Avengers #6 - "Stay the Night"
Recap:
When we last left our hero, Muskateer had just come face to face with the mysterious White Dragon inside the old Crusaders base. The two fight briefly before Muskateer is overwhelmed by the Dragon's martial arts skills and after getting a healthy dose of knock out gas in the face.
Musky recovers a short time later to find the Thing standing over him. He's now out in the hallway, having been kicked through the wall by the White Dragon. Muskateer runs back into the room where he fought the White Dragon, but it is now empty.
The Thing explains that he saw Firestar fly away in a hurry right before he found Muskateer, but didn't spot either the White Dragon or the mystery woman in magenta. The two Avengers split up once more to search the Crusaders Base.
While exploring down on the first floor, Muskateer is alerted to a noise around the corner. He draws his sword, rushes around the corner, only to come face to face with the woman in magenta. She has him covered with a loaded hand-crossbow. She tells Musky to, "Freeze, slimeball!"
The two talk and it is revealed that the woman is the Huntress, daughter of the late Hunter. Battle is averted and the two compare notes. The Huntress explains that she followed the White Dragon to the Crusaders base. He's a gang lord who's trying to gain control of the Chinatown district with the aid of his gang of thugs, the Dragon Lords. The heroine has no idea why the Dragon is here, but suspects that he is looking for something.
Suddenly, the lights go out. Muskateer rationalizes that either theres a blackout or somebody pulled the main breaker. He and the Huntress make their way to the hanger where the electrical panels are located at.
The pair locate the panel and indeed, the main had been pulled, disrupting power to the entire base. Right before they can turn the power back on, Muskateer spots a figure nearby. He tells the Huntress to get ready to turn the lights back on while he ambushes the figure.
The plan works and once the lights are back on Muskateer discovers that he just wrestled the Enchantress to the ground. "Why, Muskateer, I didn't know you cared," the Enchantress says with an amused look on her face.
The Enchantress is helped to her feet and introduced to the Huntress. Gwen explains that she realized that there is the possibility that several dangerous magic items might still be stored here in the old Crusaders Base. She came to warn the other Avengers and find out if the items were still in storage.
While this is going on, the Huntress notes a man carrying a glowing gem who seemingly just walked through a wall! This greatly concerns the Enchantress as a glowing gem was one of the items being held in storage.
The heroes rush to the 2nd floor of the base and the Enchantress opens the previously concealed room. Inside is a hideious looking ancient chest. It is open.
"The Chest of Demons has been opened!", the Enchantress declares. The chest had been the prison to 13 powerful demons, who are now on the loose. Apart from that, only the mysterious glowing gem is missing.
The Enchantress uses her magic to locate the rest of the Avengers and the White Dragon. The trio locate them back in the Hanger. The White Dragon is up in the rafters avoiding blasts from Firestar while the Thing waits on the ground.
As the heroes go to help their friends, the man bearing the glowing gem appears once more. Muskateer goes to retrieve the gem when the gem suddenly speaks in everyone's mind!
"Back, human! Once more you Avengers have interfered in the plan. I thought that once I slew the others the matter would be done. But no. I am too weak from the merger to outright destroy you. But there is another way..."
With that, six bright flashes of light appear around the glowing gem. They slowly change into costumed individuals. The Gem speaks once more:
"I have created your opposites-- Avengers who serve me! Anti-Avengers! Now my creations, destroy your opposites!"
Avengers #6-7 - "Lights Out"
Avengers #6-7 - "Lights Out"
Have light, will illuminate!
Avengers #7 - "Lights Out"
Recap:
While exploring the old Crusaders Base, the Avengers have just encountered the mysterious Crystal. The Crystal admits to having destroyed the Avengers Mansion, killing many of the old Avengers. The Huntress vows revenge upon hearing this. However, before anyone can react, the Crystal creates 6 superpowered beings to fight his foes.
This six beings were loosely based on the six people in the warehouse: Muskateer, the Enchantress, the Huntress, Firestar, the Thing, and the White Dragon. The Anti-Avengers were: the Dreadknight, Zee, Phantom Girl, Firehawk, Steel, and the Shadow Stalker. Quite naturally, battle followed!
Darkness surrounds Muskateer, generated by Shadow Stalker. The sword wielding Avenger can dimly make out Steel ahead of him and tags him with a blast from his sword. Steel is unharmed, but then Muskateer is hit by an unseen attack from Phantom Girl.
