Rina is gonna be important to a chunk of the upcoming New Warriors book in their last arc... as we see her shunt forward, and finds herself in a superhero costume, surrounded by the New Warriors.
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Rina is gonna be important to a chunk of the upcoming New Warriors book in their last arc... as we see her shunt forward, and finds herself in a superhero costume, surrounded by the New Warriors.
Marvel Comics is bracing for its most disturbing era yet.
Yeah, their having a new horror-leaning "poisoned" universe setting is definitely holding the Absolute DC influence right up front.
The reported David Cronenberg's the Fly riff on Spider-Man (while attempting to genetically engineer a means of making the rich immortal, Peter Parker is accidentally turned into a horrifying spider-thing by OsCorp, who them hold the teenager imprisoned as they use his fractured genetics to make more animal-human mashups. Peter must now escape to prevent even more people suffering the same fate as him) sounds amusing, but their frontloading it with the regular universe mainstays rather then focusing on the ACTUAL horror characters is a touch disappointing.
hmm, yeah this isn’t for me. it’s weird for it to be marketed as “the light has had its turn” and other edgy dark grimlord stuff when it sorta feels like Marvel markets ALL of their stuff like that these days?
so many of their recent events have been either “evil… WINS” or “a good guy… turns EVIL” or “this character you love… DIES”, and while I know that’s comic industry bread-and-butter, it’s really weird to act like that it’s really bold and subversive to do a comic that’s “the X-Men… but they’re out for blood!” when like two years ago they did a whole crossover about vampires and people getting ripped in half by vampires
That's fair. At least with Absolute DC the point is that goodness persists despite the darkness (as shown via Abs!Wonder Woman and Superman), but thus far the new Marvel imprint hasn't indicated that's a factor there.
"This is a bold new move in comics!"
Says cishet white men working on comics about cishet white people published by a company owned by fucking Disney
As a fan of Abs!Flash, I definitely admit the Absolute line could have made more characters not cishet men. I feel it might have helped sell that the heroes in this universe are underdogs if more of them weren’t white cishet men. Green Lantern made a real good move making Jo the lead, and I relate to Wally’s neurodivergence (I know fans joke he looks butch, but in the text, he’s cis) and I appreciate Diana uses a prosthetic, but I feel the project might be stronger if like instead of Bruce Wayne, Abs!Batman was another character who used the identity who wasn’t white.
That said, what I have seen of Absolute seems relevant and compelling (Abs!Flash is the first ongoing I subscribed to, it was a headache to understand my shop’s system) and I like that even in an evil universe there are heroes trying their best. I just don’t know if Marvel’s “we have Absolute at home, just like Free Comic Book Day” will actually nail that concept.
Post Apocalyptic Food
Just to note here for future reference, a few food items from the pre-Apocalypse world can survive, and if stored right, can last for years afterwards.
These include:
Potatoes can last 2-3 months in cool temperatures. Garlic, 3-5 months.
Canned, Low-Acid foods (meat, tomato-less soup, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes, and peas). These can last at least up to 5 years, but reports have come down of far longer (40 to 100 years) if done right (darkness, cool, dry places).
Canned, High-Acid food (Tomatoes, fruit, and anything that has Vinegar). These have a few years of storage, but have their best taste only within a year or so. Years later they can still be good, but do not last as long as their more basic counterparts.
Dried foods can also last a long time. The cooler it is kept, the longer the storage time is for these foods (as well as low moisture, oxygen and light conditions). I’ve seen reference to fruit and vegetable storage when freeze-dried to be about a year (just be careful that the food is fully dried, otherwise it could be contaminated with botulism).
Honey, Rice (except brown rice), Sugar, Hard liquor, pure vanilla extract, distilled white vinegar, cornstarch, and salt have a shelf-life of “lol” as long as they are kept cool and dry. Most spices similarly don’t go bad, but can lose potency over time.
Inspecting these items (checking for rust, making sure the seal is intact, the color is right and it doesn’t smell bad) are of course important.
I’m sure there’s more info out there, I’m just collecting what I can quickly before I forget about this.
Lawlessness, Anarchy, and Power Vacuums
There is an allure to writing lawless areas, the Wild West with duels every other day or fantastical inner cities with areas that that police can’t reach. The problem is that these areas, while existing, don’t always exist how people see them in stories. There are essentially three aspects to writing a region like this: lawlessness, anarchy, and power vacuums.
True lawlessness, where there are no written or unwritten laws of any kind, is virtually impossible to maintain. Societal norms act as a set of unwritten laws, where the punishment may not be imprisonment or fine but is instead isolation, shaming, or one of many other such responses. An area with no written laws is more likely to exist, especially in a tribal or splintered region where there may not be any sort of central government, but if there aren’t written laws, there will probably at least be some set of spoken and generally accepted rules.
Places can have actions be legal (or illegal) that way in wherever you are from, and that does not mean that they are lawless. For example, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan experienced mass numbers of rapes and murders while being a very heavily controlled and structured region. In the drug-lord controlled slums, the drug lords would set the rules. Rape might be commonplace while theft is highly punishable. Stealing from unprotected stores might be allowed while stealing from the main power might be entirely forbidden. These aren’t laws that you might be used to, but they are still rules with a governing and enforcing body behind them.
Anarchy in a political sense is a lack of a centralized government or overarching authority, which is how I’m going to use it in this part. While there is an implication of violence associated with the term, violence is not necessary in an anarchic system. As proof, in international relations, the world is considered to be anarchic because there is no hegemonic power that rules the world. This works—clearly—on a macro level. On a micro level, this does not work quite as well, because while centralized authorities provide clear rules, they also provide enforcement and protection. In a town, for instance, the town government sets the town laws and enforces them with the police force. If this didn’t happen, there would be a lot of violence initially during the power vacuum (which will be covered in a little bit) and then makeshift authorities would inevitably set themselves up and take control.
