How would you bring back the Valiant Universe?
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- xodacia81
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That is why I suggested it would be unpopular, as this sort of retconning would require the dates from the old books to be changed. Meaning, everything which happened, happened more or less as it did, but "now" instead of "then" which is not exactly ideal but a possibility. of course, nothing truly is ideal in this except for going back in the past and either preventing Shooter from getting canned or stopping Acclaim from purchasing them. Does anyone have any pics of Rob Liefeld and company cvorting with Goats? If so, then we could give them to Acclaim, who could use those to blackmail the Image guys into selling, instead of heading to VALIANT and the eventual heartbreak we all endured.
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I'd say that the preview image of the Harbinger HC is a clear indication that the stories still took place in the 90's.xodacia81 wrote:That is why I suggested it would be unpopular, as this sort of retconning would require the dates from the old books to be changed. Meaning, everything which happened, happened more or less as it did, but "now" instead of "then" which is not exactly ideal but a possibility. of course, nothing truly is ideal in this except for going back in the past and either preventing Shooter from getting canned or stopping Acclaim from purchasing them. Does anyone have any pics of Rob Liefeld and company cvorting with Goats? If so, then we could give them to Acclaim, who could use those to blackmail the Image guys into selling, instead of heading to VALIANT and the eventual heartbreak we all endured.
- leonmallett
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I'd have to go with a hybrid approach. Accept all of VH1 as canon up to and including X-0 68. Then be a little 'elastic' with time as (I think) xodacia81 is suggesting. That way we get the Harbinger kids as kids. otherwise all of the non-immortal characters across the line are 15 years or so older so we are looking at characters in their 30s and possibly 40's. Real-time aging catches up.
If the real-time element is maintained, and the line is long-term successful, which I would love to see (the long-term success that is), say ten to twenty years from now and still going (and I am straying into hypothesis now, I know), the problem arises that Aric, Doctor Mirage, Jack Boniface (if they get around the 1999 prophecy which is not entirely impossible - this is comics after all), the HARDCorps and any other guys from the present day will all be pushing into their 50's or 60's by then. And their supporting casts will age also. At which point writers will likely be coming up with ever more ludicrous reasons to keep the characters young enough to not alienate readers and force the abandonment of cornerstone titles.
If the real-time element is maintained, and the line is long-term successful, which I would love to see (the long-term success that is), say ten to twenty years from now and still going (and I am straying into hypothesis now, I know), the problem arises that Aric, Doctor Mirage, Jack Boniface (if they get around the 1999 prophecy which is not entirely impossible - this is comics after all), the HARDCorps and any other guys from the present day will all be pushing into their 50's or 60's by then. And their supporting casts will age also. At which point writers will likely be coming up with ever more ludicrous reasons to keep the characters young enough to not alienate readers and force the abandonment of cornerstone titles.
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- ManofTheAtom
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That's what I'm talking about.leonmallett wrote:(if they get around the 1999 prophecy which is not entirely impossible - this is comics after all)
VALIANT comics weren't like DC or Marvel's, where crap like characters not ageing works.
There's no reason whatsoever to keep Jack alive in 2007/08. He died in 99, period. Why keep him alive now?
You don't need him to be alive to tell stories with him set before he died.
- leonmallett
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So you want all stories before 1999? Then why bother with the real-time aging...?ManofTheAtom wrote:That's what I'm talking about.leonmallett wrote:(if they get around the 1999 prophecy which is not entirely impossible - this is comics after all)
VALIANT comics weren't like DC or Marvel's, where crap like characters not ageing works.
There's no reason whatsoever to keep Jack alive in 2007/08. He died in 99, period. Why keep him alive now?
You don't need him to be alive to tell stories with him set before he died.
VEI - I look forward to you one day publishing MORE than 9-10 books per month
- etos45
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I don't think he means that the entire Valiant U should be in pre 1999, just Shadowman. That is one problem with real time aging, is that you are going to have to shuffle through characters or stay in a certain time frame for the run of the comic, which if it's successful could get crowded fast. If they kept all the Valiant stuff, then Shadowman's death would have been explained in Unity 2000, right? (I'm not 100% on that, I only read the plot and not what was release).leonmallett wrote:So you want all stories before 1999? Then why bother with the real-time aging...?ManofTheAtom wrote:That's what I'm talking about.leonmallett wrote:(if they get around the 1999 prophecy which is not entirely impossible - this is comics after all)
VALIANT comics weren't like DC or Marvel's, where crap like characters not ageing works.