Guided by the Enchantress, Muskateer emerges from the patch of darkness and goes at the Dreadknight. Zee attacks the Enchantress, while the Thing and Steel trade punches. Firehawk flies after Firestar. The Huntress shoots Shadow Stalker with a crossbow bolt, taking him out. The White Dragon slips away in all the confusion.
Finally, the heroe start to make headway. Zee, Dreadknight, and Steel are knocked out while Shadow Stalker and Phantom Girl seem to disappear. Firehawk downs Firestar, but continues to attack the heroine! This is more than Muskateer can bear and he takes out Firehawk with his sword.
The Crystal steps in and teleports away with his Anti-Avengers. The gem warns to heroes to not interfere again, or they will not be so fortunate. Just like that, its all over with. The Huntress also slips away. In the days that follow arrangements are made for the Avengers to take over the Crusaders old base.
Recap:
While exploring the old Crusaders Base, the Avengers have just encountered the mysterious Crystal. The Crystal admits to having destroyed the Avengers Mansion, killing many of the old Avengers. The Huntress vows revenge upon hearing this. However, before anyone can react, the Crystal creates 6 superpowered beings to fight his foes.
This six beings were loosely based on the six people in the warehouse: Muskateer, the Enchantress, the Huntress, Firestar, the Thing, and the White Dragon. The Anti-Avengers were: the Dreadknight, Zee, Phantom Girl, Firehawk, Steel, and the Shadow Stalker. Quite naturally, battle followed!
Darkness surrounds Muskateer, generated by Shadow Stalker. The sword wielding Avenger can dimly make out Steel ahead of him and tags him with a blast from his sword. Steel is unharmed, but then Muskateer is hit by an unseen attack from Phantom Girl.
Guided by the Enchantress, Muskateer emerges from the patch of darkness and goes at the Dreadknight. Zee attacks the Enchantress, while the Thing and Steel trade punches. Firehawk flies after Firestar. The Huntress shoots Shadow Stalker with a crossbow bolt, taking him out. The White Dragon slips away in all the confusion.
Finally, the heroe start to make headway. Zee, Dreadknight, and Steel are knocked out while Shadow Stalker and Phantom Girl seem to disappear. Firehawk downs Firestar, but continues to attack the heroine! This is more than Muskateer can bear and he takes out Firehawk with his sword.
The Crystal steps in and teleports away with his Anti-Avengers. The gem warns to heroes to not interfere again, or they will not be so fortunate. Just like that, its all over with. The Huntress also slips away. In the days that follow arrangements are made for the Avengers to take over the Crusaders old base.
Have light, will illuminate!
Avengers #7 Continued:
In the days that follow, there are several interesting news items of note. Police officers have been msyterious disappearing. An Assistant DA was brutally murdered when he was thrown from this high rise appartment. Onlookers swore they saw a cloud of fog on top of the building on a perfectly clear night. Muskateer begins to design his scooter in his free time.
One evening, Muskateer recieves a call from the Enchantress asking him to come over to her townhouse. He agrees and is surprised to find all the other Avengers present as well. Gwen explains that she wanted to get to know everyone better and invited everyone over. Some of the team is skeptical, but they all do agree.
The Avengers take turns introducing themselves to each other. Personal details are revealed as well. Gwen tells about her relatives, how she inherited her Grandmothers magical powers, her time in the Circle and how she helped form the Crusaders with Blazer, Shield, and Frost. She also reveals a romance with a man named Terry who Gwen was just using to have a good time. Since her change, Gwen regrets having done that to a man who really did loved her.
Firestar talks about her growing up in St. Louis and her ambitions of being a writer. She admits to being 19 years old and that she's also five inches taller as Firestar and in her SI form.
The Thing doesn't say much as his story is public knowledge.
Ms. Marvel has her turn and she admits that she has a mutant sister named Carol who calls herself Binary. She also admits that she had a past relationship with Flare. It was the opposite of Gwen's relationship, as Marv was the one who was used. Marv also realizes that Wonder Man is attracted to her and notes that relations with her father is strained.
Muskateer rounds out the evening. (What he said was not actually written.)
The next day, Muskateer receives a bill from Firestar for all the times she's carried him around in battle. A night out should cover the charges.
At the Enchantress' home, Gwen calls Terry and arranges a lunch date, while at the Avengers Base, Marv calles Wonder Man.
In the days that follow, there are several interesting news items of note. Police officers have been msyterious disappearing. An Assistant DA was brutally murdered when he was thrown from this high rise appartment. Onlookers swore they saw a cloud of fog on top of the building on a perfectly clear night. Muskateer begins to design his scooter in his free time.
