Well, no sooner do I vow to bring you more content, than I have computer problems. But, now I’m back. This time around (because absolutely nobody asked, or even cares) I’ll be sharing the first part of my pitch for The Challengers of the Unknown.
The Challengers is a title DC Comics has published off and on since the 1950s. It followed the adventures of four men – Ace Morgan, Professor Walter Haley, Red Ryan, and Rocky Davis. They were joined on some exploits by their gal pal June Robbins, as they risked life and limb exploring exotic locals around the globe (and sometimes beyond). They were joined together after surviving a plane crash, and decided to live the rest of their lives like they were “Living On Borrowed Time”.
In the 1990s DC, having done away with their multiverse of Infinite Earths back in 1986, introduced a new concept so that their characters could journey to alternate realities: Hypertime. Hypertime, was unveiled in the event known as “The Kingdom”. Readers, as well as a few characters, became aware that beyond the “regular” DC timeline there were countless others. By traveling into the realm of Hypertime, an infinite number of Earths were once again at their fingertips.
Here’s how Hypertime was explained in The Kingdom, “Off the central timeline we just left, events of importance often cause divergent ‘tributaries’ to branch off the main timestream. But, what’s outstanding is there’s far more to it than that. On occasion. The tributaries return- sometimes feeding back into the central timeline, other times overlapping it briefly before charting an entirely new course. History becomes reinvented. There are hazards to Hypertime of course. Artifacts carried into different Hypertimes dangerously breakdown the barriers between kingdoms.”
Hypertime was a very cool, but very complicated storytelling tool. It allowed parallel world tales to be told for the first time in years. It also put all of DC continuity back in play. If a creator liked or didn’t like a story, they could simply acknowledge that it happened in a different Hypertime timeline. But, almost immediately the editors saw that this device could be abused. It was abandoned forever with the return of the Multiverse in 52. But, not before two very good Hypertime based sagas saw print.
The first was in the pages of the Kon-El Superboy’s original title. This epic, “Hypertension”, pitted Superboy against an evil Hypertime counterpart named Black Zero. Their battle took them to many Hypertimes, including one based off the Pre-Crisis Earth One. During this conflict Superboy teamed with the Challengers of the Unknown. When one of their members, Red Ryan, went missing in Hypertime the other Challengers promised to stay and search every reality they could to find him. They also reasoned that by doing so, they would be challenging the ultimate unknown.
The second major Hypertime tale was in The Flash. Readers were baffled when a new Dark Flash took the regular Flash’s (Wally West) place as the protector of Keystone City. This hero was eventually revealed to be Walter West, one of Wally’s Hypertime selves. Walter had to leave eventually, because (as explained previously) beings from other Hypertimes breakdown the new reality they are in after more than a brief stay. Walter was last seen trying to find his way back to his proper timeline, which in Hypertime is almost impossible to do without some device powered by an element native to Hypertime called hyperium.
By the early 2000s, Marvel had launched a great new series, Exiles. The Exiles were a team of heroes who traveled to the various parallel worlds of the Marvel Universe. They were comprised, primarily, of alternate versions of mainstream Marvel characters. In a flash of absolute inspiration I began thinking about a DC Comics version of the Exiles…and so did everybody else. Seriously, there wasn’t anyone I talked to either in person, or online, that had not thought, “wouldn’t it be cool if DC did their own take on the Exiles?” I mean it was only natural. While Marvel has its fair share of alternate realities, parallel worlds are absolutely DC’s bread and butter.
In 2004, I sat down to write my attempt. This was before Infinite Crisis and 52 would lead to the Multiverse being revamped. This was before Mark Waid would return the Challengers to Earth in the Brave and the Bold. This was before the Ryan Choi Atom ever saw print. And, this was certainly before the Ray Palmer Atom began world hopping in Countdown!
My series would take the title “Challengers of the Unknown,” and be subtitled “Living On Borrowed Hypertime”. It would chronicle the efforts of Ray Palmer to discover what happened to the original Challengers (who we had last seen in Hypertime), and in the process send him to as many Hypertimelines as I could. Along the way he would find himself allied with several heroes who were counterparts to well known DC characters. Simple really, and not all that original. But, boy was it fun “creating” this title.
Here’s how it broke down.
The Premise: The Atom (Ray Palmer) is devastated after the events of the recent Identity Crisis mini-series (in which his ex-wife Jean was revealed as a killer). He wants nothing more than to vanish. Wishing to recapture his past, he turns to Professor Alpheus Hyatt. Hyatt is an old friend, who was introduced in the Atom’s 1960s series. Hyatt is the inventor of the Time Pool, a small portal that can transport people to various points in time, first seen in The Atom #3. Ray has used the Time Pool on many occasions (Time Pool adventures were used as frequent back-ups throughout the Atom series). Before Ray can use the Pool to escape his present, Hyatt wants to demonstrate some modifications he’s made to the portal. Shockingly, during the test, five time-ravaged corpses emerge from the gateway…the bodies of the Challengers of the Unknown.
