View Full Version : What is the best CoH origin you have ever read?
Fantasmo
06-08-2005, 09:59 PM
I'm sure this has been asked in the past, but I think a lot of origins have been written since then. I have been reading a lot of origins lately. So I was wondering, out of all the origins you have read, which one is the best in your opinion?
Xanatos
06-08-2005, 10:30 PM
"Best" - BAD! Bad word to use. Creates competition.
One origin I particularly like, but am not going to say is the best, is Charon's. It's got allot of depth to it.
Jade_Dragon
06-08-2005, 10:42 PM
Mine. :D No, I'm kidding about that. Not that I don't put a lot of work into my characters' origins, of course, but I'm not going to rate them BEST...
Widdy's probably got one of the best backstories in my opinion. It gives her a very strong sense of character, you know who she is before you even go into any depth about what her powers are, or what she looks like.
I like Yin's origin, too. A little bit too much of the "god-like ruler of another land" thing going, but VERY well crafted. Has a very mythological feel to it. I also like Fate and Slick's origins. (I don't know that Slick's full origin is still around, but at least Fate's on Crey goes into some detail)
Sable Phoenix
06-08-2005, 11:08 PM
It's not anyone who visits this community, but I think the best one I read was for Elysienne. Definitely the most original explanation for the Mind Control/Empathy powers (or any powers, really) I've ever seen. It was on the official Virtue boards, but this was quite a while ago.
Not a member here, but one of my SG Captains, Celestia. It is the most original Kheldian/Human merge explaination/story I've seen. Very well crafted and too the point.
inkblaster
06-08-2005, 11:37 PM
Not really a 'best', but a generalization of the 'better' ones, and no offense to some community folks on this, but ones that are more marvel and less DC, if you get my meaning.
When folks start off with, 'the supreme overlord from dimension...', or 'Since the dawn of time.....' kinda junk I just close the window. I like the more personal origins.
Moon Jump
06-08-2005, 11:48 PM
I don't really read many. I should take the time to read more, some people have some really cool Bios. I've had at least five people tell me Moon Jump's was one of the best they have read, I guess they don't read many.
But my all time personal favorite is one I read off a high level Emp Defender on my very first trip to PI. I use it for my Emp Defender's bio and many of you know what it is already. But here it is for those who don't know.
"Everytime a Blaster dies, an angel get's it's wing's."
:D
Morcalivan7
06-09-2005, 01:09 AM
"Best" - BAD! Bad word to use. Creates competition.
And competition creates excellence. Imo the best origins I read are those who can use realistic feels to'em while using super powers, and having a mix of both descriptive writing and dialogue, as most concentrate on just one, it's rare to find someone who mixes both together so well and usually makes for a great origin/story.
Edit: Almost forghot the most important part. When the character and world created is set in more of a grey realm instead of good and evil.
sheld0n
06-09-2005, 01:09 AM
Cant say i've read that many, but from the ones i did, i have to say, Yankee Daring. That guy had a talent for storytelling. His character wasnt really special (super strenght and super endurance), but the personnality, and the events, and the way it was all told..
Well, it was quite job he did there.
(btw, for those who dont know, Yankee Daring was a member of the old official pre-beta boards)
Overbite
06-09-2005, 01:17 AM
It's hard to come across anything original. Hellion did this, Freaks did that, Rikti killed this person, which don't get me wrong come from some well written bio's. But the best one I've seen in my opinion came from "Shark Tooth"
Manti-Kid's is pretty cool too.
The Icy One
06-09-2005, 01:21 AM
Yea, I liked thta Shark Tooth one to... I'm gonna have to look over alot of origins before I can decide though, it's a toughy.. o.o
Fantasmo
06-09-2005, 02:33 AM
Okay, that was a bad choice of words, your right, heh.
Maybe, what one stands out in your mind. What one did you think was really good. ;)
"Best" - BAD! Bad word to use. Creates competition.
One origin I particularly like, but am not going to say is the best, is Charon's. It's got allot of depth to it.
Randomus
06-09-2005, 03:43 AM
I always really enjoyed Olympian's origin. Kind of a "Captain America gone wrong" vibe mixed up with a child soldier, it worked very well.
I've read some amazing origins in-game, and a lot of really crappy ones. Unfortunately they all start to blur together until I can't remember which name goes with which origin. I'll have to get my memory working again.
Xielos
06-09-2005, 03:51 AM
I LOVED the origin for Julia's Revenge, such a sad tale.
