Campaign Trailer: INSURGENCY

This was prepared to help pitch a WILD TALENTS game to the campus gaming club, WARP. Again, game didn't happen, but I may yet use this game concept. I think the basic idea is pretty bad ass. Sorry the formatting is a little wonky on this one -- long story.

OVER BLACK

we hear the echoing, mechanical voice of DOOMBRINGER:

DOOMBRINGER (voice/over)

This world is ours.

EXT. EARTH ORBIT - DAY

We see the satellite headquarters of the JUSTICE LEGION – a huge, impossible golden sphere hanging in the darkness above the blue curvature of the Earth – as it lurches, driven by a series of EXPLOSIONS across its surface.

DOOMBRINGER (V/O)

Your proud heroes are utterly defeated, broken, or dead.

As we watch, it tumbles silently into the Earth’s atmosphere and begins to CATCH FIRE as it falls.

DOOMBRINGER (V/O, cont’d)

No one is coming to save you.

DISSOLVE TO

INT. RUINED OVAL OFFICE – DAY

We see DOOMBRINGER – an imposing Dr. Doom-esque figure in matte-black power armour and a red cloak – standing in the midst of the Oval Office, which looks to have been the scene of a terrible fight. There are several dead MARINES around the room, clearly terribly burned by DB’s energy blasts, and several bloodied and cowering GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. A small CAMERA CREW stands in the foreground, filming DB as he speaks.

DOOMBRINGER

Your military has been punished for its insolence and brought

to heel...

CUT TO

A quick flash of a VIDEO SCREEN that shows THE PENTAGON from above, a flaming inferno. The entire building is a blackened, ruined shell.

Back to DOOMBRINGER.

DOOMBRINGER (cont’d)

...while the Society’s armies seized control of your pathetic

cities.

CUT TO

A quick flash of a VIDEO SCREEN that shows TIME SQUARE in Manhattan. We can see units of Doombringer-esque humanoid ROBOTS swarming the streets, fighting their way through the NYPD. There are bodies everywhere, and we see several overturned police cars on fire. A towering, lizard-like humanoid, CARNOSAUR, holds a battle-axe over his head and ROARS IN TRIUMPH as the police fall back...

Back to DOOMBRINGER, but this time we quickly cut from the MEDIUM SHOT of the room that we started with to the VIDEO FEED from the camera crew filming him. The shot of Doombringer is VERY CLOSE, head-and-shoulders only, and menacing.

DOOMBRINGER (cont’d)

You have a choice. Kneel  and live...

He lifts something up in his right hand so that we can see it – it is THE PRESIDENT’S HEAD!

DOOMBRINGER (cont’d)

...or resist and die .

He throws the severed head at the camera, and the VIDEO FEED goes to STATIC, before we

CUT TO BLACK.

NO HOPE

EXT. GRAFFITI WALL – DAY

We see a makeshift memorial that has been set up on a heavily-graffitied wall in a poor

neighbourhood. People have set up posters, photographs and hand-drawn images of

SUPERHEROES. There are hand-drawn notes and cards everywhere that say things like LEST WE FORGET and THE WORLD STILL NEEDS HEROES. The base of the wall is surrounded by small tea-light candles and bundles of flowers.

A WOMAN in a jet-black costume with spiky green hair – ACID RAIN – sneers at the memorial and makes a contemptuous gesture. A SPLASH OF NOXIOUS LIQUID seems to materialize from the tips of her fingers and splatters over everything, melting the whole memorial into a blackened smear against the wall. We hear a HISS as it dissolves...

NO COSTUMES

EXT. ROOFTOP / LOS ANGELES – NIGHT

We see a man standing looking out over the lights of the city. There are lights in the sky –

SOCIETY SECURITY PATROLS – not too far away. The man is wearing a long coat, but

underneath we can see he is wearing a RED AND BLUE COSTUME. He reaches into his pocket and lifts out a mask. He is about to put it on, when A WOMAN seizes him from behind, spinning him around. She is angry, crying, hysterical.

WOMAN (slapping at him)

I won’t let you do this! I won’t! Do you really want to have

another St. Louis on your conscience?! DO YOU?

