Thread "The Secret Army - Army of JOD story" in forum "HA Stories"

Posted at 9:11PM, Nov. 19, 2012

Abt said to me a while ago…

considering we'll probably introduce JOD sometime in the next chapters, I
wanted to ask - what sort of storyline would you like to see him
starring in? And what sort of events could lead up to it? We'd been
thinking about whether he could be part of RISE, but just ideally - what
would an "army of JOD" storyline consist in?

…and I shared with him a (not quite complete) synopsis for my Army of JOD story which I've had bouncing around my head for a while. I share an abridged version with you now.
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It starts with JOD, Kraysch and Ms. Ari taking over a TV station in Sydney during the morning news. He using it to send a transmission all around the world!

JOD makes two announcements. The first is to reveal [spoiler]Azumorph's[/spoiler] secret identity. The second is that he and his army are coming out of hiding after their previous defeat. Where have they been hiding? "everywhere. every organisation, every military, everywhere! People, start your accusations!" JOD says, before he leaves for his next destination.
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What follows are riots from people accusing each other of being JOD agents. Heroes attemping to stop JOD but end up getting their butts handed to them. This leads to an aerial battle between JOD's flying mech and the HA jet over the ocean and a showdown at Area 51.
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Does everbody think this will make a good issue? Also I should ask now if anyone is good at drawing vehicles, particulaly airborne ones.

Posted at 1:11AM, Nov. 20, 2012

I really like the first part and the announcement of one characters real name. I understand the HA is a team, but I also think we're at the stage where we can begin to focus from one characters viewpoint - and focussing from this one character throughout this mess (although obviously the rest of the team will be involved) is really cool and provides the need for them to "step up."
The rest does sound pretty cool - but is Jods claim true about the moles? The only way I see the riots working is if there actually were these moles and Jod claimed they will strike (or even allows some of them to strike to show it's no bluff) - saying "start your accusations" seems a little too easy - although he has these riots planned out, I think he needs more leverage than just his word.
What I think would be cool to see for an ending is 2 things.
The first one would be the HA having a pretty strong upperhand at the end - they've been knocked down but have struck back to the point where it's basically just JOD and his right hand men left - the entire plans crumbled. Of course, JOD is still formidable but his plan has been destroyed and ruined - that would be cool to see as it shows how powerful the HA actually is.
The second is the moles are out there and the team has to be taken away pretty much widespread to take them down (very much like the bombs in issue 1, except now this threat is very much real and there's more characters to use) - the final battle would have JODs men all ready whilst the HA only have a few members (most likely a handful of the core cast) who are all weakened. That way it's a toss-up of where this will go down and that final battle puts the heroes in a lot more peril.
There's my input - but I think it's a really good issue plan and sets up something I've wanted for a while which is quite a big HA villain.
You can put my name down for art if you like, man. I'm a lot slower at drawing vehicles like a jet but I can get it done.

Posted at 7:12AM, Dec. 1, 2012

ironhand has some great points there.

Some additional thoughts:
(1) I don't know if this is a recent trend, or if this community project seems to lend itself to huge crowd scenes, but lately there have been several scripts (or pitches) which involve scenes featuring crowds. This is especially difficult if these are crowds of specific characters - artists will basically have to research every individual they're drawing, and they have to draw dozens. In the near future, we'll have crowds of Zombies and crowds of Ninjas etc. on HA - it's tough enough to have to draw so many characters, but at least Zombies and Ninjas don't involve a lot of visual research, you can just make them up on the spot (Zombies) or they all look the same (Ninjas). It's very easy to write scenes which involve a huge number of characters, especially if you don't have to draw them yourself ;-) but please, please, go easy on the artists. Which leads to…

(2) Remember that crowd scenes always take away from individual
character development. The best you can do in a chapter featuring 15+ characters is give each character a nice, memorable line, let alone spend some time on actual character development. More likely, many characters will have to remain silent throughout. But at the same time, this chapter introduces a major villain and has a huge thematic impact (the revelation of a secret identity). If we are to handle either properly, we have to focus on that. But would we really want to handle the "myriads of moles" plot off-panel? Certainly not. So, we'd have to find a nice balance here without blowing the chapter up to huge proportions.

(3) Regarding "Heroes attemping to stop JOD but end up getting their butts handed to them" - does that mean that JOD is a physical threat on a par with dozens of heroes? How? I mean, we've never actually shown any of our HA members reach the limits of their superpowers. I'm sure Relik, Vora or Comet Kid alone could do HUGE damage.