One evening, Muskateer recieves a call from the Enchantress asking him to come over to her townhouse. He agrees and is surprised to find all the other Avengers present as well. Gwen explains that she wanted to get to know everyone better and invited everyone over. Some of the team is skeptical, but they all do agree.
The Avengers take turns introducing themselves to each other. Personal details are revealed as well. Gwen tells about her relatives, how she inherited her Grandmothers magical powers, her time in the Circle and how she helped form the Crusaders with Blazer, Shield, and Frost. She also reveals a romance with a man named Terry who Gwen was just using to have a good time. Since her change, Gwen regrets having done that to a man who really did loved her.
Firestar talks about her growing up in St. Louis and her ambitions of being a writer. She admits to being 19 years old and that she's also five inches taller as Firestar and in her SI form.
The Thing doesn't say much as his story is public knowledge.
Ms. Marvel has her turn and she admits that she has a mutant sister named Carol who calls herself Binary. She also admits that she had a past relationship with Flare. It was the opposite of Gwen's relationship, as Marv was the one who was used. Marv also realizes that Wonder Man is attracted to her and notes that relations with her father is strained.
Muskateer rounds out the evening. (What he said was not actually written.)
The next day, Muskateer receives a bill from Firestar for all the times she's carried him around in battle. A night out should cover the charges.
At the Enchantress' home, Gwen calls Terry and arranges a lunch date, while at the Avengers Base, Marv calles Wonder Man.
Have light, will illuminate!
Comments:
I also have no idea what the White Dragon was doing at the Crusaders Base. It was just a way to introduce the Huntress. I assumed that the Huntress simply escaped her bonds while Firestar burned them away. I don't believe that a whole lot was done with the White Dragon after this point. Obviously, that changed a great deal in the new stuff!
The sub-plot with the Chest of Demons was never followed up. The idea of storing dangerous magic items was shifted to the Sorceress in the new stuff. (Also, not very bright to leave such dangerous items in an abandoned building either!)
Obviously, the Anti-Avengers were not the exact opposites of the 6 beings they were based on. The Dreadknight was much like the version you know, the walking empty suit of armor, but this one actually talked.
Zee was actually Zantana from DC Comics. I kept the name and made her Lady Zee in the new stuff and based her on a character from the Ultimate Supermage instead of Zantana.
Phantom Girl, inspite of the name, was an original character. Back when I started all this I made a character called Ghost Girl. She could turn invisible and fire energy blasts. While called Phantom Girl, she looked exactly like Phantom Lady.
Firehawk was based on the DC character of the same name. Steel was Doc Sampson. That just left Shadow Stalker who was an original character.
In the new stuff, the Crystal just didn't create people out of thin air. He used real people and then molded them to his desires. So Phantom Girl became Kimberly Matthews, the twin of the Silver Spectre. Zee became the Morbane Priestess Lady Zee, Shadow Stalker became the Morbane Priest Lord Shadow, and the Dreadknight became a golem. During the creation process, Firehawk and Phantom Girl got slammed together to make Ghost Fire. Steel was simply dropped.
It is also implied in the file that a portion of the Crystal was concealed in Gwen's hidden room. That idea was expanded upon in the new stuff. Other dangerous items came to surface much later on in the game.
I also have no idea what the White Dragon was doing at the Crusaders Base. It was just a way to introduce the Huntress. I assumed that the Huntress simply escaped her bonds while Firestar burned them away. I don't believe that a whole lot was done with the White Dragon after this point. Obviously, that changed a great deal in the new stuff!
The sub-plot with the Chest of Demons was never followed up. The idea of storing dangerous magic items was shifted to the Sorceress in the new stuff. (Also, not very bright to leave such dangerous items in an abandoned building either!)
Obviously, the Anti-Avengers were not the exact opposites of the 6 beings they were based on. The Dreadknight was much like the version you know, the walking empty suit of armor, but this one actually talked.
Zee was actually Zantana from DC Comics. I kept the name and made her Lady Zee in the new stuff and based her on a character from the Ultimate Supermage instead of Zantana.
Phantom Girl, inspite of the name, was an original character. Back when I started all this I made a character called Ghost Girl. She could turn invisible and fire energy blasts. While called Phantom Girl, she looked exactly like Phantom Lady.
Firehawk was based on the DC character of the same name. Steel was Doc Sampson. That just left Shadow Stalker who was an original character.
