A Zombie Twist (X-Men based)

[agentlemanwithadream]

I was updating my 1x1 thread and an idea popped into my head.

2069. Misguided attempts at gene modification to solve the "Mutant Problem" results in one of mankind's oldest and worst nightmares coming true. A real zombie apocalypse has broken out and ravaged Los Angeles, destroying the city and spreading like wild fire across the continent before the government could stop it. In response, Uncle Sam tried set up safe towns for survivors to go to and try to rebuild a life. Although they are run under a martial law type of system, many people choose the harsh and often corrupt safe town over that of running from Zombies for the rest of their lives. Executive Order 35068 authorized the formation and development of small mutant teams to go out and neutralize Zombie from areas surrounding safe towns so that they can expand properly.

This is definitely open to criticism, additions, expansions etc. I hope it sparks some interest.

[Chaeronea]

Sounds interesting.

So the cause of the zombie plague was something like the 'mutant cure' in X-Men: The Last Stand gone wrong? Oh the irony...

What were attitudes towards mutants like before the zombies started shambling, and what's it like now? If the original 'cure' was derived from mutant DNA like the one in Last Stand then I can see even mor eanti-mutant bias then before the plague started.

What are the zombies like? Slow and clumsy like the George Romero monies, the World War Z book and the mangaHigh School of the Dead? Fast but dumb like in The Walking Dead or the trailers for the World War Z movie? Or fast and still sentient (albeit morally corrupted and evil) like in Marvel Zombies?

Is the United States still actually a coherent whole or is each settlement effectively on its own? Can a settlement call on another for help and expect it to be answered? Can the federal government actually enforce its decisions? What's the situation like in the world outside the US - are they still intact or are they fighting off their own zombie hordes?

[Miroque]

And would you need original characters or enstablished Xmens ?

[agentlemanwithadream]

Sounds interesting.

So the cause of the zombie plague was something like the 'mutant cure' in X-Men: The Last Stand gone wrong? Oh the irony...

What were attitudes towards mutants like before the zombies started shambling, and what's it like now? If the original 'cure' was derived from mutant DNA like the one in Last Stand then I can see even mor eanti-mutant bias then before the plague started.

What are the zombies like? Slow and clumsy like the George Romero monies, the World War Z book and the mangaHigh School of the Dead? Fast but dumb like in The Walking Dead or the trailers for the World War Z movie? Or fast and still sentient (albeit morally corrupted and evil) like in Marvel Zombies?

Is the United States still actually a coherent whole or is each settlement effectively on its own? Can a settlement call on another for help and expect it to be answered? Can the federal government actually enforce its decisions? What's the situation like in the world outside the US - are they still intact or are they fighting off their own zombie hordes?

All very good questions and completely up for debate as this isn't really a complete idea. I can see a very divided pro/anti mutant sentiment. On one hand, some humans are thankful for mutants because of the protection and expansion services that mutants provide. On the other hand, some humans feel like mutants are the cause so they hate them even more.

As far as the zombies go, I'm unfortunately not familiar with any of those platforms. I'm most familiar with COD type of zombies however, I would be open to any type of zombie, even Mutant Zombies although I see them being a lot rarer.

I believe that the government, at the Federal level, would be almost obsolete as long as zombies were running rampant. Instead, safe town governments work together at a regional level to coordinate supply movements, zombie numbers etc. I see the zombie outbreak having spread to Europe and Asia and although its not as bad over there, it stops them from interfering in a large way in the US.

And would you need original characters or enstablished Xmens ?

I think OC's would be the primary mutants around considering the date but older, established X-Men could easily be around as well. Plus I know certain mutations allow people to live longer etc.

[Miroque]

Not to mention timetravel powers etc.. but yea, I would love only OCs. And as few as possible established chars.

[Chaeronea]

All very good questions and completely up for debate as this isn't really a complete idea. I can see a very divided pro/anti mutant sentiment. On one hand, some humans are thankful for mutants because of the protection and expansion services that mutants provide. On the other hand, some humans feel like mutants are the cause so they hate them even more.

As far as the zombies go, I'm unfortunately not familiar with any of those platforms. I'm most familiar with COD type of zombies however, I would be open to any type of zombie, even Mutant Zombies although I see them being a lot rarer.

