Indiana Jones – Leave No Hat Behind – Rol Hirst

Panel One.

Deep in the Peruvian jungle. Indiana Jones faces a Gestapo officer in a trenchcoat and trilby. Indie looks like he’s been through the wars – his face cut, his shirt torn, his hair dishevelled…

The Gestapo hasn’t got a scratch on him, and his trenchcoat and hat are immaculate. He has got a gun on him though: a Luger, and it’s pointed straight at Indie. Two other, lower ranking Nazi soldiers, stand behind the Gestapo, also with their weapons trained on our hero.

On the ground between them lies Indie’s famous fedora.

Nazi: You know what you are, Doctor Jones? You are a fool.

Nazi: You come all this way to steal the legendary Stone of Sachamama--

Panel Two.

Close on Indie, gritted teeth, a sly grin.

Indie: Didn’t really want it for myself. Just didn’t think you lot should have it.

Panel Three.

Close on the Nazi, smiling. Evil.

Nazi: But, see, this is what I do not get. You succeed in your quest. You outwit the Third Reich itself and somehow manage to escape with your magical little trinket.

Nazi: Your friends are probably halfway to Lima by now… and you could be with them.

Nazi: And yet you return…

Panel Four.

The Nazi crouches down, reaching to pick up Indie’s hat. He’s lowered his gun but the other two soldiers still have Indie in their sights.

Nazi: And for what, exactly…?

Nazi: For this…

Panel Five.

The Nazi has lifted Indie’s hat to reveal a deadly rattlesnake coiled up beneath it. He looks shocked by his discovery, and lets the hat go as he staggers backwards. The snake attacks.

Nazi: …hat!?!

Snake: Hissssssssss!

Panel Six.

Indie has grabbed his hat and is running away, towards us, through the jungle. Behind him, the Gestapo officer has fallen into the other two soldiers in his panicked attempt to escape the rattlesnake. Indie frowns / grimaces as he runs, almost as though he’s justifying his actions to himself, as much as to the Nazis he’s leaving behind.

Indie: I like this hat…

Indie: …and snakes are growing on me too.

Indiana Jones - The Way - Ben Rosenthal

1. We are looking down the edge of a cliff. Dangling over the lip is Indiana Jones sans his trademark hat, panic on his face as he struggles to hold on to a vine. Indy is looking up at a figure whom has his back to us.

INDY

It doesn't have to be this way.

2 The person whom has their back to us is revealed – an adult Short Round. He wear Indy’s hat, and has Indy’s bullwhip thrown over his shoulders in a scarf like fashion, mocking his former mentor. Short round is holding each end of the bullwhip as casually as you may see an old fashioned lawyer holding his suspenders. He is standing casually over the struggling Indy.

SHORT ROUND

Why, what way would that be? The way of dying?

3. Looking back at Indy as Short Round continues to talk. Indy’s panic face has changed to a stubborn look.

SHORT ROUND

You shouldn't have a thing to worry about. Surely a man who has no trouble leaving a young boy at the mercy of murderers and rapists has no soul to fear for.

4. Back to the framing of Panel 2, however this time Short Round is leaning forward mocking Indy. He wants to be nice and close when Indy’s grip slips and he plummets to his death. Short Round wears a smile of vengeance – cocky and cruel.

SHORT ROUND

You died years ago, Doctor Jones.

5. Same as Panel 4, however Short Round’s face has turned to shock and panic as Indy’s hand clutches the bullwhip around Short Round’s neck.

INDY

Yeah?

6. Indy has a gruff, bitter and angry look on his face. He speaks through gritted teeth.

INDY

Then tell me I said ‘Hi’.

7. A long panel, showing the silhouette of Short Round in mid air as he falls to his death. Indy is standing on the cliff face, holding onto the vine with one hand, and his bullwhip with the other. He watches Short Round fall.

Indiana Jones- Indiana Jones and The Obelisk of Axum- Dan Hill

I tried to go for fancy, I tried to make clever allusions to the rise and fall of empires. In the end I stripped it all back and just went for something that hopefully captures the tone of what I love best about the character and the franchise. Admittedly the scene is something of a homage.

For the others taking a crack (no pun intended) at this weeks character I heartily recommend putting that John Williams score on, letting it wash through you and then writing away.

Indiana Jones and the Obelisk of Axum

Page 1- Six Panels

1.1
We OPEN on a CLOSE UP of INDIANA JONES locking lips with PROFESSOR BRUNILDA SPECCHIO.

Brunilda is in her late twenties with long black hair, brown eyes and cheek bones to die for. She’s wearing a khaki shirt, a pair of combat trousers (desert camouflage) and brown leather boots.

