How would you bring back the Valiant Universe?

[thePike]

I'm new to the boards, but in no way new to the Valiant Universe. And ever since it's demise, I've often put some creative thought into the question: "How would I bring back the Valiant Universe?"

Honestly, for a while, I didn't think it would ever happen; but with the new Harbinger release I'm getting pretty stoked about it again, and have dusted off my 8 shortboxes of Valiants to try get those missing issues from the good ole' days...

So now I'll pose that question here:

How would you bring back the Valiant Universe?

Would you:
Start from scratch?
Build on whats already there and try to bring back the continuity?
Include or disregard the Acclaim titles?
Would you start from central focus point like Unity or Chaos Theory?
Use a divergent reality (please God no... ) or time travel story?
Just start and leave a big hole of several years just to fill in what happened during that time later?

How would you do it?

For me, I can come up with 2 feasible possibilites (that I like):

#1 is to pick up at some central point, probably Unity since it would be the easiest to work with (and things started going down hill after that...) and attempt to build elequent early story lines like those found in early Magnus, Solar, Rai, Harbinger, etc... and find some way to use Unity as point of restart.

...or...

#2 just pick up the universe now where it should be (according to Rai #0) and use the next several months/years filling in the missing gaps via story telling (since thats what Valiant was always best at IMHO anyway).

But thats just me, and I'm thinking some of you probably have theories that every bit as good as mine, if not better...

[greg]

Welcome to the board!

You obviously know Valiant well enough... those two options sound good to me.

[dellamorte]

I think those are the best two options available. If it was my choice I think I would pick up in the now. But I have a hunch that we will be seeing a post unity pick up.

Anything being published will make me happy as long as it's done with care and from what I've seen the new guys seem to care.

[thePike]

I'm definitely with you on that idea. I'd rather them take 2 years and bring it back slow n' steady with all the aspects that made Valiant great back in the day as opposed to just getting it our there just to make a buck.

[OmenSpirits.com]

.......and on the 6th day, there was life!

On the seventh day, Solar rested.

No word of Acclaim never was spoken, and Valiant was reborn!

(With me writing ShadowMan and Bob Hall/Tom Ryder on art)

[Chiclo]

I like the second option a lot.

Mostly since the first option has been flogged like a dead horse.

[Elveen]

I would release one of the early pre-unity stories, maybe Harbinger, in a hard cover format, then maybe to get all the Val. dudes all riled up, I would include a new Shooter story, maybe an orgin.

[muzzsucker]

I would release one of the early pre-unity stories, maybe Harbinger, in a hard cover format, then maybe to get all the Val. dudes all riled up, I would include a new Shooter story, maybe an orgin.

Bah! That would never work.

[ManofTheAtom]

#2 just pick up the universe now where it should be (according to Rai #0) and use the next several months/years filling in the missing gaps via story telling (since thats what Valiant was always best at IMHO anyway).

That's the real VALIANT way to do it.

I'd start with six one shots, one for each core series (Magnus, Solar, Harbinger, X-O Manowar, Rai, and Shadowman) all set in the present day and all designed to reintroduce the character's concepts to new readers without being an origin story.

Maybe make them some sort of retrospective on where the characters have been.

Make each one shot like the movie version of the character. Focus the first part of the story on the origin and then move ahead to the new story.

And since they're VALIANT comics I'd have each one shot be slightly connected to the other. Unity-style maybe but not as repetitive.

In other words, I'd have the one shots have some pages or scenes in common done from different perspectives. Like say one scene where the six characters meet rewritten to fit that particular character's pov.

[vkid]

I think the new company should get a "secret" group of valiantfans.com members (voted in) to help come up with an overall direction, plan, and possible stories for the "Valiant Return." It would be fan driven and much better than a few guys trying to come up with a new direction themselves. Of course, you couldn't get everyone to contribute. However, there are some guys and gals on this board that could come up with some amazing stuff, if given the chance.

If Lucas would have done this for Star Wars (at least get input from the strong fan base), it would have been much better . . . imho.

These hardcore fans know the ins and outs of the Valiant Universe. In "their" minds, it never really died. We all truly love these character and desperately want this to happen. What better people to help revitalize Valiant for the next generation?

