Lurker > scarletspeed7

#67 - Fiddler
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/3/2/AAcguBAADoHM.jpg
And we come to the one and only time I actually cried a bit during this campaign so far.

In his early years, Isaac Bowin was a petty thief working the streets of India. While Bowin was attempting to rob a local merchant, local authorities found and apprehended him, whereupon he was taken to prison. During his incarceration, Bowin met an old Hindu fakir who used the power of music to hypnotize and control the actions of a deadly cobra. Bowin pressured the fakir into teaching him the mystical powers of the East, and the Hindu finally relented. Bowin proved an apt student, and before long, his knowledge surpassed that of his teacher. Using random materials found in his cell, Isaac fashioned a crude fiddle and used his new knowledge to escape from prison. He no longer required the services of the old fakir, so he used the power of his fiddle to murder him. Afterwards, he tracked down the merchant he attempted to rob earlier and executed him as well. Calling himself the Fiddler, Bowin returned to the United States to begin a new life of crime.

For years, Bowin would menace generations of the Flash, always in an effort to prove his competency and earn a distinctive reputation among his peers, villain and musician alike. However, in the end, the Fiddler would find himself disrespected by the Society, never offered membership among its numbers - some would claim this was due to Bowins extensive age and the thought that he was all but washed-up at this advanced point in his life. Thus, he joined the Secret Six, battling against the Society for just a shred of dignity. He would earn it, ultimately, but from the most unlikely of sources - Checkmate agents, for whom he would buy precious moments in an escape from the House of Secrets when Cheshire betrayed the Six to attack. The Fiddler died, his swan song a heroic one.

God, I don't know how it got to me so quickly - I knew it was a potential inevitability, of course, and yet I was unprepared to let go of the Fiddler in the House of Secrets. The music, of course, played a significant part of that moment. Perfectly aligned with the scene from start to finish, the Fiddler's swan song was a sacrifice that really moved me. In its way, it was indicative of how unflinchingly unsentimental the Society operated. Cheshire broke the souls of the Secret Six in her betrayal, but instead of allowing that to wipe out his allies of convenience, the Fiddler, who had espoused prior to that point a desire for legacy and remembrance, finds just that. Again, in the effort to buy precious seconds, the Fiddler is added to that mental monument of giants, unforgettable giants who gave it all. And, sadly, he will never see if his effort bore fruit. I'd like to think that the Thinker will have a real legacy in this campaign, but it's too easy to forget absent friends, and that sort of bittersweet realism only adds to the pain of what ended up being a personal favorite scene for me in its quiet suffering.

One of you drafted #66, but not who I expected...

Honorable Mention: Maxwell Lord
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/0/5/AAUHRBAAEaOl.png
The corpse that would be #117.

For many people, Maxwell Lord was a used car salesman, a huckster looking to create brand awareness and build a corporate empire while also doing a little bit of good in the world. From the JLI to the Superbuddies, Maxwell Lord was a force for change in the superhero community. From the beginning, Maxwell Lord was enamored with the rise of superheroes, and for nearly a decade, he was an outsider looking in, desperate to get his hands on what he saw was the future of humanity. Max began to make connections with the United Nations as his business dealings yielded millions of dollars in profits annually. As he began to spearhead non-profits, Max was contacted by the UN Secretary General with an offer - as the Justice League closed its doors following the deaths of Steel and Vibe, there was a vacuum of power, one that the UN hoped to fill with a more globally-focused initiative. Max leapt at the chance, and serving as the new financier, Lord founded the Justice League International, the most worldly-comprehensive variation of the League, with embassies around the world. It would eventually expand to its largest size, with multiple branches before Maxs funding dried up, forcing him to turn over the reins of power to Superman and the new JLA. Without the Justice League, Max began to work hard to form a new team with old reliables, and those the Superbuddies were born - his next project that began to gain steam, up until his death. At the same time, however, Max had risen to the rank of Black King in Checkmate, a role that he apparently had hidden from his closest friends.

But his greatest influence ended up being his death. Murdered for undisclosed reasons by Wonder Woman on a globally-broadcasted feed, Maxwell Lord unintentionally began the destruction of her career and legacy, all with the half-second snap of his neck. The nature of the whys and wherefores have become the focus of a team of Checkmate agents, as Wonder Womans killing of Max has become a matter of serious contention. With the body of Max reclaimed from the Stagg Industries mortuary, Kim Rebecki used her abilities to enter his mind. Amplified by Mento, Maxs last thoughts revealed that his mind had been tampered with, much like a mindwipe, but more forcefully so, meaning that Max is a pawn, just as much as though who worked for him in Checkmate. These thoughts included Egyptian words in an ancient dialogue and the mention of Talirah Isiset, a longtime ally to some of the Checkmate agents and a member of the Superbuddies.

The death - the murder - of Maxwell Lord is yet another enduring component of the greater mystery surrounding Checkmate. How did such a slimy used car salesman rise to this position of power? Why did he lose it in such a precipitous fall? And what other secrets lie in the shadowy corridors of a mysterious castle where dark things dwell? All of these questions to be answered in due time, perhaps. For now, we lift our glasses to the smarmy, arrogant supercapitalist bastard and remember him for what he was.

We're back to numbered rankings as we lose a Round 4 draftee.

Honorable Mention: Pirate
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/8/2/AAOJ0pAADaVK.jpg
Are. We3. Good?

Yes. I suppose I haven't made it any secret that We3 was one of my personal favorite comic mini-series, scribed by Bloodfruit's good friend Grant Morrison. The inherent sweetness of all three characters, these Lost Boys-akin children-turned-WMDs really tugs at my heartstrings, and has actually been one of the few comics that made me cry. The most interesting aspect of We3 has been integrating them into the larger DCU narrative. Originally, the story was told in its own isolated universe as part of the much-missed Vertigo imprint. Of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to introduce this trio of beloved pets to the campaign, and I think Pirate's debut in the smaller-stakes locale of West Virginia made for a perfect showcase of We3. I'm fascinated by how their minds work - somewhere between animal and human lie We3, a group in perpetual state of discovery, but suffering constantly from the burden of having been manipulated, altered and put through unending, lingering pain. Yet, still, somehow, they are loyal and honest creatures that do not begrudge anyone around them for their lots in life. No - instead, they've found a family and become inextricably tethered to them. The upshot is one of the few bright moments of optimism in an otherwise bleak campaign.

The story of Pirate - and by extension, the story of We3 - is one of pain and endurance, and innocence triumphing over the will of man. Pirate is, in some ways, the perfect antidote to the idea of Anti-Life. Having survived experiments that left him far more machine than animal, it is that animal heart that still beats strongly within a husk of metal. It is that animal heart which endears him in the people around him. And, truth be told, it is that animal heart that finds companionship in the animal heart beating within Cheetah. Pirate, I think, also serves as a great foil to several party members. When you think about it, Data 7's origin is a lot like Pirate's - I think, as we explore things, the branching paths of both of those characters really helps define them, when put next to one another. Furthermore, someone like Saoirse, with a passion in biology, plays well off the unique nature of Pirate. I'd like to see more characters interact with him, certainly, because there is this weakness in every party member worth exploiting, and that's compassion. I think Pirate plays into that compassion because he is sweet and innocent and undeserving of what happened to him - and none of that matters one iota to the Wall, who sees Pirate as an asset in the war against Darkseid. As Waller remains unflinchingly focused on protecting the world, characters like Pirate could easily become the casualties in the war, and that is certainly the weakness in Waller, exploited perfectly by a sweet, innocent little rabbit.

Now that the core of We3 has reunited, I think there are few spots in the campaign as bright and wholesome as this found family unit reuniting at the heart of the last scrap of forest unvarnished by the Eclipsed, Equated, OMAC or the Society. Pirate. Loves! Family.

A mention I thought for sure would be drafted but wasn't - and ended up in the Honorable Mention category - falls next.

Honorable Mention: Bluebird
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/4/9/AAcguBAADmzF.png
The girl who would be #119.

A college student from Chicago, Harper Row was an obsessed fan of the Blue Beetle, going so far as to spend all of her free time attempting to learn his secret identity. Eventually, through sheer determination and brainpower, Row discovered Ted Kord was the Blue Beetle - but unfortunately for her, never worked up the gumption to introduce herself to him until the world began to spiral and descend into chaos. Now, Row, a skilled inventor, protects her brother and other unequated in Highland Park from the Court of Owls and other threats outside of the walls of Chicago. Recently, she assisted Checkmate agents in navigating through the fortress of walls of Chicago into the city itself.

Bluebird presents me an opportunity to discuss something that, really, no one here cares about, and that is the transition of characters from post-continuity, ie: the Ne52, into the post-Crisis universe instead. Our campaign is anchored in the year 2008, so no comic events that happen after Final Crisis have occurred yet, and no characters that debut after 2011 - when DC in its infinite (crisis) wisdom decided to reboot their entire line in a somewhat vain attempt to bring accessibility to new readers. Now in 2023, that attempt has been largely obliterated, and continuity is a mismash of everything a hodgepodge melting pot where "if it happened, it happened". But for my purposes as a DM, I'm hewing close to the state of affairs as they were in 2008, when Writers like Grant Johns were around, putting out their best work.