Indy’s eyes are wide. He's taken aback by the kiss slightly.

NO COPY

1.2
The pair part with Brunilda breaking out into a gloating smile. Indy smirks, adjusting his hat slightly.

BRUNILDA

I take what I want.

INDY

No kidding.

1.3
WIDE PANEL: We ZOOM OUT to show Indy and Brunilda are atop a truck (http://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=1266) as it speeds along a desert road somewhere in Ethiopia.

Climbing up the sides of the truck and out of its rear are a number of Italian soldiers, all with machine guns slung over their backs.

They look like they mean business.

CAPTION

Near Axum, Ethiopia. February, 1937.

INDY

But you're stealing a 78 foot tall obelisk, Brunilda.

(link)

Did you think I wouldn't notice?

BRUNILDA

The spoils of war.

(link)

The New Roman Empire takes what it wants too.

1.4
CLOSE UP again on Brunilda as she pulls Indy towards her by his collar with both hands.

Indy is all smiles.

BRUNILDA

I won’t be denied.

1.5
ZOOM IN on the pair as Brunilda comes in for a farewell kiss.

BRUNILDA

Arrivederci, Indiana Jones.

1.6
WIDE PANEL. Brunilda turns around suddenly looking towards the lead truck in the convoy in the background of the panel. The truck explodes, shooting into the air, flames and debris shooting off in all directions.

Some of the soldiers who have managed to climb onto the top of the moving truck can only look in the direction of the explosion with horror and surprise.

SFX

KTOOOOOOM!

BRUNILDA

Porca vacca!

1.7
INSET PANEL. CLOSE UP on Indy’s face, smirking.

INDY (to himself)

Sallah, I could kiss you.

Why Indiana Jones?

Raiders Of The Lost Ark is easily a contender for my favourite film of all time (I'm not alone in that regard) and a huge influence on me as a writer. The movie is a perfect blend of character, romance, thrills and action and includes some of the best set-pieces put to celluloid. Not only that but Indy inhabits a world rich with mythology, history, great villains and has a supporting cast to die for.



Indy is a guy just trying to make his way in the world. He's a little cynical, sometimes romantic and has fears and insecurities like the rest of us. He knows how to handle himself in a fight, but he's not invincible. He messes up, he dusts himself off and tries again. He's making it up as he goes along.

As Spielberg put it:

"Indiana Jones is not a perfect hero, and his imperfections, I think, make the audience feel that, with a little more exercise and a little more courage, they could be just like him."

However, for a character so beloved and with such a deep well to draw from Indy has had a pretty raw deal when it comes to comics. The Marvel series introduced a few years after the first movie featured the work of such industry stalwarts as Denny O'Neil, John Byrne, David Micheline, Howard Chaykin, Archie Goodwin, David Mazzuchelli and even the legendary Steve Ditko. The series ran for 34 issues and featured some great stories and art.



But Indy didn't receive another outing in comics until the 90's when Dark Horse picked up the license with an adaptation of the PC game Indiana Jones And The Fate Of Atlantis. The adaptation isn't something to write home about and the art is serviceable if not great. Dark Horse would continue to publish Indy's adventures throughout the 90's. The scripts are, at best, solid and the quality of the art is mixed. Recently, in 2008, Rob Williams tried his hand with the character in the four issue mini Indiana Jones And The Tomb Of The Gods, but since then it's been quiet.

This is where you come in.

With Indy himself and a huge swathe of history, locations and situations to choose from I'm excited to see what the tenured writers and those of you playing at home come up with.

Harry Osborn - Are You Ready? - Dan Hill

Page One- Six Panels

1.1
We open in the kitchen of the Osborn family home and a TIGHT SHOT on a worried looking HARRY OSBORN. Harry is wearing casual winter clothes, a jacket, a scarf, etc.

VOICE (OFF): Ready!

1.2
Harry crouches down slightly, talking directly into CAMERA.

HARRY: You sure? You got everything?

1.3
CUT TO a CLOSE UP of little NORMIE OSBORN looking up at Harry. Normie is dressed in a Devil costume (something like this http://www.costume-illusions.com.au/img/p/240-353-large.jpg). He smiles a wide toothy grin.

NORMIE: All set.

1.4
ZOOM OUT a little to reveal that Normie has a small pumpkin tucked under his arm, a devilish looking visage carved into its surface. Normie’s eyes are wide as he suddenly remembers something.

NORMIE: Oh, wait! Wait!

1.5
CLOSE UP on the pumpkin’s features.

NORMIE (OFF): I forgot my mask.

