N

Plot Idea Summary:

Annie January grew up in a rural town in the middle of America. Her parents were members of an extreme religious cult and injected Annie with Compound V with the belief that she would one day be the prophesied savior of the world. They kept her isolated from the rest of the world, homeschooling her and secretly training her to use her powers.

As Annie got older, however, she began to realize how unstable and delusional her parents were. She sneaked out of the house to see more of the outside world and met a boy named Matthew (Gecko) that helped her to understand just how messed up her upbringing had been.

Upon confronting her parents, Annie got into a major argument with them, which led to them trying to force Annie to stay. Among the chaos, Annie let off a blast of light that left both of her parents permanently blind. Horrified by what she had done, Annie fled her home and started a new life on her own.

Years later, Annie had slowly built up her superhero career but was still a much lesser known hero. She had few close friends and dealt with trust issues due to her past. In order to keep her identity a secret, Annie always wore a mask when fighting crime. Outside of hero work, she also had a day job as a receptionist at Vought Tower.

While at work, Annie overheard a conversation that the cult she had escaped from had infiltrated the upper levels of Vought. She decided to investigate to prevent anyone else from suffering similar experiences to the ones she had dealt with.

Other Thoughts:

Originally, I wanted to take away religion from Starlight's backstory entirely, but I ended up realizing that doing that would vastly change the essence of her character. The core aspect that benefited Starlight was the community and popularity that came from being a member of the church. Those resources are one of the main reasons that she ever got invited to be in The Seven.

I thought making her family into religious extremists/cult members would highlight a different aspect of religion while also taking away the community that supported Starlight in her canon appearance. In this "Absolute" version, Starlight would be much more isolated.

A comic following this storyline would likely involve Starlight taking down this cult by finding and defeating the leaders. The leaders would likely include Ezekiel, Firecracker, and Oh Father.

Plot Idea Summary:

As a young child, Hughie Campbell's father, Hugh Campbell, suddenly passed away from a stroke, leaving Daphne Campbell as a grieving, single mother. Despite dealing with severe depression and anxiety, she did her best to raise Hughie to the best of her abilities. Hughie had a fascination with technology and often tinkered with old computers and other electronics.

When Hughie was thirteen, his whole world got torn apart when his mother was killed by an immature newcomer Supe named A-Train. While walking home from a late night at work, Daphne was hit by A-Train when he was illegally racing against other super-fast Supes on a residential street.

With no other nearby relatives, a devastated Hughie was forced to move into an orphanage. The police had covered up the details of his mother's death so Hughie really had no clue what had actually happened. To cope with the loneliness, Hughie learned as much as he could about computers and coding.

After high school, Hughie attended a local college, intending to study computer science. While there, he met a girl named Robin Ward, who convinced him to look more into the death of his mother. Together, they uncovered the facts of the case, specifically that A-Train had murdered Hughie's mom.

In the following years, Robin and Hughie worked together to research the ins and outs of Supe weaknesses. They developed various weapons to use against Supes, such as a high-pitched sonic sound emitter.

Now finally feeling ready to begin their mission to reveal the truth and bring A-Train to justice, Hughie and Robin built a base of operations in New York City to locate A-Train and monitor his actions.

Other Thoughts:

When making Absolute Hughie, I wanted to lean more into what made Hughie unique, such as his knowledge of technology. Without Butcher and the others to be the 'muscle', Hughie would have to use his smarts and wits to have a chance against Supes.

I also decided to bring Robin in because Starlight wouldn't be working alongside Hughie, at least at first. I'd love to see more of the dynamics between Robin and Hughie, even if it was only in an alternate universe.

If this was an actual comic, it would follow Hughie and Robin as they tracked down A-Train to reveal his crimes to the public. It would rarely feature other Supes, except probably Popclaw.

To cope with the fact that the final season of The Boys has been pretty shitty overall, I decided to create an alternate universe that will be the "absolute" version, inspired by DC's Absolute Universe. The main aspect of the Absolute Universe is the removal of a core aspect of heroes' characters. For instance, Batman isn't wealthy.

For The Boys, I think the most important core aspect is the team itself. As dysfunctional and messy the team is, they succeed because they're working together. My idea is to split up the team into individuals trying to wage war against Vought. Additionally, I'm changing Vought and Homelander so that Homelander is now the son of the owner of Vought. He's a rich brat that is also the heir to the company.

I'll likely post more about what I think would change about each individual character, such as Starlight not having her religious ties or Hughie being in the care of his mom and not his dad. I think the story would still end up with them all eventually teaming up accidentally, but it would be like different story lines coming together for a crossover. Each character would have their own self-contained plot that has a villain of their own (Soldier Boy for MM, A-Train for Hughie, Firecracker for Starlight, etc.)

