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DC Alterverse

UNIVERSE-8: retaliators

Front row: Deadeye, Major Max, Stuntmaster, Ladybug, Crusader, Hornet, Red Dragon and Machinehead.

Back row: Bug, Kite, Thunderer and Loose Cannon.

They’re based on Grant Morrison’s team from Multiversity limited series. The group is a pastiche of the Avengers. As most of them didn’t have their civilian names mentioned, I decided to give them the civilian identities of some DC characters.

Deadeye

Real name: Roy Harper

History: Roy is the grandnephew of the original Jim Harper, the Crusader from World War II. He’s a superb archer, trained by Oliver Queen. During a mission with Oliver against the criminal organization known as Kobra, there was an explosion, which killed Oliver and destroyed Roy’s left arm. Secret agency ARGUS, led by Amanda Waller, arrived and arrested the surviving criminals, also rescuing an injured and unconscious Roy Harper. Roy was preserved in an experimental cryogenic substance, which made his skin blue. What remained form his injured arm was amputated and replaced with a cybernetic prosthesis.

Based on: Hawkeye, with a bit of Bucky/ Winter Soldier.

Universe-0 counterpart: Speedy/ Arsenal/ Red Arrow, with elements of his counterpart from the Young Justice cartoon (the same elements that make him similar to Marvel’s Winter Soldier).

Marital/ Relationship status: Dating Zinda Blake / Lady Blackhawk.

Major Max

Real name: Linda Danvers

Notes: In this universe, Krypton didn’t explode. Also, the Kryptonian personal naming convention has the same pattern for both genders (given name + hyphen + family name), differently from most of the other universes (and DC canon).

History: Kryptonian officer Kal-El Van, sent in a reconnaissance mission on Earth, investigating the Durlans’ presence on the planet. He adopted the heroic identity of Major Max in the meanwhile.

Linda Danvers, the biological daughter of Eliza and Jeremiah Danvers, worked as a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft. She and her fellow pilot Hal Jordan discovered that her boss Carol Ferris was actually a shapeshifter alien from the Durlan race. The Durlan tried to kill the pilots, but they were saved by Kal. While Linda went to rescue the real Carol, Kal called the rest of his Krytonian crew to fight the rest of the Durlan cell on Earth.

The Kryptonians defeated the Durlans, but part of the crew (Zod, Ursa and Non) developed hostile plans against Earth, being opposed by Kal and his cousin Kara-El Ze. Linda was kidnapped by Non. Zod used a malfunctioning Phantom Zone projector on Linda, but Kara tried to shield her. The projector briefly made them overlap each other in an intangible state. After defeating Zod, Kal used Kryptonian machinery to stabilize Linda and Kara. Linda’s DNA got mixed to Kara’s, so that Linda gained Kryptonian superpowers, becoming the new Major Max after the Kryptonians returned to their homeworld.

Based on: Captain Marvel/ Carol Danvers; her male predecessor is based on Mar-Vell. Krypton vs. Durla mirrors the Kree-Skrull war.

Universe-0 counterpart: Supergirl (appearance) and Matrix (backstory). Her male predecessor’s counterpart is Superman. Her Kryptonian savior Kara is counterpart of Power Girl (look), and Supergirl (backstory).

Marital/ Relationship status: Dating Lena Luthor.

Stuntmaster

Real name: Elizabeth Chapel

Notes: Athough Stuntmaster was mentioned in the group's profile at the Multiversity guide, the character wasn't drawn. [EDIT] A picture of Stuntmaster was eventually done. It's posted in a lurch-jr's comment below. [/EDIT]

History: Elizabeth Chapel was a medical doctor in New York City. During a battle among criminal gangs near the hospital she worked for, there was an explosion. The resulting shockwave caused a test tube, containing an experimental drug, to explode in her face. It made her blind, but heightened her other senses. She also discovered she was able to see in the dark.

She was approached by martial artist Sandra Wu-San, who helped her to control her new abilities and taught her to fight.

Using her abilities, Sandra’s training and a special costume (designed to optimize her movements and protect her joints, also having a helmet with lenses adapted for her darkness vision), she decided to fight crime, starting with the gangs that caused her accident, under the codename Stuntmaster.

