Lurker > scarletspeed7

Salutes until it gets pulled from Disney+ for "cost-saving" measures.

Throw in Magik, Kitty and Iceman, but remove Colossus, Nightcrawler, Magik and Iceman.

UltimaterializerX posted...

Fox tried that. Those movies all bombed.

They tried it once, and that movie bombed because it was bad. Ulti, you don't know about Excalibur, X-Factor and X-Force. Or hell, Exiles, even. There are some phenomenal stories to mine that could benefit from a single marquee star and a decent director.

Cyclops is historically a pretty uninteresting character.

Johnbobb posted...

X-Men should launch with lesser known X characters, like the New Mutants or X-Force or at least a team that includes some of the side characters.

We don't need another Cyclops/Jean/Wolverine/Beast yet

Absolutely true. The back bench of the X-Titles have some characters that can really shine if given the chance. Just look at Legion!

Don't recast him. Just off him and make Reed Richards the villain.

Age of Ultron suffers from being... all of the bad of Joss Whedon, and none of the good. As well as being all of the bad of the MCU, with none of the good.

Cassie's actress came close to be the worst part of Quantumania for me. She did a complete Mary-Louise Parker - the same facial expression for the entire movie. Only Mary-Louise Parker's one facial expression is good.

Good reasons to continue boycotting WWE in my book

Mickey Rourke is abysmally bad in Iron Man 2. Hammer is someone I would love to see more of, though.

Yeah, that sounds good. We'll wrap up this topic and I'll post the next ranking in the following one.

#43 - Harley Quinn
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/7/7/AAOJ0pAADbkx.png
Aww, gee.

Harley Quinns history is notoriously well-known - a psychiatrist drawn to insanity by her love for the Joker, Harley was ultimately left a jilted ex when the Joker no longer saw the value in her, and after No Mans Land, she bounced from villain to villain, crashing on couches and looking for acceptance. Harley even spent some time captaining a roller derby team in New York City before she ultimately was sent back to Arkham. After the Arkham breakout, it was discovered that Harley had zero susceptibility to the Equation, and she was captured by Hugo Strange, dragged to Belle Reve for research purposes. It was here that Harley found herself released by agents of Checkmate, and she was whisked away to Zonn Zorr, where she now rooms with BrenBren and has chartered a new, unlicensed psychiatry practice.

Harley was one of my least favorite characters in the first campaign, one I felt I couldn't do any justice to at all, and yet Harley has surprised me constantly in this current iteration. I wholeheartedly am always excited for whatever is in store with Harley. Obviously, the biggest conceit for her character is that she has such clarity when diagnosing others and yet falls prey to never heeding her own advice, always. She's a battered house wife, a kicked puppy, a person with almost but not quite enough self-awareness to be a better version of themselves. But the crucial step she has yet to take has proven her own undoing, and thus she is more tragic than comic. Of particular note, I love Harley and Brennus together. They may very well be my favorite NPC/PC pairing in this campaign thus far, just an absolutely magical combination that I think betters the both of them for it.

Since her introduction in this campaign, Harley has not only proven to be an insightful psychologist and therapist for everyone but herself in at least some respect, but she's also offered her own mechanic, wherein she can either boost your willpower - or decrease it, based on attending a therapy session with her. It's all a coin flip.

Here's an example of a failed Harley roll:
You leave with the toaster in hand, sans your cape, replaced with what appears to be a leopard fur, but crafted out of paper mache, with its jaw crowning your forehead, no shirt, and bananas sticking out of every pocket of your pants. You don't recall every mentioning the toaster to Harley, but you feel confident she had to have noticed it while you... uh... you were... something involving badminton and Harley reciting Henry Hadsworth Longfellow, but replacing Hiawatha with mid-70s porn stars. Still, you feel confident... right?

There's still more to our girl Harl:
-She has tried on at least one occasion to murder Jaime for calling her "Harley Quinn crazy".
-She spent a full therapy session lamenting how unfair it was to be labeled insane for wanting to murder people. Lush, who was attending that session, agreed.
-She attempted to kill Brennus with a Rube Goldberg contraption rigged to Brennus sitting in his computer chair. This ultimately ended with Brennus apologizing, believing it was his fault SHE tried to kill HIM.
-After Data 7 returned her missing rooster to her, Harley spends much of her time either petting Mike or trying to corral him out from under her bed.
-It turns out that Lady Gaga is a super-fan of Harley Quinn in the DCU (though in this universe and the year 2008, that name doesn't exist; she goes by her given name). Harley was recently played a song written about her entitled "Paparazzi". She loves it.
-Harley has demanded Brennus kill her ex-boyfriend, Mistah J. He's strongly considering it.
-Sometimes in therapy, Saoirse is left petting Harley like a dog.
-Also, with a wish that she could have anything in the world, granted by a powerful wizard, she chose a painting of Brennus as a hyena.

What else can I say? I love the sweet little thing.

#42 went undrafted, the fifth-highest placing character of that distinction!

#44 - Gal Gardner
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/3/1/AAJ38fAAEFHb.jpg
She's my gal! She also already had a write-up, so I'm going to copy-paste that from the very recent previous list.

Functionally, Gal is an original character. Her art is largely irrelevant to the comic in which it appears, and there isn't actually a Vuldarian genderswap Guy Gardner lumbering around the universe somewhere. That's probably a crying shame; Gal has been my favorite comedic relief as of late, but all of her loudmouthed insults and leering pick-up lines really do a disservice to the character. What lies beneath, somewhere deep within Gal, is a person capable of great compassion and change. Though her resting gear is obnoxious, obstreperous, a true incorrigible cad, and despite the fact that she spends most of her time either staring at her exposed breasts (which she can't get enough of) or turning her arms into alien techno-organic weapons in red, Gal also has a softer side. For me, this was never better exemplified then when Guy Gardner (who treats her like a younger sister) was bowled over by news that his dearly beloved deceased boo, Ice, was actually still alive and while. This flummoxed Guy something fierce - and immediately, Gal was on her knees, holding up Guy's head, wrapping him in a cradling hug. She empathized immensely, and for a long, silent second, there was something deeply moving to me about that sort of clone-turned-counsel moment.

Originally rescued from the Auctioneer's menagerie-ship, Gal was one of three Gardner-clone products the party discovered within, but she's the only one that's lingered with any real effect. To the party, Gal is an aberration not just because she's a clone of one of their closest allies on Oa, but also because she's a clone of Guy from a time in his life he's largely moved past. Guy is far less fiery than those days, still rough around the edges but having matured greatly. Gal will seek out Rosetta, hoping to giggle like a schoolgirl with her about hot women with tight asses and tighter costumes. She doesn't know how to keep her hands to herself. And when she witnesses Data 7 sharing an intimate moment with Lantern Morro, she couldn't stop laughing about how it was gay... until she realized she was gay, also. Which sent her into a fit of laughter again. She's certainly not homophobic; she's just the most immature person imaginable. Apparently she goes to the dining hall on Oa just to watch a cute blonde eat her dinner.

I love extremely imperfect characters with the capacity to change, and that's Gal in a nutshell. Her future may not be the Guy Gardner who topped our last 52 list, but she has the potential to reach that point. We know one path this younger, more feminine Guy Gardner could take, but whether she does, that's another story entirely. But it's a story I can't wait to explore. Gal Gardner is maybe my favorite Oan non-Lantern right now, after all.

#43 was drafted in the Top 25!

#45 - Enchantress
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/2/9/AAOJ0pAADbnJ.jpg
Looney Juney.

The Enchantress is one part hero, one part villain, and all parts determined to look out for her own self interests in any situation. Considered by some to be a magic vampire, Enchantress will do anything in her power to gain more, greater power than she already possesses. After she was marked (quite fairly) by the Spectre for her sinful nature, Enchantress was forced to find lodgings in Oblivion, where she prepares to take down the most powerful being in the universe. Enchantress has attended to a brief affair with Saoirse, co-opting a piece of her soul for her own, and using it to animate her scarf, Stichentyme. Yes, you heard that right. Enchantress is a mistress of unholy arts, and Stitchentyme is the progeny of her dark practices. Once simply a scarf with a high thread count, Stitchentyme was imbued with a piece of Saoirses soul after one particularly arduous evening. Now, the resultant young familiar has become Enchantress constant companion, committing mischievous acts for her masters approval.

Not a lot of NPCs can carry as many connections as Enchantress does. You have Constantine and his hatred of Loony Juney, a name that I am inordinately proud of. The two of them disagree on 90% of the decisions made by the Shadowpact, and yet they still haven't quite come to blows yet, and they both know that where they are aligned, that is where they have to firmly work together. Still, that hasn't stopped June from demonstrating a hint of jealousy towards John's connection to Encantadora. Then you have June and Rory, which is either the most unlikely love story of all time, or an accident waiting to happen.

And more recently, we've begun to explore the fact that the Enchantress personality can be - at times - entirely opposed to the blond June Moone beneath it all. For a long time, I think Han was discomforted by the notion that June herself was an involuntary passenger in the entire affair, that maybe Enchantress decisions, even the sexual ones, weren't June's choices at all. Yet now it's been revealed that the dangerous, often evil-bidden Enchantress may well be a protector in her role - but not a protector of June. A protector FROM June. She's a power-hungry, uncontrollable being that could very well devour an unsuspecting victim, and she seems almost unaware of her purpose.

