DCnU Pitch - Angel and the Ape - Grant McLaughlin

The Talent
Writer - Grant McLaughlin
Artist - TBD

The High Concept

April O'Day manages O'Day and Simeon Private Investigations with her partner, and part-time comic book artist, Sam Simeon (who is also a gorilla).  Like the original series, this book would aim to be irreverently entertaining, presenting ridiculous obstacles for our titular heroes to best each and every month.  Although there would be overarching stories, each issue would attempt to present a complete tale, so that readers wouldn't have to read every single thing ever published to keep up (although they would be welcome - and encouraged - to do so).  There aren't enough humour books anymore.  Angel and the Ape would attempt to fill in that gap, while providing some enjoyable adventures for the reader to follow.  You could almost think of this book as being similar to the Batman: The Brave and the Bold series, in that there would often be guest appearances by other DC characters and usually a "case of the week" type scenario mixed in with the overriding concern.

The Cast

ANGEL O'DAY - The driving force behind the O'Day and Simeon Detective Agency, Angel is a young, motivated 20-something who intends to make her mark on the world.  She is bright, energetic, witty, and able to get out of tight spots with surprising regularity (perhaps one of her most useful traits).

SAM SIMEON - The other half of O'Day and Simeon Detective Agency, Sam is a gorilla.  He is also a rising comic book artist, working for Stan Bragg, a neurotic editor at BC Comics.  Sam acts and dresses like a human, but he is definitely still a gorilla with all the characteristics that that entails.  He doesn't speak, although Angel seems to understand him nonetheless.  Other characters try to do the same, but few succeed.  There is the potential to make some good use of thought balloons here - not necessarily with speech, but perhaps images to illustrate some of his basic thoughts and imaginings.

STAN BRAGG - Editor at BC Comics, he often appears through emails, phone calls, or text messages berating Sam for being late or doing shoddy work (even though he is always on time and only delivers the best).  He also has a habit of laying elaborate traps for Sam when he visits the BC Comics offices.

Overview

The book would open with O'Day and Simeon Private Investigations not doing too great.  Jobs are coming in less and less often, and Angel and Sam are having trouble closing what few cases they have on the go.  Things just don't seem to be clicking the way they once did.  The two are getting a little burnt out.  It also doesn't help that Sam has recently been hired by Stan Bragg to be the artist on one of the flagship titles of BC Comics latest reboot, a task that is taking up more and more of his time.  Seeing that things aren't going well, Angel convinces Sam that they should take their show on the road, travelling through the country to meet and learn from other successful private investigators / detectives.  As their travels continue, they realize that their recent streak of bad luck is the result of someone or something actively working to thwart the two, a larger mystery that they must obviously solve before it's too late!

There would also be a minor B-Story, following Sam's continuing work on the BC Comics reboot, played out mostly through Stan Bragg's incessant (and often furious) communications with Sam.  This would be pretty irreverent and lighthearted, poking fun at comics and the industry, although as the series progresses, it might be more relevant to the troubles facing our intrepid heroes than initially thought.

Outline

The first issue would establish the status quo, showing the recent difficulties facing Angel and Simeon Private Investigations, their sudden inability to solve any of the cases they're working, and Sam's new gig at BC Comics.  Although she's been thinking on the idea for a while, after a particularly disappointing failure by the team, Angel convinces Sam that they should get away for a bit.  Sam is excited at the prospect of having some time to relax and work on his comic book work.  He realizes too late that Angel's ulterior motive is to hep them get their groove back by travelling from city to city meeting with other PIs.

From there, the two could travel the country, meeting with different investigators and increasingly difficult challenges in each issue.  They would start with Slam Bradley, getting some time to visit New York, learn some tips, and fight off the Royal Flush Gang.  The Question wouldn't be quite so cooperative, forcing the two to stretch their minds a bit to understand the knowledge he tries to impart.  Ironically, the two are too busy fighting off the Masters of Disaster while visiting the Elongated Man to benefit from the same type of intellectual stimulation.  Their visit with Jon Jones would be illuminating for a number of reasons, including his uncanny ability to understand Sam and the secret identity that he has (revealed at a key moment in the wacky adventure they'd have with him).  Detective Chimp would particularly sympathetic to their plight, developing a strong kinship with Sam after some initial friction between the two.  Finally, the two would travel to Gotham to see the greatest detective of all.  However, their attempts would be hampered by the Riddler trying to offer some unwanted help and Batman wanting them to prove themselves (this could be divided into two issues).

