Have you ever sat back and looked at the Marvel, DC, Image, Valiant, or other universe and thought “that hero or villain belongs in this other universe?” I’ve said that about a number of heroes and villains from a number of different universes and have even gone as far as creating my own universe with a plethora of pastiches from those universes to see how they work together. (Side note: that universe has evolved over the course of 20+ years into a universe of original heroes and villains that will be written, drawn, and released in the future by myself.) Here, though, I plan on drafting the 10 best heroes and 10 best villains from every comic book universe to use as a basis for creating one universe to start from scratch. There will be people who hate what I’ve chosen and others who love what I’ve chosen, but my goal is to get you thinking and maybe even discussing the possibilities.
The rules: individual heroes and villains are the intent to be chosen here, however, you can choose a group consisting of up to 6 individuals (if you name them) but you can only do that ONCE. Every other selection must be an individual. You do NOT automatically get any hero’s rogue’s gallery nor do you get any villain’s nemesis. Your selections are the entirety of the draft and they are the basis of your new universe.
SELECTION #1: Shazam (or The Captain)
Yes, I’m starting out with a strange pick for most of you but I’m starting out with my favorite superhero of all time: the original Captain Marvel.
The entire story behind Shazam is a great one and with the “relaunch” of the Shazamily for the modern DC era, it also sort of allows for the expansion of the myth to go further than just Shazam. The Wizard was part of a council that he granted his power to Billy Batson when there was no one else worthy to become the champion.
Well, if I were expanding this in a new universe, what about the others on that council? Did one of the others possess a power other than living lightning? Could there be a hero with living fire or living water as base powers? If so, these guys would have to pre-date Black Adam because there has been no mention or indication that any of these “champions” existed between Black Adam and Shazam (assuming I also draft Black Adam), leaving the door wide open for a whole pantheon of possibilities.
Shazam is the first pick because he is the cornerstone of this universe and this universe couldn’t exist without him. He’s the source of magic and the one who ends up being the one who really controls how magic works in this world.
I think this is a great start and we now move onto the next pick.
SELECTION #2: Captain America
This one may make you look at me weird, especially after I went with the pinnacle of magic, but Captain America is a big deal in comics storytelling for me. Captain America represents a lot of things about America (the way it should be), about Marvel, and about how heroes should act. Captain America is a leader, a tried and true hero, and someone who will stand up for what’s right whether or not he’s going to survive the experience.
While the man I am drafting exists in both the MCU and the comics, the one that I’m primarily leaning on is the one in the MCU/Ultimate Comics because that is the Captain America that isn’t saddled with hundreds of issues of continuity.
Finding an American hero in the ice after everyone thought he was lost in the ice is something that would inspire my new universe of heroes to rise up against the evil in the world and fight for good.
Captain America opens up the opportunity to do what the MCU did: use the super soldier serum as the basis for all kinds of new super heroes and villains in this new universe. How many other people tried to do the same thing and ended up doing something to themselves that was nowhere near what ended up happening to Steve Rogers? Using this as a premise, we can create all kinds of weird side effects that can open up possibilities to create powers that will be interesting and be able to contend with Captain America on his level.
What other countries would have created their own Captain America? Captain Mexico? Captain Canada? Captain Russia? Captain Ukraine? The possibilities are endless.
SELECTION #3: Cyber Force (Specifically Ripclaw, Velocity, Cyblade, Impact, and Ballistic)
My favorite Image launch comics, Cyber Force took me by storm when they debuted and I have loved them ever since. Choosing Ripclaw, Velocity, Cyblade, Impact, and Ballistic specifically was due in part to needing to include the members that I most cared about in the comics and that I wanted to include in this new universe. While Stryker and Heatwave are also interesting in their own right, they didn’t make the cut in this universe.
Cyber Force allows me to include mutants into the mix but also allow cybernetics to be included as well, giving this universe a level of tech that will be used for all kinds of things that won’t be questioned and keep this universe separate from our world.
The personalities are interesting and rather than have them all on the run like they are in Image/Top Cow, I would have them involved in a different kind of story. My tales would include heroics against villains that operate in the shadows, villains that operate in locations in other countries than the US, and villains that are actively looking to replace a lot of humanity with mostly cybernetics.
Cyber Force is considered the perfect blend of cybernetics and super powers while anyone else trying to do this would most likely end up being some sort of freak or genetic mishap if they were converted by a villain or well intentioned individual who doesn’t know exactly what the repercussions of such actions would be.
SELECTION #4: Batman
How can you have a comics universe without the world’s greatest detective?
Batman/Bruce Wayne allows for the new universe to have ourselves a “more than human” individual on a one man mission to make a city clear of crime in revenge for his family’s murder. In DC Comics that city is Gotham City but I don’t really like to do fictional cities if I don’t need to, so I would end up making that city a real world equivalent like New York maybe Newark. I would definitely keep it on the east coast of the US, though and only go as far in as Baltimore but Batman would definitely be THE hero of that city in question.
Having Batman in the universe means we have an altruistic billionaire fighting crime and while DC has an entire entourage of family members behind him, this new universe would have him solo and allowing for a chance to make all kinds of new help (if I so chose to make him a new Bat-family).
Along with the other heroes on my list (even the ones you haven’t read about yet), Batman would very much adapt his technology to fit his goals and use everything in his power to adjust to fight anything that his new city’s criminals could possibly throw at him. The wonders of what Batman in a brand new setting could be something to witness.
SELECTION #5: Iron Man
Another billionaire? Yes, another billionaire.
Tony Stark brings a different kind of flavor to the universe. Iron Man is technology based, something out of science fiction if you go far enough, and Tony Stark is often displayed as being beyond the cutting edge of technology. The Iron Man suits are the result of that drive to be beyond the cutting edge and that’s why I’m including him.
