Post by Jace on Aug 5, 2019 9:12:38 GMT -5
So, I dunno about you guys, but I'm finding it super-weird trying to come up with fake/alternate history stuff for our universe, when some of the decision-makers are real people. Maybe it is being British, and not being familiar enough with past Presidents to be sure if certain decisions would be "in character", I'm not sure... but I think that to give ourselves as much wiggle room as possible, it would be handy to have a completely fictional set of Presidents.
These characters may not remotely come into play in any meaningful way: this is more of a "facts to build on when writing the wiki" thing, more than a genuine interest in roleplaying out any American politics at this point.
Replacing George H.W. Bush as the President from 1989-1993, I suggest Henry Knight. In the comics, he is a Senator, the father of the Phantom Lady (the inspiration for Silk Spectre in Watchmen), and uncle of the Golden Age hero Starman. There's also a rebooted version of him without the Golden Age ties, whose daughter is also the Phantom Lady (the inspiration for the second Silk Spectre, this time). He's an old-fashioned character, and seems a fit for the old fashion Republican values that Bush's proxy should have. This is the guy who would have been President when the Cold War ended, and also when Batman first became a vigilante, so his reactions to things will be what shaped the landscape that our vigilantes are living in. Face-wise, I'm thinking James Cromwell (pic) who has played Bush and Lyndon B Johnson in bio pics, as well as a former President on The West Wing, and the serving President in The Sum of All Fears. Very Presidential, very Republican, and he sorta looks like the guy in the comics, too.
Replacing Bill Clinton as the President from 1993-2001, I suggest Warren Eden. There isn't much to the character in the comics, save for the fact that he's the father of Eve Eden: a character with darkness powers and government agent ties, who had sort of a "Black Widow in Avengers" vibe when it comes to the Suicide Squad. She strikes me as a character we might want to do something with, and having her be a former President's daughter puts an interesting spin on things: as if Chelsea Clinton became a superhero instead of becoming... well... Chelsea Clinton. Because this is a Democratic president, the face that springs to mind is Martin Sheen (pic), who played the President on The West Wing and had a bit of a Clinton-like scandal (though it was a health scandal, not a sex one). He's the right age to still be "around" nowadays. His time as President ended in January 2001, so he's the last President of the pre-Superman era, when things like the existence of aliens were probably still somewhat under wraps. If we ever have a "we have to bring in the former President because he knows about this stuff" situation, Warren Eden seems like the right character to go with, especially if his daughter is in play.
Replacing George W Bush as the President from 2001-2009, I suggest Jonathan Horne. Partly, because look at this dweeb, he deserves to be the second stupidest US President. He also reminds me quite a lot of Gregory Itzin (pic) who played a slimy, almost Nixon-like President on 24. In the comics, Horne becomes President after the impeachment of Lex Luthor, and the resignation of Pete Ross. Yes, Pete Ross, Superman's friend from back in Kansas, that's how close to the bottom of the barrel this guy is. For us, though, he'd just be a regular elected President. He's the guy serving in 2001 when Superman comes on the scene. He's the President when 9/11 (or our equivalent thereof) happens, and he's the guy who establishes the Department of Extranormal Operations (which we have instead of Homeland Security). Depending on when the Justice League forms, Horne's attitudes towards them could be why the Justice League doesn't have a super great relationship with the US government. This is also the "rise of the superheroes" era: we get Superman, we get Green Arrow, we get the Flash, and Horne's policies regarding them are likely why our world hasn't embraced the full on super/government cooperation that we see elsewhere. Him pulling funding from the budget to create the DEO may also be a big factor in why Queen Consolidated and Checkmate are doing things the way they currently are: perhaps the money to create the DEO came in part from their budget.
Replacing Barrack Obama as the President from 2009-2017, I suggest Martin Suarez. He's introduced as America's first non-white President, only he's hispanic rather than black: which immediately reminds me of the character Jimmy Smits (pic) played on The West Wing... and frankly, who doesn't want President Bail Organa? This is the President that Wally West grew up with, in office when Tim Drake was Robin and Roy Harper was Arsenal, and I think that really fits with a more hopeful, Obama style President. This is the period where attitudes towards vigilantes begin to soften. In a weird way, vigilantism for us is almost like the legalisation of marijuana: something that was illegal, but people did it anyway, attitudes began to change, people started to look at it as just another part of systematic oppression by police/etc, and then eventually legalisation begins to happen, one state at a time.
