The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

[BubbaKanoosh]

First off, Mods can we get thus stickied?!?!?

Secondly, Some if you may have known I ran a little contest to create a couple if events and the winner with the best submissions would get the UXF: Dark Angel Saga 1+2 hardcovers as a prize.

Too sum up what they had to do in as, I gave them two lists of titles of various Marvel and DC storylines, events, etc and they had to make two events with minis attached. The thing is, they had to apply a Marvel title to a DC event, and vice versa. Here are the titles they had to choose from:

Marvel Events:
Kingdom Come
Terminal Velocity
Contagion
Absolute Power
No Man's Land
Zero Hour

DC Events:
Extinction Agenda
Acts of Vengeance
The Clone Saga
Inferno
Bloodties
Ultimatum

Now, after a month, two OHers stepped up to the challenge and put together two great, and completely different submissions. I enjoyed them both but in the end, only one poster can win. And how do they win? By your votes. The polls will be oened for five days starting today. So, let's get this ball rolling.. Read and enjoy!

Outhouser A

DC Event - Extinction Agenda

[Reveal] Spoiler: Click to Expand

One of my goals with this is to really amp up the nuDCU's villains.  Primarily, I want to make the Royal Flush gang something to worry about, pretty much the DC equivalent of the Hellfire Club.  I'm working in some familiar faces behind some of the masks, but allowing for the freedom to let the other positions grow.  I didn't want to make them ALL familiar names and faces.  Additionally, I want to introduce the Daemonites to the DCnU proper and plant the seeds for them to grow into an even bigger threat.  

All of the additional titles come from poker/gambling terms.  Additonally, many of the characters specifically mentioned have names that relate to poker terms.  

Under the Gun (one shot) - The one shot starts off with an introduction to this new Royal Flush gang. We see the hierachy of the gang and begin to understand the organization behind it (like we would in Checkmate).  We see the Daemonites (who've had their technology pillaged by the Royal Flush gang) begin planning their revenge on the gang and humanity in general, preparing to enact their "Extinction Agenda".  We see Joker in Arkham in his cell, suddenly shaken by the boom of explosions and the look of surprise as he sees "the Joker" on CCTV, taking credit for the attack and listing demands.  We see Zealot fighting against the Daemonites.  The issue ends with the murder of the Red King by one of the Daemonites (assassination from far away with a high powered sniper rifle). All of the Royals are present and accounted for (subtly, of course) at the scene of the crime. They later find the weapon and realize that a Daemonite fired the weapon, which leads to them enacting their own plan to finally get rid of all of the Daemonites on Earth, once and for all.

Joker's Wild (mini) - "Joker" is staging a riot in Arkham, which quickly devolves into an hostage situation. SWAT and  the GCPD have the place surrounded and are preparing for a siege. TV crews are everywhere and the eyes of a nation are focused on Arkham. Everyone has seen the original CCTV feed with the violent crimes and list of demands.  Which REALLY ticks off the Joker. He's been framed. And now he's in the middle of a very visible situation he wanted nothing to do with. And he's pissed.  

All of this is misdirection, of course.  Get the world watching one thing while you do something else.  It's classic sleight-of-hand. With everyone glued to the TV, watching the siege unfold, their other actions may go unnoticed.  Which is just what the Black King wants.

Eventually, he and his fellow escapees track down the House of Clubs (who planned this attack and set everything in motion). They kill the Black King and Queen.  However, the Black Jack, seeing an opportunity, tells them that, with the death of the King, they can assume command.  The Joker has no interest and wants to kill the Black Jack, but Bane protects him and tells him to "tell me everything."  With this, we see that Bane is set up to become the new Black King the next time the Gang appears.

We also learn that Lyle Bolton (who later becomes Lock Up) becomes chief of security for Arkham.

Starring: Joker, Paul Sloan (Charlatan as the fake Joker), Lyle Bolton (Lock Up), Bane

Deadman's Hand (mini) - Deadman is given a mission: to convince a particular "face card" to turn his back on the Royal Flush Gang and turn state's evidence.  Will he be able to ignore the mysteries of the gang and convince his subject to leave them behind? Of course not.  Deadman's curiousity gets the better of him and he takes advantage of this unique opportunity to investigate the gang. Between the cowardly Red Jack, many of the "face cards" and the rest of the royals, he's getting to know them better.  He thinks the Daemonites were set up.  And he thinks he knows why.

One of the interesting things is... Deadman's not a detective.  Not really.  So while he puts a lot of clues together, he's no Batman.  He confides in the wrong person.  Just as he puts it all together... the "cowardly" Red Jack pulls out a pistol and blows his (or his host's) brains out, in a full page spread VERY reminiscent of Blue Beetle's murder.  And the last panel, where Jack says "... You can call me Max.", we realize that the Red Jack is actually Max Lord! Before he can share what he's learned, Deadman is pulled away for his next mission.

Starring: Deadman

Kill Game (mini) - This mini starts with a brief history of the Royal Flush gang. Scenes of a mysterious benefactor (Ra's Al Ghul) inspiring the founders to make their own branches of a well organized crime organization, each working their own territory instead of competing against each other and taking the name of a suit as the name of their "house."  The scenes then transition into an explaination of how the "face cards" get their position (in the past, they had to duel and the winner took the position) and the significance of the numbers (one part being, their number represents the percent of every take they receive).  We learn that every 4 years, they must fight to hold onto their position and if they are unable to (i.e., in jail, they forfeit their position).  We learn that the King and Queen have different responsibilities ("commander-in-chief" vs. "head of state") and that each suit has a vote in certain affairs.  We see that the Ace is more of the muscle/bodyguard of the other Royals.  Which then transitions to the modern version of dueling... the Kill Game!

The Kill Game is run by the Queen of Diamonds (Roulette).  Every year, the face cards of one suit must compete for their position.  Fighting to the death is not required, but neither is it prevented.

With a philosophy of "why do it for free when someone will pay you to do it?", Roulette disguised this competition as an underground fighting circuit, with plenty of gambling options.  Once the competitions are through, the face cards have the option to challenge one of the Royals.  However, the Royals have two advantages.  They can choose the challenge (doesn't have to be fighting) or they can choose their champion, someone to fight for them.  After the first level of fighting, we see a new face card challenge the current Jack and win.  