At some point, there will have to be some sort of ruling body, and if it is not a centralized one—democratically elected or not—it will end up being made up of whoever has the best combination of power and authority to take control That may be one person/group or it could be a number, in the case of something like warlords. Communities may also set up their own makeshift governments led by elders or religious or military leaders who make decisions based on whatever authority the people in the community give them.
Power vacuums are situations where there is no central government so everybody who wants power will rush in and try to seize power. There are a number of situations where this happens.
Regime change is one of the main examples of where power vacuums can and will form. Especially in the case of civil war with a number of factions fighting against the government, if the government is overthrown, there will be a rush for power between many or all of these factions. If a major part of the civil war or civil unrest was to form a democratic government, this may happen semi-peacefully, but as seen in Egypt post-Arab Spring, that cannot be counted on. Especially when religion or deep-rooted cultural differences play a role in the situation, democratic election results can still lead to violence.
Unstructured settlement of new land can also lead to anarchic systems and power vacuums. If land is settled by people who were not specifically sent out with a government in place, there will probably be a rush for power to take control of the region.
Areas that break off from their mother country can experience power vacuums. An area may split off and either officially or unofficially become autonomous, but that does not automatically mean that they already have a government—especially a fully functional and effective one. As with a civil war, the factions that worked together to facilitate the split might and likely will end up turning against each other when it comes to controlling the new region.
Having a dark, violent region is possible and entirely plausible to write about, but while doing that, one must consider how it got that way and to what extent the anarchy and lawlessness extends. There will virtually never be no rules, so you need to figure out what the laws would be and who would want them to be that way.
The Nextwave VS the Evil Devil Dinosaur clone
The Nextwave arrive to see the tiny supervillain get murdered by the secret mastermind of the Beyond Corporation and all of their trials thus far. The "mastermind" is...Devil Dinosaur, except that this one is an evil super-intelligent clone. Citing his hatred of mammals after his years serving Moon-Boy, Devil Dinosaur Clone admits to eating is former companion and engineering the whole conspiracy of Beyond as revenge on all mammals. Combining their efforts the Nextwave disarm Devil Dinosaur Clone before dropping him in his lair chamber off of State 51 before Tabitha Smith detonated it. The evil machinations of Beyond Corporation put to rest the Nextwave contemplate life after Nextwave. With the defeat of the final villain, the Nextwave team are trying to figure out what to do next.
Nextwave #12, 2007
Notes for writing Post-Apocalyptic stories:
Post-Apocalyptic means after the Apocalypse.
Post-Apocalyptic and dystopian should not be used interchangeably. A dystopian is a world in which society has taken a turn for the worst, but is still somewhat intact. An apocalypse is a breakdown of society.
There will be riots and violence. People will have a degree of freedom they never had before and will throw morals to the wind to take advantage of their more carnal needs.
Diseases and other medical problems will arise. Depending on the type of world and apocalypse you’re writing, different thing will happen to the human body. Zombies, an outbreak, radiation, etc. If your world suddenly loses power, think of the problems that will arise in hospitals if they had no power: Many machines keeping comatose people alive will shut down, refrigeration units will shut down and the contents inside will go bad or leak, causing contamination, etc. Many diseases kept in freezers for cross reference may stay sealed if they are properly stored, but may spread if their containment units are destroyed or ruptured.
Food production will become scarce within the first few weeks. Today we have enough food to feed everyone on earth a hundred times over, but it isn’t distributed properly. With the sudden end of production and fleeing of workers and/or the loss of power, food will grind to a halt. Anything left over will be hoarded. Hunting will be on the rise.
People will travel more. Roads will be clogged with cars leaving major cities. The country will become the new city.
Many of the causes of death ironically will not be by other people like some post-apocalyptic shows depict. People will die from natural causes like hypothermia, disease, infection, starvation, dehydration, heat exhaustion, natural disasters like earthquakes or floods, explosions or electrocution from unused or abandoned equipment, carelessness, animal attacks, food poisoning, fires. The list is endless.
Staying low and keeping your head down is better than rushing in screaming with a big stick.
Your characters should ALWAYS be wary of other people. Desperation will drive the humanity from people.
The brain should be used, not the body.
Having a pet is a good idea, contrary to popular belief. Dogs and cats will follow whomever feeds them and offer a useful early warning system for attacks, explosions, or other obstacles.
Young Marvel Heroes Name,Codename,Year,Team,Age Bracket,Age Rank,Gender,Race,Alignment,Power 1,Power 2,Power 3 Oswald Boeglin,Bulwark,1996,
It's time I finally bit the bullet and shared this. Here is a spreadsheet I made featuring every Marvel powered/adventerous character who is roughly Spider-Man's age or younger. Some of them don't even show up on the big wikis. I probably should have added things like "First Appearance", "Current Status" and "Other Team Affiliations", but ...
LOOK HOW BIG IT IS! I'm scared to do more than add to it bit by bit. And I haven't added anything since August of 2021. No new Darkhawk, for instance.
And I'm still sure I'm missing a few.
- @majingojira
WWGU Profiles: Ana Kravinoff
ANA KRAVINOFF
Alias: Kraven the Hunter III, “Little Miss Kraven”, Anastasia Tatiana Kravinoff (full name)
Affiliation: Solo. Formerly used to be in Kraven clan
Alignment: Neutral-Bad
Gender: Female
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Blonde
Distinguishing Features: Scars (either fresh or faded) from animal scratches and bites on different parts of her body.
Age: 14 years old (on Day 1 of Adulting Event)
Race: Caucasian-Russian NuHuman (latent)
Family: Sergei Kravinoff / Kraven the Hunter (father, disappeared); Sasha Kravinoff (mother, deceased before Adulting Event); Vladimir Kravinoff / Grim Hunter (brother, deceased); Alyosha Kravinoff / Kraven the Hunter II (paternal half-brother, deceased); Dmitri Smerdyakov / Chameleon (paternal half-uncle, disappeared)
Powers/Skills: Chemical/Magical Enhancement which grants her Superhuman Strength, Speed and Enhanced Senses. Skilled in martial arts. Expert in Marksmanship, weapons. Master Hunter and Tracker. Skilled in tactics and strategy. Has Knowledge on Toxicology. Multilingual in Russian, English and French.
