Hellboy – Juliet & John. – Shaun Richens.

PAGE TEN – 6 PANELS.

1. DR PARKER stands face aghast. GHOST PETER stands to his side a shocked look on his face.

At their feet is the smashed petri dish the green spore bubbling and growing vast in front of them, dark red veins now running through it.

DR PARKER: Dead or not Peter my boy I would suggest we both make haste.

2. Cut to a ruined temple, it has a mixture of Mayan and Egyptian architecture. HELLBOY sits atop the vast mass of a twisted cthullu like demon from the dark ages.

A great gleaming two-handed sword sticks out of the demons back next to HELLBOY, black blood runs from the wound.

HELLBOY wipes sweat from his forehead as he takes a drag from his cigar. 

NO COPY.

3. Pull in tighter on HELLBOY. A ring of smoke floats up from his cigar.

The stumps of his filed down horns have started to re-grow at an alarming rate.

NO COPY.

4. Even tighter on HELLBOY. The horns are almost back to their full huge length.

Hellboy is stubbing his cigar out on the demons back with one hand, his other reaches up to touch is horns.

NO COPY.

5. Close up HELLBOY, from the torso up. His hand touches his horn and he hangs his head down, his eyes closed.

HELLBOY: Something wickedly hellish has just been born.

6. HELLBOY stands on the back of the demon, both his hands now around the hilt of the two handed sword.

HELLBOY: Looks like I’ve got another job for you.

Hellboy – The Fighting Agents of the T.C.P.S.O. – MK Stangeland Jr.

(Consider the premise here to be part of a Hellboy/Atomic Robo crossover that operates along the same lines as some of the Marvel/DC crossovers that pretended both participants were part of the same universe all along. In it, Hellboy is part of what’s this universes version of both Tesladyne Industries and the BDRP – the Tesladyne Corporation for Paranormal and Scientific Operations.)

(8 Panels)

Panel 1: Briefing room. Already present are ATOMIC ROBO, JENKINS, ABE SAPIEN, LIZ SHERMAN, ARGUELLES, HOSKINS, and SCHAEFER (see the final issue of ATOMIC ROBO and OTHER STRANGENESS for reference on the last three).

Hellboy enters the briefing room. His horns are unshaved, but each of them is being used to hold an extraordinarily large stack of pancakes. The belt he’s wearing has spots to hold both butter and syrup so that he can carry them around and grab them as needed.

ATOMIC ROBO (1): And now that big red it here, we should be…

ATOMIC ROBO (2): …what did you do to your horns?

Panel 2: HELLBOY grabs a pancake off of one of his horns. His other hand is going for the butter he has on his belt.

HELLBOY (1): It’s breakfast. I haven’t eaten yet.

HELLBOY (2): You think I’m going to let good pancakes go to waste?

Panel 3: ATOMIC ROBO puts his hands up in a ‘I’m not even going to bother’ way.

ATOMIC ROBO: Arguelles, could you just start the briefing, please?

Panel 4: Image of a man up on a screen. Aside from looking out of it, he looks perfectly normal, taking a normal, everyday stroll.

ARGUELLES: Here we have a Mr. Jack Phillip. He looks like a perfectly ordinary man.

ARGUELLES: And you’d be right, except that two days ago he was in a coma, then suddenly he got up and left.

ARGUELLES: It’s the third reported case of its type in less than a week.

Panel 5: Similar image of the same man, but with what looks like a filter applied, showing the man being ‘possessed’ by UNDEAD EDISON.

ARGUELLES: When we view him through the right lens, we see the reason why.

Panel 6: Close up on ROBO’s head as he glares.

ATOMIC ROBO: Edison.

Panel 7: HELLBOY, who his putting the remains of a pancake into his mouth.

HELLBOY: Looks the ghost is finally making a move.

ATOMIC ROBO: He’s not a ghost. There is a perfectly logical scientific explanation for whatever it is he is.

Panel 8: Panel of LIZ SHERMAN, who’s toying with a bit of fire as she makes a snarky aside comment.

LIZ SHERMAN: Said the nuclear robot in the same room as the fish mutant and the demon who was literally summoned from the depths of Hell.

(END PAGE)

Hellboy- Watchin' The Tide Roll Away -Dan Hill

I've read the first issue or so of Seed of Destruction and bits and pieces of BPRD. My knowledge of Hellboy comes mostly from the movies and the odd tidbit I've absorbed here and there.


PAGE ONE

1.1
Wide panel: We OPEN on a panoramic shot of Hadrian’s Wall stretching across the English countryside. It’s early afternoon and we can make out two FIGURES sitting on the wall.

