Approved by the Comics Code Authority

[nexus]

With all the talk about ages and comics and what all, it had to happen….

 

The Cosmic Being of Nigh Infinite Power Plwoht d’veyece (the same one responsible for the Peace of Earth WWYCD for you continuity hounds) has returned. Tired of all the…bad, unfamily friendly exploits the PCs in your world has been up to he imposes the Comic Code on your character’s world. All characters are transformed to fit into the Code even their backgrounds are altered though, being reluctant to tamper too much with free will PD has left their memories of the way things were intact, certain they’ll find their new friendlier world much better...

 

 

How would your character change? What would they think of their new Silver Age world?

 

some links that might helpful

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics_Code_Authority

 

http://lambiek.net/comics/code.htm

[Doomed Prophet]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Just to make life easier, here's the Wikipedia version of the code:

 

1. Crimes shall never be presented in such a way as to create sympathy for the criminal, to promote distrust of the forces of law and justice, or to inspire others with a desire to imitate criminals.
   
2. If crime is depicted it shall be as a sordid and unpleasant activity.
   
3. Criminals shall not be presented so as to be rendered glamorous or to occupy a position which creates a desire for emulation.
   
4. In every instance good shall triumph over evil and the criminal punished for his misdeeds.
   
5. Scenes of excessive violence shall be prohibited. Scenes of brutal torture, excessive and unnecessary knife and gunplay, physical agony, gory and gruesome crime shall be eliminated.
   
6. No comic magazine shall use the word horror or terror in its title.
   
7. All scenes of horror, excessive bloodshed, gory or gruesome crimes, depravity, lust, sadism, masochism shall not be permitted.
   
8. All lurid, unsavory, gruesome illustrations shall be eliminated.
   
9. Inclusion of stories dealing with evil shall be used or shall be published only where the intent is to illustrate a moral issue and in no case shall evil be presented alluringly, nor so as to injure the sensibilities of the reader.
   
10. Scenes dealing with, or instruments associated with walking dead, torture, vampires and vampirism, ghouls, cannibalism, and werewolfism are prohibited.
    
11. Profanity, obscenity, smut, vulgarity, or words or symbols which have acquired undesirable meanings are forbidden.
    
12. Nudity in any form is prohibited, as is indecent or undue exposure.
    
13. Suggestive and salacious illustration or suggestive posture is unacceptable.
    
14. Females shall be drawn realistically without exaggeration of any physical qualities.
    
15. Illicit sex relations are neither to be hinted at nor portrayed. Violent love scenes as well as sexual abnormalities are unacceptable.
    
16. Seduction and rape shall never be shown or suggested.
    
17. Sex perversion or any inference to same is strictly forbidden.
    
18. Nudity with meretricious purpose and salacious postures shall not be permitted in the advertising of any product; clothed figures shall never be presented in such a way as to be offensive or contrary to good taste or morals.
    

Now I need to sit down and see which ones my characters comply with/violate...

[Hermit]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Some of my past characters were already in Silver Age campaigns, so this wouldn't affect them much at all... others? Gimmie a bit

[Stormraven]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

I stopped replying to these a while back - there were just too many at one point - but this one, I've gotta.

 

Guardian Couldn't even start. Her backstory involves a brush with underage prostitution, and most of what she fights wouldn't be allowed (or would be heavily censored) by the CCA.

 

Checkmate Doesn't change overly much.

 

I have several more current characters, most of which exist in worlds that would probably have to be shut down if the CCA got implemented upon them.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

As a GM, no change, my games are already late silver/early bronze.

 

Vixen, herself, wouldn't change much, though one of her teammates (a stoner, both in terms of powers and pasttimes) would need a rewrite.

[wylodmayer]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Oh, holy [CCA censored].

 

Let's see -

 

Ace: Ace uses his genetically-engineering perfect good looks and physique to pick up women... a lot of women. He would cry, except that Sean Connery doesn't cry, and he regards early Bond movies as a sort of manual for life. I dunno - Tony Stark got away with a lot back in the late 70's, early 80's, under the CCA, but it'd still be a pale shadow of his life before.

Cat: Let's see... a borderline insane, teenage superhero who was having an illicit affair with two someone she shouldn't have been, who had suffered several things the comics code could NEVER show as a youth... yeah, no way.

Ingrid: Wow. A huge no.

Canadienne: The closest thing I have to a Silver - or even Bronze - Age character, and even she would have one of her subplots edited out by the CCA.

Terminaxx: Oddly, the CCA doesn't prevent heroes from being portrayed as complete a**holes, so he'd get in. Weird.

 

Yeah, I don't so much play CCA-friendly characters.

[Hermit]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Aquatic- Son of Stingray and Amphibian, who as an infant was transported back in time by his once again insane mother to cheat his father of ever raising him, only to be raised by humans... mmm he'd probably slide by origin wise. However, as he's in a superpowered version of Hudson City, I doubt his setting would be very similar at all... and the NPCs he knows would certainly be altered.