Posted at 7:12AM, Dec. 2, 2012

1) I think I understand what you're trying to say. We writers need to not only think visually but also metatextually. I'll try to avoid huge crowd scenes. My idea is that when any heroes face JOD directly it will be only as small groups of 3-5.
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2) Hmm… I've been trying to figure out how this whole "mass mole" plot could be handled. So far I have happening all off screen. Maybe cameo appearences by other heroes catching or trying to catch the moles at different locations around the world?
The reason I put this whole plot is because I wanted HA to spread themselves thin. I'm open to suggestions on how to approach this.
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3) JOD may not be a big physical threat, but he has Kraysch with him, who is very powerful.
Also JOD is a devious villain. If he has to fight a powerful hero, he does so indirectly using tricky tactics.
In fact, using a tricky tactic is how he takes out two of the three heroes you just mentioned!

Posted at 6:12AM, Dec. 18, 2012

Alright, I've had some thoughts about how we can show the "mass moles"
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Firstly, he has agents inside the TV station he takes over. They would have done all the setting up that allows JOD to broadcast his message worldwide.
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Another thing I have is when he gets to Area 51 [spoiler]it's revealed he has agents stationed there too! They help him reclaim something from Area 51 - his airship[/spoiler]
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Also, what we could do is when JOD is making his speech about the agents, we could show a montage of agents in different places around the world.

Posted at 6:12AM, Dec. 19, 2012

Right, I think that would work very well!

Posted at 8:12AM, Dec. 23, 2012

Again, I only think this mole idea - where people begin to fight one another in fear and trust issues - would only happen if JOD proved that there were some out there. Simply making a claim isn't enough. Perhaps whilst making his speech, several moles here and there cause explosions wherever they are. This would then cause panic which would then lead to the fear the people would have and the realisation that they can't trust anyone.
Aside from that, the storyline seems pretty strong now. It'd be good to see HA stretched out - many of their fights so far have been relatively easy wins.

Posted at 5:12AM, Dec. 25, 2012

ironhand wrote:
Again, I only think this mole idea - where people begin to fight one another in fear and trust issues - would only happen if JOD proved that there were some out there. Simply making a claim isn't enough. Perhaps whilst making his speech, several moles here and there cause explosions wherever they are. This would then cause panic which would then lead to the fear the people would have and the realisation that they can't trust anyone.

I like that idea; but how about we use "Sleeper" instead of Mole, maybe people who have a certain "Frequency" that Jod put inside of their minds that causes them to do his bidding. Imagine a man who has been a decent father and businessman for a good 20 years, decides all out of the blue to go and blow up somewhere because Jod unlocked the "frequency" needed to commit the task implanted in his mind…it's pretty chilling stuff.

Posted at 5:02AM, Feb. 20, 2013

Ok, everyone. I'm writing the script for this story now. I'm writing the second half of JOD's first speech, and I need suggestions ln how to finish it. Here's what I got

[..] my army has been in hiding.
Where are they hiding I hear you ask?
Everywhere.
Every organisation, every military, everywhere.

Please note I do not want to make it too long as I had saying he hated long speeches on the previous page.
Also, Josh Holley drew this sketch of JOD a while ago. Anyone can try colouring it if they want.

Posted at 2:02PM, Feb. 20, 2013

I have lied in wait for years, in your nations, your organizations,
your alliances. Every nook and cranny of the antiquated organism you chaff call
civilization has fallen to the Army of JOD.

When you cry out it the night, it will be JOD who snuffs out
your screams, when you look into the face of death, it will be JOD's breath
that you taste, when you stare into the oblivion that is your future it is the
day of JOD that you see.

The time of the hero is gone, now rises the age of JOD.

God is dead, and I am his tombstone.

,Goodnight.

Posted at 1:05AM, May. 28, 2013

AzuJOD wrote:
Also, Josh Holley drew this sketch of JOD a while ago. Anyone can try colouring it if they want.

Well, I'm not going to pass up an opportunity like that. :D

Is this roughly the right sort of colour scheme?

Posted at 5:05AM, May. 29, 2013

That looks really nice. Good Job!
Also, if anyone is wondering, I've scripted to nearly to the end of the first act. That's about nine pages so far.

Posted at 12:03AM, Mar. 14, 2014

Quick post to let everybdy know that I am still working on this story. I'm up to near the end of the second act, so in total I have 16 pages done.

Posted at 9:03PM, Mar. 15, 2014

irrevenant wrote:
AzuJOD wrote:
Also, Josh Holley drew this sketch of JOD a while ago. Anyone can try colouring it if they want.

Well, I'm not going to pass up an opportunity like that. :D

Is this roughly the right sort of colour scheme?

Holy Moly does JOD look awesome here :D