Alternate Universe: JLU

[Arrakhat]

Hey everyone, I'm working on a new story which delves in to the alternate universe we saw in the Justice League episode, A Better World. was wondering if I could get advice on how to write for the changed characters, and, more importantly, to decide how the other characters of the DCAU have been changed. Any suggestions or pointers y'all think I should take into account?

 

[Avaterian]

I have thought notes about a before, during, and after Lords story for some time. These are not all of my ideas.

Not sure specifically what you seek so... = fill-in-the-blank guessing.

"how to write for the changed characters"

Superman-
is mentally lost and overprotective. It's not right and wrong, good and evil, but me, them, and the powerless. Notice where Lois is in Pt. 1., held like a prisoner, protected by guards... Superman cares for her so much he won't let her see the world. He wanted to fight Doomsday for the people's admiration and for the sport. Not to save lives but introduce his/The Lords plan and have this Earth agree- a quiet conquer.

"more importantly, to decide how the other characters of the DCAU have been changed."

Alfred Pennyworth-
is dead or suffering somewhere. Alfred is/was a loyal friend to Bruce Wayne. Remember that "fall into the abyss" line in MOTP? If Bruce went bad- Alfred would express his disappointment and leave, maybe be a butler elsewhere, but become slowly depressed. He wouldn't be part of another hero team because he might risk trailing Batman to them.

"Any suggestions or pointers y'all think I should take into account?"

Batman's Arkham Alyssum-
He "lobotomized" the inmates with a tool. They are his villains. This procedure doesn't kill them but they are effectively "cured" from evil actions. The "revolving door" had to stop. Instead of murder, Batman chose something else, lobotomization. It shows he still has a heart- instead of killing them all. Also the Alyssum has been redesigned to be more calm. Don't forget The Lords trust The Joker with the front desk.


Does stuff like this help or not? If you seek more info like this than maybe I can reveal it.... though it might take me awhile.

 

[Arrakhat]

Wow, I didn't expect any answers at all. This stuff you've written helps, and I also had similar thoughts about Alfred. About Batman: do you think he would lobotomize Catwoman? I can't see him doing it, so I've considered that there may be a prison somewhere where she is kept. Possibly with others? However, I can see Superman killing his enemies, due to his views that those threats which will not resolve must be eliminated.

What about the other heroes? I can see some joining the Lords, but which would resist? And what would be their fate?

I love alternate universes, and this one has such potential...

 

[Avaterian]

More guessing...

Catwoman- (Not Lobotomized)
I figure her areas are usually justice and care for cats and thievery. That doesn't seem like something you treat with this "brain care" plus Batman and her had a "loose" romantic relationship. Maybe she was banished on that island in B:TAS "Tyger, Tyger" which she escaped and joined an anti-Lords group. Basically Batman let her go, as in, she's not on the list/ soft spot for her.

"What about the other heroes?"

I thought there were only 7 Justice Lords- Batman, The Flash (dead by ABW), Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, J'onn Jonnzz, Superman, and Wonder Woman.

JLU "Doomsday Sanction" Waller said to Batman,

Spoiler

"Did Superman ever mention that to get Luthor's pardon he had to tell us about your parallel universe adventure? All about it? We started to wonder what would happen if you took the same action the Justice Lords did. So I had my people run some computer simulations. If the Justice League ever went rouge, what do you think would be the result?"

Batman,"That's moot."

Waller,"Humor me. In every single scenario you'd beat us, badly. But that was before Cadmus, now we have the technology to defend ourselves."

Batman,"Whatever you think your doing, if you present a threat to the world, the Justice League will take you down."

Waller,"If we present a threat? You've got a spaceship floating over our heads with a laser-weapon pointing down. In another dimension seven of you over-threw the government and assassinated The President.* We're the good guys protecting ourselves from a very real threat, you."

*Looks like The Flash was alive then, maybe the same day Luthor died.

But if your thinking which heroes could've been Lords... maybe...

Big Barda-
After Darkseid's death, New Genesis and Apokilipos have some settling differences. She visits Earth and likes the New Order and becomes a member. (She is a spy for New Genesis. N.G. is trying to see if they should be stopped.)

Booster Gold-
He comes from a future that admires the Lord's time period. Willing to get rich and spread his propaganda.

Captain Atom-
He was able to choose one "team" over another (Question Authority). The Lords own both teams and he is a "good solider".