Based on: Daredevil, gender-flipped

Universe-0 counterpart: Doctor Midnight II

Marital/ Relationship status: Dating Red Dragon.

Ladybug

Real name: Lana Lang

Notes: Her backstory was inspired by Lana Lang’s Pre-Crisis identity as Insect Queen. Her costume and transformation amulet are references to her namesake from the French animation Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. Keprimesh name is a reference to Khepri, a scarab-faced deity from Ancient Egypt, and the words in ancient Egyptian languages for red (mrs, mls, or mns). Source: archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/pr…

History: Lana is a journalist who, while interviewing the superhero Thunderer (see below) in his lair on Kahndaq, heard a mysterious voice from a ladybug-shaped talisman. Thuderer said the talisman belonged to the Kahndaqian female deity Keprimesh. The talisman gave her superhuman strength and stamina, as well as the ability to fly. She made a red costume with black details, having a black wig tied to the mask, so that she hides her red hair.

Based on: Spider-Woman

Universe-0 counterpart: Ultra-Woman/Lana Lang.

Marital/ Relationship status: Married to Ted Kord.

Crusader

Real name: James “Jim” Harper II

History: The current Crusader is the second clone of the original Jim Harper, who fought in the World War II and died in the late 1950’s, during a mission in the Arctic Circle. His body was preserved on ice and found by explorers of the secret scientific group known as Cadmus Project. Although it wasn’t possible to revive him, most of his body tissue was well preserved. Cadmus kept his body cryogenically frozen and extracted some cell samples.

In the late 1980’s, he was cloned. He wears a modernized version of his original Crusader suit. As the original Crusader’s shield didn’t resist the freezing, he gained a new one, made of hard light, which can be activated and deactivated by pressing a button in his glove. He is aware of his clone condition and considers Roy as his “cousin”.

Based on: Captain America

Universe-0 counterpart: Guardian I

Marital/ Relationship status: Dating ARGUS agent Coretta Waller, daughter of Amanda Waller.

Hornet

Real name: Karen Beecher

Notes: She wasn't originally among the Retaliators (the name "Hornet" was borrowed from Jeph Loeb's Maximums, although the character is different), but I felt the group needed a Wasp's counterpart.

History: Karen is a scientist who works for the S.T.A.R. Labs. She created a costume that allows her to fly, enhances her strength and generates an electric sting.

With the assistance of her fellow scientist Ray Palmer, she modified the suit, using size-shifting particles derived from his work about white dwarf stars– as Palmer said, the suit’s performance would be better if it (and its occupant) could shrink to a hornet-size.

Based on: Wasp

Universe-0 counterpart: Bumblebee

Marital/ Relationship status: Dating Ray Palmer.

Red Dragon

Real name: Alex Danvers

History: She’s Linda Danvers’ older half-sister and works for ARGUS. She doesn’t have superpowers, but she’s very skilled in fight, espionage and firearms. She was trained by her biological mother, the Chinese martial artist Sandra Wu-San.

Her codename Red Dragon is a nickname she received from Sandra, as a reference to both her red hair and her fiery personality. She and her half-sister Linda are very protective to one another.

Based on: Black Widow

Universe-0 counterpart: Alex Danvers, covert operative, originally from Supergirl TV series.

Marital/ Relationship status: She is in a romantic relationship with Stuntmaster/ Elizabeth Chapel.

Machinehead

Real name: Curtis Metcalf

History: Born in a working class neighborhood in Dakota City, Curtis has shown to be very intelligent and talented since his early childhood. When he was twelve, his genius mind was noticed by the inventor and businessman Edwin Alva, who financed his graduation, on the condition that Curtis worked for him when he grew up.

As an adult, Curtis kept his promise and joined Alva’s company Alvatech. He saw Alva as a benevolent father figure. When his boss demanded him to create a hi-tech and very lethal weapon, however, Curtis refused, as it was against his principles. Alva seemed to accept Curtis refusal.

Some months later, Alva sent Curtis to settle the sale of a solar-powered agricultural machine to the Middle Eastern country of Qurac. Unbeknownst to Curtis, his boss hired some Quracian mercenaries to kidnap him and force him to build a weapon. Using his genius intellect, he created an armored exo-skeleton instead and defeated the mercenaries. One of them revealed Alva’s involvement in the kidnapping.