So this story sets the ground for the fighting tournament and high stakes gambling that funds much of the Gang's activities.  Of course, word eventually gets out and the League shuts it down.  But the Queen escapes and the League can't trace any of the money (thanks to the Eraser, a guy who specializes in eliminating all traces of a crime). And, by the end of the series, she's reestablished the Kill Game someplace else.

Starring: Roulette (Queen of Diamonds), Harm (the new Jack), the Eraser, new characters

Zealot's War (mini) - This mini bounces throughout time, showing Zealot fighting the Daemonites throughout history. The first issue shows her in the Wild West, fighting alongside the legendary Calamity Jane (who tries to instill some sense of compassion but it didn't quite take).  Others show her with the pirate Black Maria and during the Trojan War.  The mini ends in modern times with her confronting the Daemonite accused of murdering the Red King.  She can quickly tell that he's no killer and, flashing back on the scenes with Calamity Jane, decides not to kill him, thus ending her "war" with the Daemonites.

Starring: Calamity Jane, Zealot

Extinction Agenda (event series) - The Daemonites have begun their attacks on humanity.  First they began by attacking businesses and corporations owned and/or operated by the Royal Flush gang, but soon escalated into random acts of terrorism (which should get more attention on the news, but the Joker's attack on Arkham is diverting attention.)  

Many of the tie-in issues would relate to the Daemonite attacks (Superman facing a Godzilla-like Daemonite creature, etc.), which would explain the absence of certain heroes in certain confrontations.   

By the end, the Daemonites have uncovered the Royal Flush Gang's main base of operations and are converging on it.  The Royal Flush Gang (in a full page spread at the end of the next to last issue) preparing to engage the Daemonites. - This is one of the scenes I envisioned early on, with members from all 4 suits flying into battle.  Each suit's face cards would be distinct and recognizable to that suit but still somewhat related to the other suits.  The reader would realize that these guys are all on the same side, even if their suits are red, black or white.  Oh, and the heroes are caught in the middle, trying to minimalize casualties on all sides and stop whomever they can.  Some face cards flee, the Red Jack surrenders to the first hero he sees, but for the most part, it's an awesome battle! Between the Royal Flush Gang (on flying cards, with strength-enhancing suits, possibly Kryptonite powered weapons, laser swords, axes and garrotes, etc.) and the Daemonites (huge creatures, more technologically advanced weapons), there's the potential for a LOT of destruction!

We learn that the original Daemonite did NOT kill the Red King.  Well, not exactly.  He was mind-controlled.  Zealot finds him and, sees how he's unable to handle his weapon and can't hit the broad side of a barn, knows that he could never have made that long distance shot.  He was in the right place at the right time to be a fall guy and start a war. She spares his life, even defending him against others.  We see the Red Jack, locked in Iron Heights (along with many of the Arkham inmates while the Asylum is repaired and other superpowered criminals) and realize that this was his plan all along.  Eliminate the characters in his way (along with the dead weight) so that he can become Red King (with the most senority, he would run the entire gang) and put himself in a position to recruit from a whole new group.  His mind-control abilities (which he kept secret) give him an untold advantage here.

Several face cards are captured, but all of the surviving Royals (aside from those already mentioned) escape and are preparing to rebuild and/or enact their own agenda. And the surviving Daemonites who avoided capture agree that now is the time for subterfuge, setting the groundwork for a Secret Invasion-like story in the future.

By the end of the series, the Royal Flush Gang is comprised of:

Hearts - (No King as of yet, as the previous one was killed), Shiva (Queen, but in a Wildcard (probationary) status), Max Lord, Amazo (a more dangerous version than we've seen recently)

Spades - David Cain, (new characters for Q and J), Prometheus as the Ace (who regularly spars with Cain in the guise of a different martial artist, such as Batman or Bruce Lee)

Clubs - All new characters, which are eliminated by the Arkham crew.  Bane takes over as King and the Queen position is not filled at the moment.

Diamonds - Original character for King, Roulette (Eraser is her own, separate and unconnected assistant), Harm, Parasite

Collusion (ongoing)  - This series spins out of Zealot's War.  After the debacle with the Royal Flush gang, both Zealot and the young urban Daemonite have bounties on their heads ("Bounties" was the original name of the series).  The Royal Flush gang wants the Daemonite, dead or alive and wants to try her for "collusion with the enemy" after she turned down their Wildcard position.  The government wants both of them alive.  And James Jesse, former Trickster and currently connected to the FBI, has his own plans.

Starring: Zealot, Trickster

Marvel Event - Zero Hour

[Reveal] Spoiler: Click to Expand

It's an intentional effort to evoke terms from the Cold War, as the conflict is between the US and the Soviet Union.  So "Two Minutes to Midnight", "Red Scare" and "Zero Hour" in particular find their titles originating from historical events.

Two Minutes to Midnight(One Shot) - A mysterious asteroid is shown on a collision course with Earth, with a "small" fragment (still pretty substancial) crashes off the coast of Alaska.  It has strange and unique properties, some of which resemble that of a Cosmic Cube. Other properties interfere with technology.  The US wants it and sends the Avengers to secure it.  Before they can, however, they are "greeted" by the Soviet Union's superteam, the Winter Guard.

The one shot also links scenes (perhaps with news about Ground Zero in the background shots, etc) with the reborn Deacon Frost.  As the vampires have begun to return, Deacon is no exception.  He believes this approaching catastrophe is the sign of a long lost vampire prophesy and begins to take action.

Finally, we are also reintroduced to the Steel Spider.  A former hero, now an incarcerated, armless victim of Venom.  Once praised by Captain America himself, he found himself imprisioned in the Negative Zone for standing up against the Superhero Registration Act and now transferred to "the Cage" (a superpowered Gitmo introduced in Tieri's Wolverine run).

