#pulp crossover

[krinsbez]

BT-ify Pulp Heroes: Doc Savage (Worldbuilding/Storybuilding)

So, this one is a bit different.

I started profiling Pulp Heroes and their supporting casts, and asked people to come up with BT-ified versions. Well, initially I asked what Mech they would use, but for many, things got very detailed.

Some of these (notably the ones I discussed in the poll months ago) got beyond this, but there are plenty who didn't. So, what I am going to do is start posting what the folks on the forumboard came up with, and see:

What you think of what was come up.

See if y'all have ideas to refine, enhance, or improve what they came up

Come up with ideas for stuff to do with these BT-ized versions of the characters.

And with all that taken care of, let's start with one of the most important, iconic, and archetypical Pulp Heroes...Doc Savage (and his aides)

(profiles via forumposter Starfox05)

Doc:

Doc Savage was project of the Society to produce the ultimate human - the pinnacle of genetic engineering, mating nature and nurture. A genius in a perfect body, raised from birth with all the knowledge available to humanity. Destined to lead the Society to victory. He's as tall as an Elemental, as quick as a 'Mechwarrior. Unfortunately - for the Society - he was so smart and eager to learn, he did study privately in addition to what his tutors taught him, and soon discovered knowledge they were not meant to teach him - amongst them philosophies and teachings abandoned by the Clans long ago. As he was a scientist through and through - questioning everything and never accepting anything on blind faith. So, he saw through the Society's stated aims, realised how wrong they were, and decided to abandon them to help humanity. Having ditched the Clan way for the same reasons, he gathered a few prisoners/experimental subjects he liberated and guards/tutors he turned as well as his young "cousin", a female version of him sharing most of his genes, stole a dropship and jumpship from the society and all the tech and supplies he could manage, and made his way to the Inner Sphere. He can pilot, repair, modify and construct anything - tank, 'Mech, Aerospacefighter, Battle Armour, dropship or jumpship. If he has to fight, he fights to disable, and he likes to switch and customise his ride, usually an Executioner OmniMech he heavily modified, to the task at hand. Unlike most Clan Warriors, he likes melee combat, often using his 'Mech's mass to wreck lighter enemies without harming the pilot, and often uses experimental weapons and even construction tools in any battle as well as the environment. Even though he and his group are nominally mercenaries (and hid their origin once they reached the Periphery) they often work pro bono, relying on selling new technology and Doc's services as a polymath to finance their excursions, in addition to a Germanium Mine he received from a grateful periphery planet's population whose water filters and fusion generators he restored and improved. He has started to acquire a small fleet of merchants whose jumpships and dropship he repaired for them, and who pay him back by a share of their profits. He and his group live on a special dropship, a former Collossus, that he modified into a flying base and research lab.

Ham:

A former Star Colonel who failed to die in battle or earn a bloodname, [Ham] was an eccentric Diamond Shark, keeping both a pet and an antique blade ready during his career. He was targetted by the society for his skill at logistics and was kidnapped when he was transferred to solahma unit so they could pick his brain for military tactics. He has an old rivalry with [Monk] dating back to a few clashes during trials. He pilots a Lancelot, the last 'Mech assigned to him by his Clan.

Monk:

[Monk], another talented warrior who never got a bloodname (though he tried numerous times), and he switched to the scientist caste when he aged out, and was recruited by the Society after starting an affair with one of their members. He soon fell out with the Society's leadership, though hid his true thoughts, and managed to teach Doc not merely science but also a few other tricks and unarmed fighting.

Johnny:

Another of Doc's original tutors, [Johnny] was responsible for most of his scientific training, after suffering the loss of an eye and having trouble with the implant that replaced. He was not very respected in the Society since he didn't specialise but kept "widening his horizons" as he called it - and since he often paid more attention to history and the past as a former Goliath Scorpion than the Society found tolerable.

Long Tom (admission, the entire reason for this series of projects was cuz of him):

[Long Tom} was a Naga-pilot turned bondsman turned tech, and mostly ended up in the Society's hand because they wanted to find out if his peculiar appearance and excellent health could be useful for their experiments. He went along with the others when Doc broke out and has been working on restoring a Long Tom artillery piece they picked up on a border planet (and modifying it so he doesn't need crew to use it).