Back to Dakota, he created a new armor, more sophisticated and complex than the improvised version, and, calling himself Machinehead, confronted and exposed Alva. After the villain’s downfall, he bought Alvatech, renaming it as Metcalf Tech.

Based on: Iron Man

Universe-0 counterpart: Hardware

Marital/ Relationship status: Engaged to Kimyio Hoshi.

Bug

Real name: Ted Kord

History: Ted is a skilled scientist and inventor. He was studying the silk produced by the insects known as webspinners, from the Embioptera order, intending to create a synthetic version of it. He tried to replicate the silk in his newly-invented DNA replicator, but the device exploded near him, mixing the insect’s DNA with his own. The accident gave him the abilities of a webspinner. He built a suit that helped him to control these powers.

Based on: Spider-Man

Universe-0 counterpart: Blue Beetle II

Marital/ Relationship status: Married to Lana Lang/ Ladybug.

Kite

Real name: Kendra Saunders

History: Adventurer and treasure hunter Kendra Saunders was searching for some relics in Egypt when she founded a wounded winged man and saved his life. The man was a humanoid alien named Katar Hol, who worked as a policeman in his homeworld Thanagar. Making use of some ancient weapons she collects, she helped him against the evil Byth, a shapesifter who also came from Thanagar.

Before returning to his planet, Katar gave Kendra a portion of the alien alloy known as Nth Metal and instructions of how to use it to create artificial wings.

She has a pet kite bird named after Katar.

Based on: Falcon. Her pet kite is based on Falcon's pet falcon, Red Wing.

Universe-0 counterpart: Falcona.

Marital/ Relationship status: Dating Carter Hall.

Thunderer

Real name: Theo Adam

Notes: His origin is similar to Marvel’s Thor initial origin. Adet’s name is a fusion of the names of two thunder deities: Adad, from Canaanite and Mesopotamian cultures, and Set, from the Egyptian pantheon.

History: In an expedition to Egyptian ruins, archaeologist Theo Adam found a lance that gave him the powers of Adet, the Kahndaqian deity of thunder. He was struck by a lightning coming from the lance.

The shock awoke memories of his past life in ancient Kahndaq as Teth-Adam, who was chosen by the real Adet as his human avatar, being empowered by him. After some years as a hero, Adam abused his powers for personal gain, what resulted in Adet depowering him and sending him into several reincarnations to change his greedy behavior. His current incarnation was deemed worthy, so Adet planted a subconscious suggestion in Adam’s mind, so he went to the exact place where the mystic lance was located.

Adam, having learned his lesson, became a legitimate hero, using Adet’s epithet Thunderer as his codename.

Based on: Thor

Universe-0 counterpart: Black Eve

Marital/ Relationship status: Single.

Loose Cannon

Real name: Edward “Eddie” Walker

Notes: He is the only Retaliator who was named in canon (as “David Dribble”), but I chose to ignore it in favor of the pattern of anchoring the Retaliators to DC’s characters from the main universe. I also decided to ignore the toddler proportions, to keep him closer to Cannon’s.

History: Edward “Eddie” Walker worked as a scientist at Cadmus Project. One day, he and his assistant Lucas “Snapper” Carr were analyzing blood samples of an alien parasite named Glonth, who was being held captive at Cadmus.

Suddenly, the emergency alarm rang: Glonth had escaped. Eddie and Snapper left the lab and were almost leaving the building, when they saw the alien parasite approaching. Eddie pushed Snapper out the door and closed it. Glonth reached Eddie and began to feed on his spinal fluid. Cadmus security staff arrived and killed Glonth.

To save Eddie’s life, the resident medical staff gave him an experimental metabolism enhancing serum. It seemed to work without any side effects, but, in the following night, his mind revived the attack’s trauma. The stress caused him to transform into a blue-skinned, muscular giant (his hair remained blond, however). He retained most of his intelligence, but his personality became more interested in action than in science. Cadmus nicknamed him as “Loose Cannon” in that form. He liked it and adopted it as his codename. It was later discovered that the combination of the bite and the serum activated a dormant metagene he had.

Based on: Hulk/ Bruce Banner

Universe-0 counterpart: Loose Cannon

Marital/ Relationship status: Married to Lucy Lane.