Zero Hour (Mini) - This 5 issue mini (counting backwards, from 4 to 0) takes place after Ground Zero.  It deals with heightened tensions from the Soviet Union, conflicts with the new Winter Guard, nuclear missles launched at the US and the impending collison of the giant asteroid.  Much like Avengers vs. X-men, the Winter Guard are NOT simply "bad guys".  Their viewpoints make sense, which would lead to a more emotional conflict.  The team consists of: Perun, Darkstar, a new Crimson Dynamo, Red Guardian, a new Sputnik and Fantasma, and other new, original heroes.

Long range scans (albeit fuzzy, because of the nature of the asteroid) disable both technology and, because of the size and concentration of the energy, would disable anyone before they could get in range of the asteroid.  A plan is devised, which hinges on a special explosive developed by Reed Richards and Tony Stark (which must be quickly be assembled on the asteroid and placed deep in the core, so that it can make the asteriod shatter and break apart before it enters Earth's orbit).  At this point, it comes out that the Winter Guard, because of their longterm exposure to the energy already (their base houses a previously-unknown sample), they have a bit of immunity and will have the most success at landing on the asteroid and planting the bomb.

As standoffs keep happening and tension grows, the Soviet Union launches nuclear missles towards the US (probably the end of issue 1, right before the last issue).  So the Avengers are split between detonating the bomb (we learn that the Winter Guard planted the bomb but the trigger mechanism broke and the survivors are in no shape to detonate it), destroying the pieces and intercepting the missles before they hit US soil.  

This is where we'll get such "money shots" as Thor unleashing the full brunt of Mjolnir to detonate the explosive, Machinesmith "leaping" from one of the missles into Iron Man's armor, flying away as Tony falls to the ocean

Winter Guard (Mini) - This mini both introduces the new Winter Guard (partially through flashbacks) and shows the events of Zero Hour through their point of view.  We see how the Soviet Union discovered another section of the asteroid and used it to empower the Winter Guard (without fully informing them, of course.  Once it comes out, we would compare their continued support of their government to Captain America and the "guinea pigs" for the serum and how the government tried to take the Iron Man armor).  We watch Machinesmith take over the new Crimson Dynamo's armor and make his way into the control center.  We see him "leap" into the missles and launch them towards the US.  And we see him in control of those missles, making remote detonation impossible and helping them avoid the US's countermeasures.  We watch the Winter Guard land on the invading asteroid and assemble the bomb, and we understand how they were unable to detonate it, even if they were to remain on the asteroid.  Finally, we learn that, even though they successfully detonated the bomb, their exposure to the asteroids have proved to be terminal, as they will only have a few months to live.

This series would lead into the ongoing Winter Guard series, by the same creative team, as the heroes and their government tries to cope with the fact that they only have two years to live. (It would read like a cross between Strikefore Mortari and Dark Avengers)

Red Scare (Mini) - The reborn Deacon Frost is trying to create his own vampire nation, which is becoming bolder as the skies turn red (thanks to the approaching asteroid) and the sun burns a little less.  Hannibal King leads a new temporary group of Midnight Sons (including a child laden Jack Russell, Elsa Bloodstone and a grown Dextor Mungo, a.k.a. Ectokid, who can see the undead through an eye he keeps covered).  They find that Frost has captured Blade and Spitfire and is using them (more specifically, their blood) to awaken a sleeping vampire god.  Frost escapes while they deal with this deadly entity.

The Cage -  The Cage is a superpowered Gitmo first introduced in Tieri's Wolverine run.  It's where superpowered villains who take on international or "sensitive" crimes are imprisioned (and usually forgotten about).  They take measures to depower the criminals, so they can't depend on them.  We recognize technology-enhanced criminals from Nick War's Secret War, forgotten about "terrorists" like Fusion and super solder prototypes-turned soldier of fortune like Protocide imprisioned together.  And then we see Steel Spider, former hero turned reluctant felon, imprisioned with them.  Prison drama ensues, but towards the end of the mini, the power dies and their powers return (thanks to a fallen chunk of the meterorite) and several bond together as they escape.

Cast includes: Black Widow (Yelena), Fusion, Protocide, Hobgoblin (Secret War version, dies in the series), Joystick, Steel Spider

Sleeping Giants - Stingray uncovers evidence of a large sea creature, presumably mutated by the asteroid, on it's way towards civilization.  As the other heroes are otherwise engaged, it falls to Stingray to defeat this monster.  As it turns out, the monster was unleashed by dissentents of Atlantis, hoping to stage a coup against Namor and oust him as ruler of the Atlantis.  Stingray uncovers this and races to deliver this news to Namor, which could be the only thing that keeps him alive.

Outhouser B

Marvel Event - Contagion

[Reveal] Spoiler: Click to Expand

Contagion: The Prelude

The prelude would start with minor Marvel hero Monica Rambeau looking over a bank robbery. She watches silently as she see's three masked men try and getaway. As she goes down to intercept the men, Daredevil shows up and helps with a teamup. Together the two of them manage to apprehend the robbers, and as it seems the heroes have managed to contain the masked men, a fourth assailant pulls up in a getaway car, and before Daredevil can fully apprehend him, he manages to land a bullet in Monica's shoulder.

Daredevil keeps the men tied up, and offers to help Monica by taking her to a friend of his. A disorientated Monica is shown to Night Nurse's office, where Night Nurse arrives to take her into her care. As she puts Monica under with some anesthesia, the panels switch to a seemingly abandoned warehouse, where we hear a man laughing at the latest developments. The issue ends with a final splash page of Purple Man smiling creepily, and the reader knows he has learnt of Night Nurse's operation.

This sets up four mini series. 

Contagion:  Hank Pym - 
This issue picks up directly after the events of the first issue, it shows a Night Nurse controlled by Purple Man continuing running her underground base. Issue #1 see's Tigra bring in Hank Pym, who has been injured in a fight nearby, and has been rushed to the nearest hospital, which happens to be Night Nurse's lair. The issue would end with Night Nurse injecting Hank Pym with a mysterious liquid.

