A prime example of such a thing is in the 4th Doctor story The Brain of Morbius, where the Doctor and another Time Lord named Morbius battle each other mentally using a contraption between them. Appearing in this contraption are several faces, which fans have long pointed to as former faces of Morbius and surmised that others must be pre-William Hartnell Doctors.

The fan that seemed to have latched onto this the hardest was Chris Chibnall, a man who would eventually become showrunner for his favorite sci fi show Doctor Who. What better way to tie up his pet peeve than to write a reason this episode had unrecognizable faces?

Another example of such a thing is the 5th Doctor story Arc of Infinity, where the Doctor ends up on Gallifrey and has a back and forth with a Commander Maxil. This interaction isn’t really the important part but Maxil was played by Colin Baker, who would go on to be cast as the 6th Doctor (Peter Davison’s replacement) and debut in his first story Twin Dilemma.

Fans at the time may have noticed that an actor from the show had been cast as the Doctor but no one really made a big deal out of it. One person did apparently think this was a big deal and NEEDED it to be a huge deal: Stephen Moffat.

Moffat was a fan who latched onto this hiccup and decided his obsession needed to be everyone’s obsession.

Russell T Davies became the showrunner of Doctor Who from 2005 to 2010 and selected two different individuals as the Doctor in that time. He was a fan of the show growing up and turned the show more towards character drama, over the top resolutions that didn’t make a ton of sense, overly explained dialogue, and lack of a long term structure.

Rather than spending most of the time he had on the show creating a new age, with new villains to rival the old, serialized storytelling (with less episodes per serial), and really bring the show from the classic era into a new one. (Side note: by serialized, I mean 2 episode arcs, an homage to the classic series, then slowly phased out.) Instead, we got a spotlight on reintroduced classic villains, melodrama to the limit, a frequent deus ex machina resolution, and allusions to the greatest story ever doomed to happen offscreen.

Another World Chess Championship had rolled around and I again began thinking about the correct way to turn chess into a proper spectacle. With more time between the last attempt and this one, I had seen plenty of Texas Hold ‘Em Poker on TV and I had a better comparison than pro wrestling.

Poker was the perfect analog for chess because I could literally point to the cards, tell you to remove them and replace them with chess, and say “why can’t we do that?” I was a little alarmed at the lack of enthusiasm from this idea, not even just a silence about wanting to see anything like this, but silence as feedback. I asked a wider audience and I got a smaller return in response than the pro wrestling callout.

My failure on this one wasn’t that poker on TV wasn’t a good example, the failure was in my lack of asking about a specific speed control of chess.

An idea struck me when I had a Chess.com paid membership and I was running a lot of tournaments: I love sumo and I love chess, why not try to run chess like sumo (organize it like sumo)?

I ran a tournament called Chess Basho with an explanation of what the tournament was about, what it meant to participate, and how we could collectively build it up if we worked on it.

No one single player other than myself played in every tournament. Only three other players came back for between three and five tournaments. I never won any of the tournaments. No banzuke (official ranking) ever was produced because of the randomness of the players.

This concept was without a “play up the personalities” aspect but really needed a set group of people willing to belong. I didn’t have that.

SELECTION #1: Ursa of Krypton

Not Zod, Ursa. She’s got her own motivations, she’s Kryptonian, and she’s super tough to handle on Earth, making her one bad ass to deal with for our heroes.

This introduces our alien element and the possibilities of other Kryptonians existing within this new universe, as well as the possibilities of other species out there in the universe. Ursa was the one I went with because I wanted to avoid such a male dominated field, of which this is definitely going to be, and she is going to be one of the toughest, if not THE toughest of the group.

Ursa brings a detached evil, cold and calculating, without remorse and clear goals set before her. Is she coming to Earth to get revenge for something or is she just here to try and conquer the place? This is where our first supervillain gets interesting because we can really open things cup right out of the gate with a powerful being that few of our heroes can contend with in a one on one battle.

Depending on which version of Ursa, she can be used to embody the essence of Zodiac rather than just be his complete replacement in this universe.

SELECTION #2: The Plutonian

Forget the heroics and the attempted being of good, this Plutonian will be the “Brightburn” or villain from the start. As a Homelander-esq mentality but having no heroic facade in this universe, the Plutonian will be a sadistic creep and may be more than our heroes can handle when it comes to stopping the unstoppable.