QUICK CUT TO

EXT. ST. LOUIS SKYLINE – DAY

...as a NUCLEAR FIREBALL blooms over the city in a blinding flash. Everything drops into SLOW MOTION as the buildings begin to fly apart into debris.

NEWSCASTER (voice/over, emotional)

...number of casualties in the hundreds of thousands. The

Society issued a statement that... “Resistance will not be

tolerated. Any defiance will be repaid in kind...”

FADE TO BLACK.

NO SURRENDER

INT. SAFEHOUSE – NIGHT

We see a small circle of EX-HEROES in what looks like an old fallout shelter or dirty basement room. At the center of the room is a very young man – SKYLARK, wearing street clothes except for a UTILITY BELT that is obvious under his coat.

SKYLARK

We’re all that’s left. The ones the Society thought weren’t

dangerous enough to bother assassinating, putting in a prison

camp, or rolling over with an army.

As he speaks, the camera searches the faces of the other people in the room. There are men and women, young and old – at least one very old – of every ethnicity. They all look worried and skeptical of what this kid is trying to sell them.

SKYLARK (cont’d)

We’re the sidekicks, the has-beens, the never-weres. Nobody

ever sold a t-shirt or an action figure with our faces on ‘em.

Most of us probably never got a medal from the president or a

power ring or a fancy headquarters. And the chances are, we

aren’t coming back if we die doing this.

He begins to draw something – a piece of cloth – from inside his coat.

SKYLARK (cont’d)

But I know one thing. If we let this happen – if we let these

monsters win, we’re not worthy of calling ourselves “heroes”.

I’m not willing to let that happen. I’m going to fight, right down

to my last breath. Because that’s what a hero does.

The camera searches the faces of Skylark’s audience again. Still fear, but some fight now, too. There are murmurs of approval.

SKYLARK (cont’d)

We have to be ghosts. Cut all ties with our family and friends,

with our lives... anything that could be used against us. They

have to think we’re dead. And we have to be ready to do

whatever we have to, make any sacrifice necessary to win

this fight. This is war.

Skylark unfurls a tattered flag from the American Revolution. It is a RATTLESNAKE with the

motto DON’T TREAD ON ME. CUT TO BLACK.

Campaign Trailer: SECOND GENERATION

I think this was intended to be a SMALLVILLE game, which explains why there is a lot of talky-talky before we get to the punchy-punchy. The title comes from an idea I've had for a while where the government performs large-scale chemical tests on the population of a city, in the poorer districts, and the effects (super powers) don't manifest until two generations down the line from initial exposure. 

EXT. STREET – NIGHT

We see a newspaper fluttering along the pavement. We can just barely make out a headline: FLYING MAN OR SUPER-HOAX? and there is a large reproduction of a flying figure over a city skyline. The newspaper is caught by the breeze and the CAMERA FOLLOWS as it is blown from the street and DOWN A FILTHY, NARROW ALLEY...

MAXIM (voice-over)

You know what your problem is? You think life is like a god-damned comic book.

SOUND FX: We hear the meaty impact of a PUNCH.

MAXIM (V/O, cont’d)

You think that if you do the right thing, you’re better than me? That people are going to love you for it? Maybe that you’re the one to bring a little Truth, Justice and the American Way to the world?

SOUND FX: More punching. A groan.

MAXIM (V/O, cont’d)

Bullshit. People are scared of us. Those government men-in-black types want to dissect us and figure out how to make more. There are no heroes. You either use your power to take what you want, or you’re meat. Period.

The camera moves through a door and down a flight of dank concrete steps, into

INT. BASEMENT – NIGHT

We see a large, dirty basement with concrete walls and floor. The big, dark room is lit by a single electric lightbulb that dangles from the ceiling on an exposed wire. There is a circle of people in the background – as we get a good look at them, we can see that several of them are very unusual-looking: one has scaly, reptillian skin, one has glowing red eyes, and another occasionally becomes misty and translucent like a ghost. In the center of the room are two men: MAXIM, a big, muscle-bound man wearing a leather jacket over a bare chest covered in tattoos, and the man he is beating on, HAWK. Hawk is a lean, athletic black man wearing a track suit, tied to a chair. His face is bloodied and covered in bruises, and one eye is swollen shut.