With Iron Man comes a certain realism but also the ability to include technology into superhero DNA that would explain a lot of things that can’t be explained. I’m not talking about DNA as in their genetics, I’m talking about how powers work or how super suits can go without being damaged. This is one of those cases where my previous pick, Batman, would integrate some of Iron Man’s tech into his own stuff, meaning that both men could benefit from each other in the long run.
Where as Bruce Wayne has a stable demeanor and a thoughtful process to work things out to solve problems, Tony Stark is more of a “let’s build a thing and throw it at the problem to see what happens” type of guy. These are two totally different billionaires trying to solve problems in two entirely different ways.
I really wanted to include the Iron Man suits/tech in this new universe and this was a necessary pick.
SELECTION #6: Green Lantern
The Green Lantern I have chosen to go with is Sojourner “Jo” Mullein, a female of the group and one of the newer Lanterns of the Corps. I absolutely wanted to include a Lantern in the mix because this gives the universe a cosmic element while also allowing the universe to have someone who can also operate in Sector 2814. Unlike DC where it seems there are a hundred Lanterns working on Earth, Mullein will be the only Lantern operating on Earth.
I went with a female specifically because if you notice the list so far, it is quite male dominated. Yes, Cuber Force has quite a few females but I wanted some independently operating females, and this is the first one that I decided to choose.
Choosing a Green Lantern also opens up the possibilities of including all of the other Lantern Corps, as well as creating a number of other Green Lanterns without being tied to the Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner source that the original DC origins were. There is a greater opportunity to change and expand the Lanterns in a way that isn’t just based on emotions or the like and could be utilized in a different mythology, creating a whole new way to look at them.
With Jo Mullein being the original Lantern you’re introduced to in this universe, we also eliminate the Alan Scott precursor and the muddled mess that is the Golden Age with heroes that existed and aged out of the ability to continue heroics.
SELECTION #7: Atom Eve
Who thought I was going to completely leave out the Invincible universe in this selection process?
Atom Eve is the perfect character for this universe in that she has a versatile set of powers without having a lot of baggage in other areas. Those who haven’t read outside the main DC or Marvel universes will be introduced to a great character that can show off a variety of powers that will dazzle and hang with the best of the best in times of need.
The inclusion of Atom Eve sets up a world where she can blend in as a mutant, or be one of the offshoots of the super soldier serum experiments, or maybe even a byproduct of some magical spell that didn’t go as planned. Whatever her origins end up being, Atom Eve brings a girlish facade to a very testosterone fueled battle where she can hang with even the strongest of them.
She also acts as an unlikely leader in times where a team might form or a person like Captain America might not be available to take charge.
Atom Eve also keeps this list from being just a DC and Marvel party.
SELECTION #8: Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman brings in the world of Gods, Goddesses, and the wonders of mythology. She also gives this universe a taste of demigods and something more to fight for than just modern day problems.
While Captain America was our hero fighting in World War II, Wonder Woman would have been the inspiration and fighter alongside everyone in World War I. This gives us two long term heroes that have links to the US’s past and might even make them kindred spirits in this world as they would have a unique connection.
I personally would go with the white and gold costume as the preferred one to the red, white, and blue one she’s normally pictured in. Honestly, I’d probably have the outfit redesigned entirely, foregoing the red, white, and blue motif entirely in favor of something a little more “Greek Mythology” and a little less America.
Wonder Woman represents the first nearly immortal character I’ve chosen on this list and she would represent the first character on a God-tier level. She represents the one who would be who aliens from other planets might be seeking to duke it out with to see if they match up.
Wonder Woman is a necessity for this new universe.
SELECTION #9: Hulk
Yes, the Incredible Hulk is on the list because the giant, green, rage monster needs to be part of the new universe.
Having a Jekyll/Hyde type character is always a great idea and having the Hulk himself opens up the world of other irradiated beings into the fold. Rather than having a bunch of weird rogues from Hulk’s gallery, we can create new sideshow freaks from scratch that might fit better in a properly thought out universe. Planning ahead can make all the difference and not having to worry about previous baggage is a wealth of wonderful story opportunities.
Bruce Banner not having to contend with Thunderbolt Ross (if I don’t decide to draft him) or not starting as the Gray Hulk (if I didn’t decide to start that route) would be an interesting way to begin the Hulk, telling a totally different story than the one we already know, either from the 616 or the MCU.
We can begin to build up a whole new mythology behind how the Hulk operates, mentally speaking. Just like the MCU, we can also slowly allow the Hulk to develop rather than spend 40 years keeping the Hulk in a child-like state in the comics.
Was the Hulk a byproduct of a super soldier serum attempt like in the MCU? Was it like the gamma bomb like in the 616? Is Hulk the product of an alien infection that has mutated him? Speaking of mutation, is the Hulk a mutant? Fun times lie ahead.
SELECTION #10: The Crow
Wait, what? The Crow?
Yes, the Crow.
Introducing the Crow, and the entire concept of how the Crow operates, brings a unique element into the comics universe that wouldn’t exist in any other shared comic book universe: a hero that is out to even the odds but isn’t the same person every time.
Marvel has a spirit of vengeance in Ghost Rider, but he has less of a direction than the Crow would. DC has a spirit of vengeance in the Spectre, but he is bound to Abrahamic deities. The Crow manifests to exact justice and that is what the Crow is: a spirit of Justice.
The Crow is this new universe’s unique twist that exists in different forms, following different storylines at different times, and involving themselves in the greater plots of other heroes when their paths meet one another.
This is the completion of the selection of heroes for this new universe and completes part 1 of the column. Join me next time for part 2 when I select the villains for this new universe, knowing that the “team” has already been used.
You can provide feedback at emeraldspecter – at – gmail – dot – com.
Thanks for reading.