Obviously it’s raining.

1 CAPTION Hadrian’s Wall, Cambeck Valley, Cumbria.

2 ABE I do like this country. So much...moisture.

3 HELLBOY Great. Remind me why we’re here again?

1.2
CUT TO a CLOSE UP on the feet of HELLBOY and ABE SAPIEN dangling over the wall as they sit.

4 ABE We’re looking for Camlann because Mordred ,or his descendant, I’m not sure which--

5 HELLBOY You ever get tired of this?

1.3
We CUT to a two shot on the pair, Hellboy in his usual overcoat get up and Abe in his suit/helmet combo.

Hellboy holds EXCALIBUR in his left hand.

6 ABE Pardon?

7 HELLBOY History. Tellin’ us what to do, where to go, who we fight, who lives, who dies. All that crap.

1.4
Hellboy holds Excalibur up slightly, staring at it with something approaching disdain.

8 HELLBOY It’s heavier than it looks.


1.5
Tight on Abe as he turns to his friend.

9 ABE "Life is too bitter already, without territories and wars and noble feuds".

1.6
On Hellboy.

10 HELLBOY Amen.

 11 HELLBOY Lets get this over with.

Hellboy - Once and Future - Ben Rosenthal

1.  Hellboy is walking towards a huge wooden door.  He has a sword in hand and is determined.

CAPTION (Hellboy)

This has gone on long enough.

2.  From inside.  The doors are shattering under the force of Hellboy’s boot as he kicks it down.

CAPTION (Hellboy)

People dyin’ in the streets and they just sit there. 

3.  Hellboy is walking down a long isle.  People stand back as he marches.

CAPTION (Hellboy)

I didn't want to have to pull this, but got no choice now.

4.  The Queen of England sits at her throne.  The sword Hellboy was carrying has been thrown at the Queen’s feet by him.

CAPTION (Hellboy – off panel)

To quote a wise man --

5.  A close up of Hellboy.

HELLBOY

Hail to the King, Baby.

Hellboy - Working Up An Appetite - Grant McLaughlin

The American Midwest.  No particular point in continuity in mind.  Perhaps closer to the beginning of Hellboy's career.

Four rows of panels here.  Row one is long and thin, taking up the width of the page but not much height.  The three other rows each take up a remaining third of the page.  Row two is made up of panels 2 through 4, row three is comprised of panel 5, and panels 6 through 8 round out row four.

1 - Overhead shot from far away.  A giant snake-like monster lies dead at the edge of a small town.  The monster takes up the majority of the panel.  Hellboy, a small red figure at this distance, walks away from the creature.

NO COPY

2 - Move down to ground level.  Hellboy walks away from the dead monster.  He looks pretty beat up - his coat is ripped and he is rather the worse for wear.

NO COPY

3 - Hellboy stops and looks at a diner that is on the side of the road.  The diner also looks the worse for wear.

NO COPY

4 - Close-up of a sign that reads "Please Seat Yourself".  Takes up the entire panel.

NO COPY

5 - Inside the restaurant.  Hellboy has walked past the sign towards the tables, grabbing a menu as he goes.  The people within the restaurant are still recovering from what has just transpired.  Some stare out the windows.  Some stare at Hellboy.  The important thing here is that no one is really thinking about restaurants or food.

HELLBOY: Okay.

6 - Hellboy sits at a table, looking at his menu.

NO COPY

7 - Hellboy has put down the menu and looks expectantly for a server.

NO COPY

8 - Repeat panel.

HELLBOY: I hope they're still serving pancakes.

Why Hellboy?

Why Hellboy?

I could list off dozens of reasons.  Hundreds.

I could talk about Mike Mignola's brilliant writing, his gorgeous art, or his phenomenal world building.

I could go into Hellboy's intricate and detailed history, his unique personality, or even just how badass he looks with his trench coat and giant stone right hand.

I could rattle on about the character's roots in classic pulp, horror, folklore, and any number of other genres and styles.

I could go on about all of this and much, much more, but you probably know a lot of this already.  So instead, I'll tell you about what Hellboy means to me.  I only really got into comics in a big way in university.  I don't know if I was trying to make up for lost time, but I gobbled up anything and everything I could get my hands on.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, a heck of a lot of this ended up being superhero books.

Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against superheroes.  They're still a pretty substantial part of my weekly pull.  But they're only a small part of the much larger comic book whole, you know?

Hellboy is the comic that taught me that.  Cracking open Seed of Destruction for the first time turned me onto all sorts of possibilities in comics that I simply hadn't considered beforehand.  It was different.  It was challenging.  Most of all, it was amazing.

