Dream-Teaming Round 2: The Brotherhood of Mutants

[Gemini]

The Brotherhood of Mutants

Creative Team: Mike Carey and Pasqual Ferry

The Pitch: Basically the evil version of Matt Fraction's Science Team from uncanny x-men, with only one mission statement. Fix the mutant decimation, Exodus has commited himself to saving mutant-kind, entirely and he is willing to do whatever it takes, even if it risks global destruction. There will be no proper team just Exodus, Dark Beast, and Omega-Sentinel investigating various possible solutions. The remaining 5 characters will be brought in as Exodus deems their investigation necessary. High Science, and moral-conflict ensue.

Exodus

You think Magneto is obsessed with being the savior of the mutant race? This guy is Magneto squared. He can't stand to see the mutant race on it's last legs, so he is using his countless resources to actually find a solution. No matter the cost, even if it damns him to the depths of hell he HAS to be the guys to solve the problem. The first issue will revolve around him frantically going through everything he has ever known about mutants to find something. After finding 4 possible answers he goes out to find those who will help him. After losing his Acolytes trust shortly after Messiah Complex he is left alone. So he sets out to find those that will help him, coming up empty handed, until finally coming across the one person willing to do what it'll take to solve the problem....

Dark Beast

All the brains of Henry McCoy a.k.a. The Beast, with none of the scruples. This Hank McCoy let the dark world of the Age of Apocalypse warp him into a shadow of his true self. This Beast is willing to do what the regular Hank won't, he tested an unproven drug on one of the Guthrie Children nearly killing him. Really he has no stake in what happens to the mutants of this world, he is just looking for something to do. When Exodus approaches him with his 4 solutions Dark Beast jumps at the oppurtunity to perform some dirty science.

Omega-Sentinel

The first step of the first solution is to get Karima Shapandar a.k.a. The Omega-Sentinel in the fold. Using Karima's Mutant Recognizing abilities, and retrofitting her to a rudementary version of Cerebro constructed from files stolen by Dark Beast. They hope to be able to determine why the X-Gene was knocked into dormancy instead of being out right eliminated. The only answer would have to be something that was dispersed world wide consciously disabling the x-genes causing Wanda's spell to overlooks them. Karima agrees as she thinks that this is a noble pursuit, but what she doesn't know that there is a high possibility that removing whatever is proventing this could cause all the de-powered mutants to be killed.

X-Man

The second step of the first solution is to reconstitute Nate Grey. Upon his death Nate Grey a.k.a. X-Man dispersed his essence across the entire world to protect every living thing on earth from a terrible threat. After the threat subsided he remained dispersed in case that threat ever returned. On M-Day he knew what was happening and he frantically disabled every x-gene that he was in contact with, and used his vast powers to out right protect those he felt needed to keep their abilities. Once Exodus, Dark Beast, and Karima rip him from his hosts he will be reconstituted, and quite possibly the mutant population will regain their latent abilities. But this will come at a terrible cost, because the threat that Nate sacrificed himself to seve the world from could return to kill everyone.

Chamber

The second solution that Exodus pondered would be to analyze the oldest living mutants and determine what caused the X-gene to develope, Exodus his own biology extensively, but he needs a mutant of equal age to compare it against, the only mutants of that age still alive today are Selene and Apocalypse, with Selene in hiding somehow dodging Cerebro and Apocalypse missing, Exodus turns to Apocalypse's closest living descendant Chamber. After his expereinces with the New Warriors and New Excalibur Chamber wants nothing to do with this, but he reluctantly agrees to let Dark Beast examine him because he feels he owes it to mutantkind. What he doesn't know is that Exodus and Dark Beast plan to summon Apocalypse and give him a new body in Chamber.


Random

Random is a mutant that perplexes Exodus, at first he just thought of him as useful muscle that is easily manipulated. but in studying his abilities, Exodus realizes that Random has an endlessly replicating pre-x-gene, like an X-Stem-Cell. This is how he is able to adapt himself to any situation. If Exodus and Dark Beast are able to isolate this gene and instill it in another being, it should manifest as a new mutant. He also fits the tank mold for any conflicts that might arise, plus he makes for good comedic relief in contrast of the doom and gloom of the other characters.

Cloak & Dagger

These characters will come up late in the series, as Karima is scanning using Cerebro she comes across these two, and learns of their origins, and becomes suspicious of their possible connections to the MGH industry. She tells Exodus about these two, and he sends Random and Chamber out to find them. While Karima investigates the criminals surrounding their origns and what they did after words. It is discovered that the drug used on Tandy and Tyrone was the earliest known predecessor to MGH. Using Tyrone and Tandy's genetics Exodus assigns Dark Beast to reverse engineer this drug to see if it still has any affect.

I'll expand later

 

[Lithium]

Okay, so this is my first time trying a game like this, and after pencilling out a few ideas, I think this is the best that I could come up with:

The Team:

Michael Pointer/The Collective/Guardian: After being invited to join a team of "X-men" by Norman Osbourne, Michael decides that he is tired of being used. He sees that the "Noble Cause" of Norman isn't quite what it seems, and decides to take action.