Bluebird's first appearance comes in 2011, right at the beginning of the New52 initiative, and as such, I've had to retool her very existence from the ground up. Staring down the barrel of far too many Bat-imposters in Gotham, I chose to make a risky decision and extract Bluebird (and her brother Cullen) entirely from continuity as they stood and replace them in Chicago. Suddenly, the 'blue' name meant something for Bluebird - she's a fangirl of the missing Blue Beetle Ted Kord. So much so that she may have reached stalkerish levels of obsessive tendencies. This allows a few things - firstly, it has expanded the mythology of the Chicago area, Ted Kord's hometown, and swelled the ranks of those who live in the city. For me, quantity does not often equal quality, but in terms of building a living and breathing city, you need independent, disparate individuals chipping away at their own personal goals, often cross-purposes with one another. Few locations in the campaign are one-sided; to building conflict, you need two to tango.

But also, Bluebird feels like a natural fit in the Beetleverse rather than the Batverse. With the supposition that a New Earth Bluebird is different from a Prime Earth Bluebird, I really thought the character gained a breath of fresh air, a reestablished purpose as a tech junkie forced to lug around her sarcastic brother at every turn. She's an amateur hero, and maybe the water is beginning to crown her crown and come in just over her head in a post-Apokoliptic world, but by relying on the actions of her idol, Bluebird is thriving. Letting that idol and distant mentor be someone other than Batman also allows for heroes besides the Dark Knight to develop a significant legacy, unseen hands where culture and society develops around the impact of these gods and heroes, men and women who serve as the modern legends they are.

Anyways, I won't bore you with this nonsense any further. Onto the next HM!

Our next Honorable Mention was undrafted as well. Good work, team!

Honorable Mention: Nite-Wing
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/6/5/AAAe4tAADqGR.jpg
The kid who would be #120.

Since the day his sister was mishandled by the police of Gotham City, Nite-Wing has been on a road to anarchy, a proponent of the eradication of the corrupt institutions which prey upon the less fortunate. Perhaps this is why he so quickly joined with Lex Luthors Society, believing that heroes should be held accountable for their actions. Nite-Wing has impressed his Society colleagues so much that he was handed the keys to Hub City, and he was able to hold onto them thanks to the Ghost of Denver and his partners. Now, Nite-Wing has begun once more to distrust the authority-that-be, the Society, and he has turned to his new allies for their help - to find his real sister.

I had a clear vision for Nite-Wing in this campaign, and I do feel that, despite his limited screen time, the concise, brief scenes with Nite-Wing have really nailed a specific kind of character in a specific situation. A perennial rebel, Nite-Wing naturally turns on the authority of the Society because that is the nature of the Society and the nature of Nite-Wing. There is always something to be up in arms about. There is always a better world out there. In No Man's Land, Nite-Wing stood against society, in the form of law and order. In this campaign, there might be something to be said for that archaic model in a world where the inmates have taken over the asylum. Conscientious to the end, Nite-Wing stands by principle even when the world is crumbling around him.

In fact, I would say Nite-Wing is one of those characters best exemplified by the thematic music chosen for his sessions - Angry Young Man. William Joel has had a couple of major tracks in this campaign so far, but his music does well to paint yet another picture, this time of Nite-Wing. I think the lyrics have already spoken for themselves. Through and through, from start to finish, there's really not a single line that doesn't apply on some level to Nite-Wing. His fervent independence has always been something of a double-edged sword. While Nite-Wing is anti-establishment, he is aggressively and ferociously so. This served him well in a world with no law, but less so in a world that began to find new order as territories congealed into larger and larger bodies during No Man's Land. Nite-Wing simply cannot relate to alternative points of view; the character is incapable of transformation because he's been burned by every form of authority imaginable. There is no seat of wisdom that Nite-Wing can trust now. Of course, we return to the character years later, and Lex Luthor has found a way to channel that anger. Instead of attempting to diminish Nite-Wing's passion for anarchy, he has instead encouraged it, set it further ablaze, and given him the opportunity to tear down the institutions of power. Nite-Wing is anti-superhero, anti-cop, and ultimately anti-organization, so the role he plays in the Society was always doomed to be a temporary one. Nite-Wing questions too much too often, and without a charismatic and manipulative leader like Lex wooing him at all times, it really was only a matter of time before Nite-Wing once again began to question leaders once more. For me, Nite-Wing is a much more interesting part of the Final Crisis equation than the No Man's Land equation because smaller pieces can do bigger things in this sandbox. I look forward to seeing how the relationship blossoms with the PCs moving forward.

The next honorable mention was one MI should have picked!

#68 - Nocturna
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/1/1/AAOJ0pAADa_z.jpg
Sort of like Grace Kelly with a meanstreak and shadow powers.

Nocturna is a survivor. Originally a street orphan with only her brother to rely upon, Nocturnas abilities came from an astronomical experiment gone awry. What should have killed her instead gave her powerful shadow abilities, and Nocturna was born into a life of crime. Nocturna was recruited into the Society, where she gained and lost everything with the rise and fall of Simon Culp. Betrayed by Shadow-Thief, she worked her way to her brother in Platinum Flats, only to discover that the Checkmate agents who had destroyed her life had followed her. She attempted to confront them, only to realize that they were working with Amanda Waller. Ultimately, Nocturna has thrown in with Checkmate, becoming the founding member of a new Suicide Squad operating out of Zonn Zorr.

Recently, the Squad has finally been unleashed in the field, and Nocturna clearly has command of its largely psychotic line-up, from Kid Karnevil to the Body Doubles to Harley Quinn. What I love most about Nocturna is her presence. She spends 90% of her time gripped by the vice of vanity, surveying every blemish she possesses, enjoying long hours filled with accessorizing for the fun of it, but the moment anyone questions her capacity to lead, she's on them like white on rice. That's Nocturna in a nutshell - she can turn it on and turn on you with the slightest provocation. Pepper has spent a great deal of time getting to know the entire Squad, and I think Vis would agree that Nocturna is quite mercurial, prone to anger, and oftentimes obsessed with getting back respect she does not dole out herself.

She's a villain. Through and through. But villainy manifests, of course, in many ways. If Nocturna's primary Deadly Sin of Man is Pride, that's not the worst that Checkmate could be forced to endure, I imagine. In the meantime, Nocturna summons up the image of a 50s and 60s movie star - confident, filled with a real presence, impossibly beautiful. She can manage great things with little maneuvers. Of course, her heights come with the perils of scaling them, and the downfall of the PCs when it comes to Nocturna is knowing she doesn't want to be handled. She can't be handled, in fact. She's Nocturna. You adjust for her.

We're back to honorable mentions. Surprised Vis didn't draft this one!

Shanner had nothing to do with Chemo being dropped on Bludhaven.

#69 - Encantadora
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/1/9/AAJ38fAAEEIv.jpg
Who else would be #69?

Encantadora considers herself the kryptonite sorceress, capable of conjuring up great magicks using alien stones from the planet Krypton. Originally a menace to Superman thanks to her cross-purpose with Supermans desire to eradicate kryptonite, Encantadora was in Juarez when El Paso attacked, and she joined with La Llorona as a result of that. However, she never felt particular kinship with the water elemental, and when the opportunity arose, Encantadora chose to slip away and join the refugees in Zonn Zorr, where she spends her days preparing her spells unimpeded.

Encantadora has quickly become one of my favorite supporting characters in Oblivion. Her oozing sexuality is often used to manipulate not just the players but the other NPCs as well, and her quick acceptance into the Shadowpact has caused no end of irritation to Enchantress, who has quickly (and silently) come to take on a role as Encantadora's rival within the smoky bar. But Encantadora seems to feast on the animosity as much as she does the power of kryptonite. Perhaps some of Enchantress' hatred stems from the fact that Encantadora has gone into the field and ingratiated herself with the Spec Ops team, utilizing her abilities in as much a mercenary way as she can. Work for kryptonite; that's the standard refrain of Encantadora, who is willing to take on just about any minor assignment in the arcane vein, so long as a piece of that delicious, delectable kryptonite is being supplied in trade.

Encantadora is cool, confident and sexy, and that trio of traits seems to really alter the chemistry of the most important recurring haunt of the campaign. Though this is a relatively short little write-up, I can't stress enough, Encantadora has huge potential, and there isn't a single scene with her thus far that hasn't been a treat to participate in.

#68 comes straight out of Round 8.

My Cold voice attempts to at least affect some of Wentworth Miller's style and mannerisms for the character as well!

#70 - Captain Cold
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/0/5/AAcguBAADnbB.png
He would never betray you.