Of course, all of this came from a June that had unzipped her body and lay flaccid, partially uncovering June Moone, which itself is a very horrifying image. Skin suits talking out of half-attached mouths, and all. But that's Enchantress, I suppose. A collection of secrets wrapped up tightly within a diabolical dress.

She also is an enemy of Christmas.

#44 would rank even higher if I ran this list again today.

#46 - Lex Luthor
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/7/2/AAUHRBAAEclo.png
Businessman. Mogul. Inventor. Visionary. President of the United States.

Lex Luthor may be the most gifted man alive, but rather than use his supreme intellect and skills for the betterment of mankind, Luthors agenda often focuses on the continually search for power and influence, with little regard for those he must step on to climb the social ladder. Though often cloaked in the guise of philanthropy, Luthors ruthless business and political acumen led him from life as the victim of abuse at the hands of his drunken father to the chief of a major technology startup, LexCorp. With a rise coinciding with the debut of Superman, Luthor has often butted heads over ideological differences between the Man of Steel and himself. After spending a fortune helping to rebuild the city of Gotham, Luthor parlayed a massive mountain of goodwill into a presidential bid that earned him the White House. During his administration, however, the Imperiex War broke out, and Luthor was forced to align his fortunes for the first time with Darkseid - an act that may have contributed to the beginning of his downfall.

In the third year of his administration, Lex Luthors approval ratings had never been higher. Invasions thwarted. Economy on the rise. Taxpayer burden the lowest in ages. But Lex began to let adoration and power go to his head, and when Superman and Batman refused to come in and work under the auspices of the United States government, he took this as a personal affront. Immediately, he began to scheme and using a sudden discovery of a kryptonite meteor to fuel anti-alien hysteria, Luthor put out an edict declaring Superman an enemy of the state. Batman, who refused to comply with subpoenas, also was labeled a public enemy, and Lex Luthor used the full might of his executive branch to send heroes and villains after both men, in an attempt to arrest them. Lex had gone power-crazy.

Battling everyone from Captain Atom to Black Lightning, Grodd to Metallo, the Worlds Finest duo had to physically win back the trust of their friends, proving once and for all the villainy of Lex Luthor. But at the same time, Lex was preparing to launch the Suicide Squad - and nuclear weapons - at Superman and Batman. Turning to Amanda Waller and using her animosity for Batman against her, Lex persuaded his Secretary of Defense to hand over the keys to her kingdom, and when she objected, he used a carefully cultivated attraction on her part to rope her in. Ultimately, however, Lex was stopped, and with the assistance of the Toyman, the rapidly approaching Kryptonite meteor was destroyed, thanks to a giant kaiju robot and a sacrifice made by Captain Atom.

In the aftermath of Lexs attempt to bring down Earths greatest hero, the Justice League, JSA and Teen Titans threw in behind the Man of Steel and revealed Lexs carefully orchestrated plan. Public approval plummeted, and Lex Luthor was quickly impeached - not that it mattered, for he had disappeared in the night, using the threat of the meteor to escape. Soon afterward, his Vice President and Cabinet would be scrutinized and largely eliminated from their position, and the Speaker of the House, Jonathan Horne, would end up as President.

And for months, no one heard a whisper from Luthor. Not even the hint of a rumor. Until he came back, bringing down the country and the world in the process.

Now seen as Darkseids highest-ranking lieutenant, Luthor lives in the lap of luxury in the center of Darkseids capital - New York City.

Amanda Waller wants to put a bullet between Lex's eyes. The Secret Six exists to bring him down and everything he erected around himself. Tens of thousands have died because of his actions, and millions more are enslaved to Darkseid as a result of his machinations.

But just how long has this all been a part of his master plan?

#45 was a pretty strong high-value draft pick!

#47 - Pawn 905. Jason Burr. Kobra.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/7/1/AAOJ0pAADa_L.jpg
Never smile at a crocodile.

From the day they first arrived, the Checkmate field teams found friendship in Pawn 905. Whether it was helping to install Minervas medically-necessary sleeping pool, teaching Data 7 how to use the new elevator system, or providing Bloodfruit with a brief understanding of how the strange computer terminals operated, Jason was there to support his allies in the war against Darkseid. But Jason held a dark secret - he was the twin brother of the original Kobra, and upon the death of his brother Jeffrey, he took on the trappings and mangle of his brother. Worming his way into the echelons of Checkmate, Jason lay in wait, poised to strike at its most vulnerable moment. Taking in all of the information they uncovered, Jason decided to break loose from the chains that were holding him down in Checkmate, and he unleashed chaos alongside his two sleeper agents in Checkmate - Abe Crane and Jack Wyznowski. Nearly murdering everyone in Zonn Zorr, Jason stole the Nemesis and made his way, almost alone, to the location of his next target: Qurac, where he plans to destroy the warring factions of the League of Assassins. In his wake, he has left destruction, both physically and emotionally, leaving an irreparable scar on the resistance against Darkseid, and now, him.

Dewormers were wrecked. Captain Lash hanged. Prisoners in Holding ended up slaughtering before their own slaughter. And Saoirse? Well, Saoirse learned in the most brutal of ways that even the most superficial of physical connections can have the worst ramifications. After biting off her lip and poisoning her, Jason left Saoirse for dead.

For a great deal of time, the story of Pawn 905 was a retroactive one. Jason, of course, had been in Z'onn Z'orr from the very beginning, and his existence - combined with preestablished history with each character - was meant to be a comforting one. Yet, quickly, suspicions were raised by some players. Ultimately, they bore fruit - a snake lies in wait, preparing to strike when its prey is at its most vulnerable point. Jason, obsessed with the destruction of the world in the name of Kali Yuga, is that snake. He has proven to be a remarkably talented, remarkably confident and remarkably deadly foe who will stop at nothing to see Earth's final destruction in the name of his Death Cult. Of course, this puts him in diametric opposition to Darkseid, so where will that ultimately lead?

Kobra has since been encountered on multiple continents, the agenda of its servants to wreak havoc, gather power, and prepare for the return of Yuga Khan.

In terms of all of the villains in the campaign, no one has made it as personal as our old friend, Pawn 905. And that earns him this spot on the list.

#46 was a bottom-half draft pick!

#48 - Jesse Custer
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/2/7/AAOJ0pAADYC_.png
The preacher.

Jesse Custers long and storied history began in Texas, where he pastored a small church to irrelevance before being coopted as a host for Genesis, the so-called Voice of God. Jesse spent years meandering across the world alongside his girlfriend Tulip and his Irish companion Cassidy, searching for meaning in the chaos of life. For a spell, he led a congregation in No Mans Land, even. Eventually, Jesse tricked the Saint of Killers into killing God - or so he claims. And with his mission at an end, Jesse prepared to ride off into the sunset with Tulip - until A-Day through the world into chaos. Now without Genesis, Jesse has spent his time fighting the establishment in Warpath until the city was run over by the Society. Following this, he returned with some old friends to Zonn Zorr, where he serves as its only spiritual leader.

In Campaign 1, Jesse had yet to really begin his journey. In Campaign 2, it's a journey completed for our preacher friend, and boy, what a journey it seems to have been. After all, God is dead. So how do you reconcile a life of spiritual ministration with the complete destruction of everything you swore to uphold? Jesse plays quite a balancing act philosophically and religiously in a world that has no hope. Ultimately, this means that Jesse's gruff, violent attitude is underlined by a surprisingly humanistic approach; in some ways, Jesse embodies a very active, in-your-face hope. The sort of hope that causes someone to shake their friends by the collar and slap the doubt out of their face. Jesse has been unbound by what he seems to have experienced in the intervening years between campaigns, and I think that makes him either dangerous or inspiring.

In addition, Jesse has been roped into the story of Uncle Sam as well as Susie. Roz'etta's interplay with Jesse has become the predominant source of Jesse Custer content in the campaign, and as such, it's interesting to watch arguably the softest, most inoffensive member of the party rely so heavily on a minister torn in two wildly disparate directions. A major facet of Jesse's personality is crafted around that rugged self-determination, but also a compunction to kill to defend not just Jesse himself, but to preserve some sense of justice.

Most people could not live up to his codes and he is usually rough against those with failings. He treats kindness with kindness, and not much can surprise him in life. In some manner he does follow the Ten Commandments, although his hand is sometimes forced to break them in self-defense or in order to follow his code. That really measures the line drawn between John Wayne and Uncle Sam, two of Jesse's predominant influences. As the tale of Uncle Sam wraps itself around the heart of this campaign, Jesse Custer represents a transition from the old order of Americana value to a new, unsteady set of principles - and all the while, holding tightly to the knowledge (and perhaps guilt) that Jesse Custer may have partially doomed the world by allowing his code of ethics to see God destroyed. Forever.

#47 sees Hombad earn some points!

#49 - Madame Xanadu
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/8/4/AAJ38fAAEGbE.png
Didn't see coming.

