An idea I had for a new Ambush Bug series (and a new original character):
First off, let's talk about our setting. Earth-Zero is a pocket dimension. To screw with Superman, Mister Mxyzptlk once created a world where everyone was insane and nothing made sense. He wanted to see how Superman would deal with a dimension like that. What Mxy didn't count on was Ambush Bug following Superman into the pocket dimension, and almost destroying it by pitting his madness against Mxyzptlk's magic. In the end, Ambush Bug and Superman escaped from Earth-Zero, and Mxyzptlk sealed the world shut, trapped in it's own pocket dimension.
But anyways, life continues on Earth-Zero. The insane and wild denizens of Earth-Zero continue living in their pocket dimension, little dreaming there's anything out there beyond their bizarre and cartoonish homeland. But one day, a child is born and abandoned at an orphanage. Young John Doe, the black sheep of Earth-Zero. A black sheep precisely because he has sanity and logic on a world where nobody else does.
John is almost profoundly normal. He dresses in plain clothing (all simple colours and no name brands). He talks with a voice that's downright monotone, especially when compared to the energetic people of Earth-Zero. He's a fan of dramas and of old timey novels. He's just…the stiffest, most boring man ever. And everyone on Earth-Zero treats him the way people in the real world treat the mentally ill. He's got no friends. He's got no real ability to socialize, since he doesn't understand the social structure of his world. Everyone treats him like a freak, and it leaves him feeling deeply lonely (and incredibly miserable, too).
Every night, he dreams of a world outside Earth-Zero, a world where his "freakish averageness" would be accepted. And one day, his wish is granted. Ambush Bug accidentally teleports back onto Earth-Zero (somehow), and he meets John. And somehow, these two hit it off. One was ostracised for being too normal. The other was ostracized for too weird. But they're both outcasts, and so they find solace in each other.
Eventually, Earth-Zero ends up getting destroyed. Ambush Bug and John end up causing such a ruckus that they attract Mister Mxyzptlk back to his failed project. And he is disgusted by his weird pocket dimension. So this time, he fully snaps it out of existence, and he deposits Ambush Bug and John back in Metropolis on Earth-One. So now Ambush Bug has made his first real friend. And John Doe has found a world to accept his blandness and boring nature. They've both gotten what they wanted out of this.
This would hopefully lead to an ongoing comic book (not just a miniseries), chronicling the adventures of Ambush Bug (Irwin Schwab) and his new partner, Averageman (John Doe). Because Ambush Bug needed a straight man. He's funny, but his humour style doesn't work without someone to bounce off of. And Averageman here is the perfect comedy straight man. He's bland. He takes everything literally. He talks in a dry tone of voice. He's weird, but in the exact opposite way to Ambush Bug. I 100% think this duo could have a 50+ issue run. The adventures of Ambush Bug and Averageman!
