#when i tell you i was on teen titans wiki to figure out how to spell wildebeest for the alt

[neonphoenix]

Alternates below cut because I couldn't decide:

[originalwinnercheesecake]

What if the Teen Titans were pokemon trainers

Doing this summary again. So basically pokemon is something I loved as a kid/teen, then I outgrew it around the time Black&White came out. Now I am back into it and am having a lot of fun imagining pokemon teams for characters from other cartoons I like now/liked as a kid. I have done a bunch of posts for Disney cartoons, and a couple od cartoon network ones (No Nick ones.. yet). Teen titans was one of my favorite shows growing up and I have been wanting to do pokemon teams for a while. So here are teams for the Main group of Titans, Titans East, and 3 anti hero’s. Now I used the 2003 version of Teen Titans, since that was the one I watched every week as a kid but if anyone really likes Teen titans Go you could probably still use most of these pokemon for that show too (Change out a certain one of Raven’s for a Ponyta, and maybe another certain of Robin’s for I don’t know farfetch.)

Now one thing important about the 2003 version is that when describing the dynamic between the titans the writers (using Robin’s name/voice) summed them up as “We are not five hero’s. We are one Awesome team". In this version the titans were all extensively trained in combat, and did everything together as a team. I do not want to take there powers away, or change their dynamic. Since they do have powers (In Robin’s case gadgets and lots and lots of martial arts experience), and already have numbers through each other; I do not think any of them would feel the need to catch a full team of six. So I am giving everyone 3 pokemon.  

The main titans will also each have a shiny pokemon, the one I think would be their top pokemon, or the one that best encompasses their emotional arcs/places on the team. I also gave each of the Titans East a fairy pokemon, mostly because I saw half of them had fairies and figured okay this can be their teams version of shines. Without further adieu, teams below

Main Titans Robin

 The Leader of the team

Taillow: Well of course the iconic “Bird Boy” needs a bird pokemon. It scouts ahead, trails bad guys, and yes does fight in battles. I picked Taillow for Robin due to the birds flying and normal type (Headcannon that Normal or duel Normal types are Robin’s favorite, because they are similar to him) and brave gutsy nature, which mirrors the boy wonder’s own.

Hitmonchan: Robin’s strongest pokemon. Given his martial arts and combat knowledge Robin would also have a fighting type pokemon. I picked Hitmoncham because it’s a classic fighter, that can land a serious punch, and is always training to better itself. Wiki also says it will train by sparing with its trainer, if said trainer is tough enough to be able to keep up. Since Robin definitely could, this pokemon would be a great partner for him on and off the field.

Shiney Absol: So n the 2003 version Robin walked the line between good and bad more than Raven, or any other titan. (I exclude Terra because she ultimately decided she wasn’t/did not want to be a titan.). In season one Robin believes that their is “Good” and “evil”, the two have a very clear divide, and that because he places himself on the side of good, he has justification to take any risk or try anything. A belief that clever villains (Slade) learn to exploit, and even Robin himself crosses at times. 

I am giving Robin an Absol because at the end of his arc, and in episodes centered around him in later seasons , Robin is forced to admit that he thinks very similarly to Villains he fights against, and has the potential to be like them. I am making this his Shiny pokemon to show his relationship with his friends, and how at the end of season 1 he tells Starfire that he will never turn out like the villians he shares these similarities with, because he knows that his friends will never let him.

Starfire

The strength of the team. Proof that innocence does not mean ignorance

Starmie: A star shaped pokemon, for Starfire. One that like her is equal parts strong, powerful, and beautiful.

Shiny Blaziken: I will make Starfire’s ace her shiny to show her prowess as a fighter, lying underneath all her curiosity and sweetness. I really wanted to give Starfire a strong fire type. The torchick line is a good line, that’s popular among girls. I am giving Starfire a fully evolved one because our girl is more than capable... I also kinda really like the idea of Robin and Starfire both having fighting types for their strongest pokemon, Robin’s being a regular fighting type and Starfire's being a duel fire/fighting type. I think that really suits this couple.

Dunsparce: Yeah yeah yeah. I know its a pretty lame, weird looking pokemon. It’s the closest Pokemon I could find to Silky okay. It’s Starfire’s pet.

Cyborg

The Muscle, mechanics, and resident big brother of the team.

Electrode: a good electric type for Cy. It helps stop his systems/machines from overloading/taking to much electricity. Its detonation could work as a substatue for Cyborg’s sonic cannon if he finds himself in a situation where he has taken damage or needs to conserve power. I also think it would make a really good guard Pokemon for Cyborg’s room, or any place he keeps machines that for safety reasons only he should touch (be where of Electrode Beast Boy).

KlingKlang: here is Cyborg’s strongest pokemon. Steel is another type I feel like Cyborg would favor/want to train. And since he is a shop class guy with an expertise with cogs and gears, he and a fully evolved gear shaped steel type pokemon just to me feel like a match made in heaven

Shiny Mechop: This one is Cyborgs little buddy (For real I love dynamics where one person is really big/tall and then the other is really small. So since Cy is an already a big muscle man gonna say that an ever stone was used to keep Machop as mini muscle) and extra pare of helping hands. It knows how to use tools and crawls into tight space Cyborg cannot fit to fix things. If the pare are not training or battling together they can often be found outside throwing the footballs around. Cy has even tried to teach it to play video games with him and BB (though it sometimes destroys the controls).

Raven

The Hope and steadiness of the team.

I picked her pokemon from a Psychological perspective. In addition to her not having a ponyta I also excluded “Raven” Pokemon like Murkrow or Crovisquire because while they may match Raven’s “esthetic” I do not see them as matching in other ways.

Haunter: a ghostly spirit pokemon. Clever, somewhat creepy, kinda looks a bit like the shadowy magic Raven uses. It's not a dark type though, because Raven does not do dark spells. It's also generally a very silly pokemon and goes to lengths trying to get Raven figure out that she will not accidentally blow up the world if she laughs or has fun ever now and again (Haunter gets along really well with Beast Boy. It will enlist his help if it seems like it's trainer is being particularly difficult in this area.)

Alakasam: A strong psychic pokemon for this heroine with such strong powers. Alakasam and Raven's meditate together, and are able to use the similarities in their abilities to communicate telepathically, and could maybe even draw assistance/metronome from each others power pool. They have done a lot of good together. But they also both share that internal fear of "what kind of destruction would I be capable of if I ever lost control". This holds them back considerably. I don't think they would be brave enough to really give it their full power until season 4's finale battle with Trigon.

Shiny Togepi: Raven was the Titan that turned out to be great at and really like babysitting, so baby pokemon for Raven. I picked Togepi due to it being an empath (just like Raven) pokemon. More than that though, Raven has always feared that her heritage means she is fated to be bad. Togepi's sense what is in others hearts and refuse to obey those they see bad in. Being Togepi's trainer assures Raven that she is not her heritage and is fully capable of choosing to be/do good. It is her shiny because it's the pokemon that helps bring out the best in her.

Beast Boy

The comfort and laughter of the team.

So my original plan was just to give him a sea, land, and flying pokemon, since he has performed Hero work in all three. When I picked the three I found I could not leave them less than fully evolved. BB has been these animals and knows full well what they would need. This led to him ending up with the strongest team.

Manatine: Beast Boy's water/sea pokemon. Helps him keep his friends and the T-Sub safe. It evolved from Mantyke all the way back in season 1 after Beast Boy and Aqua Lad were able to put aside their differences and beat the army of Tritant's.

Donphan: this is BB's land pokemon. He liked elephants in the show and donphan's being a rock type also works because rock/earth had so much to do with the terra arc. To which BB was integral. So I am going to say that BB's little phanpy liked and wanted to help Terra almost as much as BB did. Her betrayal was all the worse for it because not only did it lose a friend, but then it had to watch its, normally carefree and happy go lucky, trainer go through such a long period of heartbreak. It evolves into Donphan in the first part of Aftershock, while trying to protect Beast Boy from Terra. It isn't able to that time. But it is still a comfort to him after the season 2 finale, and the pair get stronger over the next 3 seasons.

Shiney Altaria: Beast Boy's Ariel pokemon. I chose Altaria because of its strong typing, and because it is covered in fluffy pillows. It's his shiny because of the three it best represents the lightheartedness and support Best boy brings to his team. For most of the show its a little bird. It evolves at the beginning of season 5, like the first or second episode. The doom Patrol see it evolve. By the end of that arc (when Beast Boy and what's left of the titans Allies go to face the Brotherhood, not when Terra comes back) Best Boy and Alteria have found stones and mastered mega evolution.

(Okay so it looks like I didn't mention this up higher, but Starfire and Beast Boy are the only two Titans I could see using mega stones with their partner pokemon. Raven and Alakasam are scared of the effects/loosing themselves, and Robin and Absol are stubborn and adamant say they do not need "extras" to be Hero's).

Terra

the lost girl, trapped in a cycle she could not beat alone

Dugtrio and an Alolan Marowak: Terra first two pokemon that she has pre meeting the titans (though her Marowake was probably a Cubone then, and it evolved in between her first meeting and when she came back, a ghost of the sweet girl they met before). They represent her loneliness and how unstable her life feels to her. She is close with these two pokemon and they do care about her. Terra set's them free before staying to stop the volcano. The Titans want to take Dugtrio and Marowak back to the tower and keep them until they can figure out how to reunite them with Terra. But after everything that went down the pokemon pair decide to leave Jump City to wonder again. They are eventually found and picked up by Terra's older bother Geo-force, and live happily with him.

Onyx: This pokemon actually belongs to Slade. When he and Terra commonsense their plan in Aftershock he places its pokeball in Terra's hands with instructions to use it to help bring the titans and the city to their knees. The thing is big, mean, and super destructive. Laying waste to the town alongside Terra, Slade's other goons, and robots. Terra leaves it behind when she gives up during the battle at the start of part 2. What ever happens to Cinderblock/Overload/Plasmus happens to it. The next time we see it again would be the amusement park in "Things change".

Butterfree: I know, I know I said each character would only have three. But a.) Onyx wasn't really Terra's pokemon so she technically only had two. b.) Terra acquires Butterfree after coming out of the statue (before seeing Best Boy again). By this time she has released Dugtrio and Marowak, and is starting over with an empty slate.

