciousness is always more in the virtual world than the physical. Yet their connection between the digital world and the mental world is invaluable. They provide Undermind with a psychic map that shows psychological currents like a Doppler map. This is the tool that allows them to plan their operations. This sometimes makes them feel more like meteorologists or firemen then a military force. They are just responding to disasters on they can see.

Overmind functions in very direct ways by fighting the war on two fronts - the populace and the individual. Most of their projects involve pushing certain emotions such as artificially raising feelings of need or loyalty in a particular area to create dependency. But when dealing with individuals, they have Dream Doctors, experts in psychic construction, who will essentially live in someone's mind for an extended period of time to spy on someone and/or control their thoughts. They cannot control behavior directly, but they can generate strong desires and obsessive thoughts. They can also twist memories.

But Undermind operates by using the terrain to their advantage. If they are fighting on the collective unconscious, they can use group sentiment and cultural myths as weapons. If they are fighting in an individual consciousness, they can use the individuals identity, memories, and personality to subvert the alien consciousness.

Yet the collective unconscious is not a neutral or benign landscape for this battle. There are entities which have no corporeal form, creations of human imagination given a life of its own beyond its creators. There are goblins, ghosts, and Gods. As Persephone says, "We just got it backwards. They didn't create us, we created them. We just created them thinking they created us and that makes them very difficult to work with."

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.