Having witnessed enough death, and feeling he has so little left to lose, he decides to trace the Challengers steps back through the Time Pool, and uncover what caused their demise. But, first he enlists the reluctant aide of his archenemy Chronus. Chronus, a master of time travel, is serving a jail term. But, Ray cuts a deal with his old ally Amanda Waller (who he knows from his time in the Suicide Squad series) to have Chronus released early, if he’ll help guide the Atom through his journey.
The Atom and Chronus find themselves transported to the citadel of Epoch, The Lord of Time. The Lord of Time is a long established foe of the Justice League of America. He wishes to consolidate all of time under his rule. Having become aware of Hypertime, he has begun “damming” off all of the alternate tributaries Hypertime spawns off the main timestream. As he eliminates these realities, various heroes from these timelines have tried (and failed) to stop him. He has captured several of these “last survivors”, and imprisoned them in his citadel. The Challengers had also made an attempt against him, and paid with their lives (though one can always retcon that the Challengers who died were Hypertime counterparts).
While in the citadel, the Atom releases the Lord of Time’s prisoners- four champions, each from a different Hypertime. Meanwhile, Chronus, looking to gain further knowledge of time begins helping himself to some of the Lord of Time’s experiments. Enraged by this intrusion, a battle breaks out between the two villains. The result is a rupture in the citadel’s walls that apparently kills them, while sending the Atom and the escapees hurtling through the various “kingdoms” of Hypertime. Ray is able to fashion a “Hyper Anchor”, a device cobbled together from the debris of the citadel, which allows the group to land on various Earths. But, they must constantly move on, or their prolonged presence could breakdown the walls of reality.
In addition to the adventures they will encounter on these worlds, the Challengers (Ray will pick up the mantle) will also become aware of a dark, sinister group of Hypertime travelers. Led by the mysterious Calendar Man, this team of Outsiders poses a grave threat when they cross our heroes’ path.
The Characters: The Challengers of the Unknown
The Atom (Ray Palmer)- The only regular character from the central DC timeline. Ray is looking to escape what his life has become in the wake of Identity Crisis. But, it is also his past that makes him the most qualified to headline this team. He is a brilliant physicist, able to develop weapons from star fragments. But, despite his years as a college professor, he is far from a retiring, stuffy academic. He is just as likely to “school” you in combat. From his acrobatic fighting style, to his years wielding a sword (all those Sword of the Atom tales) this is one little man you don’t push around. He’s also had a lifetime of experience dealing with time travel. Whether it’s coping with his arch-foe Chronus, his journeys in the Time Pool, or even being temporarily de-aged by Extant, he’s been though it all.
Dev-Em- A Kryptonian from a Hypertime identical to the Pre-Crisis Earth One. Dev-Em was a juvenile delinquent from the planet Krypton who was a menace to Jor-El, Lara, and their young son Kal-El. After stealing plans for a rocket from Jor-El’s lab, he too survived Krypton’s destruction. He eventually ended up on Earth, where he gained vast powers, and framed Superboy for a series of crimes. These events were depicted in a Silver Age story where he was called the Knave from Krypton. When Dev-Em next appeared, he was still a rogue, but this time he was on the side of the angels. Readers never got to see what triggered his transformation. This version shares the devilish attitude of the original (not to mention his immense abilities), but we’ll slowly show what turned him around.
The Green Flame (Tora Olafsdotter)- In Tora’s Hypertime, a group of immortal beings called the Gatherers have tried to collect all magical energy in the cosmos, so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Originally, the Gatherers feared that humanoids might be tempted if they were selected to help collect such energy, so they created a hybrid race of magic and machines called Mys-Techs to carry out their orders. The Mys-Techs soon gained infamy under a new name, the Magehunters, as they stole the magic in a vain attempt to give themselves souls. The Gatherers then began selecting living beings they trusted, and outfitted them with magic rings carved from the greatest single source of alchemy, the Starheart. These Sentinels of the Starheart, or Green Flames (for the effect their rings give off) as they are better known, protect all corners of the galaxy from dark sorcery. Tora’s husband, Guy Gardner was one of them. She inherited his ring after his death at the hands of his foe Solomon Grundy. Her ring can create any object her mind can envision, project force fields, and grants her flight. Due to the strange nature of Hypertime, she no longer needs to recharge her ring, but it still does not work against any substance composed of wood (a weakness the Gatherers placed in all the rings). In the main DC timeline Tora was Green Lantern, Guy Gardner’s lost love Ice. She was also best friends with Fire who once operated under the codename Green Flame.