Terra finds butterfree as a caterpie one evening when she gets caught in a storm on the way back to wherever her place of residency is. The storm is clearly scaring caterpie and Terra take pity on it, and takes it back with her. It turns to have been right at evolution, and was holding off until it could find a safe place to. It evolves into Metapod that night and Butterfree a couple weeks later. Terra keeps the butterfree as an emotional support pokemon. If it can go into a chrysalis, come out as something new, then go on to live a good life... well than maybe so can Terra.

Okay so this is already getting posted late because my computer crashed and the repair shop could not fix it, so I had to order a new one. Plus i think it's long enough with just these six. So I will post it as is and if it gets enough likes/comments I will post a part 2 with my pokemon pics for the The Titans East, and the two other anti hero's. The two other anti hero's are Red-X and Jinx if that gets anyone wanting to leave likes and comments in an effort to motivate me to write part two faster

[comics-and-fanworks]

ML/DC Bio Mom AU Part 1 (Starfire)

‘So I’ve seen some AUs with Poison Ivy, Catwoman, or Harley Quinn as Marinette’s Bio mom, So here’s some other  DC ladies and how Marinette finds out! Note: Starfire is an adult in this AU, and powers and abilities come from the DC comics wiki and Teen Titans wiki.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette woke up one day floating above her bed. She screamed loud enough to wake the neighbors. Tom and Sabine rushed upstairs to find her floating up by the ceiling. The Kwamii were in a panic, and weren’t even trying to hide (it’s not like Sabine and Tom would never find out, and Marinette never asked why the fridge was always stocked with the Kawmii’s foods), instead they were trying to help her learn how to move. After helping her down, and calming her down, Tom and Sabine decided it was time to tell their daughter the full truth. Marinette had always known she was adopted, and knew that Tom and Sabine loved her as if she were their flesh and blood, but she never knew who her parents were. It was a massive shock to her when they told her that her biological parents were the heroes Starfire and Nightwing. 

Tom and Sabine explained that they met the couple through Gina, who had met them during her travels. The two couples eventually became close friends, and around the time Mari was born, Starfire’s sister Komand’r returned, and threatened to kill Mari. In order to insure their daughter’s safety, they asked Tom and Sabine to adopt Mar’i Nettie Grayson-And’r and to hide her identity they changed her name slightly to Marinette. They told her that when her bio parents had finally felt it was safe again, and were more than happy to speak with her whenever she was ready. Koriand’r wasn’t sure if Marinette would meet them before or after she got her powers (she had a hunch her daughter would inherit them), and left her some letters to help her learn how to use them. Marinette asked if she could read the letters, and if she could meet her bio parents before school started. 

“My sweet little Mar’i, I don’t know if we’ll get to see you before your powers develop, but as your mother I will always look after you. The most important thing you should know is that your powers are linked directly to your emotions,” Wonderful. That’s just what Marinette needed when she was already dealing with a terrorist targeting peoples’ emotions, “You’ll probably develop the power of flight first, it was the first one I did. In order to fly, you will need to feel unbridled joy. That should be easy, seeing the world from the skies sparks that feeling on its own,” For her, it was the thought of defeating Hawkmoth. Next thing she she knew she was floating again. It was easy enough to figure out how to move around, she just had to lean different directions. Picking up speed was easy enough as well, stopping was a bit tougher, but she got the hang of it. Marinette loved to fly, it made getting to Akumas much faster, and while she kept herself hidden as a civilian, as Ladybug she could play it off as getting stronger and unlocking new powers. Chat asked her about it once and how he could fly, thankfully her timer went off, and later Plagg would cover for her and tell Adrien that it was just a power the Ladybug Miraculous had.

“To use your starbolts, you must feel a righteous fury. Think of a time someone has unjustly hurt you or someone else, channel everything you wish you could have done. Oh my little star! I bet your starbolts will be beautiful, and I can’t wait to see what color they are,” Thinking of Hawkmoth, Lila, and even Adrien at times helped her master her starbolts. They were a gorgeous sapphire blue to match her eyes, and now that she could fly, she could practice using them outside of Paris! Tom and Sabine suggested she look up videos of her mom fighting, so she could learn how to make combos and learn some moves. Marinette was careful to never use this power as Ladybug, she didn’t want Chat getting suspicious. 

“Since you are half Tamaranean, you will most likely have my super strength. Whenever you want to use this, tap into your boundless confidence, I know you can do it!” This was a little harder for Marinette. Due to the heaps of expectations placed on her by her classmates and Mrs. Bustier, the torment she endured from Lila and her supporters, and Hawkmoth had destroyed her confidence over time. However, Tikki and the Kwamii reminded her that she could fly, that she was a superhero, she was a designer. Slowly they helped her rebuild her confidence, until one day as she was trying to get a pen that rolled under her dresser... she picked it up! She quickly climbed onto her balcony and took off to the forest she’d been practicing in to test her new found strength. While she wasn’t able to fully find her limit, she is confident she can lift buildings. She continued to read her mother’s letters, and continued to learn about her powers, until she got to the last letter.

“Around the time your powers have finished kicking in, the rest of your tamaranean genes will begin to show. Don’t worry, I promise you’ll be fine!” Marinette woke up one morning to find that she had outgrown her bed, and most of her clothes. She quickly googled her bio parents, ‘Yep, that makes sense. My bio dad is 5′10″ and my bio mom is... 6′4″!?’ Quickly measuring herself, Mari realized she was now 6′2″. She also noticed something else, her hair had grown overnight as well, and was dragging on the floor behind her. Oh well, this wouldn’t be a problem since she was a fashion designer, and the Miraculous could disguise her appearance. She spent the next few weeks remaking her wardrobe. 

Three weeks before school started, she was sitting in a café. She was finally going to meet her parents! She was scrolling through her phone, looking at all the messages she’d been sent. Mrs. Bustier was asking her to do everything except plan and teach the lessons, her classmates were demanding things and volunteering her to do things for them, and Adrien was sending her reminders not to rock the boat and to not expose Lila. Plus with Hawkmoth getting stronger, she was half tempted to ask her bio parents for help. She loved her Maman and Papa dearly, but she was at her limit, and getting out of Paris seemed like a great idea. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door swing open, and thinking it was her parents, she looked up. There were her classmates, even Chloe and Lila. 

“There you are Girl! We haven’t heard from you all summer,” Alya started, but she was quickly cut off by Alix, “Yeah Mari what gives? You just ghosted us!” Marinette sighed, with her enhanced hearing she could easily catch Lila whispering something to Rose about her potentially doing some sketchy stuff behind their backs. “I... got in contact with my bio parents over the summer, and have been dealing with that. In fact I’m here to meet them,” Most of her class looked amazed, Lila had told them Marinette’s Bio parents never wanted to see her again, but she also told them that Marinette lies so they figured that’s what this was. “Dupain-Cheng, you look weird. What happened to you,” Chloe snapped, crossing her arms. At this, Marinette stood, and her classmates’ jaws dropped. She towered over them with the grace of a queen, and had incredibly long hair up in a ponytail that almost seemed to move on its own. She walked past them to the counter and to get another coffee. She turned back to her classmates.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to meet with my parents in private,” Mari said. She watched as Lila and Chloe led them over to another table, it looks like she wasn’t going to get that private reunion she hoped for. Going back to her booth, she was about to text her bio father that they should meet somewhere else, when the door opened again. There they were, Koriand’r and Dick Grayson, in the flesh. Marinette’s class was staring as Alya whipped out her phone to record, about to leap out of her seat and ask for an interview with the eldest wayne and his supermodel wife (they thought about coming in costume, but didn’t wanna concern people), when she caught something else on her phone instead. Marinette stood up and whispered, “Mom? Dad?” and almost as soon as she got the words out she was engulfed in a hug. As the class shook off their initial shock, they began to process some of the things that were being said:

“Mar’i.... My little star! We missed you so much!”

“Babybird how have you been? We’re so sorry we didn’t reach out sooner, we thought that it was your choice to make and we didn’t want to take you away from your life!”

“You’ve grown so much! Tom and Sabine have kept us updated!”

It took a moment for the class to process. These were Marinette’s parents? However, looking closer they could see it more. Alya was shocked her bestie never told her these were her bio parents! She was so going to give Marinette a hard time for withholding such incredible information! Nino and Kim were elated for their friend, they never believed Lila’s crap about Mari being a bully, they grew up with that girl and knew that she’d never met her bio parents. Lila and Chloe were shocked. Here they were, making an enemy out of Marinette, when in reality she could have been their ticket to fame and glory! Adrien was stunned, not just at who Marinette’s parents were, but how much she had changed. He had to admit she was very gorgeous, and made him seriously doubt his devotion to Ladybug.

Eventually they tuned back into the conversation in front of them, and heard something that shook them to the core, “If it’s alright with you all, can... can I come with you to Bludhaven? I’d really like to get to know you more and I’ve been having a rough time in Paris, a lot is going on and it’s getting to be too much. If you don’t want-”

“Mar’i Nettie Grayson-And’r! Of course we want you! Come on, let’s go talk with Tom and Sabine, and you can tell us everything that’s been going on!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Let me know if I need to change anything or if you’d like a continuation of this! I may do a different superhero or villain next!

Edited: fixed grammar error.

[ectonurites]

I admire you for managing to make it through the New 52 Teen Titans like I have started the first New 52 run at least 4 times with the intent to actually make it through but then stopped in the middle either because I got so mad about how their characters were butchered or I just literally couldn't take the writing anymore. (It's usually around the Bar Torr stuff, that's usually where I tap out) so I've never even finished Vol 4 let alone Vol 5 so uhh yeah kudos to you for sticking through it.

it was a WILD RIDE I can tell you that. like... its just not good. It's not a good comic, and it's not like a 'oh hold on it'll get better' situation because it just doesn't.

The main reason that I went into it was because I wanted to understand New 52 Kon and what his deal was because skimming wikis was just not giving me enough of an answer on his deal and I wanted to know wtf was going on. And the New 52 Superboy book and Teen Titans Vol. 4 are just like, incredibly linked, they have a lot of stuff crossing between them (especially around the Bar Torr stuff when the Kon & Jon switch happens) so I figured fuck it lets push through all of this.

And then my second motivation was also to know and understand the context of that New 52 tim/kon scene with the begging him not to go stuff, because I was just. Curious. And that's like halfway through Vol. 5 so by that point it was like well, guess I just gotta finish it now bc there's not THAT much left.

I read all of them (so Superboy Vol. 6, Teen Titans Vol. 4 & 5, and most of the events they tied into [i skipped a few because i'd just already read them separately tho]) over like... 5 days? Less than a week for sure, because I just binge read when I get going on something even if its not good. Feels like a fever dream.