1.6
CLOSE UP on Harry, putting on his best fake smile for his son.

NORMIE (OFF): Do I need my mask?

HARRY: No, it’s okay. You all set?

Harry Osborn – Clones of His Own - MK Stangeland Jr.

(6 Panels)

Panel 1: NORMAN OSBORN sits at a desk in a dark room. The only light illuminating him comes from the set of massive computer screens sitting in front of him. When it can be seen, the details on the screen make it clear that the project it is concerned with is creating a clone of HARRY OSBORN.

Standing next to OSBORN a messy-looking cyborg version of MILES WARREN – as if he used to be a well-assembled clone but has since had several pieces replaced with machine parts. He pushes a button on OSBORN’s desk.

CYBORG WARREN: The current results for Clone Number 93 point two.

Panel 2: Close up on NORMAN OSBORN’s eyes as he glares at the data.

Panel 3: NORMAN OSBORN turns away from the screen and waves his arm back in a ‘scrub it’ motion.

NORMAN OSBORN: Unacceptable. Scrap it and try again.

Panel 4: CYBORG WARREN looks at the data on the screen.

CYBORG WARREN: The results are a near perfect match for the parameters you set.

NORMAN OSBORN: Near perfect match.

Panel 5: NORMAN OSBORN Stands and points at the screen.

NORMAN OSBORN: I don’t want the replacement for my son to be near prefect and just turn out to be another disappointment.

Panel 6: CYBORG WARREN looks at the desk and taps a few buttons.

CYBORG WARREN: As an expert on cloning, I advise…

Panel 7: NORMAN OSBORN glares at CYBORG WARREN in that ‘I’m your boss, do as I say’ kind of way.

NORMAN OSBORN: And as your boss and the reason you still exist, I am ordering you to scrap number 93 point two and begin work on the next version of my son.

END PAGE

Harry Osborn - Beginnings and Endings - Grant McLaughlin

Three rows of panels. The first row can be a bit smaller than the other two. The first row is made up of one panel, which takes up the width of the page. Rows two and three are each made up of three equal sized panels.

1 – Harry and Peter are standing opposite each other atop the bridge where Gwen Stacey died. It's nighttime, it's raining real hard, and there's enough lightning going on to really set the mood. Harry and Peter are both wearing their respective costumes. They've been engaged in a brutal fight and are both much the worse for wear for it. At this point, neither of them are wearing their masks. Harry is standing at the edge of the bridge, looking out towards the water. Any angle is good for this one, but maybe let's try an angled shot from above to really show off what's going on.

HARRY (1): I've done terrible things, Pete.

HARRY (2): Unspeakable things.

2 – Focus in on Harry. He's wearing an expression of pretty complete sorrow. He looks down at his upturned hands, almost as if he can see the blood he's referring to. Feel free to have water dripping from his hands to hit this point home if you don't think it's too much.

HARRY: I have so much blood on my hands at this point that no amount of repentance is going to wash it all off.

3 – Close shot of Harry's face. You don't need to have all of it – up to half can be off-panel. His eyes are shut tight. The sorrow remains, with maybe a bit of frustration thrown in for good measure. Peter, while still a bit off, is walking towards his friend.

HARRY: I can't sleep anymore, Pete. Every time I close my eyes I see the faces of all the people I've hurt. All the lives I've maimed.

4 – Peter has closed the distance between the two. He places his hand on Harry's shoulder in comforting gesture. If shown, Harry's eyes remain closed.

PETER: It'll be okay, Harry. We'll figure something out. We'll find a way to make things right.

5 – Harry has turned around to face Peter. He looks a lot calmer, almost eerily so.

HARRY: -heh- You're kind to say that, Pete.

6 – Without warning, Harry pushes Peter away. The momentum pushes him off the edge of the bridge. No dialogue.

7 – Harry is gone from view. Peter is on the ground, yelling towards where his friend was a moment ago.

PETER: Harry!

Harry Osborn - Goblin Come Knockin' - Simon McDonald

PAGE 2

PANEL ONE

We're at Harry Osborn's cabin overlooking the Vermillion Lakes, Mt. Rundle looming overhead. It's a picturesque setting, early morning Winter sun piercing through a thin layer of cloud. Harry's come here to get away, to be alone and be one with nature, where the name Osborn carries no ominous overtone. At the forefront of this panel is Harry's dog, barking at something we're unable to perceive from this angle. In the background, approaching us from the cabin, comes Harry, rifle in hand, dressed for the weather.

DOG

Ruff! Ruff!

HARRY OSBORN

Swear to God, if this is another...

