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[gregjh]

So the time has come, our Public Domain Justice League will acquire its own name, its enemy(ies) and a basic plotline.

So after much ponderence, self-examination and agonising debate, and definitely not a quick search for "super hero team names", I have chosen the name for our new team. Space Detective, Tiger Man, Astro Man, Tornado Tom, The Black Whip, Amazona, and The Shark will be known as...The Future League. Given that we are reviving and refreshing these characters of time past, I like this appellation.

But what is a super hero squad without at least one enemy and crisis to deal with?  My initial search for villains was difficult. As you all know better than me, Golden Age heroes had ready made villains in the real world to deal with and the more fringe or goofy characters usually dealt with small time, local criminals. A more modern unit needs a larger-scale, epic villain like Thanos to deal with.

With a little more help from search engines, I think I have two GA, PD villains who can make the step-up.
First we have Iron Mask https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=71402. Iron Mask is similar to Doctor Doom or Doctor Octopus. He is a brilliant scientist and inventor with knowledge of nuclear physics and weaponry. He will be the antagonist for The Future League.

Iron Mask will not work alone however, he will subvert an entire research unit (more on that next time) and acquire the services of Mephisto https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=64963. Mephisto also has scientific knowledge but his powers are also crossed with occult magic, making him dangerous and easy to manipulate.

(Mephisto's public domain status is unclear however the characters from Nedor Comics have been used without any problems in other publications)

In my final post I will outline a plotline for The Future League.

[The Australian Panther]

Marvel have had a villain called Mephisto for quite some time, He is currently the Villain in a long=running Avengers mulit-universe arc. Continuing.

[gregjh]

Argh! I knew the name seemed familiar! I am unsure about this as the legal situation seems the same as Thor: the name of a God or legend being used as a comic character means that technically it can be used by anyone but resemblance, etc. would need to be handled carefully.

So to be safe, I/we would need to change the name of our villain or choose a new one, am I right?

I got my info from here, btw: https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Mephisto

[The Australian Panther]

Since your purpose has been to choose pre-existing PD characters, [ am I right?] you should probably choose another character rather than change the name.
You might want to look further afield for your villains, like at the SF books like Planet comics, which has some pretty villainous characters. Can't currently think of one.   

[Captain Audio]

Since your purpose has been to choose pre-existing PD characters, [ am I right?] you should probably choose another character rather than change the name.
You might want to look further afield for your villains, like at the SF books like Planet comics, which has some pretty villainous characters. Can't currently think of one.   

In one of the older sci fi magazines on this site theres an extremely interesting villian turned hero.
He was the most brillant scientist of his time but he went off the reservation by initiating an world war to make himself world dictator.
When defeated the new world government in recognition of his many contributions to mankind decided that rather than execute or imprision him, which would have made him a martyr they would exile him to the Oort Cloud in a spaceship of his own design.
He and his assistant discover a number of planetoids peopled by extremely unusual life forms, some benign other enimical to all other life.
He ends up saving the Earth from alien invaders from another dimension and restoring several near extinct civilizations in the process.
I'll see if I can find these again.

[crashryan]

Speaking of Planet Comics, they ran a series about "Mars, God of War." I think he has potential as a uber-villain. He's a bit tricky, though, because Mars never takes physical form on our plane. He either hijacks someone's body or inspires someone to perform evil deeds, like Mr Crime does in Crime Does Not Pay. This may not be just what you're looking for. It's an interesting series, which morphed into a different feature altogether, "Mysta of the Moon." Some nice art by Joe Doolin.

[crashryan]

It just occurred to me that Rural Home's Satanas might be a candidate for main villain. As far as I know he appeared in only one comic (Red Band Comics #1). He's a Saturnian criminal with superscientific know-how who was exiled into space by his fellow Saturnians because for some reason he can't be killed. Of course he winds up on Earth. Having only appeared once there's plenty of room to shape him into a major bad guy.

[gregjh]

Speaking of Planet Comics, they ran a series about "Mars, God of War." I think he has potential as a uber-villain. He's a bit tricky, though, because Mars never takes physical form on our plane. He either hijacks someone's body or inspires someone to perform evil deeds, like Mr Crime does in Crime Does Not Pay. This may not be just what you're looking for. It's an interesting series, which morphed into a different feature altogether, "Mysta of the Moon." Some nice art by Joe Doolin.

Very interesting idea, though with that level of complexity, I think it would be suited to a third or forth episode of our new squad's adventures, rather than their first outing.

[gregjh]

Thanks to TAP and CR for their suggestions, which guided me to Mysta of the Moon as our new antagonist.
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=14294

Yes, Mysta is a hero in the original comics but I see very little trouble in switching here to a villain, and the minor villain in the comic I have linked to can also feature in her villain origins story. In fact. I think Mysta fits better than Mephisto.

I have a rough origin story in my mind, which I'll outline next time.

[gregjh]

As promised, here is an outline of the Future League's formation and first conflict. Feedback and suggested improvements to plotlines are welcome!


Plotline 1

A young, headstrong and cocky athlete (Tom) is a linebacker for his college sports team, the Texas Tornadoes. Tom is involved in a bar-room brawl after he is wrongly accused of selling drugs to his teammates. During this brawl Tom realises he has extraordinary powers. He is confused and scared and tries to hide them, but his situation makes him more anxious and he struggles to control his temper, which in turn gets him into more trouble.