Renny:

An Elemental working for the Society and serving as a link to the Dark Caste, Renny committed many crimes for which he is ashamed before he had a change of heart helping Doc. If Doc had not convinced him to atone by helping others, he would have killed himself long ago.

Pat:

Patricia was meant to be Doc's counterpart, and she has the skills, smarts and drive to prove it. What she doesn't have is his experience - she is younger than him and still learning, and sometimes a bit too eager for her own good. She pilots a Gargoyle if she takes the field, sporting a prototype rotary autocannon with six barrels.

And as a bonus, the closest thing Doc has to a nemesis...

John Sunlight:

A survivor of the Society, John managed to escape and determined to lead humanity to salvation whether it wants to be saved or not. Armed with the knowledge of his old organisation he plans to rebuild the Star League in his image, so to speak. He blames Doc for abandoning the Society and for wasting his talents helping others instead of leading them as the genetically superior specimen he should, in John's opinion.

So, what thinkest thou, BT and Pulp Fans of Tumblr?

[skjam]

Mining for Pulp Crossovers Part 4: The Man with No Name

Note:  This essay has spoilers for the Dollars Trilogy: A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  For narrative purposes, the Man with No Name is presumed to be the exact same person in each, rather than just a very similar character played by the same actor.  Since I do not have access to the novelizations, I use little to nothing from them.

The Man with No Name's birth name is unknown; in the chronicles of his adventures, he is referred to by several nicknames instead.  One rumor has it that he worked as an ordinary ranch hand until a co-worker he quarreled with turned out to be a wanted man with a bounty on his head.  Impressed by the ease of making good money, The Man switched careers.

The first verified activity of The Man was in 1862 in the New Mexico Territory; he was already a hardened bounty hunter by this point, and probably somewhere in his thirties.  He had made an arrangement with notorious bandit Tuco Ramirez where he would "capture" the bandit, turn him in for the bounty, assist Tuco to escape, and they would split the proceeds.

The Man tired of this arrangement, and realizing it was unsustainable over the long run, abandoned his partner.  Tuco eventually caught up with The Man (who he called "Blondie") and tried to force-march The Man to death in the desert.  By chance, a dying man gave each of them a clue to $200,000 in stolen Confederate gold.  Thus, the pair were forced to work together again.

Unfortunately, a bounty hunter named "Angel Eyes" was on the track of the same treasure, and it wound up in a three-way showdown.  The Man killed Angel Eyes, collected the gold, and put Tuco's neck in a noose, making it appear he was going to kill his former partner.  In fact, The Man released Tuco once he was far enough away to avoid pursuit.

Tuco's fate after that is unknown, but as a wanted man with a high bounty, he probably got shot or hanged eventually.

Nor is it clear what happened to the gold.  The most likely outcome was that The Man with No Name returned it to the Confederate government for a smaller and more portable reward.  One rumor has it that he joined the Confederate Army (unlikely given his distaste for taking orders) or at least was impersonating a Confederate soldier towards the end of the American Civil War.  Another rumor has it that he was imprisoned at some point, and released specifically to deal with the situation in San Miguel.

Not too long after the end of the Civil War (1866? 1875?), The Man with No Name came to the little town of San Miguel, situated on the Mexico-United States border.  There he cleverly turned two rival smuggling gangs, the Rojo Brothers and the Baxter Gang, against each other by hiring out to both sides and making it seem each has betrayed the other.  However, he is caught helping Marisol, a woman captured by the Rojos, to escape with her family, and is severely beaten.

Hidden by the local coffin-maker, who nicknames him "Joe", The Man recovered and wiped out the remaining gang members.  The venture was not particularly profitable for him.

By the next year, (1867? 1876?), the Man with No Name was in Texas and going by the nickname "Manco."  He reluctantly teamed up with a more serious-minded bounty hunter named Colonel Douglas Mortimer, late of the U.S. Army.  They were both after a ruthless bandit and bank robber called "El Indio", who'd recently broken out of prison.  They realized that El Indio would be attempting to steal the nearly a million dollars stored in the Bank of El Paso, despite its rumored special security.  The plan becomes for Manco to free one of El Indio's men from the local jail and infiltrate the gang by posing as a fellow outlaw.  This is aided by Colonel Mortimer being quite willing to wound Manco.

Despite some unexpected trouble (and some expected trouble as well), the two bounty hunters were able to wipe out the gang.  Colonel Mortimer killed El Indio, who he had a personal grudge against, and generously allowed Manco to collect all the actual bounties.