The Lady of the Lake. The lover of Aztar. The all-seeing eye. Madame Xanadu was and remains one of the most crucial cogs in the magical machine that has been turning for centuries up until its destruction at the hands of the Spectre. Early on in the Spectres persecution of all things magic, he visited Xanadus shop in Greenwich Village, taking her eyes, burning them right from her head with his divine fury. Speculation is rampant as to why she was among the first to be attacked by the untethered Spirit of Vengeance, but theories are mostly twofold: firstly, that Xanadu was a lover to the Spectre for many, many years, and their strange, ancient relationship was unsettling to the Spectre and his newfound desire to eradicate the sin of the arcane from the universe. The second reason is this: Xanadu was the most powerful fortune teller on the planet, and to eliminate her foresight was to give the Spectre ample time to hunt down wizards and witches in peace. Whatever the truth, however, Xanadu was left bleeding from her eye sockets, collapsed on the floor of her sparse, humble store - it would take her weeks to eventually manage to craft a spell in darkness to escape to Oblivion. Xanadu no longer can truly see the future and the destinies of her newfound allies in Checkmate and the Shadowpact, but she possesses an untold amount of wisdom that likely could turn the tide in the battle for survival against the Spectre. However, her words are forged into riddles, a tactic that is likely intentional - Xanadu seeks a new pair of eyes, and she will dangle her wisdom above the heads of her new allies as a reward for finding them.

Madame Xanadu exists as an enigma. Inscrutable, her tarot cards held close to the chest, anytime our lady chooses to speak, all are wise to listen. Perhaps my favorite aspect of Xanadu is that she is a prime candidate for the Star Sapphire Ring. She's a perfect match - and that begins with her lvoe for the Spectre. But more than that, Xanadu has a deep, resonating empathy that echoes out towards any party member willing to devote even a modicum of their time to her. She will grab you and hold you and clutch your hand so tightly that her nails will dig into your palms until they bleed. But she only does so because she is so governed by passion. In her way, Xanadu falls in love with everyone she meets. Their futures, their fates she reads, become hers. All she can see is the murky path of an untrodden future - as such, perspectives become mixed, and I think that demonstrates why Xanadu is so entirely distant. A soothsayer and fortune teller who can't see the present around them relies on the lives of others to provide illumination, and that is Xanadu in a nutshell.

After this list was made, Data 7 visited Xanadu. I greatly enjoyed their conversation. After Data 7 willingly sacrificed his love for a dear animal acquaintance, Corduroy, Xanadu retreated to gentle understanding. For, you see, Corduroy has a place in the grander scheme of magic's unsure future. To allow him to be let go may well see Corduroy excel to heights unheard of by otterkind. But only if Data 7 can release him. Xanadu, in her much younger days, was forced to adhere to this same principle, releasing the Spectre to his fated divine provenance. I hope that this shared understanding will draw these two very disparate being closer together. We shall see.

In the meantime, only the blind matron of Oblivion has a hint of what's to come. Great darkness shrouds the empires of Earth, and it's up to the Shadowpact, and their prophetess, to unleash a new age of magic across this fallen sphere, imprisoned in red and green.

#48 was also undrafted, though I halfway saw that coming this time.

#50 - Manhunter
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/4/8/AAQcMAAADeZk.png

Kate Spencer, attorney-at-law.

The vigilante Manhunter is known as such for her willingness to track down the most violent, dangerous meta-criminals and put her staffs energy right through their skulls. But in reality, this began as a measure borne out of desperation - Kate was Los Angeles star D.A, but when a quartet of criminals (including Deadshot) were to be released on an evidence misfiling technicality, Kate decided that the law was only working so far for her. She donned her costume and equipped weapons that were provided to her by a former witness and longtime friend, Dylan Battles. Manhunter was one of a new generation of heroes, but her fledgling career was cut short when she was captured in the Battle of Metropolis and turned into a Prime Fury in Leesburg. After a brief encounter with Checkmate agents, Kate was injured, but left alive, she vowed their next meeting would go very differently.

Woo boy, did it ever.

Utilizing the powerful weapon once possessed by the False Mad Hatter known as the Control Band, Checkmate took the opportunity at the Battle of Leesburg to release Kate from the hold of the programming instilled by Desaad and the Equation. Suddenly, Kate was in possession of her faculties once more, and she used the opportunity to assist the party during the most pivotal battle of the campaign thus far. Refugees were whisked away to safety, Hush was captured and God was dead. But the real meat and bones of Kate's story has only just begun, mon frere.

For, you see, Kate's greatest bond is with her son. A son that has been a part of Z'onn Z'orr's populace for over two years now, by my reckoning. Ramsey Robinson was first met in Los Angeles, in Kate's home, where he was contemplating putting a bullet into his own father's skull. After all, sleeper OMACs come in many shapes and sizes, none more devastating than the sort that resembles your father in every way except one: that at any moment they could be switched to On Mode and become subject to the whims of Simon Hurt. Fortunately, Ramsey wasn't forced to make such a life-altering decision; instead, Pepper protected him from this terrible fate and spared the young lad his first murder.

Since then, Ramsey has been groomed to take on a significant role within Checkmate, joining Pepper's infiltration team and occasionally training with her for field work. But his ultimate triumph has been, in the wake of his mother's arrival in Z'onn Z'orr, nursing her recovery and attempting to find a way for her to blossom into her old self. Kate's struggle to rediscover her purpose, her very personhood, has been fraught with peril - her mind often rebels against the control band, resulting in terrible bouts of physical agony and pain. Yet Kate is a mother first and foremost, she's a lawyer second, and beneath it all, she underscores heroism. Kate's sheer will is the stuff of comic book legend - her fight never diminishes, her courage unflappable. With a son like Ramsey fighting for her his mother every step of the way, it's become clear that Kate may well be a reservoir for Checkmate's dire need for stability.

Of note: recently, Kate Spencer broke up a fight between that rascal Brennus and his archenemesis Ari Dzerchenko in the library. Threatening both with jail time, Kate managed to manipulate the situation, forcing them to accept a police-imposed punishment where they will be forced to spend a day locked in a room with each other. Kate is proving to be something of a clever manipulator, and I think even Brennus respects how she handled the library blow-up (second of its nature in as many RP weeks). To me, Kate is a mom, through-and-through. But she's also savvy, a fighter, and tough as nails. Combine that all together, and for my money, she's proven to be one of the most compelling characters in the campaign. And what, with her desire to tear down the entire order of Furies across the country, I have a feeling we'll be seeing far more of Kate as our tale progresses.

#49 was undrafted, and I didn't see this one coming at all.

Whisper was undrafted.

Honorable Mention: Jinal Ne' Comar
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/2/1/AAJ38fAAEEep.png
The woman who would be #113.

The Barren Earth. Imagine the legacy of Lex Luthor. A life spanning nearly a century, the greatest foe of Superman gave way to a daughter, a woman who, in her position starkly opposed to the influence of her father, gained instead an enemy. And when Luthor conspired to see his daughter eliminated as a threat to his universal dominance, Jinal found herself flung into the far past and a far place, the uncharted continents of Skartaris. It was here that Jinal witnessed what her father's careless, callous lust for power created - destruction, devastation, an apocalypse. What I love about Jinal is that her response is as a survivor, a member of the continent of which she could have lived as a stranger in a strange land. She bonded with those people and, like a natural Luthor, took lead, seizing the reins of power, but in this case, to guide them to a new world. Jinal reminds me of a Luthor - but more than that, she reminds me of both of her parents. Actually, all three of them. But I guess, you know, I can't talk about that yet. We haven't, you know, conquered that aspect of the campaign in full. There's more to come, after all. Miles to go before the entire tale of the maybe-daughter of the Society's most powerful member takes shape.

Chalk this ranking up as one that is predominantly built on my personal excitement. Jinal Ne' Comarr and her band of refugees-turned-navy have the potential to turn over not just the state of Skartaris but to upend the campaign as well. Anchored on the bombshell revelation that, sometime in the future, Lex Luthor will have a daughter, and that he really fucking hates that daughter, the Barren Earth Fleet ties such an isolated, distant world to the very real, very close realm of the surface world, where Lex Luthor currently stands as a second-in-command to Darkseid. So how will these two tales ultimately unite? I can't wait to see. This is such an open-ended story, and with diplomacy winning out among the Skartaris party's first encounters with Jinal, what will come next will be a delicate balancing act, as two worlds collide, the people of two continents now condensing into one. For me, the driven determination of Jinal may seem protagonistic, but the moment Tara Morgan enters the picture? I see fireworks in our future. And boy howdy, do I love a good catfight, especially when the fate of the world is at stake.

Top half time! #50 wasn't drafted - but if you know the characters I LIKE, you really should have picked her early on.

Honorable Mention: The Knight
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/5/1/AAJ38fAAEFSr.jpg
The man who would be #114.

Come on, Dad! Cyril Sheldrake is the second Knight, partnered to the chipper young Squire, an identity he himself held alongside his father, the original Knight, until his death. Like his father, Cyril is also the Earl of Wordenshire. More importantly, however, as the Knight, Cyril is the equivalent of Britains Batman, a Dark Knight Detective that is embedded in grave, grim aspects of London, helping to keep the city safe from the more unhinged threats of the city. Though Cyril is a legacy hero, many see the modern Knight as the greatest of Britains heroes. Perhaps, this is why the recent bad fortunes of the Club of Heroes is so disappointing - with London in an ideological battle for its very soul, the Knights impotency in trying to rally other heroes may have contributed to the rise of Adam Susan to prominence. However, after an attack by the Club of Villains and Checkmate left Big Ben obliterated and Squire injured, Knight was jolted back into action, and he has begun to roam the streets of London once more. Perhaps this will be enough to spark a change within the people of the grand old town.