Northstar/Aurora: After the failure of Omega Flight, Guardian decides to seek out people who understood what it meant to be a government operative. After hearing how Norman Osbourne is running the super hero community, they feel that they should join this new Guardian in an effort to change the superhuman community for the better.

Quiksilver: Appears mid-way through the first arc, found out to be the person behind the recent raids of HAMMER facilities. Quiksilver has been searching the HAMMER files for information about his sister. Thinking that he may be more successful as part of a group than solo, he decides to play along with Guardian to further his own goals.

Chamber: After the New Warriors disband, Chamber decides that he wants to keep fighting against what he sees as a man attempting to take over the Super Hero community. Being approached by Guardian is all it took to get him on board for yet another vendetta against who he sees as a new type of 'capekiller'.


The Concept:

Arc #1: After Michael Pointer turns down a job as part of Norman's X-men, he begins to see just how corrupt this new Osbourne run community is. Feeling that he no longer wants to be used, he gathers a team and they begin taking the fight right to HAMMER.

Arc #2: Both teams of X-men (Dark and Uncanny) begin to hear about this new brotherhood and their activities. The Uncanny team is determined to stop the Brotherhood and convince them that they should go about what they are doing a different way. The Dark team just wants them out of the picture. In the end, both teams of X-men find the brotherhood at nearly the same time and a huge three-way brawl occurs.


The Creative Team:

Writer: Peter David. I really like the way he handles the X-mythos in X-factor, and I am kind of looking to emulate that style here.

Artist: Stefano Casseli. I think the art style he did with The Initiative would be perfect for this book. Just the right balance of realism and overly cartoony visuals.

 

[Iceshadow]

The Brotherhood

Creator Team: Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, David Aja.

The Premise: The Skrulls have been defeated, but their ships (as well as their superpower-laced corpses) still remain scattered over the world. Countries have begun reverse engineering their technology and selling the blueprints to the black market, shifting the worlds balance of power. Director of H.A.M.M.E.R. Norman Osborn will not be threatened by third world countries with Nega Bombs, or the ability to mass produce meta humans. Norman Osborn will crush this threat with extreme force. Problem is his Avengers are too public and he can't have this come back to the U.S., and the Thunderbolts lack the firepower and are incompetent. Norman needs a team who can take the heat while getting the job done, but most importantly, they can't trace back to him. Hey, everyone hates villains right?

The Brotherhood

Namor The Sub-Mariner

A micro negaton bomb goes off in Atlantis, specifically Namor's palace. This drives Namor to the surface looking for answers starting with Osborn. Normie tells the undersea monarch what the score is and says that he'll find the bomber if Namor joins his team. Although the Sub-Mariner doesn't trust Osborn one bit, he decides to play this one close and agrees to Norman's terms (though he will admit that beating up surface dwellers will be a perk). However he is a bit taken aback when he learns that he won't be team leader. That job goes to...

Raven Darkholme a.k.a. Mystique

Field leader. Her checkered past makes her ideal for leading this team without letting her own ego get in the way. Mystique is also the perfect person to keep tabs on Namor. In return for this job she gets a full governmental pardon and an obscene amount of money. She also decided on the team moniker, because of The Brotherhood being an easily recognizable supervillain team by the general public.

Arkady Gregorivich a.k.a. Omega Red

Team tank, and the only one who can stand up to Namor should he turn. Released from custody, Osborn has promised Arkady freedom and the carbonadium synthesizer that has eluded him for so long.

Kevin Ellsworth a.k.a. Freakshow

Having lost his powers from M-Day, then getting a corrupted version of them back when Quicksilver was abusing the Inhumans' Terrigen Mists, Freakshow understandably freaked out, and began terrorizing small towns across Europe. S.H.E.I.L.D. eventually picked him up and have been keeping him sedated in a cell ever since. Norman sees this as an opportunity and give him a nanomachine injection to help Kevin control his mutation. However, Kevin is still a slave to Osborn's bidding as the nanomachines can fry him if he acts up. Once the mission is over Kevin will (supposedly) be released. Freakshow's adaptability is possibly greater than Mystique's making him an integral part of the team.

Sarah a.k.a. Marrow

A former terrorist, X-man, then terrorist again, was depowered but somehow she is able to still access her abilities (Hint: it starts with an "M" and ends with a "utant Growth Hormone"). Due to her fragile psyche she is easily controlled, which when combined with her exceptional fighting prowess makes the near perfect soldier. Fighting for Osborn gets her a pardon, and chance to have her powers again.

Henry McCoy a.k.a. Dark Beast

Captured by H.A.M.M.E.R. and given the "Bullseye treatment" of nanomachines to leash him, Dark Beast is the team doctor and tech guy (he also controls Marrows MGH). Probably has an alternate agenda, but likes the job perk of being able to experiment on whatever he culls from mission sites.

Julian Keller a.k.a. Hellion

Was almost killed by the Leper Queen, and subsequently lost faith in the X-Men's non-proactive stance, he is something of a hot head and was easily persuaded to join by Osborn once he saw Hellion's formidable telekinetic abilities. All Julian asked for was a **** ton of money, and Norman happily obliged. He is also a mole planted by Emma Frost who was contacted by Namor about Osborn's plan. Hellion's job is nominally defense and quick extraction, but his real purpose is to back Namor up if things go south.