I believe that the government, at the Federal level, would be almost obsolete as long as zombies were running rampant. Instead, safe town governments work together at a regional level to coordinate supply movements, zombie numbers etc. I see the zombie outbreak having spread to Europe and Asia and although its not as bad over there, it stops them from interfering in a large way in the US.

I think OC's would be the primary mutants around considering the date but older, established X-Men could easily be around as well. Plus I know certain mutations allow people to live longer etc.

I have to admit I'd rather the main focus be on OCs rather than canon characters, too. Looks like we have a consensus!

I have to admit I haven't played Call of Duty so I'm only familiar with the zombie stuff from trailer I've seen on Youtube like this one -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjM4R4QhQUA#ws

For comparison here's the English-dubbed first episode of the High School of the Dead anime.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hcg7xIsbPw#ws
To see the zombies in action watch the first 2 minutes for an in media res sequence, then from 10:00  to the end. It's fairly gratuitous about the fanservice so consider yourselves warned (or enticed ). They're basically slow but unstoppable as long as their heads are attached or intact.

The zombies in the World War Z trailer here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md6Dvxdr0AQ#ws - , by contrast, are pretty damn fast, and I'm not really sure if they're reanimated dead or just people with a disease like in 28 Days Later. If they're not undead, maybe they'll be easier to kill than classic zombies.

Gentleman, you mentioned that baseline humans will be pretty divided on their reactions towards humans. A big question will be 'how do mutants feel about baseline humans?' You mentioned that the zombie plague was caused by a variant of the mutant cure (BTW, a thought occurred to me that if you wanted to have the zombie outbreak on a widespread scale, maybe someone thought they had developed a vaccine rather than a cure - preventatives tend to receive widespread distribution).  Did the government offer this cure freely to any mutant who desired it, like in X-Men: The Last Stand ? Or was there public discussion about it being forcibly administered to every mutant they could get their hands on?

Assuming it's been a year or two since the initial outbreak, which I assume is the case from the description Gentleman gave in the original post, then things have probably settled down a bit (I'm assuming this from the fact that the safe towns are set up and the Federal government is in communication with the outside world, or at least the fortress towns). Also the fact that the missions for the mutant teams focus on the safe towns looking to expand rather than just hanging on to survive seems to imply that some time has passed.

One of the themes in a post-zombie world that is explored in the 'Walking Dead' comic series which inspired the TV show is that the biggest danger isn't the undead - it's the living once civilisation breaks down and it becomes everyone for themselves.  Outside the safe towns the PCs will probably have bandits, survivalists and settlements that aren't in touch with the government, as well as the zombies. Most people who survive the coming of the zombies will have mental scars ranging up to full-fledged PTSD. And as posted in the seventh post of  this thread...

The Social Impact of guns in a Zombie Apocalypse aftermath...

Find a map of the American Gun Belt. Find a map of the American Bible Belt. They match up very very closely. Gun haters will be very well represented in the roster of Zombie victims.  The people who will be very well represented among the survivors have been described as "The Bitter Clingers." The Post Apocalypse society will be far more conservative, possibly to the point of being reactionary than our society today....

It will be hard to believe in a loving God after something like this.  Omnibenevolent, Omnipotent, Omniscient?  Even  many "Bitter Clingers" will have trouble keeping that view of God in their heads.  Something like the belief system of the Westboro Baptist Church becoming widespread is an appalling possibility. 

Lots of people know about their rabid homophobia. Rather fewer know that "God Hates Us" is a central tenet of their belief.

Yeah, there's going to be lots more than zombies for our characters to be dealing with.

[agentlemanwithadream]

Pardon me for my extended absence of sorts, it's finals time around here so I may be a little less around for a while.

As far as the zombie conversation goes, I read a bit of the conversation that you linked in the thread and I want to say thank you for the reference because some good points were raised. In reference to your question about mutant feelings, I think they would be split morally much like the Dr. X and Magneto. Some would fight along side base humans in the hopes of saving all of humanity (a stance Charles Xavier might take) while others might be more sympathetic to a Brotherhood type of viewpoint where baseline humans weren't looking to live peacefully with humans until they served a purpose (i.e. Zombie killing.)

As far as the cure went, I would probably follow guidelines set in X-Men The Last Stand where as the cure was available to people who wanted it but was also forcibly used against mutants who have been deemed too much of a threat.

Of course, this is all open for discussion.