Replacing Donald Trump as the President from 2017-Now, I suggest Elizabeth Lawrence. Bleak as things are in our universe, I think there's enough heroes and positivity in the world that someone like Donald Trump wouldn't get elected: even if someone like that had run, the opportunity to have Superman endorse your candidacy would have guaranteed a Democratic win, I think, even if there was/is a lot of nationalist-like sentiment going on. Elizabeth Lawrence was the President on Earth-51 in the comics, but more importantly, she's the Golden Age heroine Liberty Belle. She's a journalist, an athlete, and sort of a Wonder Woman proxy in the same way that Green Arrow is/was sort of Batman. She's married to Johnny Quick, a similar proxy for the Flash, and their kid is Jesse Quick, who has both of their powers. I had some ideas about Jesse Quick being Jay Garrick's kid instead, and her being Oliver Queen's PA at the Gotham Globe, which would mean that Jay Garrick is the President's ex-husband, which is potentially cool-but-complicated. Given the Wonder Woman parallel, I think we need to pull a Supergirl and have Linda Carter (pic) as our President.
One of the things that makes 2020 an interesting year to focus on is the fact that a Presidential election will be happening. We're still in 2019 (both in-story, and in reality), and the process of choosing candidates is already in full swing. However, we'll be looking at a complete reverse of what the real world is facing: instead of a dozen or more Democratic candidates vying for the nomination, trying to out-liberal or out-centrist or out-progressive each other, we're looking at a Republican nomination that is essentially trying to find their Trump. We might have the political candidate who lost to President Lawrence in the last election. We might see Checkmate trying to get their own candidate elected, so that the Presidency will answer to them, rather than the other way around. We might see Vandal Savage as a political advisor to this potential candidate. The potential candidate might even be someone from within the conspiracy themselves: perhaps Ares is trying to get himself elected President, or some other familiar villain. The state of crime in Gotham, the rise in vigilantism, fears over the Justice League's autonomy, all that kind of stuff is likely to bring the nomination race into our Gotham story, at least a little bit.
These characters may not remotely come into play in any meaningful way: this is more of a "facts to build on when writing the wiki" thing, more than a genuine interest in roleplaying out any American politics at this point.
Henry Knight
Replacing George H.W. Bush as the President from 1989-1993, I suggest Henry Knight. In the comics, he is a Senator, the father of the Phantom Lady (the inspiration for Silk Spectre in Watchmen), and uncle of the Golden Age hero Starman. There's also a rebooted version of him without the Golden Age ties, whose daughter is also the Phantom Lady (the inspiration for the second Silk Spectre, this time). He's an old-fashioned character, and seems a fit for the old fashion Republican values that Bush's proxy should have. This is the guy who would have been President when the Cold War ended, and also when Batman first became a vigilante, so his reactions to things will be what shaped the landscape that our vigilantes are living in. Face-wise, I'm thinking James Cromwell (pic) who has played Bush and Lyndon B Johnson in bio pics, as well as a former President on The West Wing, and the serving President in The Sum of All Fears. Very Presidential, very Republican, and he sorta looks like the guy in the comics, too.
Warren Eden
Replacing Bill Clinton as the President from 1993-2001, I suggest Warren Eden. There isn't much to the character in the comics, save for the fact that he's the father of Eve Eden: a character with darkness powers and government agent ties, who had sort of a "Black Widow in Avengers" vibe when it comes to the Suicide Squad. She strikes me as a character we might want to do something with, and having her be a former President's daughter puts an interesting spin on things: as if Chelsea Clinton became a superhero instead of becoming... well... Chelsea Clinton. Because this is a Democratic president, the face that springs to mind is Martin Sheen (pic), who played the President on The West Wing and had a bit of a Clinton-like scandal (though it was a health scandal, not a sex one). He's the right age to still be "around" nowadays. His time as President ended in January 2001, so he's the last President of the pre-Superman era, when things like the existence of aliens were probably still somewhat under wraps. If we ever have a "we have to bring in the former President because he knows about this stuff" situation, Warren Eden seems like the right character to go with, especially if his daughter is in play.