Realizing a key piece of the puzzle to the increasingly difficult and dangerous challenges that seem to be following them, Angel and Sam return home to confront the forces that have been plaguing them!  Once (if?!) they survive, this initial story arc would draw to a close, leaving Angel and Sam back on top and ready to face whatever wackiness might face them in Union City with their new found ally!

New DCU Pitch – Justice Society: Declassified - MK Stangeland Jr.

The JUSTICE SOCIETY of AMERICA, originally created by Sheldon Mayer and Gardner Fox in 1940 (Image taken from Vol. 3, launched in 2006).

The Concept: OFFICIALLY, Superman is the worlds first superhero.

OFFICIALLY, NATO did NOT have a top-secret intelligence division known as CHECKMATE, which was NEVER responsible for employing the aid of superhumans in order to help keep the world safe.

OFFICIALLY, the organization known as the JUSTICE SOCIETY was never anything more than a work of fiction created to sell comic books.

In truth, during the Cold War the Justice Society and it’s members were responsible from protecting the world on countless occasions from threats that ranged in origin from supernatural, superhuman, extraterrestrial, and more, all without the world ever knowing what really happened – a truth that is about to become Declassified.

The Principal Characters:

*JAY GARRICK, The Flash. A chemist and physicist from Keystone City. One of the three founding members of the Justice Society.

*ALAN SCOTT, AKA Green Lantern. An engineer from the West Coast. One of the three founding members of the Justice Society.

*CORPORAL TED GRANT, AKA Wildcat. A veteran of World War II turned prize fighter. One of the three founding members of the Justice Society.

*WESLEY DODDS, AKA Sandman. A brilliant PI from New York who’s already a veteran of covert superheroics thanks to his powers. Starting to feel his age. One of four expansion members of the Justice Society after initially aiding them while unaffiliated.

*NUBIA OF THEMYSCIRA, AKA Wonder Woman. Claims to be on a personal mission from ‘Queen Hippolyta’ to stop ‘Mans World’ from destroying the planet with its petty squabbles. No one really believes her story, even if she is an invaluable addition to the team. One of four early expansion members of the Justice Society.

*DINAH DRAKE, AKA Black Canary. Grandmother of Dinah Lance, the second Black Canary who operates in the modern era. A young heroine who is discovered by Checkmate and brought into the Justice Society so she can be trained and kept out of the public eye.

*AUGUSTUS HOMER, AKA The Heroic Hawk-Man. No relation to Carter Hall, the modern Hawkman. Like Dinah, he’s a young, inexperience hero that the Justice Society take under their wing in order to train him and keep him out of the public eye.

*SEAN THOMPSON, Agent of Checkmate. Agent Thompson is the liaison between the Justice Society and NATO’s top secret Intelligence organization, Checkmate.

Overview

The world is entering the 1950s, and the Cold War is kicking into high gear. Chairman Mao has won the Chinese Civil War. Nuclear Weapons have spread beyond US boarders. Rarely has the future been less clear. And these are not the only dangers the world faces, as plenty of Cold War opportunities are waiting to be exploited by supervillains.

Recognizing there are situations beyond their own capabilities, a top secret branch of NATO known as Checkmate recruits a small team of superheros to form a covert Society, one that can help prevent the outbreak of World War III and put a stop to any maniacal madmen looking to use the Cold War to further their own ends.

Outline

(The following describes the initial setup and opening story-arc of the series)

As the Series opens, it is the last days of 1949, a new decade is just around the corner. Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, and Ted Grant, are already established as heroes. However, they are not widely known to exist by the public and are mostly considered to be urban legends. Wesley Dodds, the Sandman, is also an established hero by this point and has been operating as such since the 1920s, but due to his MO, few have ever even heard of him.

