Post by BS Digital Q on Jan 27, 2012 12:56:56 GMT -5
Okay, this is actually an idea Red-X mentioned in another thread as a possible "Fantastic Four" for our universe. While I'm of the opinion that it is too unlike the basic notion of the FF as high-science explorers and adventurers who are not mere superheroes seeking out evildoers, I do really like the idea, as it has loads of potential, like a superhero version of Doctor Who or Sapphire & Steel.
So I've been thinking about it. I don't know what X has in mind for it, but I'll just lay out some thoughts of my own on it. The name "Time Patrol" is a mere stand-in. If you guys/Red-X don't like it, we can choose something else.
Red-X's idea:
While crime is a bit limiting, I think the whole notion of an organization that patrols time and preserves its balance is a marvelous way to explore some really crazy and inventive stuff. The possibilities are endless.
I think the key to this is that all of our "heroes" are individuals lost in time or removed from time by a higher power. This power should not be explained too much, and remain enigmatic, at most operating through some sort of proxy figure. This band of individuals consists of historical figures and time travelers, or decidedly alien entities who've taken human guises. Not just mere extraterrestrials, these beings would be something...more. Again, emphasis on less is more, using mystery to keep us interested in what is going on, leaving most things unnamed instory.
The threats could be varied. Time itself is a malevolent force to be reckoned with, empowering some of the threats that the heroes fight. Sometimes they must deal with forces using time, bending, manipulating, or tearing it apart to accomplish some nebulous yet terrible scheme. There could be monsters hidden in moments of time, objects who have disastrous effects on it, rifts, warps, and echoes. Sometimes humans are the victims of time itself or those manipulating it, sometimes humans are the ones responsible for what is happening, whether it be consciously or deliberately. Stories would play around with abstract concepts and our perception of reality, and the powers of both the threats and our protagonists should reflect that. With few exceptions, the powers of our heroes should be given to them afterwards, and should not fit into traditional hero archetypes. Stuff like the Doctor's "regeneration," or the ability to reduce one's self to absolute zero in order to destroy sections of reality.
Stories should also have a normal person's viewpoint on this. Whats going on is crazy as hell, and our heroes have gotten used to it by this point. This viewpoint could come from a victim of whatever threat our heroes are dealing with, or it could be the new recruit plucked from reality because of some random thing he did.
So thats my basic concept. I have a few character ideas:
Enoch, the biblical figure who never died, but was taken directly into heaven by "God."
A time-traveler, a young man sent from the future to the past in order to stop some event from triggering a disaster that created his future.
The crew of the Mary Celeste.
A Schroedinger cat.
And more.
An example enemy could be the Idea of Evil, a meme that infects and corrupts the minds of those who read it, and thus transcends time and space. Another is the May Be Man, an ordinary man who once lived, but whose existence was deprived by something affecting time. A man who existed in the past, but was removed from existence, and could have existed in the future, but was prevented from coming into being.
Thats just a sampling of all the things this could be. Now, lets hear what Red-X has to say...
So I've been thinking about it. I don't know what X has in mind for it, but I'll just lay out some thoughts of my own on it. The name "Time Patrol" is a mere stand-in. If you guys/Red-X don't like it, we can choose something else.
Red-X's idea:
What if we had a team of superheroes who dealt with crime in time? They would be a group who protects the time stream at every period possible and each hero would be from a different era!
While crime is a bit limiting, I think the whole notion of an organization that patrols time and preserves its balance is a marvelous way to explore some really crazy and inventive stuff. The possibilities are endless.
I think the key to this is that all of our "heroes" are individuals lost in time or removed from time by a higher power. This power should not be explained too much, and remain enigmatic, at most operating through some sort of proxy figure. This band of individuals consists of historical figures and time travelers, or decidedly alien entities who've taken human guises. Not just mere extraterrestrials, these beings would be something...more. Again, emphasis on less is more, using mystery to keep us interested in what is going on, leaving most things unnamed instory.
The threats could be varied. Time itself is a malevolent force to be reckoned with, empowering some of the threats that the heroes fight. Sometimes they must deal with forces using time, bending, manipulating, or tearing it apart to accomplish some nebulous yet terrible scheme. There could be monsters hidden in moments of time, objects who have disastrous effects on it, rifts, warps, and echoes. Sometimes humans are the victims of time itself or those manipulating it, sometimes humans are the ones responsible for what is happening, whether it be consciously or deliberately. Stories would play around with abstract concepts and our perception of reality, and the powers of both the threats and our protagonists should reflect that. With few exceptions, the powers of our heroes should be given to them afterwards, and should not fit into traditional hero archetypes. Stuff like the Doctor's "regeneration," or the ability to reduce one's self to absolute zero in order to destroy sections of reality.
Stories should also have a normal person's viewpoint on this. Whats going on is crazy as hell, and our heroes have gotten used to it by this point. This viewpoint could come from a victim of whatever threat our heroes are dealing with, or it could be the new recruit plucked from reality because of some random thing he did.
So thats my basic concept. I have a few character ideas:
Enoch, the biblical figure who never died, but was taken directly into heaven by "God."
A time-traveler, a young man sent from the future to the past in order to stop some event from triggering a disaster that created his future.
The crew of the Mary Celeste.
A Schroedinger cat.
And more.
An example enemy could be the Idea of Evil, a meme that infects and corrupts the minds of those who read it, and thus transcends time and space. Another is the May Be Man, an ordinary man who once lived, but whose existence was deprived by something affecting time. A man who existed in the past, but was removed from existence, and could have existed in the future, but was prevented from coming into being.
Thats just a sampling of all the things this could be. Now, lets hear what Red-X has to say...