A Rogue is a Rogue until they die - or until they cross another Rogue. But Cold has always had a strange, twisted form of honor, and he doesnt break the rules. Not ever. From his first days menacing Barry Allen to the last days of Wallys tenure as the Flash, Cold has always held true to center tenets. You dont go after kids. You dont go after wives. Its about the masks. Its about the jobs. But fuck with Cold? All bets are off. And Cold, leader of the Rogues, is willing to lie, betray, cheat, steal and kill anyone outside of his own nuclear family, the Rogues, if they step in the way of his goals or break his own rules. This includes the Society leaders who put him up against Bart Allen as the Flash, and when Cold discovered that he had killed a kid, he went apeshit, bringing the rest of his Rogues into hiding, where they bide their time and plan for revenge. The sort of Rogues revenge that only the Rogues can manage.

Honestly, this is a pretty good ranking for a character that only has appeared maybe three times thus far in the campaign. Captain Cold is the icy, steel mind that coldly calculates the moves of DC's most mercenary, unpredictable supergroup. In fact, it might almost be fair to say that the fate of two entire cities rests in the next thing Cold decides to do. After having taken the fall for a crime he didn't want to commit, the entire playbook that guided the Rogues' hands has gone out the window, and Cold is trapped for the first time with a conscience. He cannot reconcile his actions, knowing that his rage is justified, but his guilt cannot be assuaged. The faint formation of a conscience may very well make Captain Cold the most dangerous version of himself that ever existed.

Obviously, there is a certain connection between Brennus and Cold - firstly, I think Brennus might be a little attracted to the fellow. And then there's the tiniest of possibilities that Varra and Cold have had more to their relationship than what was revealed in No Man's Land as well. She never really could stay away from the man who betrayed her at least thrice before, after all. It all congeals into an abject mess. Really, just a complicated, messy situation. I love it immensely, and I always look forward to the savviest of the Rogues when the party travels to Keystone, where he can easily snipe at their goody-two-shoes mentality and get away with it.

Someone could have drafted this next Convoy character and earned 32 points for their troubles.

I try not to be the guy who asks "How does the economy work here? How does anything work here?" But nothing made sense. It was just, I don't know, apocalyptic, and yet most of the man-on-the-street types didn't seem to care one iota.

Really loved the Pershing episode; had the tone and quality of Andor, and I thought it was a nice breath of fresh air for the standard Mando order.

I'm not really talking about feelings at all. I'm talking about the world, and why nothing felt like it was concrete in the slightest. Everything was so terse and simplistic, and the world felt like setpieces rather than lived-in, like so many other Final Fantasy titles.

One of my major issues with 13 is the sheer awfulness of the writing. I know I shouldn't be comparing video game scripts to books or movies, maybe, but it's just so elementarily bad. Insanely poor writing. So often, a three-minute scene won't have any lines longer than five words - like, how can you hope to make your world feel anything more than flimsy when no character possesses the ability to even spit out, like, a compound sentence? Everyone seems confused half the game, and when they aren't, we don't get insight into what they know.

#71 - Wonder Woman
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/9/1/AAOJ0pAADcgX.png
From one Fury to another.

She is the ambassador to Mans World, an Amazonian Princess, a former goddess. She is the founder of a network of embassies designed to protect the downtrodden and teach women self-sufficiency. She is a founding member of the Justice League, a leader of superheroes, and one of the most influential women in modern history. She is Diana, Wonder Woman. But after her public murder of Maxwell Lord, Diana began the worst week in her life, losing the support of mankind, losing her homeland, and, in the darkest moment of self-doubt, finding herself captured and turned into the most singularly powerful Prime Fury on Earth.

The story of Wonder Woman is quite a Greek tragedy in this campaign, the origin of Darkseid's animosity for the princess stemming from back in the Imperiex War, where Apokolips and Earth united against an enemy that threatened both of their existences. Let me set the stage. The final moments of the war with Imperiex. Her mother dead, her people nearly completely destroyed. His planet, ruins. Thanks to the betrayal of Brainiac and the pure entropic power of Imperiex, it is up to Diana of Themyscira and Darkseid to channel their combined energies - and those of their mostly depleted allies - in an effort to stave off Imperiex. So, with the magic of Tempest, with the alliance at their back of Earths heroes, Diana and Darkseid join life forces for a moment. A single moment that will change the course of their lives forever. The story of Imperiex reaches its conclusion; Earth is saved, as is Apokolips. But Diana does not depart without a warning. During the merger of their life essences, Diana reached out to Raven, the dark sorceress of the Titans, asking for one boon - that a piece of herself would remain inside of Darkseid, so that he may experience compassion, even if it be only a single sliver of it. Diana left Apokolips, telling Darkseid of her actions, letting him know that her mothers death would not see the end of her grand mission - that Mans World would be civilized. And to Diana, that meant Darkseid would know love. Satisfied, she left for Earth, and Apokolips returned to its home sector. Few could have foreseen that this act of generosity would be the one, singular moment in which all future acts would root themselves. Truth, and its consequences, would never be the same.

For you see, Darkseid vowed to make an example of Wonder Woman, for a soul such as hers, a passion for life and an overpowering sense of love for not only her fellow man but for a dream of a companion in her long-lived existence, was like an ichor, poisoning his very blood. And Darkseid vowed vengeance. So when the party finally came across Diana, they met a Prime Fury, a woman who had been carefully brought down by Darkseid, waiting for the moment, the place to find her at her most vulnerable and steal away her defiant will to live and lead, forcing her to submit.

Diana roams the streets of Central City in a quartet of powerful Furies - Catwoman, Giganta and Batwoman. Pray you never cross her path. The Amazon thirsts for prey.

#70 is a Round 10 pick - high relative value for this level a spot!

Stand strong in your dislike of FF13. You have an ally in me.

@WarThaNemesis2 needs to explain himself

#72 - Lashina
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/4/7/AAQcMAAADkNb.jpg
Sing a song of hope.

She was the most loyal of soldiers, a woman born into restraint and an acolyte bred into restriction. She could dominate even the most ferocious and unruly of foes. But when Darkseids young follower shipwrecked near the ruins of Krypton, her mind was infected with the blue virus of hope, and the symbol of Superman began to unravel her programming. As she prepared for the invasion of Earth, Lashina was commanded by a suspicious Darkseid to wed the man whose symbol propagated her doubt, but this proved a vital mistake, turning Lashina against her master in fits of bizarre, unexpected independence. Hunted by the entirety of Darkseids forces, Lashina was buried under Yellowstone, falling to the center of the world, where her former lover, Rozetta, found her and decided to encourage her beloveds strange, new hope.

Since that time, Lashina has become extremely adept at making the party uncomfortable with how open she is with her interest in public displays of affection. Obscenely so. After arriving on Oa with Roz'etta, Lashina was imprisoned by the Guardians. Obviously. I mean, obviously that was going to happen. This was a leader of the Female Furies, Darkseid's Elite. OF COURSE she was going to end up in a Sciencell with around-the-clock security coverage monitoring every slight shift in her body. But fortunately, the party has come to find an ally among the Guardians - the Scarred Guardian, or Scar as she's called. And Roz'etta risked much to seek her lover's release. After a confrontation of powers so ancient and primal that Roz'etta couldn't even maintain consciousness, Lashina and Scar came to some sort of... agreement, perhaps. And Lashina was released to the surface of Oa, but given the ultimatum that she must leave its surface within a week, or else she would be imprisoned once more.

Well, that week has been spent in Warriors, by and large, and that is driving the party absolutely batty. Roz'etta, you see, is often quite submissive to Lashina, and Lashina has one activity in mind. So in the private rooms above Warriors, There is often a rather significant racket caused by the pair that even upsets the willful Lanterns themselves. I mean, Gal Gardner can barely stand to hear the constant bumping jarring loose dust from the rafters of the first floor's ceiling. And for a while, Lashina has been invested in exercising her right as a Fury to stretch Roz'etta to her literal absolute limits.

But there is more to come, hints of how hope has infected Lashina. She's become unsure, prone to gentle bouts of anger. She's lost some of her sadistic tendencies - though as we learned last night in fact, she still knows how to make even a Lantern uneasy. But Lashina is lost, her surefire foundation of Darkseid's will no longer existentially firm. What waits for our disciple of domination in the ruins of Krypton? One can only guess...

#71 finally puts points on the only list without any thus far.

Ice clearly has captured the attention of several players in a way that Fire has not. As with many of the OG characters of the campaign, the base foundation of Checkmate has been pushed aside, eschewed in favor of shinier toys.

#73 - Ice
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/0/AAUHRBAAEZmq.jpg
Tora - she was beloved not just by the people of Norway, not just by the grateful citizens of the world, but by her teammates. The lover of Guy Gardner, the surrogate sister of Fire, Ices sweetness and innocence made her the tonic that cured the common jaded cynicism that became pervasive in the late era JLI. Born the princess of Norway, Ices pedigree gave her a sheltered existence, and her powers often scared off potential suitors. It was considered odd by most that Guy Gardner would be the one to not only step up to the plate but to also win Ices undying love, yet the two of them were well and truly in love, and that love helped to form the tight-knit JLI, converting Gardner from a rabble-rousing reprobate to a team player and occasional leader. However, Ice was killed in battle with the Overmaster, and her end signaled the beginning of the end of the JLI. The team never came back from that loss, really, and it began to spiral into dysfunction and inevitable collapse.