When I was exploring the conditions of the Batmen of Many Nations, I was concerned with providing each of them a unique voice, a unique culture to their brand of Batman - and not one entirely beholden upon their nationality. When you think about these great international heroes, too often they are solely patriotic or nationalistic totems of iconography. The Knight is far less that, and my hope is that each of the succeeding Batmen will carry on that trend, a trend focused on intimacy. Batman is propelled by a need, an insatiable necessity, to wage a war on crime. The Knight, too, feels this compunction. Both Bruce and Cyril are driven by the ghosts of their fathers, after all. Words echoing to this very day. Of course, Cyril's father is literally haunting him. In exploring my options for the various Batmen, I began to consider that each of the most important Batmen might be portrayed by one of the major actors of the Batman film franchise over the year. For the Knight, I felt that to offset just how grim and frustrating Cyril is, it would be necessary to pick an easily digestible personality. And given that his looming father figure leaves Cyril in a state of arrested development, is there any wonder I chose Will Arnett? Anyways, that's a little taste of how I slap together these characters in the campaign. Whether it's a good system or not, that's up to you.

Honorable Mentions wrap up for the time being with a character who deserves a Top 50 placement but has been abandoned since her introduction.

Honorable Mention: Valentina Vostok, the Negative Woman
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/5/0/AAQcMAAADjL2.jpg
The woman who would be #115.

A former member of the Doom Patrol, the extremely negative Valentina Vostok maintains a firm grasp on the Command Center in Zonn Zorr, wielding her banhammer with reckless abandon. Vostok has a cool disposition, but beneath that frosty exterior, she really is a frigid bitch. Although, some claim that, secretly, Brennus is her favorite.

Everything you do is wrong, and Vostok is here to remind you that you are NOT Checkmate. At least, not the Checkmate she's been expecting. It's important to realize just how wrong you are sometimes. There's always an alternative to every decision, a better use for resources, a better time to make an appearance, a better path to victory. Without someone like Vostok to question, question, question all of your decisions, where would you be? Probably celebrating hollow victories at the expense of deeper, lingering problems. A Russian to the core, there is no good enough. There is no value in the effort. There is only right and wrong. And guess which one Vostok thinks you managed?

Look, there's no right way to deal with Vostok - only degrees of wrong ways. Just so long as you don't call her "Val", you're probably doing okay.

An undrafted honorable mention up next!

Honorable Mention: Lady Shiva
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/7/1/AAJ38fAAEEZL.png
The woman who would be #116.

Lady Shiva is considered by many to be the most skillful hand-to-hand martial artist in the world, perhaps even capable of besting Batman in one-on-one combat. Her intimidating presence is borne from her legendary grapples with the Earths leading brawlers and fighters, and that reputation drew the attention of Deathstroke. Before he left from Boston on his mysterious Society mission, Deathstroke placed Shiva in charge, keeping her in close proximity to her oldest daughter - Cassandra Cain. Shiva has aspirations to expand her influence beyond Boston, to take down the cells around her, and to destroy her largest rival, Tobias Whale.

Lady Shiva is the boss of Boston, a ruthless and calculating leader with few weaknesses. Shiva was handpicked by Deathstroke to control his favored city and serve as guardian over her own daughter and a band of not-so-merry Titans cobbled together for purposes unknown, yet Shiva clearly has her own aspirations. But whether it's a focus on Cassandra or her younger daughter, Sin, Shiva clearly has certain ambitions that either tie directly to Deathstroke's orders or stand in opposition to them. Either way, Shiva is ready to expand, one of the few cell leaders in the Society that has demonstrated that sort of craven lust for power and prominence in the organization. Shiva is naturally deadly, and I think every single action she takes exudes a bit of the danger that continued existence in her presence creates. Ultimately, I hope that the return trips to Boston continue to build and enhance the party's relationship with the most deadly woman in the world. Who knows? Maybe Fastbreak will tag along with them. That's a reunion I think all of us long to see.

Honorable Mention #2 of this batch - a midrange draftee!

#51 - Arisia
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/5/5/AAOJ0pAADZsH.png
Hi, humie!

Arisia Rrab is the Lantern of Sector 2815, making her, as she refers to herself The Lantern Next Door to Earth. Her father, Fentara served as Green Lantern before her, as did many other members of her family line, which is considered to be a bloodline that passes along great willpower hereditarily. Arisias race, Graxosians, have life spans that are roughly one-quarter that of humans, with a fast development, making her one of the youngest members of the Corps. Arisia became a Green Lantern as a teenager - or what is considered a teenager in her species, and served with distinction alongside Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner and even Kyle Rayner.

Look, you don't open a door to an absolute emerald wonderland without the right wide-eyed unstoppable force of every-present awe that is the eternally youthful Arisia. I could have kicked it off with more of the ol' G-Gar, maybe a little Hal to rally the boys. It's Arisia that kicked off the space experience in earnest, and that's because she's just so damned likable, right? The Corps is just that much better for her existence. Innocent yet experienced. Wholesome and yet complicated. Arisia straddles the line between young and old, hopeful and jaded, clad in jade all the way - green, that is, of the Lantern variety. An ally to hu-mans across the planet, whether it's the dog humans or the Martian humans or just plain old humies, it doesn't matter to Arisia. She loves you all. I mean, look at her - she's a humie roomie, even if there's a loomie doomie coming throughme. Arisia is the breeziest, easiest cover girl of the Corps, and to RP with her is like eating an ice cream cone. It's just so damned sweet.

Whether you're playing sexy time big muscleman action figures with her or gifting her a "NINTENDO!", Arisia's doe-eyed optimism and constant enthrallment with the simplest of child's toys is a perfect juxtaposition to her fast-grown maturity in the field, making her accessible and easygoing, but also reliable - and one of the Corps' mainstays.

We're back to a few Honorable Mentions before we break into the Top 50, and here's one that, had she had ONE more session, easily could have breached the Top 90.

#52 - Lono
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/9/3/AAAe4tAADosF.png
A wolf in wolf's clothing.

The wild and untameable Lonos origins are shrouded in mystery, but one thing is for certain - he is absolutely, unequivocally dangerous. With more knowledge than he lets on, Lono found himself amused with the plight of Checkmate agents and decided to play along with their stabs at resistance. Pushing around his new acquaintances and roughing up Snapper, Lono offered to help Checkmate in their bid to destabilize Tampa, but he appeared to have brought down significant heat upon himself, with most of Tampa looking to cut his throat.

From here, the party was forced to go in hot, taking down a couple dozen Society mercs as they raced through a flooded parking garage, looking to rescue Lono and speed him to a hasty retreat. When they found him, however, they witnessed Lono in the throes of throttling more than one higher level villain, dispatching them with ease. Lono took control quickly, and soon enough, the party was driving to Miami, where they met Lono's employer, Constance von Hagen - a member of the Trust (thirteen families which largely control the world's financial community. However, with the Mobius Chair in Detroit a prize for so many factions, betrayals are inevitable, and Lono seems willing to play ball with Checkmate for the right price - which PATCH of all people discovered, offering Lono the equivalent of $20 million in weaponry and missiles (!) for help rescuing a cat named Isis.

So that's concerning.

There's no greater feeling that galloping spark of inspiration that drives a minor NPC into a position of prominence for me. I guess the excitement is similar to Linus as he describes playing his own character (Lenny Peppridge) in Ocean's Thirteen: "I am him." When you can see every mannerism, every microexpression, that's when you've got something special. Lono, for me, is the character that fits like a glove. Certainly, it helps that he's the sort of scenery chewing amoral mercenary that can thrive in a world like Earth during FInal Crisis, but, more than that, Lono lingers always on the precipice of unraveling. He's tightly bound and ready to burst, only containing himself with his sheer willpower. I like that restriction that almost feels like the opposite - the element of danger makes Lono one of my personal favorite characters that isn't at Z'onn Z'orr... yet.

#51 closes out the bottom half with a top-half draft pick.

#53 - Hush
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/5/3/AAJ38fAAEFSt.jpg
He's your Bruce Wayne now, Spirit.

Thomas Tommy Elliot was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne who, out of jealousy, decided to take him down, using the moniker of Hush. In fact, Hush blames Thomas Wayne for being physically abused by his own father and for the state of his mother after his father was killed in a car accident. Hush returned to Batmans life as Tommy Elliot and carefully orchestrated an elaborate revenge that nearly put the entire Bat-Family through their paces, driving them to their psychological limits. In the end, Hush was forced to retreat, evading capture. He has since resurfaced, masquerading as Bruce Wayne after a series of plastic surgeries calculated to give him a perfect artificial face of Bruce Wayne. With the resources of Simon Hurt at his disposal, Hush traveled to Leesburg in an effort to gather kryptonite for the Court of Owls. There, he took over the small town with the assistance of Furies, Equated, the Society and OMACs, all of which ultimately proved for naught when, during the Battle of Leesburg, Checkmate made its first surprise assault against Darkseids forces, taking Hush unaware and collapsing his burgeoning empire. Tommy now languishes in Zonn Zorrs holding facility under the watchful eye of Sasha Bordeaux.