Synopsis: First arc is the "team" going around and destroying research facilities and following a black market trail, and fighting various armies (and the fruits of their super-Skrull research), with flashbacks on how the team came together. Eventually the trail leads to a power augmented Sugar Man! Second arc would focus on Namor finding out who planted the bomb in Atlantis (it probably isn't Osborn).

Note: I had originally planned to use Sabra but I couldn't work her in.

 

[Dr.Strangefate]

Beneath the rubble of the former X-Mansion in Westchester, a great power has laid sleeping as he dreamed of the world that needs to come. Mutantkind is ending, no longer the natural progression that both Magneto and Xavier had put forward these last many years. There still exists large groups of extraordinarily powered superhumans who have the chance to change the world, before Mutantkind becomes extinct. They act no longer for self-preservaton, but for the betterment of the world at large. The power knows what he must do...

He will pull together a band of mutants, some of the most powerful in existence, and without making time for discussion, he and his group will do everything they can to make the world a better place. Everything that the X-Men have always failed to do.

His name is Quentin Quire. And this is The Brotherhood of Mutants.

Quentin Quire - He has discarded moniker of Kid Omega in exchange for that of simply "Omega". Quire is extraordinarily intelligent, even if a little bit insane. He views himself as the 21st Century Answer to Charles Xavier and Magneto. He regrets the choices he made while addicted to Kick and under the influence of Sublime. His plan for reshaping the world seems to have a deadline, and he seems to be working quickly to help put Mutantkind back in the graces of their human brothers.

Iceman, Bobby Drake - Quire walks into Bobby's dreams one night and shows him the potential for what he could do. A living planet, no longer inhabitated, simply covered with intelligent ice. This is what will happen if he doesn't learn to control the full extent of his abilities. Bobby feels as though he can never rise to the top of the ranks within the X-Men despite his having been a founding member. Drake isn't the kid he once was, and Quentin gives him the position of Team Leader.

Elixir, Josh Foley - Quire's first recruit. It didn't take much to convince a man who can heal anything, anybody, that his abilities were being wasted as a medic for the X-Men. Quire leads him to an AIDS hospice in New York City, and as these men and women who had accepted their deaths got up and walked out the door, Quire asks him how he would feel if he did this across continents.

Empath, Manuel de la Rocha - Manuel is blind after his recent run-in with the X-Men and Pixie's Soulknife. His abilities are going out of control, and Quire offers him a chance at returning to his former status. His role in situations is quite simply riot control, making certain people don't get agitated while the Brotherhood does their work.

Mastermind, Martinique Jason - Quire is determined to be non-violent whenever possible to achieve his goals, and to help that succeed, someone with Mastermind's abilities were absolutely necessary. Even when someone attacks, Mastermind can manipulate their vision into believing that the Brotherhood is attacking back, while they finish the work they are trying to do.

Forge - Forge's role on the team would be reminiscent of Spartan from Wildcats 3.0, in the fact that he will be developing Machines to distribute on a wide-scale level in third world countries and in America. Cheap Machines that operate fully on renewable resources. Quire's promise to him is that they work to fix the woeful problems in America's Indian Reservations before going out into the world.



CREATIVE TEAM: Joe Casey and Dustin Nguyen

 

[Langsta]

His name is Quentin Quire. And this is The Brotherhood of Mutants.

Quentin Quire - He has discarded moniker of Kid Omega in exchange for that of simply "Omega". Quire is extraordinarily intelligent, even if a little bit insane. He views himself as the 21st Century Answer to Charles Xavier and Magneto. He regrets the choices he made while addicted to Kick and under the influence of Sublime. His plan for reshaping the world seems to have a deadline, and he seems to be working quickly to help put Mutantkind back in the graces of their human brothers.

I was going to use Quentin Quire, and I even had that exact same image picked out and ready to use. He was going to be Magneto's protégé.

 

[Langsta]

I've got like 3 different rosters in mind....my head is spinning with ideas.

 

[Bass]

This is interesting! But someone already took my heist idea! :evil:

Soooooo...

THE BROTHERHOOD OF MUTANTS​

I feel that this series would need to be something not covered by the X-titles already, so this is the 'nega-X-Men'. But it can't be about 'villains'. These guys have got to be heroes, and the heist idea has been done. Also, the title of the series implies that mutants are a minority. You don't have the brotherhood of humans, nor do you have the brotherhood of white people unless they feel marginalised (like the KKK). So, the mutants are a minority.

Also, superhero teams are usually representative of societal institutions (X-Men = School, Fantastic Four = Family, Ultimates = Military), and so the Brotherhood will be representative of religion. Namely, the church.

So the hook:

Loved and followed by many normal humans, the world renown institution of the Brotherhood of Mutants preaches the ascension of man and the moral virtues of the superman. Dealing with crises of faith, moral devolution, and the promises of false gods, the Brotherhood of Mutants are here to save your inner power, your claim to the lightning and the madness of the superman.