Weaknesses: Arrogance
Equipment/Weapons: Various melee weapons, ranged weapons and firearms
Occupational Role: Nomadic Hunter
Location: Appalachian Mountains
State/Country: The Appalachian Region from North-Eastern to South-Eastern USA
Relationships: She doesn’t care much about having relationships.
Status: Ana is the Last Hunter of the Kraven Clan. Ana strives to prove herself worthy as her late father.
This idea just won’t leave me alone! As a reminder, this is a “Marvel Universe where everyone over 25 has just disappeared, leaving the young heroes to save the day.
There’s two things I want to look at this time: What happens when the Grownups Disappear.
The first is basically looking at “Life…
Interesting ideas! To see how realistic they seem, I decided to take a look at the 2010 census data and see who would, roughly speaking, still be around, in general terms. This assumes that age distribution in the Marvel universe is pretty much the same as in the real US. It also assumes that the US is the only country that exists or matters, but that’s canon in the Marvel universe, so not a problem.
The total number of people living in the US aged zero to 241 is 104,853,555 as of 2010, or in other words, roughly a third. Of these, 74,181,467 are under 18 years. In other words, most of the people who are still around can’t legally drink or drive cars. One of the major challenges will be to keep all the kids fed. Providing them with any sort of education will be quite a challenge. This is not a zombie apocalypse, where it’s rare to meet survivors; the number of surviving people is pretty close to where the US was at in 1920 (then it were 106,021,537 people of all age groups). The real problem is that a huge chunk of the working-age population, including people trained in or familiar with a lot of complex systems, are suddenly missing. This is an environment where kids will have to grow up fast.
Due to the cut-off, different things will be affected at different rates. Hospitals will be largely empty, but fully educated doctors will be somewhat rare, so that won’t help. There will be very few politicians left, but there may be more pilots remaining than you’d think. Geographically, the distribution will also be uneven, with the north-east hit rather harder, Florida very hard, but Texas, Utah, Idaho and Alaska relatively less. These are the states that will gain influence, for whatever that’s worth. On a per-county map, patterns are much harder to make out, though. Cities and their surroundings tend to be hit less hard than the general countryside, but the correlation is not very strong here.
Into the details:
I have honestly no idea what happens with a functional but unsupervised nuclear powerplant (nor am I eager to find out in real life). In theory, a runaway reactor should stop on its own because the water (used as a moderator) evaporates as the reactor gets too hot. This did not happen in Chernobyl because the reactor used graphite as a moderator. In practice, Three Mile Island and Fukushima have proven that things still can go wrong. My best guess is that nuclear powerplants will all follow different trajectories: Some may be able to shut down cleanly because an intern finds the red button; some release a bit of radioactivity; some may release a lot.
Of the other power sources, oil and coal require complex logistics mechanisms that will take some time to get up and running again. Solar and Wind are nice but don’t produce a lot yet, so I agree that hydroelectric dams will be the most important part. Staffing the control centers for the electricity network will be crucial, to spread the power to where it needs to go, and avoid any damages.
San Francisco cable cars will run into problems much sooner… or not at all. Depends on how the disappearance happens in detail. If it is over night, then the cars will be stored in a depot, properly secured, and can probably remain that way until at least the next big earthquake. If they are moving, and the gripman disappears, then the car will release its grip on the steel cable pulling it, and if it is on a grade (and in San Francisco, it’s always on a grade), start rolling downhill pretty soon. Whichever way it goes, it’ll be over by the end of the first day, not take months.
Most other railways shouldn’t have big problems; they have alertes that automatically stop the train if it seems like the driver is gone or asleep. That won’t be convenient at all times, for example in subway tunnels, but it’s a lot better than any imaginable alternative. Where it gets interesting is if any of the trains are stopped on a grade. Trains brake with compressed air, which is provided by a compressor. If that fails, for example because the electricity is gone, or for diesel locomotives, the engine stops running (because fuel is gone), then the brakes will eventually release as well unless someone set the special parking brakes. When the brakes fail due to this, then the train will descend at a rapidly increasing pace, which will be a major problem depending on what the load is. This is literally what happened at Lac Mégantic, and it would most likely happen again. Super-heroes trying to stop such desasters would have to be aware of all trains in such dangerous conditions, reach them in time, and apply the hand brakes (or drive them to a safe location if time permits). Depending on how much fuel is in the locomotive’s tanks, this is a “low single digit number of days at most” kind of thing.
In general, I think the problems are more manageable. It’ll take a lot of work and people will have to learn fast, but I think a lot of parts of society can be restarted, possibly on a smaller scale.
Political consequences are more interesting. Who would rise to power and how and why? Getting things back on track will require a certain amount of control and planning, and whoever gets that job will have an awful lot of power and responsibility.
About the heroes: - Runaways: A huge change that forces kids to band together and grow up without parents? Yeah, I think they’ll manage to survive that. Queen Grimm sounds interesting. One important part of Nico has generally been that she struggles with power. Leadership was thrust upon her, not something she wanted. She accepts the role and takes it seriously, and I could see her doing the same here, but I would not expect that she’d do this lightly. - Young Avengers: They’re probably in a prime position to help. All the Avengers equipment that they know to use, including probably a very large amount of emergency backup whatevers, all for them to use. In the real world, we could ask whether it’s really best to use all these resources to fight crime, instead of using it to help get society started again. In the Marvel universe, they’ll fight super-powered crime, no question asked. - Kate Bishop could probably rule the world if she wanted to. It’s hard to say how much money will matter, but if it does matter, she’ll have an awful lot of it. But even without it, she’s very adaptable and quick on her feet. She shouldn’t have big problems. - New Heroes: I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole thing was actually connected to Aracely somehow.