Meanwhile, while NATO and Checkmate have been established, they have yet to fully organize and fill the roles they are intended for. Despite this, Checkmate is successful in using its early intelligence leads to connect a number of dots leading towards an organization known as the League of Assassins and a plot that that threatens the world. This link is only confirmed when the League attempts to wipe out Checkmate before it can make use of this information and anyone who might be aware of the plot.

While Checkmate survives, it is wounded and needs time to get back on its feet. At the same time, it is unable to ignore what it knows. It assigns rookie Agent Sean Thompson to follow leads on supposed individuals with supernatural powers and recruit their help. Using these leads, Sean finds and recruits Garrick, Scott, and Grant to help Checkmate stop the League of Assassins’s plot. With a little unexpected help on the part of Sandman, the three both succeed in stopping the plot and uncovering a group within the League led by Vandal Savage to splinter off.

While successful, the three heroes recognize that the League and Vandal are still at large, and that there are plenty other threats out in the world that they may be needed for. While they aren’t interested in joining Checkmate directly, they do agree to form their own team, the Justice Society, and agree to aid Checkmate in helping to keep the world safe. Checkmate isn’t entirely pleased by this arrangement, but prefer it to not having the Societies aid at all, and assign Agent Thompson as liaison between Checkmate and the Society.

-------------------------------------

(So that there's no misunderstanding, this is in Grant's place because he contacted me via email asking if I'd like to switch places with him since he felt like he needed a little extra time to get his put together, and I was all to happy to help him out.)

DCnU Pitch - Elseworlds - Matt Duarte

Elseworlds – Monthly Series

Talent:

Matt Duarte – Writer

Rotating – Artists

The High Concept:

If there's one thing that DC's superheroes have over their marvellous counterparts is that there is a certain universality to them. Taking them out of their normal setting and placing them in a strange world or time to see what makes them tick, work, and explode.

Cast:

Various, depending on the story arc.

Overview:

The series will be divided into four issue story arcs (beginning, middle, elevation and conclusion), each starring a different character. Each story arc will feature one of the protagonists of one of the other 52 new series that DC is relaunching. Artists rotate every arc to fit the tone and setting of the story (and to keep deadlines). The stories do not take in a parallel Earth of any kind, so there won't be any crossovers into the “main” DCU at all or between them. These are purely imaginary stories (but then again, aren't they all?).

Outline:

First arc features Batman, as he is by far the most popular character in the stable of DC's characters. The setting in this case is the medieval ages, more specifically in the 12th century eastern Spain. The backdrop for this whole story is that of the Moors invasion of the area, as King Jaume attempts to drive them out of the territories. A young boy named Berenguer (our “Bruce”) witnessed the brutal murder of his wealthy parents by invading forces inside the very walls of their castle. Managing to escape miraculously, Berenguer trains his whole life to hunt down the men responsible for his parents' murder, particularly the leader of the group, a half-Moor, half-Christian (our “Two-Face”, a mercenary who sells out to the highest wage). Dressed in an outfit inspired by the stories of dragons in the Bible, Berenguer sets out to strike fear into the heart of these invaders and drive them from his land.

Second arc features Catwoman (a step down from Batman, but still quite popular) set in the backdrop of ancient Egypt. The Pharaohs of Egypt used to be buried in sacred robes, along with their most valuable possessions (and sometimes, even servants). Only a madman would dare try to steal from their crypts, as they are surrounded by deadly traps and unsolvable mazes. However, one woman that the empire has nicknamed Sahkmet (“the Lioness”) is somehow raiding their most sacred ancestors, robbing them of their luxuries in the afterlife. How does she manage to avoid all the traps built in by the engineers? How does she know exactly where to look for the valuables while in there? And why does she have a predilection for the cats buried along the Pharaohs? In his dying days, Amhenotep, the ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty, wants to know, for if he is to be buried soon, he wants it to be with the knowledge that his grave will be safe from this thief.