(i.e. A superhero church with some Neitzsche thrown in and they have bombastic adventures inspired by THE EXORCIST.)

The trinity of heroes:

CHARGER
A mutant with the ability to give people mutant powers temporarily. Charger actually doesn't possess any powers, he can only grant powers to others. Charger also only has a few powers that he can grant: regeneration, telepathy, super strength, limited shapeshifting (can't change mass nor material properties - they can change gender but can't become a lamp post), phasing, super speed, simple animal defence mechanisms (claws, teeth, quills, octopus like inks...), psychometry, and wall-crawling.
Charger is the pleasant face of the Brotherhood, and they often raise funds by having him grant powers to people. The entire reward system of the institution flows through this character.

BISHOP
Bishop is the mutant who has the entire doctrine of what a mutant should be (his name is BISHOP - I had to use him). He's awesome. He's from the future so he has that whole 'prophetic visions' thing going on. Plus, Bishop's temporal stability is weakening, and he is known to sporadically shift from one moment in his life to another (kinda like QUANTUM LEAP). Whenever he returns from the future, people are desperate to know if they're on the right track.

ANIMATOR
She founded the Brotherhood, and is the team leader. She can give life to the unliving. She can even resurrect the dead for a short time if they're recently dead. Primarily, she uses her powers to animate things that were never alive - cars, computers, pens, etc. She can't use her power on things like meat nor plants or vegetables. Rocks are fine though.

(This could actually be a pitch for the Inhumans too...)

 

[Ice]

DSF's lineup is my favorite, and not because it has Iceman. I love how there are heroes there and the reasoning for them being part of the team makes a lot of sense and would totally happen.

And I do miss Joe Casey writing X-Men. I liked his issues a lot.

 

[Dr.Strangefate]

What I want people to imagine with my team is this:

Quentin Quire, with short cropped purple hair and back in his glasses, wearing a suit with a red and black striped tie (to pay homage to his old outfit) appears in an central-african nation one morning and sets himself up in a hotel. He closes his eyes and begins to think.

First strange thing everyone begins to notice is that it has started snowing over the draught lands, but the summer heat is turning it almost instantly into rain. Suddenly, a thousand men and women rise almost subconsciously and begin to dig irrigation ditches, and they start planting crops.

Within four hours, every man, woman, and child suddenly finds themselves able to speak english, chinese, japanese, arabic, and spanish. By the end of the day, their minds now contain the education of a person educated in a first-rate college.

A man walks up and down the streets of a destitute slum, shaking hands with the sick. Some claim that his skin shines like gold, but others just see a kindly african man followed by a beautiful caucasian woman with silky black hair. Each of the men and women whose hands he shakes stands up with strength they've never felt in their lives. Their muscles, once atrophied, are full and ready for heavy lifting.

Each of the now strong men and women file into a large amphitheater that nobody seems to recall having existed. A man with a metal arm begins to explain how to construct their infrastructure using the resources on their land, and how to harness the sun and wind to keep their power running strong. Though none of these people had photographic memory beforehand, each and every one of them remember every word and diagram they saw. They begin to work... Starting with the construction of new housing for themselves.

You'd think that these people would react poorly to this influx of knowledge and these people telling them what they need to do, but for some reason everyone is happy and calm.

Other sick people are visited by the kindly man and white woman over the next week. Each and every one rises healthier than ever before.

The dictator of the nation quotes Thomas Paine when he announces the elections that will take place at the end of the week.

When the Brotherhood leaves the country, they don't make a scene, the only thing left for the world to see is the impact they've made and the lives they've changed.

This is what The Brotherhood is about. Changing the World.

 

[Zombipanda]

Alright, here's a start. I'm going to get this up in bits and pieces.

The Pitch
Namor is a king without a nation. His people are refugees, living on land in Latveria, which is probably about as uncomfortable as a human living in Atlantis. But he's just found them a new home. A small sea in the center of the Savage Land feeds all the water required to the hidden jungle paradise. As the mermen of Atlantis begin their long journey to the crown of the Earth, Namor makes an unprecedented offer to his mutant brothers. He wants to help them shape a new civilization for his people. The chosen mutants will be given seats of prominence in his cabinet, as well as the means to achieve their own pet projects. He will build a new civilization hand-in-hand with his brothers, a civilization that will live on past the suicide spiral of the land nations.

It's a book about mutant gods. With the whole "decimation" thing, the population got cut down to the quick, and a disproportionate level of incredibly powerful mutants were left. I think the presence of mutants would have an immensely more dramatic effect on the world at large then the Marvel universe presumes, and this would be an opportunity to play with that idea. There's the implication that mutants may be more than the "new evolution" of men. Characters like Storm, Iceman, and Emma all seem to be undergoing a sort of perpetual chrysalis, their humanity fading away as their powers become greater and they become more elemental. There's a spiritual aspect there that would be explored. When given a blank canvas to flex their powers, how much are these characters really capable of? I picked a cast of well-established characters who sort of exemplify the potential godliness of mutantcy, as well as picking characters who have established relationships.

