HEY KIDS, COMICS! - Green Lantern
I'm trying to get into a steady writing habit, and reviewing the comics I read - and attempting to use them for gaming purposes - seems like a quick and easy way to get some words flowing.
GREEN LANTERN #13
Green Lantern continues to be one of the stronger series in the DC New 52, which is ironic since it's major continuity was barely touched by the reboot. Sure, some origins were tweaked and the timeline was condensed here and there, but for the most part everything from the SInestro War onward appears to still be in continuity.
The current - controversial - story arc deals with a new human green Lantern named Simon Baz, an American Muslim car thief suspected of terrorism and on the run from the federal government. Some folks are offended by certain parts of the character design - the 'ski mask' like facemask, and the pistol prominently featured on the cover of issue #0 that the character never has in the actual book seems to play into the 'scary Muslim' stereotype.
Simon is an American Muslim, and so far is portrayed as a beleiver in his faith, but not neccessarily a strict adherent to its rules. I'm not sure if this is a cop out (he can be a hero 'cause he's not a devout muslim) or a good change of pace (most Muslims are depicted as being very fervent in their beliefs, but there must be a spectrum of belief and behavior in the Muslim community, just as there is in the Christian and other religious communities). Simon is also out of work, like many middle class Americans, and turns to car theft to help support his family. Criminal behavior, but certainly understandable in a cinematic fashion. In the course of his thefts, he getting involved with a bomb and a federal investigation, and ends up accused of terrorism.
Simon receieves a Green lantern ring empowered not by the Guardians of Oa, but by Hal Jordan and Sinestro. Simon has also been warned not to trust the Guardians, as they have turned on the Lanterns and are trying to destroy them. Perhaps this is a metaphor for the distrust we have of our own governemnt, fearing our own leaders are betraying us for their own ends. Perhaps not. One supporting character is a federal agent assigned to track down Baz, who almost loses his cool and goes too far, possibly a good man doing bad due to his fear of terrorism. Perhaps another metaphor, maybe just another stock character.
All in all, an interesting new development in the Green Lantern story arc.
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For gaming, the Green Lantern Corps and mythos presents an easy way to structure a campaign, whether superhero or otherwise. Whereas most genre stories center on a singular hero, the Green Lantern Corps presents an organization of heroes - space cops in this instance - whose powers and superheroic identity are all tied into one central orgamization.
For most campaigns, choose a group or being that could benefit from having agents, figure out how these agents are granted power, how they are chosen and what their duties are, and this will answer many campaign questions. Some genres work better than others, though.
Example: In the Marvel Universe, the Vishanti are a distant and obscure group of extra-dimensional beings who usually interact solely with the universe's Sorcerer Supreme. For reasons of their own (not neccesarily altruistic ones), the Vishanti wish to keep humanity alive and thriving. Using alien logic, they reach out and empower a small number of agents, granting magical powers in return for service. Their strictures are few, the duties they demand are sometimes confusing and often extremely dangerous, but the power they grant is real and they pretty much let their agents do what ever they want unless it threatens world destruction.
Example: In a typical cyberpunk world, a group of disparate rogue computer hackers are contacted by a mysterious patron that seems to know all their secrets. The patron is willing to hook them up with cutting edge computer code and hardware, in return for secrecy and services rendered. Unknown to the PCs, their patron is a hidden emergent AI manipulating the world-net for its own security.
EDIT: I was remiss in not mentioning ION GUARD by Radioactive Ape Games, a great little supplement that covers the same Green Lantern homage ground I was going for above. Available in both BASH and ICONS versions, and well worth the US $4.99 price tag.