I liveblogged it in some of my friends' dms which made it funnier at least bc I could just laugh at what a mess it all was as I went and send funny panels.

[northoftheroad]

Hi! I'm really sorry to bother you! But I was wondering if you could give us a list of recommended stories with dick after his Robin days. Like after bruce fired him and he became nightwing? All up to the time he had to become batman? I really love your content by the way ☺️!!!

Gosh, this turned out to be even more tricky than the Robin list, and it's frightfully long!

One reason is that storytelling has changed since Dick was Robin. Back in the Golden and Silver age, with very few exceptions, comics were stand-alone short stories. In later decades, it's usually arcs that span at least a couple of issues. Some themes can run for a very long time. For instance, Dick was brainwashed by Brother Blood in New Teen Titans vol 1  # 22 (in 1982), and that would have consequences until The New Teen Titans vol 2 #31 (1987). 

There are also a looot of stories – apart from guest appearances, Nightwing is a regular/lead character in several books named New Teen Titans/Titans and suchlike, 1980-1996 and 1999-2009; Outsiders vol 3 (2003-2007); Nightwing vol 1 (1995) and vol 2 (1996–2007). In team titles, several characters compete for attention. Also, I have read and know the Nightwing books more than his team titles, so they will be more prominent on my list. 

There are a bunch of stories where Dick has a pretty small role and won't be in a lot of panels, but those panels can be "important" and often quoted when it comes to Dick. For instance, Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive, Hush, Under the Hood... 

So, you'll have to take this for what it is. A very personal list, with stories I like (and remember), or have some fun panels, or are "important". Because certain stories are essential to the character's history, regardless if you like them or not. (And if you want more of Dick with Kory/Starfire, read the New Teen Titans titles.) If you'd like to see a synopsis before you commit to reading – because did I mention it is a very long list indeed? – the dc.fandom.com wiki page will often provide. 

(Or you could do the sensible thing, and see this as more of "the complete history of pre-Batman Nightwing, and ask somebody else for recommendations...) 

The Judas contract (when Dick becomes Nightwing). The New Teen Titans # 39-40, Tales of the Teen Titans #41-44, Annual #3. (1984) 

Trivial Pursuits. NewTeen Titans vol 2 # 32. (A nice breather, when the Titans try just to relax together. It goes as well as can be expected.) (1987)

Batman # 416. (First post-Crisis meeting with Jason Todd) (1988)

The Cheshire Contract. Action Comics Weekly # 613-618 (Dick helps Roy find his daughter.) (1988)

The New Titans # 55. (Dick learns about Jason's death when the Titans return to Earth after a long period in space. He goes to Bruce to talk and what follows is the infamous scene when Bruce hits Dick, says he should never have had a partner and tells Dick to leave and leave the keys with Alfred.) (1989)

Batman year Three. Batman # 436–439. (Flashbacks with a retelling of Dick's origin, during Bruce's third year as Batman. In the "now", Dick tries to reach out to Bruce and Dick's parents' murderer is about to be set free.)  (1989)

A Lonely Place of Dying. Batman # 440-442, New Titans # 60-61. (1990)

The New Titans # 65. (Tim turns up at Dick's place to learn what it is to be Batman's partner.) (1990)

Total Chaos. (In issues of Deathstroke the Terminator, New Titans and Team Titans.) (Mirage, a woman from an alternate future and who has illusion casting powers, takes the form of Starfire and sleeps with Dick, who is shamed by his team members for being unfaithful to Kory, even though this is rape. So, an important fact to know but not something I would recommend to read.) (1992)

Knightfall Prodigal (Dick's first longer stint as Batman. And he takes care of Tim and the Manor on his own!) In Batman #512-514 and three other titles. (1994-1995)

Nightwing Alfred's Return (Kind of fun, when Dick seeks out Alfred, who left Bruce's service because Bruce wasn't taking care of himself, in London.) (1995)

Nightwing vol 1 # 1-4. (I don't love this, but it is a milestone in that it's the first Nightwing solo series, Dick momentarily decides to leave the hero business, and gets his by now classic fingerstripe suit.) #1-4 (1995)

Like Riding a Bike. (Donna checks up on Dick.) The Batman Chronicles # 7. (1996)

(Nightwing vol 2 began in 1996.)

Nightwing vol 2 # 6. (Tim and Dick talk and fight crooks.) (1997)

Nightwing vol 2 # 12-16. (Batman pays a visit and Dick makes his custom made car.) (1997) 

The Flash plus Nightwing. (Dick and Wally on vacation.) (1997)

Then & Now. Teen Titans vol 2 #12-15. (The original four Titan boys find themselves fighting their past selves.) (1997)

Nightwing vol 2 # 25. (Tim and Dick talk and ride on train roofs. Dick has decided to become a cop.) (1998)

Detective Comics # 725 (A heart-to-heart between Bruce and Dick.) (1998)

The Technis Imperative. JLA/Titans #1-3. (1998-1999)

The Titans (1999) # 2. (The start of a new Titans team, Dick tells Superman to give them some room.) (1999)

Nightwing vol 2 # 32–34. (Dick at the Police Academy.) (1999)

Nightwing vol 2 # 35–39. (On a mission from Batman: To take control of Blackgate Prison. Afterwards, he recuperates at Barbara's when her place is attacked.) (1999-2000)

The Titans (1999) #15–16. (The original five Titans try to work out some difficulties.) 2000.

Transference. Batman: Gotham Knights #8-11. (2000)

Nightwing vol 2 # 45-46. (The Hunt for Oracle.) (2000)

Action Comics # 771. (Nightwing and Superman hang out and work together – what's not to like!) 2000

Gods of Gotham. Wonder Woman # 164-167. (2001)

Nightwing vol 2 # 54-58. (Blockbuster, Nightwing's main adversary in Blüdhaven, hires an old enemy of Dick's to deal with the vigilante: Shrike. A character from Robin Year One.) (2001)

Matatoa. Batman: Gotham Knights # 16-17. (Bruce adopts Dick.) (2001)

Who Is Troia? The Titans (1999) # 23-25. (A visit from the Titan's children from the Kingdom Come universe.). (2001)

Retribution. Batman: Gotham Knights # 20-21. (2001)

Nightwing vol 2 # 64. (Nightwing as Santa's elf.) (2001)

Bruce Wayne: Murderer and Bruce Wayne: Fugitive (in several titles). (Dick refuses to believe that Bruce can be a murderer and it causes friction with for instance Tim. Also, a big fight between Dick and Bruce when the latter says he is going to abandon his Bruce identity.) (2002)

Nightwing vol 2 # 75. (Flashback's to Dick's early years with Bruce. Plus the first appearance of Tarantula (Catalina Flores; a controversial figure in Dick's history, she straddled the line between vigilante and villain.)) (2002)

Hush. Batman # 608–619. (# 615 for Dick, but it might be confusing only to read one issue.) (2002-2003)

The Obsidian Age. JLA vol 1 # 68-75. (The Justice League members disappear, Dick leads a new team for a few issues. In # 73, Bruce is quoted:" The only time I ever feel pride is when I look at Nightwing. Sometimes I think he's the only thing I ever did right."). (2002-2003)

Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day # 1-3 (Donna is killed. Dick is devastated and declares that the Titans are finished.) (2003)

Nightwing vol 2 # 80-83. (Deathstroke is in Blüdhaven to kill someone close to Dick. Bruce asks when he will quit the force, Dick wants to stay as a cop, but when he saves Amy Rohrbach, she recognizes that Dick is Nightwing and fires him.) (2003)

Nightwing vol 2 # 86. (Dick, forced to rest after being injured, solves crimes on America's Most Wanted and drives Barbara up the wall.) (2003)

The Outsiders vol 3 # 1 (Roy talks Dick, who dissolved the Titans after Donna's death, into leading a new team, promising they will not be a family.) (2003)

Nightwing vol 2 # 87-100. (Definitely one of the darkest periods points in Dick's life pre-Flashpoint. Tarantula breaks up him and Barbara. Blockbuster destroys his circus, his home and kills people just for talking to Dick. Tarantula kills Blockbuster and Nightwing is too exhausted to prevent it, and afterwards, she rapes him (# 93). Not necessarily an arc I would recommend to read, but fans discuss it a lot.) (2003-2004)

The Outsiders vol 3 # 11 (Roy is angsting about going back to the hero business after narrowly surviving being shot, sparring and heart-to-heart with Dick follows.) (2004)

Under the Hood. Batman # 635-641, 645-650, Annual # 25. (2004-2006)

Nightwing Year One. Nightwing vol 2 # 101-106. (I honestly don't care much for this story, but it's good to know that it's one of several retellings of how Dick became Nightwing.) (2005)

Supergirl (2005) # 3 (Supergirl has a huuuge crush on Nightwing... ) (2005)

Silent partner. The Outsiders vol 3 # 21-23. (Dick goes ballistic when he realizes Batman has been funding the Outsiders, Roy admits Batman has been feeding him information. Only it wasn't Batman – it was Deathstroke in disguise.) (2005)

DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy  # 1-4. (2005)

Nightwing vol 2 # 107–117. (Dick leaves Nightwing, starts working for the mob and trains Deathstroke's daughter. I think the author has some kind of resolution to the crisis Dick had gone through the last years in mind, but Infinite Crisis got in the way. Blüdhaven is destroyed in a nuclear explosion.) 

Infinite Crisis. (DC had planned to let Dick die, he is central to the story even if he's not very visible.) (2005-2006)

Targets. Nightwing vol 2 # 125-128. (Dick hunts for a day job in New York and gets buried alive, which leads to some retrospection on his behalf. There's also fights with a guy with a weaponized armour.) (2007)

The Brave and the Bold # 15. Nightwing and Hawkman. (Deadman, inside Hawkman, says that Dick Grayson is the one guy that every crimefighter trusts.) (2007)

Outsiders: Five of a Kind – Nightwing/Boomerang. (It ends with Batman telling Dick: "Go back to the good fight, Dick. Leave the bad fight to us.") (2007)

Wrath Child. (A story from when Dick was fairly new as Nightwing.) Batman Confidential # 13-16. (2008)

Freefall. Nightwing vol 2 # 140–146. (Dick starts freefalling as a new hobby; Bruce is not pleased. And he gets a new daytime job, as a museum curator. Oh, and there's Talia al Ghul, too.) (2008)

Robin # 175. (Some fun panels with flashbacks with Dick and Tim.) (2008)

The Great Leap. Nightwing vol 2 # 147–151. (Two-Face wants Nightwing to save a life.) (2008-2009)

Titans (2008) # 10. (Dick leaves the Titans because he needs to go back to Gotham and "take care of my other family." (2009)

Nightwing vol 2 # 152-153. (That time when Ra's al Ghul called Dick detective. And Dick packed up and left New York to move back to Gotham.) (2009)

Batman # 682. (Just for the line about how Dick made colour come into their monochrome lives ;-) ) (2009)

Detective Comics # 85, Batman # 684 (Dick mourning Bruce) (2009) 

The Secret Six # 9. (Some of the members of the Secret Six feel they should be the new Batman.) (2009)

Battle for the Cowl # 1-3. (2009)

[wazafam]

The launch of DC's Future State has already brought new and ambitious re-imaginings of the publisher's core characters. But after learning just what is in store with the Future State versions the Suicide Squad and a millenia-old Black Adam, there's no question some of the biggest surprises for readers are still on the way.