Jonathan Horne
Replacing George W Bush as the President from 2001-2009, I suggest Jonathan Horne. Partly, because look at this dweeb, he deserves to be the second stupidest US President. He also reminds me quite a lot of Gregory Itzin (pic) who played a slimy, almost Nixon-like President on 24. In the comics, Horne becomes President after the impeachment of Lex Luthor, and the resignation of Pete Ross. Yes, Pete Ross, Superman's friend from back in Kansas, that's how close to the bottom of the barrel this guy is. For us, though, he'd just be a regular elected President. He's the guy serving in 2001 when Superman comes on the scene. He's the President when 9/11 (or our equivalent thereof) happens, and he's the guy who establishes the Department of Extranormal Operations (which we have instead of Homeland Security). Depending on when the Justice League forms, Horne's attitudes towards them could be why the Justice League doesn't have a super great relationship with the US government. This is also the "rise of the superheroes" era: we get Superman, we get Green Arrow, we get the Flash, and Horne's policies regarding them are likely why our world hasn't embraced the full on super/government cooperation that we see elsewhere. Him pulling funding from the budget to create the DEO may also be a big factor in why Queen Consolidated and Checkmate are doing things the way they currently are: perhaps the money to create the DEO came in part from their budget.
Martin Suarez
Replacing Barrack Obama as the President from 2009-2017, I suggest Martin Suarez. He's introduced as America's first non-white President, only he's hispanic rather than black: which immediately reminds me of the character Jimmy Smits (pic) played on The West Wing... and frankly, who doesn't want President Bail Organa? This is the President that Wally West grew up with, in office when Tim Drake was Robin and Roy Harper was Arsenal, and I think that really fits with a more hopeful, Obama style President. This is the period where attitudes towards vigilantes begin to soften. In a weird way, vigilantism for us is almost like the legalisation of marijuana: something that was illegal, but people did it anyway, attitudes began to change, people started to look at it as just another part of systematic oppression by police/etc, and then eventually legalisation begins to happen, one state at a time.
Elizabeth Lawrence
Replacing Donald Trump as the President from 2017-Now, I suggest Elizabeth Lawrence. Bleak as things are in our universe, I think there's enough heroes and positivity in the world that someone like Donald Trump wouldn't get elected: even if someone like that had run, the opportunity to have Superman endorse your candidacy would have guaranteed a Democratic win, I think, even if there was/is a lot of nationalist-like sentiment going on. Elizabeth Lawrence was the President on Earth-51 in the comics, but more importantly, she's the Golden Age heroine Liberty Belle. She's a journalist, an athlete, and sort of a Wonder Woman proxy in the same way that Green Arrow is/was sort of Batman. She's married to Johnny Quick, a similar proxy for the Flash, and their kid is Jesse Quick, who has both of their powers. I had some ideas about Jesse Quick being Jay Garrick's kid instead, and her being Oliver Queen's PA at the Gotham Globe, which would mean that Jay Garrick is the President's ex-husband, which is potentially cool-but-complicated. Given the Wonder Woman parallel, I think we need to pull a Supergirl and have Linda Carter (pic) as our President.
#46
One of the things that makes 2020 an interesting year to focus on is the fact that a Presidential election will be happening. We're still in 2019 (both in-story, and in reality), and the process of choosing candidates is already in full swing. However, we'll be looking at a complete reverse of what the real world is facing: instead of a dozen or more Democratic candidates vying for the nomination, trying to out-liberal or out-centrist or out-progressive each other, we're looking at a Republican nomination that is essentially trying to find their Trump. We might have the political candidate who lost to President Lawrence in the last election. We might see Checkmate trying to get their own candidate elected, so that the Presidency will answer to them, rather than the other way around. We might see Vandal Savage as a political advisor to this potential candidate. The potential candidate might even be someone from within the conspiracy themselves: perhaps Ares is trying to get himself elected President, or some other familiar villain. The state of crime in Gotham, the rise in vigilantism, fears over the Justice League's autonomy, all that kind of stuff is likely to bring the nomination race into our Gotham story, at least a little bit.