Rewrite your favorite comic characters origin.

The place to talk about your favorite novels, comic books and web comics.
Post Reply
RUSCHE
Posts: 373
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2016 3:50 pm

Rewrite your favorite comic characters origin.

Post by RUSCHE »

If you were able, how would you redo your favorite comic characters origin? Who would it be and why would you do it? For me it would be Bruce Banner, for the most part I would explore his adult interactions while in the process of building a new energy source. While going thru the stress of working with the company (secretly the government) , we get flash backs to his childhood. I would make him in the top 3 smartest individuals on Earth , yet so driven as to not have many friends or quite frankly colleagues that would work with him long term.
He is too close to his work and goal that he cannot see the danger (or does not care) to what he is building. Insert espionage and you could still have the classic feel of his original story. I know this is a mishmash of previous stories , not too well though out but it could be fleshed out to as supporting characters are introduced. No he would not be a cannibal, not he would not be stupid and speak in third person. He would be cunning, hates himself as he KNOWS he is the expression of fear and loathing and weakness that Banner is, his rage is at himself for not being strong when it mattered the most(even though he was a child) when his abusive father killed his mother.
User avatar
Ares
Site Admin
Posts: 4963
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:40 am

Re: Rewrite your favorite comic characters origin.

Post by Ares »

While not my favorite character, I am a fan of Superman, and I would change a couple of things about his backstory.

The first has to do with the origins of Krypton. Namely that, in the distant pre-history, Kryptonians were actually a race of superpowered conquerors, whose vast powers made them a terror to the universe. They could fly freely amongst the stars, rip mountains asunder, were all but invulnerable to harm, etc. Though only numbering a few hundred individuals, they were all but unstoppable by anyone save the Green Lanterns, with each Lantern being the equal of these Pre-Kryptonians. Eventually, the Lanterns are able to capture a Pre-Kryptonian and learn that their bodies cannot absorb a certain spectrum of sunlight, namely the red wavelength. The Pre-Kryptonians themselves are unaware of this, so the Guardians come up with a way to deal with them. They managed to eventually get all of the Pre-Kryptonians to a planet under a Red Sun (possibly either with the aid of the New Gods or Zeta-Beam technology) and hold them there until the Pre-Kryptonians lose their powers. The Pre-Kryptonians are then tried for their crimes, with each individual being interviewed and judged. The worst of the criminals are executed, those who seem unlikely to reform are transferred to the planet Daxam, which is under a similar Red Sun, and those that look like they have the potential to reform are left on what would become Krypton.

Since they had no need to rely on technology before, both the Kryptonians and Daxamites have to learn to develop their own tech from scratch. Their immune systems also have to develop resistances to diseases and bacteria for the first time, and on Daxam, all Daxamites develop an acute allergy to the substance Lead.

As a precaution against their becoming a threat again, the Kryptonians and Daxamites are given a mental aversion to leaving their planet. Tens of thousands of years pass, and Krypton develops into a scientific marvel but without a significant space program. The Guardians eventually decide that both cultures have moved past their savage ways, and the rest of the galaxy has completely forgotten about them save as legendary monsters of myth with different names. The mental conditioning limiting them from developing space technology is removed, but now both planets have a cultural aversion to traveling off world. Daxam remains isolationist, and while Kryptonians allow visitors to their world, they never leave their planet.

Krypton's core eventually becomes radioactive due to something or other, and by the time anyone realizes it, almost the entire planet has been irrevocably poisoned by the Kryptonite radiation within the planets core. Only certain locations that are situated above large deposits of dense, lead-like materials are safe, such as Kandor. Brainiac learns of Krypton's impending destruction and captures Kandor, shrinking it for later. Jor-El, realizing what had been happening, had taken care to keep his infant son in special shielding to protect him from the radiation, developing a space ship to take him to Earth. The reason why Jor-El and Lara don't accompany Kal-El is because they're already dying, and traveling with him would just mean dying on the way to Earth. Jor-El had likewise warned his brother, Zor-El to protect his daughter Kara from exposure to this radiation, and thus she is sent off to serve as Kal-El's protector on Earth.