In addition to a new version of Batman or wild glimpses of DC's possible futures, the conclusion of Death Metal also brought with it the return of parallel worlds and realities many believed to be erased, or at least overlooked, from the DC Multiverse. It's those worlds that have been chosen for DC's Future State: Suicide Squad #1 arriving January 26th. With a new version of Task Force X taking a mission to Earth-3, followed by Black Adam's own mission in the 853 Century in the same issue, the stage is set for two major twists. Screen Rant got the chance to speak with new Suicide Squad writer Robbie Thompson and Jeremy Adams about both unexpected tales. The full interview, as well as a preview of both stories contained in Future State: Suicide Squad #1 can be found below.

RELATED: Superboy is Building DC's New Suicide Squad

Screen Rant: So with Death Metal setting up a new status quo, the shift from that finale into Future State obviously happened faster for readers than for you guys. Can each of you speak to the process of how you joined Future State, and landed on these particular characters, and inside the same book? I'm assuming you didn't need to be talked into an event like this.

Robbie Thompson: I was working on Teen Titans, and this was a long time ago. Usually in comics, your runway is about 20 feet, so it was quite a while back. I'm not sure when you go brought in, Jeremy, but I felt like we got a lot of time which we don't normally get. Was that your experience as well?

Jeremy Adams: No, my experience was that I was brought in under the umbrella of 5G. Then that all fell apart. I had never written a comic, and that's always been on my bucket list since I was a little child. So I thought, "Oh, it was so close. And yet again, it has crumbled before me." Then a couple months ago, my friend Tim, who's writing Teen Titans now in the Shazam Future State, mentioned me to our editor Mike Cotton. Cotton asked, "What about these guys?" And Tim's like, "Oh, Jeremy is great." So, Cotton called me up and said, "Hey, would you like to do something with Black Adam in Future State?" And I'm like, "Okay, what's that?" I really didn't have much time.

The advantage I had compared to a lot of the people in Future State is that mine is so far removed in the future to the DC One Million segment that I didn't need that much run-up, other than trying to make sense of DC One Million. Which I loved, but it's crazy. Cotton, very cleverly, is trying to weave some overarching story between the Future State titles that he's editing - which I think is very good. So, having to try to figure out how to put that into what I was doing was really fun. But I didn't have a lot of lead up.

Robbie Thompson: I guess we had somewhat similar experiences in that, although I was not involved in the artist formerly known as 5G, there was definitely a sense that I got of, "Okay, here's this big event, and here's how we can be interconnected. Here's how we can tell stories that can stand on their own," which was another big appeal to me.

I also knew I was going to be writing the Suicide Squad ongoing book, so that that was really helpful too. Because Cotton and [Assistant Editor Marquis] Draper both had a very clear idea what they wanted for that book, which made forward reverse-engineering Future State a little bit easier on my part. Just to finish the thought, I was working on Teen Titans and my job was to come in and land that plane. That's that's what I did, and that was fun. I figured, "Okay, my time at DC is done. I'm wrapped. I never got to write Ambush Bug, but it was a good time." But then Cotton reached out and was like, "Hey, what are your thoughts on the Suicide Squad?"

I was a big fan up to Tom Taylor's recent run with that crew, so I'm like, "What did you have in mind?" I'm from TV, so it's always great when editors are like showrunners and have a clear vision of what they want; it makes the job a lot easier and a lot more fun. To have a little bit more time than usual was also cool. It's not that we haven't burned through that time or changed some stuff, but to have the luxury of that was very cool.

SR: Death Metal opened the door for revisiting previous worlds and realities and storylines. For you, Robbie, that means a return to Earth 3. And for Jeremy, it's a trip it's a trip through time to DC One Million. Can you both set the stage for these return trips, if it will be the same version fans know, and what it was you found appealing about these corners of DC lore?

Jeremy Adams: For me, it's the Black Adam of it. When you read DC One Million, which is so far flung in the future, one of the things that I noticed was that there was a lack of discussion of magic. And I think that was kind of the thread I started pulling at when you're talking about Black Adam and who would that character be. Why is there no real discussion of magic, and what does that look like? Kind of hinting at what could have happened to magic, but also using that as a catalyst to get us into a bigger threat that is going to play a critical role, especially in Teen Titans Future State.

I thought that, to a degree, I had one of the easier jobs because I could be so far in the future. I don't know if I'm spoiling anything, but in one of the panels in the background, you can see Etrigan, except he has a Detective Chimp hat. I didn't have any brakes put on me, in terms of the things I could do or not do. The fact is that the DC One Million just afforded me an opportunity to play with that, and go into that world. When I first read it, I was kind of like, "I don't know..." and then I reread it and I'm like, "This is awesome!" It's really strange and out there, but it has a really great ending. To be able to play something in that time, and then try to trace it back to what might have happened in some of the other books, was really fun.

Robbie Thompson: I would say I had a similar experience, in terms of the worlds that's opened up. Earth-3 is fun and everything but, I think for me, it was more about what Cotton and the crew wanted to do with Amanda Waller. I think she's always been such an amazing character. She's both the protagonist and the antagonist of the story. And where they wanted to take her was eventually to Earth-3, which is sort of a bit of a cautionary tale. If she gets what she wants in the ongoing series, it's curtains for us. But it was really more about exploring what drives Amanda Waller.

In Future State, we see what she's doing. And then in the series, I guess, we kind of unpack why she's doing it. We're seeing her trying to do something different after having done the sort of the same for a while. And we're exploring what that breaking point was for her, and why she wants to try something different. That, coupled with the addition of Superboy to the team - he's in the Future State books, and the two-parter is centered around him and Waller. He's introduced very quickly in the ongoing story, and I was just really excited about that character.

We have a bit of a mystery with him - I don't know how much I'm allowed to say - in terms of where he's going and why he's there, but it dovetails a little bit with Walter's story. You'll see it hinted at in Future State issue 2. I was excited Earth-3 and I love the crime syndicate and all that other stuff. But, really, it was about exploring what Waller is up to, and it was kind of a means to that end. She's a means to an end kind of a character, so it felt like it fit pretty nicely.

Jeremy Adams: It's such a good high concept too, Robbie.

Robbie Thompson: I blame Cotton; it's all his fault.

RELATED: DC's New Superman Is Quite Different From His Father, Kal-El

SR: Despite the name of the book being The Suicide Squad, you're getting to assemble three teams in play at this point. The first page will pleasantly surprise people when they open the book to meet the Justice Squad, which has been glimpsed in some preview pages. You have assembled a motley crew out of some hilarious deep cuts that are guaranteed to send fans searching DC Wikis.

Robbie Thompson: Again, I have to credit Cotton and Draper, the editors on the book. When we first started talking about the book again, we initially were talking about the ongoing Suicide Squad book. There were a lot of pieces that they wanted to play around with. But the thing that was appealing to me, and I think it's the appeal of the great Suicide Squad runs that I've enjoyed, is the motley crew of both familiar faces and obscure faces. To spoil a little bit in the new series, we'll be introducing some new characters. I wouldn't get attached. I mean, it is the Suicide Squad. I literally will put that in the script. I'll be like, "Don't get attached. Two pages later. the neck bomb's going off."

But, yeah, we wanted to kind of play around you know with what a Bizarro Justice League would look like. What would it look like if Waller was assembling ostensibly her own version of the Justice League, with her squad bent on it? It led to some larger iconic characters, like Conner Kent now being Superman. But then we were like, "Okay, who's our Flash? Who's Wonder Woman..." and that led to some really just fun and frankly weird shit, getting Talon as Batman and Clayface as the Martian Manhunter.

To Jeremy's point earlier, because Cotton is weaving a bunch of these things together, we do have the futuristic version of a new Teen Titan character that will be introduced in Tim's book. It's definitely a weird group of people. I think this is in the preview pages, but much like any Suicide Squad or anything with Waller attached, I wouldn't get attached to any of these people. Pretty quickly, you see a pretty iconic character go right out the window. But that's been our MO: how do we keep this true to those classic Ostrander stories that are character-driven, but with characters that are obscure and weird and that you end up caring about? Then, of course, their heads blow up and that's the great paradigm of a book like this.

The Justice Squad is definitely a motley crew. But, like you said, we're gonna meet a couple of others. I think I'm allowed to tease stuff. If this is the new Task Force X, there's also hinting at a Task Force Z. What powers that, I think, is a cool mystery for fans. And then, of course, our last page is the Squad itself. It's always fun to build teams, but on Suicide Squad, it's even more fun to break them down - sometimes literally. The two-page spread that introduces the Squad is really just another piece of fantastic storytelling from Javier Fernandez, who's the artist on the book.

SR: A special treat is that Peacemaker is playing a major role here. He's getting a ton of buzz right now, thanks to James Gunn's Suicide Squad sequel, but you have the cool honor of introducing him to a lot of fans. Where does your Peacemaker fit in this battle of bad versus evil?

Robbie Thompson: I think the great thing about Peacemaker is in his first line: "peace at any cost," or whatever, I'm blanking on the exact phrasing. He is such a delightfully arch character in that regard. And he's such a fun contrast, especially in the later years where he got even more rigorous and how he wanted to find peace. So, I think the thing that's fun about him is that he's not really interested in good or evil; he's interested in peace. He doesn't really care who gets in his way, as you'll see in the story, and this is the story that we're gonna be telling long term with Peacemaker.