PANEL TWO

Tight panel of Harry's eyes, bulging wide.

HARRY OSBORN

What...

PANEL THREE

Largest panel on the page. Harry and his canine companion are looking down at a body, gutted savagely, blood pooled in the snow. It's a man, that's for certain, gauging by his gait and thick forearms and thighs, but we can't identify him because of the Green Goblin mask covering his face.

NO COPY

Harry Osborn – Don’t Turn Out Like Your Father – Rol Hirst

Panel One.

Close on a newspaper. Frontline. The headline reads: Norman Osborn – Threat Or Menace? The subheading reads: Disgraced H.A.M.M.E.R. Director Escapes Custody Again.

The paper is being held by Harry Osborn. We only see his hand here.

CAP (Harry): I’ve always lived in my father’s shadow.

Panel Two.

Flashback. A young Harry (late teens) is on the floor, holding his face, crying. Norman towers over him, angry, having obviously just slapped him down.

Norman: You... you’re a disgrace to the name Osborn! I should have drowned you at birth, you pathetic, snivelling brat!

Panel Three.

Out of flashback. Harry walks down a busy New York street. Daytime. It’s a cold winter day and he’s bundled up in a big coat and a woolly hat. He’s carrying the newspaper under his arm.

CAP (Harry): Even when he wasn’t around, I kept trying to make him proud.

Panel Four.

Flashback. In a grim playback of the earlier flashback, here Harry stands over an unmasked Spider-Man. Pete's lying on the floor, clutching his chin after a good old-fashioned Goblin smackdown. Harry’s wearing the Green Goblin suit, holding his own mask in his hand.

Harry: Don’t you see, Pete? This is the way it has to be.

Harry: I am my father’s son.

Panel Five.

Out of flashback. Harry walks into a shop. We can’t make out quite what sort of shop it is… we’ll find out in the next panel. As he enters the shop, he pulls off his woolly hat.

CAP (Harry): That ends today.

Panel Six.

It’s a barber’s shop. Harry is sitting in the barber's chair, facing his own reflection in the mirror. The barber stands behind him holding a pair of clippers above that distinctive Osborn haircut.

Harry: Take it off. Take it all off.

Harry Osborn – The Next Best Thing – Ryan K Lindsay

PAGE 3 - 5 PANELS

1. Full width panel, as all will be on this page. Harry Osborn leans back against a tall fence in a suburban street. We’re tight in on him, the rain comes down around him, his face is cast down, he’s glowering. He wears a trenchcoat, with the collar up. Here, we see his shoulders to the top of his head – each progressive panel will pull back more, I’ll tell you how much in each one.

Caption: I cut up a picture of him when I was seven, I hated the bastard so much.
Caption: In my fury, I nearly severed a finger.

2. We now see above the head slightly, and down to mid chest. He remains in the same pose.

Caption: Years later, in high school, Mr Myers failed me in English.
Caption: I subsequently borrowed eleven different copies of John Donne’s Collected Poems from nine libraries and burnt them all.

3. We now see a bit more above Harry and right down to his waist. It is here we see the tops of heads walking by – these are trick or treaters on Hallowe’en night. Go crazy with the tops of the masks we see – though you’d be thoughtless to not include hints to Boba Fett, Jason Voorhees, Ronald Reagan, and a lil Snake Plissken. Harry is still in the same pose.

Caption: At Empire State, I sat in on lectures for a class of which I wasn’t enrolled just to study this other blonde who looked just like her.
Caption: I eventually spoke to her – she was rude – and I had her car demolished by some unsavoury people I could never be connected to.
Caption: She may have been in the car at the time.

4. We can see down to about Harry’s knees now. The little people in costumes continue to pass by, we should see some of them from the previous panel have now moved about 4 feet in the direction they were travelling. One, dressed as Spider-Man, is entering the frame from the left. Harry still holds the same pose.

Caption: Why did I do all these things?

5. We have moved out to see Harry right down to his feet. The Spider-Man child is on the right side of the panel now and Harry has turned to start walking behind him at about 2 metres.

Caption: Practise.

Harry Osborn - Wank - Ben Rosenthal

I don't expect any of you to get this. I don't expect any of you to like this. This here - this is for me.

All you need to know is that Harry Osborn likes coffee. Thank you Dan Slott!

1. Harry Osborn stands at the coffee machine at his work. One hand is clearly visible as he steams milk while the other unseen. The coffee machine is a La Marzocco Strada – fully manual. It is during the down time so it is not terribly busy. As such, Harry is taking orders as he makes coffee on the pinnacle of coffee machines. We can only see the backs of the customers he is serving – two obviously male men. Both obviously hipsters.