Huntress-
Has the Lords support her when she wants to take care of some "Mandagora".

"which would resist"

The Resistance

Black Canary-
Wishes to avenge the death of Ollie/Green Arrow. GA died before the New Order, during the War. He called for assistance at 9:51 am. J'onn was the closet and didn't respond. Ollie died in acidic-toxic water after a plane crash at sea. She blames J'onn and has a stealth head band.

Elongated Man-
Been given civilian level, was recruited to replace The Atom. He knows his job to squeeze through the The Lords' security is suicide. He'll probably only succeed 2% of it, but every part counts.

Fire & Ice-
They're reserve members on Mr. Miracle's secret team.

Kyle Rayner/Green Lantern-
Been training and battling John Stewart from time and again. He's become more creative since his first days with the ring. He sneaks into Earth to help the people in secret and visits his girlfriend, Alexandra DeWitt. He knows the revolution will be soon.

-[The GL Core/Oa
The Guardians recalled Stewart's ring after his participation in Earth's takeover. They understand the planet's unrest but will not interfere, it will soon pass.]-

The Question-
Former connections expert, spy, and friend to the Lords, his face was cut by a mace & corroded by rust remover when Hawkgirl accused him of double-crossing. He escaped to reveal their secrets to The Resistance while developing a business based on statistics.

Supergirl-
Stuck in stasis like in S:TAS "Little Girl Lost". She remains in the Fortress of Solitude after she discovered Superman's secret- he had killed Darkseid. He knew he couldn't kill her and she wasn't going to go keep the secret. She rests until Superman decides her freedom. It's been about 4 years and she's been "awake" the whole time.



And.... BREAK.

---
(Edited after S.C.B's reply and my 3rd reply to your post.)

Continuing The Resistance....

The Amazons and Hippolyta-
They want payback after Diana gave them to Hades and the underworld. They had rescuers and allies from the outside. The plan is to return with such a great force, like a heavy hammer to a grape. (Recall JL "Paradise Lost", Diana & the rules? Not such a lenient solution now.)

Captain Marvel-
Been studying with the Wizard Shazam for about year after L.L.'s death. He solely confronted the Lords and tried to persuade them "knock it off". The battle ended with Superman's broken jaw & wrists and the Captain's sternum cracked by Hawgirl's mace. Zatanna rescued and returned him to Shazam's cave. He rested and hasn't switched to Billy since then. He is part of "round one".

Metamorpho-
He want a world of peace for Sapphire and to be considered a hero instead of a monster. Unfortunately, he's been frozen in orbit over an unmarked planet. Kyle Rayner recruited him and he is part of "round one" as a kryptonite man.

Snapper Carr-
Quietly runs information with the underground news.

-----That's only the heroes.


"And what would be their fate?"

I thought you were writing this story.

I suppose I could figure something but I'd rather go for "perfect" instead having thoughts about story versions 2.0 to 10.0.

What is your response?

 

[S.C.B]

Interesting idea to go into. Here are a few more:

Wildcat: Probably working with Black Canary in said resistance. Gives him an excuse to beat the daylights out of superpowered people.

Dr Fate and Inza: Spend their time in the Tower, either waiting for the madness to end or helping a resistance movement secretly.

Aquaman: Probably couldn't care less. If pushed though, I think he would like the Justice Lord's way of doing things.

Orion: Ditto.

Nightwing: I could see him going against Batman on this. Maybe he leads a group of heroes like the Outsiders or something.

Batgirl: Either working with Nightwing or living somewhere else with her dad.

Robin: Probably forced out of the role by Batman after Flash's death. I would think he would be working with Nightwing.

Harvey Bullock: Probably lobotomised.

Speedy: If you're going with the 'GA is dead' thing, he'd be working with either Black Canary or Nightwing. For fanboy-ism sake, I'll go with Nightwing to make the Outsiders thing more complete.

Ra's Al Ghul: Biding his time in hiding.

Vandal Savage: Since he can't be lobotomised, he's probably doing the same.

Good luck with this; it's got the potential to be a really fun story.

 

[Avaterian]

S.C.B
Maybe it could happen like that... just a little difference of opinion.

Aquaman-
Rules the oceans, being a Lord would be like a chore, a "kingdom with 7 rulers". I say he's neutral until pestered.