No good deed goes unpunished. Years after Ices death, the team of former Leaguers and future superhero megastars known as the Superbuddies were - in part - dragged into Hell, where, during their misadventure, caught sight of the soul of Ice, a being misplaced thanks to a divine snafu. Having been under the duress of the Overmaster, Ice had committed some heinous acts of murder, and the cosmic balance refused to mitigate these crimes due to the unusual context and circumstances. While in Hell, however, Ice had curried some level of favor with one of the rising lords of Hell, and an infernal deal was struck. With all of the chaos raised by the Superbuddies (predominantly Ted and Booster), it would be more equitable for Hell to release the group of their own volition through the Gates of Abandoned Hope. To entice them to beat a hasty retreat, Etrigan offered a deal - Ice would be allowed to leave with them, but behind them. She could not speak or announce her presence. So long as no member of the group turned to check if she was there, Ice would be returned to life. Every member experienced at least a tinge of uncertainty, curiosity that threatened to overwhelm them. But merely yards from their goal, Fire and Guy, Ices two most beloved friends in life, turned at the same moment, overcome with the need to know if their loved one was there. Ice smiled at them, saying they had always cared just a little too much, and she disappeared back into the depths of Hell. Wracked with the agony of this horrible truth, that they had allowed Tora to be left to rot for eternity, the Superbuddies, demoralized, returned to the living world.

But now, it appears, Ice may have well and truly survived her excruciating torturous test and returned to the living world. Perhaps one of the sweetest beings encountered in the campaign, Ice has manifested twice thus far in a hazy mist created by Fire's uncontrollable abilities, switching places with Beatriz inside of Z'onn Z'orr's airtight, steel-reinforced Environmental Chamber. Here it was revealed that the spirit of Ice has bonded with Fire's very soul, capable of consuming the mind of Fire for brief periods while trying in vain to hunt the heat of living souls. A Somnabule, devourer of a living body's internal fire. In essence, all this incredibly kind creature wants is a hug.

You can imagine how her return is playing havoc on Fire, whose hair has begun to turn white... and on Guy Gardner, who is trapped a billion billion miles from the only person he ever loved and the only person who ever loved him back.

Ice may have returned. Now, the question is, can the party survive the experience?

#72 is a top-half draft pick!

Din Djarin is a foundling, so that might be the difference?

I think Minerva has a deeper kinship at this point with Nanaue than with AJ which only supports your supervillain delving direction.

#74 - King Shark
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/6/4/AAOJ0pAADbDw.jpg
The King Shark is a humanoid child of the so-called King of All Sharks and a monstrous, massive beast with a ravenous appetite. Nanaue was rescued from the hands of the Ocean Master and his ilk by the Dweller in the Depths, incurring a life debt that overrides his incessant need to cause trouble. He has been assigned to guard the mysterious A.J. Curry by the Dweller, and Nanaue has proven to do just that - although his mouth keeps him in trouble with nearly everyone else. The King Shark has developed a small affinity for Minerva, a Princess of one of the Atlantean city-states.

Now, I've really gotten bad at providing some sort of DM's insight into these characters, so I want to focus on how the character of Nanaue exists in so many different incarnations, especially over the last decade, and how I tried to distill an essence of the character that is different from the rest. First of all, the most popular iteration is likely James Gunn's King Shark from The Suicide Squad; fortunately, when I crafted mine, I was focused more on how King Shark baits other characters in with his perceived softness. Is King Shark actually slow? No; he's actually quite dastardly, though his obsession with devouring anything to fill that black hole of a stomach often plays itself comedically. But, at the same time, Nanaue has some code of ethics, some sense of decorum, and he recognizes that he is a leader not just because of his heritage and power, but because he knows how to control shark-kind.

But Nanaue does like to rely on a facade, a masquerading disguise of simplicity to put his allies at ease and earn himself as much food as he can muster. King Shark is forever driven by one thing and one thing only. How he manages to achieve his goal of collecting that one thing? King Shark isn't picky.

Perhaps that's why his versatility is so subtle. Surviving and protecting AJ Curry under the instructions of the ancient prophet the Dweller in the Depths required patience, wisdom and a keen sense of danger on the unforgiving ocean floor. Remaining relatively stoic and holding his cards close to the chest, King Shark may have some lack of understanding for surfacer nuance, but he also exaggerates his stupidity quite often to put others at ease. Amanda Waller, after all, has use for Nanaue just as much as everyone else, and King Shark recognizes the value in serving under her command while the rest of the world falls apart otherwise. Sharks sometimes need to hunt in schools, after all. This is why the Big Troubles are equally as important to him as Checkmate - there are means to different ends, and Nanaue is not to proud to follow path to where it leads.

Unlike the New52's failed attempt at a brilliant Nanaue, and unlike the original abjectly violent character in Superboy's original run in the 90s, my King Shark relies on the charm of the blank face and curious intellect to propel him forward. He's the smartest of the sharks, but he's still a shark - a shark with a very sensitive nose. But he's also not the ridiculously moronic Shark from James Gunn's Squad, either. I'd like to think he straddles the best of every era, but predominantly is anchored in one theme: loyalty. Whether his bond with AJ or his growing fondness for his fellow royal, Minerva, Nanaue takes quickly to someone he respects and who demonstrates a willingness to treat him as an equal. And so long as you provide him alternative snacks on any excursion in which you bring Nanaue, the King Shark will forever have your back.

#73 was not only undrafted, but I'm fairly confident I never saw anyone express an interest in drafting them, either!

#75 - Mento
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/4/5/AAQcMAAADc9V.png
Steve Dayton would be the first to tell you that his helmet and his powers all stemmed from a desire to date the most beautiful girl in the world, Rita Farr. Dayton was enchanted by the savvy and commanding presence of one of Hollywoods premiere starlets of her heyday, and he went to work, turning Dayton Industries into a one-stop shop for his new superhero abilities. Developing a powerful helmet that created psychic amplification, Dayton became Mento, the first non-founding member of the Doom Patrol. After wooing and marrying Elasti-Girl, the pair adopted the primitive creature known as Beast Boy, raising him into a fine, upstanding hero. But Daytons marriage fell prey to his vices, as his helmet, when removed, only amplified his paranoia and onset dementia. Eventually reduced to a quivering mass of neuroses, Mentos helmet was lost to him and he gave up his role as a hero, hating the man he became as Mento and loathing the man he was left as without it. However, after being rescued from a host of monsters unleashed by a strange painting within the Midway City mansion of the Doom Patrol, Dayton has allowed Mento to reemerge, losing himself in the powerful alter ego that is embodied in a new, mysterious second helmet of indistinguishable origin. He single-handedly maintains the psychic shield around Zonn Zorr now, and his powerful Mento ego knows just how invaluable he is to the resistance at large.

But just what assistance does Mento provide? With his helmet on, Mento presents as a hero with arrogant bravado - but with his helmet off, Steve Dayton is a man crippled into a severe depression, barely able to move himself as he wrestles with guilt. After all, Mento finds there to be no issue when it comes to invading someone's mind and wresting their secrets from dark, wet places. Nothing is sacred to Mento; everything is an open book. Mento also has no qualms in the maniupulation of another person's mind. Much like Zatanna, Mento possesses the capability to change someone - however, unlike Zatanna, he rarely - if ever - has done it. In fact, only by request from the naive, hopeful Bloodfruit did Mento rearrange many pieces of the villain Fright's broken mind. Bloodfruit sought to provide some relief to a woman plagued by terrors; instead, Mento left Fright bereft of the parts of her mind that COULD feel horror. Fright was nothing more than a doll afterwards, a childlike fool, incapable of complex emotion or complicated thought.

For Bloodfruit, this nearly broke our dear fairy friend. But for Mento, he heeded a plea for aid and wielded a sledgehammer to achieve the goal that a pair of tweezers could accomplish. He prided himself on yet another success - but Steve Dayton didn't. Once the helmet comes off, the grimness of reality sets in, and Steve Dayton is crushed by the unenviable burden of what horrors his other self can achieve when unencumbered by the shackles of morality and humanity. The mind of Mento is something else entirely.

Of course, Mento can't exactly be punished for his actions; currently, he may very well be the single most important NPC in Z'onn Z'orr, erecting psychic defenses that obscure the resistance's base from the minds of any wandering passersby. Death at the hands of Darkseid might well be avoided entirely because of our boy Mento - so how do you weigh a near omnipotent god's carelessness against the greater good, survival of a species in the face of another, darker god's insatiable lust for conquest? It's a difficult question.

A top-half draft pick falls at #74.

Honorable Mention: Juliet Capulet
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/3/6/AAS3NhAAEA94.png
The woman who would be #121.