The Man with No Name is a taciturn man who is a very good horseman, and proficient with both handguns and rifles.  He's especially good with a revolver, easily able to outdraw and shoot down multiple opponents.  While The Man is familiar with the use of explosives, he prefers to use them as a diversionary tactic rather than as weapons.  He's primarily motivated by short-term monetary gain, but does have a more compassionate side hidden under his mercenary surface.  

The Man habitually wears a wide-brimmed brown hat, green and white poncho, and tan boots.  He smokes a particularly vile brand of cigarillos.  The Man with No Name will not give a name, even if directly asked, but has been known to use aliases for paperwork.  He despises taking orders, which is why he never joins a formal law enforcemen agency.

Other than the relatively brief time period covered by the movies, The Man with No Name is available for crossovers anytime in the 1850s-1870s time frame in the American Southwest.  He might go as late as the 1890s, but has a dangerous profession and loves his autonomy too much to settle down, so presumably dies on the job at some point.

Due to the strong family resemblance, it's possible that he's a grandfather or other ancestor to Dirty Harry, on the wrong side of the blanket.  He and Harry would not get along, though.

Colonel Mortimer is available for cameos during the Civil War, and for bounty hunting until the events of For a Few Dollars More.  Presumbably after that he went home and took up the life of a retired military officer.  Note that Colonel Mortimer bore a strong resemblance to Angel Eyes, and the men might have been distantly related.

Your thoughts, comments and crossover ideas?

@krinsbez

[skjam]

Mining for Pulp Crossovers, Part 3: Released Golden Kamuy Characters

Golden Kamuy takes place in Hokkaido and nearby environs in 1907-1908.  Since this is an ongoing manga and anime, I'm going to skip the vast majority of it (SPOILERS!) to talk about two characters who aren't in the story past Season 3 of the anime (mild spoilers for Season 3).

At the end of Season 3, it's mentioned that these two characters won't appear again, but go off to have their own awesome adventures.  Which sure sounds like fanfic fodder to me.

GANSOKU MAIHARU

Little is known of Gansoku's early life.  He is a notorious brawler who constantly got involved in bare-knuckled throwdowns.  At least one of these resulted in him going too far and killing his opponent, so he was sentenced to imprisonment in the notorious Abashiri prison.

While in prison, Gansoku regularly got into more fights, especially with the notorious judoka Ushiyama (who he could actually defeat if Ushiyama didn't manage to get hold of him first.)  Like several other prisoners, Gansoku was tattooed by the mysterious Noppera-Bou with a piece of a treasure map.  When the tattooed criminals escaped, Gansoku went north to Sakhalin.

In Sakhalin, Gansoku discovered the traditional Russian team fistfighting sport Stenka na Stenku ("wall on wall"), usually just called "stenka" in the manga.  He excelled at the sport and became something of a local champion.

Eventually, a group of soldiers led by Sugimoto Saichi arrived seeking information about Sugimoto's missing ally Asirpa.  They were roped into competing in the stenka, much to Gansoku's delight, as Sugimoto was a worthy opponent.  After some shenanigans, Gansoku was allowed to go free provided he never again returned to Japan.

While Gansoku was certainly willing to relocate to Russia, he was at a loss as to how to do so until he made the acquaintance of Svetlana and they decided to travel together.

Gansoku is large and heavily muscled for a Japanese man, and a skilled bare-knuckle fighter. (He's willing to use handwraps or gloves if those are the rules for the match.  His punch is quite capable of throwing a grown man several feet if it lands solidly, and he's light enough on his feet to perform a spinning double lariat if ganged up on.  Gansoku is not just resistant to pain, but invigorated by it.  He's capable of withstanding extremes of heat and cold.  He speaks Russian poorly with a heavy Japanese accent in 1908 but presumably Svetlana gives him lessons thereafter.

Gansoku communicates with his fists, and understands other men best when they're punching him.  He is uncannily good at reading a person's emotions by the way they fight, and gives surprisingly good life advice based on his understanding of the other person's fists.

This man's most distinctive feature is that his torso is tattooed with irregular black geometric shapes.  Great detective types will be able to determine 1) they use a Japanese technique, 2) the artist was a talented amateur, 3) they were probably done in prison, though they're not standard prison tattoes.  If asked, Gansoku will cheerfully admit they used to be part of a treasure map, "but it won't do you much good.  Gold got dug up years ago."