There's no reason whatsoever to keep Jack alive in 2007/08. He died in 99, period. Why keep him alive now?
You don't need him to be alive to tell stories with him set before he died.
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Since Jack died in 99, it be impossible to have Shadowman stories with him set after that. Any stories that showed him still alive should be set before 99.leonmallett wrote:So you want all stories before 1999? Then why bother with the real-time aging...?ManofTheAtom wrote:That's what I'm talking about.leonmallett wrote:(if they get around the 1999 prophecy which is not entirely impossible - this is comics after all)
VALIANT comics weren't like DC or Marvel's, where crap like characters not ageing works.
There's no reason whatsoever to keep Jack alive in 2007/08. He died in 99, period. Why keep him alive now?
You don't need him to be alive to tell stories with him set before he died.
Once again, VALIANT is NOT DC or Marvel.
- leonmallett
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Agreed about the aging, which is also what I pointed out earlier:etos45 wrote:I don't think he means that the entire Valiant U should be in pre 1999, just Shadowman. That is one problem with real time aging, is that you are going to have to shuffle through characters or stay in a certain time frame for the run of the comic, which if it's successful could get crowded fast. If they kept all the Valiant stuff, then Shadowman's death would have been explained in Unity 2000, right? (I'm not 100% on that, I only read the plot and not what was release).leonmallett wrote:So you want all stories before 1999? Then why bother with the real-time aging...?ManofTheAtom wrote:That's what I'm talking about.leonmallett wrote:(if they get around the 1999 prophecy which is not entirely impossible - this is comics after all)
VALIANT comics weren't like DC or Marvel's, where crap like characters not ageing works.
There's no reason whatsoever to keep Jack alive in 2007/08. He died in 99, period. Why keep him alive now?
You don't need him to be alive to tell stories with him set before he died.
ManofTheAtom focused on Shadowman from my post rather than answer the question which you also identify.If the real-time element is maintained, and the line is long-term successful, which I would love to see (the long-term success that is), say ten to twenty years from now and still going (and I am straying into hypothesis now, I know), the problem arises that Aric, Doctor Mirage, Jack Boniface (if they get around the 1999 prophecy which is not entirely impossible - this is comics after all), the HARDCorps and any other guys from the present day will all be pushing into their 50's or 60's by then. And their supporting casts will age also. At which point writers will likely be coming up with ever more ludicrous reasons to keep the characters young enough to not alienate readers and force the abandonment of cornerstone titles.
VEI - I look forward to you one day publishing MORE than 9-10 books per month
- leonmallett
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- Location: hunting down paulsmith56 somewhere in the balti belt...
My original point wasn't about wanting/not wanting Jack as Shadowman, it was about real time aging and the problems with maintaining the same cast of non-immortal characters (and the associated titles) without them getting very old if the books are successful and so last a lot longer than last time.ManofTheAtom wrote:Since Jack died in 99, it be impossible to have Shadowman stories with him set after that. Any stories that showed him still alive should be set before 99.leonmallett wrote:So you want all stories before 1999? Then why bother with the real-time aging...?ManofTheAtom wrote:That's what I'm talking about.leonmallett wrote:(if they get around the 1999 prophecy which is not entirely impossible - this is comics after all)
VALIANT comics weren't like DC or Marvel's, where crap like characters not ageing works.
There's no reason whatsoever to keep Jack alive in 2007/08. He died in 99, period. Why keep him alive now?
You don't need him to be alive to tell stories with him set before he died.
Once again, VALIANT is NOT DC or Marvel.