He is at odds with Amanda Waller. As you'll see in the ongoing series, he's a willing member of the Suicide Squad - as much as you can be. At least that's what he's telling himself. In terms of placing where he's at, I think what we hint at in the story is that he was working for Waller and was a believer and what she was doing, and she has gone a step too far even for Peacemaker. Waller is kind of off the rails. But what I think is great about both characters is they both can be protagonists and antagonists. They both genuinely feel that what they're doing is not only the right thing, but the good thing. In their minds, they have justified their actions to meet that questionable morality.

Yes, he's a buzzy character, because he's going to be in the movie and they're doing a TV show. And it's John Cena playing him, which is amazing. I love that guy. But it was really about finding a fun, opposite number for Waller. They're two people that might seemingly be on the same page, but then what would tear them apart? That's sort of where you're seeing Peacemaker at the beginning of this; he is none too pleased with Waller.

SR: That actually is a fantastic segue for you, Jeremy. Fans of Shazam don't need to be told how far Black Adam would climb if he was given a few hundred centuries. For that very reason, the Adam they meet in this story is not the one that they're going to expect. What led you in that direction of subverting his reputation?

Jeremy Adams: I think because Adam's trajectory from being the chosen champion of the wizard Shazam, and then that power going through his head so he becomes this kind of antihero, feels like a hollow pursuit. I think what makes him interesting is when he finally found Kahndaq, and he's like, "I have a people, and I have a mission to protect." This has extended out into the universe now, but he gives up that iron fist, and it's more about Kahndaq being a place of refuge. He mirrors that, and he's kind of stepped away when we meet him from that life of being a warrior; of being somebody that fought for things. He's almost gone the other extreme, into kind of pacifism.

And he's lived for hundreds of years. There's this perspective he has on what actually means something. That's kind of where our story moves a little bit. What would it take for somebody that's seen it all to keep wanting to live? And that's where we meet him. What brings that fire back that makes him want to fight again? Because that's not where he is when we meet him.

Related: The New Wonder Woman is Completely Rewriting DC Mythology

SR: What are your hopes for this tale? I feel like this is a very different story than people would expect from Future State Black Adam.

Jeremy Adams: Yeah. I'm in awe of many different things: the fact that they let us create some characters, which has been an absolute joy - particularly one character that I got to help create that is my favorite person ever. Also, taking something from my animation work and being able to put it into the DC proper has been really great too, and seeing how that character will have far-reaching effects in other books.

But this is my first time out as a comic writer, and I'm still learning the ropes. Mostly, when I see Fernando Pasarin's art, I'm like, "Why are we splitting it with words? This is stupid. We need to strip out all the words, and just put this incredible art there." Because he really captures the emotion and the humor and some of the insanity of it. But I think because it was my first attempt at a comic, and it was also me thinking it could be my last attempt at a comic, I'm gonna just throw the kitchen sink at it. I think it's really fun, and even the second one doubles down on the craziness of it. But I like that kind of unrestrained imagination, where I can keep putting ideas out.

Robbie Thompson: I did the same thing when I was at Marvel, I think it was issue 4 of Silk. Because I was like, "Oh, we'll get cancelled at 5." Right? But I put the Fantastic Four and Galactus in it, and there was no reason for either to be in the book. I thought, "This is it. This is my chance. It's the fourth issue."

Jeremy Adams: That's what I did when I got on Supernatural, because I knew it was the last season. "Here's a bunch of ideas!" And they're like, "No."

SR: You both are giving readers a lot to talk about with, with more than one headline-worthy twist or reveal or development. Are you prepared to see how fans react to those bombshells?

Jeremy Adams: Robbie and I have been through the crucible that is Supernatural. So, sans expectation, I'm just like, "Alright, whatever." That's not why I do it. I do it because I want to tell that story. I want to be crazy or zany or whatever. Because I'm a fan, so I write toward my inner fan.

Robbie Thompson: I mean, you're always going to have - on characters that people are so attached to, or teams that people are so attached to, or content - you're always going to have something. It's almost a fool's errand to chase it. Becaus when you do chase after the shiny thing, it's the thing that you never thought - it turns out they love this over here, and they're obsessed with that detail.

I certainly hope that people talk about it. As one of my first editors said, "It's only when they're not talking about your book that you're in trouble." I certainly hope they do, but I wouldn't say it was the intention. I really can say that on every book I've ever worked on, there's always the thing that I felt like, "Oh, this will get their tongues waggin'." And then no, it was actually this thing over here. It was this relationship that people got really invested in, that was for me just a means to a plot end, but for them it was the conduit into the book or the story or whatever. So, yeah, I certainly hope they get chatting.

SR: In that vein, can each of you speak a bit about the art teams responsible for this future cosplay? They more than deliver right from the start, and it's hard to imagine them elevating it from here.

Robbie Thompson: I'm really bare bones in my scripts. I'll just say, "This is a new version of Batman; it's Talon. Have fun?" I'm dressed like a failed lumberjack; I'm not the guy for that. Fortunately on Future State, I'm working with Javier and Eduardo on the ongoing. They're just briilliant artists. Javier took all of the ideas that we were talking about in the book and really just made his own take on all these characters. And then Alex came in with his colors and did an amazing job, and everybody just came to play in their own way. If people end up cosplaying as Talon Batman or this creepy Martian Manhunter, it's all thanks to Javier and his design work. I don't know about you, Jeremy, but seeing those new designs come in every single time is always so exciting and really fun.

Jeremy Adams: Yeah, I was a little overwhelmed by it all. Because in animation, you write something and then you got to wait a couple years before you actually get to see it. But when it comes to this, it's almost like live theater a little bit. You have a very quick reaction that you get, because these geniuses that are artists and colorist and inkers come in, and give you this magic from the little words you scribble down. I probably am a little more descriptive in certain things, just because of the byproduct of animation in general. But the fact is that everything that I had in my mind, Fernando did it times 10. It was just so detailed and so interesting. Even the coloring and the inking; everything was just so perfect.

It's a weird thing for me, because you get the pencils back and you're like, "Can we just release this? This is so good." Then you get the inks back, and you're like, "Well, this is great!" And then you get the colors back, and you feel like, "Well, I don't know why I'm here." That's kind of how I feel the entire time.

Future State: Suicide Squad #1 will be available at comic book shops and digitally on February 26th, 2020.

Future State: Suicide Squad #1

Written by: Robbie Thompson, Jeremy Adams

Art by: Javier Fernandez, Fernando Pasarin, Alex Sinclair, Oclair Albert, Jeromy Cox

Cover Art by: Javier Fernandez, Marcelo MaioloDerrick Chew

Editor: Mike Cotton,

SUICIDE SQUAD, PART 1 / BLACK ADAM, PART 1

The Suicide Squad enters the Future State era as Amanda Waller uses Task Force X to save the world and remake it in her image—but what happens when the team shows up to stop her? And in the second story in this extra-sized issue, Black Adam, the immortal one-time champion of the wizard Shazam, rules the planet Kahndaq in the 853rd century. Can he save the future from a threat rooted in the past?

MORE: Nightwing Is Becoming The Anakin Skywalker of Future State

Exclusive Preview: Suicide Squad & Black Adam Future State from https://ift.tt/3qO4evh

[mattelektras]

hi i am new to comics and i'd like to know how did you even start reading them and like,, how do you choose what character to read, where to start with them, what ORDER to follow (if you even follow them) because i really want to read more and more but idk many characters, i don't want just to read the "popular" ones + i never know where to begin ?? wish i knew a little about a lot of chs so i could pick one to read haha. what are your recs? and how do you pick issues/volumes to read? ty

i got into them through movies and tv i think?? like when i was little i watched stuff like teen titans, b:tas, dd 2003, and justice league unlimited to DEATH. so i had kind of.. prior attachments to characters like wonder woman (i had one w raven but when i actually read comics it wasnt the same??). but then my dad used to read n collect comics when he wasnt an Old Man so i read TONS of old stuff just for the sake of it like i cannot tell you how much weird old shit i have in my comics collection. captain carrot crossover w teen titans anyone????

thats how i got into silver sable because i basically started with a ton of obscure old comics. i dont know how else i would have fell in love with her because they never use her in anything so thanks @ dad @ god

ANYWAY as for how i personally get into them:

if you’re in a situation where you really dont know where to start, i think team books are a good go to?? you can experience a lot of different characters at once and get a feel for what/who you like and who you dont. and then if you want to be more specific in the KIND of team books you read, think of it in terms of what kind of characters do you like in general?? like do you like antiheroes like xforce, straight up heroic kind of ppl ie the justice league or the avengers, teams that stand for a bigger meaning like the xmen, teen heroes like the teen titans or the young avengers

like for me... i like murder teams so i read xforce/dark avengers/secret six

wiki pages never fail. it’s kind of the same process as above like... search the dc antiheroes category or the marvel women category etc

a lot of sites like comicvine have a recommended reasing section for a lot of characters. as well as wiki pages having an ‘appearances’ section that lists every issue they’ve ever been in. which is good for if you have an ultimate fav because you can read EVERYTHING and love them even more. like.... i would be willing to bet i’ve read every elektra thing??? give or take like 5 issues. and thats how i did i. but it’s also good for more general reading because you can see which series a character was in a large chunk of

eg. when i wanted to read more about rose wilson after seeing her in.... i think it was blackest night, i looked and saw that she’d been in the majority of teen titans vol 3, so i read it

for a bigger name character, i would recommend reading their solos (naturally). like search comixology for batman/captain marvel/iron man etc and the first things that come up will be their solos, and the description of that run will usually give you an idea as to how important it is in the character’s narrative 

THIS IS SHALLOW BUT I GO ON LOOKS... i love bizarrely white haired characters. i dont know why but if theyve got naturally white hair with no explanation for it then im in. so whenever i see a cover w a white haired character on i read it and its worked out pretty well for me ngl??? silver sable as mentioned, i read all the spiderman stuff i’ve read because of black cat, i read vol 5 of new warriors because of namorita having white hair and then i read backwards and LOVED everything and now theyre one of my favorite teams.

its always easiest to love a character that you relate to. so maybe look into characters that are you sexuality or your gender or your race. like comics can be a very diverse medium sometimes, and then other times, the complete opposite. so it can mean a lot when u find a character you relate to on such a personal level

some reading order places that i know of

marvel/dc (good for events/crossovers)

marvel/dc plus lots of other stuff.i’d say i use this one most because its good at separating eras so you can avoid reading old shit when you dont wanna

reddit, despite being reddit, has a huuuge collection of rec lists

my comic recs tag

most of the time, if you google [character] reading order, someone somewhere will have made one!!