Orion-
Neutral too. Supes may have killed his dad, but when he starts mimicking Darkseid then he takes action against him.

Harvey Bullock-
That's a waste of resources.
"Trigger-happy/mad dog Batman zaps again! Got milk? ZAP! Scratched the Batmobile? ZAP! Name end in Bullock? ZAP! (poor Sandra...) ZAP!"

Just drop him in a pit and visit for personal amusement. Not sure about this guy.

Some of my thought notes for Batgirl, Nightwing, Robin, The Joker, Harley Quinn, Two-Face and something else. Arrakhat, you may use these in your story and not give me credit. It's a bit much.

Spoiler

This is "quick" type work.

Before the death of Lex Luthor and the start of the War,
Dick Grayson was in an out of town bank without his uniform. The Joker & Harley showed unintentionally the same time as Two-Face. They were scared of Batman's growing control over Gotham City and tried to rob else where. There was a shoot-out between the two groups and a police officer joined the fight. Dick tried to stop this conflict, and as bullets crossed, he was shot and died.

After Batman examined the bullet from the body, he was shocked that the death was caused not by the villains, but the officer. He studied the bank scene and found that a bullet ricocheted off a metal wall and punctured the back of Dick's skull.

He hunted The Joker and questioned his take on the events. He let Harley watch as Batman lobotomized Joker without warning. He told her he would let her "go free" since she was only in the get-away vehicle. He told her never to wear that suit again or do anything criminal.

Two-Face was having mental issues with his 3 sides: Harvey Dent, Two-Face, and The Judge. He was lobotomized next and the process mixed the egos.

They were placed in their old (TNBA) Arkham cells.

Batgirl and Robin disagreed with his new methods and were told to turn in their suits. The Commissioner, Barbara, and the newly adopted Tim left Gotham to continue in a small town, leaving their "old days". The Case in the Batcave was built, storing the costumes of the Family, except his.

Batman progressed to control Gotham, adding the Police to his arsenal.

(JL "A Better World" Part 2
Police arrive to arrest a guy who doesn't pay / "disruptive" while Lords Batman has "that's normal" look.

A team with weapons outside Arkham.
Lords Batman arrives,"Stand down."

A Lieutenant, "You may be the right guy in the suit, but how do I know your him?"

Lords Batman,"Are you questioning my authority, Lieutenant?"

The Lieutenant looks to the side and motions for his team to leave.)

Dick's "murderer" was put on Gotham trial and had her police license removed. Batman uses her to infiltrate villain groups as the "one who killed Nightwing". This is her punishment: to live a life a dare, of thrill, knowing anytime she could die, but for the cause of good. Living the life she had taken with a bullet.

After the death of L.L., Batman's old suit was added to the case, and a new one was made with similarities to his Lords members.

Also... if The Joker can talk, Two-Face can sweep, how much of the inmates' mind did he cook? Maybe their minds were reset to their personal "beginners stage" and they are secretly becoming evil. J'onn can't scan their minds due to the new rearrangement. Kind of makes them coherent renters that have free housing and food... THE MONSTERS! Arkham is a club house! (joke?)
-------------
Something Else

If the Lords took over earth, they'd sort their allies and enemies.
Barbara, Dick, Tim don't have Lord qualities, but what marks this further is that case in the Cave.

ROTJ
Commissioner Barbara Gordon, "Bruce forbade Tim to be Robin. He blamed himself for what happened and swore he'd never endanger another young partner."

Guessing later Nightwing (not sure why), Batgirl ("bullet holes"?), and Batman's (upgraded to BB suit?) suits joined Robin's (ROTJ) in case. The case is like a costume morgue.

If a similar ROTJ tragedy happened to the Lords Bat Family, The Joker doesn't seem like the cause- Arkham inmate. Still.. I don't think the members were active by the time that case is shown in ABW.

Even if they were active as other named crime-fighters, would Batman allow it or think they were in the Lords way? If they were enemies, why would Batman not toss them in Arkham or neutralize them another way?
----

JL "A Better World" Part 1

Lords J'onn, "... and as long as your down there, try to get Batman out of that cave of his, even I find it depressing."

(J'onn's depressed? Batman really hit the "snooze" button.)
---

Lords Hawkgirl, "You sure you don't want to help us out?"

Lords Batman, "Too much to do."

Lords John Stewart, "Come on, for old time's sake."