Last edited by leonmallett on Sun Jun 17, 2007 9:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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The problem is that you're still thinking of VALIANT as if it was DC or Marvel.leonmallett wrote:Agreed about the aging, which is also what I pointed out earlier:etos45 wrote:I don't think he means that the entire Valiant U should be in pre 1999, just Shadowman. That is one problem with real time aging, is that you are going to have to shuffle through characters or stay in a certain time frame for the run of the comic, which if it's successful could get crowded fast. If they kept all the Valiant stuff, then Shadowman's death would have been explained in Unity 2000, right? (I'm not 100% on that, I only read the plot and not what was release).leonmallett wrote:So you want all stories before 1999? Then why bother with the real-time aging...?ManofTheAtom wrote:That's what I'm talking about.leonmallett wrote:(if they get around the 1999 prophecy which is not entirely impossible - this is comics after all)
VALIANT comics weren't like DC or Marvel's, where crap like characters not ageing works.
There's no reason whatsoever to keep Jack alive in 2007/08. He died in 99, period. Why keep him alive now?
You don't need him to be alive to tell stories with him set before he died.
ManofTheAtom focused on Shadowman from my post rather than answer the question which you also identify.If the real-time element is maintained, and the line is long-term successful, which I would love to see (the long-term success that is), say ten to twenty years from now and still going (and I am straying into hypothesis now, I know), the problem arises that Aric, Doctor Mirage, Jack Boniface (if they get around the 1999 prophecy which is not entirely impossible - this is comics after all), the HARDCorps and any other guys from the present day will all be pushing into their 50's or 60's by then. And their supporting casts will age also. At which point writers will likely be coming up with ever more ludicrous reasons to keep the characters young enough to not alienate readers and force the abandonment of cornerstone titles.
Rai #0 showed that VALIANT had no plans to keep the characters alive forever.
We saw Geoff replaced by Yolanda. We saw Bloodshot being killed. We saw Archer's body be cremated. We saw new members of HARD Corps replace the old ones.
All of that happens within the 20 year time frame you're talking about.
Btw, Hwen's a ghost, he can't age.
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There's no reason to keep the same characters going for all eternity. They can (and in fact will be) replaced by different characters.leonmallett wrote:My original point wasn't about wanting/not wanting Jack as Shadowman, it was about real time aging and the problems with maintaining the same cast of non-immortal characters (and the associated titles) without them getting very old if the books are successful and so last a lot longer than last time.ManofTheAtom wrote:Since Jack died in 99, it be impossible to have Shadowman stories with him set after that. Any stories that showed him still alive should be set before 99.leonmallett wrote:So you want all stories before 1999? Then why bother with the real-time aging...?ManofTheAtom wrote:That's what I'm talking about.leonmallett wrote:(if they get around the 1999 prophecy which is not entirely impossible - this is comics after all)
VALIANT comics weren't like DC or Marvel's, where crap like characters not ageing works.
There's no reason whatsoever to keep Jack alive in 2007/08. He died in 99, period. Why keep him alive now?
You don't need him to be alive to tell stories with him set before he died.
Once again, VALIANT is NOT DC or Marvel.
Geoff by Yolanda and current Harbingers by new Harbingers.
- leonmallett
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Hwen won't age, but Carmen will.ManofTheAtom wrote:The problem is that you're still thinking of VALIANT as if it was DC or Marvel.leonmallett wrote:Agreed about the aging, which is also what I pointed out earlier:etos45 wrote:I don't think he means that the entire Valiant U should be in pre 1999, just Shadowman. That is one problem with real time aging, is that you are going to have to shuffle through characters or stay in a certain time frame for the run of the comic, which if it's successful could get crowded fast. If they kept all the Valiant stuff, then Shadowman's death would have been explained in Unity 2000, right? (I'm not 100% on that, I only read the plot and not what was release).leonmallett wrote:So you want all stories before 1999? Then why bother with the real-time aging...?ManofTheAtom wrote:That's what I'm talking about.leonmallett wrote:(if they get around the 1999 prophecy which is not entirely impossible - this is comics after all)
VALIANT comics weren't like DC or Marvel's, where crap like characters not ageing works.
There's no reason whatsoever to keep Jack alive in 2007/08. He died in 99, period. Why keep him alive now?
You don't need him to be alive to tell stories with him set before he died.