I recently started watching Awkward Jaggies after seeing her video about the end of Mindcrack. I also randomly got recommended a YouTubers named KenzeeMC who already has really high production value with only 3 videos so far!

Nocturna isn't a popular character or a superhero so the possibility of her even showing up in the Absolute Universe is unlikely at best, but her appearance in Batman: The Caped Crusader really stood out to me. Many of the other villains that appeared were re-imaginings of famous Batman characters, but Nocturna was much more obscure to the average fan. I've been really loving the Absolute Universe lately, especially Absolute Wonder Woman, and I've been trying to come up with characters that would be interesting to see adapted. The books often address societal issues, and I think an Absolute Nocturna could definitely lean into those themes. Here's my concept for a mini-series. Maybe I'll flesh it out more in the future.

Concept:

Natalia Knight was born with a rare genetic condition that caused sunlight to severely harm her. She grew up in a low income neighborhood with loving parents who struggled to make ends meet. Due to her condition, Natalia had to do all of her schooling online, which largely isolated her from the outside world.

One day, her parents are killed in a car accident so Natalia is sent to live with her older brother, Anton, despite the fact that Anton is an alcoholic who doesn't have any qualifications to be her guardian. Now a teenager, Natalia creates a social media account to escape her rough life. She gains a following due to her genuine personality and kind attitude.

Anton finds out about her online influence and pushes her to promote various products to make money that Anton could use to feed his alcohol addiction. While hesitant to listen to Anton's orders, Natalia soon realizes that she can absorb emotional energy from her online influence. This causes her followers to lose their ability to feel empathy but also allows Natalia to survive in the sunlight.

Natalia is then conflicted on whether to continue to drain her followers for personal happiness.

Themes:

This is just a rough idea that I wanted to write down. The themes would include family exploitation for online fame (such as influencer families) as well as influencer and sponsor culture, radicalization of online audiences, and parasocial relationships. There would be villains, likely other niche villains, that play into those themes.

The Gotham City Sirens (Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman) are such a fun and interesting team of villains/anti-heroes. I wanted to see if I could come up with a version of the team for other superhero universes. I tried to match the personalities and dynamics of the original GCS members and tried to keep the power level of these new teams around street-level to fit a similar vibe. Also, I avoided Marvel to focus on some less-discussed superhero universes.

The Boys Universe

I think Kimiko Miyashiro could possibly fit the Harley Quinn role due to her traumatic/violent past and her wild and unpredictable fighting style. She's not insane or comedic like Harley, but there's still some similarities that I could see between the two of them. The other person I could see filling the Harley role is Cherie. She's not a Supe, but she's connected to the mob, along with Frenchie, and definitely a wild card.

For the Poison Ivy role, I could see Cate Dunlap being a good option. Cate is smart and calculated, similar to Ivy. I could see her being more of a voice of reason for the group and a possible leader. I don't see her working with Kimiko, though, unless circumstances severely change or this team takes place in another timeline. Obviously, they'd still have bad blood from Sam and Cate helping to capture Kimiko and Frenchie. The other two options I could see filling the Ivy role are Indira Shetty and Victoria Neuman. Both are extremely smart and scientific, but also don't really fit the vibe of a street-fighting team.

Finally, for the Catwoman role, I think Tala, who's another girl who was part of the Shining Light Liberation Army, like Kimiko, could work. She's more of a lone wolf as well as a skilled and mobile combatant. I could also see Justine Garcia working since she's pretty selfish/self-absorbed and brings a bit of attitude to the team dynamics.

Personally, I think Cherie, Cate Dunlap, and Tala would be a really interesting Sirens team. It would have a really weird and new dynamics between the members as well as connections to the mob, SLLA, Vought, and God U to make some excellent stories.

Dispatch Universe

I was questioning whether to include Dispatch in this post because the universe is so new and so small, but it has been on my mind quite a bit lately so I figured I would try to come up with a team.

For the Harley role, I think Invisigal and Prism are the two best options. Invisigal has a sort of whimsy and chaotic-ness that reminds me of Harley while Prism has more of the unserious-ness and is generally really funny. Personally, I think Invisigal fits the role better, but it's really a close call to make.

Malevola might be the best choice for the Poison Ivy role. She's a bit more responsible than a lot of the Z-Team members, being Sonar's sponsor for instance. I don't think she's very scientific or eco-focused, but she's one of the most sane options left. Blonde Blazer is far too heroic to be on a Sirens team.

The only person left that I think could fill the Catwoman role would be Coupe. She's a lone-wolf, agile, and stealthy, just like Catwoman. She's an assassin, not a thief, but otherwise fits pretty well onto the team.

The number of characters I had to choose from is really small, but I would have to choose Invisigal, Malevola, and Coupe as the Sirens team for Dispatch.