The "Brotherhood" would set up along the rim of the central Savage Land ocean, retrofitting Magneto's old facilities for their own purpose. "The Brotherhood of Mutants" would be the name given by the media, but the mutants occupying the territory would be more tongue-in-cheek about it. Hank would probably suggest that they're rather a Brotherhood of Men. If their San Francisco headquarters is supposed to be emblematic of the Summer of Love, then the path from San Fran to the Savage Land is their Huxley doorway. Early on, the community would start to grow, with street kids and maltreated immigrants and the generally used and exploited shuttling to the Savage Land for a new life, mingling with these god-men, up close to the weirdness and potential of the jungle paradise. The future isn't about technology, but about self-sufficiency, the stability of a community that's not at the mercy of a derailed economic prison. It's the prototype face of a new world, blessed by mutants, underwritten by the agenda of a sea king, driven solely on inconspicuous, prototype technologies. They are careful of growth. But most importantly, it would be about the relationships between the characters. It wouldn't be a superhero team. It would be an anti-team, a group of incredibly powerful characters, each with their own agendas and personal relationships, unified by the shared philosophy of nurturing their hidden city.

 

[Iceshadow]

This is interesting! But someone already took my heist idea! :evil:

Soooooo...

THE BROTHERHOOD OF MUTANTS​

I feel that this series would need to be something not covered by the X-titles already, so this is the 'nega-X-Men'. But it can't be about 'villains'. These guys have got to be heroes, and the heist idea has been done. Also, the title of the series implies that mutants are a minority. You don't have the brotherhood of humans, nor do you have the brotherhood of white people unless they feel marginalised (like the KKK). So, the mutants are a minority.

Also, superhero teams are usually representative of societal institutions (X-Men = School, Fantastic Four = Family, Ultimates = Military), and so the Brotherhood will be representative of religion. Namely, the church.

So the hook:

Loved and followed by many normal humans, the world renown institution of the Brotherhood of Mutants preaches the ascension of man and the moral virtues of the superman. Dealing with crises of faith, moral devolution, and the promises of false gods, the Brotherhood of Mutants are here to save your inner power, your claim to the lightning and the madness of the superman.

(i.e. A superhero church with some Neitzsche thrown in and they have bombastic adventures inspired by THE EXORCIST.)

The trinity of heroes:

CHARGER
A mutant with the ability to give people mutant powers temporarily. Charger actually doesn't possess any powers, he can only grant powers to others. Charger also only has a few powers that he can grant: regeneration, telepathy, super strength, limited shapeshifting (can't change mass nor material properties - they can change gender but can't become a lamp post), phasing, super speed, simple animal defence mechanisms (claws, teeth, quills, octopus like inks...), psychometry, and wall-crawling.
Charger is the pleasant face of the Brotherhood, and they often raise funds by having him grant powers to people. The entire reward system of the institution flows through this character.

BISHOP
Bishop is the mutant who has the entire doctrine of what a mutant should be (his name is BISHOP - I had to use him). He's awesome. He's from the future so he has that whole 'prophetic visions' thing going on. Plus, Bishop's temporal stability is weakening, and he is known to sporadically shift from one moment in his life to another (kinda like QUANTUM LEAP). Whenever he returns from the future, people are desperate to know if they're on the right track.

ANIMATOR
She founded the Brotherhood, and is the team leader. She can give life to the unliving. She can even resurrect the dead for a short time if they're recently dead. Primarily, she uses her powers to animate things that were never alive - cars, computers, pens, etc. She can't use her power on things like meat nor plants or vegetables. Rocks are fine though.

(This could actually be a pitch for the Inhumans too...)

I have no idea who two of those people are, and you do know that Bishop currently wants to kill a little girl? Interesting inversion though, since usually religious organizations want to kill mutants.

What I want people to imagine with my team is this:

Quentin Quire, with short cropped purple hair and back in his glasses, wearing a suit with a red and black striped tie (to pay homage to his old outfit) appears in an central-african nation one morning and sets himself up in a hotel. He closes his eyes and begins to think.

First strange thing everyone begins to notice is that it has started snowing over the draught lands, but the summer heat is turning it almost instantly into rain. Suddenly, a thousand men and women rise almost subconsciously and begin to dig irrigation ditches, and they start planting crops.

Within four hours, every man, woman, and child suddenly finds themselves able to speak english, chinese, japanese, arabic, and spanish. By the end of the day, their minds now contain the education of a person educated in a first-rate college.

A man walks up and down the streets of a destitute slum, shaking hands with the sick. Some claim that his skin shines like gold, but others just see a kindly african man followed by a beautiful caucasian woman with silky black hair. Each of the men and women whose hands he shakes stands up with strength they've never felt in their lives. Their muscles, once atrophied, are full and ready for heavy lifting.

Each of the now strong men and women file into a large amphitheater that nobody seems to recall having existed. A man with a metal arm begins to explain how to construct their infrastructure using the resources on their land, and how to harness the sun and wind to keep their power running strong. Though none of these people had photographic memory beforehand, each and every one of them remember every word and diagram they saw. They begin to work... Starting with the construction of new housing for themselves.