The Plutonian brings to the table our “nurture vs nature” debate, where we can swing an altered origin for this universe to be a poor bringing up of abuse and neglect leading into what will become a horrible personality instability once he gains superpowers. What’s worse than someone who has vast powers and a problems with authority figures?

He’s going to be so mentally unstable that he’ll likely have issues with other supervillains, even if he has agreed to work with any of them for any length of time. Having superpowers is going to lead to the Plutonian having some sort of power trip and pushing his weight around like he’s Darth Vader making new deals every 5 minutes in Empire Strikes Back.

SELECTION #3: Magneto

Three powerhouses right out of the gate, Magneto adds the mutant flavor to the major villains and also adds a new ultimate force to the villain side of the equation. Not gifted with super strength, speed, or flight, Magneto brings an elemental force of nature to bear against everyone who will be dealing with him.

When dealing with someone like Magneto we discover who has metal on them and who is susceptible to being taken down by metal objects in a fight. With control of such magnetism, Magneto presents opportunities against heroes he’s never faced off against in this universe.

Magneto will be more closely related to Cyber Force in this universe and may have some cybernetic connections rather than just mutant connections. This adds a new twist to his personal mission and would also be an interesting twist in whether he would be a deep state government operative or if he is well and truly operating on a villainous front, since his Marvel motivations were the same as Professor X’s in Marvel, he just saw a different means of achieving those goals.

SELECTION #4: The Maker

Bring on the Maker, the evil Reed Richards who became what is easily the greatest villain of the 21st century so far.

The Maker creates things, he “makes,” and that would be this universe’s primary source of weird and bizarre creations that would be our small time threats. They could also be bigger than small time threats, like one time threats or perhaps even iconic nemeses that might emerge down the line.

The best part about the Maker is that the door is wide open with this threat. He would like be in a pocket dimension most of the time, meaning he’s out of the way when other threats are about but pops in when he wants to run a simulation or a test with one of his creations.

Having the Maker in this universe provides us with the “smartest person in existence” threat that can be more than strength or superpowers. He’s more than a Lex Luthor or Norman Osborn and he’s definitely a threat to every hero on my list.

SELECTION #5: Giganta

An unconventional selection but one that adds a twist. Using science rather than magic as the source of her growth, she’s being brought in as a sort of “Hank Pym” villain, the source of growth science while also being an evil personality about it.

Having another woman on the villains list, and converting her to be a top scientist, adds another weapon against the heroes that we wouldn’t get with the others.

Her size provides strength and super human abilities and with her being a scientist in this universe, she will be a double threat to be able to contend with heroes on multiple different layers.

SELECTION #6: Ozymandias

Not a cartoon supervillain, he’s not going to tell you his plan until it is impossible for you to stop it, Ozymandias is absolutely the best possible villain one could want in this new universe. He’s got the smarts of someone who can think with the best of them, he’s got the skills to fight with the heroes that think they can overpower anyone, and he’s got the ability to out maneuver those who aren’t sure how to approach him.

Ozymandias also brings another angle to the universe we are missing: a non-super powered being as a villain. His fighting skills are highly honed and very precise but they aren’t super human. His mind is highly developed and considered to be among the smartest in the world… but not super human.

From the Watchmen, Ozymandias worked from within the system as a hero to create his masterful villain turn but in our universe he is a hidden villain only in the fact that he keeps a public persona different from his Ozymandias persona. Think Lex Luthor but different.

SELECTION #7: Ultron

With the cybernetics of the Cyber Force, the technological angles of the Iron Man and Batman, Ultron is a perfect “machine intelligence” arising from experimentation gone wrong in this universe.

Unlike the actual origins of Ultron in the comics, I would begin with Ultron 1 and the slow building of this villain from the very beginning. This would be a slow burn build up to someone realizing over a long time that they’ve made a huge mistake and then releasing Ultron onto the unsuspecting world in a big way.

Ultron wouldn’t iterate as quickly as he did in Avengers Age of Ultron, that was more of an homage to the iterating done in the comics. He popped up with a backstory in the comics with his first iteration being something like Ultron 9 and having been created already but this universe will see his actual origin and the repercussions of creating machine intelligence with cybernetics attached to that.

He may be the most sinister of my villains because he can be seen from the very start.

