About the Menagerie Phase 3 category

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+.

Stories can be seen in creation order using this link: Menagerie Phase 3 - Menagerie Forum

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What is the status quo going into Phase Three?

  • 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
  • Themes: explorations of hidden pasts
  • Inspirations: EC horror comics

Newmenagerie

  • Anchor: Radiance
  • Action: high-tech rescue operations
  • Themes: found family, sacrifice
  • Inspirations: Thunderbirds, 80’s vehicle action, Brave Robots franchise

Menagerie Megaverse

  • Anchor: Concord
  • Action: Kirby-esque science fantasy space adventures
  • Themes: growing up, the complexity of rightness
  • Inspirations: Cosmic DC & Marvel books (e.g. Green Lantern, Galactus)
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Each book has a semi-regular roster, including the anchor character.

The Marvelous Menagerie

  • Mercury (Harry Gale) - speedster. “I feel the burdens of leadership.”
  • A10 (Andi Fairchild) - brick. “Everyone around me needs family, but I need things too.”
  • Stingray (Trace) - technician. “I don’t know how to care for people, but I must.”
  • Ninjess (Shinkai Hafuko) - infiltrator. “They hate me for what I am.”
  • Mirage (Alycia Cheka, the Mirror) - mission control, operations. “He used me as a tool, but don’t I deserve punishment for my sins?”

Menagerie In Action (MIA)

  • Charade (Alycia Chin) - strategist. “How do I learn not to push others away?”
  • Jason Quill - support. “Who am I, if not my father’s son?”
  • Agent R (Nono Rodriguez) - scientist. “Am I really worth anything?”
  • Firebrand (Emma Agney) - blaster. “What do I do with my grief and rage?”
  • Comrade X (Alex Shelby) - technician. “Is there a normal life for me?”
  • SNOWMAN (John Black) - brick. “My life has been sacrifice after sacrifice. When is it my turn?”

Menagerie at Midnight

  • Ghost Girl (Charlotte Palmer) - sorceress. “What has life after godhood got in store?”
  • Maury Jones - investigator. “People deserve to know what’s going on.”
  • Equity (Daphne Palin) - brick. “There’s no justice in revenge without reparations.”
  • Bodark (Vadim Ivanovich Borisyuk) - werewolf. “I am cursed to be a source of fear.”
  • Vermillion (Rory Reed) - vampire. “I can’t tell anyone my real feelings.”

Newmenagerie

  • Radiance (Summer Skye Newman) - brick. “Living openly is brave and horrifying.”
  • Link (Leo Snow) - technician. “I feel my mortality more clearly than ever.”
  • Aria Newman - logistics and support. “Can we be good parents like this?”
  • Otto Newman - rescue operator. “Too many people are hurting.”
  • Mo Newman - rescue operator. “Don’t get in my way when I’m trying to save someone.”
  • Big Bill Newman - transport operator. “I need to meet more ordinary people.”

Menagerie Megaverse

  • Concord (Adam Amari) - space wizard. “There has to be some good in all this.”
  • Armiger (William Eddison) - swordsman. “What is there worth fighting for?”
  • Jaycee - trainer, strategist. “I know there’s more life has in store for me, but what?”
  • Princess Peri (Jordan Amari) - astral projection. “I want my brother to acknowledge me.”
  • La Cordera (Keri) - brick. “Overwhelming power has brought me overwhelming sorrow.”
  • Space Bug - a weird little dude.
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A post was merged into an existing topic: Phase 3 visual references

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.

The Marvelous Menagerie (1-2):

  1. Mercury
  2. A10
  3. Stingray
  4. Ninjess
  5. Mirage
  6. Random Chosen/JHHL or Irregulators member

Menagerie In Action (3-4):

  1. Charade
  2. Jason Quill
  3. Agent R
  4. Firebrand
  5. Comrade X
  6. SNOWMAN

Menagerie at Midnight (5-6):

  1. Ghost Girl
  2. Maury Jones
  3. Equity
  4. Bodark
  5. Vermillion
  6. Manny the Skull

Newmenagerie (7-8):

  1. Radiance
  2. Link
  3. Aria Newman
  4. Otto
  5. Mo
  6. Bill

Menagerie Megaverse (9-10):

  1. Concord
  2. Armiger
  3. Jaycee
  4. Princess Peri
  5. La Cordera
  6. Space Bug

Amaze GIF

Oh, I do love me some random tables. Okay, let try this out…

9, 5… 2,4… 2, 2… So La Cordera, Ninjess, and A10 in a story? Well that just writes itself. :smiley:

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