You'd think that these people would react poorly to this influx of knowledge and these people telling them what they need to do, but for some reason everyone is happy and calm.

Other sick people are visited by the kindly man and white woman over the next week. Each and every one rises healthier than ever before.

The dictator of the nation quotes Thomas Paine when he announces the elections that will take place at the end of the week.

When the Brotherhood leaves the country, they don't make a scene, the only thing left for the world to see is the impact they've made and the lives they've changed.

This is what The Brotherhood is about. Changing the World.

Cool. Out of curiosity though, what kind of conflicts would your team face?

Alright, here's a start. I'm going to get this up in bits and pieces.

The Pitch
Namor is a king without a nation. His people are refugees, living on land in Latveria, which is probably about as uncomfortable as a human living in Atlantis. But he's just found them a new home. A small sea in the center of the Savage Land feeds all the water required to the hidden jungle paradise. As the mermen of Atlantis begin their long journey to the crown of the Earth, Namor makes an unprecedented offer to his mutant brothers. He wants to help them shape a new civilization for his people. The chosen mutants will be given seats of prominence in his cabinet, as well as the means to achieve their own pet projects. He will build a new civilization hand-in-hand with his brothers, a civilization that will live on past the suicide spiral of the land nations.

It's a book about mutant gods. With the whole "decimation" thing, the population got cut down to the quick, and a disproportionate level of incredibly powerful mutants were left. I think the presence of mutants would have an immensely more dramatic effect on the world at large then the Marvel universe presumes, and this would be an opportunity to play with that idea. There's the implication that mutants may be more than the "new evolution" of men. Characters like Storm, Iceman, and Emma all seem to be undergoing a sort of perpetual chrysalis, their humanity fading away as their powers become greater and they become more elemental. There's a spiritual aspect there that would be explored. When given a blank canvas to flex their powers, how much are these characters really capable of? I picked a cast of well-established characters who sort of exemplify the potential godliness of mutantcy, as well as picking characters who have established relationships.

The "Brotherhood" would set up along the rim of the central Savage Land ocean, retrofitting Magneto's old facilities for their own purpose. "The Brotherhood of Mutants" would be the name given by the media, but the mutants occupying the territory would be more tongue-in-cheek about it. Hank would probably suggest that they're rather a Brotherhood of Men. If their San Francisco headquarters is supposed to be emblematic of the Summer of Love, then the path from San Fran to the Savage Land is their Huxley doorway. Early on, the community would start to grow, with street kids and maltreated immigrants and the generally used and exploited shuttling to the Savage Land for a new life, mingling with these god-men, up close to the weirdness and potential of the jungle paradise. The future isn't about technology, but about self-sufficiency, the stability of a community that's not at the mercy of a derailed economic prison. It's the prototype face of a new world, blessed by mutants, underwritten by the agenda of a sea king, driven solely on inconspicuous, prototype technologies. They are careful of growth. But most importantly, it would be about the relationships between the characters. It wouldn't be a superhero team. It would be an anti-team, a group of incredibly powerful characters, each with their own agendas and personal relationships, unified by the shared philosophy of nurturing their hidden city.

Interesting idea for now, it sounds like another Genosha, but I'll reserve judgment until you get the whole thing together.

 

[Dr.Strangefate]

Cool. Out of curiosity though, what kind of conflicts would your team face?

How do world governments react to a group of superhumans this powerful? How would Norman Osborne act? They are breaking the system. Every government in the world will be terrified of Quire. I imagine that the US Government would start by forcing the X-Men to act, then send in their own forces...

And my idea for one of the storylines would be Quire kidnapping Franklin Richards in an effort to reignite his omega-level abilities. Almost every member of the team is omega or near omega-level powers, but Franklin Richards has the ability to completely reshape the world. And Quire knows how to turn that back on. (not to mention Quire vs. Reed Richards for the smartest man alive trophy)

I think, in the end, Quire wants to create a utopia, but not for humans. He wants to bring back mutants as the dominant force on the planet. And Franklin would be the key to that goal.

 

[Zombipanda]

Interesting idea for now, it sounds like another Genosha, but I'll reserve judgment until you get the whole thing together.

It quite possibly could be. I'm not quite up on X-Men mythology. But I think once I set it all out, it will differentiate itself. The community's diplomacy would play a major part in the series. It's not a city of mutants running around. There's maybe a dozen of them, all functionaries on one level or another in Atlantis, but also with a large level of autonomy. It's a small, environmentally sound community bereft of conventional technology and populated mostly by human refugees from the American Experience. Really, the human community is an unexpected thing. A lot of these guys were looking to get away from the terrifying militarism of Scott Summers, to retreat to a place of peace where they can have the peace and space they need to try and utilize their powers for the good of the world. I don't know. The whole basis of the present continuity seems kind of silly to me. Nobody's people are dying. Mutants aren't sterile. They can still give birth. It's just, their babies won't be shooting atomic fire from their mouths and flying with the speed of ten million hummingbirds. I think the smart mutant would go, "Damn. It's over. Guess we'd better make our powers worth it now, because we're the last ones." Nobody seems to consider the possibility that maybe their powers were taken away because they squandered them. Anyway, then the refugees start coming in, and they can't turn them away, so what do they do? So there's the interaction between this little colony and the mermen that live directly below them. They're under the blanket of Atlantis' diplomatic muscle. But there's the surrounding communities of indigenous life to interact with, and America's response to it all, with Cloak and Dagger shuttling humans from San Francisco to the Antarctic.

