Guardians Origin Story

[BS Digital Q]

Okay, so I've been thinking about some of Icecap's and Kerevon's ideas. I have a loose idea for how the origin might shape up, though this is subject to change as we continue to develop these characters.

So I assume these'll be the characters that come together initially to form the Guardians:
The Enforcer
Omega Man
Thunderhead
Lady Mesmerize
Djinni
Kerevon's Tree-Guy
Unnamed Scientist Fugitive

My idea is to have Omega Man's archenemy as the big bad of this story. The setup is something like this: Superhumans are exploding in population toward the end of the 20th century, and with that comes an uptick in crime and terrorism by these superhumans. And the superheroes are secretive and viewed generally as vigilantes at best. Given this, our villain works with a government agency to develop a kind of anti-superhuman extermination program, combining research into Omega energy with the stolen nano-technology research of Unnamed Scientist, sold to our villain by that guy's rival. To make this murder campaign more palatable to the public, the villain unveils a group of "superheroes" designed to make their gruesome work look like a Saturday morning cartoon: the Millennials, colorful, fun characters with seemingly open identities and everything that the other heroes don't have, tailor made to be popular to the public.

Meanwhile, he has already sent the first wave of his cybernetic creations to hunt down some of the more prominent superhuman vigilantes, including Omega Man, Thunderhead and Dijinni. This campaign is headed by the Enforcer's old archnemesis, (who I still don't have a good name for), who is operating out of his own country and supplimenting things with his own mercenary forces, in exchange for getting first cut at the living weapons our villain is making.

However, the same agency our villain is working with doesn't trust him. They bring in Lady Mesmerize to help uncover the truth behind this scheme. Thunderhead at the very least is captured, while Omega Man is able to fend off his pursuers. He recognizes the use of Omega energy, and that the nanotech used is similar to experiments done by Unnamed Scientist Fugitive. Not knowing how to contact him, Omega Man seeks the aid of an old ally of his, The Enforcer, still a vigilante in Ashenburg. Enforcer has been following the trail of his old archnemesis, and discovers him, but the new techn he has is beyond the Enforcer. Omega Man rescues his old ally, and they team up to investigate this situation and seek out Unnamed Scientist Guy. When they find him they are attacked by the Millenials, who outclass the heroes, but a diversion is able to throw the villains off the track. Unnamed Scientist Guy recognizes his handiwork, and vows to work with Omega Man and The Enforcer to prevent his work from being perverted any further.

Lady Mesmerize discovers the truth behind the Millenials and the imprisoned superheroes and is able to barely escape herself. The villain intends on making the deaths of the heroes a public spectacle, using experimental technology to brainwash the captured heroes into attacking a city, at which point the Millenials will come in and beat them. Lady Mesmerize and the agency contact the Enforcer and Omega Man, who share their own discoveries with them. But without substantial evidence they can't openly engage the villain to stop his scheme. They plan a secret raid on the main facility to stop his plans and free the heroes he has imprisoned. They are initially successful, but the villain initiates a contingency plan, using his tech to mind control the imprisoned heroes and turning them on the raiders. Unnamed Scientist Guy is able to disable the mind control tech and free the heroes. With his main plan foiled, the villain initiates his plan b, using his tech to change the Millenials into duplicates of all the heroes, then sending them on a rampage in Hightower. The heroes, however, are able to show up and challenge the imposters. They split up, Lady Mesermize pursuing the main villain, and the Enforcer engages his old archenemy, leaving the heroes slightly disadvantaged against their doppelgangers. However, Unnamed Scientist Fugitive is able to combine his knowledge of his technology with Omega Man's powers and knowledge of Omega Energy to force the Millenials to expose themselves as the frauds they are. The heroes begin to turn the tide, and as a last ditch effort the Millenials combine into a single cybernetic monstrosity. The combined entity also hijacks control over the other cybernetic anti-super weapons, controlling or absorbing them, and thus overwhelms the supers. Knowing that the being is still powered by Omega energy, Omega Man, with help from Unnamed Scientist Man, Thunderhead, and Djinni, is able to penetrate the beast and exposes the Omega energy battery powering it. He absorbs the ensuing blast, and uses his overcharge of strength to destroy it.

The Enforcer defeats his old enemy in single combat thanks to assistance from Lady Mesmerize. Together they stop the main villain's attempt to escape, placing him under arrest, but Enforcer's archnemesis and his minions escape.

In the aftermath, each hero has some task related all of this that they must pursue. But in light of how well they worked together to stop the main villain's scheme from working, it is proposed that they stay and work together, so that no one hero has the burden of saving the world against overwhelming odds. Thus, the Guardians are born, and unlike the Millenials, they are the real deal.



Okay, that's my basic idea. I know it leans heavily on some characters than others, so I'm hoping you guys can give me ideas of how to expand the roles of the characters who don't have prominence (mainly, Thunderhead, Tree-Guy, and Djinni).

[icecap]

Very interesting great job man, I love the teamage of Omega and the Enforcer. Ill try to have some ideas to add when we chat later.

[BS Digital Q]

Kerevon, any input?

[kerevon]

I quite like the outline you already have for this story. As far as my own characters, all I'd really need to change is ensuring that either Djinni frees HIMSELF from servitude, or that it was either Omega Man or Thunderhead who saved him. I think it would be useful if Tree-Guy (previously unmentioned) was a previously captured vigilante (especially if his form of imprisonment left him in a strange mid-transformation state, showing the horror of the facility immediately). Overall, I think this story works. Do we have any of the Millenials planned out yet?

[BS Digital Q]

May 18, 2012 7:18:14 GMT -5 kerevon said:

I quite like the outline you already have for this story. As far as my own characters, all I'd really need to change is ensuring that either Djinni frees HIMSELF from servitude, or that it was either Omega Man or Thunderhead who saved him.

That certainly works. Maybe even combine those two ideas together in some form. Lets say this form of brainwashing doesn't work as well on Djinni because of his nature as a supernatural creature, and so in order to control him he is subjected to a greater degree of the process than the others. Then maybe he goes toe to toe with Omega Man, and as he's beating down the hero, his indignance and anger at this helps to break the control?

I think it would be useful if Tree-Guy (previously unmentioned) was a previously captured vigilante (especially if his form of imprisonment left him in a strange mid-transformation state, showing the horror of the facility immediately).

I like that, except for the "previously unmentioned" part. He needs to have some measure of establishment to link him to the plot in some form. Having him just show up as a prisoner in the facility weakens him as a character and doesn't give us any reason why he should link up with the other characters. He needs to have an arc, even if its a rather tiny one in the grand scheme of the overall story.

Do we have any of the Millenials planned out yet?

Not yet. I see these guys as being rather disposable, cookie-cutter/cliche "heroes" designed to be as marketable as possible, characterized in broad strokes and known for one defining character trait that is then overemphasized. Essentially, they are posuer superheroes to be contrasted with the real superheroes our villain is trying to kill. The personalities should all border on assholishness just enough that when they finally go villain for the climactic battle, it is a believable and expected move on their part.

I would also give them around 7-8 members, all roughly equivalent to our characters in their power levels, or at least able to exploit their weaknesses. This way, when the climactic battle goes underway, the heroes are just slightly outclassed, enough to give the battle some real tension, but still give our heroes a fighting chance and ability to shine through moments of awesome.

[icecap]

Hey digital do you want me to start on some millenials? Ive got like two or three ideas that ive been tossing around

[BS Digital Q]

Share your ideas, and we'll go from there.