ManofTheAtom focused on Shadowman from my post rather than answer the question which you also identify.If the real-time element is maintained, and the line is long-term successful, which I would love to see (the long-term success that is), say ten to twenty years from now and still going (and I am straying into hypothesis now, I know), the problem arises that Aric, Doctor Mirage, Jack Boniface (if they get around the 1999 prophecy which is not entirely impossible - this is comics after all), the HARDCorps and any other guys from the present day will all be pushing into their 50's or 60's by then. And their supporting casts will age also. At which point writers will likely be coming up with ever more ludicrous reasons to keep the characters young enough to not alienate readers and force the abandonment of cornerstone titles.
Rai #0 showed that VALIANT had no plans to keep the characters alive forever.
We saw Geoff replaced by Yolanda. We saw Bloodshot being killed. We saw Archer's body be cremated. We saw new members of HARD Corps replace the old ones.
All of that happens within the 20 year time frame you're talking about.
Btw, Hwen's a ghost, he can't age.
Do you want the same characters or differnt ones? Will other readers (beside yourself) want the same characters or will they readily accept replacements? If they don't accept replacements the books don't last. Simple.
How long would you like a new VALIANT to survive?
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- ManofTheAtom
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But for the sake of argument, let's do a chart
Archer & Armstrong
Archer's killed by Harada, Armstrong is still alive by the 41st Century
Armorines
As soldiers they're expected to be replaced by new people
Bloodshot
Killed in 2028 by Ax
Eternal Warrior
Still alive by the 41st Century
Geomancer (Geoff)
Replaced by Yolanda, who in turn is replaced by someone else. That's the nature of the concept
HARD Corps
New members replace the old ones, specially after the old ones die (i.e. Superstar).
Harbinger
New Harbingers replace the old ones.
Magnus
Torque, lol
Ninjak
Mortal, he's dead.
Psi-Lords
New Psi-Lords replace the old ones.
Rai
One dies, another one takes his place. It's the nature of the concept. We've seen it before, there's no reason it won't happen again
Dr Mirage
He's a ghost, he doesn't age.
Secret Weapons (second version)
If the group is still active, new people replace the old ones
Shadowman
Jack died in 99.
Solar
Still alive by the 41st Century
Timewalker
Duh
Turok
Uses the Lost Land, which makes him appear to be immortal.
Visitor
Dead by issue 13 of his series
X-O Manowar
Killed in battle against Harada in 2064.
Archer & Armstrong
Archer's killed by Harada, Armstrong is still alive by the 41st Century
Armorines
As soldiers they're expected to be replaced by new people
Bloodshot
Killed in 2028 by Ax
Eternal Warrior
Still alive by the 41st Century
Geomancer (Geoff)
Replaced by Yolanda, who in turn is replaced by someone else. That's the nature of the concept
HARD Corps
New members replace the old ones, specially after the old ones die (i.e. Superstar).
Harbinger
New Harbingers replace the old ones.
Magnus
Torque, lol
Ninjak
Mortal, he's dead.
Psi-Lords
New Psi-Lords replace the old ones.
Rai
One dies, another one takes his place. It's the nature of the concept. We've seen it before, there's no reason it won't happen again
Dr Mirage
He's a ghost, he doesn't age.
Secret Weapons (second version)
If the group is still active, new people replace the old ones
Shadowman
Jack died in 99.
Solar
Still alive by the 41st Century
Timewalker
Duh
Turok
Uses the Lost Land, which makes him appear to be immortal.
Visitor
Dead by issue 13 of his series
X-O Manowar
Killed in battle against Harada in 2064.
- ManofTheAtom
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Which gives the series drama, like with Solar and Gayle.leonmallett wrote:Hwen won't age, but Carmen will.
I want VALIANT, were dead is dead and real time is real time.Do you want the same characters or differnt ones? Will other readers (beside yourself) want the same characters or will they readily accept replacements? If they don't accept replacements the books don't last. Simple.
Jack died in 99, we just didn't get a chance to see it (unless you count Unity 2000, which if you do then this argument is moot).
Why should Jack's death not count when everyone else's did?
If other readers really want VALIANT, then they'll accept that it's not DC or Marvel and that in VALIANT when characters die they can be replaced by new ones (like with the Rais) or if the concept calls for it be replaced by new ones when their time runs out (like the Geomancers).