HARRY

Hey, how can I help you?

HIPSTER ONE

Yeah, I’m after a single origin but I only like my espresso pressure profiles through a Synesso Hydra Gen II.

HIPSTER TWO

Yeah, like do you have any alternate brew methods or are you happy being in the middle ages?

2. Harry’s customer service smile has dropped – he has dealt with these types before. However he still tries to carry on with his job.

HARRY

Today we have the Brazillian Canto Gallo through both Chemex or a Kenyan pea berry through siphon.

HIPSTER ONE

Is that it? And what do you mean ‘a’ Kenyan pea berry?

HIPSTER TWO

Yeah, is it even from a nano-lot? What’s the farm of origin?

3. Harry is grimacing now. He’s about to snap. The hipsters have no idea

HIPSTER ONE

Doesn’t it seem weird to you to be extracting a pea berry through a siphon?

HIPSTER TWO

Do you have any non-gm cookies? I hope that’s fair trade milk.

4. Harry’s left hand, which has been hidden behind the machine all this time, is now visible. On it he wear one of the purple Goblin gloves that he wore as the Green Goblin. He is pointing it at Hipster Two. Sparks fly from Harry’s extended finger as they fry the Second Hipster’s face. Harry wears a psychotic grin. The colour of the page has turned a shadowy green.

5. Harry is now standing on the bench next to the coffee machine, throwing pumpkin bombs into the face of Hipster One with his non-gloved hand. He looks even happier than before. The page colour is greener and a little more shadowed than the previous panel.

6. Harry is back behind the coffee machine. The last two panels were just Harry’s imagination.

HIPSTER ONE

Actually, I think I’ll just have a coke.

HIPSTER TWO

Is the ice for the coke run through your reverse osmosis filtration system?

HARRY

*sigh*

Why Harry Osborn?

Because he died and then came back to life! How many of your favourite super heroes or villains can claim that, huh? Oh...wait.

Harry is such a diverse and insecure character. Even before his father took up the mantle of the Goblin, Harry was striving to gain his father’s approval. He never did.

A life of drug addiction, self worth and confidence issues, and the death of his dad tipped Osborn over the edge, and he became the third Green Goblin.

Unlike his pops, Harry tortured Peter Parker through psychological means. He followed an unconstumed Peter on the street, gliding behind him. He hinted to Peter that he would hurt his own family. Hell, he even created robot replicas of Peter’s parents and sent him all moody and broody – which lead into the clone saga.

Since coming back from the dead (cos he was healed by the goblin formula that heals his father – even though the thing that killed him originally was the goblin formula he fiddled with and took....yup) Harry has been a bit more subdued. When he’s not on the run with his half goblin half human son Stan, Harry can be seen using a taser to shock former police officers (even though he has enhanced strength) or running a coffee shop (even if he doesn’t know the ideal extraction times and dose levels for an Ethiopian Guji Sidamo five days off the roast).

Have fun with Harry Osborn this week – no one else seems to.

Winter Soldier- Dream A Little Dream - Dan Hill

Page One- Four Panels

1.1
WIDE PANEL. A CLOSE UP on the WINTER SOLDIER as he’s put to sleep by his Soviet masters. He floats in a glass tank, surrounded by a green liquid, an oxygen mask around his mouth. His eyes start to close.

VOICE (OFF): He’s under...*

CAPTION (JAMES): Every time I close my eyes it's the same thing. Always repeating.
(link)
Glimpses of someone I feel I used to know and a place I’ve never seen.

CAPTION: *Translated from Russian.

1.2
WIDE PANEL. CUT TO BUCKY holding onto that infamous rocket as it hurtles into the atmosphere, towards CAMERA. He's trying to hold on with all of his might. Below him we can see the rocket's trail, the frozen sea and a falling figure.

CAPTION (JAMES): There’s heat there.
(link)
Cold too.

1.3
WIDE PANEL: ZOOM IN on Bucky. His teeth are gritted, his neck muscles straining.

CAPTION (JAMES): I know somehow that he’s scared. That he’s trying to hold on.
(link)
But he can’t. He always falls.

1.4
WIDE PANEL: CUT TO another CLOSE UP of the Winter Soldier in the tank. He looks a little older this time (5-10 years). His eyes are wide open. He’s awake.

VOICE (OFF): Get him up and prepped*.

CAPTION (JAMES): But he’ll keep trying.

Winter Soldier – In Soviet Russia, Target Hunt You – MK Stangeland Jr.