Description

DC Alterverse

UNIVERSE-8: retaliators

Front row: Deadeye, Major Max, Stuntmaster, Ladybug, Crusader, Hornet, Red Dragon and Machinehead.

Back row: Bug, Kite, Thunderer and Loose Cannon.

They’re based on Grant Morrison’s team from Multiversity limited series. The group is a pastiche of the Avengers. As most of them didn’t have their civilian names mentioned, I decided to give them the civilian identities of some DC characters.

Deadeye

Real name: Roy Harper

History: Roy is the grandnephew of the original Jim Harper, the Crusader from World War II. He’s a superb archer, trained by Oliver Queen. During a mission with Oliver against the criminal organization known as Kobra, there was an explosion, which killed Oliver and destroyed Roy’s left arm. Secret agency ARGUS, led by Amanda Waller, arrived and arrested the surviving criminals, also rescuing an injured and unconscious Roy Harper. Roy was preserved in an experimental cryogenic substance, which made his skin blue. What remained form his injured arm was amputated and replaced with a cybernetic prosthesis.

Based on: Hawkeye, with a bit of Bucky/ Winter Soldier.

Universe-0 counterpart: Speedy/ Arsenal/ Red Arrow, with elements of his counterpart from the Young Justice cartoon (the same elements that make him similar to Marvel’s Winter Soldier).

Marital/ Relationship status: Dating Zinda Blake / Lady Blackhawk.

Major Max

Real name: Linda Danvers

Notes: In this universe, Krypton didn’t explode. Also, the Kryptonian personal naming convention has the same pattern for both genders (given name + hyphen + family name), differently from most of the other universes (and DC canon).

History: Kryptonian officer Kal-El Van, sent in a reconnaissance mission on Earth, investigating the Durlans’ presence on the planet. He adopted the heroic identity of Major Max in the meanwhile.

Linda Danvers, the biological daughter of Eliza and Jeremiah Danvers, worked as a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft. She and her fellow pilot Hal Jordan discovered that her boss Carol Ferris was actually a shapeshifter alien from the Durlan race. The Durlan tried to kill the pilots, but they were saved by Kal. While Linda went to rescue the real Carol, Kal called the rest of his Krytonian crew to fight the rest of the Durlan cell on Earth.

The Kryptonians defeated the Durlans, but part of the crew (Zod, Ursa and Non) developed hostile plans against Earth, being opposed by Kal and his cousin Kara-El Ze. Linda was kidnapped by Non. Zod used a malfunctioning Phantom Zone projector on Linda, but Kara tried to shield her. The projector briefly made them overlap each other in an intangible state. After defeating Zod, Kal used Kryptonian machinery to stabilize Linda and Kara. Linda’s DNA got mixed to Kara’s, so that Linda gained Kryptonian superpowers, becoming the new Major Max after the Kryptonians returned to their homeworld.

Based on: Captain Marvel/ Carol Danvers; her male predecessor is based on Mar-Vell. Krypton vs. Durla mirrors the Kree-Skrull war.

Universe-0 counterpart: Supergirl (appearance) and Matrix (backstory). Her male predecessor’s counterpart is Superman. Her Kryptonian savior Kara is counterpart of Power Girl (look), and Supergirl (backstory).

Marital/ Relationship status: Dating Lena Luthor.

Stuntmaster

Real name: Elizabeth Chapel

Notes: Athough Stuntmaster was mentioned in the group's profile at the Multiversity guide, the character wasn't drawn. [EDIT] A picture of Stuntmaster was eventually done. It's posted in a lurch-jr's comment below. [/EDIT]

History: Elizabeth Chapel was a medical doctor in New York City. During a battle among criminal gangs near the hospital she worked for, there was an explosion. The resulting shockwave caused a test tube, containing an experimental drug, to explode in her face. It made her blind, but heightened her other senses. She also discovered she was able to see in the dark.

She was approached by martial artist Sandra Wu-San, who helped her to control her new abilities and taught her to fight.

Using her abilities, Sandra’s training and a special costume (designed to optimize her movements and protect her joints, also having a helmet with lenses adapted for her darkness vision), she decided to fight crime, starting with the gangs that caused her accident, under the codename Stuntmaster.