if i find a new character i want to read about i usually do a bit of rec list hunting and then a bit of figuring it out by myself?? like see what the biggest events of their narrative were and where they happened, read the obvious stuff to get a general feel for them, and then if im really into it, read the less important stuff?? so i’d say the process is read a rec list. see what happens > read the descriptions/summaries of the longest runs/most well known solos

for keeping up with stuff weekly, i tend to have a few favourites that i read by the issue, and then a lot of other stuff that i enjoy but dont keep up with?? i like 2 binge it every 5 issues or so and then if it gets really good i graduates to being kept up with

i keep track of what’s coming out each week w this site 

aaaand then, i keep up with previews to see whether or not a character i care about is gonna be in anything so i can make sure i read it. eg. i dont generally read amazing spiderman, but silver was in the most recent arc as i found out from the release of the cover, so i immediately knew i was gonna be into it for a few issues

and then also solicits, where descriptions usually give away what’s gonna be worth reading for the month

the best advice i could probably give would be dont overthink it??? who cares if you dont read it chronologically. in my experience, even if you do, there will always be stuff that doesnt make sense because comics are just.... like that. and half of the time, not understanding a reference to earlier stuff isnt gonna impede your comprehension of what you’re reading. most likely its gonna be little things and then later on when you read filler issues you’ll be like oh!!!! thats what they were talking about!! eg. i didnt read civil war until WAY after it happened, but i read stuff surrounding it and because the basic premise was explained in what i read, i didnt feel out of the loop??

so like... dont let any of that put u off. long ass rec lists can be daunting because you just think have i really gotta read all that shit!!! but 90% of the time.. making your own way works just fine, maybe just use recs as a guideline along with other resources 

[oh-mother-of-darkness]

asks (15)

@princessnightwing said: Pardon ME. But why in ANY DIMENSION would you mention that thing about POOR BABY DICK AND THE GUITAR STRINGS SNAPPING???? DID YOU WANT TO BREAK MY HEART??? My gosh. I'm just gonna go sit in and corner and weep for a bit. I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY. 😡

[reference]

You know I really, truly am actually

If I’m gonna suffer I’m taking all a y'all down with me ;)

[reference]

Anonymous said: Your mobile links aren't working 😭

Well shoot they’re working for me. Anybody else having problems?

Anonymous said: "See, he had to think about it." I'M DEAD those dialogue drabbles are amazing I love them!

Fun fact that particular bit of dialogue is based on something that happens at my house a lot. See my family has seven kids, and five of them have been extremely unplanned-- just me and my sister Erin were on purpose, and Erin is adopted. My mom got pregnant with her fourth child during Erin’s adoption process, so Jimmy was born right around the time that Erin arrived from China. Directly after that, we adopted Shannon who (long story) had just been abandoned (again) by her first set of adoptive parents. It was a spur of the moment thing with an expedited process. So Erin, Shannon, and Jimmy are all roughly the same age.

Five years after Jimmy was born, my mom got pregnant again at age forty. We had all assumed she wouldn’t have any more children, so it was a shock. Five years after Dave was born, my mom got pregnant again at age forty-five. That one was just... wild. There was a pretty strong chance that there would be complications with that pregnancy, so they straight up decided not to tell us.

They just... waited for us to figure it out. I don’t remember how far along she was before Erin asked, but trust me when I say that we haven’t trusted them since. Anytime they say they have something to tell us, the automatic response is “we have a new sibling???” We’ve been burned before

@thephilosophersapprentice said: Headcanon that it is now a Wayne family meme to blame the most ridiculous things on Dick. Someone gets their loose change stuck in the toaster? Dick did it. Firecrackers hidden in Arkham Asylum? It was Dick. Saran-wrapping everything in the Batcave? Random threats to national security that turn out to be Nyan Cat videos? Yup, absolutely Dick. Bonus points for when Dick is actually responsible and everyone else is furious because turns out, they've just given him plausible deniability.

Jason, gesturing with his gun at the bullet holes in the wall: Dick did it

@bruciewayneisbatman said: Congrats on law school!

Thank you! <3

Anonymous said: hey, duke's relatively new to the comic scene and im not that avid a reader but i find him pretty intriguing. do u mind scoping over his backstory (wiki isn't the clear) and/or personality?

[click click]

Anonymous said: they're all great but the you can't be batman if you don't impulse-adopt someone is my favourite (I love for angst and I'm itching to know how this ends) (also part of the reason I love angst is your fics and hc so thank you) (I'm not kidding I'm seriously thankful)

Anonymous said: my favorite one was about dick basically being damians dad!!

Anonymous said: I loved the ALL lol! but hey that was amazing and it made me laugh ( repressed so nobody thinks i'm crazy) my faves are the first two,the one about Dick being Damian's father and the last one!

@fairytalecritic said: For the favorite one of your fic fragments? Gotta be the one on impulse adopting. (But the one about Duke thinking there were two Jasons is also gold and a close runner-up (who am I kidding they are all gold but you made me choose :p ))

Anonymous said: My favourites are Duke not knowing Jason died and came back, and the bet between Jason and Damian

I think looking at these and the comments on the post, the one about Duke and Jason seems to be the favorite? I’ll add it to the list I guess

Anonymous said: Any headcanons for what kinds of music damian might like to listen to? I feel like he'd have some classical (strings for sure), but I also think he'd like some other genres but I can't really pin anything down, probably cause I don't listen to enough music myself. Thoughts?

[over here]

@frostbite883 said: DC Questions: Which version of Superboy Prime do you prefer? The heroic version from the past? Or the villainous version of the present?

Mmmmm don’t know that I got a strong opinion on that one but I guess the villain one

@mirrorfalls said: Urrr... what are the 5 worst Batman comics you've ever read in your life?

Oh let’s see off the top of my head

Teen Titans (2011) #0

The first two issues of Battle for the Cowl

Tentacle Jason??

Most of Seeley’s Gray/son

All of the amnesia arc

Idk I know I should be more specific about this but I’m generally bitter so

@shatteredxpetals said: just gotta say that was so adorable, absolutely cute fam, and is the only time I'll smile when hearing about someone's heart problems lol.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ eh it turns out there isn’t anything physically wrong with my heart anyway. The weirdass tachycardia is just anxiety kicking my ass

Still had to peel adhesive off my chest every night for a month :///

[burningartwork]

Top 7 things to think about in a Nightwing movie

(VERY long but educational to new Nightwing fans. lol)

So…

It has been announced that they recruited director Chris McKay to direct the Nightwing movie! You may have known Chris from his latest works with Lego Batman.This both excited me and worried me. On the one hand, you have a guy that understands comedic timing and for the most light-hearted of the Robins, who loves to quip and make jokes while crime fighting, that understanding will FINALLY give mainstream audiences a potential glimpse into the comic book version of Nightwing.

Up to date, the best Nightwing (to me) that has ever been in non-comic book format has been Nightwing in Arkham Knight and probably Dick in the recent series of Batman themed movies involving Damian Wayne. (Ironically, these are the costumes I despise the most but the characterization is on point, especially in AK.)

Some people might like Dick in Young Justice but honestly, this one felt more like a fusion of Tim Drake & Dick Grayson to me, (the brainy, geek-hacker is more of a Tim thing, tbh) that left the ACTUAL Tim, feeling very flat. Yes, that Dick was kinda funny but not in the same teasing style as Dick should be. (My opinion) That being said, comic book Dick is the most charming mo-fo you’ll ever meet and surpass in leaps and bounds (hehe) Batman in likableness. On the other hand, the fear that I get is that Dick is such a strange balance of serious and funny, cocky and humble, confident while being insecure that such a nuanced character can be a difficult thing to full off.

You can’t go for straight out funny like Robin in the Lego movie or a joker like Spiderman or Deadpool. This strange chemical concoction that is Nightwing’s personality has to be handled right if you want a version that can please hardcore Nightwing fans & newcommers.

So… here are my top 7 things to consider when making a Nightwing movie.

#7 - Villains, what are they good for?

Absolutely everything… well, not everything but they are key ingredients to tell a good superhero story. It’s hard to get invested with weak villains. The only issue with Nightwing is, that unlike Wonder Woman, the Flash or the rest of JLA, he doesn’t really have his own Rogues Gallery.

He heavily borrows from other titles, (especially Batman, obviously) to flesh out his stories. Being a founding Batfamily member, & founder of the Teen Titans/Titans who, they themselves,  are extended characters from other titles, Dick has faced off with street level thugs & gangsters to inhuman/meta-humans & aliens. His most prolific battle has been with Deathstroke who actually started out a Teen Titans villain. This hit Nightwing especially hard since Deathstroke’s aim was infiltration of his team via a member of the group. For a solo Nightwing title, determining the villain will matter HEAVILY of what kind of story you want to write for him: Street level Batman'esque or inhuman (which he does kinda often actually).

So casting a villain should only be done after figuring out what kind of story to use.

I know that seems like a “duh” kinda of concept, but it’s not necessarily forced to happen that way. You can have a villain in mind and weave out a story around it but Nightwing’s villains have too much range. You know Superman is going to fight aliens or metas, you know Batman is going to fight criminally insane people. With Nightwing… it’s up in the air.

#6 - This is the story of my life!

Dick Grayson is probably the most (or at least one of the most) constantly evolving characters in the DCU. It’s much easier to evolve a character in a permanent sense when they start off as kids and Dick Grayson was Batman’s first Robin after all. Actually, he wasn’t just the first Robin but he was the first side kick EVER. Batman was created in 1939 and Dick Grayson popped up as Robin in 1940. I’ll give you guys a minute to do the math on that…

Done? Yeah, Dick Grayson is

77 YEARS OLD

He spent a huge portion of his existence in limbo like many comic book characters do (which is why his Robin persona is still so popular) but the shift into Nightwing came only in the early 1980s. Where evolving him past Robin became a means to refresh the Batman series. Dick separation from Bruce and his evolution into Nightwing is a permanent point in DC publication which also does the job of permanently aging him as well. (and also reestablished any Robins that come after him.) Dick was a kid or tween when he started with Batman and now due to his evolution is always in his early 20s when any DC reboot happens and has more often than not, has already left Batman which makes his comics to focus quite a lot on “coming of age” super-hero styled stories when he breaks away from his childhood and becomes his own hero.

What should and probably will happen is that we’d get a brief look into into his Robin history (which, frankly wasn’t all that interesting) and start us off in his mantle but Dick as Nightwing is faaaaaar more interesting.