Third arc would feature an alteration of the modern Blue Beetle story, where the Reach tried to invade Krypton. The Scarab has fallen in the hands (or spine, as you would have it) of a young scientist named Jor-L, who saw incredibly promise in the alien technological capabilities of it. He initially accepts with the hopes of retro-engineering it, but as he starts donning the Scarab armour more and more on scientific adventures, he no longer finds pleasure in theoretical studies. As he explores the world and universe around him, he wanders away from the solar system of Krypton, where he experiences two new feelings: one of incredible power, completely unrelated to the armour he is wearing, and two, his scarab armour rebelling against him, no longer obeying his thoughts and orders. Jor-El must fight his way back to Krypton, scarab or no scarab, to share these new discoveries, and warn the rest of the world about the impending doom coming from their seemingly benevolent “Reach” allies.

DCnU Pitch - HARDWARE - Maxy Barnard

HARDWARE monthly series, September 2011

Hardware created by Dwayne McDuffie and Denys Cowan, 1993

Talent:
Maxy Barnard, writer
Gianluca Guggliotta, artist

The high concept: Corporate espionage/sabotage on a new scale for a new DCU. Supported by a mysterious benefactor, Curt Metcalf is a prodigal inventor turned loose from his former, morally bankrupt employer, Edwin Alva Sr.. Unemployed, angry, capable, willing and funded, Metcalf is ready take on the seemingly endless web of corruption in front of him, as the technical monstrosity known only as HARDWARE!

The Cast:

CURTIS "Curt" METCALF: Hardware. A calm, hard-working prodigy with a seething alter ego bubbling underneath, fresh from forcefully leaving his employment at Alva Technologies with...
EDWIN ALVA Sr.: Sinister and calculating head of Alva Technologies, using the inventions of his employees for war profiteering and black market deals, all in the name of funding his attempts to literally immortalise himself.
REPRISE: Hitman with the power to gain "extra lives" from murdering others, hired by Alva to kill Curtis and protect Alva Technologies' secrets.
Lt. MARISA RAHM: Pre-op transsexual policewoman, independantly investigating Hardware due to his interaction with and possible connection to...
LEX LUTHOR: One of the possible benefactors of Curtis, and a person interested in procuring the company secrets stored away in Curtis' head, doing so by hiring...
MINDFLOW: The cerebral assassin (but not that one). A murderous close-range telepath, who kills by stripping every thought and brain function from his opponent into his own mind, or availability willing, one of the brains he keeps in a selection of jars.
BRUCE WAYNE: Another possible benefactor, the only disincentive being that he appears to have no motivation for funding Hardware. Could he have some secret angle to the situation?
TED KORD: Rumoured to have died as the vigilante 'The Blue Beetle' some time back, but in Curtis tracing his funds back to the source, his name continuously crops up.
THE SHADOW TRAVELERS: Anomalous humanoid shapes sent by Alva to steal information and items from rival companies. Their true nature is unknown, but they seem to have capabilities similar to that of an invention of Curtis' back from when he worked for Alva Technologies
BARRAKI YOUNG: Curtis' girlfriend, going through a whirlwind of conflicting emotions as she tries to deal with his increasing anger, his unemployment, followed by his sudden disappearances and mysterious earnings.

Overview:
Curtis Metcalf discovers that his inventions for Alva Technologies are being misused by their sociopathic CEO, Edwin Alva Sr. Curtis leaves the company, voiding his contract and blacklisting him from ever working in the technology field again. Scorned and enraged by the corrupt use of his inventions, Curtis accepts a mysterious opportunity to receive funding to be used EXCLUSIVELY for taking on Alva Sr.'s corrupt web of corporations and subsidaries as the technological marvel HARDWARE.

A B-story running alongside this is that of Lt. Marisa Rahm, who, whilst officially hunting a killer who appears to be in the employ of Lex Luthor, is also independantly investigating Hardware, who may have some connection to Luthor himself.

Outline:
This is an entirely fresh Hardware, reinvented, retooled and slightly retold for this initial outing, to make him more a part of the DCU, in the way only a tool of corporate sabotage can be, connecting him to the businesses that are noteable back-matter of the DC Universe. LexCorp, Wayne Industries, the apparently defunct Kord Enterprises, maybe even S.T.A.R. Labs. And that's just the ones that AREN'T connected to the evil Alva Technologies.