SELECTION #8: Doctor Doom

A magical powerhouse, a technological powerhouse, and a mastermind of diabolical thinking, Doctor Doom is a man to be watched when it comes to villainy. As the ruler of Latveria (a fictional nation I would keep), he stands as a foil for all my heroes that would be truly interesting to defeat as he is not only a supervillain but also the sovereign ruler of a foreign nation.

Doctor Doom ties in a lot of loose ends as far as drawing together heroes from my list. Shazam has the magic, Iron Man and Batman would have the tech, Cyber Force have a mutant angle but they deal in cybernetics, and the Crow would fall into the mystical… everything that Doctor Doom is into as far as lore and business.

No universe would be complete without a solid heavy hitter and while some would claim a Darkseid or Thanos would need to be that heavy hitter, Doctor Doom fulfills that role without sacrificing the character to a “one track mind” (looking for Infinity Gems or the Anti-Life Equation).

Doctor Doom keeps his fingers in a lot of different pots.

SELECTION #9: Black Adam

My only direct nemesis chosen is that of Shazam’s Black Adam. I wanted to include the direct opposite of the lynchpin of my new universe in this one as having someone else who has the same powers as one of our heroes.

Like Doctor Doom, Black Adam is the ruler of a sovereign nation (Kahndaq) and I would again keep this nation to build upon. This adds a layer of complication to just a straight up “go get him and throw him in jail” reaction to conflict with Black Adam.

Black Adam could also be ancient enough to know more about what the other wizards from the Rock of Eternity were powered by (see part 1 for more on that). His presence in this new universe also opens up some epic conflicts that would see some great battles: vs Shazam, vs Iron Man, vs Hulk just to name a few.

SELECTION #10: Toyo Harada

From Valiant Entertainment’s comics universe comes the dangerously overpowered Toyo Harada. He’s a business man, deep ties to the government, and he’s a psiot (giving me access to psiots as an option for superpower individuals as well).

Toyo Harada is the primary antagonist for the Harbingers in Valiant’s universe and his powers are numerous. He’s got telepathy, mind control, precognition, psionic bolts, telepathic invisibility, telekinesis, force-fields, flight, illusionist, and he’s got eidetic memory. That is a lot of anyone but for a villain who wishes to unlock other psiots to serve in his private army, that’s alarming. Just like in the Valiant universe, Harada will have the limitation of a low conversion rate, meaning that he kills more people he tries to convert than he actually converts. Psiots are turned if they have the potential to become psiots unlike other forms of superpowers and in Valiant he has an opposite with ways to convert at 100%. Will this universe have that, too?

Including Toyo Harada will be the most important pick because with all of the power stacking, muscle, magical, and otherworldly aspects of the rest of my villains, Toyo Harada can still hang with all of them. He’s been alive for a lot longer than any human is supposed to live and he’s virtually untouchable as far as someone to fight with. His powers allow him to go toe to toe with just about anyone and in this universe there would need to be someone to emerge to handle him in a unique way… or the heroes I’ve drafted would need to do some overwhelming indeed.

SELECTION #1: Shazam (or The Captain)

Yes, I’m starting out with a strange pick for most of you but I’m starting out with my favorite superhero of all time: the original Captain Marvel.

The entire story behind Shazam is a great one and with the “relaunch” of the Shazamily for the modern DC era, it also sort of allows for the expansion of the myth to go further than just Shazam. The Wizard was part of a council that he granted his power to Billy Batson when there was no one else worthy to become the champion.

Well, if I were expanding this in a new universe, what about the others on that council? Did one of the others possess a power other than living lightning? Could there be a hero with living fire or living water as base powers? If so, these guys would have to pre-date Black Adam because there has been no mention or indication that any of these “champions” existed between Black Adam and Shazam (assuming I also draft Black Adam), leaving the door wide open for a whole pantheon of possibilities.

Shazam is the first pick because he is the cornerstone of this universe and this universe couldn’t exist without him. He’s the source of magic and the one who ends up being the one who really controls how magic works in this world.

I think this is a great start and we now move onto the next pick.

SELECTION #2: Captain America

This one may make you look at me weird, especially after I went with the pinnacle of magic, but Captain America is a big deal in comics storytelling for me. Captain America represents a lot of things about America (the way it should be), about Marvel, and about how heroes should act. Captain America is a leader, a tried and true hero, and someone who will stand up for what’s right whether or not he’s going to survive the experience.

While the man I am drafting exists in both the MCU and the comics, the one that I’m primarily leaning on is the one in the MCU/Ultimate Comics because that is the Captain America that isn’t saddled with hundreds of issues of continuity.