I've been told my origin is awesome, but I don't quite agree with that :sarcasm:
Randomus
06-09-2005, 03:58 AM
And who could forget Code 4? That origin was "the bomb", as the hip kids say. Emotionally-charged.
Malibu Sally
06-09-2005, 04:01 AM
Oh come on! No origin, no matter how well thought out and written, will ever be better than the "lesbian hellions in disguise" origin. :p
Noble
06-09-2005, 04:15 AM
Amen to that Sally. :chuckle: :lol:
Malibu Sally
06-09-2005, 04:33 AM
Amen to that Sally. :chuckle: :lol:
Thanks :)
on a completely different side note: RAND! Fix your sig already! :mad:
I've read far too many well written and novel origins to ever consider deeming a single one 'the best'.
I do, however, shy away from those that quote some established deity or omnipotent being having a hand in them.
The Widowed
06-09-2005, 05:09 AM
Widdy's probably got one of the best backstories in my opinion. It gives her a very strong sense of character, you know who she is before you even go into any depth about what her powers are, or what she looks like.
I love you. :D
I remember meeting Julia's Revenge in-game towards the middle of last year, and we got to talking about the similarity of our origins and how cool they were...the type of origins which don't get old no matter how often they're repeated, because they hover squarely in the middle of that revenge/personal tragedy zone which has a knack for reaching into us because it's a shade of gray that sits so close to the heart of what the human race is: Part angel, and part beast, as reflected in certain tragic heroes (and superheroes) who press on with their crusades, even though you're pretty sure that they're so broken up inside that their own lives no longer matter and have been cast aside in favor of some ideal or cause with which the hero attempts to fill the void left in the wake of that personal tragedy. With some small part of the subconscious that anti-hero may even want to die just to shut out the misery, which would explain the anti-hero's knack for throwing himself (or herself) headlong into danger. And such origins do remind us that all it takes is one horribly bad day to change our lives forever.
Okay, that's enough Jung for one day, i guess. But it's like Inkblaster said. The backstories where someone's the god of this world or the lord of the darkness or some powerful angel sent to judge us...those aren't as compelling, simply because they're so far removed from us. The common man who becomes a superhero and raises his arms against this mean old world tends to gather more sympathy. Thor's origin isn't easy to relate to; The Punisher's origin is.
But yeah...it's great to be recognized. Thank you, Jade. :)
I just never pictured Widdy as ever growing into the type to sail among the stars and fight off spaceships. If you've ever watched someone play through Max Payne (or you've played it through yourself), that's kind of how i picture Widdy's evolution from Security Level 1 to Security Level 50. You start out at the bottom and work your way up the food chain, exacting vengeance on common thugs, then the gang leaders, then their leaders...until one day you're in the upper stories of a corporate tower hunting for Countess Crey when a helicopter drops down and hovers outside the windows, levels a chaingun and sprays back and forth across the spacious office room, trying to kill you as you dive and tumble and roll from behind one solid object to the next....
Okay, that's Max Payne talking again. But you get the idea. :D
So anyway...how did Malibu Sally get her powers, I wonder...? ;)
So anyway...how did Malibu Sally get her powers, I wonder...? ;)
Radioactive suntan lotion (?)
The Widowed
06-09-2005, 05:23 AM
Well, i suppose stranger origins have happened....
I just had to update Widdy's Crey profile while i was thinking about it. It was just a few spots which needed fixin'. And Widdy finally gets a maiden name, too. :)
I need to add more surveillance reports too. Maybe I should even add D'Arkaine to my will while I'm at it. That's a pretty lovely site he's set up for us, isn't it? :D
Malibu Sally
06-09-2005, 05:26 AM
So anyway...how did Malibu Sally get her powers, I wonder...? ;)
Well the Circle of Thorns, Devouring Earth, Malta, Nemesis, Tsoo, Banish Pantheon, Sky Raiders, Family, Warriors, Hellions, Lost, Skulls, Clockwork, and Vahz all happened to attack a porn shoot I was doing.
Things got ugly from there.
Fortunately Statesman and his buddies showed up and saved the day. Then they gave me their "special" abilities.
There. Is that graphic enough for you? :p
The Widowed
06-09-2005, 05:29 AM
Well, at least it's better than being a plain old run-of-the-mill mutant. "I was born with it!" What a cop-out. :D
Malibu Sally
06-09-2005, 05:32 AM
Well, at least it's better than being a plain old run-of-the-mill mutant. "I was born with it!" What a cop-out. :D
Yeah, that's my biggest problem with mutant origins... It tends to put the damper on original stories about how the powers came about. Too bad i did not think of that when rolled the character.