This opening story is a fairly straightforward re-establishing of Hardware, split into three parts, taking up roughly 8 to 12 issues:

The story starts with Curtis Metcalf shifting from his enjoyable and productive work at Alva Technologies to discovering that his employer, Edwin Alva Sr., is the morally bankrupt head of a network of corrupt businesses, all selling their wares and inventions on the black market, and even directly to Kahndaq, a nation on the precipice of all-out war with America. Confronting his boss and almost caving to violence, Curtis leaves the company, voiding his contract and blacklisting him from any future work in technology development for the rest of his working life.

This leads to Curtis becoming sedentary and hateful, straining his relationship with his co-habiting girlfriend, Barraki, to near-breaking point. One night, when everything seems to be at rock bottom, Curtis is visited by a mysterious suited man, who offers him funding on the condition that it is used exclusively to take down Alva's network of companies, and nothing else. Fueled by a lust for revenge, Curtis accepts, developing a weapon like no other; a cybernetic suit equipped with new versions of inventions made over his career (such as the neural net) that he names HARDWARE, and immediately tests it by taking out the very bottom rung of Alva's corporations, beginning our story proper.

Time passes, and Hardware's increasingly drastic acts of terrorism and industrial sabotage finally prompt Alva sr. to employ Reprise, a seemingly immortal assassin to take him down. This leads to their first encounter, as Reprise comes to blows with Hardware in a warehouse of black market nanobombs, sacrificing a significant amount of his accumulated 'lives' to unleash one of the bombs at Hardware, dismantling his armour and revealing his true identity. So begins a race between Curtis and his assailant, where he has to rebuild his armour before Reprise can track him or his loved ones down. After getting another mysterious injection of cash at the last minute and a peculiarly stern message of encouragement, Hardware is rebuilt, in a much more sleek and manageable suit (a timely update of the classic design), and goes out to stop Reprise, who was mere seconds away from entering his home and slaughtering Barraki! Another fight follows, ending in Reprise realising he's down to his last life and escaping. A decision that doesn't end too well for him when Mindflow, an assassin in the employ of Lex Luthor, strips his last life away, along with his memories of who Hardware is.

Alongside this arc our B story begins, that of Marisa Rahm, a transgendered liutenant in the Dakota police force, investigating a series of mysterious murders, linked only by the name 'Mindflow', written in blood at one of the crime scenes. When her leads over two months (the same length of time Hardware has been operating, coincidentally enough) only get her as far as finding out that Mindflow is an assassin on some bigwig's payroll, Marisa is pulled from the case by a distinctly hateful and transphobic higher-up. Undeterred, she tries to continue the case under her own steam, ending with her having the misfortune of seeing both Hardware and Reprise's climactic showdown, and the subsequent assassination of Reprise by Mindflow. Tailing Mindflow in the aftermath, Marisa learns that his employer is none other than Lex Luthor, CEO of LexCorp.

Hardware becomes suspicious of his benefactor in the wake of the sudden extra funding and peculiar message left for him in the Reprise story, and for him to use some of the extra money to investigate just who it is that's employing him, and what their motivations are, leading him to suspect Wayne Industries (a lead he dismisses quickly upon meeting the billionaire playboy in charge of the company, who Curtis deems a 'foolish child wasting his father's company in the name of a wild life'), as well as the defunct Kord Enterprises, a company long-dead in the wake of the apparent death of Ted Kord. This is expanded to include LexCorp after Marisa Rahm tries to confront and arrest Hardware, suspecting him of being an accomplice of Mindflow, and subsequently Lex Luthor, a potential employer Curtis hadn't considered.

This in turn would lead to Marisa and Hardware to work together to confront Luthor, only for him to reveal his altogether different motivation of stripping Alva Technologies' secrets from Curtis' brain (Reprise having been killed as another person who may have known something damning towards that company). Before a proper confrontation can happen, Alva Sr.'s monstrous creations The Shadow Travelers break into the tech department of LexCorp, bringing the mega-arc to a head with Hardware and Mindflow attempting to fight them off, whilst Hardware simultaneously tries to stop Mindflow from killing him. Mindflow's dual purpose fails him when the last remaining Shadow Traveler enlarges into a monstrous black shape and slaughters him. Hardware makes a hasty retreat, finding a knocked-out Marisa, taken down by an absent Lex Luthor, and rescues her. The Dakota branch is destroyed by the giant Shadow Traveler, who appears to be obliterated himself in an explosion, and Hardware vows to continue his quest.