[hfergus]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Volt His origin would have to change a bit, as it was an assination attempt that didn't work, and they haven't been punished yet. They could be caught, but that would negate a hunted. Volt's personaility and fighting style would not be changed a whit. Nothing. Nada. He's silver age in a bronze/iron age world. He'd be a lot happier.

 

Olorin Origin would not change a whit. He'd be happier about what happens to villians, but tends to bend (or break) laws to serve what he considers a higher justice. (Batman did too, strictly speaking, even in the silver age, but Olorin goes further in that he kills when he can.) His only real problem with be with villains that keep on escaping, even if they get re-captured - i.e, the Joker for example. He'd try to change things back, or get an exemption for Joker types.

 

Black Tiger "Oh ! Oh " His origin would have to change and he would not be happy with not being able to pound on bad guys. He'd be happy if they are put away though. He'd also like for exemptions on Joker types just like Olorin. Would not be a happy camper.

 

Futurian "Oh really? Ok. No prob." Would change a bit, less "accidents" would occur. He would not care much though, he'd adapt with no fuss. No change in origin necessary.

[Marcus Impudite]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Devilfire: As his very existence probably violates a number of the CCA's rules, he would either be taking a one way trip to oblivion (I hear it's nice this time of year ) or would seek to assemble a cadre of like-minded individuals to take on Mister All-Powerful-Busy-Body and try to drive him from the universe.

[Drhoz]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

4. In every instance good shall triumph over evil and the criminal punished for his misdeeds

 

Oh goody - we've just been presented with a way to get rid of the Busybody. All Earth's hero's have to do is sit back and do nothing, forcing the busybody to deal with all crimes himself in order to maintain the new universe rules. He should get pretty sick of that in a hurry, and it'll be back to "drop-kick them off the edge of the roof" in no time.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Zl'f: Wouldn't affect her a bit. She's already so straight her teammates use her as a yardstick.

[Drhoz]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Well, this would certainly cripple the Skeleton Crew - we'ld loose half our Quotes Of The Week for a start! And I'm not even going to mention what the various smut, nudity, sex, & salaciousness (go on about that a lot, don't they?) rules would do to poor 3.

 

Vitus might be initially plesed that the background alterations woud mean nobody here could find out what Vitus did to those sprites (4 or 5 violations right there! ) but soon would be plagued by uncontrollable twitching (as his attempts to apply the Elephant Prod to sensitive parts of the villains anatomy are frustrated) and stuttering (as he attempts to give his opinion about same).

[ghost-angel]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Enigma would have to swear a lot less, and likely stop threatening to send people to various corners in Hell.

[Amused]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Tamlyn - Wouldn't changed too much, some details in her background would have to be tweaked and her bi-sexuality would be cut to just heterosexuality.

 

Gwendolyn - Her personality wouldn't change a bit, she's a cheeky fairy. Her backstory would require heavy editing (lots of deaths).

 

Lauren - bwahaha.. yeah, she wouldn't fit in.

[SKJAM!]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Mask of Justice: No real changes, like Batman certain aspects of his early stories will just never be brought up again.

 

Calculus: Wouldn't mind all that much, though he would prepare a plan to take out the busybody just in case.

 

Rock Bottom: Suddenly finds himself theoretically heterosexual (that is, romance never comes up, but he doesn't seem to mind hanging around with pretty girls) and on much better terms with his father.

 

Kira Midori: Is thrilled, as this makes the current day considerably more like the future she came from. Notably, police officers get much more respect.

 

Talion: His powers violate the Code sideways, as do most of the tropes of his world. Let's say that he gets nigh-invulnerability as his new power suite, and the New Legends suddenly do a heck of a lot less property damage, as well as kill many fewer people. He'd probably prefer this, especially if it meant he got to date now.

[Pyre-Archer]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Hmm...

 

Brigand - Given that we're playing in a world where the Bad Guys won, I believe that rule 4 alone would guarantee that his world would be either steam-cleaned, or reset to pre-'Villains Win' times.

 

Aside from that, not too many changes; no killing attacks, he's just a kid with a magic sword, overprotective mom (divorced in original, just conveniently absent post reboot)

 

Pyre-Archer - As above, not too many changes; librarian, not a killer by any stretch, not overly affected.

 

Musketeer - Vengeful meta with psychokinetic gun powers and a serious hate on for the IHA. All I can say is...

 

In a deep, musty crypt, only moments ahead of Plwoht d’veyece's reality altering wave, the Musketeer and the Devil's Advocates convene, casting energies together in one final attempt to counter this threat. The cost will be high. Knowing they are branded as 'villains', despite how they think of themselves, the Advocates refuse to be forced into some eternally losing mold. Seeing an end to his mission of vengeance, psychologically emasculated by some unknowing entity, The Musketeer puts his trust in former foes, calling forth the one thing that might maintain the status quo.