Both ships leave just as Krypton explodes, and the FTL devices both use wind up drawing several Kryptonite meteors in their wake after them, explaining why so many of those green rocks land on Earth. An error in Kara's FTL drive means she arrives almost 30 years after Kal-El's ship lands on Earth.

Kal-El's ship, incidentally, suffered damage as well. When it entered Earth's atmosphere, the damage became even more severe, so it jettisoned Kal-El's pod into Kansas while the larger section of the craft crash-landed in the Arctic, with its self-repair functions turning the ship into the Fortress of Solitude.

Kal-El is then raised by Ma and Pa Kent, being renamed Clark Kent. He has a normal childhood, with his powers slowly emerging over time. When he becomes a teenager, some time-traveling villain from the future comes back in time to kill him, only to be stopped by the Legion of Superheroes. The Legion take Clark to the future, where he is able to be with teenagers with powers and help him adjust to them. He joins the Legion as Superboy, pretending to be a descendent of the 21st century's Superman. Brainiac 5 uses super-science to give Superboy his adult power-levels while he's in the 30th century, though that power fades whenever Clark returns to his own time. His time with the Legion essentially becomes monthly adventures and summer vacations for Clark, where he gains the experience and skills that would make his debut as Superman that much easier.

This keeps most of Superman's Post-Crisis/Pre-Flashpoint history intact without screwing up the Legion's Pre-Crisis continuity.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

Want to support me and Echoes of the Multiverse? Follow this link to subscribe or donate.
RUSCHE
Posts: 373
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2016 3:50 pm

Re: Rewrite your favorite comic characters origin.

Post by RUSCHE »

I like that, I love the Legion and I am upset about their lack of respect and presents in current Dc. I know Saturn Girl is in Doomsday event but eh...
User avatar
Ken
Posts: 3460
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:40 pm
Location: Sycalb, Madiganistan

Re: Rewrite your favorite comic characters origin.

Post by Ken »

Not necessarily my favourites, but some origin fixes I've contemplated over the years.

Princess Diana of Themyscira comes to "Patriarch's World" in 1941, after she falls in love with Captain Steve Trevor, a U.S. Navy Pilot, who crashed his plane near Themyscira, and is rescued and restored to health by Diana. She becomes Wonder Woman, and by 1944 makes the Axis fold. In the early 1950s she briefly goes underground with the rest of the JSA, returning to her home for a time. Eventually, she starts making forays back to America. As an ageless Amazon, she looks as young as she did in 1941. During one, she rescues the infant Donna Hinckley from a tenement fire, and brings the child (an orphan and victim in a child-selling scam) to Paradise Island, and Donna becomes an Amazon. Eventually, Diana returns to the U.S. full-time as the Themysciran ambassador, meeting Julia and Vanessa Kapatelis, and founding the Wonder Woman foundation and co-founding the Justice League. Donna comes back to America as Wonder Girl, and co-founds the Teen Titans into a regular team.

During his teen years, Clark Kent occasionally went into the 31st century, and using the name "Superboy" was a part of the Legion of Super-Heroes. This continues into his college years. At the end of what would be the last of these trips, the Time Trapper attacks Superboy's Time Sphere while he's on his way back to his proper place in time. Superboy manages to fight the trapper off, but at a cost. He arrives in 1937, his powers greatly diminished, and his memory jumbled. His costume is damaged, so he replaces it with what he can find in the era. Remembering his name Clark Kent, and his plans to move to Metropolis, he heads to Metropolis. He finds work as a reporter at the Daily Star under George Taylor. And in 1938, he debuts as Superman, the first super hero. Over time, his powers return, and more of his memories. In 1949, he finds a piece of rock that weakens him, and in tracing the rock's origins, he discovers Krypton, resets his memory, and returns to his proper place in the early 21st century. No longer a teen, his body had stopped growing, and as an invulnerable Kryptonian, the negative effects of age have not set in, and the 30-something year old Clark can pass as a 20-something.
My Amazing Woman: a super-hero romantic comedy podcast.