How do world governments react to a group of superhumans this powerful? How would Norman Osborne act? They are breaking the system. Every government in the world will be terrified of Quire. I imagine that the US Government would start by forcing the X-Men to act, then send in their own forces...

And my idea for one of the storylines would be Quire kidnapping Franklin Richards in an effort to reignite his omega-level abilities. Almost every member of the team is omega or near omega-level powers, but Franklin Richards has the ability to completely reshape the world. And Quire knows how to turn that back on. (not to mention Quire vs. Reed Richards for the smartest man alive trophy)

I think, in the end, Quire wants to create a utopia, but not for humans. He wants to bring back mutants as the dominant force on the planet. And Franklin would be the key to that goal.

I think that's interesting idea. He's striking back at the first world by proving to the third world that they don't need need first world dependency?

 

[Dr.Strangefate]

I think that would more just be the natural progression of things...

The way he would present his argument is that mutants are dying out, the species will end within the next few generations. Humanity's done a ****ty job of making a perfect world, we have the power to make it perfect, so let's do it.

In the end, we'd learn that he's basically trying to polish up the rough edges of the world so that when Franklin's abilities bring back Mutancy as the predominant species, the world has already progressed to the point where its ready to accept them. He doesn't want world domination for himself, but he still believes that even if they were an evolutionary accident, that they -should- be the next dominant life-form on the planet. He is preparing for that. That is his master plan. He doesn't want to kill all humans, he wants to turn all humans into mutants.

I'd have to do more thinking on it, but that's the gist.

 

[Zombipanda]

I think that would more just be the natural progression of things...

The way he would present his argument is that mutants are dying out, the species will end within the next few generations. Humanity's done a ****ty job of making a perfect world, we have the power to make it perfect, so let's do it.

In the end, we'd learn that he's basically trying to polish up the rough edges of the world so that when Franklin's abilities bring back Mutancy as the predominant species, the world has already progressed to the point where its ready to accept them. He doesn't want world domination for himself, but he still believes that even if they were an evolutionary accident, that they -should- be the next dominant life-form on the planet. He is preparing for that. That is his master plan. He doesn't want to kill all humans, he wants to turn all humans into mutants.

I'd have to do more thinking on it, but that's the gist.

Mutantcy as post-humanism. I've always preferred that theory.

It just blows my mind that people can accept mutants as just "evolution". It makes no sense. It's not how evolution works. For mutants to have any believability as a concept, there needs to be an intelligent design at work (and I don't like the Earth-X theory, that mutants are alien experiments or some ****).

 

[Iceshadow]

He doesn't want to kill all humans, he wants to turn all humans into mutants.

Of course then you have too worry about free will, a lot of mutants get the short end of the X-Gene and just turn ugly. I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't want to chance something like that happening, nor do I think that forcing mutation on people would fly with some team members. Sorry if I sound nit-picky.

It quite possibly could be. I'm not quite up on X-Men mythology. But I think once I set it all out, it will differentiate itself. The community's diplomacy would play a major part in the series. It's not a city of mutants running around. There's maybe a dozen of them, all functionaries on one level or another in Atlantis, but also with a large level of autonomy. It's a small, environmentally sound community bereft of conventional technology and populated mostly by human refugees from the American Experience. Really, the human community is an unexpected thing. A lot of these guys were looking to get away from the terrifying militarism of Scott Summers, to retreat to a place of peace where they can have the peace and space they need to try and utilize their powers for the good of the world. I don't know. The whole basis of the present continuity seems kind of silly to me. Nobody's people are dying. Mutants aren't sterile. They can still give birth. It's just, their babies won't be shooting atomic fire from their mouths and flying with the speed of ten million hummingbirds. I think the smart mutant would go, "Damn. It's over. Guess we'd better make our powers worth it now, because we're the last ones." Nobody seems to consider the possibility that maybe their powers were taken away because they squandered them. Anyway, then the refugees start coming in, and they can't turn them away, so what do they do? So there's the interaction between this little colony and the mermen that live directly below them. They're under the blanket of Atlantis' diplomatic muscle. But there's the surrounding communities of indigenous life to interact with, and America's response to it all, with Cloak and Dagger shuttling humans from San Francisco to the Antarctic.

I really like the squandering powers theory. I was thinking that sounds more like mutants just trying to isolate themselves rather than attempt to get along with regular society, but since your New Atlantis also accepts human refugees then problem averted!

 

[Dr.Strangefate]

Of course then you have too worry about free will, a lot of mutants get the short end of the X-Gene and just turn ugly. I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't want to chance something like that happening, nor do I think that forcing mutation on people would fly with some team members. Sorry if I sound nit-picky.