 

Victory or death. Something this Plwoht d’veyece could never understand.

 

"Come forth...MAHQ GUFFHYN!"

[Narratio]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Looking at the list I can firmly state that 99% of the heroes & villians in my world would devolve into teletubbies. I don't think I could hold a group of players together if every night were "The Adventures of Lois Lane" or "Batmite/Myxyzptlk helps out".

 

I can get behind most of it, but couldn't I have just one "symbols which have acquired undesirable meanings", like a swastika perhaps? Or an illicit sex relationship? Please?

[assault]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Tamlyn - ... her bi-sexuality would be cut to just heterosexuality.

 

She wishes.

 

More like: "would be cut to no sexuality beyond occasional platonic dates (usually disrupted by supervillain attacks), unless, of course she manages to get married, which is when the drama really starts".

[assault]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

I don't think I could hold a group of players together if every night were "The Adventures of Lois Lane" or "Batmite/Myxyzptlk helps out".

 

First, while Batmite would try to help out, Mxyzptlk was an opponent of Superman, and some of the stuff he did was quite weird. (The gender reversal story was particularly neat).

 

Second, on your general point - a lot would depend on the players. You would need to pick them very carefully, and probably only have two or three of them.

 

They would need to be the kind of people who read Superdickery.com, and say "what a cool idea for a campaign!" These people exist - but they're rare.

 

You could, of course, make a perfectly good serious game out of "The Adventures of Lois Lane". After all, she's a capable investigator, who can often get herself out of trouble all by herself. The romance/hunting game with Superman doesn't have to be all the game is about.

 

Ultimately, though, the CCA/Silver Age isn't just the weird stuff. It's there, and it's a good part of the fun, but it isn't everything.

 

I will also add that the 60s Marvel stuff was all Comics Code Approved. The silliness isn't the whole story.

[Amber Nytstar]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

The Flying Kittens might get by with only a few tweeks to their background, mostly to their family and their pre-hero contacts. (Their flying teacher was Luna Moth -below- and both of their parents were supervillains.)

 

Luna Moth, on the other hand, outright violates the first four articles with her modus operandi, and I'm not certain if there would be a problem with the nature of her curse. (Kaitou-class master thief with a slow-acting petrification curse on her. She figured out how to delay the transformation until she can retrieve the pieces of the cure's catalyst, but one dose only lasts a lunar cycle. The palm of her left hand already has a marbled appearance after one close call.)

[Certified]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Apollyon: After his name change and his new "Cosmic Entity" benefactor Apollyon, err, Apple Zylon would have a long talk with Dark Horse and Vertigo about moving.

[Tigereye]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Wait...how many times did Deuce use the Lord's name in vain?

 

A Million and Six?... Jesus Chr...(the rest of this entry blocked by the CCA)

 

OK, a million and seven...

 

Considering my character is not-so-loosely based on Ian Fleming's James Bond, the CCA would a) severely cut back on his cold-blooded violence:bmk:, and wreak havoc with his sex life.

 

Also, they'd probably dislike his backstory, what with fairly glamorous villains, some of which have already grown wealthy with their ill-gotten gains.

 

Not that the CCA would have to worry about his making sure crime doesn't pay, but they really wouldn't like how he did it.

 

Nope, there's a reason why he's PG-13 (or even R) rated for Violence and Sexual Situations.

[Amused]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

She wishes.

 

More like: "would be cut to no sexuality beyond occasional platonic dates (usually disrupted by supervillain attacks), unless, of course she manages to get married, which is when the drama really starts".

 

Good point, though I suspect she would just get the Mystique treatment. She has a female best friend and we never see who bears the kid.

[wrestlinggeek]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Voltage: Father was a reformed supervillain, mother the heroine whom captured him. Well, he was caught, did his time, reformed and fell in love with and married his former enemy. I don't see a problem there. Voltage himself is the result of genetic experiments that VIPER conducted on his father (pre-reform). Mother and father were both killed when VIPER showed up to collect the fruits of their labor. But Peter Parker's parents and uncle were dead, as were Bruce Wayne's parents, so that will probably get through. Voltage raised by Steel Centurion, a former team-maye of his mother, and his wife. The only thing Voltage would have a problem with would be the down-grade to his "social" life. He'd go from campus stud to occasional dates that would bore a priest, except when they're interrupted by supervillain activity.

[Badger]

Re: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

 

Badger-Hmm, not sure. He would change a bit, but not overly likely. Though, he is really gonna hate having to bring his archnemesis to justice rather than kill. That alone will make him want his world back the way it was.

 

Frosty Bob- Will completely hate this world. They ripped all his fun away from him. Gory gun battles, fast women. C'mon, why all the hate for poor Bob?