Invincible Universe

When attempting to make a Sirens team for Invincible, I realized that the universe really doesn't have many female street-level villains. Even so, I managed to come up with a few ideas that I think could work.

Knuckle Buster, the extremist that was killed by Cecil, could work as the Harley Quinn character. She's obviously a bit crazy as well as a good hand-to-hand fighter. I think she's really the best/only option for that role.

For the Poison Ivy role, I would probably go with Construct. I don't know as much about her, but she's extremely smart, like Ivy, just instead applying that to machines instead of plants.

The Catwoman spot would likely be filled by Iguana. She's already worked on a team before, the Lizard League, and she's just the agility and combat skills that fit the role. Plus, she's named after an animal, like Catwoman. The only other option I really considered was War Woman II, but I think she's possibly too powerful to be on this team.

The team I created of Knuckle Buster, Construct, and Iguana is pretty solid, but I think it would benefit from some more options in the Invincible universe. Maybe I'm missing someone, but this was the best I could come up with from looking into it.

Irredeemable Universe

Despite only having two comic series to draw from, I think the Irredeemable universe has some great options for a Sirens team. Ironically, the best options actually don't come from the namesake of the universe and instead come from Incorruptible instead.

For the Harley Quinn role, the perfect two options are the sidekicks of Max Danger, Jailbait and Headcase. Both are somewhere between unhinged to insane while also not having any superpowers of their own. Jailbait wins, in my opinion, because she was manipulated/groomed by Max Danger, which reminds me a lot of Harley and the Joker.

Alana Patel would be my choice for the Poison Ivy role on this Sirens team. She's much closer to a hero than a villain, but she gets involved with some former villains/not great people during the course of Incorruptible. She would be the stable voice of reason on the team. She does eventually get some pretty powerful abilities, but I think they're limited/specific enough to be a part of a street-level team. Mother Eve is another option, but she isn't used enough in the series to really get a feel of her character. She has the plant theme of Ivy though.

For the Catwoman role, Hate Crime would be one good option. A former villain with the power to stop people for around a minute by saying "STOP", Hate Crime doesn't have many of the characteristics that I look for in the Catwoman role. She isn't really a loner or known to be very agile, but I think her dynamic with the others would make up for that. The other possibility would be Bette Noir, but she's too much of a hero to be on a Sirens team.

I would choose Jailbait, Alana, and Hate Crime to be the Sirens team, likely based in Coalville. I think their personalities and prior histories together would make for some very interesting stories and possible conflicts.

Minor Threats Universe

Despite only existing for a few years, the universe of Minor Threats is full of potential characters for a Sirens team. The main character, Playtime, for instance, could fill the Harley Quinn role. She's much more of a serious character, but her toy theming reminds me of Harley's clown theme. Stick-Man is more of the Joker of the universe, but he doesn't have a Harley equivalent.

Scalpel is the perfect Poison Ivy for the team because she has had a relationship with Playtime, similarly to Harley and Ivy. She's also a doctor, like how Ivy is a scientist. While Playtime is less chaotic than Harley, she's still pretty impulsive and Scalpel is the voice of reason, like Ivy for Harley.

My final choice for the team would be Dokkaebi. She's an old friend of Playtime that is a violent fighter with a huge wooden club. She doesn't have the same skill set as Catwoman, but she's a lone wolf like her and has a prior connection to the other members, like how Catwoman has a history with Harley and Ivy.

This team is probably my favorite of the ones I created because they fit so well within the roles of the Sirens.

Conclusion

We all know that The Seven is intended to be a corrupt parody of the Justice League, but what would a truly heroic Justice League look like in The Boys Universe? Inspired by videos by T. M. M. on YouTube, I've created a few different teams made of existing characters that I think could be worthy of being called the Justice League.

Things to note:

Any characters are able to be used, even if they are dead/depowered/old in the show canon. This also includes characters from Diabolical, even the episodes that were said to be non-canon.

I considered powers/move-set as well as personality when making these teams. Characters who are more "heroic" were usually prioritized.

Team 1

Golden Boy, Starlight, Polarity, A-Train, Marie Moreau, Jordan Li, and Kimiko Miyashiro

In this scenario, each character is roughly connected to a member of the Justice League, based off the DCAU version with Hawkgirl instead of Aquaman. This is mostly because I think I could fit a roster better to that lineup.

Golden Boy is the Superman-like character. He's charismatic and really powerful with both flight and super strength. Starlight is the Wonder Woman, an experienced leader and warrior that has incredibly strong powers. Polarity is the Batman equivalent because it's tough to find a character that doesn't have powers that could fit this type of role. There's a couple I considered, but I think Polarity's experience and manipulation of metals could make him sorta the tech-guy of the group. A-Train is obviously The Flash. I think he's done enough to redeem himself to be a part of an actual "heroic" team.