Pandering to fanboys by keeping the same characters around for all eternity would be the wrong thing to do.
Last thing VALIANT needs is a 60 year old reader who's proud that he started reading the Jack Boniface comic when he was 10 years old and have the comic still running for 50 years.
For a long time, but not as a pseudo DC or Marvel universe.How long would you like a new VALIANT to survive?
I want the VALIANT Universe with a linear timeline, dead is dead, and real time.
Last edited by ManofTheAtom on Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Dr Mirageetos45 wrote:...but I like the OLD Harbingers.... whine....ManofTheAtom wrote: There's no reason to keep the same characters going for all eternity. They can (and in fact will be) replaced by different characters.
Geoff by Yolanda and current Harbingers by new Harbingers.![]()
PS - Who's Hwen?
And there's nothing wrong with liking the old characters. You can like Kirk and also like Picard.
Only fanboys think in absolutes.
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I feel stupid now... heh... Dr. Mirage...ManofTheAtom wrote:Dr Mirageetos45 wrote:...but I like the OLD Harbingers.... whine....ManofTheAtom wrote: There's no reason to keep the same characters going for all eternity. They can (and in fact will be) replaced by different characters.
Geoff by Yolanda and current Harbingers by new Harbingers.![]()
PS - Who's Hwen?
And there's nothing wrong with liking the old characters. You can like Kirk and also like Picard.
Only fanboys think in absolutes.

...and you can like... Kirk... and Picard...? Blasphemy!!!!

I think in the comic book world it's going to be a little hard for a publisher to kill of a character when Rai #0 says it's time even if that character is blazing popular at the moment. But, that being said, it's still the right thing to do. You're probably (most likely) right that if Valiant starts acting like Marvel or DC then there will be no reason for fans to stick around, but I also do believe that it could potentially harm the long term success of the franchise. It's a double edged sword, really.
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Shooter made it clear that he had every intention to kill Jack regardless of sales or popularity.etos45 wrote:I feel stupid now... heh... Dr. Mirage...ManofTheAtom wrote:Dr Mirageetos45 wrote:...but I like the OLD Harbingers.... whine....ManofTheAtom wrote: There's no reason to keep the same characters going for all eternity. They can (and in fact will be) replaced by different characters.
Geoff by Yolanda and current Harbingers by new Harbingers.![]()
PS - Who's Hwen?
And there's nothing wrong with liking the old characters. You can like Kirk and also like Picard.
Only fanboys think in absolutes.![]()
...and you can like... Kirk... and Picard...? Blasphemy!!!!
I think in the comic book world it's going to be a little hard for a publisher to kill of a character when Rai #0 says it's time even if that character is blazing popular at the moment. But, that being said, it's still the right thing to do. You're probably (most likely) right that if Valiant starts acting like Marvel or DC then there will be no reason for fans to stick around, but I also do believe that it could potentially harm the long term success of the franchise. It's a double edged sword, really.
"Book canceled due to death of character", or words to that effect.
Hopefully he hasn't lost perspective and is still willing to break with convention to do whatever's necessary for VALIANT to stand out from the rest.
- xodacia81
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Yes, to a degree, I meant a sort of elasticity, but more specifically, I was talking about what many of do not want to see, which is to have the events that took place, have taken place, but to have made them happen more recently. I am talking about, as an example, instead of Jack having a 7 year window of 1992-99, have his 7 yr window be from 2006/07-20013/14. NOT what I think anyone would want, but a mere suggestion on what could happen. As for the "let time flow" and then see where the characters are as of now, that has potential, but could also pose problems. The entire issue with bringing this line back is that nobody is going to be totally satsfied. I say, let's just wait and see what happens, then complain if needed.
Ok, I realize that VH2 is the elephant in the room that noone wants to admit to existing, but who says Michael Leroi couldn't have taken over as Shadowman once Jack Boniface died? You could do the opposite of what Unity Y2K was going to do and allow VH2 to be the predominant universe and let VH-1 stay dominant, but let a little of VH2 come into the room and play.