… I mean, yeah, honestly guys, who cares bout his Robin days? But which of these stories would make for a good introduction to character with this much history? If I had to do this, I would forcibly make it: “Nightwing year 1”

Just for the sake of context and introducing new people in the idea that Batman has had more than 1 Robin in his life. Him getting his vigilante name, him dealing with leaving Batman & stopping a threat to a new city that he adopts which leads us to….

#5 - Location, location, location

So, we all know 2 things: Gotham Belongs to Batman and Robin lived with him. Granted, he has lived alone in other places like New York & Chicago and was even a globe trotter for a while during his “Grayson” run. So what should be the most ideal setting if you want to distinguish Nightwing & Batman from eachother?

Bludhaven

Bludhaven is NIGHTWING’S city. It was made FOR him. Bludhaven is sister city close to Gotham but not quite in its range.

Here’s a Wiki description of the city because it’s so precise I couldn’t write it better myself:

Once nicknamed, “Asbestos Town, USA,” Blüdhaven started out as a whaling town, rapidly giving way to highly industrial sectors which then fell into urban decay as businesses collapsed or moved out of the area during the Depression. It’s infamous for its somewhat rank odor and high crime rate. Approximately 33 minutes’ drive from Gotham City, Nightwing moved here initially to help Batman solve a string of murders related to a thoroughly corrupt police force, only to remain there to carve out his own reputation away from either Batman or the Titans.

Asbestos town… geeze. It makes Gotham look like Metropolis.

Bludhaven already feels like a different place based on the name. It’s an industrial port town so the possibility of illegal activities feels even more likely. Consider things like weapons/drug trade being easy to circulate in a place where lots of boats dock from far off places. Nightwing’s city should be HEAVILY worked on for this project. When you consider the names DC uses for it’s cities, Bludhaven already makes you think: “Man, this town is pretty bad” without context and I think it’s important that like Gotham or Metropolis, it has to take on a character. Especially since it’s never been portrayed in live action before. Bludhaven would be making it’s cinematic debut along with the Nightwing mantle. Make it a place Nightwing FEELS he need to be in to protect but also a place worthy of him calling it home.

#4 - Two’s company, the Batfam’s a crowd.

Now, I saw lots of people getting excited over the prospect of getting other characters in the bat family involved in the Nightwing movie and it’s a fair assumption to make: Nightwing isn’t Batman. He’s a team player and never has beef with getting help. He might not want to at first if it’s dangerous but I find he tends to cave super easily when pressed and knows he can rely on his allies (He’s no fool!) but we have to watch out about this because of this problem:

Nightwing’s personality is a very accommodating one.

Like I mentioned, he plays VERY well with others. This unfortunately also makes him fall into the background very often when characters with more abrasive or loud personalities come into the picture. He can do fairly well with funny characters but also sort of syncs into their groove. (Actually, him and Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl/Oracle are probably best suited to work against eachother since their banter is an even match of quips and sarcasm which is more like a mirror and reflects how silver tongued the bird boy can be.)

If they want to make it a Nightwing movie, theycan’t use it too heavily to introduce new characters into the cinematic universe like they did with “Bad Blood …I honestly, find it strange when people tell me that the movie Bad Blood is a Nightwing movie. I… I can’t consider it a Nightwing movie when, #1, he’s playing Batman, #2 when his turmoil over the Batman mantle happens off screen, #3 when Batwoman & Batwing take over 50% of the story (I’d argue that Batwoman is the star of this movie).

Introducing too many first time screen characters drowns out Dick because he wants them on his team so badly and it’s important that he is front and center for hi titular movie. This is especially true for Batman himself and Bats should be restricted to flashbacks or origin storytelling… At best 1 or 2 characters should be more than enough… not that there’s a Robin that’s active or anything…

(if you want to see my "Robins” movie idea called “Flight of the Robin” which would add Jason & Tim back into the setting, then feel free to look here: Flight of the Robin )

If they want to have Nightwing in a place of importance or leadership then make a Teen Titans/Titans movie or something but make his solo title about him.

#3 - ♪♪ IIIIIIII want to swiiiiiing from the chandelieeeeeeeerrrrrr ♪♪

He flies through the air with the greatest of eaaaaase, the daring young man on the flying trapeze! His moves are so graceful, the girls he did sway, my heart he has stolen awayyyyyyyy!

Yeah so…

Dick’s a circus acrobat.

Most people know this story but I’ll refresh (skip if you know):

Once upon a time, there was a cool circus by the name of “Haley’s Circus”. It traveled the country showing off it’s amazingly talented acts which included the world famous trapeze act: “The Flying Graysons”. The members of the act were a family: husband John, wife Mary & son Richard “Dick” Grayson. They were especially famous for doing their act without the use of a safety net. One day, Haley was extorted by a gangster named Tony Zucco then subsequently threatened when Haley refused to bend to him. So, to show that Zucco meant business, he sabotaged the ropes that held the trapezes and when Dick’s family went to perform, both his parents fell to their deaths. This was not any night however, for that night, Bruce Wayne just happened to be in the audience, feeling sorry for the poor lad, he decided to take him in as his ward. Having been witness to the extortion, Dick decided to take revenge on Zucco and ran off in the middle of the night to get leads on his parents’ murderer. Eventually, Dick discovered (or was told) that Bruce was Batman and Bats seeing Dick recklessly plunge head first into danger, decided to let him in on his vigilante life style so he could properly deal with the death of his parents in the way he never could. Thus the dynamic duo were born!

There are different versions of the story but that is the general gist.

What I’m trying to say is, Batman and Robin are night and day, that much I think everyone can agree on, but that Robin, the one who set that standard, was Dick Grayson and thankfully, that personality he gave to Robin stuck with him into Nightwing. So the way he moves, the way he fights & the way he “heroes” isn’t Batman-like. More often than not, Dick will JUMP into the fray. This is what he did with Batman after all, and it seems like that habit never left him. It causes him to get into sticky situations, buuuut that’s sort of what we like to see. How his very creative mind gets him out of a bind. So the sneak in the shadows and wait for the right moment only really happens when he already knows he’s over his head. But Nightwing is extremely creative with his environment and uses that to defeat foes very often. Not being as bulky as Batman this makes his punches softer BUT his body type also promotes the acrobat in him. His panels in the comics, more than any other, involve constant motion and tactful, on the fly reading of the situation and the fact that his agility gives him time to avoid damage and think his way out of his problems makes him more unique.

Here are a few examples of Nightwing/Dick Grayson movements:

Old school I don’t need luck You fight like Jazz

Midnighter says it best:

“Disciplined but not adverse to improvisation… you fight like Jazz.”

So you have to understand… that no matter how BADLY they botch this up as long as they retain the distinct acrobatically visual, creative, Jacky Chan'esque style of Nightwing’s fighting style, I’ll have been happy to have seen this movie. I NEED them to focus on the Acrobat. Dick has been quoted as the most agile character in the ENTIRE DC Universe. If they don’t have actual acrobats working on stunts and a lead that can at the very LEAST keep up with some basic fighting style that marries with the acrobatics… then I’ll consider this whole project a complete botch up.

#2 - So ya wanna be Dick Grayson huh?

We are now at a point where casting here MUST depend sorely on 3 factors:

Can you be funny & charming without being obnoxious?

Can you do drama & allow yourself to portray a character filled with, insecurity & empathy?

Are you handsome & is your ass on point?

I know the last one seems EXTREMELY SHALLOW but there are not a lot of DC Superheroes that have been called out on their hotness. You’d think:“Bruce Wayne is!” Actually…not as much as you think. Charming, totally but handsome, that has been left to interpretation… lots of heroes give off the vibe but are never really stated as such.

Not Nightwing.

Dick’s handsomeness once made a girl fall off her motorcycle… I’m not joking: Here there Dick’s ass is canonically seen as amazing in continuity now. Here’s Midnighter again, recognizing it: Dat ass Here’s just some gratuitous exposition: Are you paying attention? And here’s Grayson wondering the why of it all: What’s the fuss?

And unfortunately, to please the people who have been wondering WHO would be so damn worthy to play a handsome guy who looks like a model but doesn’t seem like a complete douchebag feels jarring and nearly impossible. (I lost my pick to DC already.

Tyler Hoechin has the charm & the butt but is the Superman of the Supergirl TV show.)

So this actor NEEDS to have a decent appeal all around the board for guys and girls. (I would NOT want to be the casting director for this.) A script that is a bit funny and coy but still serious? They have their work cut out for them…

#1 - Who art thou Nightwing?

I’ve discussed here and there Nightwing’s personality. Classically, he is an upbeat character but the nuances that stem from him can be somewhat conflicting. Yes, there is the ever present humor and charm but Dick rcan be a “big brother” to the other Robins & had as surprising amount of empathy & humbleness despite his arrogance. Without the other birdies to care for, he is still a social butterfly and will not hesitate to make connections. He gives EVERYONE a second or even third chance even when they wrong him and this can be troublesome for him too since doing so, often allows him to lower his guard and he can get potentially hurt by the people he puts his faith in.

If Superman is “hope” & Batman is “Justice” then Nightwing is definitely “Trust”

That being said, betrayal is most probably in the cards if they know this about Nightwing. Writing this character without making him too arrogant or too naive can be extremely hard. (Though I say, write him as the uber dork he is) DC NEEDS to get comic writers on this and the script and more importantly, the dialogue will set the tone of the character but it needs to come off kind but confident, cocky but insecure about his role as a Superhero, humble and willing to openness … But the big question is will they use comic book Nightwing?

Will we, the readers, finally get a version that runs close? It really depends on what they have planned and if DC plans to shoehorn in other tie-in projects to Nightwing. It all starts with the script. It all starts with how much heart they will be able put into this project and how tightly knit a story they want to do with him. They can’t mess this up, the way they have with other characters because Dick is a REACTIVE character and who he is will adapt to the situation he is placed in.

I just hope, it’s a good one.

[doycetopia]

Masks "Menagerie" Campaign - Session 6 to 10

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about our ongoing Masks game (superhero antics in the vein of Young Justice, Teen Titans, or Avengers Academy), but that in no way means the game itself has slowed. Quite the opposite.

So, if only for the sake of bragging, I thought I’d catch things up.

The last time, I covered sessions 0 though 5. This time, it’s sessions 6 to 15, so buckle up.

Before I get rolling, I want to recognize two resources that have made this broad overview far more manageable.