Marie is the Green Lantern of the group. Her manipulation of blood reminds me somewhat of Green Lantern's manipulation of his light constructs. Jordan is the Martian Manhunter equivalent. They're a shapeshifter that struggles to fit into a society that doesn't always understand them. Finally, Kimiko is the Hawkgirl. She's a fighter/warrior that slowly learns to let people in, emotionally.

This might be the most powerful team that I made that also fits into the mold of what I think a "Justice League" should be. The other rosters attempt to resemble other versions of the Justice League or embody a certain aspect of the team.

Team 2

Sam Riordan, Starlight, the Rememberer, Emma Meyer, Eagle the Archer, Supersonic, and Harper

This team is not nearly as powerful compared to the previous team, but I think it has some interesting dynamics. Sam takes the spot as the "Superman" of the team, though he's more of a Hulk-type figure if we're making comparisons. He takes Luke's place in this team because I think his prior relationship with Emma makes the dynamics more interesting and because I wanted some variety in the rosters. Starlight is the Wonder Woman again because it felt weird to not have Starlight on a heroic Justice League team. She's like the main Supe hero of the show. She would likely take the front leadership role for this team since she has a lot of experience.

The Rememberer represents the detective side of Batman as well as the Question as well. He's not a fighter, but I loved his dynamic with Emma, and he would be great when solving crimes. Emma is our Atom equivalent with a Flash-type personality. She's the glue that keeps the team together and the person who provides for humor when necessary. Eagle the Archer is like the Green Arrow of the group. He honestly felt like a decent enough guy from what I can remember from his appearance, and I always love an archer on a superhero team. Supersonic is the Black Canary of the team. He's such a positive character who deserved more screen time. Plus, his existing relationship to Starlight would make things interesting. Finally, Harper is a Martian Manhunter/Vixen type of character, due to her copy powers, that has a personality that I think meshes really well with the other ones on the team.

This team would be able to tackle a variety of missions and threats while keeping things mostly fun and whimsical. The existing histories between members would make things more dramatic and could lead to interesting internal dynamics.

Team 3

Starlight, Frenchie, Kimiko Miyashiro, Marie Moreau, Jordan Li, Emma Meyer, and A-Train

If there's one regular human character that I could see working in a Justice League style team, it would be Frenchie. He doesn't have the cleanest past, but I think he's generally trying to be a good person nowadays. He would be creating gadgets and concoctions for the team to use in their missions. Starlight would take the Superman role as the leader of the team, with A-Train being the speedster of the team and also the other leader.

Emma would be the comedic member with the personality of someone like The Flash while also bringing some more strength/stealth to the team. Marie, Jordan, and Kimiko would all serve similar roles to what was said for Team 1.

I think this would be an interesting team in terms of relationship dynamics. It would kinda feel like two halves, the older, experienced half and the younger, fresher half.

I think this group would have the mix of personalities to be a heroic and hopeful group like the Justice League is.

Team 4

Marie Moreau, Kimiko Miyashiro, Ghost, Gecko, Cate Dunlap, Frenchie, and Zoe Neuman

This team is less of a traditional "Justice League" team and more of a "Justice League Dark" team. Since The Boys Universe doesn't have magic like the DC Universe, I tried to create a team that has more "unnatural" or strange powers. I would imagine that they would act more from the shadows or investigate strange situations that they hear about.

Marie would be the leader of the team. While not the oldest, she's definitely the strongest and already becoming a leader among the Gen V gang. Her blood manipulation immediately makes me thing of magic, which makes her perfect for this kind of team. Kimiko also has a power that matches well with the theme of this team. Her regeneration reminds me a lot of zombies and has an aspect of body horror to it.

Ghost is from an episode of Diabolical and has the power of complete intangibility. While that certainly has a lot of downsides, she would be great for stealth or recon assignments. She did assist in killing a lot of people, but I don't think she's an irredeemably bad person. She reminds me a lot of Deadman, which makes her suited for the "supernatural" team. Gecko feels like a guy who was mostly just trying to make ends meet. He didn't feel particularly malicious from what I remember in the show. Also, like I said with Kimiko, regeneration can be pretty horror-like.

Cate's powers probably wouldn't work on a traditional Justice League team, but a Justice League Dark team could probably fit her well. I'm not sure she would ever be able to be on this type of team with Marie after everything they've been through, but it could also be a different continuity or something. Frenchie would once again be the gadgets/support guy. He's the kind of guy that works better outside of the spotlight. Finally, Zoe may still be young, but her powers are remind me of an Eldritch horror. She would be one of the main powerhouses on the team.

Conclusion

This was just a fun thought exercise for me. It was a challenge to come up with interesting teams that used a variety of different characters. Most of these teams wouldn't work in the current canon of the shows, but they would be a fun "What-If" scenario.