But there IS a caveat to that - soon enough, thanks to a savvy plan enacted by Amanda Waller and involving Spirit's work as both a heroic partner of sorts to the Bat-Family as well as his growing renown as a surgeon, Hush may soon be... Bruce Wayne again. After working alongside his entire team of medical experts, Spirit has removed large tumeric growths caused by the close contact exposure to kryptonite radiation that riddled Hush's body with cancer. Hush knows that this didn't come free; and he has begun to delight in the notion that his Bruce Wayne facade allows him certain advantages, such as the idea of being offered a house arrest deal that will involve faking the presence of Bruce Wayne in Z'onn Z'orr. The idea that one of the richest men on Earth and Lex Luthor's business rival is siding with Checkmate will bolster the spirits of every refugee entering Castling - and Waller sees a value in that.

So, what we have here is an opportunity for Spirit to finally insert himself in the deep, unrepentantly sticky muck of Checkmate's mission - deceit, secrets on a scale unimaginable, an entire new infrastructure dedicated to manipulating the people of Z'onn Z'orr. An inspiration built around a lie.

Hush loves it. Hush cannot possibly be more excited to get everything he ever wanted. He'll be Bruce Wayne. And the world is going to love him for it, even as the real Bruce Wayne languishes in the bowels of Darkseid's capital.

#52 - 52! 52! We get back to draftees with a pick that was very close to perfect draft value!

#54 - Stargirl
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/0/4/AAUHRBAAEbRw.png
The shining star of the next generation.

Courtney Whitmore is a young legacy heroine who is a member of the Justice Society of America. Originally, she operated as the Star-Spangled Kid, using both the original Kids Cosmic Converter Belt. But when Jack Knight retired, he left Courtney his Cosmic Staff, which convinced her to change her identity to Stargirl. As A-Day struck, infecting some of Stargirls family, Courtney and her stepfather, Pat Dugan, decided that the better part of valor was to carefully infiltrate the new organization of Furies, pretending to be one of their recent converts. For weeks, Stargirl lay in wait, fighting the corruption of Goth until Checkmate assisted her in retaking her Cosmic Converter Belt and her fathers uniform. Along with Bob Crane, the original Robotman, the pair returned to Zonn Zorr.

What happens when the stars in the sky die out? The insoluble truths that held self-evident, winking out of existence, one by one by one? For Courtney there was no grand strategy, no master plan for vengeance in Blue Valley. There was only survival - survival and a gnawing, biting, painful reminder of inevitability. In the pit of her stomach, it grew like a cancer - the immutable realization that reality would someday set in, and those things she pretended transplanted by a wholehearted embrace of Goth's corruption. So when hope sprang from the unlikeliest of sources, and once the adrenaline of escape wore off, Courtney had to wrestle with the fact that she was ready to go to the dark side.

That's the crux of the young Stargirl in this campaign - Courtney has been a hero born and bred, every single thread of her grander tapestry laid to reflect the idea that, someday, Courtney might be the leader of a generation of superheroes. But Courtney had never been pushed too far - it had always been fun and games to the former Star-Spangled Kid, and now, for the first time, she had been tested and found wanting. The psychological toll that takes on someone who has essentially led a charmed life to that point is incalculable. Not even Pat, I don't think, can really pull Courtney back from this existential threat, and as Courtney continues to battle on, we'll have to watch her, together, to understand where she's going, and what a no longer self-assured destiny does to the brightest girl on Earth.

You people were remarkably quiet when it came to any discussion about drafting #53.

HanOfTheNekos posted...

I'm always a little unsure with Lizzie because I read the series she's from, along with Tommy Taylor, so for th emost part, I'm just along for the ride. Still, Saoirse thinks she's awful and should stop being mean to Lush.

Yeah, I know it's tough to parse the characters or maybe even to reconcile that my version of the character has some significant departures from the original. But I think, in terms of Lizzie if she was a part of DC canon, I'm happy with how she's turned out.

#55 - Lizzie Hexam
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/4/6/AAUHRBAAESeW.jpg

Here's another character from the last list, so I cheated again this time and only added a little update with what's happened since:

Our mutual friend. Everybody hates Lizzie; after all, through deception, trickery and poisoned Turkish delight belonging to some poor, dead soul, she's managed to kidnap more than a dozen refugees and Checkmate members and send them hurtling towards an imaginary place for as-yet not entirely clear reasons. But for Lizzie Hexam, this path was put in place a long, long time ago, and carrying out each step of her mysterious plan might be merely performative now.

Lizzie Hexam should be fictional, very well might even actually BE fictional, but her perhaps taps into reality itself. By unveiling event after event through the train cars of the Story Line, Lizzie pushes a train northward through Darkseid-controlled Scottish territory. Inch by inch, story by story. When questioned, Lizzie rarely if ever provides answers. When confronted, Lizzie remains stone-faced and defiant. Make no mistake; the woman who pilots this one-way trip to the imagination is just as easily the villain of this tale as the hero - perhaps even moreso. With eyes ever aimed towards her destination, the sacrifices of the journey mean little at all to Lizzie. She has her reasons; she has her methods. Anything else is merely a stumbling block, an obstacle on the path towards Hogwarts.

As for the party's reactions to Lizzie, they've been almost uniformly those of hostility and anger. In particular, Saoirse has demonstrated a significant animosity towards her captor. In fact, the push and pull between begrudging subservience to Lizzie's demands and angry self-righteousness has really added another layer to Saoirse's personality. But there's also curiosity there as well, and learning the truth about her familiar Twiggy has put a little bit of conflict into Saoirse's mind - at least that seems to be the case through our first three sessions on the Railway to Hogwarts. Saoirse's natural inquisitive nature and unbridled curiosity has always weighed significantly on her own morality - and I think the entire party has become fascinated as to what great changes their every action has on the course of history.

As for Lizzie, the engines churn on, and the train lurches forward, pistons firing, stacks pumping steam - and if she gets her way, Lizzie Hexam's captives will propel her to the end of the Story Line... all the way to Hogwarts itself.

UPDATE: Even more callously, Lizzie recently revealed that Lush's purpose on the train was to bring out the mindwiped personality of the real Cynthia Redford, Ros. By manipulating a particularly fragile memory of Lush's high school senior prom, it became convincingly clear in rapid order that the entire affair had been manufactured wholesale from Zatanna's machinations. And Lizzie first provided consolation - then a warning: bring Ros along next time, or else. A simultaneous mixture of tenderness and terror came about in a tiny scene which, for my money, has been Lizzie's best yet. She's driven only by her mysterious goals, and she will stop at nothing, NOTHING, to get what she wants.

No one drafted #54, which really left me turned on my head.

#56 - Thom Kallor
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/5/0/AAOJ0pAADZyS.jpg
Opal Cityzens really do well in these.

His origins a mystery, the Starman Thom Kallor came into the lives of Checkmates field agents in a bizarre, unexpected way, and it hasnt changed since. Thom Kallow, bearer of a strange metal rod and a ring with an L carved into its top, never ceases to know things he shouldnt (and say things no one ever should), and yet he has wormed his way into the confidences of many field team members, even finding a way onto the Tokyo expedition, much to Saoirses chagrin.

I decided quite early on into my building of this campaign that Thom would be a little bit Deadpool. Introduced in the heart of a sanitarium, it would only stand to reason that the potentially unstable not-so-Starman is a little out there. But there is a baseline sanity that exists deep within Thom. He's not so far gone that he's a nuisance like Multi-Man; that said, he's certainly not there yet. It's like there's a single piece misaligned in his head. Perhaps Thom's memory holds the key, but without access to it, Thom remains one of many mysteries in this character. Who is he, really? Why is he in Opal City in the first place? And just how much does he love sloppy joes? These questions and many more might be answered as we continue to delve deeper and deeper into one of the more unique characters of this campaign.

#55 went undrafted, even after Scare announced his enjoyment of the character so recently!

#57 - Roulette
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/8/2/AAblU3AADvt6.png
Roulette is the house, this is Las Vegas, and the always, always wins. Except when it doesn't. Let's play our game.

For a few years, Metabrawl had risen to prominence as the preeminent underground fighting organization in the world, thanks to the no holds barred approach to metahuman combat. So enamored was the Society with Roulettes work that they allowed Metabrawl to serve as the crown jewel in their vacation destination, Las Vegas. But Roulette soon found herself contending with various Society vacations around the city, and in order to gain an edge, she sent a group of disguised Checkmate agents after a weapon in Excalibur that could place power solely in her hands. However, plans went awry, and Metabrawl was burned to the ground. Losing control of her city to an outside visitor in Zazzala, Roulette was forced to concede her position of prominence, having not made too many friends with her distaste for Libra. Returning to Zonn Zorr, Roulette wasted no time in putting together a new Metabrawl once more, this time so that Checkmates forces could hone their craft in secret.

Roulette is this little pet project that began with humble beginnings in campaign 1, blossoming between campaigns and returning as my favorite sort of character in Campaign 2. Villainous, but calculating. Angling for a better deal at every stage, manipulating just enough to stay a step ahead of disaster. Roulette has it all together - she's hypercompetent, but she's not perfect any means. She lives in a perpetual state of frustration, and her obsession with perfection means that she sometimes lets her rage hang out. And we all know she's a bitch of a boss if you let her down. She's really a gamble in terms of alliance, and that's why Vegas is what it is. It's almost impossible not to be enticed by the idea of a risking the biscuit with some with such an attention to detail, such a sense of looseness and improvisation. Both in the short run and the long term, Roulette knows how to play the game. Hair coifed to perfection, outfit snug in exactly the right places, Roulette is just a well-designed bitch. I love her to death, and I could spend an entire campaign propelling her to the top of the pile. Forget Darkseid - this should be Roulette's world. Why not roll the dice with her?