In the Hank Pym series, #2 will reveal that Hank has been accompanied by other wounded heroes. Dust from Cyclops' X-men is bought to Night Nurse by a member of Wolverine's squad, and later that night Tigra brings Arana' who has been hurt in a training excercise and is knocked out. Tigra becomes wary of Night Nurse's actions with Hank Pym, who seems to be out of it, and not making much sense. As she question's the Night Nurse, Night Nurse suddenly injects Tigra with the same liquid as Hank Pym at the end of issue #1, and Tigra awakes on a stretcher lying next to Dust, Hank and Arana. All four are bound tight, and only Hank and Tigra are awake. Night Nurse enters the room, and Purple Man reveals his influence. He starts a giant monologue about how he will end the Avengers, at the same time as injecting all four of the heroes. The last page is Purple Man revealing that he has been poisoning the heroes, and there is only enough cure for one of them at Night Nurses' lab. Purple Man will generously let one of the heroes live, but they only have 24 hours to decide.

Issue #3 of Hank Pym's story see's the four heroes awake in a small room, with a clock and a needle. Night Nurse is slumped in a corner.

Hank awakes first and wakes up the three other heroes. They try and use their powers but find that they can not. The room they are in is completely locked, and there is no way out at all. As Hank brings around Night Nurse, she is devastated at her actions, and apologises massively, before confirming that what Purple Man said last issue was true. It seems Night Nurse is no longer needed in Purple Man's plans, so she too has been freed from his influence. 

All four heroes realise there is no way out, and start talking about who should use the needle. Tigra and Hank insist that one of the younger girls must use the needle, but Dust and Arana both are insistent that they will not kill everyone else in the room. With the time ticking down to less than an hour, Arana insists Dust takes the injection, as her race is so small. The others agree with this and try and apprehend Dust, but as she is just about to be injected, she screams and bursts into her Dust form around the heroes. Filling the room with Dust, and not reforming. The others are amazed she managed to break free of Purple Man's control, but as they all seem stunned. Arana quickly grabs the needle from Hank's hand, and injects him with the only cure. As minutes remain, both Tigra and Arana say goodbye, with Arana saying he inspired her to do better, and Tigra telling him she loves him. Tigra reminds Hank to look after their children no matter what, and dies in Hanks arms, with Night Nurse trying to help frantically. As both heroes die, the metal door swings open, leaving Hank free surrounded by some of his closest friends and family dead.

Contagion: Captain Marvel
The #1 of this series would focus on Monica awaking in the warehouse from the one-shot surrounded by Shocker and Avalanche. Purple Man would arrive and explain how he has been controlling her for weeks, and has now had to stop in order to look into more "pressing concerns". The issue would see Monica briefly escape before a new Scourge enters and subdues the hero.

#2 of the Monica Captain Marvel series will deal with her escape from captivity. Badly beaten by Avalanche and Shocker, and restricted from using her powers due to Purple Man's control, she has to escape using only her human form. Monica remembers her training from Captain America to untie one of her hands from behind her back, with this free hand she attacks Shocker when he is alone and close enough, and manages to subdue her captor. She free's herself and attaches one of Shocker's gauntlets to her hands, not aware of the danger in using the device. As Avalanche checks in later on, she uses the shockwave against Avalanche's powers, and the resulting fight knocks down the warehouse.

#3 of the Captain Marvel series see's Monica wake up and immediately wince. Her arm is broken after using Shocker's Gauntlets last issue. Monica slowly tries to escape, before running into Scourge, As she prepares herself to fight to the end, Scourge reveals that he himself was under Purple Man's control and will do anything to get him back. The two heroes agree to team up for now, and vow to kill Purple Man. They look for leads around the Warehouse, but find none, so bring around a knocked out Avalanche for questioning. Scourge uses a variety of vicious techniques to get the info, whilst Monica finds herself watching and not stopping her violent friend. Avalanche reveals where Purple Man's new hideout is, and much like Avengers #2, the issue ends with Monica vowing to kill Purple Man.

Contagion: Avengers
After learning many Avengers secrets from Hank Pym, Purple Man sends a mind controlled Night Nurse to Avengers base, under the guise of a catch up with he old flame Dr. Strange. The issue see's Strange notice Nurse's odd behaviour, but not being able to put his finger on what is up. The end of issue #1 see's Night Nurse waking up in the middle of the night, and entering Luke Cage's and Jessica Jones' room.

#2 of the Avengers issue see's Jessica Jones awake feeling sick. She quickly wakes up Luke and tells' him that she can "feel" his presence, and that he has been near. As Luke wakes up, he checks on his baby and see's that it has been taken from him. The issue deals with Luke Cage furious that Dr. Strange letting Purple Man into their home, as well as the hunt for the now Purple Man controlled Night Nurse. Spider-man travels to the old base, but finds nothing their. The end of the issue is Luke Cage swearing he'll kill anyone who touches his kid and swearing revenge on Purple Man.

#3 of the Avengers issue is focussed on Jessica Jones completely. After the loss of her baby and the reintroduction of Purple Man into her life, she has locked herself in her room, and has fallen seriously depressed. All the other Avengers have left on the hunt for her baby, and it is left to a despondent Wong to try and help Jessica. As he comes into the room, Jessica describes what it is like to be under his control. Jessica reveals that whilst she was under his control he tried to get her pregnant numerous times, and says that she fears for her son. Wong uses the loss of her son to motivate Jessica to get out of bed and find him. Just as Jessica prepares to leave on the lookout for her son, Wong hits her over the back of the head, and the panel pulls back to see Purple Man standing next to Wong, over Jessica's defenseless body. 

Contagion: Patriot
Patriot is bought to the Night Nurse by Speed, who is helping his former teammate in a few odd jobs around the city. Purple Man uses Night Nurse to get a sample of the super soldier, before injecting himself with the syrum at the end of #1.

#2 of the Patriot book see's Purple man himself struggling to deal with the new abilities the blood transfusion has given him. His powers have grown at an alarming rate, and it seems anyone in the same vicinity as Purple Man now wants the same thing he does. He can also control multiple people over larger differences a lot better. To test his ability Purple Man sends a controlled Patriot to visit his grandfather. The issue ends with Patriot picking up a pillow as he enters his Granddad's room.