That’s the break-down in the overview. Feel free to download the full data and do the maths yourself. I was too lazy. Since the exact definition of “25 years old” is rather fluid in the Marvel universe, I think we can still use that figure. ↩
I actually did a bit more digging into the nuke thing for this. It’s very hard to shut down a nuclear plant once it gets going, because the core material won’t stop being radioactive for a long time. So the two scenarios I outlined are basically it, without intervention. But I drew this mostly from The World Without Us, Life After People, Aftermath: Population Zero, some Cracked articles, and similar productions. So grains of salt are to be taken with it all.
But I keep picturing psuedo-medieval power structures arising in the wake of all this for some unknown reason.
Or possibly a game of Rifts.
I’m utterly fascinated by this idea, just wanted to say. One thing that I really consider worth bringing up is that Marvel New York is full of secret bases, laboratories and storages containing all kinds of dangerous chemical, biological and mad science materials stored there by various supervillains and corporations like Roxxon, Alchemax or Oscorp. Not to mention Baxter Building. On top of that, there are magical places like Monster Metropolis below NY or Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum. And then we can add various superpower sources being left behind or roaming freely unchecked like Iron Man’s armors or symbiotes.
So if that place gets flooded and overrun with wildlife while the human population has to evacuate due to nuclear leaks and radiation, leaving all this stuff behind because in most cases they’re kids who don’t have access to it or don’t know about its existence….Well, I think the place would simply become a melting pot basically breeding all kinds of mutations and monstrosities.
- Admin
The Gamma Gene Theory
So, it’s Saint Patrick’s Day, and what better way to celebrate than talking about Gamma Radiation? Okay, so, this is primarily based off of high school biology and the Incredible Hulk comics (U-616, and a few other comic universe, especially the Old Man Logan [U-807128 or OML]), both ones I’ve had the opportunity to read and those I haven’t. There’s some spoilers but I don’t think anything too recent, because I haven’t been able to read the most current issues. I will also cite the Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes [U-8096 or EMH] and the Avengers Assemble [TRN-123 or MAU5] television shows. There isn’t enough examples in the Marvel Cinematic Universe [U-199999 or MCU] to have enough evidence. I am going to pretend to be a scientist in the Marvel multiverse (IE no “well, it’s fictional” type of answers), instead of a geeky autistic kid that’s been obsessed with Bruce Banner for at least three years. I will still try to date the discoveries based on our dates, since comic book time is fluid (EG - Bruce Banner became the Hulk in 1962). I will also use many abbreviations, which I will elaborate on the first usage and then continue to use as just the abbreviation. For the sake of convenience, I shall refer to the genes in my theory as singular genes, but am aware that such things would likely be sets of multiple genes that regulate it.
Pi’s Theory of the Genetic Aspects of Gamma Radiation OR The Gamma-Gene Theory
17 March, 2015
Thesis
The basis of this theory is that gamma forms, both the forms themselves, and the ability to have a gamma form is genetic. I propose that there are three genes (that I know of), that would have been discovered in this order:
Gamma Gene 3 (γG3) - This gene regulates a GTP’s (gamma-transformed person) form. This is most likely to be a set of numerous genes that controls the exact appearance and abilities of a gamma form. There are perhaps an infinite number of mutations of this gene, but I will specifically be referring to:
The “Hulk” mutation - characterized by superhuman strength, durability, and size, with green skin and large muscles, while still appearing humanoid. The most famous form of the gene and also one of the rarest. GTPs known to have this form include Bruce, Skaar, and Lyra Banner, Jennifer Walters, and Benjamin Tibbits.
The ”Abomination” mutation - characterized by superhuman strength, durability, and size, with (usually) green or greenish-grey scales and spikes growing from the body, with webbed ears. One of the more famous (and common) form of the gene. GTPs known to have this form of the gene include Emil Blonsky, Rick Jones, Florence Sharples, Ethel Gaxton, and Jamie Carlson.
The “Harpy” mutation - characterized by bird-like features and wings. A lesser known form of the gene. Individuals known to have this form of the gene include Betty Ross and possibly Marlo Chandler.
The “Leader” mutation - characterized by extreme intelligence, green skin, and a disproportionately large head. A rare but somewhat well known form of the gene. GTPs known to have this form include Samuel Stern and Timothy Wilkerson.
The “Sampson” category - characterized by limited physical change accompanied with assorted superhuman abilities.
Gamma Gene 2 (γG2) - This gene controls whether or not a GTP’s body produces gamma radiation, and is linked to, but independent of γG1.
Gamma Gene 1 (γG1) - This gene controls whether or not a human can survive exposure to gamma radiation. It comes in four forms:
Off/Off - This is the unmutated version and the most common form of the gene. With this form, a human will die if exposed to gamma radiation.
Off/On - The most common mutation. With this form, a human will transform into a GTP but will eventually die of gamma poisoning.
On/Off - The rarest mutation. With this form, a human can survive exposure to gamma radiation but is not transformed by it.
On/On - The best known mutation. With this form, a human will transform into a GTP when exposed to gamma radiation.
Discovery, Summary, and Evidence
γG3
The first gamma gene to be observed was γG3, when Bruce Banner was accidentally exposed to a gamma bomb detonation in 1962, changing him into a being known as the Hulk. Since then, there have been many attempts to replicate the Hulk, almost all of them ending in the death of the subjects. The first success was in 1967, with Emil Blonsky, who became the Abomination after exposing himself to a gamma blast that exceeded the amount Banner was exposed to. The first successful new Hulk was Jennifer Walters, who inadvertently became She-Hulk in 197_, after her cousin, Bruce Banner, donated her some of his blood. Many other attempts would follow that lead to various GTPs.
I came to theorize that gamma forms were genetic because, with the exception of Benjamin Tibbits, all Hulks are members of the Banner family, which originated in France. Several people have become GTPs after being exposed to gamma from Banner family’s blood, bodies, or genetic material, but only Tibbits resembles the Hulk. Conversely, all gamma-affected members of the Banner family are Hulks. I believe it is possible that Tibbits is a distant relative of the Banners, or, less likely, has the same rare mutation of γG3. This genetic link to gamma forms also lends credence to Brian Banner’s “Banner family monster gene” theory. Also, of Bruce Banner’s children, two are Hulks and two are not, and this lends to my theory, because a child is biologically one half of each parent’s DNA. The “Leader” gene is shown to be genetic because Samuel Sterns altered the DNA of Timothy Wilkerson by adding some of his own, which induced the same mutation in the young boy. There is no known familial ties to the GTPs affected by the “Abomination” mutation, but the affected all have strikingly similar appearances. This makes it arguably the most common form of the γG3 mutation.
