Spider-Man Rogues Gallery
That’s not even all of Spider-Man’s enemies. I can see Shriek, Shocker, Black Cat, Carrion, Jackal, and a few others that are missing. Though I think Shocker is big one that’s missing since Black Cat goes hero at times, the others are lesser known, and Jackal is a bastard for that Spider Clone travesty in the 90’s. Where was I?
A hero is only as good as his villain, but what about those who have multiple villains? This is a common theme in comics since that’s all about arresting enemies instead of killing. So you have grudge matches, team ups, returns, and all these fun twists. But we’re going to focus on these guys as villains who constantly push the hero. Not just push, but erode because these are the determined characters. As much as Spider-Man is dedicated to stopping his enemies, he’d be happy to retire. Doctor Octopus, Carnage, and their ilk would rather not stop what they’re doing. So you can already see how a Rogues Gallery would wear on a hero’s mentality over time. In fact, I’m sure that’s a repeated storyline for Batman.
Is it possible to do a Rogues Gallery in a novel? I mean, comics are easy since those are typically stories without an end. A novel has a conclusion. So does a series. Most times that you have a recurring villain, it’s only for one adventure and maybe a trilogy. There’s no surprise to this character coming back like in a comic where one month Spider-Man is fighting Rhino and the next is Vulture. Though they don’t do that any more. Again, the limited time and push for a conclusion undoes the Rogues Gallery. James Bond comes close, but most of his villains don’t make it out of their initial crime. Blofeld and Jaws are the only repeat ones that I can think of, but that’s just the James Bond movies. Again, a different medium and one that can be repeated with more acceptance than a novel.
Why do I bring this up? Because I’m toying with the idea of a ‘superhero’ in Windemere for a book or two. This comes from the Mylrixian/Project Phoenix idea where beings with magic-based powers or equipment awaken. Forget the overall story because I’m not even sure about it. One character was going to be a street level hero that uses a suit he finds in a city overrun by these magic-based villains. So he becomes a crime-fighter, which made me want to create a Rogues Gallery. This doesn’t seem possible right now. Mostly because you need villains to make repeat appearances to really get a solid Rogues Gallery. At least in my opinion. That means several villains and a really long book. Perhaps short stories would work? Quite possibly. I guess it depends all on the villains that I create for this story.
I’m kind of going in W.I.P. territory, so I’ll stop since my head is spinning. Part of me is thinking of taking everything from Project Phoenix and revolving it around this one character that has remained stable. Need more info and the Rogues Gallery is key because we have seen that a villain or many villains can make a series. What do you call a band of supporting heroes though? Ally Gallery?
Legends of Windemere 
Ally Gallery sounds about right 😀
I think shorts would work best here. As you said, novels tend to have clearer conclusions.
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I wonder if there’s a middle ground between novel and short story. Maybe a ‘collection’ where every chapter/story connects to the big picture? That way you can have a villain show up in a few chapters even as a cameo. This sounds like a balancing act.
I guess one reason I’m torn is because I’ve seen that shorts require new covers for each installment. That’s a lot of money and you don’t really get it back on shorts. An author would also have to decide on dedicating to the one idea or making it a side project.
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Since my Pearseus covers were basically the same cover with a different cover, I ended up paying under $100 for each. Perhaps you can do something similar?
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Maybe, but I have no artistic ability. Never seen a person willing to do one for $100. Always a couple 100. Though wouldn’t this turn such a series from a few novels to something rather massive?
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Dude, I hired someone. I don’t do them myself any longer. Check out my recent cover reveals for details 🙂
And no, if it’s a number of shorts with a common theme (or in the same universe), I don’t see it as something massive.
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So how does that work with the cover? Take the basic design and alter for every story?
Just seeing how the number of shorts in this one would be well into the 60’s or 70’s. So used to full novels that it sounds like a lot.
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60’s or 70’s *is* a lot 😀
Are we talking some 5,000 words per story?
But yes, if you could keep it simple, I expect the covers shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
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Not sure of story length since it’s not even in outline form. I just have about 60-70 (maybe even more) villains and allies in this thing.
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Oh, right. Well, you could wait until you have a few stories totaling around 20,000 words, then release them as collections.
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Kind of like the series is more a set of anthologies. I had planned that each ‘main plot’ was a basic idea that other stories can fit into. Like what I’m doing now. The big adventure is the heroes traveling from New Jersey to San Francisco. Every chapter has a smaller adventure that happens along the way with different characters showing up.
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Can’t wait to see how it turns out 🙂
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Me too. 🙂
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No matter, I’m sure it’ll be brilliant 🙂
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Your fantasy superhero concept and Nicholas’ idea of an anthology seems like a great one. Can’t wait to read it.
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Thanks. We’ll see how it all turns out. Also when I can get to it. The ‘joy’ of having multiple irons in the fire and keeping them in some bizarre jenga pattern. Probably should be institutionalized for all of this. 😀
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I also noticed that it’s only the guys in there. But you’re right that Black Cat and Silver Sable are both liable to switch sides without notice.
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Spider-Man doesn’t have many female villains. Silver Sable was never really a bad guy, Black Cat has been a hero for a long time and only recently turned back into a villain (after this graphic was made), and then you have Shriek. In general, Marvel comics doesn’t have a lot of villainesses for some reason. Then again, I’ve also been told by some people that you can’t have a female baddie fight a male hero because then you’d get in trouble for a guy hitting a girl.
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Almost forgot Calypso and Stunner. All the others seem to be female versions of previously male villains.
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