Artistic Challenge 18: Mantles - An Amalgam sorta (Assignments Posted)

daglob · July 02, 2007, 07:19:04 PM

Quote from: Pyroclasm on July 02, 2007, 08:55:05 AM
Ah. I figured out what I'm doing with mine last night. My "What If..." will take place post-Civil War, probably a year or so after the death of Captain America. In brief: Iron Man becomes president, and recruits a few registered heroes to carry on his work as Iron Man. She-Hulk will be one such hero.

Once upon a time there was a "What If" story where the Avengers disbanded and Iron Man recruited Giant Man, The Wasp and Rick Jones to help him face the combined threat of The Hulk and The Sub-Mariner. He gave each one f them their own suits of powered armor. I think it was one of the better "What If" stories, it had beautiful Gil Kane art and it was back when Jim Shooter could still write.

Pyroclasm · July 02, 2007, 07:49:37 PM

Cool. So there is precedent for the idea. :)

UnkoMan · July 04, 2007, 06:50:42 AM

Due to Civil War, Pyro, your mantle is a pretty good one.

I was about to say that I have no idea what I'll do for mine, but it suddenly hit me. I know exactly what I'll do now.

I love these challenges, by the way. Awesome times.

daglob · July 06, 2007, 06:41:35 AM

Origin:
:spoiler:
[spoiler] “Surely, doth thou jest,” said Brunhilde, the Valkyrie.
The larger of the two creatures shivered slightly, but shorter one seemed to move toward it slightly, and the larger creature responded “Oh, no, we are manifestations of Order and Balance; we would not play a joke on you.”
“But how can I replace the being known as Captain Universe?”
“It will not be that difficult, really. The motive personality is all that died saving you; the actual essence of Captain Universe still exists.”
“How so?” asked Brunhilde.
“I could go into explanations involving cosmic strings, dimensional membranes, and the use of hyperspace as a method of surviving the so-called Big Bang, but let’s just say that Captain Universe, like Galactus, is a survivor of another universe that existed before this one.”
The smaller creature, which Brunhilde had come to think of as feminine as opposed to her companion’s “masculinity”, continued: “The previous Captain Universe was, in a way, like this cycles’s Overmind or Stranger, he was the repository of the minds of his entire planet’s highest life form. That life form just happened to be humanoid, but not human.”
“Yes,” continued her companion “he was, like Galactus, driving his ship through the heart of the “Big Crunch”, when he actually impacted the embryonic Galactus’ craft. This set Captain Universe on a path that did not get away from the primordial atom in time to avoid the explosion that signaled the birth of this cycle “
“First”, continued the female “The explosion atomized his ship and its contents. Then the power of the explosion ripped those atoms into discrete particles, then those particles were reduced to quarks and then to energy.”
“However”, interjected the male, “The consciousness of the billions of being that occupied Captain Universe’s mind were not destroyed; they basically became… um… at one with the universe.”
The female took up the tale: “This is, partly, where Captain Universe receives… received his power. His ability to know who needed his help was just another facet of the group mind knowing what is going on everywhere in this universe. His ability to see great distances is also related to that; and his ability to tap into the zero point… um… background energy of the universe is also an aspect of that condition.”
“But, “concluded the male, “he has now gone and sacrificed himself for you, for no other reason than he was entirely too noble for his own good.”
“I did see mine own death glow,” said Brunhilde, “I knew ‘twas my time to die.”
“Yes you were, and he was not,” said the female. “You have no further influence in this universe. Your own… Norns, are they?... would tell you that your thread of life is finished.”
“But the life thread of Captain Universe continues on to the end of this cycle,” stated the male. “He should not have sacrificed himself for you. He was to leave your body, hop into your opponent and make him see the truth. Then he would have saved the children while you sacrificed yourself by stopping the Omega Ray.”
“Instead”, the female was talking again, “your enlightened enemy stopped the Omega Ray while you got the family to safety.”
The back and forth commentary was making Brunhilde’s head swim. “Wouldst just one of thee talk, thy round robin explanation doth make me swoon.”
The two beings looked at each other. The female continued.
“The Omega Ray was powerful enough to destroy the base energy pattern that was called Captain Universe. This effectively killed him.
“Captain Universe, at least as you know him, is the conduit for the minds that are spread about the universe. Without him, they can no longer interact to or affect events. We can alter you so that you can take his place. You would remain Brunhilde the Valkyrie, for the most part, and it would be you that would guide recipients of the Captain Universe Power in their use of it.
“Captain Unversed would continue to the end of this cycle, just as he, or she, should.”
   Brunhilde thought. She knew she should be dead, was probably dead in the overall scheme of things. The simple fact was, she was nowhere near ready to die. And this could be quite interesting.
   “I agree to thy proposal,” she said.
   Suddenly, Brunhilde was a cloud of gas condensing around a gravitational sink, one that would one day be a solar system…
   …and in the next fraction of a second, she was viewing two stars, a small white one and a huge red one. The small one was so bright that its light actually reflected off the larger one…
   Then she faced a group of puzzled thugs. Looking down at her body, she was that it was male, probably a stripling; no more. Before the thugs would recover, she launched an attack at the closest one. A kick and a strike, and he was on the ground moaning. One of the others drew a weapon, and Valkyrie’s sword appeared in her hand as if by magic. She struck the thug with the back of the blade. Another she blasted with zero point energy, drawn from the very fabric of space. The remaining thugs ran.
   Yes, this promised to be quite interesting.
[/spoiler]