γG2
The second gamma gene to be discovered was γG2 in 1998 following the death of Bruce Banner’s wife, Betty Ross, of cancer caused by gamma poisoning. It is commonly held that she developed this due to prolonged exposure to her husband, but I do not believe that is the case. Betty Ross had previously been exposed to gamma and had taken on the gamma form of Harpy in 1973, which was later cured by Banner. I propose that the serum works by silencing the γG3 gene, but also had the unaffected consequence of also switching off the γG1 gene, while leaving γG2 active. Since these genes had not yet been discovered, Banner had no way of knowing that such side-effects could happen. Due to this serum, Betty Ross no longer had the ability to take on a gamma form and was now susceptible to harm due to gamma exposure, however, her body continued to produce small amounts of gamma radiation on it’s own, making it only a matter of time until her death. Her death was still, technically, due to Banner, but the blame also falls on M.O.DO.K. and AIM, who caused her to mutate into Harpy in the first place.
γG1
The final gamma gene that I have discovered thus far is γG1, which is also the most controversial, as it is based mostly on a universe outside our own U-616. Although there are cases in the 616, it is in the OML universe where this gene is most obvious. Following a gamma-blast that wiped out most of the human population, the survivors were left to deal with a psychotic Hulk and the rest of the Banner Clan (all of whom Banner’s descendants and were Hulks, which further backs up the γG3 idea.). Most of the survivors were affected by the radiation and took on gamma forms, but a select few, such as Clint Barton and the granddaughter of Rick Jones, did not. I theorize that the unaffected had an active γG1, but silenced γG2 and γG3 genes.
Red Hulks and Cosmic Radiation
This brings us to a group not yet mentioned in this article: the Red Hulks. Many view these part of the Hulk group, but they are distinct. Hulks are created due to exposure to gamma radiation and only occur in a select few individuals. Red Hulks are created with a combination of gamma and cosmic radiation and can be created out of almost anyone. The most well known are General Thunderbolt Ross and his daughter, Betty, (who notably already has a gamma form, known as Harpy) but there has been well over 200 created in a short period of time, though those were unstable is did not last long. Cosmic radiation is known to have genetically mutagenic properties, as illustrated by the Fantastic Four. Therefore, I theorize that the Leader and M.O.D.O.K. (forming a group known as the Intelligencia) found the perfect frequency to alter the DNA in such a way to resemble a Hulk, albeit a red one. Whereas most of the subjects used to try and replicate the Hulk perished, seemingly all of the Intelligencia’s subjects survived and were successful. They were even able to manipulate the wavelength of the cosmic radiation so that their army of 200 red hulks had active Off/On versions of the γG1 gene and would die twenty-four hours after exposure during the 2012 event that came to be known as World War Hulks or the Hulked Out Heroes (HOH) incident. For the latter, the Intelligencia also turned their rays on a large group of superheroes, all of whom mutated into various forms that were related to their existing powers. The cosmic rays must be the cause of this, because in most parts of the multiverse, like the OML universe, these same people were killed when exposed to pure gamma.
Other Forms of GTP Creation
In the EMH universe, the Leader created a gamma-dome that mutated all humans inside. The inside of the dome was filled with green gas, which I suspect had the effect of switching the γG_ so that all the affected people will transform into various beings based on their γG3, but have inactive γG2, and thus revert as soon as there is no more gamma present. Notably, existing GTPs were not affected by the dome (except for those wearing gamma-boosters), and Thor was unchanged, suggesting that Asgardians do not possess transformative genes. Interestingly, of all the hundreds of GTPs seen inside the dome, only one appeared to be a Hulk: Steve Rogers. Perhaps Erskine’s formula also had an effect on the γG3 gene, which would make it the first instance of this without the use of cosmic rays.
I love this sort of thing! Great job!
WWGU Profiles: Jeremy Briggs
JEREMY BRIGGS
Alias: Baron Briggs, Alchemist
Affiliation: Briggs LLC
Alignment: Neutral-Bad
Gender: Male
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
Distinguishing Features: Scars on his abdomen, left thigh and right elbow pit (as previously stabbed by X-23’s claws)
Age: 18 years old (on Day 1 of Adulting Event)
Race: White American Human Mutate (British descent)
Family: Unknown
Powers/Skills: Matter Manipulation. He has genius-level intelligence, a lot of charisma, business sense and leadership skills
Weaknesses: Can be a manipulative sociopath
Equipment/Weapons: Has a variety of gadgets
Occupational Role: Baron of Texas
Location: New Briggs LLC branch in Houston
State/Country: Texas, USA
Relationships: In a “relationship” with Sylvie Lushton which is equal parts indulgence and manipulating/controlling the other. May or may not include others.
Status: Since his resurrection, Briggs had restarted his company which had relocated to Texas.
Post-Apocalyptic Societies
Rome has fallen. There are confirmed reports of nuclear detonations in New York and Philadelphia. The Black Death has swept the castles, cathedrals and cities clean of life. You can’t rely on distant leaders with their scattered armies anymore. You have to turn to your local settlements for government. And some of them…. well, maybe you should consider moving on to greener pastures.
Despite world-destroying events, society eventually regroups and rebuilds. But what kind of society can you expect? The silver lining to the world coming to an end is that anything is possible in the new world (dis)order. Below are a few examples of what kinds of societies that might spring up after the new Dark Ages set in. Credit for these originally goes to the book d20 Apocalypse by Eric Cagle, Darrin Drader, Charles Ryan and Owen KC Stephens.