Roulette stands at the head of a list of most underserved NPCs in the campaign. Savvy, so perfectly in control of every facet of herself, there is a certain magic in seeing a frustrated Roulette. You can tell that she has labored and toiled for such a long, long time to micromanage every facet of the person she presents herself as. And thus, this meticulous preening and primping and performing manages to underlay an organization that is, for lack of a better phrase, a cult of personality. In fact, all of Las Vegas revolved around the fight scene, the marquee title fights and the take at the tills on the nights of big bouts. Then four people and a dog came in and the world erupted. The idea of Metabrawl remains, however, transposed to the icy wastes of ZZ, presented with a new coat of paint. Maybe, even, a fresher one. And despite the fact that Roulette was an integral part of the morale department in the Society, she shifts easily to Checkmate, in that she is a businesswoman, and more than that, she is a survivor. Roulette reads the tea leaves, and sees that it isn't a craps shoot to make that move. I enjoy the contemplative, thoughtful Roulette, a manipulator of crowds and cities, and not just one or two individuals. She plays with the sway of crowds and the shifting of movements. It's macropsychology, and you don't get that anywhere else in the campaign - at least not in as satisfying a way.

#56 is a high-value pick for a late-stage round.

I... really have to argue that his ship has been used quite a bit!

#58 - Jon Valor, the Black Pirate
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/7/2/AAOJ0pAADXfw.jpg
Arr, but let the funeral dirges of Jon Valor not be the end of the terror of seven seas, but instead the beginning.

I arrived at a tavern later than arranged. The landlord bade me to a private room. There, I saw my first mate for the last time. He was already dead, stabbed. As I fell to my knees beside him, the towns guard entered. It all seems so rehearsed. They awaited my entrance and then acted upon it. It all seems so timed, but in my grief I saw none of this. The trial was swift. I was a pirate. Someone crept onto my boat and stole away documentation. I had no proof of my own privateer purpose. My crew - my crew was implicated as well on the night of my arrest. No doubt fearful of the crimes in their own past, they believed silence would suit them. So I was alone.
Added to this was the fact that the dagger in my mate was my own. From a hilt I keep hidden in the back of my tunic. I had not noted its absence. There was only one man who had gotten close enough to take it that day. And thus the savage pantomime began, a dance with the dwarven governor of the Port O Souls that ended with a gallows built. I said my last words. I swore my return.
There was the drop. There was the sound of the crowd - some cheered, some gasped, some silent. There was everything told before; the choking pain, my lungs on fire as the air departed, and my life along with it.
That was the end of me.
~Jon Valor

Centuries ago, in the early days of the Port O Souls, Jon Valor was killed by a politically powerful dwarf who ruled the budding colony, hanged from a gallows cobbled together from his own ship. But his story was just beginning - for when the Port O Souls (Opal City) was suffering its darkest days, the dredged ship Donna Bonita returned, its crew undead, captained by the ghastly form of Jon Valor, the valiant Black Pirate. Valor, who spent his younger days fighting against the wealthy and greedy colonial expansion in the Americas and the Caribbean, now turned his fight for freedom into a captaincy of the last human resistances mystical phantom ship. Valor, ever the adventurer, yearns to experience one last, valiant war of desperation before he shuffles off of the mortal coil for good, to find eternal rest with his wife and son who died centuries ago.

Jon Valor has such a depth to him, such a lingering sadness that overflowed his mortal life and hung around for centuries thereafter. I think that makes him the greatest hero in this campaign, because hundreds of years after his duties were fulfilled, Valor remained anchored to his last port of call, a port of souls. With his curse abated, Valor has every right to take his eternal rest. After all, his wife, his son... we all know that they have left him far behind. Travel to the great beyond, Jon Valor, and you can see them again. But Valor, I tell you, Valor chose not to take the easy way out. With a world in peril, the Black Pirate raised anchor one last time and willed his crew to sail once more. So, I stand by "Jon Valor is the greatest hero of the campaign", because no one likely has sacrificed more. I know that as we travel the seven seas, Valor will have to worm his way into your hearts. There's just too much there for him to be denied.

#57 will see a top-halfer fall, but it won't push its drafter over the centenary mark.

#59 - Squire
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/0/0/AAOJ0pAADXxY.jpg
Squirerank!

Squire is the second of her title, following the originals ascent into the role of Knight. The Robin to Knights Batman, Squire is a gung-ho and devil-may-care adventurer who loves few things more than fighting for whats right and protecting her home country. Squire was first encountered in London, where Checkmate agents successfully convinced Squire that they werent robbing the Old Bailey. Later, they convinced Squire that it was okay for them to break curfew in order to protect London. Squire has been pulling double shifts in order to cover for the Knight.

Ultimately, however, the London crew would realize that the Knight, who was left in a broken, drunken stupor, harangued by the ghost of his dear old dad, was on the shelf for a reason. It would take the near-death of someone he truly cared about to jolt the Knight of his funk - and once the time was ripe, he would return to the field alongside Squire, desperate to make right his wrongs and defend his people with the same wholesale genuine earnestness that Squire had been demonstrating for weeks before.

If you asked me which character I would most like to play as a my PC in this campaign, it would be none other than the unflappable, delightfully spunky young hero of London, Squire. Squire line break! What I love about Squire is her earnestness and her trusting nature, which stands in frighteningly stark contrast to the rest of the more mature, darker tone of London. Squire doesn't carry the heavy burdens of London's seedier nature, but rather wears her jingoism and nationalism like badges of honor, proud but not prideful. It's that tightrope walk that keeps her young without making her childishness, giving her a certain maturity without being mature. Squire is just the perfect dose of positivity that the campaign needs, and I think, if I was to move one character into Z'onn Z'orr, it would be Squire. Squire post!

#58 went undrafted, and I was left quite aghast by that.

#60 - Jack Cross
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/5/2/AAOJ0pAADX-s.jpg
A conscientious objector.

Jack Cross, a pacifist super-agent, only fights so he can breed peace around the world. A high-level freelance spy who has operated for most organizations around the world, Cross was among the first people to encounter the OMAC virus, discovering a STAR Labs counter-measure to kill the dormant nanites in a humans bloodstream. Forced to flee from Denver during A-Day, Cross helped other heroes and refugees set up camp in Mesa Verde, where they remained for several weeks. When OMACs found them, however, Jack was the only survivor to make it to Zonn Zorr with a Checkmate contingent tasked to make a contact or rescue. Cross is now a member of the first expansionary field team in Checkmate, a loudmouth who always brings a healthy dose of skepticism to any situation.

There really isn't a better Checkmate agent than the non-Checkmate agent that is Jack Cross. Actually, it might be fair to say he's anti-Checkmate, and I think that might enhance the nature of Amanda Waller. There's truly no reason that Waller should allow Cross to mouth off at every opportunity, except for the fact that I think Waller sees Cross as a personal challenge for herself. Waller is fighting against a totalitarian world with no opposing points of view, and if she can't stand strong in the face of a single dissenting opinion, what right does she have to lead the fight against Darkseid? Cross is an example of what Waller has been facing for the last year, especially after the fall of President Luthor. Instead of actively butting heads with Cross, I think Waller internalizes his positions as both punishment for a rare bout of foolishness on her part, but also she likely hopes to win him over to her side because Cross is very much a valuable agent. Having already demonstrated his own competence a couple of times in the field, Cross doesn't stand on ceremony. He says what he thinks, and his impulsiveness may make him look less together than the other Checkmate agents, but it's that heart on his sleeve that makes him invaluable. That's something other agents don't possess.

Even though we've shied away from his starring role as of late, Cross has managed to surprise even this late into the campaign with the shocking revelation that he cuts himself for every kill he manages in the field.

#59 was our highest value pick thus far in the draft!

Not particularly. I'm borrowing a couple themes from the phenomenal two-parter by Alex Ross that isn't an in-continuity comic, and doesn't feature Sam a hero. But a lot of this is just an opportunity to deconstruct Manifest Destiny, jingoism, and a number of other historical interpretations of American philosophy.

Uncle Sam has been in superhero comics since 1940, believe it or not!

Cody11533 posted...

Has it been revealed how Uncle Sam first manifested, or what exactly he is? Do other countries have similar manifestations of their culture?

The First Thanksgiving. It was in the act of union that Uncle Sam first emerged, a figure that was born from the coming together of the native peoples of America with their internal creation-mysticism and the inherent manifest destiny of the newly arrived colonists from across the ocean. This gloaming magic became spiritual, and the act of thanksgiving gave birth to the spirit of a new America, an America built on self-evident truths, that all men were created equal. Uncle Sams first act was to bless the food of the first shared meal - the corns of the natives. The salted meats of the Europeans. And in this one, singular moment, the future was bright for Sam - or Father Samuel, as was his name then. The act of coming together was the first faint stirring of a new nation, though what would come next would change Sam forever, twisting his pure optimism into something bloody and cynical.

As for other spirits of nations, that hasn't been explored yet...