OR a novel approach: let the moment Aric started reliving his life again at the end of X-O #68 be the split of the two universes, and keep them completely two entities. Isn't that pretty much what they everyone else is doing now?

OR a novel approach: let the moment Aric started reliving his life again at the end of X-O #68 be the split of the two universes, and keep them completely two entities. Isn't that pretty much what they everyone else is doing now?

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But dude, Psi-Lords are really long lived.ManofTheAtom wrote:But for the sake of argument, let's do a chart
Archer & Armstrong
Archer's killed by Harada, Armstrong is still alive by the 41st Century
Armorines
As soldiers they're expected to be replaced by new people
Bloodshot
Killed in 2028 by Ax
Eternal Warrior
Still alive by the 41st Century
Geomancer (Geoff)
Replaced by Yolanda, who in turn is replaced by someone else. That's the nature of the concept
HARD Corps
New members replace the old ones, specially after the old ones die (i.e. Superstar).
Harbinger
New Harbingers replace the old ones.
Magnus
Torque, lol
Ninjak
Mortal, he's dead.
Psi-Lords
New Psi-Lords replace the old ones.
Rai
One dies, another one takes his place. It's the nature of the concept. We've seen it before, there's no reason it won't happen again
Dr Mirage
He's a ghost, he doesn't age.
Secret Weapons (second version)
If the group is still active, new people replace the old ones
Shadowman
Jack died in 99.
Solar
Still alive by the 41st Century
Timewalker
Duh
Turok
Uses the Lost Land, which makes him appear to be immortal.
Visitor
Dead by issue 13 of his series
X-O Manowar
Killed in battle against Harada in 2064.
- ManofTheAtom
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You're talking about constantly moving the finish line and never actually getting there.xodacia81 wrote:Yes, to a degree, I meant a sort of elasticity, but more specifically, I was talking about what many of do not want to see, which is to have the events that took place, have taken place, but to have made them happen more recently. I am talking about, as an example, instead of Jack having a 7 year window of 1992-99, have his 7 yr window be from 2006/07-20013/14. NOT what I think anyone would want, but a mere suggestion on what could happen. As for the "let time flow" and then see where the characters are as of now, that has potential, but could also pose problems. The entire issue with bringing this line back is that nobody is going to be totally satsfied. I say, let's just wait and see what happens, then complain if needed.
"Jack's going to die in 99!"
"Jack's going to die in 2019!"
"Jack's going to die in 2029!"
In the end they'd keep promising to kill Jack but never actually deliver... for what? What's gained from doing that other than keeping the character alive forever?
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I'd have no problem with VH 2 characters and concepts being integrated into the VALIANT setting.Valiant_1 wrote:Ok, I realize that VH2 is the elephant in the room that noone wants to admit to existing, but who says Michael Leroi couldn't have taken over as Shadowman once Jack Boniface died? You could do the opposite of what Unity Y2K was going to do and allow VH2 to be the predominant universe and let VH-1 stay dominant, but let a little of VH2 come into the room and play.
OR a novel approach: let the moment Aric started reliving his life again at the end of X-O #68 be the split of the two universes, and keep them completely two entities. Isn't that pretty much what they everyone else is doing now?
Since they rejected it, here's a Shadowman pitch I sent to VEI.
Character Summary:
Michael Leroi, a professional hitman, has no memory of the last six years. Last thing he remembers is traveling to New Orleans in 1999 to carry out a hit, the murder of a woman called Mamma Nettie, a mark an anonymous client (Sandria Darque) paid considerably to have executed.
To Michael’s surprise Mamma Nettie wasn’t as defenseless as he had been lead to believe, so their confrontation ended up costing him his life. Taking advantage of Michael’s corpse Mamma Nettie came up with a plan to save Jack “Shadowman” Boniface, who was doomed to perish in a coming conflict;
Marking Michael with the sign of the Shadowman (a tattoo that displays a man’s shadow standing in a doorway) and performing a voodoo ritual, Mamma Nettie brought Michael back to life as a zombie who would act as an anchor for Jack’s soul, which would ensure that Jack wouldn’t die.
