ISSUE #0 - "an offer they can't refuse"
"Greed is for amateurs. Disorder, chaos, anarchy: now that's fun!"
-- Top Dollar, "The Crow"
[forming the shape of the first panel in our issue is the long slender form of the bald, large headed alien with big white pupiless eyes... as he speaks to the reader]
"I am Uatu the Watcher…
My duty is to observe their world, and a thousand of its kindred, hanging gemlike in the lunar sky. The world is home to millions of men: well-intended or evil, craven or valiant. Each of these worlds has its own outstanding few, those who have chosen the path of hero. But as a coin has it's opposite face, so must the heart of men.......
I have turned my attention to men of unseemly nature. For it is they who will have profound effect on the lives of the beloved and heroic in their foul future”. "
Uatu, the Watcher is one of a species of hyper-evolved beings who are pledged to observe events across this universe and others, but never to interfere. Uatu, who has a comfy home-base on the Moon, usually devotes his attention to the Earth. He takes his vow of non-interference about as seriously as Captain Kirk takes the similar Prime Directive. (i.e., not particularly seriously.)
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EARTH…
New York City, NY
11:30PM [local time]
2004…
It is night in the city of New York. The floors are laid with gold, the colors of blacks, and many crimson reds accent. In the distance beyond the viewing chamber - gears grind, while inside the whirl of air whiffs past ears and nearly one hundred digital monitors flash, set around a tall wide roman column of ivory set into the floor, cutting scenes back and forth from cameras watching across the globe. The panel is set inside a most decadent viewing room looking down on the city from far above as one man's shadow ponders to another - larger stronger man in shadow...
As they toast with ancient crystal glasses.
"Some consider night to be the haven of the dastardly, the evil, the villainous. 'Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot.' That my son is utter nonsense... We whom society deem as 'evil' are but victims of our own strength.
The Strength to venture off the path set by the weak.
Is it weak to be superior?!!
Is it weak to take what by right is yours to take?!!
Is it weak to lead rather than follow the insipid lemmings they call society?!!!
For this... I need hearts ready to be given to me freely. I require a new breed, broken and ready to be reborn!!! But first they must learn from one another, and with machevellian manouvres I shall rule them...
Go now and make the deed done!!"
Looking up to the screens looming over, as if showing the way...
The second man in the shadow remaining silent to this point slips from darkness to light as he strides for his leave. Behind him the screens show many men and women ready to be taught anew...
"Yes, sir..."
And as the barrel chest of the man passes across the panel we can only see blue tinted chainlink broken by a large single white star centered!!!
Stan Lee wishes he could present:
"VILLAINOUS: MENACING MARVEL MINIONS"
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c a s t i n g . . c a l l
the Enforcers Montana, "Fancy" Dan and Ox, three under the Kingpin rule. They are his arm, delivering all kind of message for there boss. Ox, strong and good brawler, Dan, fast shooter, and Montana, a master of the whip, the three of them can handle everything, except maybe themselves.
Madcap Having lost everyone he ever knew or loved in the same accident that granted him his fantastic regenerative powers, Madcap has set out to prove to everyone else that nothing matters. A true nihilist, Madcap’s gaze can remove all inhibitions from those who meet it, making others as (temporarily) insane as he. Though many see him as an immoral (and immortal) berserker, he sees himself -- in his more lucid moments -- as an educator and philosopher.
Bullet A lonely, alienated man who makes his living by beating and killing others. He is a fairly casual killer, but he is also a devoted father. The source of Bullet's superhuman strength and toughness is unknown. He is however a formidable if not undisciplined hand-to-hand combatant.
Mr. Hyde Like many children, Calvin Zabo was fascinated by the tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; unlike the others, though, he believed it to be true. Zabo dedicated his life to discovering the formula that would allow him to unleash the true man inside: powerful, invincible, fearless, and free from the constraints of 'civil' behavior. Now, as Mister Hyde, he is known as one of the most unrepentant and dangerous criminals at large. Hyde possesses a horrible strength of limb, a seemingly indomitable will, and tremendous resistance to injury.
Porcupine Alex Gentry was a weapons designer who developed what he thought was the ultimate battle suit. He felt the US government would not pay him for his work so he decided to make his money the old fashioned way: stealing it through his mighty battle suit. A veteran of super powered crime, Gentry (now known as the Porcupine) has worked with many of the best and worst in the business. The Porcupine uses his armored battlesuit that sports a wide variety of weapons to make the world remember one of the world's first supervillians.
Batroc the Leaper ...
Blacklash ...
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