The Superiors [Interest Check]

[Foxy DeVille]

It's the 1980's and thus far the world has been protected by a small number of independent super-heroes. This hasn't sat too well with the US government, who would prefer a group they can control. So allied with various members of the arms, pharmaceutical, and marketing industries, they create their own team of heroes... the Superiors.

So the idea behind this would be to present the lives of these would-be heroes. Now not all of them would be all that heroic. Some would be picked for their loyalty to the powers that be or their popularity with the public. And with so many masters, their deeds might not always be that good. If you've ever read The Boys, that's sort of the feel I'm looking at.

Anyone feel like selling their souls for spandex and super-powers?

[AyeGill]

Count me interested.

Maybe we can get some more detail about the world? What time is it, how has superpowers changed it, etc.

[Foxy DeVille]

Count me interested.

Maybe we can get some more detail about the world? What time is it, how has superpowers changed it, etc.

It's the mid 80's, when greed was good and Rambo defended us from the Evil Empire. Until the creation of the Superiors, there had only been a handful of generally benevolent super-heroes that have been looked on more as the stuff of legends. The Superiors are the first to have such extensive connections with the movers and shakers of the world. How they effect the world and use or abuse that power is part of the focus of the game.

[AyeGill]

Cool.

What power level are we going for? Are we talking captain america or superman?

[RubySlippers]

Or below those like a decent member of The Mystery Men I'd kind of like playing someone ,er, not exactly more than eye candy and to make The Superiors look good doing PR things.

[Foxy DeVille]

Any power level you want really. It's a more character driven story. So someone with an awesome level of power might have ramifications of that to deal with, kind of like like Hyperion in Supreme Power. Meanwhile someone less overt, like what Ruby was talking about, might wield a more subtle power thanks to their popularity or media savvy.

[Cold Heritage]

I'd be down if it were more like Supreme Power or The Ultimates than The Boys.

[Foxy DeVille]

I'd be down if it were more like Supreme Power or The Ultimates than The Boys.

Well, it's up to the players to help create the atmosphere. The Boys comparison comes from the "heroes" have government and coporate masters to answer to, plus some might be quite unethical themselves. I wouldn't get too hung up on any existing comic analogy since I'm hoping it'll have a feel of its own.

[Cold Heritage]

Alright. I'm okay with government/corporate masters, but anything else from The Boys isn't something I'd enjoy playing around or in.

[adifferenceinsize]

Oh my god... oh my god... I already have the perfect idea for this...

Equal parts Gordon Gecko and Tony Stark. Oh my god...

This has to happen.

On a less hyperbolic note, I figure this guy could serve a couple of purposes in the story. Anyone familiar with the Ultimates saw the hats that Iron Man wore there as financier and researcher. This guy could fit that similarly, perhaps more a VC aggregator if we want a more grounded tone as in The Boys. Still, I can already imagine a quintessentially 80's commercial to advertise this guy like the 1984 spot.

On a side note, anyone here familiar with the Authority?

[Cold Heritage]

It's been a while, and I haven't really kept up with it, but I'm somewhat familiar with the Authority.

[Blobbe]

I'm provisionally interested in this idea, although I'd like to get some clearer guidelines of the tone and feel beofre I commit to it. Certainly I'd prefer something that feels more like Ultimates then anyhting else.

[Foxy DeVille]

Would the folks mentioning Ultimates care to expand what they mean by that sort of feel? I haven't really read much of it because I'm in general not a Millar fan. As for The Authority, I've read the various series. The quality kind of yo-yo'ed but overall I liked it. I really enjoyed the Ellis run on Stormwatch that led up to it.

[Blobbe]

I'll admit now that I really, really didn't like Authority, and the Ellis run on Stormwatch made me want to throw the book at the wall. (But I didn't, becuse I was borrowing a friend's books and he wouldn't have appreciated it). Though I suppose that might have just disqualified me.

