Green Lantern Corps
The Green Lantern Corps is one of the biggest entities in the entire DC universe. Over the years, the scope of the Emerald Knights has grown to include an entire color spectrum of rings, from the yellow-based Fear and blue-hued Hope to red Rage and black Death. Now that that awful movie is freshly purged from everyone’s minds and a new cinematic universe is in the plans for DC, it’s time to give the Green Lanterns their due.
Green Lanterns are, in the broadest of definitions, space cops. They travel the galaxy dealing with problems large and small, not unlike say, a certain space marine we all know and love. The game would be influenced by Mass Effect; create a Lantern of their own race, gender, and origin. Start off as a lowly cadet training on Oa with Kilowog and meet the Guardians along with classic Lanterns like Toma-re, Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, and John Stewart. Eventually, you’re going to have a sector of your own to look after, and it’s there that the plot kicks off. Maybe you’ll learn the Black Lanterns are returning, or the Manhunters. A new threat, even? It’ll take the power of all the Green Lanterns to face whatever evil lies ahead.
Green Arrow
Thanks in part to the hit CW show, Green Arrow has become a hit. It’d be a no-brainer to capitalize on his success right now. The New 52 has put characters from the show into the comic, so now it’s time for the show to return the favor. Set the game in the eight months in between the second and third season, with a focus on the Outsiders War. In the comics, the Outsiders are a secret society made up of various clans built around ancient totem weapons. The Outsiders want to reunite the various clans, but Oliver has other plans.
Much like the show, the game would have to take its influence from Batman. Stealth takedowns, beatdowns, combos, counter attacks and the like would be Oliver’s means of defending himself from Outsider goons. The difference here being that his time being an archer has enabled him a sort of “Arrow Vision” that allows him to target weak spots on armored enemies. Use different arrows for different situations–explosive, smoke, grapple, along with an arrow that allows you to plug into enemy communications. And of course, there needs to be a button dedicated to the Arrow’s iconic line: “YOU HAVE FAILED THIS CITY!”
Starfire
The princess of Tamaran, Koriand’r was given to alien conquerors as a slave. Needless to say, that ended with those conquerors dead, Kori on Earth, and her being made a member of the Teen Titans. Fans know her primarily from the Teen Titans cartoon, and when DC showed her in the New 52, fans were disappointed with how she was portrayed. This game would go a long way towards rebuilding her reputation.
Going back to her once being a slave, a game set on an alien planet where she’s forced to fight to survive would be fun. She could be stranded on the planet because she tried escaping and caused the ship to crash. Tomb Raider and Far Cry would be influences here; while she wouldn’t be using wingsuits or climbing up to radio towers, she would be doing whatever she could to survive. Look at Infamous: First Light and use that as a way to explore Kori’s home life before her enslavement. Games are starting to provide character-focused stories of survival which is fitting in this case. Starfire may look happy all the time, but her backstory is anything but, and it shows that above all else, she’s a survivor.
Nightwing
Nightwing was the first of Batman’s Robins. When his family was killed in a tragic circus accident, Bruce Wayne adopted the young Dick Grayson and helped him bring Tony Zucco to justice. Over the years, Dick grew up and left the Robin identity for the moniker of Nightwing, going so far as to leave Gotham City for new locations like Bludhaven and Chicago in the New 52. Most recently, he’s become an agent of SPYRAL in the monthly Grayson comic.
Dick becoming a spy rubbed fans the wrong way, but over the past few months has grown on them. It’s here where the story would be set, alternating between his present time in SPYRAL and flashbacks as a child acrobat, Robin, and eventually Nightwing. Combat would work as it does in the Arkham games, though he wouldn’t have the same arsenal his mentor does. The game could draw influence from various portrayals of Robin over the years, from the classic animated series to his role as a hacker in the Young Justice series.
Red Hood
Jason Todd was the second to take up the mantle of Robin after Dick went on to become Nightwing. His portrayal didn’t sit too kindly with fans back during his time, leading to him dying at the hands of the Joker. It’s one of the most iconic deaths in comic book history today. Years later, he was brought back to life via Lazarus Pit and went on to become the anti-hero known as the Red Hood.
His game would be gun oriented, something that separates him from the rest of the Bat-family. Unlike Batman, he kills, and the game would definitely not shy away from that. Assault rifles, knives, shotguns, and SMGs would round out Jason’s arsenal in a third person shooter. Like the hypothetical Punisher game we featured last week, the crime lord system would be like Crackdown; take out certain lieutenants to make killing the kingpin easier. Like Shadow of Mordor, you can intimidate low-tier thugs into giving you information or becoming your mole. Of course, at some point, you’re going to face the Dark Knight. Here’s hoping that family reunion goes well.
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad is the DC equivalent to the Avengers if they were all various villains and anti-heroes, had little to no morals, and bombs surgically implanted in their heads. Okay, maybe they’re not like the Avengers, but they are getting pushed to the forefront by DC in the comics and the upcoming film. There were talks of DC and WB Games making a Suicide Squad game years ago, and what better reason to do one now than a film? Just make this one great.
The Squad’s lineup has varied a lot over the years, but there have been recurring members like Deadshot and Captain Boomerang. Those two, plus Harley Quinn, Black Spider, King Shark, Black Manta, and Killer Frost would round out the cast nicely as a mix of current and old teams. Like Fuse, there’d be four or five player co-op with each member of the Squad having a special ability. Their skills would work in tandem with one another–Quinn would use her hammer to knock enemies into Shark’s jaw, Frost would freeze enemies in their tracks for Deadshot to gun them down, and other situations like these. And of course, with bombs implanted in their heads, there’d have to be a certain time limit on each mission. Fail to finish in time, and you lose your head, literally.
Batgirl
Barbara Gordon was the first of many Batgirls. A gymnast and genius, her career as an able-bodied superhero was cut short when the Joker shot and paralyzed her from the waist down. But Babs didn’t let this get her down and became a technical savant under the identity of Oracle. The impact she’s left on comics is such that DC has let Oracle live on in other universes, despite Barbara being able to walk in the New 52.
In their recent Future’s End comic event, readers were treated to a future where Batgirl had a League of Batgirls of her own–Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, and Tiffany Fox. Merging Future’s End with the classic DC universe where Babs is Oracle would be an acceptable way to acknowledge both continuities. Start the game off years prior to her crippling before jumping ahead in time. Each Batgirl has their own skills and abilities–Cass can take more pain and can see weak points in an enemy, Tiffany’s a master hacker, and Stephanie has a function in her suit that allows her to go invisible for a short time. Alternate between the characters each chapter before bringing them together to take down the Big Bad. Or do GTA V-style and switch between them in real time with the press of a button.
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is pretty much DC’s most iconic female character. She’s a princess, she’s a killer, and a bonafide badass who takes no crap from anyone. At one point she defeated every member of the Justice League, took a beating from a Green Lantern, and blinded herself while fighting Medusa–and cut her head clean off. Clearly, there’s one game that Diana would draw inspiration from–God of War.
Greek Mythology sets the perfect stage for a world where the gods and monsters of Wonder Woman’s world still exist. As a test to prove her worth, or a scheme fabricated by one of her enemies, the game would put her in a location where these myths still thrive as actual beings and she can’t leave. With her sword and her lasso, she would do plenty of damage slaying beasts like giants and hydras. When Wonder Woman fights an enemy she puts them down hard, and the combat would reflect that with some pretty brutal takedowns. Of course, sometimes you can’t always punch your way out of situations. Diana is a diplomat, and there would be some enemies that she would be able to talk down or convince to surrender for the sake of their lives. Especially if she’s wearing bladed gauntlets.
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