I think it's safe to say that Hellboy is a lot of things to a lot of people.  Let's take this opportunity to explore some of those.

Dan Hill's "The Unknown Soldier" - سخمت* - by Ray Wonsowski

*Sekhmet:  In ancient Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet was the lion-headed goddess of war, fire, and vengeance.

Panel 1 - Exterior shot, an Egyptian bazaar (photo ref: http://thegoatslunchpail.blogspot.com/2011/02/photo-finish-friday-in-souk.html ).  In front of one stall is a dusty barber's pole.  Next to it, a barber gives a man a shave to another man in an old barber's chair.  The customer is reclined back, and the barber uses a straight razor.  Above, jumping across the alleyway from roof to roof is the feminine silhouette of the new UNKNOWN SOLDIER, her long straight hair whipping behind her.

CAPTION:  Aswan, Egypt.  Today.

CAPTION:  In 2007, the Al-Azhar Supreme Council declared that "the cutting of the rose" had no basis in Islamic law, and the Egyptian government banned the practice soon after.


Panel 2 - Interior, a non-descript room.  The panel should be in the shape of an open doorway, with curtains blowing across it.  Through the curtains we see a girl of about 9 years old in another barber's chair.  However, her "hijab" is coming loose from her head, and her face is contorted with fear.  On either side of the chair, two large Egyptian men hold her ankles, spreading her legs apart.  An older man, his head wrapped in a scarf and dressed in a black robe, blocks our view.  He is sitting on a wooden piano stool, staring into the skirt of the young girl, and he is flashing a scalpel.  A bloody, dirty sink is mounted on the wall behind the girl.  Foreground, the silhouetted head and shoulders of our SOLDIER.

CAPTION:  Some of the fundamental extremists, however, did not get the memo...


Panels 3, 4, and 5 are in one row.

Panel 3 and 4 - Both show the shocked/surprised face of one or the other of the large men that were holding the girl's ankles.  They also both have a throwing knife right between their eyes.

Panel 5 - The older man in the head scarf, now revealed to have a greying beard, has been hit across the face by a blur of motion.  The scapel flies from his hand.

Caption runs beneath captions 3, 4, and 5.

CAPTION:  The back-room operators don't wash instruments.  They reuse syringe spikes.  Girls get AIDS before their first kiss.  Unclean whether mutilated or not, a double damnation.


Panel 6 - The girl looking off-panel past us.  She is getting off the chair and straightening her hijab.  She is still afraid.

SOLDIER:  (off-panel)  Run, child.  Do not turn around.


Panel 7 - Our heroine, the UNKNOWN SOLDIER, her face bandaged tightly, accenting her anger, her dark hair a streak of motion behind her, drives her fist into the crotch of the bearded man.  She is wearing a white blouse and loose flowing linen pants.  Combat boots on her feet.  The bearded man loses his wind with puffed cheeks, and is crying.  An inset panel reveals in close-up her fist pulling away from his crotch, her hand bloody, clutching the handle of the bloody scalpel as she pulls it out of him.

SOLDIER:  العذارى سبعين ليس لها استخدام لالخصي.

CAPTION:  I am the archangel of children, sent by the Prophet...

CAPTION:  ...in sha Allah.


(BIG tip of the hat to Dan Hill for his post this week.  A middle-eastern woman Unknown Soldier was TOO good to pass up.  Thank you, Mr. Hill!)

Unknown Soldier - Out of the Blue, Into The Black - Niel Jacoby

Panel 1: The Unknown Soldier stands in the bombing bay of the Enola Gay, staring at the atomic bomb dubbed "Little Boy".

Caption: HIROSHIMA, JAPAN, AUGUST 6, 1945

Caption(Unknown Soldier): THEY SAY IT'S BETTER TO BURN OUT THAN TO FADE AWAY.

Panel 2: The Unknown Soldier shoots refugees with the 2nd Battalion, US Cavalry Regiment at the No Gun Ri railroad bridge near Seoul.

Caption: NO GUN RI, SOUTH KOREA, JULY 27, 1950

Caption(Unknown Soldier): YOU COULD ARGUE THAT A GHOST, AN UNSEEN PRESENCE LIKE MYSELF IS AS FADED AS A MAN CAN GET.

Panel 3: We see a helicopter spraying Agent Orange in Vietnam. Maybe put in an inset showing that the Unknown Soldier is the pilot, maybe not.

Caption(Unknown Soldier): AND I'VE DONE A HELL OF A LOT OF BURNING IN MY TIME.