The story ends on a sadder note, however, as Curtis returns home to find that Barakki has left him, his angrier ways and constant absence having forced her to give up on him. With this sad note, however, Curtis finds that Marisa Rahm wants to join his crusade against corruption, and will help him solve the mystery of Kord Enterprises.

And that's the mega-arc opening story, as it were. From there there's the possibilities of more encounters with Alva's network or Lex Luthor, as well as approaching the Kord Enterprises issue and whether Ted Kord is alive and funding Hardware. Alongside that there's the bud of Kahndaq, and another possible mega-story of their war with America kicking off, leading to a team-up with multiple heroes, and a one-on-one confrontation with Black Adam.



[Goodness, that was long, wasn't it? I do apologise, seems the whole pitch process brings a talking monster out of me. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, I'm genuinely passionate about both Hardware and Marisa Rahm, so it's an absolute treat to have got the chance to sit down and think of what I would actually do given the chance to reboot them and bring an element of the dakotaverse into the DCU proper. And hey, I learnt some lessons about writing pitches, which is always nice. And who knows, maybe one day I'll get to do this... in my dreams]

DCnU Pitch - Batwoman/The Question - Ben Rosenthal

BATWOMAN/THE QUESTION monthly series, September 2011

Talent:
Ben Rosenthal, writer
TBD, artist

The high concept:

College can be rough. For many it is the first years away from home. For most it shapes them into the type of person that they will become. For Kate Kane and Renee Montoya, it’s life or death. As fledging masked heroes, can the two roommates find time to train, study and discover their true feelings for each other?

The Cast:

KATE KANE: 19 year old student at Gotham University. Kate is currently studying Criminology as a major with her roommate Renee Montoya. Kate is cynical and snide, suffering fools lightly. With a sharp wit she is quick to fend off anyone who she feels is becoming emotionally too close. That is, everyone but her roommate.

RENEE MONTOYA: A studious girl determined to one day become Chief of Police. Her strong beliefs of right and wrong are often questioned by her Criminology Professor Vic Sage. Spending more time with her books than with people, she is not the most popular of people. Lacking in self confidence she revels in the attention shown to her by both her Criminology Professor and roommate, Kate Kane.

CHARLES VICTOR SZASZ (VIC SAGE): The Criminology professor at Gotham University, and also the night time vigilante known as The Question. He takes an interest in Renee Montoya and begins to train her to be his replacement when he retires.

NATHAN WEBB: Deceased lover of Kate Kane. Nathan fell from a rooftop while he and Kate were ‘training’ together to become superheroes after witnessing the illusive ‘Batman’ one night. Kate left his body to be found, with the media labelling his death a suicide. He appears and speaks to Kate as her conscious, and more often than not her guilt.

AGENT-33: A mysterious masked individual who saves Kate from a gang of thugs during one of her self-trainings, and offers to teach her how to become one of the illustrious masked heroes of Gotham.

COLONEL JACOB ‘JAKE’ KANE: Kate Kane’s estranged father. A very successful Colonel in the United States Armed Forced, Colonel Kane has never gotten over the death of his wife while giving birth to Kate. As such, he and Kate have never connected. He has just recently discovered that he has terminal cancer, and is currently trying to get to know his daughter before he passes. He has not told Kate of his condition.

Outline:

Kate Kane and Renee Montoya are two early 20 college students studying Criminology at Gotham University. As roommates the two share study notes, but unbeknownst also share secret lives. Kate is currently training herself to become The Batwoman, after witnessing the mysterious Batman herself many years ago with her then rich boyfriend, Nathan Webb.

