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The "original" part of the topic title is not meant as a jab, to imply anyone else's characters or stories are unoriginal. It is simply to denote they are not connected to any existing universe.

I have had these ideas running around for years, but I have not written any fiction in quite a long time. This will be the first time any of this has ever been made public, and I welcome any comments, criticisms, or suggestions. Thank you for reading.

I have three main story ideas. One involves a present day setting. It is an apocalyptic, subversive religion and politics-based horror story, with an inversion of the traditional hero and villain roles. It is the most personal of my writing, but is probably not appropriate to these forums due to the themes. The second is a fantasy setting, with themes of bigotry, intrigue, and the role of one's upbringing in character development. I will post an overview of that one later.

The third of my story ideas is a super-powered universe. As I lack any artistic skills whatsoever, this (as well as the others) was intended as a novel or series of stories, rather than as a comic book. It was conceived as a sort of commentary on superhero comics. Many of the characters are reminiscent of traditional hero and villain archetypes, as those concepts are so strong they lend themselves to endless interpretation. I didn't pull any lazy "he's just like Superman, except he's edgy because he kills people!" crap.In the very near future, I will post some of the characters and ideas from this universe.

These are some of the major and minor characters in my "super" universe:

The Oligarchy - The preeminent supervillain team. This group is the main focus for my stories in this world. Their goals are never fully explained; I want them to function more as an antagonist archetype than as bank robbers or world rulers, although both of those are implied. The team's members include: 1. Dominion, the leader. He has the power to manipulate force-fields and kinetic energy. Dominion is loosely inspired, in powers and philosophy, by Magneto. I also wanted to have a black character who is a mastermind powerhouse villain. 2. Conqueror, main henchman. Conqueror is my favorite character, and the main point of view. He is a classic "strong guy" (think around Thing-level) who backs up his massive but not top-tier strength level with extensive fighting skills. He is the grandson of legendary Soviet WWII hero/Cold War villain Ivan the Terrible. He is very proud of his heritage, and considers it an honor to be a supervillain. I will post Conqueror's "bio" at some point. 3. Pentagram, a woman who may be a sorceress or may be a super-human. She is feared by the public and by many heroes. 4. The Hydra, a humanoid monster with six serpent heads. The Hydra has acid spit and regenerative powers, and is inhumanly fast. 5. Switchblade, a robotic assassin which can assemble itself into various configurations and weapons. Switchblade is rumored to harbor the consciousness of a long-thought-dead villain. 6. Scarlet Fever, a woman with the power to manipulate heat and friction, causing combustion.

The Alternatives - a team of 1990's heroes. They formed with the idea to combat social ills, rather than what they considered wasting their powers and abilities on hero-villain battles. The Alternatives made a lot of positive change early on, but they lost the support of the media in a few years after the public got bored with them. In recent times, they attempt a comeback by going after The Oligarchy, who they believe are a fraud feuding with the big name heroes for money and fame. The Alternatives are hopelessly outmatched, having both a low overall power levevl and little experience fighting supervillains. After their destruction (I threw out the original idea of massive civilian casualties - it was too reminiscent of Civil War, although I had the idea independently), The superhero community decides to get serious with a crackdown on villains. Members of The Alternatives included Riotrrr, Relapse, Green Warden, Skyblack, and a few others. Agony was another member, who used his healing factor to allow him consequence-free heroin addiction. The team kicked him out for being a bad influence.

PowerUp (tentative name), a corporation which grants super powers to paying customers. The company has researched and marketed trends in the public's interest in superhumans. In the 1980's, the big seller was healing factors. In the 1990's, everyone wanted malleable limbs to form blades and other weapons. In the 2000's, there was an abundance of "preemptive reflexes", where the recipients could predict an opponent's move and react instantly. There were always the traditional strength, speed, flight, etc. customers, but these bizarrely decade-specific trends led to a huge amount of homogeneity in new heroes and villains.

Algol, the Demon Star: Sort of a combination of the Silver Surfer and a Lovecraftian horror. Algol is a major cosmic threat, and is almost unstoppable.

Katie Effo is a militant equal rights defender, with superhuman physique, speed, and excellent boxing skills. She primarily targets crimes against women and minorities, and is highly respected in the superhuman community.

The White Knight, formerly a top-level hero who was disgraced after being revealed to be the leader of a white power group. He is also shunned by the villain community, and has gone into hiding. Despite his enormous power, he fears for his life with villains wanting him dead and heroes refusing to protect him.

Rex Mortis is a big-time crime lord. It is unknown if he has any powers, but he has tremendous influence, and is responsible for several superhuman deaths.

Teucer, the world's greatest archer and marksman. He would have been placed on my as-yet-incomplete main hero team, but it would seem too much like Hawkeye/Green Arrow, so he is a solo operator. In addition to his archery and shooting skills, Teucer is protected by lightweight, very strong body armor, and has moderate superhuman quickness.

Generator is an independent, small-time female villain with the ability to project electrical bolts. She is careful never to kill or permanently injure anyone in her crimes, and so avoids most of the unwanted major superhero attention.

Bloodshadow - a vigilante immensely popular in 1994. His powers are very vague, and have nothing to do with his name. He is rumored to have become an addict, and is considered a joke these days. He is very bitter after his brief stint of top billing, and the way the other heroes he worked with are now embarrassed by him and refuse to admit they ever knew him.

The main Avengers/JLA-style team - This is probably my least-developed idea, because I keep trying to work out details of major, archetypal heroes who are not rip-offs. I know there is no patriotic leader, and no Superman-type. I do plan to have a speedster. The leader of the team is to be a heroine with dimension-warping powers. She uses these rifts to cause a variety of effects, such as energy projection and teleportation. She is wary of using too much power, as she is unsure if an extra-dimensional being is attempting to influence her, or if she is slowly going insane.

The Triceratops - basically, he is the Rhino, in a triceratops suit. The Triceratops isn't a genius, but isn't stupid, either. He is an independently operating hero, and was created entirely because I like triceratops, and thought the character would be cool.

Lightbringer is a sinister cult leader sort. He claims to be the earthly incarnation of a fallen angel, and has fire and light based powers. Lightbringer has been definitively killed, several times, and each time returned with a completely different body, but with all his memories and powers. Each time, he is revealed to be a person who is known to have existed prior to the previous Lightbringer's death, but was somehow also Lighbringer all along.

Whoa, how did I miss this thread? Great stuff, beast! Keep it coming!!