The great tragedy of the Kid is the fleeting passage of his summons, knowing they'll never return again. I think most of them leave the campaign a better place for their presence, but none as much as Juliet, my favorite of the summons thus far. Juliet's story came perfectly timed, a crucial bit of patchy history that informs the nature of Starsa and the Star Sapphires, as well. I enjoyed translating one literature's great icons into a DC Comics world, and I felt that she was one of my better-written characters, despite her limited tenure in the story. I think, for me, Starsa introducing her form of kissing for the first time, a nuzzling, jingling buzz, was something that could only be done with Juliet. Starsa felt a natural kinship to this Sapphire that never was, and Juliet was such a lilting, easily overwhelmed figure that in combination, the two seemed naturally primed for one another. Juliet's story of tragedy also became I think tinged with even more sadness, knowing that Starsa was only scant hours away from washing away the untenable situation Juliet found herself in. Nevertheless, Juliet remains proud of her decision, this reality's narrative one that isn't just a little bit brave, a little defiant, a death meant to do more for the Capulets and Montagues than Shakespeare would admit in his retelling of events. Anyways, I think Juliet is the high point of Kid Summons, and I hope she serves as the template for a number of exciting summons in the months to come.

And I will admit, writing in iambic pentameter for a week was a hell of a lot of fun.

We're back to #75, and someone is losing a character in the bottom half of their draft board.

Doom and Galactus are weak plays. Go all in on the Exiles shutting down the Kangs.

Honorable Mention: T.C.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/6/3/AAblU3AADvhH.png
The cat who would be #122.

Animal Mans cat, T.C. is the beloved pet of Maxine and Cliff Baker. T.C. is known for his preternatural talent to nab virtually anything, even if one would consider it unnabbable. T.C. was coaxed by Data 7 and Patch to join Big Troubles, where he proved his mettle once more, nabbing a score so big that even Amanda Waller was forced to admit its value. T.C. recently has begun to court Pixie, a canine belonging to Lush, and thus he switched his team allegiance to the Passable Persuasions. He is frequently found in Holding, much to the chagrin of Sasha Bordeaux, as well.

I'm quite a fan of T.C., if I'm to be honest. He has very little sense of anger or shock - drama seems to simply roll off of his back as if it was nothing at all to be worried about. Data 7 will howl to high hell over, for example, T.C.'s betrayal of the Big Troubles, right in the middle of their recruitment drive, and yet both Patch and T.C. were remarkably cordial and friendly as T.C. went Benedict Arnold. Data 7 has repeatedly been at odds with T.C., and yet these spats end before Data 7 can get the off of the ground, simply because T.C. has no conception, no understanding of just what has gone wrong.

I'd love to see more T.C. as the campaign progresses. As one of the earlier supporting characters of the campaign, he's fallen to the wayside, sadly, but this rather precocious and laidback cat is probably one of the best animal characters of the campaign. More T.C, please!

Honorable Mentions take a break after this Kid summon.

Honorable Mention: Rot Lop Fan
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/9/3/AAcguBAADlUd.png
The alien who would be #123.

A blind silicate-based member of the Green Lantern Corps, Rot Lop Fan has often been considered an outsider among the thousands of seeing Lanterns. Hailing from Sector 911, there are no stars that provide significant starlight. No evolution based on photosynthesis exists in Rot Lop Fans sector, which has led to the Guardians creating a sonic weapon, the F-Sharp Bell, which harnesses the emotional equivalent of green. Rot Lop Fan has found companionship in the Earth Lanterns, who themselves sometimes felt outcasts, and because of his unique Bell, he was not rendered powerless when Hal Jordan destroyed the Central Power Battery. Fan remains a loyal ally to Hal, John and especially Guy, who he considered his closest friend among the Lanterns.

There's not a ton for me to say here aside from the fact that I greatly enjoy the notion of alien life being extremely removed from the human experience, so much so that the F-Sharp Bell exists. Having no sense or knowledge of sight and color, Rot Lop Fans brain doesnt have an occipital lobe and therefore more of his brain is devoted to temporal senses. The top of Rot Lop Fans head is shaped in such a fashion that his skull resonates sound, allowing him pitch perfect hearing and moreso. The F-Sharp Bell is designed to harness this limited sensation function, allowing for a protective shield and sound waves shaped into solid forms. The F-Sharp Bell also can be used to provide emotion-quelling sonic waves, as well.

In any attempt to try and translate a race of eternal sightlessness, a sector of general darkness, to our notions of complete reliance on sight, by and large, for almost every daily activity, one has to leave their comfort zone and really dig into what makes the other senses work. There are so many Lanterns that provide similar opportunities - Norchavius, the sculptor Lantern, whose sense memory comes from an internal mansion of memories within their mind, a perfect photographic repository of their experiences; the extremely sensitive fronds of Olapet, whose plant-based form allows her the ability to calm any organic lifeform; even Rigid Tony, the pastoid spaghetti bowl whose confidence is unmatched and three-stage life cycle is absurd and bizarre. I relish all of these characters and all of the stories their alien cultures and biological makeups allow me to tell.

Animal undrafted for this next honorable mention.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/2/8/AAJ38fAAEFF0.png

Soranik certainly has the capacity to rocket up the list. I really feel a deep familiarity with her voice already; she just lacks screentime.

The (did) makes that post so amazing.

Honorable Mention: Ferdinand
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/2/9/AAblU3AADyDF.png
The bull who would be #124.

Ferdinand was a loyal friend to Wonder Woman, working as her chef after his exile from the Kithotaur people. Ferdinand hid underneath the remains of the Gateway City Themysciran Embassy after it was torn down and demolished by rioters, following the murder of Maxwell Lord. Found by Checkmate agents, he returned to Zonn Zorr, where he now works as a sous chef in the Checkmate mess hall.

God, it's so hard to figure out where to rank Ferdy. He has a lot of great, small scenes, but I think we're still outside of his great, shining moments. Ferdinand generally is known for the common refrain of "Ferdinand snorts a jet of mist," at anything that might irritate him even slightly, and an often inscrutable attitude that rarely betrays his smaller emotions until he builds to the point that he must explode with a larger outburst. He has strong friendships with both Data 7 and Lush as well - Data has lots of sparring matches and other conflicts with various beings around Z'onn Z'orr, but the ones I really enjoy the most come from Ferdinand. He's a versatile beast who can operate like a man or a bull in combat, but he's also until recently been a pacifist. A disappointment to his own kind for a lack of combative talents, Ferdinand now relies on Data to help him get up to speed. First inspired by the fate of Diana and a desire to battle on in her name, Ferdinand has been given a terrible, rude awakening after discovering his brother dead in the ruins of Where Themyscira Used to Be - he desires nothing more than to honor his brother's memory and return home now to both share the news and help recruit his race to the fight against Darkseid.

Lush began as Ferdinand's rival, in the beginning, but after a COOK-OFF (which Ferdinand through to allow Lush a much-needed victory to stabilize her mental upheavals at the time), Ferdinand begrudgingly showed Lush the respect she demanded. Since then, they've been fast friends, Ferdinand often quietly taking the opportunities to tacitly defend his theoretical boss. When Lush was ready to give up her position in the Mess, Ferdinand actually talked her out of it.

Roz'etta has also had a few good moments with Ferdinand, who respects HER respect for death, even asking her to undertake the funerary rites for his brother.

Really, all in all, Ferdinand only suffers from not having that BIG moment, I think - I've been waiting with bated breath to witness Ferdinand's homecoming on Kithira. I think the emotions within Ferdinand which have occasionally been manifesting in a big, explosive way, are ready burst in an unstoppable, unbridled way. Ferdinand has lost his closest friend and his brother. He's watched his workplace be destroyed. Can he keep an even keel when he returns to the isles where Greek legends reside? I can't wait to find out.

An undrafted Lantern falls next to the Honorable Mention list.

#76 - Parademon
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/0/4/AAOJ0pAADaQ0.png
When Toronto was inundated with a flood of Darkseids flying marauders, one such Parademon was captured by a team of Checkmate agents and dragged back to the Secret Sixs House of Secrets, where torture commenced. However, before real answers could be gleaned, Cheshire betrayed the Secret Six, and the Parademon suddenly found himself, no longer in communication with his phalanx, swept up in the escape. Eventually, at the urging of Ragdoll, KRay became a key fixture in the Sixs new membership. Ever a sucker for some good torture, he also greatly enjoys flying - he's even had a role in helping Roz'etta learn to use her shapeshifted wings effectively! Just don't ask him what his superhero moniker is - it's a little... blue.

K'Ray has really endeared himself to me, at the very least. He's a sweet but also ultraviolent brute, a strange compare-and-contrast that I greatly enjoy. His head literally overheats when he thinks too much, which often makes his conversations quite simplistic, though his origins are far from it. After all, it's been revealed that Darkseid's parademon army are all normal humans who have been cribbed from other worlds in the Bleed, brutalized, retrained by Granny Goodness and prepared for battle. There's a world out there somewhere that is missing it's K'Ray... or whatever his name might have actually been. He even seems to have some connections to variations of heroes and villains from our world, including Count Vertigo.

