New fiction in the Menagerie universe, following Marvel’s “Phase” system for the MCU.
Phase 3 is one year after the Invisible Invasion
Like the MCU’s Phase 3, the goals are to go bigger, harder, and more impressive
I want to drive more drama to characters who have been under-represented (e.g. Harry, Alex)
I want to develop more distinct voices for the characters, and try to get into Blender-generated art
A secondary goal is to remove all Magpie Games IP (including but not limited to Deck of Villainy characters, AEGIS, and Halcyon City) so characters & situations can be reused elsewhere
Following the Phase 2 post conventions, prologue, backstory, or flashback type stories are numbered 300+ and are written past tense. Stories told in the moment are numbered 400+.
The Invisible Invasion disrupted a lot of existing stuff, and the world is still shaken up
Tyran Enterprises/Tyran Corp, under the leadership of Rex Tyran, effectively owns Halcyon City now
People in the superhero world know Rex is dirty but have no concrete evidence and must either abide by the law or go vigilante/villain to do anything about it
Many Atlantean refugees still need places to go
Because of all this, our heroes may be moving to a new setting! But where?
Our cast:
Leo will be healed and SNOWMAN will be recovered, but their experiences will have changed them (and we’ll see how)
Jason is still trying to stay out of the life, but absolutely doesn’t mind getting sucked into adventure
Harry is reforming the surviving HHL members
Charlotte is no longer the Magus, but has found other avenues of power and is still an active hero
Adam will be heading into space, but can come back when needed
Alycia will be leading MIA (Menagerie in Action, the successor to Agents of AEGIS)
Summer is now out as a robot and is reinventing her superhero persona accordingly
By request, members of the Multiverse will be appearing - the Quillverse (Bad Future), Pidgeverse, and more!
Our opposition:
An array of new villains, and some old favorites (?), will be making trouble
Rex Tyran will be using his considerable power and talents to imperil everything our heroes hold dear
Remember all of Pyrrhus’s soldiers who were equipped with the Poppet System? I sure do
Hey what was this “Cybergod” thing about that Jason heard of?
The Concordance aren’t the good guys?! The Collective isn’t either?! Time for some swordfighting IN SPACE
Some of the HHL went to fight the alien Blot, what’s going on there?
The stories themselves will be organized into five “comic books”, each anchored by one or more of our characters. Characters will definitely cross over between books, but books will definitely have their own vibes, tone, and style.
The Marvelous Menagerie
Anchor: Mercury
Action: the city’s defenders fight an array of supervillains and engage in trad comic shenanigans
Themes: the weight of legacy, the responsibilities of power
Inspirations: mainstream DC & Marvel comics
Menagerie In Action (MIA)
Anchor: Charade
Action: globetrotting secret agents vs. high-tech risks
Themes: ordinary life vs. dangerous exploits, personal uncertainty
Inspirations: James Bond, Jason Bourne, Tom Clancy, SHIELD
Menagerie at Midnight
Anchor: Ghost Girl
Action: mystics vs. mysteries and supernatural menaces
In addition to the regular books, I want to put out a set of short pieces called “ASIST Annual” or something, where we pair 2-3 characters at random and see how they stack up. To figure out who we’re mixing together, here’s a simple random table to use. Roll d10 for the book, then d6 for the hero.