Patriot #3 immediately opens with the arrest of Patriot after he has been found killing his own grandparent. Patriot refuses to believe what has happened till he see's the footage himself. As he is being escorted to jail, he is freed from police restraints by Speed, who has come to free his friend. Patriot explains he can not remember what has happened in the last few days, and the two head off to Avengers base to ask the Avengers for help.

 So at this point the first two and 

In Hank Pym's #4 Monica and Scourge arrive at the place where Hank was held captive. Monica and Scourge are obviously wary of Night Nurse and Hank, but eventually all come to a understanding that they all want revenge on purpleman, and form an alliance. These will be most of the "resistance" team in the Contagion event series. Hank wants to know who Scourge is, but Scourge refuses to reveal his identity. Dust reforms after the events of last issue, but still has remnants of Night Nurse's poison in her blood, thus she has to remain mostly in her "Dust" form for fear of killing herself. 

Hank returns to Avengers Academy, with a dead Tigra, and buries her. He then rings Avengers mansion, where Luke Cage answers the phone.....

Monica's #4 see's her going to the New Avenger's base, whereupon she is intercepted by Spider-man. Spider-man tells her that his Spider-sense is going off, and that the mansion for some reason is not safe. Daredevil also returns from looking for Luke Cage's baby, and the three heroes prepare to enter Avengers HQ as the issue ends.

The other two books will deal mostly with Purple Man and his army. After the events of last Avengers issue, Luke Cage returns home to see Purple Man standing over his knocked out wife. Purple Man uses his powers to freeze Luke Cage completely, and then makes Jessica Jones kiss his neck. Luke Cage is seething but is unable to do anything about it. Purple Man unfreezes Luke for a few seconds, making him think he has escaped through sheer force of will, but stops him just as he goes to punch him. Luke, Jessica and Wong are completely under his control. The issue ends with the Avengers alarm going off, and Purple Man smiling to himself.

The Patriot book picks up right after this issue. Patriot and Speed are the two who set off the alarm, and Speed's speed of thought manages to keep him free from Purple Man's powers at first, but he eventually is hit over the back of the head with Patriot's Shield. His friend once again under Purple Man's control. The end of the issue see's Purple Man flagged by Patriot and Luke Cage, with Jessica Jones draped across his feet. His smiling face looks at the Avengers security feed which shows Spider-man, Daredevil and Captain Marvel outside.

Contagion:

Issue 1 obviously opens with Hank Pym in his lab. He seems to have been able to find the agent to counteract the pheromones that Purple Man produces, but due to limited time, only has a limited batch of "cure" that has been produced. He injects himself and Night Nurse with it, as they prepare to enter Avengers mansion for help.

The scene skips back to a day earlier, when Spider-man, Daredevil and Captain Marvel are all outside Avengers base as Purple Man looks on. Monica transforms to her light form, and this makes it impossible for Purple Man to control her, and enters the house. She see's Purple Man controlling the Avengers but is unable to change back to her human form without risking being mind controlled again. She leaves the house to tell Spider-man and Daredevil.

Obviously Daredevil is able to resist Purple Man as shown before, so he enters the house alone, in order to try and destroy Purple Man's control. Luke Cage attacks him, but Daredevil is ready for him, and a fight ensues. Luke is not able to land a shot, and Daredevil manages to choke Luke out, rendering him unconscious.  Daredevil finds Purple Man and demands to know where Luke's baby is, whilst approaching Purple Man. Unfortunately Daredevil does not know about Purple Man's super soldier injections, and is taken by surprise by his strength and agility. The fight appears to be a standstill, before Jessica Jones blasts Daredevil from behind, and he is tied up. 

Spider-man and Monica wait outside nervously, when they see the front door of the house open. Purple Man is standing there with a grin on his face, holding Daredevil's unconcious body. He throws him to the floor and shoots him in the chest. End issue #1.

Issue #2 opens with a monologue by Purple Man. He explains how he's controlled thousands of people. He's manipulated even more. Yet he's never found himself as happy as when he manipulated Jessica Jones. He says he owns her now, and that he is happy starting a family with her. He holds her baby in his hands as she sits on the floor, frozen with tears rolling down her face. He slaps her, knocking her to the floor, and goes back to playing with the child.

We then cut outside to Spider-man and Monica rushing to Daredevils body. As they get there, Spider-man notices that the outfit is baggy, and fitting wrong, and as Monica pulls back his mask, it's revealed it was Speed who was shot by Kilgrave. It seems that he could never find a way to control him, so he is now useless to the deranged psycho.

As Spider-man and Monica prepare a last ditch plan to enter the base, Hank Pym arrives, having not slept for a few days, and desperate to avenge Tigra. He gives Spider-man and Monica the injection to ward off Purple Man's powers, but warns the heroes that it'll only last for a few hours.

Spider-man's spider-sense goes off, as Daredevil approaches the group. Spider-man is wary, but knows his friend can not be controlled by Kilgrave. Nevertheless Daredevil fights Spider-man, as the rest of the group push on to find Purple Man.

Patriot and Luke Cage are the next two heroes who Purple Man throws at the group, and they begin to overpower the heroes, before Pym's shrinking causes Luke Cage to punch Patriot instantly knocking him out. . After that Monica and Luke combine to subdue Luke Cage, and Pym laments that he has no more of the cure for him.

Pym finally enters Purple man's "lair" he has created, and is sicked at the mock family scene Purple Man has created. Wong comes out of the shadows behind Pym and Monica, and the issue ends with Purple man saying "Shoot them"

Issue #3 opens with a continuation of the Daredevil Spider-man fight. Daredevil has cut the lights completely, so it's a fight between Spider-mans Spidey sense, and Daredevil's radar. Spider-man is wondering how Daredevil is being controlled, if Purple Man isn't doing anything.

We cut back into the scene with Wong. Just as he's about to shoot, Pym shrinks, and Monica moves out of the way, the shot misses and hits Jessica Jones in the shoulder, sending her to the floor. Purple Man is enraged and prepares to enter the fight himself. Monica is powerless as she can not use her powers with succepting herself to Purple Man's control again. This means that Purple Man with his extra power boost is able to match both monica and Pym in combat. He eventually overpowers Rambeau and sends Pym crushed to the floor. He has his foot over Pym's head, and is about to stamp down when Pym starts to laugh. Purple Man asks what he's laughing about, and the issue ends with Pym telling him he's already lost.