psychopanda · July 06, 2007, 08:16:37 AM

Nice work!

Pyroclasm · July 06, 2007, 09:52:55 AM

Excellent rendition! Like the way you incorporated her "armor" into the outfit. ;)

daglob · July 06, 2007, 11:22:26 AM

Quote from: Pyroclasm on July 06, 2007, 09:52:55 AM
Excellent rendition! Like the way you incorporated her "armor" into the outfit. ;)

The rest of the costume was built around it. I know her costume has been redesigned more than once, but the old black leather leotard and chrome shell casings is my favorite.

psychopanda · July 06, 2007, 01:46:20 PM

Was there any particular reason you left her sword out?

WeaponX00 · July 06, 2007, 09:34:46 PM

Wow daglob I love the colors and the costume in that one and it was a tough mix to boot. Nice background too. Great Job! :thumbup:

daglob · July 07, 2007, 06:36:10 AM

Quote from: psychopanda on July 06, 2007, 01:46:20 PM
Was there any particular reason you left her sword out?

When I put it in either hand, it looked funny. I changd the position of the arms, and I didn't like it. When I get finished with the origin, she will have a sword like Dreadstar's, that comes and goes as she pleases.

Nymph · July 09, 2007, 07:20:02 AM

NICE!!!! :thumbup:

daglob · July 10, 2007, 12:38:05 PM

I noticed that this thing didn't mention when I updated my submission with an origin, so I guess it's up to me...

psychopanda · July 16, 2007, 01:15:54 PM

Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) dons the mantle of the Watcher.

There is a back story somewhere in my head, which I may add later. For now, here's the ooey-gooey visuals:

Ted Kord really didn't deserve to die. But there was no place for him in this universe either. So he got sent packing...

"Yeah, I'm telling you...I applied for all kind of jobs! I even heard there was an opening for a new shield slinger. Nothing seemed to pan out though. Until Booster spotted an ad for celestial overseer. At first I thought I had no chance, but then I looked at the qualifications..."Must watch things"! Well, I've spent a good amount of time in front of the boob tube, so I guess I was just a natural...not to mention that time Booster and I tried to sneak up into the air vent above Wonder Woman's...um, nevermind...".

"I kind of underwent a bit of a change with this whole omnipotent being thing, but once I cut a moon roof into the ol' bug-mobile, I was out cruisin' the Milky Way galaxy in no time!".

Sword · July 16, 2007, 03:03:23 PM

"Booster, I really want to warn you about your new girlfriend, but I am sworn to not interfere."

BentonGrey · July 16, 2007, 05:34:21 PM

Quote from: Sword on July 16, 2007, 03:03:23 PM
"Booster, I really want to warn you about your new girlfriend, but I am sworn to not interfere."

Haha, this literally made me laugh out loud...don't know why it was that funny to me, just was.

Great job PP, I like it! ^_^

UnkoMan · July 19, 2007, 01:30:21 PM

Oh man, that's awesome. Ted looks adorable with that giant head.

I finally got around to finishing mine. Toxic J becomes The Spectre.