SVETLANA

Svetlana (family name unknown) was born to a Russian couple who kept a lighthouse on an island near Sakhalin.  Bored stiff by the isolation, Svetlana ran off with the first soldier who offered to take her with him.  He was a deserter, and soon they were caught pulling a robbery.  

The young woman was sentenced to Korsakov Prison, which primarily housed political and criminal exiles.  She became the cellmate of notorious revolutionary Sofia Golden Hand.  When an old ally of Sofia's showed up and arranged a prison break, Svetlana was also freed.

Rather than join Sofia in working for freedom for the oppressed, Svetlana wanted to travel east to St. Petersburg to see and enjoy the fast life of the capital city.  By herself, she could not have made it, but Gansoku Maiharu also wanted to go to Russia, and agreed to be her traveling companion.

Svetlana is apparently a fair shot with a handgun, but what she brings to the duo is a better understanding of social conventions and how to navigate situations without resorting to fighting.  She enjoys nightlife, parties and good times, and prefers city life to country life.

This pair is available for adventures in Russia between early 1908 and 1914; possibly after that, but the Great War and October Revolution drastically change things in the Motherland.

While they're not good people, Gansoku and Svetlana aren't dedicated to being bad people either; better suited to being antagonists than villains, and allies of convenience rather than heroes.  Gansoku wants a good fight, and any red-blooded, two-fisted hero can probably win him over with some fisticuffs.  Svetlana can talk politics, having roomed with Sofia, but is not here for your revolution.  If she helps anyone, it's because she's getting paid, or at least not killed.

These two can just be good friends, or involved with each other, whatever works for the story.

@krinsbez

[skjam]

Mining for Pulp Crossovers Part 2: Death Wish

Note:  This is based on the movie version, not the novel version which is apparently more noir than pulp.

PAUL KERSEY

Paul Kersey was born sometime in the 1920s, probably in Connecticut.  His father was an avid hunter and gun enthusiast who taught Paul how to shoot, something the lad was very good at.  When Paul was in his late teens, his father was killed in a hunting accident.  At the behest of his mother, Paul gave up guns and became a conscientious objector.  When drafted for the Korean War, Paul served as an unarmed medic.

After the war, Paul Kersey completed his education and became an architectural engineer.  He moved to New York City, married a woman named Joanna, had a daughter named Carol, and she married a man named Jack Toby.

During the winter of 1973-74, home invaders murdered Joann and raped Carol, causing her to become catatonic.  Through a series of  circumstances, Paul is reminded of the idea of frontier justice, discovers that he is still an excellent shot, and illegally obtains a revolver and ammunition.

Paul accidentally runs into a mugger and kills him--after the initial shock, he finds this cathartic and begins hunting other street criminals.  Dubbed "the vigilante" by the media, Paul triggers a drop in random crime, but as a killer, is still hunted by the police.

Paul Kersey is finally caught up with a police detective after he's been shot in an ambush gone sour, and agrees to leave town quietly.  He is transferred to Chicago by his company, where he clearly intends to continue his vigilante ways.

In 1981, Paul Kersey had moved to Los Angeles along with his still catatonic daughter Carol, as her husband left her.  Muggers with a grudge against Paul invade his new house, murder the housekeeper, beat Paul up and kidnap Carol.  The gang rapes Carol, which causes her to become alert again, but an attempt to escape resulted in her death.

Paul returned to his vigilante ways to track down and kill the muggers.

In 1985, Paul Kersey returned to New York City to visit an old friend, Charley.  He found Charley dying, beaten to death in his apartment.  Paul was arrested for the murder, but Police Chief Shriker was privy to his secret past.  It's mentioned that Paul Kersey killed at least two criminals in Chicago and four in Kansas City at some point.  Shriker released Paul on the condition that the vigilante keep him informed of who he killed.  Paul then went after the gang terrorizing the apartment building.

In 1987, after a short break from vigilantism, Paul Kersey was drawn into the war on drugs when the daughter of his current girlfriend suffered a lethal overdose.  In addition to multiple drug gang members, Paul wiped out three drug kingpins.

Shortly after the above events, Paul Kersey entered the Witness Protection Program under the name Paul Stewart.  He ceased vigilantism until 1994, when his then current girlfriend who worked in the garment district was targeted by her mobster ex-husband.  Although she was murdered in the process, Paul wipes out this gang as well.