Robin (Richard Grayson)- A hero from a Hypertime identical to the Pre-Crisis Earth Two. For several decades Robin served as the partner to Batman. Eventually, Bruce Wayne chose to go out in battle, rather than succumb to the cancer that was ravaging his body. Robin decided to not only honor his mentor by continuing as a super-hero, but also by fighting crime in the courtroom as an attorney. He is different from his counterpart in the main DC timeline on several counts. First, he is much older. Although he’s still a fantastic fighter and acrobat, he has lost a step. He has had to compensate by getting craftier. Second, he never gave up the Robin mantle to become Nightwing. Third, he has never led a team. However, he has years of experience as a diplomat and ambassador. These are skills he employs to great effect as they travel from one strange world to another.
Silver Scarab (Carter Hall)- A hero from a shiny, optimistic Hypertime. Centuries ago, an Egyptian prince named Khufu and his bride Chay-Ara were exposed to an alien element called Nth Metal. This substance allowed them to be reincarnated over dozens of lifetimes in different bodies. It also linked their souls together, meaning they met and fell in love in every era. In this century he has been reborn as 21-year-old M.I.T. student Carter Hall, while she became his girlfriend Shiera Sanders. This reality is personified by glistening, hi-tech skyscrapers, and relentless optimism. It is as if the promise of the Silver Age has come to pass. And, no one embodies that spirit more than the Silver Scarab. Carter has built a full set of gleaming Nth Metal armor, which he uses to preserve the peace. The Atom (whose best friend is Hawkman) gets a kick out of seeing an upbeat version of his normally brooding pal. The Scarab is the first one to put a smile back on Ray’s face. Even after Carter’s Hypertime is destroyed by the Lord of Time, the Scarab does not abandon hope that he’ll see his soul mate Shiera again. He is convinced she’ll be reborn somewhere- and he’s right.
Fury (Sharra)- After the Silver Scarab’s Hypertime was eliminated, his soul mate Shiera’s spirit migrated to a new reality. It took root in the body of a recently slain warrior woman named Sharra. Sharra is from a Hypertime that is a post-apocalyptic nightmare. It is an Earth that has been ravaged by both atomic war, and the unstoppable creature known as Doomsday. Most humans survive as nomadic, barbaric tribes. Sharra is 6’ 7” tall, and has enhanced strength mutated by the fallout. Her weapon of choice is the Atomic Axe (which can cut through anything including metal, force fields, gravity, light, etc.) She, and her tribe, speak in a simple language known only to them. She is incredibly savage, gaining her the nickname Fury when the Challengers encounter her on their fourth adventure. Despite the differences in their styles and languages, Carter and Sharra recognize the bond between them. She leaves her world to join the Challengers on their odyssey. In the main DC timeline, Carter and Shiera were Hawkman and Hawkgirl, the parents of Silver Scarab, and in-laws to his wife Fury. The Atomic Axe was wielded by Legion badguy the Persuader.
Reflecto- Created on a Hypertime identical to the Pre-Crisis Earth Three. In a reality ruled by the evil Crime Syndicate of America, only one man stood up to tyranny- Alexander Luthor. Luthor combated the Syndicate’s leader Ultra Man on many occasions, but the villain’s incredible strength, speed, flight, vision, hearing, breath, etc. was too overwhelming. Luthor decided to create a genetic copy to match up against Ultra Man. This artificial lifeform would be a perfect physical reflection of his adversary. But, while he had all of his vast powers, he bizarrely had an incredibly heroic personality. Before, Luthor could activate his creation; the Lord of Time destroyed this Hypertime. However, the construct known as Reflecto, somehow survived the carnage, and has begun exploring the various timelines under his own fantastic power. His path eventually crosses that of the Challengers on their fourth mission, during which he saves them from Doomsday. Unknown to his new teammates, even though he slays Doomsday, Reflecto sustains internal injuries in the battle that will eventually prove fatal. However, his peerless courage, and just use of Kryptonian level abilities will leave a profound effect on Dev-Em. In the main DC timeline Bizzaro is a twisted copy of Superman, and Reflecto was an alias a young Clark Kent adopted temporarily with the Legion.
Roll Call (Chris Reed)- Chris Reed is a survivor of a plague stricken Hypertime. He meets up with the Challengers on their sixth adventure. When a mysterious virus sweeps across this Earth, killing super-heroes and normal humans alike, scientists begin cultivating DNA from the fallen meta-humans. They place their genetic codes into a digital device the size of a small cell phone. Chris is tasked with delivering it to the only STAR Lab known to still be operational. He is attacked however, by agents of Project Cadmus who are responsible for unleashing this “Ambush Bug” that strikes without warning. In desperation, he punches in a series of numbers on his “phone” and finds himself transformed into a super-hero. Chris learns that he can “dial” up the powers of any of the deceased heroes stored in the device he calls the Rolodex. With the help of the Challengers his world is cured. In gratitude, the orphaned Chris- now Roll Call, joins the team. In the main DC timeline Chris King and Robby Reed were just two of the individuals who used the powerful Dial “H” For Hero.
In a few days I will post the rest of this pitch. This will include profiles on the team’s opposite number The Outsiders, and just a few story arc descriptions. Hey, I got to get this stuff on the record somehow…
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