Panel 4: We see the Unknown Soldier driving an Abrams tank in Afghanistan. The ghost of Colonel J.E.B. Stuart floats next to him. The Unknown Soldier is much older now. We can see G.I. Robot also manning the tank.

CAPTION(Unknown Soldier): NOW THEY'VE GOT ME STUCK WITH THIS COLLECTION OF FREAKS, AND I CAN HONESTLY SAY I'VE NEVER BEEN MORE GLAD TO BE DYING.

CAPTION(Unknown Solder): YES, I'VE GOT ONE YEAR TO LIVE, AND IF I CAN USE THAT YEAR TO DO THE ONLY THING I'VE EVER KNOWN HOW TO DO IN WHAT HAS TO BE THE STRANGEST MISSION THE UNITED STATES MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX EVER COOKED UP, THEN THIS CANCER MAY WELL BE THE GREATEST GIFT I'VE EVER GOTTEN.

Unknown Soldier - Challenges - J.D. Coughlan

Panel 1: The Unknown Soldier (classic WW2 version) sits at a table with a small light above illuminating him. He seems worried.

UNKNOWN: This... This all seems like something out of a fantasy novel...

Panel 2: Closer on the Soldier. He gestures, indicating something large, but stares off into the distance.

UNKNOWN: It was just supposed to be a routine espionage mission...

UNKNOWN: But when I got into the Nazi base, I saw this... machine.

Panel 3: Again, the Soldier looks off into the distance. His shoulders are shrugged, making him look defeated.

UNKNOWN: They talked about how they were losing the war, how this machine would extend the Third Reich...

UNKNOWN: As they activated it and stepped inside... what else could I do but follow them... Stop them...

Panel 4: The Soldier looks up at someone off-panel.

UNKNOWN: And now I'm here, in this strange place, with no idea what happened to those Nazi officers.

PROF. HALEY (O.P.): Don't worry, soldier...

Panel 5: Wide panel, showing who the Soldier is looking at: The Challengers of the Unknown. They stand proudly, with Prof. Haley prominent, smoking his obligatory scientist pipe.

PROF. HALEY: We have some experience... with the unknown.

END OF PAGE

Unknown Soldier – Juliet & John – Shaun Richens.

PAGE NINE – 3 PANELS.

Layout.

111

222

333

333

1. Ext. Mid shot of the UNKNOWN SOLDIER, he sits, back against a thick tree. His eyes closed, head looking down at the floor, his palms resting against his temples

It’s the break of dawn and the sun is just rising. A yellow hue shimmers over the panel.

        CAPTION:

        672 Hours since Doctor Parker’s horrific discovery.

        CAPTION UNKNOWN SOLDIER:

For freedom, against terror. These are the causes men and women are given to fight.

2. Ext. Full shot of the UNKNOWN SOLDIER as he gets to his feet. One hand pressed against the tree.

The sun rises higher and the panel shifts into an orange hue.

        CAPTION UNKNOWN SOLDIER:

It’s all just politics though. Greed, hunger for more. These are the true ways of war.

3. Ext. We pull way back. The UNKNOWN SOLDIER stands alone in CENTRAL PARK NEW YORK CITY. The skyline of the city dominates the panel. Buildings burn all around, and smoke pours into the sky.

Military helicopters dot the skies; they are flying around like lost children.

The sun crests the horizon casting the panel into a hellish shade of red.

CAPTION UNKNOWN SOLDIER:

This time we just hunger to survivor. To out live what our greed has unleashed.

CAPTION UNKNOWN SOLDIER:

We fight so that we are not forgotten.

Unknown Soldier – Mirror War – MK Stangeland Jr.

The UNKNOWN SOLDIER is battling a man dressed just like him, bandages and all – the UNKNOWN IMPOSTER. For simplicities sake, the two will simply be referred to as ‘SOLDIER’ and ‘IMPOSTER’ during this script.

(8 Panels)

Panel 1: Setting: An industrial park. SOLDIER and IMPOSTER run in opposite directions as they simultaneously shoot at each other and try to move to cover as the back-side of an explosion continues to erupt in the background.

SFX: Bam bam bam bam bam!

SFX: toom-toom-toom-toom-toom!

RADIO VOICE: Lost targets, lost target. I repeat, lost targets.

Panel 2: A command center. AMANDA WALLER is edging a operator slightly to the side as she tries to speak directly to the other people at the industrial sight alongside SOLDIER.

WALLER: Get them back! I do not want us loosing track of the real one!

Panel 3: A video/computer screen image shows SOLDIER hiding behind a stack of crates. He’s fiddling with a small electronic device.