In the new stuff, the Crystal just didn't create people out of thin air. He used real people and then molded them to his desires. So Phantom Girl became Kimberly Matthews, the twin of the Silver Spectre. Zee became the Morbane Priestess Lady Zee, Shadow Stalker became the Morbane Priest Lord Shadow, and the Dreadknight became a golem. During the creation process, Firehawk and Phantom Girl got slammed together to make Ghost Fire. Steel was simply dropped.
It is also implied in the file that a portion of the Crystal was concealed in Gwen's hidden room. That idea was expanded upon in the new stuff. Other dangerous items came to surface much later on in the game.
Have light, will illuminate!
More Comments:
The Crystal and his Anti-Avengers would appear several more times during the campaign.
Old Avengers #7 was where the get-together originally took place. Much of was written was just this file re-written. Numerous changes were made. At this point in the old stuff, there was no relationship between Muskateer & the Enchantress. It simply didn't exist and there was no special connection between the two. That was all introduced in the new stuff.
Firestar's orphan background was partially lifted from Wonder Girls backstory from an early issue of the New Teen Titans. (Wolfman & Perez version.) All of that was dropped in the new stuff, as it just caused more confusion than anything.
As we've noted before, there was some attraction between Firestar & Muskateer. 'Star was older, so it wasn't an issue in this stuff. Boy, how things did change in this aspect!
Gwen didn't have any significant past relationships in the New Stuff as explained in the files. (Troubleshooters #25 for one.) So, Terry was simply dropped. I also had Marv & Wondies relationship a bit farther along in the new stuff as opposed to the old.
All in all, a great many things came out of these files!
The Crystal and his Anti-Avengers would appear several more times during the campaign.
Old Avengers #7 was where the get-together originally took place. Much of was written was just this file re-written. Numerous changes were made. At this point in the old stuff, there was no relationship between Muskateer & the Enchantress. It simply didn't exist and there was no special connection between the two. That was all introduced in the new stuff.
Firestar's orphan background was partially lifted from Wonder Girls backstory from an early issue of the New Teen Titans. (Wolfman & Perez version.) All of that was dropped in the new stuff, as it just caused more confusion than anything.
As we've noted before, there was some attraction between Firestar & Muskateer. 'Star was older, so it wasn't an issue in this stuff. Boy, how things did change in this aspect!
Gwen didn't have any significant past relationships in the New Stuff as explained in the files. (Troubleshooters #25 for one.) So, Terry was simply dropped. I also had Marv & Wondies relationship a bit farther along in the new stuff as opposed to the old.
All in all, a great many things came out of these files!
Have light, will illuminate!
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Muskateer
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At this point, the hope for Muskateer was to develop the relationship with Firestar. Things were going well and they had a lot in common. Everything turned weird for awhile. The team fell apart, I switched main characters from Muskateer (hard to imagine) to Jack O'Lantern to Eclypse, then finally back to Muskateer. But that hadn't happened at this point in the recap. The relationship with Firestar dropped away and Gwen and Musky had some serious connections develop. I always thought it was odd how Musky and Firestar ended.
There were some significant things happen in the original stuff here, but I think our rewrite was a very big improvement. Things make a lot more sense now.
There were some significant things happen in the original stuff here, but I think our rewrite was a very big improvement. Things make a lot more sense now.
The Daring, Swash-Buckling Avenger!
As Muskateer noted, things got really turned on their ear right after this file. He changed characters on me, not once, but twice! First to Eclypse and then Jack O'Lantern before going back to Muskateer. (Not the other way around.) So that threw a severe monkey wrench into things.
He was Eclypse for Avengers #8-10 & then Jocko for #11 & 12, before going back to Musky in #13. To make matters worse, a big scenario was taking place that pretty much ripped the team apart in the process. (Guess where were at right now in the website! The original version of that stuff ran in Avengers #10-15, but almost entirely in the background.)
When everything finally got back to normal, Firestar went west with the Defenders and that pretty much took care of that. Perhaps if he had stayed as Muskateer or clued me in as to having a relationship with Firestar, then things could have been VERY differently. It wasn't until Aven #19 that he and Gwen got together. Just another case of Oh Well!
Another factor was that by the time things were back to normal was when we actually combined our worlds, and much of mine was jetisonned. So a great many things changed in a very short period of time. Change seemed to be the order of the day for a while. Talk about messing your GM up.
He was Eclypse for Avengers #8-10 & then Jocko for #11 & 12, before going back to Musky in #13. To make matters worse, a big scenario was taking place that pretty much ripped the team apart in the process. (Guess where were at right now in the website! The original version of that stuff ran in Avengers #10-15, but almost entirely in the background.)