[Kaiten]

Honestly I have no idea what those are... The only Comic I ever read to fruition was Watchmen. But I like the idea and wouldn't mind joining in.

[Foxy DeVille]

Watchmen is a pretty good point of reference as well, since it dealt with the ramifications of super-heroes on the public consciousness as well as the use/abuse of power.

[RubySlippers]

I always liked the old Aquaman so I'm thinking a similar character can talk to and communicate with sea life,  breath water, swim better than a olympic swimmer but not superfast and looks incredible in a form fitting wetsuit all dripping with water but no superstrength.

EXCELSIOR!!!!

Would have a mount an orca would be nice to get around faster.

[Foxy DeVille]

I always liked the old Aquaman so I'm thinking a similar character can talk to and communicate with sea life,  breath water, swim better than a olympic swimmer but not superfast and looks incredible in a form fitting wetsuit all dripping with water but no superstrength.

EXCELSIOR!!!!

Would have a mount an orca would be nice to get around faster.

That would be sweet. I've always liked aquatic characters, even though they get treated as second rate a lot.

[Kaiten]

Orcas.... I love that image.

But the reason is usually because most aquatic characters need the ocean. Extremely effective once there, but not as much on land. Doesn't mean there aren't ways around it though.  :-)

[RubySlippers]

My character would be able to apparently operate and can live out of water, unlike Aquaman she would be more amphibious can also breath air and gets no superpowers from water just out of her element has some extra issues.

Likely she was recruited for being a wise-use sort of environmental figure, looks hot in stretchy wet-suits and might be good for marketing as a face of The Superiers.

I suggest each member have at least four corporate sponsors, two must fit the main motiff of the character that could be fun.

[Foxy DeVille]

I'll admit now that I really, really didn't like Authority, and the Ellis run on Stormwatch made me want to throw the book at the wall. (But I didn't, becuse I was borrowing a friend's books and he wouldn't have appreciated it). Though I suppose that might have just disqualified me.

Nope gotta try harder than that...  ;D

Since there seems to be a pretty good amount of interest, I'll whip up a character sheet when I get home from work. I'll also start fleshing some stuff out more. If anyone has more questions... or even better, ideas... feel free to toss 'em out into the ring here.

[Cold Heritage]

Would the folks mentioning Ultimates care to expand what they mean by that sort of feel?

The feel is a lot like a Hollywood big-budget summer blockbuster. It's set in a world with few superhumans, and those who make up the Ultimates are generally competent - personality issues and deficiencies of various characters lead to their downfall more than being grossly, dangerously incompetent. For example, the Hulk rampages across New York City as a result of Dr. Banner's extremely poor self-esteem and self-image issues, and Thor only intervenes once the President of the U.S.A. agrees to increase the U.S.'s foreign aid budget. Captain America is a tactical genius who takes it upon himself to beat the candy out of Hank Pym after the latter's spousal abuse leaves the Wasp hospitalized (leaving the Ultimates with fewer posthumans to fight the Skrulls). Hank Pym himself is so screwed up that after he gets out of the hospital (after Cap put him there) that he agrees to wear a Captain America costume during sex with some other woman he hooks up with. When Wasp and Captain America hook up there's a lot of tension because Captain America has 1940s tastes and Wasp's a modern woman. Everyone doubts Thor is an actual god, because that's just the world everyone lives in, and their doubt of his mental health is sufficient to allow Loki to manipulate the Ultimates and the European Union's superhuman initiative into taking Thor down (leaving the Ultimates dangerously outnumbered when a coalition of foreign superhumans invade the U.S.).

It's a lot like taking the Avengers, putting a spin on them much like Supreme Power put on the Justice League, but with an eye more towards an action film slant.

It's very much the opposite of the sort of portrayal Ennis gives superhumans.