(6 Panels)

Panel 1: WINTER SOLDIER hides behind cover somewhere in RUSSIA, weapon armed. In the background, OMEGA RED is approaching, tentacles out and ready to strike.

OMEGA RED: < Come out now and I promise not to make this more painful than it needs to be. >

WINTER SOLDIER: < Tell me how you knew I was coming and maybe I’ll comply. >

Panel 2: OMEGA RED knocks away WINTER SOLDIER’s cover with one of his tentacles. WINTER SOLDIER starts to move and brings his rifle up to aim it at OMEGA RED.

OMEGA RED: < Knew you were coming? >

Panel 3: One of OMEGA RED’s tentacles wraps itself around WINTER SOLDIER.

OMEGA RED: < I’ve been hunting you myself! >

Panel 4: WINTER SOLDIER grabs part of OMEGA RED’s tentacle with his metal ROBO-ARM OF DOOM. It starts to cause an electrical surge that starts from the hand and feeds out.

SFX: (Surge) ZxxzZ!

WINTER SOLDIER: < Is that so? >

Panel 5: The surge starts a feedback loop, which spreads out from WINTER SOLDIER’s ROBO-ARM OF DOOM and flows back to OMEGA RED, electrocuting him.

SFX: bzzzZZAAKXZ!

OMEGA RED: GUAAAAAAAH!

Panel 6: WINTER SOLDIER stands over a half-unconscious OMEGA RED. He has a weapon pointed down at OMEGA RED, ready to kill him if he tries anything.

WINTER SOLDIER: < Looks like I might have a reason not to kill you yet after all. >

(END PAGE)

Winter Soldier - Is It Hard? - Grant McLaughlin

Okay, so I haven't exactly read a ton of Winter Soldier-related books, so my knowledge of the character is maybe a little sketchy.  Consequently, I didn't know of a villain to fill the role necessary for this script, so I present to you Sickle, a villainous Soviet woman who worked with Hammer (now deceased) during Bucky's brainwashed time as Winter Soldier.  She has done some nefarious wrong (let's say break into the Avengers Mansion and hack their computer system or what-have-you), and he has chased her to a church.  This would take place shortly after Bucky regains his memory and the (shaky) trust of his colleagues and friends.  If it doesn't make a ton of sense in continuity, think of this as part of "Winter Soldier: Year One" or its equivalent.

Disclaimer done, this page has three rows of panels.  Row one is a single panel.  Rows two and three are comprised of three panels.

1 – Interior establishing shot. Bucky has entered the cathedral. It's big. Grand. The entire area stretches out before him, dwarfing him. It is shrouded in darkness.

SICKLE (off-panel): Is it hard?

BUCKY (whispering): Where are you...

SICKLE (off-panel): To be a devil.

SICKLE (off-panel): (2): Among angels?

2 – A stained glass window depicting Jesus forgiving some men and women. It, like everything else, is dark.

SICKLE (off-panel): Your companions have welcomed you back, mouthing words of forgiveness.

3 – Pull out a bit. The bottom of the stained glass from the previous panel is visible at the top of this panel, but the focus is on the confession booth below. Bucky is walking by it, ignoring it. His face is hidden by the darkness.

SICKLE (off-panel): But I can't imagine how much you've been sharing about all the terrible things you've done.

4 – Another stained glass window. This is definitely one of those Old Testament style ones, showing a significant amount of death and destruction. Real fire and brimstone type thing.

SICKLE (off-panel): Cities burned. Bodies broken. Lives ended.

5 – Bucky is moving towards the front of the church. His body language is tense, frustrated, and angry.

SICKLE (off-panel): You must fear what they'd do if they ever somehow found out the entire truth.

BUCKY: You can't run forever!

6 – One more stained glass window. A number of Roman soldiers march onwards, their weapons and shields at the ready. No dialogue.

7 – Bucky stands at the front of the cathedral, kneeling at the prayer bar. His face is visible for the first time. He is crying.

SICKLE (off-panel): Maybe I'm not the one who should be running.

Winter Soldier – The Cracked Mirror – Ryan K Lindsay

PAGE 5 - 5 PANELS

1. James Barnes sits at a café table. The setting is a Russian café and there is snow around. He is facing to the right, so we see him in profile on his right side. This panel is wide and covers the top of the page.

Caption: It stands to reason I’d eventually find myself.

2. These three panels are tall and evenly wide. They fill the gap between the wide panel at the top of the page and the bottom. Here we see a fat bureaucrat walking toward the café. We cannot see Barnes in this panel but the people sitting around the bottom of the panel show us he is approaching the café.

Caption: I never thought myself so precious as to believe I’d be the only one.