Finding an American hero in the ice after everyone thought he was lost in the ice is something that would inspire my new universe of heroes to rise up against the evil in the world and fight for good.

Captain America opens up the opportunity to do what the MCU did: use the super soldier serum as the basis for all kinds of new super heroes and villains in this new universe. How many other people tried to do the same thing and ended up doing something to themselves that was nowhere near what ended up happening to Steve Rogers? Using this as a premise, we can create all kinds of weird side effects that can open up possibilities to create powers that will be interesting and be able to contend with Captain America on his level.

What other countries would have created their own Captain America? Captain Mexico? Captain Canada? Captain Russia? Captain Ukraine? The possibilities are endless.

SELECTION #3: Cyber Force (Specifically Ripclaw, Velocity, Cyblade, Impact, and Ballistic)

My favorite Image launch comics, Cyber Force took me by storm when they debuted and I have loved them ever since. Choosing Ripclaw, Velocity, Cyblade, Impact, and Ballistic specifically was due in part to needing to include the members that I most cared about in the comics and that I wanted to include in this new universe. While Stryker and Heatwave are also interesting in their own right, they didn’t make the cut in this universe.

Cyber Force allows me to include mutants into the mix but also allow cybernetics to be included as well, giving this universe a level of tech that will be used for all kinds of things that won’t be questioned and keep this universe separate from our world.

The personalities are interesting and rather than have them all on the run like they are in Image/Top Cow, I would have them involved in a different kind of story. My tales would include heroics against villains that operate in the shadows, villains that operate in locations in other countries than the US, and villains that are actively looking to replace a lot of humanity with mostly cybernetics.

Cyber Force is considered the perfect blend of cybernetics and super powers while anyone else trying to do this would most likely end up being some sort of freak or genetic mishap if they were converted by a villain or well intentioned individual who doesn’t know exactly what the repercussions of such actions would be.

SELECTION #4: Batman

How can you have a comics universe without the world’s greatest detective?

Batman/Bruce Wayne allows for the new universe to have ourselves a “more than human” individual on a one man mission to make a city clear of crime in revenge for his family’s murder. In DC Comics that city is Gotham City but I don’t really like to do fictional cities if I don’t need to, so I would end up making that city a real world equivalent like New York maybe Newark. I would definitely keep it on the east coast of the US, though and only go as far in as Baltimore but Batman would definitely be THE hero of that city in question.

Having Batman in the universe means we have an altruistic billionaire fighting crime and while DC has an entire entourage of family members behind him, this new universe would have him solo and allowing for a chance to make all kinds of new help (if I so chose to make him a new Bat-family).

Along with the other heroes on my list (even the ones you haven’t read about yet), Batman would very much adapt his technology to fit his goals and use everything in his power to adjust to fight anything that his new city’s criminals could possibly throw at him. The wonders of what Batman in a brand new setting could be something to witness.

SELECTION #5: Iron Man

Another billionaire? Yes, another billionaire.

Tony Stark brings a different kind of flavor to the universe. Iron Man is technology based, something out of science fiction if you go far enough, and Tony Stark is often displayed as being beyond the cutting edge of technology. The Iron Man suits are the result of that drive to be beyond the cutting edge and that’s why I’m including him.

With Iron Man comes a certain realism but also the ability to include technology into superhero DNA that would explain a lot of things that can’t be explained. I’m not talking about DNA as in their genetics, I’m talking about how powers work or how super suits can go without being damaged. This is one of those cases where my previous pick, Batman, would integrate some of Iron Man’s tech into his own stuff, meaning that both men could benefit from each other in the long run.

Where as Bruce Wayne has a stable demeanor and a thoughtful process to work things out to solve problems, Tony Stark is more of a “let’s build a thing and throw it at the problem to see what happens” type of guy. These are two totally different billionaires trying to solve problems in two entirely different ways.

I really wanted to include the Iron Man suits/tech in this new universe and this was a necessary pick.

SELECTION #6: Green Lantern

The Green Lantern I have chosen to go with is Sojourner “Jo” Mullein, a female of the group and one of the newer Lanterns of the Corps. I absolutely wanted to include a Lantern in the mix because this gives the universe a cosmic element while also allowing the universe to have someone who can also operate in Sector 2814. Unlike DC where it seems there are a hundred Lanterns working on Earth, Mullein will be the only Lantern operating on Earth.