Based on: Daredevil, gender-flipped

Universe-0 counterpart: Doctor Midnight II

Marital/ Relationship status: Dating Red Dragon.

Ladybug

Real name: Lana Lang

Notes: Her backstory was inspired by Lana Lang’s Pre-Crisis identity as Insect Queen. Her costume and transformation amulet are references to her namesake from the French animation Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. Keprimesh name is a reference to Khepri, a scarab-faced deity from Ancient Egypt, and the words in ancient Egyptian languages for red (mrs, mls, or mns). Source: archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/pr…

History: Lana is a journalist who, while interviewing the superhero Thunderer (see below) in his lair on Kahndaq, heard a mysterious voice from a ladybug-shaped talisman. Thuderer said the talisman belonged to the Kahndaqian female deity Keprimesh. The talisman gave her superhuman strength and stamina, as well as the ability to fly. She made a red costume with black details, having a black wig tied to the mask, so that she hides her red hair.

Based on: Spider-Woman

Universe-0 counterpart: Ultra-Woman/Lana Lang.

Marital/ Relationship status: Married to Ted Kord.

Crusader

Real name: James “Jim” Harper II

History: The current Crusader is the second clone of the original Jim Harper, who fought in the World War II and died in the late 1950’s, during a mission in the Arctic Circle. His body was preserved on ice and found by explorers of the secret scientific group known as Cadmus Project. Although it wasn’t possible to revive him, most of his body tissue was well preserved. Cadmus kept his body cryogenically frozen and extracted some cell samples.

In the late 1980’s, he was cloned. He wears a modernized version of his original Crusader suit. As the original Crusader’s shield didn’t resist the freezing, he gained a new one, made of hard light, which can be activated and deactivated by pressing a button in his glove. He is aware of his clone condition and considers Roy as his “cousin”.

Based on: Captain America

Universe-0 counterpart: Guardian I

Marital/ Relationship status: Dating ARGUS agent Coretta Waller, daughter of Amanda Waller.

Hornet

Real name: Karen Beecher

Notes: She wasn't originally among the Retaliators (the name "Hornet" was borrowed from Jeph Loeb's Maximums, although the character is different), but I felt the group needed a Wasp's counterpart.

History: Karen is a scientist who works for the S.T.A.R. Labs. She created a costume that allows her to fly, enhances her strength and generates an electric sting.

With the assistance of her fellow scientist Ray Palmer, she modified the suit, using size-shifting particles derived from his work about white dwarf stars– as Palmer said, the suit’s performance would be better if it (and its occupant) could shrink to a hornet-size.

Based on: Wasp

Universe-0 counterpart: Bumblebee

Marital/ Relationship status: Dating Ray Palmer.

Red Dragon

Real name: Alex Danvers

History: She’s Linda Danvers’ older half-sister and works for ARGUS. She doesn’t have superpowers, but she’s very skilled in fight, espionage and firearms. She was trained by her biological mother, the Chinese martial artist Sandra Wu-San.

Her codename Red Dragon is a nickname she received from Sandra, as a reference to both her red hair and her fiery personality. She and her half-sister Linda are very protective to one another.

Based on: Black Widow

Universe-0 counterpart: Alex Danvers, covert operative, originally from Supergirl TV series.

Marital/ Relationship status: She is in a romantic relationship with Stuntmaster/ Elizabeth Chapel.

Machinehead

Real name: Curtis Metcalf

History: Born in a working class neighborhood in Dakota City, Curtis has shown to be very intelligent and talented since his early childhood. When he was twelve, his genius mind was noticed by the inventor and businessman Edwin Alva, who financed his graduation, on the condition that Curtis worked for him when he grew up.

As an adult, Curtis kept his promise and joined Alva’s company Alvatech. He saw Alva as a benevolent father figure. When his boss demanded him to create a hi-tech and very lethal weapon, however, Curtis refused, as it was against his principles. Alva seemed to accept Curtis refusal.

Some months later, Alva sent Curtis to settle the sale of a solar-powered agricultural machine to the Middle Eastern country of Qurac. Unbeknownst to Curtis, his boss hired some Quracian mercenaries to kidnap him and force him to build a weapon. Using his genius intellect, he created an armored exo-skeleton instead and defeated the mercenaries. One of them revealed Alva’s involvement in the kidnapping.