When the most powerful super hero on Earth marries an ordinary man, hilarity ensues.
User avatar
Ken
Posts: 3460
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:40 pm
Location: Sycalb, Madiganistan

Re: Rewrite your favorite comic characters origin.

Post by Ken »

Officer Dan Garret was a cop by day, and a mystery-man, the Blue Beetle, by night. Eventually he retires as a mystery-man and settles down.

His son, Dan Garrett Jr. becomes an archaeologist. During a trip to Kahndaq, he and Dr. Prof. Luri Hoshid discover the tomb of Ramses II, but a problem with the local warlord leads to the area being bombed. Dr. Garrett ends up with a single blue-jeweled scarab from a necklace they found in the tomb. And right before the bombs hit, he translates one of the words on the tomb walls: "Shazam". A flash of lightning, and he becomes the new Blue Beetle (his appearance and name based on his father's old identity). He rescues Luri, fights the warlord, etc.

The tomb of Ramses II is reburied, though. Some years later, it would be unearthed, again, by Clarence and Marilyn Batson, with Theo Adam.
My Amazing Woman: a super-hero romantic comedy podcast.

When the most powerful super hero on Earth marries an ordinary man, hilarity ensues.
User avatar
Voltron64
Posts: 528
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2016 2:44 am
Location: Tucson, AZ

Re: Rewrite your favorite comic characters origin.

Post by Voltron64 »

Go with what the DCAU went with Wonder Woman and have her clay body be molded by Hippolyta together with someone else (be it Hades, Zeus, Ares, or Heracles).

Honestly, that's the way I go with Wonder Woman having a father at all.
User avatar
Ares
Site Admin
Posts: 4963
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:40 am

Re: Rewrite your favorite comic characters origin.

Post by Ares »

Ken wrote: Thu Oct 25, 2018 9:09 am Officer Dan Garret was a cop by day, and a mystery-man, the Blue Beetle, by night. Eventually he retires as a mystery-man and settles down.

His son, Dan Garrett Jr. becomes an archaeologist. During a trip to Kahndaq, he and Dr. Prof. Luri Hoshid discover the tomb of Ramses II, but a problem with the local warlord leads to the area being bombed. Dr. Garrett ends up with a single blue-jeweled scarab from a necklace they found in the tomb. And right before the bombs hit, he translates one of the words on the tomb walls: "Shazam". A flash of lightning, and he becomes the new Blue Beetle (his appearance and name based on his father's old identity). He rescues Luri, fights the warlord, etc.

The tomb of Ramses II is reburied, though. Some years later, it would be unearthed, again, by Clarence and Marilyn Batson, with Theo Adam.
I like it.

Adding to this, eventually Dan dies and passes the mantle of the Blue Beetle to Ted, who for some reason cannot get the scarab to work. He brings the scarab to archeologist and scientist Hector Hall, who likewise can't get it to work, but does figure out how to use the scarab as a power source. Ted decides to become his own kind of Blue Beetle while Hector incorporates the scarab into a suit of battle armor, becoming the Silver Scarab. Eventually Hector retires from the role, possibly dying or eventually becoming an apprentice to Dr. Fate.

When Jaime Reyes gets the scarab and can make it work, it's now got silver and blue on it, and he decides to become the new Silver Scarab while Ted remains the Blue Beetle, with Hector and Ted both acting as mentors to Jaime.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

Want to support me and Echoes of the Multiverse? Follow this link to subscribe or donate.
User avatar
Woodclaw
Posts: 1462
Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2017 8:05 pm
Location: Como, Italy

Re: Rewrite your favorite comic characters origin.