I’ll also be making references to this article (credit to the same guys and book) throughout, so if you haven’t read it, feel free to. Or not. Maybe?
Society Size Range Contrary to popular belief, size does matter. But not in the way you’re thinking. Certain types of societies are simply able to support more people with their particular brand of “government.” Each entry below has a size range. For the purposes of this article, each societal size category has the following population as a guideline number. Note that while it is technically possible to have a higher population than the large category settlements in the post apocalypse, it is not recommended, barring super-special cases.
Minute: Less than 100 people
Tiny: 100 to 500 people
Small: 501 to 2,000 people
Moderate: 2,001 to 5,000 people
Large: 5,001 to 15,000+ people
Depraved Society Size Range: Small to Moderate Like Mr. Hyde too long repressed within Dr. Jekyll, humanity’s (or humanoid’s society for fantasy races) dark side bursts forth, with the consequences of the old world’s laws no longer holding them back. The members of a depraved society indulge in whatever vices suit their needs. Gambling is a popular pastime, with whatever form it takes being limited only by the members’ sadistic imaginations. Gladiatorial performance combat is popular in these societies, along with drug use and prostitution. Depraved societies often keep slaves; the lucky ones are used for manual labor. The power structure of a depraved society forms around whomever can provide the particular vice that the members crave. It is possible to have multiple “lords” in such a society, each controlling a particular vice and cooperating to keep the settlement stable. The worst depraved societies are those with competing vice lords; woe betide anyone caught in their struggles to control the market. Some societies try to maintain a facade of “civilized” government, often with an elected representative. But everyone knows who holds the real power….. Depraved societies are especially common in the Aftermath Era, but most of them do not survive into the Generation O era. Those that do tend to go through a “gentrification” process that ultimately brings more stability and enable them to survive into the Dark Ages era.
Devout Society Size Range: Tiny to Small Cataclysms and wars often drive people to find comfort in faith. The faithful congregate, and a new settlement is born. The devout believe that humanity brought this disaster upon themselves by failing to live up to the tenets of their particular religion. The exact makeup of a devout society can vary greatly, but one particular commonality is that these communities tend to be insular and isolationist. They may trade with caravans, but it is at arm’s length and they make sure to keep “strange ideas” from tainting the purity of their community. More than likely, the most charismatic ordained individual leads the settlement, and is expected to wield his or her power to advance church doctrine. This gives them power on par with most warlords, but a devout society leader must be careful that their decisions do not run contrary to the group’s beliefs. Orderly religious societies may have a process for removing corrupt priests, but most simply put a bullet through their head (or worse) and select a new leader. Devout societies are fully capable of lasting through all four eras of the apocalypse, although their doctrines may undergo changes as the generations pass by.
Ethnic Society Size Range: Minute to Small Before the apocalypse, most ethnic groups congregated with members of their own culture as a means of comfort and economic support. In some unfortunate cases, these groups were discriminated against and segregated outright from the rest of society. The fall of the larger society simply exaggerates these differences, and such communities, similar to the devout communities described above, become insular and rely on each other for even greater support and survival. The laws and customs of an ethnic society are incredibly diverse, and may be either well-preserved cultural traditions, or a new set of traditions passed down from what the current generation believes to be their ancestors’ culture. Depending on their outlook, members of an ethnic society may not allow outsiders to enter their territory, and in extreme cases, these societies may have blood feuds going on between other cultures and themselves. Ethnic societies are fully capable of surviving into the New World era.
Lawful Society Size Range: Small to Large The lawful society is governed by a set of laws, often strictly enforced by the local rulers and their hired hands. The laws can either reflect those in place before the apocalypse, or it can be an entirely new set of rules for this crazy new world. All members of this society are expected to abide by the rules, and ignorance may or may not be forgiven. People congregate towards lawful societies, believing them to be safe and governed by the will of the people. This perception that lawful societies are safe is not always true. Laws are only as good as they’re enforced, and laws are not always just. The law may be arbitrarily and brutally enforced, discriminatory in practice, overly complex and difficult to comprehend, or the government may be corrupt to the core. The assumption that the will of people is the law is often the furthest thing from the truth. It is horrifyingly easy for a lawful society to become a totalitarian one. Lawful societies tend to become common in the Generation O era, and can last up to the New World era. Those in the Aftermath era are likely the first type of settlement to spring up (excluding savage societies).
Militant Society Size Range: Minute to Small On the surface, a militant society looks similar to a lawful one, save that status flows through the military. These societies are hierarchical, with civilians on the bottom of the social ladder supporting the needs of the military. Some of these societies predate the apocalypse, but carry on the training and traditions of the old military due to the necessity. Others rise from wholly new traditions, but the necessity of armed defense remains the same. Militant societies are not necessarily aggressive or expansionist. Some are simply well-armed and vigilant, but others may crush all opposition and demand tribute from their neighbors. It all depends on the needs of the society’s leadership. While corruption and nepotism are certainly possible, it is unlikely, for militant societies value merit above all, especially in the fields of combat, tactics and leadership. A poor general is often forced into “retirement” by his own troops, if he is lucky and well-liked, despite his ineptitude. Most, however, end up shot or blown up in “training accidents.” Militant societies are very common in the Aftermath and Generation O Eras, and they tend to have an abundance of pre-apocalypse weapons technology. They tend to become less common in the Dark Ages and New World eras, as multiple groups compete for their dwindling stockpiles of weapons and other resources. However, their chances of surviving through all eras is quite high.
Savage Society Size Range: Minute to Tiny Also known as “raiders”, savage societies are less than a culture and more like a plague upon the world. Using violence, they take what they want and do whatever they want to whomever falls into their clutches. Unlike most of the other societies, savage societies are nomadic as a rule; no permanent settlement can support their voracious lifestyle for long periods of time. When confronted with a superior force, savages tend to hide or evade; hence, they stick to areas that offer them scant resistance. Savage societies may be loosely allied, supporting each other on large-scale raids, or simply keeping out of each other’s way and respecting their turf. These alliances rarely last long once resources become scarce. Savages are ruled by the one who can control them. Such a warlord is often violent, psychotic and brutal, with a trusted cadre of henchmen to keep the rest of his “troops” in line. The most cunning warlords are just as wary of their henchmen as they are of their foes; anyone with the balls to do so can betray him and take his place. Savage societies are common throughout all eras of the apocalypse. They thrive in the Aftermath era, as few powers are organized to resist them. New World era raiders are less common, as the new powers of the land have decimated their ranks. Raider societies tend to be short-lived. But new ones always seem to form from the ashes…..