Renee Montoya is a bookish beauty, studying hard to realise her dream of one day becoming the Gotham Chief of Police. The Professor of Criminology, Vic Sage, takes an interest in his young pupil and begins private tutorage of Renee. However, these lessons are not filled with books. Vic reveals himself to Renee as being the masked vigilante known as The Question. He begins to train Renee to be his successor.

Meanwhile, Kate is saved from a brutal bashing by street thugs by a masked man known only as Agent-33. He informs Kate that he has been watching her, and is impressed with her progress. He also informs her that he is aware of how her ex-boyfriend Nathan Webb truly died – that he fell from a building top while he and Kate were ‘training’ themselves to become like Batman. He tells Kate of other costumed heroes which exist in not only Gotham, but throughout the world. Agent-33 offers to train Kate how to defend, attack and possibly kill people which she accepts. As their training progresses, and Kate becomes more skilled, Agent-33 gives her a costume – that of The Batwoman. Kate has become that which she has been training to become for years, a hero.

Throughout the trainings, the two roommates begin to grow closer. This surprises Kate as she does not become close to anyone. Nonetheless, the friendship between the two continues to grow.

Things become complicated when the two kiss one night while drinking at a party. Kate pulls away and runs to the rooftops, chased by the image of Nathan, which is the image she gives her conscious and guilt. After a talk with Nathan/consciousness, Kate returns to the party to seek out Renee. However, she has left.

Feeling embarrassed and rejected, Renee runs towards the room where her and Professor Sage train. On her arrival she hears two men arguing. Remaining unseen, Renee watches as her Professor’s alter-ego, The Question battles with another masked man. The Question is killed, with his murderer revealed to be Agent-33. Donning the costume of her mentor, Renee becomes The Question and follows the killer.

Meanwhile, Renee has donned her costume and has headed out to take her aggression on any thugs she may find. Instead she finds Ageant-33, who informs her that he has just witnessed a murder. He tells Kate that the killer is behind him, and killed the masked hero The Question in order to steal his identity.

Renee, dressed as The Question arrives on scene. Kate as Batwoman and Renee as The Question battle, each oblivious to who the other is, while Agent-33 watches. Eventually the two find out who the other person is, their fight ending in a passionate kiss. Agent-33 attacks, revealing that he works for the secret group of villains – The League of Assassins. He had been training Kate all this time to get her to join. After Renee falls from the edge of the rooftop on which they are fighting, Kate flies into a blind rage, beating Agent-33 to a pulp.

Fortunately, Renee’s training enables her to survive. The two decide what has to be done – Renee will dress as Agent-33 and infiltrate The League of Assassins while Kate pretends to have accepted the invitation to join. Together they will find out who the head of this criminal empire is, and bring them down.

This launches us into the second story arc, where Kate and Renee attempt to infiltrate the League, continue to attend Gotham University and enter into a relationship. Just to complicate things, Kate’s famous yet distant father returns to Gotham.

DCnU Pitch - The Ultramarine Corp - Sime McDonald

THE ULTRAMARINE CORPS

Created by Grant Morrison & Howard Porter (1998)

THE ULTRAMARINE CORPS

A SIX ISSUE MINISERIES IN THE NEW DC UNIVERSE

Talent

Writer: Sime McDonald

Artist: Shawn Martinbrough (I wish!)

The Concept

They are the American response to the superhuman epidemic.

They are a self-sufficient entity created under the administration of President ___________. Their sole purpose is to hunt down, locate and eliminate superhuman threats without sanction or oversight.

They are the Ultramarine Corps.

The Cast

General Wade Eiling

Lieutenant Colonel Scott Sawyer (Warmaker: One)

Major Dan Stone (Flood)

Captain John Wether (Pulse 8)

Captain Lea Corbin (4-D)

Outline

It is one year after the first appearance of Superman. By now various other extra-terrestrial / superhuman beings have outed themselves and co-exist in a world that fears them. General Wade Eiling is conscious of the threat these beings are to the United States – and the world itself. He promptly urges President __________ to fund a ‘super-solider’ program to grant loyal, highly-trained marines similar abilities as these renegade ‘heroes.’ He’s already selected a quartet of candidates; Lieutenant Sawyer, Major Stone, Captain Corbin and Captain Wether. The President signs of on this initiative, thereby agreeing to fund Eiling’s superhuman black-ops squad.