Post by Woodclaw »

On the subject of Superman, I would rework a few details of his powers, rather than his origin per-se.
I always found weird that Kryptonite and only Kryptonite seemed to affect him (and actually Kurt Busiek kind of addressed this in a panel of JLA/Avengers). This got me thinking: what if Kryptonians simply react to radiation differently than humans? What cause us to develop a tumor or radiation poisoning, cause them intense pain as their cells starts to almost melt away. This might explain why their civilazation seemed to be confined to a single planet: cosmic radiations pretty much doomed all early attempts at space exploration. The pods carrying Kal and Kara were probably deep space prototypes, with advanced shielding, repurposed in ahurry by their parents.

Of course this would make Superman and Supergirl a bit weaker and more reliant on some form of NBC suit to face certain situations, but also provide some extra challenge.
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

WareHouse W (main build thread for M&M)
User avatar
Ken
Posts: 3460
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:40 pm
Location: Sycalb, Madiganistan

Re: Rewrite your favorite comic characters origin.

Post by Ken »

Ares wrote: Sun Oct 28, 2018 4:47 am
Ken wrote: Thu Oct 25, 2018 9:09 am Officer Dan Garret was a cop by day, and a mystery-man, the Blue Beetle, by night. Eventually he retires as a mystery-man and settles down.

His son, Dan Garrett Jr. becomes an archaeologist. During a trip to Kahndaq, he and Dr. Prof. Luri Hoshid discover the tomb of Ramses II, but a problem with the local warlord leads to the area being bombed. Dr. Garrett ends up with a single blue-jeweled scarab from a necklace they found in the tomb. And right before the bombs hit, he translates one of the words on the tomb walls: "Shazam". A flash of lightning, and he becomes the new Blue Beetle (his appearance and name based on his father's old identity). He rescues Luri, fights the warlord, etc.

The tomb of Ramses II is reburied, though. Some years later, it would be unearthed, again, by Clarence and Marilyn Batson, with Theo Adam.
I like it.

Adding to this, eventually Dan dies and passes the mantle of the Blue Beetle to Ted, who for some reason cannot get the scarab to work. He brings the scarab to archeologist and scientist Hector Hall, who likewise can't get it to work, but does figure out how to use the scarab as a power source. Ted decides to become his own kind of Blue Beetle while Hector incorporates the scarab into a suit of battle armor, becoming the Silver Scarab. Eventually Hector retires from the role, possibly dying or eventually becoming an apprentice to Dr. Fate.

When Jaime Reyes gets the scarab and can make it work, it's now got silver and blue on it, and he decides to become the new Silver Scarab while Ted remains the Blue Beetle, with Hector and Ted both acting as mentors to Jaime.
When I take over DC, I'm hiring you.
My Amazing Woman: a super-hero romantic comedy podcast.

When the most powerful super hero on Earth marries an ordinary man, hilarity ensues.
User avatar
Ares
Site Admin
Posts: 4963
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:40 am

Re: Rewrite your favorite comic characters origin.

Post by Ares »

Ken wrote: Sat Nov 03, 2018 10:13 pm When I take over DC, I'm hiring you.
I promise to use my position wisely and not have the Captain Marvel Jeph Loeb all over the rest of the DCU in the 4 Marvel Family related books I'd demand.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

Want to support me and Echoes of the Multiverse? Follow this link to subscribe or donate.
User avatar
Ken
Posts: 3460
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:40 pm
Location: Sycalb, Madiganistan

Re: Rewrite your favorite comic characters origin.

Post by Ken »

Ares wrote: Sun Nov 04, 2018 12:21 am
Ken wrote: Sat Nov 03, 2018 10:13 pm When I take over DC, I'm hiring you.
I promise to use my position wisely and not have the Captain Marvel Jeph Loeb all over the rest of the DCU in the 4 Marvel Family related books I'd demand.
That'll be my job, then I guess.

I'm thinking....

Captain Marvel Adventures
The Marvel Family
The World's Mightiest Mortal
With One Magic Word....


Need to avoid the 'S' word.
My Amazing Woman: a super-hero romantic comedy podcast.

When the most powerful super hero on Earth marries an ordinary man, hilarity ensues.
Post Reply