The Parademon is the only member of the Secret Six without an axe to grind, which makes him some of that much-needed glue to hold the group together. Ever the companion of the "clown" (Ragdoll), the "oaf" (K'Ray) provides a jovial sense of both excitement and pure happiness to any jobs involving the Six. I'd love to see him dragged along on future missions more often, just to provide some much-needed levity with his childlike behavior. Hell, just the few interactions between King Shark and Parademon, where they butted heads in an almost literal sense of the word, were delightful.

Very recently (this week, actually), Spirit hosted an event at the Flash Museum to allow the orphans who have been brought to Z'onn Z'orr as refugees to get to know one another. Advertised in the first addition of the Z'onn Z'orr Junior Gazette, dozens of children showed up - as did K'Ray. He spied a maze on the back, and that led him to read the rest of the issue. The Junior Gazette was "so much better written" than the adult one - "it makes more sense." So the Parademon read a child's news pamphlet and, realizing he must be an orphan, too, since he doesn't know his parents, the Parademon showed up. It ended up being one of the sweetest little scenes in the campaign.

God, I just love this guy. All and all, I can't wait to see how K'Ray's story progresses. He's really had some very sweet moments with characters like Roz'etta, Spirit, and Minerva. And I think he would fit like a glove with just about everyone else. A far cry from the militant monsters that normal fill the sky in the name of Darkseid, the only broken, discarded Parademon of a force of millions, freed from his connections to the armada of Apokolips, may be one of the nicest guys in Z'onn Z'orr, and a valuable ally as the war for Earth ramps up.

We're back to Honorable Mentions - and a Round 10 draftee is dropping here!

#77 - Mica'kel
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/2/5/AAQcMAAADgZV.png
Micakel, a White Martian invader that arrived on Earth with the Hyperclan, was one of several Martians captured by the United States government for experimentation. He endured a significant amount of abuse, all while persevering, all in the name of reuniting with his daughter, Miss Martian. Micakel was released from his confinement in Monument Valley by Checkmate agents who agreed to hide the truth of his white heritage from the rest of the world. Now, he has set up shop with a handful of other White Martian survivors within their rightful tower, Zonn Zorr.

The White Martians we've encountered thus far in the campaign are actually remarkably minor characters. They all only have appeared maybe a handful of times - four, five appearances - and none of them are particularly memorable in those brief issues. However, Mica'kel has become a character with an easy voice to slip into, and the complications of his presence as the leader of the band of White Martians in Z'onn Z'orr have been delectable. Just by his very existence, Mica'kel forces the party to lie to virtually everyone around them about his true nature. That alone is a delightful complexity to be sure - but then, the story of Mica'kel's relationship with Roz'etta pushes into a realm of philosophy, demonstrating the striking similarities - and dissimilarities - of the two.

In fact, I'd love to see far more of Mica'kel in the campaign. Considering his wide array of abilities, the White Martian leader is the most dangerous threat in Z'onn Z'orr, at least in theory. But his crucial weakness has demonstrated that even the powerful Martian race has its Achilles heel. Witnessing the potentially fragile nature of our White Martians was an important moment, I think, in earning them sympathy. When Kobra attacked, two things were demonstrated: firstly, just how quickly a Martian can be neutralized. And secondly, just how much of a threat even Kobra considers the Martians. There were essentially two groups that Jason decided to take down in his escape from Z'onn Z'orr - the magicians of Oblivion, and the Martians. He didn't go after anyone else in that way, and I think that shows just how high they stack against all of the other members of the growing resistance.

Mica'kel, for his part, is often rational and pragmatic. But there is a definite undercurrent of animosity that he possesses for the universe at large, for all of those races that have prevented the Burning, the original Martian race, from ascending into total godhood. I think even Roz'etta understands the injustices that her progenitor race were forced to endure, and while Mica'kel presents often as a considerate being, he also has hard lines where his own empathies and sympathies end and the vengeful nature of the White race begins.

God, it's all so much fun. It's like walking a high-wire without a counterbalance, allying with the White Martians. And yet, the alternative is bending a knee to Darkseid. The Apokolips makes for strange bedfellows.

We end the bottom quarter of the list with another undrafted character, and this one I was SURE someone would pick up!

I legitimately have no idea how Jaime and Teena would get along! It certainly is a really intriguing pairing.

#78 - TNTeena
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/8/1/AAAe4tAADozt.jpg
By preestablished metrics, one of the most effective heroes.

TNTeena was among the first generation of post-superhero children, and as such, grew up in a society that praised those children who desired lives of service and activism. From the time she was a toddler, Tina dreamed and delighted in the ideas of superheroics. Tina begged her mother to test her for the metagene, and despite her mothers misgivings at catering to her autistic daughters delusions of herodom, she nevertheless relented and shelled out the $2500 necessary to perform a genetic study. Tina was delighted when the results returned, determined that Tina indeed possessed a unique meta-deviation in her DNA, although it didnt manifest until age 13. Tina instead was foisted in the meantime on the super-pageant circuit by her mother, desperate to find some profit in the new, unawakened abilities of her daughter. When at last the abilities did manifest, Tina destroyed her familys home. Left homeless, Tinas mother was able to convince a local news anchor, through sex, to air a puff piece about the sorry family and the state they were left in by a bright-eyed, autistic hero wannabe. Somehow, the story crossed the desk of Cyborg, and, understanding the difficulties that Tina faced and dealing with challenges himself, felt that Tina, now under the pseudonym of TNTeena, deserved an opportunity to live out her dream. Cyborg created an outreach program for at-risk youth with metapowers, and using some of his fathers fortune, outfitted the Titans with a non-profit wing called the Titans Auxiliary, a program Vic would run in his off-time to teach the next generation of potential heroes. TNTeena was one of the first recruits, and her mother happily pushed her into a functional boarding school that specialized in taking care of meta-youth in order to be done with her. Tina remained in their care until A-Day, when she was finally called upon to help protect Titans Tower. Instead of victory, the gathering of green rookie heroes was defeated, and TNTeena was captured by the Society, imprisoned on Alcatraz until rescued by her new cellmate, Saoirse Aebischer, and whisked away to freedom in Zonn Zorr.

As the players will likely be quick to mention, Teena is a character for which I have a great personal attachment. I have tried to be very careful not to make her too gruesomely over-the-top in this regard, but Teena has been my attempt to present an autistic superhero who suffered under the "Mommie Dearest" mentality of being used and abused for a spot in the limelight by a cruel and callous mother. The truest tragedy, I believe, is that Teena does not really recognize the various social cues that would tip her off to the nature of her mother's greed and the lack of compassion for Teena's challenges. It's a sad, complicated story, and one that feeds into some really great scenes with a few of the player characters as they learn to communicate with Teena and understand her.

Honestly, in my mind, Teena has the potential to be one of Z'onn Z'orr's most brightly shining stars. She's industrious, perseverant and mostly kind, even if she is often blunt and has more than a hint of arrogance over her status as a Titan Auxiliary member. There's a sweetness to Teena's nature, but tinted with just enough spice to make her imperfect. And as for her autism, I think it brings a new perspective to every character she interacts with. It's an opportunity to explore a very different approach to each PC - and also Bart Allen now. Instead of the stories of Bart that focus on his manic approach to... everything in life, an inability to sit still for a half-second, Teena has found herself attracted to the Kid Flash, finding his own bluntness and inability to recognize social nuance as refreshing and endearing, rather than annoying.

In any event, I really, sincerely hope that Teena worms her way into the hearts of every player by the end of the campaign. In particular, I'd love to see scenes with Bloodfruit and/or Data 7 and Teena. I think their unusual walks of life would complement Teena well, and I'm curious how those relationships would form and where they would take both respective characters.

I was surprised War didn't draft this next character.

#79 - Stephanie Brown
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/0/6/AAOJ0pAADbmy.jpg
Like, first of all, I am the night.

Like, first of all, Stephanie was a longtime protector of Gotham, even after her douche of a dad became mayor. Despite surviving all of No Mans Land, she was unable to maintain her role in the game when Black Mask rolled into town, killing her in retribution for the way she mucked up all of his plans. Devastated, the Cluemasters entire agenda shifted into an anti-Batman, pro-accountability platform, allowing him to rise to the rank of Senator of New Jersey. Meanwhile, Stephanies death had been largely over exaggerated - set up with a new identity by the woman who claimed to be her ultimate killer, Leslie Thompkins, Steph began a new life as Sally Beamish at Brentwood Academy. At some point prior to A-Day, Sally was sent the costume and cowl of Batgirl and a warning. Since then, Stephanie has been the ten to the Headmasters 2, a real thorn in the side of the Darkseid-faithful that control the sleepy little town of Bristol Township. After a group of Checkmate agents absconded with one of the students of the Academy, Stephanie chose to remain behind, protecting those she had sworn to guard, even if the consequences might be severe.

