BY THE WIZARD STAFF
I LLUSTRATION BY DRAXHALL JUMP STUDIO
An article from Wizard #136, 2002
What if WIZARD reimagined the DC Universe using the Ultimate formula?
THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE BEGINS NOW. With Marvel's Ultimate success,
fans have been clamering, "When is DC Comics gonna Ultimize its
universe?" Since DC's unlikely to do it (reps have said an publicly),
we figured we might as well take a crack at it. Why should Stan Lee
hog all the fun "reimagining" DC's big guns? DC's comic book
icons have stood the test of time, enduring decades of restarts, revamps
and rough times. They've seen new directions, new costumes and even
new characters inside the costumes. All of them have persevered because
the timeless core idea of each character has been more powerful than
a speeding locomotive. It leaves as wondering how things would look
if DC's big guns were relaunched, Ultimate-style.
We took the blueprints at what made Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man and
Ultimate X-Men a success, and built upon the characters' foundations,
keeping 'em classic yet contemparary, with a wrinkle or three that adds
something new to the mythos. And we even went one step further than
just playing a what-if game: We hired the artists at Draxhall Jump Studio
to see our ideas through from conception to coloring! We had such a
blast with this, we even concocted storylines and subplots that could
last years in our imaginary 'lil universe. After countless hours of
planning, there's no doubt in our minds that these books could go toe-to-toe
with the Ultimate Marvel Universe. And, faster than a speeding bullet,
we'll now put our money where our mouth is.
ULTIMATE TEEN TITANS
image courtesy of Draxhall Jump
Studio at http://www.dhjcomics.com/ |
THE ORIGIN: it's 'N Sync meets superheroes. When the JLA emerges
as media darlings after their battle with Despero, LexCorp manufactures
its own superteam. Gathering a group of hip, good-looking teenagers
with superhuman abilities, Luthor's PR team designs marketable codenames
and costumes for each. Calling them the "Teen Titans" (a name
the team hates), Luthor now has a cash-cow bonanza first, "superhero"
team second.
THE CHARACTERS: Placing ads in all the Hollywood trades, LexCorp
holds auditions for the team. First to sign on is a young acrobat named
Rich Grayson, who desperately wants to escape his life in the carnival
act with his parents. Coming prepared with the code-name "Nightwing"
he's more than a little disappointed to instead be labeled "Robin."
Then there's Raven, a mysterious goth-chick who spent years living on
the streets through a combination of street smarts and her control of
her "living darkness." Escaping from the island of Themyscira
was easy for Donna (who creates a last name In Troy), but escaping her
big sister Diana's shadow may be harder; Donna is given the codename
Power Girl (instead of the proposed name 'Wonder Girl'' to avoid trademark
infringement with theJLA's Wonder Woman), which suits her fine since
she wishes her presence in Man's World remain secret from her Amazon
sisters. The arrogant Prince Arthur of Atlantis, a 19-year-old future
king called Aquaman, wants to familiarize himself with the surface world
before taking up his royal responsibilities; he insists he's the team's
natural leader, much to the chagrin of the others. Roy Harper - given
the name Green Arrow - was raised on an Indian reservation learning
deadshot marksmanship with his bow; the wildcard of the team, Roy takes
immense pleasure in ribbing team-mates (like calling Robin "Dick."
or Aquarnan 'Artie"). The final piece to the Teen Titans make-up
is accident victim Victor Stone, who LexCorp rebuilt as Cyborg.
THE FIRST ARC: Marketed as a pop-star superteam, the Teen Titans
are sent out to battle low-level supervillains and thugs, allowing decisive
victories. But when the team discovers Green Arrow overdosing on Ecstasy
after a rave with Raven, the Titans secretly buck their bosses in their
off-hours to get their hands dirty, They take out an E lab without telling
LexCorp, which wants to keep the team's image squeaky clean. During
the raid though, Power Girl accidentally kills a dealer, creating rifts
among members. What's worse - keeping all of their esctracurricular
activities on the downlow proves tougher than they ever imagined, particularly
when members like Green Arrow, Raven and Cyborg refuse to participate!
THE BIG PICTURE: With a murder hanging over the team's collective
heads, the Titans still participate in more nightly raids on drug dealers
and gang-bangers, But as time goes on, their meta-human vigilante activities
spark the first Ultimate DC crossover by attracting the attention of
a rival team: the Justice League.
ULTIMATE FLASH
image courtesy of Draxhall Jump
Studio at http://www.dhjcomics.com/ |
ORIGIN: Crime scene investigator Barry Allen works in one of
the fastest cities in the world - Los Angeles. Called to a crime scene
inside Cadmus Labs Research Facility (a subsidiary of LexCorp), Allen's
collection of evidence accidentally exposes him to a host of experimental
substances, Invisible to the naked eye, tasteless, odorless... these
compounds trigger something within Allen's biochemistry, transforming
him into the fastest man alive!
THE CHARACTER: As one of the top crime scene investigators in
the country, Barry Allen is often called upon to tackle L.A.'s most
bizarre cases. A one-man crime lab thanks to his keen mind and inhuman
speed, the fastest man alive now has what it takes to stay one step
ahead of the criminals.
SUPPORTING CAST: L.A. Detective Jay Garrick is Allen's best
friend and the only person who knows he's secretly the Flash. Even Assistant
District Attorney Iris West, Allen's off-again, on-again flame, doesn't
know his secret. Of course, she's got her own problems now that she's
taken in her young nephew Wally West after years of parental abuse.
Making things harder for Allen is that the rebellious Wally doesn't
trust any cop, even if they're dating his Aunt Iris.
THE SET-UP: After realizing he's gained the power to run faster
than the speed of sound, Allen develops a slick running outfit to disguise
his identity while investigating crimes as the Flash. While experimenting
with his powers, Barry discovers a downside to his abilities: the more
he uses his speed, the faster his body shows signs of aging. But just
as Barry begins to master his power and gets a lead on the serial killer
Murmur, someone else with superhuman speed calling himself Black Flash
arrives on the scene. What's worse, he knows all of Barry's secrets
and wants the Scarlet Speedster dead.
THE BIG PICTURE: "I'lI never forgive you!" screams
Black Flash as he pummels Allen in their first meeting. This grief-stricken
foe stands revealed as none other than a future Wally VVest! Haunted
for years by Wally's hatred, Allen eventually learns he'll make a wrong
decision that costs the lives of two JLA teammates... and Iris West.