Toxic J had been created as an experiment, but he never knew what for. You see, years ago there was a think tank that decided the best way to contain the world's growing radioactive waste problem was to contain it within a semi-sentient creature. Okay, so it wasn't the best idea in the world. Anyhow, they created a living green mold of sorts, that acted like a sponge for radiation. This was, of course, just a test sample. Things went wrong, and it began to learn and grow far quicker than expected. It matured into a humanoid state, and eventually became so full of energy it exploded, destroying the secret testing facility and killing all involved with the project.

Years later, it had reformed. Its memories were spotty, at best. It was found by a number of the "super hero" community, who began calling it Toxic J. Living the super hero life actually proved to be very useful for the creature. This was a perfect means to release some of the excess radiation that it was constantly absorbing. However one day Toxic J, along with his allies, found themselves facing off against a similar foe. Valoski, The Nuclear Man. The disaster at Chernobyl had left him with the ability to change energy around him into radiation.

The battle proved too much for Toxic J. Constantly absorbing everything Valoski threw at it, it eventually reached maximum capacity, except this time it was much, much worse. Toxic J exploded with unimaginable force, killing friend and foe alike. South Eastern Europe was completely removed from the map. This was seen as an act of aggression by most major powers, setting off a chain reaction throughout the world.

When the smoke cleared, there stood Toxic J among the billions dead... but it was not alone. The wrath of God himself stood before this creature. But it was not to punish, that the Spectre had come. It had been years since this spirit had a suitable host. One that could truly understand the significance of wielding such awesome power. It offered Toxic J the chance to be that host. To repent. Toxic accepted.

And in the new world, where chaos and anarchy rule, The Spectre is reborn... And certainly won't be at a loss for work.

PS: Here's a version with the actual colours and no weird background stuff.
[spoiler]

[/spoiler]

psychopanda · July 19, 2007, 03:33:21 PM

Thanks for the comments. I added the little bit of story to mine. Originally wanted to make it into a mini-comic but didn't get time to.

Unko, that's pretty cool. I like the lines on the hood quite a bit. Was it an all-digital endeavor or do you sketch things about beforehand?

The Pwime · July 19, 2007, 04:22:47 PM

I...don't know if this is the full entry I want to make. I really wanted to showcase Deadpool's use of the symbiote to create swords and guns, as well as how the "mouth" would look...but I ended up colouring the final version of my costume concept sketch instead, so I figured I'd enter it just in case.

If I run out of time, I guess I'll just post whatever I make in my own thread at a later date.

Yes, I know, the neck collar is missing in this one. Oh well.

Pyroclasm · July 19, 2007, 06:23:00 PM

Quote from: The Pwime on July 19, 2007, 04:22:47 PM
If I run out of time, I guess I'll just post whatever I make in my own thread at a later date.

There is no deadline for posting your image. While we all try to post before the next challenge begins, you can post your image at any time. If you eventually change it, feel free to update your post. Mostly the "deadline" is just to let people know when the next challenge is scheduled to start.
(I'm actually still working on previous challenge entries.)

UnkoMan · July 19, 2007, 08:11:54 PM

Thanks Panda. Because I'm incredibly lazy and don't like doing things that take more than five to ten minutes, I drew it out by hand. Then I just scanned it and flood filled. Shading? I don't got time.

Pwime... for a second I almost thought it was a new design of YOUR avatar! Ha...
But seriously, this is nice. I could totally picture a Deadpool/Venom looking like this.

psychopanda · July 19, 2007, 08:23:09 PM

Quote from: UnkoMan on July 19, 2007, 08:11:54 PM
Thanks Panda. Because I'm incredibly lazy and don't like doing things that take more than five to ten minutes, I drew it out by hand. Then I just scanned it and flood filled. Shading? I don't got time.

Pwime... for a second I almost thought it was a new design of YOUR avatar! Ha...
But seriously, this is nice. I could totally picture a Deadpool/Venom looking like this.

Yeah, I usually like to take more time doing anything, but I've been in a crunch myself. I tried to work around it for a few weeks by doing a sketch a day on my site and posting it whether I was finished or not. An effort to get the creative juices going, I guess. Lately, too busy to do it, but would like to get back to it.

I like Pwime's design too, all the entries so far have been great at combining the elements of the characters. I feel like mine didn't hit the mark as well as the rest, but I'm always critical of my own stuff. :P

Pwime, what sort of changes did you want to make to the mouth?

