User blog:PhotonCommander10/Say Hello to the All-New, All-Different, Totally Awesome, Superior Ultimatum!

As I'm sure most of you are aware by now, I've been working on Earth-9013 for the last week or so. Well, this blog post is to announce that I'm going to be working on another project alongside it: Ultimatum. My OC superhero that's appeared in several forms throughout my time on Crossroads is getting a new and improved, definitive version.

The History of Ultimatum
The origins of Ultimatum date back to when I was 9 years old, and as a fun assignment, my teacher had everyone in the class create their own superhero. And so I created DudeBoy (I know, great name, right?). DudeBoy became a sort of obsession of mine, and I wrote (in very bad handwriting) stories (that were crap), featuring DudeBoy fighting giant robots, and Scottish Werewolves (Okay, that idea actually sounds like it could be cool, I'll remember that one).

Years later, after Dudeboy had undergone many, many, many, MANY redesigns, with all kinds of origins that had the same basic story, but with different twists and outcomes. Then about four years ago, I realised how moronic the name DudeBoy was, and changed it. But what could I possibly change it to? All the coolest superhero names are taken. So I decided to leave it for a while, and instead began writing, with [insert name here] wherever his superhero name was supposed to be, and then one day I wrote the line that changed [insert name here] forever: "I'm not the kind of man who listens to ultimatums." Yes, I remember the line, word-for-word, I had it written on my whiteboard for two years, and in each incarnation of Ultimatum since I've tried to have that line said. So that's how the name Ultimatum came to be.

The Final Ultimatum
This definitive version is going to combine the high sci-fi shenanigans of the early incarnations with the family/social drama of the later ones.

The biggest difference to the incarnations the people here at the Crossroads will notice is that this version has an energy form (Think Wonder Man, but with better fashion sense), and his powers predominantly revolve around energy, which is how 'DudeBoy' originally was (except that was during my blue phase, now he has purple energy). The newer versions of the character have been vastly toned down, to just super strength and electric blasts, but that was to make him grittier. Now I'm embracing the ridiculousness and going back to his roots.

'Luke Daniels', the name most versions of Ultimatum have had also wasn't part of the original concept. But given I can't remember what his name originally was, and that I hate the name Luke Daniels now, I'm going with a name I actually like: Jesse Kingston, my OC Spider-Man. I'll also be working in bits of the Jesse Kingston character, such as his parents being rich, and often neglectful.

Another thing I'm sick of, is that the last few versions have all been dead in the eyes of their families and friends, and is hiding that he's actually alive from them. That was part of my 'trying to be gritty' phase, and I'm done with that. Now he's alive, has friends, and his family knows he exists (even if his mother barely realises), and he has the age-old superhero struggle of trying to balance his regular life with his superhero one.

Taking some inspiration from DC's Central City, Coast City, Gotham City, Delta City, Keystone City, etc. etc., he lives in Roman City, an English city full of skyscrapers and abandoned warehouses. Due to the shenanigans of his arch-nemesis, Sanctum, Jesse's extradimensional energy overloads and explodes, causing a number of people in Roman City to gain superhuman powers.

The Supporting Cast

 * Cade Masters: A staple of the later incarnations of Ultimatum, who is his main love interest, and the person he inevitably ends up with. That's not happening this time. They're flirty, but it's not love. He's still a badass secret agent, though, and pretty goddamn awesome.
 * Zeus: The head of Titan, a military organisation dedicated to sorting out superhumans (basically a S.H.I.E.L.D. parody/knock-off). He's Cade's adopted dad, and nobody actually knows what his real name is, because he's annoyingly secretive.
 * Claire Summers: Jesse's best friend. She's one of the few people who know about his secret identity.
 * Noah Mitchell: Jesse's other best friend. Although they're close, Jesse sometimes finds it hard to talk to Noah.
 * Grace McAlister: A superhero under the name Silver Cyclone. She has wind powers, pretty self-explanatory. She has a deep respect for Ultimatum, understanding that he's a hero for all the right reasons.
 * The League of Heroes: A team of teenage and young adult superheroes. They're heroes for all the wrong reasons. They want fame and fortune. They're assholes.
 * Adelaide Roche: The head chef at Jesse's parents' hotel. She treats him like a son, filling the void left by his mother's neglect.

Villains

 * Sanctum: Ultimatum's arch-nemesis. A psychotic genius who really just enjoys chaos, and has a lot of fun challenging (and being challenged by) Ultimatum.
 * The Pawns: Sanctum's superhuman henchmen.
 * Calibration: Drew Grayson, a computer technician, one day finds a box containing high-tech armour, and a letter explaining that if he causes all-out chaos, he'll be paid 100 million dollars. Obviously, he takes the deal.
 * Spectre: Victoria Caldrum willingly puts on a suit that makes her invisible to technology, and uses it to infiltrate top secret facilities and steal secrets.
 * LOL: Jesse Cloner is given a ton of gadgets and set loose on the city, pranking people and causing widespread paranoia of being humiliated. Not so much an evil plan on Sanctum's part, more a prank by him.
 * Drive: Kai Torga, a Titan agent who hates Jesse with a passion. After a super soldier experiment goes wrong, a suit that allows for bursts of super speed is bonded to his skin.
 * Condemnation: A man with powers similar to Jesse's, except are much more chaotic and destructive. He's essentially Jesse's Reverse Flash, a close-yet-opposite version of him.
 * The Devil: Peterson Joyer inherits his parent's vast fortune, and uses it to develop an armoured, demon-themed costume to commit crimes, for the thrill of it.
 * Caleb Falsworth: An insane, immortal priest who arrives in Roman City to 'purge it of sin', by killing the superhumans brought about by the Event.