RADIO VOICE: We have visual on the Soldier.

Panel 4: Close-up on the face of AMANDA WALLER as she ponders out-loud.

AMANDA WALLER: What is he…

Panel 5: The screen from panel 3 goes to static.

RADIO VOICE: Scratch that, we’ve lost all video feed.

Panel 6: WALLER slams her fist down on a control panel in anger.

AMANDA WALLER: [Word Blacked Out]!!!

Panel 7: As people rush about trying to fix the problem one operator turns to look at WALLER.

OPERATOR: What’s he doing!?

WALLER: He’s making this fight personal.

Panel 8: Close-up on AMANDA WALLER’s glaring eyes.

WALLER: He wants to settle this fight between just the two of them.

END PAGE

Unknown Soldier - Aside - Grant McLaughlin

Panel 1 takes up most of the page.  Panels 2 and 3 are split equally along the bottom.

1 - An astronaut stands on the moon looking towards the Earth, his back to the reader.  This panel should be majestic as all get out.

CAPTION (UNKNOWN SOLDIER): It's gorgeous.

2 - Switch to a shot of the astronaut's helmet.  Through the visor, you can see it's the Unknown Soldier.  He wears a tired look on his face.

CAPTION (UNKNOWN SOLDIER): Too bad they didn't send me here to take in the sights.

3 - While the previous panel focused on the Unknown Soldier's face, this one is looking towards his chest / upper-body.  He has a space gun hanging in front of him from some straps around his neck.  He's moved his hands to grip it.

CAPTION (UNKNOWN SOLDIER): Better get to work.

Unknown Soldier - Hailing From - Ben Rosenthal

Two things - yes I did write this to take place in the SCW universe and yes it will be drawn up as an actual SCW strip down the line.  Hey, I have deadlines and need to multi task!

1.  The SCW Ring Announcer is standing in the ring.  Alongside him is a man in a soldier’s uniform, but with a black, emotionless mask over his face.  Reilly and Murdoch are in the commentary box in the bottom right of the panel (separate panel as always).  Reilly looks pleased with himself while Murdoch looks to be questioning.

RING ANNOUNCER

Introducing, and standing to my right--

MURDOCH

Kind of a cheesy uniform you chose for him Reilly.

2.  The Solider is saluting as the Ring Announcer reads off his stats.  In the commentator’s box Murdoch is appalled at the lack of imagination Reilly has used.

RING ANNOUNCER

Standing at an unknown height and hailing from places unknown, he is—

MURDOCH

How can he have an unknown height?  He’s standing right next to him? 

This character could not get any worse.

3.  The Soldier is completing his salute while the Ring Announcer finishes calling his name.  In the commentator’s box Reilly is looking pleased with himself.  Murdoch has slammed his head on the desk.  Hard. 

RING ANNOUNCER

THE UNKNOWN SOLIDER!

Unknown Soldier -Blank Canvas -Dan Hill

PAGE TWENTY TWO

22.1
OPEN on a woman’s HAND as it pulls a light cord.

1 CAPTION Thousands took to the street to protest.

22.2
CUT TO a CLOSE UP on the bare light bulb hanging from the bathroom ceiling as it flickers into life.

2 CAPTION A cacophony of voices against brutality and corruption.

22.3
Wide panel: CUT TO a shot of YOUNG WOMAN in her early to mid 20’s peering into the mirror inside a cramped bathroom. She’s middle eastern in appearance with shoulder length dark hair and green eyes. Savage bruises and cuts dot her face. Her vintage grey t-shirt and jeans are speckled with blood.

A first aid kit lies open on the worktop by the sink beneath the mirror.

3 CAPTION Why was mine singled out?

22.4
CLOSE UP on the woman’s hand as she reaches for the bandages inside the first aid kit.

4 CAPTION This is not defeat.

5 CAPTION I am not hiding.

22.5
CUT TO a tight shot on the back of the woman’s head as she begins to wrap the bandages around her head and face.

6 CAPTION I will be the blank canvas for the disenfranchised and oppressed.

22.6
Wide panel: CUT TO a shot focusing on the mirror of the bathroom. In its reflection we can see the young woman leaving the room, her back to us. She is partly hidden by shadow but we can see that the bandages now cover her entire head.

7 CAPTION I will be their masterpiece.

Why Unknown Soldier?

Unknown Soldier, like the other famous DC military character, was created by Joe Kubert and Robert Kanigher in 1966. The character appeared in a Sgt. Rock story (Our Army At War #168) before getting his own title several years later which ran into the early 80’s. This original iteration of the character was an intelligence operative during World War 2.  Hideously scarred and disfigured his head was swathed in bandages, giving him his iconic look. 