The Pwime · July 19, 2007, 09:50:39 PM

Rather than a huge, drooling, gaping typical Venom mouth, I wanted more of a "smirk." I wanted the tounge to be a lot smaller than usual, and the teeth would be sharp, but not too long. I want to capture Wade's personality and look, but not without losing the overall Venom feel of it. Most of the time, he would have no mouth (resembling a masked Deadpool), but if he was emoting or something, the mouth would show up.

The Pwime · July 23, 2007, 05:30:54 PM

Earlier post updated and edited

zuludelta · July 23, 2007, 07:08:12 PM

All the entries are looking real good. the Blue Beetle/Watcher amalgam's backstory is especially hilarious.

Revenant · August 17, 2007, 12:57:53 PM

Here's my assignment: What if..... Wonder Girl Cassie Sandsmark took on the mantle of Captain America?

I decided to keep Cassie's silhouette and go with Cap's color scheme, since we've seen American Dream take on the mantle, and she basically wore an identical costume to his.
And she was blonde too!

My back story isn't altogether fleshed out... in the Amalgam universe, Cassie could be the adopted daughter of government Agent Diana Prince. Diana told her that her real parents were Diana's sister and brother-in-law, and that they were killed when Cassie was just a baby. She was raised in the shadow of the US Government, in Washington DC. Cassie grew up idolizing Captain America, and she followed his exploits with zeal, hating the fact that her own mom and dad seemed so boring. She longed for adventure, to one day be part of a team like the Avengers and battle the forces of evil and corruption.

When Captain America was assassinated, Cassie was on a high school field trip to the National Gallery. She watched the news in horror... and suddenly the ground started to quake! Everyone's attention was diverted from the unfolding tragedy to this new horror. It seemed like an earthquake had struck. Cassie barely dodged an Ancient Greek sculpture as it tipped over and crashed to the ground inches away from her. Amid the rubble she saw a glowing, golden light!

The cause of the quake was a superhuman battle unfolding in the skies above DC. Some supervillains, The Magnetic Men, had run amok with glee hearing the news that our hero was no more. Amazon and SHIELD agent Bruce Wayne had arrived to put a stop to them. Amazon had whipped the skies into a frenzy with her weather powers, hurling lightning bolts at the villains.

Cassie found that the object emitting the glow was a golden lariat, which had been encased in a statue of Zeus. Around her, chaos erupted as her classmates fled in terror. But she was unafraid. She grabbed the lasso and felt a sudden sense of destiny - and the statue of Zeus seemed to speak to her.

"Cassie, my daughter, I grant you my godly powers. Use them to bring justice to a world that needs it more than ever!"

Cassie aided the heroes in battle, helping to defeat the Magnetic Men and Magneto himself. Amazon took her to Themyscira, where she learned to control her powers, and she fashioned a hero identity for herself after the late Captain America. Eventually, after joining the Army in her secret identity, she was even given Captain America's shield! Cassie is currently living out her dreams of being a superhero, and is thinking about asking if she can join the Judgement League Avengers...

Blkcasanova247 · August 17, 2007, 01:47:21 PM

:lol: She's frickin' cool! :thumbup:

Pyroclasm · August 17, 2007, 02:26:07 PM

Revenant: Woah! Nice way of incorporating the two. I really like what how you avoided the American Dream design. Very cool.

UnkoMan · August 19, 2007, 09:03:54 PM

I love how it sticks with Cassie's sort of "normal clothes" design. The helmet sticks out a bit, but it doesn't matter because it's a sweet helmet. I can see her headbutting guys in the face. Rad.

Revenant · August 23, 2007, 03:48:25 PM

Yea I remembered American Dream, and wanted to steer clear of what had already been done. Plus Cassie doesn't strike me as the spandex and chainmail type, so I just went with the current fashion trends the gals have been wearing. I debated on whether or not to include the shield actually, since she already has her bracelets... but you can't have Cap without the shield. That was silly.

The helmet is my favorite part... there's something about chrome helmets that I like. I dunno. It matches the bracelets! And I gave her the built-in aviators in reference to her early days when she used to wear pilot's goggles (what was that about anyway?) I think it makes her look like some kind of futuristic cyber cop.

Rick Battlemage · October 21, 2007, 01:01:45 PM

I loved Nightcrawler's costume design so much couldn't really think of anything to change or make more heraldish, then I made a blue shiny Nightcrawler who looked kind of weird in it's full nakedness.
He needs more shine :P couldn't get it right though.

When you're a herald of Galactus you can't go around calling yourself Nightcrawler obviously so I present Equilibrium, bringing balance to the universe...