A student at the same college, Steve Hiromatsu is a member of the Dungeons and Dragons club as well a a top grade physics student. Steve is harassed by Tom and his friends for being a nerd. Steve's father is a bounty hunter and Steve wants to follow in his father's footsteps, but is told by his family he just isn't 'that type of person' which eats away at Steve's confidence.  Steve breaks into his father's study to find files on local fugitives. He decides to conduct surveillance on a vicious local drug dealer, Pavlo Horonde, who has ducked probation. Setting off on a winter's night, he is struck down by lightning within second of leaving home. As he begins to regain consciousness, Steve hallucinates that a comet drops from the sky and strikes him, exploding into a ball of light. As the light explodes, Steve immediately regains consciousness and is back outside his home in the middle of a thunderstorm. After checking he is unharmed and unscratched, he continues on his way.

At the Neon Bar, Tom is celebrating a football win with his teammates when he approached by Pavlo, who tells him he is a local businessman interested ins poring Tom. He asks Tom to join him and his colleagues in a VIP room. Tom eagerly agrees. In the room, Pavlo reveals he has no interest in sports and wants Tom to work as muscle for Pavlo. Tom shakes with fear but refuses. As tensions rise, the door crashes open and Steve Hiromatsu comes flying through. His surveillance was lousy and he was quickly spotted by Pavlo's bodyguards. Pavlo orders his muscle to beat on Steve, who is shaking with fear. Steve lets out a scream that makes Pavlo laugh but his henchmen suddenly realise the scream created some kind of forcefield that protects Steve.

As confused as the villains, Steve starts to back towards the door. Pavlo orders his team to draw guns. Panicked, Steve tries to grab one gun and a bolt of energy leaves his hand and sends the gun flying a cross the room. Tom reaches for Pavlo's pistol and a brawl follows. Tom wins the brawl and he and Steve stare at each other in sheer shock and amazement for a moment before fleeing the scene.

Pursued by gangsters from the club, Tom and Steve climb over a barbed wire fence and take refuge in a warehouse. They begin to discuss their powers in sheer amazement and ask what?s next. Ask Tom utters that line, as voice from the darkness of the unlit warehouse booms "What's next is you come with me". The Black Whip drops down to the floor and calmly approaches the two new heroes.

[Captain Audio]

Well I found the story, in three installments, of the super scientist villian/hero I spoke of earlier.
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=36239
"Exile of the skies".
I really good read and I believe the first sci fi story to deal with the frozen planetoids of the Oort cloud.

He would make a great character for any long running Justice league story cycles. Far too complex in his personality for one or two standalone stories.

They say the most dangerous of villians are those who convince themselves that they are only doing what is best for everyone.

[gregjh]

Plotline 2
We start with Space Detective and Meena docking on a planet and making their way through intergalactic customs. The dialogue between SD and Meena and local authorities tells us that SD has arrived to interrogate Mysta of the Moon, Mysta is somewhat of a hero on the planet and her arrest came as major shock to the locals.Dialogue tells us she had achieved great things for the citizens and had pleaded with Earth to treat the locals better and provide further resources.

A local approaches SD and Meena and informs them she is the daughter of Mysta (I don't have a name for this character yet, I need one urgently). Daughter is in shock and explaining the arrest must be a mistake.

As SD and Meena approach the interrogation room, we have more than one option for the next event, I welcome suggestions

Either:

1)  Mysta has escaped (this is the easiest optionbut means I will have to finde a way to bring her back to the plot later)

2) Mysta has killed herself

or

3) Mysta tries to escape and is killed in the struggle

In any event, SD and Meena agree to return to Earth to report their findings and await further assignment. Daughter is devastated and pleads to journey to Earth with the crew to join the investigation  and learned what happened. SD agrees out of sympathy.

Dialogue on ship reveals Daughter is resentful and bitter at Earth. The more she learns , the more resentful she becomes.

[K1ngcat]

We start with Space Detective and Meena docking on a planet and making their way through intergalactic customs.

Sorry to be picky greg, but unless that's a deliberate change, it's Teena, not Meena! 

[gregjh]

Sorry to be picky greg, but unless that's a deliberate change, it's Teena, not Meena! 

Doh! Oh well, let's stick with that name now.

[gregjh]

Plotline 3

Amazonia (deliberate name change) is on an ambassadorial mission to an unspecified South American country. While she is initially welcomed, she is kidnapped and held hostage by a rebel group and imprisoned in the jungle. She pleads for help from the government but is let down by their political wrangling. She is rescued by tribesmen The Shark and Tiger Man. As they make their escape, the two tribesmen explain that they themselves were children of westerners taken hostage, but were well cared for by the tribe and inherited special powers.

In a continuation of Plotline 2, Mysta's daughter is made welcome on Earth and shadows Space Detective and Meena on their duties. In doing so, she meets Iron Mask (who will also need a civilian name). Iron Mask explains that he once met Mysta on her last visit to Earth. IM is researching mythical artefacts that he believes carry ancient powers. He is being detained by authorities for obtaining some artefacts without clearance. He is shocked to discover of Mysta's demise and offers his sympathy to Mysta's daughter. He convinces her that her mother and he himself are victims of Earth's injustice.

[solarpenguin]

Nothing wrong with a bit of self-indulgence.  So I might as well indulge myself with a suggestion for The  Crime and Alien Repulsor Band, using some British and non-American hero(ines)

(SNIP)

Wonder Woman - Difficult but what about Vampirene:-
https://comics.bournemouth.ac.uk/story.php?title=Vengeance+Of+Vampirene
Or, Justine:-
https://britishcomicscompilations.wordpress.com/2020/11/18/justice-of-justine/

Vampirene has no powers, and dresses as a bat to scare her cowardly and superstitious foes. She does remind me of a JLA member but it isn't Wonder Woman! (Yes, she is a princess, but it needs more than that.)

Justine has a better power set, but she's far too young, unless you're planning on aging her up.

IMHO the best candidate for a British comics Wonder Woman is Valda. A mysterious woman who looks like a teenage girl but is over 100 years old, and and has supernatural powers that grant her strength, speed, and stamina.
https://britishcomics.fandom.com/wiki/Valda