The second series involving the character painted him in a very different light, positing that the character was immortal and a fervent believer in the actions of the good old USA. To some, this was a misstep with the original series playing much more with moral ambiguity and imbuing the character with a cynicism borne of endless conflict and facing down death.

From here Garth Ennis took a shot at the character showcasing the characters post war activities as well as his search for a successor. 

But the real reason ‘Why’ I chose the Unknown Soldier as this weeks pick is Joshua Dysart’s interpretation of the character for Vertigo in 2008. Here the action moved to war torn Uganda and centred around the very real conflict involving the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency which took place in 2002. This version of the character begins his journey as the antithesis of a soldier— Doctor Moses Lwanga. Moses and his wife Sera work together in Uganda and offer their services to the Acholi, a people who've been displaced by the current conflict. 

It’s this dichotomy that makes Dysart’s run one of my all time favourites. Moses is a man who has seen the worst that war has to offer— child soldiers, death, maiming, torture, refugees, starvation and corruption. He chooses to help those affected by the war, but in the grand scheme of things begins to wonder whether any of it truly makes an impact. Plagued by violent visions and dreams we begin to see a repressed dark undercurrent of aggression emerge in Moses that only gets worse as the series goes on. Dysart's series not only deals with the war inflicted upon a country but also the war for Mose's soul. 

In this way Moses is reflective of Africa itself-- a land of fascinating culture and beauty but one convulsing with the throes of violence and corruption beneath the surface. 

In the end it costs Moses. I won’t say any more than that. With the series Dysart seems to be making the argument that to truly fight those who would wage war a man has to put aside his humanity, morality and any semblance of self.  Whether physically or mentally, war claims all of its participants in the end. 

Whatever iteration of the character you choose, he offers a fascinating prism through which to view the nature and effects of war.

Get to it! 

The Superior Spider-Man - The Best Man Won - R.A. Wonsowski

(Had a little trouble this week.  Just got caught up on the "big switch".  Side note:  I really like this new direction; I just wish I knew what to do with it...ah well, happens to the best of us...)

Layout:  Page is split in half.  Top panel has a circular inset panel in the upper left corner. Caption runs in the space between the two great panels (#2 and #3).

Panel 1 (inset):  We are looking through one eyepiece of a microscope.  In the center, we see what looks like how Walt Disney wrote the letter "Y":

Surrounding the "Y" are very tiny prism-like boxes suspended in opaque reddish-pink fluid.  The ones closest to the "Y" seem to break apart, like the sides falling away from each other.


Panel 2:  Foreground:  "Peter Parker", lab goggles resting on his forehead, peers through the microscope with one eye.  He is grinning smugly with self-satisfaction.  Behind him, his boss at Horizon Labs, MAX MODELL reads a thick report, his face in shock and admiration.  The lab is dark, but is lit so we can see "Peter" and MAX.  In a rear corner in the background, operating theatre lights shine on an open macaque monkey corpse.

MAX:  A retrovirus that seeks and destroys both Ebola strains, and Marburg...My GOD, Parker, you'll get the Nobel for this...


Panel 3:  On the roof of Trump World Tower, we see BLACK CAT, reclining on her side, on a picnic blanket.  There is an open picnic basket, a small tray of cheeses, two empty wine glasses positioned on the blanket, but we have a full view of her long body.  She has an old, dark wine bottle in each hand, and she is smirking seductively at us.  Behind her are the lights of New York City on a moonlit night.

BLACK CAT:  I wasn't sure which would go better, the '45 Mouton-Rothschild or the '45 Romanée Conti...


CAPTION (Spider-Ock, between panels 2 & 3):  All this potential...wasted on that pathetic Peter Parker...how could he have been such a colossal fool?

Superior Spider-Man - Joyride - Niel Jacoby

1122
3356

Panel 1: Spider-Ock stands outside in the wintry streets of New York City, taking a deep breath of the cold afternoon air.

SFX: SNNNNNFF

Caption(SP-OCK): I'VE GOT A NEW, YOUNG BODY WITH A NICE SET OF SPIDER-POWERS.

Inset Panel: Sp-Ock looking down at the web-slingers on his wrists.

Caption(SP-OCK): IT'S HIGH TIME FOR A LITTLE JOYRIDE.

Panel 2: Sp-Ock swinging through the city in Spider-Man's costume.

Sp-Ock: WOO-HOOO!

Panel 3: Sp-Ock moonwalking upside-down on the ceiling of Peter's apartment.