#61 - Uncle Sam
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/7/0/AAUHRBAAEbBm.png
Or is it
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/4/0/AAQcMAAADiuA.jpg

Sams country needs him, and he needs his country. From its foundation, the incarnation of America has undergone many radical transformations, but he was always as strong as faith in the good ol USofA. Now, however, America has become an institution believed dead, and Sams powers have waned to a breaking point. As such, Sam himself has fragmented into at least three disparate pieces. Sam recently commissioned Rozetta and Jesse Custer to not only help put Sam back together, but his country as well.

According to Sam, his nature changes as the population of America adjusts its thinking, usually conforming to the most popular and dominant schools of thought. When the Puritans arrived in Plymouth, for example, Sam manifested as a peace-loving minister who brought prayer to the first interactions with the natives of America. During the Civil War, Sam revealed that he was divided into two disparate entities - Johnny Reb and Billy Yank. Sams more recognizable and codified form started to develop in the late 1890s, and as belief in Sam itself has become more tangible and notable, his form remains far less varied than it had prior to his popularization.

I know his appearances have been significantly limited, but the opportunity to explore the double-life of Uncle Sam as a living representation of America's legacy has proven to be boundlessly fascinating for me. I've been so excited to dig into what that legacy entails to the individuals living in the United States. There's a broken aspect of a country that could be better on one hand, and there's this massive jingoistic monolithic monster that crushes the aberrations from the manifest destiny on the other. Even though I probably haven't earned it, I'm really enjoying the dissection of the role Native Americans play in this country's heritage so far. I grew up in a family that was very close with another family of those who were descended from Native Americans, so I've always had a voice in my ear that questioned the motives of America. For me, Walt Whitman's works often are conjured to mind when I think about the larger corporate body of the United States - millions of voices homogenized into one superior sentiment. Too often, the idea of a melting pot overlooks the fact that everything placed within it ultimately congeals into one flavor - the most dominant one - and everything else is lost in the process.

The future for Sam, whose entire being is tied inextricably to the American citizenry's faith in it own nation, seems entirely bleak for the moment. But perhaps there is a hope to be had - perhaps Roz'etta, an alien immigrant, just like those tired, huddled masses who braved the fogs of New York and witnessed the rising, cresting crown of Liberty on the horizon, will be able to unite the various states of Sam - and in doing so, resurrect the American Experience once more.

#60 is a longtime OG of the campaign, drafted in the back half of our board!

#62 - Sasha Bordeaux
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/0/1/AAQcMAAADifV.jpg
Once the bodyguard of Bruce Wayne, Sasha Bordeaux split her time and services with Checkmate as well. However, something seems to have changed - the woman that was Sasha is gone, replaced with the relatively terse and ultimately emotionless automaton that wanders the holding facility of Zonn Zorr like a phantom wraith.

What secrets she holds,
no one can say for sure, save
Jessica Midnight.

Agent Haiku is a cold, distant, isolated being that wanders the halls of Z'onn Z'orr like the specter of Checkmate's dismal, murky past. But beyond that, Sasha seems to hold certain keys to certain moments that might be of great importance. The only hurdle to understanding is, of course, the fact that her mind is an intricately-designed metal puzzle, with blocks and firewalls and indecipherable cryptic hints preventing easy revelation. Sasha was once a human being; she had a past prior to her induction into Checkmate and her conversion into... this. And the more that Sasha reveals, the more it becomes clear that this rabbit hole goes deep.

At the end of 2022, that rabbit hole revealed untold depths unplumbed - Sasha had been involved in the capture of at least five of the agents of Checkmate that make-up our player character base. Sasha's efforts, manipulated perhaps by the new Black King, saw our team's coming-together. But more frighteningly, that gathering involved capturing and kidnapping the PCs. Sasha now has proven herself to be something of double agent. Maybe. It's hard to say, as much of Sasha's story is a riddle even to herself. The only way to Sasha's heart, to dig deep to the truth of the matter is through two things: Jessica Midnight, as discovered by Rosetta, and haikus, as discovered by Bloodfruit.

Early on in the campaign, Bloodfruit went to Sasha several times. I think she was really on the verge of coming to her own breakthroughs with that mystery, but at the same time, Sasha was on the verge of breakthroughs herself in terms of personality. What makes this so exceptionally interesting is the absolute canyon of life experience between the two. Hell, Sasha is made of Bloodfruit's weakness, but Bloodfruit demonstrated such courage and curiosity by returning to this enigmatic figure hidden in the depths of Z'onn Z'orr. Of course, time has passed, and Bloodfruit has come back with different priorities, but I certainly would love to see this relationship resume, as I think it was, ultimately, the absolute odd couple pairing, foils contrasting in interesting ways.

In the meantime, a steel specter surveys her domain as the warden of Z'onn Z'orr's holding facility, the secrets of her past including but not limited to the party's own origins in this, the Final Crisis.

#61 has appeared in multiple locations in the campaign, but was surprisingly undrafted!

The climax of the game and the usage of Sephiroth was just so asinine that it honestly bumped the game down in quality a full letter grade for me. That was a bungling of an ending so bad that it burned.

The Trish of the diary and Misty's mind is also arguably a different character from No Man's Land Trish.

Look who we're talking about here, JB. When has Trish ever NOT defied conventional logic?

#63 - Trish McKenzie
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/0/0/AADKmbAAEI3k.jpg
Patricia McKenzie, twin sister of Alexander Fields McKenzie, was in truth the daughter of the Reverse-Flash, a girl cobbled together and birthed with the express purpose of helping the nefarious Eobard Thawne in his quest to expand his domination of time to one of space as well. Carefully monitored by the Reverse-Flash, who masqueraded as her therapist, the Reverse-Flash came to Trish often over the years and manipulated her, adding to her trauma as she endured injections and mental manipulations.

Trish ended up a slacker, a party girl, and after dropping out of college, a dependent of Fields meager musician paychecks. Along the way, however, she became a close friend of Barbara Gordon, introducing her to Fields - an act for which Fields would be forever grateful. Her future sliding into a place of abject depression, Trish was nearing an impending overdose when the earthquake that rocked Gotham turned her life upside-down. Trapped in Gotham due to the No Mans Land edict, Trish was among those refugees that fell in with the party-orgy lifestyle of the Mad Hatter. However, the False Mad Hatter capitalized on this bacchanalia and planted mind-controlling masks on the people of the territory, including Trish. Eventually, she was reawakened from this manipulation by Fields and his friends, and Trish returned with them to the Gazette.

At this point, the False Mad Hatters effects began to deprogram certain aspects of Trishs mental manipulations - but as it would turn out later, not the ones put in place by Reverse-Flash, but by Zatanna, who had mindwiped Trish upon her request after spending a summer at Doom Manor. Trish began to unspool, the eclectic alternate variations of herself slowly forcing her original personality to retract and remain dormant under their more powerful identities. In a hope that she could come to control her physical symptoms, Fields brought Trish to Deathstroke for teaching. But even Deathstroke was unaware of the extent of what had transpired in Trishs past. Fields and the other heroes of No Mans Land began to run into Inverse-Flash, Horror Baby Killer Muffin, the effects of Belleblazer, and others, while Trish retreated into the streets and disappeared from the Gazette.

Around this time, Rozetta and Fields began to study a diary they found in Trishs now-empty quarters, and through that diary, started to piece together the truth - Trishs parentage, the multiples of Trish from alternate realities, and a hint as to her location at the time. Trish was found in a strange form of suspended animation at the time, and with the help of Slade, a large group of Trishs colleagues entered the Bleed and found Trish, only aged 8, inside, among hallway filled with closed doors. Each door possessed a Trish inside - and the only way to free the Trish they knew was to convince the Trishes of this place to end their own lives. One by one, Fields convinced Trish after Trish to kill herself, all to protect the Little Trish he had known as his sister, pure and uncorrupted by the machinations of the Reverse-Flash. Ultimately, Fields learned that his Trish required a second, alternate Trish to serve as a host of sorts, to fill the cracks in the real Trish left open by the damage of the Reverse-Flash. A Trish was chosen - one that had been reared by Lex Lulthor in her world, who had killed the Penguin and usurped his empire. One who had become fiercely independent. All of this seemed to be according to some plan of the Reverse-Flash. It was said that the multiverse had ceased existing in the Crisis, but through the expulsion of the Bleed from Trishs own system, the Multiverse, which had been germinating within her for several years, all at once burst forth, returning to its state of meta-reality. Trish had been housing multitudes of worlds within, and now, as if theyd never left, the Multiverse had returned. Or more properly put, that which existed had been changed, but also had now always been this way. Reality smoothed itself over, and time, which exists only as a measurement of past and present, adjusted accordingly.

Afterwards, Trish began to display new abilities - most likely thanks to the Lex-Trish. By kicking broken objects, Trish discovered she was able to instantaneously repair them. Trish also began to craft objects seemingly from nowhere, nonsense things suchas Ivar, an almost but not completely un-doglike companion, Patchs voicebox, and the bapplegun. Trish also seemed to fall in with Lex Luthor, just like her counterpart - but the truth was, Trish used Lex to build Johns brother Jack a new body - a Jimmy Olsen robot refitted to be possessed by a ghost.

After the end of No Mans Land, Trish made her way into the cosmos with Fields, Ivar and Nina, and they spent years together, mapping the Bleed - a concept that heretofore had never existed and yet now made up the majority of existence. Recently, Fields disappeared, and Trish remained in the Bleed, searching for her brother. But a message sent through Trishs mindwiped memories to Misty Kilgore informed some of her old friends - including Oracle - that she was alive and well, and in need of their support.