And there is a wealth of conflict out of ALL of those scenarios. Of course people aren't just going to be like "Well, that's a grand idea." Quentin is manipulative above all else, hell, manipulation is one of his abilities. All those things would be raised.

 

[AnTwan]

THE BROTHERHOOD

Everyone has done something we regret; for some it is a bad night, for others global terrorism. Despite what it is, however, we also have those we can depend on to help hold us up and carry us through it. For many, that's the brotherhood.

1) Jamie Madrox – Multiple Man

Mutants in the Marvel Universe are falling on hard times. No one understands this better than Jamie Madrox. Jamie, no longer being a part of X-Factor, seeks out a way to provide an asylum for himself and other mutants and he turns to a system already in place. The brotherhood. Jamie is seeking to put together a group that embraces being a mutant and supporting other mutants as opposed to the fear and the hatred generated by previous incarnations. He is looking to be the leader of a group that pulls the name of the brotherhood out of the mud and back into the spotlight in a positive way, but he can't do it alone.

2) Raven Darkholme – Mystique

Mystique is not an easy woman to find, but fortunately, Jamie Madrox has an awful lot of experience as a private detective. Mystique is the first person he seeks out as almost a means of legitimacy. He feels like without her many of the others he approaches aren't going to listen or care. Mystique likes the idea that Jamie has for the brotherhood and starts by seeking out some people who she is already connected with.

3) Sabre

Sabre has been in the employ of Mystique for a long time and when she starts the new brotherhood with Jamie she decides it is time to bring him into the limelight. Sabre continues to be her right hand man but Jamie is very distrustful as he knows nothing about him and neither of them are willing to share. Jamie has his eye out on him more than anyone.

4) Astra

Mystique sends Madrox after Astra who, after Magneto, was the first member of the brotherhood. Mystique tells Jamie that what he is planning is exactly what the brotherhood was supposed to be when she initially signed on and she would be a good person to have as a part of the new order, especially due to her relative ability to stay under the radar which is something so rare for their breed. Madrox hunts her down and she agrees to join him after a test of both his mutant abilities and his leadership competence.

5) Fever Pitch

Since his recent run in with the purifiers Fever Pitch has been underground and being taken care of by Mystique. Though she wants him with the brotherhood and she thinks he would be a powerful asset she does not want him out in the open just yet. Too many people would still associate him with the deaths he caused and the team will be catching enough flack with the name brotherhood. She is thinking of "re- branding" him before sending him out with the new team.

6) Black Tom Cassidy

Madrox seeks Tom out more out of curiosity than anything. What he finds is a slightly depowered Black Tom who now has only his original power of concussive and heat blasts. He is surprised to find Tom an extremely repentant man for the atrocities he committed as the genetically altered second mutation thing he had previously been. Maddrox hardly explains the idea before Tom is ready to commit but his real issues come in dealing with the rest of the team. He quickly tries to woo both Astra and Mystique and becomes resented very quickly by the later causing tension within the group and leaving Jamie to try and hold everything together.

THE PITCH:
Once Jamie finds a team they establish a place for them all to stay. Using an old brotherhood hideout they sort of set up shop in an attempt to find peace in it. Mystique stumbles on some old plans of Magneto's in the building and squirrels them away just in case while Jamie is trying to find ways for the group to do good in front of the media. He is nearly immediately contacted by Cyclops who is weary of anyone using the name Brotherhood and specifically with the team he has assembled. Jamie reminds him of his own flirtations with the dark side and Scott leaves him be with a warning that he is watching the team.

Tension builds as Tom threatens to go public with Fever Pitch mostly to upset Mystique. Before that is settled, however, the team is called out by Marko Cain and have a mid-town brawl with juggernaut. They return home to find the daddy of the brotherhood, Magneto, waiting for them. He doesn't approve of the new team and as they battle Astra whisks him away as a temporary solution until the team can get a little more support. They know Magneto will be back, but hopefully by then their brotherhood will have grown to a point where even he can't stop its forward motion.

THE TEAM:
Peter David knows Madrox. He also knows the X-Men. He gets the writing duties. Linel Yu has drawn several of these characters and actually created a few of them, I'd love to see him do art on this book, if not perhaps a finch? Different styles to be sure but I think they could both bring a certain darkness to this book that it needs.

 

[Bass]

I have no idea who two of those people are, and you do know that Bishop currently wants to kill a little girl? Interesting inversion though, since usually religious organizations want to kill mutants.

I invented Charger and Animator because I miss the times when creators of titles actually created stuff as opposed to reusing other people's ideas. Also, Bishop may want to currently kill a little girl. But my series is not set in the current 616. Or rather, it is, the title just doesn't give a ****. I miss the days when writers would write stories and not tangential incidents to a 'big event'. I hate comics.

 

[AnTwan]

I invented Charger and Animator because I miss the times when creators of titles actually created stuff as opposed to reusing other people's ideas. Also, Bishop may want to currently kill a little girl. But my series is not set in the current 616. Or rather, it is, the title just doesn't give a ****. I miss the days when writers would write stories and not tangential incidents to a 'big event'. I hate comics.

I think the only issue with that is it is pretty difficult to create mutants when there are only so many in existance