As Stephanies plan to bring to light her fathers crimes went up in flames, as did the rest of Gotham, vigilantes were pushed to the brink in trying to bring to an end the plans that had snowballed into an out-and-out street war between the gangs of Gotham. Carnage had ensured, Batman was put through his paces, and believing herself responsible after Batman scolded her, Stephanie went after the Black Mask to make up for her mistakes. Black Mask took advantage of Stephanies naivete and inexperience, capturing her and torturing her. Stephanie ultimately died thanks to the wounds she sustained, confused and scared, wishing she had been able to leave her fathers legacy alone. Or, at least, she thought she had. But in reality, Leslie Thompkins placed Stephanie in a state of hibernation, a pulse so weak and breath so slow and shallow that not even the trained eyes and ears of Batman could tell she was still alive. Stephanie had let her life be swallowed up in the hunt for her father, for vengeance. Leslie released her from that and also, in her mind, forced Batman to confront the destructive effects of his presence in childrens lives. And Stephanie Brown, the identity, died as a result of those machinations, those beliefs. Soon, Sally Beamish would take her place.

It's Sally Beamish that the party came to know in Bristol Township - ever the plucky, snotty, sometimes bitchy perfect ten that they'd come to know and love. We've all met the mean girl in our high school or middle school (or even college in some cases), and Stephanie fulfills that role in spades - but it might also simply be a cover for her, a mask beneath the cowl. Having been delivered by Bruce Wayne the legacy of Barbara Gordon, Helena Bertinelli, and Cassandra Cain, Stephanie has big shoes to fill. The sort of shoes she'd tried once before to fill and failed in such a spectacular way that she nearly brought down a city around her.

Stephanie had been relegated to being trapped on a campus full of innocent students, but now that three weeks of Bristol's campaign are complete, the world is opening up to the current Batgirl once more. But Stephanie wants to return to Gotham... and Oracle has made Xander vow to prevent that from occurring. Meanwhile, reunions abound - Data 7, Rosetta, Spirit and more.

And, like, I'm all here for it, you know? This campaign of twos could use a ten in their lives.

We're going undrafted again at #78.

#80 - Sue Dibny
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She'll break your heart, don't you know.

Susan Dearbon Dibny, the longtime companion of Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man, was often considered an honorary member of the Justice League from some of its earliest days. Always faithfully at her husbands side, Sue had a passion for travel and adventure, and her presence helped to ground the Justice League in its International and Satellite eras. However, when left alone in the Satellite during one routine mission, Sue witnessed the arrival of Doctor Light on the scene. She was captured and held down as Light proceeded to rape Sue. The Justice League soon arrived and, taken to the hospital by Ralph, the remaining members decided to hold court and make a decision as to the fate of Doctor Light. It could be argued that Sue inadvertently set in motion the chain of events that led to the foundation of the Society, in that respect. Sue was tenacious, however, and after her recovery, she and Ralph resumed their mission in superheroes with the Justice League Europe and International incarnations, as well as with the Superbuddies.

After years of partnership, Sue learned she was pregnant, and while planning a surprise party to tell Ralph, she was murdered by Jean Loring, the wife of the Atom, in a bid for that former spouse to win back the heart of her superheroic ex. This came on a Sunday, during a mission Ralph undertook in California with Firehawk. On his way home, Sue began to experience pressure on her brain caused by Jean Loring, who attempted to cause a seizure within Sue to scare both her and Ralph. Instead, inexperienced with the White Dwarf Belt belonging to her ex-husband, Jean accidentally crushed Sues mid-medulla. Shocked by the sudden death of her friend, Jean used a flamethrower weapon to burn Sues body and escape. By the time Ralph arrived, his wife was dead, her body singed to a crisp.

If you ask someone like Paul Lincoln, our historian du jour in the campaign, he'll tell you that the death of Sue Dibny precipitated the fall of the superhero community. Sue was beloved - not even Lois Lane was an honorary member of the JLA, but Sue was. She was a partner not just to Ralph Dibny, but the rest of the League. Her sweetness, her kindness, was unparalleled. And her death shook the world.

Especially as of late, Lush seems to be deeply, deeply affected by Sue's death. The two of them share a common thread, after all. They have a connection to one another through the mindwipes of Zatanna. By all rights, Lush should be as angry with Sue as she wishes, and yet Lush is the one who has visited Sue's body in the morgue of Z'onn Z'orr. It's almost terrifying, thinking of how Lush took Sue's hand in her own, of her own volition, feeling every ounce of pain and empathy for a woman whose inadvertent legacy IS Lush, in a lot of ways.

But for others, like Rosetta, the realization that Sue Dibny's true legacy IS this Crisis, is dawning slowly before them. Perhaps no character's life and death have impacted this campaign as significantly as Sue's has.

Of course, her rebirth at the hands of the Cult of Conner... well, maybe there's a chance that the life and death and life once more of Sue Dibny will be a story to be told soon enough.

Round 4 loses another draftee.

Honorable Mention: Martina Dementieva
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The woman who would be #125. Kent Nelson, is this biography just an attempt for you to weasel your way out of your debt?

Martina Dementieva is an Eastern European arms dealer who carved out a tiny little corner of Las Vegas for herself, selling high-value items of significant importance. Martina helped supply Checkmate agents in Las Vegas with the inventory necessary to steal the Helm of Fate from the Excalibur, all with the desire to use that Helm to pay off Kents significant debt to Martina. When the battle on the Strip commenced after the heist, Martina tried to warn Kent of what was coming - in this case, Zazzala. But during the uproar, she was grabbed by a thug from Club V and held at gunpoint. Ultimately, when Zazzala arrived, Martina was among those who vacated Las Vegas, sensing greener pastures elsewhere.

Calm, cold and almost entirely emotionless, Martina is my little exploration of what the Black Widow really should be, should someone strip away the heroics from the character. Built entirely on self-sufficiency and survivalism, Martina recognizes the logic in supporting Checkmate over the Society, despite her strong connections that have been constructed around a belief in the Society's enduring domination of North America. Originally from Ukraine, Martina's rough upbringing has only reinforced sentiments that cozying up to power is the smartest move in any situation. Perhaps this is why not only has Martina assessed the spec ops team as a savvier alliance than the oftentimes tumultuous Society, but also why she has clearly chosen to seduce Kent Nelson physically. Knowing that Kent is the next Doctor Fate, Martina seems actually rather open about her reasoning for sleeping with Kent - and Kent seems too deliriously thrilled with the relationship to either recognize or care about her real purposes for being with him.

In fact, that relationship defines what I truly love about Martina - she's manipulative, but brazenly so. She makes no bones about it - she will sleep with Kent, keep him physically content, but also keep him at an arm's length. There's an alpha-beta definition, and Martina is certainly the dominant of the pair, uninterested in intimacy or love, only focused on keeping the Helm of Fate close at all times. Martina is decidedly self-serving, a villain of sorts. Every bit of her plays to the rational, power-hungry arms dealer, and her wily ways, willing to gamble for the sake of advancement in a world decidedly lacking in opportunities for such, always fills me with delight. She is one of the truly equal players to the players, and their back and forth in scenes of dialogue oftentimes provides me a chance to have some who is intellectually on equal footing with the PCs in our campaign.

Now that her plans to start gun running across the planet are beginning to transpire, I think Martina will have a grander role in the success of Checkmate as it gears up for all-out war with Darkseid. And what with the Helm of Fate nearly at her beck and call, I think that will make for entertaining - and perhaps surprising - fare.

Back to #80, the first of a draft class falls.

It's really too bad that Rocksteady didn't take on the Gotham Knights project and WB Games didn't take on the Suicide Squad one.

Honorable Mention: Fire
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The woman who would come in 126th place.

Bea began as a showgirl, stage performer and amateur model on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, but all of this ended up becoming a simple cover for her while she worked with the Brazilian espionage agency. On one of her missions, she was exposed to a pyroplasmic explosion and gained her green fire-based abilities which have since become her trademark. Green flames flying across the sky? That is the Justice Leaguer, Fire. Considered the greatest hero of South America by many, Fire served for years with the JLI before joining the Superbuddies. Along the way, she found a partner and mentee in Talirah Isiset. Together, they worked for Maxwell Lord prior to the deaths of both Tali and Max. In fact, with so many of her allies dying in the wake of her loss at the Battle of Metropolis, Fire has internalized guilt for the complete eradication of the Superbuddies and the League. Nevertheless, Amanda Waller sees great potential in Fire, and Fire has been brought back to her roots - spying and espionage. Waller knows that if someone can just pull her from her funk, Fire might very well be the perfect leader for Wallers worldwide resistance against Darkseid. But only if.

The largest question mark in the campaign right now is Fire's stability. Burdened with incomprehensible guilt, Fire has stated on numerous occasions that she is a survivor, possessing a survivor's guilt. Sue is dead, Ralph is missing. Max is dead. Nate is dead. Tali is dead. Ted and Booster are both missing - and they could be dead. All of Fire's closest comrades have met with a terrible, terrible end. In her mind, the only true connective tissue is Fire herself, and most of the party has seen just what lengths Fire will go to try and salvage even the faintest glimmer of hope.

As it turns out, she'll walk through Hell itself.