Tribal Society Size Range: Minute to Small Tribes, also insultingly called “ferals,” appear similar to ethnic societies, but they share a common ancestry more than a common ancestral culture. Tribal societies are formed when a great deal of tradition and knowledge of the pre-apocalyptic world are lost. However, the newly formed tribe makes up for this loss by inventing new traditions, practices and legends. Tribal societies tend to not rely on much technology. They have a close relationship with nature and survive by hunting and gathering. Although this practice makes more “advanced” societies stereotype them as simpletons, most tribes are experts at making the most of their limited resources and finding places to hide and escape…. or ambush their foes. The exact method of government varies from tribe to tribe, but most venerate one or more elder tribesmen (or women) for their wisdom and seek their guidance. Others just rely on the majority vote of all members. Corruption is possible, but it is highly unlikely, as virtually all tribal societies are focused on survival. Tribal societies tend to form in the Generation O era. They are common in the Dark Ages era, and the more isolated tribes will survive into the New World era. Those closer to “civilization” are often driven off, destroyed or assimilated into the larger society.
Totalitarian Society Size Range: Small to Large Totalitarian societies look almost identical to lawful societies, except that all the power is held by a single individual, who rules usually through armed might and high charisma. The ruler may be benevolent or malevolent, but he wields his power against his subjects and demands absolute loyalty in return. Depending on how sophisticated the settlement is, he may have a network of secret police, or simply march his henchmen through town regularly as a show of force. He does not fear his henchmen, unlike the savage society warlord, because he keeps them satisfied with all the resources and vices they could ever want. Rather, he fears the commoners that live under his rule. They need to be controlled, less they rise up and overthrow him through their sheer numbers. The most terrifying totalitarian societies are ones where the subjects are fanatically loyal to their beloved warlord, drawn to his charisma and vision. Such settlements come to resemble a gigantic cult, and revolution is but a dream. Totalitarian societies tend to not survive beyond the lifespan of their ruler, though it is possible that the warlord’s heirs prove just as capable as (or better than) their predecessor. Nevertheless, they are perhaps the most fragile of all societies, as it takes only a single, well-placed bullet to disrupt the entire system. Totalitarian societies can be found in all eras, with the largest ones existing in the New World era.
WWGU Profile: Amadeus Cho
AMADEUS CHO
Alias: Brawn / Mastermind Excello (currently), Hulk II (former)
Affiliation: Olympus Corp (leader)
Alignment: Good
Gender: Male
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black
Distinguishing Features: Skin turns grey when he hulks out. As Brawn, he is slim but well-built and muscular in physique.
Age: 18 years old (on Day 1 of Adulting event)
Race: Asian-American Human Mutate (Korean descent)
Family: Helen Cho (mother, deceased before Adulting); Phil Cho (father, deceased before Adulting), Maddy Cho (sister)
Powers/Skills: Super Genius-Level Intelligence and Skilled Hacker.
As Brawn, he has Hulk Physiology (Super-Strength, Regenerative Healing Factor, Superhuman Stamina and Durability)
Weaknesses: Gets tired and needs food to keep himself working. In his Brawn mode, he may suffer decrease in intelligence when he uses too much strength. .
Equipment/Weapons: Adamantine Golden Mace, custom-made Calvin Klein A.I. Suit, Bannertech Force-Field Generator and Personal Computer in the form of a tablet
Occupational Role: Mayor of Las Vegas
Location: Las Vegas
State/Country: Nevada, USA
Relationships: Estranged relationship with Delphyne Gorgon, sometimes overcompensates with flirting towards Nico Minoru and Lyra Banner in particular.
Status: Leader of Olympus Corp, providing him with literal divine resources made him a person of great power and influence even beyond his personal abilities. He can turn into a Gamma Mutate at night or when he’s under emotional stress. In this AU, he had a gamma-related accident when he tried to absorb the gamma radiation from a nuclear meltdown of the power plant during the initial chaos. The accident transformed him into a Gamma Mutate known as Brawn; a 'Gray' Hulk.
WWGU Profiles: Nico Minoru
NICO MINORU
Alias: Grimm Queen, “Witch Queen”, Sister Grimm (formerly)
Affiliation: Grimm Kingdom, Runaways
Alignment: Good
Gender: Female
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Distinguishing Features: Multiple Piercings on her ear and painted fingernails. She has faded healed scars on different parts of her body (mainly because of Staff of One).
Age: 17 years old (on Day 1 of Adulting Event)
Race: Asian-American Human (Japanese-American)
Family: Robert Minoru (father, deceased before Adulting event), Tina Minoru (mother, deceased before Adulting event), Rei (cousin, fate unknown)
Powers/Skills: Sorcery (pain magic). Flight, Energy Manipulation, Teleportation, and Telekinesis with the aid of magic. She is also a skilled seamstress, has a lot of information on monsters, and can play the Tuba.
Weaknesses: Unless she uses different languages or synonyms, she cannot repeat the spells with her staff. Also, she has to cut herself to summon the Staff of One, which is the source of her magic. To cast, she must draw upon negative memories and past pain as well.
Equipment/Weapons: Staff of One, a small hidden knife (switchblade).
Occupational Role: Ruler (elected official, others proclaim her a monarch)
Location: Former Disneyland Castle (Sleeping Beauty Castle) relocated from Anaheim to Santa Clara Valley
State/Country: California, USA
Relationships: Dating Robbie Reyes (and maybe Andrea Benton in a long distance sense). She used to have past relationships with Alex Wilder, Victor Mancha and Chase Stein.