But then... I wonder how long it would have been before some do-gooder petitioned me if I really did use that origin in-game. :|
Joe Schmoe
06-09-2005, 05:34 AM
I.. can't pick.. ... *runs away in confused sobbing*
Randomus
06-09-2005, 02:06 PM
Oh, man. My origin isn't even up any more, is it. I'll have to fix that.
I'll fix my sig when imageshack stops being stupid and I can find the original.
Fantasmo
06-09-2005, 02:21 PM
Fantasmo's origin needs a little work I think. It was one of the first origins I wrote, so it isn't exactly jaw dropping.
I have read a lot of these, but I haven't ever read The Widowed's or Moon Jump's. Where can I read these?
Akamaz
06-09-2005, 02:28 PM
hmm i can't say which is best, i do know that most of the good ones involve some form of tragedy, a lot of my heroes were formed into what they were by something bad happeneing, like Maz was attacked and beaten almost to death, Mikoto was kidnapped and the group that took her put her brain in a robotic body, Agent Q was almost sacrificed as a child.
the best origins also have a strugggle involved as well. like for my characters it sems to be an internal struggle, Maz has to control the wolf, Mikoto tries to hang on to her humanity, and agent Q is the same
I know I'm much better at telling an origin then writing it tho. (cause iff'n ya didn't notice my grammer skills leave bunches to be desired... OW!~!! NO!!! PLEASEE widdy,OW Quit beating my about the head and shoulders with that book (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/akamazY2000/Superhero%20Product%20Endorsement/WidowedDictionary.jpg)!!!!!!!
Fantasmo
06-09-2005, 02:46 PM
I just read Julia's Revenge over at the Knights Sanctus site. Very nice!
I LOVED the origin for Julia's Revenge, such a sad tale.
I've been told my origin is awesome, but I don't quite agree with that :sarcasm:
Diesel76
06-09-2005, 02:57 PM
Hey guys, thanks for the kind words. I'm glad people are still enjoying JR's origin. :)
Believe it or not, it is still a work in progress and I actually plan on finishing it some day.
ChairLegOfTruth
06-09-2005, 03:33 PM
Well, at least it's better than being a plain old run-of-the-mill mutant. "I was born with it!" What a cop-out. :D
Yeah but that still doesn't preclude a good Origin story. I've been told that people like Special Brew (http://www.creyindustries.com/viewhero.php?id=561)'s origin and all that is in game is the edited highlights of his Crey file.
Just replaced the BLD with Dawn Patrol :D
Quakester
06-09-2005, 03:40 PM
Yeah, that's my biggest problem with mutant origins... It tends to put the damper on original stories about how the powers came about. Too bad i did not think of that when rolled the character.
:|
With mutants, it's not how you get you powers but what triggers them or what sets you on the path to herodom that makes a decent story. I mean, how SPiderman got his powers is not that interesting, but how he became a hero is.
In all honesty, I took the easy route with Yin on making him a deity, but that was back in 2001. Little did I know that I would expand it so much to the point where I wish to make a Merewether bible-like thing depicting all of the lands, species, and people on Merewether, as well as give more depth to Yin's origin. Granted, Yin still isn't a deity yet, and probably won't be for quite a long time because he would have to leave Paragon in order to serve his term. I mean come on. If you were born from four goddesses wouldn't you expect to be one too someday? :P
Dunno. There's just so much floating in my mind. So much about Yin's origin that people don't know. On Crey it's just a general gist/run down of what accord from time of birth to his arrival to Paragon, and then some with the surveillance reports. Stay tuned to the crey as well. I'm getting ready to add four entries featuring the four major lands of Merewether: Volcera, Mysthia, Roseburn, and Galecia. So it should be rather interesting. :)
The Widowed
06-09-2005, 04:28 PM
I have read a lot of these, but I haven't ever read The Widowed's or Moon Jump's. Where can I read these?
Well, most people in these forums have links to their Heroes' Crey Industries profiles in their signatures. But then you have the ones who can't be bothered with that.... *stares at Moon Jump* :p
Tsarmina
06-09-2005, 04:41 PM
I have read only a few origin stories. I did enjoy The Freudian Slip's origin. Just a crotchety old man tired of them whippersnappers destroying his property.
D'Arkaine
06-09-2005, 04:42 PM
Well...I'm partial to these here (http://www.creyindustries.com/threats.php)
The Widowed
06-09-2005, 04:49 PM
Well...I'm partial to these here (http://www.creyindustries.com/threats.php)
LOL @ Death Panda. :D
Jade_Dragon
06-09-2005, 05:39 PM
With mutants, it's not how you get you powers but what triggers them or what sets you on the path to herodom that makes a decent story. I mean, how SPiderman got his powers is not that interesting, but how he became a hero is.