Lords Batman, "I hate old times."

(Wonder if that has to due with the case or the Lords. How many things does Batman say he hates? Joker? Death of his parents? What?)
---

Lords Superman remarks on "crossover machine", "You've been a busy little Bat, haven't you?"

Lords Batman, "What else is there to do around here anymore?"

(Lords have a near peaceful world. They've reached boredom. Time to "help" their counterparts.)

Just some notes.
-----------------

Off Topic-ish

I wonder if someone watched every DCAU episode they would find actual dates? Work backward from Batman Beyond's time or McGinnis' age... maybe the dates are there just not so announced. Then find the difference between the Lords' history and "Two Years Later" based on League's key/similar events.

 

[Arrakhat]

I love the ideas I've heard so far, and while I have several of my own I intend to use instead, in many cases I see opportunities you've shown me for further development. One question: Do you think it would be too extreme for a large scale super-prison? I'm thinking very loosely along the lines of the Gulag, from Kingdom Come. The general idea strikes me as Lordish by nature.

 

[Avaterian]

I love the ideas I've heard so far, and while I have several of my own I intend to use instead, in many cases I see opportunities you've shown me for further development.

That's fine.

One question: Do you think it would be too extreme for a large scale super-prison? I'm thinking very loosely along the lines of the Gulag, from Kingdom Come. The general idea strikes me as Lordish by nature.

Seems ok, I think the Lords should benefit from the inhabitants at the Super-Prison otherwise it shouldn't exist.

It doesn't make sense (to me) for the Lords to build an environment, gather their adversaries in this one spot, and let them live with the possibility of jail break. It's like free "mega-baby-sitting".

Maybe you could figure your situation into the Lords' characterization but I suggest these:

Give the inhabitants purpose- mine, build, search, create Lords propaganda/history, use them for test subjects, fighting practice (punching bags), trick release for a fake "save the day".... something.

Have the inmates want to be there. If not by fear or fun but comfort. Maybe an illusion of the way things were (nostalgia) in its setup. Make it kind of dimensional so it doesn't take much land space and the Lords can option to "delete" it for whatever reason.

Implant tracking devices.... that's basically it.

 

[Arrakhat]

Thanks, I love that idea. I've been writing it as more of a prison, but I can see that your idea makes sense. Any villains wo have been captured, however, will probably get different treatment. I can see the Lords trying to actively reform them, rather than just locking them up and leaving them there forever.

 

[Avaterian]

Reformed villians?

So that's how the Lords became bored.

"You know, Lois, I think I'll retire early..."

"It's 1:15."

"...Yep, yep. Where's the T-Guide, Soder, and chips? Going to have the gang over tonight for 7:00 pizza and vids..."

"What'd you do this morning? Sleep-in and crush a can?"

"Lois, Lois, Lords business is very delicate.."

"You charged 10 hours to my cell phone, you jerk!"

"No prob, take care of it *BURP!" 'morrow. Bats was telling scary stories and J'onn was making the s-effects."

"Can't believe it's come to this."

"I know! We've had so much success that I started to invest in stocks. Check it out. Model Ts are the way of the future. Bruce took all my money and invested in it. I'm going to be rich!"

"idiot."

"Huh?"

"Great."

"Chip?"


Not to be mocking you, just messing with the idea of reformed villains, "peace on earth", and some stupid version of the Lords. This is supposed to be funny.



Do you have anymore questions for your story?

 

[Arrakhat]

Funny mate, I like it. I was thinking about villains who seemed to enjoy heroics as well (Atomic Skull was acting less like a villain in his last appearance). Some villains can't be reformed of course, so the only option is execution or imprisonment.

 

[Avaterian]

Good luck executing characters like Lobo, Morgaine LeFay, Etrigan, Hades, ... Toyman, .....Virman Vundabar.

"There is only one way to stop them now... blow up the entire complex!! HEH-HEHA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!", Virman Vundabar, "The Ties That Bind". (Maybe could use another HA.)


Still, do you have any more questions?

Are you set?

 

[Funkatron]

I actually have a similar idea, but crossover with Teen Titans. Basically, what would happen to the titans when the lords first take over.

 

[Avaterian]

Funkatron (You talking to me?)

Just mentioning it.

Be it that recent cartoon show or the comics, I'm not too knowledgeable on The Teen Titans to give you a worthwhile response.