Issue 4 opens with Spider-man ignoring the fight with Daredevil, and following his Spider-sense to a nearby room, where he finds the Pupper Master controlling Daredevil. However as he enters, Puppet Master switches to controlling a Spider-man pupper, and Spider-man being controlled heads to Purple Man.

Purple Man is confused by what Pym said last issue. Pym explains to him that Monica and Pym are not the only people in the room. He says that right now Dust has entered Pym's lungs and upon Pym's request will expand, causing Kilgrave an unimaginably painful death. Kilgrave looks unnerved, but doesn't believe Pym, until he tells Dust to show him what she's capable of. Suddenly Kilgrave gets a nosebleed, and he realises he's beaten. Pym orders Kilgrave to let go of everyone in the room, and reluctantly all the heroes being controlled come around. Patriot and Cage are especially furious, and start to beat up Kilgrave. However now it is Kilgrave's time to laugh. As he's hit more and more, his laugh grows more manic and loud. It infuriates Cage whose willing to kill him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you".

Behind Purple Man, Spider-man holds Luke's baby. A gun pointed at it's head. Puppet Master explains the situation, and says that if Purple Man dies, so does the baby. No-one in the room moves, and it seems that the meeting has become a standoff, with both sides holding the cards. Jessica tells Luke they have to let Purple Man go, but Luke can't accept that. He says there has to be a way. Unfortunately Jessica talks him around, saying she hates PM more than anyone, but will not endanger her childs life for anything. Patriot is livid and has to be held back by Monica and Pym. 

As Purple Man takes the baby from Spider-mans arms, he backs off towards a window, where a helicopter is waiting for him. Just as he enters the helicopter he winks at Cage, and starts to leave. Moments later Spider-man comes around, and starts to act like himself again, Daredevil had recovered and knocked out Puppet Master. If Cage would have held out for a few moments more, he'd have Purple Man to himself, and his child would still be with him

Issue #5 deals with the aftermath of the event. Patriot finds Puppet Masters unconscious body and without hesitation snaps his neck. Spider-man is shocked, but Patriot tells him to leave it, he's fed up of being held back, and vows to reunite the Young Avengers, to do a job which the others aren't willing to.

Pym holds a proper funeral for Tigra, and vows to never again let anyone die to protect him. He leaves the Avengers Academy, leaving the Academy without Tigra or Pym, and in dissaray. Pym is seen entering a bar, questioning his life decisions.

Cage and Jones are still searching for Purple Man, but to no avail. He has completely gone off the radar, and has the child to himself. Jessica Jones has gone seriously depressed, and will not leave her room.

Monica is welcomed back into the Avengers fold, after realising she can never let scumbags like Purple Man live, and realising she needs something like the Avengers. Cap America worries about her mental health, but allows her anyway.

The series has two epilogues. One is Night Nurse stopping her clinic. She is too scared and vunerable, and curses all heroes worldwide. We see a random Marvel hero like Speedball injure himself and try to check himself in, but see a "sorry we're closed" sign instead.

The second is Purple Man sitting with Cage's baby, eating a meal in a restaurant. The clients are all frozen in their places, and Purple Man eats with a smile on his face. The last panel of the series is Purple Man looking out on the New York skyline, as the FF's car flies overhead.

Possible spin-offs:

Young Avengers - A Young Avengers book where Patriot vows to find and kill Kilraven, and also avenge Speed's death. An arc where the Scarlet Witch finds out about Speed and instantly brings him back to life would also be an interesting direction to take

Cage: A Luke Cage spin off where he leaves the Avengers, and hunts down Kilraven. Arming himself with Pym's cure he is able to search all over for Purple Man, desperately out for vengeance.

The overall aim of the series is to promote Kilraven to the first tier of Marvel comics, as well as to give some characters new aims. Cage has become a bit pussified recently, so it'll be good to see him get some fire back. The Young Avengers seem to becoming less "special", and a new harshed attitude from some members of the team might be interesting.

DC Event - Ultimatum

[Reveal] Spoiler: Click to Expand

It starts with Ultimatum: Prelude with Stephanie Brown is in her old costume. She is partnering Batman and Tim on a mission, and manages to save both of their lives as they are about to be attacked from behind. Batman remarks how impressed he is with her ability.

Stephanie wakes up. She is in the old DCU's batcave. Abandoned and derelict. We see her practice some boxing, as well as eating out of a tin. She then heads outside of the cave, and walks around the abandoned DCU. The world is abandoned, and shadowy creatures lurk in the shadows. Stephanie ignores them, as she wanders the streets. Suddenly she hears a lot of commotion to her left, and turns just in time to see Wally West arrive. Stephanie see's happy to see him, and the two embrace. Wally has a long beard and looks like he hasn't washed in a while.

The two take a seat.

Wally explains that he's travelled all of Africa, and everywhere is the same. A few survivors, but no-one has an idea of what has occured. Wally asks if anyone else has found anything?

Suddenly Pandora from the new 52 shows up. The two heroes assume a fighting stance, but she starts to speak.

She explains that she is the one who empted the world, and she is sorry a few were left behind. She tells the heroes she can fit them into the new DCU, but they must first help her with a task. She says she has 4 tasks that need to be completed, and only once they are completed will the heroes be able to travel over to the new universe.

Steph and Wally reluctantly accept what they are told. They ask for a glimpse of the new 52 and they are shown some of their closest friends lives. The two heroes agree, but ask if anyone else is joining them?

Pandora smiles, and tells the heroes that she has arranged for others to join them. Wally turns around and see's Catman standing there, looking slightly pudgy around the waist. Catman asks if there's four tasks why there is only three of the heroes gathered. Pandora smiles and tells them to let her take care of the rest.

We switch perspectives to deep in space. Pandora summons her fourth character to do her bidding. Superboy Prime arrives. 