Yeah, exactly. Even those who "have greatness thrust upon them", it's more about how they REACT to that power than were it comes from. What kind of struggles does it create in their life, what kind of adversity do they have to overcome?
Really, Jade Dragon and Blue Diamond are more the "typical" type of superhero, they have the suitably mythological origin and the bright, Golden Age costumes. It's Sandy and Bloodwolf who have the more tragic backstories. And as Maz said, they have an internal struggle, Sandy is caught between human and machine, unsure of which she is, and Bloodwolf is wanted for murder, and must stay on the run. Heck, it's why I created them on Virtue in the first place.
I really need to write origin stories for them and post them here. I've been planning on writing one for Bloodwolf, but can never seem to get around to it.
I've been told that Nyx's origin (I'm reposting it in the origins section now) is good, but it's quite a book.... :yoy:
Jade_Dragon
06-09-2005, 05:49 PM
I've been told that Nyx's origin (I'm reposting it in the origins section now) is good, but it's quite a book.... :yoy:
Nothing wrong with that... :D
Rottweiler
06-09-2005, 06:06 PM
Well...I'm partial to these here (http://www.creyindustries.com/threats.php)
Seeing as I'm on that list (Hellion) thanks! :D
Fantasmo
06-09-2005, 06:24 PM
It's not anyone who visits this community, but I think the best one I read was for Elysienne. Definitely the most original explanation for the Mind Control/Empathy powers (or any powers, really) I've ever seen. It was on the official Virtue boards, but this was quite a while ago.
Well, I have tracked Elysienne down. I PM'ed her and she was very nice. I will be posting some of her stories on my SuperHero Origins web site in the future.
I bet you guys didn't realize your friendly neighborhood Fantasmo has detective skills too. hehe
;)
The Widowed
06-10-2005, 05:36 AM
I bet you guys didn't realize your friendly neighborhood Fantasmo has detective skills too. hehe
;)
So...what did I have for breakfast this morning? :D
ShadowSoldier
06-10-2005, 06:06 AM
I'm really liking this origin. :p
http://www.creyindustries.com/viewhero.php?id=6483
ChairLegOfTruth
06-10-2005, 08:01 AM
I'm really liking this origin. :p
http://www.creyindustries.com/viewhero.php?id=6483
Whoa dude! That so totally rawks!
Yesterday on Defiant I spied this Magic Blaster:
One day, somebody stole her kitten. Then she superglued a kitten to her shoulder and went out to fight the Forces of EVIL(tm)
(Arrrrgghh!!! It's eating my soul)
I laughed for minutes.
Vendel
06-10-2005, 08:12 AM
Well Vendel's is not very original....I could spruce it up bit.
I thought it was a good idea at the time...till I saw about 100 almost exactly like it....heh...oh well that was back in 01 or maybe early 02.
Now a couple of my alts have Very in depth backgroupnds...im very proud of them. One is serious one is funny.
Xanatos
06-10-2005, 01:32 PM
Is Elysienne the hero who doesn't actually exist? The hero who you don't experience meeting - just remember meeting her?
Naked Dwarf
06-10-2005, 01:32 PM
Yeah, that's my biggest problem with mutant origins... It tends to put the damper on original stories about how the powers came about. Too bad i did not think of that when rolled the character.
But then... I wonder how long it would have been before some do-gooder petitioned me if I really did use that origin in-game. :|
Well the nice thing about origins is that it's not just about the powers.
Now this is not a plug and it's not just me saying my origin rocks, but check out Michi's Crey File to see what I'm talking about. I went more into the life she's had because of her mutant powers rather then just using an origin to explain them.
ND
Naked Dwarf
06-10-2005, 01:35 PM
Oh and I always thought that Malibu Sally was a barbie doll like figure turned into a real live woman hahahahaha.
ND
Randomus
06-10-2005, 01:56 PM
Ascendant and Boscoe have pretty funny and connected bios, yeah.
Fantasmo
06-10-2005, 02:27 PM
So...what did I have for breakfast this morning? :D
Count Chocula! What else would The Widowed eat, I mean really.
;)
Fantasmo
06-10-2005, 02:42 PM
Is Elysienne the hero who doesn't actually exist? The hero who you don't experience meeting - just remember meeting her?
Nope, I don't think so. Not sure though.
You can find her here: http://www.dauntlessreverie.com/
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