Back to Dakota, he created a new armor, more sophisticated and complex than the improvised version, and, calling himself Machinehead, confronted and exposed Alva. After the villain’s downfall, he bought Alvatech, renaming it as Metcalf Tech.

Based on: Iron Man

Universe-0 counterpart: Hardware

Marital/ Relationship status: Engaged to Kimyio Hoshi.

Bug

Real name: Ted Kord

History: Ted is a skilled scientist and inventor. He was studying the silk produced by the insects known as webspinners, from the Embioptera order, intending to create a synthetic version of it. He tried to replicate the silk in his newly-invented DNA replicator, but the device exploded near him, mixing the insect’s DNA with his own. The accident gave him the abilities of a webspinner. He built a suit that helped him to control these powers.

Based on: Spider-Man

Universe-0 counterpart: Blue Beetle II

Marital/ Relationship status: Married to Lana Lang/ Ladybug.

Kite

Real name: Kendra Saunders

History: Adventurer and treasure hunter Kendra Saunders was searching for some relics in Egypt when she founded a wounded winged man and saved his life. The man was a humanoid alien named Katar Hol, who worked as a policeman in his homeworld Thanagar. Making use of some ancient weapons she collects, she helped him against the evil Byth, a shapesifter who also came from Thanagar.

Before returning to his planet, Katar gave Kendra a portion of the alien alloy known as Nth Metal and instructions of how to use it to create artificial wings.

She has a pet kite bird named after Katar.

Based on: Falcon. Her pet kite is based on Falcon's pet falcon, Red Wing.

Universe-0 counterpart: Falcona.

Marital/ Relationship status: Dating Carter Hall.

Thunderer

Real name: Theo Adam

Notes: His origin is similar to Marvel’s Thor initial origin. Adet’s name is a fusion of the names of two thunder deities: Adad, from Canaanite and Mesopotamian cultures, and Set, from the Egyptian pantheon.

History: In an expedition to Egyptian ruins, archaeologist Theo Adam found a lance that gave him the powers of Adet, the Kahndaqian deity of thunder. He was struck by a lightning coming from the lance.

The shock awoke memories of his past life in ancient Kahndaq as Teth-Adam, who was chosen by the real Adet as his human avatar, being empowered by him. After some years as a hero, Adam abused his powers for personal gain, what resulted in Adet depowering him and sending him into several reincarnations to change his greedy behavior. His current incarnation was deemed worthy, so Adet planted a subconscious suggestion in Adam’s mind, so he went to the exact place where the mystic lance was located.

Adam, having learned his lesson, became a legitimate hero, using Adet’s epithet Thunderer as his codename.

Based on: Thor

Universe-0 counterpart: Black Eve

Marital/ Relationship status: Single.

Loose Cannon

Real name: Edward “Eddie” Walker

Notes: He is the only Retaliator who was named in canon (as “David Dribble”), but I chose to ignore it in favor of the pattern of anchoring the Retaliators to DC’s characters from the main universe. I also decided to ignore the toddler proportions, to keep him closer to Cannon’s.

History: Edward “Eddie” Walker worked as a scientist at Cadmus Project. One day, he and his assistant Lucas “Snapper” Carr were analyzing blood samples of an alien parasite named Glonth, who was being held captive at Cadmus.

Suddenly, the emergency alarm rang: Glonth had escaped. Eddie and Snapper left the lab and were almost leaving the building, when they saw the alien parasite approaching. Eddie pushed Snapper out the door and closed it. Glonth reached Eddie and began to feed on his spinal fluid. Cadmus security staff arrived and killed Glonth.

To save Eddie’s life, the resident medical staff gave him an experimental metabolism enhancing serum. It seemed to work without any side effects, but, in the following night, his mind revived the attack’s trauma. The stress caused him to transform into a blue-skinned, muscular giant (his hair remained blond, however). He retained most of his intelligence, but his personality became more interested in action than in science. Cadmus nicknamed him as “Loose Cannon” in that form. He liked it and adopted it as his codename. It was later discovered that the combination of the bite and the serum activated a dormant metagene he had.

Based on: Hulk/ Bruce Banner

Universe-0 counterpart: Loose Cannon

Marital/ Relationship status: Married to Lucy Lane.