Hawk spits out a mouthful of BLOOD on the concrete. He looks up at Maxim.

HAWK

You know what your problem is?

Maxim and the others laugh.

MAXIM

My problem? You’re the one tied to the chair with his teeth on the floor, asshole. Maybe you should be worrying about your own problems. ‘Cause I’m starting to get bored with you.

He strides over to the reptillian man, who passes him a CROWBAR. Maxim strokes it and moves back toward Hawk, swinging it like a baseball bat.

HAWK

You’re short-sighted. You can’t see that life has given you something incredible, this amazing gift you could use to make something of yourself. Something you could use to make the world a better place. To make a difference.

Maxim is incredulous. He takes a step back, and looks to his gang as if to say “Can you believe this guy?”

HAWK (cont’d)

No, you’re the kind of idiot who sees himself as a hammer and everything in your path is just another nail.

MAXIM

Huh. Well, I guess you got me there, Hawk, ‘cause I’m gonna pound you right through the floor. Then we’ll see who’s smart.

He raises the crowbar to hit Hawk, and suddenly the LIGHTBULB FLICKERS.

HAWK

You didn’t let me finish. You’re the kind of idiot who runs his mouth when he should be getting down to business. The kind of idiot who gives his enemies all the time they need to get into position... right, Perdita?

There is a huge BOOM as the CEILING COLLAPSES directly behind Hawk. A muscular woman, PERDITA,  lands there amid the wreckage, striding forward. We see that her body seems to be half-machine. MAXIM backs up to join his gang, who spread out, ready for a fight. There is a flash of light behind them, and we see another woman and a man appear there in the darkness behind the gang. Perdita tears off Hawk’s ropes and helps him to his feet.

PERDITA

Yo Hawk, you all right?

HAWK

No problem. Accelerated metabolism.

As we watch, his wounds begin to HEAL in front of our eyes.

MAXIM

You think you real smart, huh? Think you turned the tables on me, right? Wrong, assholes. I got you all right where I want you. This is where we settle things once and for all...

PERDITA

Bring it, pendejo!

She leaps at Maxim, and they begin to struggle. A fight breaks out around them. All of the combatants have super-powers: we see Hawk take off at super-speed, raining down punches on the reptile-man, while the woman that appeared with Perdita TELEPORTS away when the man with the glowing eyes BREATHS FIRE in her direction. Her companion crosses the room swinging from steel girders that hold up the ceiling, flipping out of the way when the ghostly figure appears in front of him firing a PISTOL.

EXT. ALLEY – NIGHT

Outside, we can still hear the SOUNDS OF BATTLE coming from inside the building. A BLACK VAN pulls up in front of the mouth of the alley.

AGENT (V/O)

Mobile six. Base, we have eight metahumans confirmed on site. Maxim’s crew and the team from the hospital.

INT. VAN – NIGHT

We see two GOVERNMENT AGENTS in the van, parked near the alley. One of the Agents is speaking on a smartphone.

VOICE (on phone)

Well, well. Hawk and his friends have gotten sloppy.

AGENT

Base, do we intervene?

VOICE

No. Hold your position for now. We’ll dispatch Mobiles three and ten to back  you up. When they’re through, you move in and capture anyone still standing. Take no chances. You have sanction, repeat, sanction. If you can’t bring them in alive, bring me the bodies.

AGENT

Confirmed, base.

The camera moves into the back of the van, and we see there are six more agents there, heavily armed and ready to attack...

CUT TO BLACK

SECOND GENERATION

Campaign Trailer: WILD TALENTS

I had an urge to run a big, political contemporary WILD TALENTS game where supers got involved in current events in a large-scale, proactive manner. Again, didn't happen, but I thought the trailer was boffo. I'd see this movie in a second.

CUT FROM STATIC TO:

VIDEO FEED – EXT. ICC BUILDING – DAY

We see a reporter standing in the foreground of a shot that includes a large crowd of protesters waving placards, chanting loudly, in the streets outside the International Criminal Court building. We can see a cordon of police officers in riot gear have formed up around the building.