The first is the forum that is automatically made available for any campaign you set up on Roll20.net. (Our game is played online, and while the voice chat isn’t able to handle our group’s particular challenges, the other tools it provides are invaluable.) The forum lives here, and sees continuous, nigh-daily activity in the form of fiction, world-building, general discussion, and (of course) the blow-by-blow Actual Play summaries – usually authored by Dave Hill – which supplement if not completely stand in for my spotty recollection.

(Said forum has been made even more valuable with the addition of a custom coded search/scraper that Bill forced around roll20’s forum code at great personal effort.)

The second tool is a more recent addition to our electronic tool box, a wiki built and customized (again, mostly) by two of the players, Bill and Mike. Thanks to the organization of the wiki (and downright sexy layout), I’m able to excavate all kinds of trivia and bits of game lore that might otherwise have flared and died within minutes of being introduced into a session.

With that out of the way…

When We Last Left Our Heroes…

Sessions 1 though 5 were mostly about introducing the heroes to the people of Halcyon, and the players (and myself) to the Masks system. They had a morning show interview, a downtown brawl with some bad guys, and then rode the fallout from those events, (including the speedster getting temporarily lost in an alternate, devastated version of Earth.)

Session five saw the team looking forward or inward – taking stock of the problems they had on their plate and making plans to deal with them.

It also saw their team coming to the attention of AEGIS, the SHIELD-esque organization of the Masks universe.

Issue 6

Issue 6 recording on YouTube

AP Report

One of the directives for a Masks GM is presenting adults as supportive but short-sighted; willing to help but always pushing their own vision and agenda on the teen heroes – help with strings attached. Okay.

Enter Agent Ted Waters (who’s probably going to be the most supportive, least strings-attached adult in the game – though that’s a low bar), an experienced AEGIS agent and the father-figure/handler for Link (whose actual father is super-villain Rossum the Minion Maker). Waters shows up at Quill Industries (the ‘sanctum’ for the team’s Doomed character) with paperwork in hand that will officially recognize the team by AEGIS… a move AEGIS hasn’t… umm…. actually sanctioned?

This paperwork is simple – it merely requires the team pick a name and an official leader. Easy, right?

The name had been under discussion via in-character posts on the forum, but we hadn’t brought it to the forefront yet. This was meant to facilitate that. They tell Ted the team will be the Menagerie and it gets the expected, bemused response from the older man (a good sign you’re on the right track in a teen-oriented game).

The ‘strings’ attached to this bit of help were more meta-level than an actual condition offered by Waters – the team had to pick a leader; a requirement I thought might generate some drama/angst/hand-wringing/reflection/et cetera.

It did all those things, so yay. 🙂

The team eventually settled on Jason Quill (the Doomed, played by Dave), a decision which the team treated with varying levels of seriousness. (Jason on one end of the panic-stricken-with-the-weighty-responsibility spectrum; speedster Mercury (Kay) providing the ‘whatever man paperwork is boring just write something in it doesn’t matter’ counterbalance.)

While Jason continued to process this development, Ghost Girl went and got herself in one kind of trouble (attacked by someone who saw her as a dangerous menace, starting both an arc and introducing her current Mundane-vs-Freak Hook), while Like found another (investigating a mutual friend’s disappearance and running afoul their supernatural kidnapper).

This development brought us to the end of the session with the team rushing to help GG, but split (“where the hell is Link?”), and under a leader (technically) who was still a bit in shock.

Issue 7: If the Graveyard Be My Destiny!

Issue 7 on YouTube

AP Report

(All credit to Dave for the comic-book-classic session titles.

This session was meant to introduce one of Ghost Girl’s issues and a sort-of nemesis; Ghostheart (one of the characters from the Masks Deck of Villains) whose main deal is obsessively keeping living people over THERE, and dead people over THERE, and NO TOUCHING NO TOUCHING NOT EVER.

Charlotte is all about connecting with people amongst both the living and dead (she’s playing the Outsider playbook, and filled with wonder at the modern world in which she now finds herself), so Ghostheart seemed almost a custom-written enemy for her.

Most of the session was a nighttime fight at GG’s home cemetery against Ghostheart and a couple of his summoned demonic henchthings – Rawhide and I-Didnt-Catch-the-Other-Guy’s-Name. After the fight (and some really stilted, useless, uncomfortable leadership, beautifully delivered by Dave), the heroes (reunited, since Link was tussling with Rawhide on his own, initially) tracked down and rescued the kidnappee “@powerpony” – an online-mutual of both Link and GG’s (PC-NPC-PC relationship triangles are good – need more of those).

Offscreen

The players conducted a couple Google-Doc-based scenes after this session, simply to get them done in satisfying fashion without taking up too much in-game time.

The first was Link talking with green-lantern/Blue-beetle-esque Concord about the details of the kid’s powers.

The second was between Link and Jason – an often tense but ultimately fruitful and relationship-building ‘discussion’ about what kind of leadership the team really needed (and what kind Jason could legitimately provide).

Both scenes were great, and the ‘offline’ RP option proved a good one, though we try not to use it too much, as it tends to move characters whose players have the mid-week bandwidth for such things further center stage, in a play environment (online, short sessions) where it already seems someone ends up drawing the Spotlight Short Straw every week.

Issue 8: Lo, There Shall Be an Evening of Character Interaction!

Issue 8 on YouTube

AP Report

As a means of exploring GG’s current Hook (her Mundane connections with others, versus the Freak nature of her powers), we also learned a bit more about why Ghostheart wanted GG out of public circulation – her interactions with the Living were creating some kind of ectoplasmic catnip that would inevitably attract a terrible entity known as Pandemonium to the material world.

The only way she could guarantee her living friends’ safety was stay away from them. Which sucks.

AEGIS rolled back into the picture much sooner than anyone expected, as the team called them back to take Ghostheart into custody. (The team opts NOT to go the morally-and logically-questionable route of the Flash CW show, with villains held without due process, inside a particle accelerator, and fed Big Belly Burgers on a… mostly daily schedule.)

The rest of the session involved the team either trying to help each other out with Comfort and Support-based roleplaying (with mixed but fascinating and sometimes hilarious results), or working through their own problems; Link’s robotic not-girlfriend Pneuma announced she was departing Halcyon for a bit to visit ‘someone’ in Japan, while Jason went down a digital rabbit hole, investigating how and why his nemesis Alycia Chin infiltrated Quill Compound as a lowly warehouse employee for a month.

Jason’s investigation led to a great scene where he uses his nanobots and latent genius to analyze Alycia Chin’s actions, and gets knocked cold in the process via some kind of latent … mental … something … Alycia left behind in the video recordings of her activities. Remote Memetic Programming, maybe? Image-gestalt boobytrap? That would be bad.

Issue 9: Sizzling Big Adult-Influence Issue!

The Beginning of the Day From Hell

Issue 9 on YouTube

AP Report

Morning! The second Weekday of the campaign, and time once again for all good heroes to… get to school.

(Assuming they aren’t a ghost from the civil war, or unconscious, of course.)

A while back, Concord’s player had started a discussion on the forum where we all talked about whether the Nova playbook was working for him, and we collectively came to the conclusion that the Janus playbook worked better. So we retconned it.

This session was the one where we started to get into that ‘dual identity’ drama a bit more, very literally in this case (because I am a ham-fisted hack) with Concord trying to help Link with an unconscious Jason (via an energy construct copy of himself) while simultaneously attending school in his ‘real’ body. He didn’t exactly balance this out well, and ended up being sent to the principal’s office when he confused his multiple mouths and remonstrated his English teacher for being a ‘walking deceit’ when he meant to be talking to the vision of Alycia Chin in Jason’s head.

I’d call this situation a solid B effort on my part. Maybe a B-. We get better at this in short order, though, so I’m not going to beat myself up too much.

Meanwhile, Mercury and Ghost Girl spent the morning reaching out to adults for advice and input, before Mercury had to get to school.

Harry’s dad-joking, eggplant-emoji-texting dad, Silver Streak.

This is always a fraught situation in Masks – going into a scene with an adult or adults in Masks carries an undercurrent of threat akin to an armed parley with A-level super-villains. Honestly I’ve never done as much broad-spectrum damage to the team with a bad guy as I have in scenes with their well-meaning mentors dispensing advice, constructive feedback, and (horror of horrors) heartfelt praise.

It didn’t really go better here, with both Harry’s dad and the retired ‘grail knight’ Armiger (Lucius, owner/operator of the Has Beans coffee shop, downtown) kicking in their two cents about Ghost Girl’s ongoing Ghostheart/Pandemonium problem, what they thought the kids should do about it (and, ultimately, who they thought the kids should be.) They got what they were after, but Ghost Girl at least wasn’t feeling great about it afterwards, which lead to some Condition-clearing reckless behavior later. (As it should.)

Issue 10: Halcyon High-Jinks (Hell Day, Part 2)

Issue 10 on Youtube

AP Report

Dave, Margie, and Katherine were all out of town, which left Jason recovering from his tussle with not-Alycia, Ghost Girl roaming the city doing reckless things without consulting the team, and Harry actually attending Gardner Academy (the private high school that tends to specialize in rich kids and publicly recognized supers).

Concord and Link, on the other hand, are on their way to HHS – Halcyon High South – part of the public school system, where they academically toil in relative anonymity.

Bill and Mike (and I) were excited to play around with that classic of teen superhero comics, the high school, so we had a good time with this. First order of business was to establish the normal day, and I had fun introducing some of the faculty, and went to the players to fill in NPCs (which gave us the wonderful Ms. “No!” Rodriguez, Leo’s lab partner.

I also introduced Taz, a new transfer and tech-nerd who seemed to either be a bit on the spectrum or way over-informed about Leo, or both. She showed up both in Leo’s chem class as well as at lunch with Leo and Adam, and was generally fun to play, freaked out the players a skosh, and has more going on that I’m looking forward to getting into.

With the norm established, it was time to get some Concord-grade villains on the stage, and that mean “galactic” villains. For this, I went back to the Deck of Villainy and pulled out The Farlander (who is just too weird looking and fun to play) and Sablestar who, by sheer coincidence in visual design, seemed to be … related to Concord and his powers in some way. There’s some vague hand-waving on her card about being a member of the Void Collective and something of a space-anarchist, but I already have an anarchist villain, so Sablestar and the VC became a kind of counter-(if not anti-)Concordance, in my head. We’ll see how that fleshes out over time.

So: a bit of fighting at the school with The Farlander, and the introduction of Sablestar, and as things get complicated we call it for the night, ready to bring in the rest of the team next session as things heat up.

That’s five of the ten sessions I wanted to cover, so I’ll stop here and do 11 to 15 in the next post. More soon!

original post