[Lightning Strike]

I would relaunch the valiant universe with the books picking up where they left off just prior to the Acclaim VH2 garbage.

[Chiclo]

Now there's a suggestion that you don't hear too often.

Mostly because most want to forego anything after the Chaos Effect and some want to erase anything after Unity.

As logical and straightforward as it would be to pick up directly at the end of VH1 right before the Nicieza re-boot, it would be nice to erase Birthquake from the history.

[etos45]

I never read the Acclaim stuff, but I remember reading on here once that the Unity 2000 series was going to do a pretty good job at "fixing" most of the mess that Acclaim made. So maybe that would be a good place to pick up? I always hate to just disregard something, no matter how bad it is, so I'd like to think there is some way it can all be put in together. But, again, I've never read Acclaim, so I don't even know how bad the mess was.

I also love the idea of just picking up as if the had never went under and now it's just time to fill the reader in on what they've missed.

[Ryan]

I would love to see the characters picked up in the present day, the VH-Shooter versions. Remember in Unity 2000 there was a distinction made the VH-1 characters and VH-Shooter. The VH-Shooter characters were his version of how the characters would have been if he had been writing them in the years between Unity and 2000. I think it would be hard for new readers to get into it if all the stories were taking place in 1993.

Beyond a few hardcover collections of the best pre-unity books, there wouldn't need to be much backtracking. Just re-establish a few of the core characters (Harb, X-O, EW, BS, etc.) and grow out from there. Just my opinion though.

[frater f]

I would love to see the characters picked up in the present day, the VH-Shooter versions. Remember in Unity 2000 there was a distinction made the VH-1 characters and VH-Shooter. The VH-Shooter characters were his version of how the characters would have been if he had been writing them in the years between Unity and 2000. I think it would be hard for new readers to get into it if all the stories were taking place in 1993.

Beyond a few hardcover collections of the best pre-unity books, there wouldn't need to be much backtracking. Just re-establish a few of the core characters (Harb, X-O, EW, BS, etc.) and grow out from there. Just my opinion though.

I agree with you though I'd also add a few all-new titles and keep the fate of a few characters a mystery. Let the stories unfold gently rewarding the long term readers but not confusing the new ones.

[Second_Death]

#2 just pick up the universe now where it should be (according to Rai #0) and use the next several months/years filling in the missing gaps via story telling (since thats what Valiant was always best at IMHO anyway).

That's the real VALIANT way to do it.

I'd start with six one shots, one for each core series (Magnus, Solar, Harbinger, X-O Manowar, Rai, and Shadowman) all set in the present day and all designed to reintroduce the character's concepts to new readers without being an origin story.

Maybe make them some sort of retrospective on where the characters have been.

This sounds good to me as well. It could even be more than a one-shot.....perhaps a 3 or 4 issues mini-series. Another possibility is what Acclaim did with the VH2 Solar books: start with one or two one-shots followed by a mini-series. Do this with every major character that VEI plans to give its own regular series.

As a suggestion, maybe style each of the one-shots after Rai #0. Use these to fill in most of the gap then do something with the mini-series. Maybe finish filling in the gap and bring the character to current time. One advantage of using one-shots before committing to a regular series is being able to gauge interest in the character's reintroduction. Whatever it takes to make the $ work.

Of course, the question still remains.....should all events previously published in VH1 be honored or a stopping point be selected. I would love to pick up with Unity but that's not going to happen. A more reasonable scenario would be somewhere around the Chaos Effect books. Once again, some liked the CE crossover, but many (me included) think it was not very good and could easily be ignored. I don't believe any events within the CE storyline were mentioned in Rai #0 anyway. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong about that.

[ManofTheAtom]

I'm worried that using VH Shooter might be like focusing on an alternate timeline/Earth like if it was DC with its "new" multiverse.

I'd prefer to keep everything from Magnus #1 to X-O Manowar #68 and pick up from there. Keep the good and don't dwell on the bad.

It worked the first time Shooter did it with Magnus.

He didn't pick up from a certain point in Magnus' continuity, he told new stories that happened after the last issue was published before VALIANT got the character, and he did it without dwelling on the bad and by focusing on what was good.