This was Paul Kersey's last known vigilante activity--it's likely he simply aged out of active vigilantism.

Paul Kersey is an excellent shot, but primarily relies on surprise in his early vigilante activities--he is first stabbed, then shot, by muggers who gang up to flank him.  He diversifies his weaponry later, and by the end of his career was willing to use poison and bombs.  Many of his tactics are based on ambush, and the fact that while looking rugged, he appears to be a sad, aging man past his prime and thus an easy target.

Paul is called a "bleeding heart liberal" in his first film, but the only reason for this is because he recognizes that some crime is motivated by dire economic conditions.  Also, the co-worker who calls Paul this prefers a police state and concentration camps as a solution to street crime, so may not be the most reliable judge.

For crossovers, he might have met other characters during the Korean War, perhaps even delivering wounded people to the 4077th MASH.  Or someone might have hired his company to do architectural work at some point.

But it's the period between 1974 and 1985 that there's the most room for Paul Kersey to use his vigilante skills to help out other violent characters.  His listed kills might only be the tip of the iceberg.

@krinsbez    

[skjam]

Mining for Pulp Crossovers Part One: Dirty Harry

Harold Francis "Dirty Harry" Callahan was born October 24, 1928, probably in San Francisco, California.  He was raised there in the Potrero Hill district.

He'd be thirteen in 1941 when America enters World War Two, he won't reach 18 and draft age until 1946, or 21 and legal adulthood (at the time) until 1949.

Harry was not drafted, but did serve in the Marines at some point and may have seen active service in the Korean War, and was probably a reservist for some years thereafter, at least until 1963.  (That's when the Marines adopted the M72 LAW anti-tank weapon, with which Harry shows proficiency.)

At some early point, Harry joined the police force and worked his way up from Officer to Inspector, (which in the SFPD is below "Sergeant") and stuck there.

Harry's first partner fatality was Tom Fanducci in 1968, details are unknown.

Harry was married for several years; his wife was killed by a drunk driver not long before 1971; they had no children.

While Inspector Callahan has a local reputation for being very good at his job, his personality often rubs superiors the wrong way, one of the things standing in the way of promotion.

The first case he has that makes headlines outside San Francisco is the "Scorpio" affair in 1971 when he's 43.  Two years later in 1973, he deals with a gang of rogue SFPD officers who've turned vigilante.

It seems likely that Callahan participated in the illegal police strike of 1975.

In 1976, aged 48, Inspector Callahan had his highest-profile case, rescuing the mayor of San Francisco from a terrorist group called the People's Revolutionary Strike Force.  

In 1983, aged 55, Harry takes a "vacation" in San Paulo, where he both battles mob hitmen and solves a vigilante murder case.

In 1988, aged 60, Inspector Callahan solves his last known high-profile case, the Dead Pool murders.  Presumably, he's forced into retirement in 1993 at age 65.

Dirty Harry is very fit for his age, trained in Marine hand-to-hand techniques and fully capable of killing a man with his bare hands.  While he is proficient with military-grade weapons, his preferred weapons are handguns, particularly the .44 Magnum.  He likes the high caliber because it has better penetration, reducing the risk of ricochets.  Harry regularly wins police shooting competitions.

Harry's most "pulp" ability is the ability to pull off combat stratagems that would not work for lesser men; despite his penchant for reckless driving and shooting, he has never killed or directly wounded a civilian or hostage.

Callahan's politics are notably conservative; he dislikes bureaucratic red tape, "creeps" having rights, affirmative action, and cops who went to college.  While he's not notably racist, sexist or homophobic by the standards of his time, he enjoys ethnic humor and is rude to just about everyone, so he often comes across to outsiders as worse than he is.

Despite not being a "by the book" cop, Inspector Callahan does not just murder criminals.  He simply looks for incidents where lethal force would be (marginally) justified, and then uses it.

So...mostly Dirty Harry is suitable for stories taking place in San Francisco, but might be usable as a Marine during the Korean War or any instance where a Marine Reserve unit would be called in.  If you're using him as a cop prior to 1971, remember that the case shouldn't be one that would make headlines outside San Francisco for one reason or another.  After 1993...well, Clint Eastwood is still alive, so there's no reason Harry can't be kicking around somewhere, though somewhat slowed by age.

Thought, comments, best crossover ideas?

@krinsbez