Status: 'Queen' of California
With her vast magic and Klara’s plant manipulation, it would be easy for her and her team to survive and set up a society for themselves in the post-apocalyptic world. Her strong character and food resources could draw many people, and superhumans, to her side quite easily. Previously, known as Sister Grimm, she earns the title ‘Grimm Queen’ for her leadership. Though she is, by the bylaws set up, an elected official.
What does it mean to be a "Young" hero (Marvel Edition)
Because I over think things, part of my brain was wondering just what it means to be a “Young” Hero these days in terms of rough age in comics (only ‘rough’ because comic book time is a pain). Here’s what I have, with some examples:
Baby (0 to roughly 2 Years Old) - This is pretty self explanatory. The character is a baby, a few words here and there but not much else. Example: Dani Cage
“Kid” (3-12) - This is in part because most comic artists have a hard time drawing young children (about as much as they do drawing more than one type of woman). The Richards Kids, Valeria and Franklin, fall into this category as does Luna Maximoff and Leech (perpetually). It’s rare to see a character escape this age. Molly Hayes and Cassie Lang are probably the only ones to 'escape’ the cusp of this designation.
Teen (13-18) - This is the age most young heroes are introduced at when they start out. When they debuted, Spider-Man, Kitty Pryde and the New Mutants were all around this age. Today, the Runaways, Avengers Academy students, Wiccan, Hulkling, Patriot, Ms. America, Hummingbird and the New X-Men are pretty good representatives of this bracket.
Collegiate (19-24) – Roughly College Age. These Characters are legal adults that still have a touch of youth to them. This includes the current New Mutants and Kitty Pryde, as well as most of Generation X (that has survived) sans Jubilee (who’s now perpetually 18 thanks to Vampirism). This is probably where the oldest of the New Warriors members are at (Justice, Firestar, Richard Rider) as well as the older Avengers: Initiative original creations.
Adult (25-30) – Here we have the rough age where Spider-Man is supposed to be (despite basically acting like he’s still a teenager). Same with Johnny Storm. This bracket also includes other Teen Heroes from his day which covers the classic X-Men and many of the later additions (while the core team got older, so did their recruits).
Established Adult (30-40) – Here we have the older, true Adult heroes. Captain America and his allies, the classic Avengers that are still mortal/human, etc.
Older Adult (40-50) – Doctor Strange and other heroes who are starting to show some gray.
And that’s where I’ll stop. Where do your favorites land? Do you think I’m full of it? Feel free to drop your own thoughts on the matter.
Prelude to Adulting Event (a.k.a World Without Grown-Ups)
As you may have heard about this one before - the Adulting Event is about those adults (who are over 25 years old) have vanished without a trace, leaving the youngsters to fend for themselves in a world gone mad.
Now for a timeline in this Marvel AU before Adulting Event happened. I took some liberties in altering this.
BEFORE ADULTING EVENT
- Generation X have been disbanded. However, aside from Synch who died in the events before the disbandment, the students do survive. One change in this AU is that Skin did survive the crucifixion besides Jubilee.
- The Decimation and the deaths of the depowered mutant students did happen but when Chaos War came, they managed to come back to life.
- The formerly-dead young superheroes and supervillains had remained revived thanks to Hercules’ efforts from Chaos War.
- Hope Summers and Scarlet Witch repowered and created more mutants with the combination of Phoenix Force and Life Force powers resulting them in burning out their powers. Thus M-Day had been fully reversed, which means Jubilee and other depowered mutants got their mutant powers back.
- The time-displaced Original Five X-Men do not exist in this AU.
- Jeremy Briggs survives the heavy wounds and he lies low by working very hard to keep his company running.
- Avengers Arena doesn’t exist so the Avengers Academy kids, the Runaways and the Braddock Academy students are spared.
- Hank Pym did not merge with Ultron and become Pymtron. Thus Avengers Academy is still up and running.
- Stamford incident did happen (thus starting Avengers Initiative) but the three New Warrior casualties got revived much later after Chaos War. Dwayne Taylor and Microbe leave the New Warriors after learning about Speedball’s fate from Civil War but they still provide funds to Justice’s New Warriors. Namorita leaves the team with Water Snake to take care of business in Atlantis.
- Spider-Verse never happened in this version (because the Inheritors are forbidden from entering into the fan-created alternate universes or anywhere that doesn't belong to Marvel anymore) thus sparing this AU’s Scarlet Spider, Aracely and the New Warriors from Daemos’ attack.
- Amadeus Cho’s alter ego ‘Totally Awesome Hulk’ did not happen yet. Instead, his hulk form may appear later once the chaos happens.
- The NuHumans were also created by Terrigen Mists, except that the mists were more controlled and less fatal to mutants. The Mists were more controlled thanks to the combined efforts of Mutant scientists, Hank Pym, Reed Richards and Inhuman scientists. Queen Medusa realized her mistakes and consequences that the sacred mists were indeed harmful to non-Inhumans after Reed Richards convinces her about the unpleasant effects (since he has a mutant son and has ties with the Inhumans). Also, the deaths of Multiple Man, Cyclops and Alchemy did not happen. Thanks to the scientists, M-Pox outbreak was prevented.
- Lunella Lafayette does exist in this AU but she’s not called Moon Girl. She’s just a normal super-genius girl without Inhuman powers. She does not have Devil Dinosaur at her side because this dino belongs to its own world where Moon Boy was still alive.
- Wendell Vaughn was Quasar at that time and he did not retire his superheroics yet. Avril Kincaid may come later for this AU.
- Captain America did not become a sleeper Hydra agent which means Secret Empire did not happen.
- Rage did get arrested by the Americops but the prison sentence did not happen thanks to the efforts of Sam Wilson, Robbie Baldwin, Vance Astrovik and Dwayne Taylor.
- Since the Runaways are spared from Murderworld, it means that the Runaways did not break up. So Klara Prast and Molly Hayes had remained with them. However, they did manage to fix Victor Mancha back to normal with the help of the atoning Hank Pym.