When everything finally got back to normal, Firestar went west with the Defenders and that pretty much took care of that. Perhaps if he had stayed as Muskateer or clued me in as to having a relationship with Firestar, then things could have been VERY differently. It wasn't until Aven #19 that he and Gwen got together. Just another case of Oh Well!
Another factor was that by the time things were back to normal was when we actually combined our worlds, and much of mine was jetisonned. So a great many things changed in a very short period of time. Change seemed to be the order of the day for a while. Talk about messing your GM up.
Have light, will illuminate!
You know, probably the best thing about these 'back then' threads is reading both of your comments. It's fascinating to see just how different your perspectives were regarding what was happening. I suspect that this kind of dicotomy exists in many games between the GM and players, but you never get to see both sides. Here it provides a wonderful peek into the 'meta-game' and highlights your individual natures and viewpoints.
Super-Gordon
Super-Gordon
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Muskateer
- Swashbuckler
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My thinking at the time was that there definitely was a budding relationship between the two. If you read the files it would be hard from my perspective to not see it. Firestar even asked him for a night out together. With the conversation and light flirting they were having, it would be hard to not consider something to be happening. So I figured it was already there and no reason to give any more clues!Spectrum wrote: When everything finally got back to normal, Firestar went west with the Defenders and that pretty much took care of that. Perhaps if he had stayed as Muskateer or clued me in as to having a relationship with Firestar, then things could have been VERY differently. It wasn't until Aven #19 that he and Gwen got together. Just another case of Oh Well!
Spectrum wrote:Another factor was that by the time things were back to normal was when we actually combined our worlds, and much of mine was jetisonned. So a great many things changed in a very short period of time. Change seemed to be the order of the day for a while. Talk about messing your GM up.
Most likely the changes that happened made a big difference in everything, especially between Musky and Firestar. I remember there being a big dissatisfaction in playing Muskateer and it may be that I wasn't playing him forcefully enough. Hard to say as it was so long ago and much life has happened since then.
It seemed odd to me at the time and again looking back on it what happened, but we moved forward.
The Daring, Swash-Buckling Avenger!
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Muskateer
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There is no question that things that are important to me, may not be to Specs and vice-versa. We both have very different perspectives now and as time has passed, different frames and points of reference. A similar example is in our music tastes: we used to both mostly like the same things, but now, it's more of a struggle to find common ground.fanchergw wrote:You know, probably the best thing about these 'back then' threads is reading both of your comments. It's fascinating to see just how different your perspectives were regarding what was happening. I suspect that this kind of dicotomy exists in many games between the GM and players, but you never get to see both sides. Here it provides a wonderful peek into the 'meta-game' and highlights your individual natures and viewpoints.
Super-Gordon
And everyone has to remember these recollections are quite old and in some cases after 1 or 2 or even 3 changes have been made and accepted for a long time.
The Daring, Swash-Buckling Avenger!
Thanks Gordon. We still have very different perspectives on things. I tend to have a broad overview point of view and am constantly working on things, refining ideas, and am usually several issues if not years ahead on the various series. For the most part when it comes to actually writing a new issue of the various series, I mostly have it already written inside my head. Or I at least have broken the scenes down to that what's going to happen in an issue.fanchergw wrote:You know, probably the best thing about these 'back then' threads is reading both of your comments. It's fascinating to see just how different your perspectives were regarding what was happening. I suspect that this kind of dicotomy exists in many games between the GM and players, but you never get to see both sides. Here it provides a wonderful peek into the 'meta-game' and highlights your individual natures and viewpoints.
Super-Gordon
Muskateer tends to be more in the moment, as in what is happening now and will be more concerned about what's happening down the road when that time comes.
And as Muskateer noted, things that were important to him, may not have been to me. The opposite also holds true as well. When we talked about redoing all of this, I think we both learned things that neither of us knew about how each of us viewed what had happened. There are incidents that he considered defined Muskateer as a character. (Such as that encounter with Dark Seraph.) Moments that to me had no real great importance.
As for our musical tastes, they went off in a wild tangent back around '85 or '86. Of course, as Muskateer as told me before, my taste in music is like his favorite foods-- wide and varied.
One of the things that I've always tried to do as a GM, haven't always succeeded but try to do, is not assume what a PC is going to do. So, if Musky didn't say anything specifc when it came to Firestar, I probably just figured he wasn't interested. Of course, this was a long time ago-- 17-18 years ago!-- so my memories of what happened may not have been the best.
Viva le difference!
Have light, will illuminate!