Sp-Ock: WOO-HOOO!

Panel 4: Felecia Hardy has just gotten back to her apartment after a long day of burgling. We can see Sp-Ock in the window.

Sp-Ock: WOO-HOOO!

Panel 5:Felecia turns to the window, startled and angered, as Sp-Ock quickly pulls himself up on his web-line.

SFX: ZZ-ZZRP!

The Superior Spider-Man in "Too Many Body-Swaps!" - J.D. Coughlan

In the style of the Silver Age.

Panel 1: Full-page spread. An evil villain lair. Assembled are, our hero-villain, SSM, of course, as well as (in appearance, at least) Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and Hawkeye. For simplicity's sake, each character will be referred to by who they look like. Thor is admiring his body, Captain America flamboyantly gestures, Iron Man stands with fists on hips, Spider-Man clutches his head in annoyance, and Hawkeye raises a finger, as if to ask a question.

THOR: I must say, Dr. Octopus, you may finally have had a good idea! Taking control of my brother's body -- why didn't I think of it first?

CPT. AMERICA: Bah! I, the Red Skull, have been possessing the bodies of others for decades, Loki! 'Tis a mere trifle to me!

IRON MAN: Doom concurs; this is but a trivial advantage. What are we supposed to accomplish now?

SPIDER-MAN: No, no, no, no, no! You're all ruining my fun!

HAWKEYE: Um, I actually am Hawkeye, so...

END OF PAGE

Superior Spider-Man - Juliet & John – Shaun Richens.

PAGE EIGHT – 5 PANELS.

Layout

111

222

345

Dr Parker will be the name used for the Doc Ock in Peter Parkers body character.

Ghost Peter will be the name for the apparition of Peter Parker.

1. INT. Secret Underground Base of shieldwatch. We are a few floors lower down than the confrontation now taking place between LADY Lightning and JOHN STRANGE.

We are in the lab of DR PARKER. One of SHIELDWATCH’s leading scientists. Juliet’s DROP POD is suspended from the labs ceiling by lines of DR PARKER’s webbing. The dark green fungus spores seen on the underside of the POD in PAGE ONE have grown and spread and now cover a quarter of it.

         NO COPY.

2. DR PARKER is at his workstation underneath the hanging POD. He looks just like Peter Parker, however he wears DOC OCK’s goggles and a set of DOC OCK’s four robotic arms. Each one of the robotic arms holds a strange piece of scientific equipment. In DR PARKER’s actual hands he holds a small petri dish with a sample of the GREEN SPORE in it and in the other, a pipette half filled with a dark red liquid.

GHOST PETER stands to his side a puzzled look on his face.

         GHOST PETER:

Are we back in grade school? You have all this fancy equipment and you’re using a pipette and petri dish.

         DR PARKER:

You were always a lazy fool Peter. Science isn’t about the tools, but the results.

         (Link)

         DR PARKER:

         I am living proof of that boy.

3. Close up on DR PARKER’s hands as he squeezes the tip of the pipette sending a small droplet of the red liquid down towards the petri dish.

         DR PARKR:

         If this has the results I fear it might…

4. The red droplet splashes into the green spore in the petri dish.

         NO COPY.

5. The green spore engulfs the red liquid. The spore bubbles and grows out of the petri dish.

         DR PARKER:

         … You’ll be glad to be dead.

The Superior Spider-Man – Superior Spider-Man 2.0 – MK Stangeland Jr.

(‘Spock’ has – with a touch of help from some acquired Ultron-based technology and designs – build a new version of the Iron Spider back harness with its three ‘waldos’ and incorporated it into his red and blue costume.)

(6 Panels)

Panel 1: SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN – ‘SPOCK’ – is swinging through New York as HUMAN TORCH – JOHNNY STORM – flies nearby.

HUMAN TORCH: So what’s the deal, Spidey? I thought you were done with extra arms.

‘SPOCK’: If you’re referring to the machination that Stark built for me, it was ditched out of necessity.

Panel 2: More swinging and flying.

‘SPOCK’ (1): But it would be foolish to disregard the concept and never re-consider it.

‘SPOCK’ (2): Consider the vast utility of a few extra limbs.

Panel 3: Still more swinging and flying.

‘SPOCK’: I simply needed time to design my own alternative and…

Panel 4: More of ‘SPOCK’s swinging. Panel should be laid out as though it were a thought balloon where the next words that ‘SPOCK’ might potentially say are run through his head first – basically him thinking before he speaks.

‘SPOCK’: (Inside thought balloon) …and to improve on Stark’s obviously inferior arm design.