3. The man is closer.

NO COPY

4. The man is just getting to the first tables.

Caption: The odds were stacked against me.
Caption: Yet even still…

5. Malachai Nikitin sits at the same café. He faces to the left. He sips his steaming coffee and looks straight ahead.

Caption: …I never truly thought about what I would do, what I should do, in this situation.

Winter Soldier - 1956 - Rol Hirst

Panel One.

Close on a file, in a brown folder, with a Russian emblem stamped in the top corner. A hand holds the file. A metal hand.

On the front of the file, the following words are written (though we don’t need to see them all):

О культе личности и его последствиях

Caption: February 24th, 1956.

Panel Two.

Pull out to show Bucky, as The Winter Soldier, holding the file. He’s reading it. He’s in a grim, 50s, Russian hotel room. A balcony window looks out over Moscow… we may even be able to see The Kremlin in the distance. It’s dark though so we won’t see much. In the foreground, two shadowy men are standing watching him, wearing long KGB trenchcoats. #1 is wearing a furry hat, #2 isn’t.

Man #1: [Premier Khrushchev intends to deliver the speech tonight, in a closed session of the Congress.]*

Caption: *Translated from Russian.

Panel Three.

Bucky stares at the men. Their faces are mostly in shadow. He is listening and taking in their information without judgement. He has a job to do, that is all that matters to him now. He hands the folder back to them.

Man #1: [We went to considerable lengths to find you. Comrade Stalin kept you well hidden.]

Man #2: [But we got you out of there, and we can keep you out. You can have a normal life again, James. Leave all this behind…]

Panel Four.

Bucky stands at the open balcony window. The curtains are billowing in the breeze. He’s preparing to leave. The man (#1) holding the speech has stepped more into the light. He is young (30s), dark-haired and handsome, but we do not recognise him.

Man #1: [As long as this speech remains a secret.]

Panel Five.

The Winter Soldier is gone. The first man takes off his hat as he turns towards us. The second man is staring after Bucky, facing away from us.

Man #2: You think he can pull this off?

Man #1: I think he’s the best chance we’ve got. No way we could have sent one of our own men in there.

Panel Six.

Close on the second man, his face also in the light now. We recognise him. The eye patch is the give away. He’s gritting his teeth in anger.

Nick Fury: Helms, you bastard…

Nick Fury: We just did.

Winter Solider - 1963 - Ben Rosenthal

1. A crowd of people line a street in Dallas, Texas. American flags are waving, with a general buzz of excitement in the air.

CAPTION: Friday November 22, 1963. Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas.

2. Faces of men, women and children all happy and excited.

3. The cavalcade of cars, and the convertible carrying John F. Kennedy travels down the street.

4. Same as panel 3, however Jacquie Kennedy is holding parts of her husband’s head in her hands as she leans over him. Agent Clint Hill has climbed onto the car to see if the President is still alive (it’s the infamous scene just after JFK has been shot. I’m sure you know the one).

5. The crowd is in a panic, some running away while others lay on top of their children. In the ramble, one person speaks but we have no idea who.

WORD BALLOON: законченный.

I’m sure you know what I’m getting at here. However, my reasons for not showing the Winter Solider are purely because he wouldn’t be seen. At this stage he is a ghost, a mere rumour. Hence why I chose the legend of the second shooter.

Winter Soldier - Commander in Chief - Simon McDonald

WINTER SOLDIER

COMMANDER IN CHIEF

PART 1 [of 4]

PAGE 20

PANEL ONE

Inside the Oval Office, Captain America has his hand clasped around the President’s arm, pinning it to the desk, preventing POTUS from lifting the cordless red telephone to his ear Outrage is plastered on POTUS’ face, his eyes wide, struggling to comprehend why the SHIELD agents posted around him aren’t responding to the threat.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

Put him in holding.

POTUS

What - - !

You can’t - - !

PANEL TWO

In the foreground of the panel, Captain America stares out the window at the White House grounds, his iconic shield strapped to his back. In the background, POTUS is being led away, visibly agitated, equally powerless.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

I can.

POTUS

Let go of me - !

PANEL THREE

POTUS is shoved into a White House board room where other members of the President’s cabinet and staff are seated, surrounded by armed SHIELD agents, all stone-faced.

SHIELD AGENT

Inside!

POTUS

Huff!

PANEL FOUR
The SHIELD agent returns to the Oval Office as Captain America faces of his men, his arms crossed.

CAPTAIN AMERICA [1]

Gentlemen.

CAPTAIN AMERICA [2]

The White House is ours.