I went with a female specifically because if you notice the list so far, it is quite male dominated. Yes, Cuber Force has quite a few females but I wanted some independently operating females, and this is the first one that I decided to choose.

Choosing a Green Lantern also opens up the possibilities of including all of the other Lantern Corps, as well as creating a number of other Green Lanterns without being tied to the Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner source that the original DC origins were. There is a greater opportunity to change and expand the Lanterns in a way that isn’t just based on emotions or the like and could be utilized in a different mythology, creating a whole new way to look at them.

With Jo Mullein being the original Lantern you’re introduced to in this universe, we also eliminate the Alan Scott precursor and the muddled mess that is the Golden Age with heroes that existed and aged out of the ability to continue heroics.

SELECTION #7: Atom Eve

Who thought I was going to completely leave out the Invincible universe in this selection process?

Atom Eve is the perfect character for this universe in that she has a versatile set of powers without having a lot of baggage in other areas. Those who haven’t read outside the main DC or Marvel universes will be introduced to a great character that can show off a variety of powers that will dazzle and hang with the best of the best in times of need.

The inclusion of Atom Eve sets up a world where she can blend in as a mutant, or be one of the offshoots of the super soldier serum experiments, or maybe even a byproduct of some magical spell that didn’t go as planned. Whatever her origins end up being, Atom Eve brings a girlish facade to a very testosterone fueled battle where she can hang with even the strongest of them.

She also acts as an unlikely leader in times where a team might form or a person like Captain America might not be available to take charge.

Atom Eve also keeps this list from being just a DC and Marvel party.

SELECTION #8: Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman brings in the world of Gods, Goddesses, and the wonders of mythology. She also gives this universe a taste of demigods and something more to fight for than just modern day problems.

While Captain America was our hero fighting in World War II, Wonder Woman would have been the inspiration and fighter alongside everyone in World War I. This gives us two long term heroes that have links to the US’s past and might even make them kindred spirits in this world as they would have a unique connection.

I personally would go with the white and gold costume as the preferred one to the red, white, and blue one she’s normally pictured in. Honestly, I’d probably have the outfit redesigned entirely, foregoing the red, white, and blue motif entirely in favor of something a little more “Greek Mythology” and a little less America.

Wonder Woman represents the first nearly immortal character I’ve chosen on this list and she would represent the first character on a God-tier level. She represents the one who would be who aliens from other planets might be seeking to duke it out with to see if they match up.

Wonder Woman is a necessity for this new universe.

SELECTION #9: Hulk

Yes, the Incredible Hulk is on the list because the giant, green, rage monster needs to be part of the new universe.

Having a Jekyll/Hyde type character is always a great idea and having the Hulk himself opens up the world of other irradiated beings into the fold. Rather than having a bunch of weird rogues from Hulk’s gallery, we can create new sideshow freaks from scratch that might fit better in a properly thought out universe. Planning ahead can make all the difference and not having to worry about previous baggage is a wealth of wonderful story opportunities.

Bruce Banner not having to contend with Thunderbolt Ross (if I don’t decide to draft him) or not starting as the Gray Hulk (if I didn’t decide to start that route) would be an interesting way to begin the Hulk, telling a totally different story than the one we already know, either from the 616 or the MCU.

We can begin to build up a whole new mythology behind how the Hulk operates, mentally speaking. Just like the MCU, we can also slowly allow the Hulk to develop rather than spend 40 years keeping the Hulk in a child-like state in the comics.

Was the Hulk a byproduct of a super soldier serum attempt like in the MCU? Was it like the gamma bomb like in the 616? Is Hulk the product of an alien infection that has mutated him? Speaking of mutation, is the Hulk a mutant? Fun times lie ahead.

SELECTION #10: The Crow

Wait, what? The Crow?

Yes, the Crow.

Introducing the Crow, and the entire concept of how the Crow operates, brings a unique element into the comics universe that wouldn’t exist in any other shared comic book universe: a hero that is out to even the odds but isn’t the same person every time.

Marvel has a spirit of vengeance in Ghost Rider, but he has less of a direction than the Crow would. DC has a spirit of vengeance in the Spectre, but he is bound to Abrahamic deities. The Crow manifests to exact justice and that is what the Crow is: a spirit of Justice.

The Crow is this new universe’s unique twist that exists in different forms, following different storylines at different times, and involving themselves in the greater plots of other heroes when their paths meet one another.