SW10, CONTEST: August 2010 #1: Predecessors

[Andrew Perron]

On Thu, 23 Sep 2010 23:37:20 +0000 (UTC), Scott Eiler wrote:

> In the United States, grocery stores are planning to close their major
> branches in September. There is still some produce to live by in
> farmers' markets, but the corporations of the Western world do not
> want Internet photos of Communist-style queues for produce.

Wait, what?  Does negative publicity *really* outweigh the profit that
they'd get from staying open - not to mention, y'know, the *starvation*?
Or am I just massively understanding here? `.`

> In our world, superhumans are powerful enough to try to control crop
> fertility - even when the Earth's orbit has been shifted to be colder.
> But crop control isn't working. So there's popular demand for
> reversion of superheroes.

Reversion?  I assume that means "bringing back", as below.

>     * For me, it's my grandpa who's a long-living commando, due to
> infected blood which runs in my family - but it only works as
> resurrection-style "rapid healing" once. (I already cashed in.)

Ooo, neat.  There's a useful plotbutton.

> We superhumans all have enemies now, in much the same way every U.S.
> President has during midterm elections, and for much the same reasons.
> Now that the Earth is swinging away from the Sun and the crops are
> failing, the current administration is getting the blame, along with
> every superhuman who tried to help.

Interesting.  I bet they're gonna blame Obama for this, too.

> My old enemy Evil Mayor Anvernacht has joined the
> movement, though.

The all-powerful Anti-Mayor!

> We have a very public superheroine named Morningstar. (Hi, Julie!) She
> has a very public predecessor, also named Morningstar. (Hi, Laura!)

*waves madly*

Which is the Morningstar from the SW91 story?

>     * I actually have some reputation among actors, based on a one-act
> play I wrote in 2004, based on the world being halfway to apocalypse
> in 2011. The play's starting to get some theater action now, based on
> how I've actually been right so far,

Ace of base!

>     * The requesters weren't paying attention. There's been enough
> sunlight to keep the Earth warm; our mutant supergenius scientist led
> a team to bring more sunlight in from other universes. The crops
> failed anyway, for reasons of their own.

Didn't they fix that in the last one?

> Some World War 2 sidekicks were taking turns addressing the crowd like
> they were Captain America... What's this about sidekicks? Well, Auge
> von Shaitan got what he could. He couldn't bring back any of the
> righteous heroes who'd gone to Heaven. But he got some of their
> hangers-on.

Ouch, man.  Ouch.

>     * The Golden Age Ellipsis wasn't there either. Stephen Oliver
> Samuels, or SOS, died righteously fighting Nazis in 2006.

That's a great Stephen Ulysses Perhero name.

>     * But some of the others introduced themselves. There was a
> Crusher Joe Jones, a Mighty Tim Melloc, a Stonewater Smith, and a Pug
> Nelson Championis Federus. That is to say, all Golden Age predecessors
> for my world.

An incidental point - Wyatt keeps saying "in my world".  Isn't this written
for consumption at least mostly on said world?

>     * In a line of people next to him, people plucked out body parts
> and hold them up, all without bleeding! Well, not much bleeding.

Heeheehee.

> The Devil had been summoned. Gah! I've just seen The Devil! Or some
> thing that claims to be the Christian concept of Lucifer, anyway.

Maaaaan, quit demystifying your own grandeur ``

> The actors think the whole thing was special effects.

Okay, here's another example of a trope I hate!  Something ridiculous and
astounding physically happens right in front of people!  The earth shakes!
The hot, stinking breath of a monster pours past them!  Flames leap and
thunder roars!

...and somehow, people assume it's all special effects.

> I know something
> about what Auge von Shaitan can do, so I think he summoned something
> that claimed to be the Christian Satan. And then it totally refused to
> do its summoners' bidding. Satanists, Fail!

Heeheeheehee

> Yes, it's good to support our returning soldiers even beyond the
> grave... but I think there may be some issues.

Tell that to the ten thousand zombies who couldn't get jobs after Vietnam!

Overall, strong idea, execution coulda used a bit of work.

Andrew "NO .SIG MAN" "Juan" Perron, workity workity