The series begins with the Ultramarine Corps already firmly established within the US Military’s pantheon; America’s first responders to superhuman threats. And they’re damn good at their jobs. These are highly trained marines; prepared for everything and anything. Professionally, from an operations standpoint, it would appear things could not be better for them. They are serving their country with aplomb. Saving American lives.

But not all is right in the camp.

The Ultramarines Corps base of operations is in Smallville, a secluded area the marines have sardonically nicknamed Superbia. When initially developed, it was designed to be the perfect home for the marines’ families. But family life is tough when you’re husband or wife / boyfriend or girlfriend is barely human; is now made up of living water, or able to teleport to alternate dimensions. Every one of the Ultramarine’s family life is fractured; threatening to crumble completely. General Eiling is aware it is their family that allows the Ultramarines to retain some semblance of humanity, and constantly works in the background, bribing and blackmailing the family’s to remain in Superbia.

Meanwhile, the Justice League has now firmly established itself as a global peacekeeping force. The public’s distrust of the colourfully-clad heroes of the DC universe has dissipated; and President _________ is beginning to query the necessity of his super-powered black-ops squad. Eiling is constantly forced to defend the Ultramarine’s viability in a world where Superman publicly stands for truth and justice. He’s done all he can to protect his marines from discovering just how close the plug is to being pulled. But the writing is on the wall: the Ultramarines, as an entity, is months away from being dismantled. Their families no longer want anything to do with them – they want normalcy in their lives. Very soon, the Ultramarines are going to be left with nothing.

And General Eiling knows they won’t take that well. He worries they’ll lose control. Rampage.

So he develops a plan to execute his men, under the pretence he’d rather have their deaths on his conscious than have the Ultramarine’s names tainted when they’re shutdown.

But Eiling’s plan backfires. His operation to execute the Ultramarines fails.

And now they believe the United States has turned on them. After everything they’ve done. Everything they’ve sacrificed.

They want revenge.

This is a story about the men and women who have sacrificed their humanity to protect their country. It is about the family of these men and women, forced to live with the inhuman beings their loved ones have become. It is about what happens when these four marines, who’ve given up everything, discover they’re no longer needed; they’re to be discarded; executed. Murdered.

This is the story of what happens when the country’s best turn on their nation; after their nation has turned on them.

Why The New DC Universe?

Well, the why is rather obvious this week, isn’t it?

If you’re a fan of Thoughtballoons you’re a fan of comics. If you’re a fan of comics you know DC Comics launched their new universe last week with Justice League #1. Not a relaunch, per se. The universe isn’t rebooting from scratch. Decades of continuity has not dissipated in a flash. Not entirely, anyway. Rather, the folks over at DC are refreshing their line. Making a few edits. Erasing some things; adding others. We’re not going to know the full extent of the changes for a while yet. But this is an exciting time to be a DC reader. Nay; to be just a comics reader.

So it’s only right that Thoughtballoons jumps in on the action.

But this week we’re doing things a little differently. Shakin’ things up. Breaking new ground.

This week, we – and you, faithful Thoughtballooner – are pitching an idea for a DC character in this New Universe. And blatantly piggyback off the amazingly talented comics-scribe Jeff Lemire’s Animal Man proposal - because if you’re going to learn from someone, learn from the best.

All of us Tenured Writers here at Thoughtballoons are aspiring creators. Some of us are further along in our prospective comics careers than others. And that’s fine. That’s great. That’s what makes us such a diverse bunch. And we’ve all proven, time and time again: we can write scripts damn well. We have our good days and our great days, but very rarely – unless it’s one of mine - will you a read a script on this site and think, that’s garbage.

But if we – or you – are going to get our writing careers off the ground, we’re going to have to learn how to pitch. And witch well. It’s an art, guys. One we’ve got to master.

It starts now.

The New DC Universe is at your disposal.

You’re got Jeff Lemire’s Animal Man proposal as a blueprint.

All you need now is an idea.

And,Thoughtballooner, I know you’ve got many.