[Blobbe]

Captain America is a tactical genius who takes it upon himself to beat the candy out of Hank Pym after the latter's spousal abuse leaves the Wasp hospitalized

And for this alone, Ultimate Cap is one of my heroes. Well, in truth, anyone who wails on Hank Pym probably would be....

[Foxy DeVille]

OK, a more extensive background of this world...

In the early part of the 20th century, people thought they had seen it all. Every corner had been discovered and even the sky had been tamed by humanity. Then in 1933, Professor Caliban cam to public attention. This enigmatic world traveler stunned even the most jaded with reports of his inhuman strength and seeming invulnerability. Four years later, an urban legend began being whispered amongst the underworld about a shadowy figure known as the Hooded Owl who preyed up criminals.  Both strange figures remained somewhat out of the public, either off in some hidden corner of the globe or in the darkest of alleyways. Then World War II broke out. At first it seemed that both Caliban and the Owl weren't involving themselves in the combat. But then the duo interrupted an occult ceremony being performed by Nazi mystics. Their goal had been to summon a Valkyrie and bind her to their control. But Prof Caliban and the Hooded Owl stopped this and the battle maiden called Valkyrja joined them in a paranormal strike team nicknamed the First Force.

For decades the First Force had many adventures and battle various menaces. Prof Caliban and Valkyrja seemed ageless. The Hooded Owl did as well but the original had secretly passed his mantle to a successor. They were willing to aid the US government until the 1960's. During that decade, the treatment of civil rights demonstrators and the bloodshed in Southeast Asia soured the First Force's relationship with Washington. Prof Caliban decided to concentrate on his private space exploration program. Valkyrja relocated to Europe. The Hooded Owl simply went back to the shadows. With such valuable assets lost to them, members of the American government decided to create their own wonders, ones completely under their command.  They contracted long-time arms manufacturer Aegis Industries and a cutting edge biotech firm called Next-Gen to develop such beings.

Project Prometheus, as the operation was dubbed, soon realized their goal would not be achieved overnight. It would takes years of research. In the meantime, the discoveries they made en route made Aegis Industries and Next-Gen global players in the world of economics. Things finally came to a head in the early 1980's. The reason was the return of the First Force to public attention. Prof Caliban successfully flew a spacecraft to Mars and back. The Hooded Owl (actually the third) prevented an assassination attempt on the president. Valkyrja led various reform efforts in Eastern Europe.  The US government felt they had reached another Sputnik moment. Luckily they were within a few years of finally achieving their goal. But they need more than super-powered beings, they needed heroes. So a fourth member was brought into the mix, the international marketing firm Image Nation. Image Nation helped select just who would make up this team as well as creating their look and their name... the Superiors. And in 1986, the world was finally ready to find out just who these Superiors are.

The Superiors work for the US government but in the capacity of civilians. It was decided that any sort of direct military or law enforcement connection might make the public uneasy. In addition, the source of the team's powers is classified. The cover story is that they all acquired their abilities independently and the government has been kind enough to help train and support them. Hoping to ease the burden on the taxpayer, three major corporations help fund the Superiors. It can be guessed what those three are. What the public doesn't know is that the Superiors return the favor in other ways besides photo-ops. All in all, the Superiors are a team with plenty of skeletons in the closet... and some people want to find out what those are.

And a character sheet.

Superiors Application

Code Name:
Real Name:
Description: (pics are nice, me likely visuals)

Powers/Skills/Gadgets: (not everyone has to have powers per se, training and nifty gadget supplied by Aegis works too)

Qualifications: (why the Superiors want you)

Motivations: (why you want to be a Superior and live your life the way you do)

Personality:

History:

Vices/Secrets: (you don't have to have any and the magnitude is up to you but it fits the theme of the game to have some personal demons)

You can post your Superior here or PM me. Likewise for any questions/suggestions.

[Kaiten]

Man, woman, or other; hooded owl seems like a very sexy name. Oh wait, it changed to horned?

Workin on a bio... ^^