[ManofTheAtom]

As a suggestion, maybe style each of the one-shots after Rai #0. Use these to fill in most of the gap then do something with the mini-series. Maybe finish filling in the gap and bring the character to current time. One advantage of using one-shots before committing to a regular series is being able to gauge interest in the character's reintroduction. Whatever it takes to make the $ work.

As a reader and VALIANT fan I like the idea, but I'm not sure about how commercial it might be.

[Ryan]

I'm worried that using VH Shooter might be like focusing on an alternate timeline/Earth like if it was DC with its "new" multiverse.

I'd prefer to keep everything from Magnus #1 to X-O Manowar #68 and pick up from there. Keep the good and don't dwell on the bad.

It worked the first time Shooter did it with Magnus.

He didn't pick up from a certain point in Magnus' continuity, he told new stories that happened after the last issue was published before VALIANT got the character, and he did it without dwelling on the bad and by focusing on what was good.

Just to explain my opinion better, there's a big difference between what Shooter did with Magnus and continuing the Valiant universe 'as is' from X-O 68.

The difference is that by the end of VH-1 all of the characters have been significantly altered to the point of being mostly unrecognizable from the pre-Unity days. Their essence was completely destroyed in Acclaim's money grab. Gold Key Magnus on the other hand was virtually unchanged from issues 1-27, so it wouldn't really matter where the stories were continued from. Their essence was unchanged throughout.

Again not wanting to get into a debate, just wanting to explain my opinion clearer.

[Cyberstrike]

Finish Unity 2000 and use that to explain what happened in X-O Manowar #68.
Then blow up both V1 and V2 universes and then start fresh with a hybrid of V1 and V2.

[Daniel Jackson]

Finish Unity 2000 and use that to explain what happened in X-O Manowar #68.
Then blow up both V1 and V2 universes and then start fresh with a hybrid of V1 and V2.

Hmm.....

[etos45]

Finish Unity 2000 and use that to explain what happened in X-O Manowar #68.
Then blow up both V1 and V2 universes and then start fresh with a hybrid of V1 and V2.

Hmm.....

Hmmm....?

I'd say it's not... THAT bad of an idea. It's not the best solution, but it's a solution. So is picking up and where X-O ended. Either of those I'd be happy with. I don't want VH1 to be irrelevant, so I don't support a total reboot, nor do I support picking up from anywhere but the end or after. I don't care which "end" they pick... so long as they pick one.

[ManofTheAtom]

The whole point of U2K was that the real VALIANT characters were fake. The whole project favored the VH 2 versions.

Finishing it shouldn't be an option other than to complete it for the sake of finishing it. The story itself should have no bearing on continuity unless it has an epilogue that shows Faith reading it and discarting it as a caricature of what real life is like.

[xodacia81]

This would be very unpopular among some sections, but could be one way of doing it. A retcon of the universe, making everything which came before whatever starting point, occur recently, so that the "new VU" starts now. I've seen a lot of options and I don't know what the answer is. If this relaunch had happend in say, 2002, it would have been easy to start the entire line with the 1999 death of Shadowman and then move through story-time quickly, in order to bring things up to speed. This was done in Harbinger, where the one gal's boyfriend (sorry, I'm tired so forgive the name escaping me) says "you've been hanging around these FREAKS for five months" which shows that a good amount of time had passed. This was in an early post-Unity issue.

[ManofTheAtom]

This would be very unpopular among some sections, but could be one way of doing it. A retcon of the universe, making everything which came before whatever starting point, occur recently, so that the "new VU" starts now. I've seen a lot of options and I don't know what the answer is. If this relaunch had happend in say, 2002, it would have been easy to start the entire line with the 1999 death of Shadowman and then move through story-time quickly, in order to bring things up to speed. This was done in Harbinger, where the one gal's boyfriend (sorry, I'm tired so forgive the name escaping me) says "you've been hanging around these FREAKS for five months" which shows that a good amount of time had passed. This was in an early post-Unity issue.

The thing is that all those Pre Unity stories are dated (i.e. 1991, 1992, etc), so picking up after a certain point in continuity doesn't sound that appealing.

I guess they can say that the characters went to the Lost Land in 1992 and returned to the timestream in 2007. That would be, by far, the easiest explanation... but it would also be the cheapest.