Panel 5: Small panel focusing around ‘SPOCK’s eyes as he thinks that maybe he shouldn’t say the words in PANEL 4 out-loud.

‘SPOCK’: (Thought Balloon) Perhaps I should re-phrase that.

Panel 6: Back to more swinging and flying.

‘SPOCK’: …to, well, fix the obvious problems.

(END PAGE)

Superior Spider-Man -I am the resurrection -Dan Hill

PAGE TWENTY TWO

22.1
We OPEN on SPIDER-MAN in an alleyway, his costume in tatters, part of his face exposed (though not enough to give away his identity) as he scuttles backwards on his hands. He’s scared of whoever’s approaching.

Rain pelts down from the overcast sky like slivers of glass.

1 VOICE(OFF) You do not fight like him.

2 VOICE(OFF) And you reek of death and disease.

22.2
Still at floor level where Spider-Man can scuttle backwards no more, his back against the wall. Sure, he could climb out of here. But he’s beaten, exhausted and has nothing left in the tank. Spidey is in the background of the panel. In the foreground of the panel is a BROWN LEATHER BOOT belonging to whichever assailant has bested Spidey.

2 VOICE Octopus Vulgaris. No shell. No skeleton.

3 VOICE For protection they must hide in the smallest crevices.

22.3
ZOOM IN on Spider-Man as he wipes away the blood pooling above his eye.

4 VOICE(OFF) Making it all but impossible for predators to hunt them.

22.4
Extreme close up on Spider-Man, his visible eye wide with shock.

5 VOICE(OFF) You aren’t the first to play at being the spider, Otto.

22.5
CUT TO a shot looking up at KRAVEN as he stands over Spider-Man. He’s wearing his traditional costume.

6 KRAVEN And you aren’t the first to cheat death.

7 KRAVEN Now get up and fight.

Superior Spider-Man - Misfiring - Grant McLaughlin

I'm sorry about this.  I had no choice.

For scripting simplicity, Superior Spider-Man / Spider-Man / Otto Octavius all refer to Doc Ock's current existence within Peter Parker's body.  Ghost Peter refers to the ghost-like echo of Peter's subconsciousness (or whatever that thing is).

1 - Superior Spider-Man and Mysterio are facing off.  Spider-Man points at Mysterio meaningfully.  Mysterio looks confused.  Ghost Peter is off to the side looking embarrassed.

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN: I don't take advice from people who wear aquariums on their heads.

GHOST PETER: Fish bowls, Otto!

2 - Superior Spider-Man and the Scorpion have been fighting in a construction area.  Spider-Man has defeated Scorpion by pinning him under a whole bunch of construction related objects.  Scorpion looks battered and bruised.  Ghost Peter is off to the side looking upset.

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN: I bet that hurts quite a bit.

GHOST PETER: Stings!  It stings!

3 - Superior Spider-Man and Electro are fighting on top of a building.  Superior Spider-Man has made himself those web boxing gloves to better punch Electro without being electrocuted.  Both look weary from the fight, but Electro is clearly the worse for wear.  Ghost Peter off to the side being apoplectic.

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN: This may come as a surprise, but I am going to plug the pull on this fight.

GHOST PETER: Come on, I did this one, like, two weeks ago!

4 - Superior Spider-Man and Jack O'Lantern are fighting in Times Square.  Jack is flying above the busy streets on his flyer thing.  Spider-Man has wrapped Jack's head in webbing so he can't see.  Ghost Peter is swinging alongside looking disappointed.

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN: It's clear that you must be quite fond of that computer trivia game whose title includes your first name.  Because you are aware of very little!

GHOST PETER: That's how you do You Don't Know Jack?  Seriously?

5 - Superior Spider-Man and Chameleon have been fighting.  However, the battle is already over, as Chameleon lies unconscious at Spider-Man's feet.  Spider-Man stands behind him, triumphant.  Ghost Peter is off to the side, facepalmimg because he is so disappointed with what's going on.

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN (1): Didn't see me behind you?  Where's your full 360-degree arc of vision now, Chameleon?

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN (2): ...like the reptile whose name you share!

GHOST PETER: Ugh, I don't even know what that was supposed to be.

6 - Back in Otto / Peter's apartment.  Otto / Peter has his mask off and is studiously looking through Peter's Pun Journal.  There are bags under his eyes; he's clearly been working at this quite hard.  Ghost Peter stands behind the couch Otto sits on, looking smug.

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN (1): Parker always made it look so easy...

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN (2): How did he ever manage to keep track of so much inane wordplay?

GHOST PETER: It's because I care about the pundamentals!