A bit late, but I thought I might as well finish.

The four heroes are all given a task to complete in their mini series. Each task is apparently necessary to complete the mission.

The first task is for Superboy Prime, and that is to find the correct entry into the NU 52 world. I would have it so Superboy Prime can cross over into a new universe, but he can only go to the "adjacent" universe. This means it might take a while to find the correct entrance.

The Superboy Prime miniseries basically plays up to the idea of him as a "fanboy" come to life. He enters many universes and "rights them" as he goes. The first issue would have him visit his first universe, which is the "Before Watchmen" universe. "I SHOULDN'T BE HERE" he'll exclaim, before trying to find the next gateway. Hell, I'd even have him see a giant squid over New York, pick it up, and swap it with a space alien he finds. "That's how you do it" he cries to a awestruck Ozymaidus. He finds the portal to the next world, and leaves. 

The next issue picks up with Prime going through universe after universe, pondering his motivations. Again I'd keep the issue light and humorous, with Prime "righting" some universes, but finding himself stopping before he breaks an alternate Barbara Gordon's back, as it "doesn't feel right". The issue ends with him entering a new world, and Pandora appearing and telling him how important this mission is. He acknowledges this, before realising he's arrived back on Earth Prime.

The third issue picks up with Superboy refusing to leave. Much to Pandora's annoyance. Prime is back where he's happiest, and "screw everyone else". Prime is back to trolling on the DCU messageboards and living in his parents basement. Pandora appears and tells him he can do so much more than what he is, but still Prime refuses.

Months pass, and Prime feels content in his life. We see him start a WoW account, and continue to live a sheltered life. One day he returns home to see his Mum, viciously attacked.She has been badly beaten, and a tearful Prime phones 999. His Mum tells him three masked men had entered the house, and she'd tried to scare them off. She dies in Prime's arms telling him he has so much potential.

Prime covers his Mum in a sheet, and goes to his basement, and destroys his comics. Pandora appears and tells him it is time. Prime accepts and punches his way into the next reality. The nu DCU.As he does this, we shift perspective back to Prime's deceased Mum, whose form changes into Pandora's. She teleports out the room, just as Prime's real Mum enters, 100% healthy.

Ultimatum Flash see's Wally West have to enter the Speed Force, to travel in time to see him arrive in the future, where Booster Gold tries to travel back in time, and arrive on Earth. Pandora explains to Wally West that it is imperative they have a time machine, and this is the best place to get one.The first three issues see Wally back to his old jovial self, sneaking around the future, and succesfully beating Booster Gold for a chance to use the time machine. Succesfully completing the task, Pandora arrives and congratulates Flash, and reunites him with Prime. 

Ultimatum Catman see's Pandora place Catman on a "survival of the fittest" type planet, where he is to infiltrate a tribe and take the "transmitter" which Pandora says will be able to "signal" the way for the heroes to remain in the correct reality. As mentioned before Catman is slightly tubby, and the miniseries kicks off with Catman barely escaping a fight with the local animals on the planet. Each issue however see's him getting back to and exceeding his older physique, and issue 3 ends with him winning the transmitter. As he is transported off the planet by Pandora, the final panels show the cave paintings drawn by the local community. They show the transceiver being activated, and the world itself being destroyed.

Spoiler is told that her task lies in the Batcave. She is to disable all of the batcave's defenses and collect the Kryptonite ring, the Justice League teleporter, and Batman's "doomsday" files. 

The first issue ends as Spoiler goes deeper into the cave than she ever has before. She remarks how she's only ever seen about 20% of the cave, and marvels at how Bruce could ever maintain it all. She disbales the teleporter, and manages to find Lex Luthor's kryptonite ring. The end of the issue see's her find a "shrine" dedicated to her.

The start of issue 2 see's Spoiler in this new room, with a memorial from the time she was thought dead. "I always wondered why I didn't have one of these" she exclaims outloud, before realising that no other Robin has ever had this much space dedicated to them. Stephanie reads some of Batman's training diaries, where he expressed amazement at Steph's rapin improvement in a short space of time, and the fact that she had become so close to so many.

Spoiler reluctantly leaves the room before finding what Pandora has wanted all along. She decodes a keypad and arrives in Batman's doomsday room. This room contains Batman's files on every hero, and how to take them down if neccessary. As the issue ends, Stephanie is hit over the back of the head, and knocked unconcious.

Issue 3 reveal's the assailant to be Pandora herself, who casually flicks through Superman's, Martian Manhunter's and Doomsday's files. She appears happy with herself, until she realises that Stephanie has broken free, and can not be found. Pandora enters a brief fight with Stephanie, who uses the Batcave's defense system, and Stephanie thinks she has won when she seems' to knock Pandora out. The issue ends with Steph approaching Pandora's body, seemingly succesful, before she see's Pandora's body heal itself, and Pandora stabs Stephanie through the chest.

Issue #4 of every series overlaps into one continual story. In the first part, a succesful Wally, Superboy and Catman meet in space outside New Earth. Pandora congratulates the three heroes, and laments the loss of Stephanie's life, who was successful, but didn't make it herself. Wally is distraught and demands to know more, but Pandora promises answers after everyone is back on Earth. The issue ends with all of the heroes successfully on the new DCU Earth. 

Issue 2 opens with Wally back with his family and back speeding and helping crime. Pandora arrives and tells him she need's one more task. Barry is to go with Pandora and Catma back in time, and activate the "transmitter", Wally seems sceptical, but agree's as he owes Pandora. Wally/Catman and Pandora travel further back in time than anyone before, and the Catman activates the transmitter. 

issue 3 opens with the transmitter working, and all hell breaking loose. Wally grabs Catman and Pandora and tries to move past falling debris, but Pandora resists his attempts to help. She is smiling and thanks the boys for their help, but tells them they are no use to her now, and smacks them with a energy blast. Wally tries to fight back, but is incapacitated, and Catman is knocked out. The issue ends with Imperiex stepping out of the void, and praising his harbinger Pandora.