REPORTER 1

--police try to keep crowds of angry protesters subdued after this morning’s controversial ruling by the justices of the International Criminal Court. Former President Bush and his Vice President, Dick Cheney, are free to leave after three days of deliberation by the I.C.C. whether they could indeed be prosecuted for War Crimes under the court’s mandate. The United States, of course, is not a signatory to the—

CUT TO:

VIDEO FEED – ANOTHER VIEW – EXT. ICC BUILDING – DAY

We see a different reporter reporting from another angle. We see smoke rising in the background from several fires.

REPORTER 2

--three days since the Talent Rubicon appeared in the main chamber of the court and demanded Bush and Cheney be prosecuted for war crimes committed during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

CUT TO

FILE FOOTAGE: RUBICON – CLOSE-UP

We see RUBICON, a costumed Talent wearing a red-and-black mask.

RUBICON

No person is above the law. These men are criminals, plain and simple.

CUT BACK TO REPORTER 2

Reporter 2 is moving away from the first site. In the background, we can see that police have begun to move into the crowd. Water cannons drive the protesters back, and we can see clouds of tear gas beginning to spread.

REPORTER 2

I’m being told we are going to take you now to Paris, where Former President Bush and Mr. Cheney are speaking to a group of—

CUT TO

VIDEO FEED – INT. GILDED BALLROOM – DAY

We see Bush and Cheney standing at a podium in front of a huge group of reporters. Cheney steps forward to speak.

CHENEY

Obviously, we’re gratified that the justices of the International Criminal Court were wise enough to put an end to this travesty. Let me be clear, however: this kind of unilateral action by a Talent against the elected leaders of the United States or any other state will not be tolerated. It is nothing less than an act of terrorism—

A nimbus of bright blue light forms around Bush and Cheney, and they disappear from the podium. There is a general uproar as the reporters jump to their feet and security rushes to the front of the room.

VOICE (off-screen)

Jesus! Dom, get up here!

THE CAMERA PULLS BACK from a small VIDEO MONITOR to reveal an ASTRONAUT (GREG) watching the screen from the pilot’s chair of

INT. SPACE SHUTTLE COCKPIT – ORBIT

We can see the curvature of the Earth below the shuttle, outside the cockpit’s narrow windows, and a vast black starfield beyond. Another astronaut, COMMANDER DOMINIC GORIE, floats up into the cockpit.

DOM

What?

GREG

Rubicon just did it again! He fucking teleported Bush and Cheney right out of their press conference!

DOM

Jesus Christ.

HOUSTON (over radio)

Endeavour, Houston. Uh, we need you to, er, secure the radio chatter on this channel...

DOM

Sorry, Houston.

HOUSTON

Endeavour, we’re reading debris coming your way. Not sure if it’s some kind of malfunction. It’s not on any of the charts...

GREG

Holy... where did that come from?

DOM

Uh, Houston, we’re reading it too. It’s pretty small, but coming up fast...

GREG

No time for a course correction...

DOM

I’m getting visual now, Houston... appears to be an object just over one meter... no, two objects. And... Jesus. Jesus!

EXT. SPACE SHUTTLE – ORBIT

We see the shuttle approaching the flash-frozen bodies of GEORGE W. BUSH AND DICK CHENEY, floating in geosynchronous orbit above the blue curve of the Earth. CUT TO BLACK

WITH GREAT POWER

Comes great responsibility

EXT. WALL STREET – DAY

We see a GLOWING FORCE FIELD BUBBLE begin to materialize in the air in front of a high-powered Wall Street brokerage. A STOCKBROKER in an expensive suit places his hands on the force field bubble as it closes, sealing him in. We catch a last glimpse of his panicked face just as the FORCE FIELD GOES OPAQUE. CUT TO BLACK

how far would you go

TO SAVE THE WORLD ?

INT. OFFICE – DAY

We see a grey-haired EXECUTIVE standing at a huge glass window. We can see a big black shape in the sky, in the distance.

EXECUTIVE

...What is that?

EXT. BP BUILDING - DAY

We see an OIL DRILLING RIG fly out of the FOREGROUND of the shot, hitting the BRITISH PETROLEUM BUILDING like a huge projectile. The building shudders and begins to collapse, sending a huge plume of DUST AND DEBRIS into the air.

The camera pulls back and we see a FLYING FIGURE in a cape in the foreground, watching. CUT TO BLACK.