The Other Side of the Mirror

[Tomato]

So this was an idea I've had in my head for a long time now, but life being what it is I've only just now had the time to do start things going. As many of you know, I'm a big fan of "Mirror Mirror" types stories in comics... I've read more CSA stories then is probably healthy (Mirror stories are not immune to brainlessness, after all) and I absolutely adore "Crisis on Two Earths." So I thought I'd make it a thing.

Basically, everyone can post whatever mirror-mirror designs and stories they want here, be it Mirror versions of Avatars, Mainstream heroes/villains, Original Characters, whatever. Obviously the preference is for people to skin the characters (this being the ff skin board) but if that's not your thing feel free to post whatever you want. The intent here is to spark some creative juices, get people feeling creative.

And please, don't slack off on the background stories either. Just saying "Nazi version of Captain America" is all well and good, but some of the more interesting mirror universe stories are ones where the character isn't all that different then their counterpart (Justice Lords, for instance). After the fun I had with the Aqualord stuff, I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with.

Spoiler

After being granted his great dream of gaining superpowers from the mystical Orb of Fire, Jonathan Hansburg decided to try to join the greatest, most awesome superteam ever, the Gamma Patrol. However, fearing Tomato would lose control, they turned his application down. Determined to prove himself, Tomato formed his own team alongside other rejected heroes. Things were looking up for Jonathan, his team of C-list heroes quickly becoming a local sensation as they took down criminals such as Tobias Rhied, a former member of Electric Freedom who had been dismissed after being caught stealing technology from other heroes and villains. But soon another version of Rhied, using a stolen device to travel to their universe, sought Tomato's aid defeating his counterpart. Tomato, who had long been a fan of "Mirror Universe" stories, jumped at the chance to finally live out one of his favorite Sci-Fi tropes... not knowing that this fight would shake him to his very core.

After being granted his great dream of gaining superpowers from the mystical Orb of Fire, Jonathan Hansburg decided to try to join the greatest, most awesome superteam ever, the Gamma Patrol. However, fearing Tomato's vast power, they turned his application down. Determined to prove himself, Tomato formed his own team alongside some of his fellow superhero fans. Things were looking up for Jonathan, until they unearthed a secret that tore the superhuman community in two. The carnage that resulted somehow twisted Jonathan's mind, and the full force of his abilities was unleashed. The superhuman community, already decimated by the conflict, was no match against Tomato. He soon held almost total sway over the population, and set about building a device to conquer other planets as well. That is, until Tobias Rhied stole the device and used it to gather heroes capable of stopping the evil Tomato... not knowing that this had been Tomato's plan all along.

[Deaths Jester]

And please, don't slack off on the background stories either. Just saying "Nazi version of Captain America" is all well and good, but some of the more interesting mirror universe stories are ones where the character isn't all that different then their counterpart (Justice Lords, for instance).

Hey...I take offense at that...or at least I think I should what with me doing Nazi Cap sometime back...hmmm...maybe...unsure...perhaps....

[Tomato]

And please, don't slack off on the background stories either. Just saying "Nazi version of Captain America" is all well and good, but some of the more interesting mirror universe stories are ones where the character isn't all that different then their counterpart (Justice Lords, for instance).

Hey...I take offense at that...or at least I think I should what with me doing Nazi Cap sometime back...hmmm...maybe...unsure...perhaps....

I never said Nazi Cap was bad (it's a classic evil cap scenario, and classic is all good), I just said to be more creative about his history when posting here. For instance, how did cap become a nazi in the alternate universe? Where does that leave some of his many enemies, such as the Red Skull and Baron Zemo? What became of Hitler? Etc. If the whole point of this is to be creative, then posting one sentence origins kind of defeats the purpose.

[Deaths Jester]

Oh you were talking about one sentence origins...no, Stalhelm never was a one sentence origin...is multi-paragraphed...should probably post him here sometime seeing as he will soon actually be released to download.

[Cyber Burn]

I've always loved the Tomato mesh and skin, it makes for an original avatar. I also enjoyed reading the backstories as well.

[Tomato]

Heh, I actually simplified it quite a bit there... keeping to spoilers tho so you only have to read if you want

Spoiler

So the short version of what happens is, in the middle of the superhero civil war Antimato is forced to use his abilities to take the life of another hero in a rather brutal fashion, and he ends up basically pulling a Superboy Prime... being forced to kill hero after hero as they all begin to turn on him. Realizing he can never truly come back from that, he instead casts himself fully in the role of the villain, dominating the world with no heroes (or villains) left alive long enough to stop him.

All the while, he's setting up Tobias Rhied to be the world's hero... secretly providing him with the technology to bring across the Mainstream Tomato, reasoning that his counterpart shares the same abilities and can realistically shield the heroes from his "insta-kill" powers long enough to put him down. His entire guise is meant to accomplish that purpose... subtle nods to Mirror stories he enjoyed as a child, to feed into his counterpart's wish fulfillment.

Tomato ends up doing as he's meant to, defeating Antimato in combat, and Rheid destroys him with a device supposedly designed to neutralize Antimato for good. But when Tomato reflects on the events later on, he puts the pieces together... and realizes that if Antimato set the whole thing up in the first place, he's likely still alive.

[UnkoMan]

This is a totally swell idea. Tomato, that skin is great, and it's really funny seeing his leafy goatee. I find your avatar so hilarious looking, but then his story is straight serious and that's awesome.

I think everybody ought to do this! It's a great idea. Plus, I love original characters so much.

I hesitated to reply to this though since... well, I don't want anybody calling me on my hypocrisy! I don't intend to skin a mirror universe Unko. I haven't skinned in ages. But you guys should. No, seriously. It'll be fun.

[Tomato]

This is a totally swell idea. Tomato, that skin is great, and it's really funny seeing his leafy goatee. I find your avatar so hilarious looking, but then his story is straight serious and that's awesome.

Heh, and I didn't even cover the darker story elements my av hits later... he's forced to kill a supervillain, goes all emo, joins a shady government team, and then joins the rest of influx out in space fighting demons and dudes with insanely large swords.

I think everybody ought to do this! It's a great idea. Plus, I love original characters so much.

I hesitated to reply to this though since... well, I don't want anybody calling me on my hypocrisy! I don't intend to skin a mirror universe Unko. I haven't skinned in ages. But you guys should. No, seriously. It'll be fun.

Basically, everyone can post whatever mirror-mirror designs and stories they want here, be it Mirror versions of Avatars, Mainstream heroes/villains, Original Characters, whatever. Obviously the preference is for people to skin the characters (this being the ff skin board) but if that's not your thing feel free to post whatever you want. The intent here is to spark some creative juices, get people feeling creative.

I'll let my opening post speak for me. Bolded relevant passages.

[Deaths Jester]

This is a totally swell idea. Tomato, that skin is great, and it's really funny seeing his leafy goatee. I find your avatar so hilarious looking, but then his story is straight serious and that's awesome.

Heh, and I didn't even cover the darker story elements my av hits later... he's forced to kill a supervillain, goes all emo, joins a shady government team, and then joins the rest of influx out in space fighting demons and dudes with insanely large swords.

So he becomes and old NES Final Fantasy character...interesting...very interesting....