For her dearest friend, a sister from another mister, Ice, Fire braved the inferno of the damned, marching from its center to its infamous gates of abandoned hope, all to resurrect a friend who Fire once again undertook the yoke of blame in her death. The missive was simple from Etrigan - play Orpheus to Ice's Eurydice. March out of Hell without ever looking back. Fire and Guy Gardner managed to make it almost to the gate... before both had to check, had to see if their dearly beloved Tora was there.

They both cost Ice a return to life.

In reality, however, it appears that this test was a ruse to allow Ice an escape on behalf of Etrigan - though for what purpose, it remains unclear. Ice still did depart - the test over, Ice's soul was abandoned by the demon custodians monitoring her. After all, the fun had been had. What use was there in playing janitor to the damned when the Lords of Hell weren't watching? So Ice attached herself, unaware, to Fire's very soul. And now the pair share a body. In fact, Tora even has taken control of Fire from time to time; after all, she's a Somnabule, a soul that feeds on the warmth of others, unaware of her monstrous demeanor.

Fire is desperate to resurrect the dead, and there may be a chance. Could the woman whose entire life is founded upon loss, tragedy and guilt, finally redeem herself in her own eyes? Could Fire and Ice be united once more?

Our last honorable mention for now - undrafted and debuting in our campaign in the first half of 2022.

Honorable Mention: Randall Dowling
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The man who would be #127.

Dowling - a man who worked for two masters in both the United States government and an organization known only for the character of 4 that served as its symbol - has been involved in much of the secretive scientific research conducted behind the scenes of the last 60 years. This included the American concentration camp and science city called Area 50, where political dissidents were used as guinea pigs. He also appears to have some connection to the invasion of Earth by Darkseid, where his advancements have been used as the baseline to create the Anti-Life Equation virus which has consumed the minds of billions. In the visions of Eve Manners, Dowling appeared to perfect a bioweapon called the Morticoccus Virus, something that he took with him when he departed through an interdimensional transporter just before Area 50 was shuttered for the foundation of Area 51. Where Dowling went afterwards well, that information may be of vital, vital importance to the resistance effort.

The story of the campaign turns on the tale of Eve Manners, and Dowling, a master manipulator, the true specter of the past, lurking in the shadows, is a crucial part of that. I wish I could say more about Dowling, I really do. To elucidate Dowling's character further would be to reveal too much that the party doesn't know... yet.

But I guarantee all of you, Randall Dowling will play one of the most important roles in the back half of the campaign. His abilities to torment, torture and terrorize will not be forgotten. And everything that was bright to light first in the memories of Eve Manners will be the crucial foundation for a large corner of the campaign.

This character was an OG of the campaign, yet went entirely undrafted - a smart move, as she scores what would be 126th place.

Honorable Mention: Journal Moore
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The character that would have been #128 is Journal Moore!

Twenty-two and perhaps the most together woman of her age, Journal Moore works as the Presidents communications director, having gone from White House intern to the expression of presidential speech in a span of 72 hours. Journal is a non-nonsense go-getter, cutthroat in her efficiency and highly competent. As the speech writer and policy czar for the President, Journal is one of his closest confidants, a fact that is becoming all too real for those who join the Presidents reconstruction task force.

While Journal at this moment really only interacts with Xander, the relationship between the two immediately slipped into something comfortable, like a well-worn pair of shoes. There is a natural chemistry there, one that feels like it's always been there. The patter and back-and-forth is rapid-fire and natural, and any dialogue always has a real crispness to it, a real snap. Based and rooted in a classic West Wing-style Sorkinian political perspective, Journal's confidence matches Xander's own, and when they butt heads, it always pertains to just how much authority each of them has and how much both want to see President Horne's administration survive and remain successful.

It should be mentioned that President Horne's staff is largely liberal despite Horne himself being the last relic of a campaign set in 2008 - a moderate Republican. Never elected, Horne was the Speaker of the House during President Lex Luthor's administration. After both Luthor and Pete Ross (his VP) were ousted form power, Horne was next in the line of succession. Though Horne himself never seemed to have aspirations for the Oval Office, he's slipped into a natural wartime leadership position out of necessity; however, this also led to a host of hand-me-downs from the previous administration remaining in position during the odd, unexpected transition of power as a result. Journal has something to prove because of this. Not only is she the wrong party, a liberal independent in a conservative Republican's executive staff, but she has so little experience that she's defensive due to it.

I love the characters who have something to prove. Not only is there a desire to be successful that drives Journal well-past the point of simple performance, but Journal knows that there are no alternatives. These are the times that try men's souls, after all. Most of Washington is dead, captured or Equated. The House and Senate are gone. The Supreme Court is gone. The Cabinet is gone. What remains are a handful of admittedly low-level personnel from the wrong administration, forced to ban together to achieve great things with few resources amidst the gathering storm of a final, existential crisis. Journal may be conniving, she may be all about Eve.

But she's also a true patriot, rising to meet that final crisis with the earnest aplomb of a young woman who simply won't accept 'no' for an answer.

The next honorable mention is a mention that went undrafted!

I agree that the family was great, and Kamala's actress is excellent, especially for a first-time performer. Really, this all goes on the directing, writing and editing.

From a viewership perspective, it couldn't even pull in a million households per episode by the end of the series in the five-day viewership category. That's shockingly low.

I do agree that the movie has a real advantage of putting the entire story in the rearview mirror, however. I guess it's just sad to me that the quality of the first arcs of Kamala's comic run couldn't be reproduced.

Ms. Marvel was absolutely the worst thing the MCU has produced. The story is a mess, the villains are insanely weak, and it just suffered immeasurably from bizarre pacing and plotting. I'm pretty sure it's fairly commonly recognized as subpar.

No - go bolder. Be like Wet Hot American Summer's prequel and have them all in their mid-40s.

There's another Dr Strange in the works.

#81 - Tomorrow Woman
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A real hero.

The first expansionary member of the JLA, Tomorrow Woman was secretly designed by Professor Ivo and T.O. Morrow in partnership with one another to destroy her fellow teammates. Instead, she developed a conscience and self-detonated to protect them from harm. Now rebuilt, Tomorrow Woman is trying to understand her humanity and what she is meant to achieve outside of her fathers ambitions. Found in Haven by Checkmate, Tomorrow Woman was brought back to Zonn Zorr for repair. She has developed a kinship with Iron Munro, who she considers a mentor, and also with Doctor Light, whose field team protecting Japan takes up much of her time.

There have been several influences that form the basis for Tomorrow Woman in this campaign for me. Maria from the classic silent film Metropolis, Ava from Ex Machina, and of course the works of Isaac Asimov all play an underlying role in informing the rebirth and reeducation of Tomorrow Woman. Now far-removed from her dual paternal influences, what the party is witnessing in Tomorrow Woman - or Clara, as Black Alice has come to learn is her given name - is a true development of autonomy, an evolutionary process of independent thought. As many will be quick to point out, Tomorrow Woman's dialogue is presented even in a different format than any other character's: sentences are often short, and every word suffers from randomized capitalization (though sometimes, this is subtly NOT randomized). For Clara, the Tomorrow Woman, the opportunity to serve the resistance has become a renaissance of sorts, filled with almost daily epiphanies. Tomorrow Woman is remarkably naive in many ways, the totality of her experiences in this new life, since activation in Haven, comprising the sum of her experiences.

To explore the idea of autonomy and self-determination within an artificial lifeform has always fascinated me, really brought out, in my mind, a host of moral and philosophical quandaries. Even in Tomorrow Woman's own understanding of the world - simplistic though it may be - she has begun to tackle much larger issues and these questions, such as the nature of where life begins and simulation ends, loom largely in the darker recesses of her mind. She busies herself daily with sitting at the feet of a blind superhero from the 1940s, hoping to soak up his every piece of advice, and when she's not there, she's in Japan, often brutally murdering those enemies who support the growing empire of Darkseid. The sanctity of life is in many ways lost on Tomorrow Woman, and in other ways, something so precious that she would do anything to protect it. This contradictory set of laws governing her own morality likely was installed within Tomorrow Woman by her sadistic mad scientist fathers - who she is often quick to fall back on for guidance not otherwise provided to her.

And then there's the fact that, despite being one of the shortest-tenured Justice League members in history, Tomorrow Woman is nevertheless a Justice Leaguer. Though her powers have been altered dramatically - and with many pieces of her body missing, that doesn't seem to be changing quickly - Tomorrow Woman is a force to be reckoned with. Thanks to Rosetta and the Nashville team, Clara has regained the talent of flight once again, something her slow, deliberate smile has underlined means so much to her. It's uplifting to witness this childlike wonderment around every turn in Tomorrow Woman's journey into enlightenment, into true autonomous self-determination. What a treat.

The first honorable mention was undrafted, but at least one player has revealed to me that they were on a shortlist for drafting.

As the conspiracy of destinies collides, the stars shatter over twelve men and women as they seize their dreams across a universe in turmoil.

Topic #3 begins here, with #81 - an undrafted surprise entrant onto our list!