PANEL FIVE

Cut to the lower levels of the White House, beneath the White House. In a scene intentionally reminiscent of the panel of Wolverine in Uncanny X-Men#133, Winter Soldier stands over the unconscious bodies of three enemy SHIELD agents. He’s battered and bruised – and determined.

WINTER SOLDIER

My turn.

CAPTION

“The single greatest fear that America faces today is that its military forces no longer tolerate the continuing incompetence of its civilian leadership.”

Mr George K. Suskind

Defence Intelligence Agency

Evidence given before the House Sub-committee on the Armed Forces, 22nd July 1996

Why The Winter Soldier?

Winter Soldier #1 hits stores on February 1, brought to us from Marvel by the all-star creative team of Ed Brubaker, Butch Guice and Bettie Breitweiser, and I couldn't be more excited. The road to Bucky Barnes reclaiming the Winter Soldier mantle has been long and convoluted - see Fear Itself - but just check out those preview pages: it has been worth the wait.

Brubaker pitched the premise of his newseries in a recent Next Big Thing press conference: Bucky Barnes operating in the shadows as a Black Ops-esque soldier, delving into his past and mixing real world Soviet history with Marvel continuity.

Oh, and there'll also be some globetrotting; just in case that Soviet stuff isn't up your alley. This is espionage  in the Marvel universe, people! Sounds awesome, right?

Let's prove it.

NEW TENURE - Welcome Dan Hill

It's always a festive time when we can welcome a new Tenured writer into the thoughtballoons fold. We recently bid farewell to Maxy Barnard and Danial Carroll, and thus we have a little space to recruit. We don't need to clog our airwaves but there was one man with enough talent and consistency to immediately get the call up from us, so please welcome:

DAN HILL

He's put a script in every week, usually quite quickly, and (one thing I love about him) he's been commenting on our scripts a lot. It also helps he often wins the week for me, he researches his work, and he just puts together damn smart and enjoyable pages. I am stunned we were able to land the man and now cannot wait to have his scripts officially crush mine in plain view up on the main page of the site.

Make him feel welcome, comment on his scripts, and rate them, and here's to one hell of a 2012.

Matty Roth – Rules of Engagement – MK Stangeland Jr.

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: A soldier, SGT. HALLS (new character), is standing next to MATTY ROTH and handing him a rifle.

MATTY ROTH: What’s this?

SGT. HALLS: A gun, dumb-@#$

Panel 2: MATTY ROTH looks at SGT. HALLS. His face says ‘I KNOW what a gun is’.

MATTY ROTH: No, I mean…why are you giving it to me?

SGT. HALLS (1): Because I’m going to train you to use it.

SGT. HALLS (2): I’m going to teach you how to fight.

Panel 3: MATTY ROTH tries to reject the weapon, but SGT. HALLS pushes it to his chest.

MATTY ROTH: I don’t understand. I’m just a photojournalist.

SGT. HALLS: Not anymore.

Panel 4: MATTY ROTH reluctantly holds the weapon.

SGT. HALLS (1): War’s ugly. This war especially.

SGT. HALLS (2): It’s not just the USA and the FSA. There’s also the d-@&# militias and PMCs.

SGT. HALLS (3): Then there’s the gangs.

Panel 5: SGT. HALLS turns, but still looks at MATTY ROTH as he expect him to follow.

SGT. HALLS (1): Regardless of how the F’*** intellectuals try to talk about the &$#@ rules of warfare, those rules are always going to get broken.

SGT. HALLS (2): You either learn how to fight, or you forever leave yourself at the mercy of those who already do.

(END PAGE)

Matty Roth - Eye of the Beholder - Grant McLaughlin

Matty and Zee are lounging in Zee's apartment.  No particular point in continuity in mind.

1 - Matty is cleaning his camera lens.

CAPTION (MATTY): People generally feel that there isn't much to taking a good photo.

2 - He brings the camera up to his face, the classic picture taking pose.

CAPTION (MATTY): You just need to point and shoot, right?

3 - Pull out a bit.  Matty is aiming the camera at Zee.  She is packing her medic supplies and looking over her shoulder at Matty.  She wears an expression that is a mixture of happiness and mild exasperation.

CAPTION (MATTY): I won't argue that that's a pretty important part of it.

MATTY: Hey, Zee --

SFX: FLASH!

ZEE: Quit messing around, Matty.

4 - This last panel is a developed photograph.  It's at a slight angle so that it overlaps into the panel above and off of the page below.  It is the picture that Matty just took.  Zee looks towards the reader, smiling and looking genuinely happy.

CAPTION (MATTY): But I like to think there's a little more to it than that.