But the story didn't end there - recently, it was revealed that Trish spent a summer of her life at the Doom Patrol Mansion, all of this stemming from a long-abandoned journal. For some, a diary written by Patricia McKenzie seemed old hat, but for others, insight into the mind of a woman that contained several dozen alternate iterations of herself read like the ravings of a mad woman. And maybe she was - Patricia McKenzie had never told her old friends that she spent a summer in Doom Manor while her brother, Fields, went off to Switzerland. But the truth was, Trish had been percolating new personalities for years before she revealed them to Alex, and a single diary in her old quarters have begun to reveal the truth. Through a series of messages written between herself and the many-personed mind of Crazy Jane, a Doom Patrol mainstay, a high school-aged Trish is telling the story of how she came to learn the truth about herself, and how her strange disorder brought her closer to a girl with something similar and yet entirely different. Ultimately this version of Trish was mindwiped by Zatanna - yet a piece of her remained a captive in Misty's mind, sending out a broadcast to the refugees of Z'onn Z'orr, a great warning channeled through her past from a Trish of the present - an urgent warning about the dangers of the Bleed. But how did this Trish become the Trish of the present learn of the Trish of the past and find a way to use her to everyone's advantage?

And just what awaits the party when they find their long-lost ally? Despite only managing the shortest of appearances in the campaign thus far, Trish tantalizes with a promise of something grander - far grander - and something that could have massive ramification in the war against Darkseid.

#62 was a bottom half draftee - one of the earliest!

#64 - Zatanna
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/0/6/AAJ38fAAEGsm.png
One could argue, the Origin of a Crisis.

The mistress of the mystic arts, and one of the central figures to which blame for the state of the world has been pinned. Zatanna spent years as an active Justice Leaguer altering or erasing the memories of various supervillains from across the criminal community without consequence. Now, as the effects have begun to be eliminated, villains have begun to band together against the superheroes of the world, using Zatannas actions as the standard to which they gather their allies in opposition to the unchecked powers of the heroes. Zatanna, for her part, seems to have been captured by the man who started it all - Doctor Light, and despite her attempts to escape, remains firmly in his clutches but to what nefarious ends? Only time will tell.

What Zatanna represents to this campaign is a deep moral quandary. Everyone wrestles with Zatanna's actions differently as a PC, from outright contempt, to mounting confusion over the ethical complexities. There are even PCs who seem to support Zatanna's decisions to some extent. Regardless of where you stand on the mindwiping, however, there is no denying that Zatanna's part to play in this Final Crisis remains far from concluded. In fact, when Task Force Z finally manages to bring in the Mistress of the Backwards Arts, we may very well be just past the first act. For, you see, despite what anyone else may say, there is certainly great value in having Zatanna as an ally... or as a bargaining chip.

And look, Zatanna's abilities and the havoc they've wreaked leak into far more plot points than just Doctor Light. She mindwiped Lush, after all. Turned from a pink-costumed purveyor of pain into a tranquil green-garbed valley girl. John Constantine considers Zatanna the one girl in his life that remains an unextinguished flame. Misty may be filled with four dozen meta-brains deserving of punishment, but she also was turned into the poster child for personality collecting by Zatanna to, perhaps, protect her from her extremely dangerous mother. The Secret Six wants justice. The Suicide Squad wants vengeance. The Shadowpact wants allies. And who the hell knows what Amanda Waller wants.

So much of this campaign revolves around three women who played a crucial role in a long-forgotten story. Jean Loring, Sue Dibny and Zatanna Zatara. How their decade-spanning drama, an interconnected narrative of memories forgotten and found, of secrets uncovered, of love and death in the time of Darkseid... it all is rapidly hurtling towards a conclusion. And there, at the end, is Zatanna - currently a prisoner of Doctor Light, bound, gagged. Waiting for a hero.

But what sort of hero will she find waiting? One like herself?

#63 is a bottom-half draft pick.

We're verging on February!

#65 - Ocean Master
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/6/0/AAJ38fAAEFOI.jpg
Long live the King.

Orm Marius, the half-brother of Aquaman and one of his greatest enemies, is the King of the Seven Seas and Emperor of Atlantis. For decades, Orm has lingered, jealously sulking in the shadow of his greater brother, believing that the throne he was groomed for from birth to be his by rights. This envy would boil over, and Orm would align himself with Aquamans enemies in the Injustice Society over the years, often jockeying for greater political control of the ocean factions that did not support Arthurs rule, relying upon legends of the Curse of Kordax to propel his own position in the line of succession. The brothers would battle against one another for decades, until Arthurs untimely demise at the foot of the Spectre. Now, with his brother finally eradicated, once and for all, Orm begins the slow, grinding process of forcing the kingdom city-states of Atlantis to capitulate to his rule, turning even to Minerva, a daughter of the Tritonian king, for fealty.

The classic tenet of "when the cat's away, the mice will play" couldn't be more clearly exemplified than through the ambitions of Orm, the Ocean Master. Removing Aquaman from the equation turns the stability of Atlantis into a realm of justifiably harsh political upheaval. In a way, it demonstrates just how foundational an influence Arthur was as ruler and hero among the millions beneath the sea, perhaps moreso than by his actual presence. In this vacuum, many pretenders seek to claim the Throne of Atlantis, but it's Ocean Master who has certainly lined up his ducks fastest in a row. And why shouldn't he? As the brother of Arthur, he likely has the greatest claim otherwise. Ocean Master has always desired to lord of the seas. It's in his very name, after all. But we've never seen him play kingmaker so much as terrorist, villain and general reprobate. Now, without the shadow of his brother to skulk in, Ocean Master is rising to the occasion. In some ways, I think he's proven that, for Checkmate, he is far more valuable active and functioning than otherwise. And that makes his role in the Society all the more crucial, a true power player that could conceivably factor into the endgames that have been hinted at by many major players in the Secret Six/Society storyline. Of course, all of this is preamble to set up Minerva's relationship with Aquaman. There's no question where her loyalties are. But there's also no question as to her hopes that Atlantis does not succumb to Darkseid's will. So where does that leave a girl who has always been repulsed by the idea of the sharks, those predatory politicos that chum the waters for an advantage, leaving no concern for the carnage in their wake? Well, she'll have to navigate an uncharted sea, one that is missing her compass north, Aquaman. And without that stabilizing presence, suddenly someone like Ocean Master, I think, seems far more appealing than otherwise.

#64 - Scare picks up some points!

#66 - The Cheeter
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/6/3/AAAe4tAADsnL.jpg
and also, the obligatory
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/6/9/AAUHRBAAEIGp.jpg

The truth of the matter is that Cheetah was first encountered by Checkmate agents naked, laying on top of Snapper. And somehow, despite her cheetah-ing boyfriend caught in flagrante, Lush has allowed the coy and manipulative Minerva return to Zonn Zorr from the love nest at the top of the STAR Labs in Austin. Cheetah is fairly uncontrollable, but she has been kept on a surprisingly short leash thanks to her imprinting on Snapper. Even so, the Cheetah has proven difficult to rein in, a problem that resulted in Cheetah racing into Belle Reve without back-up and having an arm torn from its socket. Spirit was able to regrow the arm, but at great cost to his own well-being.

From this point, the Cheetah recovered quickly and foisted herself onto the Lamumba mission, where her powers were stolen away by the cult that originally granted her preternatural agility. Briefly depowered, Barbara Ann Minerva made a desperate gambit to steal the powers of Hector's Zodiac Crystal from Catman, and she thus became the Lioness!

Roar, yes.

Now, the Cheetah seeks revenge against those who attempted to render her the powerless, whimpering weakling that she loathes to be associated with - and she will tear apart Lamumba in the process to have vengeance.

All things being equal, the campaign would have seen Cheetah and Snapper together, likely for the rest of the campaign. That's why you have to like the wrinkles of the players and the impact they have on the campaign at large. There are consequences around every corner, and Lush's very existence seems to have entirely changed this tiny portion of the campaign. For me, Cheetah is, in this campaign, a lost woman. Untethered simply because she wasn't given a place in the Society, Cheetah was captured for reasons she still has yet to really go into, and her animalistic nature made her a pariah in an unforgiving post-Apokoliptic world. That's why she is trying to fight her way back to being human again - she's lost a piece of herself, and she desperately wants it back. She felt human with Snapper, and that lingering memory remains inside of her, a tantalizing taste she wishes to recapture. A drug. Continuity has since been wildly broken thanks to Lush's existence and now Pepper Spray's constant encouragement. Edging into the territory of becoming Cheetah's acolyte, Pepper seems hellbent on enabling the Cheetah in virtually any endeavor, often risking her own life and limb just by associating with the wild creature. Still, they've come to have some strange bond, an unquantifiable respect that - if it doesn't get Pepper killed - likely will continue to deepen as time trudges ever forward (although we recently learned from Bonnie Baxter that time is NOT trudging forward at all anymore, so that might be a poor descriptor).

#65 went undrafted - bad decision, Wickle!

Maniac64 posted...

Has Jaime met Blue Bird? Or os she aware of thr fact that there is a new non-Kord Blue Beetle? I curious what she would think of the new Blue Beetle.

Not as of yet.