As Shadowman confronted Master Darque for the last time, Darque’s death released an infinite amount of Darque Power that created Deadside (energy can’t be destroyed, just changed), a realm between life and the after life where all the souls under Darque’s control were instantly sent to. Since at one time Jack’s soul had also been under Darque’s control he found himself in Deadside as well.
Relying on Michael’s skills to keep her save, Mamma Nettie stayed out of sight from Darque’s minions (including Sandria), but even all her powers weren’t enough to help her escape from the passage of time. Recently Mamma Nettie died of natural causes and her death freed Michael’s mind from her control. Awakening from a long dream, Michael discovers that the last six years went right past him, and as he tries to rebuild his life he discovers that things aren’t as they were…
Trapped in Deadside, Jack becomes aware of Nettie’s passing as he discovers that soon as night falls he can take over Michael’s body and don the mask of shadows to resume his fight against the creatures of the night as the Shadowman.
Two souls, one body, Michael by day and Jack by night, Shadowman lives again…
In Deadside, Jack is hunted by the souls of those who served Darque in life, all of whom blame him for their current state. When Jack travels back to the mortal world, Michael’s soul replaces him in Deadside and he becomes the hunted.
Following Hwen’s death, Carmen Mirage raised their daughter alone, and now that she’s confident that she’s ready she resumes her work as a paranormal investigator.
As a hybrid of a human and a creature made of necromantic energy, Juliet Mirage is able to manipulate an energy field more powerful than the Darque power, but she’s not aware of this ability and has no conscious control over it.
To survive in a world without Darque power, Sandria Darque had to become a necromantic vampire, forced to live under the city and rely on the sacrifices brought to her by her loyal minions. To survive, Sandria drains the life out of people who her minions bring to her. Sandria believes that if she drains Juliet’s energy then she’ll become a mortal again and live.
Evil never dies, as Master Darque will attest. Deprived of his tattoos, Master Darque rules Deadside from atop his dark tower, where upon discovering that Jack is a portal back to the mortal world he becomes obsessed with capturing him to use him to return to Earth and live again.
Shadowman: A New Beginning (4 issue story arc/mini series)
Synopsis:
It’s been years since Master Darque and Jack Boniface died in a fierce battle that ended with the removal of the Darque power from the face of the Earth. This conflict cost many lives, including that of Hwen Mirage, who left behind a wife and a daughter.
Juliet Mirage is a hybrid of a mortal and a creature made up of Darque power, and as such she’s a wild card that no one knows how to handle… including Sandria Darque, the last survivor of the Darque ages. Sandria, who to survive had to become an energy vampire and feed off the life force of mortal men, is convinced that by draining Juliet’s energy she’ll turn back into a mortal.
What Sandria doesn’t understand is that Juliet is more powerful than she can possibly imagine (something between Damien, Anakin Skywalker, and Wyatt from Charmed). One thing Sandria doesn’t count on is the resurrection of her brother’s nemesis, the Shadowman.
Michael Leroi, a professional hitman, wakes up in a high-class room in an elegant mansion with no memory of how he got there. Discovering the year, Michael is shocked when he realizes that his last memory is six years old. Unable to remember the last six years, Michael is shaken when he finds out that he shares his body with Jack Boniface’s soul
As Michael tries to make sense of what happened to him, he discovers that when the sun sets his soul is shifted to the place known as Deadside, where Master Darque reigns supreme, while Jack’s soul takes over his body and roams the night under the guise of Shadowman.
In Deadside Michael has to fight for his immortal soul against Darque’s minions, who wants to use him as a portal to return back to Earth. On Earth, Jack resumes his battle against the creatures of the night while at the same time he tries to understand what happened to him and his loved ones.
When Sandria and Juliet meet Sandria prepares to drain her energy, but the opposite happens and Juliet’s powers kick in to protect her and drain Sandria’s energy instead. When Sandria dies this opens the way for Darque’s would-be pretenders to the throne, a cabal of wizards known as the Pentagram, mystics who represent the different elements in nature.
Upon rescuing Juliet and returning her to her mother, Michael and Jack discover each other’s existence and their purpose as protectors of the mortal realm.
- ManofTheAtom
- Deathmate was cool
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