Issue #4 see's a battered Wally West arrive on the Nu DCU, and tell the heroes what he has seen. Unfortunately the new DCU heroes seem less together than the past heroes, and his warning whilst accepted, does not bring the heroes together. The issue ends with Imperiex arrive on Earth, and declaring it his new home.

Ultimatum:

Ultimatum #1 takes place 2 months after the events of the mini's. Imperiex is immensely powerful, now running the human race. Imperiex is shown to be still recovering from the events that led to his demise last time, and is still not fully powerful, but the lack of organisation in the resistance movement means he has not yet been fully tested.

Wally West is shown in a fight with one of Imperiex's controlled minions, he shouts to Cyborg to watch his back, and Cyborg manages to destroy the minion. Wally tell's Cyborg it's imperative the JLA learn to come together over this, and the two head to the Batcave.

Superboy Prime is shown with Superman, travelling to the Amazonian country. They rally support, and along with Wonder Woman, set off to attack Imperiex. Pandora shows up to stop them, calling them "the greatest threat to the master"

Issue #1 ends with Catman uniting the "villains" to go after Imperiex. Some question Catman's ability, calling him a joke. Catman shows his superiority knocking out Gorilla Grodd. "Anymore questions?" he asks.

Issue #2 picks up with Wally and Cyborg gathering all of the remaning members of the Justice League. Wally says he's ashamed of how he's seen them acting since he come to this new Earth, and tells them they need to step it up. Batman laughs at Wally, before Wally tells Bruce of Spoiler's demise. Bruce remembers her now, and is sobered by the thought. He vows vengeance.

Meanwhile the villains army is gathering, and preparing a two fronted attack. One creating a weapon to use against Imperiex, and one group who will use physical force. The physical force group is sent to Imperiex's base.

We join Superman/Prime and Wonder Woman against Pandora. The fight is epic, and much property damage ensues, until finally Supes puts down Pandora, his own mouth trickling with blood. Imperiex - You're next.

Issue three starts off with Prime/SM/WW attacking Imperiex's base. They start off well, as the villain is "recharging" his powers, and is weakened immeasurably, they manage to crack his armour, and at one point a combined punch from Supes and Prime knock him over. He still has too much for the heroes, and manages to restrain the two Superman brothers by Wonder Womans lasso's, forcing them to beg before him.

However all is not lost. In come the reunited heroes, with Wally leading the way. You've got all the big guns here, and they look organised and efficient. Today is the day the NuDCU start acting as a team. It's fucking impressive as well. You have an all out brawl, with heavy hitters like Martian Manhunter, the Flash family and others all relentlessly hitting Imperiex, the issue ends with Wally calling out the "final wave", and Shazam appears, blasting Imperiex with lightning.

Issue 4 kicks off directly after Shazam's appearance, but as the lightning clears, the villain is still standing. This is where he starts to gain control of the fight, with a simple wave of his hand he summons many of his probe's, and the fight begins in earnest, whilst Imperiex watches on. Superman and Prime are free, and causing a nuisance of themselves, and seem to be doing well, until Imperiex weilds the Kyrptonite Ring, repeatedly hitting Superman in the face with it. 

The heroes are losing. Wally has assembled all that he could, and they still can not stem the tide. Some heroes appear for fall in battle, with characters like Beast Boy, Animal Man and Starfire all severely wounded. Imperiex stands and shouts "Enough", and with an energy blast into the heart of the battle, effectively ends proceedings.

He stands triumphant over the heroes as the issue ends.

Here is the basic outline of 5 & 6 (shortened due to time constraints)

The end would entail the villains arriving and saving the day. Almost forgotten in the last few issues, Lex Luthor and a few other sciency types have figured a way to crack his shell, stopping him recharging his powers. The 5th issue would end with the villains publically beating Imperiex to death, after being massively weakened.

The whole world has seen this, and the 6th issue would deal with the ramifications. The heroes are seen as being weak, whilst many of the villains get high profile jobs. The end result would mean the new DCU would be very much an "anti-hero" universe, but the heroes are very much on the same page.

[BubbaKanoosh]

And please, feel free to comment on the various submissions. And kindly of it without bashing..

[HNutz]

I think I like some of the ideas here better than what we're seeing in the real books!

[BubbaKanoosh]

I actually hope people vote lol

[Amoebas]

DC A) - I love the Royal Flush Gang and this expanded universe of theirs sounds great.
DC B) - I like the idea of Pandora forgetting a few characters - reminds me of Noah 'forgetting' to grab unicorns, dragons, etc. But as someone who has no interest in Spoiler and doesn't miss Wally West, it didn't grab me enough.

DC Winner - A

Marvel A) - Again, obscure characters - love em! Great story
Marvel B) - Love all the Hank Pym (not so much Photon). Making Hank Pym a drunk ruined this tale's chances.

Marvel Winner - A

[Gladiator X]

I liked Outhouser A better.

[bkthomson]

Um. . Bubba can you read your opening post and see if you can find the somewhat glaring mistake?

[BubbaKanoosh]

Um. . Bubba can you read your opening post and see if you can find the somewhat glaring mistake?

What?

[BubbaKanoosh]

What was the mistake?

[mrorangesoda]

I liked A's better- the Royal Flush/Daemonite conflict is very cool (if a little large for something without any of the big characters) and the international viewpoint of the Marvel series is something we don't see enough of and I love using The Cage/forgotten prisoners (though I think Marvel's like the real world and it's just Russia now, unless this is a flashback?)
B's Marvel event sounds fun, but I'm not really a Purple Man fan. The DC event sounds like too much continuity pokage (ala One Moment in Time)- at this point, I don't care how she gets there, Stephanie should just be in the DCU.

[sdsichero]

What was the mistake?

Is it UXM?

[BubbaKanoosh]

Is it UXM?

Fixed

[MrBlack]

The "Extinction Agenda" entry is VERY well put together. The other pitches are good, but that one is outstanding.

[bkthomson]

What was the mistake?

Maybe I'm reading it wrong but you have dc events as marvel events and marvel as dc?

[mrorangesoda]

Maybe I'm reading it wrong but you have dc events as marvel events and marvel as dc?

You are. They had to switch the titles and those are their choices.